Tony playing in his usual playoff mode gave Tony trouble last year
If TP doesn't get caught up with trying to upstage Paul, we will sweep the Paper Clips, in my opinion. Experience, discipline, forcing Blake to shoot jumpers, and transition D will be the keys...and having a Big 3 be the Big 3 against their Big 2. It should be a gimme...but TP can make it much, much harder if he gets baited by Paul.
Tony playing in his usual playoff mode gave Tony trouble last year
Why does LJ keep bringing up Nash and the 2010 series? The Spurs had a crappy bench, a ty Hill and an even tier Jefferson. This years Spurs team would sweep those Suns and I'm not kidding.
CP3 always has been, and always will be a tough cover for the Spurs. That I give them, they also have a very good bench. But the advantage the Spurs have is their post play. Duncan, Splitter, and Diaw can all play with their back to the basket, while Griffin is VERY limited offensively, Jordan and Evans is mainly a rebounder/defender, and K-Mart may be the only guy who can pop a 15 foot jumper. Spurs in 5....
The Clippers haven't played the Spurs since they have acquired Sjax, Diaw, and since then the defense has steady improved, and the offense is even more balanced, and to top it off the one game the Clippers did win this year, Tony did not play.
The Clippers' offense is overrated IMO, 17 asst on 33 fg made
The Spurs are much more efficient 22.5 asst/34 fg made, during the playoffs.
The Clippers' ball movement is subpar, and they rely too much on their athleticism, and they are not as fundamentally sound as the Spurs.
The Spurs in 5 at the most, barring injuries.
K-Mart also tends to defend TD well. That will be a match-up to watch.
George Hill starting had alot to do with Steve Nash playing well in '10. I think if Pop had started Parker from game 1 we would have won the series. Like the Grizzlies showed you can't give away games in the playoffs.
It seems kind of weird that the Clippers play at a slow pace yet have a high offensive efficiency.
The Spurs do not want to face Chris Paul in the clutch with their untested defense.
I can see where he's coming from, that year felt alot like this year does know, just extreme confidence that the Spurs would win. Then they got steamrolled by scrubs. (Goran Dragic) And if it's one thing from that year the seems to have stayed with the Spurs, it was the ability to let players on the other team go HAM. And The Clips are loaded with players.
Not sure what CP3 you are talking about. I'm talking about the one on the Clippers. You know, the one who averaged more point this season than Nash ever has. And the one who has topped Nash's career-high in points per game in three seasons and whose best year in assists is higher than any of Nash's seasons.
Sounds like someone fell for the Nash MVP hype, tbh.
I didn't say the Spurs were going to lose the series. In fact, I said they were going to win. I was just using Nash as an example as why it's dangerous to put all your eggs in the "hip injury" basket.
A top five fastest player in the league who is the son of one of the fastest people alive is slow footed?
Agree. But they left them wide open in the last game these two teams played.
The Spurs aren't riding a high note? Winning Streak Spurs Fan Syndrome in full effect.
WSSFS evident here, fwiw.
When did I bring them up previously?
WSSFS.
SPURS ROCK! nough said!
+1. The Grizzlies don't move the ball anywhere near as well as the Spurs do. The Spurs ball movement should drive the Clippers defense crazy. On the other hand the Clippers ball movement is horrible. Their offense consists of CP3/Butler/Foye going 1 on 1 or PnR with them.
Goran isn't a scrub.
Sure there was confidence because we got by Dallas. But we barely hit 50 wins that season so again, it's not even remotely similar to this season aside from it being a 50 win season.
You brought up Nash going bonkers on the Spurs in 2010 twice in this thread.
What did I miss?
CP3 had a 14 point game (game 1), 11 point game (game 6), shot 7-17 to score 19 points (game 7), 10-22 to score 27 (game 4).
Nash, on the other hand, didn't had a game with less than 16ppg, and only one game where he shot under 50%.
That makes him quick?
lol ignorant
One thing's for sure, the best closer and most clutch player in the NBA is in LA, and the Spurs are going to face him this round. The Spurs had best make sure to respect him. If they let the Clippers shooters get some confidence, it could get really tough.
