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I would take my chances with him vs Tony than with Curry/Thompson shooting wide open 3s
unfortunately, barnes has looked like a real threat posting up. He hasn't really scored, but that's because he hasn't shot due to the collapsing. Still, without defense coming over, he will have a wide open layup every time. Barnes is a good player tbh, he will dominate parker down low if no one helps. Rewatch the games and you will see time and time again barnes has his way with parker until someone comes over.
I would take my chances with him vs Tony than with Curry/Thompson shooting wide open 3s
I guess. I'd like to think Pop could figure this out instead of us
the Warriors aren't the Thunder, they aren't a better team than the Spurs. The loss last year against the Thunder could not be helped because the Thunder were a flat out better team than the Spurs. I would say the Warriors are pretty even with the Spurs, they are just playing with way more effort and energy. Spurs need to wake up, otherwise this loss will be because they are soft and apathetic, not because the Warriors are the superior team. Everyone from the players to the coaching staff need to make adjustments. Shut down Klay Thompson and Barnes and let Curry shoot whatever he wants. Thompson should not be scoring so efficiently and gaining confidence.
Agreed, out of Curry, Jack, and Thompson, if we can manage to limit two of the three we should be fine. Though Curry is the most deadly, he also has chucks the most and takes the worst shots. Thompson takes smart shots and makes an extremely high percentage of them, especially against us. Same goes for Jack. Game 3 is huge because if they beat us, they're confidence will be through the roof. We really need to start the game off well and prevent any kind of serious run
it always happens against the Spurs too -- Ibaka , Fisher etc.
See ya'll in game 3 im with timvp my confidence is shaken pretty good but i aint jumping off a cliff either
GoSpursGo
I say we should play with a big lineup. That way we can rebound better, and score inside more on offense. We can't try to match their offensive style. They're better at the 3-point-shootout than us. But we're better at inside scoring. Take advantage of your strengths.
Play big and stay on shooters.
When it happens often enough you have to question the defense.
Spurs are done. Another year where Pop is outcoached by his own stubborness and mismanagement.
Going to Bonner to start and then Neal seals it, Pop's not winning this series.
The Warriors small line-up > the Spurs small line-up. The only hope would be doing what made the Spurs good this year, going big. But Pop won't do that, and at this point, the Warriors are so hot that it might not matter. The Spurs let their embers catch ablaze and it's probably going to last the rest of the series.
Neal playing absurd. An undersized selfish gunner who can't defend. Joseph playing is absurd. Joseph was an overrated defender all year long and only looked decent in meaningless regular season games and against his fellow d-leaguers for LA.
I hope the Spurs go out with dignity and at least give an honest attempt with Duncan/Splitter to start and not wait until they're down 3-1. And I hope Pop goes with not playing Neal or Joseph. If that means McGrady then so be it.
Maybe I'm overreacting, but that's my current view.
Definitely overreacting, but who isn't on this board. McGrady won't play, everyone has to abandon that pipe dream. Even if he does, he isn't the answer in this series at all. Remember, we need good perimeter defense, which isn't exactly McGrady's specialty. We have a right to have concern, but that's it. If we steal one in their arena, it's a best of 3 and we have the advantage again. Let's wait until after game 4 to hit the panic button
Based on the first two games, it looks like the Warriors are going to win this series. They were the better team in both games. And it's not like they are just jacking up shots - they are playing pretty smart most of the time, moving the ball and moving off the ball and trying to create and exploit mismatches. They are also very solid defensively, both in transition and in halfcourt sets. Overall, they simply have been outrunning and out-executing the Spurs.
Sure, maybe Thompson goes cold for a game or two. Then again, someone else might step up, or Curry goes for 60 at home, hard to say as everything seems possible with the Warriors right now.
But it's a good thing that the Spurs at least made a run in the end. They just couldn't buy a bucket in the last couple of minutes, otherwise this would have been an open game once again.
For game 3, I like the idea of starting Duncan and Splitter and seeing how it pans out to go big.
It will hold up till they finish off the spurs tbh...
