Game Blog: Celtics @ Spurs - March 31

[L.I.T]

Jefferson. The master of the useless 3.

[noles1983]

probably good thing we wont have #1 seed. Would hate to get embarrassed mav style

[John Basedow]

Way to stat-pad, RJ.

that's what he does best

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

How many fuckin Celtics fans are in the stadium?

[ElNono]

Manu was pisssssed... when he walks off like that you just know he's pissed off..

[Juggity]

Utter trash.

[ElNono]

:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:l ol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol :lol:lol:


that's what he does best

:lol Lakeshow invasion right on cue... :lol

[ceperez]

No defense!!

[DesignatedT]

Defense was terrible, especially down the stretch. At the same time if you would have told me that Manu finished with 9 pts tonight then I would tell you we would lose. Simple as that.

[SPURSCHAMP]

WOW first 5 game losing streak since 97

[ShoogarBear]

I would die laughing if Rondo said, "we only have to run one set because their defense sucks".

[Chomag]

Spurs have been exposed now that the Good teams have been playing better.

[Capt Bringdown]

Spurs not nearly as good as our record indicates. I'm talkin' way, way off.

[noles1983]

they need to play the remix at the end of games now. "all we do is lose"

[Fireball]

I would die laughing if Rondo said, "we only have to run one set because their defense sucks".


:rollin

[TampaDude]

Spurs are DONE!!!!!

Lakers threepeat, bitches!!!

End of story!!!

[Quiet Strength]

The spurs are making sure every team will fear them going into the playoffs

[mexpurs21]

WOW first 5 game losing streak since 97

Maybe Pop is tanking to get a lottery pick :deadhorse

[TampaDude]

Spurs = LOSE OUT

Lakers = WIN OUT

[alchemist]

Manu was pisssssed... when he walks off like that you just know he's pissed off..
he should be pissed off, he's a main culprit in this L

[Capt Bringdown]

Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2010-2011 NBA Champs, The Los Angeles Lakers!
Congrats on the threepeat.

[ArtVandelay]

chuck was right all along
the lakers will moonwalk into the finals
the west is trash

[TampaDude]

Spurs = LOSE OUT

Lakers = WIN OUT

[Giuseppe]

tee, hee.

[ShoogarBear]

All fucking day... you can't win when you have players who give you extra space to get off your jump shot. Brian Cook sucks on defense but he'd at least not give you the space and try to take a charge. That's what Bonner doesn't do and with RJ, it seems as if he needs to take a summer with Pop to learn how to play defense.

RJ has become the master of the half-ass, step-slow closeout. Does just enough so it looks like he's trying, but if he was really busting ass he would get there.

[TampaDude]

Fuck this shit. Spurs ain't winning shit ever again. It's fucking OVER!!!!!

[Fireball]

It was a nice season ... many months of happiness ... now its one bad month, a quick playoff exit and we are over it

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

tee, hee.

:lol

[TampaDude]

Congrats to the mighty LAKERS!!!!!

Phil Jackson is GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

[Capt Bringdown]

Fuck this shit. Spurs ain't winning shit ever again. It's fucking OVER!!!!!

Ha ha, welll, with Bonner/Blair anything's possible.

[TampaDude]

Phil will be back next year for the fourpeat.

Duncan needs to hang it up.

Pop needs to hang it up.

Bye...

[TampaDude]

Lakers will roll 16-0 to the 'ship!!!!!

[TampaDude]

Over Over Over Over Over!!!!!!!!!!

[picc84]

Always love a good meltdown.

[JohnnySixString]

lol...I can't be the only one not shocked that this happened.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

It's looking fucking ugly right now.

[TampaDude]

Spurs suck cock.

[LnGrrrR]

You Spurs guys... I don't get the meltdown. Sure, you look crappy right now, but you never know in the playoffs.

[Splits]

Bonner was the only Spur positive in +/- with a +1. Splitter was even. Everyone else was minus.

[ALVAREZ6]

spurs = faggots = morons = faggots = pieces of false-hope inspiring shit = douche bags

[ALVAREZ6]

You Spurs guys... I don't get the meltdown. Sure, you look crappy right now, but you never know in the playoffs.

I agree....but still not likely vs Lakers. Lakers in 5, this team blows. Especially after they give up 1st seed.

[Spurs Brazil]

You Spurs guys... I don't get the meltdown. Sure, you look crappy right now, but you never know in the playoffs.

If we're talking about the old Spurs that played D I'd agree. No defense = no chance in the playoffs

[timtonymanu]

You Spurs guys... I don't get the meltdown. Sure, you look crappy right now, but you never know in the playoffs.

