Nuggets: Duncan no problem
Web Posted: 04/30/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...2284cd6d9.html
DENVER — This is going to come as a shock to Spurs fans.
It likely will come as a shock to Spurs' star Tim Duncan.
The Denver Nuggets believe they did a good job of controlling Duncan in the first two games of their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.
Considering Duncan made 11 of 15 shots and scored 24 points in just 28 minutes in Game 2, such an assertion seems odd, unless you think Duncan's 7-for-22 shooting in Game 1 was a result of Denver's defensive dynamics, rather than a spate of typically reliable shots that just didn't fall.
Nevertheless, so confident are the Nuggets that they have been able to control the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player that they go into tonight's Game 3 focusing their defensive efforts on limiting the dribble penetration moves of Spurs guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, rather than limiting Duncan's opportunities in the low post.
The Nuggets insist they will open Game 3 with Duncan's defender — either power forward Kenyon Martin or center Marcus Camby — playing him without double-team help.
"I'm actually happy with how we've played Duncan," Nuggets coach George Karl said after his team's Friday morning practice session. "In general, in Game 1 we had great control of him. In Game 2 he had a great game, but it was only part of why they kicked our butts.
"We're going to have a double-team ready for him, but we're going to hand Kenyon and Marcus the same responsibility they had the first three games and probably play him mostly straight-up."
Should Duncan have too much success against one-on-one coverage, Karl is confident he can make defensive adjustments to deal with him, using variations on defensive rotations and double-teams.
Karl said he is not sure there is any defensive scheme that can keep Parker and Ginobili out of the lane, driving to the rim and creating opportunities for themselves and their teammates.
"Right now," Karl said, "we don't have a clue how to stop it."
Greg Buckner, Denver's best on-ball perimeter defender, figures to see much more court time in Game 3 in an effort to slow down Ginobili. He may even open the game, along with Andre Miller, in the Nuggets' backcourt.
"We've got to figure out a way," Buckner said. "(Ginobili) has to be one of the toughest guys to stay in front of, and he's always creating contact. Nowadays, when the offensive guy creates the contact it's almost always a foul (on the defender)."
Stops are doubly vital to the Nuggets, Karl said, because the running game that has been paramount in their 19-1 home record since the All-Star break is predicated on defensive rebounds. The Spurs shot the ball so well in their Game 2 blowout victory that Denver never had a chance to get its fast break rolling.
Compounding the problem is the fact the Spurs, in Karl's opinion, are the NBA's best team at dropping their big men back on defense.
"They are a great defensive transition team," Karl said. "Duncan runs the court, at both ends. So (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) tells every big guy they have to run as hard as Duncan does, and he runs as hard as any big guy in the NBA.
"You usually find your opportunities in transition when big guys don't run back. I would love to have 10 possessions where their big guys aren't back, maybe 20. In the regular season we were getting 20, 25 a game where the big guys weren't protecting the paint. I don't know that we're going to get that many, but we'd like to get more than we've gotten."
You know you have a team worried, when their best wing defender is whining about the refs."We've got to figure out a way," Buckner said. "(Ginobili) has to be one of the toughest guys to stay in front of, and he's always creating contact. Nowadays, when the offensive guy creates the contact it's almost always a foul (on the defender)."
Bring the freakin Hammer Spurs.
wow.. I smell denial
wow... this is just plain pathetic / stupid.
"Yay guys, let's just forget about defending the guy who torched our so-called DPOY candidate Marcus Camby for 24 points on 11-15 shooting!"
-Nuggets locker room after a heavy amount of acid intake
Yes.. I agree this thread needs to die.
Another thing Duncan did was he helped TP and Manu with their penetrations in Game 2. How you say?
The Nuggets sent Camby to spy on TP, occasionally Manu in Game 1. Whenever they drove, Camby left his man and came across for the block or he inhibited their shot.
In game 2, the Spurs used several high screen/rolls and Timmy would roll down the lane facing the ball-handler and purposely sealing Camby. It's sort of a moving screen in effect, but it's legal because he's rolling to the basket.
When the Spurs did side screen/rolls, TP would get around the show of the 2nd defender and then pass it to Tim a little later, after Camby's attention was drawn to him and Tim got some baseline buckets that way.
I expect more of the same strategy of picking off Camby or boxing him out on seals to open it up for the drivers.
One more thing the Spurs did was to make the extra pass between the two bigs. When Camby left one, Duncan or Nazr would feed across with a bounce pass to the other for the layup or dunk, Duncan to Nazr or Nazr to Timmy.
I read the last post. And yes. I cannot speak,
But really... Manu was the guy in game 2.
you deny me... that's cute.
No he went to eat.
I think you are being WAY to full yourselves.
How does talking about strategy equate to being full of yourself? Some of your posts are so senseless.
thats exactly what I thought.
wow:Nuggets overrate themselves, as usual.
We saw how the Nuggets double-teamed Duncan. How they cover him with two big men, still he had a 70%FG.
Okay, in the 1st game he was 7-22 but he was recuperating from an ankle injury.
Anthony made just 2 pts at halftime, so what's the excuse?
Baloney!
Transition defense still, Pops! And feed the ball to Duncan early, let's see if Camby survive' 'til the 4th Qtr.
And Bowen/Devin on Anthony...then I'll say "good luck" 'jello".
I sense some "mindgames" going on with Karl. He sounds like Pop is a dictator or something. My guess is he's trying to get inside the heads of the bigs of San Antonio. I wouldn't be surprised if he was playing mindgames to make the bigs for San Antonio feel like "dogs" how they "run as fast as Duncan down the floor because he tells them to". He makes our bigs sound like they're dependent on Pop's every word.
