Will Pop ever adjust his style?

[HarlemHeat37]

I don't mind style of play, it still works..he's still the best Xs and Os guy, he still runs a great system..

As SenorSpur and Russ were talking about in the other thread, what would it take for Pop to abandon his stubborn views on athleticism in comparison to experience?..

Last year we were eliminated in the 1st round and the team made a lot of moves..there's still only 1 new guy that isn't past his athletic prime(Blair)..the team signed Bogans and Ratliff instead of giving chances to Hairston and Mahinnmi..what's it going to take?..

[jason1301]

I disagree! We signed some athletic guys over the summer.

[Chieflion]

I disagree! We signed some athletic guys over the summer.
Come again? I don't see anyone flying above the rim. No one throws lob passes for easy finishes around the rim in the Spurs. Even if they are athletic, if they are not playing, who cares?

[ElNono]

I believe the Mavs team that eliminated us last season was about the same age or even older (considering Manu was out for us) than the Spurs. Eventually, it's more about talent and execution that raw athletic power. I do agree, however, that guys like Fin are over the hill and at this point simply rob minutes away from actual prospects like Hairston...
Seeing what happened with Bowen last season, I have to think Pop still believes Mike has something left in the tank. Whch is a scary thought indeed.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

The issue is not Pop adjusting his style. It's Pop admitting he is wrong and changing what he has decided for a given situation.
See: WCSF 2006

[jason1301]

Come again? I don't see anyone flying above the rim. No one throws lob passes for easy finishes around the rim in the Spurs. Even if they are athletic, if they are not playing, who cares?

Switch to Suns Basketball buddy....

[Chieflion]

Switch to Suns Basketball buddy....
You are an idiot. We need those easy points. With all the offensive firepower we have and the athletic guys like Jefferson, I wonder why a single alley oop pass has not successfully connected this season. We are struggling to put the ball into the basket. If you don't want to see a player's strength maximised, so be it. I want to see the full potential of RJ in this team along with Blair, Hill and Hairston.

[timvp]

Going from Bowen to Jefferson, Udoka to Bogans, Thomas to McDyess, Oberto to Ratliff ... those are all steps up in athleticism.

Hairston wouldn't be much of a difference maker at this point. Mahinmi would be a downgrade. Blair, Bonner and McDyess are all better players. Ratliff is probably better ... but even if he isn't, he doesn't play enough to alter the tide.

[jason1301]

You are an idiot. We need those easy points. With all the offensive firepower we have and the athletic guys like Jefferson, I wonder why a single alley oop pass has not successfully connected this season. We are struggling to put the ball into the basket. If you don't want to see a player's strength maximised, so be it. I want to see the full potential of RJ in this team along with Blair, Hill and Hairston.

Profanity is unnecessary in this situation.

I want to see the team doing well, you want a few select players to get more court time, so they can reach their full potential?

[Chieflion]

Going from Bowen to Jefferson, Udoka to Bogans, Thomas to McDyess, Oberto to Ratliff ... those are all steps up in athleticism.

Hairston wouldn't be much of a difference maker at this point. Mahinmi would be a downgrade. Blair, Bonner and McDyess are all better players. Ratliff is probably better ... but even if he isn't, he doesn't play enough to alter the tide.
Ok, first of all, you talk about these upgrades, but so far their athletic abilities have not been utilised at all. We saw some glimpses here and there but we are not taking advantage of their superior athletic abilities when compared to other stiffs in years past.

[Chieflion]

Profanity is unnecessary in this situation.

I want to see the team doing well, you want a few select players to get more court time, so they can reach their full potential?
Why not? Cause you want Bonner to play more? Finley to play more? Jefferson needs to have plays ran for him otherwise he is just another spot up shooter. These guys are integral for our success this season and in the future. You want immediate success, and we aren't getting it done, so why not try something new?

[celldweller]

Hairston wouldn't be much of a difference maker at this point.
I disagree, Hairston has been playing in a pop type system in the D-League last year at an extremely effective level. Unlike Bogans, he know's the system, is more athletic, and is natural scorer, Let's give the guy a chance.

[Fabbs]

Going from Bowen to Jefferson, Udoka to Bogans, Thomas to McDyess, Oberto to Ratliff ... those are all steps up in athleticism.

Hairston wouldn't be much of a difference maker at this point. Mahinmi would be a downgrade. Blair, Bonner and McDyess are all better players. Ratliff is probably better ... but even if he isn't, he doesn't play enough to alter the tide.
Bowen to Jefferson is? When will we see that? Slacker D mostly so far. O has been most unimpressive.
Udoka to Bogans I'm buying.
Thomas to McDyess yes but Thomas gave more muscle then what we've seen of Dyess so far.
Oberto to Ratliff. Yes pinning Ratliff to the bench has been Poppy so far.

As previous poster noted, just because we got a player who is more athletic then some of our previous slugs does not mean he is anywhere near NBA elite athletic.

[duhoh]

Profanity is unnecessary in this situation.

