adjustments for Game 3

[spurraider21]

stop going small and playing right into the warriors hand. use tim and tiago and impose your will on THEM. force them to play bogut-ezeli and slow the game down

[Rapper]

There is no way for spurs to win this series no matter what adjustment

It hurts but man you got to accept the warriors are just a better team

Tony & Timmy already did their best throughout the season as considering they are not playing in their prime so there is no such thing (adjustment) for spurs in the series anymore

Thanks the Big 3 for giving me 4 championship memories that is something i can not ask for more

Lets enjoy the rest of the series then go back to work after game 5

wish the spurs all the best next season

[RD2191]

There is no way for spurs to win this series no matter what adjustment

It hurts but man you got to accept the warriors are just a better team

Tony & Timmy already did their best throughout the season as considering they are not playing in their prime so there is no such thing (adjustment) for spurs in the series anymore

Thanks the Big 3 for giving me 4 championship memories that is something i can not ask for more

Lets enjoy the rest of the series then go back to work after game 5

wish the spurs all the best next season

Finally someone who isn't in complete denial.

[Brunodf]

Play big. That's it.
Small lineup can't get stops and TD is forced to defend the PnR.
Small lineups with Neal don't work, Diaw/Splitter are better defending guards than him.
The only good small lineup is TP/Green/Manu/Kawhi/TD(too bad we don't have a tough 6'8 combo Foward).

[RD2191]

The main reason I know this series is over is because pop started bonner. Confirming he is panicking and has no idea how to beat the warriors.

[SpurSwag]

There is no way for spurs to win this series no matter what adjustment

It hurts but man you got to accept the warriors are just a better team

Tony & Timmy already did their best throughout the season as considering they are not playing in their prime so there is no such thing (adjustment) for spurs in the series anymore

Thanks the Big 3 for giving me 4 championship memories that is something i can not ask for more

Lets enjoy the rest of the series then go back to work after game 5

wish the spurs all the best next season

you're kidding right? Curry and Thompson have career nights, and now we can no longer win this series. Hypothetically, let's say Thompson misses 3 of those threes and only shoots 5/9 or 4/8, I forgot exactly what he shot. That changes a lot, doesn't it? Let's say we're down 6 and Draymond ing Green doesn't hit that dagger 3, that makes a pretty big difference too. I'm not saying we will definitely win this series, but how the are you going to give up after splitting the first two? I realize it took a miracle for us to win game 1, but it took a miracle outing from Curry to put them that far ahead of us in game 1, too. Same goes for Thompson tonight.

[Austin_Toros]

Would T-Mac really be a worse option than Neal? When you consider that Neal doesn't play D and has atrocious shooting...

[RD2191]

Hypothetically if my sister had balls she would be my brother.

[SpurSwag]

Hypothetically if my sister had balls she would be my brother.

anyways, players getting hot does not mean they are the better team. It means they could win the series, but that doesn't mean we should mail it in. Some of you guys forget what it means to be fans, root for your damn team til they are out

[Brunodf]

Would T-Mac really be a worse option than Neal? When you consider that Neal doesn't play D and has atrocious shooting...

Even Baynes would play better than Neal at PG/SG/SF

[MaNu4Tres]

Really wish Pop would just cut Bonner and Joseph from the rotation and give more minutes to Splitter/Diaw.

Also, giving Tmac a look wouldn't hurt at all at this point (whenever Draymond Green plays the 4).

After much thought, I agree though with many posters. Spurs have to start Splitter/Duncan then make needed adjustments (small ball) as the game goes on ( small ball w/ TD, Leonard, Green, Manu, Tony lineup had success defensively in the 2nd half).

If Spurs choose to go small, a Splitter or Duncan (C), Tmac or Leonard (PF), Leonard or Green (SF), Green or Manu (SG), Tony or Manu (PG; if Manu plays PG Green or Leonard guards Curry), are the combinations that should be employed IMO.

Neal and Joseph can sit for all I care.

[AaronY]

Amnesty bonner..

[mingus]

The small ball lineup seemed to work. Personally, I think we should go to it to start the game. Golden State struggled to shoot the ball more in the second half in large part because we were starting to make shots and they were going up against a set defense as a result. Our pathetic offense has jump start their offense.

[SenorSpur]

Though the idea of going big sounds nice, unfortunately we don't have a second big that could truly punish a smaller player like barnes. Splitter isn't strong enough or skilled enough to truly dominate the matchup, so unfortunately we would be losing that mismatch. However, we have had great success when we've gone small in this series.

Actually, we do have another big. Unfortunately, he plays for the Warriors. He's Festus Ezeli - a guy the Warriors drafted with the Spurs pick #30 in last year's NBA draft. A guy that, while not as skilled offensively around the basket as Splitter, but one who is certainly stronger and more physical than Splitter. A guy who would've been an ideal fit for the Spurs because of his ability to defend, block shots and rebound. With the paltry size and skill set of bigs currently surrounding Duncan, the Spurs sorely needed a big of Ezeli's ilk. However, the Spurs thought it better to package that 1st round pick, in the ill-fated RJ/SJax trade. Even though the Spurs successfully ridded themselves of RJ and his ridiculous contract, they also lost the opportunity to bolster their frontline with a young, promising big. Now with SJax banished from the NBA, the Spurs have absolutely nothing to show for that trade along with a hole on their roster that Tracy McGrady cannot possibly fill.

