Big Cuz 15
All-Star
dump it into duncan in the lowpost and kick out to the 3ptshooters? or continue trying to have TP & manu get into the lane?
SPURS game 4 plan?
- Thread starter Big Cuz 15
- Start date
tyrant
Starter
at a time like this the spurs are gonna have to go with their superstar. duncan had a big game and they still lost. i believe there's not much manu or tony can do. our guards are SERIOUS. bonzi, martin and artest are clamping down on the both of them. the only way the spurs are winning this series is through their bench and duncan. they want to dump it down to duncan and make room for finley, nick and barry to get good shots. we wont see as many pick and rolls game 4. we've adjusted to those
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Manu can't be counted on with Ron out there. But they have to get more out of Parker, and need Duncan to consistently bring it now. Its the playoffs, and time for him to leave whatever he has on the floor now.
More interesting is their defensive gameplan. They would appear to have some issues, although if you look at it they held us to 94pts on 43% shooting again. But Bonzi is just killing them in there, and I'm not really sure what they can do about it. And with Ron returning to provide the other half of thump and bump, where do the Spurs find defensive personnel to keep those guys from dominating in around the rim?
If I were them I might be tempted to go with the exact opposite of smallball, say Bowen is not nearly as effective in the post as on the perimeter, and break Robert Horry out as a starter at SF. Go 7'0" 7'0" 6'10" across the frontline in response to our power littles. But of course as the defending world champs, have a feeling the Spurs have more confidence in who they are and what they do than to experiment like that.
More interesting is their defensive gameplan. They would appear to have some issues, although if you look at it they held us to 94pts on 43% shooting again. But Bonzi is just killing them in there, and I'm not really sure what they can do about it. And with Ron returning to provide the other half of thump and bump, where do the Spurs find defensive personnel to keep those guys from dominating in around the rim?
If I were them I might be tempted to go with the exact opposite of smallball, say Bowen is not nearly as effective in the post as on the perimeter, and break Robert Horry out as a starter at SF. Go 7'0" 7'0" 6'10" across the frontline in response to our power littles. But of course as the defending world champs, have a feeling the Spurs have more confidence in who they are and what they do than to experiment like that.
Last edited:
Sac.Kings
All-Star
Their game plan won't change much except that they might double Artest and Bonzi now and hopefully Bibby, Martin, and Miller can score off the doubles. Duncan is going to be their primary offensive weapon seeing as we couldn't stop him. Doubling him would kill us cuz their 3 point shooters would have a field day.
KingCookie
Bench
Their game plan doesn't matter all that much if we make them have to stop us. We need Brad Miller...three sub-par games in a row in the playoffs is ENOUGH.
F
Fillmoe
Guest
they better plan on losing
tyrant
Starter
Bricklayer said:
couple things about that. first off they take bowen out of the starting lineup. he's pretty much invisible on offense, but he is their defensive stopper. by adding 7ft, 7ft and the 6'10 horry to the starting lineup you get taller, but you lose alot of quickness. kings will have the advantage. the spurs are the team to beat and their world champions, but it looks like they will never find an answer for ron artest and bonzi inside.
bibbinator
Bench
We'll have to see how Duncan comes back on Sunday after a tough 39 minutes.
nbrans
All-Star
On offense, lots more pick and roll, especially when Bibby is guarding Parker and Miller is guarding Duncan. I seriously can't believe they went away from this, because Parker and Duncan are unstoppable when Bibby and Miller are on them.
On defense, I think we'll see lots more Nazr and Rasho. Smallball does not favor the Spurs, especially when Bonzi and Artest are getting to the basket at will and getting tons of offensive boards. Since Brad and Bibby have been shooting so poorly, I think you'll see the Spurs pack it in on the interior and try to get the Kings to beat them shooting from the outside. With both Nazr and Duncan around the hoop it will be harder for Bonzi and Artest to get easy layups
I think Game 4 for the Kings is going to depend upon their ability to stop the pick and roll. And I think the Kings are going to have to get big games from Bibby, Miller and Martin. If the Spurs pack it in, these guys are going to have to step up.
