tonights loss somewhat expected

[mabrignani]

i honestly had a feeling we would lose tonight bc of the whole b2b games thing. good thing there are no b2b games in the playoffs.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

We got younger so we could get help on back to backs, not so we could just give up on them.

[cd98]

The players won't be physically in shape for another week or two. This performance is an anomoly. I anticipate the Spurs will be solid on back to backs after a couple weeks of getting their legs underneath them.

Spurs were missing wide open threes. Most of the shots were short. That's a sign they have no legs.

[mabrignani]

Spurs were missing wide open threes. Most of the shots were short. That's a sign they have no legs.

i agree. they need to get back into game shape and the only thing that will do that is more games.

[spurtech09]

yeah just one loss and it was a b2b.....

[SamoanTD]

yea that and the bulls looked pretty decent I mean they were jus feeding off every mistake we made and thats never good lol damn and I wuz hoping we wuz gna give them the buisness lol bt its all good we got them the second time around shake it off spurs

[VI_Massive]

I'm scared and upset with myself for thinking and saying it, but I kept watching the game tonight and thinking............the Spurs look old.

I know it makes less sense in this year when we've actually gotten somewhat younger with RJ, Blair and more minutes (presumably) for Hill, but Chicago seemed so much more active and energetic. Maybe the Spurs were just out of sync for other reasons, but the fact that the age thing kept popping into my head made me want to slam it against the wall.

[Dingle Barry]

How about the fact that our oldest fucking player had to carry the team on the b2b? I mean, wasn't the whole point of this offseason to prevent the boxscore we're looking at tonight?

[SenorSpur]

We got younger so we could get help on back to backs, not so we could just give up on them.

It doesn't do any good to have young legs on these B2B's if they're sitting at the end of the bench or behind the bench in sport coats and ties.

[Dingle Barry]

Pretending that TD is our oldest fucking player for a second here, folks.

[JustinJDW]

I don't know about anyone else, but I expected a win tonight. Oh well, I am not too bummed out by it. This is probably because I was happy to see Timmy D be his old self again.

Now if Richard Jefferson can just start contributing...

[Amuseddaysleeper]

It doesn't do any good to have young legs on these B2B's if they're sitting at the end of the bench or behind the bench in sport coats and ties.

I was (foolishly) hoping that Hairston would play tonight.

When Jefferson was struggling mightily tonight it seemed like there was no reliable backup at the SF position who getting some burn out there.

[HarlemHeat37]

Well hopefully Hairston and Ian will get chances at some point this season, especially Hairston, since he has already held his own against NBA competition in the past..it's still really early in the season, but it always helps to have young guys on the roster..

Hairston brings a completely different element to our perimeter game, something we don't get from Mason and Finley..we need guys like that..

[VI_Massive]

With all these new guys and new roles, we all expected there to be a learning curve. It sucks to have to actually watch it and experience the lows, but I suppose it is inevitable with this many new players.

That being said, this game is way closer if Parker has a reasonable night. Then again our new additions are supposed to help with the inevitable "star has an off night" scenarios. But I guess we have to wait for it all to work out......

[HarlemHeat37]

Well to be fair, Jefferson was clearly trying to get involved..he made some nice moves to get to the line, he was trying to get others involved too..sometimes your shot just doesn't go down though, just like we saw with Parker and Ginobili tonight..

I'll say it'll be rare to have 3/4ths of our top 4 guys having bad games..

[ThaiFanofSpurs]

TP and Manu looked very tired and out of energy tonight, esp TP. I know it's only one game. Should I be concerned because it is just the beginning of the season? Hopefully, Pop will find out his answers for putting eveyone together soon. Go Spurs Go!

[cherylsteele]

How about the fact that our oldest fucking player had to carry the team on the b2b? I mean, wasn't the whole point of this offseason to prevent the boxscore we're looking at tonight?
Theo Ratliff carried the Spurs tonight?
Did you watch the same game?

[Bukefal]

I just woke up and look at the boxscore. What a shame for the loss. At least Duncan played good. I dont know what happened with TP, I havent seen the whole game.

[ceperez]

Bright side is that Duncan is getting back to form.

Down side, we played mostly our old players and they all looked slow in comparison.

Other down side, our longer and more athletic young players were all sitting in suits and ties. At this early stage, it's not about trying to be mistake free in games, but about experimenting we combinations and players. We did little of that, we had the same old players eat most of the time.

Hope this game was a wakeup call.

[Mel_13]

Bright side is that Duncan is getting back to form.

Down side, we played mostly our old players and they all looked slow in comparison.

Other down side, our longer and more athletic young players were all sitting in suits and ties. At this early stage, it's not about trying to be mistake free in games, but about experimenting we combinations and players. We did little of that, we had the same old players eat most of the time.

Hope this game was a wakeup call.

Hairston should get a chunk of Finley's minutes.

[Chillen]

both Ginobili and Parker were off (Parker, 4-11 - Ginobili, 3-11) and Jefferson was 3-9, to make matters worse Roger Mason was (0-4) McDyess (0-4 w/just 3 rebounds). The Spurs couldn't hit a 3-point shot and they could not match the Bulls intensity. However Tim Duncan was the player of the game for the Spurs, I think they need to find their legs it's the beginning of the season and this Spurs team had an off night in Chitown.

