Things That Need to Change in Game 5

[Venti Quattro]

Tony Parker should stop flicking on and off like a switch.

[DMC]

Spurs need to finish with more total points in regulation than the Warriors.

[DMC]

Neal is just horrible, no ways around it. Some of our role players just suck.

A bit of a microcosm of Manobili. You take the bad with the good. He'll go out there some nights and get you 20 points. He'll shoot you out of the game on other nights. He's a shooter, a chucker plain and simple and when they go they go and when they don't they don't. Without his shooting, he's useless. He's a horrible defender.

[Joyrider]

Make your ing free throws. 50% in a game where you had the advantage in fouls (except for Bogut 20 illegal screens) is unacceptable.

[DarrinS]

A bit of a microcosm of Manobili. You take the bad with the good. He'll go out there some nights and get you 20 points. He'll shoot you out of the game on other nights. He's a shooter, a chucker plain and simple and when they go they go and when they don't they don't. Without his shooting, he's useless. He's a horrible defender.

I can overlook Neal's absolute suckage on D when he's raining down 3's like an assassin, but how dare you compare that scrub to Manu, who does so many other things well, even when his shot is not falling.

[Brunodf]

A bit of a microcosm of Manobili. You take the bad with the good. He'll go out there some nights and get you 20 points. He'll shoot you out of the game on other nights. He's a shooter, a chucker plain and simple and when they go they go and when they don't they don't. Without his shooting, he's useless. He's a horrible defender.

We are taking just the bad for 2 years

[Spurs21Fan4Ever]

Story of the game. Duncan -23 +/- and Green -25 +/-

You obviously let Duncan go with a pass and hope he plays better next ga me but Green. Green has been pretty consistent with his suckage. Give his minutes to Diaw and T-Mac. Maybe you generate more offense and defense. -25 yeesh

I think Pop is to blame for that, as he wasn't using those players right. Duncan mostly was the only big in it seemed like tonight. If Duncan played with Splitter or Diaw more, I doubt he has that stat. As for Green, I'm not sure how to explain that stat, cause I thought he played well today. Unfortunately Pop didn't put him on Curry enough and he had to watch Parker get owned by Curry or Neal get owned by everyone.

[Agloco]

The ball going through the hoop when we shoot it would be a good start.

This.

X's and O's are played out tbh. It came down to making a shot at the end of Game 4 and it didn't happen. Quite simple.

If this poor shooting trend continues, things won't end well.

I'm thinking of Diaw, Ginobili and Leonard in particular here.

[313]

Splitter had a bucket and two assists in three plays, and was benched for the rest of the game. Please explain.

[Timmy4ever]

Just crab the fking defensive rebound

[Spur-Addict]

We shouldn't be dictated to as far as lineups are concerned. We can get away with Diaw playing the 4 if G.S wants to play small ball. He can bully their 3's, and Draymond Green, and provide some open perimeter looks after a double down. Who cares if he wasn't playing well early on in the game. He is the one guy who can guard just about anyone out there, while causing matchup problems on the other end. Make them adjust to us.

So what we missed some FTs, it's going to happen. I hate missed FTs as much as the next guy, but when they're going on runs, and it's because they're dictating the style of play, we have to make adjustments.

[xxbriguyxx]

In my opinion, big three are playing too many minutes. Pop did the same thing last year, big three played more minutes per game in series with thunder, than they did all season. (Around 8 or 9 more minutes a game during the playoffs). Their bodies will wear out...

[milkyway21]

Something must be done

Spurs shot a lower % from beyond the arc when they lose the game

game 2 23.8% Spurs (Kawhi 0-3; Green 2-6; Bonner 0-1; Manu 1-6; Neal 1-3)
48% GSW - (Thompson 7-8)

game 4 26% Spurs (Kawhi 0-3; Green 2-9; Manu 5-10 Bonner 0-0; Neal 0-1)
39% GSW (Curry 5-10 50%)


FT
GAME 2
Spurs 16-24

GAME 4 (edited)
SPurs 14-25

[boutons_deux]

Something must be done

Spurs shot a lower % from beyond the arc when they lose the game

game 2 23.8% Spurs (Kawhi 0-3; Green 2-6; Bonner 0-1; Manu 1-6; Neal 1-3)
48% GSW - (Thompson 7-8)

game 4 26% Spurs (Kawhi 0-3; Green 2-9; Manu 5-10 Bonner 0-0; Neal 0-1)
39% GSW (Curry 5-10 50%)


FT
GAME 2
Spurs 16-24

GAME 3
SPurs 14-25

that's nearly always true. Spurs are totally dependent on 3Gs. no 3s, no win.

[rmt]

Leonard lost confidence in his shot from the regular season when he went 0-6 in 2 of the last games. He needs to practice that 3 and stop thinking. It's strange how Leonard and Ibaka (since his missed layup) have shot so poorly. Confidence (where shooting is concerned) is everything.

Missed a major section of the game - thunderstorm messed with my satellite. Late in the game and Pop has gone back to small ball. When will he learn that he can't play small ball against GS - their smalls are just better, no bigs to set screens to free up a shooter, rebounding goes to pot and discourages the team, wears out TD as the only big - so many things wrong with it.

He needs to play TD, Splitter and Diaw all 96 minutes of bigs' play time - no Bonner. Diaw and Splitter need to play over 30 minutes. With how Splitter's been handled, he'll leave in the off season. At least give him a chance to play - 18 mins? An Diaw, only 12 mins with TD so tired?

