Since it is looking like right now that SA is going to win it all, I think it would be interesting to know which players you think would give San Antonio the most difficult matchups. Then we could filter through them and see if they can be had. 1. For Manu, is there a player that could defend him and make him work and have the quickness to cut off his dribble penetration? Pietrus-after watching him give Francis fits, I think he would be a good choice. Any others, maybe in the draft? I don't see anybody that I think would have any chance at all of cutting off Manu's drives. Does anybody think that Warrick could actually play the 2 defensively? What about Bonzi or Darius Miles? Do either one of them have a chance defensively on Manu? Artest? Can he stop Manu? To me, the toughest defender for Manu may very well be his teammate, Bowen. NA for us. Of the players that may be available who fits best against Manu? 2. Of the players possibly available, who would have the ability to give Duncan the most trouble? To me, it has to be a player that can take the ball out on the floor a little bit and make Duncan come out and guard the jumper, not necessarily the 3 pointer, but the mid to long range jumper. And the player also has to be a player that is tall with long arms. Is there anybody not named Garnett available? Rasheed and Ben I think play Duncan the best, despite SA dominating this series. If Detroit loses this series, is there any way that Rasheed is available? Who else? Are there any players in the draft? The PFs in the draft that I have liked have been Turiaf, Ike, and Simien. But I don't feel the last 2 are long enough to even have a chance against Duncan. I think he'd just go right over them. Turiaf looks to me like he is a little bit bigger but I really don't think he would bother Tim too much. The one player in the draft that may match up somewhat against Duncan would be Channing Frye. But I haven't liked him, haven't liked his game. I think he will be a bust, kinda like Loren Woods. Kurt Thomas? Isn't he about the best possible, available matchup against Duncan? A banger who can hit the jumper? Swift? I think Duncan just eats his lunch in the post. Marshall, same. Chandler? Now, I think Chandler's height and length would cause Tim to have to actually work at it. But how could we possibly get him? It's impossible. Bottom line, we've got to build a team that can get past the Spurs, or we have no chance to win anything. We either have to have the defense to stop them or we have to have the offense to go through their defense and make them have to outscore us. Just looking at San Antonio, their big 2 have to be slowed down somehow, or they are unstoppable. To me Antonio Daniels, Pietrus, and some combination of Hakim Warrick, Darius Miles, and Kurt Thomas give us the best chance. Who are the Duncan-Manu stoppers?
There are some players that just cannot be stopped. If TMac is on can anyone really stop him? The same can be said for a few players. D Wade, K Bryant type of players. Manu looks like he is headed in that direction. Amazing... wasn't he a secound rd pick? If not then one of the last picks in the first rd. First thing a defender is going to need to guard him is lots and LOTS of stamina. This kid never stops! Good luck with this one. As for Duncan... I think with whatever help the Rox bring in at the four combined with the CONTINUED progress of Yao, especially in the stamina dept, we have a pretty good handle on TD. I know he has a hell of a time trying to shoot over Yao. Just imagine once Yao increases his stamina...
Diogu and Simien actually measured in taller than they were previously believed to be. Diogu also has an amazing wingspan of 7'4". I think that makes him long enough, but I'll be damned if that means he can actually stop Duncan. The best you can really hope for is to make them work for it. Hopefully slow them down on occasion. I think a Yao/Diogu front court could make Duncan work for it. As for Manu, you hate to have to have T-Mac concentrating on him, but I have little doubt that T-Mac could outplay him on both ends of the court. I honestly think he could shut Manu down, I'd just worry that it would be detrimental to our teams offense to commit him to that job.
I don't think TMac can shut down Manu. Manu's too fast. As for whether TMac can be shut down, no great player can be shut down. But they can be made to work hard and some of their options limited and their efficiency to decrease. Defenders like Bowen don't necessarily shut everybody down, but they make the great players to have average games instead of dominating performances. There are players that give TMac problems...........I just can't think of any right now. I don't like the idea of Bowen dogging TMac for 40 minutes. I would think maybe a player like Kukoc in his prime would give TMac problems because of his length and his ability to move. There has to be players that would give Manu and Duncan problems. I don't have any problems with Duncan going in the post against us with Yao and Deke defending. I don't think you can get much better D than that on the post up. But what about when Duncan is on the elbow extended with that sick bank shot. We need a player with a little athleticism that could cause him a little trouble there before he has to go into the paint against Yao and Deke. What defenders are out there that can move their feet quick enough to cut off Manu's penetration?
I think Travis Outlaw from Portland has the ability to grow into a stopper with his nice wingspan and quickness.
I with you on Mobley. The more I think about it, the more I want to get Mobley. I have the feeling that things will work out for us.
So can Prince. Thing about Manu is that he's not OVERWHELMINGLY fast, it's just that he's fast enough but his lateral movement is just too great for any defender. He's just like Nash--not too fast but the lateral quickness is what gets everyone. I doubt that McGrady can totally shut him down but then again we didn't think Tracy could clamp down Dirk either. I think one weakness is that Manu had Bowen as a crutch. Manu is pretty good defensively but he doesn't need to be with Bowen on the floor. Because if you put Tmac on him on defense, a way to slow Manu down is make him guard Tracy on the other end. But that won't happen.
I think what has really helped Manu Ginobili this year is the NBA rule changes. For guards who's games are based on slashing/penetrating (Ginobili, Parker, Wade, Nash), the NBA rule changes have been an absolute blessing. Perimeter defenders are not allowed to get away with nearly as much physical defense. If a defender puts a hand on them on their way to the basket, they're guaranteed to get a foul call. This has made it so much easier for guards to get to the basket. They do not even have to be that fast or quick anymore to drive past defenders. The best way to match up with a player like Ginobili is to give him a taste of his own medicine. Get someone who can make him work on the defensive end (a slasher) and tire him out, rather than someone who's just going to stand around on the perimeter (ie. David Wesley) and allow him to save energy on defense.
Makes sense. So, who would be the slasher that would give him fits. And this begs the question. Do we need spot up shooters, or slashers/drivers at the 1 and 2 spots?
With the crossover or behind the back dribble and the shift from one side of the defender to the other side of the defender when the defender is trying to push the offensive player in one direction. Manu is a master at getting to the middle of the floor. He manages to step around the defense and go the direction that they are trying to take away from him.
I don't think it's a issue of stopping Duncan or Ginobili. It's making them work hard on the other end as much as give them hell defensively. With Yao we'll be able to pressure Duncan to double team Yao in defense which will leave our PF open for mid range jumper or go to the hole. With TMac, they will also have to double team him which makes Ginobili and Parker or Bowen's job hell of lot tougher. Problem with Detroit is they don't generate enough offense for their starting five by doing good ball movement and good execution. So Spurs are taking advantage by running them out of the building.
I like the idea of getting mobes or Ron Artest. I also like the idea of getting kurt thomas. I watched him alot living in nyc and the man fights for rebounds and just bangs in there. He's got this new york hard nosed thug player that would just push and make duncan work for his shots. I would love to see even mobley move back to the point and work on parker. While Artest works on manu. mobley-pg tmac-sg artest-sf kurt thomas-pf yao-C
I think you need a Maxwell type that has the height, spped, and strength to push him around, but he has hornacek type ability to get shots off in tight places. I think you need to get under his skin a little with physical play. but manu is mentally tough. I don't think you could really stop hornacek. Just make sure you stay in his face so he doesn't get open looks.
