timvp
05-24-2008, 10:31 PM
Another series. Another 0-2 deficit. After blowing a 20-point lead in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs didn’t put up much of a fight in Game 2. With the contest tied at 37-37 near the end of the first half, the Lakers went on a 9-0 run and never looked back. By the time the game mercifully ended, the Lakers had destroyed the Spurs 101-71.
For a young team that doesn’t have that much experience, the Lakers played about as good as humanly possible. All 11 players who went on the court for Los Angeles performed well. From Kobe Bryant all the way down, the Lakers were very, very good. Phil Jackson is coaching better than ever and the Lakers are playing better than any team in basketball right now.
The Spurs, on the other hand, played about as poorly as possible. Not one player had a good game. Both the offense and the defense were pathetic. With the way the Spurs played, I don’t know if they could have beaten any team in the NBA. The Lakers definitely deserve credit but the Spurs also played a major role in their own demise.
I don’t believe in making excuses during the playoffs but anyone who watched the Spurs play could see they are fatigued. I don’t know if they are physically fatigued or mentally fatigued, but San Antonio just didn’t have any juice in their battery.
In Game 1, I don’t think that game had too much to do with fatigue. The Spurs were running on adrenaline after their Game 7 victory and I think more than anything the players and the coaches just choked. In Game 2, it looked like everything caught up to the Spurs and they just didn’t have the needed energy.
Overall, it was a disappointing loss, to say the least. The Spurs now have to look to make history for the second straight series.
-Tim Duncan played decently. In 32 minutes, he had 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and only one turnover, while shooting 6-for-14 from the field. In terms of energy and effort, Duncan was one of the few bright spots. However, if Duncan is getting absolutely no help, there’s no way he can beat the Lakers by himself. I thought his determination waned, especially in the second half, but it was understandable with how the Spurs were getting destroyed. On the whole, I think Duncan’s play in the first two games of the series has been good to see. He struggled against the New Orleans Hornets but he has shown he’s capable of dominating in this series. Whether the Spurs will give him enough help to allow his domination to mean anything is the main question right now.
-Manu Ginobili had his second straight sub par game. He went scoreless in the first half and was generally just ineffective. On the night, Ginobili had seven points, two rebounds and hit 2-of-8 shots from the field. While he definitely didn’t play well, I do think he played a lot better than he did in Game 1. His defense was better, his decision making was better and he showed a few glimpses of athleticism in the second half. It seems as if the media is trying to place the blame on Ginobili for the Game 2 loss and that’s totally laughable. Ginobili only played 23 minutes and by the time he got rolling, the Spurs were already too far in a hole. He cleaned up a lot of his Game 1 errors and I was happy with the way he competed. Ginobili is obviously either hurt, fatigued, not playing well or a combination of the three but it’s unfair to blame the first two losses on him. I’m fully confident Ginobili will rise above and figure it out for Game 3.
-I was extremely disappointed in Tony Parker’s play in Game 2. It was obvious that Ginobili and the role players weren’t playing well early on but Parker never picked up his game. For the Spurs to beat the Lakers, Parker is going to have to play at a superstar level. In Game 2, he got outplayed by Derek Fisher. That’s unacceptable right now if the Spurs want to survive the Lakers. Parker is usually a competitive player but he seemed to just roll over and die in Game 2. From here on out, Parker needs to play with more heart and will to win. He’s the youngster of the squad and needs to elevate his game when everyone else is playing poorly – not join them.
-Bruce Bowen was powerless to stop Bryant in Game 2. He defended pretty well but Bryant was better. Bryant caught fire in the last 18 minutes of Game 1 and that rolled right into Game 2. Between Los Angeles and San Antonio, Bowen needs to figure out a way to stop Bryant from looking like the purple and gold version of Michael Jordan. I do like how Bowen is keeping Bryant off of the line but he needs to somehow also harass his jumper. Giving Bryant his jumper right now isn’t going to work – and that’s what Bowen is trying to do. The good news is that the problem seems to be more tactical than anything else. Bowen and the Spurs need to adjust and force Bryant into areas of the court he’s not comfortable. Offensively, Bowen was good enough as he scored eight points on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor.
