A Few Random Musings After a 2-1 Trip

[FromWayDowntown]

There weren't threads for me to express these thoughts, so I figured I'd just make a thread and see if it goes anywhere.

1. I thought it was interesting tonight to hear Collins relate that Pop says the Spurs haven't really been game-planning for any opponents and are worried more about what they're doing than who the opponent is. Coupled with the idea that Pop wants the Spurs to focus on their individual defense, I'm not worried as much about the actual game results for a while. Wins are great, but wins when the Spurs are just tinkering and working through issues are all the better and losses during that stretch seem a bit less worrisome.

2. John Hollinger must be on the verge of a meltdown. He's been predicting for weeks that this stretch of the Spurs' schedule would see them slide down the standings. Getting wins at Utah and Phoenix certainly wasn't at all a part of Hollinger's calculus. What looms is not easy, but other than the game at Boston, everything for the next couple of weeks seems quite winnable -- particularly for a team that seems to be building momentum.

3. Along with their stellar record and calm performances in close games -- on evidence again tonight when Parker drained the long jumper to quell the Suns' rally after Hill's steal-and-1 -- these Spurs have played really well on the road so far. They're 14-7 overall and have now won 7 of 9 since dropping the NO-ORL back-to-back. Since the injury plagued start, the Spurs are 14-5 on the road, with 3 of the 5 losses coming in NO, ORL, and LA and a 4th coming in Houston on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.

4. Bowen's response to the Hack-a-Bruce strategy was huge, obviously. But I thought the Spurs won tonight's game when they closed the first half strong while Parker sat with 3 fouls. It would have been a fairly easy time for the Spurs to let the Suns get away, but they dug in and rallied to close the gap and take a lead before Nash tied it at the buzzer. The tie wasn't ideal, but it was far better than being down 6 or so at the half, which they were in danger of doing. The game was 47-46 Phoenix when Parker departed and the Suns proceeded to go on a 7-2 run to make it 54-48. Ginobili missed a 3, but Duncan got an offensive board and the Spurs scored to cut the Suns' lead to 4. Including that play, the Spurs made 4-5 field goals to close the half while holding the Suns to 1-3 field goals (and having Barnes miss 2 free throws).

[timvp]

Great post :tu


1. I thought it was interesting tonight to hear Collins relate that Pop says the Spurs haven't really been game-planning for any opponents and are worried more about what they're doing than who the opponent is. Coupled with the idea that Pop wants the Spurs to focus on their individual defense, I'm not worried as much about the actual game results for a while. Wins are great, but wins when the Spurs are just tinkering and working through issues are all the better and losses during that stretch seem a bit less worrisome.

Going backwards with this logic, I think it also explains why the Spurs have been double-teaming so much recently. For about the last two weeks, the Spurs have been doubling almost every halfway decent post player ... which is not what they usually do. Pop is usually much more hesitant to throw double-teams.

I originally thought it was because Pop sensed weakness in the middle. Now I'm beginning to think that Pop was just going overboard with the double-teaming just so that the team can practice their rotations. That'd be a classic Pop move to use regular season games as extended practice sessions :lol

[milkyway21]

A win but the defense is still not Spurs-like. Needs improvement.

Spurs now @ 31-14

but look at the schedule:

Jan 31 NO 8:30 PM

Feb 2 @GS 10:30 PM
Feb 3 @Den 9:00 PM
Feb 8 @Bos 1:00 PM
Feb 10 @NJ 7:30 PM
Feb 11 @Tor 7:00 PM
Feb 17 @NY 7:30 PM
Feb 19 @Det 8:00 PM
Feb 21 @Wash 8:00 PM

pretty scary.

[Quiet Strength]

A win but the defense is still not Spurs-like. Needs improvement.

Spurs now @ 31-14

but look at the schedule:

Jan 31 NO 8:30 PM

Feb 2 @GS 10:30 PM
Feb 3 @Den 9:00 PM
Feb 8 @Bos 1:00 PM
Feb 10 @NJ 7:30 PM
Feb 11 @Tor 7:00 PM
Feb 17 @NY 7:30 PM
Feb 19 @Det 8:00 PM
Feb 21 @Wash 8:00 PM

pretty scary.

Not really that scary. The real tough ones will be denver and boston but the rest aren't really so bad.

[Ghazi]

The only scary thing is the @ part, looks like 3 good teams 4 mediocre teams and 2 teams that just plain suck ass.

[Blackjack]

There weren't threads for me to express these thoughts, so I figured I'd just make a thread and see if it goes anywhere.


1. I thought it was interesting tonight to hear Collins relate that Pop says the Spurs haven't really been game-planning for any opponents and are worried more about what they're doing than who the opponent is. Coupled with the idea that Pop wants the Spurs to focus on their individual defense, I'm not worried as much about the actual game results for a while. Wins are great, but wins when the Spurs are just tinkering and working through issues are all the better and losses during that stretch seem a bit less worrisome.

That's pretty standard operating procedure for Pop. It's always about what they're doing, not what the opponent might do.

He definitely has been tinkering more than usual though, specifically with his adaptation of Boston's defense earlier in the year and his willingness to have defense take a backseat to offense at times. It almost leads you to believe he's come to the realization that, with the personnel he has, he's going to have find a new way to "skin the cat" if they're to get to their ultimate goal.



2. John Hollinger must be on the verge of a meltdown. He's been predicting for weeks that this stretch of the Spurs' schedule would see them slide down the standings. Getting wins at Utah and Phoenix certainly wasn't at all a part of Hollinger's calculus. What looms is not easy, but other than the game at Boston, everything for the next couple of weeks seems quite winnable -- particularly for a team that seems to be building momentum.

:lol :toast


3. Along with their stellar record and calm performances in close games -- on evidence again tonight when Parker drained the long jumper to quell the Suns' rally after Hill's steal-and-1 -- these Spurs have played really well on the road so far. They're 14-7 overall and have now won 7 of 9 since dropping the NO-ORL back-to-back. Since the injury plagued start, the Spurs are 14-5 on the road, with 3 of the 5 losses coming in NO, ORL, and LA and a 4th coming in Houston on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.

He both "pulled a Manu" (bad decision to try and draw a foul and getting stripped, only to redeem his self with a clutch shot) and bailed Manu's ass out (after that terrible foul he committed on Hill) in all of two possessions. (Manu... Have you learned nothing?:lol)



4. Bowen's response to the Hack-a-Bruce strategy was huge, obviously. But I thought the Spurs won tonight's game when they closed the first half strong while Parker sat with 3 fouls. It would have been a fairly easy time for the Spurs to let the Suns get away, but they dug in and rallied to close the gap and take a lead before Nash tied it at the buzzer. The tie wasn't ideal, but it was far better than being down 6 or so at the half, which they were in danger of doing. The game was 47-46 Phoenix when Parker departed and the Suns proceeded to go on a 7-2 run to make it 54-48. Ginobili missed a 3, but Duncan got an offensive board and the Spurs scored to cut the Suns' lead to 4. Including that play, the Spurs made 4-5 field goals to close the half while holding the Suns to 1-3 field goals (and having Barnes miss 2 free throws).

All good observations.:tu

The thing that stuck out to me though, was the free-throw line in the third.

They mythotically took control of the tempo and started to show that grit/physicality they've been so famous for.

I'd say Duncan and Thomas being able to play Shaq straight-up, their collective attacking of the rim (and the ensuing free-throws-Manu especially) and the decision by Pop to wait on changing the way they covered Nash and Amare's pick-and-pop/screen-and-roll until the guts of the game, were some of the big keys that stood out to me.

On another note, Do you think the Spurs could petition to play all their home playoff games in Phoenix?

Just a thought...:lol

[ehz33satx]

All good observations.:tu

The thing that stuck out to me though, was the free-throw line in the third.

They mythotically took control of the tempo and started to show that grit/physicality they've been so famous for.

I'd say Duncan and Thomas being able to play Shaq straight-up, their collective attacking of the rim (and the ensuing free-throws-Manu especially) and the decision by Pop to wait on changing the way they covered Nash and Amare's pick-and-pop/screen-and-roll until the guts of the game, were some of the big keys that stood out to me.

On another note, Do you think the Spurs could petition to play all their home playoff games in Phoenix?

