I'm soured on Diaw's defense. It's possible he could bother Lebron in limited minutes but he has a tendency to get into foul trouble and the Spurs need him for 18-20 minutes per game.Quote:
Originally Posted by DespЏrado
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I'm soured on Diaw's defense. It's possible he could bother Lebron in limited minutes but he has a tendency to get into foul trouble and the Spurs need him for 18-20 minutes per game.Quote:
Originally Posted by DespЏrado
Nobody else scared of Neal and Joseph, particularly Neal's playing time?:lol..
I can already picture him turning the ball over and then leaving Ray Allen open for 3, tbh..
He averaged 15 on sub 50% against the Grizz. He'll have to be much more efficient than that against the Heat. Miami isn't as tough on the interior as Memphis obviously but i think Duncan has to average at least 20ppg on 50+% for the Spurs to have a legit shot at pulling this thing out.Quote:
Originally Posted by SpurPadre
Again, i don't think it's impossible and if there's any 37yo bigman that can do it, it's Duncan.
I sure as hell am. I trust Joseph with the ball more than I do Neal though. I also know that even if he can't contribute anything on the offensive end, CoJo will at least still bring it on D, something I can't say for Neal. I absolutely hate Neal's defense. He always sags to the paint without a true reason to sag, leaving his man wide open. The only guy I could trust putting Neal on would be Cole. He doesn't have the stroke that guys like Chalmers, Allen, Batter, or Miller do. That is the ONLY guy I would consider putting Neal on.Quote:
Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37
I don't want to see Neal bringing the ball up court. He's a sucker for traps & too short to find an open man. I would rather have TMac in there for his size. I always say if BONNER & NEAL are not scoring..Then wtf are they in the game for? I know we got to rest our stars but they are a matchup nightmare on defense. Esp if they are on the floor at same time. I'd rather activate BAYNES & see what TMac has.
Of course, Mainly Neal tbh. It'll either be Neal sagging off into the paint leaving Allen, Miller and Battier open allowing them to go a combined 18-18 from 3 point land...Or pop will put him on Wade where he'll continuously get beat off the dribble per par turning Wade back into prime Wade.Quote:
Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37
Box out "BIRDMAN BIRDMAN" Please!!!! I think 2nd chance pts will be key. This isn't the Grizz frontcourt I know, but we got to get def boards or it will be a long series.
You cannot make Manu a facilitator then expect him to not make careless turnovers. He forces things, that's his MO. Often those go wrong. Once upon a time his talent overcame his risky moves, but these days it can be 50/50, or worse.
Miami has no reason to be inside. They don't have decent bigs. Lebron will challenge our bigs and get them in foul trouble, especially Splitter. Miami will close out on the 3pt shooters, that's what worked for them against us in the past. They will double on Tony and make Green beat them.
They'll guard but they'll send Tim to the line and live with his 1 of 2 instead of 2. They'll just deny the inside pass like they did with Hibbert. Duncan likes the high post, then the move off the screen to the left and that's his spot. They know that and they'll plan for it.
Our role players have to be on. If they aren't we will have a hard time winning. Miami will have a hard time if our role players are on. They don't know much about Leonard, so that might catch them a bit off guard.
Leonard also has a tendency to ignore his guy and watch the ball. He closes out fast but he drifts.
Lebron is a knock down FT shooter. Don't pressure him too much, let him play hero ball. He won't but try to force it.
Yeah, no 2nd, 3rd and 4th looks for them like the Grizz got.
Tony is the key. He has to move well without the ball and hurt them inside. That will force them to go smaller. When they do that we can kill them on the PnR, and when they sub we can shoot the 3.
Not really. You set up your defense in the way that gives you the best chance of winning the game. That's why Leonard guarded Thompson and Green guarded Curry in the WCSF. If Leonard can take Wade completely out of the series, and if Lebron is going to get his regardless, it seems like putting Leonard on Wade is the right move. It's a bigger waste to put your best perimeter player on someone you're going to double anyway than to put him on a hobbled but still dangerous player he can erase from the series.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoops Czar
Also, Green is a much better post defender than people give him credit for. He's inconsistent on the perimeter because he falls asleep on shooters and comes off screen slowly at times. In the post, he has a strong base and has held his own against World Peace, Carl Landry and even Lamarcus Aldridge. Leonard struggles in the post, so he's not instantly the best choice just because his reputation. I think you put Green on James and just accept that Green's not going to do much on either end and let Leonard legitimately try to win his match-up on both ends.