-Michael Finley started and played 21 minutes as Pop elected to move Ginobili to the bench. Finley responded with another dud. He scored eight points on 3-for-9 shooting and provided no defense, rebounding or anything else that could have assisted his team. That said, he did play a lot better than Game 1 – so hopefully he’s headed in the right direction. Playing horribly pathetic to playing like crap is an upgrade, after all.
-I guess Game 1 was a mirage when it came to Fabricio Oberto. In Game 1, he looked capable of defending Lamar Odom. In Game 2, Odom destroyed him and Oberto was ineffective in just about every aspect of the game. In 22 minutes, he had four points, two rebounds and hit just 2-of-7 shots from the court. It was a bad time for Oberto to play his worst game of the playoffs.
-Jacque Vaughn played 17 minutes and didn’t help matters. The bad news is the Spurs look like they’ll be stuck playing Vaughn the rest of the series. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, Bowen could just switch over and become the defensive point guard when Parker went to the bench. In this series, Bowen has to be glued to Bryant – so Vaughn has to be used as the backup point guard. If Ginobili is used as the backup point guard, he’d have to defend the Lakers point guard – which obviously wouldn’t help any fatigue issues he may be having. Vaughn will just need to play better and somehow spark the team.
-Brent Barry played 16 minutes and was pretty decent. The problem with Barry is his injured calf has limited his mobility to the point he can’t defend. Offensively he’d be extremely helpful. Maybe Pop will go with Barry and live with his defense – but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
-Ime Udoka played 16 minutes and was once again erratic and showed poor shot selection. Udoka teased Spurs fans by playing great at the end of the Hornets series. He now seems to have regressed back to the untamed version of Udoka we saw during the regular season and the Suns series. He finished Game 2 with six points, five rebounds and three assists, but shot just 2-for-8 from the field. His lack of athleticism doesn’t make him a great match against these Lakers.
-Robert Horry played 14 minutes and did more harm than good. Although he played pretty good defense, he missed all five of his shots offensively and appeared to be a step slower than usual. It’s tough to say whether the Spurs should keep playing him or if they should look for another option.
-Kurt Thomas only played nine minutes and doesn’t look like a player who will be too helpful against the Lakers. His lack of mobility makes it impossible for Pop to play Thomas and Duncan at the same time. In theory Thomas would do well against Pau Gasol – but that hasn’t really proven to be true on the court.
-Damon Stoudamire played nine minutes of garbage time and responded by going 0-for-5. At least he didn’t try to make any waves by actually making a shot.
-Pop definitely has his work cut out for him. The Spurs got run out of the building and are now staring at playoff elimination. Pop has a fatigued team that is at a major speed and athleticism disadvantage against the Lakers – and the fatigue is making those disadvantages worse.
It’s tough to be too critical of Pop when it was the players who didn’t show up. Unlike Game 1, a few coaching moves weren’t going to save the Spurs on this night. Perhaps Pop’s pep talks could use work but other than that, Game 2 doesn’t fall on his shoulders.
In the Hornets series, Pop made the needed adjustments between Game 2 and Game 3 – and those adjustments ended up working perfectly. The Spurs were able to dig themselves out of the 0-2 hole because they basically scrapped their original gameplan for a totally different gameplan.
Against the Lakers, it’s not that simple. There are no glaring strategic mistakes being made by the Spurs. That said, I do think the Spurs need to make some changes before Game 3:
1. Establish Duncan early. Against the Hornets, the Spurs got away from relying on Duncan for offense. In this series, they need to get back to playing through Duncan. The Lakers don’t have anyone who can guard him and Duncan can hopefully put the Lakers in foul trouble early.
2. Keep the pace slow. This goes hand in hand with establishing Duncan. If Duncan is dominating in the low blocks, the Lakers can’t get out and run. However, on the other hand, the Spurs need to run off of the Lakers’ turnovers and any long rebounds.