Maybe overreacting, sure.
Good perimeter defense isn't Neal's specialty either. And I don't expect McGrady to play.
It's not a panic button. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, and that goes for Pop.
Good summary.
Pop's inexplicable personnel decisions have indeed been head-scratching, to say the least. He reminds me of Avery Johnson in the opening round of the 2007 NBA playoffs (Mavs versus Warriors). Instead of sticking to the lineup and tactics that had been successful during the regular season, Johnson panicked in Game 1 and elected to roll out a new lineup.
However, we simply can't just hope and pray the Warriors come back to earth or that the Spurs will somehow magically solve this riddle. It's really obvious that the Warriors are playing out of their minds. They've taken the confidence borne out of their first round upset of the Nuggets and have continued to surge. They are young, talented and rolling. They are clearly taking advantage of their own strengths (shooting prowess, quickness, youth, athleticism) while exposing on the Spurs weaknesses (age, lack of athleticism, injury-plagued personnel).
I'm hoping that the Spurs can and will play better too, but with the series now moving out to Oracle arena, I just don't see where this team is going to get additional contributions to help tilt the balance of the series in their favor. I hope I'm wrong, but I just don't see it.
here's a random thought:
Why is Patty Mills active over De Colo? Mills can't guard anyone in this series, at least De Colo has length. It's not like Mills is going to come in and hero-ball his way into some points. This is the playoffs, not some season finale against a team purposely losing for draft position.
Exactly this.
Avery's choices in that series have been mocked by pundits and fans as some of the worst in history. And Pop is following his playbook.
I've got a couple of friends who, after the first-game comeback, said they were coming over and forcing me to watch tonight's game. I'm still just as down on the league as I have been, but I'll toss out a few observations:
The Warriors clearly don't think they are going to get beaten by Tim Duncan shooting 19/20-footers from straight away, and I'm forced to agree. They're giving that shot away just about any time he wants it. He'll make some, but it's a relatively low-percentage shot without the payoff of a 3-pointer. If taking that shot was sucking a defender out, he could take it often enough to keep them honest, and pass other times. But they're staying down in the middle, and watching him shoot it. I'd just about rather see him taking 3-pointers. Actually, I'd like to see him taking some of those 12/14-footers off the glass. They might actually have to honor that shot, which would keep them a little more honest on defense.
Before tonight, Klay Thompson was 12-39 from the 3P line in the playoffs. The Spurs need to put some good, hard playoff fouls on both him and Curry, to take them out of their rhythm and give them something to think about. (Where's Robert Horry when you need him?) It wouldn't hurt my feelings to see them commit a few more hard fouls on the floor, and a few less ticky-tack shooting fouls. And when they do commit a shooting foul, make damn sure the shot doesn't go up clean. As Charles Barkley has said on more than one occasion, "See if he can get up off the floor and make the next one." I hate to say it, but the Spurs looked soft. Tim, Tony, and Manu all three kept looking for whistles - sometimes it didn't look like even they expected the shots to fall. I've seen them do it before, and it's never a good sign. And Bonner was looking for a whistle on just about every freaking rebound. Yeah, Matty, you got pushed... push back harder. Because even if you get out of this round, Z-Bo is gonna kick your soft ass.
The Warriors played as good as they are capable of, and the Spurs still had to throw it away to lose. Unfortunately, the Spurs played like the inexperienced team tonight. Some of the biggest examples I can remember are:
1. At the end of the 3rd, the Spurs had closed a 19-point halftime lead down to just 8 points. Neal chucked a 3-pointer, trying to preserve a 2-for-1 opportunity. Manu got the long rebound with 27 seconds on the game clock, and a new shot clock. Manu has been around long enough to know that he should have pulled it back out and tried to get a shot right at the shot-clock buzzer. Maybe take a 6-point deficit into the 4th, but preserve the 8-point deficit as the worst case. (Assuming the Spurs could keep GS occupied for the last 3 seconds.) Instead, he threw a too-late, off-target pass to Green in the corner. Manu wanted a shot to go up, and Green didn't have much choice but to take it. That left GS enough time to make that 3-pointer at the other end as the buzzer sounded. It gave them an 11 point lead, and let them believe that they didn't have to collapse. Manu always plays high-variance ball, but that was just stupid. There's no excuse for piss-poor clock management from a team that is supposed to be so disciplined. IMO, that one play killed the Spurs' comeback and allowed GS to win the game.
