Spurs VS Thunder (Game 5)

Thunder Lead Series 3-2

Before the Playoffs started, I filled out a bracket with some friends. I had the Thunder making the western conference finals. I kind of took a risk just for the fun of it, but hey, I could have called it. I thought it would be a game 7 series and you really couldn't go wrong either way.

The team that only lost 1 game at home this season has now lost 2 out of 3 home games to the Oklahoma City Thunder. To start, the Spurs did a bad job on the boards in game 5, which I'm positive Gregg Popovich will bring up to his team. They were out rebounded as they had just 36 rebounds while the Thunder had 54.

I sure the other thing that Pop will bring up is that the Spurs shot tons of mid-range shots. They had few shots in the paint and not many from the 3-point line either. It isn't that they shouldn't take mid-range shots, it's that they weren't making them at all. When a shot isn't falling, you need to look for higher percentage shots. The shots chart below shows just how many mid-range shots the Spurs shot.

Spurs Team -Shot Chart - www.nba.com/stats

 Now I could say that the Spurs didn't defend Westbrook good enough, that they let him score. Westbrook was taking the shots they wanted him to take. They defended him really well and they got back in transition. It really came down to the 4th quarter though. Instead of giving the ball to Kawhi or Aldridge, Tony Parker, who had shot just 4-12 in the game took a contested mid-range shot and missed. That would've put the Spurs ahead.

Every game the Spurs have lost have been really close. That's the good news for them. They haven't lost due to a blowout. They just weren't really hitting or taking good shots last night, an easy fix for Gregg Popovich.

Spurs VS Thunder (Game 4)

Series Tied 2-2

You couldn't stop KD. You just couldn't. 41 points. The Spurs had no answer for what he brought last night. They might not have been able to stop Kevin Durant, but could they have stopped the Thunder? That's the real question.

I think that the Spurs did a great job defensively on Russell Westbrook. They really defended him well in transition. The mistake that they made was that they didn't defend the other guys well. The pick and roll with Adams and Westbrook really killed this team. Westbrook was always looking for the open guys and the Spurs were always helping off way to much. They challenged Adams and Waiters, and both of these players delivered.

The Spurs also didn't seem to play Spurs basketball offensively. The team only had 12 assists in the game. Kawhi and Aldridge were isolated a lot. Danny Green rarely touched the ball which who is a huge part of the Spurs offense. He only got 33 touches on the night. He never really got off a good shot. Their team was just not playing like they usually do for whatever reason and the Thunder thrived off of it.

Besides that, Tony Parker played really good for the team. He seems to be destroying Westbrook who is yet to step up on defense. Westbrook seems to be very lazy on defense still. He doesn't want to stop Parker and is acting like he isn't a threat.

Anyways, Gregg Popovich just said that Durant had a good game and he didn't have any comments really about went wrong but I positive that he knows what his team must fix to win game 5 at home. Let's also not forget that Spurs still have home court advantage. The Thunder also played great so give some credit to them. If they continue to play like this, they are going to be tough to beat.

Spurs VS Thunder (Game 3)

Spurs Lead Series 2-1

The Spurs came through as they took back home-court advantage. They looked great defensively and fought to the end.

Defensively, the Spurs were sound. They gave Westbrook the shots they wanted him to take. As a result, Westbrook ended up shooting 32.3% from the field. The Spurs also did a great job containing Kevin Durant as they limited his shot attempts by squashing him in the pick and roll. Westbrook and Durant had a combined total of 10 turnovers due to the Spurs defense. The Spurs as a team only had 8 turnovers.

Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge were amazing for their respected teams. They played with heart and scored at will. They both had a combined 55 points. I don't see how a team could even stop these two. And when you throw in the fact that Tony Parker was playing great, you really can't beat them. Tony Parker had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Russell Westbrook has been very lackadaisical on defense and really allowed Tony Parker to score. Tony Parker took 11 uncontested shots and made 7 of them. He took only 3 contested shots and didn't make 1. Westbrook has played horrible defensively and that defense will not win you games.

The Spurs are in control of the series and the effort from Westbrook isn't helping them. I'm sure the Thunder wish they still had D.J. Augustine because they could sure use a talented point guard like him right now.

