Grades: Spurs vs. Kings - Jan. 20

[timvp]

The Spurs simply failed to take care of business tonight. After coming out flat, they allowed the lowly Kings to build a 15-point first half lead. Though the Spurs fought all the way back, they never truly took control of the game. The Kings kept at it and escaped the AT&T Center with a much deserved 88-86 victory.

The Spurs almost came back to steal this victory, leading by six points with three and a half minutes to go, but they never did sharpen their attack on either end … and it came back to bite them. I'm really disappointed in this loss; it basically erases all the hard work they did by going out on the road and beating the Magic. To make things worse, the Spurs have to turn around and try to beat the Rockets on the road tomorrow following this emotional letdown.

These are exactly the type of games the Spurs can't afford to lose with Manu Ginobili sidelined. With five of the next six games on the road, San Antonio could soon be looking at .500 unless their level of play picks up a notch or two.

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/2940/jan20box.jpg

Tim Duncan C+
Statistically, Tim Duncan looked like he did decent work in his limited playing time, but I wasn't very impressed. He was having trouble with his mobility and wasn't jumping well. On defense, he failed to get out to contest shots and wasn't very good at protecting the rim. Offensively, his decisions were slow and he seemed to shy away from physical contact. Since he played only 25 minutes, let's hope he's a go for tomorrow night.

Tony Parker B-
Like Duncan, Tony Parker's night wasn't as smooth as his numbers suggest. His level of play was all over the map. While I thought his defense was mostly good in the second half, he didn't bring much focus to that end of the court in the first half. In the fourth quarter, he dominated the middle of the period but left much to be desired in the beginning and end of the quarter.

Richard Jefferson C-
Richard Jefferson is starting to make a habit of this poor, uninspired play. He shows very little hustle, no tenacity and only visits the paint if absolutely necessary. Offensively, he's now starting to pass up open shots, which brings his value down even more. On defense, I thought he had a decent stretch on Tyreke Evans but was otherwise a non-factor.

DeJuan Blair C-
To begin the game, DeJuan Blair played like he forget to stretch. He wasn't moving well at all, wasn't getting any elevation and just looked out of it. In other stints, Blair looked much better. That said, defensive rebounding when he's on the court continues to be a major issue and he hit less than half his shots for the first time since Jan. 5.

Kawhi Leonard C
In the first and third quarters, I thought Kawhi Leonard was pretty darn bad -- as bad as he's been since becoming the starter. In the first quarter he was invisible, in the third quarter he was playing decent defense but his offense was atrocious. That said, Leonard was a beast in the second quarter. His defensive energy was perhaps the biggest reason the Spurs got back in the game so quickly. Leonard was also out in transition a lot that quarter and made good decisions.

Danny Green C+
This was a night of extremes for Danny Green. On one hand, he had a few fantastic drives to the hoop and was passing the ball well. Defensively and on the boards, Green spent most of the time swooping into the action. On the other hand, Green missed some huge shots down the stretch, including an airball on a runner that could have tied the game at the buzzer. He also got schooled repeatedly by Evans on defense. At first, Green got blown off the dribble a few times. Then late in the game, Green -- fearing the drive -- gave Evans a mile of space and Evans hit the game-winning jumper. I'm starting to notice Green have a lot of trouble on defense against players who either are really fast or use a lot of screens. Hopefully it's something he can adjust to, otherwise Pop is going to have to be more selective with Green's matchup.

Tiago Splitter A-
The unquestioned bright spot was Tiago Splitter. I thought he did well in every aspect. Defensively, he defended the rim, moved his feet well out on the perimeter and gave good effort on the glass. Out of everyone on the team, Splitter was by far the most consistent on the defensive end tonight. Offensively, Splitter continues to make great moves. The only thing that stopped him on offense against the Kings was a lack of passing by his teammates. If he would have gotten more passes, he probably could have carried the team to a victory.

