Overreactors Anonymous

[Interrohater]

I need help, guys. My name is Interrohater, and I'm overreacting.

After last night's game, I'm overreacting, big time, and I know it, but I can't help it.

I was so disappointed in the team's performance last night, that I don't know what to think. I'm a huge believer in this team and I've defended every player that's been bagged on in this forum.
I KNOW that we have a lot of new players, I KNOW that we don't play our best ball until March, I KNOW that Pop is a hall-of-fame coach and he knows exactly what he's doing. Yes, we know these things.

However, although I've defended Bonner from the "get Bonner the F out!" guys because he knows the system and spreads the floor for Timmy, I'm troubled by what happened. Matt Bonner got totally abused last night. It didn't matter who he was "guarding" (if you can call it that), he got lit up in every way possible. So this idea that his defense is serviceable has gone out the window for me. I remember one specific play where Boozer went in for a layup and Bonner didn't contest it and actually got pushed under the basket and just kinda gave up on the play. Boozer missed the shot, but because Bonner had given up, Timmy was boxed out by Boozer and another Jazz. They got the off. rebound and the easy lay in. Also, the spacing-the-floor-for-Timmy is a myth (or at least last night it was.) The Jazz didn't go out to cover Bonner, his defender never got further than the top of the key, which means he was still available for help defense. Why would any team decide that Matt Bonner at the arc is more important to guard than keeping an extra defender in the lane? They don't. Matt Bonner can make all the 3's he wants, but he won't beat you. Keeping Parker, Manu, RJ and Timmy out of the lane is bigger than Matt Bonner.

The other thing that I'm overreacting about is our beloved Coach Pop. I know that if I saw Bonner being destroyed, Coach Pop could see it as well. I'm frustrated. What happened to his "If you don't produce, you sit" theory? If Bonner was being manhandled, where was Ratliff? And Bogans looks absolutely horrible. I really am not understanding this because it seems so contradictory. Let's see: Bonner is being played right now because he knows the system better than the new guys. Yet, Malik Hairston and Ian Mahinmi, who also both know the system, are supplanted by guys who DON'T KNOW THE SYSTEM.

I'm not saying they're the saviors, just that the idea behind it is contradictory to itself.

I know, it's early yet. Tonight they have another game against a quality opponent and hopefully they play better than they did last night. I don't care about the win, I just want to see better play. It's a long season, I know, but to see regression instead of progression is very frustrating. Still, :flag::toast

[Bukefal]

Drop the drama everyone, I mean, come on... The season just started

[Rob123]

Drop the drama everyone, I mean, come on... The season just started

Yeah because the beginning of the season has been so very different from the end of the season in recent years. Last years beginning didnt look a whole lot different then its finale.

[LION20]

I need help, guys. My name is Interrohater, and I'm overreacting.

After last night's game, I'm overreacting, big time, and I know it, but I can't help it.

I was so disappointed in the team's performance last night, that I don't know what to think. I'm a huge believer in this team and I've defended every player that's been bagged on in this forum.
I KNOW that we have a lot of new players, I KNOW that we don't play our best ball until March, I KNOW that Pop is a hall-of-fame coach and he knows exactly what he's doing. Yes, we know these things.

However, although I've defended Bonner from the "get Bonner the F out!" guys because he knows the system and spreads the floor for Timmy, I'm troubled by what happened. Matt Bonner got totally abused last night. It didn't matter who he was "guarding" (if you can call it that), he got lit up in every way possible. So this idea that his defense is serviceable has gone out the window for me. I remember one specific play where Boozer went in for a layup and Bonner didn't contest it and actually got pushed under the basket and just kinda gave up on the play. Boozer missed the shot, but because Bonner had given up, Timmy was boxed out by Boozer and another Jazz. They got the off. rebound and the easy lay in. Also, the spacing-the-floor-for-Timmy is a myth (or at least last night it was.) The Jazz didn't go out to cover Bonner, his defender never got further than the top of the key, which means he was still available for help defense. Why would any team decide that Matt Bonner at the arc is more important to guard than keeping an extra defender in the lane? They don't. Matt Bonner can make all the 3's he wants, but he won't beat you. Keeping Parker, Manu, RJ and Timmy out of the lane is bigger than Matt Bonner.

