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Zach Lowe predicted it earlier in the day. I was surprised that the Spurs started the game that way, but the move makes a lot of sense.
I liked the switch. Minus the throwdown he had on Leonard I thought he made more difficult for Westbrook getting into the lane. Green and Ginobili have done about as good a job on KD as anyone can ask.
What are your thoughts?
Zach Lowe predicted it earlier in the day. I was surprised that the Spurs started the game that way, but the move makes a lot of sense.
Westbrook managed to score efficiently but he had to work extremely hard to do so, at the cost of not getting anyone but KD involved in the offense and forcing Brooks to play them both huge minutes in the first half cause nobody else was doing anything.
My thoughts was I posted Leonard on Westbrook after game 4. Pop read my post and executed the strategy.
It was pretty obvious really. Parker can't handle Westbrook. Leonard was not guarding Durant well. Put a bigger guy on Westbrook and a smaller guy on Durant to dissuade him from driving. Green/Ginobili make for perfect (as possible) pests for Durant. Leonard, while not a match for Westbrook on quickness, makes up for that on size advantage/length. He get's in Westbrook's head and makes it hard for him to pass the ball effectively.
Leonard cant guard Westbrook since he gets rubbed off screens so easily
the purpose of that assignment was to switch pick and rolls between Westbrook and Durant which was killing them
it basically takes away that pick and roll and forces Westbrook/Leonard to play more in isolation since they wont want to pick and roll as much or wont get any penetration if a switch occurs
ive been talking about doing that for 2 years now but with Leonard on Ibaka and wishfully another Spur smallball 3 on Durant
it takes away Ibaka's mid range shot which is his only offensive quality
his inside game was so pathetic
you could see him trying to attack Bonner off the dribble and bricking everything
misses tip ins all the time also
Didn't like the move and never thought it would work out, but damn I was wrong. Still, Durant was pretty invisible out there when he wasn't wide open; if Meth wants to win Game 6 that can't happen.
I think it was really Pop just believing Leonard is the best defender a d that Westbrook needed the best defender. Green/Ginobili on Durant is great, though. I think Pop should switch Green's and Leonard's assignments back to the way they were but sub Kawhi out for Manu instead on Danny. Let Kawhi come in to check Durant when Westbrook takes his rest and let Manu guard Butler. Green on Russ works.
The biggest two outcomes of the move were that it took away the Westbrook - Durant pick and roll (Spurs switch, you get Leonard on Durant, Green on WB), and it made Westbrook work a hard offensively.
It lowered Westbrook's FG attempts to 12 which is amazing.
This all just proves my 5 Kawhi Leonards on the court at the same time theory. The future of the league is not for the Parkers and Duncans. If you had a lineup of Ginobili Leonard Green Daye Diaw, you would be able to switch everything. Pop got closer to that tonight and that's why we won.
perfect move and green did admirably on KD. Loved seeing Leonard swarm WB and crowd him with those long arms even if he was a step behind.
No, it didn't take away the 1/3 PnR. The Spurs took that out by switching Green on Westbrook in Game Two. That was a huge mistake by the commentators. I made a big deal out of that in my break down of Game Two.
Except right after the buzzer!
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