Why Pop ?

[kace]

Why do you have to always give up so soon ?

we were down by 13 at the end of the third. We had two players doing well, our two best players Tim and Tony.

why keep tim on the bench to start the fourth ? the 4 fouls ? come on, let's try to win this game.
what about tony ? who give a fuck of his usual rest at the beginning of the fourth. he had played only 30 minutes, he's only 26. i guess he can play the whole 4th.

Let's play them. we make a 5-8 points run and it's a game again.

why does Pop always do that ? any idea.

[HarlemHeat37]

he's making a statement, and I agree with him..he's sending a message to our starters that their performance today was unacceptable..

[xtremesteven33]

because its not a playoff game.

[Duncan2177]

Why do you have to always give up so soon ?

we were down by 13 at the end of the third. We had two players doing well, our two best players Tim and Tony.

why keep tim on the bench to start the fourth ? the 4 fouls ? come on, let's try to win this game.
what about tony ? who give a fuck of his usual rest at the beginning of the fourth. he had played only 30 minutes, he's only 26. i guess he can play the whole 4th.

Let's play them. we make a 5-8 points run and it's a game again.

why does Pop always do that ? any idea.

Because he is a kiss ass.

[kace]

because its not a playoff game.

i was expecting this answer. but i don't see what it means. why not trying to make a last push ? the game wasn't over and why would we be the only team in the league to give up so soon.

we need every win in the closed west and i don't think it's a good habit to give up games like this. we need to learn to make a come back, it could be useful come PO time.

[HarlemHeat37]

we weren't going to win this game after that horrible 3rd quarter..they had all the momentum, we beat ourselves..the only criticism of Pop is that he didn't play Bowen in the 3rd..

there's absolutely no point of playing our guys in the 4th when it was clear we were done going into the 4th..there's no point of "fighting"..it's an injury risk, and it's a waste of energy..I'd much rather have Pop send a message and have our big 3 sitting on the bench embarrassed for their effort today..

[word]

Because of the long road trip. No sense burning a lot of energy on this one.

[xtremesteven33]

i was expecting this answer. but i don't see what it means. why not trying to make a last push ? the game wasn't over and why would we be the only team in the league to give up so soon.

we need every win in the closed west and i don't think it's a good habit to give up games like this. we need to learn to make a come back, it could be useful come PO time.


Pop knows his team. No use burning out your big 3 for a VERY low chance at winning the game. Spurs today were bad at both ends of the court.

[J Mack]

All i can say is DAMN! All the missed jump shots and no driving to the basket is a pain to watch ! except for Tony Parker.

[kace]

we weren't going to win this game after that horrible 3rd quarter..they had all the momentum, we beat ourselves..the only criticism of Pop is that he didn't play Bowen in the 3rd..

there's absolutely no point of playing our guys in the 4th when it was clear we were done going into the 4th..there's no point of "fighting"..it's an injury risk, and it's a waste of energy..I'd much rather have Pop send a message and have our big 3 sitting on the bench embarrassed for their effort today..

what message to our big three ? tim and tony played well, they were the only ones with maybe bruce. you bench your best players to send them a message ?

the only one of the big three on the court was manu who had an horrible game tonight.

Once again, WHICH MESSAGE ?

If we can't ever win a game down by 13 at the end of the fourth, we're not so good. we could make this. Let's try the 4 first minutes of the quarter with all your best players and bench them if you're still too far. but not down 13 with 12 minutes to play.

[Brazil]

Message to the big 3 ??? come on they are no kids anymore, what kind of message pop could possibly send to Tim fucking Duncan?

[slayermin]

because its not a playoff game.

He does it in the playoffs too. Game four against Seattle in '05 comes to mind.

