Game 4 adjustments: Why the Spurs still have a chance.

[cd021]

Start Mills with Parker.

Green comes off bench and guards Harris.

Harris is averaging 13.3 ppg, 4.7 APG, 53% FG in 25 MPG

Mills is a much more of a threat on offense, forcing Calderon to guard and potentially opening up the Spurs offense.

[dallasmaverickslose]

Start Mills with Parker.

Green comes off bench and guards Harris.

Harris is averaging 13.3 ppg, 4.7 APG, 53% FG in 25 MPG

Mills is a much more of a threat on offense, forcing Calderon to guard and potentially opening up the Spurs offense.

Do you realize how pitiful our guard defense would be with both Parker and Mills starting?

[therealtruth]

But that is what our game plan almost always is. We let the folks who are not that great a threat get everything they want, believing (based on some experience) that if we can stop or limit the stars, the role players will look better than they almost ever do, but they won't be able to win with their stars less than at the top of their game.

Ya know…sort of like other teams do with us by focusing on Parker and Duncan and saying "beat us with someone else".

It may or may not always work, but it is rational, at least.

Yeah but NBA players are too good to leave wide open and not expect them to hit shots. You can certainly focus more on the stars but you can't give no effort on the role players.

[hater]

Calderon is the smartest player in the building, , smartest man in the building, yes even more so than Pop.

really good pickup for Dallas IMO

[chazley]

People are getting way too antsy (predictably). Stay the course. The Mavericks have played really well, give them some credit. But the Spurs haven't played a single good game so far. The 4th quarter of game 3, we finally showed the necessary fight and energy needed to beat the Mavs. Vince Carter hit a shot that maybe had a 20% chance of going in over a 100-shot sample, it's important to keep that in mind when we talk about any drastic changes cause we should be up 2-1. Our backs are against the wall, it's not a must-win but it's a game where we will see what the Spurs are made of. Championship teams win huge games like this on the road.

This talk of taking away Patty Mills needs to stop. He's been a stud for us all year, you don't give up on him this quickly. He has the ability to spark a team to a playoff victory and I'm confident we will see the real Patty Mills moving forward.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

The first two games of this first round series saw the disappearance of the well-oiled offense that characterized the Spurs' regular season, and instead we witnessed a Bizzaro Spurs offense that featured hesitation, sloppy passing, and very little urgency. In game 3 the Spurs seemed to figure Dallas' defensive scheme out by simply taking what the defense gave them, but they came up short thanks to some improbable shot making by Ellis and Carter. The Spurs have figured out how to properly attack Dallas' defensive scheme, but they still have some problems to solve if they want to come back and take control of this series.

Who is going to guard Ellis?:
-The Spurs strategy for defending Ellis thus far has been to sick Leonard on him and go under every screen. Going under those screens is the right strategy, but I'm not sure that assigning the task to Leonard is the way to go. As many on this board have pointed out, that strategy drastically reduces Leonard's ability to wreak havoc on the passing lanes. The other issue with the gameplan is that it wastes Green's ability on the defensive end. Green is a fantastic isolation and transition defender, but he struggles with close outs and absent-mindedly sagging off of his man. Switching Leonard onto Marion (a player who he can space off of) and putting Green on Ellis would play to both players' strengths.

How are you going to defend Calderon on the Pick and Roll?:
-The solution to this one is easy, which is why I'm so surprised that it's even an issue. Calderon is not much of a threat to penetrate and score, so the big who hedges on the screen must take away the pull up jumper.

Somebody put a body on that man!:
-Samuel Dalembert absolutely destroyed the Spurs in game 3 (can't believe I just typed that...). Dalembert continues to kill the Spurs on the offensive glass, and his length is giving Timmy problems on the boards. Whoever is guarding Dalembert needs to be hyperconscious of him whenever a shot goes up. If Dalembert continues to essentially match Timmy's production, then there is absolutely no way in that the Spurs will win this series.

