Splitter finally gets valuable minutes, Spurs finally got blown out

[awktalk]

He played well in his first stint. Then, Pop starts him in place of Dice in the 2nd half, MEM goes on a 12-0 run, and the game is lost. It isn't on him, but to the 18699 posters on this board begging for Splitter minutes, this should be a wakeup call. Dude SUCKED to start the 2nd half and had a hand in costing us this game. At least the first 2 losses were close, with Splitter in the rotation, we get blown out with his -14 performance. Discuss.

[8FOR!3]

The fuck are you smokin brudda?

[thOOdee]

lol......your an idiot.....what game were u watching

[celldweller]

He played well in his first stint. Then, Pop starts him in place of Dice in the 2nd half, MEM goes on a 12-0 run, and the game is lost. It isn't on him, but to the 18699 posters on this board begging for Splitter minutes, this should be a wakeup call. Dude SUCKED to start the 2nd half and had a hand in costing us this game. At least the first 2 losses were close, with Splitter in the rotation, we get blown out with his -14 performance. Discuss.

Stupid Post. Your kidding right?

[Obstructed_View]

He committed the one non-stupid foul during that stretch, which constituted the best defense played on Gasol in four games.

[TacoCabanaFajitas]

Fucking idiot. Ignore every member of the team fumbling passes and acting as if the ball were a goddamn hot potato

[ColinB]

What is up with people on here putting losses on one player?

You guys look at minutes and the final score, and from there, form your conclusion. I want to say you're idiot, but maybe you're just misled by the number of posters here who do the same.

[spurs2112]

Yeah cause Splitter caused the 5 fouls in the first 2 minutes of the second half right.

[jag]

wow

[Mugen]

you should log in under Splittman4evah and get somebody to agree with you in this thread.

[thOOdee]

He committed the one non-stupid foul during that stretch, which constituted the best defense played on Gasol in four games.

exactly......and throughout a steady bombardment of whistles being blown, there wasnt really any time for anybody to get any rhythm during that stint. i was pissed to see pop bring bonner right back in when things calmed down.....fucking let your best players PLAY!!!!!

[Warlord23]

Understand this - Pop playing Splitter today wasn't an adjustment, it was a panic move, plain and simple.

If Pop really wanted Splitter to contribute in the playoffs, he would have given him time with the starters during the regular season. Instead he keeps him nailed to the bench the whole season and out of his playoff rotation. And finally brings him in when he is down 1-2, looking down the barrel of a 1-3 hole.

In playing Splitter, Pop basically admitted that his original plan regarding the Spurs playoff rotation and minutes distribution was a failure. He threw Splitter to the wolves as a last-ditch panic move. No surprise that it failed miserably.

This season wasn't lost in the last 4 games. it was lost in the first 82.

[mexicanjunior]

Splitter was the best frontcourt player we had this game...it's a shame Pop waited until the series was over to allow him on the court.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

He played well in his first stint. Then, Pop starts him in place of Dice in the 2nd half, MEM goes on a 12-0 run, and the game is lost. It isn't on him, but to the 18699 posters on this board begging for Splitter minutes, this should be a wakeup call. Dude SUCKED to start the 2nd half and had a hand in costing us this game. At least the first 2 losses were close, with Splitter in the rotation, we get blown out with his -14 performance. Discuss.

Splitter wasn't on the floor for all of that Memphis run, but let's look at the play by play:

Sam Young makes jumper

Jefferson misses shot

Splitter good foul on Gasol, 2 FTs

Splitter miss

Gasol Miss

Parker turnover
Jefferson foul

Parker 3 pointer miss

Splitter foul on Conley drive, 2 FTs

Hill, Hill personal foul, Allen 2 FTs

Splitter replaced by Dice


Clearly Splitter caused two turnovers and a missed three pointer by Tony, while at the other end Splitter was the last line of defense when Conley and Allen were getting to the rim.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Understand this - Pop playing Splitter today wasn't an adjustment, it was a panic move, plain and simple.