[Duncan2177]

we weren't going to win this game after that horrible 3rd quarter..they had all the momentum, we beat ourselves..the only criticism of Pop is that he didn't play Bowen in the 3rd..

there's absolutely no point of playing our guys in the 4th when it was clear we were done going into the 4th..there's no point of "fighting"..it's an injury risk, and it's a waste of energy..I'd much rather have Pop send a message and have our big 3 sitting on the bench embarrassed for their effort today..

Thats no excuse these guys are getting paid millions of dollars to play a game this is what they get paid to do not to sit on the bench the whole 4th quarter because there loosing, And the spurs could of come back Pop is just to damn nice. Pathetic

[South Side Spurs Fan]

I got the impression Pop was happy to have this Loss, for the purpose of lighting a fire under his team's defensive performance in the future. I base this on one thing in particular.

Bowen played most of the first half, then in the second he hardly played. I thought he did a good job on Bryant, and I was encouraged by the change. But with Bowen's contribution in the first, I thought the Spurs would play him in the second as well. They didn't and I'm left wondering whether Pop was just trying to see what the D would look like with him vs. without him. We battled hard in the first, not so hard in the second. The message is now there for all to see. Maybe this will serve notice to the guards who are not playing D as hard as they should be.

Either way I hope Bowen gets his role back on this team, if not now then after the All star break.

And where in the hell is Ian!!!!!???? Damn we could use some help inside....

[1Parker1]

The Spurs weren't winning this one with the starters. Pop decided to give some under-utilized bench players a chance to see if they could make something happen and bring the lead down to single digits. Playing Ginobili, Duncan, Parker more wasn't going to miraculously get them back in the game with the way they were playing.

[HarlemHeat37]

I really don't see why people are mad..we clearly didn't have a chance to win after the 3rd..what difference were our big 3 going to make? they were all playing horribly, and it was their own fault..all 3 of them were just jacking up stupid shots that they didn't have to..were they really going to lead us to a victory on the road, down double-digits, against a better team with all the momentum?..

I'd rather he bench players and light a fire..we need to play better D, way too many missed rotations today..they clearly won't learn otherwise, as we've seen already..Pop needs to step up too, particularly with his rotations..we need Bowen badly..

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Why do you have to always give up so soon ?

we were down by 13 at the end of the third. We had two players doing well, our two best players Tim and Tony.

why keep tim on the bench to start the fourth ? the 4 fouls ? come on, let's try to win this game.
what about tony ? who give a fuck of his usual rest at the beginning of the fourth. he had played only 30 minutes, he's only 26. i guess he can play the whole 4th.

Let's play them. we make a 5-8 points run and it's a game again.

why does Pop always do that ? any idea.


Because the 5% chance they can lead a comeback is outweighed by the 100% chance your best players are less tired after the game and will be better in a more important game.

[timvp]

Eh, it was over. Shooters weren't hitting, Duncan not outplaying Bynum, Ginobili not doing much, Parker decent but not too efficient and the bigs offering little help. You run TP and Duncan out there, best case scenario is Spurs keep it close before they tire out and Kobe comes in to win the game. Then next game the Spurs are even more tired.

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.

[ducks]

spurs lost when tp drove mason missed the three and then tp drove and passed to booner and booner did not shot and got the 24 second shot ran out to start the third quarter
spurs never recovered

[kace]

The Spurs weren't winning this one with the starters. Pop decided to give some under-utilized bench players a chance to see if they could make something happen and bring the lead down to single digits. Playing Ginobili, Duncan, Parker more wasn't going to miraculously get them back in the game with the way they were playing.


I really don't see why people are mad..we clearly didn't have a chance to win after the 3rd..what difference were our big 3 going to make? they were all playing horribly, and it was their own fault..all 3 of them were just jacking up stupid shots that they didn't have to..were they really going to lead us to a victory on the road, down double-digits, against a better team with all the momentum?..

I'd rather he bench players and light a fire..we need to play better D, way too many missed rotations today..they clearly won't learn otherwise, as we've seen already..Pop needs to step up too, particularly with his rotations..we need Bowen badly..


did we see the same game ?

