KokoTheMonkey

May 2nd, 2005 - 9:30 PM (Central Time)


VS.



Game 1: Denver 93, Spurs 87

Leaders:
Andre Miller - 31 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Manu Ginobili - 23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Nazr Mohammed - 15 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocks


Game 2: Spurs 104, Denver 76


Leaders:
Tim Duncan - 24 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 28 minutes
Tony Parker - 19 points, 6 assists
Marcus Camby - 9 points, 12 rebounds


Game 3:Spurs 86, Nuggets 78



Leaders:
Manu Ginobili - 32 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 31 minutes
Carmelo Anthony - 19 points, 6 rebounds
Marcus Camby - 12 points, 14 rebound, 5 blocks




Projected Starting Lineups:







Reserves:









Game 4 is here, and a Spurs win gives them a huge advantage. I'm not sure how Denver will respond in Game 4, because in Game 3 they started out ridiculously hot, only to struggle the rest of the game and score 76 points. I'm not sure what kind of changes Denver is going to make offensively and defensively, but offensively it seems like they will try to get Martin and Miller going and hope that Carmelo is having a good game. Defensively, they aren't going to double on Duncan, and if Manu gets into the paint, they will collapse on him. That means the shooters, Duncan, and Parker need to step up and shoulder the offensive load. We won't win again with a piss poor offensive performance from Duncan. He needs to get down in the paint and force Denver to double him up. He's not helping the team out when he holds the ball only to shoot a perimeter jumper. I have trust in Manu, but I'm not expecting another 32 point performance from him, but I'm also not expecting Duncan and Parker to play horribly. It's going to be a tough game, so we have to avoid foul trouble and not pick up these cheap *** fouls. I have the feeling the whistle will be working in Denver's favor.




Koko's Key's to Victory:



- Keep up the defense. We have smothered their offense, and if Denver doesn't make changes they are dead. I expect a higher tempo and more ball movement out of Denver.


- Stay out of foul trouble. This applies not only to Duncan, but to Horry, Mohammed, Rasho, Bowen, and Manu. It's going to be another physical game, and the last thing we need is our best players in foul trouble with Denver getting to the line a ton.


- Aggressive offense. Manu showed what an aggressive approach does, something that Duncan and Parker haven't completely figured out yet. Denver is going to do everything they can to keep us on the perimeter shooting jumpers, and if we sit back and fall into their scheme, we're done.




Prediction: I feel even more confident going into this game, but I still have some doubt because of our inconsistency. I think this will be a little higher scoring of a game, but it's still going to be ugly with tons of fouls and complaining.





Spurs 91, Nuggets 90


Check that prediction. I think it will come down to a last possession.

__________________
Koko's 2nd Annual SM Giveaway


Southwest is best (Combined records):

Southwest: 125-84
Central: 118-85
Pacific: 108-96
Northwest: 96-112
Atlantic: 87-119
Southeast: 83-121

Sir Patchwork

Big game. 3-1 is a lot different from 2-2 going back to San Antonio. I think the Spurs are just a better team than the Nuggets, so they can take it.

KoKo got the keys down. I'll add a couple of my own. These are the same ones I posted before the series actually, but I think they still apply.

Keys:
1. Shut down Andre Miller and Carmelo Anthony as scorers. They are literally the only guys who keep them in the game as scorers. You make it difficult for them to score, and they barely put up 60 points.

2. Don't let Earl Boykins change the momentum of the game. He is a guy who can get the crowd going, which leads to guys hitting shots, and all sorts of bad things for the Spurs. Put a cap on the little guy.

3. Execute the offense with good ball movement. Get Duncan on the move, he needs some easy buckets. Don't forcefeed him, the Nuggets interior defense is a difficult matchup for Duncan, especially being hurt like he is. If you're going to do isolations, get the ball to Manu. I have more faith in a healthy Manu taking the ball to the hole against Miller or Buckner, than a hobbled Duncan scoring on Martin with Camby behind him.