If Pop really wanted Splitter to contribute in the playoffs, he would have given him time with the starters during the regular season. Instead he keeps him nailed to the bench the whole season and out of his playoff rotation. And finally brings him in when he is down 1-2, looking down the barrel of a 1-3 hole.

In playing Splitter, Pop basically admitted that his original plan regarding the Spurs playoff rotation and minutes distribution was a failure. He threw Splitter to the wolves as a last-ditch panic move. No surprise that it failed miserably.

This season wasn't lost in the last 4 games. it was lost in the first 82.

This.

And the more damning thing is it's the same shit he did two years ago with Hill, and last year with Blair. And what we all called happening throughout the season when Splitter couldn't get any run.

The game has passed Pop by.

[Obstructed_View]

Spurs in seven.

[Mugen]

Understand this - Pop playing Splitter today wasn't an adjustment, it was a panic move, plain and simple.

If Pop really wanted Splitter to contribute in the playoffs, he would have given him time with the starters during the regular season. Instead he keeps him nailed to the bench the whole season and out of his playoff rotation. And finally brings him in when he is down 1-2, looking down the barrel of a 1-3 hole.

In playing Splitter, Pop basically admitted that his original plan regarding the Spurs playoff rotation and minutes distribution was a failure. He threw Splitter to the wolves as a last-ditch panic move. No surprise that it failed miserably.

This season wasn't lost in the last 4 games. it was lost in the first 82.

Bingo.

It took Pop 85 games to realize that Spurs were too small. In the end, his arrogance made him look as stupid as ever.

[L.I.T]

Correlation without causation.

It is quite difficult to ignore though the absolutely pathetic performances turned in by the backcourt. And the knee jerk coaching moves by Pop.

[ChumpDumper]

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li876rjVFn1qgmczr.gif

[awktalk]

lol......your an idiot.....what game were u watching

I've watched 4 games. The first three we got 1 win and the other 2 losses were decided by 3 points or less. This game, Spurs got blown out.


Yeah cause Splitter caused the 5 fouls in the first 2 minutes of the second half

Umm, he had 2 of them.


What is up with people on here putting losses on one player?

I never said it was his fault. Just pointing to the facts of the first 4 games. In fact, I said "It isn't on him, but to the 18699 posters on this board begging for Splitter minutes, this should be a wakeup call". i.e. he is not the savior that 90% of the posters on this board think he is

[Doe]

It was perplexing to see the Spurs perimeter defense take a nose dive when Splitter entered the game. Did the guards think he was going to play it for them?

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I've watched 4 games. The first three we got 1 win and the other 2 losses were decided by 3 points or less. This game, Spurs got blown out.



Umm, he had 2 of them.



I never said it was his fault. Just pointing to the facts of the first 4 games. In fact, I said "It isn't on him, but to the 18699 posters on this board begging for Splitter minutes, this should be a wakeup call". i.e. he is not the savior that 90% of the posters on this board think he is


Yep, it's Splitters fault that the Memphis guards were blowing by Parker, Jefferson, and Hill on the perimeter.

[Obstructed_View]

I think the guards thought that he was going to just clean everything up for them.

[awktalk]

Def no excuses, the guards played poor. Tony may have shot well, but 7 TOs just killed us. As did the first 3 minutes of the 2nd half when Pop inexplicably started Tiago instead of Dice. That decision cost us the game. Splitter was great when only one of Gasol & Randolph were on the floor, when they were both out there he was sodomized, hence the -14 plus causing us to get in the penalty with 9:00 to go in the 3rd.

[ElNono]

Def no excuses, the guards played poor. Tony may have shot well, but 7 TOs just killed us. As did the first 3 minutes of the 2nd half when Pop inexplicably started Tiago instead of Dice. That decision cost us the game. Splitter was great when only one of Gasol & Randolph were on the floor, when they were both out there he was sodomized, hence the -14 plus causing us to get in the penalty with 9:00 to go in the 3rd.

All 14 from the FT line, IIRC... if Splitter committed only 2 of those fouls, how is anything over -4 on him?

[4>0rings]

You know when McDonald writes his blog he's going to be in constant orgasm the Spliter didnt save the day

[lowdown]

Dumb post. That substition (starting the 2nd half) just demonstrates poor coaching which is the same as Splitter not getting any minutes the prior 3 games.

