some serious thoughts..

[HarlemHeat37]

this isn't a panic thread..I find it funny that so many people here are panicking and making outrageous statements like "fire Popovich"..ridiculous..clearly the fact that we were so successful without 2 of our 3 best players shows that Pop can eventually adjust..I'll give Pop a pass tonight on his terrible coaching, because he's still trying to get the rotation down..

there are obviously serious chemistry issues that will eventually be resolved, especially defensively..but once the chemistry returns, I think there is still a serious problem, which is our offensive system..

the problem is that there are too many isolation plays in our offense IMO..we have Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, with offensive role players like Hill and Mason..with shooters like Bonner, Finley and Bowen..yes, we're missing another inside piece, but that shouldn't be a reason for struggling offensively..

our offense looks great when we are mixing in screens and cuts, with penetrating and dishing..our offense starts looking bad when we start having isolation plays every time, whether it's Duncan, Parker or Ginobili, or even Mason and Hill at times..it doesn't matter..all 3 of our stars are great at moving without the ball, so this needs to be a focus on offense..the big 3 isn't alone this year..we have 4th and 5th options that need to be involved, since they are streaky players..this needs to be a focus..

when the time comes to isolate, I don't mind it all, but only if it's aggressive..not too much over dribbling and running too much time off the shot clock..nothing leading to a contested jumper..that's when our offense gets too predictable and looks horrible..

I understand it if we're exploiting a mismatch, but we didn't have that tonight, yet we continued doing it..Parker and Ginobili couldn't shake off their guys when Stuckey and Afflalo were on the court, yet we continued to run isolation plays that resulted in nothing most of the time..

[xtremesteven33]

no reason why parker and manu should be starting at the same time.

Parker
Mason
Bowen
Duncan
Oberto

is our money lineup.

[mystargtr34]

Obviously i wasnt serious. But he was retarded tonight.

There is absolutely no reason to give George Hill 6 minutes tonight, when hes been our second best player the last 2 weeks.

Finley on Prince.

No Bowen on Rip/Prince

Benching Mason

Bonner on Sheed

Allowing Oberto and JV access into the building

[mystargtr34]

no reason why parker and manu should be starting at the same time.

Parker
Mason
Bowen
Duncan
Oberto

is our money lineup.

Exactly, Manu has to defer way too much to Duncan and Parker.

I would be inclined to start Bonner for a few more games and maximise Oberto's time on the court with Manu.

[xtremesteven33]

this ones on pop and he knows it.

when Bowens in the game he spreads the offense and doesnt care about ball touches. Hes a pest on defense and makes the right plays.

Finley needs to be a backup SF.

[xtremesteven33]

Exactly, Manu has to defer way too much to Duncan and Parker.

I would be inclined to start Bonner for a few more games and maximise Oberto's time on the court with Manu.



no friggin way should bonner ever start anymore.

Thomas should rather be starting.

[mystargtr34]

no friggin way should bonner ever start anymore.

Thomas should rather be starting.

That would be ideal but thats not an option right now. Plus hes ridiculously slow.

I think it has to be between Fab and Bonner now. And Fab is useless without Manu on the court.

[pawe]

TP and Tim always play together with Fin, Bonner and KT. TP can always dish and drive to the outside shooters, they can play 4 down and still kick out for the 3.
Second unit would be Hill, Manu, Mason, Bowen and Fabs. Yes, smallball but damn that would be nice to see. scoring and playmaking with the 3 guards, Bowen providing the D and fabs usually plays good along with manu.

[HarlemHeat37]

again, the problem here is that we don't have enough variety in our offense..

I understand going to our big 3 in isolation when we have serious mismatches or when we really need a basket, but we need to have variety..Duncan couldn't make anything on Wallace in the 2nd half, Parker and Ginobili were shut down by Afflalo and Stuckey..that's when the playbook should come in..that's when we should have screens and cuts..

defense should always come first, which is the main reason we have lost to 2 good teams in a row..we are playing poorly defensively with Parker and Manu in the lineup, mostly due to chemistry..but we also have to address the offense at some point..

[timaios]

again, the problem here is that we don't have enough variety in our offense..

