Spurs Vs Nets Game 5

[mavsfanforever]

Spurs in 2nd overtime 95-92.

[Mandyahl]

spurs 87-80

[MavKikiNYC]

Spurs 95-80

[Mandyahl]

wow, the nets have brought out the throwback jerseys...interesting...

[MavKikiNYC]

I hate Joe Crawford.

[Mandyahl]

19-18 spurs at the end of the first
kidd was on fire at the beginning but cooled down towards the end of the quarter
all of these games have been amazingly close, especially when compared to those in the spurs/mavs series

[MavKikiNYC]

Spurs making a little space for themselves. Ginobili showed out on that dunk.

[cookies_n_mavs]

Hmm...look who's officiating.

[Mandyahl]

little speedy is playing well for the spurs

[cookies_n_mavs]

This thread is looking kind of funny, box-wise..

[Mandyahl]

yeah, it is for me too

[MavKikiNYC]

T-Dunc back to 8.

[Mandyahl]

42-34 spurs at the half

[Just211]

you know IMO one the main reason this Finals is boring is the shitty comentators. the bald dude is alright, but Walton sucks mule dick

[mavsfanforever]

This game sucks but I want it to be close in the final five minutes.

[cookies_n_mavs]

Speedy's doing a good job this game...Wonder if they'll bring in Kerr if things get tight?

[Mandyahl]

This game sucks but I want it to be close in the final five minutes.

I agree completely. If it's close and exciting in the last five minutes, that almost makes up for the overall shodiness of the rest of the game.
In other news, what is wrong with the layout on this page?

[Mandyahl]

the nets are feeling the effects of joey crawford...

[Fidel]

/rant on/ What a bullshit call on Jefferson.
Wow and another nice bullshit call on Martin.

And the ABC crew sucks.
Yeah easy call on Jefferson there, sure. Nice flop job by Rose but anyways...

And did Duncan really get called for a foul there?
It´s two minutes to play in the 3rd.
Isn´t that a bit early for a foul call on the great Timmy?? /rant off/

[cookies_n_mavs]

And did Duncan really get called for a foul there?
It´s two minutes to play in the 3rd.
Isn´t that a bit early for a foul call on the great Timmy??

I was just thinking the same thing.

[Fidel]

Originally posted by: cookies_n_mavs

I was just thinking the same thing.

Yeah he might actually get called for another one [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img].
Wonder if he can deal with that. Must be pretty hard to adjust for the poor guy.

[Mandyahl]

66-57 spurs at the end of the third...kidd's 3-pointer there was WAAAAY off

[MavKikiNYC]

KERR!

[Mandyahl]

i don't get why kerr doesn't play at the end of EVERY game...it seems like he never misses!

[Fidel]

Yeah it´s over. Boring.

[Mandyahl]

yeah, that game wasn't even close, so there was very little of interest.

[MavKikiNYC]

(4:31) [NJN 76-78] Jefferson Driving Layup: Made (17 PTS) Assist: Kidd (6 AST)
(
(3:40) [SAN 79-76] Duncan Free Throw 1 of 2 (28 PTS)
(3:40) [SAN 80-76] Duncan Free Throw 2 of 2 (29 PTS)
(3:21) [NJN] Martin Turnover: Lost Ball (6 TO) Steal: Kerr (1 ST)
(3:02) [SAN 83-76] Kerr Jump Shot: Made (3 PTS) Assist: Duncan (4 AST)

(2:47) [NJN] Martin Turnover: Bad Pass (7 TO) Steal: Ginobili (2 ST)
(2:42) [SAN 85-76] Ginobili Driving Layup: Made (10 PTS)
(2:04) [SAN] Parker Driving Layup: Missed Block: Williams (1 BLK)
(2:03) [NJN] Martin Rebound (Off:1 Def:8)
(2:00) [NJN] Martin Turnover: Bad Pass (8 TO) Steal: Robinson (2 ST)

(1:41) [SAN 87-78] Kerr Jump Shot: Made (5 PTS)


Uhm......from a 2-point game with 4.5 minutes left, the Spurs closed them out with plenty of great plays--steal by Kerr, 3-pointer by Kerr, steal and layup by Manu, steal by Robinson, and jumper by Kerr.

Y'all are a tough crowd.

Another great stretch by Kerr.

[Mandyahl]

we are a tough crowd.
but i cannot say enough about kerr. wow what a performance. i just don't get why he doesn't play a little more.

