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the mother ing game plan. The Spurs game plan makes no ing sense.
Spurs' plan not to blame
Jeff McDonald
The Spurs watched Brandon Bass sink one 15-footer, then another. They saw him bury a turnaround jumper along the baseline, then watched as — in the mother of all H-O-R-S-E shots — Bass banked another turnaround off the top of the backboard without so much as calling glass.
After seeing all of Bass' shenanigans unfold again during a Sunday film session, the Spurs emerged with a message for him, as well as the other bit players who spearheaded the Mavericks' Game 1 victory:
Good job. Now go do it again.
“We stuck to our game plan for the most part, put them in positions we wanted them to be in,” Michael Finley said. “And they made big shots.”
Tonight, in what should be a series-defining Game 2 at the AT&T Center, the Spurs appear willing to let Bass and anyone else not named Dirk — or nicknamed Jet — make a run at a role-player repeat.
In their 105-97 loss in Game 1, the Spurs used a defensive scheme built to take the ball from Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, Dallas' top two scorers, and opted instead to take their chances with non-All-Stars like Bass and J.J. Barea.
Despite giving up 53.8 percent shooting and 60 second-half points in Game 1, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sees no need to scrap that plan now.
“From our perspective, we just need to do a better job,” said Popovich, whose team is aiming to avoid starting its third consecutive playoff series down 0-2. “We can't let them score that many points and expect to win.”
The Spurs' plan might have worked to perfection in Game 1, had Josh Howard not decided to pump in 25 mostly contested points on one leg, had Bass not gone unconscious during a key stretch of the first half and had Barea not suddenly morphed into a Puerto Rican Tony Parker.
Bass finished with 14 points, eight of them during an 8:28 span of the second quarter after Nowitzki went to the bench with his third foul. Barea scored 13, while turning the fourth quarter into his pick-and-roll playground.
“That was part of the game plan, to make other guys beat us, and they did,” Spurs forward Drew Gooden said. “You've got to reward the Mavs for that.”
The Spurs got numbers they could live with out of Nowitzki and Terry — 19 points from the former, 12 from the latter. That's one reason they're willing to give the “anybody but Nowitzki and Terry” approach another shot.
In order for it to work, however, the Spurs must do a better job on Dallas' bit players, without letting Nowitzki and Terry out of their crosshairs.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle was pleased with the production he got from unexpected places in Game 1. Bass matched the scoring of the Spurs' entire bench by himself.
“Sometimes, that's what you have to do,” Carlisle said. “If you try to fight city hall and throw the ball to (Nowitzki), they're going to make you look bad. The onus is on other guys to step up.”
Barea, especially, took over in the fourth quarter, penetrating the lane and making play after play to help the Mavs pull away. One tweak the Spurs might consider would be to attack Barea a bit more on the pick-and-roll.
“We have to stay in front of him and make him take tough shots,” Finley said. “And if he makes those tough shots, then we have to tap him on the back and say, ‘Good shot.'”
In Game 2, the Spurs would like to keep their congratulations of the Mavericks' role players to a minimum. Otherwise, they could be headed to Dallas in an 0-2 hole later this week.
If the Spurs have any hope of evening the series before it moves north, they will need to follow an adjusted defensive game plan tonight.
“Do what we did,” Finley said. “Just do it better and for a longer period of time.”
the mother ing game plan. The Spurs game plan makes no ing sense.
At first I read the le as: Spurs' fans not to blame.
Anyway. I am not sure if I like the idea of letting other players beat us. I say let the main guys get thier points and make sure guys like Barea stick to thier 8 pts a game or whatever. Anyway it doesn't matter, for some reason all players on the Mavs play like superstars. They just have this confidence about them.
Welcome to Mavs vs. Spurs.
they certainly seem confident that they can beat the Spurs. they always play with great confidence against us.
Yeah, if you follow your game plan and you lose, that's a sign that the game plan wasn't the right one.
Not only that, we shot lights out from the outside, which is most likely not to happen again, and we still lost. Anwyays, brace yourself for tonight...
“From our perspective, we just need to do a better job,” said Popovich, whose team is aiming to avoid starting its third consecutive playoff series down 0-2. “We can't let them score that many points and expect to win.”
Genius.
I know! WTF is up with that? They bring it against the Spurs. Spurs should wear Warrior jerseys tomorrow night or somethin. They choke against everyone else, except the Spurs.
At least he couldn't go to the lame "We just missed some (fluke) shots" explanation we usually get out of Pop.
Spurs roleplayers like Bass, Barea, etc. are adequate help. Bass is much more adequate than Bonner, that's for sure.
Josh is the only one who is a wildcard, X-factor and it's a given that JoHo likes to get up to play against the Spurs. So he'll most likely contribute on offense. He has 2006 playoffs imprinted memory on him.
I wouldn't be surprised if the gameplan fails in game 2.
I was thinking of something earlier today. Why not let Dirk OR Terry (but not both) go all out and score 40 if they have to. BUT...stop EVERYONE else. Maybe it'll work...the Spurs in the past have usually let one guy try to beat them on his own while stopping everyone else.
Sure, let's do the same thing in Game 2. Sounds like a Pop strategy.
We have a crappy defense because we have crappy defensive players like Bonner and Finley playing major minutes, and guarding guys who can score 25 points in their sleep.
So...let's just run it back and hope they don't make shots. Brilliant, Pop. Really stellar plan.
This is the Mavs - the team who plays ten feet over their heads EVERY time they lace 'em up against us.
You know you'll give timvp a hernia if you keep swinging like that...
Anyway, I'll let you two "brace" yourselves...huddle for comfort from the onslaught of the Mighty Mavs.
I know we started out 0-2 against the Lakers, but we were 0-2 against the Hornets last seasont too? I thought we split the opener? Or went 2-0. Can't remember...From our perspective, we just need to do a better job,” said Popovich, whose team is aiming to avoid starting its third consecutive playoff series down 0-2. “We can't let them score that many points and expect to win.”
I don't know who's scouting for the Spurs, but if their plan is to leave Bass open for 15-foot jumpers all night they must have some really good tee times next week.
We were 0-2 and then Pop changed the strategy.
Just after game 2 ...
Whatever . It's good to know that after months you still can't get me out of your system. Every single one of these weak posts you make goes a long ways of furthering my point that you have 'Property of El Nono' plastered all over your ass.
Are you actually going to have a take on the topic, or you just came here to make a fool of yourself again?
the game plan was good... until the 4th Quarter. It was tied going into the 4th. But the Spurs just fell apart in the 4th. Pop put Duncan in too late, he put Bowen on Howard instead of Terry too late, Parker did not drive enough in the 4th and they let Barrea do whatever the he wanted.
Hopefully Pop makes some adjustments. This is one area of his coaching that really bugs me. He is too stubborn sometimes.
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