Game Observations [email protected] works and What does not.

[rasuo214]

Good takes, it's pretty much what I saw and thought about this game. I would like to see the offense ran through Kawhi initially, use him in the same way the Warriors use Curry to get open looks for his teammates. Force the Warriors to adjust and go from there. Also no more small ball lineups, the Spurs have size, they need to use it to their advantage.

[YGWHI]

post offenses, no matter which player they're run through, are dead. You can use it once in awhile, sure, but it's a losing strategy in the long run. I always quote Rick Carlisle here, "Slow play equals death." Miami set the trend and Golden State has perfected it. The Spurs brilliantly countered pace and space with exceptional ball movement and player movement. Golden State is basically a combination of Miami's dribble-drive/dribble-shoot danger and the Spurs beautiful game offense.

We can't beat the Warriors without another elite wing, one who can stress defenses by relentlessly attacking (a la Westbrook). Too bad Parker and Manu still weren't in their primes, or it'd be on.

If you want to slow the pace against Warriors then post-up plays can help. Obviously, not in every possession but more often than usual.

It's a problem the Spurs don't have a player who excels at drives-penetration-collapsing defenses but it's also an issue Pop playing Parker and Manu like they're still in their prime.

Jonathon is decent enough driving to the hoop, Kawhi isn't a great ball handler but he's improving and getting to the line more...That's why it would be nice to watch in some games the Spurs to try to find other ways with Kawhi-Simms combo.

They won't turn into Westbrook or that kind of elite offensive player but they can provide offense

[midnightpulp]

If you want to slow the pace against Warriors then post-up plays can help. Obviously, not in every possession but more often than usual.

It's a problem the Spurs don't have a player who excels at drives-penetration-collapsing defenses but it's also an issue Pop playing Parker and Manu like they're still in their prime.

Jonathon is decent enough driving to the hoop, Kawhi isn't a great ball handler but he's improving and getting to the line more...That's why it would be nice to watch in some games the Spurs to try to find other ways with Kawhi-Simms combo.

They won't turn into Westbrook or that kind of elite offensive player but they can provide offense

Well, playoffs are always a different animal, and because the pace naturally slows down due to caution/nerves, etc, so post-play, length, size, etc usually pay dividends.

Maybe we'll grit-and-grind our way out of it. It's a possibility, but a remote one.

[r0drig0lac]

Danny Green better transform himself into JJ Re by the end of the season to compete vs the Warriors.

agree and Aldridge in a basketball player

[tbdog]

Pop's rarely called plays this game. It was really odd. We didn't see any Hammer or horns. All I saw was the loop and iso's. Did anyone else notice that?

[szkorhetz]

I'd rather see Patty Mills post-up, rather than Aldridge, at this point..

LMA's postgame is still in Portland, TBH.

[tbdog]

Good takes, it's pretty much what I saw and thought about this game. I would like to see the offense ran through Kawhi initially, use him in the same way the Warriors use Curry to get open looks for his teammates. Force the Warriors to adjust and go from there. Also no more small ball lineups, the Spurs have size, they need to use it to their advantage.

I think Pop was just throwing players out there to see what sticked. Perhaps if Anderson was got to the free throw line deservingly, he might have stayed in longer. Also, Simmons cannot guard Curry. Curry didn't take a tough shot on him. And I am not sure why Green didn't have a look at Curry and also got the pin pulled on him a few times.

[theman21]

Yeh first off Spurs were playing scared, the turnovers were more often the case of Spurs being indecisive rather than defensive forced...however many of the turnovers or failure on offense were due to home court bias, aggressive defense is easy to play without fear of being called for fouling. Having said that Spurs missed wide open opportunities early and didn't know how to defend GSW until later in the game, so the game snowballed ...

Pop knew the loss was coming and wanted to try some lineups out there but ultimately he still kept some cards out of the playing deck (Boban lineup earlier).

Ultimately I felt Spurs haven't been progressing for a while, since they've been steamrolling opponents, so a blowout loss to wake the team up could actually favor the team greatly...plus there's plenty of material to motivate the team for future games against the Warriors; I felt like not having played them in a while didn't give enough motivation to the Spurs to understand the strength of their opponent.

A blowout win on your court in January is just a sign your opponent wasn't ready. If Spurs haven't figured this out by March and April, we can all sing a different tune.

[ceperez]

I think Pop was just throwing players out there to see what sticked. Perhaps if Anderson was got to the free throw line deservingly, he might have stayed in longer. Also, Simmons cannot guard Curry. Curry didn't take a tough shot on him. And I am not sure why Green didn't have a look at Curry and also got the pin pulled on him a few times.

Simmons or Green will absolutely have to guard Curry because you can't have Leonard burn all his energy in defense.

So if Simmons sucked, he absolutely has to get better.

[Horse]

To start how about hold on to the ing ball. If they just cut out the unforced errors it's a different game. As far as the forced errors give me a ing break every made warrior basket was and and 1 while we got hacked all night with no whistle.

[apalisoc_9]

Perimeter speed and breaking defenses down through dribble drive penetration and/or creating separation for jumpers is what today's basketball is. These skills translate into running deadly pick-and-rolls and creating spacing and mismatches through forcing defenses to scramble.

