Practice Drills: Defending Lob City

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So far as defenders go, San Antonio Spurs big men Tim Duncan, DeJuan Blair, and Tiago Splitter make for a better deterrent at the rim than a KIA. But then, it’s not just cars that the young Blake Griffin has leaped over the course of his early NBA career.

The Los Angeles Clippers Sultan of Slam made last season his own personal highlight reel, and that was before the Clippers added Chris Paul, the NBA’s best point guard, to the mix.

“Well, you know, you add Chris Paul to your team and you’ve added a certain amount of talent. Some would say a huge amount of talent,” San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “That’s pretty special, you don’t get much more special than that.”

Tonight the Spurs get their first crack at the spectacle that is Lob City, an early look at what potentially could be a very explosive offense anchored by their young, athletic frontline of Griffin and DeAndre Jordan and orchestrated by Paul. A disconcerting thought for the Spurs frontline-it’s likely not a matter of if the Clippers will get a lob in, but when.

“I dont’ think you can stop it all the time, it’s going to happen one or two times,” Spurs point guard Tony Parker said. “We just can’t let it happen like 10 times.

“The whole team has to be ready on the weak side, we have to pay attention and make sure that everybody is aware that it’s going to happen.”

Tasked with defending Griffin first will be undersized and floor bound big man DeJuan Blair. For Blair, a momentary lapse in focus generally might lead to an opponent’s score and an angry Gregg Popovich. Tonight even a quick blink could add national humiliation to those stakes.

“He’s going to make points, obviously. But at the same time you just have to find his body,” Blair said. “If you can’t find where he is he might be in the air jumping over you.”

Beyond the spectacle, the Clippers have the foundations for a team that has enough substance to match their considerable style. Along with Paul the Clippers added veterans Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler to the starting lineup in the frenetic free agency period.

Clippers coach and former Spurs player Vinny Del Negro is experimenting with a two-point guard starting lineup, featuring Billups in the backcourt with Paul. In the first game Billups took the shooting guard title a little too literally, hoisting 19 shots. And while Butler historically has been a bit of a ball stopper, featuring a go-to move built around a hundred different jab steps that invariably lead to a flat, line drive jumper, he is solid is almost aspects of the game from the small forward position.

“We have to approach them like everybody else,” Popovich said. “You can’t change the basic things you believe that win or lose just because someone else is on another team.”

 

  • Neil

    Prediction: Ginobili will block a Lob City dunk out of know where. Bat Manu!

  • Neil

    Ugh, nowhere*

  • Anonymous

    Should be an entertaining game. As Blair said in his 12/27 practice interview… http://www.nba.com/spurs/video/111227_blair -the Clippers will have to be as concerned about the Spurs just as much as the Spurs should have to be concerned about the Clippers.

  • Tōn the Beat Counselor

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but they got ZERO lobs tonight!

  • spursfanbayarea

    Quick impressions.
    positives1. Tiago played excellent man on man defense. 2. anderson continued to show great confidence and ability to get to the rim 3. manu was well manu4. parker played aggressively down the stretch5. great hustle by blair. negatives1. tj ford tried to force too many contested shots2. bonner poor defense(nothing new)overall nice game by the starters. bench gave up the lead in first half but was able to sustain it in second half. good to get rest before tomorrows game. Still would like for us to have one other big man for when we play longer and bigger teams.

  • Bry

    Apart from a couple of TJ Ford throw-ups, the entire game it felt as if the Spurs could easily get a high percentage shot every posession. I think the Clips are going to have a lot of trouble trying to defend disciplined teams this year. Each time the Spurs defense would clamp down, they’d build their league. I agree about Splitter’s defense. The second unit looks great and they still don’t have Neal. I’m not sure why they don’t have a 5th big just to throw onto the end of the bench.

  • Anonymous

    Besides the obvious…Spurs Win!…This team is building a unique chemistry with both its veteran core and talented youth.

    Interesting stat tonight…Spurs shoot 100% FT’s. But more impressive is their team D. Any other game where Griffin scores 28 points and the rest of the Clippers share total point averages of 8 points a piece and the Spurs still win by 25!!! VERY IMPRESSIVE.

    Question?…Where does Neal fit in with this strong start? What a waste of talent (Neal) if he can’t garnish playing time because the chemistry is bonding so well with who is playing now.

  • Anonymous

    “I’m not sure why they don’t have a 5th big just to throw onto the end of the bench.”

    My guess is…if the Spurs can continue to play this good and keep managing wins…they won’t be in any hurry to pay the luxury tax associated with just having an extra person on the bench who won’t be getting much playing time.

  • Thomasholdren

    Tiago played decent defense, and had a less than average game. 2/3 shooting and 3 TOs in 20 min?

    You get on Blair for the fouls but Tiago does the same. Blair is easily the better player.

  • Thomasholdren

    That is my concern too. I would plug him in for Manu as oft as we can allow so that Neal learns how to carry the load and, more importantly, Manu can rest. I would not sub out Jefferson. He is playing GREAT

  • spursfanbayarea

    You need to re-read my post. I did not say anything negative about blair. In fact I praised his hustle. I said bonner played poor defense.

  • spursfanbayarea

    Only concern with jefferson is that he started out last year on fire as well. Hopefully this year he can maintain this excellent play throughout the season and into the playoffs.

  • Bry

    He’d be at the end of the bench, but he WILL get playing time. When the Spurs have back-to-backs, or when they rest Duncan, or when a big man or two is in foul trouble, or when they’ve blown a team out (like last night) and just want somebody to finish out the game without risking injury to the primary four bigs; that’s when they’ll want a big body in there. They don’t need him to have potential or anything more than a one-year deal. Just a cheap insurance/scrub time policy.

  • Thomasholdren

    In reference to previous posts, not this one….

  • Thomasholdren

    Yes, totally agree. However each game he breaks the momentum by hitting a huge shot to break a tie or put us up a few. After a dunk by Griffin that had LA storming back and the momentum: drills a three…..

    I want him to continue to be aggressive with that shot. Looks great when he doesnt hesitate.