For the Cavs:
--Find a way to slow down Parker. This has to be their number one goal. If Parker is getting to the basket like he was in Game 1, it's almost impossible to beat the Spurs. Their best options looks to be LeBron James. Larry Hughes didn't look like he could do it. Perhaps Boobie Gibson has a chance, but not for long stretches. It'll have to be up to LeBron.
--Play with Boobie. The kid is on fire. Whatever he's shooting is going in right now. On top of that, he's playing pretty good defense. He's confident and is in a groove. I expect 35 minutes from him in Game 2, whether he's starting or coming off the bench.
--Get Big Z going. The Cavs are going to try to force it into Big Z and let him operate down low. It makes sense to go to him no matter who the Spurs have on him. Oberto and Elson aren't great matchups for him and if Duncan is guarding him, Big Z can try to get Duncan in foul trouble.
--Get LeBron the ball deeper. In Game 1, LeBron almost always got the ball on the perimeter. In Game 2, expect him to catch the ball closer to the foul line as often as possible. Either way, LeBron will have a bounce back game and should have good numbers.
--Rebound better. The Cavs are a very good rebounding team. Expect them to come out with more of a purpose on the boards in Game 2.
For the Spurs:
--Don't leave Boobie uncovered. He's on fire right now and is knocking down all his jumpers. In the fourth, the Spurs didn't do a very good job of staying with him at all times. As it stands, he's a guy you simply can't double team off of.
--Expose Boobie. If he's going to play more minutes, the Spurs have to expose him defensively. If he's guarding Parker, Parker needs to drive the lane. If he's guarding Manu, Manu needs to drive the lane. The Spurs have stronger guards and need to use that to their advantage.
--Get Manu a bit more involved. If he has a mismatch, I wouldn't mind a few more isolations called for him. Manu has to do his part and drive the ball to the basket. The Cavs are physical and will send you to the line if you attack.
--Up the tempo. The Cavs are a very good halfcourt defensive team. Probably the best the Spurs have faced in the playoffs. It's hard to score on them in that setting. To combat that, the Spurs need to get out on the break. Transition points in this series are going to be huge. Parker and Manu meed to push the ball and the bigs need to run.
--Concentrate. While the whole world is waiting to crown the Spurs, it's way too premature to be thinking of a championship. In Game 2, the Spurs need to come out and concentrate on winning the game. It's easy to lose focus and start looking at the big picture instead of the next step. The Cavs are a good team. Their two best players played as bad as they can play and they still only lost by nine points. Game 1 was far from their best punch. Expect them to play better and be prepared to up your game to match their intensity.
Agreed. The Cavs' gameplan goes out the window when the Spurs get out on the break.
As for James, the Spurs should continue to put the pressure on him. While he can be expected to enter Game 2 with more intensity and focus, the opportunity is there to take advantage of a young player out to do too much at once.
I agree with everything you say.
I think that Finley definitely needs to get going. He had a few open looks and just couldn't knock it down. Fin is going to have to work harder! Other then that I think he played solid defense it was only his offense that was lacking.
100% agree with everything you said. Excellent post.
Brown has GOT to play Gibson more. Hughes is just hobbling around and cannot keep up with anyone. Snow needs to see a little time as well... he is probably the only one who can defensively match up agaisnt Parker.
One more key for the Cavs... don't expect the Spurs to miss as many open shots as they did in the first half.
These are in CLASSIC timvp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EXCELLENT POST!!
Yea Snow definitely needs more time on the floor. He's done this dance before he should know whats at stake and that'll make him even more important.
I don't understand why Brown said he wouldn't start Gibson.
Did I miss something? How can a hobbled Hughes be a better option than a hot Boobie?
I don't think they can do much about anything. It is clear they wanted to slow down parker and they couldn't. Maybe playing in their home court they are able to do it 1 or 2 times while TP is having and off night. He does from time to time. I know Manu will own at least one game as visitor. He always does that in each series and bails everyone out. Anyway, my 2cents.
Hughes is on record saying his foot is feeling better even w/o taking an injection and this was after game 1 so we can assume he may be seeing even more playing time.. maybe this is why Mike Brown will keep him in the starting line up.. I anticipate Pollard getting some playing time so he can rough up Duncan a bit.. also, more hard fouls on Parker to keep him out of the lane.. Pavlovic's hard foul in Q1 really shook Parker up and he wasn't the same until later on in the 3rdQ
Thanks...I did miss that. I still thought he was in pretty bad pain.
I don't see any effective solution for Parker. Sure the Cavs can try to limit him in short stretches. For Spurs fans looking for a sweep, Parker is the key. The intimidation that Duncan's shot blocking provides had LeBron hesitating and totally out of sync. It doesn't much matter if TD has a monster night offensively because he's always capable of great defense whether the shots are falling or not.
As you mentioned, potential for TD foul trouble might be exploited with some success, but offensively, I don't see the Cavs consistently able to deliver to LBJ inside against a tough Spur defense. I see the Spurs stepping up their offensive rebounding as well. As much as I hate to say it... I can't say it...
Last edited by UV Ray; 06-08-2007 at 11:16 PM.
