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Be sure to check out the first nine parts if you missed them the first time around.
Boris Diaw's best playoff passes.
Tony Parker's best scoring plays vs. Dallas and Portland.
We already checked out the big Frenchman's passing skills. This time around we'll look at some of his post moves, transition skills, and just some solid, smart basketball plays.
Number Thirteen:
Here Diaw posts up Kevin Durant, and it seems like Kevin was ready for Boris to start bangin' and backing him down. Instead, the wily Boris just spins and takes two dribbles on his way to a reverse layup.
Number Twelve:
Boris Diaw is a fantastic post-player. Here he works against Dorell Wright, who just has no chance of stopping the man with as much junk in his post-game as pretty much anyone in the series. This one is fairly routine, with Boris spinning baseline before backing up Wright to the point where Diaw has a bunny and Wright can't do anything about it. I love watching Bobo go to work.
Number Eleven:
Here we see Boris keep Robin Lopez off of the glass and then sprint the floor, easily beating Lopez, and is rewarded with a beautiful pass from Manu that became an assist and an and-one as Boris finishes with Mo Williams committing a silly foul. Boris scored seven points in 50 seconds of game time during Game 2 of the semis .
Number Ten:
Here's Boris Diaw backing down Serge Ibaka before knocking down a really pretty turnaround fade-away jumper. Ibaka is so long and athletic that Boris needed most of the considerable space that he created to get the shot off.
Number Nine:
Here's Boris working in the post against Ibaka again. Bobo attacks aggressively, uses a couple of fakes, and finally finds just enough room to get a reverse layup to go. Ibaka does a good job of not going airborne on the fakes, instead relying on those long arms, but it seems like Diaw realized that and timed his shot very well.
Number Eight:
Boris is trailing this play and receives the ball from Patty Mills. Bobo doesn't stop, does a little dance, keeps Lopez guessing, and then drops a floater in from 10 feet. It was fun watching Boris vs. Lopez in the semis.
Number Seven:
Scott Brooks went with Durant at the five for a couple of stretches during Game 1 of the WCF. Here we see my man Boris Diaw go to work down low against Caron Butler. Bobo is too big, too crafty and too skilled for Butler to handle.
Number Six:
Here's Boris Diaw using his variety of moves to get a reverse layup to go out of a post possession. He takes a dribble, spins to back Rashard Lewis down, changes his mind and spins back to the baseline, improves his position, goes back-to-the-basket for a couple more dribbles, then drives under the basket and pops out on the other side for the reverse. Bravo, Bobo. Is it me or does it seem like Boris flirts with the baseline more than other players in the league? It seems like he likes to work a foot closer to it than most players who play in the post do.
Number Five:
Manu works off a high pick from Aron Baynes again, and the Argentine kicks out to Boris Diaw, who goes all Aggressive Boris on Dorell Wright. Bobo respects Wright's closeout and just drives to the hole, defender glued to him the whole time, with no intention of passing the ball. He muscles his way into the lane and gets a tricky layup to go, high off the glass.
Number Four:
Diaw is so much fun to watch when he's dialed in. Here the president immediately turns down the good look from deep and attacks Nick Collison with a sweet spin move followed by a pretty reverse between the two Thunder bigs on the floor.
Number Three:
Even when Manu was bad in Game 3 of the semis he was so bad that it presented a unique opportunity for his teammate. Here Boris sees that Manu's shot is going to miss everything, tracks it like a center fielder and then with the shot clock under a second Boris gets a layup to go from behind the backboard. The big Frenchman finished plus-22 in his 23 minutes of work during Game 3.
Number Two:
Boris has the ball in the right corner with Brandan Wright on him so he attacks. Wright forces him behind the backboard (perhaps just where Bobo wants to be) but Boris, with all of those sweet moves he has, gets the Dallas big to bite on a pump fake, not the best plan against the smart forward, and Diaw is freed to finish with a nice reverse.
Number One:
Check out this mesmerizing play that leads to a dunk for Boris Diaw. There are three passes and the slam in three seconds, which is awesome. Via J. Gomez:
The Spurs used floppy screens, designed to free up a shooter. Then as the Heat tried to prevent the open look by trapping, Green made the pass to the open man. Wade and James did the right thing by switching on the strong side but it's two against one. Diaw is so smart that he created a big passing angle by moving a couple of steps back and Tiago made the right pass.
Special Mention:
Boris scored 17 points for the Spurs in Game 4 of the first round and this was easily the most important shot of the season for him. With the game tied late our jack-of-all-trades knocked down a huge triple. He settles at the 3-point line after setting a screen for Parker and has no hesitation as he drills the shot.
Stay tuned for the next installment.