Tim and Tony were playing well. Nothing amazing but quite decent, scoring 19 and 15 at 50 %, with 8 rbds for tim and 6 ass for tony. and they were still benched.

Manu was playing like shit and he was on the court.

what kind of message or logic is this ?

[exstatic]

Eh, it was over. Shooters weren't hitting, Duncan not outplaying Bynum, Ginobili not doing much, Parker decent but not too efficient and the bigs offering little help. You run TP and Duncan out there, best case scenario is Spurs keep it close before they tire out and Kobe comes in to win the game. Then next game the Spurs are even more tired.

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.

+1 What kind of miracle are you looking for from the Big Three, who pretty much laid a stinking pile on the court when they were in there? They're the ones that dug that huge hole in the first place.

[exstatic]

Manu was playing like shit and he was on the court.

what kind of message or logic is this ?

You broke it, you bought it? Manu stunk, and should have been left out with the scrubs.

[kace]

Eh, it was over. Shooters weren't hitting, Duncan not outplaying Bynum, Ginobili not doing much, Parker decent but not too efficient and the bigs offering little help. You run TP and Duncan out there, best case scenario is Spurs keep it close before they tire out and Kobe comes in to win the game. Then next game the Spurs are even more tired.

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.

are you saing it's impossible to win a game down by 13 at the end of the third ?
because i saw a lot of teams make a come back against us after having been down by more points.

we could have won it. maybe 10 % of chances, maybe less, but a 13 points deficit with 12 minutes to play is nothing in the NBA.

[Duncan2177]

did we see the same game ?

Tim and Tony were playing well. Nothing amazing but quite decent, scoring 19 and 15 at 50 %, with 8 rbds for tim and 6 ass for tony. and they were still benched.

Manu was playing like shit and he was on the court.

what kind of message or logic is this ?

Exactly dude

[timvp]

are you saing it's impossible to win a game down by 13 at the end of the third ?
because i saw a lot of teams make a come back against us after having been down by more points.

we could have won it. maybe 10 % of chances, maybe less, but a 13 points deficit with 12 minutes to play is nothing in the NBA.It's not impossible but I'd say this game Pop could have coached all out and the Lakers still win 98% of the time. That 2% isn't worth the wearing down the key players ... especially when there are a load of tough upcoming games.

[exstatic]

are you saing it's impossible to win a game down by 13 at the end of the third ?
because i saw a lot of teams make a come back against us after having been down by more points.

we could have won it. maybe 10 % of chances, maybe less, but a 13 points deficit with 12 minutes to play is nothing in the NBA.

You have 4 games in 7 days, 3 of them on the road, all against quality WC competition. I'd say since the team was LA, it was more like 5%, and you don't burn up your team for a 5% chance to win one game out of 82. You risk dropping Tuesday's game because of tired legs from a Sunday game. you have to know when to cut your losses, and move on.

Pop burnt up Manu last year in the regular season, and I think he's learned from that.

[kace]

It's not impossible but I'd say this game Pop could have coached all out and the Lakers still win 98% of the time. That 2% isn't worth the wearing down the key players ... especially when there are a load of tough upcoming games.

come on. you know the spurs and Pop surely better than I. Pop does this thing almost every time. not only against LA.

i'm not bashing Pop, i really like him as a coach but i always hated this aspect of his coaching.

You can't say we gave up because we were playing worse than our opponent: every time you're down by 10+ points, i guess it's because the opponent plays better than you, is this a good reason to give up ?

and what about the lack of experience of coming back in a game ? don't you think it would be a good idea to see if the team, and especially the new guys, have the nuts to make a come back ? won't this experience be lacking come PO time ?

[SequSpur]

Eh, it was over. Shooters weren't hitting, Duncan not outplaying Bynum, Ginobili not doing much, Parker decent but not too efficient and the bigs offering little help. You run TP and Duncan out there, best case scenario is Spurs keep it close before they tire out and Kobe comes in to win the game. Then next game the Spurs are even more tired.

