kingofkings

Well, this is about as tough as it is going to get. The Spurs will no doubt be hurting about the loss to the Warriors last night, so they are going to be fired up.There is not that much pressure on us in this game, as no-one will give us much of a chance in this game. Personally, if things fall into place, we can get a win. The Warriors showed that the Spurs can be scored on and we are a better team then Golden State.

Firstly, we need to go big in the frontcourt and maintain the same starters that we played in our win against the Wizards:

McCoy
Davis
Peterson
Carter
Williams

I back our backcourt to do alot of damage against the Spurs. Bruce Bowen will get the job on Carter and he is a defensive menace. When you watch this game, take some time out, to follow exactly what he does on defense. Watch him deny his offensive player the ball and also block off the lanes, when he tries to drive baseline. This guy, in my opinion in the best defensive guard in the business, tall at 6"7, long and athletic.

He was lit up by Jamison last night as he gave up 2 inches and body weight to him. But, I back Carter to give him a tough time. Carter cannot play into Bowen's hands and be forced into perimeter play. He needs to move around and our big men need to exert some pressure on him. We need to set some hard screens to bang Bowen through, because he likes to hang on to his opponents. We need to make him aware that our big men are around and that we will bang into him, at any time.Lets try and get him off his game, if we can and free up Carter.

If Brown can have a huge game for us, what will Duncan do to us. We cannot stop this guy, but we can contain him. He has been seemingly off his game, so far, well not as dominant, so maybe we can exploit him. Firstly, we have to play Davis on him. Often it is Robinson setting the picks up high, setting screens,with Duncan occupying the low post, so we need to be aware, where Duncan is at all times.

We have to deny him possession and make their shooters shoot the ball. Parker and Ginobili are struggling with their shooting, so by denying Duncan, we force them into a forced gameplan.

Firstly, I would be aggressive with Parker. Williams has the height advantage on him with a good 3 inches so he needs to pressure and harrass him, which will lead to poor passing into Duncan. Secondly, Davis needs to play in front of Duncan, as best he can. Davis has the strength to match him and by playing in front, he can deny Duncan easy possession and force the lob pass into the post, which has a great turnover rate.

Secondly, Duncan appears to have the yips again, with his free throw shooting like he did a few seasons ago shoting 60%. So if we need to foul him, so be it. Often the Spurs like to clear a side for Duncan to operate against his defender, giving him space to move and manouver. We need extra help defenders here and whenever this happens, go with an instant double team on him.

But who do we leave open, since Duncan is probably the best post passer in the game. Since Parker is struggling, maybe Williams can be this man and just take a gamble and leave Parker open. Parker is not a three point threat, check his stats.

The Spurs also love to cut to the basket, from the defense collapsing on Duncan, so we need to be aware of where guys like Parker and Smith are at all times, to stop this manouver.To stop backdoor cuts, it involves alot of switching on defense, in order to reduce the effect of the screens, required for the cuts to work effectively. We are good at this.

On offense, face it, we are not really going to penetrate. How could we with the twin towers down low. So, we need to operate from the perimeter and start from there. I suggest we look to keep the lanes free and open as best we can. We need to keep Duncan and Robinson out of there as best as we can. Davis needs to be up high, forcing Duncan to go out to him and out of the key. Remember Davis can hit the 15 foot jumpshot. With Duncan out of the way, guys like Carter and Peterson can get to the basket and have the space to operate, in the lanes, without a great shotblocker in their face.

We will battle on the boards, as we are giving up alot of height and skill to the twin towers. So we need to shoot the ball at high percentages to reduce this being a factor in this game.

As long as our big men can compete like they did last night, we can get a win here. Remember, our keys are Carter and Peterson. Our big men are complimentary to these players. They need to do the basics to help us in this game. Set some hard screens, box out and defend.Our backcourt can score enough in this game.We need our big men to get the twin towers out of the play as best we can.

We need to stretch them all over the floor, by outpositioning them, due to them following the ball and our backcourt. I would like to separate both Duncan and Robinson on defense, as often, they are both in the keys together, stopping penetration. So, our big guys need to be smart and stop this from happening.Lets break them up and separate them on defense.

I would look at utilising Alvin Williams more in this game. He has the height advantage over Parker, but he is not a post up guard. Still, he can use this advantage to drive and dish, once the defense collapses on him. This is where the Spurs got burned against the Warriors, leaving guys open.We need to capitalise in this regard.

One guy that is starting to have an influence so far this season is Malik Rose. He is playing more minutes, subbing for Robinson, which shifts Duncan to centre. Rose is crashing the boards hard and hitting some shots, so we need to be aware of him.

So, to summarise, this game is winnable, but we need to believe that we can win. We are on the road, which is a concern, but Carter and Peterson look to be fresh and dominant. Lenard and Hunter can ciome into the game, pop some threes and we can compete in this game. As long as we can limit Duncan, to a reasonable game, we can win it. I expect the game to be decided less then 100 points, as the Spurs look to grind out games. We can win these close games, as showed in last nights game and in the playoffs last night. So, if we can make this game a grind and a slugfest, it will be to our advantage.

Comments, in what is likely to be a huge game for us???

Don't just read this thread and ignore it, contribute and be a factor!!!