Adjustments For Game 2 - Tactical Discussions

[Poolboy5623]

Green wont be left open in game 2...IIRC this happened last year when green hit 3's in one game and the next game he wasnt left open....

Danny set a finals record (in 5 games), b4 miami did anything about it. He'll get open looks, until miami is a game or 2 away from elimination..

[hitmantb]

Just a slight difference of opinion. THe Heat defend the interior a tad differently from the Thunder. They just pack the paint and make it very difficult for the non-PF/C to shoot from up-close. Unlike the Thunder who rely upon their shot blocker to do the needful while defending the perimeter, the Heat send their PG/PF to blitz screens at the top of the key and if the guard gets into the paint, pack it. Defenders are athletic enough to close out if need be as well.

All this suggests that the Spurs have got to involve Duncan/ Splitter a lot more as there is no way the Heat can answer height even while packing the paint. Which is what Manu and Diaw did very well, passing to the big man efficiently and quickly at close to the basket getting Duncan easy looks there. Trouble was that Kawhi/Green/TP on the other hand were getting stolen/ causing turnovers aplenty when they tried the same strategy...and Splitter's passing wasn't good enough to confuse the Heat defense within the paint when Duncan played alongside.

The Spurs have got to play Diaw more along with Duncan/Splitter and expect Leonard to handle James well on his own.

Agree on Heat's defensive prowess, but dribble penetration still creates spacing for shooters and easy passes to Duncan/Splitter for scoring.

Leonard only had 3 fouls last night and he should avoid fouling at all costs. As long as he makes LeBron take contested shots, that is all it matters. If LeBron drops 40 points on us with 50% shooting percentage, he is not getting teammate involved and as long as Spurs gets its offense going, we are still OK.

Don't be afraid to give up 1v1 ISO points to LeBron/Wade/Bosh, they can not do any better than Durant/Westbrook, their shooters is their killing blow. LeBron/Wade/Bosh just gives them a base 60-70 points a game, they can not beat us with big three alone if we play our offensive game.

The more I watch the Spurs, the more I think they are like Spain of basketball. A position where Duncan gets an ISO play and scores 2 points, LeBron is standing there doing nothing, saving energy. I firmly believe Duncan is way better playing Dwight Howard style offense. Get offensive tip-in's and easy passes at the rim. He needs to save his ISO plays at the end like OKC OT. Duncan scoring 1v1 is exactly what the Heat want. He will tire out and be slower on defense and his shooting % will be lower and lower as the game progresses.

A position where everyone touches the ball and LeBron's cover runs all over the court, that is going to reduce LeBron's shooting percentage down the road for sure. Pass pass pass to tire them out with our depth! You can never shut down great shooters like Green and Allen because they move so well without the ball. Green needs to be patient and understand even if he is not getting open looks, he is tiring out Allen/Wade's knees with his youth. He can have a huge impact on the game scoring 0 points for 3 quarters and get his when they finally fail to keep up. We don't need his dribble penetrations, cut to the basket is fine, force Wade to chase him.

A big reason players like Jordan can score 40-50 a game in the 90's is the ISO play. Everybody stand around and watch 1v1's. Spurs motion defense with patient passing will tire out the opposing stars if we get it going with low turnovers.

[Mugen]

-Diaw should have started like I originally thought.
-Pop's rotations were weird throughout the night, but that was to be expected w the A/C factor.
-Bosh will be an issue all series long, much more than Wade IMO
-Our defense on Ray Allen was some of the worst I've seen all postseason until the 4th

Going forward, I start Diaw and make sure Beli only guards Shane Battier. The turnovers will take care of themselves tbh.

[Blake]

I was fine with Splitter starting to see how it would go. Now we know for sure that Diaw needs to start and Tiago come of the bench with Manu and kill them with that pick and roll.

everything else seemed fine.

Barring injury or flat sloppiness, I just don't see how the Spurs lose this series.

[Mr. Body]

Just a slight difference of opinion. THe Heat defend the interior a tad differently from the Thunder. They just pack the paint and make it very difficult for the non-PF/C to shoot from up-close. Unlike the Thunder who rely upon their shot blocker to do the needful while defending the perimeter, the Heat send their PG/PF to blitz screens at the top of the key and if the guard gets into the paint, pack it. Defenders are athletic enough to close out if need be as well.