On defense, I think we'll see lots more Nazr and Rasho. Smallball does not favor the Spurs, especially when Bonzi and Artest are getting to the basket at will and getting tons of offensive boards. Since Brad and Bibby have been shooting so poorly, I think you'll see the Spurs pack it in on the interior and try to get the Kings to beat them shooting from the outside. With both Nazr and Duncan around the hoop it will be harder for Bonzi and Artest to get easy layups
I think Game 4 for the Kings is going to depend upon their ability to stop the pick and roll. And I think the Kings are going to have to get big games from Bibby, Miller and Martin. If the Spurs pack it in, these guys are going to have to step up.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
tyrant said:
Precisely the point about Bowen -- he can somewhat slow Ron or Bonzi, but he is NOT a stopper against that sort of power play inside. He's a perimeter defender, frustrated Bibby, could tie up Kevin. But against post mashers...just not his speciality. And notably has never been a rebounder. So if Bowen is going to be forced to guard Ron or Bonzi, I don't think he's doing them much good out there. Horry might have a better chance actually at causing those guys problems finishing around the hoop, certainly be able to compete better on the glass, and make it impossible for us to hide Bibby on him on defense, thus securing the Parker/Bibby defesnvei matchup at PG.
HndsmCelt
Hall of Famer
I'd expect Pop to go back to basics. He is not the kind of guy to go all voo doo beceause of one loss, and his team has just been too successfull doing what they do best. He will likely rework som palys to free up Manu and compensate for the penetration problems. I'd expect more pick and rolls and some extra passes to get Duncan the ball down low. I would be very surprised to see him sit Bowen and try to match up with the Kings. Pop is the kind of coach who wants to CREATE match up problems as a leader not solve them as a follower. Bowens min may shrink but I would be surprised to see Pop try to match the Kings bump and thump game, he is more liekly to try to get his team back into THEIR game.
bibbinator
Bench
Bricklayer said:
Especially with that flying knee to the chest move.
Padrino
All-Star
i think the spurs are going to try to alter their defensive game plan to stop the ron/bonzi penetration. as brick said before, both those guys are just bangin' the **** outta the spurs inside. i don't know how they'd adjust to stop ron and bonzi, but if there's any coach in the nba who knows, its pop. if the spurs can force the kings to jump shoot, the spurs will probably win, unless mike and brad can start hittin' from their spots. other than that, i don't think the spurs are gonna change much else. they've still got the series lead, and the defending champs would much rather force the kings to adjust if at all possible. the momentum is in sacto's favor for the moment, but i have a feeling that doesn't bother the spurs a whole lot. even if the kings win tomorrow at arco, there's still 3 games in san antonio that would have to be played in order for the kings to win the series. i guarantee the spurs like their chances at home over the next few games, though i'm sure they will not be taking the kings lightly, and would prefer to keep a first round series as short as possible.
for the kings, the game plan needs to remain the same. small ball is working, oddly enough. the kings "power littles" have stepped up the rebounding immensely, bonzi especially, and have allowed the lineup to work effectively on speed rather than size. i say keep the spurs adjusting. pop's not one to overreact, and like i said above, he'd rather force his opponent to adjust. in this situation, the kings can keep the spurs reeling. even though we lost two games ago, it was an incredibly close game in san antonio through regulation, and the spurs know they barely escaped a potentially embarrasing loss. the spurs are still adjusting, and not sure what to do about the kings attack. even though miller isn't hitting his shots, he's still a threat from 15, if he ever pulls his head out of his ***. thomas and rahim are both able to hit the 15-footer as well. bonzi and ron are killin' inside. the spurs defensive scheme is geared towards stopping a more typical team's offense. and if the kings were a typical team, there shouldn't be much doubt that the spurs would handle them in four. unfortunately for the spurs, the kings are not typical in any way, shape, or form. game 1 was a horrible aberration, and i like that the kings are dictating the pace of the series right now. in postseasons past, the kings were always doing the adjusting. time to frustrate the opponent for a change.
for the kings, the game plan needs to remain the same. small ball is working, oddly enough. the kings "power littles" have stepped up the rebounding immensely, bonzi especially, and have allowed the lineup to work effectively on speed rather than size. i say keep the spurs adjusting. pop's not one to overreact, and like i said above, he'd rather force his opponent to adjust. in this situation, the kings can keep the spurs reeling. even though we lost two games ago, it was an incredibly close game in san antonio through regulation, and the spurs know they barely escaped a potentially embarrasing loss. the spurs are still adjusting, and not sure what to do about the kings attack. even though miller isn't hitting his shots, he's still a threat from 15, if he ever pulls his head out of his ***. thomas and rahim are both able to hit the 15-footer as well. bonzi and ron are killin' inside. the spurs defensive scheme is geared towards stopping a more typical team's offense. and if the kings were a typical team, there shouldn't be much doubt that the spurs would handle them in four. unfortunately for the spurs, the kings are not typical in any way, shape, or form. game 1 was a horrible aberration, and i like that the kings are dictating the pace of the series right now. in postseasons past, the kings were always doing the adjusting. time to frustrate the opponent for a change.
quick dog
Starter
I would be very surprised to see the Spurs do anything different than what the Kings have seen all year. They are probably the best team in the League, and Popovic knows it. I am not sure that these guys can be beaten in a seven-game series. I expect that we will see the same general game plan, but with even MORE defensive energy and effort on Sunday night than we have seen yet. There are two big questions, and I have some thoughts.
