Preseason Game 3 (10/12/10): Spurs at Clippers

[Trill Clinton]

The defence so far was clearly an experiment. They played zone mainly when most bench players were on the court, it really isn't a good game to evaluate the Spurs defensive ability.

I'm more worried about the fact that the players who were suppose to be fighting for the backup small forward aren't getting any playing time, all the backup 3 was played by Anderson, not a good sign for Simmons and Gee.

I'm sure they'll play the majority of the 2nd half and Pop usually rests his starters the last couple pre-season games. That'll give the bench more time to prove their worth.

[The_Worlds_finest]

Couple of Thoughts
1. Blake Griffen is going to be awsome.
2. We need bigs(Help us Splitter your our only hope)
3. Bob Neal is a freaking moron!

[Ditty]

well anderson looks great but griffen wow dude is a monster its hard to compare him he reminds me of a younger mcdyess with 3 point range

[DesignatedT]

Yea if he stays healthy he's gonna be another Amare.

Yeah I think that's a good comparison

[ElNono]

BTW, some stuff is just the team not being able to catch a break, like the last 3 by Griffin... but you can't give up 50+ at the half and not acknowledge that the defense sucks a bit.

[dbestpro]

Pop is going to run a small ball zone all season just to annoy spurstalk posters.

[#2!]

man clippers are playing like there in game 7 in the finals

Lame excuse. I heard it from Spurfan all last year whenever they got beat.

"We just couldn't have stopped them tonight."
No. We just didn't stop them tonight.

"They caught fire, and there was nothing to be done."
No, our defense sucked.

[Cane]

Fun watching Blair and Blake make their name.

on a side note, bob neal is providing us with perhaps one of the tiest play-by-play jobs we we can probably ever witness.

[ohmwrecker]

The Spurs are playing just like I do after I eat an enchilada plate.

[DPG21920]

I know they are trying some experimental things, but my question is why? Is a zone even a real option?

It bothers me that the this team's mindset is supposed to be defense, yet they don't play like it. Even in preseason. If you are going to get back to being great, the team's at ude needs to change. They need to take every scrimmage, preseason and regular season game personally on that end.

Teams like the Heat, and even the Clips are playing with so much more intensity. I am not saying I want Tim/TP/Manu diving all over the place, but I want to see the fierce mindset on the defensive end. I want the focus and intensity.

[ohmwrecker]

Did Jefferson play?

Not really.

[ElNono]

And I agree that having a zone D you can play is a good tool to have.

But that was amateurish at best.

[ElNono]

I know they are trying some experimental things, but my question is why? Is a zone even a real option?

It bothers me that the this team's mindset is supposed to be defense, yet they don't play like it. Even in preseason. If you are going to get back to being great, the team's at ude needs to change. They need to take every scrimmage, preseason and regular season game personally on that end.

Teams like the Heat, and even the Clips are playing with so much more intensity. I am not saying I want Tim/TP/Manu diving all over the place, but I want to see the fierce mindset on the defensive end. I want the focus and intensity.

We talked about this. Cousin is playing for a spot in the roster and Jordan was playing harder than him.

[TinTin]

Hope to see some better perimeter D 2nd half

[dbestpro]

Bonner on the floor blows up any defensive experiment to begin with.

[DesignatedT]

BTW, some stuff is just the team not being able to catch a break, like the last 3 by Griffin... but you can't give up 50+ at the half and not acknowledge that the defense sucks a bit.

lol well we are playing a lot of 2nd and 3rd string guys and still experimenting with lineups/zone and other things. You can't judge too much from these games.

[Russ]

I know they are trying some experimental things, but my question is why? Is a zone even a real option?

But the Spurs have been playing a zone (at times) for years.

[dbestpro]

I have a feeling the NBA is going to over rate the interest in the Heat.

[ElNono]

lol well we are playing a lot of 2nd and 3rd string guys and still experimenting with lineups/zone and other things. You can't judge too much from these games.

The only third stringer I remember out there was Cousin.
The rest are supposed to be rotation guys.

Obviously, I won't suggest tanking the season based on these games, but you can't tell me they're not trying. Heck, the offense looked discombobulated even with the starters out there.

[galvatron3000]

They can't because of RJ. You can't give up a rotational player like Hill or Blair for a SF because there is not enough minutes behind RJ to justify it.

I dont disagree but I am not a fan of having two undersized players at different positions that need to be on the court if for nothing else but to give others a rest. Blair is too valuable in my opinion and there is no way you can trade Hill for a real Pg but getting a Sf who could possibly take RJ's place and who is young and not undersized is something I am intrigued with. We are loaded at guard,

[ElNono]

But the Spurs have been playing a zone (at times) for years.

I believe it was mostly when Carlesimo was around. I don't recall much of any zone since then.

[DesignatedT]

This is what the pre-season is for. To work on things you might/might not use during the real season. The players probably aren't all that familiar with the schemes and all that to begin with. The games mean nothing... the players know this so its hard to tell them to hold the opposing team under 40 when in the back of there mind they know the games mean nothing. Especially with all the veterans we have. I would rather Duncan not even play in the games if I had it my way.

[ogait]

I know they are trying some experimental things, but my question is why? Is a zone even a real option?

It bothers me that the this team's mindset is supposed to be defense, yet they don't play like it. Even in preseason. If you are going to get back to being great, the team's at ude needs to change. They need to take every scrimmage, preseason and regular season game personally on that end.

Teams like the Heat, and even the Clips are playing with so much more intensity. I am not saying I want Tim/TP/Manu diving all over the place, but I want to see the fierce mindset on the defensive end. I want the focus and intensity.

Pop was know to have kind of an aversion to playing zone defence. Ideally it would be good to have that option but in reality I think it's safe to say it won't be anything we'll see in a regular bases, so yeah I would rather see the guys who are still fighting for a roster spot busting their asses on man to man defence.

[Spurs Brazil]

Hill starting the 3rd

[ElNono]

This is what the pre-season is for. To work on things you might/might not use during the real season. The players probably aren't all that familiar with the schemes and all that to begin with. The games mean nothing... the players know this so its hard to tell them to hold the opposing team under 40 when in the back of there mind they know the games mean nothing. Especially with all the veterans we have. I would rather Duncan not even play in the games if I had it my way.

After all, it's only October...