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I didn't feel like Aldridge's touches were dramatically better than they had been the rest of this series, but he was a LOT more decisive going into his move, which is what people have been screaming for all playoffs.

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I felt like he was getting the ball deeper and he was making his move quicker and keeping Capela off balance.

LA under the pressure of fewer touches and emphasis on team ball is a TOTALLY DIFFERENT player than LA knowing he's the first option and not being asked to pass basically at all.

Unfortunately, that does not bode well for Spurs in the future.

Then let LA be the focus the rest of the year.

I am sure The Claw would be good with that.

He got a couple touches in deep position very early in the game, but the rest of your post is my point. Even in the mid post he was much quicker instead of just mushing his way down, so a lot of those awkward fade aways from games 1-5 turned into rhythm shots or finishing moving to the basket.

He took 7, 15, 20, 13, and 21 shot attempts in games 1-5, so I don't buy that he wasn't getting the touches to get in rhythm. The spurs were consciously trying to force the ball in to the post for long stretches of games 1-3 and 5, but he was wasting the possessions except in game 3.

Enzo The Baker said:

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I really think the Spurs should consider playing inside-out against GS, even with a 100% healthy Kawhi. If nothing else, it will slow down the pace.

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This works when the officials decide to call fouls on Draymond, KD, or other defensive post players.
When the officials decide that it's OK for the defender to displace the offensive player, push on them with 2 hands, or basically let Draymond do anything, it will be as frustrating as hell to watch and it kills any offense.

Javale McGee also becomes an important player in this series.

Iowaggie said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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I really think the Spurs should consider playing inside-out against GS, even with a 100% healthy Kawhi. If nothing else, it will slow down the pace.

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This works when the officials decide to call fouls on Draymond, KD, or other defensive post players.
When the officials decide that it's OK for the defender to displace the offensive player, push on them with 2 hands, or basically let Draymond do anything, it will be as frustrating as hell to watch and it kills any offense.

Javale McGee also becomes an important player in this series.

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The Spurs goal should be to make McGee and Zaza important players by going big. The more time those two have to spend on the court and GS doesn't go to their ultra small lineup with Green at the 5 is a win for the Spurs.

My theory is that Wednesday night every Rocket simultaneously walked in on every other Rocket banging his wife/girlfriend/favorite stripper. It's confusing, but based on the movie Interstellar I'm pretty sure it's possible.

I'm gonna post in here cause the conference finals thread is a little ridiculous right now.

The obvious take is that the game completely changed when Leonard went out. Not just the Spurs on both ends, but also the way the game was called. Draymond Green got away with murder down low while Pau and Aldridge got called for some pretty cheap fouls. Also, our 3 point shooting went ice cold. We had some decent looks and didn't hit a single one. Gotta hit some of those because the warriors will definitely get theirs.

Game plan wise, when we were at full strength I really liked our defense. Switched everything and ran guys off the 3 point line. Basically dared Steph and Durant to beat us 1 on 1. I'll take my chances making those guys go iso every time rather than letting the ball get moving for them. Offensively putting Zaza in the pick and roll was effective for us. He's way to slow to consistently do anything and we were able to get all kinds of good looks off that.

It was a tough loss and one it would have been nice to hold on to. Bottom line is if Kawhi can't go then we stand no chance.

Agree 100%.

dirty play by Zaza

Rest up and get back at it game 2. All I got after today.

Ag Natural said:

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Huge missed opportunity. If Kawhi plays that whole game they probably win easily. But even without Kawhi they shouldn't completely melt down. That one 19-0 stretch was some pathetic basketball by professionals.

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I agree but Golden State is ridiculously talented. Steps going off like that is going to happen. Not having Tony to settle the offense down really, really hurt us in that stretch. IMO he would be the best suited to break down that on the ball pressure that ate us up.

That is a crushing loss.

yawny06 said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Huge missed opportunity. If Kawhi plays that whole game they probably win easily. But even without Kawhi they shouldn't completely melt down. That one 19-0 stretch was some pathetic basketball by professionals.

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I agree but Golden State is ridiculously talented. Steps going off like that is going to happen. Not having Tony to settle the offense down really, really hurt us in that stretch. IMO he would be the best suited to break down that on the ball pressure that ate us up.

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Golden State often goes on 15-20 point run at some point in a game. Spurs are disciplined but without Kawhi they are completely outmatched. The health of his ankle will be a large factor on how long this series last. They showed today that with a healthy Leonard that the Spurs can win a game.

That might be the series. You simply CANNOT lose a game when your up freaking 25. Whether we have KL or not, you simply DONT lose that game. Hell, win by 1 barely hanging on. It doesnt matter, the complete meltdown on offense was disgusting. No one did anything. Patty was awful. LA stopped being aggressive. Green was turning it over. We crapped the bed. If Spurs lose again Tuesday, this series is over, which is why this loss is so freaking frustrating. No one made plays when it mattered most down the stretch. The Warriors are simply to good all the way around. Not sure what happens Tuesday. Hopefully another close game, this time with the Spurs on top.

I think that the Spurs have demonstrated they can compete with and beat the Warriors while on even footing. Those saying the Spurs had a "slim" chance we basing that of off the Warriors beating up on Portland and Utah. Spurs are pretty damn good in their own right.

We really need Kwahi to be healthy. It just stinks that he might have to sit out game 2 to get there. Going down 0-2 is a tough hill to climb. Historically it is just not a good place to be. I don't know that we can beat them without him on the floor (and no Tony).

I expected the Warriors to come back into the game. And to win TBH. But the Spurs had a chance to win in the end. Without Leonard, that's all you can really ask for. Honestly, I don't think Leonard will play next game. We will take an 0-2 deficit and try to turn it around at home with Leonard getting 6 days to rest that ankle. Hopefully, Murray/Anderson/Bertans can get a lot of run next game.

Enzo The Baker said:

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GTFO here. You weren't posting **** when the Warriors were down 25 on the other thread.

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With Leonard in that game, I think they would have won. But without Kawhi the Spurs are just another team for the Warriors to pummel IMO. They need his offense and maybe even more his defense. Golden State is MUCH better than the Rockets. They have two MVP quality guys instead of just one like Houston, they have a deeper bench, and they actually play defense.

They need a healthy Leonard. period.

And I was not on TexAgs at all during any portion of the game.

Not beating this GSW 4 times out of 5. 0-2 is a death sentence.

That pretty much sums it up, but not fair to say no one made plays. Manu and Patty cut a 5 point lead to 1 in a matter of seconds. It was there and at the end, the shots just didn't fall.

The game changer in the final minutes was the sequence we gave up 3 offensive rebounds to finally let Curry hit a game tying three.

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They need a healthy Leonard. period.

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That's an astute observation.

yawny06 said:

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That pretty much sums it up, but not fair to say no one made plays. Manu and Patty cut a 5 point lead to 1 in a matter of seconds. It was there and at the end, the shots just didn't fall.

The game changer in the final minutes was the sequence we gave up 3 offensive rebounds to finally let Curry hit a game tying three.

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That series aged me 15 years

Ugh.

The more I think about it the more pissed I get.

**** this.