Paging Tony Parker:
-Tony Parker erupted in the first quarter of game 3, then inexplicably disappeared for most of the remainder of the game. Parker isn't exactly a game-changer defensively, so if he's not relentlessly attacking the Mavericks or trying to make plays for his teammates, then he's not going to be very useful on the court. If Parker doesn't have the conditioning to go full force for the required 38 minutes, or if he's injured, then he needs to defer to Timmy and Kawhi.

Do you continue with Mills, or do you play Cojo?:
-Patty Mills was a tremendous spark off the bench for us in the regular season, but so far in this series he's been nothing short of terrible. Playing sieve-like defense and unable to hit the broad side of a barn from downtown, Mills has really hurt the Spurs during his court time. Joseph brings a level of defensive ability that Mills can't match, and he's more than capable of running the offense. However, he's not much of a threat to score, which could hurt a team that has been plagued by spacing issues for a majority of this series. As long as Manu is coming off the bench as well, I'm all for putting Joseph ahead Mills in the rotation.

Dallas has given the Spurs a much tougher challenge than anyone could have expected, mainly due to Carlisle's brilliant coaching and several Mavs playing over their heads, but the Spurs are still the better team. With the right adjustments, they should be able to right the ship.

Spurs in 6.

[The_Coyote]

Two words: Attack Nowitzki.

[ElNono]

they're only down 2-1, no they still have a chance tbh.

[Slippy]

Only minor adjustments are needed. The Spurs controlled game 3 with a lot of positives to build on.

Kawai still has room for improvement and they need to maintain a lid on Harris's impact.

[cd021]

Do you realize how pitiful our guard defense would be with both Parker and Mills starting?

I understand that but if Parker stays in Calderon's area code he shouldn't go off like Game 2. Ellis has actually been an inefficient scoring the ball (20 ppg on 18.7 FG).

Having Leonard guard Marion and crowd the paint and encourage him to take jumpers (similar to Dallas' strategy against Parker) I'd start Mills and hopes he gets going offensively. Calderon would have to guard a better offensive weapon which could open things up for Parker and ,in turn, Duncan.

Putting Green on Harris should help stop Harris and bring their bench down to earth. Playing more with Manu, Diaw and Beli give Green a good opportunity to knock down a couple of shots.

[RD2191]

Shuffling the starting lineup will only give the Mavs more confidence. Tbh.

[Ditty]

The first two games of this first round series saw the disappearance of the well-oiled offense that characterized the Spurs' regular season, and instead we witnessed a Bizzaro Spurs offense that featured hesitation, sloppy passing, and very little urgency. In game 3 the Spurs seemed to figure Dallas' defensive scheme out by simply taking what the defense gave them, but they came up short thanks to some improbable shot making by Ellis and Carter. The Spurs have figured out how to properly attack Dallas' defensive scheme, but they still have some problems to solve if they want to come back and take control of this series.

Who is going to guard Ellis?:
-The Spurs strategy for defending Ellis thus far has been to sick Leonard on him and go under every screen. Going under those screens is the right strategy, but I'm not sure that assigning the task to Leonard is the way to go. As many on this board have pointed out, that strategy drastically reduces Leonard's ability to wreak havoc on the passing lanes. The other issue with the gameplan is that it wastes Green's ability on the defensive end. Green is a fantastic isolation and transition defender, but he struggles with close outs and absent-mindedly sagging off of his man. Switching Leonard onto Marion (a player who he can space off of) and putting Green on Ellis would play to both players' strengths.

How are you going to defend Calderon on the Pick and Roll?:
-The solution to this one is easy, which is why I'm so surprised that it's even an issue. Calderon is not much of a threat to penetrate and score, so the big who hedges on the screen must take away the pull up jumper.

Somebody put a body on that man!:
-Samuel Dalembert absolutely destroyed the Spurs in game 3 (can't believe I just typed that...). Dalembert continues to kill the Spurs on the offensive glass, and his length is giving Timmy problems on the boards. Whoever is guarding Dalembert needs to be hyperconscious of him whenever a shot goes up. If Dalembert continues to essentially match Timmy's production, then there is absolutely no way in that the Spurs will win this series.