[mavs_girl1987]

i think Steve kerr brings luck to every team he's playing with!
in only a few min he shoots some really essential shots[img]i/expressions/devil.gif[/img]

[Fidel]

Uhm......from a 2-point game with 4.5 minutes left, the Spurs closed them out with plenty of great plays--steal by Kerr, 3-pointer by Kerr, steal and layup by Manu, steal by Robinson, and jumper by Kerr.

No it wasn´t the Spurs who closed it out with great plays, it was the Nets who threw it away with stupid turnovers. That´s a big difference and it´s been that way in allmost all the games. Rather than one team stepping up and putting the other away with great play it´s been all about who stunk it up more. Most games have been really bad and both teams will easily break the record for fewest points scored in a six game finals series (if it´s over after game 6).

[one long blue sock]

Yeah this is a wierd series atleast 5 people are having an off game.

[superheadcat]

it wasn´t the Spurs who closed it out with great plays, it was the Nets who threw it away with stupid turnovers. That´s a big difference and it´s been that way in allmost all the games. Rather than one team stepping up and putting the other away with great play it´s been all about who stunk it up more.

i missed last nite's game, but from the last 3 games i watched, i totally agree.

an example of "good defense" would be kings' defense (when against dallas, not when against utah). thoughout this spur-nets series, it is hard to believe such defense would be remotely close to what nba wants to promote. they are worse than what mavs did as desperate measures when facing elimination and dirk is down.

players should take pride in playing good defense and staying agressive, but i have problems tolerating players whose only skill is beating people up, and when called for fouls whining "officials don't let us play!"

[OutletPass]

NBA is fundamentally flawed
BY MICHAEL HUNT
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - (KRT) - Although it would be tempting to blame all societal ills on the advent of highlight-reel sports replays, the cable-TV titans can't be held responsible for why Johnny can't shoot anymore.

Although it's true that dunks and alley-oops sell and that impressionable youngsters are more inclined to lower the driveway backboard to emulate Shaq and Kobe than practicing their jump shot, at some point parental control has to enter the picture.

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be dunkers. And while you're at it, get one of those channel-blockers so their vulnerable eyes won't be corrupted by the fundamentals travesty that these NBA Finals have more than occasionally been.

Did you catch those vintage uniforms worn by the New Jersey Nets on Friday night in Game 4? Throwback jerseys for a throw-up series.

"It's like Pat Riley is coaching both teams," comedian Chris Rock so rightly told the network unfortunate enough to have acquired the rights to this thing.

Mostly, the Finals have become an indictment of how far overall skills have eroded. Refining an ideal technique for the jump shot is tedious. More than that, it's work. Why engage in the mundane when the contract-paying public and advertisers celebrate the spectacular? It's little wonder, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich is convinced, that Europeans are assuming a more prominent role in what was once the all-American game.

"In many ways it reflects a lack of skill on the part of players these days," Popovich said. "Fundamentally they can run and jump and be athletic, but skills are wanting. I think it's the reason you see so many foreign players in the game now.

"I think so many of them come over with more of those kind of skills than a lot of American kids, and it's shown to you in the draft when you see how many guys are drafted. They are not drafted because they are amazing rebounders or super defenders. It's for their skills."

Thank goodness, then, for an old-schooler like Steve Kerr. Nearing 38 years of age and in his 15th NBA season, the league's all-time leader in three-point shooting accuracy came off the bench late in the game to do what others could not. A three-pointer here, a jumper there and a critical strip that led to a New Jersey turnover preserved a 93-83 San Antonio victory and a 3-2 series lead that will eventually give the Spurs their second championship since 1999.

In all of the playoffs this season, the little-used Kerr has scored 20 points. The fact that 17 have come in the fourth quarter is a comforting notion for those who still value clutch application of fundamentals.

Look, we should all be thankful that the Los Angeles Lakers aren't here and at least the series is somewhat competitive for the first time in at least six years. But there is also a reason that ratings are down almost 40 percent since last year, when the Lakers took out the Nets in an utterly predictable sweep.

Mostly, the Spurs have shown the Nets a zone this series. Remember the fear that legal zones would only encourage NBA shooters to shoot it down? The Nets, who shot all of 35 percent Friday night, certainly haven't done it with the Jason Kidd-reliant scheme that passes for the bulk of their offense.