All this suggests that the Spurs have got to involve Duncan/ Splitter a lot more as there is no way the Heat can answer height even while packing the paint. Which is what Manu and Diaw did very well, passing to the big man efficiently and quickly at close to the basket getting Duncan easy looks there. Trouble was that Kawhi/Green/TP on the other hand were getting stolen/ causing turnovers aplenty when they tried the same strategy...and Splitter's passing wasn't good enough to confuse the Heat defense within the paint when Duncan played alongside.

The Spurs have got to play Diaw more along with Duncan/Splitter and expect Leonard to handle James well on his own.

I'm impressed by how Miami can close on 3-point shooters yet get so many bodies to pack the lane on drives. Some of the Spurs' sets were working on pulling that apart, and we should see more of the same. One bonus would be running the Heat players all over the place to wear them out.

Diaw is key to the entire series.

[ducks]

I think parker will be better
first game back after injury he was tentative at first but got it going did end up with 8 assist not bad considering manu had 11 and diaw had 6

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

We had about 7-8 dumb turnovers (unforced). Take better care of the ball.

Defensively, need to do a better job staying on the shooters.

Get Duncan the ball more on the block, play Manu and Splitter together.

Turnovers are honestly the biggest thing. Allen and Wade played great, Spurs had 23 turnovers, Green didn't hit a shot until the fourth quarter, and we still won by 15. Spurs will fix some things and get better. The Heat have to continue to pray for 30 turnovers a night and some help from the stripes.

[cd98]

This was the last game we see Duncan and Splitter together. I thought it would be a problem for our defensive match up, but it's obvious they are too crowded without an outside shooter at the 4.

[hitmantb]

I'm impressed by how Miami can close on 3-point shooters yet get so many bodies to pack the lane on drives. Some of the Spurs' sets were working on pulling that apart, and we should see more of the same. One bonus would be running the Heat players all over the place to wear them out.

Diaw is key to the entire series.

They are only capable of doing this a few minutes a quarter, and cost is their shooting % down the road.

The key is to be able to get off contested shots, no turnover, AFTER multiple passes, and crash the offensive glass. If they play a perfect defensive sequence, hats off to them, get a contested jumper at end of the clock from Manu, Kwahi or Parker. We can wear them down as long as we don't turn it over and give up easy baskets.

[Mugen]

Cleaning up the turnovers will be nice, but, if anything, Game 1 confirmed that this series is gonna be a dogfight tbh.

The Spurs played sloppy but the Heat didn't play their best game either. They had 18 turnovers and missed A LOT of wide open shots. The way they move the ball and get open shots is second only to San Antonio and they showed that they can have stretches of dominant defensive basketball.

Even w/ all the TOs, last night confirmed that these are the two elite teams in the NBA and it's really a great matchup for people who love the game. Anybody saying that if the Spurs clean up their play, they win easily is crazy IMO. It's gonna be a very, very difficult series but I think the Spurs can rise up to the challenge......

[DAF86]

-Start Boris.
-Don't play Tim and Tiago toghether.
-Bonner has no place on this series. It should be a 3 bigmen rotation of Tim-Tiago-Boris and smallball.
-Limit turnovers.
-Don't put Manu on Allen ever again. Manu on Wade and Green on Ray is cool. If Patty is in put Manu on the Heat PG and Mills on Allen.
-I don't like Duncan on Lewis/Battier either. Just let him guard Bosh, who is a worse 3 pt shooter than Rashard and isn't always standing on the 3pt line.
-Don't overplay Belli on detriment of Green and Kawhi's minutes.

[DMC]

I expect the defending champs to put up a fight, but they probably won't adjust because they were doing fine most of the game. For them it will be about staying the course for 48 minutes. For the Spurs, it needs to be about protecting the ball and pushing the tempo. Spurs cannot win if Tony walks the ball up the floor and dribbles for 15 seconds while calling for screens. The defense has to be moved from side to side to get shooters open, and when the Heat are tired of being killed from outside, they will expand their defense and Splitter can enter and get paint points with Diaw and Tim. That will work if and only if they protect the ball. Teams don't feel pressure to expand the defense if they are getting easy fast break opportunities and have a lead.

