Game Blog: Spurs @ Nuggets

[Ice009]

Why take Malik out???

[Crookshanks]

back down to 4! Go Spurs!!

[ace3g]

Mason with a 3!!!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Hairston Is A Fucking Stud.

Overstating it a little, but he looks like a player. He'll replace Bowen eventually I guess. He IS a beast.

By the way, Hill is -15 and Vaughn +8! :lol

[Libri]

Mason, nothing but net.

[DPG21920]

Lmao

[Obstructed_View]

Ice

[Yorae]

haha mason! Spurs could win it!

[Biggems]

get Udoka out and leave Hairston in

[Quiet Strength]

lol the refs are so full of shit

[Yorae]

If mahinmi was playing we might be winning.

[Ice009]

fucking Melo.

[tomtom]

udoka...

[Libri]

Hill gets fouled, no call.

[Biggems]

carter shoves hill to the ground...NO CALL

udoka barely nudges Melo....2 FTs

[Manufan909]

Mason for the game winner!!! Book it.:hat

[HarlemHeat37]

LOL..Mason has gotten called for 2 or 3 "push offs", but Anthony fucking Carter gets away with one at this point of the game? fuck these refs..

[TDfan2007]

except the TOs, Mason has put together a great game. What a dud for Hill though...oh and Ime blows at offense.

[Biggems]

Mason cannot finish at the hoop...he sucks at that.

[Crookshanks]

I can't believe Carmelo is still in - I guess it would be a monumental blow to the Nuggets collective psyche is they were to lose this one!

[Quiet Strength]

Mason should stick with his 3 point shot.. him attacking the rim is awful

[tomtom]

over

[ace3g]

damn that mason layup would have made it a 3 point deficit

[TDfan2007]

has the officiating really been that bad?

[pawe]

wow Mason, seriously man

[Yorae]

Oh well, pop toying with the nuggets.....

[cnyc3]

udoka was fouled

[Ice009]

Mason blew it with that missed layup. Tough stuff Mase.

[Admidave50]

RMJ is great at 3 point but sucks at finishing at the rim

[TDfan2007]

Mason should NEVER take it to the rim. Nothing good ever happens when he tries to finish there...

[Quiet Strength]

lol @ what it took for the nuggets to win. Pathetic team!

[Obstructed_View]

Oh well.

[Crookshanks]

enjoy the win Nuggets fans - you needed the refs to get this one! These foul calls are beyond ridiculous!

[angel_luv]

Great effort by our guys tonight.
I am very proud of them. :)

[anjlbitz]

I just can't believe that the Spurs bench scored 94 points

[spursfan09]

Roger Mason needs to learn how to finish at the rim

[TDfan2007]

game over. Spurs showed a lot of heart in this one though. Defense on Anthony was dreadful. Who was guarding him?

[Libri]

JR Smith, 1-10 FG

[Biggems]

well we hung close......but we lost

Mason needs to learn how to finish at the rim. Mason and Udoka had way too many turnovers. We missed too many open jumpers tonight.

[HarlemHeat37]

I'd rather Mason take a semi-contested 3 than a drive..he's absolutely horrible at driving to the basket..

[Crookshanks]

I just can't believe that the Spurs bench scored 94 points

And it took the refs and 35 points from Carmelo for the Nuggets to win - that is pathetic!!!! :lmao

[45 bank shot]

Udoka just plain sux

[Yorae]

Good news: Malik is a keeper.

[ECZ]

How could Ime, knowing that he would playing alot of minutes tonight, still come out and play this badly?

[024]

that's good stuff. popovich should have put in parker and duncan when it was within 2 with like 7 minutes left but i guess he didn't even have them ready to play.

[Biggems]

game over. Spurs showed a lot of heart in this one though. Defense on Anthony was dreadful. Who was guarding him?

it wasnt dreadful....the refs gave him the red carpet treatment to the FT line.

[superbigtime]

Not exactly a quality win for denver, but you can thank our coach. Thanks for the loss Pop. I think maybe we coulda used an all star in this game in the 4th quarter.

