THE SPURS BLUEPRINT

San Antonio swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference finals.  Gregg Popovich’s team will have nine days off before they play the winner of the Pacers-Heat series.

Tony Parker was amazing last night.   The Spurs point guard scored 37 points on 15-21 shooting from the field and dished out six assists.  ”He was outstanding the whole series, and he controlled the series with his penetration,” Lionell Hollins said of Parker. “He made shots, made plays. One game he has 18 assists, today he has 37 points. He was huge. But their team played well. You’ve got to give them credit.”

But what really caught my eye was the last play of the game.  The Spurs brought the ball up under ten seconds and Manu Ginobili threw the ball ahead to a wide open Kawhi Leonard.  Instead of laying the ball up Leonard dribbled the clock out.

The Spurs play together.  They don’t care who gets the credit.  And they are well coached.  Popovich holds guys accountable.  You have to defend, share the ball and play hard.  You have to know your role and stick to the game plan.

The Spurs are 12-2 in the playoffs including six in a row;  their only two losses have come to the Golden State Warriors.

“We’re not a one-on-one team, we do it as a group,” Popovich said after the game.

What impressed me through the playoffs is the last man on the Spurs bench, Patty Mills.  The guy doens’t sniff the court but he’s the most energetic guy on the Spurs bench.   His contribution has not gone unnoticed by the people who matter.  Last night during the game,  Jeff Van Gundy, an analyst for ESPN, was full of praise for Mills during the broadcast of the Spurs’ victory, noting the Australian’s support for teammates on the floor, whether it was waving towels, high fives or patting them on the back.

“You know what I love? Patty Mills,” Van Gundy said. ”I’m telling you, if I ever coach again, this is the type of guy you need to keep the energy up through a long NBA season.”

Energy guys not only on the court but on the bench is what helps the Spurs win too.

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

NBA ACTION

Quotes from last night’s participants.

Grizzlies-Thunder

“We just stayed after it like we’ve done all year-long. It’s not always pretty. Tonight wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty for us because we got the win.” -Lionel Hollins

“We got a long way to go, and we got to keep battling.” -Lionel Hollins

“It’s frustrating, but we can’t hang our heads. We have to keep playing and keep improving. We just have to learn from it. We have to embrace the tough times and get better from it. I believe in my teammates.” -Kevin Durant

Pacers-Knicks

“That’s how we play Pacers basketball,” George said. “We just locked in, and it was just helping one another on the defensive end.”

“They outrebounded us, they won the hustle today, the little things.” -Carmelo Anthony

“We didn’t change much in terms of our physicality. I just thought we were a little bit more precise defensively in terms of our communication and we shored some things up. We didn’t allow them to get some of the things they got in the second game in New York.” -David West

“Our guys usually do what you emphasize. We don’t want to do it at the expense of giving up things up at the rim. But we were able to guard the paint and the 3-point line, and that’s the goal.” -Frank Vogel

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore@Yahoo.com

NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE!

Please keep in mind in no way am I questioning anyone’s strategy or philosophy on the following study. There are way better coaches than me out there who do what they feel is best for their team. This is just a research study to see what coaches prefer to do in this late game situation.

Last night in the NBA during the Memphis Grizzlies win over the San Antonio Spurs in overtime, the Grizzlies were in a Foul or Defend twice!

In regulation Memphis was heading back on defense and the Spurs Tony Parker rushed the ball up the court and got off a three-point attempt from the left-wing (27 feet away)…nothing but net at the buzzer.

“That was an incredible shot by Tony to give us a chance to stay in the game and get five more minutes to figure it out,” Spurs forward Tim Duncan said.

Parker on his shot: “Pop told me to push it and if nobody came to help then to take it.”

“I had told them when Tony Parker hit the 3, I said, `You have two ways to go. You can hold your head and feel sorry for yourself, or you can suck it up and go back and win the game again.’ We got down, we fought back, and we did win the game. It was a good test of our mental toughness and our togetherness because we did stick together.” -Grizzlies head coach Lionel Hollins

In overtime, the Spurs took the ball out on the left sidelines with 3.2 remaining in the game. Manu Ginobili caught a pass and threw up a shot from the left side…no good.

The Grizzlies gave up a three in regulation but still elected to defend in OT.

This was the second meeting of the year for both clubs and the second time the game has gone to OT.

There were three other Foul or Defend situations last night around the country.

In high school basketball there were two.

Mt. Clemens decided to rely on their defense against New Haven and what do you know? New Haven banged a three to force overtime.