[awktalk]

All 14 from the FT line, IIRC... if Splitter committed only 2 of those fouls, how is anything over -4 on him?

He was -14 for the game. The two fouls he committed to start the 3rd allowed the Griz to get into the penalty with over 9:00 to play in the quarter. And they proceeded to put the game away during that stretch with a 14-0 run. As I said, the loss is not on his shoulders, but for everyone freaking out about his minutes, take a look at what happened when he was on the floor in the 2nd half. A 2pt halftime lead went to a double-digit deficit and a doomed quarter in the first few minutes of the 3rd.

[4>0rings]

If only Pop coddled Bonner every second of the day with carte blanche shooting and playing major minutes the entire season for multiple seasons.

[Nathan89]

We wanted the better option not a savior.
Awktalk=idiot

[ElNono]

He was -14 for the game.

Plus/Minus? Meaningless stat for personal production. If that's the only measuring stick you're going to use, then Hill costs us the game since he almost doubled him at -26.


The two fouls he committed to start the 3rd allowed the Griz to get into the penalty with over 9:00 to play in the quarter.

You need 4 fouls to get into the penalty. He only comited two.


And they proceeded to put the game away during that stretch with a 14-0 run.

Of which Tiago was only responsible for 4 points. And that's for the 14 point side. Who was responsible for the 0 side of 14-0? All Tiago too?


As I said, the loss is not on his shoulders, but for everyone freaking out about his minutes, take a look at what happened when he was on the floor in the 2nd half. A 2pt halftime lead went to a double-digit deficit and a doomed quarter in the first few minutes of the 3rd.

You're assigning a 14-0 run (all on FT) to a guy that didn't take 7 shots, nor committed all 7 fouls...

How do you suggest Tiago should have defended the other 10 free throws that weren't his fault? Would have Blair or Bonner fared better? Please expand on this thought.

It could have easily been a 20-0 run if he didn't defend Gasol well on the block during that period, including grabbing a couple of rebounds over him and Haddadi. He did look somewhat lost out there, being that it was his first playoff game, but to chalk up a 14-0 run on the guy when he couldn't defend free throws, or didn't take shots, it's kind of inane.

[4>0rings]

WTkCLmsDPaA&feature=related

[awktalk]

Plus/Minus? Meaningless stat for personal production. If that's the only measuring stick you're going to use, then Hill costs us the game since he almost doubled him at -26.



You need 4 fouls to get into the penalty. He only comited two.



Of which Tiago was only responsible for 4 points. And that's for the 14 point side. Who was responsible for the 0 side of 14-0? All Tiago too?



You're assigning a 14-0 run (all on FT) to a guy that didn't take 7 shots, nor committed all 7 fouls...

How do you suggest Tiago should have defended the other 10 free throws that weren't his fault? Would have Blair or Bonner fared better? Please expand on this thought.

It could have easily been a 20-0 run if he didn't defend Gasol well on the block during that period, including grabbing a couple of rebounds over him and Haddadi. He did look somewhat lost out there, being that it was his first playoff game, but to chalk up a 14-0 run on the guy when he couldn't defend free throws, or didn't take shots, it's kind of inane.

Hill was awful, hence the -26.

2 fouls in two minutes which results in the Griz shooting the penalty from the 9 minute mark is not blameless. Ok, great, he didn't commit all 5 of them. Props.

A 14-0 run is the worst the Spurs have suffered during the series. Which was completely unexpected considering they played about their best half of the series through the first two quarters. All I know is that Splitter started the 2nd half when he never has before and the Spurs lost the game in the first 3 minutes, never to contend for the rest of the way. Of course it wasn't his fault, but he greatly contributed to the meltdown that may cost the Spurs their season.

[Cessation]

You guys getting trolled.

[ElNono]

Hill was awful, hence the -26.

2 fouls in two minutes which results in the Griz shooting the penalty from the 9 minute mark is not blameless. Ok, great, he didn't commit all 5 of them. Props.

Ok, myth one out: He didn't put the Spurs over the penalty.

