Pop's switch ups on D

[Manufan909]

Bonner and McDyess on Artest cancels out his strength advantage, and RJ on Odom cancels out his speed advantage. I thought Hairston on Bryant was also great, Pop needs to realize Mason truly brings nothing and play Hairston more than in the clutch and easy wins or blowouts. If he had tried Ian on Gasol for an extended amount of time, I would've ejaculated in my shorts.:wow

And it wasn't a switch up, but Bogans took it to Kobe, and I loved every second of it. He isn't as crafty, quick, or long as Bruce, but he is a good deal more aggressive. I thought RJ on Kobe wasn't to bad either, but I know someone with stats will prove me wrong. At least RJ takes down guys hard.:downspin:

[HarlemHeat37]

Bonner on Artest was a good strategy IMO, I agree..Matt has troubles with Odom, but Artest is extremely slow-footed and he can't push Bonner around like you would expect..

Jefferson's D has been outstanding as of late..he was horrible in the 1st half of the season, but he's making strides defensively..

The team D has been improving a lot..the rotations were beautiful in this game, the Spurs double teamed and recovered..only Mason was poor defensively IMO, but that's to be expected..

Pop seems to really trust Hairston defensively..surprised the refs didn't call him for phantoms against Kobe..

Good to see Pop making adjustments and some good strategic moves..hopefully the D can continue to play like this..

[BillMc]

Bonner on Artest was a good strategy IMO, I agree..Matt has troubles with Odom, but Artest is extremely slow-footed and he can't push Bonner around like you would expect..

Jefferson's D has been outstanding as of late..he was horrible in the 1st half of the season, but he's making strides defensively..

The team D has been improving a lot..the rotations were beautiful in this game, the Spurs double teamed and recovered..only Mason was poor defensively IMO, but that's to be expected..

Pop seems to really trust Hairston defensively..surprised the refs didn't call him for phantoms against Kobe..

Good to see Pop making adjustments and some good strategic moves..hopefully the D can continue to play like this..

This.

[EricB]

Bonner on Artest was a good strategy IMO, I agree..Matt has troubles with Odom, but Artest is extremely slow-footed and he can't push Bonner around like you would expect..

Jefferson's D has been outstanding as of late..he was horrible in the 1st half of the season, but he's making strides defensively..

The team D has been improving a lot..the rotations were beautiful in this game, the Spurs double teamed and recovered..only Mason was poor defensively IMO, but that's to be expected..

Pop seems to really trust Hairston defensively..surprised the refs didn't call him for phantoms against Kobe..

Good to see Pop making adjustments and some good strategic moves..hopefully the D can continue to play like this..


Agreed. I think due to PG injuries, Pops pretty much forced to play Mason the minutes he does now. I could be wrong, but thats just my observation.

[Manufan909]

Pop seems to really trust Hairston defensively..surprised the refs didn't call him for phantoms against Kobe..


You'd think he would get solid minutes before the 4th quarter then. Maybe Pop was just trying to throw yet another player at Kobe, and with Hairston seemingly the 2nd or 3rd best at it, he might actually get solid minutes in the POs.

[jag]

I love seeing Hairston on Kobe. You can tell he's been working on his lateral quickness, and he's got the hops to contest shots from many different angles.

[DesignatedT]

The D looks great as of late. glad to see this team get back to its old ways. now if we could only stay healthy

[The Truth #6]

With Kobe playing more in the post, Bogans is actually a good fit to defend him because he's strong and has a low center of gravity. Quick players running around screens gives Bogans problems.

[DJ Mbenga]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

[The Truth #6]

Also, great to see Malik get that block on Gasol. Super quick reaction. It caught me by surprise. His turnover after the offensive rebound was a bummer but its all good experience for young Malik. Great idea for Pop to get a chance to see what Hairston can do on Kobe. I thought he did well enough.

