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Spurs in 5.
Yes, 20 in a row was amazing. Ten in a row in the playoffs was great. 'Twas a fun ride.
But now it's back to real playoff basketball. No more meaningless streaks and no more everyone talking up the Spurs like they are an unbeatable, god-like gift to basketball. Championships aren't easy; we'll start to see if they have the necessary mettle starting in Game 4.
On one hand, it's easy to say that the Spurs were due for a bad game and will easily get back on the winning track next time out. But, unfortunately, I see reasons to worry.
1. The adjustment to switch Thabo Sefolosha onto Tony Parker was very successful. Sefolosha has long, active arms that can erase passing lanes. And considering that the Spurs have lost series following the opposition finally figuring out how to slow Parker, I think this is a legit concern. Truth be told, Russell Westbrook had no shot in defending Parker. Sefolosha? He might. The coaching staff will have to scheme in order to open up the needed room for Parker to produce at his usual clip.
2. Switching all the pick-and-rolls worked well for OKC. The Thunder's perimeter players are all swift (well, outside of Fisher) so they can switch and not lose much. Add Ibaka to the list of players who are capable of switching and the Spurs will have to find a counter. The usual thing to do would be to pound the ball in the middle. However, Splitter showed no capability to score in the low block (even against midgets) and Duncan wasn't much better.
3. Going into the series, I thought it would take Brooks a couple games to figure things out. It's why I thought the first two games were especially vital. Here we are going into Game 4 and Brooks has finally stumbled into his best lineups and strategies. In the future games, there won't be any cheap wins in this series based on poor coaching.
4. With no added rest in this series, OKC gains an advantage as this series progresses -- even if it's slight. They can survive big minutes with limited rest. Can the Spurs? We hope.
5. The Spurs have a few players who appear intimidated by the moment, namely Green and Bonner. I think the Spurs are the better team ... but that's assuming they have their full depth at their disposal. If the depth is negated by timidness, things will be a lot more difficult.
6. The Thunder won and free throws didn't have anything to do with it. Oklahoma City usually wins via help from the charity stripe. There will probably come a time this series where OKC is parading to the line so much that the Spurs can't win. We haven't seen such a game yet.
7. Getting blown out when you shoot 42.3% on threes and the other team shoots 27.3% on threes won't make the coaches sleep better at night.
All that said, I obviously still think the Spurs will win the series. One loss isn't devastating and it's a normal part of playoff basketball. Sometimes the other team is just too good in a given game.
I thought there were some silver linings.
A) Getting blown out is a lot better than losing a close game. It allowed the Big 3 to get some rest and Pop will have their attention going into Game 4.
B) DeJuan Blair showed no fear and he could play a role in this series going forward. People point to replacing Bonner but the player he might replace is Splitter. And I wouldn't have a problem with that if Splitter can't score in the low block against point guards, to be honest.
C) When Stephen Jackson stopped hesitating, his jumper looked pure. Hopefully he will remain aggressive and can keep his stroke going forward.
D) All the statistics point to the Spurs being the team that should turn it over less in this series. Tonight, turnovers were 21-7 in favor of the Thunder. That is simply way, way, way too big of a differential. The Spurs need to win that battle, much less get destroyed.
E) A lack of energy and emotion, especially compared to the Thunder, was a big part of this loss. OKC was desperate. The Spurs, even though they knew not to be, were unavoidably fat and happy. If the Spurs equalize the effort department, Game 4 should be a lot different.
This ish isn't supposed to be easy.
It's time to dig deep.
Believe.
Spurs in 5.
we need more bonner
home cooking is serious business,
all of ibakas blocks are fkn clear goal tendings thats not being called at home
spurs shouldve continue to pound the rock and force the refs to call fouls
Duncan with the Kobe stat line, 7 for 26 in the last 2 games.
The voice of reason in an insane message board!!!
This series took a bad turn. I really don't think they have much outside of the pick and roll.
Maybe start Blair and move Disw to the bench opposite Splitter.
Won't happen but, Sefolosha becoming Grant Hill in 10 is sad.
TBH Holt told Pop that if he cost him another game 5 he was not going to let him use the MLE next season.
Turd towers? Ugh.B) DeJuan Blair showed no fear and he could play a role in this series going forward. People point to replacing Bonner but the player he might replace is Splitter. And I wouldn't have a problem with that if Splitter can't score in the low block against point guards, to be honest.
Spurs have been down going into 2 of 3 4th quarters this series. And the quarter we were ahead we blew a double digit lead.