Who else comitted fouls during that stretch? Let's out who are responsible for that...


A 14-0 run is the worst the Spurs have suffered during the series. Which was completely unexpected considering they played about their best half of the series through the first two quarters. All I know is that Splitter started the 2nd half when he never has before and the Spurs lost the game in the first 3 minutes, never to contend for the rest of the way. Of course it wasn't his fault, but he greatly contributed to the meltdown that may cost the Spurs their season.

Nice. Avoid the points completely and go with the "All I know is that Splitter started the 2nd half".

Don't dodge the questions:

- How much he contributed on failing to defend the other 10 free throws that weren't his fault?

- How about how much he contributed on the Spurs turning the ball over repeatedly or the Spurs not making a single shot?

Please, feel free to be loquacious when you explain those.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Hill was awful, hence the -26.

2 fouls in two minutes which results in the Griz shooting the penalty from the 9 minute mark is not blameless. Ok, great, he didn't commit all 5 of them. Props.

A 14-0 run is the worst the Spurs have suffered during the series. Which was completely unexpected considering they played about their best half of the series through the first two quarters. All I know is that Splitter started the 2nd half when he never has before and the Spurs lost the game in the first 3 minutes, never to contend for the rest of the way. Of course it wasn't his fault, but he greatly contributed to the meltdown that may cost the Spurs their season.

Why is your retarded ass still trying to pin a 14-0 run on a guy taken out of the game halfway through it.

LOL bitching about his two fouls. Damn Tiago, he shoulda just let them dunk and get the crowd in it!

[ElNono]

Why is your retarded ass still trying to pin a 14-0 run on a guy taken out of the game halfway through it.

LOL bitching about his two fouls. Damn Tiago, he shoulda just let them dunk and get the crowd in it!

:lol Tiago should have blocked the free throws!!!

[rmt]

This series is all on Pop - from resigning Bonner and RJ to failing to integrate Splitter in the RS to panicking and starting him in the second half to small-ball with RJ at PF and watching Arthur continually abuse him.

How many minutes has Splitter played with Duncan/Parker/starting unit? Why didn't he just do what he did in the first half and bring him in with the second unit and Manu? Stupid, stupid move. And to not play Neal (who can put up points in a hurry) until the game was out of hand.

RJ - what a useless, ill-fitting player - stuck with him for 4 years.

Heart-wrenching to see Manu stand there and watch Battier shoot that 3.

To the OP, Splitter was the best big out there tonight.

[awktalk]

Don't dodge the questions:

- How much he contributed on failing to defend the other 10 free throws that weren't his fault?

- How about how much he contributed on the Spurs turning the ball over repeatedly or the Spurs not making a single shot?

Please, feel free to be loquacious when you explain those.

Look, the loss was not the fault of any one player. When did anyone ever claim that? It was a total team breakdown in the 2nd half, from top to bottom. But the Spurs had the lead at the break, and then a giant, shocking, SpursTalk-sponsored change was made by starting Tiago in the 2nd half. He got his minutes. He had his chance. And the Spurs got run out of the gym during that time. The point isn't to place blame on Tiago, but to point out simply, to all the armchair coaches, that there is no magic bullet to beating the Grizz. And for the thousands of words that have been posted on ST about how the Spurs wouldn't suck if Splitter would just get a chance, well..... that didn't work out too well.

[Cessation]

Troll getting owned.

[mingus]

It's funny how certain people who didn't post anything after game 3 are posting in this thread to grasp at straws to argue Splitter was at fault.

Spurs played fine basketball in the first half and were poised to win the game. Splitter coming off the bench had a lot to do with that. Problem was Pop put him in there with Duncan to start the second half. He changed a formula that was working better than any first half all series. For what?

[ElNono]

Look, the loss was not the fault of any one player. When did anyone ever claim that?

Don't move the goalposts. You put the 14-0 squarely run on Tiago's shoulders. I'm asking you to back it up. Answer the questions.



It was a total team breakdown in the 2nd half, from top to bottom. But the Spurs had the lead at the break, and then a giant, shocking, SpursTalk-sponsored change was made by starting Tiago in the 2nd half. He got his minutes. He had his chance.