Play Joseph instead of Neal.

Green should guard Curry every minute that Curry plays - no helping off Curry. Same for Leonard and Thompson. Have Diaw play Barnes.

TALL BALL, TALL BALL TALL BALL - more rebounds, more screens, better open shots, less tired TD.

[Fireball]

that's nearly always true. Spurs are totally dependent on 3Gs. no 3s, no win.

No, this year was different ... thanks to improving defense the Spurs won games without hitting the three ball. Game last night too if they had made their FTs ...

[DarrinS]

As for Kawhi, I wouldn't mind seeing him pass up the corner 3, put the ball an the floor, and hit mid-range or finish strong at the rim. They should try to get him some easy looks early in the game -- he needs a confidence boost. If he gets a turnover, I think he should have the green light to take it all the way to the basket -- he has the athleticism to finish.

His role was supposed to be increased when they released Jack. Well, that time is here.

[benefactor]

All of Gary Neal's minutes need to go to Cory Joseph.

[milkyway21]

No, this year was different ... thanks to improving defense the Spurs won games without hitting the three ball. Game last night too if they had made their FTs ...

problem is GSW are hitting with lot of 3s esp if we are ahead..and they usually erase the lead in just a matter of minutes. Sometimes we fired back like Green & Manu in double OT in game 1 when the Spurs hit 50% from the area.

last night too if they had made their FTs ...

yap, could help if they make most of their FTs
game 4 FT Spurs 14-25
GSW 20-25
final score : 87-97

but correct me if I'm wrong, if Spurs made 23 FTs (assuming), out of 25 they still lose by 1

[DarrinS]

All of Gary Neal's minutes need to go to Cory Joseph.

I got no problem with that.

[DarrinS]

I wonder if Pop is regretting releasing Jack? He sure would be useful in this series.

[Johnny RIngo]

Is Tiago worth more than the MLE? Serious question. He has been beyond ty these past two months. Look at his FG% this year - Peaked in January and downhill ever since. His playoff numbers are pathetic.

58.1% - Nov
60.2% - Dec
60.8% - Jan
55.9% - Feb
50.5% - Mar
46.2% - Apr
43.5% - Playoffs

[Old School 44]

- Hit your free throws and it's 3-1 easy.
- No four down for Timmy late. Especially, if you're going to go too slow. He can't stand there with the ball. Bogut is a good defensive player in the post and this kills the rest of the teams movement.
- On late game shots, no isolation jump shooting. Take the ball to the hole and kick to the shooters if needed. Make the defense move.

[bus driver]

spurs need to win

[SenorSpur]

Here are a few things that I feel needs to be done differently in game 5 in order for the Spurs to win. They are in no particular order but I believe they are all instrumental in getting the much needed win on tuesday.

1. Kawai Leonard needs to calm down. He is thinking too much out there. A young player with a shaken confidence does not bode well in the playoffs. He is not contributing in the offensive flow of the game with all of his points coming off of rebounds near the basket. It is great that he finding a way to contribute with his shot being off, but he has to knock down the open shots.

2. Boris Diaw needs to show some level of intensity out there. He looks bored. This is my main problem with him. He is way too wishy-washy. There are games that he actually looks to score and there are games like today where he inexplicably takes a dribble on a wide open three then takes the shot a couple seconds later only when a guy begins to run at him.

3. Tim Duncan needs to have a better gauge on what is left in his tank. Bogut was manhandling him down in the low block during the final minutes of regulation, yet Duncan continued to shoot fade away after fade away only to see the ball hit the front of the rim. He was hurting his team. Also, it was a welcome sight to see him shoot very well at the charity stripe this season (82%), but 5-9 is not going to cut it. Take the same advice you gave to Kawai in game 3 and use it on yourself Duncan.

4. Popovich needs to utilize Splitter much better. This is a player that will very well get over an 8 million dollar a year contract during the offseason. He simply can't play just 19 minutes in a very important playoff game. I saw glimpses of the regular season glory days when he was running the pick and roll early on in the fourth only to be subbed immediately after by Pop. Our offense (especially the second unit's) is predicated on the pick and roll. Mr. Argentina and Mr. Brazil looked to finally have their timing together and Pop needlessly subbed him and put Duncan back in with too much time remaining.

5. It is sad to see that we are in the middle of May and we don't have a designated back-up point guard. Every other team in the playoffs has one and it is integral to any championship team's winning formula. I know Pop does not have much to work with, but in hindsight he made a crucial mistake during the regular season. He seemed to cater to De Colo by favoring him over the other guards during long stretches of the season. Now De Colo is on the bench and not contributing one bit. There is no reason for Gary Neal to play double the minutes that Corey Joseph is playing. In Corey Joseph's time on the court, he has shown that he is very capable of playing decent defense without fouling (something Neal has a problem with). Neal is in the same mold of Bonner. If his shot is not falling he shouldn't be out there. Period. Pop needs to recognize this and play Corey more.

6. One of the big 3 needs to take over and man the team. Taking turns is cute during the regular season, but now is the time for Tony to step up. At this point in his career, he is the best out of the big 3. I understand he was hurt tonight, but I want to see more aggression out of him in game 4. He needs to shoot at least 22 shots and get to the line at least 8 times. Parker needs to show why he was in the MVP discussion for most of the season. Let's see another game 3 performance in game 5.

Home run points - all of them.

Other than blowout situations, Gary Neal and Matt Bonner shouldn't see the court for the rest of the playoffs.