After last night’s emotional recap, I thought I’d share a few more analytical thoughts about the exciting game:
–I liked Graydon Gordian’s analysis over at 48MoH regarding the poor execution in the last two minutes of the game from the two best executing teams in the league. Tas and Melas over at The Basketball Jones rightly point out that both teams choked in the last two minutes, as the Spurs let the Celtics take the 9-point lead (after being tied) before the Celtics tried to give it all back. Exciting game, but probably not the indicative of how each team normally plays.
–I always love John Hollinger’s analysis for ESPN. Just read his stuff and become smarter. I agree that a finals between these two teams would be fantastic. The story lines and the match-ups are there. Duncan vs. Shaq for best big man of the generation; Duncan vs. Garnett for all-time PF supremacy; respective offense vs. respective defense; Pop vs. Doc; Ginobili/Parker vs. Pierce/Ray Allen; Rondo’s continued excellence. Plus, I think these two teams match up stylistically to produce exciting, quality basketball and close games.
–People seem to be confused about the last play the Spurs ran. Watch the highlights from Manu’s game winner in Denver a few weeks ago, and then watch the highlights from last night. It seems pretty clear to me that they were running similar action here. Manu comes up the court then curls around and Duncan makes a pass over the top to him. Clearly Duncan wouldn’t look off a wide open Ginobili 5 feet in front of him unless they had something else cooked up. Boston defended it well; hats off to them.
–Rondo is a pretty good player, no? His assist total is a little inflated from Ray Allen’s huge night, but still mightily impressive. Watching the game, he never really seems like a threat offensively, until you realize he’s orchestrating everything. Defensively, though, is where he is a real menace. He’s credited with 6 steals, but it sure felt like a lot more. And he got most of them on Ginobili and Parker, two players who don’t often get their pockets picked.
–The Celtics shot 61%…and still almost lost the game. Ray Allen misses just one of those shots, and the game might have gone a different way. As Doc said, it’s a testament to how good we are that they shot so well and we were still in the game.
–Despite his prolific 4th quarter, I’m a little worried about Ginobili. He seems a half-step slower the last few weeks, and he’s settling for 3-pointers rather than driving the lane. He just looks tired. What’s most disconcerting, though, is that the “Manu Magic” seems to have disappeared, and he often disappears for stretches of games. I say this, and he almost single-handedly brings us back in the 4th quarter last night. Still, something to keep an eye on.
–I like the Doc-Pop coaching match-up and the back and forth. Bonner has a big first half, so Boston goes super small to more or less eliminate him from the game, as he can’t guard Daniels or Pierce (who were essentially playing the 4). Going small is something the Spurs can do effectively, but losing Bonner did hurt. (Yes, an opposing coach adjusted against Bonner!) In the 4th, the Spurs finally change their D against Allen, switching on the screens so that a big ends up on him (but he is effectively denied the ball). Both coaches are also great at drawing up plays out of time outs, and both coaches have the complete respect of their teams.
It was a tough loss, but a good one. I think there’s a lot that we can take away from that game and use moving forward. Unlike the New York game.
Up next: at Indiana, home against Minnesota, then at Minnesota. I expect a 3-game winning streak.
