This loss is on Pop and Manu

[SinBAD]

manu ginobili played poorly, didnt attack the rim and just hit 2 3s.What was that lineup with Blair playing as our Center?Where is Dyss??18 offensive rebounds by a team that doesnt have anyone who averages double digits in rebounding?this is pathetic.Stop small ball it wont work against them and guard the damn pick and roll!!
Its ok though we can win our 2 at home if we rebound.

[smeagol]

Manu had an off game. He hasn't been himself since the nose incident. Even his 11 assists are not enough simply because he is MANU GINOBILI and we expect more from him on big games. If he doesn not play well, the SPurs are lost.

[Death In June]

Dice only played 17 minutes. I think Bonner played 15. Why?

[Shastafarian]

It's amazing how badly Pop is getting outcoached in this series.

[redskinfan]

Manu also made Jared Dudley a freakin all star for heavens sake..

[Brazil]

It's amazing how badly Pop is getting outcoached in this series.

+100000

at the beginning of the fourth see the suns bench outplaying the spurs starting 5 during 6 minutes is quite :depressed

[DesignatedT]

manu laid a big fucking egg tonight... i dont care about the damn assists. yeah they are all great and dandy but when we needed him to be a scorer in the 4th he wasnt there.

[NewJerSpur]

Going to need Manu to revert back to the Manu of late March and April.

[HarlemHeat37]

Pop is definitely getting severely outcoached..good for Gentry, I thought he was just an average coach, but it looks like he's got some smarts..he's running all the right plays and exploiting the mismatches..

Pop did a poor job with his rotations, especially regarding the Bonner-Blair-Bogans trio..the worst move was starting Hill instead of Tony..

[DesignatedT]

It's amazing how badly Pop is getting outcoached in this series.

wtf are you talking about? how has he gotten outcoached? The suns bench is far superior to ours and thats it... thats the 1st two games right there. BENCH PLAY.

The sequence where they attacked Tim with small ball... thats not being outcoached... thats the players being out matched... what are we supposed to do? pull duncan?

[ElNono]

I agree Manu sucked balls... that said, enough small ball and the Blair/Bonner experiment. What are we saving Dice for? He was giving us offense and rebounding to start the game. Season on the line now, no more time for bullshit lineups (Blair/Bonner/Bogans)

[SpurOutofTownFan]

Pop is definitely getting severely outcoached..good for Gentry, I thought he was just an average coach, but it looks like he's got some smarts..he's running all the right plays and exploiting the mismatches..

Pop did a poor job with his rotations, especially regarding the Bonner-Blair-Bogans trio..the worst move was starting Hill instead of Tony..

I believe Gentry worked with Pop

[SpurOutofTownFan]

I agree Manu sucked balls... that said, enough small ball and the Blair/Bonner experiment. What are we saving Dice for? He was giving us offense and rebounding to start the game. Season on the line now, no more time for bullshit lineups (Blair/Bonner/Bogans)

This is a problem for the Spurs because they don't have so many guys other than those and they can't play together. Period.

[DesignatedT]

I agree Manu sucked balls... that said, enough small ball and the Blair/Bonner experiment. What are we saving Dice for? He was giving us offense and rebounding to start the game. Season on the line now, no more time for bullshit lineups (Blair/Bonner/Bogans)

The suns had frye as center for most of the 4th than came in with amare at center. they had dudley and g.hill at pf the whole time. no way dice can gaurd that. duncan was getting exposed as it was.

[alchemist]

I don't understand how Pop is getting out coached, at some point the starters have to rest. He is getting nothing from his bench, something Gentry has a wealth of. The Suns were able to keep the lead with Nash on the bench in 4th. Pop has screamed his lungs out about the 3pt shooters but the Spurs are still leaving them open.

One terrible thing he has done is limit Dice, he should be out there way more than he's played so far.

[ElNono]

This is a problem for the Spurs because they don't have so many guys other than those and they can't play together. Period.

You're telling me Dice can't play more than 17 minutes? You can play a dud like Bogans or even Mason if you want, but they can't be together on the court at the same time. Bonner you simply cannot play. He's not only missing everything, he can't rebound for shit.

[JGrice02]

I disagree. There were two differences in the game.

The biggest difference is that Phoenix has Frye and the Spurs have Bonner. Bonner would not have sniffed the Spurs playoff rotation during their championship runs. He is always the worst player on the floor. That is Pop's fault to a degree, but Pop did bury Bonner on the bench when Duncan got into foul trouble. It just so happened that Blair at Center didn't work either.

