I like Kurt Thomas, but he makes stupid fouls then cries about it.
I agree with TimVP: Oberto over Thomas.
I love Udoka, too.
#1 should be to try and grab a quick lead and get the crowd out of it. In fact, I wouldn't mind the crowd having to stand for about 5 or 6 minutes until the Hornets get their first basket.
I've noticed games in NO, the crowd is really rowdy as long as the Hornets are ahead. As soon as they fall behind the rowdiness seems to take a break.
We might as well cue the Ditka topic. If its a big game, Ginobili will show up and be huge. As long as he doesnt have another silly, stupid foul, his legendary status will rise even more.
Odds are Timmy will be huge as well.
The number one thing that needs to happen is:
Win the 3rd Quarter
The team that has won the 3rd quarter has won every game in this series. The players need to get into a frenzy at halftime and come out looking for blood in the quarter, and leave nothing on the floor.
agreed. on the pass out the double by timmy, i'd like to see some fake passes since the defense is rotating. instead of making the logical pass to the next open man, reverse it or dump it back in to timmy. take advantage of NO's agressive rotations and use it against them.
that said, this game has to be smashmouth. anticipate that it's going to be 5 vs 8 with no calls going your way. be agressive and make the refs make a call. keep attacking the basket.
Yup that was a good imrovenment. A little thing but disruppts the D a bit.
born and bread.
I hope Pop reads this. It is the best analysis and advice he's likely to get prior to the game. If the Spurs do this stuff, and if Parker doesn't wait so long to get into the offense, the Spurs can take Game 7 somewhat easily.
Most important part...KEEP ATTACKING THE BASKET. We won last night, but we didn't attack as much as we should have. If we expect our guards to attack and take the lumps that come with it, we whould expect Timmy to do the same. Everybody help everybody get to the rim.!
I just wish they would deny CP3 the ball as often as they could or put some cautious on-the-ball pressure to make him work his way up court. A lot of times, CP3 gets the ball across halfcourt in 3-5 seconds and sets up the Hornet offense with 16-18 seconds on the shot clock. If we could knock off a few seconds and make them start their offensive sets at 12-15 seconds in the shot clock, I think we'd go a long way to improving our ability to stop the Hornet offense. We haven't focused enough on using the shot clock as our sixth defender.
For this reason alone, Finely must be benched. He's second guessing his shot. When this guy is passing up open threes to give it to TP at the wing, you know you have to pull him. Barry needs to eat up his time.
Great, great post.
If the Spurs can keep the game close after three, or even end the third with a lead I think they'll get the 4th quarter and the victory. NO hasn't been tested in the 4th at home yet by the Spurs. The Spurs have proven to be too clutch over the years to lose if they're in it late.
I also agree on your rotations in the post. Fabricio has proven to the Spurs last season that he's pretty darn good in big games, and this is the biggest yet. And his play in this series has been far better than KT's primarily for the Spurs on offense. My fear regarding Horry is that Pop might be afraid of giving him minutes because it will fire up the crowd. Kurt Thomas isn't meant for this series, though, and he definitely needs to sit as much as possible. Oberto needs to play smart and stay out of foul trouble. Heck, I was even wondering if Pop should play Bonner for a couple of minutes early and see how he's matching up with West. I'd have guys bodying up hard on West and see what he's able to do.
1.
I think bringing in Horry will be a great distraction. I'm kind of hoping Pop does it early.
1. Pray to god
2. Pray to god
3. Pray to god
4. Pray to god
5. Pray to god
6. Pray to god
7. Pray to god
You are in deep .... Only a miracle can help you. But those do happen sometimes. you never know. If i were Pop, i would send the whole team in church before the game.
Doesn't it feel different now that your team faces elimination too?
bring in horry in the 3 early and see if he can get into hornets heads more
I want to see a great game. I'm picking Spews. They will do whatever it takes to win.
Spurs Plan = Play 48 minutes instead of only 24 = Win
I think the free throws part is huge, it should be another one of the "keys". On the road, every free throw you get is essential because the road team will not normally get as many, so those points are pivotal to staying in the game. Also, it just seems like, when they come up empty at the line repeatedly in NO, the whole team energy and demeanor goes down, as if they know they are playing with a handicap. If the Spurs make 80% or higher in Game 7, I think they will have a terrific chance of pulling this one out...
I agree. I'm just not sure Pop thinks that way.
The Hornets and their fans are going to be fired up at the start and the Spurs need to be ready for that. I can see NO really getting after it from the start which will mean some overpursuit on the defensive end which will make that second pass to the open shooter even more important. If the Spurs can withstand that initial charge and win the 3rd quarter they'll be in great shape.
The Spurs need to come out gunning right from the start in Game 7 and punch the Hornets in the mouth...get a big lead early and never let up...I want to see a game like Game 3 against the Suns...crush their will, take their heart...it's the only way the Spurs can avoid getting blown out in the second half. If the game is close at halftime, the Spurs are done. They need to be up by at least 15-16 points at halftime to have a chance to win Game 7.
agreed. Hornets will take this barring an epic collapse or injury to West/Chandler.
my heart is telling me that if we win this series... this may be the year of the repeat... i like this thread and agree with timvp's 7 pointers... i would also add...
*keep playing Ime as the first swingman off the bench
*remind manu of his foul to Dirk on our last game 7 (pop if we're up and they have one play take him out and leave both Ime and Bowen)
*play as if your life depends on it
GO SPURS!
Well, I wouldn't go that far...but if the pattern of this series holds, the Spurs will need a big cushion to weather the inevitable run by the Hornets in the 3rd quarter.
I think Pop should spring a few wrinkles at the start of the 3rd quarter:
1. trap CP at the top of the key to get the ball out of his hands (even playing 4 on 3, I like our chances if this is used judiciously). It nearly eliminates the chances of a cheapie Chandler dunk, a push-off, 4-step layup, or CP getting a rhythm stop-n-pop). I wouldn't overdo it, but this could be a nice bullet to have in the gun.
2. post up, pass-out, repost, quick move:
I don't know why we haven't done this much. It seems we like to post, pass out, and either make a secondary pass to a 3-pointer or the play dissolves. In a "broken play", the Hornets have the advantage because of their athleticism.
In a repost, we can catch them out-of-position and Timmy can make an aggressive move.
Notice to what lengths the Hornets will go to avoid Timmy's post-ups, even conceding open shots. That's because if Tim can get their bigs in foul trouble, the game will be basically over. A bigger emphasis on the post-ups could push things in our favor.
3. Tony Parker needs to shoot the mid-range:
TP can't do his normal thing on this team. They are too athletic, and he just gets blocked since he can't pass out for layups. It doesn't help that he's not getting any calls. If he's not going to be effective penetrating, he should go to plan B and take the midrange shot with confidence and in rhythm. Better take a good plan B than try to force a bad plan A.
Right now, he's hesitating badly on these shots. He has that shot in his arsenal.
4. Hack a Chandler:
maybe we'll be the cause of this loophole being closed, but if they are running like antelopes in the 3rd, we should consider this option. Again less touches and rhythm for CP3, less crowd-pleasing dunks, an uglier and slower game--all to our advantage. I would only pull this out on a judgement call.
I think we can't afford to play Finley for many minutes unless his shot is on and on early. He's been passing up shots like he did when he first joined the team, and it's been killing us.
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