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Good. Jump off the wagon because there is a waiting line. Also give up your ST login and never post here again. thxkthx
That's another aspect of this situation that's really troubling to me.
It shouldn't take an injury for the coach to make proper adjustments. With so much depth you'd think that there'd be other options yet he consistently goes to the ones that are least likely to work.
Between this and the Tiago situation, I have no confidence the Spurs are getting number 5 this year.
Good. Jump off the wagon because there is a waiting line. Also give up your ST login and never post here again. thxkthx
my goodness 44 minutes for rondo? i know dooling is garbage but damn its the regular season
I think this is a legitimate strategy that older/slower teams tend to use. In order to not be out of place on defense, there are teams like the Celtics that will sacrifice offensive rebounds in order to prevent fastbreaks and get set up.
The Celtics in particular also seem to have (had?) a set goal of making opponents shoot more long 2's than anything else. They pack the paint and make it very difficult to score in the post and they also run teams off the 3 point line. Or they used to anyway. From what I've seen of them this year they still make an effort to crowd the paint in any case.
If they're able to control the defensive glass while executing efficiently in the half-court, then for the most part it's a wrap. I think it's pretty clear to see how they've won games more often than not these past few seasons.
When they get it going, their defense is a thing of beauty.
Keltics threw everything they have at us. Spurs coasted, made it interesting, nutted up in crunch time with scrubs. It's the Spurs way.
There's supporting the team and then there's being in denial.
I want the Spurs to win it all and I think that the pieces are there to do it. However, given what we've seen of the way those pieces are being utilized, there's no reason to think the Spurs will go all the way short of an unprecedented hot streak or some extremely favourable match-ups.
You're free to think otherwise and I won't question whether or not you're a fan...
It's a strategy that the Spurs have used for years. And while the Spurs are 24th in offensive rebounding, they are first in defensive rebounding.
The Celtics are 30th in offensive rebounding and 24th in defensive rebounding. They're just a bad rebounding team.
Consider that the Spurs collected 12 offensive rebounds to only 4 for the Celts, and won the boards 53-39 overall. If the Celts could have held their own on the boards, they probably have a comfortable win.
What more can be done, Master? The team has only won 9 straight, beat the hottest team in the league in their own building, and won at a ridiculous percentage while resting their starters and integrating 3 new guys into an already talented bench and trying to find minutes for 13 dudes.
True.
Actually, they only needed to get 1 more rebound to win the game.
I don't think the Celtics have always been this bad on the glass though. I seem to recall them being way better when the trade initially took place.
It's weird because it's not like Perkins is this rebounding machine either. As we saw tonight though, their defense can still get the job done.
Because regular season championships look so good on that mantle...
So you're criticizing regular season rotations because you think we should win by bigger margins so that what happens???
1. Hope to grow up in a city with NBA champs
2. Criticize team
3. ????
4. Profittttssssss!
Whatever dude, your takes suck.
I think many times GMs just our-smart themselves. Imagine if they still have Perkins and Tony Allen. They would still be the favorite in the east.
You must not have watched the game. In the first half all but 2 of the Spurs makes came from either in the paint or from 3 range. Nice plan Doc Rivers implemented there. COTY
They were much better before this year.
They're just very small and they have no depth. Garnet/Bass is already a small frontline and their 3rd big is a DLeaguer with a bad foot. That's why, even as small as they start the game, they played nearly half the game with only one big on the floor.
They have lost Green and Wilcox to heart ailments and O'Neal to wrist surgery.
Lastly, their defense looked great in the 2nd half, but they did give up 59 points in the 1st half. The Celts had been sitting at home since Sunday and started the game with more than 72 hours rest. The Spurs had less than 24 hours. I don't believe their defense is anywhere near as good as it appeared in the 2nd half or anywhere near as bad as the Spurs made them look in 1st half.
We've seen this all year with this ridiculous schedule. Frankly, this game set up as a loss for the Spurs and they managed to steal a win.
I'm criticizing the rotations because I've learned from last year that what works during the season isn't always going to be as effective in the playoffs.
During the playoffs you have to play your best players and those players need to be in excellent game shape. It's a simple move that could make a major difference.