The other reason they lost was the erratic officiating. The refs were wildly inconsistent. Both teams were subject to crappy calls, but roughly 75% of the borderline calls went the way of Phoenix. The refs missed enough calls to give Phoenix an extra 6-8 points. Add Frye to that and you have a sizeable win.

I still cannot believe Bonner is a Spur. There is not one attribute in his game that represents what the Spurs franchise has stood for over the last decade. Every time he steps on the floor I have an immediate power down.

The only reason he is on the team is because Pop shows loyalty to a fault. But you have to take the good with the bad. And I'd rather have Pop + Bonner than no Pop.

[SpurOutofTownFan]

You're telling me Dice can't play more than 17 minutes? You can play a dud like Bogans or even Mason if you want, but they can't be together on the court at the same time. Bonner you simply cannot play. He's not only missing everything, he can't rebound for shit.

Oh I would love for Dice to play 30 minutes but the problems is the matchups with the Suns players on the court. I'm not sure Pop can play him all he wants to because of that. Dice played well tonight.

[ElNono]

The other reason they lost was the erratic officiating. The refs were wildly inconsistent. Both teams were subject to crappy calls, but roughly 75% of the borderline calls went the way of Phoenix.

Please, leave this out. Refs had nothing to do with it.

[DesignatedT]

I don't understand how Pop is getting out coached, at some point the starters have to rest. He is getting nothing from his bench, something Gentry has a wealth of. The Suns were able to keep the lead with Nash on the bench in 4th. Pop has screamed his lungs out about the 3pt shooters but the Spurs are still leaving them open.

One terrible thing he has done is limit Dice, he should be out there way more than he's played so far.

thats exactly what im saying. I am not saying pop has coached a perfect series or anything but this 0-2 deficit has very little to do with how he is coaching.

[ElNono]

Oh I would love for Dice to play 30 minutes but the problems is the matchups with the Suns players on the court. I'm not sure Pop can play him all he wants to because of that. Dice played well tonight.

If you can play Bonner, then you can play Dice. At least he will give you a jumper on offense. Bonner is completely worthless.

[Shastafarian]

wtf are you talking about? how has he gotten outcoached? The suns bench is far superior to ours and thats it... thats the 1st two games right there. BENCH PLAY. So playing Bonner 15 minutes and McDyess 17 means nothing I guess? Pop hasn't made adjustments to Phoenix's bench. That's how he's getting outcoached.


The sequence where they attacked Tim with small ball... thats not being outcoached... thats the players being out matched... what are we supposed to do? pull duncan?
How about constantly leaving shooters open? You think it would continue to happen if Pop made instructions on which players could leave their guys and which couldn't? I'll ask you this hypothetical:

Which would you rather have? Duncan guarding Nash (iso)/Parker guarding Amare(iso) or leaving Frye/Richardson/Dudley open for 3?

[NewJerSpur]

Blair needs more of Bonner's minutes with Tim/Dice. He'll figure out the rebounding but he's played preety good defense on Amare and needs to make a few more tip shots.

[HarlemHeat37]

I acknowledge that he has little to work with..Pop wouldn't be in my top 3 reasons the Spurs are losing this series, but I do think he's coaching poorly..

He continues to play the Bonner-Blair frontcourt too much..tonight he played it for way too long..I understand not bringing Tim back on since he played most of the 1st, but McDyess had enough rest and should have been playing to start the 2nd or come in really soon after..there's no reason to rest McDyess too much at this point, there's nothing to look forward to, you can't plan like you're assuming you're going to advance..McDyess-Blair is a lot more tolerable than Bonner-Blair..

Adding insult to injury is playing them for an entire stretch with Bogans too..I don't mind giving Bogans 5 minutes, but not with Bonner-Blair for long periods of time..

He also started Hill, which clearly hurt the Spurs a lot in the 1st quarter, since Hill was terrible..the Spurs would have built an even larger lead with Parker in there, Tony had a very good game..

[jag]

I'm just gonna throw this out there...If Parker would have shit the bed in a game 2 playoff game against the suns, this place would explode due to all the Parker hate.

[NewJerSpur]

It is going to be interesting to see if Pop continues to stick with Hill as a starter over TP in this series.

[alchemist]

So playing Bonner 15 minutes and McDyess 17 means nothing I guess? Pop hasn't made adjustments to Phoenix's bench. That's how he's getting outcoached.

What adjustments do you make? Play the top guys 48 minutes?


How about constantly leaving shooters open? You think it would continue to happen if Pop made instructions on which players could leave their guys and which couldn't? I'll ask you this hypothetical:

Which would you rather have? Duncan guarding Nash (iso)/Parker guarding Amare(iso) or leaving Frye/Richardson/Dudley open for 3?
Nash and Amare are being aggressive, in fact anyone inside the 3pt arc is attacking the basket they're not settling for nothing, that's a huge reason the shooters are being left wide open. These Suns are just playing out of this world basketball right now.

