SA really taking it to the Heat!

[HOFCeluck]

I really thought this would be a seven game series at the outset...the Spurs just played at an unreal level.

 

[RF2044]

I'm so happy that San Antonio won--not just to knock off the overrated Heat, but also to stick it to that overrated, pompous windbag Phil Jackson, who's ostentatiously never given them the credit they've deserved.

Suck it, Phil.

5 championships in 15 seasons.

 

[Trueblue25]

San Antonio is the best sports franchise period.

 

[longislandcuse]

I can't even comprehend what I just watched San Antonio do.

 

[Coach Orange]

San Antonio is the best marriage of system (both offensive and defensive), talent, and roster management in basketball (and possibly sports) today.

I said in a post right after Syracuse's season ended that I would love to see what the Orange could do running Coach Pop's option-based motion offense. Doing so, however, would require a post player that can finish consistently and better outside shooting. It's possible that the shooting might improve just by the design of the offense; the ball and player movement it requires creates open looks. Finding a Tim Duncan clone might prove to be more difficult, though. Still, this offense should be able to thrive at the college level with a big man who is reasonably effective on offense.

 

[Toga]

San Antonio is the best marriage of system (both offensive and defensive), talent, and roster management in basketball (and possibly sports) today.

I said in a post right after Syracuse's season ended that I would love to see what the Orange could do running Coach Pop's option-based motion offense. Doing so, however, would require a post player that can finish consistently and better outside shooting. It's possible that the shooting might improve just by the design of the offense; the ball and player movement it requires creates open looks. Finding a Tim Duncan clone might prove to be more difficult, though. Still, this offense should be able to thrive at the college level with a big man who is reasonably effective on offense.

Aggressive constant off the ball movement has always seemed like a no brainer to me. I don't understand why we don't see more of it on both the pro and college level.

 

[SteveC]

What if i told you that you didn't need to win back to back titles to be a dynasty? What if i told you your big three didn't need to make 60 million a year?

 

[Cheriehoop]

It's fun watching a true team where the whole is greater than the sum of its' parts.

 

[Jack Hall]

San Antonio is the best marriage of system (both offensive and defensive), talent, and roster management in basketball (and possibly sports) today.

I said in a post right after Syracuse's season ended that I would love to see what the Orange could do running Coach Pop's option-based motion offense. Doing so, however, would require a post player that can finish consistently and better outside shooting. It's possible that the shooting might improve just by the design of the offense; the ball and player movement it requires creates open looks. Finding a Tim Duncan clone might prove to be more difficult, though. Still, this offense should be able to thrive at the college level with a big man who is reasonably effective on offense.

Great post. Its easier said than done, but doesnt mean you shouldnt try to emulate the Spurs distribution offense

 

[Jack Hall]

Aggressive constant off the ball movement has always seemed like a no brainer to me. I don't understand why we don't see more of it on both the pro and college level.

Amen

 

[Jack Hall]

San Antonio is the best marriage of system (both offensive and defensive), talent, and roster management in basketball (and possibly sports) today.

I said in a post right after Syracuse's season ended that I would love to see what the Orange could do running Coach Pop's option-based motion offense. Doing so, however, would require a post player that can finish consistently and better outside shooting. It's possible that the shooting might improve just by the design of the offense; the ball and player movement it requires creates open looks. Finding a Tim Duncan clone might prove to be more difficult, though. Still, this offense should be able to thrive at the college level with a big man who is reasonably effective on offense.

Its not just possible , its highly probable, cant beat wide open looks

 

[Cusefan0307]

You need to have Forwards/Bigs who can handle and pass like Diaw, Duncan, Splitter. These days all most bigs can do is Dunk. I think AAU has hurt the concept of team basketball. They mentioned it on the broadcast last night, but its a similar situation to what USA basketball faced in international competition in 2002-2006.
I think last night showed that team basketball played to its highest efficiency will beat a couple of talented players every time.

 

[longislandcuse]

You need to have Forwards/Bigs who can handle and pass like Diaw, Duncan, Splitter. These days all most bigs can do is Dunk. I think AAU has hurt the concept of team basketball. They mentioned it on the broadcast last night, but its a similar situation to what USA basketball faced in international competition in 2002-2006.
I think last night showed that team basketball played to its highest efficiency will beat a couple of talented players every time.

I'm kind of getting sick of everyone saying "team basketball" like its a rag tag group of upstarts who went all Hoosiers on Miami's a$$.

San Antonio has THE perfect storm.

-Great Head Coach
-Great scouting department
-Stars who all took less (Duncan, Parker, Ginobili)
-Super-Role Players (Mills, Splitter, Diaw, Green)
-Young Talent (Kawhi Leonard)

They are so good that a dude like Bellinelli can't even get any run.

You cant just tell the Knicks, Pacers, Bucks, 76ers etc to just pass the ball around like a hot potato and ta-da #Championship

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Leonard will get the MVP. Diaw is the best passing big man. His no-look dump offs are a thing of beauty. Parker is always underrated. He is Rondo with a brain and a jump shot. Duncan is on his way down but he still does no wrong. Green and Mills light it up and trying to guard Ginobili is like trying to guard gumby. Splitter is solid and even the bottom of the bench, Belinelli and Joseph can fill it up.

