Spurs/Heat links

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Lots of good stuff from around the web today.

  • Over at ESPN Chicago I compare Gregg Popovich to Quentin Tarantino, if Quentin Tarantino had become Woody Allen.
  • Matt Moore sent me a 2 a.m. email with “I don’t want to alarm you, but…” as a subject line.  This, of course, is his way of telling Eskimos to stay out of the cold. So why is Moore sounding the alarms? “If you’re not big on the whole numbers vibe, essentially the Spurs have only performed at or better than their season defensive average three out of their past twelve games. Even in the first romp against the Heat, the Spurs allowed their average of 101 points per 100 possessions. In three of those games, against playoff teams in L.A., Memphis, and Miami, the Heat have allowed more than 15 points more per 100 possessions in those games. That’s bad.” Read the full argument at CBS Sports’ Eye on Basketball blog.
  • Jeff McDonald makes great use of the phrase “symmetric smackdown.” It’s not only alliterated, it’s true.
  • My favorite tweet from last night was Tom Haberstroh’s perceptive, “Late in the third and Tony Parker has twice as many threes as his teammates. Can’t make this stuff up.” But Ryen Russillo contributed the funniest line of the night, “”hey whats up ladies, I’m Steve Novak, I had to guard Lebron a few times on a switch, then I dribbled the ball off my foot, you on myspace?” (By the way, if you’re not following the game night conversation on Twitter, you’re missing out. Fun times. @varner48moh).
  • Tim Griffin provides a smart outline of San Antonio’s recent defensive woes.
  • Griffin, again, with a bulleted list of game thoughts.  The upshot? San Antonio should move the ball more.
  • Buck Harvey thinks there is more to talk about when Gregg Popovich doesn’t throw in the towel.
  • Sebastian Pruiti does a remarkable job—I’m an original member of Pruiti’s Groupies, a fan club of sorts—of demonstrating how the Heat defended the Spurs’ PNR.
  • Kevin Arnovitz goes a little deeper than Pruiti, giving us what may be a preview of Miami’s defensive strategy should the Spurs and Heat meet in the Finals.
  • Pounding the Rock provides a thoughtful line, “This loss wasn’t an X’s and O’s triumph for Miami. It wasn’t a testament to their superior athleticism or younger legs. No. This game was about drive, passion, and the willingness to play all out.”
  • If only Kurt Helin were writing about the Spurs: “Monday night, the Heat showed the kind of defense that can make them a threat in May and June. They bodied Tim Duncan off his spots in the post, they hung with the Spurs shooters at the arc, they controlled the paint. Miami dominated this game from the start and won 110-80.”
  • Zach Lowe with more on the Heat’s defensive strategy: “If Manu Ginobili dribbled to his left around a Tim Duncan screen, for instance, the defender guarding a three-point shooter spotting up in the left corner would stay home. Someone has to help on Duncan as he rolls to the basket, but Miami made sure that person was not the guy defending the shooter in the near corner. Instead, the responsibility of jumping into the lane and bumping Duncan (or DeJuan Blair, or Antonio McDyess) fell to someone on the opposite side of the floor.”

  • DorieStreet

    Consensus of the blogs following the Spurs-Heat game last night:

    Coach Spoelstra ditched smallball the last 3 games (using his other bigs besides Bosh) – and it the strategy is working)=3 straight wins;

    National tv game–Heat were going to play all-out to get this W (and revenge previous bad loss);

    When the shots don’t fall from the 3′s (contested or not), the best teams in the league can expose their defensive weaknesses (height sometimes, athleticism/strength other times) easier than the also-rans;

    It’s the Spurs’s turn to be in a ‘slump’ (as other top teams have gone/are going through);

    HCA is nearly wrapped up, so the sqaud is perhaps ‘coasting’;

    The team’s experience/chemistry/coaching will make proper adjustments come playoff time.

    Views -partial and neutral -from outside the fanbase, so —let us sit back and get through the remaining 15 games with 10-11 victories to cement the #1 spot in the west.

    I’ll relax along with the others.