This is the last month of the season and it looks like the team is standing pat with Blair as a starter and Bonner taking up significant minutes. While they *could* contribute in the post-season, it doesn't make sense to bank your strategy on those two playing well.
However, if it works out then I'll be the first one saying I was wrong and giving Pop props.
Since it didn't last season and it looks like things are headed in the same direction as before, I'm being realistic when I say I don't see how they'll win a championship without getting hot from 3 and playing favourable match-ups all the way through.
With Miami/Chicago likely coming out of the East and teams like the Lakers taking things up a notch, I find that highly unlikely.
So why do you think that the Spurs are going to win it all?
I believe you may have crossed over the line from skepticism to pessimism...
Yep. As Pop would say, it's always a little of both. Poor defense (Celtics) and good offense (Spurs) in the first half, and vice versa for the second half.
By the way, here's postgame video from Doc Rivers and Paul Pierce for those who haven't seen it -
http://www.nba.com/celtics/video/201...p44mov-2057183
I agree.
For goodness sake. I wasn't talking about this game. I meant their strategy in general.
I completely forgot about those injuries.
I think that's been sort of the story of their season though. It's just seemed to me like they've either played really good defense or really not good defense and the same goes for their offense. I definitely wasn't expecting their defense to suddenly change gears although I don't think their offense ever got completely going.
Yeah. Looking at it as an individual game, this wasn't a bad win. Gutsy in fact.
Somewhat. I gave him that response because I didn't find his argument very convincing.
Optimistic posters like you typically have good info though so I'm honestly seeing it from both sides even if I'm getting pessimistic.
Also, things might change between now and the playoffs with Diaw and them so I'm not fully gone over.
I hate that . I know Pop emphasizes that too but it looks to me that the Spurs teams in history that did better are the ones that had one or two "rebels" that went for offensive rebounds. Thankfully this team has that.
Not seen the game but bad ball movement in the 2nd half coupled with 2 playmakers with DND and I can't see how ppl could justify a higher grade for Pop.
What's the point of being the deepest team in the league if we're not using it?
Haha.. I would have said the same thing about Boston if they had won. Even with all the different odds against the Spurs before the game (b2b, 3 day off for the C's, 8 game home winning streak) I still thought the Spurs were the clear favorite.
Last night was one of those games where everything goes the Spurs' way. They shot almost 60% from the floor, and almost 50% from 3P. I've watched this for years now, and they virtually always come out the next game and get their asses kicked. This time it was even a B2B. The fact that they gutted this one out, and found a way to get the W is pretty amazing. Almost historic.
They may have pulled out a few W's after those near-perfect nights, but it can't be many. To do it on the second night of a B2B, against a team like Boston says a lot about their mental toughness. For the record, I'm picking the C's to come out of the East. Their D is as good as it gets. I'd love to see seven games between these two. But if the Spurs can't figure out a way to get the ball into the paint against the Celtics, I may regret that wish. I don't like to see them shoot 3's because they can't get anything else.
They scored 48 points in paint, although not very many after halftime.
Yeah, I was talking specificall about after the half. There was a stretch where the Spurs were jacking up 3's on just about every possession. And it wasn't because that's all they wanted to shoot. I know the C's turned up the defense, but that was ugly.
Just looked at it. 6 out of 7 shots were 3's. Tim got blocked, and Manu gave them a steal. If you add the next few possessions, it was really 7 out of 9 shots were 3's, and Manu coughed up another steal. Only that shot by Tiago at the rim broke the monotony.
Last edited by GSH; 04-05-2012 at 02:57 AM.
I hope they meet in the finals as well but only because I think the Spurs would win in dominating fashion.
Boston's defense was beautiful to watch and I'm convinced that its sustainable for them but they don't have much else.
-25th in the league in offensive efficiency. They don't have an inside presence (KG only takes 20% of his shots around the paint), they don't have shooters (besides Ray Allen), and good defensive teams can get away without ever double teaming.
-Last place in rebounding
-Prior to Avery Bradley's defensive emergence, they had nothing resembling a bench. They might be the most unfortunate team this year. 1. David West bails on them 2. Jeff Green out for the season 3. JO out for the season 4. Injures to Ray Allen, Mickael Pietrus, Daniels.
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