Just a thought...:lol



I usually don't go around correcting people's mispellings, but this one is so blatant - it's methodically not mythotically.

[Blackjack]

I usually don't go around correcting people's mispellings, but this one is so blatant - it's methodically not mythotically.

M-E-T-H-O-D-I-C-A-L-L-Y....

Yup, that's the one.

[Manufan909]

completely agree with both of you..

I honestly think we've reached a point where Popovich simply doesn't give a fuck about the regular season, AT ALL..we saw him experiment in a "big game" vs. the Lakers..he's complained about defense, yet he keeps his best perimeter defender on the bench at key times..I think it's pretty clear that he's been experimenting for a while, and he's playing the typical Pop games with the media and in general..

the Bowen part really does it for me..I fail to see how a guy that keeps complaining about our D leaves him on the bench, unless he's fucking around..I think it's pretty obvious that he is..

I love having a coach that plays mind games with other teams, all season long..

if you guys remember, we BARELY used the pick and roll vs. the Suns last year in the regular season..what happened? we lost, and the media was claiming the Suns would finally beat us..what happened in the playoffs? Pop just ran the pick and roll ALL NIGHT LONG and we just abused them with that strategy..

you can never count this man out..he always knows what he's doing in the long-term..hopefully we can pull off a trade for a good role player, but if we can't, I'm not too worried..health comes first..

Very true, hope Ice reads this. We might pull our hair out with all the crazy decisions he makes, but Pop is a tactical genius. Just wish he'd go really nuts... and start Ime again. Only aginst NY, GS, and the other crap-mediocre teams coming up, just to give him one last shot. If that happens, I hope he doesn't choke like at the beginning of the season.

Props to FWD, getting starting post.:toast

[SouthTexasRancher]

A win but the defense is still not Spurs-like. Needs improvement.

Spurs now @ 31-14

but look at the schedule:

Jan 31 NO 8:30 PM

Feb 2 @GS 10:30 PM
Feb 3 @Den 9:00 PM
Feb 8 @Bos 1:00 PM
Feb 10 @NJ 7:30 PM
Feb 11 @Tor 7:00 PM
Feb 17 @NY 7:30 PM
Feb 19 @Det 8:00 PM
Feb 21 @Wash 8:00 PM

pretty scary.

Why does it look scary? We should go 6-2 at least. But I'd be willing to lose 2 games to one of the lesser teams for a win in Bawstunnn! Then again I think beating them in the Finals will be just fine!

Time to trade Ime Udoka for a few cases of beer or ???? That guy has gone into the tank. He was such a promissing pickup for us but, this season he couldn't play on a Junior High team. And make Jacque a coach and get another few cases of beer.

[SenorSpur]

Great post :tu



Going backwards with this logic, I think it also explains why the Spurs have been double-teaming so much recently. For about the last two weeks, the Spurs have been doubling almost every halfway decent post player ... which is not what they usually do. Pop is usually much more hesitant to throw double-teams.

I originally thought it was because Pop sensed weakness in the middle. Now I'm beginning to think that Pop was just going overboard with the double-teaming just so that the team can practice their rotations. That'd be a classic Pop move to use regular season games as extended practice sessions :lol

Great observation. I also wondered why the Spurs were double-teaming so much here, as of late. Especially against marginal post players. The Spurs are notorious for defending the 3-pt line. However in recent weeks, it seems to me that they've seemingly given up more wide-open 3-pt looks than usual. I hope this only an experiment.

[FreeMason]

I fell asleep at half-time, but I can't wait until Hill becomes more polished. If he can sponge Bowen's brain, he will wreak havoc on defense.

[m33p0]

There weren't threads for me to express these thoughts, so I figured I'd just make a thread and see if it goes anywhere.

as good as an excuse to create a thread as any. definitely better than what some have come up with. :tu :lol


1. I thought it was interesting tonight to hear Collins relate that Pop says the Spurs haven't really been game-planning for any opponents and are worried more about what they're doing than who the opponent is. Coupled with the idea that Pop wants the Spurs to focus on their individual defense, I'm not worried as much about the actual game results for a while. Wins are great, but wins when the Spurs are just tinkering and working through issues are all the better and losses during that stretch seem a bit less worrisome.
yup. which is why sometimes we see Pop come up with what could only be termed as 'bone-headed' decisions. which is also why i'm not worried about the outcome of a game in january.