Gary Neal D+
Well, he's not afraid to shoot. Gary Neal just keeps firing away. Unfortunately, he's not making many these days. At least tonight I couldn't really argue with his shot selection too much. He wasn't always picking good times to shoot, however the shots he took were usually open. Defensively, he's still bad but he's been a lot better the last two games.

Matt Bonner C+
After Matt Bonner finally hit a three-pointer late in the game, that elevated his evening from sub par to about average. I liked his work on the boards but his man-to-man defense and rotations were a step slow. Physically, I'm not convinced Bonner is totally healthy. He has been running even weirder than normal recently.

Cory Joseph D-
Cory Joseph didn't play much but he played long enough to really hurt the team. Against the athletes on the Kings, Joseph looked like an old man trying in vain to keep up. That's not exactly what you want to see out of a 20-year-old rookie.

Pop C+
The big mistake that Pop made was putting Green on Evans when it mattered. Green was having trouble all night dealing with screens and keeping players in front of him. To put him on Evans was suicide. In hindsight, Pop probably should have put Duncan back into the game to close it out. It would have been nice to have let Duncan rest most of the fourth and then go for another win tomorrow night, but that gamble didn't pay off. If Pop isn't going to trust Joseph, he really needs to go out and sign another point guard. Running Parker into the ground isn't the answer.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

timvp call me a hornfan (yet I've always scoffed Corey) but I don't think it was Corey looking old against the Kings, but flat out scared, flummoxed, and hesitant against a big backcourt that made him look like a midget.

[BoricuaCJA]

I'm still disapointed in our defensive effort and Tiago not getting enough playing time imo with Tim Duncan.

[timvp]

timvp call me a hornfan (yet I've always scoffed Corey) but I don't think it was Corey looking old against the Kings, but flat out scared, flummoxed, and hesitant against a big backcourt that made him look like a midget.

Cory is 6-foot-3 when he stands up straight. But he plays all game hunched over so his effective height is a midget-esque 5-foot-10. So I might have to agree with you there.

I could go with scared but he also looked slow. 37-year-old Steve Kerr looked like a better athlete than CJ tonight.

[blkroadrunners]

I'd probably give Pop a C- at best mainly b/c of his decision making and time management of utilizing his players down the stretch. Aside from that, I concur with the other grades.

[TJastal]

Physically, I'm not convinced Bonner is totally healthy. He has been running even weirder than normal recently.

:lmao

I can only imagine.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Cory is 6-foot-3 when he stands up straight. But he plays all game hunched over so his effective height is a midget-esque 5-foot-10. So I might have to agree with you there.

I could go with scared but he also looked slow. 37-year-old Steve Kerr looked like a better athlete than CJ tonight.

Trutru, he's always dribbled all hunched over like that at UT. But I still think the slowness was hesitancy not physical limitation. Don't get me wrong he is no athlete but he is not tpark either.

I said from the start this kid was not ready. Dumbass should have stayed in schoo'

[Obstructed_View]

Someone needs to explain to me what Joseph did that was so terrible other than to be on the floor when nobody could play defense, grab a rebound or hit a shot.

Gary Neal ran the point at the end of the first quarter and Joseph touched the ball all of three times. The offense didn't go through him and his man scored maybe one basket. He had two shots, both misses, but good moves to get smart attempts. He moved well in the offensive sets, made good passes and didn't look lost on defense. We're saying that one turnover and having an entry pass batted out of bounds is worth a D- and only six minutes of playing time? Give me a break.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

The saddest thing about losing games like this is that if we were going to lose them, Pop might as well have played Joseph, Splitter, Anderson all solid solid minutes to get the acclimated to the system.

20/20 hindsight


PS I think Leonard has hit a wall already


looked pretty obvious to me against the Magic

[ElNono]

Thanks for the writeup, LJ.