[45 bank shot]

And Hairston is way more atheletic and hungry at winning the game

[DPG21920]

Good news is Houston won.

[TDfan2007]

And it took the refs and 35 points from Carmelo for the Nuggets to win - that is pathetic!!!! :lmao

:lol when you put it that way it sounds pretty bad. Then again it did take us OT to beat the Warriors last night...

[raspsa]

I love what Mason has done so far this season but he must be the worst finisher at the rim ever.. but I like the fact that he's trying to improve his overall game so I can live with it.. hopefully he's bound to improve.. maybe take some lessons from manu and parker to draw the foul.. must not avoid the contact during layups

[spursfan09]

Udoka just plain sux

+1

[angel_luv]

Minus Timmy. Tony, MG, and Finley but the team only loses by 8.
That's pretty awesome.

[Biggems]

what pisses me of the most is......a lot of the fouls on melo was touch fouls. he went to the line for normal contact. meanwhile, we were beating the snot out of nene down low, and he hardly got a call.

[pawe]

Gutsy move by Pop. I just hope the team got something out of this circus.

[mystargtr34]

Good effort tonight - cant be mad.

Except at Ime.

[HarlemHeat37]

this game was funny though..

we made so many mistakes, yet we could have easily won this game, despite horrible officiating..Denver lived at the FT line, and I'd say a lot of the calls they received were questionable..it's expected in the NBA though, since no-name players don't get any calls..

I've said it before, but I want Denver in the playoffs..we'd beat them easily IMO..

[DPG21920]

Don't read too much into this for Denver, they were just coasting. They clearly played to the level of their opponents. Nice effort for the boys, but this kills the buzz the fans had going.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Good, close, exciting game -- our bench vs their best.

:lol

:toast


Good job, Bench !!!


Good decision, Pop !!!

[Ice009]

Mason should NEVER take it to the rim. Nothing good ever happens when he tries to finish there...

So what does everyone have to say now that called out Mason in game 2 pf the regular season against Portland for passing the ball to Finley for an open game winner?

Maybe that was the best play because looking at Mason take it to the rim lately he gets the SHIT blocked out of him. The open shot for Finley might have been the right play?

How does TP do it? It really makes you appreciate TP after all the fucking blocked layups tonight.

[Biggems]

Dear Malik Hairston,

You played a very good game tonight against the Nuggets. Now get your ass in the gym and shoot 200 FTs a day for the next 4 days.

[GSH]

This game will pay dividends for the rest of the season. Only a W could have made it better.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Well.. George Hill has been the disappointment after this one. ( We never expected any much out of Udoka, did we?). The memo was always that Hill got too little minutes when Parker came back from injury. Well, he got his time tonight.. Didn't do much - missed shots pretty much, too many turnovers and was uninspiring all around. Heck, JV, I suppose comes off tonight with the only + of the lot in the +/-s.

The Nuggets will say thanks, but no thanks for this one.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Hopefully Pop will answer the inevitable press questions about what he was doing tonight.

I'm guessing: 1)resting niggling injuries, 2)boosting role players' confidence, 3)assessing talent.

[Crookshanks]

:lol when you put it that way it sounds pretty bad. Then again it did take us OT to beat the Warriors last night...
Yeah - but the Spurs didn't play very well last night and the Warriors were hot - especially SJax. The game tonight was against our 2nd AND 3rd string!

[m33p0]

they made a game out of it. looks like pop struck gold once again with hairston. :clap

[Biggems]

Gutsy move by Pop. I just hope the team got something out of this circus.

How about confidence for the bench players. How about tons of minutes for players that hardly get any. How about a chance to let Ime and Vaughn to shake off rust. How about a chance to get Hairston some valuable minutes.

[Mavs<Spurs]

So what does everyone have to say now that called out Mason in game 2 pf the regular season against Portland for passing the ball to Finley for an open game winner?

Maybe that was the best play because looking at Mason take it to the rim lately he gets the SHIT blocked out of him. The open shot for Finley might have been the right play?