Like I told you in the other thread, post offenses, no matter which player they're run through, are dead. You can use it once in awhile, sure, but it's a losing strategy in the long run. I always quote Rick Carlisle here, "Slow play equals death." Miami set the trend and Golden State has perfected it. The Spurs brilliantly countered pace and space with exceptional ball movement and player movement. Golden State is basically a combination of Miami's dribble-drive/dribble-shoot danger and the Spurs beautiful game offense.

We can't beat the Warriors without another elite wing, one who can stress defenses by relentlessly attacking (a la Westbrook). Too bad Parker and Manu still weren't in their primes, or it'd be on.

I had hope that the Spurs would cause another paradigm shift and prove the grindy style of basketball that worked in the 00s could still work (kill the opponent with length, in the post, and on the boards), but it looks like that isn't the case. Maybe against everyone else, but not GS, their 3 point shooting is too good and they can still defend bigger teams even when they go small with that "Death Squad" lineup, something we never really seen a team do successfully before. Usually small ball teams get out sized and worn down (think SSOL Suns or when the 2011 Spurs flirted with small ball).

I think Pop might have to think outside the box. Create our own death squad lineup, maybe with Kawhi at C (seriously. Green isn't really any bigger or stronger than Kawhi), Green at PF, Manu at SF, Simmons at SG, and Parker at PG (hide Parker on Barnes and have Green check Curry. And just hope Simmons doesn't get killed by Klay). That said, first try it with LMA or Boris at C, and then work your way smaller to Kawhi if LMA/Boris get worked on the pnr.

Now you aee just being ailly and cute. That's probably the biggest flaw many fans and including coaches have. They always fail to understand the impoetance of personel and how exactly tha shoud play out in an offensive scheme.

Chinook and you suffer from that problem. You want to play a brand of basketball that relies on inconsistent players to carry you offensively. Motion top requires heavy lifting from Parker and Ginobili.

Why do you think pop commited to post ups? Ths team wanted to emphasise post ups as evident with the Diaw interview. They don't have the talent and personel to play otherwise.

You still to have trouble.umderstanding the massive difference between a spurs set and set made other teams. They are very much different and that has a lot to do with personel and remnants of 2014 Basketball. Kawhi has tons of semi triple situations, the problem is that there is always another player thats ina semi open situation. The truth of the matter of the matter is that hes better of taking the shot himself. Thats on Pop to tell him, hes different and should attack.

Kawhi posting up, specially if they play smaller is enough to defend the tranisition. Kawhi can always cover his man going back. The rest relies on Green who is essentially the best transition defender in the league and sadly Parker.

[tmtcsc]

I think most people understood that no matter the outcome of last nights game, the Spurs and Warriors would stull be the two best teams in the league in the morning. Part of this loss is due to the terrible compe ion the Spurs have faced. They just weren't ready in any shape or form for the Warriors.

[Ibleedslvrnblk]

Let's be honest here. The Warriors are amazing and a historic team. If it were not for them the Spurs would be that team. They are just that damn good and its going to take a lot for anyone to beat them in a series. They may lose 1 game all playoffs. The Spurs will need to be very strategic in their approach. Can they beat them? Sure. Will it happen? Maybe? If it does not, oh well, we got best by history. Go put 100$ on GSW to win it all and 50$ on SA cause no one is beating them.

[bic50]

I'd agree, Aldridge is a huge reason why we lost by 30 today. No one was beating them today, btu we lost by 30 bc Aldridge didn't how up. Otherwise we lose by 10.

[Man In Black]

Tim Duncan has mastered the in-between game in the lane, where the big man has to cover both the ballhandler and the roll man for a time. Duncan is 39 years old, and the fact that ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus ranks him as the best defensive player this season (+6.6 points saved per 100 possessions) is ludicrous. NBA players typically decline quickly after the age of 32.

Curry absolutely breaks everything this type of defense is built to do. You can’t drop to the foul line against Curry, because if you do, he’ll hit the three-pointer off the dribble at a rate that will kill you.

[skulls138]

To have a chance against the Warriors, Spurs players need to play up to their potential. Im not talking about matchup problems, like Parker and Mills had, Im talking about underachievers like DG and LMA. Cant have people who used to be good, not be good anymore. They need to do what they were brought here for so the big three can put us over the top not struggle to catch up.

I kind of envisioned this where the big three are still the only ones that we believe in. That wont cut it.

[testies]

Admins, I've been banned for over a year from making threads. Please forgive, this is absurd and ridiculous.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Admins, I've been banned for over a year from making threads. Please forgive, this is absurd and ridiculous.

I'll see what I can do

[Lostwingman]

Pop's rarely called plays this game. It was really odd. We didn't see any Hammer or horns. All I saw was the loop and iso's. Did anyone else notice that?

Yes, which is why I can't help but have the seed of the thought that Pop intended to throw this game regardless of how we played.

[SpursforSix]

Simmons or Green will absolutely have to guard Curry because you can't have Leonard burn all his energy in defense.

So if Simmons sucked, he absolutely has to get better.

I don't know about that. Assuming Leonard is the best choice to put on Curry, sacrificing his offense for slowing down Curry is fine.