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The spurs shouldn't have choked away the first half.
Man you sure have a lot of posts. What's up w/that?
I am wa-a-a--a-ay late to drudge up recent wounds, but who did you all blame for the WCFs loss to the Mavs?
I can't explain Manu fouling Dirk on the way to the basket up by 3. Just want your quick thoughts on this. I personally knew we blew it when we let Dirk tie it up in that spot.
I know many here probably think Pop was a fool for not forcing Avery to play "big ball."
I don't think Pop had a choice. Nazr and Rasho weren't Shaq.
I thought Duncan was brilliant in the playoffs.*
*positive note
The spurs shouldn't have choked away the first half.
Man you sure have a lot of posts. What's up w/that?
Where have you been? We all killed one another over this like two months ago.
I blame injuries to manu and tp
both were hurt and dallas got up early
and when they got healthy they almost came back and won the series
his job does not let him post anymore hardly
I'm just proud of the fact we weathered Dallas shooting .. what? 88%? in the first q and fought all the way back in the end. Incredible to watch. Too bad about that foul though.....
For one thing, I can't explain why the referees called a foul that late in the 4 quarter?! In the media, one reporter asked Pop if he was surprised the foul was called late in the game. Pop said "Yes". In the last 6 games there wasn't even a foul being called late in the game so why this time? Mmm.
The wounds have healed and I am looking forward to the next season.
It's all GW's fault. Without his posts, the Spurs didn't know what not to do.
uhhh ..... wtf? he grabbed his freaking arm for christ sakes.For one thing, I can't explain why the referees called a foul that late in the 4 quarter?! In the media, one reporter asked Pop if he was surprised the foul was called late in the game. Pop said "Yes". In the last 6 games there wasn't even a foul being called late in the game so why this time? Mmm.
The wounds have healed and I am looking forward to the next season.
It's odd Manu/Pop aren't getting ripped like Tony Parker would if it was him who ed up.
Anywho, I think the general consensus is that Manu's foul was extremely stupid, and we shouldn't have gone small ball. But who's the say the series even goes 7 games if we hadn't played small...I guess we'll never know.
But we definately know if Manu hadn't fouled we would be in the finals. =(
Dirk was the biggest matchup problem. Tim couldn't guard Dirk because of the likelihood of foul trouble. Rasho, Nazr and Horry were not able to play with the quickness and physical perimeter D that Haslem and Walker could on Dirk.
The Spurs having Nazr and not Malik worked out the year before in getting past Denver, Seattle, Phoenix and Detroit. The Spurs having Nazr and not Malik didn't work out so well in getting past Dallas. Malik always did a nice job in defending Dirk out on the floor...he has similar quickness and physicality to Haslem and Walker.
Manu uncharacteristically made bad decisions in 2 or 3 playoff games this year. He had the ball on two of them and the one on Dirk was on a help D situation. In a close game, a mistake is magnified. With a series of this magnitude (7 games), the foul will be remembered forever by Spurs fans. The pain will be eased, however, with another championship...and I think this team has at least one more in them before Timmy retires.
I think the current rules of the game catered more to the Mavericks style of play than to the Spurs. The Mavs have the personnel that allowed them to thrive in the NBA's new world of small ball.
I think the Spurs are admitting to as much by letting Nazr go and by trading Rasho. Similar to how the Spurs transformed themselves into a roster capable of beating the Jazz a few years back, and later molded themselves into a group capable of matching up with the Lakers, I think we're going to see the current Spurs (attempt) to change their roster into a team that fits the NBA's new mold.
As disappointed as I was in the ultimate result, that disappointment was tempered by a broader view of the series. I'm more convinced than ever that this group has whatever quality it is that makes champions champions -- the heart of a champion, whatever. They didn't get it done this time, and there are many, many reasons for that. But in the old days, the Spurs would have just rolled over and died after Game 4. The old Spurs would have rolled over and died down 20 at home in Game 7. This group didn't do that, largely because the core of Duncan and Parker and Ginobili didn't seem willing to allow it to happen. Finley seems to add to that. I think, despite the loss, that the series was indicative of that kind of mentality; couple that with the emotional fuel of feeling like they let it slip away, better health for both Duncan and Ginobili, and a handful of necessary tweaks to allow this team to deal better with the new NBA, and I think they've got a great chance to make a run at it again this coming season.
Ginobili made a huge error at the end of Game 7 and that was unfortunate because it clouds the fact that he made so many gigantic plays in Game 7 that gave the Spurs a chance to win it in regulation. The Spurs were a team built on the old NBA paradigm and made to play against a team ready to play the new style. Even with a roster ill-equipped to play that style, the Spurs were thatclose to sending the Mavericks reeling (for years, probably) and likely grabbing back-to-back les. If the Spurs could get into another matchup with Dallas and get anything out of Bonner, a backup point, and whoever ends up playing center here, it will be more than they got out of Nesterovic, Mohammed, and Van Exel; in a series that was as close as that one was, even just a little more from those spots and you win.
I think the Spurs were beaten by a team that was challenged the norm and won at a time when the Spurs were still the norm. I think, in the end, it will prove to be beneficial, despite costing the chance for a repeat.
popovich
i'm still confounded by what his defensive strategy was that series. oh right, it was to not play his shot blockers and post defenders and give the mavs easy layups. brilliant!
Good points, Chopper and FWD.
As far as Game 7, I blame the Mavericks for hitting 101% of their first half shots. As subpar as our small-ball defense was, they were knocking down everything, and it was too much to overcome.
