Spurs' 3-man act terrific

[Jimcs50]

Spurs' 3-man act terrific

By Tim Buckley
Deseret Morning News
SAN ANTONIO — Larry, Curly and Moe had their moments. Huey, Dewey and Louie, too. And when counting terrific trios, don't discount Charlie's Angels in their heyday.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning NewsUtah Jazz guard Deron Williams blocks a shot by Spurs' guard Tony Parker in San Antonio during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Sunday. When it comes to basketball, though, no current threesome has had its act together better lately than Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
The Jazz were reminded of that the hard way Sunday in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals, when San Antonio's talented triumvirate formed a Texas triangle that makes Bermuda's seem like calm seas.
Parker and Ginobili did their damage from the perimeter, with the Belgium-born Frenchman contributing 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and his Argentine teammate scoring 23 off the bench while dishing a personal playoff-high 10 assists.
Duncan did the damage down low, with the two-time NBA MVP from the Virgin Islands pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds and putting up a team-high 27 points.
Add it all together, and it's a foreign-flavored sandwich of sensation trumping bacon, lettuce and tomato like gourmet ham over Spam.
"No surprise about that," said Mehmet Okur, the Jazz center from Turkey, "because once they get going, it's hard to stop them."
Hard?
As a rock.
But impossible?
Hey, scissors forever get crushed by stone — but every now and then paper has its day.
"There are very few times when all three of them aren't on. They're very good players," forward Matt Harpring said before the Jazz practiced Monday for tonight's Game 2 in the best-of-seven series that has a trip to the NBA Finals as its ultimate prize.
But, Harpring hastened to add: "Our job is to try to get them to have some off nights, maybe. Off nights shooting. Putting them in situations that they're uncomfortable."
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning NewsJazz point guard Deron Williams talks to the media before practice in San Antonio on Monday. He has to guard all-star Tony Parker. How then?
How might the Jazz force Duncan into foul trouble? How can Utah prompt Parker to spin out of control. How to keep Ginobili from sinking his shot with such ease?
One walks away Monday convinced the Jazz think it's much, much easier said than done.
"All three of those guys are studs, and we're going to do the best job we can on them," said power forward Carlos Boozer, who struggled to get going in Game 1.
"If we do a little bit better job on them and try to take the rest of the guys out, their supporting cast, we'll have a much better chance to win," he added. "(But) it's going to be tough to stop Tim, it's going to be tough to stop Tony, it's going to be tough to stop Manu."
So many from Utah heaped so much praise on all three during the off-day between games at AT&T Center, where Duncan, Parker and Ginobili can be as intimidating as the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria setting sail from Spain.
Jazz point Deron Williams, who scored a game-high 34 points Sunday, took the two sleeksters in the backcourt.
"Two great players, two all-stars in my opinion," he said. "Two guys who are tough to stop, and they're going to have the ball a lot in their hands.
"Manu is really creative, quick as, quick as a jet, so it's tough to stay in front of him.... (And) you've got to stay in front of (Parker). It's a tough task, because his first step is so quick. He's so small, and I'm so big, if I bump him, it's going to be a foul because it just looks bad."
Harpring had the big boat with a deck.
"Of all three of them, Tim's still the key to that team," he said of Duncan. "I mean, he gets the ball in the post and he either goes 1-on-1 or he makes a good pass out of it. And he's been doing that his whole career.
"Tim's the focal point of that offense," Harpring added. "The ball goes in to him, and coach (Gregg) Popovich trusts him to make good decisions.... That puts pressure on us, for sure."
Yet there may be ways. And it starts, curiously enough, nowhere near any of the three.
Rather, the Jazz wanted anyone and everyone to believe Monday, it begins within.
"It's not only slowing one or two or three guys," forward Andrei Kirilenko said. "It's more our defense and more our offense.
"We don't need to look at San Antonio. Same as (second-round opponent) Golden State, same as (first-round opponent) Houston. We don't need to look at their guys. We need to look at our play much more than trying to stop them, or stop any guys. We need to make stops, we need to play defense — but mostly we need to understand our conception of the game a little better."
For once this season, it seems Kirilenko is on the same page as Jerry Sloan.
"They do a great job of taking you out of your offense, helping each other," Sloan said. "And I think we got a little confused at times, because it looked like we lost our confidence and didn't have our heads into it.
"If you start thinking, 'This won't work and that won't work,' then nothing's gonna work — and that's what happened to us."
So, the Jazz coach added: "We have to do a better job defensively to try to not give them easy baskets. That's the thing that kills you."
And in Sloan's world, slowing an opponent's offense starts with playing wisely on the other end.
Go inside-out, in other words. If an easy layup isn't there, work the shot clock. And do not, under any cir stance, jack up something quick and casual from the outside simply for the sake of shooting.
"When we're on offense," Harpring said, "we've got to make those guys work a little bit.
"If Tony Parker, Ginobili or Duncan are working on the defensive end, maybe their shot won't fall from the outside as well, or they won't have the legs."
Harpring sold his assertion like he meant it, hoping someone might bite.
Hook, line and sinker.


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[BreezeHillBill]

As much as I love Tim, Manu, and Tony, I wish people would give more respect to the enormous effect Bruce Bowen has had since his arrival.(Kerr recently referred to Tim and Bruce as the inside-outside anchor of the Spurs defense.) We always hear about how each of the Big Three is worth plus-20 points a game for the Spurs. Realize that Bruce equals minus-20 points for the opponents best scorer in almost every game. Tony, Tim, Manu put on 60 for the Spurs; Bruce takes away 20 from the opponent. Big Four, I would say.

[Jimcs50]

As much as I love Tim, Manu, and Tony, I wish people would give more respect to the enormous effect Bruce Bowen has had since his arrival.(Kerr recently referred to Tim and Bruce as the inside-outside anchor of the Spurs defense.) We always hear about how each of the Big Three is worth plus-20 points a game for the Spurs. Realize that Bruce equals minus-20 points for the opponents best scorer in almost every game. Tony, Tim, Manu put on 60 for the Spurs; Bruce takes away 20 from the opponent. Big Four, I would say.

Say what you will, Bruce is a role player, an important role player, but he is not a star on this team.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

link?

[Martin R]

...last part of the note is implying this series will step up its INTENSITY.

another PHYSICAL series for the SPURS....