Playoff Perspective: San Antonio Spurs

by Tom Martin on Apr 1, 2009 12:00 PM CDT in 2008-09 NBA Playoffs (And Related) Comment 6 comments

More photos » by Alissa Hollimon - NBAE/Getty Images

"Playoff Perspective" provides a look at the Rockets' possible playoff opponents from the opposing blogger's point of view. Each team, from Dallas to LA (as the chances of us playing Phoenix aren't very probable), will be represented. On today's edition, AaronStampler of the SBN San Antonio Spurs blog Pounding the Rock gives us his take on a Rockets-Spurs first round match up

What advantages do you think the Spurs would have over the Rockets in a playoff series?

I would think the Spurs' two main advantages would be scoring depth and experience. We tend to not think of the Spurs as an offensive team, but that is mainly due to the pace they play and not their proficiency at putting the ball in the hoop. Obviously their big three all have a history of kicking it up a notch in the playoffs (playing more minutes doesn't hurt), but also guys like Mason, Bonner, Finley, even Gooden can all go for 15 or so on any given night and can all knock down open shots. The match-up that really hurts the Rockets is Parker. They don't have anyone who can check him and if they pack the lane against him they have to hope that A) his jumper won't fall and B) neither will the jumpers of all the guys he'll kick it out to for open looks. Frenchie has a long and proud history of dominating first round series, so that won't be very pleasant for you.

Also, and I know this sounds like some cliche ESPN talking head thing, but until the Rockets win a series with Yao, you can't, at this point, take them too seriously. They just haven't been able to get over the hump. I like Yao, I love Scola (still a sore point for Spurs fans), but I think ultimately that Artest will shoot you out of most games and will do more harm than good.

Disadvantages?

If Yao avoids foul trouble, he should be able to score consistently on us, we're not the kind of physical, banging team that will intimidate him or put him in foul trouble. Rebounding will be a problem for us against Houston because Bonner is weak and Scola will have him for lunch. I don't know how much Pop will trust Drew Gooden. He can board, but can be had on the pick and roll all day. The Rox also have not one but two guys who can make life difficult for Ginobili in Artest and Battier, and a bunch of guys like Hayes to throw at Duncan.

Would home court advantage affect your chances greatly, marginally, or not at all?

No, I doubt it. When I think of teams that have rabid fans and intimidating home courts, I don't think of the Houston Rockets. And Spurs fans have become so spoiled that they don't even start cheering until the fourth quarter or unless Manu does something.

Compared to the other possible match ups, how confident would you be in your team if they faced the Rockets in the first round?

I probably have no reason to be as confident as I am, and I'm probably living in some fantasy world where the Spurs are actually still you know "good," but I have full confidence in the Spurs against anyone in the West besides LA. Besides them Utah worries me a bit. I think my favorite matchup would be the always-ready-to-implode Nuggets.

Want to know more about the Spurs? Head over to Pounding the Rock.

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No, I doubt it. When I think of teams that have rabid fans and intimidating home courts, I don’t think of the Houston Rockets.

Hey, the Toyota Center can get pretty surly if the bar isn’t open or the lines to the bathrooms are too long.

by Only_A_Lad on Apr 1, 2009 12:24 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The guy being interviewed...

Is a typical, spoiled Spurs fan. He also doesn’t seem to realize that the Rockets have one of the best home records in the NBA.

by Artest4Prez on Apr 1, 2009 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Defending Yao

“we’re not the kind of physical, banging team that will intimidate him or put him in foul trouble.”

I find this assessment strange, especially after how well they did on Yao in our last game. It is not the big physical guys that defend Yao well. In fact, he often does better with the bigger physical guys because they are more likely to single team him and less likely to front him. The Spurs did as well keeping him out of the low post and defending the entry pass as anyone recently.

by WakePhil on Apr 1, 2009 2:03 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

exactly

why can’t people figure this out? Yao likes being matched up against physical centers – he’s learned to play physical (and he’s been that way since roughly his sophomore year) and his finesse game plays well against them. He only gets into trouble when matched up against either very athletic centers or those with good outside shots. He gets into defensive trouble when he’s forced to come out from the post.

by Only_A_Lad on Apr 1, 2009 3:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

right

and fronting yao can be ridiculously effective. especially when you’ve got a trigger-happy artest happy to shoot instead of working it into him. he consistently destroys big centers like dwight howard. It’s quick double teams and fronting that he has trouble with.

by whodat21 on Apr 1, 2009 4:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree.

It seems we like to say “It’s easy to front Yao, and neutralize him.” No. It isn’t easy. It’s very costly. Defenders foul out, the defense leaves shooters open, or an easy path to the basket, as the defender can’t get around Yao to stop a drive. Scola collects an insane amount of weakside rebound garbage for put backs.

Yao can sometimes be neutralized, and when it happens it MUST produce a scoring field day for the rest of the team. Is there any single player who can shut Yao down? Few, if any, I’d say. Some teams, like SA, have the overall team defense to do it, and not wreck their other assignments.

All my own opinion, but- The thing is, the the main thrust of the Rockets player acquisition, recent trades and overall strategy is fairly simple – make teams pay for doubling, or tripling, Yao. Make them pay for fronting Yao and leaving space under the basket, or a driving lane to it. Yao desperately needs a tall wing player with a great shot, and a decent drive. Tracy is supposed to be that guy. I imagine another player fitting that description will be coming our way soon (like the guys we passed on – Batum and Greene – not that I mind those deals – Yao’s window is now.)

That’s why Rafer is gone. Because he couldn’t consistently make the open jumper, and he couldn’t finish consistently with open lanes to the basket. Very few Rafer shots were better than letting Yao heave up whatever he could manage to get off in close. Yao doing that, and scoring, or going to the line, is simply higher percentage than Alston’s entire game. It only breaks down when Yao gets called for fouls on floppiing, or simply because he’s so big, and moving and it looks weird to refs.

That’s why we have Artest, the thinking being to replace an offensive cipher in Battier with Artest when scoring is needed – that assumes you have McGrady, of course. As it turns out, both of them are in to start of course.

Scola and Landry can score, and one of them will be difficult for most teams to handle on any night.

If Artest will shoot only open shots, and drive with a plan, if Battier will just make his open looks, and drive or shoot once in a while to keep his defender honest, if Scola and Landry keep up their production, and Brooks, Lowry and Wafer play under control virtually no team can beat Houston – because Yao is a match up problem for anyone.

by Xiane on Apr 1, 2009 5:11 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs