We can beat the Warriors, here's how

[spurs10]

We just need to get physical in the right way like battling for position and playing out of our minds on D. Theres a fine line between not letting them punk us inside and hitting them to instill fear. The latter, many times, will backfire plus its plain ol ugly. If a head is in the way of swatting the ball, swat the ball, his head shouldntve been in the way.

Well yes you have to be insanely aggressive without the intent to injure someone. Are people going to get hurt? It's possible.

[NameLess Scrub]

On the topic of Pop experimenting, I hope that is the case in terms of physicality. I am hoping he waits till WCF to tell his team to go ape , not only for surprise factor but possibly he's thinking it would prevent any potential injuries before hand.

This. This gives me a bit of hope that maybe he's just trying to protect his guys until the more important games..

[NameLess Scrub]

Pop is not going to get physical with Curry. It's a conflict of interest since he's coaching the Men's team now.

Well.. in any case there's physical and there's just dirty.

I don't think Pop should be afraid in any way to play physical with Curry. Even if Curry got injured everybody knows every compe ion USA takes NBA players to is theirs to lose, Curry or not.

[ceperez]

Well.. in any case there's physical and there's just dirty.

I don't think Pop should be afraid in any way to play physical with Curry. Even if Curry got injured everybody knows every compe ion USA takes NBA players to is theirs to lose, Curry or not.

Why do you think the Spurs brought in Andre Miller?

[SAGirl]

Well.. in any case there's physical and there's just dirty.

I don't think Pop should be afraid in any way to play physical with Curry. Even if Curry got injured everybody knows every compe ion USA takes NBA players to is theirs to lose, Curry or not.

The Curry post ups are coming right up.
BOOK It!!!!!!
Seriously. They like to post Tony up with everyone they got? Wait until Curry starts to get posted up. That's a jewel I hope Pop is sAving for the playoffs. Even A.Miller is going to be posting up.

[spurs10]

The Curry post ups are coming right up.
BOOK It!!!!!!
Seriously. They like to post Tony up with everyone they got? Wait until Curry starts to get posted up. That's a jewel I hope Pop is sAving for the playoffs. Even A.Miller is going to be posting up.

Like it! They don't hesitate to post Tony up is right!

[GSH]

The Spurs hit some shots for the only time in the entire game and went up by 8.

Horse .

Beginning of the third quarter:

Curry Turnover - West Steal
Thompson Turnover - Kawhi Steal
Thompson and Green - missed shots
Thompson Turnover - Steal Green
Thompson - Missed 3 with three seconds on the shot clock (Green gets the tip-in basket)
Curry - 3P shot missed

I said that SA got stops and turnovers, because that's what happened. Yeah, they hit some shots... that's usually part of taking a lead I think. But the Spurs DID NOT come out playing defense in the second half. You can read a play-by-play as good as me. It didn't happen. It was when the Spurs got sloppy on the offensive end that the avalanche started.

The Spurs can defend the Warriors in the half court well enough to beat them. But they can't stop them when they can get out and run - nobody can.

I agree that a content Spurs team can't beat them. But you say that playing physical with Curry is a loser thing to do and only loser fans call for it? Nobody said to play dirty. In fact, I thought I was saying something similar to this:

That problem will compound when you play a team like the Dubs who are very physical and basically dare the refs to call it. The Spurs need to start asserting themselves now or that's going to be the difference in the playoffs.

Are you saying the Dubs play dirty... or just very physical? Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality. Playing dirty was something you made up - not my words.

[NameLess Scrub]

Why do you think the Spurs brought in Andre Miller?

The Curry post ups are coming right up.
BOOK It!!!!!!
Seriously. They like to post Tony up with everyone they got? Wait until Curry starts to get posted up. That's a jewel I hope Pop is sAving for the playoffs. Even A.Miller is going to be posting up.

Well I like what you guys are saying. I doubt Andre will play much, but if Curry can get worn down on a couple of switches then good.

[NameLess Scrub]

Horse .

Beginning of the third quarter:

Curry Turnover - West Steal
Thompson Turnover - Kawhi Steal
Thompson and Green - missed shots
Thompson Turnover - Steal Green
Thompson - Missed 3 with three seconds on the shot clock (Green gets the tip-in basket)
Curry - 3P shot missed

I said that SA got stops and turnovers, because that's what happened. Yeah, they hit some shots... that's usually part of taking a lead I think. But the Spurs DID NOT come out playing defense in the second half. You can read a play-by-play as good as me. It didn't happen. It was when the Spurs got sloppy on the offensive end that the avalanche started.