  • DorieStreet

    Follow-up to ‘basketball pundits’ observations-

    Heat have come up with blueprint to stop Spurs’ offensive power–but expect the Spurs to adjust to that in the playoffs; the defense must step up come mid-April.

  • Dr. Who

    Yo Dorie!

    Right on point, but not just the Heat. Lakers did it too. They did it by shutting down the perimeter, daring our slashers to get in the paint. Tough since our second unit isn’t really made up of any slashers except the occasional Hill. It’s been a couple games like this even Sac/Rockettes were playing us tighter on the perimeter. The Heat did the same without the trees inside like the Lakers, but they did play a bigger line up. Almost as if the Lakers exposed our Achilles heel. Pop and the brain trust have to re-group and counter, they will. Kinda like adjusting after a playoff loss. Good we see this in March. Bonner is now getting guarded as if he’s leading the lead in 3 pt shooting. Methinks he’ll see much more of that. Buy that man a sandwich stat! He’s going to need it. It will be awfully interesting to see what adjustments are made against the Mavs to open up our 3 pt shooters again; not to mention tightening up that D that has been lacking as of late.

    AND ANOTHER THING I THINK THIS WHOLE TEAM IS WORTHLESS AND WE NEED TO MAKE TRADE FOR YAO MING AND IAN MAHIMI!!!!

    Sorry Tim, totally kidding… :) Just trying to lighten the mood in here since the last thread was shut down.

  • Colin

    Agreed about the defense. It HAS to get better.

    As I posted before, the Spurs have to find some flair to their step or it doesn’t matter what lineup is on the floor.

    Really, we’re the only contending team this year who hasn’t had some kind of drama with regard to bad losses. I’m glad it is happening now and not in April (a la the Dallas Mavericks teams we are used to seeing).

    Its our turn to regain some fire when it really counts. It can start this Friday with a good showing against Dallas.

  • Titletown99030507d

    @Dr. Who,

    Comon, Dr. Who we’re going to get shot down in flames again by Varner if we don’t watch it.

  • Titletown99030507d

    I say play Splitter against the other 6-11/7 footers now and in the playoffs. I’ve been saying it all season long, Please Pop, pretty please, with a cherry on top.

  • Titletown99030507d

    Pop knows what he’s doing. He’ll surprise us come playoffs with a heavy dose of Splitter and yes you guessed it “Ryan Richards”. They’ll be the combo coming off the bench while Timmy and Dyess rest.

  • junierizzle

    So I guess now the SPURS are done. Last week it was Miami who was done. Now Miami is a “lock” for the Finals. It’s cool. Everyone takes their lumps eventually. My bad, don’t mean to go off on something else.

    Yeah, the Lakers and Heat made it a point to get to the shooters. But the Spurs still got good looks. They’re going to have to hit those in the playoffs. Plus, every game in the playoffs is somewhat different. I’m sure POP already has a scheme to counter that kind of Defense.
    Also during this season they still managed to win some games without hitting many 3′s. So it isn’t like they can’t win without the 3.

    As far as the overall D is concerned. Mcdeezy is a great defender. Did a decent job on BOSH but BOSH was already in a groove after being guarded by Bonner. G Hill?? Well I don’t know what is up with G Hill. I think he concentrating too much on being a poor mans Tony Parker when he should just try and manage the game. Bonner can have a good defensive stretch here and there, but if he isn’t going to score at all then he shouldn’t be out there. I know POP loves his ability to spread the floor but it just doesn’t work sometimes.
    TP’s best defense is his offense.
    TD is the anchor and can still get some blocked shots.
    RJ’s D isn’t bad but it ain’t great either.
    MANU is the teams Best Defender. I worry that when he checks Kobe and Wade and James that it drains him on the offensive end.

    The thing they have going for them is that they have always been a defensive minded team. So the capacity for playing good D is there.
    They’re not like the KNICKS who say they have to get better defensively but don’t have the work ethic.

