West Semifinal: [#6] Golden State Warriors vs. [#2] San Antonio Spurs

[MrBill]

I sort of thought the Spurs gave that game away, because it seemed they were in control most of the game.

That's what I thought as well. Now the Warriors and Spurs have both won one that they shouldn't have won. Neither team shot well in regulation but the Spurs really hurt themselves by being so cold at the charity stripe.

 

[Nico]

That wasn't a very fun game to watch but i'm very happy golden state came away with the win even though i still don't know how they did it the way they played yesterday.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I like Mark Jackson. He's a horrendous x's & o's coach. Outside of Keith Smart in Sacramento, he's probably the worst x's & o's coach in the league.

I've watched roughly 50 Warriors games plus all of the playoff games, and there is no team in the league that does a worse job out of timeouts or on final possessions. They almost never get a good look. And that's on the coach.

With that said, he makes it up in other ways. He's a players coach. He believes in his guys and doesn't give up on them. He doesn't bench or bury people for mistakes. He rides the horses that got him there. That goes a long way, when players know they can play their game with no fear and do what they're paid to do.

I don't know if he's ultimately the guy to take this (very) young team to a title, but he's definitely been the guy to get them in the mix as a contender. There is a theory in baseball, that you should always replace a player's manager with a totalitarian manager once his style gets stale - and also the opposite. I'm not sure that would work in the NBA, where the players drive the cart far more than the players do in baseball, a sport where the manager is still firmly in charge and the players almost never call the shots and largely "just play".

Can tyranny still work in the NBA? It works when the coach is an established winner. Can young coaches adopt this style, or has the culture of the league changed too much?

 

[MrBill]

Great game for Spurs fans last night. They out rebounded the Warriors for the first time in the series and found their shots a lot better than than they did Sunday in Oakland.

Pop did a great job in shifting defenders to Curry and Thompson, which opened up Barnes for a big night. Believe last night was the first time this season that Curry didn't even attempt to shoot a 3 pointer.

 

[godspeed]

Believe last night was the first time this season that Curry didn't even attempt to shoot a 3 pointer.

Curry attempted 7 three pointers last night.

 

[JimLeavy59]

I think he means Klay.

 

[Tailback U]

Curry's obviously hurt. He's moving, handling, and shooting at about 50% and it's hurting the Warriors.

Klay disappeared last night. He was way too hesitant to shoot the ball.

Warriors need to find an answer for Parker. He is pretty much doing whatever he wants out there.

 

[MrBill]

I think he means Klay.

Yes, I had Curry on the brain.

Warriors need to find an answer for Parker. He is pretty much doing whatever he wants out there.

People tend to forget that Parker was looking to be the league MVP before he got hurt in February. It is really hard to solve for him if he is on top of his game.

 

[godspeed]

Curry's obviously hurt. He's moving, handling, and shooting at about 50% and it's hurting the Warriors.

Klay disappeared last night. He was way too hesitant to shoot the ball.

Warriors need to find an answer for Parker. He is pretty much doing whatever he wants out there.

Klay does a decent job on Parker when he isn't in foul trouble, and we had to throw that out the window last night because of foul trouble. If it's not Klay in foul trouble it's Bogut. Changes the whole defensive complexion of the game.

But alot is coaching too. Most of Parker's shots are outside wide open shots after the Duncan high screen, or going around it and driving. Thats the basics of the Spurs offense right now and Jackson has made zero adjustments the whole series to the same play.

Meanwhile on the flip side, warriors are setting ZERO high screens for Curry and Klay. I mean NOTHING. Inexecusable. The one matchup that worked great in the first half last night was Barnes on offense. Knocking down a few shots, backing his defender down, getting to the line, was a very good offensive option last night. His game is starting to remind me of Mashburn's. 3rd quarter rolls around Barnes gets ZERO touches. I was getting so pissed off. Jackson frustrates me to no end.

 

[MrBill]

 

[MrBill]