Playoff is a lot different than the regular season and Spurs is a Championship team. Don't be too full of ourselves because we have outscored some teams in the regular season. In the playoffs, Harden isn't going to get as many free throws and I don't see McHale has any plans to counter that.
Against Spurs, the key is Parker. Spurs no longer run all their plays through Duncan like they did 3 years ago. Do you know how OKC beat Spurs 4 straight after losing the first two in WC Finals? They put Sefolosha on Parker in Game 3! Do you know how we beat Spurs last time we met? We put Parsons on Parker after Parker beasting on Lin and Bev. Stop Parker, and we can beat Spurs! The key to beat Denver is to take out their playmaking ability and stop their transistion offense. Denver rank #1 in fastbreak points. Slow the tempo and get back on defense. We have a huge advantage over Nuggets in 1/2 court. They lost one of their top two playmakers in Gallo. If Lawson isn't 100%, their best playmakers will be Miller and somewhat Igoudala. If we can take the penetrations out of them, they will end up w/ less efficient shots.
Just stop the Harden worship already. Yes he is a big reason Rockets does well so far but give the team some credit. He isn't going to go off against any of the teams Rockets going to face, in the playoffs no less. To win even a single game, the whole team needs to be involved and needs to do well.
This is not correct. He already played 19 minutes last night. Don't let George Karl fool you. Lawson, baring more injury, will be at full strength in the first round, just like Ginobody was when Pops said he was injured, in previous years. To think otherwise is a coaching mistake. Lawson is a warrior. He will suit up and play at full strength, because he knows he has the best team in the West this year. Dudes. I live in Denver (well, Boulder). I watch and know this team more than any other team in the NBA, next to the Rockets. You guys are applying fantasy league bball knowledge compared to me.
pgabriel sweet lou 42 and I have been saying for 2 months that Denver is the best team in the West. Their first two months was a brutal schedule, so everyone forget them. But then the schedule neutralized and they have resurfaced as the best team in the West since the all-star break. by far!
All we can go by is the reported information. It was reported that Lawson had a torn plantar fascia, and that's an injury that should take more than 3 weeks to heal. If Lawson is at full strength, it doesn't mean he's a warrior. It just means the severity of his injury was exaggerated.
denver's player get into a zone and with faried, iggy, etc. they start running around like crazy men. don't want no parts of that.....
"Reported information." How about the facts....He's been practicing all week and he played 19 minutes last night, just like I told you he would. 5-7 FGs. So, obviously, I have better information than you. exactly. Just like Pops used to report that Ginobody is more injured that he was. Do you not understand this. We are talking about George Karl, here.
And just like I told you, he played limited minutes last night. Out of curiosity, if you don't give any weight to the "reported information", why do you think Lawson missed all those games?
no, you said he was out. I said he is not out. So, he already got play in a game just like I said. And he was going to play Wednesday, until Parker didn't suit up. That's a fact, too. He will be at 100% for the first round. Even if the doctor says he is at 90%, the warrior in him already plays at 110%. I didn't say I don't give any weight to the "reported information," I only said your information is out of date versus mine here in Denver, that apparently isn't reported on cfnet.
Did Pop ever say Ginobili had an injury that should preclude him from playing? All I remember are strains and sore muscles. On the other hand, if Lawson did have a torn planta, he wouldn't be playing at all. The difference is, Pops embellishes injuries, and Karl apparently lies about them.
Obviously not. He has been practicing all week, and played 19 minutes in a freaking NBA game, last night. The reported tear can't possibly be true. I don't think it was "torn." I think he just has Plantar Fascitis inflammation, without tear. Even that is painful. I've had it before as a miler in high school. But, I could totally play through that pain, if it means beating Tony Parker.
It's not Harden worship to point out that our offense runs around him, and that if he is being shutdown (by, say, Iggy) then it severely hurts our offense. And we can't exactly rely on our defense to win games. Did you even read the post you replied to? Go back and give it another shot.
I'm not so sure you get it. George Karl is not lying. He is the best coach in the league, right now. When a star player has a nagging injury, the team will say it is worse than it is, so that when the star player comes back, the fans love him even more. It's called NBA Marketing 101 get it Denver is the best team in the West. They will destroy SAS. The only team that can take them out is OKC.
It was reported that Lawson had a torn planta. Since he played last night, he couldn't have had a torn planta. Even you said you didn't think he had a torn planta. So basically, the Nuggets were lying about his injury. Typical NBA marketing embellishes injuries that players could potentially play through. For instance, Nash is out right now with nagging hip/hamstring injuries, and neither of those seem very serious. And even though he's missed a bunch of games, I wouldn't be surprised to see him out there for the Lakers' next game. See the difference? Nash is an example of an embellished injury. Lawson's torn planta diagnosis is an example of a fabricated injury. A lie.
Want no part of Denver, with or without Lawson. Spurs are prone to first round upsets, and don't have Ginobili. Parker not at full strength. Harden kills the Spurs, I wouldn't be surprised if they have a defeatist attitude towards him after he completely torched them in the playoffs last year and won 4 straight. Duncan is liable to break down at any given moment - just let him shoot, but no one ever does for some reason. Denver has lost 3 games at home all year. The choice is clear.
Most teams have one player who can creates, some good teams have two such kind of players. Denver has more than two, and they are all "team first" players, which is rare in NBA. You add their solid defense, and their home court advantage, that makes them a tough match-up for any team. Here is what I rank the difficulty for the Rockets. Clippers have more individual talent than most other teams, but they just don't function well as a team. OKC > Denver > Spurs >= Clipper >= Memphis.