Spurs VS Thunder (Game 2)

Series Tied 1-1

You could say this game came down to the last play. Maybe Popovich should have called time out. Maybe there should have been a foul called on the inbounds. Maybe Patty Mills shouldn't of shot that 3. Anything could have happened. But more importantly, it was too close of a game for either game to like.

Let's start by saying that the Thunder played great defense. They looked like they actually wanted to win. Durant did a great job of rotating and guarding Kawhi. Tim Duncan was brutal in this game because of the great defense from Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams. The Thunder had the effort that they didn't have in game 1. They were defensively sound.

The Thunder's offense was really fluid. Kevin Durant is my player of the game. Not only was he great defensively, but he scored on Kawhi Leonard at will, and he did it efficiently. He had 28 points in the game. Russell Westbrook was finding players and rebounding as usual as he had 29 points in the game. The Thunder were just hard to beat.

Even though the Thunder had a good game, the Spurs lost by 1 points. A basket would have won the game. Let's face it, the Spurs just had a bad game, yet they still were so close to winning. The Thunder had 18 turnovers in the game. This hurt them as the Spurs had 24 points off turnovers. The Thunder need to cut that down. They also can't let LaMarcus Aldridge get 41 points. He is too talented of a player and he has carried a team before. You can't let this guy be that efficient.

I really enjoyed this game despite the controversy about some of the no-call towards the end of the game. The Thunder need to make some adjustments because the Spurs won't continue to shoot like this. That just isn't them.

Spurs VS Thunder (Game 1)

Spurs Lead Series 1-0

The Spurs took down the Thunder like they took down the Grizzlies. They not only dominated them on the offensive end but the defensive end as well. Let's take a quick look at this game.

Now, a great offensive team is tough to beat. But when you throw in great defense as well, that team is almost impossible to beat. They held the Thunder, which happens to be one of the best offensive teams in the league, to just 92 points. The Spurs had 124 points. That dominating offensively and defensively. OKC never lead in the game. The Spurs got off running and never looked back. At one point they lead by as much as 42 points. The Spurs killed them with their great ball movement and amazing defense. If you looked at the Spurs, they ran tons of pick and roll plays with LaMarcus Aldridge as the roll man. Plenty of times, he would pop out. The defense would either leave him open or leave Danny Green open from 3. Either way it was a no win situation. To add on to this, the Thunder had horrible defensive rotations and were almost always a couple steps too slow. But it was tough. The Spurs had 39 assists in the game. They were moving the ball so much that it wore out the Thunder. If they are to win, they need to see a much better effort from Russell Westbrook as well.

One thing that most people thought was going to be a problem was Tony Parker guarding Russell Westbrook. The defended him really well in the paint and made him force up tough angles on shots. This seemed to really get in Westbrook's head. He shot just 26.3% from the field. You can see his shot chart below.

Russell Westbrook - Shot Chart - www.nba.com/stats

 The Spurs walked through this game with no problems. The Thunder's defensive effort was very poor and they are going to have to play much better defensively for them to put up a fight to win. You aren't going to outscore the Spurs, you need to play defense and get this Spurs team to quiet down with their ball movement. That's how they are going to have to win.

Spurs VS Grizzlies (Game 4)

Spurs Win Series 4-0

The Spurs won. Nothing special. The Grizzlies season is over. Now there is something special. I have the upmost respect for coach Dave Joerger. If you look at his press conference, he was proud of his guys. He was so proud of the fact that his guys fought through adversity, and they made the playoffs.

The Spurs had to take a lot of contested shots. They also happened to make 52.1% of their contested shots. The poor Grizzlies were flying all over the court to keep up with the Spurs passes. But each and every Grizzlies player ran as hard as they could. By the end of the game, they were tired out, but finished out the last final minutes as hard as they could. The Grizzlies fought out each possession which says a lot about their character.

This was probably a great thing for players like Matt Barnes. All of these guys on the Grizzlies roster had the chance to see what they could do on the court and they got a chance to prove themselves. Teams are going to look at Matt Barnes now as a very good defensive player that has offensive capabilities. Matt Barnes got to develop his offense, something he wouldn't have been able to do on any other team. The same goes for every player on this Grizzlies team.

