Gregg Popovich NBA San Antonio Spurs Blob by Wes Kosel

Written by Coach Peterman

I have coached at the NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NAIA (USAO), and JUCO Levels (Blinn College and Carl Albert State College) as well as high school. I just felt that fellow coaches especially young coaches need to constantly work on their “game”. Just like the basketball players that we coach. We as coaches need to improve ourselves. That is my story and why I do this blog.

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Baseline Out of Bounds | Basketball Coaching | Basketball Plays

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November 1, 2013

Gregg Popovich San Antonio Spurs Blob to win the 1999 Western Conference Finals

Here is the SLOB used by the Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs to win the game against the Portland Trailblazers in Game 2 of the 1999 Western Conference Finals.

Memorial Day, May 31st, 1999. It was game 2 of the Western Conference Finals in San Antonio for the Spurs vs. Trailblazers. The Spurs were down by 2 points with 12 seconds left in the 4th quarter. The Spurs have the ball at midcourt. Keep in mind that there is plenty of time left on the clock for the Spurs to run a play to get a shot, and they only need 2 points to tie the game. Sean Elliott takes an incredibly difficult yet spectacular shot to win the game by just barely dodging the sideline. It took a tremendous amount of courage to shoot that shot with that much time left on the clock and a defender in his face (Robinson’s man helped over), but Elliott drained the shot without thinking twice. Elliott went 6/7 from 3 that night. The Spurs went on to beat the Trailblazers 4 games to 0, and then beat the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals. The play became known as Sean Elliott’s Memorial Day Miracle, and is a top highlight in his career.

Here is the breakdown of the play: In this sideline out-of-bounds play, the Spurs start in a line formation along the baseline. Steve Kerr runs his man to the other side of the floor. Kerr’s defender plays the screen over the top, so Tim Duncan steps up toward the middle of the lane to screen. Since Kerr is a threat to shoot the shot, the defense must pay attention to the backside movement. At the same time, David Robinson steps over to screen for Sean Elliott. Elliott makes a strong cut to the corner, receives the pass from Mario Elie, and tip-toeing the sideline pulls up for the 3. Elie makes a great pass, as Elliott’s defender actually makes a good play to get over the screen. Elie’s pass leads Elliott to the baseline, and barely gaining his balance before the shot he pulls up for the game winner.