4. If Duncan has an average game (for him) offensively, while the Spurs have an average game offensively as well, they'll win so as long as they shut down Miller, Melo and Boykins. The Spurs offense has been pretty pitiful at times in this series, especially Duncans. If their offense starts clicking, Denver stands no chance at all. That's what happened in game 2.

So in a nutshell. Make an effort to shutdown Miller and Anthony. Ball movement, which will lead to good shots, take those shots, and make those shots.

Then intensity is always key, for any team.

XxMia_9xX

spurs 105
nugz 97

i predict the spurs will go 3-1. it'll be a hard game but the spurs will pull out a win. duncan, manu and parker with big games!

Guth

Whenever two teams play each other repeatedly, like they do in the playoffs, there is this tendency to assume that each game is going to be significantly different than the one before it, due to changes made by the coaching staffs.


I don't think that applies here.


I think this game, we will see a continuation of the ugly that we saw in the second half of Saturday's game, but hopefully the Spurs can produce a better offensive effort this time. I just think that our defense is too good to allow them to really get out and run a lot, and because of that, they get frustrated and the game gets ugly. There is going to be a lot of tension going through that building tonight and that, in conjunction with the frustration of the Nuggets offense, could unfortunately give us some excitement tonight that we don't really want. There will probably be some hard fouls, some early techs and a lot of yelling, but for us that is good. We want them to lose control of their emotions, while all the while we stay on an even kilter and just do our job.


Don't get me wrong, this will be a tough game, because the Nuggets will be fighting and clawing the whole game, because they can feel this series slipping away. But I would not be suprised, if our offense plays well, if we pull out to a big lead and come back to San Antonio, having thouroughly disheartened Denver.




Prediction:

Spurs 95
Nuggets 91

CDRacingZX6R

6894 on Spurs. I think it's still going to be close. I hope Tim finds his groove again tonight, we need him for the next round. Manu is going to light em up tonight. Any word on the Camelo? I didnt really see anything after that, so im assuming he will be playing tonight?

Got school so I'm going to miss half the game!

__________________

FreeMason Jr.

Miss half the game? Where do you live?

Anyways, I got another 3,000 on this game.

Spurs- 95
Nuggets- 92

__________________


Post "Ginoobiilliiii!!!" Here to Join
Members: 1)Ezealen 2)TheRoc5 3)Nephets 4)Theo! 5)TiMVP 6)StephenJackson 7)KokoTheMonkey 8)TMTTRIO 9)DaBobZ 10)Camare_870 11)DaUnbreakableKinG 12)LineOFire 13)Texan 14)ghiman 15)Guth 16)SpursFan16 17)XxMia_9Xx 18)Lynx 19)Dualie 20)King Joseus 21)Pioneer10 22)vigilante 23)Q8i 24)supermati 25)Volcom 26)kisstherim 27)Gambino 28)Pacers Fan 29)Mavs41 30)#15DENVER#6NUGGETS#23 31)c-town/c-gurl 32)riehldeal 33)CDRacingZX6R 34)kaniffmn 35)ItalianStallion 36)The Future7 37)PauloCatarino 38)hirschmanz 39)MightyReds2020 40)Long John Silver 41)nextghitman 42)PejaHolic 43)joshed_up 44)mauzer 45)big_buff

CDRacingZX6R

I live in L.A., and I go to college at night. So for me the game is on at 7:30, and I get out of class at 8:45 or so.

__________________

FreeMason Jr.

Ah, that sucks. It's been the second half of the game that's been the most entertaining and decisive for the first three games though.