How does TP do it? It really makes you appreciate TP after all the fucking blocked layups tonight.

They have Camby, Martin and Smith. That's 1 major shot blocking threat, and 2 pretty good athletes, especially J. R. Smith.

Having said that, TP is amazing at the rim, easily one of the best finishers in the league.

:ihit

[Biggems]

Hopefully Pop will answer the inevitable press questions about what he was doing tonight.

I'm guessing: 1)resting niggling injuries, 2)boosting role players' confidence, 3)assessing talent.

What in sam hell does that word mean?

[mystargtr34]

Good news is Houston won.

Why is that good?

[m33p0]

had george hill played well, this might have been a win.

[JohnnySixString]

Well, maybe this shitcloud has a silver lining, besides the rest and no injuries. Hopefully this exhibition workout was a good practice for the scrubs and it will translate into better playing down the road. They did OK considering. Although, apparently some guys still just suck. I don't deny Pop's logic sitting the 3, it's just frustrating what lead to it. The fact is, they've been struggling more than they should be (especially vs shitty teams) and THAT's what lead to them sitting tonight. Not because he planned this shit days ago. 5 days rest is better than 4, but not enough of a reason alone to knowingly sit them like this. It's because the shitty team wore them out and they had no real choice to avoid injuries and further fatigue. My beef is not that he sat them and conceded the loss. But that the team allowed itself to be forced into such a decision.


Then again...this is the Spurs. You'd think we'd ALL be used to this shit by now. :p:

[xellos88330]

George Hill needs to quicken up his release. The man is a block magnet.

[DPG21920]

Why is that good?

http://www.retro.com/employees/lee/Ani/SarcasmMeter2.gif

[Ice009]

Mourning giving us mega props tonight. Fucking Mourning really showing some respect.

[SpursPreacher]

I give credit to all the players who played tonight they played with great heart and worked hard.

[HarlemHeat37]

Denver coasting is irrelevant though..in no possible way should you barely beat a team with Roger Mason as their best player, and I don't even know who would be the 2nd best player..

[Ice009]

Hairston was our second leading scorer how amazing was that? This was basically his first real game.

[ManuTP9]

POP should be proud of the effort this team played.

[underdawg]

I don't think you can be upset with this game. Sure, we need to take advantage of LA and NO having key injuries, but I think the benefit of our bench players getting confidence through experience outweighs the loss in the standings. Mason needed minutes to get his stroke going again and maybe Hairston could have a role in some of our regular season games down the stretch. Our Big 3 gets a rest and our bench competed - what more can you ask for?

[SpursPreacher]

I think if the reserves play this hard everynight the spurs are gonna be just fine.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

except the TOs, Mason has put together a great game. What a dud for Hill though...oh and Ime blows at offense.

I wouldn't call it great. Respectable maybe. But he got a poor choice of layups blocked. And his FG percentage was pretty bad. And this was with single coverage.


If Pop was expecting his players to step up in a manufactured scenario where players are injured in the regular season, he failed at playing God. The fact that Finley was also out was Pop trying to push an opportunity for them to shine with their raw potential.

Hill and Mason were given night to showcase themselves being "the man" was pretty anti-climactic, and boring, because mentally they were aware this game was inconsequential, if they won, gravy, if they lose, no biggie, it was practice.

Regardless if the Nuggets allowed the game to remain close they commanded the game anyway so it wasn't like it had the energy of an "upset game" because of the fact that Pop was on the sidelines gauging the game the whole time.
Whatever I'm not going to read into 48 minutes of garbage time, and search for a moral victory in this, we threw away a potential 'win'

The NBA fan night makes me laugh though...poor non Spurs fans...

[Manufan909]

Hairston is 0% at FTs for his career.:lmao

[Ice009]

They have Camby, Martin and Smith. That's 1 major shot blocking threat, and 2 pretty good athletes, especially J. R. Smith.

Having said that, TP is amazing at the rim, easily one of the best finishers in the league.