[TD 21]

Hairston is easily a better defender than Mason, but he's a vastly inferior ball handler and an unreliable shooter that doesn't have to be accounted for by the defense, unlike Mason, who does have to be accounted for, even if he's struggling. When Ginobili and Duncan are playing like they did today offensively, you can get away with this. When they're not, you need the ball handling/shooting of Mason over Hairston.

It probably sounds like I'm a Mason fan/Hairston hater, I'm not, it's just how limited the Spurs are with ball handling (and to a lesser extent, 3 point shooting) right now. This is even more of a problem with Hill down. When Hill and Parker return, then I have no problem with Mason being stapled to the bench.

[Mr.Robinson]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

Cool, you should fuck off.

[DesignatedT]

I thought Bogans played an excellent game. He did a good job defending Kobe.

[50Bestspurever]

lol, according to alot of jackasses on this board pop couldn't coach his way out of a fucking paperbag. now everyone is kissing his ass. typical fucking spur fan.

[DesignatedT]

lol, according to alot of jackasses on this board pop couldn't coach his way out of a fucking paperbag. now everyone is kissing his ass. typical fucking spur fan.

yup. don't worry. the next loss "fire pop" threads will re-appear.

[Manufan909]

lol, according to alot of jackasses on this board pop couldn't coach his way out of a fucking paperbag. now everyone is kissing his ass. typical fucking spur fan.

Is my name Fabbs, dipshit? I think not. I am not in either extreme (blind supporter or blind with rage hater) when it comes to Pop, but I'm very glad crazy CIA Pop is gone, now he means business. His adjustments seemed to all be genius, and he rarely put a bad lineup on the floor... except when neither Duncan nor Manu were in. That was just a horrible decision.

[EricB]

Is my name Fabbs, dipshit? I think not. I am not in either extreme (blind supporter or blind with rage hater) when it comes to Pop, but I'm very glad crazy CIA Pop is gone, now he means business. His adjustments seemed to all be genius, and he rarely put a bad lineup on the floor... except when neither Duncan nor Manu were in. That was just a horrible decision.

:lol

You can't keep one or the other on the floor for 48 minutes. Gotta give em some rest.

[Sean Cagney]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

MBENGA IS TRASH, you could not pick a better name to rep your team :lol:lol

[Mr.Robinson]

lol, according to alot of jackasses on this board pop couldn't coach his way out of a fucking paperbag. now everyone is kissing his ass. typical fucking spur fan.

Pop isn't really doing a lot. Manu is the reason the spurs are back. Him playing well makes other players gkive more effort.

[jjktkk]

It may be just coincidence, but alot of the ST wannabe Spurs Head Coaches are posting less and less of "Pop's a idiot" threads. Its like they all of a sudden just vanished.

[ulosturedge]

Was a great effort on D today. I think these wins against good teams have fed into the Spurs confidence which is feeding into their chemistry and vice-versa. I said it before. Pop gives minutes out like theres a fire-sale going on during the season to get everyone in playoff form. He does this even at the expense of blowing games and making others a lot closer then they should be. Agree with it or not he plays the fine line between bracket positioning going into the playoffs vs establishing better depth through his bench. What you saw from Mike Budenholzer against the Magic the other night was a coach going directly after the win and playing the core players heavy minutes. Something that Pop avoids doing because he knows the health and energy of our veterans going into the playoffs is much more important then trying to move up a couple of slots in the seeding. In the end we would more then likely play the top teams on their home turf in the late rounds anyways. We can't catch the Lakers, Cavs, or Magic so why go down that road anyways.

Pop is no idiot. He can be stubborn at times, but he's not dumb.

[dbestpro]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

Contested 3s.

[dbestpro]

It may be just coincidence, but alot of the ST wannabe Spurs Head Coaches are posting less and less of "Pop's a idiot" threads. Its like they all of a sudden just vanished.

That happens when Pop stopped small ball and said just give the ball to Manu.

[Obstructed_View]

It may be just coincidence, but alot of the ST wannabe Spurs Head Coaches are posting less and less of "Pop's a idiot" threads. Its like they all of a sudden just vanished.