  • jwalt

    Reasons to pessimistic: 1) TD appears to be slowing down even more. His rebounding has been atrocious the last 6-8 games 2) The team relies too much on Duncan’s rebounding. We need our wing players (RJ, Manu, etc.) to hit the boards to help him out 3) Hill is regressing in all categories, but especially defensively. He used to be our wing stopper, lately he’s being lit up by everyone 4) Manu is not playing like he did the first 40 games. He still is our best player, but he isn’t playing like an MVP candidate, or even close lately

    Reasons to be optimistic: 1) McDyess is starting — so much better than Blair 2) Pop has been around this block before 3) It’s natural for a team to coast when the playoffs seeding is basically a non-issue for them 4) Manu and Tim are both champions, they’ll rev up again for the playoffs.

  • Dr. Who

    @dafashiz-rizzle

    Let’s be fair we got some open shots but the Fakeshow and Heat were getting some of our shooters out of their spots and led to some of those missed shots (some not all). That’s been a bit different these past games, or at least I seem to think so. If we were socring more in the paint, that perimeter D would have to help some and sag off the shooters.

    I agree about Bonner, his D is better than last year but he can still be a liability. Sometimes it’s best to give up that spacing for better D.

    Jwalt,

    Along with TD and Manu, don’t forget that TP guy being a champ too not to mention Finals MVP ;)

    George Hill… Both you guys hit on this. During the middle of the season, he went through a stretch and was stinking it up pretty badly; the team D and team in general was suffereing as well. I think we suffered one of those 1 game losing streaks! It was kind of as George Hill goes, so does the team defense. I hadn’t looked at the numbers but it might be part II of that. More complicated than this but with George struggling, more is on Manu’s shoulders and that wears him out chasing the opponent’s best players around. When he get’s his groove back I’m willing to bet our team D improves. Hopefully this Friday.

  • Bob

    I like the starting 5 with McDyess defensively. They were holding the Heat to one shot and grabbing the rebound. It’s only when the Bonner/Blair gang came into the game that the game got out of hand. Against some teams it looks like one or both of them our needed for extended minutes. The Bonner/Blair team is weak defensively and doesn’t rebound well against height. One regret I have from the Suns sweep last year was that McDyess didn’t play more. I thought the defense was much better when he was in the game.

  • TD = Best EVER

    Seems that all are in agreement about the Defense/Rebounding now…… SO the question is what do we do about it…………We all know TD/Dice are gonna get 30-35 each and that will help a lot……Here is what I think…..

    1 – look to add another defender(0.5% chance)

    2 – slow the game down – (25% chance) – It will slow naturally come play off time. But all should remember reading about the Lakers Defensive struggles….. Phil Jackson said that he knew what the problem was and it wasn’t age as it much as it was pace. Jackson knew they were a very fast team, but he also knew, that in the half-court, he didn’t have to be. Better shot selection, fewer quick shots, unless they are layups or dunks…..We should do the same, we aren’t that old, we just need to play at a pace that our ability can keep up with……

    3 – shorten the rotation (if you can’t defend your position you can’t play) As much as Bonner/Blair can give you on offense. They can drain just as much on Defense. And I’m not saying can you lock your man down. But can you play behind him in good post defense and force him into a tougher shot than an easy layup/hook shot…… If you have to front him, you can’t play…. We have to stop helping out on other players so much, we are getting killed in the rotations. Leaving guys like Chalmers/Fisher open for 3-pointers(the only place they can really hurt us still)

    Those are just a few that come to mind – What say you???

  • Bruno

    I don’t care if we lose 5-6 games, what matter is HCA. I care with injury, if we don’t get one, we will be fine… Only thing, Pop never ever ever can play Bonner,Blair together in playoffs, and never put only bench players on the floor, always 4 bench+Parker or Ginobili, he need stop let bench play alone

  • DorieStreet

    @Bruno

    We have to look at how LAL goes re HCA; they just started 7gm homestand- and I doubt they lose any. Spurs go 7-1 the rest of March (beat DAL or BOS)–the record will be 61-14. If any team is 5 back or closer, then Spurs press until the end.