The other thing that I'm overreacting about is our beloved Coach Pop. I know that if I saw Bonner being destroyed, Coach Pop could see it as well. I'm frustrated. What happened to his "If you don't produce, you sit" theory? If Bonner was being manhandled, where was Ratliff? And Bogans looks absolutely horrible. I really am not understanding this because it seems so contradictory. Let's see: Bonner is being played right now because he knows the system better than the new guys. Yet, Malik Hairston and Ian Mahinmi, who also both know the system, are supplanted by guys who DON'T KNOW THE SYSTEM.

I'm not saying they're the saviors, just that the idea behind it is contradictory to itself.

I know, it's early yet. Tonight they have another game against a quality opponent and hopefully they play better than they did last night. I don't care about the win, I just want to see better play. It's a long season, I know, but to see regression instead of progression is very frustrating. Still, :flag::toast

My problem with Bonner is that he starts I don't mind him getting 10 plus minutes per game, we need to start our best players to compete with the elite teams. I think its all about setting the tone early in the game especially on the road. I know its early but in the end of the season we might just wish we had won 4 more games to be the #1 seed. I know we have some new faces but just put our best players out there to start. Forget the spark off the bench we need a spark to start the game everyone will follow with the depth that we have. Sometimes I don't understand pop with the rotations he has but the season all ready started. Don't get me wrong I Love the Spurs Organization to death. I just don't agree with the decision making by Pop. But he is a Great coach. Go Spurs Go

[PDXSpursFan]

IMO, first Bonner shouldn't be starting. But if he does, he should go to the bench after missing the 1st 2 3-pt attempts and never come back. E

[easy7]

IMO, first Bonner shouldn't be starting. But if he does, he should go to the bench after missing the 1st 2 3-pt attempts and never come back. E

I think Pop thinks he is so good he also starts on the second half... :rolleyes

[Kool Bob Love]

cliff notes?

[UnWantedTheory]

They tried to make me go to Rehab, but I said, "NO! NO! NO!"
Yes, I've been black but when I come back you'll know, know, know.

[manustarting2gd]

Pop is starting the worst player on the team in terms of defense ... get him in and out, get his 3's early and get dyess and blair in the mix.

Oh yeah and the season's over..... :sleep

[wut]

Last night really wasn't THAT bad....it was embarassing watching no one step up and get a tech or get a flagrant to get the rest of the team fired up but let's face it, The spurs still had a shot to win the game...it wasn't a blowout.

If you can blame anyone you have to blame the coaches...scouts had to know jazz would be fired up if boozer played well yet spurs didn't double him early...in fact did they double him all game?

To me everyone from the coaches to the players were fine with seeing how mediocre they can be without solid defense and hadwork(4 full quarters of play). I have a feeling it was Pop giving the team a test and now they all know that they just can't show up and win games.

Then again if I'm wrong this will be one painful season. Lol

[Spurs#1]

The Spurs suffer from high expectations. It's tough to see us touching that trophy when we suck so bad.

[Interrohater]

I think last night may have cured what ailed me. Yes, they lost the game but that second half looked pretty decent. The defense was there and our "slashers" were actually slashing, which led to easy buckets or trips to the free throw line.

I still have no idea why Bonner is playing. I'm not a Bonner hater, but hes looking terrible out there. I don't understand why Pop pulled RJ in the first quarter for blowing a defensive assignment, but he puts up with Bonner's ineptitude. Like I said before, the spreading-the-floor myth is just that, a myth. Again, last night his defender left him open on the arc. So not only is he not spreading the floor, but hes missing wide open 3's as well. In theory, it works. In reality, it's garbage.

Roger Mason jr. looked bad too. He did hit a timely 3 in the fourth, but otherwise, he was disappointing by committing unnecessary fouls, playing matador defense and not hitting his shots.

Michael Finley was not bad though. I don't know why people bag on his defense here. He plays serviceable defense because he knows where help should be coming from and he's a smart player. His offense sucked ass though. His horrible stat line of 2 points 1 reb show exactly what he brought last night. Intangibles on defense and awkwardness on offense.

Manu. Oh Manu. He looked a lot better last night when he started slashing. Then, when we were right there and about to cut it to one or two (i forget), he steps back and takes a contested 3. Holy shit. We finally were making progress and it was all because of driving to the lane and getting some calls and slowly chipping away. His ball-handling needs some work as it's obviously rust. His crossover has gotten him in trouble the last couple of games.

However, there were some real nice stretches of team defense in there that were glimpses of things to come. Bogans was impressive and RJ looks like he's starting to understand. The biggest killer right now are the defensive rebounds. We made multiple stops last night but didn't corral the def. rebound and so gave them another shot at it, which they, more often than not, were successful at. Unless we play Blair more for the rebounds, or Dice can step it up, I have no idea how they'll correct that. It would be unreal to me if we find out that KT/Fab were better at rebounding than Dice/Blair.