IMO, Pop needs to get over himself and stop with this madness of Tim and Tiago not being able to play together. A guy like JJ Hickson who is so bad, that's a big that's been only shooting 37% for the season coming into this game, was able to get whatever he wanted against both Matt and Blair (finished shooting 50%). With Cousins being a physical guy (and Tiago doing a great job on him), and Thomson and Hickson being tall, athletic guys, this was one of those nights where I felt we would have benefited from the twin towers.

As I stated on the game thread too, I was disgusted that the Spurs put forth the energy and effort to come back into this game and then Pop decides not to play your best players to close out the game. As you astutely point out, we're not in a position right now to not give our best shot at winning games. I'm going to be twice as mad if we lose to the Rockets tomorrow (very well within the realm of possibilities).

With regards to Evans, I wondered back in the 2nd quarter when he was already killing us, if we were going to try to change up the defense on him (trap, double) before the game was over, and not too much to my surprise, that never happened. I hardly recognize this coach anymore.

But above all, I'm starting to agree more and more with objective when he says that just watching RJ and Matt out there just sucks a good amount of the fun of watching this team. Richard's body language out there tonight was flat out awful.

And while I agree it's much more difficult to win when your 3's are not falling, tonight Sacramento won shooting just 23% from 3 (Spurs 20%). They made the stops and they had their best guys closing out the game. This is just their second victory on the road this season, six overall. Maybe there's a thing or two we can learn from a bottom feeder like them.

[Obstructed_View]

Leonard's bounce pass to Blair on the break in the second quarter was a thing of beauty.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

OH indeed.

[phxspurfan]

It sounds like the Spurs definitely weren't on the KobeSystem tonight.

[Bill_Brasky]

Tiago is hungry. And we need to feed him.

[Bill_Brasky]

Oh and a gigantic F for ghe little girl who said the coyote was her favorite player.

[therealtruth]

Tiago is hungry. And we need to feed him.

If TD doesn't have it on the block I think it's worth exploring running the offense through Tiago. He has the experience and it gives the team more variety in the offense.

[TDMVPDPOY]

rj is a scrub protecting his fg% not chuckin up shots when his open and shit, holds it to long or just passes it up, then pop gets into his head..he starts chuckn and misses shots

as for neal, bonner chucks up shots, but sometimes i dont like there shot selections....

for all the scoring neal provides us, his like bonner and rj on the floor...the other team scores at will on them...

green was very active this game, but too bad he didnt have a g ood scoring night, but he did play with alot of energy

most of our runs came from the bench gettin us back into the game...fck the starters should now be bench and earn pt...

[Sean Cagney]

Not a game they should lose at all at home! Pathetic and they will lose against Houston too IMO to make them 10-7! This makes the damn game the other night a wash yes, they go and drop a game to a garbage team after a good win! This is what this team does now. This team is not that good right now, period.

[TDMVPDPOY]

this game and the next 3 games are all winnable, i dunno wtf pop is doing...

[Bill_Brasky]

Watching the replay, Tim/Blair have some nice high/low game going.

[therealtruth]

Watching the replay, Tim/Blair have some nice high/low game going.

They could get the same thing going with Splitter and improving the defense.

[TDMVPDPOY]

The saddest thing about losing games like this is that if we were going to lose them, Pop might as well have played Joseph, Splitter, Anderson all solid solid minutes to get the acclimated to the system.

20/20 hindsight


PS I think Leonard has hit a wall already


looked pretty obvious to me against the Magic

thats because his done shit all on offense, his game isnt a spot up shooter...this game he had plenty of open shots coming from RJ the wanker who didnt wanna shoot the ball doing the extra pass to KL who wasnt expecting to shoot it, he puts up flat shots and airballs this game...he should be out there gettin most of his points in transition or creating for himself down low where his more effective with his scoring....

[SenorSpur]

Great writeup.