James actually didn't do too bad of a job on Parker when he was sticking him. With James length and leaping ability he can afford to play off of Parker and still manage to bother his jump shop some. I think we will see Lebron more on Parker in game 2. Snow can't stay with Parker, he is waaaay to quick for Snow at this point in Snow's career. I think Brown knows that and thats why he didn't even try it in game 1. THe Cavs also did a good job of knocking the ball away from Manu on a couple of his drives during the 2nd half. He got a few calls that bailed him out on a couple of them. I think that Barry and Finley are going to be the X-factors in this series before it's all said and done. We are going to need someone else who can turn it on if the Cavs manage to keep Parker from getting to the basket.
As much as I'm inclined to think that James and Boobie are keys here -- and I certainly do think they're important -- I think that a vital issue for the Spurs remains a commitment to the defensive glass. The Spurs limited the Cavs to 9 offensive boards in Game 1, which isn't perfect but a pretty good first effort. Overall, the Spurs grabbed just short of 78% of the total defensive boards available to them, which is a pretty good number against Cleveland. I think that number needs to stay at about 73-75% for this series.
The reason Brown is hesitant to play Gibson is because of his defense. He had a couple of strips, but he can't keep up with Parker, and he can't guard anybody else because of his size, and this wrecks, the Cavs defensive scheme because he would NOT want to double anybody on the perimeter when Duncan is taking so much attention.
Gibson is quick, but he has yet to understand positioning on the defensive end that well.
James backed way off Parker and left him wide open jump shots. If it was one of those nights where Parker was hitting his 16 footer Spurs would have been up 20 at the half.
Look for the Cavs to plug up the middle and make the Spurs beat them with jumpshots.
I predict Finley will have a breakout game. When I consider how long he's waited and how close he is (oh yeah, and how much last year's game 7 loss must have hurt), he's got to be a great white that smells blood. Look for 4-5 3's. Just a hunch.
As far as offense, I think Boobie will get a lot of playing time. I think that Coach Brown will deal with any defensive lapses from him in exchange for the spacing that he'll provide LBJ.
This game will definitely be an interesting one.
It's hard to imagine Brown wanting LeBowned on Parker (did I just write that?). They need him to be strong in the fourth quarter, so do they really want him to chase around Parker all game? Notice for all of Kobe's rep as a superior defender, he actually chooses to rest on that side of the ball and loads up for O. As long as Bron guards Bowen, he gets to rest there, too. How much will he have in the tank if he has to carry the team and guard Parker, too?
Ginobili is gonna have to bring his A Game sunday.
Offensively, and defensively on sunday.
He will have to body up on Gibson, cause Parker cannot get worn out guarding him and using energy defending Gibson
Brown hates playing rookies...
Brown knows that if he plays Boobie for 35 minutes the game is going to be higher scoring and I don't think he wants that. The Cavs have a better offensive punch with Boobie, but there is absolutely no one for him to guard. Parker blows by him, Manu goes right through him, and he's not a good help defender to put on Bowen and help off of. He won't effect TD on the block on a double so either Lebron or Sasha will stay with Bowen to provide size on doubles. It's a catch 22 for Brown because his defense can't play as well with Boobie but his offense is horrid without Boobie. Other than scrapping PnR for the most part and having Lebron isolate I can't see many adjustments that Brown can make that his team will feel comfortable running. I think that's the key here, we can all talk about them doing this and that, but the fact is the offense they are comfortable running is going strictly through Lebron and putting the ball in other's hands is foreign and uncomfortable to them.
You say to get the ball to Lebron deeper, but Lebron isn't a good post up player and wasn't very effective playing off the ball coming off of screens in game 1. I can't think of a way to get him the ball deeper without him posting Bowen and being swarmed on the catch with his back to the basket, and that's not his game. I see a lot of ISO's coming in game 2 and the Spurs are going to have to give help in the lane and have crisp rotations on the pass.
For the Spurs: Hit outside shots. The opportunities will be plentiful, as the Cavs are going to aggressivley pack the lane trying to prevent a repeat of the bludgeoning they got in game 1. If the shooters can hit open shots this game will be over before the end of the second quarter.
The number of Cavs offensive rebounds are going to be a reflection of the number of shots they missed. 78% defensive rebounding by the Spurs (higher than their regular season average) in combination with a low Cavs FG% is phenomenal, and I'll take it every time.
The thing I'd like to see the Spurs do more of is the PnR. For a good defensive team, the Cavs were incredibly bad at defending it in the first couple of quarters, and then it seemed the Spurs just stopped running it.
He's playing like Antonio in 01 playoffs after DA injury--Play with Boobie. The kid is on fire. Whatever he's shooting is going in right now. On top of that, he's playing pretty good defense. He's confident and is in a groove. I expect 35 minutes from him in Game 2, whether he's starting or coming off the bench.
In Mavs series Antonio was on fire hitting everything
It seems in every year playoffs one of those players show up
JJ in 99, Croshere in 00, Antonio in 02 and again in 05
Antonio wasn't in SA in 05.
I know but he had a good series against us with the Sonics
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