Reply With Quote
Putting Gary Neal and the words "athletic defender" together just doesn't feel right, tbh.
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/01...ut-over-grizzl
Rosen: Breaking down Spurs’ blowout over Grizzlies
By Charley Rosen
January 17, 2013 at 7:41 AM
The accepted conventional wisdom is that either the Clippers or the Thunder will ultimately represent the West in the finals.
However, partisans of the Spurs and the Grizzlies believe that their respective teams are also legitimate contenders for the Western Conference crown. Me? I’d say last night’s 103-82 taming of the Grizz is a microcosm of why San Antonio is the true dark horse in this particular race.
Let’s take a close look at the strengths and weaknesses of each of these teams.
These days, Tim Duncan lacks the explosiveness to be a serious scoring threat in the low post. As such, Memphis generally avoided two-timing him when he made a rare appearance in the pivot. In fact, TD spends much of his time at the high post where his passing is somewhat shaky but, although he needs lots of time and space, his straight-ahead jumper is better than ever.
It’s on the other end of the court where Duncan’s influence is mostly felt. He isn’t (and never was) a particularly effective one-on-one defender—however, his length, his anticipation born of experience, and his refusal to be faked off his feet, make him a dominating shot-blocker. For sure, he’s on the downside of his remarkable career, but Duncan has made adjustments, pulled in his parameters, and remains a winner.
Tony Parker has lost at least a half-step and relies more on his tight spins to remain a vibrant scorer in a broken field. Also, he has perfected his pull-up jumper going left. More importantly, Parker is more interested in passing than he is in shooting—a remarkable evolution for such a veteran player. As ever, his individual defense is still questionable.
Tiago Splitter runs the court, can finish in traffic, and sets sturdy picks. Too bad he lacks any semblance of a touch (beyond his improved FT shooting) and has difficulty cleanly handling any pass thrown below his waist. On defense, he has the strength and the mass to absorb an opponent’s initial thrust, thereby giving his teammates sufficient time to move into optimal double-teaming position. In short, Splitter is limited, but does what he’s supposed to do. However, on a team that lacked the discipline and precision of Pop’s crew, Splitter would be gathering splinters on the bench.
I must confess that Kawhi Leonard is one of my favorite players.
He can routinely drop treys, and he runs like a deer. Yet what I appreciate most is his quick, long-armed defense that challenges virtually every incoming and outgoing pass. True, his one-on-one defense still needs work, but within three years Pop will turn him into a franchise player.
Gary Neal can flat-out score, mostly on his quick-release long-distance bombs. He’s an earnest, athletic defender who’s still learning how to play without the ball. Danny Green is another accurate long-distance dialer who plays slightly better than Neal but isn’t quite as dynamic a scorer.
Boris Diaw is the primary big man off the bench. Yes, he can shoot, pass, and make righteous cuts, but at 6-8, 203, he’s anundersized big. And this represents one of the Spurs’ most vulnerable areas—especially since the 6-10 Matt Bonner plays like a small forward.
Stephen Jackson has somewhat awkward handle and iffy defense, but he’s a streaky shooter who can light up a scoreboard. As long as he’s not a go-to scorer, Jax is a plus.
Manu Ginobili didn’t play in the game at hand, but his dynamic lefty slants add a necessary jolt of pizzazz to the Spurs’ sometimes lethargic offense. Indeed, he’s the squad’s X-factor who gives them the capability to overcome either OKC or the LAC.
As ever, the Spurs need to shoot extremely well to win, particularly since they lack a fail-safe point-maker in the low post. Their unselfishness, spacing, ball and player movement are all exemplary, which makes the whole of their team-wide efforts add up to more than the sum of their individual parts.
The same is true of their team defense, which features perfectly choreographed baseline rotations by their bigs. Their strategy in defense of pick-and-rolls is classic—force the ball baseline or sideline and, once again, rely on perfect interior rotations.
The prime mover of all this is, of course, Gregg Popovich, who is simply the best coach in the NBA.
Where he once was stubborn, he now is flexible, and he remains a master of in-game and between-game adjustments. His expertise and ability to motivate his players should never be underestimated. I’d say, without scoring a bucket or making a pass, Pop is worth at least 7-10 points a game.
It says here that if they can remain healthy (this means TD and Ginobili), don’t be surprised if the Spurs peak in time to survive the conference playoffs.
On the other hand, Memphis lacks staying power and is merely a flash in the pan.
The team’s positives include the strength and mid-range shooting of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph; Tony Allen’s adhesive defense and ability to score in the shadow of the hoop; Mike Conley’s outside shooting, lane penetrations, and quick-footed defense; Darrell Arthur’s pivotal scoring and mid-range jumpers; and Rudy Gay’s creativity.
Still, the Grizzlies have multiple flaws.