"We had a little celebration on the bench when we got to 90 points," said the Spurs' Malik Rose, who helped with 14 of his own. "That's like 120 in this series."

Truer words have yet to be spoken.

[superheadcat]

Mostly, the Finals have become an indictment of how far overall skills have eroded.

true. now a player does not need to have good overall skills to survive, or even dominate nba, as long as they are big, fat, mean and not hesitant pushing others around and beating others up.

i suggest some rule change from the league as the first step to change that.

[Mandyahl]

"We had a little celebration on the bench when we got to 90 points," said the Spurs' Malik Rose, who helped with 14 of his own. "That's like 120 in this series."

Ugh.

[MavKikiNYC]

Mostly, the Finals have become an indictment of how far overall skills have eroded. Refining an ideal technique for the jump shot is tedious. More than that, it's work. Why engage in the mundane when the contract-paying public and advertisers celebrate the spectacular? It's little wonder, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich is convinced, that Europeans are assuming a more prominent role in what was once the all-American game.

"In many ways it reflects a lack of skill on the part of players these days," Popovich said. "Fundamentally they can run and jump and be athletic, but skills are wanting. I think it's the reason you see so many foreign players in the game now.

"I think so many of them come over with more of those kind of skills than a lot of American kids, and it's shown to you in the draft when you see how many guys are drafted. They are not drafted because they are amazing rebounders or super defenders. It's for their skills."

Not sure, but it sounds like this journalist is distorting some of Popovich's quotes to reflect his own distaste for the way this championship series is being decided.

1) Is Tim Duncan skilled or not? He is, of course. He is also regarded as one of the most fundamentally sound players in the game today. But the reality is that fundamentally sound defense, of the variety played by Martin, Mutombo and Williams can make it difficult for him. Duncan is being forced to show his skill level under a high level of pressure, and he's acquitting himself nicely. Duncan, by the way, is playing some pretty awesome skills AND athleticism as a shot blocker, rebounder and defender. Popovich appears to've been referring to shooting skills, but I don't think he would contend that shot blocking, rebounding and defending don't require a highly developed level of skill as well.

2) And does Jason Kidd's passing ability require skill or not? Of course it does. In fact, a lot of Kidd's passes remind me more of Magic Johnson than anything else, and a few of them are as hot as anything Magic ever ricocheted off a hardwood. This isn't skill? Was it skill or athleticism when John Stockton was doing it? Sorry, but this writer is defining 'skill' very particularly to support the point he wants to make which only reflects his own tastes.

Finally,

More than that, it's (developing an outside shot) work. Why engage in the mundane when the contract-paying public and advertisers celebrate the spectacular?

Wait a second. This is just contradictory. Playing good defense requires a helluva lotta work--developing technique, footwork, timing, learning opponents' tendencies, and learning to apply these skills while being at a defender's disadvantage. It also requires a willingness to perform a less 'glorious' function. Sad fact is that players who play fundamentally sound defense don't put butts in seats the same way a fundamentally flawed, me-first glory-hogging dunker/gunner like a Vince Carter will. Vince's skills may make people ooh and ahh, but Bruce Bowen is going to get fitted for a championship ring.

The point the writer is trying to make seems to be in part that the game has been corrupted by players always trying to make spectacular plays at the expense of fundamentals. But playing good defense, as has been done in this series, is NOT emphasizing flash over fundamentals; in fact, it's precisely the opposite. This hasn't been a series of brutal, thuggish, defensive play. It's been a matter of extremely skilled individuals on both sides playing extremely well together DEFENSIVELY to make things difficult for both sides. The writer doesn't come out and say it directly, but I get the feeling that he actually would've wanted to see a few more open 3s and even a few more high-flying slams. Too bad. Defensive-skilled players, and HIGHLY-skilled at that, have prevented that type of play.

[Mandyahl]

some of what you are saying is true, kiki. but the truth of the matter is, some of the players on both teams can't shoot, even when wide open. take Richard Jefferson...the kid can dunk, but he isn't that good of a shooter. I think that's all the guy is saying, right or wrong.

[superheadcat]

Not sure, but it sounds like this journalist is distorting some of Popovich's quotes to reflect his own distaste for the way this championship series is being decided.

u might be carefully here, everyone is expressing his/her opinions only, just like u did with the long post. it may be as easy to say u r "distorting some of" the facts "to reflect [ur] own [taste] for the way this championship series is being decided" as for u to say about this journalist.