play bruce more, finley less

[itzsoweezee]

seems pretty obvious to me. why can't popovich get this through his thick fucking skull?

[itzsoweezee]

who just shut down barea? oh yeah, bruce fucking bowen.

[SpursFan0728]

Fin sucks tonight. Turning the ball over and missing open J's

[NewJerSpur]

I will say that for all of the offense Finley provided in the 1st half, he sure did make some terrible decisions on offense in the 2nd. This sure is one helluva game.

[xtremesteven33]

hell get that reality check soon. dont worry its a matter of time.

[NewJerSpur]

Bruce is one sexy mother.....

[Capt Bringdown]

Too right, I like the win, but why was Mason on the bench during 4th quarter clutch time and the first overtime?

[Spurs Brazil]

Breuce is playing great D

He was +21 tonight

[baseline bum]

Bruce led the Spurs in +/- at +21 tonight.

[NewJerSpur]

Too right, I like the win, but why was Mason on the bench during 4th quarter clutch time and the first overtime?

With the way Mason stepped up tonight and Finley began to run out of gas (evident in the decisions he made and butter-fingers he displayed in the 2nd half) that will be changing after tonight.

[bigfan]

Finley is just streaky. He can play great for weeks then, well, you know what happens. All in all, a good guy to bring off the bench at this point in his career. Bowen is Mr Defense and can shoot from the corner but otherwise provides little offense so I say we just keep Fin in and hope his touch comes back.

[cnyc3]

hire this man

[Capt Bringdown]

I don't think even a Finley fanatic would argue that Fin should have got all of those minutes in the 4th and 1st overtime exclusively.

That's what bothered me, it's the stubborness. Mason should have been part of the rotation during that period, especially when it became obvious that Fin was not getting it done.

[td4mvp21]

Bowen needs to start. Keep Bonner in the starting lineup but at least start Bowen. Bowen deserves it and he always shows his worth. He was slow at the beginning of the season but he has definitely picked it up. He played good D in the overtimes and hit the biggest shot of the night.

[hater]

Bruce is like the Joker card.

[td4mvp21]

I still have NO IDEA why Finley played as long as he did in the 4th and overtimes.

[superbigtime]

Too right, I like the win, but why was Mason on the bench during 4th quarter clutch time and the first overtime?

Thinking the same thing man. I think Pop did alright with the rotations and subs (no JV always a good thing), but he underutilized Mason in the first OT and the 4th quarter. I even think he could have used Bonner in the OTs (I never ever thought I'd be saying that). Udoka getting less than 3 minutes was predictable.

[superbigtime]

I still have NO IDEA why Finley played as long as he did in the 4th and overtimes.

I think Pop will never forget how Finley brought in the 2006 WCF's against the Mavs. And he definitely had some nice shots earlier in the game so he stuck with him. It was Manu who was killing us with bad shots and passes not Fin. Although Manu was more playmaking than Fin because of his passing ability. Whatever, in the end it worked out. But Pop surely has got to get Fin's and Mason's minutes more even. Especially if we are to expect consistency from the bench.

[superbigtime]

With the way Mason stepped up tonight and Finley began to run out of gas (evident in the decisions he made and butter-fingers he displayed in the 2nd half) that will be changing after tonight.

I think you can put some of the blame of that TO on Manu as well, becuase he was mucking with the ball all helter skelter in the paint before chucking out a bad pass to Fin. I think alot of players would've baubled that pass. Manu's play was reminiscent of the playoffs last year against NO and LA.

[NewJerSpur]

This was definitely NOT one of Manu's overall better games in terms of his decision-making with the ball, that I will agree with you on, but Fin had a few passes go out of his grasp out of bounds...at least two; one went between his legs. Yes, it was low, but his focus was not on catching the but what he was going to do after catching it....either that or he just couldn't bend all the way down to catch the ball. He also missed a wide open jumper after the foul line that should have been a layup late i the game that could have cost the team. Manu made up for his gafs with a few big baskets, but Finley was never really able to right his wrongs....maybe with the exception of some late rebounds before going out of the game. Those were Mase's minutes IMO.

