Tim Duncan Leads the Spurs Past the Hornets

A grueling seven game series between the New Orleans Hornets and the San Antonio Spurs wrapped up last Monday evening with a Spurs 91-82 win on the Hornets home floor. To me, the deciding factor of each game came down to how well the Hornets controlled ten time NBA All-Star, Tim Duncan.

Right from the start of game one, it was obvious that Hornets coach Byron Scott decided they were going to force the Spurs peripheral players to beat them. Every time Duncan caught the ball in the low post, he saw two Hornets defenders in his face. The Hornets wanted the Spurs to rely on Tony Parker's penetration into the paint and Manu Ginobili’s ability to knock down stand-still jumpers, rather than Duncan hitting turnaround jumpers. Not allowing the Spurs to get into any type of offensive flow was the goal. With some of the other Spurs players, such as Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley and Brent Barry, now past their prime, the Hornets wanted to force these guys to have to make shots for them to win.

In the three Spurs losses, they were really dominated by the Hornets in the paint. Duncan’s impact in the game was limited and the Hornets were able to come away with a victory.

Game # 1
Rebound Differential -8
Paint Points Differential -11
Duncan's Points 5

Game # 2
Rebound Differential -1
Paint Points Differential +15
Duncan's Points 18

Game # 5
Rebound Differential -9
Paint Points Differential -4
Duncan's Points 10

In the four San Antonio wins, Tim Duncan and the Spurs were able to really control the painted area. In the Spurs four wins, they held the Hornets to an average of 15.8 free throw attempts, compared to an average of 24 free throw attempts in games the Hornets won.

Game # 3
Rebound Differential +2
Paint Points Differential +16
Duncan's Points 16

Game # 4
Rebound Differential +9
Paint Points Differential +7
Duncan's Points 2

Game # 6
Rebound Differential +5
Paint Points Differential +2
Duncan's Points 20

Game # 7
Rebound Differential +9
Paint Points Differential -16
Duncan's Points 16

With Duncan double-teamed every time he touched the ball in the low post, the ability of the Spurs perimeter shooting became the true test in this series. He was forced to quickly pass out of the post and then his teammates would swing the ball to an open shooter on the perimeter. Therefore, the shooting ability of the Spurs from the perimeter became the key.

In the four games where the Spurs shot below 43% from the field, they went 1-3. Shooting above 43% meant the Spurs went undefeated. From the three point line, a similar trend occurred. In the four games the Spurs shot below 40% from the three point line, they went 1-3.

However, when the Spurs perimeter shooting was effective, the Hornets’ strategy was unsuccessful.

Game # 1
Spurs Lose, 82-101
SA FG%: 40.8%
SA 3PT%: 38.7%

Game #2
Spurs Lose, 84-102
SA FG%: 42.5%
SA 3PT%: 29.6%

Game #3
Spurs Win, 110-99
SA FG%: 48.2%
SA 3PT%: 44.0%

Game #4
Spurs Win, 100-80
SA FG%: 51.3%
SA 3PT%: 30.8%

Game #5
Spurs Lose, 79-101
SA FG%: 37.7%
SA 3PT%: 39.1%

Game #6
Spurs Win, 99-80
SA FG%: 49.4%
SA 3PT%: 52.4%

Game #7
Spurs Win, 91-82
SA FG%: 39.5%
SA 3PT%: 42.9%

Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich, was effective in moving Duncan around and using him in different ways after the first two games - both Hornets wins. Placing Duncan at the free throw line, rather than in the low post, gave the Spurs a different look. Using Duncan in handoff-and-roll situations with Tony Parker also worked well for the Spurs.

For the Hornets, they had a terrific season, but in the end, they were beaten by the more talented, deeper team. The Hornets strategy was to dare the other Spurs outside of Duncan to beat them and four times they did just that.