[DesignatedT]

So playing Bonner 15 minutes and McDyess 17 means nothing I guess? Pop hasn't made adjustments to Phoenix's bench. That's how he's getting outcoached.


How about constantly leaving shooters open? You think it would continue to happen if Pop made instructions on which players could leave their guys and which couldn't? I'll ask you this hypothetical:

Which would you rather have? Duncan guarding Nash (iso)/Parker guarding Amare(iso) or leaving Frye/Richardson/Dudley open for 3?

I firmly believe that if pop could play dice he would (look at last series). Duncan was getting exploited by the suns small ball lineup and you want to put mcdyess in as well? the suns had one of dudley/g.hill playing PF the whole 4th quarter.

Pop has stressed many times over about leaving there shooters open but at the same time you have to gaurd there pick and roll (the best in the league at it) so its pretty much picking your poison... that's why they have made it this far....

There bench play has been far superior to ours and thats the difference in games 1 and 2. simply that. pop is playing the shit out of george and rj and duncan and manu and tony... just like everyone wants. but at some point they have to rest and our bench is awful.

[Shastafarian]

What adjustments do you make? Play the top guys 48 minutes?Sweet exaggeration. Dice should be playing 30 minutes a game.


Nash and Amare are being aggressive, in fact anyone inside the 3pt arc is attacking the basket they're not settling for nothing, that's a huge reason the shooters are being left wide open. These Suns are just playing out of this world basketball right now.
They shot 35% in the first half. Remember that? That's out of this world bad.

[m33p0]

They shot 35% in the first half. Remember that? That's out of this world bad.
nullified by not being able to secure the rebound.

[carina_gino20]

If you can play Bonner, then you can play Dice. At least he will give you a jumper on offense. Bonner is completely worthless.

+1. Dice's long jumper is money, Bonner's open 3 is garbage.

[Shastafarian]

I firmly believe that if pop could play dice he would (look at last series). Duncan was getting exploited by the suns small ball lineup and you want to put mcdyess in as well? the suns had one of dudley/g.hill playing PF the whole 4th quarter. So what? Bonner got 15 MINUTES. He should get less than 5. And almost none of that was in the 4th.


Pop has stressed many times over about leaving there shooters open but at the same time you have to gaurd there pick and roll (the best in the league at it) so its pretty much picking your poison... that's why they have made it this far.... Half the time it isn't on the PnR it's on a mismatch.


There bench play has been far superior to ours and thats the difference in games 1 and 2. simply that. pop is playing the shit out of george and rj and duncan and manu and tony... just like everyone wants. but at some point they have to rest and our bench is awful.
I know they have to rest but pop's rotations on their rest is not good right now. He needs to know who to play with who.

[Doctor J]

What adjustments do you make? Play the top guys 48 minutes?




No.

Just play Bonner 2 minutes, and Dice, 30, instead of 15 and 22.

[Kamala]

Dice is a smarter and tougher player than Bonner. Both have serious matchup issues but when opposing teams see Bonner they attack immediately and it pays off for them with and ones and momentum swinging plays. Matt is a good third string player and stationary 3 point player. We need toughness and rebounding and that 15 ft jumper is better than the brick laying.

[NewJerSpur]

When the Spurs are able to run the Suns off the line Phoenix is mostly settling for pullups, looking for a way to get it back out for another 3-pointer, or taking contested shots at the rim....I'll take my chances and stay at home on the 3's.

[LakerHater]

Totally agree with the Title!

[ElNono]

bonner and blair should never be on the court together. If one is out on the floor it should always be with tim or antonio. When antonio goes to the bench bring in bonner or blair. When tim goes to the bench bring back antonio and sub in bonner or blair for who hasn't played yet.

Never, never, never have those 2 on the court together they are too much of a liability to be on the floor at the same time.

+1000000000000000000000000

[ALVAREZ6]

+1000000000000000000000000

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[DesignatedT]

So what? Bonner got 15 MINUTES. He should get less than 5. And almost none of that was in the 4th.

Half the time it isn't on the PnR it's on a mismatch.


I know they have to rest but pop's rotations on their rest is not good right now. He needs to know who to play with who.

Fact is we dont have the weapons coming off the bench like they do. Pop is already playing our weapons like crazy just like everyone wants. Ok fine.. I totally agree that dice should play over bonner. You're telling me that this and pops "mismanaging" of our big 3's minutes is costing us the series.He is coaching the series fine. its all about the bench play right now. simple as that. sounds like you're just one of the many quick ones to criticize him after any loss we have.

