Elson is a key ingredient to beating Mavs

[Kent_in_Atlanta]

Many scoff at the notion that a “role” player like Francisco Elson could be a difference maker in a Dallas-San Antonio rematch… but they're wrong.

The absence of a key role being performed can be the difference in any game or series. Remember 2004 when we lost to the Lakers? The Spurs scorched them in the paint to take a 2-0 series lead. They responded by collapsing the paint, smothering Parker and Duncan, and daring the Spurs to shoot all the open outside shots they wanted. They found our weakness.

It was the absence of a key role player… a pure outside shooter, that cost San Antonio that series. That’s why Brent Barry was brought in just a couple months after that defeat. Barry might only be a role player, but he would have been the difference against the Lakers that year.

In 2006, it was once again the absence of a player capable of performing a key role that cost them a series.

Because N.Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic couldn’t get out and run with Dallas or guard Dirk Nowitski, Coach Pop had to bench them and go small. I watched in horror through most of that series as the Mavs went to the rim at will. The only one there to guard it was Timmy, and that was just fine by Dallas. They wanted to go at Duncan to get him into foul trouble... and it worked more than once.

Spurs defense is designed to funnel offensive players into their shot blockers. When the Spurs were forced to go small, it stripped them of their defensive iden y, and it was ugly. I never saw the Spurs' defense look as utterly mediocre as it often did against Dallas last year.

San Antonio needed a big man that could do the block/alter shots, rebound, etc… but he had to be agile enough to run with Dallas, and guard Dirk Nowitski.

Enter Fransisco Elson.

Elson is not a “game changer” in the sense of his overall ability, but not having a guy like him last year certainly changed the Spurs’ game (for the worse). His role will be crucial against Dirk and Mavs.

He has both the length and agility to guard Nowitski, and that’s invaluable. Don't get me wrong, I'm not silly enough to believe that Elson will stop or seriously slow him. My point is that having a 7-footer agile enough to stay on the floor against Dirk and the Mavs will allow San Antonio to play the Spurs brand of team defense. The defensive difference between the “small-ball” Spurs, and the true Spurs defense is rather like the difference between lightening and a lightening bug.

It’s not the magnitude of Elson’s talent, but rather the ability he gives the Spurs to play their game that will make Francisco Elson a difference-maker in a Spurs/Mavs rematch.

[Clutch20]

Key, yes, even the amount of threads he's gotten here on ST says that he's definitely something. I enjoyed seeing the glower on his face last night early on in the game. He usually is so serene looking and after getting hit with that foul he did a great Mario Elie.

I posted a couple of weeks ago that because he is inherently so fast that some unfamiliarity with Spurs set makes him flub up, turn the ball over amongst other clumsy things and he looked clumsy but predicted that if like Finley he would get more minutes his walls would come fewer and farther apart. But man oh man, that speed of his when he and rest of team are in sync, now that's something special.

[The_Worlds_finest]

Lets start a freaking Club cause Elson is the damn piece the spurs needed last year and *yawn* have it this year, be ready magnificent mavs...spurs are ready

[dirk4mvp]

The first game of the season Spur fans were ready to crown him as a king then found out he sucked and now he's a key to beat the Mavs. Interesting.

[td4mvp21]

The first game of the season Spur fans were ready to crown him as a king then found out he sucked and now he's a key to beat the Mavs. Interesting.

I remember that.


He's nothing special, but the thread starter is right. He helps the Spurs out. He's not even that good, but lately he's been playing decent defense and rebounding ok. I'm assuming he's going to get better as the season goes on.

[boutons_]

dirk4mvp, go yourself, troll

[dirk4mvp]

hey, boutons_, I wasn't, trolling,

[Kent_in_Atlanta]

The first game of the season Spur fans were ready to crown him as a king then found out he sucked and now he's a key to beat the Mavs. Interesting.

I don't remember ever being ready to crown Elson king, but I don't remember him sucking either.

Elson took a while to catch on the Spurs defensive scheme. However, that seems to be a pattern for new members of the Spurs ... especially those coming from non-defensive minded teams (safe to day Denver fits that description).