[phxspurfan]

I like the last two points. Attack the basket, reduce turnovers. Also add grab more defensive boards. Can't afford to give them extra possessions (which means box out better).

[superbigtime]

I don't think pairing up Tim and Tiago is a problem right now. But if they play separately, gotta keep Boris in there with one of them. Spurs have to do a better job a staying with Ray Allen. That dude got loose quite a few times and if he had knocked a couple of those wide opens, it could've changed things substantially. Take care of the ball, stay focused, high intensity defense. I don't really think that many adjustments need to be made if any. I would like to see Cojo a little bit. Also I think Spurs should take it right to Anderson. Refs love calling fouls on that guy.

[101A]

Agree on Heat's defensive prowess, but dribble penetration still creates spacing for shooters and easy passes to Duncan/Splitter for scoring.

Leonard only had 3 fouls last night and he should avoid fouling at all costs. As long as he makes LeBron take contested shots, that is all it matters. If LeBron drops 40 points on us with 50% shooting percentage, he is not getting teammate involved and as long as Spurs gets its offense going, we are still OK.

Don't be afraid to give up 1v1 ISO points to LeBron/Wade/Bosh, they can not do any better than Durant/Westbrook, their shooters is their killing blow. LeBron/Wade/Bosh just gives them a base 60-70 points a game, they can not beat us with big three alone if we play our offensive game.

The more I watch the Spurs, the more I think they are like Spain of basketball. A position where Duncan gets an ISO play and scores 2 points, LeBron is standing there doing nothing, saving energy. I firmly believe Duncan is way better playing Dwight Howard style offense. Get offensive tip-in's and easy passes at the rim. He needs to save his ISO plays at the end like OKC OT. Duncan scoring 1v1 is exactly what the Heat want. He will tire out and be slower on defense and his shooting % will be lower and lower as the game progresses.

A position where everyone touches the ball and LeBron's cover runs all over the court, that is going to reduce LeBron's shooting percentage down the road for sure. Pass pass pass to tire them out with our depth! You can never shut down great shooters like Green and Allen because they move so well without the ball. Green needs to be patient and understand even if he is not getting open looks, he is tiring out Allen/Wade's knees with his youth. He can have a huge impact on the game scoring 0 points for 3 quarters and get his when they finally fail to keep up. We don't need his dribble penetrations, cut to the basket is fine, force Wade to chase him.

A big reason players like Jordan can score 40-50 a game in the 90's is the ISO play. Everybody stand around and watch 1v1's. Spurs motion defense with patient passing will tire out the opposing stars if we get it going with low turnovers.

Great Post.

[Mugen]

I don't think pairing up Tim and Tiago is a problem right now. But if they play separately, gotta keep Boris in there with one of them. Spurs have to do a better job a staying with Ray Allen. That dude got loose quite a few times and if he had knocked a couple of those wide opens, it could've changed things substantially. Take care of the ball, stay focused, high intensity defense. I don't really think that many adjustments need to be made if any. I would like to see Cojo a little bit. Also I think Spurs should take it right to Anderson. Refs love calling fouls on that guy.

that pairing is a problem, especially offensively. There's zero reason for Tim & Tiago to play together when Bosh is out there with Lewis or another shooter.

Bosh is different from Aldridge & Dirk as he rarely gets his touches on the block so I don't think Tiago can defend him any better than Boris or Duncan tbh.

TD & Splitter can't play together in this series, it just kills spacing and thats when turnovers pile up.

[benstanfield]

You can't play Diaw for 48 minutes. While it is always a trick up Pop's sleeve to start Diaw I'm fine with Tiago for now. Giving Tim and Tiago the first 5 minutes makes our rotations much smoother IMO. If you start Diaw then you probably have to go super small with Tim/Tiago and 4 wings for a large chunk of the 2nd.