:ihit

Not only in the league, but TP is one of the best finishing point guards of all time.

[Capt Bringdown]

The memo was always that Hill got too little minutes when Parker came back from injury. Well, he got his time tonight..

Guilty as charged. He hasn't quite lived up to the promise of what he was showing earlier in the season.

[024]

hill played pretty poorly. could have kept it close if he could actually make it to the basket without getting packed. poor job and getting to the free throw line as well. hopefully he learns. way too many turnovers by mason but he definitely kept the spurs afloat.

[tp2021]

The Spurs just bloaged a game they were supposed to bloag.

[anonoftheinternets]

scrubs rule .......

[mystargtr34]

http://www.retro.com/employees/lee/Ani/SarcasmMeter2.gif

Lolz

[Biggems]

Gary Payton is completely horrible

[TDfan2007]

scrubs rule .......

well the TV show is the shit...

[Thompson]

Mourning giving us mega props tonight. Fucking Mourning really showing some respect.

Really? What's he saying? I can't wait to see what the commentators make of this one. :lol

[Ice009]

Guilty as charged. He hasn't quite lived up to the promise of what he was showing earlier in the season.

Hill's scoring early in the season I think is fools gold. I don't think Hill can score like that consistently even if given the minutes.

[toki9]

Hairston is 0% at FTs for his career.:lmao

Definitely a Spur material.

[Ice009]

Really? What's he saying? I can't wait to see what the commentators make of this one. :lol

He said Pop is the Einstein of coaching. He said Pop is looking at later on in the season. Said the Spurs are making a statement that we're ready for the playoffs. He said this game would have been a no contest with Tim and Tony. He also gave credit to Pop for finding Mason. He said Pop does it every year. Gary Payton also agreed with most of what he said.

I don't agree with all he said, but I was surprised he gave props.

[m33p0]

Guilty as charged. He hasn't quite lived up to the promise of what he was showing earlier in the season.
i don't think he was ready for tonight. he might have thought he be glued to the bench. this will teach the young stud to be always ready coz you never know when your number is gonna be callled.

[DPG21920]

He said Pop is the Einstein of coaching. He said Pop is looking at later on in the season. Said the Spurs are making a statement that we're ready for the playoffs. He said this game would have been a no contest with Tim and Tony. He also gave credit to Pop for finding Mason. He said Pop does it every year. Gary Payton also agreed with most of what he said.

I don't agree with all he said, but I was surprised he gave props.

The Spurs are no where near ready for the playoffs imo. Their defense has been mediocre and that needs to be fixed ASAP.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

He said Pop is the Einstein of coaching. He said Pop is looking at later on in the season. Said the Spurs are making a statement that we're ready for the playoffs. He said this game would have been a no contest with Tim and Tony. He also gave credit to Pop for finding Mason. He said Pop does it every year. Gary Payton also agreed with most of what he said.

I don't agree with all he said, but I was surprised he gave props.
:lol
Mourning's opinion doesn't matter

[tp2021]

i don't think he was ready for tonight. he might have thought he be glued to the bench. this will teach the young stud to be always ready coz you never know when your number is gonna be callled.

I predict Hill will say exactly that in an upcoming interview, citing this game.

[pawe]

well the TV show is the shit...

Yep, I love Scrubs.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

The Spurs are no where near ready for the playoffs imo. Their defense has been mediocre and that needs to be fixed ASAP.

Pop was showcasing trade bait. I think we need to get rid of Bonner. Unfortunately. He adds nothing to our defense. He would be player to keep if he was backing up a serviceable big men. But he is not. We need a Nazr Mohammad type move to get the 'ship.

[Ice009]

The Spurs are no where near ready for the playoffs imo. Their defense has been mediocre and that needs to be fixed ASAP.

Did I say I agreed with all of what Mourning said?

Of course we're not ready.

I love defense more than offense. No need to tell me about that side of the ball.

[Ice009]

:lol
Mourning's opinion doesn't matter

Did I say it does? I was just surprised he gave us props. I thought he didn't like the Spurs at all.