I understand going to our big 3 in isolation when we have serious mismatches or when we really need a basket, but we need to have variety..Duncan couldn't make anything on Wallace in the 2nd half, Parker and Ginobili were shut down by Afflalo and Stuckey..that's when the playbook should come in..that's when we should have screens and cuts..

defense should always come first, which is the main reason we have lost to 2 good teams in a row..we are playing poorly defensively with Parker and Manu in the lineup, mostly due to chemistry..but we also have to address the offense at some point..

Maybe because Spurs were 6/24 on 3-pointers.
So the Pistons players were all in the paint.

89 pts by the Pistons is not a really bad defense...
but 77 pts for the Spurs is really bad offense !!!

[SCdac]

"Seriously"... I think the Spurs are taking (or took) too many midrange and longrange jumpshots. 24 three point attempts, is too much. It's only 4-5 above our team-average, but against this Detroit team it wasn't cutting it once they cut into our lead. Too many isolations in that game, I agree... Only one of our bigs and/or forwards got to the free throw line tonight (Duncan). Another athletic big in the paint would definitely add another dimension to this team. While Oberto is not that, he should be getting consistent minutes, along with starts he's getting. He averaged nearly 2 offensive rebounds a game last season, and has great hands (lead the team with 60.8 FG% last season). If we're not going to be dunking the ball, at least have Oberto roaming around the basket. Matt Bonner is a great hustle player, and I don't mind the Spurs giving him a chance (or even "showcasing" the red rocket as much as possible), but he's not a bruiser out there, and isn't an x-factor IMO. He has a role on this Spurs team, but it shouldn't be a starting role, or 20-25 mpg kind of role... now that Ginobili and Parker are back, there has to be more penetration. and if not from them, then from the guards that kept us afloat. George Hill was a pleasant suprise because he took it to the rim against anybody, and got to the FT line a few times in his best games (10 fta's in UTA, 8 in DEN), got himself easy buckets. Mason, I can understand why he took (and made) so many three's while Manu/Parker were out, but now that it's a full roster, we really need to see his skills at working-off-the-dribble and creating, and driving to the basket. A stacked backcourt will only be so good if we're living outside of the paint... I'm optimistic though. I can see the Spurs being more aggressive in the upcoming weeks, especially as Parker and Ginobili get in better shape, and rotations settle a bit.

[HarlemHeat37]

the defense was terrible..when you can't defend the pick and roll or pick and pop in any way, when the other team gets EASY transition points virtually every play for a long stretch, that's the defense's problem..

there's no excuse for that defense in the 2nd half..we also got lucky in the 1st half, since we gave them a number of wide open mid-range J's where somebody rotated late or didn't show on the pick and roll..

Parker was clearly having trouble with Afflalo, he couldn't do anything against him..Ginobili was just struggling in general, especially vs. Detroit's backup backcourt, who made him take contested shots every time down the floor..

[T Park]

I think everyone was bad tonight.

From Duncan to Pop.



The only one who really really busted their ass was bonner and kudos to him on the 9 rebounds.

[SenorSpur]

The perimeter defensive pressure applied by the Pistons exposed a very serious offensive flaw that has existed for some time now - the Spurs are reduced to a "perimeter-oriented" team when Duncan leaves the game. Normally, this isn't an issue when the 3-ball is falling. It became painfully obvious today because the team shot so poorly from behind the arc.

The fact remains that the Spurs do not have another post presence on the roster or even one player who can go down low occasionally and score a basket. Since basketball is a game played from the inside out, this presents an interesting problem. One that has been lurking in the background and could haunt this team throughout the season and into the playoffs.

[galvatron3000]

The perimeter defensive pressure applied by the Pistons exposed a very serious offensive flaw that has existed for some time now - the Spurs are reduced to a "perimeter-oriented" team when Duncan leaves the game. Normally, this isn't an issue when the 3-ball is falling. It became painfully obvious today because the team shot so poorly from behind the arc.

The fact remains that the Spurs do not have another post presence on the roster or even one player who can go down low occasionally and score a basket. Since basketball is a game played from the inside out, this presents an interesting problem. One that has been lurking in the background for some time now.

hmmmm, interesting I am wondering what the Spurs plan to do about this because again this will be exposed in the playoffs against good teams and coaching

[angelbelow]

its going to take time to adjust and everyone should understand that. more talent doesnt always mean more wins, pop will figure it all out soon.