Regarding Splitter, for the life of me, I don't understand why his teammates don't feed him in the post, when he has it rolling against his opponent. Sean Elliott has harped on this repeatedly on the broadcasts and he's absolutely right. Everyone knows this team has become to reliant on outside shots, which makes it even more appalling that Splitter isn't getting the touches. They need as many easy baskets as they can possibly amass. It's a damn shame and I just wonder why the fuck Pop doesn't address the situation?

[angelbelow]

Joseph was atrocious, however, I was kind of expecting to do better as the game progresses, similar pattern to his previous games, but that never happened.

[angelbelow]

Oh and a gigantic F for ghe little girl who said the coyote was her favorite player.

maybe to us fans but I bet the marketing department is high fiving each other.

[SenorSpur]

Oh and a gigantic F for ghe little girl who said the coyote was her favorite player.

But a gigantic A+ for Kimberly Crawford for gracing the screen with her mere presence in interviewing the little girl. She's making me forget all about Cynthia Lee.

[Obstructed_View]

Joseph was atrocious, however, I was kind of expecting to do better as the game progresses, similar pattern to his previous games, but that never happened.

This is what I wondered about. I could understand if you said he was invisible, but in what way was he atrocious? He only played six minutes in one appearance and really didn't touch the ball or run the offense or impact the game positively or negatively, so I don't see how one can expect him to improve. He turned the ball over first thing and then didn't turn it over anymore. That's more of an improvement than Parker made in his first six minutes of the game.

The job of the backup point guard is to not lose the game. There's no way anyone can point to Joseph as the reason the Spurs got so badly outscored when he came into the game.

[angelbelow]

This is what I wondered about. I could understand if you said he was invisible, but in what way was he atrocious? He only played six minutes in one appearance and really didn't touch the ball or run the offense or impact the game positively or negatively, so I don't see how one can expect him to improve. He turned the ball over first thing and then didn't turn it over anymore. That's more of an improvement than Parker made in his first six minutes of the game.

The job of the backup point guard is to not lose the game. There's no way anyone can point to Joseph as the reason the Spurs got so badly outscored when he came into the game.

You can be nitpicky with my choice of words (afterall this is a causal forum where exaggeration is encouraged)but my point is that he didn't help. He missed his own shot by a wide margin and turned the ball over on his very first play. Invisible is definitely the more appropriate term.

Parker makes an impact just by being on the floor. Hes someone you have to keep your eye one from an opponents perspective. Hes capable of scoring in bunches and is a proven offensive threat. Its truly parker was bad to start the game but hes not exactly the type of player to remain that way.

And I was simply saying that in Cory's previous games; he would make more of an impact in the 2nd half. I was hoping to see that here but that never happened. (perhaps this is poor wording but it just means Pop never put him back in/he never got the opportunity to do so.)

[chazley]

Wow you guys are completely clueless. Bonner has deserved everything people have said about him this season, but to put this game on him is bullshit. He played well tonight. Hit a huge three for us. Rebounded really well. After he missed that wide open three in the fourth, he had a beautiful drive to the basket that we rarely see from him - you could tell he was pissed and I loved seeing him drive towards the basket with authority. He was on the court with Tiago for almost the entire fourth quarter, and he fits well with Splitter. Tiago had a ton of room to operate, but our entire team just pretended like he wasn't there and decided to take jump shots. I still think 20 minutes is too much time for Bonner to be on the court, but I love what he brings in a limited amount of minutes. He had a +11 tonight, and it wasn't a fluke.

This loss goes on Pop. Duncan only played 25 minutes tonight.. if he plays 28 we win. This extreme minute-coddling has to stop. No reason Duncan should play 25 minutes in a game with no foul trouble in a very close game. I don't give a shit if it's a back to back.

And come on Danny Green. At least hit the rim bro.