[DPG21920]

Did I say I agreed with all of what Mourning said?

Of course we're not ready.

I love defense more than offense. No need to tell me about that side of the ball.

Did I say you agreed with what Mourning said? I said IMO I FELT THEY WERE NOT READY. I quoted you because you were the one with the info on what he said.

[Ice009]

Did I say you agreed with what Mourning said? I said IMO I FELT THEY WERE NOT READY. I quoted you because you were the one with the info on what he said.

Fair enough. You opinion was pretty much spot on so no need to argue about it.

[Yorae]

Bloaging rocks.

[EricB]

:lol I knew the spurstak coaching experts would be out bitching about pop

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Did I say it does? I was just surprised he gave us props. I thought he didn't like the Spurs at all.

I know you said you didn't agree with it.

I was just laughing at Mourning's expressed props for the Spurs that you described up there. It sounded like he was parroting what he's heard said about Pop before whenever Pop makes these conservative decisions. It might have been true in the past, but in this specific case it can be argued against by some...

I didn't even understand what he meant when he said that the Spurs are making a statement that they're a force to be reckoned with this 'move'. I don't think the rest of the league will see it that way.

[SenorSpur]

Roger Mason needs to learn how to finish at the rim

He is terrible at finishing, isn't he?

[DPG21920]

:lol I knew the spurstak coaching experts would be out bitching about pop

Is Pop a great coach?

[Spursone]

:lobt2:Of course the big 3 need the rest, but at the cost of a game against Denver, I don't agree. These guys are making MILLIONS and the fans deserve more. We could have limited the minutes and still won. And by the way we don't play again until SUNDAY!:bang

[Manufan909]

How the fuck did Fab get 4 blocks(and half were on J.R.)!?!?! Maybe he's the intimidator we need:downspin:

Jk, but the only shot Fab missed was when he got blocked. He is one crafty motherfucker.

[Crookshanks]

Did any of you hear Carmelo's post-game interview. He said this was a must-win game and it was a statement game. Whatever makes you feel better bro!

[spursfan09]

He is terrible at finishing, isn't he?

yeah starting to get to the point where I cringe. :lol

Thats something I guess he doesn't really need to worry about when we have Parker and Manu penetrating, but if he could add that!

[spursfan09]

Did any of you hear Carmelo's post-game interview. He said this was a must-win game and it was a statement game. Whatever makes you feel better bro!

:lol what was the statement? That they can beat teams that are missing 3 of thier stars? ok message recieved Carmelo

[xellos88330]

Did any of you hear Carmelo's post-game interview. He said this was a must-win game and it was a statement game. Whatever makes you feel better bro!

:lmao

[Crookshanks]

:lol what was the statement? That they can beat teams that are missing 3 of thier stars? ok message recieved Carmelo

Yeah - some statement huh?! He just had to save face because he also said the Nuggets didn't know the big 3 weren't playing until they stepped on the floor tonight.

[Manufan909]

Anyone else love the fact Fab punked the Birdman the 2 times he posted him up, looking to score? I wish Fab would be as aggressive as he was tonight every game, he would be able to help Timmy a bit down low.

EDIT: Y'all should watch the first half highlights that are up at nba.com, Melo withering to the ground after running into the TANK(copyrighter by Ruff:lol) is sweet.

[wildbill2u]

I wonder if the league will have something to say to Pop about holding out the Big 3.

This league after all is about entertainment for the fan's--and TV's--dollar. When you withold your best players from a game for strategic purposes you are essentially cheating the fans and the advertisers out of their money.

I'm not bitching about Pop's move, but simply womdering how the league will look at this.

[024]

if finley had played today instead of udoka, spurs could have gotten away with a win.

[Ice009]

Did any of you hear Carmelo's post-game interview. He said this was a must-win game and it was a statement game. Whatever makes you feel better bro!

Like I said in the game thread Carmelo is a faggot. No disrespect to gay people.

[spursfan09]

I wonder if the league will have something to say to Pop about holding out the Big 3.

