2012 NBA Playoffs - (1) Spurs vs (8) Jazz

[co_laper]

No doubt, they're much more energetic tonight and is making their shots. Luckily, they're not really stopping our offense.

[co_laper]

We really really need to clean the glass better. Third game in a row where Utah is just killing us on the offensive glass. It's not a big problem when we're winning and blowing teams out, but in close game or in a loss, it sticks out like a ****.

[co_laper]

3 things to look for in 2nd half IMO.

Manu: Passive/Aggresive? He's out there too much as a playmaker. We need Manu attacking the basket drawing fouls getting contact.

Keeping the Jazz off the off. Rebounding. They already have 8.

Run the pick and roll with whoever Favors is guarding. You don't want to have Favors waiting for you at the rim.

[Nolan]

We really really need to clean the glass better. Third game in a row where Utah is just killing us on the offensive glass. It's not a big problem when we're winning and blowing teams out, but in close game or in a loss, it sticks out like a ****.

Yep, we're going to have to start sending four guys to the glass. We'll have to sacrifice fast break points but I have confidence in our half court offense.

[Nolan]

Well Favors has been playing well, too bad no one else on his team showed up.

[Nolan]

And thats a series. Now the question is who do we want in the second round? The Griz or the Clippers?

[Ballings7]

I'd prefer to play LAC... but Memphis would be fun...

I think we can expose the young front-court of Griffin/Jordan, and Paul will be pestered by Green all series... who, if you guys remember was played quite tough by him in 2-3 games this year. Especially in that one game at LAC. They didn't play us with Jackson/Diaw, either.

While K-Mart can defend Duncan pretty well and better than most, Tim's still gonna get his... and it neutralizes LAC's only long big - Jordan, because, Griffin ain't gonna be outta the game much.

With Memphis, I don't believe they have that same edge as last season, with their toughness and interior-biased play, and bench... and Gay taking shots away from Randolph and Gasol is beneficial. Who isn't consistently dangerous yet. Speights will be exposed on defense, and Randolph can't get into foul trouble. Haddadi I actually like a lot, though.

[Joao Saraiva]

Just here to congratulate Spurs and Spurs fans. Totally deserved to go trough, very impressive team. Best luck to go trough the West once more.

[co_laper]

I prefer LAC too but this is gonna be an interesting one.

LAC has the tools to really hurt us. This isn't gonna be an easy one. Againts Utah, it was mostly Parker who penetrated to the basket. Manu didn't do it much. Gary Neal didn't get many minutes. We were fine againts Utah because even when out offense wasn't going well, Utah didn't have nearly enough to offensively.

Now, I've said many times that penetration is key to the Spurs offense. Paul againts Parker will be awesome. He might be able to defend Parker. And then there's athleticism by Jordan and super tough guys like Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans. If the Spurs thought Utah was physical, let's see how physical it is with these guys. They're likely to deliver harder blows when guys get to the paint.

The key here IMO is the battle between Manu and Mo Williams. I would like to think that Parker and Paul will cancel each other out. And then hopefully TD and Blake cancel each other out. The one advantage we must have is Manu. He can't have an off series like this one. We need him to come up big.

I've been watching that Memphis-Clippers series and honestly I'm starting to like Reggie Evans. I'd like Blair to turn into Reggie. Heck, I'll trade Blair for Reggie. They're both similar in what they bring to the table. Reggie is obviously a much better rebounder, dirtier, bigger, better defensive player. And I just love the dirty part. I miss Bruce.

[batmana]

I actually honestly think we would eliminate Memphis easier than the Clippers since the Clippers really have superstars with a high ceiling. Memphis are down 3-1 for a reason, the Clippers are just the better team. But on the other hand, I am rooting for the Clippers in that series and I am sick by Zach Randolph's bitchy hacks on Blake Griffin after the whistle.

Still, I feel we have an advantage over the Clippers that we can exploit basically to no end - their bigs cannot shoot free throws. All of them. You know how sometimes a team adopts the "Hack-a-Shaq" and the other team looks to take that player out to eliminate that. The Clippers bigs are as follows:

DeAndre Jordan (.525 FT in regular season, 1-for-6 in Memphis series so far)
Blake Griffin (.521 FT in regular season, 20-for-36 in Memphis series)
Reggie Evans (.507 FT in regular season, 5-for-16 in Memphis series)
Kenyon Martin (.370 FT in regular season, no FTs in Memphis series)

Blake Griffin was actually shooting the FTs well until game 4 but even if he starts making them, it is a problem for the Clippers. Oh, and by the way, Eric Bledsoe could also be a liability at the line - he went 1-for-5 and nearly cost them game 3 with the FT misses, he is actually .636 FT for the season and 4-for-9 in the Memphis series).

They basically have no relieve guy for their bigs if we start hacking. And we can start hacking if Chris Paul goes out of his mind in some quarter and starts getting his usual calls that send him to the line on every other possession.

As I have always said, the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy goes much deeper than just hoping the guy you hack misses his FTs - it eliminates the other team's offense as you do not allow them to run anything. Yes, it would be meaningless if the guy you hack actually makes his FTs but even if Blake Griffin hits say 6 of 9, you still eliminated Chris Paul and his creativity and that's a big thing. We did it with Phoenix and Shaq in 2008 and even in one game where he actually made more FTs than expected, it eliminated Steve Nash and his teammates from running any offense.

[khufure]

Bulls fan here.. good job on your sweep. A lot of us are pulling for the Spurs now. Good luck, and if you see them please beat the Heat!

[Ballings7]

Always liked Reggie Evans as a tough role-playing big.... not like this team doesn't know him from his Seattle and Denver days, though.

Our depth and mentality I think would most likely overcome their athleticism and emotional fuel.... don't think they have enough refinement as a squad to beat us.

But again, their front-court... really does lack size... decently more than ours... they're certainly mobile and/or bulky aside from Jordan, but lack good overall size, mainly relating to length. I'd say only K-Mart is the most disciplined as a defender out of them all. Evans is experienced and knows how to play, but he still has to use his body more to make up for his lack of overall size, and isn't as respected as K-Mart is defensively.

It would be tougher to score inside against LAC, but really don't think it's going to be to the point where points and passes around the paint will be at a consistent premium.

I miss Bruce, too... along with Horry...