[quentin_compson]

I agree with those who say don't help Parker on his defensive mismatches against guys like Barnes - at least not on a consistent basis. He wasn't doing that bad a job anyway, I think, trying to be physical with those bigger dudes.
Also, don't collapse too much in the paint when players like Jack penetrate. I'd rather have him take a contested midrange shot than have guys like Curry or Thompson wide open on the perimeter draining threes.

I also still think going big with Duncan/Splitter is worth a try. That way, the Spurs could pack the paint more and still have their perimeter defenders stay close(r) to the Warriors outside threats.

[szkorhetz]

I agree with most of the things. Starting Bonner over Diaw, putting Bonner in the 4th over Diaw was so poor, yet Pop type decisions..
T-Mac should play. Give him the backup PG minutes, put Green on Thompson, Leonard on Curry and avoid any seconds of Parker on Barnes (Right now, I would trade Leonard for Barnes in a heartbeat, TBH).

[Mal]

Stop Curry and Thompson for whatever the costs are. Make Warriors try to win with Barnes or Jack contested fadeaways.

[sventhedog]

i really think the problem is how the warriors are exploiting mismatches such as klay on parker or barnes on green. i think the spurs need to use blair see if he can chase dra.green off the 3 pt line. same thing NBA on tnt crew mentioned that splitter is forced to go out and chase dra.green. diaw was effective but he isn't 100 percent so blair will be the next best thing. he'll still provide rebounding even on small lineups and he'll probably outmuscle green or barnes.

another thing is what happened when the spurs waived stephen jackson is they lost length at the wing especially when leonard is playing 4. i don't know if mcgrady can help at this point but he's the tallest of the wing players and he'll probably can create mismatches on offense. if the current spurs rotation isn't working, gambling on blair and tmac will be the last choice.

[therealtruth]

Pop's never been a guy to play mismatches. Yet other coaches have abused the Spurs with mismatches. It's always forcing the Spurs to adjust rather than the other team.

[therealtruth]

I agree with those who say don't help Parker on his defensive mismatches against guys like Barnes - at least not on a consistent basis. He wasn't doing that bad a job anyway, I think, trying to be physical with those bigger dudes.
Also, don't collapse too much in the paint when players like Jack penetrate. I'd rather have him take a contested midrange shot than have guys like Curry or Thompson wide open on the perimeter draining threes.

I also still think going big with Duncan/Splitter is worth a try. That way, the Spurs could pack the paint more and still have their perimeter defenders stay close(r) to the Warriors outside threats.

I have been saying it for years. The Spurs aren't athletic enough to play aggressive help defense and not get burned. That's why it helps to start two 7 footers. The perimeter guys have harder time staying on their guys. If Pop thinks they can keep up with the Warriors this is going to be a short series.

[Slippy]

Putting Gary Neal in the third was the most head scratching adjustment i've seen from Pop this season . Supppose, because it's the play-offs it's magnified.

The most sensible one is inserting Tiago into the starting line-up.

Less of Gary neal and Bonner.

[Russo21]

Tim Duncan said, "On a regular basis, those are shots that we want people to take. Hopefully, they miss some of them but they didn't tonight."

Thompson will not shoot 8 of 9 from 3 again. If he shot a normal Human like % tonight then we would have won even though we played like ass. Let's just hope we play better Spurs basketball and the law of averages catches up to Klay Thompson.

[Raven]

play big, if they beat you off the dribble, let the bigs handle it.

[rmt]

Starting that choker Bonner in the second half and giving him 16 minutes while Diaw who played so well in game 1 got 7 minutes is idiotic. Instead of playing small ball with Duncan/Splitter and 4 smalls - play Diaw at PF. His feet are quick enough and he did a good job staying with Curry on the perimeter and they won't be giving up so many rebounds. Thompson with 14 rebounds is unacceptable and Landry killed them with rebounds in limited time.

Don't play small ball - Spurs aren't as good with it as they are. Their only advantage is with the bigs. David Lee getting injured was the worst thing that happened to the Spurs. With him, GS plays bigger, more traditional basketball (that Spurs match up better with) and allows for more Splitter/Diaw. He also means less touches for Curry and Thompson.

The game plan is all wrong. Whoever is defending Curry and Thompson needs to say attached to their hips - no helping off either of them. No doubling whoever tries to post up Parker - make them shoot over him - rather a contested 2 than a wide open 3. Foul more - if you get beat on penetration - foul - rack up those fouls and put them in the bonus early. Then hack-a-Bogut and get him off the court. Getting Bogut off the court will go a long way in helping Parker penetrate which will help the offense operate the way it normally does. Muddy it up, play eastern conference type defense and stop this free-flowing stuff. Spurs are not going to win that free-flowing, low-foul game they are currently playing. Of course, this all goes against Pop's philosophy.

He needs to play Leonard the entire game with blows during time outs. He needs to play Green more and Neal less - he's cold and gives up everything on the other side. They sure could use SJax about now - not only does he know GS well but he would give them some toughness and "nasty."

[Slippy]

Too Many times i saw the likes of Green, Neal and Bonner jackin up shots after the first pass or making bad dicisions because they in creating mode.

The adjustment on offense is not that hard to figure out.

Pop starting Neal in game three is a scary thought.