He does seem to have caught on now. Again, not claiming this guy is Superman... just that he will play an important role against Dallas (one that was missing last year).

[picnroll]

Last year with the no touch on the perimeter rules Dirk was able to put the ball on the floor and get past Duncan and Horry enough to get the touch/bump fouls. That made matchups difficult forcing the Spurs to play smallwith Duncan on Dampier or Diop and a small on Dirk. Dirk can't put the ball on the floor and get past Elson. Remains to be seen if that is enough of a factor.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

hey, boutons_, I wasn't, trolling,

I'm not calling you out boutons, but isn't anybody that posts more than once in a thread considered a troll? now back to mav bashing.

[RC's Boss]

I've been saying this all year. The "difference" Elson makes is it doesn't require us to play small ball as much. I'm sure they'll play it some, but not the monstrosity of minutes like last year. He won't stop Dirk, but his minutes allow us to play better defense. None of this guarentees a victory, but makes us a better defensive and fast break team.

[ggoose25]

i still dont understand why pop spends so much time trying to tweak his lineup for matchup purposes. the years we won the championships were through the spurs exerting their style of play on the opponents, not through worrying about adapting to every single player the opposing coach puts out on the floor.

last year pop killed me with his small ball bull against dallas. I think he gave up on Nazr way too quickly, and I have a feeling he is going to do the same with elson in a dallas/phoenix series. i swear, if pop sends out a lineup of parker, ginobili, finley, horry, and tim against dallas I'm going to smash my tv into bolivian.

small ball may win games in the regular season but it has yet to prove it wins championships.

[leemajors]

if dude can stay on the court he can be a big help. however, dirk may draw foul after foul on him. i would keep my fingers crossed.

[L.I.T]

Agreed, I think the plan (before his knee injury) is also to have Bonner throw in some minutes against dirk. Now, he will get slaughtered, embarrassed and otherwise thrown up for ridicule...however, he's also around 6'10, scrappy and hopefully he'll have more lateral quickness than Rasho and Nazr...maybe keeping Dirk from totally collapsing the Spur's defense and keeping him firing jumpers. Hopefully, then the Spurs won't have to play as much small ball. Bonner playing the Ferry role.

Between Elson and Bonner we'll see the Spurs playing less small ball and more...uhh tweener ball?

[leemajors]

Bonner playing the Ferry role.

dirk has added to his game since Ferry left the league. hopefully we can deter him enough

[slayermin]

The absence of a key role being performed can be the difference in any game or series. Remember 2004 when we lost to the Lakers? The Spurs scorched them in the paint to take a 2-0 series lead. They responded by collapsing the paint, smothering Parker and Duncan, and daring the Spurs to shoot all the open outside shots they wanted. They found our weakness.

Poor three point shooting also killed us in '02 against the Lakers. The infamous HITA made it's way into Spurstalk lore.

[Capt Bringdown]

i still dont understand why pop spends so much time trying to tweak his lineup for matchup purposes. the years we won the championships were through the spurs exerting their style of play on the opponents, not through worrying about adapting to every single player the opposing coach puts out on the floor.

Agree 100 %. The focus seems to be 100% on adapting to what the other team is doing. It doesn't make me feel optimistic. Not a Championship vibe, for sure.

[DubMcDub]

I remember that.


He's nothing special, but the thread starter is right. He helps the Spurs out. He's not even that good, but lately he's been playing decent defense and rebounding ok. I'm assuming he's going to get better as the season goes on.

You really don't fit in here. Your posts of reason and intelligence stick out like a sore thumb.

[Kent_in_Atlanta]

Last year with the no touch on the perimeter rules Dirk was able to put the ball on the floor and get past Duncan and Horry enough to get the touch/bump fouls. That made matchups difficult forcing the Spurs to play smallwith Duncan on Dampier or Diop and a small on Dirk. Dirk can't put the ball on the floor and get past Elson. Remains to be seen if that is enough of a factor.