Funny how not starting Bogans and not playing four guard lineups with Richard Jefferson at center does that. Also funny how the defense seems to suddenly get better when you do those things.

[Spurminator]

It may be just coincidence, but alot of the ST wannabe Spurs Head Coaches are posting less and less of "Pop's a idiot" threads. Its like they all of a sudden just vanished.

Pop's not doing idiotic things as much anymore. That helps.

[HarlemHeat37]

Pop is clearly coaching differently, and I give him credit for it..I haven't looked it up, but it seems like we're seeing a lot less small ball, probably because Bonner returned, but still, it's nice to see..

As for TD21's point, I agree with it..Hairston can't play the same role as Mason, he's too raw offensively..when Parker returns and you have more offensive weapons on the floor, you can get away with Hairston playing more than Mason for defensive/rebounding/energy purposes..

I like the way Pop has been using Malik TBH..he's played him in clutch time in a handful of games in the past month, little things like that get him experience..Hairston isn't ready yet, he doesn't have any chemistry with the team or experience, so Pop plays him in small amounts and leaves him on when he has good stretches..I still think he should have played him earlier in the season to gain experience and rhythm, but I like how he plays him now..

I just prefer seeing young defenders on the team, that's the style of basketball I prefer, and Hairston has a lot of defensive potential..

I hate Mason's game and he's a huge liability defensively, but he does have to be on the floor for the reasons TD21 said..

[jjktkk]

Funny how not starting Bogans and not playing four guard lineups with Richard Jefferson at center does that. Also funny how the defense seems to suddenly get better when you do those things.

No, basically I had faith that Pop would figure out this team's rotations, etc... So many new faces to inegrate this year, Pop himself said it would take longer for the team to jell than previous Spurs teams. Just proved my point that he knows what hes doing. Sometimes you and your fellow wannabe coaches just get alittle carried away with yourselves. Plus I figured one of the best NBA coaches with 4 NBA titles on his resume, knows alittle more about basketball than some original ST member with a tiny black spur award on his profile.

[TacoCabanaFajitas]

No, basically I had faith that Pop would figure out this team's rotations, etc... So many new faces to inegrate this year, Pop himself said it would take longer for the team to jell than previous Spurs teams. Just proved my point that he knows what hes doing. Sometimes you and your fellow wannabe coaches just get alittle carried away with yourselves. Plus I figured one of the best NBA coaches with 4 NBA titles on his resume, knows alittle more about basketball than some original ST member with a tiny black spur award on his profile.

So you're saying it took this genius almost 96% of the season to figure out that maybe playing 4 guards and Tim wasn't the best idea?

[jjktkk]

Genius? Your putting words in my mouth taco boy. Great coach, I'll say that.

[TJastal]

That happens when Pop stopped small ball and said just give the ball to Manu.

Amazing huh? Pop stopped his retarded small ball and those threads just dissappeared!

:lol

[in2deep]

Bogans played both Odom and Kobe pretty damn well.

[TJastal]

Bogans played both Odom and Kobe pretty damn well.

He did. Bogans' post defense is outstanding for his size. He's like a mini version of Chuck Hayes.

He has trouble guarding perimeter jumpshooters but man, let him muscle people up in the post and he is an animal.

[NFGIII]

Bogans played both Odom and Kobe pretty damn well.

He did and when he is solid defensively this team really plays well. I'm not expecting him to score much just take some shots here and there in order to keep the other team's D from collapsing on TD. But he isn't consistent enough to do that and that really hurts the Spurs. If he could be a little more consistent but so far that hasn't happened and most likely wont. :depressed

Damn shame, too.

[Obstructed_View]

No, basically I had faith that Pop would figure out this team's rotations, etc... So many new faces to inegrate this year, Pop himself said it would take longer for the team to jell than previous Spurs teams. Just proved my point that he knows what hes doing. Sometimes you and your fellow wannabe coaches just get alittle carried away with yourselves. Plus I figured one of the best NBA coaches with 4 NBA titles on his resume, knows alittle more about basketball than some original ST member with a tiny black spur award on his profile.