[m33p0]

completely agree with both of you..

I honestly think we've reached a point where Popovich simply doesn't give a fuck about the regular season, AT ALL..we saw him experiment in a "big game" vs. the Lakers..he's complained about defense, yet he keeps his best perimeter defender on the bench at key times..I think it's pretty clear that he's been experimenting for a while, and he's playing the typical Pop games with the media and in general..

the Bowen part really does it for me..I fail to see how a guy that keeps complaining about our D leaves him on the bench, unless he's fucking around..I think it's pretty obvious that he is..

I love having a coach that plays mind games with other teams, all season long..

if you guys remember, we BARELY used the pick and roll vs. the Suns last year in the regular season..what happened? we lost, and the media was claiming the Suns would finally beat us..what happened in the playoffs? Pop just ran the pick and roll ALL NIGHT LONG and we just abused them with that strategy..

you can never count this man out..he always knows what he's doing in the long-term..hopefully we can pull off a trade for a good role player, but if we can't, I'm not too worried..health comes first..
2005 - Suns killed the Spurs with fastbreak after fastbreak during the regular season. The media claimed that if the Spurs ever meet the Suns in the playoffs, they'd run away with the series win. Playoffs came. Spurs meet the Suns. Spurs outran them Suns for the series win. :lol

[EricB]

I think it also explains the low minutes for Bowen in that pop knows what he has in Bowen but wants to see what he has in mason defensively. That and saving his legs.

[Galileo]

A win but the defense is still not Spurs-like. Needs improvement.

Spurs now @ 31-14

but look at the schedule:

Jan 31 NO 8:30 PM

Feb 2 @GS 10:30 PM
Feb 3 @Den 9:00 PM
Feb 8 @Bos 1:00 PM
Feb 10 @NJ 7:30 PM
Feb 11 @Tor 7:00 PM
Feb 17 @NY 7:30 PM
Feb 19 @Det 8:00 PM
Feb 21 @Wash 8:00 PM

pretty scary.

have U ever heard of the rodeo roadtrip?

[Galileo]

There weren't threads for me to express these thoughts, so I figured I'd just make a thread and see if it goes anywhere.

1. I thought it was interesting tonight to hear Collins relate that Pop says the Spurs haven't really been game-planning for any opponents and are worried more about what they're doing than who the opponent is. Coupled with the idea that Pop wants the Spurs to focus on their individual defense, I'm not worried as much about the actual game results for a while. Wins are great, but wins when the Spurs are just tinkering and working through issues are all the better and losses during that stretch seem a bit less worrisome.

2. John Hollinger must be on the verge of a meltdown. He's been predicting for weeks that this stretch of the Spurs' schedule would see them slide down the standings. Getting wins at Utah and Phoenix certainly wasn't at all a part of Hollinger's calculus. What looms is not easy, but other than the game at Boston, everything for the next couple of weeks seems quite winnable -- particularly for a team that seems to be building momentum.

3. Along with their stellar record and calm performances in close games -- on evidence again tonight when Parker drained the long jumper to quell the Suns' rally after Hill's steal-and-1 -- these Spurs have played really well on the road so far. They're 14-7 overall and have now won 7 of 9 since dropping the NO-ORL back-to-back. Since the injury plagued start, the Spurs are 14-5 on the road, with 3 of the 5 losses coming in NO, ORL, and LA and a 4th coming in Houston on the 2nd night of a back-to-back.

4. Bowen's response to the Hack-a-Bruce strategy was huge, obviously. But I thought the Spurs won tonight's game when they closed the first half strong while Parker sat with 3 fouls. It would have been a fairly easy time for the Spurs to let the Suns get away, but they dug in and rallied to close the gap and take a lead before Nash tied it at the buzzer. The tie wasn't ideal, but it was far better than being down 6 or so at the half, which they were in danger of doing. The game was 47-46 Phoenix when Parker departed and the Suns proceeded to go on a 7-2 run to make it 54-48. Ginobili missed a 3, but Duncan got an offensive board and the Spurs scored to cut the Suns' lead to 4. Including that play, the Spurs made 4-5 field goals to close the half while holding the Suns to 1-3 field goals (and having Barnes miss 2 free throws).