Whether or not Dirk can put the ball on the floor and get around Elson is not as biggest impact of having Elson on the floor. The bigger factor is that the Spurs will have two shot blockers (no, Elson isn't Duncan or Mutumbo as a shot blocker, but he'll swat a couple a game if he plays enough minutes, and he can certainly alter shots in the paint)
, and two rebounders on the floor (unlike last year when Duncan was usually the only Spurs' big man on the floor), and the Spurs will be able to play their brand of defense.

That's key in limiting the rest of the Mavs team in terms of their points in the paint. If Elson actually does make Dirk work harder, that's icing on the cake.

[Kent_in_Atlanta]

i still dont understand why pop spends so much time trying to tweak his lineup for matchup purposes. the years we won the championships were through the spurs exerting their style of play on the opponents, not through worrying about adapting to every single player the opposing coach puts out on the floor.

last year pop killed me with his small ball bull against dallas. I think he gave up on Nazr way too quickly, and I have a feeling he is going to do the same with elson in a dallas/phoenix series. i swear, if pop sends out a lineup of parker, ginobili, finley, horry, and tim against dallas I'm going to smash my tv into bolivian.

small ball may win games in the regular season but it has yet to prove it wins championships.

Agreed. Robert Horry even hinted that it was a mistake to do that. He said something to this effect (and I'm paraphrasing)...

"We went small and we got beat. It was like Miami looked at us and decided not to do the same thing. They stayed big and won."

Again, not his exact words... but close.

I was puzzled by that as well, but I don't think he'll be as quick to give up on Elson this year. Elson is much quicker than Nazzi or Rasho ever were. In fact, many of the Spurs will tell you that he's the 2nd quickest player on the team. That's quite a statement for a 7-footer. If Pop goes small agian this year, I will join you in throwing objects at the television, but I don't think that will happen as much. That was the whole point of getting Elson... to get another big man that could stay on the floor against Dallas (and to a lesser extent, Phoenix).

[mabber]

Whether or not Dirk can put the ball on the floor and get around Elson is not as biggest impact of having Elson on the floor. The bigger factor is that the Spurs will have two shot blockers (no, Elson isn't Duncan or Mutumbo as a shot blocker, but he'll swat a couple a game if he plays enough minutes, and he can certainly alter shots in the paint)
, and two rebounders on the floor (unlike last year when Duncan was usually the only Spurs' big man on the floor), and the Spurs will be able to play their brand of defense.

That's key in limiting the rest of the Mavs team in terms of their points in the paint. If Elson actually does make Dirk work harder, that's icing on the cake.

A more important question mightl be how Elson helps the Spurs against Phoenix as that is who the Spurs will likely meet in the 2nd round.

[nkdlunch]

let's keep it real. Elson is a decent backup Center, nothing more. We don't have a decent starting center. Then again, Dampier/Diop are really not great either. I can see Elson outplaying them. We would need a lot of luck though.

[boutons_]

The excess enthusiasm for FO betrays how desperate Spurs fans are for a starting center.

He at least seems to be learning the Spurs system, what rotation and position means in theory and practice, starting to block/alter shots, taking personal responsibility for the Spurs' paint, and gaining some confidence and taking initiative.

[Kent_in_Atlanta]

let's keep it real. Elson is a decent backup Center, nothing more. We don't have a decent starting center. Then again, Dampier/Diop are really not great either. I can see Elson outplaying them. We would need a lot of luck though.

Whether Elson is a legit starter or a solid backup-caliber player is irrelevant. The important thing is that he performs his role. That role is to be a fairly productive role-player type of center who is quick and agile enough to play against Dirk and the Mavs.

Again, a few years ago against the Lakers, we just needed a shooter. He could have been an utterly mediocre player as a whole. It wouldn't have mattered, just so long as he hit some open shots. It was the absence of a role player that cost us that series, just as it was the absence of any kind of center capable of running with the Mavs that cost us the series last year.

We don't need Elson to be any better at blocking shots or rebounding the basketball than Rasho or Nazzi were. We just need him to do those things and be agile enough that Pop doesn't feel the need to bench him against Dallas as he did both of our centers last year.

[mabber]

So, will Elson be guarding Amare if they play each other in the 2nd round (which is probably going to happen)?