Keys to victory to game 2 + prediction

[The_Worlds_finest]

finishing at the hoop
Have elson get his last team jitters out and show up

Spurs win big +10

[Jimcs50]

Shoot > 46%

Hold Denver to < 43%

[jn77]

Big three must shoot better, 19-52 won't cut it tonight. REBOUND!! Attack the inside. Get to the foul line. Shut down Iverson. Let "marsh" Mello get his points. Spurs by six.

[MisterWhodat]

Start strong...all this waiting to get into a game has been killing me. Please defend, defend defend someone inside.

[cheguevara]

Do everything they did last game defensively plus...
- Duncan needs to be 10x as aggressive down low
- Manu needs to slash to the basket nonstop
- parker needs to hit his open shots like he did in reg season
- Bowen on Melo all game long
- elson needs to help in someway
- show no hesitation, go for ALL lose balls


if we do all that spurs win BIG

[Duncanoypi]

Start strong...all this waiting to get into a game has been killing me. Please defend, defend defend someone inside.

i thought you're tlong because of your avatar....lol

[trbman]

I am a Nuggets fan, not trying to troll, just interested in your thoughts.

Much has been said and written about the 'Big 3' missing easy layups and generally not playing well. Despite that, the Spurs were still in the game till the very end. I have read posts on this forum that suggest Denver played very well while San Antonio play did not. That is simply not true. Denver did not play their best game, not even close. Please consider the following:

The Spurs got more shots, made more shots, made 4 more 3's, got more offensive rebounds, had nearly twice as many assits, gave up fewer turnovers, had more blocks, more points on fast breaks and outscored Denver's bench by 30 or something. Yes, they shot a lower percentage, (.420 to .455), but held Denver to under 100 points on the road where they have won like 2 or 3 games all year in that scenerio.

Bottom line, Denver did not play their game and won a half court defensive battle against the team that defines that style of play. I realize the big 3 will not shoot poorly the entire series, but you have to consider that you won the majority of the stats game and still lost. What if Denver's bench played yours evenly in the first game, we win by 20+.

I have much respect for the Spurs, having lived in San Antonio, and still follow them, but to think that game was some sort of a fluke is just wrong. A lot of folks called this series in 4 or 5 games, 6 at the most. Well, they might right, the Nuggets may not have to come back to San Antonio for games 6 and 7, more time to prepare for the next series.

[DarrinS]

Much has been said and written about the 'Big 3' missing easy layups and generally not playing well. Despite that, the Spurs were still in the game till the very end. I have read posts on this forum that suggest Denver played very well while San Antonio play did not. That is simply not true. Denver did not play their best game, not even close.

Is 30 points apiece for Melo and AI below their average? I'd hate to see what they do when they have a "good" game.

The thing that was keeping the Spurs in that game was Nuggets turnovers.

So, maybe it wasn't the Nuggest BEST game, but it DEFINITELY wasn't the Spurs best.

[bdictjames]

- Put Bowen on A.I.

-Have Duncan dominate the inside and control the boards.

[DarrinS]

ATTACK THE BASKET and quit settling for 30 foot jumpers (especially Manu).

[Kibic]

If Beno plays, they will win.

[trbman]

Is 30 points apiece for Melo and AI below their average? I'd hate to see what they do when they have a "good" game.

The thing that was keeping the Spurs in that game was Nuggets turnovers.

So, maybe it wasn't the Nuggest BEST game, but it DEFINITELY wasn't the Spurs best.

Actually, yes. Melo averaged 29 points a game this year, AI something like 26. AI averages nearly 32 a game in the playoffs over his career. Dropping 30 points certainly can not be considered an average thing, but these two do that on a regular basis.

The turnovers hurt us, no doubt. But being outscored by over 30 off the bench is amazing. How many teams can overcome that stat?

[spursfaninla]

Denver did not play their bench as much, hence the difference.

The Spurs starters and Manu played much worse than their average.

I agree that Denver was taken out of their fast paced game, and that they still won. But all that says is the Spurs strategy is sound, overall, and that a lack of offensive excecution by the Spurs offensive weapons was the difference.

[trbman]

Denver did not play their bench as much, hence the difference.

The Spurs starters and Manu played much worse than their average.

I agree that Denver was taken out of their fast paced game, and that they still won. But all that says is the Spurs strategy is sound, overall, and that a lack of offensive excecution by the Spurs offensive weapons was the difference.