Which only leads me to believe Karl is worried about our bigs and not too much about Parker & Manu. Karl is a smart coach...why would he go out of his way to say, "we have no answers for Manu & Parker"? He's smarter than that. He's been coaching for how many years? And he's had success against the likes of Kobe & Shaq while in Seattle...so I HIGHLY doubt he is being honest about Parker & Manu.
Karl is revealing too much, which makes me very su ious of his intent. Denver will not play Duncan straight up. I bet Denver throws many double-teams at Duncan. He knows as well as anybody that Duncan is the reason why Parker & Manu are successful. When Duncan can't get it going, Parker struggles badly.
Don't underestimate George Karl. The guy is smart, very smart coach. He's revealing these things for a reason...to keep the Spurs confident.
Overconfidence was one of the reasons why the Spurs lost game 1 and I think he's just buttering up Parker & Manu as well as letting Duncan feel "relaxed" about the supposed single coverage he'll get.
Those are some pretty interesting quotes. I'm really surprised at how prideful Denver is. I'm not saying those are bad quotes, but admit it, it does show A LOT of pride. I hope the Spurs don't lose to this team...........
I think you'll see the opposite.
The Nuggets will give the responsibility of doubling Duncan to another guard or forward early in the game. They'll see if the Spurs three point shooting is as solid as it was the other night. In the meantime, Camby will be the one cutting off TP's and MG's drives.
Before the series started, we had a discussion on the Nuggets forum about the KEY guy to stop in the series. I felt the key guy was Tony Parker, by far and away.
I love Duncan. Best player on the floor in the west, period. (and only Shaq tops him for domination in the East, and God, do I hate saying that)
But TD is one of the superstars who is almost always going to fall into the 20-30 point range, no matter what you do. He'll rarely go off for more than that. (I didn't say NEVER, I said rarely) You can come up with fancy schemes to slow him down, but they aren't going to work. He's going to get his double/double and that's that.
So why bother throwing all of your energy in trying to find a way to shut Tim Duncan down? You know what he's going to do to you.
All things considered, I'm happy with Duncan taking a fifteen foot hook on the baseline. He just happened to hit it on Wednesday night.
The guys who can kill you with this Spurs team are Parker and Ginobili. Think about this: The Spurs were 25-5 when TP had 7 or more assists in a game this year. In three of the five losses, Duncan was out of the lineup.
If TP is driving and distributing the ball, you are dead. I don't care what you are doing on Duncan, I don't care how good of offense you are playing, the game is over before its started.
The Spurs are 13-2 if Manu scores 20 or more in a game. Again, he goes off, you are probably dead.
Well, I've said you can't control TD. I don't think you can. You CAN control TP or Manu. They aren't unstoppable like TD. You can create schemes to frustrate them. Pop made some nice adjustments in game 2 and the Nuggets got lit up.
I expect Karl to make some major adjustments in game 3. We'll see how they play out, but my guess is the Nuggets will win the game tonight. Call it a hunch. You guys haven't seen our best yet and I think tonight will be the night. If we play our best at the Pepsi Center, you don't beat us there. Think of Philly/Detroit.
Game four is the game. I've thought it all along. Game four.
^Very good post. Thats what the playoffs is about-making adjustments and thats why it is still very tough no matter who you play. The opposing team is always going ot be able to make adjustments fit to beat you. Game 3 is going to be the toughest of the series for both teams. Denver is going to be so pumped, so the Spurs will have to match that. Will Duncan dominate? Will TP and Ginobili produce numbers? Will our bench step up? Will we rebound and defend? The plot thickens........
You've got a point there, Troy. This game will definitely be tighter than game 2. I doubt the Spurs will play as poorly as in game 1. I still think the Spurs will take it tonight, but either way, game 4 is the clincher.
Tom, you're right about Karl. I don't believe a word of what he gave in that quote. He's slick, but I doubt Pop will let the Spurs fall for it.
Geroge Karl = Phil Jackson light?
He comes off very smug.
He does, but he's changed a bit from his previous coaching days.
One of the things I like about Karl now that I've had a chance to see him in Denver is that he seems to have a better sense of when to push, when not to push. With Seattle and Milwaukee, he pretty much stayed the same way, no matter what.
With this team, he's been hard on them. One of the things we needed was what you guys have. We needed the confidence to think we'll win every game. That we are good enough to compete and that we don't have to bow down to anyone. Watching game one, with six minutes left on the clock, I told my friend that what was different about THIS Nuggets team is that "THEY think they are going to win this game. There isn't any doubt in their minds they'll make the plays to win it."
If we don't have that at ude, we'd have caved in game one and this series would essentially be over now. Karl helps bring that at ude. I expect he'll soften that a little more as time goes on. I think he may last longer in Denver than he did in his previous stints. Just a guess though.
I really don't know much about him--just the vibe he's given off in post game interviews.
From your post, I can understand why Nugget fans like him. And thank you for not giving a troll-like answer!
Tom, you're right about Karl. I don't believe a word of what he said in that quote. Remember when Karl coached the Sonics, he used this tactic repeatedly. Karl knows if you can disrupt a teams mental chemistry you can defeat that team. What the SPURS need to do is play with their hearts and not their minds, and they'll be just find.
I really don't know much about him--just the vibe he's given off in post game interviews.
From your post, I can understand why Nugget fans like him. And thank you for not giving a troll-like answer!
Someone called me a troll last night. Couldn't be further from the truth. Just here for some fun discussion about basketball.
with interestin takes like the one you gave... its the right place
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