Pop has me convinced that he's going with offense over size in the playoffs. Splitter will be glued to the bench while Bonner/Blair let everyone score layups on them.

As much as the Celts have been struggling lately as least they can still play D.
If the Spurs run into a team with great D, they start clanking jumpers and allow the opponent to score on the other end with Bonner/Blair in the lineup.

[birdy219]

lol...I can't be the only one not shocked that this happened.



I am not shocked at all. Only surprised that Tim and Manu played, pleasantly surprised at least in Timmy's case. This is the exact same game that happened in Boston minus their meltdown in the 4th.

This team is too physical for Bonner to get any minutes. We are definitely missing a physical enforcer. Once I saw the refs, I knew it would be a LONGGGGGGGG night because Dan Crawford tends to ignore a lot physicality which plays directly into the hands of the celtics. We are a finesse team right now. BTW....has anyone seen George Hill tonight?
He did an RJ tonight. :nope
:flag:

[LnGrrrR]

I agree....but still not likely vs Lakers. Lakers in 5, this team blows. Especially after they give up 1st seed.

I think that the death of the Spurs has been slightly exaggerated. You might know them better than I do though.

[daslicer]

You Spurs guys... I don't get the meltdown. Sure, you look crappy right now, but you never know in the playoffs.

Agreed I think most of these people who are down on the spurs are actually LOSERS in real life. They panic at any sign of adversity. The spurs have been bad the last 5 games but reality is 4 out of the last 5 Tim didn't play and this game was the worst game for him to comeback against a Celtic team where the odds of winning is 50-50. To hear spur fans scream idiotic things as spurs suck spurs suck and they have no heart is a bunch of bs. You can't really judge this team based on the last 5 games considering people were injured. These next 5 games will be telling to see how the team responds now that they are HEALTHY.

[ALVAREZ6]

I think that the death of the Spurs has been slightly exaggerated. You might know them better than I do though.
Well of course, but their record is just as misleading to their true value as a team. They aren't gonna be able to get past LA, and that I'd be willing to bet all of the money I own on.

[ShoogarBear]

Agreed I think most of these people who are down on the spurs are actually LOSERS in real life.

Charlie, is that you?

[tlongII]

We'll beat the Lakers. GuaranSheed.

[Crookshanks]

I'm really disappointed and depressed right now. The Spurs have been so good all season, and now they're just falling apart at the wrong time! I guess we've been so fortunate to not have any injuries until the last couple of weeks - but damn, these losses hurt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

[Creation88]

we lost this game because:
1) Manu Ginobili
2) Pop NOT calling a timeout in midst of that 14-0 run, retarded
3) Matt Bonner's horrible defense
4) Neal/Bonner terrible from 3

[duncan228]

Pregame.


Coach Pop was in a somewhat playful mood, saying “I’m trying to keep this light, I’m scared shitless… we’ve lost like a million games in a row.”

http://www.48minutesofhell.com/spurs-vs-celtics-notes-from-shootaround

[Dex]

we lost this game because:
1) Manu Ginobili
2) Pop NOT calling a timeout in midst of that 14-0 run, retarded
3) Matt Bonner's horrible defense
4) Neal/Bonner terrible from 3

5) Letting Rondo take WIDE-OPEN jumpers all goddamn night.

I know going under the screen is the right thing to do with Rondo, but you at least gotta try to get in his vicinity. He's not a great shooter, but he looks a lot fucking better if he's shooting them like he's in the practice gym.

[Strategic]

This team reminds me of a nine year olds puzzle. Pop is a six year old trying to put it together. The first time he makes a mistake you pat him on the back. Lately all I want to do is box his fucking ears. It may all work out in the end, but right now it appears that he has totally jacked it off. I'm sorry, but Duncan is a 12 to 15 point and 10 rebound guy (I know he can cut lose, but how often?). Tonight he was 20/13, but with 5 turnovers. That is not enough to draw the D off of the 3 point line. Is Pop trying to get back to the end of last year when Timmy would try to dribble in the paint to get a shot? TD can no longer beat these teams by himself!!! Bonner, Neal, Hill and Ginobili all sucked tonight. Bonner hits two big shots in a row in the third but then acts like he doesn't know when to shoot or not to shoot after that. When Parker can get to the hole nobody can stop him, but when they clog up the middle Tony acts like he doesn't know what to do with the ball. I don't know what to say about Manu except sometimes he doesn't know when to stop. This funk hasn't cost them HCA yet, but it has cost them any rest period before the playoffs. Keeping the faith. Go Spurs, get it together.
:bang:bang

[Giuseppe]

Crawl, motherf'er's, crawl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[duncan228]

Post-Game Video

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175855

Quotes

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=175853


Celtics snap funk, send Spurs to 5th straight loss (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011033124)
By Paul J. Weber

The Boston Celtics finally got a big win and their big man back. They may also reclaim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

And the San Antonio Spurs, at this dismal rate, may give first place in the West away.