[SpurNation]

Hairston should get a chunk of Finley's minutes.

Agreed. Especially if our offense is soley depended on our outside shot falling and nobody else is hitting those shots. Give the man a chance. At least his defense would have been better than Finley's.

[mystargtr34]

Using the B2B is a cop out. It was the second game of the season and nobody played over 30 minutes the previous night.

Nobody showed up outside of Tim, it was just one of those nights - and i expect a few more of them against quality opposition given the amount of new guys...

Its no biggie..

[TJastal]

Theo Ratliff carried the Spurs tonight?
Did you watch the same game?

He was referring to Duncan, I'm fairly sure.

His point was that this was a B2B and the plan was to not have to Tim hardly play much less have to carry the weight of the entire team on his back and put that much stress on his body. These kind of monster games from Timmy are gonna be needed down the road in the playoffs.

The bulls are a young athletic speed team spearheaded by Derrick Rose, this would have been a good game for Popovich to start getting the spurs' more athletic youngsters involved, esp Hill, Hairston, Blair, and even Mahinmi. They might have been a good antidote to the bulls' speed and quickness. Plus they would have gotten valuable experience and gotten the older players some rest.

Instead, Pop elects to play as much Duncan, Ginobili, Finley, Ratliff, Bonner & McDyess as possible.

In a game where Tony Parker looked lethargic and tired from the very start, Hill should have logged much more than 17 mins. Blair got a measly 13 mins of action.

What a waste of an opportunity to help the youngsters get valuable experience, and at the same time tax the hell out of your veterans... for nothing.

[mystargtr34]

I find it hard to believe Pop didnt have anything to do with bringing Finley back... its consensus here that Pop and the coaching staff didnt want Finley to pick up his option, yet hes playing 30 minutes a night despite the team havng two All-Stars at the wing positions plus young budding talent with potential and athleticism.

Damn, it makes me mad.

[TDMVPDPOY]

stop usin b2n as and excuse, im tired of that shit, after the first game everyone played like around 20mpg against the NOH, now your telling me that aint enough ress in between days for b2b?

[AussieFanKurt]

How far is AT&T Centre to Chicago?

[TJastal]

I find it hard to believe Pop didnt have anything to do with bringing Finley back... its consensus here that Pop and the coaching staff didnt want Finley to pick up his option, yet hes playing 30 minutes a night despite the team havng two All-Stars at the wing positions plus young budding talent with potential and athleticism.

Damn, it makes me mad.

I also don't understand why Finley isn't coming off the bench in limited minutes, and only certain situations.. that is utterly ridiculous. I don't get why Hairston is not on the active roster and Keith Bogans is. Bogans didn't show jack-shit in the preseason, Hairston did.

And I don't get why Bonner is still in the starting lineup, the guy has no basketball skills other than shooting 3's, his midrange game sucks bananas and he has no shotblocking ability. His man to man defense is average, and his help defense is non-existant. His minutes at this point would be better spent on Mahinmi's development.

[mystargtr34]

I also don't understand why Finley isn't coming off the bench in limited minutes, and only certain situations.. that is utterly ridiculous. I don't get why Hairston is not on the active roster and Keith Bogans is. Bogans didn't show jack-shit in the preseason, Hairston did.

And I don't get why Bonner is still in the starting lineup, the guy has no basketball skills other than shooting 3's, his midrange game sucks bananas and he has no shotblocking ability. His man to man defense is average, and his help defense is non-existant. His minutes at this point would be better spent on Mahinmi's development.

Yea, i agree both Bonner and Finley should be coming off the bench, and i think they will eventually. But dont discount them as contributors, especially Bonner. He definately brings something to the team, but no where near as much when he is starting and defending the opponents best big man and giving up more points than he scores. His value would increase 10 fold if he was coming in against the oppositions second unit where he wont be taken advantage on the other end of the floor.

But i think most people are getting agro over it for no reason, including me :lol, because i think Pop is allowing McDyess time to get adjusted and he will put him in with the rest of the starters in a few weeks...

Finley on the other hand.. i cant explain that one.

[TJastal]

Yea, i agree both Bonner and Finley should be coming off the bench, and i think they will eventually. But dont discount them as contributors, especially Bonner. He definately brings something to the team, but no where near as much when he is starting and defending the opponents best big man and giving up more points than he scores. His value would increase 10 fold if he was coming in against the oppositions second unit where he wont be taken advantage on the other end of the floor.

But i think most people are getting agro over it for no reason, including me :lol, because i think Pop is allowing McDyess time to get adjusted and he will put him in with the rest of the starters in a few weeks...

Finley on the other hand.. i cant explain that one.

I've been watching Bonner closely so far this year, and I have to say that the guy should have been working on his mid range game this past summer rather than shooting 10 billion 3 point shots a day. For all I know maybe he has worked on his dribbling, decision making, etc. but it certainly hasn't shown in any real games. The guy looks more uncomfortable out there this year than I've ever seen him. If he's handling the ball at all, I'm holding my breath. His game is so 1 dimensional that if he dribble penetrates and ANY defender gets near him (point guards included) he immediately turns and looks to pass the ball out, which is what happens 99.9% of the time. Why he even bothers to ever dribble is beyond me.