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.

oh, i thought ginobili was capable of winning the game in the last 3 minutes?

[South Side Spurs Fan]

It's not impossible but I'd say this game Pop could have coached all out and the Lakers still win 98% of the time. That 2% isn't worth the wearing down the key players ... especially when there are a load of tough upcoming games.

Yeah, that sounds logical...except it's total BS. How in the hell are you going to, having played the first two-three minutes into the 3rd, put your odds of winning at 2%? That is straight BS. You can't know that, nor can Pop.

And weren't you the one who was mocking other posters for saying that shooters who were shooting poor shots needed to stop shooting, because there was no way they could know they wouldn't start hitting shots? You said they culdn't kow that during the flow of the game.

Sounds like you're doing the same thing here by implying that we couldn't come back (98% says we lose) so we stop competing.

And you didn't even touch on Bowen not playing in the second which I thought gave some really critical insight into Pop's strategy.

[timvp]

Yeah, that sounds logical...except it's total BS. How in the hell are you going to, having played the first two-three minutes into the 3rd, put your odds of winning at 2%? That is straight BS. You can't know that, nor can Pop.Reading comprehension fail.

[South Side Spurs Fan]

It's not impossible but I'd say this game Pop could have coached all out and the Lakers still win 98% of the time.

[timvp]

I need to re-read the thread to see where my reading comprehension came up short.True.

[SequSpur]

timvp, whottt, solid d......

where was Ginobili? i got a kick how everytime ginobili had the ball, the lakers would just stand there on his left side.... it was worse than superman's kryptonite...

ginobili has nothing..

[Brazil]

I know the reasons but what costs to Pop to play his best line-up the first 4 min in the 4th to see what happen ?

[slayermin]

I was disappointed Pop didn't just leave TD and TP in there, even with foul trouble. You basically concede the game if you don't. But winning this game would have taken a small miracle. Pop made the right decision. You need to keep the long term goal in mind.

[timvp]

come on. you know the spurs and Pop surely better than I. Pop does this thing almost every time. not only against LA.

i'm not bashing Pop, i really like him as a coach but i always hated this aspect of his coaching.

You can't say we gave up because we were playing worse than our opponent: every time you're down by 10+ points, i guess it's because the opponent plays better than you, is this a good reason to give up ?

and what about the lack of experience of coming back in a game ? don't you think it would be a good idea to see if the team, and especially the new guys, have the nuts to make a come back ? won't this experience be lacking come PO time ?I've disagreed with Pop giving up too soon in the past but I agreed with it this time. What did the Spurs have going in their favor? Only Parker was having a halfway decent game. With everyone else struggling, the Lakers playing well, Kobe waiting in the wings to ice the game ... it would have taken a Herculean effort.

This time it was better to concede and live to fight another day.

[South Side Spurs Fan]

True.

I understand what your saying (tough schedule ahead, conserve our guys rather than wearing them out early inside a long road trip, etc.), I am not speaking to that.

I am speaking to your putting percentages on our chance at success. I think it's BS. You just called out posters on that and now I think your conveniently side stepping the whole thing.

[South Side Spurs Fan]

... it would have taken a Herculean effort.

This time it was better to concede and live to fight another day.

It would have taken some defense, which we have not been playing for a while now. If we are within 10 and start to play D, we can win, I'm not going to concede that Kobe is going to come back and win anything. But evidently you think so..

[Tully365]

If T-Mac can score 13 points in 35 seconds against the Spurs, then the Spurs can certainly make up a similar deficit in one and three-quarter quarters. No NBA game is over early in the third quarter.

[alchemist]

I was disappointed Pop didn't just leave TD and TP in there, even with foul trouble. You basically concede the game if you don't. But winning this game would have taken a small miracle. Pop made the right decision. You need to keep the long term goal in mind.
I don't think he made the right decision, I think he should've started Timmy & Tony in the 4th, if by the 7:00 minute mark the game isn't close then you clear the bench.

But whatever, he made his choice and we all have to live with it onto the next game.

[kace]

I've disagreed with Pop giving up too soon in the past but I agreed with it this time. What did the Spurs have going in their favor? Only Parker was having a halfway decent game. With everyone else struggling, the Lakers playing well, Kobe waiting in the wings to ice the game ... it would have taken a Herculean effort.

This time it was better to concede and live to fight another day.

what about the experience of coming back in a game ? don't you think it could help to try it sometimes, especially for the new guys (mason, bonner....) ?

you take the shot a little sooner in the clock, you try some gamble (interception, full court pressure....). all these things need to be learned as a team in a real game. anyway, i don't think the spurs do that, even in PO, so ......

[exstatic]

I understand what your saying (tough schedule ahead, conserve our guys rather than wearing them out early inside a long road trip, etc.), I am not speaking to that.

I am speaking to your putting percentages on our chance at success. I think it's BS. You just called out posters on that and now I think your conveniently side stepping the whole thing.

? timvp didn't start the "percentages" thing. He simply disagreed that it was a 10% chance late in the third as was stated by another poster, and took a WAG at 2%. I thought 5% myself. It's still a REAL THIN fucking percentage that being down by 13 with 2-3 minutes left in the third, Kobe rested on the bench, and your starters sucking that you might win this game.

[ClingingMars]

Eh, it was over. Shooters weren't hitting, Duncan not outplaying Bynum, Ginobili not doing much, Parker decent but not too efficient and the bigs offering little help. You run TP and Duncan out there, best case scenario is Spurs keep it close before they tire out and Kobe comes in to win the game. Then next game the Spurs are even more tired.

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.

+1

after the timeout it was over. Pop made a wise decision, it's why he's still one of the best coaches in the league. It's still January. :lobt2:

[South Side Spurs Fan]

? timvp didn't start the "percentages" thing. He simply disagreed that it was a 10% chance late in the third as was stated by another poster, and took a WAG at 2%. I thought 5% myself. It's still a REAL THIN fucking percentage that being down by 13 with 2-3 minutes left in the third, Kobe rested on the bench, and your starters sucking that you might win this game.

It's real thin WITHOUT DEFENSE, I guess Pop figures he can get better results with a loss than a win here. Which I actually stated on page 1 of this board.

But think about it: a few minutes into the third, we are barely down by double digits and you say we have a 2% chance to beat the Lakers? That logic sucks, any way you look at it. Especially when you blasted someone else for saying essentially the same thing previously...

[exstatic]

If you understand and watch Spurs basketball, you know that Pop wants strength in there at the beginnings of odd quarters and the ends of even quarters. The Spurs big guns just left the game too far out of reach when it came time for their regular rest. Pop plays the subs from late first to early second and late third to early fourth. I agree with timvp that if you leave the big guys out there, they could claw back to within maybe 7-8 points...then Kobe comes off the bench and obliterates us, because they didn't get their 10 minute blow between quarters.

[exstatic]

It's real thin WITHOUT DEFENSE, I guess Pop figures he can get better results with a loss than a win here. Which I actually stated on page 1 of this board.

But think about it: a few minutes into the third, we are barely down by double digits and you say we have a 2% chance to beat the Lakers? That logic sucks, any way you look at it. Especially when you blasted someone else for saying essentially the same thing previously...

It wasn't a few minutes into the third, it was a few minutes LEFT in the third. That's when Tim and Tony go for their rest period. That's when the game got out of hand.

[South Side Spurs Fan]

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.

[kace]

If you understand and watch Spurs basketball, you know that Pop wants strength in there at the beginnings of odd quarters and the ends of even quarters. The Spurs big guns just left the game too far out of reach when it came time for their regular rest. Pop plays the subs from late first to early second and late third to early fourth. I agree with timvp that if you leave the big guys out there, they could claw back to within maybe 7-8 points...then Kobe comes off the bench and obliterates us, because they didn't get their 10 minute blow between quarters.

well, if all the substitutions and the benching times are already planned and unchangeable for every game, i guess you or i could be the spurs coach too.

[timvp]

But think about it: a few minutes into the third, we are barely down by double digits and you say we have a 2% chance to beat the Lakers? That logic sucks, any way you look at it. Especially when you blasted someone else for saying essentially the same thing previously...


Yeah, that sounds logical...except it's total BS. How in the hell are you going to, having played the first two-three minutes into the 3rd, put your odds of winning at 2%? That is straight BS. You can't know that, nor can Pop.

Again, reinstall your reading comprehension. I never said the Spurs had a 2% chance of winning at the beginning of the third quarter. I brought out the 2% when the conversation was regarding the Spurs' chances of winning going into the fourth.

Read.

[timvp]

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.


Obviously I didn't mean literally if I later said the Spurs had a 2% shot of winning the game going into the fourth. The beginning of the third is when the Spurs lost the game. They needed to hold the fort to keep it close going into the fourth.

When they lose ground in the beginning of the third to put themselves in a hole, that's what ended the game. Pop would have probably put TD and TP back in if the Spurs could have made any type of push at the beginning of the fourth but that simply wasn't going to happen. When no one is playing above average offense and the defense isn't good, the hope is lost.

2% was probably being generous at that point.

[South Side Spurs Fan]

You may have meant that, but you never said that.

I am curious as to your take on Pop's use of Bowen, if you still care to share?

[South Side Spurs Fan]

Obviously I didn't mean literally if I later said the Spurs had a 2% shot of winning the game going into the fourth. The beginning of the third is when the Spurs lost the game. They needed to hold the fort to keep it close going into the fourth.

When they lose ground in the beginning of the third to put themselves in a hole, that's what ended the game. Pop would have probably put TD and TP back in if the Spurs could have made any type of push at the beginning of the fourth but that simply wasn't going to happen. When no one is playing above average offense and the defense isn't good, the hope is lost.

2% was probably being generous at that point.

Much better, I agree now.

[timvp]

I am curious as to your take on Pop's use of Bowen, if you still care to share?I'm always on board for as much Bowen as possible. Especially against Kobe.

Finley is having a pretty good season but I hope Bowen is starting come the playoffs. Pop has hinted that Bowen will see more minutes as the season progresses but we'll see. The bad news is that Pop could very well opt to find minutes for Bowen at RMJ's expense rather than Finley's expense :td

[South Side Spurs Fan]

I'm always on board for as much Bowen as possible. Especially against Kobe.

Finley is having a pretty good season but I hope Bowen is starting come the playoffs. Pop has hinted that Bowen will see more minutes as the season progresses but we'll see. The bad news is that Pop could very well opt to find minutes for Bowen at RMJ's expense rather than Finley's expense :td

Well, the world knows I am a big Mason supporter, but he's not really putting up great numbers lately. I actually think he could benefit from the same thing Finley got over Manu: the start. Start Mason, Ginobili off the bench. I think Mason could use a shot of confidence right now. But hell, by that logic, maybe Manu could use the start more.

One thing is for shure, bring back Bowen asap. Let everyone else's minutes get adjusted accordingly.

But did you think that Bowen's lack of PT in the second half was the Spurs undoing? And if so, any clue as to Pop's logic on the move?

[Fabbs]

Statement?

"I'm still your bitty, Phil".

[timvp]

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.


"In the second half, we spotted them two quick 3s with bad rotations and never caught up after that. The game was over at that point."

:smokin

[South Side Spurs Fan]

:smokin

Good call, Timvp.:elephant

I'd like to repeat this question, if you have any clues:
Did you think that Bowen's lack of PT in the second half was the Spurs undoing? And if so, any clue as to Pop's logic on the move?

[timvp]

But did you think that Bowen's lack of PT in the second half was the Spurs undoing?Tough to say. Kobe didn't really kill the Spurs in the third, it was more just horrible rotations. That said, Bowen knows how to rotate and those situations could have been avoided.


And if so, any clue as to Pop's logic on the move?Pop's logic is that the Spurs needed offense. This season, if the Spurs aren't scoring well, Pop's first move is to take Bowen off the court. I'm sure it was part of Pop's plan to play Bowen in the third but after the team scored two points in the first four minutes of the quarter, I'm guessing that changed and Pop stuck with a more offensive oriented lineup.


I hope that Pop eventually regains his trust in Bowen even when the offense appears to be in trouble. Instead of trying to teach defense to an offensive unit, I'd much rather Pop try to get a defensive unit to score enough.

[South Side Spurs Fan]

Tough to say. Kobe didn't really kill the Spurs in the third, it was more just horrible rotations. That said, Bowen knows how to rotate and those situations could have been avoided.

Pop's logic is that the Spurs needed offense. This season, if the Spurs aren't scoring well, Pop's first move is to take Bowen off the court. I'm sure it was part of Pop's plan to play Bowen in the third but after the team scored two points in the first four minutes of the quarter, I'm guessing that changed and Pop stuck with a more offensive oriented lineup.


I hope that Pop eventually regains his trust in Bowen even when the offense appears to be in trouble. Instead of trying to teach defense to an offensive unit, I'd much rather Pop try to get a defensive unit to score enough.

Damn good insight. Thanks for the feedback.

[Fabbs]

Originally Posted by timvp View Post

This game was over a couple minutes into the third.


Originally Posted by Pop

"In the second half, we spotted them two quick 3s with bad rotations and never caught up after that. The game was over at that point."

:smokin
Spurs are up 11 with only 8 minutes to go in the game week or so ago yet it's not over, in fact LA came back to take the lead before the Mason winner.

Lakers go ahead by 12 with 22 minutes left in todays game yet it's "over".

Yeah, that's really something to cheer about. :hat

Looking great for the playoffs. Check our nutts at the door per Poops orders.

[mrspurs]

No excuse to quit so early. Theres always a time during a game when a team figures out their not gonna win. But with a whole quarter still left? And only down by 13. Imo it wasnt Pop who said I quit. I believe it was Timmy who said, I quit. Very easy to see how frustrated Timmy was becoming during the game (not with the Lakers players), but with his teammates. And then watching the closing seconds while Fab was playing lock down defense? lol Not a good day at all...........

[slayermin]

I don't think he made the right decision, I think he should've started Timmy & Tony in the 4th, if by the 7:00 minute mark the game isn't close then you clear the bench.

But whatever, he made his choice and we all have to live with it onto the next game.

If the game was close by the 7:00 minute mark, I don't think TD or TP could sit. I haven't been keeping track but I believe Pop was using his normal substitution pattern. You let the bench guys try to keep it close or shave a few points off the lead, then you bring in TD and TP to finish the game.

The bench guys got worked so there was no reason to bring TD or TP back.

[Cane]

Pop probably didn't want his starters to have to work in overload mode which would increase the risk of injury.

Also whatever Pop was telling them during the time out and especially half time probably didn't go well with their performance.

[ElNono]

Pop wanted a reason to give them an earful and he got it. He was disgusted with the defensive breakdowns in the 3rd quarter, and if you compound that we couldn't hit a shot, he just called it quits. For guys like Ginobili, Duncan and Parker, who are ultra competitive, having to sit and watch from the bench when your team still is at striking distance hurts. A lot. I bet all 3 wanted to go out there early in the 4th and give it one more shot. But Pop knows what works with his guys. I trust he got his message across, and if a regular season game it's what it takes, so be it.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

It's going to be fun watching this team get run out of the post-season while Pop plays Finley's broken old ass 35 minutes a night, Bowen gets maybe 15-20 minutes of run, and Bonner is running around out there for 30 minutes.

What a joke...

[kace]

:smokin


Good call, Timvp.:elephant



so what ??

it was not difficult to know Pop gave it up because he thought it was over. that's for sure.

The question is why does he have to always surrender so soon ? when it's obviously not over.

it's like he said: OK, LA is better than us, we know that and tonight the best will win. no surprise here.

it's bullshit. total bullshit.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

so what ??

it was not difficult to know Pop gave it up because he thought it was over. that's for sure.

The question is why does he have to always surrender so soon ? when it's obviously not over.

it's like he said: OK, LA is better than us, we know that and tonight the best will win. no surprise here.

it's bullshit. total bullshit.

He was doing this a lot towards the end of the season last year and it was quite frustrating.

However, the team is really old. They sometimes struggles with 2 games in 4 nights, let alone back to backs. Just how it is.

[Josepatches_]

I cant understand why we can lose without playing with TD in the low post.That's the biggest error from Pop yesterday.
In the second quarter Bynum with 2 fouls and we only made JS after JS by Bonner,TP or Mason.One time even we didn't shoot in 24 seconds.We were up but the Lakers take a good lead and we didn't use TD or call a timeup when we sucked.

Maybe you don't get any call but please try it.Lakers were playing inside with Bynum and Gasol and we only use our best player out of the paint.Really great.

Agree TD would have been on the court at the beginning of the fourth.He was in the bench last minutes of the third because he has 4 fouls so he had enough rest to begin the fourth on the court.
If we are not able to fight for the win when we are down by 13 with 12 minutes to play then it's better to rest all the season and go to the draft.

And we are missing George Hill.He needs more time on the court when we play against bad teams.He was great in the beginning of the season but now he is out and we need him.
TP could rest more minutes so he will be at 100% in the playoffs when we really need him more than never because TD will be more tired than never too thanks to the big help he has in the frontcourt.
I can't understand why TP has to play completely the first and third quarter every game.He's 26 but he begin to seem out of gas last 4 games when he was shooting only 39% (23/49 FG).

[dbestpro]

Pop was really upset at half time because of the amount of time LA got to shoot the bonus. When Pop saw that the game was going to continueto be called so that no defense could be played he decided he would send a message. He has done this before, but the message he sends is not to the players. It is a message that says if we are not allowed to play defense then you can watch our scrubs. Its subtle but effective in big TV games as TV sets across the country turn to the SciFi channel of Nickelodeon.

[arodz]

You guys are going strictly by numbers. The reality is the Spurs didn't show up. PERIOD. Even Phil Jackson said he didn't give credit to his own teams defense. It was the Spurs who fell flat. 12 pt deficit, 14 pt deficit. Does it really matter?? They weren't gonna win that game. And that's what Pop was trying to say. It was his way of saying, "My Players Quit".

[TheMACHINE]

The Spurs are the 2nd best team in the West and there is NO excuse to give up that early.

[Tully365]

From the San Antonio Express-News:


What burned Ginobili was his belief the Spurs stopped competing after the Lakers built a double-digit lead early in the third quarter.

“At halftime we were six down,” Ginobili said, “and then they had a great start of the third with two threes and went up 12, and then everything was uphill. That's when they made their break.”

The Spurs have come back from larger deficits this season, and Ginobili was not happy with his team's response.

“It's going to happen,” he said. “The thing is, we can't allow ourselves to think that just because they scored two threes, just get out of the game and call it a day.”

[Capt Bringdown]

Throwing in the towel against PJ's Lakers is just standard operating procedure for Pop. I've never seen a coach so utterly intimidated and owned as Pop vs PJ.
Disgraceful.