A bunch of guys played those first few fatal minutes in the 3rd quarter... Tony, Manu, RJ... Some of those guys had as many fouls and more turnovers than Tiago...


And the Spurs got run out of the gym during that time. The point isn't to place blame on Tiago, but to point out simply, to all the armchair coaches, that there is no magic bullet to beating the Grizz.

So you're pinning the 14-0 run on Tiago, even though he likely had the least to do with it, because you're trying to make a completely unrelated point? Well, that's rich. You could have started there.


And for the thousands of words that have been posted on ST about how the Spurs wouldn't suck if Splitter would just get a chance, well..... that didn't work out too well.

The Spurs didn't suck when Tiago was out there, IMO, unless you want to focus just on those 4 mins (out of the 20 he played). He played well in the first half and gave us a lift. He played as well as you could expect defensively from him in the 2nd half.

Neither Blair or Bonner has given us shit offensively, so the 10 points he provided were a bonus (or at least as good as Blair).

There's no magic bullet to beat the Grizz... there's also no magic bullet that points to Tiago being the sole culprit of the 14-0 run. If anything, Pop panicking and playing Tiago is nothing but an admission that the armchair coaches were onto something.

[mingus]

Arguing for or against Splitter right now should take a back seat after what we all witnessed tonight, though. And that is that no amount of trying to upgrade the roster around Tim Duncan is going to make up for the fact that in reality Tim Duncan is a borderline all-star at best at this point in his career. You can't compensate for not having a superstar top 15 player of all time. The team is just mo longer competitive. That was clear to me for the first time tonight.

[awktalk]

Don't move the goalposts. You put the 14-0 squarely run on Tiago's shoulders. I'm asking you to back it up. Answer the questions.


I don't know how many different ways that I can say Splitter contributed to, but was not the cause of, the 0-14 open to the 2nd half.



A bunch of guys played those first few fatal minutes in the 3rd quarter... Tony, Manu, RJ... Some of those guys had as many fouls and more turnovers than Tiago...


Tim was awful, RJ was non-existent, there were 5 fouls committed in under 3 minutes, and Splitter had 2 of those. Maybe they were good fouls, but they still resulted in MEM in the bonus with more than 9+min to play in the quarter. And they drowned us. To remove all blame from Splitter is as ridiculous as placing all blame on him.



So you're pinning the 14-0 run on Tiago, even though he likely had the least to do with it, because you're trying to make a completely unrelated point? Well, that's rich. You could have started there.


Nope. Three-quarters of all threads between game 1 and this game have been "Fire Pop because he doesn't play Splitter" threads. And Splitter finally gets meaningful, valuable minutes, and the Spurs still lose. Yet I don't see any, "Damn, I was wrong about Splitter minutes" threads.



The Spurs didn't suck when Tiago was out there, IMO, unless you want to focus just on those 4 mins (out of the 20 he played). He played well in the first half and gave us a lift. He played as well as you could expect defensively from him in the 2nd half.


He was great in his first stint, stringing together nice stands on both ends of the court in the 1st and 2nd quarters. Like the rest of the Spurs, he collapsed in the 2nd half when it mattered. And when 90% of ST posters are wanting to fire Pop over lack of Splitter minutes, someone needs to step up and say that he is not the Rosetta Stone of the Spurs.



Neither Blair or Bonner has given us shit offensively, so the 10 points he provided were a bonus (or at least as good as Blair).

There's no magic bullet to beat the Grizz... there's also no magic bullet that points to Tiago being the sole culprit of the 14-0 run. If anything, Pop panicking and playing Tiago is nothing but an admission that the armchair coaches were onto something.

The trolls have been fed. Splitter got the minutes that everyone was BEGGING Pop to give him. And it didn't make a difference either way. There's plenty of blame to go around, but the "POP SUX FIRE HIM PLAY SPLITTER" nonsense needs to stop.

[024]

this game only confirmed the fact that pop playing splitter would not have impacted the game either way. the deficiencies of the entire roster led to this deficit, not just because of one player or coaching decision.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Line by line responses are so lame. No one ever reads them.

