The New Orleans Hornets won their first two games of the series against the Spurs by double digit margins. The Spurs returned the favor in the next two games. For Game 3 of the series, Greg Popovich changed his strategy to beat the Hornets.
For Games 3 and 4 Popovich decided to take defensive ace, Bruce Bowen, off of Chris Paul. Chris Paul was dominate in Games 1 and 2. For most of the first two games of the series, the Spurs tried to double Chris Paul and trap him. Paul was unfazed by these attempts and continued to split double teams and find open teammates.
Greg Popovich admitted that regardless of what the Spurs threw at the young Hornets point guard, Paul would probably be able to beat it. So the genius of Greg Popovich decided to switch tactics. Bowen was assigned to guarding Peja Stojakovic, frustrating the 3-point specialist into horrible shooting nights in Game 3 (2-7) and Game 4 (3-9).
The San Antonio big men stopped rotating out to help cover Paul. The extra defensive attention stopped the Hornets big men from making an impact in Game 4. The emphasis switched from stopping Chris Paul to stopping his teammates.
Chris Paul's assist numbers have dropped significantly in Games 3 and 4. Paul has only assisted on 14 score in those 2 games compared to 25 for Games 1 and 2. His teammates have not have the clean looks that they had in the beginning of the series.
Paul was able to score very easily against the Spurs last night. He shot 62.5% from the floor on route to 23 points. However, the rest of his team only made 34.8% of their shots.
Paul is a true point guard and while he is an effective scorer, it is not his first instinct. To win this series, the other Hornet players will have to get free from the pesky Spurs defenders and make their shots. Otherwise, the Spurs will still be contending for their 5th title in 10 years.
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