The Spurs were the better team. They were fundamentally sound and there was no way they were going to let the Grizzlies win. But the heart was there, and that was all Dave Joerger could ask of from his guys.   

Spurs VS Grizzlies (Game 3)

Spurs Lead Series 3-0

This was the best Spurs VS Grizzlies game we have seen in this series. It was close throughout the whole game. The Grizzlies fought and they really battled through this game. I'm sure Dave Joeger is proud of what the team did.

First, I'd like to point out that Zach Randolph finally had that 20 point game. He played well which really helped out the Grizzlies. Matt Barnes also had 17 points. This team just wanted to win. They had a total of 18 second chance points. They just battled their way to the finish line.

There was just one problem. They Spurs could get production from anyone no matter who they put in. 10 players on the Spurs registered at least 2 points. The Grizzlies don't have a deep bench, and they couldn't afford to keep their bench in the game. The starters go too tired and fatigue set in. The Spurs didn't have that problem simply because they have such a great bench.

I think this series will be a sweep. I don't think there is much the Grizzlies can do to win a game in this series. Matt Barnes guarded Kawhi Leonard and Kawhi had 32 points. They just can't stop this Spurs offense. The Grizzlies had a great night, but they still couldn't mangage to grab a win. 

Spurs VS Grizzlies (Game 2)

Spurs lead series 2-0

There really isn't anything that the Grizzlies can do. The Spurs are getting great shots. The Grizzlies aren't. The Grizzlies can't win without Zach Randolph having a 20+ game. They need him to produce and even then they really don't stand a chance.

As for the Spurs, they are perfect defensively. Everybody on the team got involved in the game, all 13 players scored, and not one of them had a negative +/- advantage. That is really all I have to say. There isn't much you can say about that game or the series itself. I hate to say it but the Grizzlies don't stand a chance.

Spurs VS Grizzlies (Game 1)

Spurs lead 1-0

Grizzlies fans, I feel so bad for how all of you probably feel. You made it to the post season and now you have no Marc Gasol or Mike Conley. You are matched up with the Spurs and they are looking like they could sweep your team. However, this Grizzlies team continues to fight, and you guys should be proud of that.

Now, let's just push this out of the way, if the Grizzlies are to win a game, they are going to need probably at least a  20 point game from Zach Randolph. They can't be having him scoring 6 points, shooting 3-13 from the field and expect a win. It just isn't going to happen. Matt Barnes is going to have a tough time as he is being guarded by Kawhi Leonard. They need Z-Bo to score.

Next, Tony Parker and Patty Mills killed this team. It was these 2 guys that Jordan Farmar had a lot of problems with. He can't guard them. The frontcourt is killing this Grizzlies team and they really miss Mike Conley for his defensive skill. They could really use him right now.

The Spur also made some tough contested shots. This was tough because the Grizzlies played some great defense. The Spurs shot 59.1% on contest field goals. But credit the Spurs, they moved the ball around really well and they got everyone involved. Everyone got off some good looks on their team and they had the ball moving around real good.

The Spurs could improve more too. They let the Grizzlies shoot 44% from three. They also let Lance Stephenson keep the Grizzlies in the game during the first half. They had some defensive mishaps here and there and while they might fly here against the Grizzlies, every possession will count against the Warriors and Thunder.

Will Coach Popovich be Able to Make a Player out of Jimmer Fredette?

"Jimmer Fredette Kings" by Mike - Flickr: (2013-12-21) Kings at Magic 33. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Jimmer Fredette is going into his sixth NBA season with the San Antonio Spurs. In the 2011 draft, he went 10th and was picked by the Milwaukee Bucks. He was later traded to the Sacramento Kings. His rookie season was an okay season with the Sacramento Kings. He averaged a good 7.6 PPG, 1.8 APG, and shot 36.1% from the 3 point line. While Fredette looked like he was on track, his second season was about the same as the first. Jimmer shot about 41% from the 3 point line in his second season, while shooting over 150 three pointers. Jimmer still only averaged about 7 PPG though. His 3rd season with the Kings, he only averaged 5.9 PPG. He did however shoot 49.3% from the 3 point line but he only shot 73 threes. While his offense wasn't improving, his defensive rating was an average of 108.25 out of those three seasons! After the Kings saw no improvement in Jimmer's offense and seeing that he couldn't play defense, they traded him.

Jimmer was traded to the Bulls where he played only 8 games. Tom Thibodeau, the head coach of the Bulls at the time, was a defensive coach and couldn't work with Fredette. Jimmer averaged only 4 PPG and shot only 36% with the Bulls.

The Pelicans decided to give Jimmer a chance, signing him to a 1 year deal. Jimmer had his worst season yet. With the Pelicans, he averaged 3.6 PPG, 1.2 APG, and only shot 18% from the 3 point line! Even though he shot horrible, he did however, improve his defense a little bit. It wasn't much, and it still wasn't good, but he did lower it to 104.9. The Pelicans saw that they didn't want Fredette and didn't bother to sign him.

"Popovich cross armed - Cropped-2" by Popovich_cross_armed_-_Cropped.JPG: Zereshk derivative work: Edgars2007 (talk) - This file was derived from: Popovich cross armed - Cropped.JPG: . Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Jimmer was signed to a 1-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs this summer. The question for everyone is will Coach Gregg Popovich be able to get Jimmer to become a better player. Jimmer has not been able to improve and people are hoping that he will be able to get better with the Spurs this season. The only problem facing Jimmer, is that 3 people from the Spurs are going to get cut. Jimmer having experience, could be able to make the team, but it will be tough. He is going to have to play extra hard if he is going to be able to make it.

Even if Jimmer makes the team, he won't get much time and he might not even play at all. Take a look at the bench depth at the guard positions.

PG- Tony Parker (starter), Patty Mills (bench)
SG- Danny Green (starter), Manu Ginobili (bench), Ray McCollum (Res.), Jonathan Simmons (Res.)

As you can see, with 7 guards on the team, Jimmer might not get any playing time at all.

Coach Popovich might be able to make Fredette a team player. If he can do that, Jimmer would have a spot in the NBA as a great bench player of even a starter. Fredette has to realize though that this could very well be his last chance in the NBA. Whether the Spurs play him, or send him to the D-league, he has to play his best. Coach Popovich has to help him and show him his defensive tips. And with last year's defensive player of the year, Kawhi Leonard, he might be able to really help Fredette with defense. With the Spurs being a team that gets everyone involved in their offense, this would be a great place for Jimmer to start over at. That is, if he can make the team.

Throwback Thursday (NBA Finals Edition)

"Rick Barry" by Corey Carter from Fremont, US - Rick Berry. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rick_Barry.jpg#/media/File:Rick_Barry.jpg

 

Today on Thursday, let's go back to 1975 where the Warriors won their last Championship over the Washington Bullets. It has been a long time since Warriors fans have had something to cheer about. Unless your a band-wagoner, then you just go around to the winning teams, and your always cheering and defending your team that your with for .5 to 2 years. But if you always have been a Warriors fan, this is your time to cheer, because you might not have another chance for another 40 years. So live while your young. You'd rather cheer at the age of 40 instead of 80, so do it now because you might not get another chance for a long, long time. And you band-wagoners can just do what ever the heck you want.
 

Also, you Cavs fans could actually get to see one of your teams win something. Remember this.

"LeBron James 18112009 1" by Keith Allison from Kinston, USA - LeBron James. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LeBron_James_18112009_1.jpg#/media/File:LeBron_James_18112009_1.jpg

 

Yeah, that was LeBron's first time meeting with the Spurs in the Finals. Yeah, first time was not the charm. You people lost. But, to be fair, the Cavs were from the East and didn't have the best roster against a Timmy Duncan in his prime, Manu Ginobili playing great, and Tony Parker averaging about 20 PPG in the playoffs. Also, LeBron wasn't the great LeBron at that point. Tell me, is there anyone there who is in the Cavs picture (besides LeBron) who now starts for any team in the NBA. No. This was really a team that has no meaning now except for LeBron. So let's be fair, the Cavs didn't stand a chance this year. But now they have 2 all-stars, and great role players. Also, LeBron is way more developed now. So yes, this team is so much better now and they have a better chance of winning. However, they could use Kevin Love. But you Cavs fans need to cheer, because you haven't had much to cheer about out of the last 70 years. Although, you band-wagoners get to cheer every year so you just do what you want.