__________________


Post "Ginoobiilliiii!!!" Here to Join
Members: 1)Ezealen 2)TheRoc5 3)Nephets 4)Theo! 5)TiMVP 6)StephenJackson 7)KokoTheMonkey 8)TMTTRIO 9)DaBobZ 10)Camare_870 11)DaUnbreakableKinG 12)LineOFire 13)Texan 14)ghiman 15)Guth 16)SpursFan16 17)XxMia_9Xx 18)Lynx 19)Dualie 20)King Joseus 21)Pioneer10 22)vigilante 23)Q8i 24)supermati 25)Volcom 26)kisstherim 27)Gambino 28)Pacers Fan 29)Mavs41 30)#15DENVER#6NUGGETS#23 31)c-town/c-gurl 32)riehldeal 33)CDRacingZX6R 34)kaniffmn 35)ItalianStallion 36)The Future7 37)PauloCatarino 38)hirschmanz 39)MightyReds2020 40)Long John Silver 41)nextghitman 42)PejaHolic 43)joshed_up 44)mauzer 45)big_buff

FreeMason Jr.

For game 4 of each series I will bring back the closest prediction game! I'm sure you know the rules so I won't bother posting them. Also, I'll keep the points awarded corresponding with the series.

Example:
First Round: 1,000 points
Seconds Round: 2,000 points
WCF: 3,000 points
Finals: 4,000 points

Also if you win multiple times in a row I will add 100 more points for each win you have in your streak.

Example:
2 wins in a row: 200 extra points
3 wins in a row: 300 extra points
4 wins in a row: 400 extra points

Note: I will be counting my predictions in the game as a way to make the game more competitive and save me points

If this game goes over well (and if I'm rich in points again ) I'll carry this game into next year's playoffs, but it will have even more twists and perks and even more oppurtunities to win points. I already have ideas for it, but they're secret.

__________________


Post "Ginoobiilliiii!!!" Here to Join
Members: 1)Ezealen 2)TheRoc5 3)Nephets 4)Theo! 5)TiMVP 6)StephenJackson 7)KokoTheMonkey 8)TMTTRIO 9)DaBobZ 10)Camare_870 11)DaUnbreakableKinG 12)LineOFire 13)Texan 14)ghiman 15)Guth 16)SpursFan16 17)XxMia_9Xx 18)Lynx 19)Dualie 20)King Joseus 21)Pioneer10 22)vigilante 23)Q8i 24)supermati 25)Volcom 26)kisstherim 27)Gambino 28)Pacers Fan 29)Mavs41 30)#15DENVER#6NUGGETS#23 31)c-town/c-gurl 32)riehldeal 33)CDRacingZX6R 34)kaniffmn 35)ItalianStallion 36)The Future7 37)PauloCatarino 38)hirschmanz 39)MightyReds2020 40)Long John Silver 41)nextghitman 42)PejaHolic 43)joshed_up 44)mauzer 45)big_buff

CDRacingZX6R

I bet almost all I had on this one. Either Im gonna be a very happy camper, or Im gonna be posting in all the boards random statements.

__________________

FreeMason Jr.

ok, but what does that have to do with the game?

__________________


Post "Ginoobiilliiii!!!" Here to Join
Members: 1)Ezealen 2)TheRoc5 3)Nephets 4)Theo! 5)TiMVP 6)StephenJackson 7)KokoTheMonkey 8)TMTTRIO 9)DaBobZ 10)Camare_870 11)DaUnbreakableKinG 12)LineOFire 13)Texan 14)ghiman 15)Guth 16)SpursFan16 17)XxMia_9Xx 18)Lynx 19)Dualie 20)King Joseus 21)Pioneer10 22)vigilante 23)Q8i 24)supermati 25)Volcom 26)kisstherim 27)Gambino 28)Pacers Fan 29)Mavs41 30)#15DENVER#6NUGGETS#23 31)c-town/c-gurl 32)riehldeal 33)CDRacingZX6R 34)kaniffmn 35)ItalianStallion 36)The Future7 37)PauloCatarino 38)hirschmanz 39)MightyReds2020 40)Long John Silver 41)nextghitman 42)PejaHolic 43)joshed_up 44)mauzer 45)big_buff