VideoKilledThe wrote:now that they are here on the big stage they get to play the most defensively disciplined team in the league
I'd give that title to Pacers or Memphis.
The Paul George over play, Lebron one dribble layup ftw comes to mind, but i digress...
regardless of the distinction...the point being Popp keeps the defensive rotations and strategy on point, and the cumulative affect of having to play the Bulls, Pacers, then Spurs is weighing heavily on Lebron, especially when you trying to be Mr. Everything out there.
VideoKilledThe wrote:now that they are here on the big stage they get to play the most defensively disciplined team in the league
I'd give that title to Pacers or Memphis.
The Paul George over play, Lebron one dribble layup ftw comes to mind, but i digress...
regardless of the distinction...the point being Popp keeps the defensive rotations and strategy on point, and the cumulative affect of having to play the Bulls, Pacers, then Spurs is weighing heavily on Lebron, especially when you trying to be Mr. Everything out there.
Pointing to one play doesn't really show much. http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/teamst ... fensiveEff
Difference between Pacers (first) and Spurs (third) is same difference between Spurs and Hawks (10th). Pacers were great on D this whole year..
Big Breeze wrote:What Hayzoos means is that defensively, LeBron may guard Duncan.
Oh okay.. I don't love that. Duncan is still grabbing offensive boards over LeBron and LeBron is going to beat up down there. They need Bosh to stop acting like a bitch and do what he came there to do.
I see the sense in it, but man is that a gamble. It does get LeBron closer to the basket, and the Spurs themselves are the template for not giving a fuck about offensive rebounds. I imagine throwing some confusion into transition D is also on their agenda, and fuck the wear and tear with a max 4 games left.
But on the face of it this sounds like going for disruption over actually having a plan, so there has to be something else to it. Spo ain't Pop, but he's still pretty wily.
I am not worried about the long term wear and tear, I am talking about his energy come 4th quarter. I also think getting LeBron closer to the basket (I assume you talking about on D) won't help them on offensive boards because Duncan can get boards over him. It will also probably make it even easier for Leonard, who LeBron did a horrible job of boxing out last game, to get offensive boards. The confusion and match ups in transition make sense to me. Heat should be giving him the ball and having him push the ball as much as possible, and this could help.
I think the point is to try to force Duncan to either to cover Lebron or chase around a shooter all night. It'll be interesting to see who it ultimately gives the bigger advantage to, cause it could very easily go either way. I think Pop has more confidence in his system and players than Vogel did, so I don't expect him to panic and play into the small ball trap Miami catches everyone with.
naturalborn103 wrote:I am not worried about the long term wear and tear, I am talking about his energy come 4th quarter. I also think getting LeBron closer to the basket (I assume you talking about on D) won't help them on offensive boards because Duncan can get boards over him. It will also probably make it even easier for Leonard, who LeBron did a horrible job of boxing out last game, to get offensive boards. The confusion and match ups in transition make sense to me. Heat should be giving him the ball and having him push the ball as much as possible, and this could help.
I think they want him closer to the basket on O, figuring he's either got a huge quickness advantage on Splitter or they can make Duncan have to deal with one player instead of being a team defender. Miller on Leonard, though, strikes me as to the advantage of the Spurs, and they still haven't dealt with the fact that Wade doesn't exist this series. If you're moving pieces around, why not put Battier in at PF and start Miller over Wade? More shooting and a kick in the ass to a proud player.
That might happen in transition, like you said, but majority of possessions Duncan won't be on LeBron just cause LeBron is covering him. I agree about Wade, he is killing them on both ends of the floor. I said before series Green would kill them from deep cause Wade cheating. On offense they are showing him 0 respect and blatantly ignoring him when he doesn't have the ball.
Not sure who Spitter would cover though. I think Pop would make some subs pretty quick if Duncan was forced to cover LeBron. Bonner is always playable when Mike Miller is in the game.
naturalborn103 wrote:That might happen in transition, like you said, but majority of possessions Duncan won't be on LeBron just cause LeBron is covering him. I agree about Wade, he is killing them on both ends of the floor. I said before series Green would kill them from deep cause Wade cheating. On offense they are showing him 0 respect and blatantly ignoring him when he doesn't have the ball.
Yeah, if I'm Pop I don't want Duncan on LeBron, but a lot hinges on if Splitter can defend him. If not, you can't just drop Leonard onto him without opening a hole for a shooter (I guess you could put Splitter on Wade, you don't really have to defend his outside shot anymore).
And he came into the league at like 20, after one year of college. Its not unreasonable to think that a dude that young would get so brolic in a short amount of time under the guidance of a professional training staff.
I'm tired about hearing about how "LeBron's gonna step it up" as if the Spurs have no say in the matter. Why does it take a waxing in the Finals to realize that you need to play your best?
