I actually prefer this kind of old-fashioned Spurs game.
Looks like it was more Tony's idea on the backdoor plays than Pop. Here's the quote from Tony : "They were pressuring me, and I told TD, 'Take a look on the back door,''' Parker said. "We just talked about it real quick. It was something that I saw and so we did it on the fly.''
i liked gooden getting to the foul line. when ginobili returns, hopefully soon, i can see manu being moved to the starting lineup if gooden can bring scoring energy off the bench.
i like the way you think
Don't know about Manu starting, but then again, I don't know if Gooden will be able to bring THAT much scoring and energy off the bench to take his place. I think like many here have already mentioned, they'd do better together in the second unit, especially with the PnR and spacing.
With regards to Duncan's knees, I think I remember a quote from him that this was going to be a concern 'from here on out.' Did he mean until the end of the season, or for the rest of his career? Will the offseason be enough time to recover, or will the condition inevitably recur when he plays again?
popovich keeps ginobili on the bench because the spurs don't have much a of a bench. after watching the lakers starting 5 blow out the spurs starting 5 in the first quarter of the game, i think ginobili will need to eventually start. they can't afford to wait 5-6 minutes for manu to come in. ginobili starting means the ability to also move bowen up for defense. a bench of gooden, bonner/thomas, mason, finley, and hill will have plenty of scoring.
Fair enough. However, the point is that those backdoors wouldn't have been there if Duncan hadn't moved to the high post - he would have clogged up the angles is he was still down low. So it was probably attributable to a combination of those three great basketball minds!
After the Lakers game:
The tendonosis is a degenerative condition. From what I've gathered, the rest he can get off season will help, but I don't think it ever goes away....Duncan said the knee was “getting better” but acknowledged the pain and stiffness hadn't fully subsided.
“It's a long season, it's still sore and all that stuff,” Duncan said. “It's going to come, and it's going to go. It's going to be something that I'll deal with and manage."
It might work, or you may exhaust your primary weapons on offense...it's a roll of the dice IMO. The starting 5 need to man up and not play scared in the 1st quarter if we're going to hold our own, that's the main solution. And I wouldn't say that second unit will necessarily provide plenty of scoring at this particular point. There's no main option in that lineup.
oh well, 3 pts. You guys win but the ball coulda bounced our way. Congrats, see you in your house next week.
....
well it's still too early to determine what gooden brings to the spurs so we'll see. usually at least one member of the big 3 stays on the floor at all times. so either duncan, parker, or ginobili will be the main option with the bench as role players. gooden down on the low block to distract defenders equals less attention paid to one of the big three.
That's why it still makes sense to bring Ginobli off the bench:
1) Gooden gives Duncan ability to rest (especially if he can keep contributing offensively)
2) Parker won't be coming off the bench for obvious reasons
3) Ginobli and Gooden give the second unit a nice mix of post & perimeter.
I think the most obvious reason for bringing Manu off the bench when he comes back (*cross fingers*) is that his minutes need to be seriously monitored. While I know Pop is skilled at doing this for all players, including his starters, it's easier to do when the first 6 minutes of the game defaults to rest for Manu. This makes it easier for him to have enough minutes left to finish out the game.
I could actually see Gooden or Thomas starting in certain matchups (i.e. the Lakers) but Manu coming off the bench is just a better fit for this team. It's not a knock on Manu, just a better way to utilize Tony to his fullest potential. When Tony and Manu are on the floor to start the game, they tend to have a hard time getting into their desired rhythm.
If you bring Manu and Drew off the bench together, you've got a pretty similar dynamic to Tim and Tony. A dynamic that might actually help to prevent scoring droughts, and maintain the overall rhythm of the worker-bees surrounding them, while they're out on the floor.
Some things to consider...
5th. game in 7 nights.
Shot 60% from the line, when we are normally an 80% FT shooting team.
Halfcourt shot.
Lost by three =P
Better luck next time sport.
like i said, spurs will always have at least one member of the big 3 on the court at all times, especially in the playoffs. if you look at boston and see how they handled their big 3 last year, they also always had at least one of their big 3 on the floor at all times. so a gooden + ginobili or gooden + parker lineup would still exist. it's not like they will never see each other on the floor. last year in the playoffs spurs went 4-2 when ginobili started, and 5-5 when he did not. if gooden keeps fitting in, i think the spurs' bench will be strong enough to not include ginobili.
spurs are always at their strongest when the big 3 are on the floor at the same time. if possible, they should be together on the floor at the beginning of the game and at the end of the game to start out strong and to end it strong. the only problem would be ginobili's minutes.
The Gooden/Bonner/Ime/Mason/Hill 2nd unit actually looked decent out there tonight. They held their own and even pushed the lead at a few points. When Manu comes back it might be just as good as the 1st unit, seriously.
Also, re: Mason at the point - I wouldn't say Mason is playing the point well at all, but what's most important is that in allowing Hill to slide to the 2, his play as of late has been much better. I still don't think trying to make Hill into a 2 is a good long term goal but for the moment it seems to be allowing Hill to be aggressive and effective on both offense and defense.
Perhaps if Hill can continue to learn how to be effective on offense, he can carry this knowledge with him next year when hopefully he returns to being the backup PG. I was extremely dubious of putting Mason to the point, but perhaps it's really all about making Hill more comfortable on the court so he can play more productively for the rest of the season. If that was Pop's motivation, then I have to say it's been a success.
Basketball is a game of rhytyhm. You let Tony and Tim get their collective rhythm together to start the game, let Manu and Gooden get their's when they come in, and let them go in nuts together to close the game. It aint rocket science.
it also isn't rocket scientist to start your three best players. against other championship contenders, spurs always come out with a handicap without ginobili. spurs would not have won the hornets series last year if they continued benching him. if ginobili is thrown off rhythm playing with parker and duncan, there are bigger problems.
Last year we had a different team. Bowen starting hurt us offensively and Finley was....well....the Finley we've seen less of this season thankfully. Offensively now we have Mason who is a good complimentary piece to the starting lineup and a decent defender. A unit void of Tim, Tony, and Manu will get their chance to show what they can do until Manu comes back, but it still lacks a serious/"go to" scoring threat, it just has complimentary pieces.
Last edited by NewJerSpur; 03-15-2009 at 03:51 AM.
Where's is Malik?
Sorry if that came off as me being an asshole (fell off the wagon a little bit tonight lol) but it's not a problem, just a fact.
Manu and Tony, while different players, do not compliment each other all that well when you consider their skill-set. It's one of the reasons there remains somewhat of a devide amongst Spurs fans in the Manu/Tony support. It's not a question of Tony or Manu wanting to pass the ball to one another or wanting the other to succeed, it's just a basketball reality. They're both better with the ball in their hand, they're both more slashers than shooters, and (especially when paired with Duncan on the floor) are more effective when surrounded by good 3-point shooters to spread the floor.
You're right to want to have you're best five on the floor to end a game, but you've also got to consider the type of rhythm they, and the worker bees surrounding them, will be in when that time comes.
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