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It was the Twilight Zone... (I have a copyright on that, btw)
That was the ugliest zone defense I've ever seen. It was like the Nuggets got confused because so many of their players were so wide open. It helped stop the penetration that was killing the Spurs but, wow, that was tough to watch.
Hopefully Pop uses that ploy very, very judiciously going forward. Not all teams feature as many basketball IQ challenged players as JR Smith, Al Harrington and a handful of other Nuggets.
It was the Twilight Zone... (I have a copyright on that, btw)
Thank God for the village idiot. Not everybody has a JR Smith.
Billups was killing us, because he's twice as smart as anyone else in a Nuggets uniform.
they were confused because all they do is go to melo in 4
no melo they had no clue what to do
"Oh, my, god, they've stopped playing defense! What do we do!?"
"Miss shots!"
It was the 0zone™ (zero zone).
spurs won and thats what matters...stop being a party pooper
The last time I saw the Spurs zone defense was in preseason.
great zone defense
1-3-1
The Nuggets are like a lot of other teams we've faced: they shoot great when they are up, but once the Spurs started hitting, the Nuggets got nervous and everyone (ahem JR SMITH) tried to win it with one shot. The Spurs were just waiting for that implosion.
Gary Neal caught them vomiting on defense and ran his train on them.
I can't say I'm in agreement with what Pop did for the first three quarters, as he tried to manage minutes for the front half of this back-to-back, but you gotta give props when props are due.
Down nine, he goes with a lineup of Quinn, Neal, Ginobili, Bonner and Splitter to start the fourth; he then decides to go zone as his team's perimeter D was getting exposed without the size and quickness to combat a truly talented and explosive scorer at the 2/3; and it actually worked -- the Nuggets were just too wide open, I guess . . .
One more thing, Pop and Tiago should be told that Brazil will be viewing the game every game.
The only thing worst than the zone D was the man to man D. Our guards were getting killed time after time
Spurs' defense is really starting to concern me, even more than usual..
- The perimeter D is worse than the interior D at this point..
Parker's D was promising for the first 2-3 weeks of the season, but he has regressed IMO..he's still good at playing the passing lanes and picking up steals, but his 1 on 1 D and team D has been poor since his hot start..
Ginobili's D, outside of the passing lanes and picking up steals, has been atrocious all year..he constantly gets beat, and he's usually late on his rotations, just like last year..I don't know if it's because he has so much responsibility on offense, or because he isn't giving effort on D, but he needs to start playing defense..
None of the other perimeter defenders are consistent..Anderson better be good, defensively, he's the only potentially good defender on the perimeter..
- Spurs make horrible decisions defensively..
They overplay too many players IMO..stupid double teams, playing too close on the perimeter, a lot of gambling..
- Blair..he's arguably the worst defensive big man in the NBA, he is going to be exploited by any good coach..his 1 on 1 post D has improved, but his rotations are still disgusting, and his defensive IQ is extremely low..
Good point. I thought our zone defense looked like trash but Denver never capitalized on it. Its like they never realized it was a zone. It took me a while to realize it also. lol
But thats what happens sometimes when you have JR as your mainforce, and a tired-looking Chauncey.
Coach Gregg "Kasparov" Popovich folks.
it was a eff'd up 1 3 1 that merged into a 1 4 sometimes...
plenty of holes for the nuggz to exploit with cuts to the basket but thank god for JR Smith and Al Harrington!
You know, you all are saying that the zone defense was awful. It may not have been a textbook zone by any stretch of the imagination, but when a team stops hitting shots after they couldn't miss, you have to credit whatever defense you're playing just a bit.
Fact is, it may not have been pretty, but it was effective. I mean, it did help the Spurs win the game, right?
Is blairs offencive IQ high?
It kinda makes sense when you think about it.
The Nuggets were picking the Spurs apart with their penetration and their passing. Billups and Lawson were getting into the lane at will, and between their dishing, the crosscourt passes, and the Spurs having to double on mismatches (Duncan on Nene, Billups posting Parker, etc), the Nuggets were literally picking the Spurs apart at the seams. They got the Spurs scrambling, then found a wide open lay up or three in the midst.
Once the Spurs went zone, they stopped scrambling. The interior was better covered, leaving no more seams for the Nuggets to abuse, even if it left the perimeter open. It took the Nuggets out of their game plan and their rhythm, and caused them to do what nothing else in the game had: it cooled them off.
If the Nuggets continue shooting like gangbusters, they win that game. But as soon as they had to change their offensive gameplan, their engine blew a gasket.
^
^agree!!!!!
I think you all need to chill out. I did my damn job. It may not be pretty, but I got it done.
Oh yea, I'm not ugly. I am beautiful to watch. Even if I had a bad hair day.... UGLY!
In fairness, Tony's D always sucks in the middle of the year. He's always been a MUCH better playoff defender than regular season.
I do believe that both Parker and Ginobili will be playing a lot harder on D during the playoffs, but it's obviously tough to watch right now from a fan perspective, especially when the other perimeter options are weak on the defensive end..
The zone made the Nuggets their own worst enemy. The Nuggets couldn't miss a shot in the paint, so the Spurs left them wide open and dared them to shoot. I'm sure Pop didn't want wide open shooters, but that's what he got.
The Nuggets took what was given but couldn't capitalize. It's like in football playing nickel and daring a team to run the ball on you when you know they can't. Take the team out of its comfort zone and see how they react.
Again, it may not have been textbook, but it did help the Spurs win. Don't like the execution, but love the results.
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