Game 4 adjustments by both teams

[Mavs<Spurs]

I don't see a thread about this.


What adjustments do you expect to see from the Suns?

I expect them to double Tim hard a lot. I don't think a soft double will be enough now that Tim is in a rhythm. And I don't think that they can win if they don't double Tim. I think that this has become apparent.

Spurs may not make any adjustments since they did win. However, they must be prepared for possible adjustments from the Suns.

If the Suns do double a lot more on Tim, I think that proper spacing will be key.Also, I want Manu and Michael feeding the entry passes into Tim and them both working on the left side, everybody else being on the other side.
When Manu feeds Tim the ball, he should cut through. When Michael feeds Tim the ball, he (or Barry for that matter) should stay a foot or two behind the 3 point line, too far away for the Suns to be able to recover and close out. I put Barry in there because of his range.

Comments? Thoughts? Agree/Disagree?

[Mavs<Spurs]

I want to add one more comment.

If they do double Tim, it is important that we are not playing offense 4 on 5.


Bruce needs to be an active part of our offense, even though it is not the best part of his game. If they can double off of him or Oberto, it makes it easier to double Tim and get away with it.

If it wouldn't hurt our defense, it would be nice to have a strong group of players with big offensive games (Parker, Manu, Michael, Tim and either Barry or Horry).

However, Oberto does seem to have a high basketball iq in that he can take advantage of double teams on Tim off of him. He consistently goes to the rim.
Bruce has worked on his midrange jumper.

We'll see.

[NorCal510]

go suns

suck it spurs

[Mavs<Spurs]

I liked Parker's defense on Nash. Plus, Bruce can help out if Parker gets screened.

[SAGambler]

While the Suns may be asking "what the do we do now", as of now the Spurs just need to continue being the Spurs.

[SAGambler]

I liked Parker's defense on Nash. Plus, Bruce can help out if Parker gets screened.

I think Nash is starting to get the same feeling AI had in the Denver series. Every time he manages to get past one defender, there are two more waiting on him.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Do you agree that whoever wins game 4 wins the series?

I don't think that a loss by us is necessarily fatal, but it would definitely mean that the Suns would be the favorite (correctly) to win the series. On the other hand, a loss by the Suns would, imo, be fatal for them.

Agree?

[T Park]

I expect them to double Tim hard a lot. I don't think a soft double will be enough now that Tim is in a rhythm. And I don't think that they can win if they don't double Tim. I think that this has become apparent.

Good. then he kicks it out, whips it around quick to the open three shooter like Barry, Bowen, Ginobili, or Horry and they bag threes all night.


Doubling Tim hard is what the Suns did relentlessly in 05 and 03.

So go ahead and do that, that had great results

[Cry Havoc]

Tony Parker's defense has been the most underrated part of this playoff run for the Spurs. He keeps shutting his man down (Nash or Barbs) and we should win.

[Mavs<Spurs]

I think Nash is starting to get the same feeling AI had in the Denver series. Every time he manages to get past one defender, there are two more waiting on him.

That's team defense.

Suns have some very good individual defenders, Thomas, Marrion, Bell. They don't have a great team defensive scheme (at least that I can see) and they don't function that great as a defensive unit. Somehow, still, they manage to be relatively good on the first shot (unless you have Tim Duncan on your team whom they are trying to defend). Their second shot defense is not good (nobody's is really) and they find themselves in that situation a lot because of their size.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Good. then he kicks it out, whips it around quick to the open three shooter like Barry, Bowen, Ginobili, or Horry and they bag threes all night.


Doubling Tim hard is what the Suns did relentlessly in 05 and 03.

So go ahead and do that, that had great results

True.

That's why, I think that the Spurs are the better team and should win the series.

They can either play Tim individually. They get torched.
They can try a soft double. They still get torched.
They can double Tim hard. A good chance Tim still puts up monster numbers, but now other Spurs are likely to also have great games as well.


So, in each case, it appears that the Spurs have a winning reply, if they execute, play good transition defense (by making it unnecessary by taking good care of the basketball- too many turnovers in the first half).

[Mavs<Spurs]

I do want to point out 2 adjustments I would make for game 4 if I were Pop (thank God that I am not).

Take better care of the basketball. All of those turnovers (+ Suns hot shooting) led to the big Suns lead in the first half.

Better shot selection. In the first half, I felt that we settled too often for good shots instead of getting the best shot we could. The quick shots that Phoenix got were higher percentage shots than the quick shots that we were taking.

In this case, it didn't hurt us as much, but it still must have been a factor. Also, while we don't walk it up, I think that the better shot selection also goes along with controlling the pace of the game better and making better decisions about when to push the ball and take a quick shot.

A quick shot is not bad if it is a lay up. A quick shot is bad if it is an 18 foot jumpshot. This did happen in game 3 (Elson with 19 seconds left on the shot clock? ).

[ambchang]

The Game 3 win was by no means convincing. It was a tough, physical game, and yet the Spurs did not really put the Suns away until about a minute left in the game. The Suns perimeter defense was surprisingly good, but at the expense of having Duncan abuse them continuously. While the Big 3 all had a big game, and Nash wasn't performing until the 4th, and Stoudemire only played 19 minutes, the Spurs only won by 7, and was never able to pull the game away despite outstanding defense in the 3rd. The main reason was because the Suns were doing a very good job defensively.
Ginobili and Parker has to create shots for other teammates by drawing defenders in and kicking out to the teammates when the shots are not there. Parker has been doing that to some extent, but Ginobili, before the eye incident, was largely passive.
Defensively, the Spurs are top notch in a half court set, the traps and rotations were largely excellent, but the fast break defense was missing sometimes, which I find puzzling. I would like to see more Parker on Nash, and Bowen on Marion, use more of Parker's quickness and energy on the defensive end, and then use Ginobili to create on the offensive end. The big 3 needs to play together at the same time more often.

[OldDirtMcGirt]

That's team defense.

Suns have some very good individual defenders, Thomas, Marrion, Bell. They don't have a great team defensive scheme (at least that I can see) and they don't function that great as a defensive unit. Somehow, still, they manage to be relatively good on the first shot (unless you have Tim Duncan on your team whom they are trying to defend). Their second shot defense is not good (nobody's is really) and they find themselves in that situation a lot because of their size.

That's because we have Mike "the re " D'Antoni as our head coach. Hid defensive schemes consist of him constantly yelling "HUSTLE!" and "ENERGY!".

[peskypesky]

I think Nash is starting to get the same feeling AI had in the Denver series. Every time he manages to get past one defender, there are two more waiting on him.

Totally. The Spurs' rotation defense last night was FREAKING AMAZING! Some of the best D I've ever seen them play. As soon as a Sun got past his man, there was another Spurs in his face. Beautiful. Defense is what wins Championships. Let's keep it up Spurs!

[GrandeDavid]

go suns

suck it spurs

Appropriate comment in the appropriate thread. Nice IQ, Warrior fan.

Actually this is just some kid with no allegiance to any team just trying to get a little rise.

[aaronstampler]

Ginobili and Parker has to create shots for other teammates by drawing defenders in and kicking out to the teammates when the shots are not there. Parker has been doing that to some extent, but Ginobili, before the eye incident, was largely passive.
.

Except that 3 of his 4 baskets up to that point had been lay-ups and he had two FTs on another lay-up attempt as well. And he had 3 assists and 3 steals. Totally passive.

If you watched the game at all, you'd notice that Pop didn't run a single play for him in the first half until Tim & Tony were on the bench.