Basically, I expect something along the lines of the following being included in Lj's game grades Tuesday night/Weds morning:
"As you know, I was wary of this match up for a number of various reasons (posted here) but thankfully I was proven wrong, as the Spurs... "
Oh I thought maybe I brought it up somewhere else and didn't remember. Not sure if twice in the same thread classifies as "keep bringing up Nash" but I guess that's debatable.
the Spurs ball movement is just so superb they should be able to score 110 a night on these guys.. Clips are not the most disciplined of teams.. They rely on talent to win with a ton of 1 on 1 play..
Nope, I meant this thread. I feel it doesn't need to be brought up once, let alone twice.
I think you're giving yourself reasons to be wary. imo
Well, I think the Spurs can handle the Clippers in 5. Yes, these are good points but I'm confident that TP and the crew can handle CP3 and the monkeyballers.
I'm talking the Clippers playoffs CP3, who can lay eggs like 11 point and 14 point nights, or 10-22 and 7-17 nights... What CP3 are you watching?
I'm not counting on any "injuries". After all, CP3 was healthy in Game 1, and he was still fairly mediocre.
Where does he ranks in fastest PG's in the league? By league standards, he's slow footed.
Well, should be a point of emphasis now that we're only playing the Clippers.
I said the Spurs aren't riding a high note? Quote?
So in what area (from talent, depth, execution, coaching) do you think the Clippers have an advantage?
No WSSFS here. Already pointed out the Spurs are due for a letdown. I don't think it'll last more than a game.
And FWIW, ElNono was right bout dem Grizzlies
I hope we will be waiting on the winner of OKC/Fakers and getting a little more rest before the WCFs. Spurs in 5...
Lol, no it's not. A letdown is never "inevitable." That's just pessimistic.
Nah, I'm pretty sure it's large centers. If the opposing team's biggest weapon is small guards, I'm not worried. Post players can potentially do more damage than guards, both as a general basketball principle, and in relation to this Spurs team.Perhaps the biggest weakness of San Antonio's defense is the ability to defend small guards.
I guess, but that's a good thing. That means no team has been able to challenge the Spurs enough to test them.As good as San Antonio is right now, there's no way to classify this team as battle tested.
I'm pretty sure Duncan will not be defending Griffin much regardless. I'm skeptical of your claim that Duncan is below average. And I don't follow your logic in the last sentence (less Griffin should lead to less pick-and-rolls).As much as Tim Duncan has turned back the clock this season, he's still 36-years-old and he's still a below average defender of the pick-and-roll on most nights. Against the Clippers, Duncan is going to be forced to defend against pick-and-roll sets more than 40 times per game. That won't be easy and it could wear him down as the series progresses. If Blake Griffin is limited due to injury, that will just mean even more pick-and-rolls for Duncan to defend.
I'm not threatened by that at all. The Spurs are fully capable of running a crisp half-court offense. I view the Spurs as a versatile team capable of playing any pace. So bring it on.Not only are they the slowest paced team still alive in the playoffs, Paul is without question the game's best player at controlling the pace of games.
Heh...nah. Our bench is still better than theirs.Depth Matched
They have one closer? We have at least three.Best Closer
Whichever points I agreed with, I didn't quote. Overall, I think you're overstating the issue. And you're wrong about Memphis being a better matchup...that series would not have been a sweep, but this one might be.
The similarities are eery, tbh.
Nash got hurt two games before the end of his first round series.
CP3 got hurt two games before the end of his first round series.
Nash was diagnosed with a strained hip.
CP3 was diagnosed with a strained hip.
Spurs fans were predicting sweep because Nash was hurt.
Spurs fans are predicting sweep because CP3 is hurt.
Back in 2010, the Spurs decided to test Nash's health by going under screens and daring him to beat them with his jumper. It turned out to be a horrible idea that kickstarted the Suns to a sweep.
Let's hope that's where the similarities end.
P.S.
I haven't even given my prediction yet. Perhaps I predict a Spurs sweep. I'm just listing areas of concern. I know WSSFS causes fans to react violently to someone bringing up anything even slightly negative but I haven't figured out yet if these issues will cost the Spurs a couple games, one game or none.
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