[Kamala]

manu ginobili played poorly, didnt attack the rim and just hit 2 3s.What was that lineup with Blair playing as our Center?Where is Dyss??18 offensive rebounds by a team that doesnt have anyone who averages double digits in rebounding?this is pathetic.Stop small ball it wont work against them and guard the damn pick and roll!!
Its ok though we can win our 2 at home if we rebound.
I agree
Manu playing the role of jump shooter and assist man is not gonna cut it in this series. Do the Suns even have shot blockers in there?

[DesignatedT]

Bonner and Blair should never be on the court together. If one is out on the floor it should always be with Tim or Antonio. When Antonio goes to the bench bring in Bonner or Blair. When Tim goes to the bench bring back Antonio and sub in Bonner or Blair for who hasn't played yet.

Never, never, never have those 2 on the court together they are too much of a liability to be on the floor at the same time.

definitely agree with that. Cant stand it when those 2 guys our on the floor together. even though it doesnt happen very often.

[alchemist]

Sweet exaggeration. Dice should be playing 30 minutes a game.


They shot 35% in the first half. Remember that? That's out of this world bad.
I think I mentioned already that Dice should play a lot more.
----
Yes they shot poorly in the 1st half, but what kept them in the game were the 50/50 hustle plays. Even with Duncan back in the game they were still getting those crucial rebounds that kept them afloat.

[Shastafarian]

Fact is we dont have the weapons coming off the bench like they do. Pop is already playing our weapons like crazy just like everyone wants. Ok fine.. I totally agree that dice should play over bonner. You're telling me that this and pops "mismanaging" of our big 3's minutes is costing us the series.He is coaching the series fine. its all about the bench play right now. simple as that. sounds like you're just one of the many quick ones to criticize him after any loss we have.

Dude I never said that. I just said he was getting outcoached. Obviously shit burgers like bonner, bogans, coupled with Manu being off is costing the series. Oh and the defense is mediocre. Pop is just a component of it.

[dbestpro]

Bonner's inability to stay at home on Frye was just mind numbing. I have grown to expect that he will miss his shots. The defense however on his counterpart was beyond comprehension. He has played himself out of SA and all I can say is good writtens.

[alchemist]

No.

Just play Bonner 2 minutes, and Dice, 30, instead of 15 and 22.
There's also an issue with playing Dice though, Gentry has the personnel to minimize his effectiveness by putting smaller guys on the court who shoot the ball well.

At the end of the day though if you're going to lose do it with your best guys and not Bonner/Blair, that I do agree with.

[Shastafarian]

Just noticed the final stat line has Dice at 22 minutes. My bad but it's still ridiculous to play bonner 15.

[DesignatedT]

Ill probably catch heat for saying this but Finley's 3 ball would sure be nice to have coming off that bench right now. Our other guys are just pathetic.

[JGrice02]

Please, leave this out. Refs had nothing to do with it.

You can wallow in self pity all you want but its a fact that the refs had an impact on the game. Their impact was ultimately superficial, inflating what would have been a win, and the Spurs failed to overcome the bad calls, but the game was poorly officiated. The Spurs have been the beneficiaries of officiating as well -- including some games against the Mavs in Round 1.

I think most people agree that teams must figure out a way to overcome poor officiating, but I don't think it should be ignored simply because you want to dog on the team. The refs sucked. Its okay to say that -- it doesn't mean the Spurs didn't suck too... especially the red head.

[SpursFan_n_361!]

Look guys bottom line is this. Spurs had two great chances to steal one in Phoenix. They didn't now we need to hold serve at home. This is a long series so we got time. Bad calls or not i agree this is something teams need to overcome to reach the next level. We've done that four times already so i know just as well as all you guys that we can do this again. It's taking a little more time for the spurs to settle into this series than we'd like but i see a silver and black attack coming. We will turn this series around!

[mexicanjunior]

You can wallow in self pity all you want but its a fact that the refs had an impact on the game. Their impact was ultimately superficial, inflating what would have been a win, and the Spurs failed to overcome the bad calls, but the game was poorly officiated. The Spurs have been the beneficiaries of officiating as well -- including some games against the Mavs in Round 1.

I think most people agree that teams must figure out a way to overcome poor officiating, but I don't think it should be ignored simply because you want to dog on the team. The refs sucked. Its okay to say that -- it doesn't mean the Spurs didn't suck too... especially the red head.

7th seeds usually don't get the benefit of the doubt on the road. If the Spurs want more calls go their way, maybe they should have earned it with home court advantage.