The Spurs can defend the Warriors in the half court well enough to beat them. But they can't stop them when they can get out and run - nobody can.

I agree that a content Spurs team can't beat them. But you say that playing physical with Curry is a loser thing to do and only loser fans call for it? Nobody said to play dirty. In fact, I thought I was saying something similar to this:



Are you saying the Dubs play dirty... or just very physical? Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality. Playing dirty was something you made up - not my words.

Well.. this. They have been getting away with stuff the entire season for some reason or other, and I doubt they will just start calling it all of a sudden. Matching their physicality is probably the only way.

[Dave_ET]

Horse .

Beginning of the third quarter:

Curry Turnover - West Steal
Thompson Turnover - Kawhi Steal
Thompson and Green - missed shots
Thompson Turnover - Steal Green
Thompson - Missed 3 with three seconds on the shot clock (Green gets the tip-in basket)
Curry - 3P shot missed

I said that SA got stops and turnovers, because that's what happened. Yeah, they hit some shots... that's usually part of taking a lead I think. But the Spurs DID NOT come out playing defense in the second half. You can read a play-by-play as good as me. It didn't happen. It was when the Spurs got sloppy on the offensive end that the avalanche started.

The Spurs can defend the Warriors in the half court well enough to beat them. But they can't stop them when they can get out and run - nobody can.

I agree that a content Spurs team can't beat them. But you say that playing physical with Curry is a loser thing to do and only loser fans call for it? Nobody said to play dirty. In fact, I thought I was saying something similar to this:



Are you saying the Dubs play dirty... or just very physical? Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality. Playing dirty was something you made up - not my words.

Agreed. This thread slowly moved to the defensive side, but my original post was on Spurs offense being the key. Defense needs to be great of course, but that's not the main area of improvement.

The more I think about it, the more I wish Kawhi was practicing his penetration game all season long instead of his mid-range game. With Tony's regression, as well as addition of LMA, more mid-range is the last thing we need right now. The excitement of signing LMA was thinking 'my God think of all the wide-open jumpers and easy baskets he's going to get'...that is nowhere to be seen.

Spurs have settled on disgusting iso plays with embarrassing results - they have to get back to 2014 penetration, ball movement, and easy buckets. Kawhi has to lead that charge.

[Obstructed_View]

Horse .

Beginning of the third quarter:

Curry Turnover - West Steal
Thompson Turnover - Kawhi Steal
Thompson and Green - missed shots
Thompson Turnover - Steal Green
Thompson - Missed 3 with three seconds on the shot clock (Green gets the tip-in basket)
Curry - 3P shot missed

I said that SA got stops and turnovers, because that's what happened. Yeah, they hit some shots... that's usually part of taking a lead I think. But the Spurs DID NOT come out playing defense in the second half. You can read a play-by-play as good as me. It didn't happen. It was when the Spurs got sloppy on the offensive end that the avalanche started.

Wrong.

I didn't say the Spurs came out in the second half not playing defense, I said that they played lockdown defense in the first two quarters and let up in the second half. At no point did I say they came out playing defense in the third quarter, you did. I said they let up. Is that not correct? Did they let up? Did it happen in the second half? Hint: Scroll down about three lines on your box score. It starts about there.

And I think you need some help reading the play by play, because from what I see, the Spurs hit four shots to go up 8, just like I said, and from what I see, the Warriors came back and tied the game off Spurs misses before the Spurs committed a turnover, so their offense didn't get sloppy until they'd given up the 8 point lead.

The Spurs can defend the Warriors in the half court well enough to beat them. But they can't stop them when they can get out and run - nobody can.

Wrong.

The Warriors weren't getting out and running at that point. On the second Curry three, which came off a Leonard miss, Curry grabbed the rebound and brought the ball up. Everyone in the arena that was paying attention knew he was going to shoot the three, and the Spurs inexplicably backed off him for the first time in the entire game. Pop called a timeout. Once again, my characterization that they let up after hitting a couple of jumpers sure seems to match what I see in the play by play.

I agree that a content Spurs team can't beat them. But you say that playing physical with Curry is a loser thing to do and only loser fans call for it? Nobody said to play dirty.

Wrong.

That's not at all true. There are people, DMC, included, that want the Spurs to start hard fouling. There's another thread about it. I don't recall you saying that the Spurs should play dirty and at no point was my comment about it directed at you. But don't say that nobody's been suggesting it since the Spurs got beat.

Are you saying the Dubs play dirty... or just very physical? Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality. Playing dirty was something you made up - not my words.

Wrong.

My quote from four weeks ago in its entirety was the following, with the part you cut out put back in.

