Series Grades: Spurs vs. Hornets

[timvp]

Don't get me wrong they weren't perfect or anything like that, but to grade all our players below B -at least the big three- showed that timvp has no respect for NO basketball or the series. They are a great team and gave us a good battle. It wasn't only that Manu, Tim, or Tony played below their average, NO played great D too. So what I think is just that, Timvp is not counting with the other side, and he should.

I have respect for the Hornets but I just can't see reason to give free passes to the Big Three for struggling. Duncan played poorly offensively whether or not he was doubled. Ginobili had some of the worst defenders in the NBA on him and he wasn't shown much respect -- and he didn't exactly explode. His inability to defend Peja also was a big part of the Spurs losing the first two games. Parker was up and down throughout the series and had trouble shifting gears from the Suns series to the Hornets series.

I'm happy as the Spurs advanced but their Big Three can play a lot better than what they showed.

[timvp]

I think duncan played poorly because he lacked confidence after his first game
I think it was more mental then anything
especially since he played so well against suns

oh it is a new series so lets hope duncan has a good game one so he has confidence in this series

Hope you're right. Spurs need the real Tim Duncan to stand back up.

[ducks]

yeah kenny smith thought manu would own the hornets and he looked more average then great

[1Parker1]

I think Duncan played badly because Byron Scott used the same tactic Pop used on CP3 the last 2 games of the series, except Byron did it from the begining. He sent multiple different double teams at Duncan, sometimes he let Chandler go at him one on one, sometimes not.

Duncan was hesitant because often times he was waiting for the double team to come and then when it didn't, he'd shoot a fadeaway with about 5 seconds remaining. Spurs also did a poor job of spacing the floor those 3 losses in NO, and not hitting their shots made it easier for them to focus on Duncan.

Hopefully Duncan plays smarter, quicker, and more aggressively against the Lakers. Otherwise, we're doomed. He can't be averaging 15 ppg like in the Hornets series against LA.

[Cry Havoc]

I want to say Duncan struggled due to illness or double-teams or any other reason ... but then you look and he ended Game 7 shooting 0-for-10 with not a double-team in sight.

The only explanation, other than Duncan playing poorly, is Chandler played the best defense anyone has ever played against Duncan. I just can't buy that Chandler suddenly woke up and was David Robinson redux. I think Duncan just played poorly, for whatever reasons.

I agree with "passed effectively" but what post defense did Duncan play? Chandler shot once or twice against him on the low block and scored. Even Melvin Ely scored a couple times against him. He didn't play much post defense and when he did, he wasn't too effective.

His defense on West in Game 6 was impressive but that was out on the perimeter for the most part.

I guess I agree with most of what you said, but the fact remains is that Byron Scott completely shuffled and tailored his defense to slow down Duncan. So of course that's going to make it tough on him. A lot of his close shots just rimmed out as well. Duncan was a monster on the boards though, and I felt like a lot of his defensive plays were redirection. Short of Paul, no one consistently went in the lane for the Hornets in the games we won.

It's kind of weird to say, but I'd go so far to say that Duncan dominated that series without playing well. He made the Hornets adjust to him every game, even when he wasn't hitting shots. That's dominance, forcing your opponent's hand. After Phoenix said, "We can single cover him" and Duncan destroyed them almost single-handedly, it just goes to show how much respect Scott has for Duncan, and, if he is indeed on the downward side of his career, he's got a long way to go from the peak of Everest.

[Spurs Brazil]

Great recap timvp

Gregg Popovich

SECOND ROUND STATISTICS
Hack-a-Chandlers: 3
Fingers in his chest: 1
Non-awkward in-game interviews : 0

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
For the second straight series, Pop was very hands-on. He also insisted Joey Crawford be hands-off when discussing double delay of game matters.

ANALYSIS
I thought Pop entered the series with a below average gameplan, but to his credit he junked that gameplan and came up with a way to beat the Hornets. By the end of the series, he was masterful. For two consecutive series, Pop has played a huge role in the Spurs being able to survive.

SECOND ROUND GRADE
A-

Pop is doing a great job. He seems to have an answer for everything