At Olivet, the Eagles were up three and decided to defend against Pennfield and got the stop.

And in college basketball last night, the University of Dallas played defense against Colorado College and came up with the stop. Dallas assistant coach Matt Grahn told me, “We haven’t practiced fouling.”

If you happen to see or are involved in any Foul or Defend situations, please let us know. Up three, on defense and :07 or less remaining in the game.

Numbers:

268 total “Foul Or Defend” situations

Teams that have fouled have won 27 of the 28 games.

240 times a team has defended and 46 have given up a three-point shot. (19% success rate)

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

Twitter: @CoachFinamore

AROUND THE PERIMETER

Stephanie Bickel of the Kansan Daily with her take on up-coming basketball season at the University of Kansas. I’m still left empty every April through October. I’ve rooted for the Jayhawk football team every Saturday and noted volleyball scores in the Kansan. And “Monday Night Football” is always good. But any University of Kansas student, especially the new freshman walking around campus, should know that there is no place like Allen Fieldhouse. Believe it or not, there are actually students that have never attended a game at the Fieldhouse.

Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal on Dana Davis, VP of the Memphis Grizzlies – he was found dead.

CBS News on Bill Walton and his new book deal. I hope he goes into detail about UCLA and his time with the Portland Trailblazers. I mean really take us in the huddle!

Wall Street Journal via the A.P. on a couple of Hofstra Men’s basketball players who have been suspended. Taran Buie and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, who both sat out last season as transfers, have been suspended by Hofstra head basketball coach Mo Cassara for violating team rules.

From the Wire Reports – Akron has suspended a player (their 6th man from last season) for the entire season.

Sports Illustrated.com on Pat Summitt and her retirement.  Pat Summitt said in an affidavit that she initially felt she was being forced to step down as the Lady Vols’ basketball coach by Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart, who later told Summitt that she had misinterpreted his comments.

DIRK

Early this morning while listening to sports talk radio the host mentioned that Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick ‘Flipper’ Carlisle recently said that his player, Dirk Nowitzki is a Top 10 player in NBA history.

Not believing Flipper made this comment, I checked Google to find his quote, and sure enough, it was said.

Look, Dirk is good, but not top 10 of all-time good. Plus I know Flipper is building up his guy but top 10 of all-time?

Here’s Flipper’s comments via ESPN Dallas.com by Tim MacMahon.

“In my opinion, he’s a top 10 player in NBA history because of the uniqueness of his game and how he’s carried this franchise on his back for over a decade,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told “ESPN First Take” on Monday. “He’s just right. He’s leading the team. His shot-making is great. He’s passing the ball great. He’s one of the guys that’s directing traffic for us defensively.”

In the past I wasn’t a Nowitzki fan (neither was Charles Barkley), but as of late, I have come around and have taken an interest in the 7-foot jump shooter.

Matter of fact, I really enjoy watching him play. But top ten of all-time, I don’t think so.

I stayed up pretty late Monday night to watch the Memphis Grizzlies and OKC Thunder 3-overtime game. The Thunder won 133-123. Memphis blew an 18 point second quarter lead but it was the 1-2 punch of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook that got the job done.  Westbrook scored 40 points and Durant had 35. Durant also added 13 rebounds. Zach Randolph added 34 points for the Grizzlies including 16-17 from the free throw line. The series is now tied at 2 while they make the trip to OKC.

The Thunder had a chance to use the @CoachLok strategy not once, but twice. Both times, with OKC on defense and just a few seconds to play, Scott Brooks, Thunder head coach elected to defend and paid for it dearly. On Twitter, Ray Lokar often tweets about fouling when up 3 and less than 5 seconds. Lokar has the evidence to back his argument.  I am on the fence about this strategy, but have to admit I am leaning towards fouling next season. By the way, if you are on Twitter, it might be a good idea to follow Lokar.

Michael Conley made a three point shot to send the game into overtime and Greivis Vasquez also made a three point shot in the first overtime to send the game into double overtime.

But when it was all said and done, OKC won the game. What are your thoughts as a coach when put in this situation? Do you defend or foul?

Just wondering department; How does Westbrook (who happens be a great player) in 51 minutes shoot the ball 33 times while Durant, in 57 minutes of tick attempts 20 field goals? Most impressive thing about Durant was in the 3rd overtime he scored 6 points. What was so impressive about that? He had fresh legs on his jump shot while other players looked tired.

hoops135@hotmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: @CoachFinamore