Most of that I can't argue with. (I'll save the T.J. Ford discussion for another time.) Don't forget, though, that LeBron missed his first shot of the second half, and then turned it over right after that. He didn't come out on fire. It was the defense that lit their whole team up. When LeBron missed that first shot, the Spurs let Anthony grab an offensive board and slam it home. Then Parker immediately turned it over and Bosh got an easy bucket. I'm just saying.
But... Green does, indeed, struggle with the screens - and not just tonight. I wouldn't even think about arguing that. I hope you're right that he'll learn. But on that last play late in the 2nd, Blair had fallen into what I've started calling his ADD mode. He just loses focus. He was an absolute spectator on that play. No matter how it developed, he wasn't going to be of any use anywhere. I don't think it's coincidence that it was in the last minute and a half of a period, where the Spurs had a comfortable lead. He checks out early... often. And it's probably worth 3-5 points per game on average. Pretty influential, if you ask me.
GSH you should know by now Pop prefers his fouls of the and-1 variety with minimal contact. Kind of like when he's we can't commit fouls. Guys who do
At the risk of starting a poop-storm with some people - Tony has always had a difficult time breaking down a zone. I commented at the half that it was Tony who was largely responsible for their performance. Spoelstra obviously thought so, too. He brought the zone and doubled on Tony some, and no one else was able to spark any offense. It might have been a good time for Pop to have been able to go to that Tony-TJ lineup. (Blasphemy, right?) But Ford is out, and CoJo probably isn't ready for that duty yet. Can't blame Pop for that.
But how about this:
I do think Pop needs to re-think some strategy for this compressed season. He's obviously committed to shortening everyone's minutes, and that's probably a good thing. BUT, I think he needs to re-think the foul situation as well. Tim got two early fouls - but then he finished the game with... wait for it... two fouls. When that third quarter started getting out of hand, Pop should have called a time out and told Tim to start cracking some heads (figuratively). At that point, what is he saving fouls for? Tim's playing 26 minutes or so per night. Pop isn't going to leave him in forever, with a game against Orlando tomorrow. Treat it like a 28 minute game. If he's got 4 fouls by the end of the third, who cares? He's not going to play the whole fourth anyway. Let him foul out in the fourth. If anybody can make judicious use of a couple of extra fouls, it's Tim. And I'd rather Tim be on the bench for fouling out, than because the game is out of hand. And maybe, just maybe, the Spurs could have matched the Heat's physicality, and disrupted that rhythm before it got going. I'm not talking about a one-game adjustment. I'm talking about a change of strategy, to complement the rest of the strategy he's already adopted.
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