I want to see the team doing well, you want a few select players to get more court time, so they can reach their full potential?

those individuals' full potential won't hurt the team. no one's that kind of prima donna here :king

[VivaPopovich]

Will Pop ever adjust his style?

Not this season.


what's it going to take?..

Last year it took a playoff elimination for him to give George Hill PT. He is very stubborn, X's and O's and things being done his way means more to him than putting the 5 best players out there and letting them figure things out.

More Matt Bonner as long as he's hitting 3s! I've pretty much given up and have resorted to just watching games for fun. Whatever.

[dbestpro]

Going from Bowen to Jefferson, Udoka to Bogans, Thomas to McDyess, Oberto to Ratliff ... those are all steps up in athleticism.

Hairston wouldn't be much of a difference maker at this point. Mahinmi would be a downgrade. Blair, Bonner and McDyess are all better players. Ratliff is probably better ... but even if he isn't, he doesn't play enough to alter the tide.

To me its not the personel that is the problem but rather how Pop uses his rotations. He lets too many other teams dictate the move to his small ball line up, he is too slow to call a time out, and when he does he sends the same group back on the floor who were not getting it done in the first place.

[SpurNation]

Nope.

Should he? IMO...it's probably not that he wouldn't more so that he can't for this simple reason. He's too ingrained with what he does know to be able to comprehend and implement anything different at a level that would succeed.

In other words. The only way we see a different system or adjustments is if Pop is no longer the coach. That ain't happening any time soon. Nor would I want it too.

This system has worked. But it also takes the personnel to make it work. Our key players back in '07 and '05 were younger, healthier and more dynamic as a whole. With the right players...this system works fine.

That said...how many Ginobili's and Bowen's at their peak have been available for the Spurs? The player's the team has now can try to immulate that...but won't come even close to the same production.

[portnoy1]

Statistically, the spurs are still the oldest team in the league. It makes it even worse when you consider that the so-called young guys who help our age average to not get way out of hand dont get consistent playing time.

Rotation - TD33 / RJ29 / Dice35 / TP28 / Bogans29
Bonner29-30 / Mason Jr.29-30 / Manu 32/ Hill23

Mahinmi 23/ Blair20-21/Hairston23

In otherwords our age problem is alot worse than statistics show.

[quentin_compson]

I don't think I can agree with Harlem on this one. This team is more athletic than last year's edition.

And I'm not sure what kind of style would suit this team better than the one that Pop has been using for a long time. Granted, RJ needs more touches/more plays run for him, but that doesn't mean the style of the Spurs' game has to change significantly.

[SpurNation]

To eleborate more on what I said earlier. I would like to see some different offensive sets run that would integrate some of the strengths of the new personnel along with keeping the old tried and true.

[Blackjack]

The first chink in the armor?

A successful lob to RJ in the halfcourt off a back screen and a couple of attempts at repeating it..

[HarlemHeat37]

Good to see RJ's athleticism being utilized..

Sacramento's athleticism advantage was painfully obvious though..they ran all over us and outworked us for a good stretch..I would have liked to see Hairston and Ian against their athletic wings and bigs though, it could have been a good test for them..

[mystargtr34]

Man, what i would do just to see Ian get some burn. Anywhere, against anyone.

[The Truth #6]

Good to see RJ's athleticism being utilized..

Sacramento's athleticism advantage was painfully obvious though..they ran all over us and outworked us for a good stretch..I would have liked to see Hairston and Ian against their athletic wings and bigs though, it could have been a good test for them..

I don't know if Pop adjusted in a large way but this was the first game where the team made it a point to get RJ the ball. Can't complain with the results.

[Blackjack]

I'm convinced Pop just needs to start the game by telling RJ: Look. For the first handful of defensive plays, I want nothing more than token defense from you. Make a decent close-out to a three-point shooter and than cherry-pick like a sonbitch; RJ's whole demeanor and aggression seems to be dictated like a big man who plays a completely different game when you get them involved early with some easy buckets..

I was glad to see Tony and Manu keep their heads up and get that ball out to RJ ahead of the pack in transition and the two-man game between RJ and Tim get some play.

It was amusing to see Bogans hitting his threes, Hill driving to the hole, 'Dyess getting to the board, Tony getting people involved a little better, Manu coming through down the stretch, and Pop game-planning for some above the rim tactics.

In those respects, it was like they'd had enough of what they'd seen on ST.:lol

[spurtech09]

it would be nice to see pop go back to old school.....add Ian to the starting line up

[#2!]

The effort to involve RJ was great, and he's telling Hill exactly what he needs to hear (get to the rim). The only problem I had with tonight's game was early in the fourth quarter when the Hill-Mason-RJ-Blair-Bonner group was allowed to struggle for a minute or two too long. The lead was diminished, and it left a tougher job for our stars during the closeout.


The only explanations I can come up for the decision are that he either 1.) had a set time for when he wanted to bring the big 3 back in, and wasn't going to deviate; or, 2.) wanted to make a point that defense is the most important part of our gameplan, and left that lineup out their to struggle a bit to show the need for improvement.

[NZ Spurs]

Or more than likely he wants the second unit to develop an identity.