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I agree
The Clippers seem to be the one team that plays us that smell blood in the water whenever TP leaves the game...especially when Neal runs the point.
They start swarming, trapping, playing passing lanes and causing all kinds of havoc. They did this last night in the third. Pop always plays these lineup games and waits to long before getting the rotation down.
That's one thing I give Phil credit for...he played his lineup and stuck with it the whole year to let the players learn to work together in their roles.
I agree
The Clippers bench has figured out the Spurs bench, unfortunately. There gameplan is simple but it works:
-Pressure Neal (or whoever else is the PG) with Bledsoe to slow the pace. It helps that Bledsoe is a beast of a defender and none of the backup PGs are good ballhandlers.
-Force Ginobili horizontally on pick-and-rolls and then go for the steal when he tries to force a pass to Splitter. If Ginobili is able to split the defenders and penetrate, stay home on three-point shooters and make him finish at the rim.
-Bully Splitter and whoever the other big is by pushing them all the way under the basket to open up driving lanes and offensive rebounds.
-Run isolations at the top of the key to exploit the Spurs relatively slow guards.
They've used that gameplan for seven or eight games in a row and have had great success with it. Pop really does need to mix things up next time, tbh.
That wouldnt have been a problem if we werent short-handed
Non issue
Fortunately most teams in the NBA don't have a Bledsoe. Still, our back up point guards suck. Last year Mills could make shots, not so this year. Neal can't handle the ball under pressure. De Colo isn't an NBA player, he may have skill as a passer, but you have to be able to shoot and dribble to play guard on this level, and he hasn't shown he can do either well enough.
Yup. And this one thing Pop never does. He never exploits mismatches to force defense to make a change. He's simply just keeps running the same plays over and over. When other teams see Bonner on the floor, they go right at him and Spurs start scrambling on D to make up for it. The other big has to start cheating to help leaving the weakside open for layups and offensive boards.
Only jack will say system be damned I'm taking this little guard to the low block.
Indeed. I was hopeful that Mills would be able to wreak havoc in the other direction and keep up with Bledsoe, but that has turned out to be a pipedream.
Hate to say it because he always kills us, but I freakin love Bledsoe. Wish he was our backup PG.
Bledsoe is a starter. That's just the luxury the Clips have. When CP3 decides what he's doing in LA, Blesoe will have an idea where his future is.
Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan are two of the reasons the Clippers can't be taken lightly, tbh...
Bledsoe's a starting quality point who just so happens to back up the best point in the league.
Ruff, I didn't listen to you after the first game against the Clippers, but yeah, this kid is a little beast out there.
Didn't SA pass on Bledsoe in the draft in 2010 to take James Anderson? Our wing position was a mess at the time and they went that direction instead. I think Bledsoe was taken very late in the 1st round in 2010. He's good.
Correction - Eric Bledsoe went 18 and Avery Bradly went 19 in the 2010 draft. Big droppoff to pick 20. Too bad. Either one of those guys would have been very nice to have
Bledsoe is a handful. Jamaal Crawford is the x factor for LA. Spurs got to find away to get him on the low block and make him expend energy on D.
And Paul's pull up mid range keeps Parker guessing on D. If Parker would just add that to his game he would he unguardable....oh well.
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