Tag: Scott Brooks

Offensive adjustments not foreign for Spurs

By Jeff McDonald

OKLAHOMA CITY — A Swiss, a Frenchman, a Congolese and an Argentine all walk onto a basketball court.

What sounds like the setup to a bad joke was actually the defensive recipe Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks used to get his team back into the Western Conference finals.

With off-guard Thabo Sefolosha blanketing Tony Parker, and with power forward Serge Ibaka flummoxing Manu Ginobili on most every pick-and-roll, the Spurs’ juggernaut of an offense looked downright mortal in a 102-82 loss in Game 3 on Thursday.

“They brought it,” said Ginobili, whose team had a franchise-best 20-game winning streak stopped. “They got us on our heels. Now we know how it’s going to be.”

Still up 2-1 in the series, how the Spurs respond in Game 4 tonight at Chesapeake Energy Arena will go a long way toward determining how much longer this thing plays out.

First order of business: Solving the Thunder’s International House of Defense.

Sefolosha, a 28-year-old from Switzerland, is 6-foot-7. His combination of length and quickness made it difficult for Parker to scoot around him.

After averaging 26 points in Games 1 and 2, Parker managed 16 in Game 3 and committed five of the Spurs’ 21 turnovers.

Parker, who had been guarded in the first two games mostly by Russell Westbrook, was not exactly surprised by the change.

“It’s not the first time,” Parker said. “They did it before in the past. I have to keep being aggressive and choosing my spots.”

Of greater significance, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, was Brooks’ other major adjustment.

The call to switch most every pick-and-roll often left Ibaka, the NBA’s top shot-blocker at 6-foot-9, paired with Ginobili on the perimeter. The 22-year-old Republic of Congo native handled the assignment well, keeping Ginobili out of the paint and unable to throw the pick-and-roll passes he prefers.

Ginobili went 1 for 5 from the field and added four turnovers to the Spurs’ tally. His counter in Game 4 is simple.

“Attack better,” Ginobili said. “When they collapse the paint, try to find the open teammate. Basic basketball. It’s not something Xs and Os wise. I’ve got to be sharper, more decisive. The spacing’s got to be better.”

With their trademark pick-and-roll effectively sabotaged, the Spurs struggled to keep up with OKC on the scoreboard.

After seemingly getting any shot they wanted in Games 1 and 2, the Spurs were forced into more one-on-one isolation plays in Game 3 than they would have liked.

The ball movement that was the staple of the Spurs’ winning streak disappeared. The offense stagnated.

During their streak, the Spurs averaged better than 109 points per game. The 82 they mustered Thursday were their fewest in the postseason since a 101-81 loss at Dallas in the 2010 first round.

“Our pick-and-roll defense was very good against probably the best pick-and-roll offense,” Brooks said. “We did a good job of getting into the ball, did a good job of being up into the ball with our bigs. That was the key.”

In addition to pouring in an uncharacteristic 19 points, Sefolosha snagged six steals — most in the playoffs against the Spurs in 11 years.

Oklahoma City logged 14 steals in all, scored 20 of their points off Spurs miscues and seemed to deflect even the most routine passes.

Given the overwhelming success the Thunder defense enjoyed in Game 3, the Spurs can expect a similar switch-everything approach tonight.

“We have to use the mismatches we get from that to our advantage,” said Tim Duncan, who is 13 of 41 so far in the series. “Tony and Manu will be expecting those kind of switches, and they have to attack them in a different way.”

If the Spurs can figure out a new plan for dealing with OKC’s defensive alterations, they have an excellent chance of bringing a 3-1 lead home with them.

And if they can’t? The punchline that follows won’t seem so funny.

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

SPURS VS. THUNDER
Western Conference finals
(Spurs lead best-of-7 series 2-1)

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3:

Game 4: Saturday – Spurs @ Thunder, 7:30 p.m. TNT

Game 5: Monday – Spurs vs. Thunder, 8:00 p.m. TNT

*Game 6: Wednesday – Spurs @ Thunder, 8:00 p.m. TNT

*Game 7: Friday – Spurs vs. Thunder, 8:00 p.m. TNT

– All times Central
*If necessary

Bonner’s 3-point binge ranks as No. 9 best Spurs memory

In our look at the best Spurs memories of the past season, Matt Bonner’s early-season 3-point binge ranks as one of the best.

Here’s a look back at a night when Bonner couldn’t miss and how it helped fuel one of the Spurs’ most stunning comebacks to that point of the season.

No. 9: The Red Rocket’s 3-point blitz scorches Thunder

When: Nov. 14, 2010

Where: Oklahoma City Arena, Oklahoma City, Okla.

What happened: The Spurs struggled early, missing nine of their first 10 shots and falling into an early 12-point hole late in the first quarter. But Matt Bonner hit a deep three in the final 5 seconds of the first quarter and added three more to keep the Spurs close in the second quarter as they trailed for the entire first half.  He then sank three more during a 21-8 run to open the fourth quarter enabling the Spurs to cruise to their seventh straight victory with a 117-104 triumph. Bonner was a perfect 7-for-7 from 3-point range for a season-best 21 points.

What was said, Part I: “It was just one of those nights when I was feeling it,” Bonner, describing his career night to reporters after the game.  

What was said, Part II: “All it takes for him is just half a second. He’s a knockdown 3-point shooter. We didn’t do a good job on him. No excuses,” Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, who described his team’s defensive struggles against Bonner to the Associated Press.

What was said, Part III: “Matty was huge, of course. When he shoots 7 for 3 on 3s, it gives you a lot of air on offense. He had great looks, great confidence, and he sank them all,” Manu Ginobili, analyzing Bonner’s huge game to the Express-News.  

What was said, Part IV: “I always think every one of them is going in, but this was just one of those nights when all of them did fall. You hit the first one, the second one, the third one, and then the hoop just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Bonner, on his shooting binge to the Express-News.  

The upshot: Bonner’s big night came within one of the team’s record for consecutive 3-pointers in a game. Steve Smith hit all eight threes against Portland on Nov. 3, 2001. The victory extended San Antonio’s winning streak to seven games as they pushed their record to 8-1. At that point, it was the fastest start in team history.  It was Bonner’s third game since missing six games early in the season with an ankle sprain. And his perimeter binge enabled the Spurs to win despite hitting only 40.9 percent from the field in the game. Ginobili and Bonner led San Antonio with 21 points. The San Antonio defense tightened down the stretch, limiting Oklahoma City to only 38 points in the second half after permitting the Thunder to score 35 in the first quarter. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 23 points — a season low for him at that point of the season.

Previous bad memories:

No. 10: .

No. 9: Black Friday fourth-quarter collapse leads to .  

Previous good memories:

No. 10: .