3. Parker has to attack. In this series, Parker needs to take over. If he’s not shooting 20+ times per game, he’s not doing his job. He has a quickness advantage against everyone on the Lakers. Even if he’s missing at the rim, Duncan is by far the best rebounder on the court and can score off of Parker’s misses.
4. Start Ginobili. I know Ginobili isn’t 100% but Pop has to start him. As lame as it sounds, the Spurs need to avoid the Ginobili versus Sasha Vujacic matchup. Ginobili can score against Vladimir Radmanovic. Additionally, Ginobili needs a good start at home to get him flowing back in the right direction.
5. Cut down the rotation. The Spurs need to go back to a seven or eight man rotation. In the first couple games, Pop has used a ten or eleven man rotation – and that’s just too many players. Pick your two or three bench players and let’s roll, Pop.
6. Make Bryant work. The Spurs are allowing him too many easy jumpers so far in the series. Make Bryant dribble and create on the move. His jumper is automatic right now and then that fuels the rest of his game. He doesn’t make many mistakes these days but when he does, it’s almost always when he’s on the move.
7. Transition defense. When the Lakers go on runs, it’s usually initiated by fast break points. Los Angeles will get a dunk or a three-pointer on the fast break and then the floodgates will open. The Spurs need to get back on defense and force the Lakers to beat them in a halfcourt setting.
8. Rebound. The Lakers are bigger but the Spurs have the ability to dominate the glass. Lost in the wreckage of Game 2 is the great job the Spurs did on the defensive glass. That needs to remain a factor in the Spurs' favor.
9. Keep shooting. The Spurs need to knock down shots to win this series. Hesitating is worse than a missed shot, especially versus the swarming defense of the Lakers. Let it fly.
10. Keep the faith. This obstacle looks difficult but all the Spurs need to do is take Game 3 and then this will be a series again. Put the Lakers on their heels. Show them some adversity. When it's all lollipops and daisies, it's impossible to stop these Lakers. But let's see what happens if the hit a bump in the road.
The bottomline is the Spurs are in a familiar hole. It’s going to be difficult but I think this Spurs team can do it. They’ve played their best during adverse situations all season long.
Get up off the mat. Get Game 3. And then we'll truly see what both teams are made of when times aren't easy.
1.
Believe.
For a young team that doesn’t have that much experience, the Lakers played about as good as humanly possible. All 11 players who went on the court for Los Angeles performed well. From Kobe Bryant all the way down, the Lakers were very, very good. Phil Jackson is coaching better than ever and the Lakers are playing better than any team in basketball right now.
The Spurs, on the other hand, played about as poorly as possible. Not one player had a good game. Both the offense and the defense were pathetic. With the way the Spurs played, I don’t know if they could have beaten any team in the NBA. The Lakers definitely deserve credit but the Spurs also played a major role in their own demise.
I don’t believe in making excuses during the playoffs but anyone who watched the Spurs play could see they are fatigued. I don’t know if they are physically fatigued or mentally fatigued, but San Antonio just didn’t have any juice in their battery.
In Game 1, I don’t think that game had too much to do with fatigue. The Spurs were running on adrenaline after their Game 7 victory and I think more than anything the players and the coaches just choked. In Game 2, it looked like everything caught up to the Spurs and they just didn’t have the needed energy.
Overall, it was a disappointing loss, to say the least. The Spurs now have to look to make history for the second straight series.
-Tim Duncan played decently. In 32 minutes, he had 12 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and only one turnover, while shooting 6-for-14 from the field. In terms of energy and effort, Duncan was one of the few bright spots. However, if Duncan is getting absolutely no help, there’s no way he can beat the Lakers by himself. I thought his determination waned, especially in the second half, but it was understandable with how the Spurs were getting destroyed. On the whole, I think Duncan’s play in the first two games of the series has been good to see. He struggled against the New Orleans Hornets but he has shown he’s capable of dominating in this series. Whether the Spurs will give him enough help to allow his domination to mean anything is the main question right now.
-Manu Ginobili had his second straight sub par game. He went scoreless in the first half and was generally just ineffective. On the night, Ginobili had seven points, two rebounds and hit 2-of-8 shots from the field. While he definitely didn’t play well, I do think he played a lot better than he did in Game 1. His defense was better, his decision making was better and he showed a few glimpses of athleticism in the second half. It seems as if the media is trying to place the blame on Ginobili for the Game 2 loss and that’s totally laughable. Ginobili only played 23 minutes and by the time he got rolling, the Spurs were already too far in a hole. He cleaned up a lot of his Game 1 errors and I was happy with the way he competed. Ginobili is obviously either hurt, fatigued, not playing well or a combination of the three but it’s unfair to blame the first two losses on him. I’m fully confident Ginobili will rise above and figure it out for Game 3.
-I was extremely disappointed in Tony Parker’s play in Game 2. It was obvious that Ginobili and the role players weren’t playing well early on but Parker never picked up his game. For the Spurs to beat the Lakers, Parker is going to have to play at a superstar level. In Game 2, he got outplayed by Derek Fisher. That’s unacceptable right now if the Spurs want to survive the Lakers. Parker is usually a competitive player but he seemed to just roll over and die in Game 2. From here on out, Parker needs to play with more heart and will to win. He’s the youngster of the squad and needs to elevate his game when everyone else is playing poorly – not join them.
-Bruce Bowen was powerless to stop Bryant in Game 2. He defended pretty well but Bryant was better. Bryant caught fire in the last 18 minutes of Game 1 and that rolled right into Game 2. Between Los Angeles and San Antonio, Bowen needs to figure out a way to stop Bryant from looking like the purple and gold version of Michael Jordan. I do like how Bowen is keeping Bryant off of the line but he needs to somehow also harass his jumper. Giving Bryant his jumper right now isn’t going to work – and that’s what Bowen is trying to do. The good news is that the problem seems to be more tactical than anything else. Bowen and the Spurs need to adjust and force Bryant into areas of the court he’s not comfortable. Offensively, Bowen was good enough as he scored eight points on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor.
-Michael Finley started and played 21 minutes as Pop elected to move Ginobili to the bench. Finley responded with another dud. He scored eight points on 3-for-9 shooting and provided no defense, rebounding or anything else that could have assisted his team. That said, he did play a lot better than Game 1 – so hopefully he’s headed in the right direction. Playing horribly pathetic to playing like crap is an upgrade, after all.
-I guess Game 1 was a mirage when it came to Fabricio Oberto. In Game 1, he looked capable of defending Lamar Odom. In Game 2, Odom destroyed him and Oberto was ineffective in just about every aspect of the game. In 22 minutes, he had four points, two rebounds and hit just 2-of-7 shots from the court. It was a bad time for Oberto to play his worst game of the playoffs.
-Jacque Vaughn played 17 minutes and didn’t help matters. The bad news is the Spurs look like they’ll be stuck playing Vaughn the rest of the series. In the first two rounds of the playoffs, Bowen could just switch over and become the defensive point guard when Parker went to the bench. In this series, Bowen has to be glued to Bryant – so Vaughn has to be used as the backup point guard. If Ginobili is used as the backup point guard, he’d have to defend the Lakers point guard – which obviously wouldn’t help any fatigue issues he may be having. Vaughn will just need to play better and somehow spark the team.
-Brent Barry played 16 minutes and was pretty decent. The problem with Barry is his injured calf has limited his mobility to the point he can’t defend. Offensively he’d be extremely helpful. Maybe Pop will go with Barry and live with his defense – but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
-Ime Udoka played 16 minutes and was once again erratic and showed poor shot selection. Udoka teased Spurs fans by playing great at the end of the Hornets series. He now seems to have regressed back to the untamed version of Udoka we saw during the regular season and the Suns series. He finished Game 2 with six points, five rebounds and three assists, but shot just 2-for-8 from the field. His lack of athleticism doesn’t make him a great match against these Lakers.
-Robert Horry played 14 minutes and did more harm than good. Although he played pretty good defense, he missed all five of his shots offensively and appeared to be a step slower than usual. It’s tough to say whether the Spurs should keep playing him or if they should look for another option.
