Spurs were +12 with Barry on the court, Finley +1.
Barry played about as good of defense as could be expected. It was comparable with Finley's matador defense, but at least Brent got the offense cooking.
Finley pisses me off alot with his sometimes questionable shot selection, but if it weren't for his clutch 3 against Phx we might not even be having this discussion now.
Spurs were +12 with Barry on the court, Finley +1.
Barry played about as good of defense as could be expected. It was comparable with Finley's matador defense, but at least Brent got the offense cooking.
Seems like Finley is settling for the 3-point shots. He should at least attempt to drive once in awhile to give the Lakers something else to think about.
I agree with T Park and E20 on this. He made a good effort tonight but he has been up and down all year long. Back in January/Febuary he was doing great and contributing nightly. Most everyone thought he was a solid cog in the Spurs machine but then the slump came and everyone couldn't wait to throw him under the bus. Me included. He's just not consistent the way we need him to be. And that's really my problem with him now - his consistency. But that will soon come to an end when his contract ends this summer. In the meantime we need for him to hustle more and hit timely shots. Those two 3s in NO in game 7 and the quick 5 pts in the 3rd Q tonight were big. Hopefully we can get more of that in this series and in the Finals- positive thinking never hurts! Barry's play tonight should get him more minutes but I don't think we can totally go away from him at this point.
Finley was HUGE coming out in the 2nd half. Just utterly HUGE.
LA was so focused on TD and TP, perfect shots there by Mike.
That is not Finley's game at all. He needs to hit open jumpshots, which he hasn't been doing in this series.
Barry is a nice wrinkle because his ballhandling and his shooting range allow him to be unpredictable and also force a tight cover from a defender. With Manu or TP in addition to Barry on the floor that is two penetrators the opponent has to worry about instead of one. The offense opens up as a result.
Please watch the game again. Barry caused two TOs with smart D the two times the Fakers tried to post him.
Barry should play as many minutes as his body can take. He's a better shooter, passer, cutter and energiser than Fin. They are both poor defenders. However, Barry totally changed the complexion of the second unit with his smart passing and shooting - when he was out there they scored at will. Fin doesn't provide that.
Mike has done some great things as a Spur, and before that a Mav, and he's a quality guy. But it's time for him to step aside for the team, and I think he'd be a fool to play on next year.
^^ I agree Mike it's been great, but don't keep chugging. Go out with dignity bro.
Instead of Pop using JV, why not use Barry instead. He's smarter, more experienced and an additional threat than JV. Barry, Manu, Bruce, TD and Fabs is a good lineup to go at if they want TD to work inside.
Finley is a veteran, a great "character" guy, and has hit some HUGE shots in some big games while donning the Spurs uni.
Having said that, it's definitely time to find some new blood on the wing and Finley is a prime candidate to be replaced. For all that he brings, he is still a volume shooter that offers little in the way of defense or ability to create off the dribble.
Given that this is the NBA, one would hope the Spurs could find a decent offensive player that can duplicate or exceed what Finley brings.
His three in the first Q was what the spurs needed not to get owned by Lakers.
He showed some effort as well.
I don't know what people wants him to do?
5/5 from 3 pointers, stellar defense and playmaking ability?
It just gets old having to wait to see if FIN is gonna be decent on any particular night. His usual 1 good game in 5 bad ones just ain't hacking it for me anymore. Plus he stagnates everything on the offensive end. No movement at all. His entry/out-of-bound passes are excruciating to watch...and defense?
Just play Barry.
You know, there's this thing called defense... Horry holds his own against Odom.
I agree he's doing nothing on offense and the Lakers don't even bother to guard him anymore (he's passing open jumpers) but you have to take the good with the bad.
Horry gives you length on D and on offense he provides better spacing than Oberto.
I'm really torn on Finley, I mean he is just so up and down this year. I think it's just hard to glue him to the bench coz he can really provide clutch shots whether he's on or not. So I say let's moderate Finley's playing time. On Horry, I think he'll eventually get better on offense. He's too smart not to.
At least Pop finally gave Barry some of Finley's minutes tonight and the offense flowed so much better as a result. If Brent can shake off all the cobwebs from sitting on the bench, he could be quite useful.
Disagree on Horry. The only one playing decent defense on Odom is Ime Udoka.
I like Finley, but Pop has to have Barry instead.
He changes everything
I like Finley out of a timeout or at the begining of a quarter when the Spurs run a set play for him usually resulting in an open three or a midrange jumper from the right elbow after a series of low screens.
That's the only time I do not cringe when I see him shoot.
Finley is best when coming of of screens and shooting. I think he's shown that consistently. I love Mike Fin but he hasn't been hitting many of the wide open shots on the perimeter. He's a streaky player. If they run plays for him like the one where he scored in the 3rd (coming off screen), he's very effective.
buttttttttttt, he's a liability on defense, and we all know the Spurs need to get younger at pretty much every position, and even though I don't want to see him go, it would be best for Fin to leave after the season.
wrong, horry and vaughn
When you're here as a gunner to space the floor for Duncan and the only way you can buy a bucket is if the Spurs run a set play for your ass, you don't deserve any praise.
You clearly aren't watching the games if you think Horry is doing a bad job defensively against Odom. Lamar was 2-11 last night, and 7 of those shots were against Horry.
He's also keeping Odom off the glass as well. Anything Horry gives us offensively is a bonus, but defensively he's defending Odom better than anyone on this squad.
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