Watch the game again. It was absolutely due to the D. Iggy was particularly superb. Defence can cause a team to choke.
Yup, but they hit them, and over a large sample size we now know that somehow it's not luck. That's the crazy thing. They are two of the best shooters the world has ever seen.
Klay had 37 in a quarter this season. 37 in a quarter.11 3s in a game wasn't even the most amazing thing that guy did this season. Stunning, huh?!
They have single-handedly changed the game. They can make over 40% from 30ft and that is completely impossible to defend.
Mostly agree, although you aren't giving any credit to the incredible defence Iggy, Klay and Steph played on KD and Westy in the 4th. Go back and watch what Iggy did in the final 8 mins.
Totally. Game 5 was all down to botched offence and wide open misses (2 by LMA, 2 by TP). And it had nothing to do with Kawhi, who was superb and kept us in the game with 2 steals from nowhere, but didn't see the ball enough at the other end. Laughable that so many on this site blame him.
How the can you beat them then? It seems impossible in a series right now. OKC almost did, until they went into their normal god mode of shooting the ball and things became Warriors ball again. When they found their groove it was a wrap.Kawhi is far from the one to blame IMO.Yup, but they hit them, and over a large sample size we now know that somehow it's not luck. That's the crazy thing. They are two of the best shooters the world has ever seen.
Klay had 37 in a quarter this season. 37 in a quarter.
They have single-handedly changed the game. They can make over 40% from 30ft and that is completely impossible to defend.
Choking means a lot more than that. It also comes down to making poor decisions, losing composure and making off-ball/system mistakes, etc. It's not just about shooting.
And yes, the Spurs were heroic as ever in both games 6 and 7. I was astounded that they took game 7 to the final minute - so much respect.
I have no idea how to beat them. I think they have to beat themselves, or you do what OKC did in games 1-4, out-muscle them (like they did to us).
Another thing many haven't mentioned is that Steph was clearly physically healthier by game 6. He had his side-steps and driving game back for games 6 and 7.
Yup, no Kawhi hate from me, only love and respect. He put everything out there as usual. In that series we were let down by our bigs and the bench.
Offensively you need to run pick n roll and have shooters who can stretch the floor. Have guys who can rebound the ball and stretch possessions and get put backs for points.
Defensively you need length and athleticism to stay in front of their guards and if you plan on switching when they set those moving screens you need athletic bigs who can close out. You have to force someone else to beat you besides Klay and Curry.
Steph getting to near 100% was a huge key in the series, when he got his legs again it was a wrap. You have to get them while they are down and take them out, otherwise you don't have a chance to beat that team. When their threes are falling like that as well it's impossible to stop. You just pray they miss.Spurs used to have that down pretty much as of last year and even one game this year, don't think they have the team assembled right NOW as is though who can do it without making changes. All of that can be done but it is tough.
Our biggest downfall is the lack of a bench that can amass a lead when they enter a game. The Spurs spent way too much time overpaying their starters and the bench became an afterthought. What used to be our greatest strength became a liability, we always dread that second unit coming in because they slow the tempo down, don't have any real scorers and leads that we would have would disappear or we'd go into a huge hole.
The thing that kept OKC afloat was the fact that their bench and their role players played well above their talent level. Roberson looked solid for quite some time, Waiters wasn't chucking and missing. Once they fell back to their averages they were toast.
Strangely, this wasn't the case for the first half of the season - in fact it was the other way around! The bench was playing the beautiful game and covering for the starters (who took a while to learn how to play with LMA) a lot of the time. Later in the season their play degraded (this started about the time Manu went out) as they went away from the passing and motion, and then in the playoffs they were hopeless. Complacency? Poor coaching?
Meanwhile, Adams, Roberson and Waiters went from afterthoughts to valuable contributors in the space of two months. Stunning, really.
I think the second unit ran out of gas and didn't have a real iden y when Manu went out so nobody could pick up the slack.. Poor coaching killed it by adding guys at the end of the year that didn't do jack or contribute at all.. Mills confidence just exploded and he may never be the same player ever again.
Roberson began playing with confidence and it spilled over because they kept leaving him wide open. Waiters ended up catching a streak in his shooting and Adams is just brilliant for his age and size. Roberson could be a dangerous player if he learns to consistently hit that corner 3.
It's really true- he bricked the shot so bad we couldn't rebound it. Twice in a row.
See above.Um, I'm well aware of what happened, and that's not it. You have conflated 2 different plays. The play where LBJ bricked it was the previous play starting with 28s to go. He bricked it so badly that it came off Kawhi's gigantic hands straight up into the air, then Kawhi, Boris and Manu (I think) spoiled each other going for the secondary rebound while Wade sneaked in to steal the ball from them. He dished it to LBJ who hit his second chance. Then Kawhi missed a FT (I don't blame him - the poor kid was so young), and then the Allen play.
In the final minute both Manu and Kawhi missed FTs, and we couldn't secure either of two rebounds that would have closed the series. And yes, maybe Pop was to blame for not having Timmy in the game for those rebounds. Up 5 with 28s to go we were 98% favourites.
Convince yourself of whatever you like, but it is a dangerous thing to explain away past errors as bad luck. 4 unusual plays all going badly (any one of them going our way wins the game and the series), but that's still a choke - a team choke, not an individual one.
Still, it worked out well, because I doubt we'd have won in 2014 if not for 2013, and in many parallel universes we won both!