[TJastal]

Wow you guys are completely clueless. Bonner has deserved everything people have said about him this season, but to put this game on him is bullshit. He played well tonight. Hit a huge three for us. Rebounded really well. After he missed that wide open three in the fourth, he had a beautiful drive to the basket that we rarely see from him - you could tell he was pissed and I loved seeing him drive towards the basket with authority. He was on the court with Tiago for almost the entire fourth quarter, and he fits well with Splitter. Tiago had a ton of room to operate, but our entire team just pretended like he wasn't there and decided to take jump shots. I still think 20 minutes is too much time for Bonner to be on the court, but I love what he brings in a limited amount of minutes. He had a +11 tonight, and it wasn't a fluke.

This loss goes on Pop. Duncan only played 25 minutes tonight.. if he plays 28 we win. This extreme minute-coddling has to stop. No reason Duncan should play 25 minutes in a game with no foul trouble in a very close game. I don't give a shit if it's a back to back.

And come on Danny Green. At least hit the rim bro.

Who pinned this loss on Bonner? I only see a few lackluster comments throughout the thread regarding Matty but nothing suggesting he caused the loss.

[analyzed]

This one is on Pop, for failing to use go to TD and Tiago , we were up by 6 with 3 to go, and we ended up taking horrible possesions, plus defensivly the match-ups did'nt work Green on Evans and Neal and bonner on who ever.
TD and Kawhi would should have been on the court at least for defense

[silverblk mystix]

:pop:"You guys missed it. I give myself an -A+- simply because we almost beat a tough Sacramento team. Did you see when Tiago had his man pinned under the basket and I called a timeout? :lmao ...I kill me!" Did you see when Tiago thought he could dominate after making a nice move on Cousins and I refused to call a play for him? :lmao...I'm loving this season."

[xmas1997]

this game and the next 3 games are all winnable, i dunno wtf pop is doing...

CIA Pop positioning the team for the lottery this year?:hat

[TJastal]

:pop:"You guys missed it. I give myself an -A+- simply because we almost beat a tough Sacramento team. Did you see when Tiago had his man pinned under the basket and I called a timeout? :lmao ...I kill me!" Did you see when Tiago thought he could dominate after making a nice move on Cousins and I refused to call a play for him? :lmao...I'm loving this season."

Heh. If that's all true Pop better pull his head out of his ass and soon. This ain't gonna be like last season when the spurs could have coasted the last 20 games and rested every starter and still ended up a top 3 seed.

[venitian navigator]

One thing for sure is that in our first "road trip" we spent a lot of energies...
Imho in games like this one, I mean at home and against a winnable team under 50 %, we should try to start from the beginning the most rested, young and unexperienced players, risking to lose maiybe the game at the cost of giving them the chance to make some noise...giving our "old men" some mopre rest for the following back to back game on the road.
There are players like Anderson that need an injection oif confidence, that could come in any time giving a decent amount of playing time and the shoots finally falling...
There are players like Joseph and Thomas that young, full of energies and need to be put in a situation where they have a chance to just show something new...that in the course oif the season could be highly beneficial for the team.

If there is a season where young and unexperienced guys must been enabled to make experience, and I mean having more than 15/20minutes in certain games (and even more if, playing, they show they deserve more), is this one, with a bunch of games all in a row...

It makes no sense to let the young guys sitting on the bench...

That said, we still are a big short...and I don't understand why the F.O. is doing nothing in that regard.

Bonner and Blair are both a so strong defensive liability that should be considered at the same level of the new (or semi new) guys....means they don't deserve guaranteed minutes if they don't show playing that they are gonna earn them.

One big that can run, block shots and be, all in all, a decent defensive presence is badly needed and could easily be one that take at least a small amount of toijme out of our only bighs that, 'cause of age or "fragility", needs to measure their minutes and preserve their energies for the (eventual) play off time, at least in the "regular" games of a so condensed season.

[Nathan89]

:pop:"You guys missed it. I give myself an -A+- simply because we almost beat a tough Sacramento team. Did you see when Tiago had his man pinned under the basket and I called a timeout? :lmao ...I kill me!" Did you see when Tiago thought he could dominate after making a nice move on Cousins and I refused to call a play for him? :lmao...I'm loving this season."