The Nugs will be ready, and have much room for improvment. You know, sometimes when a team doesn't execute like they want, it just might be a result of the opponent.
Should be a good game and series. Best of luck Spurs fans, may the best team win.....again.

[Kori Ellis]

Keys:

Attack the rim offensively.
Finish.
Bigs need to rebound.
Get back in transition (I know Denver didn't score much at all in transition on Sunday, but I don't think they are going to just play half court every game).

[easjer]

You know, sometimes when a team doesn't execute like they want, it just might be a result of the opponent.

Or, in the case of the Spurs on Sunday, they just missed a lot of shots. I'm sorry, don't know if you saw the game, but the Spur's offensive woes were not created by some astounding Denver D. They were missed shots and lack of aggressiveness, plain and simple.

That's not meant to discredit Denver packing the lanes or Camby's shot blocking, just to say - I saw the game. It was poor play, not great Denver execution.

Without having caught more than a handful of Nuggets games, I cannot comment on whether or not they have room for improvement. Certainly they can attempt to up the pace and regain their fast break points, but I don't see where they are going to get much higher production out of the team. AI and Melo combined for 61. I don't see where, short of exploding on the fast break (which I don't think the Spurs will allow), they are going to be able to maintain that scoring pace AND get other players involved to up their scores.

Spurs need to :
-maintain their transition D
-do much, much better on defensive rebounds (but keep up the good work on -offensive rebounds - or better still, execute the offense with greater efficiency)
-attack, attack, attack and challenge Camby/Nene (which I think will result in foul trouble for one or both and a possible mismatch with their bench counterparts)
-dictate the pace and how the Nuggets get their shots

If they keep the gameplan they used last time (with minor alterations, like Bowen playing more than 19 minutes) and make their shots, they will win easily.

[jmard5]

i thought you're tlong because of your avatar....lol

Funny, I thought he was Tlong, too. I had to double check his profile name when I found out he was rooting for the Spurs.

[hater]

don't forget nuts at home.

[Cry Havoc]

The Spurs got more shots, made more shots, made 4 more 3's, got more offensive rebounds, had nearly twice as many assits, gave up fewer turnovers, had more blocks, more points on fast breaks and outscored Denver's bench by 30 or something. Yes, they shot a lower percentage, (.420 to .455), but held Denver to under 100 points on the road where they have won like 2 or 3 games all year in that scenerio.

We also tend to hold opponents to well-below .455 % for the year. We average more assists, fewer turnovers, and shoot much better than 42%. We got more O boards because we blew a lot of easy looks. Our bench outscored yours mostly because our starters couldn't get anything to fall in the first half.

Bottom line, Denver did not play their game and won a half court defensive battle against the team that defines that style of play.

Very little about last game "defines" Spurs basketball. It was the an hesis of a lot of what we want to do. And that's a compliment to the Nuggets.

[jmard5]

but the Spur's offensive woes were not created by some astounding Denver D. They were missed shots and lack of aggressiveness, plain and simple.

I concur. I can even say that the Spurs were a bit rusty.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Play With Some ing Urgency!

[trbman]

Very little about last game "defines" Spurs basketball. It was the an hesis of a lot of what we want to do. And that's a compliment to the Nuggets.

Thanks! I guess the point I was trying to make was that the Spurs do typically beat their opponents in the areas we discussed. The Nugs were statistically beat in many categories that would normally spell certain defeat, especially against the Spurs. This fact gives me, and certainly others from Denver, hope. We won a game that we couldn't have won in the past several years, and we did it despite losing many small battles.

I'm not predicting a repeat tonight, but I am confident we will not repeat 2005.

[MoSpur]

Keys: Score more points than Denver

[J.T.]

Don't play like it's preseason and get some ing rebounds = Spurswin.

[florige]

Do everything they did last game defensively plus...
- Duncan needs to be 10x as aggressive down low
- Manu needs to slash to the basket nonstop
- parker needs to hit his open shots like he did in reg season
- Bowen on Melo all game long
- elson needs to help in someway
- show no hesitation, go for ALL lose balls


if we do all that spurs win BIG

I say Bowen on Iverson all game. I think he can frustrate Iverson more than Melo due to the height difference. Remember the job he did on Billups.