http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns
Hornets hope to keep Duncan in check again in Game 2
By BRETT MARTEL, AP Sports Writer
39 minutes ago
Buzz Up PrintNEW ORLEANS (AP)—Tim Duncan was annoyed, muttering after losing a ball out of bounds, and later staring at the floor with his hands on his hips after missing a foul shot.
After averaging nearly 25 points and 14 rebounds in five playoff games against the Phoenix Suns, Duncan did little right for the Spurs in Game 1 at New Orleans on Saturday night.
Hornets center Tyson Chandler anchored a defensive effort that routinely employed double-teams against Duncan, who missed eight of nine shots, made only half of his six free throws and finished with five points and three rebounds.
That kind of outing from Duncan is rare. The Hornets aren’t sure they can lock down the Spurs’ perennial All-Star again in Game 2 on Monday night, but they certainly intend to try.
“They want to give him more shot attempts, want to get him more looks at the basket,” Hornets forward David West said. “We’re not going to leave any of our guys one-on-one with anybody. We haven’t done that all year. We won’t allow our teammates to get embarrassed, so he’s going to get more shots, but every time he catches the ball he’s going to see a line of defense. He’s going to see Tyson, he’s going to see the next line and the next line of defense.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Chandler said he’s considered Duncan the best center in the game for a long time, and because of that has studied Duncan’s game to see what he could learn about playing the position. There’s another benefit to that for the Hornets in this series.
“I’ve been watching him so much I know his game and I kind of know his counters,” Chandler said. “I don’t think you’ll necessarily stop Tim out there. He’s too good of a post player. The thing we have to do is keep him away from his spots. Keep him away from easy buckets. I’ve watched him long enough to kind of know his game.”
Duncan’s response? Everyone will have to wait and see. The Spurs had scheduled practice at the New Orleans Arena on Sunday, but canceled it.
The Hornets, meanwhile, practiced only briefly after watching some game film. Hornets coach Byron Scott said he wanted his players as fresh as possible because he expects them to push the tempo.
“We have to use what we’ve got. We have the youth, younger legs, things like that,” Scott said. “We’re a little more athletic than they are. We have to try to use those things to our advantage.”
West’s ability to score on mid-range jumpers, post-up moves and drives to the hoop was what made him a first-time All-Star this season, and was the difference in the series opener. He finished with a playoff career-high 30 points.
The Hornets have now beaten San Antonio three times this season, all lopsided affairs that featured prolific scoring by West.
Spurs guard Tony Parker made note of that after Saturday’s game, saying the Spurs need to refine their defensive approach on West specifically and not be overly preoccupied with Hornets All-Star point guard Chris Paul.
One change Gregg Popovich could try is putting Duncan, one of his best defenders, on West.
If that matchup materializes, Scott said, the Hornets will respond by keeping West on the wing, limiting Duncan’s ability to be a rebounding or shot-blocking force inside.
Then there’s the matter of stopping Chandler, who converted more than 100 alley-oop feeds from Paul during the regular season and had another in Game 1 of this series.
“You have to have a solid defender guarding Tyson,” West said. “I know that is one of the reasons why they put Tim over on Tyson, to make sure he can protect the basket.”
In any event, Scott expects Duncan to be much more of a factor from here on, and he does not think it is realistic to expect his team to run away from the defending champions as the Hornets did in their 101-82 Game 1 triumph.
“Tim is too proud to come out and play that way again,” Scott said. “In our minds right now, this is going to be a long series. They’re just too good of a team to play the way they played (Saturday) night for four more games or five more games, so we didn’t get their best shot.”
The Hornets got far from the Spurs best shot.“Tim is too proud to come out and play that way again,” Scott said. “In our minds right now, this is going to be a long series. They’re just too good of a team to play the way they played (Saturday) night for four more games or five more games, so we didn’t get their best shot.”
The loss will serve the Spurs well, they always do when the stakes are high.
Long series? Spurs are going to go to WCF by the end of game 5
i agree with this post... i remember even in the 2003 championship video the admiral saying that every loss gives them "a lil bit of an edge" and i think timmy will not be very friendly to them on the next game... i expect Manu to have a moster game as well!
key word here is "hope"
Tim will re-gain his vs-Suns 25 - 12 avg, Hornets going win(g)less.
Duncan should play better, but it won't matter. CP3 will play better too and we will win by 10.
Gambit! Shut up and go kill me some Morlocks!
No he won't. The Hornets actually play defense
Uhh...sorry about the huge picture, guys. That was just too good of an opportunity.