Yes, I saw all of that.:depressed

Fuck Pop

[dbestpro]

Someone needs to explain to me what Joseph did that was so terrible other than to be on the floor when nobody could play defense, grab a rebound or hit a shot.


He couldn't pass the ball, picked up his dribble, couldn't hit a shot, couldn't play defense and was piss poor holding the popcorn.

[dbestpro]

Before Bonner hit the three he O for 3 with 2 rebounds for the whole game. Bonner, Blair, RJ, and Joseph are not providing this team with what it needs in the minutes they play. If you can't score than you have to play hard. These players simply take too many plays off night end and night out. I think we can accept failure for many reasons, but lack of effort or lack of brain cells are not two of them.

[quentin_compson]

When there was a timeout being called after Green's dunk in the first quarter, I seriously thought for a moment that it was Pop who took it in order to explain to Danny what he thinks of guys who dunk. :lol

[ManuTastic]

In hindsight, Pop probably should have put Duncan back into the game to close it out. It would have been nice to have let Duncan rest most of the fourth and then go for another win tomorrow night, but that gamble didn't pay off. If Pop isn't going to trust Joseph, he really needs to go out and sign another point guard. Running Parker into the ground isn't the answer.

Good writeup as usual. I wholly agree with these last two points. At the end, I almost thought Pop was playing Splitter too long as a giant F-you to all the calls for more Splitter PT. He's not that much of an a-hole, is he?
And we desperately need SOMEONE to run point when Parker sits. Sign someone. Really, anyone at this point. Without Ford, when Parker sits we look like a JV team.

[wildbill2u]

A terrible shooting night like this one usually means that the players are tired and don't have their legs under them. I don't think the players on any team really have rounded into game shape physically yet. The lack of pre-season conditionaing and camp is beginning to show. TP was sharp early because he played in Eurpope, but maybe is burning down some now because of it.

I suspect we'll see more of this. Since we have turned into a jump shooting 3pt team --and have some age on our best players--the effects of the compressed schedule will hit the Spurs more than some teams.

[TDMVPDPOY]

the problem is fkn pop never puts our strongest team out on the court to close the quarters....

[Josepatches_]

Remember when people here said Splitter has no offensive game..lol

He's no a young TD but he can score in the low post.

He had off nights like everybody but you can't judge him when he was playing a few minutes. And of course we can't say now that we have to run the offense through him because he had 2 good games in a row.

Here in Spain where we knew Splitter very well people couldn't understand why he didn't play more minutes last year. This year I only hope he can show everybody how good he is .

[SpurNation]

Great writeup.

Regarding Splitter, for the life of me, I don't understand why his teammates don't feed him in the post, when he has it rolling against his opponent. Sean Elliott has harped on this repeatedly on the broadcasts and he's absolutely right. Everyone knows this team has become to reliant on outside shots, which makes it even more appalling that Splitter isn't getting the touches. They need as many easy baskets as they can possibly amass. It's a damn shame and I just wonder why the fuck Pop doesn't address the situation?

My sentiments exactly regarding feeding Tiago more.

What is the most glaring though in this game they lost (and the one's they've won) is the points in the paint other teams bigs AND perimeter players are racking up against the Spurs.

They are ranked 22nd in the league allowing points in the paint. 19th in overall defense. And a dismal next to last in the league at allowing points in away games at 105. Only Charollete is worst on the road.

They are ranked 5th best in the league at scoring though...so...offense isn't the issue.

What to do about their extremely poor post interior defense? I have no clue or if it's even feasible to fix this year if there were an answer.

[acoelho1]

30 mins for RJ is a joke. He is such a weak minded player when his J is not falling. Did you see him pass up a wide open 3 pointer. Everyone was bricking it tonight and Pop should have given Anderson a chance. Although his play has been subpar, I rather play him over RJ any day.