While we look at these pictures and remember, keep in mind, history is in the making.

Clippers VS Spurs (game 5)

Final Score: Spurs win 111-107



Spurs lead series 3-2

This was a crucial game. And the Spurs look like they are in great shape for next game. They can put this series away next game. We are all wondering who will win this series. It is probably one of the most interesting series in the playoffs so far. Let's breakdown the Spurs play to start off.

The Spurs had a great bounce back win after the loss they took at home. They had great ball movement and everyone was involved. One guy I really want to look at is Borris Diaw. He had the best plus/minus advantage on his team with +13. What was he doing so great. Just playing great basketball, setting screen, grabbing boards, and just making good defensive plays. Anything that could help his team. His defensive rating (the lower the better) was great at 86.6. You think that good, his offensive rating (the higher the better) was at an astonishing 120.1. That is great. If fact the whole bench had an offensive rating above 120. I was amazed on how well their offensive rating was for the Spurs bench. One thing the Spurs should probably change for next game is the guy guarding Barnes should be in more of a help position. He needs to be able to double team. I really think they should try that out. Another thing is don't have Manu be the main ball handler for the bench. He is more of a shooting guard and had 4 turnovers in just 18:28 minutes.

The Clippers have some work to do. Redick took to many chances and played lazy defense. I would look for him to step it up. This is the playoffs! You need to play your best. Redick fouled out of that game really because of the way he played. Their bench could use a lot more from Jamal Crawford. The Clippers only have 3 people coming off the bench and Jamal Crawford just needs to be regular Jamal Crawford. Again, Blake Griffin just needs to cut down his turnovers. My main problem really was the bench though. Everyone on the bench had a horrible defensive rating all over 125. That cannot happen from your bench. They really need Matt Barnes with the bench and DeAndre Jordan too. Their bench has a great offensive rating. They just need to bring up the offensive rating. Have Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, Glen Davis, and DeAndre Jordan all out on the court. That would be a great way to start the second quarter.

This is going to be great so tune into TNT 9:30 PM EST to see game 6. This could be the last game of the series and you don't want to miss it.

Clippers VS Spurs (game 2)

Final Score: Spurs win 111-107



Series Tied 1-1

An Overtime win for the Spurs is a win. Duncan had a great game and so did Leonard. They just played a great game. They got some stops and won it. Why? Patty Mills was part of it. He had a great game with 18 points. He always seems to come out around playoff time. They played Spurs basketball. Tony Parker needs to step it up though. He only had 1 point in the game and 5 assists. He needs to step it up if this team is to keep winning.

The Clippers on the other hand could use Jordan to make more Free Throws. He only shot 35% from free throw and shot 6-17 from the line. Next they need to be able to finish the game. They missed two crucial possessions to put the game away, but instead it went into overtime where they lost. The last thing, they need more from the bench. The Spurs have a large bench while the Clippers bench has Jamal Crawford. Besides Crawford, the bench for the Clippers scored 6 points. That is not enough and I fear that the Clippers will run out of gas and loose this series.

With the series tied, who will take the advantage in San Antonio?

Playoffs Day 2

Cavaliers VS Celtics

Cavs lead 1-0

Hawks VS Nets

Hawks lead 1-0

Grizzlies VS Trailblazers

Grizzlies lead 1-0

Clippers VS Spurs

Clippers lead 1-0

Clippers VS Spurs (game 1)

Final Score: Clippers win 107-92



Clippers lead series 1-0

This was a game where the Spurs got a look at what the Clippers are capable of. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul were dominant over this Spurs team. Let's take a look at the Clippers first

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul had a combined total of 58 points. These two players alone had over half their team's points. They have to keep looking to them. You know that Greg Popovich will be looking to contain both of these players so Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are going to have to find some more ways to score in a best of 7 series. There is really nothing you can do with DeAndre Jordan's free throws. He shot 5-12 from the free throw line which is below 50%. My suggestion is to get DeAndre more touches in the post and get him to score. This will get him going and it will make the Spurs more hesitant to foul. Other than that, they just need to keep going with their offense and defense.