Good call.

I can't even comprehend what I just watched San Antonio do.

I really enjoyed watching the game last night except for the first quarter. There were at least 3 calls blown in the first quarter that seemed to indicate the NBA wanted to extend the series. The foul where Diaw didn't actually touch Lebron was so ridiculous. The whistle was blowing just before the players actually got close to each other. And the missed foul on James slapping down on Duncan's arm was terrible.

But the much better team won the game and the series.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I'm kind of getting sick of everyone saying "team basketball" like its a rag tag group of upstarts who went all Hoosiers on Miami's a$$.

San Antonio has THE perfect storm.

-Great Head Coach
-Great scouting department
-Stars who all took less (Duncan, Parker, Ginobili)
-Super-Role Players (Mills, Splitter, Diaw, Green)
-Young Talent (Kawhi Leonard)

They are so good that a dude like Bellinelli can't even get any run.

You cant just tell the Knicks, Pacers, Bucks, 76ers etc to just pass the ball around like a hot potato and ta-da #Championship

Let me just say I agree with everything you said, but the Lebron/heat lovers seemed to think that Lebron was so good that it didn't matter how good the Spurs were.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Anyone else think Lebron's frustration will end up costing Spoelstra his job? He seemed to be shooting some daggers last night toward that end of the bench.

 

[Cowtown]

The most important aspect of team play is having players who are willing to play as a team, which includes playing defense. SA seems to have that. I'm pretty sure that starts with Popovich, but it translates to the floor through their leader who is unquestionably Duncan. Too many players today arrive at the pro level without having learned how to play without the ball. Their coaches have run almost every possession through them, while fans & friends blow sunshine up their skirts telling them they're the greatest thing since three-ply toilet paper, and when they go home at night they watch "highlights" which show dunks, threes and blocked shots, and go to bed thinking that's basketball :noidea:

 

[djdan]

The best part of the pre-game buildup was Lebron's continual references to how "history is made to be broken."

 

[Quazzum69]

The most important aspect of team play is having players who are willing to play as a team, which includes playing defense. SA seems to have that. I'm pretty sure that starts with Popovich, but it translates to the floor through their leader who is unquestionably Duncan. Too many players today arrive at the pro level without having learned how to play without the ball. Their coaches have run almost every possession through them, while fans & friends blow sunshine up their skirts telling them they're the greatest thing since three-ply toilet paper, and when they go home at night they watch "highlights" which show dunks, threes and blocked shots, and go to bed thinking that's basketball :noidea:

Yeah, but the coach is in charge (as well as GM and owner if we're talking NBA). The reason teams have coaches is that players are not expected to strategize or make decisions - that's the coach's responsibility. The coaches deserve more blame than players, especially if they're kids in college who are supposedly there to learn the game of basketball.

Why can't coaches get their players to move without the ball? Why can't they teach them to play as a team? There are 12 players for the coach to choose from - there has to be five that are willing to play together to carry out the coach's strategy.

There are coaches/organizations like Pop/SA who know what they're doing and those that are incompetent - either because their strategy is ineffective (or nonexistent) or they are not good leaders/motivators and cannot get the players to implement their strategy.

 

[Cowtown]

The best part of the pre-game buildup was Lebron's continual references to how "history is made to be broken."

Didn't Yogi say that?

 

[Eric15]

This begs this question… is there any NBA champion in recent memory (past 20 years or so) that these Spurs would not have beat in a 7-game series the way they were executing this past week? I'd probably take the 2000 Lakers over them simply because Shaq was such an unstoppable force that year, but that's honestly about it.

 

[kirbivore]

This begs this question… is there any NBA champion in recent memory (past 20 years or so) that these Spurs would not have beat in a 7-game series the way they were executing this past week? I'd probably take the 2000 Lakers over them simply because Shaq was such an unstoppable force that year, but that's honestly about it.

Past 20 years I'd agree with you on the early 2000's Lakers. I'd also add the 1996 Bulls.

 

[two3zone]

This begs this question… is there any NBA champion in recent memory (past 20 years or so) that these Spurs would not have beat in a 7-game series the way they were executing this past week? I'd probably take the 2000 Lakers over them simply because Shaq was such an unstoppable force that year, but that's honestly about it.

I don't know, I've never seen a team play like San Antonio did these past 5 games, I made a comment today to some co workers saying they could have beaten the original dream team. I was half kidding, but the Spurs literally couldn't do one thing wrong.

 

[Cusefan0307]

San Antonio was great, no doubt about it, but I don't think they were the only team that could of beat Miami from the West. I think a healthy Warriors, clippers, or Thunder all would of had a good chance as well. Heck Dallas took the Spurs to seven. The Spurs were clearly the best team, but the east was weak and Miami is a shell of itself. Lebron was great on offense for the most part in the series, but he even got a little lazy on defense