This league after all is about entertainment for the fan's--and TV's--dollar. When you withold your best players from a game for strategic purposes you are essentially cheating the fans and the advertisers out of their money.

I'm not bitching about Pop's move, but simply womdering how the league will look at this.

Thats an interesting thought. The only thing I know is that when the reg season is coming to its end and the playoffs seeds are set, most teams rest thier main players to get ready for the playoffs. But that isn't midseason like tonight so who knows? These games are not meaningless since they are fighting for a high playoff seed.

[crc21209]

Pop is the man, how in the fuck did this team with no TP, TD, Manu, and Fin almost steal this game? It was amazing how hard they played tonight and I give em big props I love this team. Pop did multiple things tonight, he:

1. Messed with Denver's mind, they should be really fucked in the head now thinking they barely beat a Spurs team without their Big 3 + Fin.

2. He helped the bench/role players get some groove/confidence by going out there and competing.

3. I think he tried to establish a rotation. At this point, Hill should continue to be the backup, and Hairston has got to take Udoka's spot in the rotation. So something like this:

PG- TP, Hill, Vaughn.
SG- Mason, Ginobili.
SF- Finley, Bowen, Hairston, Udoka.
PF- TD, Thomas.
C- Bonner, Oberto.

Overall I think this game was a win for us. Our bench competed against a playoff caliber team that was healthy, we got some much needed rest for the big 3, and also no one got hurt.

[Quiet Strength]

I wonder if the league will have something to say to Pop about holding out the Big 3.

This league after all is about entertainment for the fan's--and TV's--dollar. When you withold your best players from a game for strategic purposes you are essentially cheating the fans and the advertisers out of their money.

I'm not bitching about Pop's move, but simply womdering how the league will look at this.


Well everyone seems to be cool with porter resting shaq. I dont think what pop did was any different.. besides him resting 4 players instead of 1.

[TampaDude]

Pop is the man, how in the fuck did this team with no TP, TD, Manu, and Fin almost steal this game? It was amazing how hard they played tonight and I give em big props I love this team. Pop did multiple things tonight, he:

1. Messed with Denver's mind, they should be really fucked in the head now thinking they barely beat a Spurs team without their Big 3 + Fin.

2. He helped the bench/role players get some groove/confidence by going out there and competing.

3. I think he tried to establish a rotation. At this point, Hill should continue to be the backup, and Hairston has got to take Udoka's spot in the rotation. So something like this:

PG- TP, Hill, Vaughn.
SG- Mason, Ginobili.
SF- Finley, Bowen, Hairston, Udoka.
PF- TD, Thomas.
C- Bonner, Oberto.

Overall I think this game was a win for us. Our bench competed against a playoff caliber team that was healthy, we got some much needed rest for the big 3, and also no one got hurt.

WERD...Spurs playing their backups almost beat the Nuggz...in Denver...CIA Pop in full effect... :hat

[portnoy1]

Bonner, thomas and oberto conbined for 31 pts / 20 rbs / 4 blks ( oberto ) thats pretty amazing. However I still think the spurs should get a shot -blocking big man or a 6-9 athletic player who can play either forward position. If you have a 6-11 shot blocking center then tim can help double team without leaving the lane unguarded as has been seen through the many layups teams get against the spurs. Or if you have a 6-9 athletic forward pop would then have the luxury of going small and not having to have tim help on the double teams all the time since you would have a versatile forward who wouldn't need help defending a post-up player.

[Bartleby]

Whatever happened to the Game Thoughts for the Nuggets game? Did timvp take the night off as well?

[NugzFan]

Did any of you hear Carmelo's post-game interview. He said this was a must-win game and it was a statement game. Whatever makes you feel better bro!

:rolleyes it was a must win for us - had we lost it would have been bad.

[Manufan909]

Whatever happened to the Game Thoughts for the Nuggets game? Did timvp take the night off as well?

+1

Except for the jerkish way b put it, I'd also like to know if the game thoughts have been written yet. When I try to use the search function, I just get an error page.