[Capt Bringdown]

I agree, it was frustrating to watch Manu tonite. Very poor shot selection between the Manu and Finley. It seemed like every time we would get a stop, they would follow with a bad shot, as if they were trying to be the hero too much.

We'll need big contributions by Mason in order to win a ring. He needs to be incorporated into our attack a lot better by Pop.

Tonite seemed like a perfect opportunity to do so...it's the regular season, right?

[raspsa]

The only truth at SpursTalk: You're only as good as your last game.:lol

[superbigtime]

I agree, it was frustrating to watch Manu tonite. Very poor shot selection between the Manu and Finley. It seemed like every time we would get a stop, they would follow with a bad shot, as if they were trying to be the hero too much.

We'll need big contributions by Mason in order to win a ring. He needs to be incorporated into our attack a lot better by Pop.

Tonite seemed like a perfect opportunity to do so...it's the regular season, right?

Yeah, we know Mason is more than capable from the first 15 games of the season. If the big 3 in the starting lineup is going to be for the long-term, Pop needs to get Fin out sooner and Mason into the game. I believe Fin played the ENTIRE 1st quarter tonight. As long as JV has 0 minutes in the boxscore, that's a good start. But I hope Finley's minutes dip into low 20s while he hopefully maintains scoring in the teens. Manu, fin and Mase all took ill-advised shots, but they all made some nice shots too. We'll see how tomorrow works out against the Hawks.

[Manufan909]

With the Big 3 all starting, i dob't see why Pop doesn't play two catch and shoot guys to offset them. With the 5 that's wide open, but the 3 Bowen needs to start big time. He's the only logicial solution.

[scanry]

I would put Bruce over Finley everyday of the week. I like Finley, but he's one of those guys whose D will never improve (afterall he played for Nellie).

It's just that every player scores on him at will and Finley got torched yesterday. BTW when you have Barea guarding you, aren't you supposed to torch the guy?

[manufor3]

The only truth at SpursTalk: You're only as good as your last game.:lol

:lol

[urunobili]

Less Findog more Mason i prefer...

[MarHill]

Finley is just streaky. He can play great for weeks then, well, you know what happens. All in all, a good guy to bring off the bench at this point in his career. Bowen is Mr Defense and can shoot from the corner but otherwise provides little offense so I say we just keep Fin in and hope his touch comes back.


Thanks Bigfan!!

You said it!!! Fin is streaky and can get hot at any time and we will need that during the regular season and Bowen can still help defensively.

Plus, Pop knows Fin is a professional and as long as can still contribute....he will be on the team.

I don't see why spoiled Spurs fans don't get that!!

:bang

[silverblackfan]

I realize that Fin is a professional and have mixed feelings on him or Bruce starting. Pop has the option of Offense or Defense of the bench with these two, which is nice. That being said, all through the 4th and 1 OT I was saying, "Get Fin out and Mason in!" I realize you need to rest a few shooters for tomorrow, but this is the Mavs, damn it! Mason in the 4th instead of Fin would have sealed the deal.
Oh and I miss the days when Pop would yank Manu and chew him out when he got sloppy and pushed too much. Of course, it is still December. Great win!

[Fabbs]

I don't think even a Finley fanatic would argue that Fin should have got all of those minutes in the 4th and 1st overtime exclusively.

Oh but they would.

[SenorSpur]

Anybody notice how Mason's productivity has been affected since his move to the bench? It'll be interesting to see where Pop goes with his tinkering.

[T Park]

The only truth at SpursTalk: You're only as good as your last game.:lol

Thats the freaking epitome of QFT.

[I Love Me Some Me]

Bruce was effective last night, be he's no longer that night-in, night-out shutdown defender that he used to be.

Now, if he goes out and shuts down Joe Johnson tonight, I might change my mind a little bit.

[Fabbs]

Anybody notice how Mason's productivity has been affected since his move to the bench? It'll be interesting to see where Pop goes with his tinkering.

And Hills.:depressed

[kaji157]

No matter what Finley does on court, i will always prefer Bowen over him, because Finley makes any player look like Jordan, and Spurs game plan is to shut down the other team superstars, against finley you have another superstar on the way.

Not to say that Bruce is a much better team player and very very clutch with his 3 ball.

[ATRAIN]

I say play Mason more than both of these old asses