The obvious for the Spurs is that they need to stop Blake Griffin and Chris Paul. You can't let two players score over 50% of their scoring. They also need more scoring. The most points of a player was 18 by Leonard. The next player had only 11 who was Duncan. There was a lot of one v one in that game with the Spurs offense. They just didn't look like the Spurs. Last is that Diaw and Green need to make shots. Those players combined shot 4-23 from the field and 1-12 from the 3 point line. They need to produce well if this team is going to see them winning in this series.

Playoff Outlook 2015 (first round edition)

In this post I will explain the playoffs and the outcomes of it. There are many possible outcomes and I will try to describe them all.

It came to my attention that I should write this post when my friends and I made some NBA Playoff brackets. We gave one to our Spanish teacher. She has no knowledge of the NBA, whatsoever (all though she knows a lot about the 90s in the NBA). She asked me to make a post for people like her that don't have much knowledge of present day basketball and how to fill out her bracket. I told her I will, and look where I am now, typing this post for her, so I'm dedicating this post to my Spanish teacher.

Well anyway, lets get started.

East: Round One

Hawks vs Nets: I think this one is pretty obvious. The Nets are 0-4 vs the Hawks. Now your all like, but the Hawks havn't been that good lately. Yeah, okay, but the Nets played them twice in the last two weeks. I think the Hawks have this one.
Winner: Hawks

Cavs vs Celtics: Yes, okay, the Celtics have won against the Cavs twice in the last 2 weeks, but the Cavs sat their main players out. I think that the Cavs did that on purpose and wanted to play the Celtics. C'mon, this team has no star player.
Winner: Cavaliers

Toronto vs Wizards: I honestly hope that the Wizards suprise me. They are 0-3 against the Wizards this season. The Wizards have been horrible lately but they tend to have a playoff mode. Also, Toronto has had troubles in the playoffs before. Last year, they lost to the Nets as the Nets had a spoiler. Yeah, I called it last year. No one believed me that the Nets would beat the Raptors. In conclusion though, I think that Toronto will win just because they don't want to be spoiled again.
Winner: Toronto

Bulls vs Bucks: Wow, this is another obvious one to me. This was another team I called out to loose last year and nobody believed me. This team probably was upset about the Wizards last year and they probably want to win this year. They lead against the Bucks 3-1 this season and this is a Bucks team that has many two-year guys that have no playoff expirences. I think that the Bulls will win this one.
Winner: Bulls

West: Round One

Warriors vs Pelicans: This is an easy one. Draymond Green will do a great job on Davis, Stephen Curry will be boss, and Warriors will win. Anyone disagree, no? Fine, lets move on.
Winner: Warriors

Rockets vs Mavericks: Yes I know Rockets lead 3-1, but I thought this team would be a finals team at the beginning of the season. Obviously that view has changed, but they still have a great team. I think this game will come down to game 7 and James Harden will clutch it and will the whole thing. That's just James Harden.
Winner: Rockets

Portland vs Memphis: The whole season, Memphis has won vs the Blazers. It now does not help the Blazers that Batum and Matthews are out. Also, Aldridge has played half the season with a hand injury and Afflalo just went down. It doesn't look like Memphis has much of a challenge in the first round.
Winner: Memphis

Clippers vs Spurs: The season series is tied between these teams. It really comes down to who has more Playoff experience. I want to say that Chris Paul will carry his team, but I don't buy it one second. This team went on a 10 game win streak at the end of the season. They are still that same team from last year. It will probably come down to a game 6 or 7 and I think that the Spurs will win.
Winner: Spurs

Again, I'm dedicating this post to my Spanish teacher. Gracias, for telling me to do this post. And for teaching me how to command people to do things in Spanish. It doesn't really do much though. People just look at me and are all like "What?". And I just yell at them "Lavalos!" Still, I might go to Mexico or Spain one day. Then I might be able to command someone to wash the dishes. Thank you.