The trend that I don't like going toward the post-season is the jumpers. Some people think a long 2 is a bad shot because another step back and it's a 3. That's poor logic. A long 2 does all the same things as a 3 pointer to keep the defense honest, and usually the percentage difference is more than enough to make up the scoring, particularly with the Spurs having probably the four best midrange shooters in the league. The jumpers are bad for the same reason all jumpers are bad: You don't get fouled. The Spurs aren't getting calls, so they aren't going inside, so they aren't drawing fouls, so they aren't getting into the bonus. Frankly the only thing saving them to this point is that they don't foul on defense, which doesn't help when you play a team like OKC that attracts whistles like nobody we've ever seen. That problem will compound when you play a team like the Dubs who are very physical and basically dare the refs to call it. The Spurs need to start asserting themselves now or that's going to be the difference in the playoffs.

So my suggestion that the Spurs needed to be drawing fouls on offense by going into the paint instead of settling for jumpers, especially against the Warriors who the Spurs will never draw 50/50 touch fouls on, was perfectly clear. At no time did I say anything about Spurs defense. You had to go out of your way to cut the six sentences from the beginning of my post to imply that I meant something else.

[G-Dawgg]

Golden State's godly offense is just so much better than our stifling defense. I don't think we lose to them because we do poorly defensively, they're just THAT good offensively. So, the only way the win is to play the same sharp defense that we do night in and night out but pick it up on offense. Our defense will always be solid, but it can only take us so far against a team of this rare caliber. The only way to win is we need to be sharper on offense. Our defense is phenomenal. Basically everything rests on our players making shots. Plain and simple. If Danny And Patty had only hit the shots that were normally going down for them last year, vs Golden State... We would have won the game last Sunday. Danny Green, Patty Mills and whoever.. need to step up and hit their shots. Our defense is immaculate, but it isn't enough. Plain and simply we need our shooters to be a threat from behind the arc again...

[peacemaker885]

Spurs beat them by focus and intensity...

[Spurtacular]

Someone needs to beat the Warriors. I can't stomach these articles coming out already calling them the greatest team of all-time.

[DarrinS]

Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality.

Yep. A great example of this was the and-1 foul on Curry by Danny Green near the end of the 3rd quarter. If you're going to foul there, make sure it's a hard foul.

[SpursforSix]

Golden State's godly offense is just so much better than our stifling defense. I don't think we lose to them because we do poorly defensively, they're just THAT good offensively. So, the only way the win is to play the same sharp defense that we do night in and night out but pick it up on offense. Our defense will always be solid, but it can only take us so far against a team of this rare caliber. The only way to win is we need to be sharper on offense. Our defense is phenomenal. Basically everything rests on our players making shots. Plain and simple. If Danny And Patty had only hit the shots that were normally going down for them last year, vs Golden State... We would have won the game last Sunday. Danny Green, Patty Mills and whoever.. need to step up and hit their shots. Our defense is immaculate, but it isn't enough. Plain and simply we need our shooters to be a threat from behind the arc again...

so you're saying the Spurs need to tighten up the defense?

[I. Hustle]

so you're saying the Spurs need to tighten up the defense?

Tight! Like anus

[SpursforSix]

Tight! Like anus

not your mom's though

that'd be like playing defense with 5 Tony Parkers

[NameLess Scrub]

We definitely needs the playoffs to start already.

[Snaq O'Meal]

Spurs beat them by focus and intensity...

Was that how Bobo strained his ass?

[Slippy]

Not exactly. The Spurs came out after the half, and went up by 8. They got stops and caused turnovers, and things were looking good. Then this happened:

Kawhi committed a bad foul, and 5 seconds later, Curry knocked down a 3.
Kawhi shot and missed a tty turnaround hook shot, and 4 seconds later, Curry knocked down a 3.
LMA missed a shot, West got the offensive board and tried to force up a shot that got blocked - 5 seconds later, Thompson got a layup.
Tony threw the ball away, Curry missed a 3, and they let Bogut get an offensive board that he shouldn't have gotten - 5 seconds later, Bogut scored.
Green missed a 3, Bogut scored on the other end, and that capped off a 12-0 run by Golden State.

That run was totally fueled by bad offense on the Spurs' end of the floor. The game turned right there. The Warriors had only made one basket on a tip-in by Draymond for the first 3 minutes of the second half, and none of their shooters were in rhythm. That 12-0 run let them start feeling it. It was bad offense that fueled the good offense on the other end.

This strectch killed it for the spurs . Poise will play a big part heading into playoffs. Being the most experienced outfit out there should help but most of that starts with your PG.