[ElNono]

I don't know how many different ways that I can say Splitter contributed to, but was not the cause of, the 0-14 open to the 2nd half.

You could start by answering the questions, tbh.


Tim was awful, RJ was non-existent, there were 5 fouls committed in under 3 minutes, and Splitter had 2 of those. Maybe they were good fouls, but they still resulted in MEM in the bonus with more than 9+min to play in the quarter. And they drowned us. To remove all blame from Splitter is as ridiculous as placing all blame on him.

Myth two out: Tiago and his fouls were not the sole responsible for the 14-0 run.


Nope. Three-quarters of all threads between game 1 and this game have been "Fire Pop because he doesn't play Splitter" threads. And Splitter finally gets meaningful, valuable minutes, and the Spurs still lose. Yet I don't see any, "Damn, I was wrong about Splitter minutes" threads.

Have you considered that perhaps that has to do with producing more than the guy he was replacing?


He was great in his first stint, stringing together nice stands on both ends of the court in the 1st and 2nd quarters. Like the rest of the Spurs, he collapsed in the 2nd half when it mattered. And when 90% of ST posters are wanting to fire Pop over lack of Splitter minutes, someone needs to step up and say that he is not the Rosetta Stone of the Spurs.

People were as equally worried about Tony's production... you just pretending that they weren't....


The trolls have been fed. Splitter got the minutes that everyone was BEGGING Pop to give him. And it didn't make a difference either way. There's plenty of blame to go around, but the "POP SUX FIRE HIM PLAY SPLITTER" nonsense needs to stop.

I don't think any realistic fan here expects Pop to be fired, much less over Splitter minutes... but there's no doubt that Pop cornered himself by not having Splitter ready for the playoffs...

[Capt Bringdown]

Arguing for or against Splitter right now should take a back seat after what we all witnessed tonight, though. And that is that no amount of trying to upgrade the roster around Tim Duncan is going to make up for the fact that in reality Tim Duncan is a borderline all-star at best at this point in his career. You can't compensate for not having a superstar top 15 player of all time. The team is just mo longer competitive. That was clear to me for the first time tonight.

You might be right. Parker is our most consistent player, the only one of the big 3 closest to his prime, and he's having a bog-awful series. If we're going to have realistic assessment of TD, we've got to face Manu's decline as well. I've got zero faith that he can remain healthy and play at an all-star level anymore. The big 3's finished.

[Mal]

Dont blame Splitter. He worked fine with Bonner in 2q. With Duncan they just crowded the paint, making no room for drives. Zach or Gasol didnt killed Spurs yesterday. It was theirs backcourt and benches players. They played terrific.

[TDMVPDPOY]

its bs how you focus on parts of the shit game, but u didnt say anything about his first quarter performance, which was better then what rj, blair, bonner put up for 4 games...

[Manu_Ginobili]

He played well in his first stint. Then, Pop starts him in place of Dice in the 2nd half, MEM goes on a 12-0 run, and the game is lost. It isn't on him, but to the 18699 posters on this board begging for Splitter minutes, this should be a wakeup call. Dude SUCKED to start the 2nd half and had a hand in costing us this game. At least the first 2 losses were close, with Splitter in the rotation, we get blown out with his -14 performance. Discuss.

What a stupid post! Duncan, McDyess, and Jefferson - all 3 of them, had 10 pts combined, same as Tiago!!! Did you look at the box score before writing this non-sense??? In addition, Tiago's offensive rebounds were 6, i.e. MORE than the entire team combined!!! What are we talking about here? If Tiago played in Game 3, the Spurs would've won it probably, since that game was pretty damn close, a loss by 3 pts...

If Pop wants to give himself another chance, he should start Tiago in the next game, and in game 6, which will be the MOST important game of the series!

I don't understand Popovich anyway - the whole world saw that we DO NOT HAVE front line in the last game against L.A. at the ATT center /we've got blown out at that game!!!/, so WHAT WAS POPOVICH THINKING about??? How can you beat Memphis without a true center? NO WAY! Dyess is too old for that...