I called Spurs in 6... I'm sticking with it
Pop's not changing his rotation after one loss. Not at this point in the season.
I am seriously concerned. That Sefolosha switch I was hoping Brooks wouldn't find out, but the games I recall Spurs losing to the Thunder came at the hands of him defending TP. We knew the bonner struggles would come (whoever thinks this was bonner's year was just kidding himself) However I'm not entirely sold on Green shying away from the moment. He's shown enough toughness. I will be really concerned if he doesnt have a bounceback game.
Timvp, do you expect any specific adjustments Pop might be tempted to make? I'm calling a Manu start if we lose Game 4. Plus, do you really think he'll favor Blair over Splitter rather than bonner? I mean, everybody knows how much our defense sucks with the Turd towers on the floor plus Neal.
T Park getting his Quit on. Did you turn off your TV after the 3rd or after the chalupa splattered the screen midway through the 4th?
Oh, and I thought the officiating bowed a lot to the Thunder. I would be pleased if someone could post the call's balance of this game
Thabo guarded Tony for stretches in game two too... people don't remember because Tony actually showed up in that game and it didn't matter...
We just played pathetic tonight... all of our big 3... I'll get worried when A) our big 3 lay another egg or B) at least two of them play well and we still lose.
Agree with all that timvp.
, you learn more from a loss then a 20 game win streak. Let's see how the players, and coach, respond.
I don't think Pop will adjust much in Game 4 rotations-wise. He has to come up with ways to free Parker a bit and also take advantage of their switching.
As for Blair, I see him more as a Game 5 adjustment if the Spurs lose Game 4. And if Splitter can't score against Fisher, I'd probably be in favor of moving Blair to the starting lineup and replacing Splitter's minutes with Diaw. That would allow the Spurs to score more in the paint in the beginning of games while Diaw is actually capable of scoring against midgets in the low block.
That said, let's just hope Game 4 plays out a lot differently and there won't be any need for Game 5 adjustments.
You wouldn't mind Blair replacing a guy who at least moderately contributes instead of Matt Bonner?
first quarter they got the officiating good, then it wend lopsided
I really would like to see Bonner cut out of the rotation in favor of a 3 big rotation with Diaw picking up the extra minutes but I seriously doubt its going to happen. Bonner is just too damn slow for this series. But if Pop stuck with Neal vs the Clips, no way he doesn't stick with Bonner. I just wish Bonner would close his eyes and shoot some of those shots when someone is closing out on him. Putting the ball on the floor is exactly what the Thunder want.
-This isn't 2004 anymore. , it's not 2011 anymore. It's not like TP's never seen a bigger defender in his career. He'll be fine as long as he stops jumping to make passes like hes playing in the Pee Wee leagues.
-Switching only works when your two penetrators are settling for stepback Js. TP and Manu played re ed but I don't think they play that dumb in Game 4.
-Brooks hasn't done anything that Pop or your average NBA fan didn't think he'd go to if they got desperate. Pop will adjust and the players will adjust. He hasn't stumbled onto some magic formula all of a sudden.
-Kinda guessed Pop wasn't serious about winning this game when James Anderson is seeing minutes in a relatively close game and he's letting the Thunder go on prolonged runs without a timeout.
Thunder played as expected: desperate and hungry. They got every 50/50 ball tonight.
My only concerns are the turnovers and rebounding. Two of things are correctable and have been strengths for this team all season long.
Game 4 is going to be the last game played in OKC, tbh.
whatever we did after the first quarter to lose the lead...don't do that thing
Same here. And I called it as W-W-L-L-W-W, so I'm prepared for Saturday.
Sepholosha on TP is a band aid fix for the thunder. Tp will get him in foul trouble by going to the basket after our bigs adjust to help clear the lane. Then it's a party in the paint.
Tbh, while it's obvious Bonner doesn't have the intestinal for ude to play basketball at this level of intensity, the Spurs can usually withstand his sucking because his role is pretty basic. But Splitter is a HUGE part of the second unit; he's as involved as much as anyone including Ginobili because he sets screens on every play. If Splitter is negated by Fisher, that hurts a lot more than anything Bonner can do.
And if Splitter can't adjust, at least we know that Blair can set a screen and then score if a point guard switches off onto him.
The Spurs HAVE to run more backdoor cuts. The way OKC is overplaying the passing lanes they are wide open on those cuts. Some Hi/Lo Action would also be pretty effective.
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