The first two games of this first round series saw the disappearance of the well-oiled offense that characterized the Spurs' regular season, and instead we witnessed a Bizzaro Spurs offense that featured hesitation, sloppy passing, and very little urgency. In game 3 the Spurs seemed to figure Dallas' defensive scheme out by simply taking what the defense gave them, but they came up short thanks to some improbable shot making by Ellis and Carter. The Spurs have figured out how to properly attack Dallas' defensive scheme, but they still have some problems to solve if they want to come back and take control of this series.
Who is going to guard Ellis?:
-The Spurs strategy for defending Ellis thus far has been to sick Leonard on him and go under every screen. Going under those screens is the right strategy, but I'm not sure that assigning the task to Leonard is the way to go. As many on this board have pointed out, that strategy drastically reduces Leonard's ability to wreak havoc on the passing lanes. The other issue with the gameplan is that it wastes Green's ability on the defensive end. Green is a fantastic isolation and transition defender, but he struggles with close outs and absent-mindedly sagging off of his man. Switching Leonard onto Marion (a player who he can space off of) and putting Green on Ellis would play to both players' strengths.
How are you going to defend Calderon on the Pick and Roll?:
-The solution to this one is easy, which is why I'm so surprised that it's even an issue. Calderon is not much of a threat to penetrate and score, so the big who hedges on the screen must take away the pull up jumper.
Somebody put a body on that man!:
-Samuel Dalembert absolutely destroyed the Spurs in game 3 (can't believe I just typed that...). Dalembert continues to kill the Spurs on the offensive glass, and his length is giving Timmy problems on the boards. Whoever is guarding Dalembert needs to be hyperconscious of him whenever a shot goes up. If Dalembert continues to essentially match Timmy's production, then there is absolutely no way in that the Spurs will win this series.
Paging Tony Parker:
-Tony Parker erupted in the first quarter of game 3, then inexplicably disappeared for most of the remainder of the game. Parker isn't exactly a game-changer defensively, so if he's not relentlessly attacking the Mavericks or trying to make plays for his teammates, then he's not going to be very useful on the court. If Parker doesn't have the conditioning to go full force for the required 38 minutes, or if he's injured, then he needs to defer to Timmy and Kawhi.
Do you continue with Mills, or do you play Cojo?:
-Patty Mills was a tremendous spark off the bench for us in the regular season, but so far in this series he's been nothing short of terrible. Playing sieve-like defense and unable to hit the broad side of a barn from downtown, Mills has really hurt the Spurs during his court time. Joseph brings a level of defensive ability that Mills can't match, and he's more than capable of running the offense. However, he's not much of a threat to score, which could hurt a team that has been plagued by spacing issues for a majority of this series. As long as Manu is coming off the bench as well, I'm all for putting Joseph ahead Mills in the rotation.
Dallas has given the Spurs a much tougher challenge than anyone could have expected, mainly due to Carlisle's brilliant coaching and several Mavs playing over their heads, but the Spurs are still the better team. With the right adjustments, they should be able to right the ship.
Spurs in 6.
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. why is Jeff Errors playing at all? Matt Bonner should take those minutes.