Um, I'm well aware of what happened, and that's not it. You have conflated 2 different plays. The play where LBJ bricked it was the previous play starting with 28s to go. He bricked it so badly that it came off Kawhi's gigantic hands straight up into the air, then Kawhi, Boris and Manu (I think) spoiled each other going for the secondary rebound while Wade sneaked in to steal the ball from them. He dished it to LBJ who hit his second chance. Then Kawhi missed a FT (I don't blame him - the poor kid was so young), and then the Allen play.
In the final minute both Manu and Kawhi missed FTs, and we couldn't secure either of two rebounds that would have closed the series. And yes, maybe Pop was to blame for not having Timmy in the game for those rebounds. Up 5 with 28s to go we were 98% favourites.
Convince yourself of whatever you like, but it is a dangerous thing to explain away past errors as bad luck. 4 unusual plays all going badly (any one of them going our way wins the game and the series), but that's still a choke - a team choke, not an individual one.
Still, it worked out well, because I doubt we'd have won in 2014 if not for 2013, and in many parallel universes we won both!
Besides the motivation factor, I don't see why the Spurs would have not repeated had they won '13.
They lost in 7, and it was pretty evident they had figure out the Heat by game 6 and lost out of that sequence of horrible events. The rosters didn't change a lot. Spurs would have played one less game, so no more wear. I wonder if anybody actually thought the Spurs weren't real due to the result of that series. I think repeating would have been good motivation.
The Spurs never repeat. Pop doesn't believe you can win it every year.
That hunger honestly gave them that drive they needed to get back there and win it, without that do they pass that OKC team? They were on a flat out mission, don't know if they make it back to the finals without losing in 13 and putting a spark under them for revenge.
Tim getting injured and missing the playoffs, Fisher .4, Manu fouling Dirk, Memphis reloading the Lakers with Gasol. Ray Allen. The simple fact that the Spurs reign has and is currently in the stacked west. Not like Lebrons ridiculous 6 straight appearances which should come with an asterisk. The Spurs have never choked away a series like OKC Just did, the closest is when we were up 2-0 against ironically, OKC. I remember Harden killing us in game 5 then folding like a deck of cards against LeBron.
Also, in 2013, LeBron missed, the ball finds Allen who ties the game. What did I miss? Were talking about the Spurs choking away single games. The Thunder choked away 3 straight games.
As far as the warriors playing great defense, take a look Thompson's threes, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GxrzNbMq5gk
Most of those are hard shots with a hand in the face. When Durant and Westbrook did pass out of double teams the supporting cast was passive. Its easier to stop people from Dunking then it is to stop 3 point shots. Which is exactly why Andre Robinson and Dion Waiters pestered Kawhi, but were ultimately nuetralized against Thompson and Curry. Heck, Look how Danny Green thrived.
No doubt this was a choke OKC should of won. Snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
True. I don't know about .4 being a le year though, the Spurs had Rasho starting as Center and Hedo starting as well, no Barry and Nazr yet and the Pistons were on another level in those finals and looked to be on a mission playing some great team ball at the right time. The Dirk foul though for sure, that was our three peat had they won that series because they wont he next year as wellThat one stung.
Spurs did make back to back NBA finals (2013,2014). Blew it in 2013, had it in their grasp and let go, won it all in 2014 in epic fashion, Not a repeat, but still will shut up all the clowns who say Spurs are not a dynasty because of no repeat with the Duncan, Parker, Ginobili big 3.
Originally Posted by Mul roll How about what OKC did on offense during the 8:00 run in Game 6.
Turnovers, missed shots.
Certainly was not due to Golden States defense.
Choke absolutely.
Just rewatched end of 5 and 6. No way should that be characterized as superb D by Iggy causing Pizza Durants and WestChucks choke. Completely unforced turnovers, stupid shot selection.
No calls of obvious fouls by Gaymond Green.
But.. do they win '07 without the spark provided by the Dirk foul?True. I don't know about .4 being a le year though, the Spurs had Rasho starting as Center and Hedo starting as well, no Barry and Nazr yet and the Pistons were on another level in those finals and looked to be on a mission playing some great team ball at the right time. The Dirk foul though for sure, that was our three peat had they won that series because they wont he next year as well
It's all skill. That's how they get back to the Finals. You don't take 30 teams and have one shoot 600+ 3s between two guys where luck gets them to the Finals. It cannot happen. They are the two best 3pt shooters in the league and it's a long gap to number 3. Not only that, but both players have the ability to get their own shot, and their release is in tenths of a second. You simply cannot defend it. It's not like Bonner who takes half an hour to get a shot off. You start closing out on Matt from the restricted area and he might not get the shot off before you get there. Curry and Klay can shoot accurately with you one step from them and a hand up. It's uncanny but it's not luck. It's the future of the league. That kind of renders poor play moot since they can drop 30pts on you in just a few minutes and cover large deficits.
This is one in Tim Duncan's armor. Even though he's had 2 decades of sustained excellence, he could never turn that excellence into a B2B.
Most of the greats in the GOAT conversation (MJ, Magic, Kareem, Shaq, Bill Russell, even Hakeem and LBJ) repeated. The only top 10-ish player who didn't repeat besides Duncan was Bird.
I don't know what it is about Timmy, but when you're splitting hairs about the best ever, or in this case, wondering if the Spurs could have repeated if they'd won in 2013, two decades of Spurs history indicates they would not have done so.
I guess Wilt doesn't count as a top 10 all time. Today's NBA fan.
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