Paging Tony Parker:
-Tony Parker erupted in the first quarter of game 3, then inexplicably disappeared for most of the remainder of the game. Parker isn't exactly a game-changer defensively, so if he's not relentlessly attacking the Mavericks or trying to make plays for his teammates, then he's not going to be very useful on the court. If Parker doesn't have the conditioning to go full force for the required 38 minutes, or if he's injured, then he needs to defer to Timmy and Kawhi.

Do you continue with Mills, or do you play Cojo?:
-Patty Mills was a tremendous spark off the bench for us in the regular season, but so far in this series he's been nothing short of terrible. Playing sieve-like defense and unable to hit the broad side of a barn from downtown, Mills has really hurt the Spurs during his court time. Joseph brings a level of defensive ability that Mills can't match, and he's more than capable of running the offense. However, he's not much of a threat to score, which could hurt a team that has been plagued by spacing issues for a majority of this series. As long as Manu is coming off the bench as well, I'm all for putting Joseph ahead Mills in the rotation.

Dallas has given the Spurs a much tougher challenge than anyone could have expected, mainly due to Carlisle's brilliant coaching and several Mavs playing over their heads, but the Spurs are still the better team. With the right adjustments, they should be able to right the ship.

Spurs in 6.

Good write up! Like one poster mentioned I wish we could send this to Pop.

I just have a bad feeling that Pop will continue to keep Leonard on Ellis strategy. Though I still have alot of hope we will win this series, and we will bring it tomorrow night it's crazy to say that tomorrow is a must win. Go Spurs!

[cd021]

Shuffling the starting lineup will only give the Mavs more confidence. Tbh.

Green has scored 9 points in 60 minutes. The Mavs could and should ignore him and focus on Duncan and Parker.

The idea of starting Mills over Green (and having Green match-up against Harris off the bench) make some sense. Mills can shoot off the dribble (particularly in p&r where we he could do some damage with Calderon having to fight through a Duncan or Splitter screen) and is as good of a 3pt shooter as Green.

put Kawhi on Marion and have him sag off and play the passing lanes. Live with whatever Ellis does, so long as Dirk doesn't go hard.

[moisaenz]

Spurs got to win on the road...

[EVAY]

Sustained energy and passion for 48 minutes would be novel and probably enough to get the win, tbh.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

the spurs have a chance because 1 win and its an even series with HCA... you cliff divers are hilarious

Watch all the pathetic cliff hangers come crawling back if the Spurs win Game 4.

[313]

Could you imagine if TP had the wind to play a full game. Dude would average like 40.

On topic though, we need to make Tony's man work just as hard as their making Tony work on the defensive end. They're running Parker raggedd because they know he'll get tired.

I agree with all your points, but i don't think mills should get totally benched this series, just split some time with cojo. Also Kawhi and Danny should be playing 40 minutes per game idc idc idc

[DarrinS]

Still waiting for Green to have a good game. He needs more than 13 minutes though.

[Malice]

Why is a 1 seed making adjustments to an 8 seed? Yea...exactly.

[Gervin44Silas13]

this team needs to wake up.....period!!!!!

[said7]

Splitter is making Dirk his .

[Spurs_Be_Beastin']

I agree, Spurs don't need dramatic changes, they just needa wake up, that buzzer beater had to hurt them Tbh.. That had to have been their wake up call for these playoffs.
if these are the true #1 seed Spurs I know, we won't lose another game this series.

[DesignatedT]

Like Pop said, Dallas is playing like it really means something to them. We're playing like we could care less. That's the difference in the series.

[Leetonidas]

I really have no idea why Green wasn't on Ellis to begin with. DG has always been good at locking down smaller players whereas Kawhi is more apt to guarding big SGs and SFs/small PFs. Hopefully Pop pulls his head out of his ass on that one

[EVAY]

Like

Pop said, Dallas is playing like it really means something to them. We're playing like we could care less. That's the difference in the series.

This. No fire in the belly for the Spurs. And Pop's 'wanting some nasty' is weak to me right now, too. I don't see much fire from him either. It's like they are all so busy being "too cool to get rattled", that they can't remember that their season ends if they give up two more games to Dallas.