I think one of the keys is making Chalmers/Cole guard TP. TP has struggled against really good long defenders, and LeBron definitely fits that category. If LeBron guards TP, our offense will probably be drastically less effective in generating shots.
The Counter is abusing Whoever is guarding Kawhi on the block. He didn't post a lot this year, but when he did he was really effective. If he does that well and you force LeBron to camp in the corner on Kawhi and stop him being actively involved in defending the offense will work well.
Defensively, Mix up Kawhi/Boris/Green on LeBron depending on where he's playing. If he's facilitating at the top, Kawhi or Green. In the post Kawhi(With help coming) or Diaw. He's the best player in the world, he's going to cause problems.
wade has scored 20 points in 2 of 15 playoff games and you want to put the Spurs best defender on a player playing at about 70%? If Green is as good as you say, he can handle Wade. Im not getting the Thompson-Lebron comparison. One's a shooting guard, the other's a power forward. LJ would just abuse Green and he can ill afford to get into foul trouble. The more pressing issue and one of the keys to the series will be what to do with Bosh because he has some of his biggest games against the Spurs. Diaw and Leonard should be able to slow Lebron down and hopefully Miami's threepoint shooters will be off the mark for the entire series.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chinook
(Season stats)
99 Knicks- 86.4ppg (27th of 29) 85.4papg (4th of 29)
03 Nets- 95.4ppg (14th of 29) 90.1papg (2nd of 29)
05 Pistons- 93.3ppg (24th of 30) 89.5papg (2nd of 30)
07 Cavs- 96.8ppg (19th 0f 30) 92.9papg (5th of 30th)
13 Heat- 102.9ppg (5th of 30) 95.0papg (5th of 30)
The Heat are clearly the best scoring team Spurs have faced in the finals, And the 2013 Spurs are argubaly the worst defensive 'Finals' Spurs team. If Spurs win this, It's going to rely heavily on the offensive end.
Honestly guys.. This is the first time I'll see the Spurs in the finals as a hardcore fan. I became a big fan around 2008, So I've been around mainly for the recent "choke era". I never thought I'd see the Big 3 in the finals again, So I'm enjoying every second. You guys should do the same
Yes. If that takes Wade out of the series for good, then it's a great deal. Bosh isn't beating everyone, so I'd rather have James try to win by himself than having James destroy Leonard and have Wade get a chance to go off.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoops Czar
I said Green's a good post defender, which is why he may be a better match-up for Lebron. Also, he'd probably be fine on the perimeter since, he knows he doesn't have to help off the best player. That's why he dominated Curry. Lance Stephenson did a decent job on James, and he's about the same size as Green (especially now that Danny has gained so muscle).Quote:
If Green is as good as you say, he can handle Wade.
Leonard guarded Thompson while Green guarded Curry. It wasn't because Thompson was the best player (like you suggested he would be if he drew Leonard's guard). It was because Pop wanted Thompson out of the series and was willing to let Curry try to get his. It just turned out that Green was a very effective Curry defender. Again, Green's actually been pretty successful guarding in the post, while Leonard struggles. So this idea that Lebron would abuse Green but not Leonard isn't as obvious as you seem to believe. Also, if Green gets into foul trouble, so what? It's not like he's a star or anything. The Spurs would be fine with Ginobili playing more minutes in the Finals.Quote:
Im not getting the Thompson-Lebron comparison. One's a shooting guard, the other's a power forward. LJ would just abuse Green and he can ill afford to get into foul trouble.
Could definitely be a problem if Bosh shows up to play. Splitter needs to be successful against him. Diaw at least has the mobility to stay with him on the perimeter, and the Spurs would probably take that if it allowed Splitter/Duncan to stay in the post.Quote:
The more pressing issue and one of the keys to the series will be what to do with Bosh because he has some of his biggest games against the Spurs.