1) I think that the Spurs generally play at an intensity very near their absolute maximum. They are probably the best team in the League, but I doubt that they have any "reserve" power. They play hard all the time. They usually win. Can they really take it up a notch? Two notches?
2) I think the Kings sometimes play at maximum intensity. I think Kings players sometimes go "on vacation" as ET says, especially Brad. The Kings have not been as consistent as the Spurs. To me, this means that the Kings probably have more "reserve" power. I think the Kings are fully capable of elevating the level of play with more consistency and game intensity. What if Brad actually played like days of old?
3) The Spurs are a veteran team that has played together for years. They are basically who they are. We know what to expect, and it is good.
4) On the other hand, the Kings are still getting to know one another. We have good reason to expect that the Kings will improve with time, especially with Keven, Hart, Price, and Cisco on the team. These guys don't have 700 games of playoff experience! Will the Kings show improvement as the Spurs series continues? It is possible. Our guys are in learning mode.
Conclusions:
I think the Kings could knock-off the Spurs in this round. Let's not discuss the odds. What is most interesting in this unfolding scenario is that I believe that it is truly up to the players themselves. If they really sack-up, including Brad, and play smart, they actually have a chance to pull off a minor miracle. It truly is up to them.
One more thing to remember. Most of us are assuming that there will be no breakdowns or momentary lapses in the performance of the Spurs. They have had minor slumps this year. What if they actually choke in these later games?
The series will definitely be worth watching.
1) I think that the Spurs generally play at an intensity very near their absolute maximum. They are probably the best team in the League, but I doubt that they have any "reserve" power. They play hard all the time. They usually win. Can they really take it up a notch? Two notches?
2) I think the Kings sometimes play at maximum intensity. I think Kings players sometimes go "on vacation" as ET says, especially Brad. The Kings have not been as consistent as the Spurs. To me, this means that the Kings probably have more "reserve" power. I think the Kings are fully capable of elevating the level of play with more consistency and game intensity. What if Brad actually played like days of old?
3) The Spurs are a veteran team that has played together for years. They are basically who they are. We know what to expect, and it is good.
4) On the other hand, the Kings are still getting to know one another. We have good reason to expect that the Kings will improve with time, especially with Keven, Hart, Price, and Cisco on the team. These guys don't have 700 games of playoff experience! Will the Kings show improvement as the Spurs series continues? It is possible. Our guys are in learning mode.
Conclusions:
I think the Kings could knock-off the Spurs in this round. Let's not discuss the odds. What is most interesting in this unfolding scenario is that I believe that it is truly up to the players themselves. If they really sack-up, including Brad, and play smart, they actually have a chance to pull off a minor miracle. It truly is up to them.
One more thing to remember. Most of us are assuming that there will be no breakdowns or momentary lapses in the performance of the Spurs. They have had minor slumps this year. What if they actually choke in these later games?
The series will definitely be worth watching.
Offensively, I think they'll pick and roll more to get Parker into the game. They'll also clear out the side parker is on and maybe use more Horry to draw the Kings bigs away from the basket so Parker has an easier path to the hole. They might look to push the ball more against the Kings, get Manu or Parker the ball before the Kings can setup or before Artest can get on them.
Defensively, they might double, they might not. They might look at how many shots Bonzi missed and just say "we need to get the rebound and let Wells only have one shot." Or they could double and let Miller beat them or Artest shoot from the outside. They'll certainly deny entry passes more. They might set traps on Bonzi since he isn't the greatest ball handler, having to make him make the long skip pass. I don't know what they do when the Kings just crowd the middle. Duncan had 6 blocks inside and it wasn't enough.
Defensively, they might double, they might not. They might look at how many shots Bonzi missed and just say "we need to get the rebound and let Wells only have one shot." Or they could double and let Miller beat them or Artest shoot from the outside. They'll certainly deny entry passes more. They might set traps on Bonzi since he isn't the greatest ball handler, having to make him make the long skip pass. I don't know what they do when the Kings just crowd the middle. Duncan had 6 blocks inside and it wasn't enough.
Similar threads
[Rumor]
Trade rumor: Spurs reportedly 'positioning' for Kings' De'Aaron Fox; Says he's a Manu Ginobili fan
- kens5.com
- Personnel moves
- Sacramento Kings On SI
- Kings News Links
