More than bum ankles, more than short bald referees, more than great players at the top of the game, this series in my mind will ultimately be determined by whether or not Gregg Popovich can match wits with Phil Jackson. Like him or not, Jackson is the best, has proven he's the best and unfortunately for Spurs fans, continues to do so in this series. The glaring advantages Pop had over D'Antoni and Scott do not exist anymore folks. The fact that Pop took Bowen out in the third quarter of game 1 up by sixteen was not only a glaring mistake but a perfect illustration of why Phil Jackson is the better coach. Phil knows how and when to go for the juggular, Pop really hasn't figured that out yet.
Kobe Bryant is phenomenal there's no doubting that. Best player in the NBA and it's not even close. He doesn't keep me awake at night though. The guy with the bad hip that looks like Colonel Sanders does. He knows how Pop thinks, knows his adjustment patterns and knows that ultimately Pop's brain works not on spontaneity but rather on pre-existing mathematical formulas whereby regardless of how hot a guy is, he's always coming out at the same mark every game- that's what scares me.
We lose this series, Jackson should officially declare ownership over Pop when doing his taxes.
i wouldnt call it ownsership. just gamesmanship. ownsmanship is what pop does to dantoni cause dantoni has never beaten pop in a series. pop has beaten phil in 2003. i believe they are on the same level with different styles of coaching. phil goes with a more mental approach to coaching while pop goes with a more disciplined style of coaching.
great coaches either way
I expect he's going to try and get Fisher about 7-8 more shot attempts.
I expect he's going to start off the game going right into Odom and Gasol and have the offense run through them to start
I expect when the 2nd half comes around, he's going to tell Kobe to drive, drive, drive to the basket in the hopes of not only scoring but also getting the Spurs Bigs, specifically Duncan in foul trouble.
I think that if Parker is going off tonight, he's going to try and put Trevor Ariza on him.
I think that he's going to continue to give Duncan different looks, probably end up double teaming him.
We'll probably also see some zone defense and I don't think Phil believes Ginobili can replicate his Game 3 performance and he's probably going to concentrate on getting someone outside the Big 3 to make shots and beat the Spurs.
Oh and whoever Finley is defending, will probably get the green light from Phil to shoot the ball.
Is this the same Jackson who left Kobe on the bench (at his pre-determined time) while the Spurs rolled in game 3 in the early 4th? Or who thinks Sasha can stop Ginobili? Or Gasol can stop Duncan?
Please if the Spurs play up to their potential Pop will be proven to be the better coach and I believe he already is!
If there is a coach that can match wits with Phil, it's Pop. You don't win 4 championships as a coach being a schmuck.
I do think Phil is going to make some adjustments to get Odom and Fisher going earlier. Without them, the Lakers have little chance on the road.
- he will try ariza and kobe on manu
- tell kobe to attack basket and draw fouls
- shutdown the paint
We may see more Ariza...but I don't see it quite yet unless there's another blowout. I think attacking Brent Barry when he's on the court will be one adjustment. Also, as soon as Manu is on we would Sasha on and give him a run. The biggest adjustment is overal team defense as they laid an egg on Sunday.
I expect to see Ariza get some play tonight. If I were Phil, I would even consider starting him. I agree with the poster who said that he will definitely see to it that Fisher gets better looks. Screen and Pop most likely. I am more concerned on how the lakers handle Duncan. The Lakers can not let Gasol go one on one with Duncan for 48 minutes. I have no faith in Gasol's ability to stop Duncan or even slow down Duncan. I don't see them being able to take the at ude of just letting duncan get his and worry about the rest. The problem with Gasol guarding Duncan is that even when he does get a stop, Timmie still gets the ball back, whether it's over somebodies back or just more effort in getting to it. The lakers will have to use Lamar to help out on Duncan. With Kobe, Fisher, Ariza (sasha, Farmer) in the lineup they will have players quick enough to get back to the 3 point shooters and they should switch on anybody. The spurs are not very good on jumpers when contested.
I also agree that it will be a heavy dose of Kobe driving the lane to get fouls or easy buckets. I expect Lamar to have a good game and hopefully Gasol will stop coming with that weak and attack the basket. Those damn floaters he's throwing up makes me sick. Go strong!
The Spurs, for years, have been committed to denying Fisher the catch-and-shoot looks that he likes. When they are successful with that effort, Fisher tends to be silent. It's exactly what happened in last year's West Finals.
His first adjustment will be to downgrade Turiaf back to cheerleading.
His second will be to force Manu to shoot more jumpers; he was on fire in game 3, but if it doesn't work tonight, don't expect a big game from him
Last edited by lefty; 05-27-2008 at 12:51 PM.
Yes I agree, how fancy is that. If the jumpers aren't falling, then it will be a repeat of 1 and 2. But then again, that's the same for both teams.
I don't think he will do anything as drastic as changing the lineup. Instead, I think he will focus on some smaller changes to be disruptive. My thoughts:
He's going to have Fisher body-up on Parker to force him wide and disrupt the passing angles. Fisher belly-bumps more effectively than anyone in the league, and it almost never gets called. He'll want to try and make everyone reach for passes, so that no one catches the ball in their comfort zone.
They're going to beat the crap out of Duncan off the ball, any time he tries to line up on the right side of the floor. Since Manu likes to go left, he'll use the double team on Duncan, on the left side, to pack the lane against Manu driving.
He's going to test Duncan at the line early. If he misses a few, it's going to be a rugby scrum under the basket, and Duncan will have a of a time getting 18 boards again.
He's going to show ultimate disregard for Horry and let him shoot virtually uncontested, as a mental ploy.
They're going to be sliding picks and flopping to try and get some cheap fouls on Bowen. Without Bowen on the floor, Kobe goes nuts. Jackson will be screaming at the refs about Bruce all night, and pointing to his guys laying on the floor.
Except of course in 2004
The smaller lineups have been far more effective IMHO. In Game 1, Phil went small and it was a huge part of the reason why the Lakers were able to come back.
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