I think Leonard and Diaw could very well draw James' assignment. If the goal is slowing James down, then they probably are the two best players on the team for that. However, if the goal is to trick James into trying to beat the Spurs by himself, then Leonard would be sort of wasted. Green can still put up a good fight against James while also letting Leonard shut down Wade, which will force James to try to do more by himself. Could this work as well if Green's and Leonard's roles were reversed? Yeah, probably. I'm just saying how I'd approach it. As HH said, I imagine Pop will rotate coverage on James at least until he finds a combination that works like he did with Curry.Quote:
Diaw and Leonard should be able to slow Lebron down and hopefully Miami's threepoint shooters will be off the mark for the entire series.
It's not just Neal leaving guys open while doubling ghosts that worries me. I don't think anyone in the NBA falls down on defense more than Neal without flopping. I'm not talking about attempts to draw charges. I mean just routine defense, he falls down a lot. And the other team usually scores.Quote:
Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37
whos gonna be the secondary defender on lebron?
diaw on james? will it be somewhat effective or a complete disaster?
Put Splitter/Diaw on Bosh. They can defend outside the paint and our good one on one defenders. Make sure TD stays in the paint to protect the rim.
TP has to take advantage of the fact that his man isn't gonna be that involved on offense.
Take care of the ball, especially on pick and roll situations. Miami is extremely good in trapping. This might actually be the ting i'm most concerned with. Cuz it could lead to a bunch of turnovers.
Don't let them cut to the basket and crash the boards hard, block your man out. LeBron is a very good cutter and Kawhi tends to lose sight of his man sometimes.
Transition defense.
Defend the 3point line.
Wade was Miami's "hero" for so long.
After his recent comments... why not try to make him play hero ball instead of LeBron?
This would work like the Westbrick tactic to contain Durant...
Turnovers. If Indiana just limited their turnovers, the series could have been different. We have to take care of the ball.
Except Wade is not WestbrickQuote:
Originally Posted by Quasar
- Dribble Penetration- Spurs must limit Lebron's dribble penetration...he gets so many easy ones, FTs, and others involved by his dribble penetration
- Pick and Roll- Spurs will have to find away to adjust to the Heat's excellent PNR defense to be effective offensively
- Tim Duncan- he has a huge advantage inside, he'll have to utilize the post often
- 2nd defender on Lebron- whomever takes over Lebron duties when Kawhi is resting will need to hold his own, same for team defense
- perimeter defense- cannot let Allen, Miller, etc have wide open 3s
- TURNOVERS- TURNOVERS
- fast break defense- have to limit the Heat's easy baskets, they feed off of this
- REBOUNDS- must clean up the boards and limit....
- 2nd chance points- easy ones
- points in the paint- limit easy ones and get easy ones offensively
I agree with Shoogarbear about our turnovers being the key. Heat are great on defense while our playoffs run has been full of untypical passing turnovers. If that continues, the Heat will feast on them.Also, our offense depends on execution. Turn overs are obviously one way that the offensive execution gets bogged down. So we need no hero stuff on passes, just keep moving the ball and do what we do best: execute the offensive sets until we get a good shot.
The Spurs also need to make it a priority to expose Ray Allen, tbh..
He's been one of the worst defensive players in the league this season, he's Miami's defensive version of Gary Neal, tbh..Pop needs to attack him on every play, whether it's running Green through screens, pick&roll with Manu or posting up Leonard..
I actually think Joseph may be a good Wade/Allen defender. I'd trust him as the eight man before Neal. He's not the best ball-handler, but if you're talking about having Ginobili run the point anyway, then Manu's going to be the one facing the pressure and not Joseph. I trust Cory has the secondary ball-handler when Parker's on the bench before Green, that's for sure.Quote:
Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37
Winning the finals will require everyone to play well, including Bonner and Neal. They have to outplay Miami's bench or it will be a quick series. There's no question that Miami's starting 5 is better than the Spurs' so the Spurs need to make up the difference from the bench.