When the Spurs went small Dampier or Diop stayed on TD and Dirk guarded a guard.
Spurs aren't going to post up Nazr often, it's that playing a full game in the post on defense takes its toll. Nazr's a better player than Tsakalidis.Memphis tried the same in round 1 going at Dirk in the post with that Euro Sakeledis guy, it didn't work and he has more game than Nazr.........
you are correct sir. but i still don't think the mavs will win 3 in a row in this particular series, especially since that third game is at the sbc center. i am taking into account that dallas has won on our home floor already this season, but we are just as capable of stealing one on the mavs floor. this promises to be a very back and forth series, not one team winning 2-3 games in a row.
nazr is a better rebounder than tsakalidis, and probably a better free throw shooter. that's about it.
That's exactly what the Spurs need on the offensive end from the other big. He's also a better jumpshooter than whatshisname.
[QUOTE=A-Train]When the Spurs went small Dampier or Diop stayed on TD and Dirk guarded a guard.
/QUOTE]
That was rare, very rare, when the Spurs went small we countered by going small, Dirk played TD and it got him in foul trouble.
If Nazr is guarding Dirk than there will be less opportunities for Mohammad to box out on rebounding which will still hurt the spurs rebounding. At least with Bowen you don't expect him to get rebounds anyways.
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Nazr would not guard Dirk. Dirk would guard Nazr and Dampier would guard TD. On the other side, Nazr would draw Dampier and TD would get Dirk.
RIF.
I already said the flaw of the spurs going big. Duncan would have to guard Dirk or Howard or Mohammad would have to guard Howard or Dirk.
With Bowen guarding Dirk
Parker guards Harris
Ginobili guards Terry
Bowen guards Dirk
Duncan guards Howard
Mohammad guards Diop.
Dirk will have no problem with Mohammad.
Again, Nazr would not guard Nowitzki. RIF.
Bowen on Howard makes plenty of sense from the Spurs' perspective. If you put Duncan on Howard then that is a worse matchup than Duncan guarding Nowitzki. The key is for the Spurs to have two bigs on the court and prevent the penetration to the rim. That, with Bowen on Howard, reduces the likelihood that the rest of the Mavs save for Nowitzki have a big game. I'd rather give up a big game to Dirk that consists of him playing 20 feet from the rim than have Howard, Terry, Harris and Stackhouse get off.
Who will Nazr guard than? Duncan will be on Diop/Dampier so Nazr will have to guard Dirk or Howard.
Sheesh. Duncan gets Nowitzki. Nazr gets Dampier/Diop and Bowen gets Howard.
Taking Duncan away from the basket by guarding Dirk will hurt San Antonio's interior defense. That is where putting Harris in the game forces one of the spurs bigs to guard the perimeter and that opens driving lanes.
...and putting Duncan on Howard is better? Duncan on Dirk makes much more sense. You have Bowen to put on Howard. Then, and this is key, instead of Horry or Barry or Finley protecting the paint you have an actual center.
Also, putting Harris in the lineup does nothing to weaken the interior defense. That is self-inflicted when Pop goes with Horry/Barry/Finley at a big spot.
actually, putting Duncan on Dirk is probably the worst thing they could do. Dirk is too good of a shooter to leave open in order to guard the inside. and if Duncan played up on him, it will leave the middle wide open for lots of easy baskets by Howard, Harris, Daniels, and Stack... all of whom love to drive and cut inside. Dirk is also faster than Duncan, and would be able to drive past him, and draw some double and triple teams, leaving someone open. If they put Duncan on Dirk, it will be a short series for the Spurs.
Btw Mohammad was the center on a pretty pitiful Knicks defense. He can't guard the paint and neither can Horry. Duncan chasing Dirk around picks is tougher than Dirk guarding Mohammad. Dirk already had some big games with Duncan guarding him. Taking Duncan out of the paint will hurt the spurs rebounding, shot blocking, and will wear him out. Duncan has to guard Diop if you want him to play like he did in the first 2 games.
Again, the Spurs would have two bigs on the floor. RIF.
And Duncan chasing Howard is supposed to be easier? Fine, Dirk can try to have his big game from 20 feet. Meanwhile, the Spurs have their interior defense again. On the offensive side of the ball, the Spurs have their 2nd big to help crash the offensive glass and set picks. All in all, it's a much better scenario for the Spurs and it is the way the Spurs have won championships. So life becomes easier for Nowitzki from 20 feet, while it just got a lot tougher for the supporting cast that won Game 2 for the Mavs.
no way in Rasho or Nazr would be able to stop Harris or Howard's penetration ability.
Once again Mohammad can't guard the paint and Duncan will not be able to help out on defense like he usually does because he is out of position unless he leaves Dirk wide open. Howard likes to shoot around the basket anyways and Bowen is better at guarding the perimeter.
All that matters is that there's a shotblocker waiting there to challenge them. That certainly will have an impact, regardless of how homerific you believe those two to be. Lest we forget that Howard will have Bowen draped all over him.
Once again, Mohammed is superior at interior defense compared to Horry/Barry/Finley. Howard's game will be severely curtailed with Bowen on him.
You're subs uting Duncan for Mohammad in interior defense because Duncan will be guarding the perimeter instead of the interior if he guards Dirk. Howard will score on Bowen as well. Harris would have even an easier time penetrating with Duncan on the perimeter.
I think you're right. If they play Nazr or Rasho, Duncan on Howard is probably the best option, and it still gives them two help defenders inside. That helps the Spurs perimeter defenders edge up on the guys they're covering more effectively, which is one of the basic premises of the Spurs defense.
And you're right, covering Nazr is nothing Dirk has to get worried about, exactly. But that's okay. It's not a lineup designed to create mismatches. It's designed to allow the Spurs to play solid defense and do what they do. If they're good enough, they can win -- and in the past, they've generally proven to be good enough.
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