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I've got one suggestion for game 2:
As good as last game was for the Spurs towards the end, Suns are fools if they think the Spurs cannot improve.
That first half was horrible. Turnover after turnover. Horrible rebounding by the guards.
Towards the end the Spurs started to cut off Nash's outlet pass on the drive. Can't wait to see game 2.
I've got one suggestion for game 2:
Offense:
Work from the outside in. Run more plays through Tony; Nash doesn't have a prayer against him. Use 4-down sparingly, despite Tim's brilliance. Run the pick-n-roll more and get Shaq away from the basket. Push the tempo off of missed shots. More Barry, less Vaughn. Let Manu or Barry handle the rock when TP is out. Prepare some offensive sets for when they throw the zone at us. Role players need to move without the ball more.
Defense:
Stop focusing so much on Nash when he gets right under the basket. He isn't going to score from there. Stay in front of Amare so he doesn't get the easy dunk. Let Nash be the scorer rather then Amare. Judiciously use the trap on Nash before they execute the pick-n-roll to get some time off the clock. If they do execute it, do not go under the screen. Don't help out when Diaw posts up.
Id say go to Tim early and Often when Shaq is in the game. Get him and Amare in early foul trouble. I think that was the difference for us winning that game.
The turnovers the Spurs had in the first quarter were just fouls that they didn't call. You'll notice that they did call some fouls, and they kind of started piling up at the end of the first half. Not sure that PHO wants to use that "hack and slash" defense again. It ultimately cost them the game when Amare went out in the first OT.
I think the Spurs just play Spurs basketball.
#1 - have a "technical speech" with Ime. He was in Pop's doghouse for an hour or so after he blew all his defensive assignments and got passed multiple times. Nicely Pop put him back him to restore some confidence and he was ok but the last tie from Nash on that 3 he was the one defending him and he let him loose again.
It was nice to see manu become PG at the end of the 2nd overtime as Pop I don't think trusted Vaughn to make any plays down the stretch and added Barry as SG. I think Pop had a great coaching game up to the end.
I called the same situation in our game blog. I thought the Suns had in mind to play aggresively and hack (yes "hack") their way to a win. Parker got hacked so much in that first quarter it was ridiculous.
Hackers prevailed over floppers in the first half.
I think Suns opportunity to get one at the AT&T center has passed.
Stop the pick and roll with Nash + Amare..thats where Nash gets like half his assists and Amare half his points.
Note:
If you see Nash go around Amare's screen and Amare moving towards the basket....DENY THE PASS....kick the ball if you have to
I also agree on letting Nash be the scorer...it worked last year
Play Bonner?
pic n roll with Amare just killed us in the first half
and the Spurs can't afford to have Manu play like in the 1st half again
Manu needs to be a 3pt threat again
I think the better question would be. What adjustments are D'antoni and company going to make?
"Lets go guys".
More Kurt Thomas. Dude was a monster on Shaq yesterday.
I think Shaq is going to come out firing in Game 2 -- the Spurs may be facing a different Suns team in that respect. That will probably be the adjustment.
If they can withstand the Shaq tirade, they may just break the Suns' spirit.
agreed, come loaded for bear against the Suns in that beginning of the game, if you can get shaq to miss some shots and get easy shots in transistion, the Suns will start to lose a bit of faith I think.
Take advantage of the blow to their mental state that it caused
Don't play badly in the first half again,
don't collapse in 2nd half like they did in the season.
Go to PHX 2-0, series over.
Too many "long" offensive rebounds for phoenix, the spurs need to box-out a little bit furhter from the basket
The offense cannot just use the 4 down sparingly. I agree, we need to run through Tony and Manu and possibly that 3 if it's there on the dish. But ... it wasn't there for a lot of those 3 losses against the Suns. And taking Duncan out of the mix anymore than he is, would be like slapping at a pit bull without a weapon. No.
I agree with your defense. Duncan has to just stop getting caught up with what Nash is doing over there and stay put, prevent that momentum Amare needs to take off cause without it he is weak.
Duncan continuously pounds Amare even if he does get his little poster shots now and again. It is clear we can control the paint if Shaq is out of the game on court or off because of fouls. You have to keep giving TD the ball to open up those lanes for which Tony and Manu run into so well.. and you begin at the start of the game.
I watched the edited down version of the first half on ESPN last night and the two biggest things that killed us in the first half other than poor shooting was Amare/Nash P&R and PHX guard rebounding. There were a few plays when the Spurs should have gotten easy boards and Hill or Barbosa just came out of nowhere to tip the rebound out to Nash or someone else in the backcourt. I thought that was poor awareness and the Spurs gave the Suns too many second chance opportunities that way.
Defend the PnR between Nash and Amare with help from the other big (the one that's not guarding Amare) just like in that play at the end of the 1 OT where Thomas draw the offensive foul. Amare always goes to the rim, he never stops to think/see if there's a teammate open so we could get him with this tactic all game long.
J. Vaughn played 2 min 50.
Is it too much ?
The obvious thing to do is give Timmy more wide open 3's.
Start Kurt Thomas over Oberto. Or if Oberto starts, tell him to play physical, don't worry about fouls, and know that you can probably only get 3-5 minutes before the experiment goes awry.
Better defense on the pick and roll from get go.
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