    @TD=Best EVER

    option 1–what is the rule about adding to roster this late in season (doubt we do it though)

    option 2–yes; don’t rush shots, especially if no one is not positioned for rebounding (and no one is ready to sprint back to prevent easy baskets on leakouts).

    option 3–Spurs really only play 9 now (more or less, depending on opponent). Bonner & Blair basically left the team playing 9-10 vs. 7 [or 12-13 vs. 7 if you're among those who count Crawford & his 2 cohorts---): ]. They both will be on audition vs. opposition re defensive will/effort the last part of this season.

  • DorieStreet

    Bad typo –couldn’t do smiley face right! :)

  • betsyduncan

    Thanks for toning down the rhetoric a bit, TD.
    I was starting to think that your moniker meant “Total Downer” and (that it) was not a shout out to the player we all honor.
    This is a forum I have enjoyed because all of the trash talking had been (and should be) about the OTHER teams/players, and not about our team/players or each other.
    It’s the journey, not the destination, man.
    Oh, and HELL YEAH, GRAB THAT 5!!!!!

  • GMT

    Hey guys, we’re re-signing Danny Green for the rest of the season: http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2011/3/15/2052789/danny-green-spurs-d-league-call-up

  • junierizzle

    Td=be

    I don’t think they would add anyone. They don’t just bring in people to bring them in. I know they wanted Brewer but too expensive. But they way POP does things, who knows how much PT he would have received.

    I think that they should do what other teams are doing to them. Stick with the other teams shooters. I hate seeing Fisher and Chalmers getting wide open 3s too.
    The good thing about that is all you need is effort to do that.

    I hate to sound like a broken record but TIAGO should play. If Bonner can be out there without scoring than so can TIAGO. He can also be helpful on the boards. The Spurs actually have a decent half-court defense. But they allow to many 2nd chances off of offensive rebounds. A good defensive stance doesn’t end until you secure the rebound. If nothing else TIAGO is 6 fouls that they can use.

  • DorieStreet

    @ junierizzle

    Irony, irony. You respond to TD=Best EVER re your ( and a lot of others) mantra of “play Tiago; play Splitter”–and no backlash. But when TD=Best EVER continually reviews his concerns regarding the Spurs–he’s trounced on.

    I remember reading a few posters insult guys who propose trades & FA acquisitons throughout the year–and people respond “dude- stop playing GM- you have NO INFLUENCE over FO in what they do, and you are not smarter than them.”
    Does not continually posting about “PLAY THAT GUY” fall into the same category?

  • DorieStreet

    @GMT

    Now that’s a head scratcher. Why not carry him on the roster through the season- put him in here and there to learn the system & give him confidence so he can contribute playoff time (especially with the injuries to rookies Anderson & Splitter? Long term ‘hush’ deal (because Spurs know what he can do(?) Or is just roster fillout to rest the PT players?

  • Titletown99030507

    @Junierizzle,

    It’s not like Splitter sucks. Let him play 15 – 20 minutes and he’ll prove everybody wrong. And he won’t commit the number of fouls the BB combo will. Wishful thinking at this point. Pop isn’t changing his genius plan. Better hope we rain down those 3′s and if we do its a moot point. But we all know that won’t happen. We had an early easy schedule and now we’re playing the better teams and they’re ramping up for the playoffs. I know let’s get Pop on their days off have the boys shoot nothing but 3′s till they drop. That will be a much easier fix since he doesn’t want to mess with the rotation.

  • rob

    For one I don’t think it’s been a matter of other teams “figuring out” the Spurs. Despite some semi-lethargic performances the last 5 games…the Spurs have not changed that much in plan. Concerns of lack of height are genuine along with some let downs by key players these last few games…but it happens all the time with premier teams.

    The Lakers last year are a prime example. It apperared they weren’t the powerhouse many had come to believe in the last half of the season only to somewhat steamrole once the playoffs began. Every playoff team in the league had played them enough to “figure them out”…their “Execution” in the playoffs of how they built their team in the end (as it was in the beginning) is what won them the championship.

    The Spurs are similarily the same. They went off into a tear. They have managed to secure a great chance at HCA. And now they are experimenting a bit in games. Personally it may be optimistic on my part and not enough concern. But I view this team as having already “figured it out” for the playoffs and now are experimenting with other ways that may help come playoffs. Some of those experiments are not working…but the minute fine tuning that is going on may (and often is to the naked eye) not obvious to the total picture that is going to be painted once playoffs come around.

