Damn. Grim business.
He showed up on defense but his jumper was broken. I knew Kawhi's shot was off when he missed both his FTs, he got in a groove in the 2nd quarter but Pop benched him at the 6 minute mark which didn't help especially since WB was getting to the paint at will when Kawhi was off the floor.
He should have driven to the rack in the 2nd half when his shots weren't falling but he kept setting for jumpers & was putting on a brick show along w/ Patty in the 4th quarter.
This is LaMarcus' team and its not even close. If only he had some help maybe we'd be up 2-0.
Tim had a similar performance in 2002 against the Lakers & missed FTs in the Finals against the Pistons but they get a pass b/c they were getting doubled along w/ not being elite FT shooters. Besides, Kawhi missed one FT & shot 3/4 at the line which is 75% aka his season average.
They make an impact. Kawhi was a no show last night, stop deflecting.
Yeah, but it's unrealistic to expect this of him when he never does that when his jumper is off. He just keeps shooting them. He had ing Dion Waiters guarding him and couldn't take him off the dribble. Kawhi needs to be in the gym all summer working on the handle.
LMA dominated on offense but he got lit up light a Christmas light by WB/Ibaka on the PnRs, meanwhile WB didn't score a single basket against Kawhi.
He could attack the rim via dribble hand-offs from LMA (ala the Manu/Tim two-man game) but Pop simply refuses to run a two-man game w/ LMA/Kawhi.
Because Kawhi kept switching and leaving LMA on an island against Westbrook. Not only does Kawhi not show up on offense but he leaves his man LMA hanging on the other end too, sad
This I agree with. The couple times they went to it in the mid post area, they had good success. They do it at the three point line, but it's less effective out there imo
That was Pop calling the switches b/c LMA couldn't recover to challenge Ibaka's shots when OKC ran the WB/Ibaka PnR (Ibaka hit a couple of uncontested jumpers to start the 3rd)Because Kawhi kept switching and leaving LMA on an island against Westbrook. Not only does Kawhi not show up on offense but he leaves his man LMA hanging on the other end too, sad
The correct defense would have been to have Tony rotate off Roberson & deny the pass to Ibaka since you rather have Roberson taking jumpers than either Ibaka/WB. Otherwise, LMA has to play off WB which gives him plenty off room/time to put up an uncontested jumper.
Last edited by Kawhitstorm; 05-03-2016 at 04:28 PM.
Patty and Belli pretty much did but few others. Tim was steady as well. Kawhi in those first 4 games looked like a superstar and then hit that funk and never got out of it. That series just was one big mess and it was not their year.
Pop has to take Roberson out of the series bringing help off him.
Despite the hype, if you're looking for him to resemble Curry, James, Durant or whatever other typical superstar offensive player, you're going to be disappointed. What separates them from him is, when their shot is not falling, they can still get to the line consistently and/or create numerous good looks for their teammates.
As much as we hear about the Spurs benefiting from him, he benefited from them, because the personnel and (previous) style of play mostly covered this up. He's better than George no matter the context, but if you put him in that situation, I suspect the perception of him would be different.
If Manu was playing PG & helping off Roberson he would have been able to cause chaos rather than Tony who is essentially useless as a help defender.
Kevin Duralpha went IN on Kawhiscrub
Kawhi was horrible down the stretch, but he has a near 33 PER, 65% TS and by far the best on/off numbers for the Spurs, so far..
The unfortunate reality is that OP is correct, the Spurs have become way too top-heavy..Aldridge and Leonard are both putting up ridiculous numbers in the playoffs, so far, with very little support..if Kawhi doesn't play like a star, let alone struggles like he did in game 2, they don't have a chance in most games vs. decent compe ion..
The only supporting players that have showed up in the playoffs have been Manu and Green, tbh..
I'm being sarcastic and not defensive like the other poster suggested.
I think everyone agrees Leonard has to be consistent. Something he showed through the entire season and in the playoffs up until last night. One bad game and it obviously means 2013 and 2015 again. It can't possibly be different this time.
Leonard isn't the typical superstar. He wasn't billed one coming into the league. He's not a natural scorer like others. I think someone (midnight maybe?) used overachiever. IMO Leonard has not only surpassed every expectation he's sorta defining what a new version of superstar means. The fact he's even forced his name into that discussion is remarkable. To think he's not going to make mistakes while he continues to figure out all the responsibilities a superstar carries is somewhat naive.
I'm not saying he should be held to different standards but to assume he should be following the same footsteps of superstars before him doesn't really apply either.
The issue is that Diaw is unplayable against OKC b/c he a terrible rebounder thus he's essentially out of the rotation ala Marco in 2014. Against the Worriers, Diaw would be playing 30 minutes a game.
One thing Donvan is better at than Scott Brooks is that he isn't overplaying KD at the 4 along w/ taking the scrubs out of the rotation (Singler/Foye/Collison) except for Roberson. I just looked up the offensive ratings for Gm 2 & Roberson had an ORtg of 19 in 24 minutes after recording an ORtg of ZERO in Gm 1.
Kawhi is a really versatile player, he can play like an all time great or like an all time re thats awesome.
Wanna try that in English?
You're missing the point. Had Kawhi performed like Duncan did in the past, win or lose, there would be no need for this thread.
Kawhi does have a tendency to shrink at times. It will happen to everyone, but the fact that he has a history of being taken out of a series as a primary option is troubling.
He was in the last two games, not the whole series. In fact, until those last games, he was best player of the series.
And he did it. Hhe produced a lot more than LMA in the Memphis series, and the same than him in game 1.Kawhi ond the other hand should produce similar to Aldridge
So if you want to say he played a bad game 2, horrible game 2, it's OK, because that's the truth. But you can't say he's the Spurs that failed most in playoffs. He's FMPV and has elevated his game in more than "one" playoffs game.
He wasn't the first young "main guy" on a team who had ty playoffs games. Do I need to post LeBron numbers of 2011 Finals or Dirk stats in some games of the series against Warriors? The list or superstars is extensive...
A history?
Just last games against Clippers.
It's funny because, he has a great 1st round series this year, dominated in game 1 against OKC, played bad in just one game and suddenly...he's a choker like Harden.
Like he wasn't playing great in 2013. It just was Tim and Kawhi in the last two games. And he was the reason why the Spurs had a chance against Heat/LeBron in 2013 and 2014 Finals.
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