2. For most of the game, Kawhi's offense looked like a rookie who had never been to the playoffs before. He was so tight, it's a wonder he didn't break something. Everybody misses shots, but he short-armed everything about as badly as I have ever seen. If there's an explanation other than nerves, I'd love to hear it.
3. For a critical stretch in the second half, Danny Green was giving Curry a world of on the defensive end. He tapped the ball out of his hands several times, got one steal, forced him to give the ball up, and generally kept him out of rhythm. Next thing you know, Pop's got Kawhi on Curry, and he's blowing into the paint for an easy score. I don't know what happened in the first game, but tonight he should have kept Green on him until he quit being effective. That's on Pop.
4. The Spurs got stops, steals, and turnovers in the 4th, and squandered virtually all of them. Mostly with crappy passing, and trying to force the issue around the basket instead of kicking out and re-setting the offense. The two that really come to mind were Parker getting his own offensive rebound, and then trying to force up a shot with 4 GS players around him, and Manu getting the ball after a Danny Green block, and trying to force a fast break that just wasn't there. Those plays reeked of desperation, not the confidence of seasoned vets who believe they are the better team.
I've always been a student of the mental aspects of the game, momentum and timing. Robert Horry knew better than anyone that there are certain points in a game, and in a series where you can put a dagger in your opponent with a big play or two. I know every made shot looks the same in the box score, but when it gets in the opponents' heads, it can count for a lot more. Right now, the Warriors are as loose as a team can be. They're playing with house money, and all the pressure is off. But it's hard for an upcoming athlete to really believe that he belongs at the top, the first time or two that he challenges. The Warriors believe they can beat the Spurs - especially now. But it's going to be a lot harder for them to see themselves actually closing them out of a 7-game series. That nothing-to-lose at ude will start to evaporate when they realize that they have everything to lose. And the basket that looks so big right now will start to shrink along with it. Believe it or not, the more they win, the harder it will get for them. As bad as the Spurs looked, the Warriors' recent collapses and near-collapses are in every one of their minds. The Spurs could still finish this thing in 5 games, if they've got the toughness to go after them. Personally (and I can't believe I'm saying this) I would put Mills on the inactive list, and let Baynes and T-Mac put a little wood on Bogut and Thompson. Get one of them to lose his cool, and the distraction would be irresistible for a lot of their young guys, IMO.
matt bonner in the starting lineup was definitely a head scratcher. Pop starting neal in the 2nd half, i didnt mind too much because the spurs were down and pop was trying to figure out a lineup that would work
i guess both of those decisions were because of diaw? maybe he didnt feel well after game 1 and pop didnt want to play him too much this game? i dunno
^ definitely agree that the spurs have to be more physical, everyone on this team are 'nice' and nobody commits hard fouls, too bad jax isnt here
Do you think Baynes and McGrady are those type of players though?
I never thought T-Mac was that kind of player who would get in others heads outside of scoring. If he did, most of it was through retaliation. As far as Baynes go, he frustrated the outta Howard in Gm4 against the Lakers, but it's a different case w/ Bogut. Most of the Dubs offense is going through their backcourt; Bogut's role has been mainly to defend the paint and grab the boards.
I agree w/ your overall assessment however.
Good points. I have trust in our guys.
If Spurs want to get into a jump shooting match with this team they are doomed to fail there.
Still not worried. Teams that rely on jump shots to win don't win 4 of 7 against good D. Unless our guys are more injured than is being let on, we will win the series.
I completely agree with you here. If Spurs try to match against what the Warriors are the Warriors are so much better then the Spurs are at it. Play your game and dont let the other team dictate how you play is what I always believed in for a winning team.
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