Tim Duncan = 5 field goal attempts..

[Malik Hairston]

There really hasn't been much ball movement. It's as if the Spurs' have completely changed their strategy to allow more isos for Parker and Manu. We're seeing less shots from Bellineli and Mills, less touches for Kawhi and Duncan, and less ball movement on offense. This will be the Spurs' downfall, tbh. I like Manu, but he shouldn't be scoring 27 points in any game. It should be a balanced scoring distribution, which is exactly how the Spurs did it in the regular season.

Thats on Pop more than the players, tbh..

Carlisle's strategy to limit the ball movement and role players has been evident since the first half of game 1, Pop hasn't done anything to adjust..we'll see what he does in game 3, he's the COTY for a reason..

[spurraider21]

lol france

[Raven]

I think Belli should keep cutting to the basket. Seems like a great idea. Who needs spacing when you have Splitter, Parker, and Duncan in at the same time? Just cut to the basket and you might be open!

or you may have a turnover

[TheGoldStandard]

Spurs rely way too much on pick and roll to get into there sets.. Tony dribbles waiting for the floor to open up and the screen to be set but with the switching can you really rely on Tiago or Diaw to attack the paint on the switch and dump it in? Nope, Tiago can't finish and Diaw is a coward.

[apalisoc_9]

Bull . Parker only took 10 shots in the entire game and made 5 of them for a 50% showing with three assists.

He can't make somebody else shoot the damn ball.

Manu, everyone's designated hero in this game took more shots than anyone else on the team but also gave up 6 turnovers. 6 turnovers!!

Mills shot miserably, Kawhi played miserably, Duncan played tentatively, and the only guy you call out is PARKER? Seriously? Your hatred of a a man playing for some reason other than money has blinded you to reason completely.

If there was ever an example of a team losing as a team, this was it tonight.

Shut up ..

Parker only took 10 shots but he didn't allow for the ball to move you ..

[TheGreatYacht]

Bull . Parker only took 10 shots in the entire game and made 5 of them for a 50% showing with three assists.

He can't make somebody else shoot the damn ball.

Manu, everyone's designated hero in this game took more shots than anyone else on the team but also gave up 6 turnovers. 6 turnovers!!

Mills shot miserably, Kawhi played miserably, Duncan played tentatively, and the only guy you call out is PARKER? Seriously? Your hatred of a a man playing for some reason other than money has blinded you to reason completely.

If there was ever an example of a team losing as a team, this was it tonight.

[Johnny RIngo]

Not so much defending Parker as attacking your specious logic.

Kinda like you insisting that a 6-23 shooting night in the NBA Finals was a clutch performance.

[TheGreatYacht]

Kinda like you insisting that a 6-23 shooting night in the NBA Finals was a clutch performance.

Parker was being guarded by Lebron while being injured... Manu was guarded by Mike Miller...

Parker put the Spurs up 5

[EVAY]

Kinda like you insisting that a 6-23 shooting night in the NBA Finals was a clutch performance.

no. The two MADE SHOTS THAT PUT THE TEAM UP BY FIVE IN THE LAST 30 SECONDS OF THE GAME IS CALLED CLUTCH PERFORMANCE you little twit.

It is now what he missed…it was what he made when the game was on the line that defines clutch.

Language is not your skill set, is it?

[Pound the rock]

Spurs badly outplayed and out coached in both games.

Mavs +28 FGAs

Game 1 win cannot be negated because they lost game 2, a win is a win..

[Johnny RIngo]

Parker was being guarded by Lebron while being injured... Manu was guarded by Mike Miller...

Parker put the Spurs up 5

Maybe he should have passed the ball to Duncan and Leonard who were killing it against the Heat instead of heroballing the Spurs out of a le. Impossible to win a le with a first option playing as bad as Parker did against the Heat.

And lol at blaming Manu. That's like Knicks fans blaming Starks for '94 when Ewing(the first option) had an awful Finals series.

[Johnny RIngo]

no. The two MADE SHOTS THAT PUT THE TEAM UP BY FIVE IN THE LAST 30 SECONDS OF THE GAME IS CALLED CLUTCH PERFORMANCE you little twit.

It is now what he missed…it was what he made when the game was on the line that defines clutch.

Language is not your skill set, is it?

6-23 shooting is apparently clutch in EVAY's deluded mind. You must be a Kobe Bryant fan too.

[EVAY]

6-23 shooting is apparently clutch in EVAY's deluded mind. You must be a Kobe Bryant fan too.

language is not your skill set, is it?

[Kabals]

Duncan 4th quarter %FG in game 6&7 were horrible (and seriously, how do you miss 2 lay up against Battier ?) and Leonard failed in every clutch situation (missing free throw, shooting airballs, couldn't stop Lebron, couldn't rebound).

(Not blaming them, just showing how easy it is to hate on a player)

[Johnny RIngo]

language is not your skill set, is it?

Still ignoring the hard stats in order to perpetuate the myth that Parker was clutch in the 2013 Finals. .472 TS% against the Heat is nowhere near clutch. That's scary bad shooting from a first option player.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Harlem, what changes do you suggest the Spurs make moving forward?

[Johnny RIngo]

(Not blaming them, just showing how easy it is to hate on a player)

19 ppg/12 rpg on .554 TS% is actually really impressive for a 37 year old player.

15 ppg on .472 TS% from a first option scorer in the prime of his career is really embarrassing.

[DPG21920]

Pretty obvious, IMO, why SA lost the game:

o RC's strategy to stifle ball movement. Spurs are naturally an assisting team and they have well below their season average in assists.

o Within RC's strategy, Pop is still relying on the bench too much this series. RC knows in general, even with Marion on him, TP is going to get his for 30 minutes. However, Mills/Beli cant do what TP does and take advantage of his switch everything strategy.

o They went away from the key match ups to punish this strategy, namely Tim/Kawhi. Kawhi got in foul trouble so can't blame that, but to go away from Tim, when it's clear he's the best option outside of TP is silly.

o Spacing. This stems from the wrong guys being involved in the PnR and bringing their men into the crowd and limiting the space the Mavs have to cover. Guys can't penetrate and they can still stick to 3-pt shooters which is perfect for their defense.

o TO's: Spacing places a big role, but also the lack of true ball handling outside of TP. Guys who aren't as elite as TP having to not only handle the ball, but make decisions has resulted in a ton of TO's. Spurs spacing issues need to be solved.

I am flat out shocked that a fully rested Spurs with multiple days to game plan from what they saw in game 1 failed to make any adjustments. Spurs should realistically be down 2-0 right now to a team that is so flawed overall and that's on Pop.

[therealtruth]

The Coach of the century will figure it out. What's the chances of losing too an eight seed twice?

[Malik Hairston]

Harlem, what changes do you suggest the Spurs make moving forward?

- Green covering Ellis, Leonard matching Marion
- More pressure against Calderon in the pick&roll
- More minutes for the starters, especially Leonard and Green
- Force the ball to Duncan
- Create better spacing via positional adjustments on the floor(particularly the p&r)
- Keep running Parker off the ball, and when he does go isolation or pick&roll, he needs to take the step-back or pull-up jump shot rather than over-penetrating
- Take care of the ball, obviously
- Use Parker as an off-ball decoy more often, they're fully focused on him at all times

Obviously it would help if Diaw found his balls, but you can't really adjust for that, tbh..

[superjames1992]

Parker fans still insisting on using the "injury" as Parker's excuse for underperforming in the NBA Finals...

6-23

Almost as bad as Manu's 8, IMHO, but he's not our first-option "star" PG.