    Ad Nauseum many of us have worried about the “obvious” weaknesses of this team. Knowing that if player X were able to be had the team would be hands down favorites to win the whole thing. Reality in this league is…that doesn’t happen. All teams have their weaknesses as well as strengths. Every coach knows this…tries to improve upon this…and most importantly…knows how to utelize their strengths of their team to best overcome their weaknesses while hoping to be able to exploit their opponents weaknesses.

    The Spurs DO Have just as much a shot as the other primier teams in this league. Those other teams DO Have weaknesses also. At any given point during the playoffs ALL teams that move on find ways to win. That IS something the Spurs have managed to do this season which gives me evidence they CAN prevail.

    If they don’t…what a great season that NO ONE ever gave them a chance to do.

  • TD = Best EVER

    DorieStreet
    March 15th, 2011 at 6:20 pm

    @GMT

    “Now that’s a head scratcher. Why not carry him on the roster through the season- put him in here and there to learn the system & give him confidence so he can contribute playoff time….”

    Great find GMT

    And I agree Dorie….. I was very upset when we let go of Gee because of his athleticism. Then we go green and I was like cool – not as high if a jumper but better on offense. And then we cut him to get Udoka and I really didn’t know what was going on…….

    Glad to see him back but I do wonder what does the FO see him doing for us this year or is this just something to have under contract now and trade RJ in the summer??

  • Titletown99030507

    @GMT,

    So now we have 3 guards that wont see playing time. Now I’m really confused. Is this Pop’s subtle way of light a fire under Hill’s butt? I’d rather Pop get a PF to light a fire under the BB combo. Aisle five 7 – footers. Pop. Time to check out.

  • hassan

    @ Titletown99030507

    “Pop knows what he’s doing. He’ll surprise us come playoffs with a heavy dose of Splitter and yes you guessed it “Ryan Richards”. They’ll be the combo coming off the bench while Timmy and Dyess rest”.

    Man…what you saying?? It’s too late for splitter to play in playoffs..he has not developed a Rhythm in games and you need this in the playoffs. And Ryan Richard’s is not signed by the Spurs so he can’t play in playoff’s if not signed by March 1st…so it ain’t happening…

  • hassan

    @ jwalt

    “It’s not opptimistic” when a team is coasting because how you play towards tghe playoffs is a strong indicator of what you’ll do there… And by the way, home court is not BOS/CHI are only 5 games out of SA and esp CHI has an excellent schedule contrary to the “coasting SA”… concern…concern…

  • DBAGuy

    wonder if Jason Terry is still running his mouth?

  • idahospur

    I remember one of the many weaknesses of the Utah Jazz against the Chicago Bulls in Jordan’s last two years (in Chicago) was the 2nd unit of the Jazz not maintaining the lead from the first quarter (and Malone folded under pressure, etc.). I was optimistic about Dice coming to the first unit for his defensive help but after watching the latest events, he may be more needed with the 2nd team. As Manu was a “2nd-teamer” to provide that offensive spark, Dice may be needed to hold the 2nd unit together with his defense. I’ve been wanting Splitter to get more development, but I am not seeing it happen this year. Maybe Pop is arrogant, maybe he has some secrets hidden away, maybe this team has already planned losses for the rest of the year and knows they will maintain home court advantage? I don’t know. In the end, this team has the best record in basketball, has a 5.5 lead over Chicago for best record, and a 6.5 over Lakers/7 over Dallas. Let’s keep pace and finish the regular season.

  • hassan

    Guys go and see the link associated with this paragraph as it shows 2 ways to stop the Spurs offense(miami’s hard show on 3 pointers OR Lakers sagging on the PnR and taking away the 3 completely away and daring mid-range jumpers or drive to against 2 big 7-foot trees) ……

    “Sebastian Pruiti does a remarkable job—I’m an original member of Pruiti’s Groupies, a fan club of sorts—of demonstrating how the Heat defended the Spurs’ PNR.”