Tim's too smart to play ty in game 2. And I agree, they need to give Manu more of the offensive load to make up for the Timmy defenses.i agree with this post... i remember even in the 2003 championship video the admiral saying that every loss gives them "a lil bit of an edge" and i think timmy will not be very friendly to them on the next game... i expect Manu to have a moster game as well!
I wish he was healthy(ier), we would have had more of an advantage for Pop to give the reins to Manu as the 1 (a) 1 (b) option, like he was when Parker was out on injury.
I expect a better performance from TD. His 3 rebounds alone says that his effort wasn't there, which is un-acceptable.
It will be a tougher game. I think the Spurs will throw something at DWest, but I don't think anyone in the NBA has ever found a way to double team a perimeter player.
Some things that are of my opinion:
1) NO spreads the floor well - this takes longer for someone to DT
2) DWest starts out at 17-20 feet, so the Spurs will either DT immediately or send a DT when he goes to drive. - But DWest can and will just pull up for a 17 footer.
3) Who do you DT off of? - MoPete's man seems to be the likely candidate, but MP can shoot the ball pretty good. (58% fg, 43% 3's, 100% - ft playoff avg)
4) DT'ing DWest is what BS wants.
Game 2 will be a good one, Too bad I'll have to miss it.
Yeah you can tell that something is the matter with him. And unfortunately for us we are playing against the playground kids in this series.
They are going to keep the double teams coming but Tim needs to take and make some of his bank shots in game 2. He needs to catch the ball on the wing and attack right away, don't wait at all for that double team to come. Fight for better position down low on the block and make much better decisions passing out of the double team.
I have a bad feeling about this series.
I find it hard to believe that this Hornets team is a tougher opponent than what the Spurs faced in the first round with Shaq, Amare, and Nash. But these Hornets are even more athletic and better offensively than those guys. And they play better defense.
They'll keep on doubling Duncan, but you just need to use the old houston rockets strategy and kick it from your big to outside shooters. If they are stupid and don't double, Duncan will get his 30+.
If Tim plays like Tim, Tony bring it as does Manu with a little help from the bench they can't beat us. They don't have 3 studs like we do to match that kind of production. They need West to play like he did in game 1 every game of the series. They need Peja to play really well every game of the series. No need to panic right now.I have a bad feeling about this series.
I find it hard to believe that this Hornets team is a tougher opponent than what the Spurs faced in the first round with Shaq, Amare, and Nash. But these Hornets are even more athletic and better offensively than those guys. And they play better defense.
I had a bad feeling about the Suns series.I have a bad feeling about this series.
I find it hard to believe that this Hornets team is a tougher opponent than what the Spurs faced in the first round with Shaq, Amare, and Nash. But these Hornets are even more athletic and better offensively than those guys. And they play better defense.
We have a big three. They have a big 2...and David West is a little more one dimensional than any of our big 3. Relax.
I have a bad feeling about this series.
I find it hard to believe that this Hornets team is a tougher opponent than what the Spurs faced in the first round with Shaq, Amare, and Nash. But these Hornets are even more athletic and better offensively than those guys. And they play better defense.
The only thing that does concern me is so far from this one game this series looks like it wants to take on the look and the outcome of the Dallas series. Now note I said the one game. Dallas was up 12 against them in the first game and pretty much the wheels came off and Paul & Co. were well on their way to a 5 game series win.
The other thing that kinda bothers me is Byron Scott. He knows our team pretty well, and has the components to REALLY exploit out weaknesses. But everyone seems so concerned about shutting down West. Let him have his points. We have seen this same type of offensive show from Phx with Nash & Amare. Bottom line, we stop Peja. Bonzi, and Chandler from all scoring in double digits every game, we win this series just like we have done with Phx over the years.
Oh I'm not panicking, I just think this is a very bad matchup for the Spurs. If they had taken care of business in the regular season, they could have played the Nuggets, and then the Utah Jazz in the 2nd round instead of the two toughest teams in the West.
I'm not going to panick unless the Spurs lose tommorow night.
I'm not going to panick unless the Spurs lose tommorow night.
If it's a close loss I might not be too worried. But if its a blowout again and nothing seems to go our way for a second straight game.....
The Spurs and Timmy are going to come out with a vengence against these y pricks.
You will be panicking then.
I'm not going to panick unless the Spurs lose tommorow night.
The Spurs have no chance against us.
I'm curious now. What adjustments did Avery make in any of the Dallas games? Or what adjustments did he did not make that could have at least made it a compe ive series?
You can't adjust mental toughness.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
