The mass concesus is that one must shorten the rotation in the playoffs to your best 6-9 players for best results (depending on the matchup) and sticking to those guns. Im not so sure thats the best way to go about it with this Spurs team and I have a feeling (hope) Pop wont go with the conventional 8 man rotation this year. We just have too many weapons to let go to waste on the bench during any given game.
Not only do the Spurs have a good chance at a le, they have a good chance at challenging the norm by going against the accepted belief of shortening the rotation for the playoffs. Winning the whole thing would be a feat in itself, no doubt, but imagine doing it with the same rotation we have had all season long (with a bit of cherry picking here and there).... It would be unprecidented in this era of basketball.
The Spurs have a chance to buck the trend of current NBA standards of setting up "super teams" with ty benches and the way the game is played in general. IF they make it that far and take it all, the implications could be league wide and I say the NBA would be better for it. The average fan might not like it, but it could be a new age for basketball purist.
What do you think Pop will do in the playoffs? Shorten the rotation or go with an onslaught of fresh legs throughout a series? Or will he mix up the linup depending on the matchup?
Last edited by phyzik; 04-24-2012 at 01:12 AM.
It needs to be at LEAST a ten-man rotation. How could it possibly be any shorter?
PG - Parker/Neal/Mills (pick two)
SG - Green/Ginobili
SF - Leonard/Jackson
PF - Diaw/Bonner/Blair (pick two)
C - Duncan/Splitter
So yeah...for the Spurs, it's a 10-12 man rotation.
Spurs roatation is going to be this
PG-Parker/Neal
SG-Green/Ginobili
SF-Leonard/Jackson
PF-Diaw/Bonner
C-Duncan/Splitter
Thats a championship team there and also our second unit is probably better than a couple of starting lineups in the nba.
Most teams go short to have better players playing. For us, there's not a chasm of difference between S-Jax and Green and Leonard, Or between Bonner and Splitter and Diaw. Should be a 10 man rotation with 3 spares(Blair, Anderson, Mills) but a slight movement in minutes towards Duncan, Manu & Parker(They play slightly more)
I think Pop will use a 9-10 man rotation in the playoffs and coincidentally the Spurs starting line up isn't built around their top 5 players. Gives Pop the ability to make subs based on how the game unfolds. How are teams in the playoffs going to deal with the Spurs bench when we sub in Manu, SJAX, Neal, Bonner, and Splitter. In a way it forces other teams to play their top players extended minutes (fatigue sets in), while Pop can use a balanced attack, especially if a series goes 6-7 games.
Last edited by ace3g; 04-24-2012 at 01:42 AM.
Thats pretty much my line of thinking... war of attrition.
Teams might have better specialists groups but we can throw waves at them like no one else... they will tire themsleves out over a 7 game series if not suc b to our superior offense.
At least thats my hope and I think thats what Pop is banking on.
james anderson got left out of your sig
Against the Jazz/Suns, I'd expect Pop to utilize depth and manage minutes. However, against some of the more compe ive teams like Memphis, LA Lakers, and the Thunder, I would expect to see something like this:
7 players will see 20 minutes or more:
Duncan, Diaw, Leonard, Ginobili, Parker, Jackson, Splitter
The next 3 will get 12-18 minutes a game depending on match ups.:
Bonner, Green, Neal.
Garbage minutes:
Blair, Anderson and Mills.
WCSF/WCF/Finals minutes allocation:
C: Duncan - 35 mpg
PF: Diaw - 25 mpg
SF: Leonard 24 mpg
SG: Ginobili - 30 mpg
PG: Parker - 36 mpg
6th: Jackson- 25 mpg
7th: Splitter - 22 mpg
8th: Bonner - 14 mpg
9th: Neal - 12 mpg
10th: Green - 15 mpg
[unecesarry post apparently, used to the NBA forums]
The Mavs used that strategy pretty well. I think if the Spurs can defend good enough they're a lock.
I've mentioned that somewhere on this board few days ago and I think Pop might do just that and go with 10man rotation for the most part of the playoffs.
I mean every guy knows his role and even with this rotation the spurs play fluent ball and tha't the most important thing.
The issue is the minutes, as all season long all spurs players were limited. They cannot just go now for ~40 minutes.
Usually it's 8man
Pop can play the 1st r with 12 man but I doubt he will.
10 man is okay. Spurs also can play against different teams with not big matchup problems, they can adjust better to others then others to the spurs.
No reason not to play with 10 men ... we really can tire out the other teams even more after that hard regular season ...
As many have said, 10-man rotation tops. While other teams will do an 8-man rotation
Coach Pop will be the first to do it. SWAG
9-10 man rotation won us a chip in 07, even though there's not a lot of love for Vaughn and Barry as contributors in that run. There is no precedent that says playing a 7-8 man rotation in the playoffs is "the recipe". The prime advantage is that the Spurs have the versatility to adjust to matchups and force the other team into their tempo or matchup accordingly.
I would hate to try to coach against this team in a 7 game series, just too many weapons if the ball movement continues to be as crisp as it has been the last 8 weeks of the season.
Pop will choose from a 10 man rotation, as many have pointed out..
I think this is the lineup he will close with in most games in the crunch -
Parker, Ginobili, Jackson, Bonner/Leonard/Splitter, Duncan ..
If he is going to adopt small ball, Leonard will close instead of Bonner.. If he is playing the Lakers/Bulls/Grizzlies, he could finish with Splitter and if he is playing others, he might most likely close with Bonner.
Neal and Diaw will be available situationally.
I've said before, it would be ridiculous to shorten the lineup. We need to use our weapons. We have too many of them. That's our advantage.
^ this
Most teams play 7/8 because that's all they really have. We have 10/11 ready to lock and load.
Nobody knows what the Pop has in his stealth CIA crazy mind. Predicting what he will do is futile.
tbh honest this team is built for a champsionship, the spurs are so deep and everyone knows their role, and the ball movement lately is just text book. Its been a pleasure this season watching all these young guys getting better by the game...Danny Green has been a joy to watch. Pop has to go with the 10 man rotation but give Tony Manu and Tim some more minutes and I'd like to see Jax and Boris play more in the playoffs.
Spurs can disprove two NBA truths in this year's playoffs:
1. Star power > depth (so yes, i think Pop will go against the norm and play a 10-man rotation)
2. Defense wins championships
Will be verrrrry interesting to watch.
I think the further the Spurs go, the more shorten the lineup should be. You don't want to wear the Big three down like 2008 so they are out of gas in the WCF.
Not really.
1. I thought the Pistons did a decent job of proving it could be done if your teamwork was good enough. The Spurs would just be continuing the tradition.
2. The Spurs are still mostly offensively oriented but have been playing better defense as of late. Wasn't there a thread showing that the D has been getting better since the trade and that it's actually been very solid these last few games?
Assuming the team's defensive efficiency makes it into the top 10 for the playoffs that wouldn't exactly disprove the old "defense wins championships" adage...
doesn't matter how many we play. Goal #1 in round 1 is to win it in 4. regardless wether we play 8, 10 or 12 deep
again, it's key we dispose of #8 in as few games as possible.
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