San Antonio vs New Orleans - Western Conference SemiFinals

[jay_jay54]

tp to Who,for digging out this thread to post on...picking are getting kind of slim,lol...yes it has been an entertaining first half.The Spurs are looking good so far.

[jay_jay54]

Best first half ive seen the Spurs play in this series.

[Who]

Best first half ive seen the Spurs play in this series.

Definitely. Tony Parker has been fantastic and Tim Duncan has had a great first half. Duncan has 15, 7 and 2 blocks on 7-9 shooting. Great passing out of the post too, great screens for the guards. Excellent performance from Timmy D.

[wdleehi]

Best first half ive seen the Spurs play in this series.

Definitely. Tony Parker has been fantastic and Tim Duncan has had a great first half. Duncan has 15, 7 and 2 blocks on 7-9 shooting. Great passing out of the post too, great screens for the guards. Excellent performance from Timmy D.

I think Duncan is over the illness he had.

[jay_jay54]

lol,i was just going to post the same idea

[BASSTHUMPER]

weak call on tyson...he is needed in this game

[BigAlTheFuture]

The Spurs look good so far. I think this is also going to be evened up at 2-2.

[Who]

weak call on tyson...he is needed in this game

They've struggled to get stops this series when Chandler goes out. That hurts. The Hornets need to catch fire from three, only way they get back in this and the Spurs are defending their shooters brilliantly.

[jay_jay54]

I think Eva Longoria(Parker's wife)slipped something in CP3's food,while he was eating at there place last night...possibly something to slow him down tonight,hmmm (just kidding)

[jay_jay54]

they look like the old Spurs tonight,the team that won a championship last season.

[Broadmoor74]

I'm officially worried about this son of a gun.  Bees have to start using picks/screens or something to get Peja involved.  BScott is going to earn his money now.  Hawnitz are really being exposed at the backup center position.  Ely is playing like a child and Armstrong simply will get into foul trouble in a New York minute.  I don't understand why Byron has Birdman sitting in street clothes.  He's certainly not the end all be all, but he's a big energetic body.

[Who]

I'm officially worried about this son of a gun.  Bees have to start using picks/screens or something to get Peja involved.  BScott is going to earn his money now.

Bruce Bowen is a terrible matchup for Peja. He can defend Peja exactly the way Rick Fox used to.

I like the idea of running some screen and rolls between Paul and Peja to create some space for Stojakovic to exploit. That could work well.

Hawnitz are really being exposed at the backup center position.  Ely is playing like a child and Armstrong simply will get into foul trouble in a New York minute.  I don't understand why Byron has Birdman sitting in street clothes.  He's certainly not the end all be all, but he's a big energetic body.

Yeah I thought the lack of a quality backup big man would really hurt New Orleans in the playoffs. Chandler has to stay out of foul trouble for the Hornets to win. A backup big has to be their first priority this summer when acquiring new talent.

[Who]

Throughout most of the season, particularly the first 50-60 games I thought the Hornets lack of ball movement and over-reliance on Chris Paul's playmaking would kill their chances of contending for a title.

Over the past few months and playoff series the Hornets ball movement has come on leaps and bounds. The continued growth of Peja's importance in the team and the bench becoming a quality group (Pargo's further emergence, Wright's development, acquisition of Bonzi) were the instigators for the change. Suddenly I was unsure of my previous assertations that New Orleans couldn't win a title, they had cured my biggest complaint.

But all that ball movement and shared playmaking has disappeared and it's not altogether about New Orleans. You have to hand San Antonio the credit because they've stopped that ball movement. Bowen has taken Peja out, Duncan has stopped Chandler, Udoka has stopped Bonzi, Pargo hasn't been a factor, they've defended the three point line very well. They've stopped the Hornets. Very impressive.

Hornets probably need a full season of ball movement to figure out how to keep Peja and a few others involved against this type of pressure.

A year too soon but they're very close to being a championship caliber outfit. Maybe they can surprise me twice and make the adjustments required now but I'm not wild about those odds.

[Broadmoor74]

Yeah I thought the lack of a quality backup big man would really hurt New Orleans in the playoffs. Chandler has to stay out of foul trouble for the Hornets to win. A backup big has to be their first priority this summer when acquiring new talent.

Chandler has gone from almost 2 blocks per game last year to just over 1/game this year because he can't be as aggressive as he would like to be.  As a Hawnitz fan, I still think New Orleans is going to win this series, but we're still about a year away from being who we need to be.

[jay_jay54]

SA played a good first qtr,but D.West's 14 1st qtr.pts. kept the Hornets close...its a  good first half so far.