GO SPURS!!!

[TDMVPDPOY]

if we going out in the next game, might as well start splitter and give him the playoff experience, since he wont get any in the foreseeable future....

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

In 20 minutes last night, Tiago nearly matched the production (points, rebounds, and defense) of Bonner and Blair combined in games 1-3.

And awfultalk wants to try and pin last night's loss on Splitter :lol

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

In 20 minutes last night, Tiago nearly matched the production (points, rebounds, and defense) of Bonner and Blair combined in games 1-3.

And awfultalk wants to try and pin last night's loss on Splitter :lol

[BRs.Ganso]

Understand this - Pop playing Splitter today wasn't an adjustment, it was a panic move, plain and simple.

If Pop really wanted Splitter to contribute in the playoffs, he would have given him time with the starters during the regular season. Instead he keeps him nailed to the bench the whole season and out of his playoff rotation. And finally brings him in when he is down 1-2, looking down the barrel of a 1-3 hole.

In playing Splitter, Pop basically admitted that his original plan regarding the Spurs playoff rotation and minutes distribution was a failure. He threw Splitter to the wolves as a last-ditch panic move. No surprise that it failed miserably.

This season wasn't lost in the last 4 games. it was lost in the first 82.

:toast

[LongtimeSpursFan]

Splitter was the best frontcourt player we had this game...it's a shame Pop waited until the series was over to allow him on the court.

Splitters best performance was in the first half against Haddadi. The same Haddadi who had only played several minutes in game 1 and was pulled due to sucking. So while calling Splitter 'the best frontcourt player' when all of our frontcourt played poorly is not saying much.

[Isitjustme?]

I would start Blair, and play Splitter and Dice together off the bench. Blair was semi-decent on Randolph when he played. I would not put Bonner on the active roster.

[fyatuk]

He played well in his first stint. Then, Pop starts him in place of Dice in the 2nd half, MEM goes on a 12-0 run, and the game is lost. It isn't on him, but to the 18699 posters on this board begging for Splitter minutes, this should be a wakeup call. Dude SUCKED to start the 2nd half and had a hand in costing us this game. At least the first 2 losses were close, with Splitter in the rotation, we get blown out with his -14 performance. Discuss.

It'd help if Jefferson and Neal didn't play 20 off their man, or if Bonner could defend someone who has post moves, or if more than 1 person could hit shots at a good clip in a game, etc.

Spurs have just continually played like crap. They pretty much have ever since McDyess went into the starting lineup over Blair (not saying that's the cause, just a rough timeframe).

But yeah, Splitted played much worse to open the second half than he did during the first. I'm not sure he knew what he was supposed to be doing with Tim out there as well.

[SplitterHook]

Splitter in 20 minutes had twice more offensive rebounds than the entire spurs team...

[pad300]

Man, some people are being pretty harsh on splitter...

10 pts on 5/9, 9 rebounds, 1 TO, 2 PF in 22 minutes.

That's the best statistical line any of our bigs has put up in the playoffs this year. Even TD in game 1 isn't as productive per minute as it took him 36 minutes. And Splitter played good defence while doing it.

Some people on this thread are fucking morons...

[Genjuro]

Playing Splitter instead of Blair was the logic move. Starting him along Duncan in the second half didn't make any sense. There was no spacing on the floor, and the Spurs' offense just collapsed.

I don't mean Duncan and Splitter can't play together, but you just can't throw that line-up together and expect it to work right off the bat.

Reminds me of the Spanish NT coach panicking this summer and playing together Marc Gasol and Fran Vázquez without any previous combined experience (it was pretty obvious they were the best bigs in the team and the guy refused to try playing them together in preparation games). Of course it didn't work.

[pjjrfan]

If we know anything about Tiago it is that he is not an offensive player, yet for some apparent reason, Tony and Manu kept feeding him the ball really hard to explain, that one long pass by Manu had to be perfect, it wasn't then Hill feeds him the ball as he was right on the front of the rim to which Tiago couldn't handle. It's not one guy it's the whole team, shooters don't shoot, our two best players have forgotten they have teammates, they are like one of those young inexperienced teams that lose sight of the concept of team ball and start going at it one on one. What happened to all the chemistry from early in the season.

