The Spurs just have a lot of players with a very high BBIQ. Plus they have a ton of experience and have been in every situation imaginable. They value every possession whereas the Rockets don't. They'll be locked in defensively most of the time which is something u can't really say about the Rockets although I really liked our defense for stretches against OKC. Rockets are too prone to making a bunch of risky passes or going for the homerun play which could hurt us against a team like SA
So how do the Spurs keep stockpiling these high IQ players? On the other hand, who would we truly say on the Rockets have "low BBIQ"? High IQ players in my opinion: Harden, Nene, Ego, Lou, Bev Do these guys make mistakes and at times dumb ones? Sure they do, but I also see that they seem to have an effective read on the game to react accordingly and appropriately with their decision making.
Kawhi, Patty Mills and Parker (he always seems to catch fire against the Rockets) are the big covers. Not easy but certainly do able with limited "shooting ourselves in the foot". So to recap, I really think the Rockets' biggest challenge/hurdle to overcome is themselves (not joking).
Nah bro, this series is going 7 games. Spurs too disciplined to let it slip. it'll be a really tight series. Spurs advantage is their well tuned system and disciplined play. Rockets advantage is our scoring power.
Lma, lee, dedmon, pau will feast. We need gordon and lou to curbstomp patty mills, jonathan simmons, and danny green
I agree 100%, one of the main reason the Spurs are so good is cause they're a very opportunistic team and they're mentally strong, if you make mistakes they'll make you pay 90% of times...and unfortunately the Rockets are pretty good in making dumb plays, especially when the game is on the line.
They couldn't schedule a game Saturday or Sunday? At least it isn't in Houston Monday night crowd might not be good. Rockets are a bad matchup for the spurs. I see it going to 6. Even if Harden is neutralized we still have too much fire power. I think Nene, Lou, and EG will light them up.
the schedule for each round are already predetermined. It has nothing to do with how a series plays out
Treat Lee like kanter, because well, he's worse or at best on par with defending the PnR. He won't be able to stay in the game to burn us making him a net negative. Pau and aldridge are both still serviceable and smart but not quick enough anymore to keep up with Harden/capela. I think whatever damage they can do on offense gets outmatched or at worse matched against our PnR. Dedmon is the best defender. But has no offense so I would again say advantage rockets. Green/mills is who I worry about because they always shoot high 3pt% against us. Need to really focus on them defensively. Not worried about Parker and ginobody. Kawhi and harden. It comes down to how well Ariza can defend Kawhi vs how well harden can do against green(and later Kawhi).
Their FO just has a knack for identifying these types of players that can think the game at a very high level. I don't think any of our rotation guys have a tremendously low BBIQ (there's no JR Smith here), but there's just a big gap between us and the Spurs in regards to overall IQ as a team and experience. We have some smart players, but when the pressure rises, the Spurs will have a big advantage.
My head says Spurs in 7 My heart says Rockets in 6 "Listen to your heart....when he's calling for youuuuuu!"
I've actually thought about this issue, and it's not just intelligence but personality and temperament. Most of Spurs' players are mild-mannered, hard-working, well-disciplined, good solider kind of players. From David Robinson to Tim Duncan to Kawhi, you can see the specific taste in players of the Spurs' management staff. If a player has too much ego or just likes to act like an alpha-male, that player will not fit in with the Spurs' system no matter how talented he is. I think this is the key difference between the Spurs and other organizations : They specifically go after players who are predisposed to playing a team ball, practice hard, and will respect and follow orders from Coach Pop. Not every player has this kind of mentality.