Plus Boris seems to be our 2nd Lebron defender behind Kawhi. If Lebron/Wade drive to the hoop early and he picks up two fouls we're scrambling. They did well against the TnT frontcourt cause they were hitting jumpshots, but if we start out smaller with Diaw they are driving to the hoop from the first whistle.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Just a slight difference of opinion. THe Heat defend the interior a tad differently from the Thunder. They just pack the paint and make it very difficult for the non-PF/C to shoot from up-close. Unlike the Thunder who rely upon their shot blocker to do the needful while defending the perimeter, the Heat send their PG/PF to blitz screens at the top of the key and if the guard gets into the paint, pack it. Defenders are athletic enough to close out if need be as well.

All this suggests that the Spurs have got to involve Duncan/ Splitter a lot more as there is no way the Heat can answer height even while packing the paint. Which is what Manu and Diaw did very well, passing to the big man efficiently and quickly at close to the basket getting Duncan easy looks there. Trouble was that Kawhi/Green/TP on the other hand were getting stolen/ causing turnovers aplenty when they tried the same strategy...and Splitter's passing wasn't good enough to confuse the Heat defense within the paint when Duncan played alongside.

The Spurs have got to play Diaw more along with Duncan/Splitter and expect Leonard to handle James well on his own.

Zach Lowe brilliantly writes up what I was talking about the Heat's defensive schemes:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nb...f-the-matchup/

[024]

I think Pop will still start Splitter and Duncan together. No need to tinker with Splitter's confidence. The key is to punish the Heat down low more than the Heat can punish the Spurs bigs on the perimeter. And then it will be a game of who blinks first. A Splitter and Duncan pairing is still the best chance of stopping Lebron from dominating in the paint.

Pop has never liked putting the best lineup together in the starting 5. He's only done so in desperate situations. He likes to risk getting role players going first and then have Ginobili step in to deliver a boost.

[pgardn]

Miami sets much better screens than OKC.

We lost Allen too often or got caught in mismatches and had to chase because the heat move the ball so much better. We need to do a better job on screens.

[EVAY]

We had about 7-8 dumb turnovers (unforced). Take better care of the ball.

Defensively, need to do a better job staying on the shooters.

Get Duncan the ball more on the block, play Manu and Splitter together.

Turnovers are honestly the biggest thing. Allen and Wade played great, Spurs had 23 turnovers, Green didn't hit a shot until the fourth quarter, and we still won by 15. Spurs will fix some things and get better. The Heat have to continue to pray for 30 turnovers a night and some help from the stripes.

Turnovers:

Duncan - 5
Splitter 4
Leonard - 4
Parker -4

Ginobili - 2
Green - 1
Diaw - 1

[marinoman]

Im not a Manu hater like half this forum but manu cant guard wade, put green, leonard, boris, wtvr on wade
And bellinelli was good on O but couldnt guard Allen on screens and running around. Fix that
Also Duncan/Splitter should never be on the floor together, bonner or diaw with one or the other

[wildchild]

I don't expect Pop's adjustments in game 2, maybe the changes'll come in the next road games.

The Spurs should attack the paint as they did but not only with Tim/Tiago, the Heat don't have great rim protection, don't have some Ibaka guy to help and prevent the penetration, so the Spurs need Tony -he seems healthy now- /Manu/Kawhi get into the paint and collapse the defense.

I don't feel good with this "Leonard, when asked if he tries to focus on both offense & defense: I just focus on defense".
Leonard being a non factor in offense and Pop thinking Kawhi can't score on Lebron, is a bad sign. The Spurs will need more scoring options when Tony doesn't have a great night or Danny 3's aren't falling, and they need try and force James to exhaust himself defending the kid and Diaw.
Just put Leonard in a position to succeed -not only keep him in the 3's line like a shooter-. Use his athleticism? maybe throwing him a lob against the Heat wouldn't hurt us.

For the Spurs, it needs to be about protecting the ball and pushing the tempo. Spurs cannot win if Tony walks the ball up the floor and dribbles for 15 seconds while calling for screens.

Agree. Carlisle said something like that in his 2014 Finals Espn analysis "NBA defenses are so sophisticated now. You don't want to give them a chance to get fully established."