Their bigs are so late in making the proper rotations that San Antonio’s dive cuts resulted in numerous uncontested layups. Likewise, Gasol and Randolph are inordinately slow getting back in transition defense—allowing both Duncan and Splitter to beat them to the rim on several occasions.
The Spurs alert double-teams virtually negated Randolph’s presence in the low post—for the game he scored only five of his 11 points down there.
Gasol failed to get a single opportunity to venture into the low-post, confining his offense to taking jumpers and setting picks—both of which he did well. Still, his interior scoring was (and has been) wasted.
Although Rudy Gay is the only wingman who can consistently create his own shot, both his passwork and the decisions he routinely makes on defense are abysmal.
Neither Conley nor his backup, Jerryd Bayless, are bona fide facilitating point guards. This is a serious team deficiency.
Off the bench, Arthur’s post-up defense is subpar; Wayne Ellington and Marreese Speights are talented but extremely erratic.
Forget about the numbers.
The Grizzlies’ passing and pick-and-roll defense are simply not championship caliber. In a playoff showdown with either the Spurs, the Clippers or the Thunder, the Grizzlies will prove to be toothless.
Putting Gary Neal and the words "athletic defender" together just doesn't feel right, tbh.
Tim Duncan was never an effective one on one defender... Ok bro
Has Charley Rosen ever gotten anything right?
lol Rosen. Before writing an article on the Spurs he should at least watch a bit of tape and make some research. Can't believe people pay to read this .
This reminds me of high school calculus where I'd copy the right answer but have no clue when asked to show my work.
, I just read it for free and I want my damn 4 minutes back.
It's like last night's game was the first one he watched all season. "Hmm, the Spurs blew out the Grizzlies? I'll just write an article saying that the Spurs are good and the Grizzlies are bad."
Uh, no. He's easily a top ten passing bigman in the NBA.In fact, TD spends much of his time at the high post where his passing is somewhat shaky
The ?He isn’t (and never was) a particularly effective one-on-one defender
Parker is still the fastest player in the NBA. I doubt he could have lost any steps and still have that le.Tony Parker has lost at least a half-step
Parker's D has always been above average when he's engaged. This year he's having his best defensive season to date.As ever, his individual defense is still questionable.
Splitter has great touch and his hands are definitely above average for a bigman.Too bad he lacks any semblance of a touch (beyond his improved FT shooting) and has difficulty cleanly handling any pass thrown below his waist.
Yeah, no.However, on a team that lacked the discipline and precision of Pop’s crew, Splitter would be gathering splinters on the bench.
Gary Neal is an earnest, athletic defender who’s still learning how to play without the ball.Worst Gary Neal scouting report ever.
It's worth a read for some decent nuggets sprinkled in (good find, Mr.Bottomtooth) but it's obvious that Rosen rarely if ever actually watches the Spurs play. You'd think he'd go back to actually watching games again now that Phil Jackson isn't around for him to coattail ... but I guess not.
There's that Tony Parker has lost a step remark again.
I saw TP outrun so many Griz players and get open to knock down that 3 pointer to tie the game the other night.
TP with a lost step is still faster than most I guess.
Preach that to the GMs, Rosen.
This guy is bad
..... I'm very hesitant to anoint the spurs this year. Last year they really got my hopes up and destroyed them in the Western Conference Finals.
Damn, that article was some straight up hardcore suckage. Questioning Tim's 1-1 D might have been the most outrageous error.
Leonard becoming a franchise player in about three years was funny as well.
Weird how "nice" Rosen has been to the Spurs since David Robinson retired
I stopped reading when he said Gary Neal is an athletic defender tbh
he can write later how the claws grew up since that game
The thing that bothers me most about Rosen's statement is the line you highlighted. Tiago is shooting 58% from the field, and 7% from the line while averaging 1.1 TOs but .8 SPG and .8 BPG this season. I think Rosen justs reads the recaps on ESPN after each game ...
lol Rosen
lol premature ejac
lol Spurs won their last le in 2007
Cry Havoc in 3,2,
I agree with that, De Andre Jordan has a better hook shot, true story.However, on a team that lacked the discipline and precision of Pop’s crew, Splitter would be gathering splinters on the bench.
While Tim is definetely one of the more talented passer at center he turns it over a lot, calling it shaky doesn't sound that outrageous to me.
at the le
neither are spurs champ material neither do Grizz suck
they just in a slump. And Spurs still dark horses at best.
How is "shaky" not a wrong characterization of Tim's passing as a bigman? Sure he turns the ball over at times (so does Parker and Lebron James if that's all it takes to become "shaky") but there's a reason why he's not typically known as a turnover-prone big.
maybe he meant it's shaky now compared to prime Timmy. Which could be true, but not because his passing was better back then. Prime Timmy would just humiliate the defender and take the shot himself.
Tbh I'm probably overreacting to the last few game where Tim had a bad stretch taking care of the ball, it's definitely good overall.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