The only problem is, he's finally doing a lot of the things that we've been suggesting all season, and they're working. It seems that he's only done some of these things because the Spurs were in real danger of missing the playoffs doing it his way. Bad coaching decisions have easily cost the Spurs three or four games minimum, which would have made a gigantic difference in the standings.

[dbestpro]

Bad coaching decisions have easily cost the Spurs three or four games minimum, which would have made a gigantic difference in the standings.

I would say 7-10 games.

[Obstructed_View]

Bogans played both Odom and Kobe pretty damn well.
Yep, he had a very good game, and I hope he keeps it up.

Since you pointed out Bogans' play in this thread, it seems important to note that this very good performance in no way justifies the starts and minutes he got for the majority of this season.

[Obstructed_View]

I would say 7-10 games.

But at the very minimum have likely cost the team a shot at the division title. A number 2 seed would be really nice about now with Manu playing well and Parker coming back healthy.

[dbestpro]

But at the very minimum have likely cost the team a shot at the division title. A number 2 seed would be really nice about now with Manu playing well and Parker coming back healthy.

Division title is not done yet. I think it is interesting that if we can make up just one more game on Dallas in the loss column between now and the season finale that the last game will be for the division title.

[Obstructed_View]

Division title is not done yet. I think it is interesting that if we can make up just one more game on Dallas in the loss column between now and the season finale that the last game will be for the division title.

Probably true, though unlikely in my opinion. How cool could that turn out to be, though?

EDIT: Looks like Dallas has the season series wrapped up. Doesn't that mean they own the tiebreaker?

[jjktkk]

It seems that he's only done some of these things because the Spurs were in real danger of missing the playoffs doing it his way.

:rollin OMG, you crack me up. So if Pop isn't doing things his way, who is he deferring to, as far as coaching decisions? Is it you Obstructed_View? Damn you finally got a coaching gig. Congratulations!

[Manufan909]

The only problem is, he's finally doing a lot of the things that we've been suggesting all season, and they're working. It seems that he's only done some of these things because the Spurs were in real danger of missing the playoffs doing it his way. Bad coaching decisions have easily cost the Spurs three or four games minimum, which would have made a gigantic difference in the standings.

If ST as a whole were to control the coaching decisions of the Spurs somehow, they'd probably have the Spurs in 9th or 10th. But at least Fin, and Mason would be gone (but a Tony/Hill-less team led by ST would be raped if it got to the finals with no guards that knew the system outside of Manu and Mason). Plus, it looks like now trading Bonner would've been bad. Let's not pat ourself on the back OV, Pop is doing all this on the front line.

Having said that, I wish he'd have never played small ball this season, unless a couple of the bigs (prob Ian and Blair) fouled out. He had a lot of new guards and wings at the beginning of the season, but there were 4 new bigs (Ian/Blair/Theo/McDyess), and the only one that would have made a dif against a healthy Lakers team was traded for nothing, one prays for blowouts, one gets inconsistent minutes, and one is taking way too fucking long to thaw out.:bang

[The Truth #6]

Bogans shot better, which was great. I'm not sure his defense was better, instead I think he had a matchup that better suited his strength, which is trying to defend in the post. Obviously, Kobe is much, much better than him. But as I said earlier, I think Bogans is better suited to defending in the post, even if it is against Kobe. The great thing is that Bogans makes Kobe work really hard in the post. Kobe has been going to the post to save some wear and tear on his body but Bogans did a good job making him work for all his points. If Kobe decides to take Bogans out on the perimeter Bogans would probably revert to form, but hopefully not.

[Mel_13]

Probably true, though unlikely in my opinion. How cool could that turn out to be, though?

EDIT: Looks like Dallas has the season series wrapped up. Doesn't that mean they own the tiebreaker?

Dallas leads the season series 2-1. If the Spurs win the last game to tie the season series, then they go to division record as the next tiebreaker. The Spurs would win that tiebreaker.

[Flux451]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

I think DJ's moving screen is what lost the game for the Lakers.