[SCdac]

Without Splitter in the lineup (even for 5 to 15 MPG), our front line is completely identical to last season's front line. The same team that was swept by the Suns. How that is not irking to Poppovich and the Spurs staff, I have no idea... Through out the season, when Tiago got minutes, he seemed to be good for maybe 1 to 3 solid defensive possessions per game (drawing a charge, effecting shots in the paint, etc), it feels like that positive aspect to his game has been excluded from our rotation, a rotation that could use a defensive spark outside of Tim ... I think the bottom line is, younger players like Tiago and Blair are almost certainly going to make mistakes - but we have to play them/let them play their game if we want to go anywhere and develop into a better team.

[SA210]

Understand this - Pop playing Splitter today wasn't an adjustment, it was a panic move, plain and simple.

If Pop really wanted Splitter to contribute in the playoffs, he would have given him time with the starters during the regular season. Instead he keeps him nailed to the bench the whole season and out of his playoff rotation. And finally brings him in when he is down 1-2, looking down the barrel of a 1-3 hole.

In playing Splitter, Pop basically admitted that his original plan regarding the Spurs playoff rotation and minutes distribution was a failure. He threw Splitter to the wolves as a last-ditch panic move. No surprise that it failed miserably.

This season wasn't lost in the last 4 games. it was lost in the first 82.

Wow, this times a million.

:tu

[SA210]

You know when McDonald writes his blog he's going to be in constant orgasm the Spliter didnt save the day

McDonald is an idiot.

[SenorSpur]

Splitter was indeed the lone bright spot in a game, where the Spurs had very little of any.

[Obstructed_View]

Unfortunately, Pop is more likely to sway the way of the OP, and Splitter should witness the Spurs' public embarrassment from his spot on the bench. Though it's not impossible that Splitter will be inserted into the game during garbage time prior to elimination as a way of saying "thank you".

[Cessation]

Pop panicked in the laker loss, and started dice, since then spurs are a .500 ballclub. He fucked up the chemistry, Turd Towers came into existence, 6 game losing streak, manu injured in a pointless last game of the season, things have gone downhill since.

[temujin]

Haddadi finally gets >1' in a game, Memphis routs the Spurs.

Discuss.

[TJastal]

Pop panicked in the laker loss, and started dice, since then spurs are a .500 ballclub. He fucked up the chemistry, Turd Towers came into existence, 6 game losing streak, manu injured in a pointless last game of the season, things have gone downhill since.

Yup. McDyess has maintained from day 1 as a spur he prefers coming off the bench. Instead, he's been flipped from bench to starter and back to bench more times than i can count in his 2 years as a spur.

Poppozit has done him a great disservice.

[Genjuro]

Playing Splitter instead of Blair was the logic move. Starting him along Duncan in the second half didn't make any sense. There was no spacing on the floor, and the Spurs' offense just collapsed.

I don't mean Duncan and Splitter can't play together, but you just can't throw that line-up together and expect it to work right off the bat.

Reminds me of the Spanish NT coach panicking this summer and playing together Marc Gasol and Fran Vázquez without any previous combined experience (it was pretty obvious they were the best bigs in the team and the guy refused to try playing them together in preparation games). Of course it didn't work.
I quote myself again because, regardless the fact that Splitter has played a solid fifth game, it amazes me that Popovich can ever think that a line-up including both Duncan and Splitter, surrounded with Parker, Ginobili and Jefferson, can work at all at this point. Fortunately he reacted quickly and the experiment only lasted for a couple of minutes this time.

If you're gonna play Duncan and Splitter together, which it's already very difficult to make it work considering they haven't teamed-up for the whole regular season, you can't have three guys on the perimeter who all of them look primarly for slashing situations, including a point guard who is not a perimeter threat at all. That's a disaster waiting to happen.

What the hell was he thinking?

[Cessation]

Splitter should have taken blairs minutes all season long. He's taller, better defender and rebounder against quality frontlines than blair. Fucking pop, finally realizing it when spurs are at the brink of elimination.