Also, Splitter continues to impress. I used think that he was limited in a lot of ways but seeing the shot blocking and the strong post moves, I think we may have found our big. Unfortunately, Pop continues to play turd ball with Bonner/Blair. It will be our undoing just like last year. In looking at the roster, I think we have enough pieces to contend once Manu comes back but it will depend on who gets the most mins.

[EVAY]

Parker played 44 minutes in the Orlando game and 40 minutes in the Sacramento game. He scored 25 points against Orlando and 24 against Sacramento, with 8 or so assists against Orlando and I don't remember how many against Sacramento, but I know it is hard to pick up assists when no one is making buckets.

I think TP is tired. He has essentially carried the team since Manu has been out, and the fact that he once again has virtually zero backup without TJ Ford in the game means he is about all there is.

It is no surprise that he looks tired and his play is not as consistent as one would like it to be, but if it weren't for him, this team wouldn't be 10-6. More like the reverse.

Blame? Look to Pop. There is no excuse for his player management.

[TJastal]

Parker played 44 minutes in the Orlando game and 40 minutes in the Sacramento game. He scored 25 points against Orlando and 24 against Sacramento, with 8 or so assists against Orlando and I don't remember how many against Sacramento, but I know it is hard to pick up assists when no one is making buckets.

I think TP is tired. He has essentially carried the team since Manu has been out, and the fact that he once again has virtually zero backup without TJ Ford in the game means he is about all there is.

It is no surprise that he looks tired and his play is not as consistent as one would like it to be, but if it weren't for him, this team wouldn't be 10-6. More like the reverse.

Blame? Look to Pop. There is no excuse for his player management.

I bet folks won't admit it, but they are having second thoughts about that KL for Hill swap and wishing for Hill back. You could always count on Hill to be healthy and ready to step in for either Parker or Parker's backup. With the emergence of Green as a potential RJ backup the spurs would have been covered at every position and not in the current bind they find themselves in.

[wildbill2u]

I bet folks won't admit it, but they are having second thoughts about that KL for Hill swap and wishing for Hill back. You could always count on Hill to be healthy and ready to step in for either Parker or Parker's backup. With the emergence of Green as a potential RJ backup the spurs would have been covered at every position and not in the current bind they find themselves in.

Second guessing injuries isn't very good analysis. Hill could have been injured as well.

It's bad luck that they got a backup PG who went down. Their 3rd option (Neal) isn't very good as a PG and their 4th option they called up (Joseph) isn't ready for the big show. If anything, they should have brought up the PG from the Toros, Justin Dentmon.

[urunobili]

up 4 with a minute and 30 seconds left Pop decided to stick with that Defenseless lineup... that's a D on the coach TBH

[loveforthegame]

I like that play by Green at the end. It's just unfortunate that he missed. It would be nice to have someone who can get to the basket like that other than Parker and Ginobli.

[TJastal]

I like that play by Green at the end. It's just unfortunate that he missed. It would be nice to have someone who can get to the basket like that other than Parker and Ginobli.

I'm not convinced he didn't get sideswiped or touched on the wrist while in the air by the G.S. defender flying in the air past him, the replay was inconclusive. But it sure appeared something took the wind out of that shot.

[Fabbs]

I'm not convinced he didn't get sideswiped or touched on the wrist while in the air by the G.S. defender flying in the air past him, the replay was inconclusive. But it sure appeared something took the wind out of that shot.
Same here.

[ElNono]

I rewatched the game, and one other thing I completely forgot about after all that drama at the end is how many times the half court offense went to complete shit with both Tony and Tim out there... Everybody standing around, not much action going on followed by a rushed shot to beat the shot clock... I understand that missing Manu is obviously a big part of that, but I thought they were real bad last night for stretches.