Rajon Rondo had 22 points and 14 assists, center Jermaine O'Neal returned from knee surgery, and the Celtics ended a miserable March by not slipping further from first in the East, beating the slumping Spurs 107-97 on Thursday night.

Paul Pierce added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Kevin Garnett scored 20. The Celtics won for just the second time in five games and, ending the month at 9-7, moved within two games of Chicago for the No. 1 playoff seed with eight games to go.

"This is a good place to try and gather some momentum," Pierce said. "You talk about the team with the best record. What better place to get back on track than here?"

Yet these days, San Antonio's luster isn't what it used to be.

The Spurs lost their fifth straight -- their longest skid all season -- and the timing couldn't be worse. San Antonio has seven games left but is in danger of falling out of first place after comfortably being No. 1 in the West all season.

San Antonio's woes have renewed hopes the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas have of taking the top spot. The Lakers were 3 games back and hosted the Mavericks -- who were 3 1/2 games behind the Spurs -- later Thursday night.

"Of course we want to be No. 1. We don't want to give it way just because we like being underdogs," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. "We want to win it. We put ourselves in an unbelievable situation."

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 23 points. Tim Duncan returned after missing the last four games with a sprained ankle and finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

The Celtics celebrated the return of their own big man: O'Neal. The 14-year veteran played for the first time since January after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He scored five points in 11 minutes and hit his only two shots.

He turned his last into a three-point play after getting fouled, a play that swung the momentum back to Boston after the Spurs had gotten within seven early in the fourth.

O'Neal said he felt winded at times and said he was shocked at the pace of the game. It was just the 18th game for O'Neal this season.

"We need him back," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, alluding to his depleted frontcourt that is still without Shaquille O'Neal. "And we need the minutes."

Glen Davis scored 16 points as Boston had four players in double figures.

Nenad Krstic injured his knee during the game, and according to Rivers, will have an MRI on Saturday and will miss games on Friday and Sunday.

"I don't know," Rivers said when asked about the severity of the injury. "He's out, obviously this weekend, then an MRI. That's as far as I'm going to go."

The Celtics broke open a tie game at halftime behind a 12-0 run in the third quarter. The Spurs never got closer than six after that.

The Celtics arrived in San Antonio after losing to Indiana, Charlotte and Memphis in three of their last four games. Two weeks ago, Boston (52-22) was tied for first place in the East.

Miami has also crawled back into contention for first, sitting a half-game behind Boston, but a big win against the toughest opponent they've seen in weeks kept the Celtics ahead of the Heat.

Then again, the Spurs aren't looking so tough lately.

San Antonio (57-18) didn't panic after losing four games with Duncan sidelined. But not even its starting five back and healthy could help the Spurs stop their season-worst skid.

The Spurs had nine losses at the All-Star break. They've dropped more than half that number of games in the past week alone.

"It happens to everybody. And this is about the worst time it could happen, at the end of the year," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before tipoff. "If it has to happen, you want it to happen 30 games in so you can get back and recover. So we got to step on it."

Ginobili, who sat out Monday's loss against Portland with a left quad contusion, had nine points on just 4-of-13 shooting. Richard Jefferson added 14 points.

NOTES: Boston swept the season series 2-0 and will be the only team the Spurs didn't beat this season. ... Spurs F Antonio McDyess tweaked his left ankle in the second half but was cleared to return.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2011033124

[Venti Quattro]

Rondo and Green attacking Bonner at will :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

[duncan228]

Boston Celtics 107, San Antonio Spurs 97: “We got a little bit three happy…” (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)
by Jesse Blanchard
48 Minutes of Hell

AT&T CENTER–Live by the three die by the three. In basketball the three-pointer can be the great equalizer, negating a lack of athleticism or talent, providing enough spacing to allow superior skill to offset superior athletes.

Shooting is how the San Antonio Spurs have managed to consistently reload with late draft picks and free agents off the scrap heap.

The rub, of course, is what happens when those shots don’t find the bottom of the net. To say that these Spurs have been over reliant on the three-point shot all season is a bit of a misconception–they have been able to conjure up other forms of offense all season. To say that the Spurs were over reliant on the three-point shot tonight in their 107-97 loss (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310331024), however, would be spot on.

“The game was won when we got a little three-happy in the third quarter and the transition defense didn’t follow,” head coach Gregg Popovich said. “Some of the shots were really good and open, some were contest, but the (lack of) transition after it was really important and they took advantage of it.

