Popovich’s stubborness is exacting a heavy toll on the Spurs, again
According to Kevin Arnovitz and David Thorpe, Tim Duncan’s inability to defend the Phoenix Suns’ “1-5 Pick and Roll/Pop” series the same way he used to … when he was both younger and healthier … is a major source of the difficulty San Antonio is having in the early stages of San Antonio’s 2nd Round series in the Western Conference Playoffs.
Tim Duncan’s Decaying Pick-and-Roll Defense
Hmmm …
Is this actually the case, however?
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Q1. What is causing San Antonio the most difficulty, thus far, in their series with Phoenix?
A2. If you take a closer look at the following factual information …
What you should be able to see is that:
1. In Game 1
Antonio McDyess [-8] played 18:57 … and got 0:00 in the 4th quarter.
Matt Bonner [-7] played 13:28 … and got 0:00 in the 4th quarter.
Tim Duncan [-6] played 37:10 … and got 8:37 in the 4th quarter.
2. In Game 2
Antonio McDyess [+1] played 21:52 … and got 7.5 s in the 4th quarter.
Matt Bonner [0] played 15:00 … and got 44.7 s in the 4th quarter.
Tim Duncan [-6] played 39:20 … and got 9:31 in the 4th quarter.
3. In Game 1 …
With Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess on the floor together the Spurs played relatively even [i.e. -2] with the Suns.
With Tim Duncan, Antonio McDyess, Richard Jefferson, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker on the floor together the Spurs were significantly better [i.e. +12] than the Suns.
4. In Game 2 …
With Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess on the floor together the Spurs played relatively even [i.e. +1] with the Suns.
With Tim Duncan, Antonio McDyess, Richard Jefferson, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker on the floor together the Spurs were, again, slightly better [i.e. +3] than the Suns.
5. The major problem San Antonio is having in this series, so far, is NOT rooted in Tim Duncan’s less-than Herculian defense vs the Suns’ “1-5 Pick and Roll/Pop” series but, instead, in Gregg Popovich’s pig-headed INSISTANCE on:
A. ”Going small,” in the 4th quarter …
rather than using a conventional “2 Bigs + 3 Littles” alignment:
Option 1
Duncan and McDyess, or Duncan and Bonner, or Duncan and Mahinmi
Option 2
Blair and McDyess, or Blair and Bonner, or Blair and Mahinmi
Option 3
Duncan and Blair
Option 4
Blair and Mahinmi
… no matter what type of line-up Phoenix decides to employ;
and,
B. Using the Spurs 5 best players …
i.e. Parker + Ginobili + Jefferson + McDyess + Duncan
together, as a unit, for as little as 8:23 and 10:12, respectively, in Game 1 and 2.
While this corner has a tremendous degree of R.E.S.P.E.C.T. for Gregg Popovich … as one of the very best NBA coaches over the last 30+ years … the simple fact is that whenever he becomes stubborn in the Playoffs, and insists on going with a “small” line-up for large stretches of individual games, despite the presence of other legitimate [i.e. equal or superior] alternatives – where the specific match-ups would NOT be in his opponent’s favour by such a wide margin - the Spurs become little more than “just another average team” and are regularly eliminated from post-season competition much sooner than they need to be.
For the Spurs’ sake, let’s hope that Coach Pop checks his ego at the door for tonight’s game 3, takes a closer look at the specific individual match-ups on the floor, and decides to use a different approach than what he’s used to this point in this series … which has put Antonio McDyess’s rear end on the bench for the 4th quarters of Game 1 and 2.
If he does … then, you should expect San Antonio to triumph this evening.
If he does not, however … then, you should expect to see the Phoenix Suns playing in the Western Conference Finals.
Tags: Antonio McDyess, Dejuan Blair, George Hill, Gregg Popovich, Ian Mahinmi, Manu Ginobili, Matt Bonner, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker