http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95648
I have never played a series like this one
By Manu
These three days off before game 7 are really good for us. For New Orleans it could also be important for David West to get better but has nothing to do with us. The important thing is having time to rest.
When you reach a 7th game on a playoff series there are not many things to say about the teams. It means we are both equally matched. It has been a tremendous series very tough mentally. Of course this parity within the teams could not be seen on any single game. Many have asked me why and the truth is… I have no idea! I have never played a series like this one. The closest thing would be 2005 NBA finals against Detroit. But this local team’s tendency to always win only lasted until game 4, then everything got closer.
Against Phoenix, in some moments, we or them would have a 15 point advantage but on a good streak. Then there was a reaction and the other team would get closer. Here there’s no such thing. The team that takes a 15 point advantage wins the game. Game is over. It’s a mystery, but if I have to think of a reason I have to believe it’s something mental. Home crowds make its team confident and the visitor’s spirit gets broken. Nevertheless, we are a team with a lot of experience and it shouldn’t be affecting us. Also, although we are living a playoff atmosphere and everything is more passionate, it still is “NBA enthusiasm”. People shout and chant “Defense, Defense!” and nothing more. There is no extra pressure like hooligans that throw stones, bottles or nothing that could intimidate you. That’s why, it’s weird. Since I came to the NBA, I had to win important games on the road in the playoffs with the exemption of the 2004 loss to the Lakers.
This is the third time I am going to play a game seven. In the previous ones, we won against Detroit in 2005 and we lost to Dallas in 2006. Both were played here. It is the first time I am going to play a game 7 on the road.
Now if we want to win this thing, we will have to play for 48 minutes and not 36 as we have the three previous games in New Orleans. Those lapses we’ve had on the third quarter cannot be repeated. We can’t even have the luxury of relaxing for an instant. Because on the three previous games that we lost there we were up by halftime and then they would just run us over.
They play at a very high level and it is very difficult to stop them. They are defending very hard and have a very balanced attack, especially with Chris Paul and West. But when one of them lowers his guard, the other one stepped up or Mo Peterson or Peja Stojakovic.
Our strategy is always the same and that is to play interior. First option is to feed the ball to Tim Duncan. The problem is that they do a very quick double on him and when Tim passes the ball the guys that are left open; we haven’t been able to knock it down. More so, Tim wasn’t alright in the first two games we played there. Those first two games he played sick, on the temperature and his numbers were not good.
The last thing I have to say has to do with game six. I want to clarify, especially, because I find a lack of respect certain things that have been said about Robert Horry about the play he clashed with David West. Yesterday I saw the play again and it was a blind screen like any other. It was pitiful that it was compared with a situation with Steve Nash last year. That was a hard foul sure, but it didn’t hurt Nash. It was a difference maker because both Amare Stoudamire and Boris Diaw got in the court and were suspended, but Nash kept on playing and didn’t change the series. Horry is not a player with bad intentions.