Western Conference Semifinals: (1) San Antonio vs. (5) Portland

It is the old boy club.

The stats guy hired a coach with no X/O knowledge, go figure.

 

i have to admit, im really enjoying watching this a$$ kicking.

 

what a boring game...

...but what a display of ownage!!!

Vintage Spurs

 

Blazers are who we all thought they were.

Everyone except for Mchale.

 

thank you based pop!

 

I think it has to do with the Boston connection and Morey hiring a puppet that will let him implement his experimental offensive schemes.

 

Man, they're on the same court, but they're not playing the same game.

 

Enjoying seeing blazers get beat lol

 

Lillard has no energy on O because he is using it all to guard Parker. Same with Matthews.

 

Look what you did NBA...by reffing the Rockets terribly, you set up a chance that no one watches this match up at all...At least the Rockets played the Spurs well this season and wouldve made a better story...And yes im totally salty...

 

If its an experiment, I freaking hope it failed.

 

This is actually discouraging knowing McHale is back next season. It feels like next season is just going to be a waste

 

It's amazing how bad the Blazettes are when all the calls aren't going their way...& their not allowed to wrestle & hold on the perimeter.

All the bumps & shoves by Portland that they were getting away with on Howard are being called in this game.

Eat it Portland...eat the head.

 

Uh, NO. Splitter is defending LMA completely differently than Dwight, Asik OR Tjones.

Dwight gets into foul trouble because he's always trying to get away with hooks and swim moves on the offensive end, and on the defensive end he's always going for blocks and does a swipe down at the ball (bad at verticality).

Asik gets into trouble because he's always trying to go strength vs strength against LMA. He uses a forearm and leans into LMA, and he tends to get into the air a bit too much. This opens him to ticky tack foul calls.

Tjones also tries to body up LMA, but uses his forearm, swipes at the ball too much, and leaves his feet WAY too often in a vain attempt to block LMA's shot.

Look at how Splitter is defending LMA. His whole defense against LMA is mainly to avoid drawing a foul. He stands straight with both hands up and moves his feet. He doesn't try to out power LMA or push too hard with his fore arm. He also doesn't jump into the air, so he avoids most of the "in the air" contact calls. He just tries to force LMA to shoot over him.

As for mid-range shots... the Spurs ONLY shoots the mid-range if it's WIDE open or the shot clock is running out. That's perfectly in line with Moreyball and analytics.

The Spurs are one of the leading teams in the NBA in Analytics (Moreyball). It's why they drive to the rim so much, shoot the 3 often, and only take WIDE open shots. Their philosophy is all about passing up "good" shots for "great" shots.

They also use screens VERY aggressively to create those open shot opportunities.

Moreyball is perfectly fine with mid range shots as long as...

1) They're wide open
2) People taking them can hit them
3) There isn't a wide open shot at the rim or 3 point line

The problem is that McHale and Co. doesn't use any screens. He doesn't use aggressive off the ball movement.

Harden only shoots step back mid-range jumpers. He hardly ever calls for picks to shoot the mid-range jumper and holds the ball WAY too long to get wide open mid-range shots frequently.

And because our off the ball movement is non-existent, defenses get a TON of time to double Harden as soon as he looks to make a move as they have little fear of a back cutter or roller heading to the basket which means even his shots off the PnR are often already partially contested.

Lack of offensive sets in the half-court because we're over-reliant on trying to create an open driving lane for Harden to work instead of asking Harden to actually MOVE and help generate better looks through picks and screens.

Oh, and let's not forget that Pops holds Everyone accountable on defense. Pops would sit Harden for his crappy defense so fast his head would be spinning.

 

It all starts with Parker for the spurs he keeps that team going

 

Blazers:

 

BINGO BONGO

 

Spurs screens AMAZING

 

This game is more of an embarrassment for Kevin Mchale than the Blazers.

 

The Blazer is going to be fine. Just have to play harder. More effort. Harder.