All in all, the sporadic team defense was really nice to see and the whole reason that I'm not as upset as I was after the Jazz loss. I really think that we're on the right track here. This was the first step in my 12 step-program. The next step is to reinforce the team defense concept and to accept it.

[DJB]

Yeah because the beginning of the season has been so very different from the end of the season in recent years. Last years beginning didnt look a whole lot different then its finale.

Agreed.

[Interrohater]

Agreed.

It's a good point, but when a season starts slow, I always just look back to the first one in '99. We started 6-8 and went on to win it all.

[all_heart]

I understand everybody's frustrations, I have them too, but it's till EARLY in the season, it's going to take some time. Spurs will look great some games and then look like shit in others. It's called patience.

Now having said that, I would be happy to make Bonner a big hoagie sandwich to go along with his 1 way ticket outta here. It's just not working out, he's not going to be the defender the Spurs need. I no longer like the idea of Tim being the defensive anchor on the team, it's a fast way to wear him out. At this point it's time for Dice to step up, Ratliff to get some minutes, perhaps even Ian getting some minutes. Could Ian possibly be worse than Bonner on D? I think not.

[Interrohater]

^^ I'm in agreement with that. Although I doubt we'd get much in return, I don't see a place for Bonner on this team anymore. His offense is bad right now and he's just getting abused on defense. And also, I cringe every time I see Timmy defending the paint all alone. With two bigs around him and probably a SF driving in, there's no way he can do that all by himself. It's just feels.... I dunno, dangerous I guess.

[all_heart]

^^ I'm in agreement with that. Although I doubt we'd get much in return, I don't see a place for Bonner on this team anymore. His offense is bad right now and he's just getting abused on defense. And also, I cringe every time I see Timmy defending the paint all alone. With two bigs around him and probably a SF driving in, there's no way he can do that all by himself. It's just feels.... I dunno, dangerous I guess.

It is dangerous, cause Timmy is not in total game shape yet, especially wearing that brace. He starts jumping and banging all over the place he could get hurt, or at least start wearing him down unnecessarily. So yea other teams are taking advantage of our front line right now. I don't wish any players hurt, but honestly at this point if Bonner would be sidelined for a week or two, it would be interesting to see what happens. If it gets worse, I'll stop questioning our strategy using Bonner. Too bad Bonner doesn't skateboard :rollin

[Interrohater]

:lol

I think I'll hope for something less debilitating, like maybe he gets a real bad head cold, or flu-like symptoms. Or maybe he gets some bad cheese in a hoagie and is out two games.

[Mr.Robinson]

Drop the drama everyone, I mean, come on... The season just started

And it's obvious were not legit contenders with Bonner in the line up. It's obvious Tim needs a big to help him. This wont get better as the season goes along. Tim needs help.

[FkLA]

Dice will be the starter in the playoffs, he's clearly better than Bonner but he's also up there in age so Pop will manage his minutes.

[Interrohater]

Dice will be the starter in the playoffs, he's clearly better than Bonner but he's also up there in age so Pop will manage his minutes.

yea, but Dice got all of 12 minutes last night. That's not managing minutes more than a "DNP-CD". It'll be fine though. Maybe this roster is too deep, so Pop is just having trouble getting the best matchups out there while still getting his players in a rhythm

[Höfner]

Hi,

I'm Höfner. I think I will start overreacting the next time Pop pulls McDyess.

[Interrohater]

Hi Hofner, welcome to Overreactors Anonymous. Nobody will judge you here. We're all friends.

Now, for the welcoming pledge. Raise your right beer and repeat after me:

I am overreacting, I know that now.
I will fail to accept things, even when evidence may be presented to the contrary.
I am a Spurs fan, and always will be.
I will never turn my back on my team, except for when they lose.
Richard Jefferson is the player that we've always needed.
Richard Jefferson is overrated.
Coach Pop is a true professional.
Coach Pop is a hack.
I will always defend the Spurs against all other fans.
I will always criticize the Spurs in front of other Spurs fans.
The Spurs are my team, however, Bonner must go.
The Spurs are my team, and go Spurs go.

[FromWayDowntown]

It's a good point, but when a season starts slow, I always just look back to the first one in '99. We started 6-8 and went on to win it all.

That team, which was trying to incorporate a bunch of new players, started its season 2-3.