-Kurt Thomas only played nine minutes and doesn’t look like a player who will be too helpful against the Lakers. His lack of mobility makes it impossible for Pop to play Thomas and Duncan at the same time. In theory Thomas would do well against Pau Gasol – but that hasn’t really proven to be true on the court.
-Damon Stoudamire played nine minutes of garbage time and responded by going 0-for-5. At least he didn’t try to make any waves by actually making a shot.
-Pop definitely has his work cut out for him. The Spurs got run out of the building and are now staring at playoff elimination. Pop has a fatigued team that is at a major speed and athleticism disadvantage against the Lakers – and the fatigue is making those disadvantages worse.
It’s tough to be too critical of Pop when it was the players who didn’t show up. Unlike Game 1, a few coaching moves weren’t going to save the Spurs on this night. Perhaps Pop’s pep talks could use work but other than that, Game 2 doesn’t fall on his shoulders.
In the Hornets series, Pop made the needed adjustments between Game 2 and Game 3 – and those adjustments ended up working perfectly. The Spurs were able to dig themselves out of the 0-2 hole because they basically scrapped their original gameplan for a totally different gameplan.
Against the Lakers, it’s not that simple. There are no glaring strategic mistakes being made by the Spurs. That said, I do think the Spurs need to make some changes before Game 3:
1. Establish Duncan early. Against the Hornets, the Spurs got away from relying on Duncan for offense. In this series, they need to get back to playing through Duncan. The Lakers don’t have anyone who can guard him and Duncan can hopefully put the Lakers in foul trouble early.
2. Keep the pace slow. This goes hand in hand with establishing Duncan. If Duncan is dominating in the low blocks, the Lakers can’t get out and run. However, on the other hand, the Spurs need to run off of the Lakers’ turnovers and any long rebounds.
3. Parker has to attack. In this series, Parker needs to take over. If he’s not shooting 20+ times per game, he’s not doing his job. He has a quickness advantage against everyone on the Lakers. Even if he’s missing at the rim, Duncan is by far the best rebounder on the court and can score off of Parker’s misses.
4. Start Ginobili. I know Ginobili isn’t 100% but Pop has to start him. As lame as it sounds, the Spurs need to avoid the Ginobili versus Sasha Vujacic matchup. Ginobili can score against Vladimir Radmanovic. Additionally, Ginobili needs a good start at home to get him flowing back in the right direction.
5. Cut down the rotation. The Spurs need to go back to a seven or eight man rotation. In the first couple games, Pop has used a ten or eleven man rotation – and that’s just too many players. Pick your two or three bench players and let’s roll, Pop.
6. Make Bryant work. The Spurs are allowing him too many easy jumpers so far in the series. Make Bryant dribble and create on the move. His jumper is automatic right now and then that fuels the rest of his game. He doesn’t make many mistakes these days but when he does, it’s almost always when he’s on the move.
7. Transition defense. When the Lakers go on runs, it’s usually initiated by fast break points. Los Angeles will get a dunk or a three-pointer on the fast break and then the floodgates will open. The Spurs need to get back on defense and force the Lakers to beat them in a halfcourt setting.
8. Rebound. The Lakers are bigger but the Spurs have the ability to dominate the glass. Lost in the wreckage of Game 2 is the great job the Spurs did on the defensive glass. That needs to remain a factor in the Spurs' favor.
9. Keep shooting. The Spurs need to knock down shots to win this series. Hesitating is worse than a missed shot, especially versus the swarming defense of the Lakers. Let it fly.
10. Keep the faith. This obstacle looks difficult but all the Spurs need to do is take Game 3 and then this will be a series again. Put the Lakers on their heels. Show them some adversity. When it's all lollipops and daisies, it's impossible to stop these Lakers. But let's see what happens if the hit a bump in the road.
The bottomline is the Spurs are in a familiar hole. It’s going to be difficult but I think this Spurs team can do it. They’ve played their best during adverse situations all season long.
Get up off the mat. Get Game 3. And then we'll truly see what both teams are made of when times aren't easy.
1.
Believe.