Coaching Adjustments for Game 2

In most playoff series the players will decide the outcome however in a series like this one I don't think it will be the players that are the X - Factor in the series but rather the coaches. This series will come down to coaching adjustments and whichever coach is able to make the best adjustments will eventually win the series, IMO.

Call me weird, but one thing I like to do is to analyze basketball games. Here are some of the things I noticed that the teams need to improve upon.

<u>San Antonio Spurs</u>
- If they want to have a chance in this series they must take better care of the ball. They did a piss poor job of it in the first three quarters committing 13
turnovers(they average 14 per game) however they did significantly better in the 4th only giving up two.
- Bruce Bown is the ONLY player that can guard Rip Hamilton coming off of the screens. I have no idea why in the world Gregg Popovich put Brent Barry on Rip Hamilton when Bowen came out of the game because of fouls - Brent is the last person I would put on him.
- I am probably going to get slammed for this but I do not think the Spurs did a good enough job getting Tim Duncan the ball. Yes, I do know he had 24 points however those were the quietest 24 points I had ever seen. Most of his points were off of offensive rebounds(he had 6) or dump offs. Very rarely did you see the Spurs isolate him in the post and let the big man go to work. Granted Manu and Parker we on fire last night and were tearing the Pistons apart with penetration however rest assured that the Pistons WILL adjust and that is when the Spurs will have to feet TD the ball more. They did a good job in the 4th to close out the game by getting TD the ball but they will need to do it for all four quarters.
- Chauncey Billups is the only true PG last night that Detroit has and when he is out of the game - they are in trouble, offensively that is. If I am the San Antonio Spurs anytime Billups goes out of the game, I am going to guard their backup PG all 94 feet of the basketball court. Tony Parker and Manu ate Lindsey Hunter and Carlos Arroyo's lunch last night and caused them to make some pretty stupid mistakes.
- I think San Antonio needs to make one critical defensive adjustment. When Prince is out of the game and Detroit goes small with Hunter, Billups, and Hamilton I think the Spurs need to put Manu on the ball and Parker on Hunter. This might come across as odd however I think Manu can force Billups to get out of his comfort zone some and give him a different look.

<u>Detroit Pistons</u>
- If Detroit wants to win one game this series they have to do one thing: They must STOP middle penetration. I cannot begin to count the times last night that I saw Manu or Parker beat their man to the middle, hunt the paint, then either finish it or kick it out for an easy look. This is the most fundamental element of team defense at any level. You want to force your opponent to go baseline and into the help. When people drive middle ? bad things happen ? especially when you have two talented drivers in Manu and Parker.
- I don?t remember which announcer it was but one of the analysts said that Larry Brown told his team to play Manu and Parker as drivers and not as shooters. Brown was dead on before last night and anyone who didn?t believe him got a huge wakeup call last night. If I am Larry Brown I would much rather settle for those two taking a jump-shot with a hand in their face rather than driving to the rim and creating. It really is simple basketball.
- The other main problem the Pistons had was getting some front court presence down low. They did not get the ball into the post enough last night and the final score is a reflection of that. Billups/Hamilton took 37 shots to Prince/Wallace/Wallace?s 33. Unacceptable. Another thing, Rasheed Wallace played 33 minutes and took only 6 shots. They had so much success early in the game feeding him the basketball down low. Then they went away from him and the team suffered. Feed Rasheed the ball.
- Tim Duncan will get his points and when he gets them the Pistons are still fine. They are screwed when Tim gets his points and Manu and Parker both go off. When Rasheed Wallce is in the game there is no need to double Tim in the post. Rasheed proved he is more than capable of guarding Tim one-on-one when Tim has his back to the basket. Most of Duncan?s points were ?dirty? points and not when he was simply posting up Rasheed. With that said, Rasheed HAS to stay out of foul trouble. Ben Wallace is a three time defensive player of the year however he is not the best matchup on Tim. Rasheed is and when he is out of the game because of fouls the Pistons suffer on both ends of the court.
- Chauncey Billups ? Yes he does shoot over 40% from the three point line in the playoffs however I do not like his pull up jump-shot in transition that is a three pointer- it?s a waste of a shot. I think he can be a lot more dangerous going to the rim and creating or pulling up and taking the midrange 12-15 footer. He needs to make the defense work in transition and you know it pleases the Spurs when he pulls up for the three rather than going to the rim.
- One of the most versatile players in all of basketball who is match up hell for just about everyone is Tayshaun Prince. Prince is a 6-9 small forward. Detroit has a huge offensive advantage anytime he is in the game. He can shoot over any guard SA throws at him and go by just about anyone with his length and stride. When he has the ball, he can get a high quality shot anytime he wants. He needs to be more aggressive when he has the ball and look to score since nobody on SA can stop him
- Detroit had a lot of success in running Rip off baseline staggard screens in Game 1. Where they didn?t have too much success was when Bowen was guarding him and they tried to run him off single screens. The single screens work against everyone except Bowen. They need to find more opportunities and draw up more sets and run Rip off two or three screens in order to get him some high percentage shots.

 

Nice breakdown weirdo.

Usually after a team loses they are the ones who need to make the adjustments. I also enjoy basketball chess, and Larry Brown is one of the best of breaking down a game. Here's what the Pistons learned from game one.

1. Tayshaun Prince can get to the basket anytime he wants against Ginobili. Chauncey Billups can get to the basket anytime he wants against Parker. However, these two need to look to pass in Game 2 instead of shoot first, to get the Wallaces more involved.

2. The Pistons need to get Rasheed Wallace going early to keep him intense and interested in the game. He had a nice rhythm in the 1st quarter, but when Rip Hamilton got jump shot happy, Sheed disappeared on offense and defense.

3. Rip Hamilton cannot guard Ginobili, especially down the stretch of the game.

4. The Pistons MUST stop dribble penetration and keep their discipline defensively. They need to keep their defensive line in place and not scatter after a shot goes up.

5. The Pistons need to balance their shots better with their frontline players getting more shot attempts.

6. Rip Hamilton only got to the line 1 time last night. He is deadly when he can get to the line 6+ times, so he needs to be more aggressive taking the ball to the rim.

7. Where was the bench? McDyess 1-8, Hunter 1-5, Arroyo 1-3, and a combined 2 assists and 4 turnovers. That's not going to get it done for Detroit in the Finals.

8. The Pistons might want to consider double teaming Duncan on rebounds in Game 2. Him and Nazr had 10 offensive rebounds in the game. 10 extra looks at the basket in a defensive series is a major edge for the Spurs. It also negated the early turnovers Detroit forced.