Excellent quality post.

I wonder if our buddy Hollinger has noticed that the Lakers have played 10 more home games than road games?

[fyatuk]

I wonder if our buddy Hollinger has noticed that the Lakers have played 10 more home games than road games?

You know, I saw this and figured the spurs should be in the same boat, since they both have long road trips coming up. Boy was I wrong. The Spurs have only played 3 more home games than road games so far, so they'll end up with more road than home halfway through the RRT.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

After carefully rereading this original post a few times distinctive patterns are clearly visible, meaning that we're being lied to. This was no accident, and it certainly wasn't random.

[ShoogarBear]

Pop is famous for not game-planning for opponents. One of the things Robert Horry specifically mentioned when he first came over to the Spurs was how little he did it.

One of the things that has become blatantly obvious this year, if you didn't already know it, was the difference between the Spurs with and without Bruce Bowen. Not just his individual D, but the team D mentality he imparts to everyone when he's out there. It's at lot easier to when he's playing 15-20 minutes a night than when he was playing 35. Tim is the anchor, but watch how everyone also keys on what Bruce is doing when he man-on-man against the other team's stud.

[SenorSpur]

completely agree with both of you..

I honestly think we've reached a point where Popovich simply doesn't give a fuck about the regular season, AT ALL..we saw him experiment in a "big game" vs. the Lakers..he's complained about defense, yet he keeps his best perimeter defender on the bench at key times..I think it's pretty clear that he's been experimenting for a while, and he's playing the typical Pop games with the media and in general..

the Bowen part really does it for me..I fail to see how a guy that keeps complaining about our D leaves him on the bench, unless he's fucking around..I think it's pretty obvious that he is..

I love having a coach that plays mind games with other teams, all season long..

if you guys remember, we BARELY used the pick and roll vs. the Suns last year in the regular season..what happened? we lost, and the media was claiming the Suns would finally beat us..what happened in the playoffs? Pop just ran the pick and roll ALL NIGHT LONG and we just abused them with that strategy..

you can never count this man out..he always knows what he's doing in the long-term..hopefully we can pull off a trade for a good role player, but if we can't, I'm not too worried..health comes first..

Pop is a coaching savant. I do wonder why he's chosen to sacrifice so much of the team's defensive identity in favor of only offense? He has to know the net result of having players on the court, who are defensive liabilities, will ultimately show up in the defensive stats.

I admit that seeing this team routinely give up 100+ ppg is a bit alarming. However, the main thing is the team DOES have a winning record when they score 100+ ppg.

[Hollinger]

The Spurs have been playing pretty well, for the most part. But the Magic have been fantastic! I can't say enough about how good they are:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-090130

[tp2021]

The Spurs have been playing pretty well, for the most part. But the Magic have been fantastic! I can't say enough about how good they are:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-090130

:lmao

[EricB]

Pop is a coaching savant. I do wonder why he's chosen to sacrifice so much of the team's defensive identity in favor of only offense? He has to know the net result of having players on the court, who are defensive liabilities, will ultimately show up in the defensive stats.

I admit that seeing this team routinely give up 100+ ppg is a bit alarming. However, the main thing is the team DOES have a winning record when they score 100+ ppg.

Sigh, read again what has been said above.

He's not sacrificing anything, hes using these games like extended practice.

[K-State Spur]

2. John Hollinger must be on the verge of a meltdown. He's been predicting for weeks that this stretch of the Spurs' schedule would see them slide down the standings. Getting wins at Utah and Phoenix certainly wasn't at all a part of Hollinger's calculus. What looms is not easy, but other than the game at Boston, everything for the next couple of weeks seems quite winnable -- particularly for a team that seems to be building momentum.

he went so far as to say that all of these road games were LIKELY losses...

[EJK5032]

I can't believe the Spurs have to play AT Golden State and then AT Denver on back to back nights.......that is ridiculous. May as well just chalk that Denver game up as a loss right now. The Spurs will be up big early and then get blown out late, once Pop shuts them down. Pop is without a doubt the best at seeing the big picture.