    Our Counter should involve Parker, Ginobili & Neal taking lots of mid-range jumpers(they can actually make them and I think they don’t use them enough anyway.. just watch how jason terry does it a lot) and I beleive that will open the other shots after that. Also noted that Hill is extremely tentative with that shot….

  • ITGuy

    Go Spurs Go!!

  • http://www.bpifanconnect.com Alix Babaie

    Pretty sure the Spurs wanted Green to get some meaningful playing time versus sitting on the bench here…..he has done a great job in the D-League and now he may get some burn during the last few games of the season.

    I, for one, trust Pop and Co with this team and the season leading up to and through the postseason.

  • jwalt

    Dr. Who, I don’t mean to slight Parker because he is playing better than at anytime during his career. But through the years he just hasn’t meant as much to the team’s success as Tim or Manu. Even when he won the MVP award (which he deserved) it was still Manu who closed out the wins. Also, that Cleveland series was a question of matchups. TP was being guarded by Booty Gibson, who would go down as the worst starting point guard ever in a NBA finals if anybody ever cared to make up such a list.

    And Hassan, I didn’t mean to imply that coasting is a good thing, I just think it is natural. And I don’t think any Spur cares about the East. They do care about Dallas and the Lakers, and that race is over.

    As far as the Blair/Bonner defensive lapses, they are real. But Bonner has to play, when he is hitting he can break open a game faster than anyone else on the team, and his mere presence forces teams to play one of their bigs out on the perimeter. Spacing is an overused word these days, but no one provides better spacing, maybe in the entire league, than Bonner. As far as Blair goes, I have beleagured him enough already. If Pop sees fit to replace his minutes for Splitter, then fine. If not, he should play limited minutes. Opponents get their confidence going with Blair in.

    And rebounding is the KEY right now — yes, we are getting murdered on the boards. Duncan needs to stop being landlocked, and our wings need to concentrate more on it.

    And to close, the Spurs are a championship team when Manu plays like an MVP candidate. When all is said and done we go as Manu goes.

  • junierizzle

    @jwalt

    “And to close, the Spurs are a championship team when Manu plays like an MVP candidate. When all is said and done we go as Manu goes.”

    Yes they need to rebound and defend better but if Manu plays like he did against MIAMI, Spurs will struggle. If he is on, watch out!!!!

  • TD = Best EVER

    Manu / TD are both equally important…… neither can do what they do best w/o the other………..And TP to a lesser extent…….

    If Manu is the Closer…… someone has to get the game to the 9th inning… or close to it…… TP’s Offense helps here……. TD’s Offense/Defense is critical here…… w/o his rebounding and shot altering…. we would never be in a position to close the game out……. Or basically instead of you calling in the closer when its a 1 point game either way we would be down 3 or more runs and Manu in this case would never be seen……….

  • Titletown99030507

    @Hassan

    It’s called sarcasm. Did you really believe me? Maybe next year.

    @jwalt
    exactly my sentiments. Manu is the key to the Spurs success. Plus the up tempo game to go with Neal and Bonners success will determine success as well. Making shots like 3 point shots to counter any deficiencies we have at interior defense.

  • jwalt

    td best — I don’t mean to slight Timmy (you crucified me last time I tried) and you are right, Duncan is indispensable. But for this year, at least, Manu is the clear MVP. Manu +/- for the season is a staggering +12.3, Tim is next at +8.5, and Parker is a meager +0.8. Bonner is third on the team (+5.2) behind Manu and Tim, which is why I say he has to play.

    Tim’s play is NEEDED for the team to succeed, but it’s Manu who gets them over the top. The team really feeds off of his 4th quarter confidence, and you see it game in and game out.

  • Hassan

    Hope our practice today brings back our defensive suaggar…

    @ Titletown99030507
    Ok man, thought you were serious about Ryan Richards this year…haha…

    @ TD = Best EVER
    Amen to all you wrote about the roles of our top guys on the team. DUNCAN..our pivot, Parker our Offense and Manu our Mojo/Closer and all of that makes the Spurs machine and the other 9 guys are the part/accessories of our champion(ship)… man that sounded Good…

    Defense…Drive for 5 … Go Spurs Go…