It just seems to me that there are four things that can get you a championship ring:
1) You have to have an unbelievable, unstoppable crunch-time player (who can make his FT's): Kobe in the Lakers 3-peat, CBillups in 2004, Manu in 2005, Wade in 2006
2) You have to have an big man in the center who draws attention and double teams: See Shaq in the Lakers 3-peat and against the Mavs, Ben Wallace to a degree in 2004, and Tim Duncan in 2003, 2005.
3) You have to have some role players (and bench players) come up big for you-- See Horry, Fisher and gang during the Lakers 3-peat run, Prince and the Pistons bench in 2004, Horry and Barry in 2005, Payton, Walker, and Posey in 2006 for the Heat.
4) You have to have luck-- This is self explanatory
Obviously the team also has to play some semblence of defense, but that goes without being said.
Spurs problem was they were surly lacking in points 3 and 4. Our bench and role players outside of Finley were non-existent. NVE, Barry, Horry were all useless when given playing time. The Spurs also got some bad breaks with some foul calls, but that's neither here nor there anymore. Biggest thing that hurt the Spurs, IMO, was #1. Parker was hampered by injuries and was limited as was Manu. Manu also made uncharactericly bad decisions in crunch time this postseason which hurt the Spurs as well.
Basically, Spurs had 1 out of the 4 ingredients you need to win a ring in the NBA.
I had a dream last night that the team that beat the Spurs went up 2-0 in the finals and then lost the next 4 games straight to the Heat...
Isn't that some crazy ?
I agree with you on all of those that's what makes the Bulls and Pistons championships all the more amazing they are one fo the few teams to not have #2.
You, too, Solid.Good points, Chopper and FWD.
I knew that the Heat would beat the Mavs, because Walker and even Posey could hang with Dirk on defense, allowing Shaq to be doubled and letting Wade go off, which is more or less what happened.
Unfortunately, we had no one who could guard Dirk.
P.S.
It wa stoo painful to post after the Spurs lost.
Glad you brought this up, GW. It's taken me a while to let the emotions calm down enough to look at things in a rational way, and I have a slightly different view of the reasons why the Spurs lost.
Although Dirk was a matchup problem, superstars are supposed to be. I think the Spurs defended him as well as can reasonably be expected. What really killed the Spurs was Terry and Harris's speed. I think that they really scrambled the defense much worse than Dirk did. If Tony had been closer to 100%, (or we had a backup with speed) I think the series would have gone the other way. Tony was still healthy enough to score, but he wasn't able to perform at the highest levels defensively.
Dirk was a constant the entire series, but look at the three games the Spurs won - in those games the play of Dallas from Terry and Harris was considerably worse than in the games Dallas won.
Spurs wins (Games 1,5,6):
Dirk N - 44 min 51.42 fg% 25.66 ppg
JTerry - 26 min 37.50 fg% 9.60 ppg (averaged over 3 games)
JTerry - 39 min 37.50 fg% 14.50 ppg (averaged over 2 games - suspension game not included)
Harris - 26 min 33.00 fg% 8.33 ppg
Spurs losses (Games 2,3,4,7)
Dirk N - 44.5 min 53.85 fg% 28.25 ppg
JTerry- 41.75 min 46.50 fg% 22.25 ppg
Harris - 35.75 min 56.40 fg% 16.00 ppg
Dirk's output was pretty even - he shot 2.43 percentage points higher and scored 2.59 more points in a half minute more court time in the Dallas wins. But check out Terry-Harris:
Combined, Terry and Harris were on the floor 12.75 minutes longer in Dallas wins. Terry shot 9.00 percentage points higher and averaged 9.6 ppg more; and Harris shot 23.4 percentage point higher and averaged 7.67 more ppg in Dallas wins. Even if you calculate Terry's averages using only two games for losses due to the 1-game suspension (which I don't think is appropriate in this case since what I'm trying to show is the combined performance of Terry-Harris over the three Dallas loses), Terry still averages 7.75 more points in Dallas wins than he does in the losses he played in.
I think it is definitely true that the Spurs adjustment to Dirk - Duncan as the lone big - altered the Spurs ability to play traditional Spurs defensive schemes effectively since there weren't two shot blockers to cover the basket. But they still could haver won the series if they had the legs to stay in front of Terry and Harris - who looked like they were running lay-up drills - not playing against one of the best defenses in the league - at times.
I understand the Rasho trade - but it would be a mistake to shift too much towards small ball because of one series. The ability to be flexible enough to play big and small is what will keep the Spurs contenders (if not favorites) to win the le for the next four years. A fast backup point / combo gaurd would make a big difference against teams like Dallas, and I think is the most critical need the Spurs need to address this offseason.
Mmmm..Did Manu grabbed the whole arm or was he just slight slapping the arm and most of the ball??
the fouls were never called most of the time LATE IN THE 4th QUARTER, and this foul call on Manu should not have been called. It would be a 1 point game. Ah well, I have moved on and will be expecting those once in a lifetime foul in the 4 quarter of the playoff..if any.
cheers,
Good posts so far. One key that hasn't been mentioned is the Spurs couldn't rebound to save their life in the playoffs. They got outrebounded in 11 of the their final 12 playoff games, including all the games against the Mavs.
You don't win championships if you can't rebound.
Avery rotated four seven footers, usually with two on the floor at any given time. I'm glad Pop didn't force him to play "big ball". When you rely on Michael Finley to be a good defender and Robert Horry to be a shot blocker and Tony Parker to be a three point shooter, you are gonna in' lose.
Defense-- Dallas scored over 100 points in all 4 games they beat the Spurs. Dallas never scored over 100 on Miami the whole Finals.
Also, for the entirety of the series, the Spurs won close game after close game (in addition to getting blown out once)-- not one decisive victory of their own. Actually, they ended the season with a number of losses and close calls. To me- they never quite "got there" this season.
I think the question remains- can Manu and Horry ever repeat what they did in 2005?
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