“They made it a 10-point game at that point and we couldn’t get back in it.”

For most of three quarters both teams executed at the highest levels of basketball, which is what you would come to expect from the Boston Celtics and Spurs. Then the Spurs hit a shooting drought, going 3-for-9 in the third quarter from long distance, and compounded matters by not getting back on defense.

Long shots led to long rebounds, which ultimately ended in 10 Boston third quarter fast break points. There’s the difference on a night that started out fairly promising.

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/boston-celtics-107-san-antonio-spurs-97-we-got-a-little-bit-three-happy#more-13453)

[duncan228]

Hit the link for the list.


One for the books: Current losing streak longest in the Duncan era (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/03/31/one-for-the-books-current-losing-streak-worst-in-the-duncan-era/)
Tim Griffin

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/03/31/one-for-the-books-current-losing-streak-worst-in-the-duncan-era/

[Mugen]

im not sure how many delusional articles the 48MOH guys can come up with before this team gets bounced from the playoffs.

[duncan228]

A 'Caption This' that won't go well. :lol

http://www.nba.com/spurs/photos/110331_ah_4.jpg

[ducks]

he should be pissed off, he's a main culprit in this l

yep

[duncan228]

Spurs’ nosedive hits five (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/03/31/spurs%e2%80%99-nosedive-hits-five/)
By Jeff McDonald

Now seems like a good time to panic.

The Spurs are slip-sliding on a five-game losing streak. The Lakers are closing fast. A season’s worth of good work is poised to come undone at the regular-season finish line.

The line to jump off the Tower of Americas starts to the right. Take a number and say your prayers.

Just don’t expect Manu Ginobili to be taking the plunge, even after Thursday’s 107-97 loss to Boston that came even with the Spurs at full strength, and sent their skid spinning into uncharted waters.

“I don’t think we’re in a crisis, or playing like crap,” Ginobili said. “We’re in a great situation. We’ve just got to keep fighting.”

Keep reading... (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/03/31/spurs%e2%80%99-nosedive-hits-five/)

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/03/31/spurs%e2%80%99-nosedive-hits-five/

[Obstructed_View]

Did TPark come in here and give his "tip your hat to jumpshooters" line yet?

[objective]

im not sure how many delusional articles the 48MOH guys can come up with before this team gets bounced from the playoffs.

the 48 MoH guys are delusional Bonner lovers, and therefore, buffoonish morons.

Seriously, one of those guys was on the ESPN NBA Today podcast a couple of months ago and actually talked up Bonner as being the key against the Lakers in the playoffs because of how good his is at spreading the floor.

And of course in their own podcasts they've whined in exasperation about Spurs fans not liking Bonner. AND act like they don't know why. Like Bonner was awesome in the playoffs the last two years and there is irrational hatred of him.

I'm sure they're great guys and all, and I know they read this forum and are liberally 'inspired' by what they see here, but they are clueless.

[objective]

If Bonner is in late in the 4th there really is no point in watching.

:lol

and Bonner went on to close the game . . .

[objective]

HOLY CRAP at this nonsense from 48 MoH:
(http://www.48minutesofhell.com/boston-celtics-107-san-antonio-spurs-97-we-got-a-little-bit-three-happy#more-13453)


Without an athletic advantage, the Spurs lean on execution, which ultimately relies on spacing.

This is why Richard Jefferson is a better fit even with lesser numbers, [and] Matt Bonner still warrants a spot in the rotation, ...

Good lord. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

[TampaDude]

Agreed I think most of these people who are down on the spurs are actually LOSERS in real life.

I'm not a loser, I'm a winner.

Too bad the Spurs aren't right now.

:lol

[duncan228]

Assist of the night. :)

iLQJDuRpS0Q

[crc21209]

Rondo and Green attacking Bonner at will :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

My grandma could attack on Matt Bonner. It's fucking pathetic. When the Spurs went up 65-61 and the C's called timeout, I told my girlfriend right away that I bet Doc told his players whoever Bonner was guarding, to go at him. Sure enough, Jeff Green went at him 3 straight times, and fucking scored. :td The game I chose to go see for my birthday was ruined by Matt fucking Bonner....:flipoff :lol

[LakerHater]

Assist of the night. :)

iLQJDuRpS0Q
Thats was awesome... So was the Manu fake on KG!

[DPG21920]

Did TPark come in here and give his "tip your hat to jumpshooters" line yet?

No. His MO is for the Spurs to suck defensively for multiple games, then they have one good one (which is the outlier and not the norm) poke his head in and say:

"I guess the Spurs are a pretty good defensive team despite what you arm chair idiots say".