[EVAY]

I rewatched the game, and one other thing I completely forgot about after all that drama at the end is how many times the half court offense went to complete shit with both Tony and Tim out there... Everybody standing around, not much action going on followed by a rushed shot to beat the shot clock... I understand that missing Manu is obviously a big part of that, but I thought they were real bad last night for stretches.

I used to notice that last year whenever Hill went in for TP. Much as some around here don't like to admit it, TP is the only point guard that has been able to run Pop's offense. The team loses when he is out for long periods.

My only problem with TP has been that when Manu is in, Manu doesn't get enough touches because TP wouldn't give it to him. Now, with Manu out, it is all up to TP. He is holding up his end of the bargain. The rest of the team cannot back him up.

[Bruno]

It's a bad loss but if Spurs beat Rockets today, this loss will be erased. b2b on the road won't be easy but Rockets suck so you never know...

Neal has been bad this year. He is a liability when he doesn't hit his shots. Pop should really consider giving Anderson another shot.

[SenorSpur]

My sentiments exactly regarding feeding Tiago more.

What is the most glaring though in this game they lost (and the one's they've won) is the points in the paint other teams bigs AND perimeter players are racking up against the Spurs.

They are ranked 22nd in the league allowing points in the paint. 19th in overall defense. And a dismal next to last in the league at allowing points in away games at 105. Only Charollete is worst on the road.

They are ranked 5th best in the league at scoring though...so...offense isn't the issue.

What to do about their extremely poor post interior defense? I have no clue or if it's even feasible to fix this year if there were an answer.

Unfortunately, THAT is a conundrum that will not get resolved this season.

[Obstructed_View]

He couldn't pass the ball, picked up his dribble, couldn't hit a shot, couldn't play defense and was piss poor holding the popcorn.

He had one turnover first thing, then once he settled down he passed the ball fine. He didn't bring the ball up enough to pick up his dribble, but if he did it once, I'm not sure how that's a big deal. His defense was fine, as his man maybe scored one bucket in six minutes while the rest of the Kings went off like it was an all-star game.

[Obstructed_View]

I bet folks won't admit it, but they are having second thoughts about that KL for Hill swap and wishing for Hill back. You could always count on Hill to be healthy and ready to step in for either Parker or Parker's backup. With the emergence of Green as a potential RJ backup the spurs would have been covered at every position and not in the current bind they find themselves in.

Let me think about it ... nope, not at all. I'd rather have KL than Hill seven days a week. Hill's as often as not a shitty point guard. It's on the Spurs that they don't play the guy they drafted when injuries pop up. There's way too much depth at that position to be pining for Hill, especially with as good as Leonard has been.

[DMC]

I expect the Rockets to go off from the 3 again with some decent inside contributions from Scola (not a stretch).

Spurs seem to still be fiddling with the rotations and everyone other than Tim and Tony are lost as fuck.

Tim needs to be more decisive though, he's holding the ball when he used to just let it fly. Players are waiting too long to being their move to the basket, waiting for the defense to adjust. No one has any confidence, it's as if Pop has put a hefty fine on making a mistake vs not doing anything.

[SenorSpur]

Let me think about it ... nope, not at all. I'd rather have KL than Hill seven days a week. Hill's as often as not a shitty point guard. It's on the Spurs that they don't play the guy they drafted when injuries pop up. There's way too much depth at that position to be pining for Hill, especially with as good as Leonard has been.

Same here. One lackluster game and the natives are already having buyers remorse on KL? Ridiculous. Of course his offense is lagging behind, and his 3-pt shooting isn't as good as it's going to be. However, his rebounding and defense are already miles ahead of what anyone could've expected.

Hill, on the other hand, while a very good player most of the time, had pretty much topped his ceiling. He likely wasn't going to get much better.

Anyone how wants a redux on the Hill-for-Leonard trade cannot possibly see the present and isn't looking at the big picture.

[TJastal]

Same here. One lackluster game and the natives are already having buyers remorse on KL? Ridiculous. Of course his offense is lagging behind, and his 3-pt shooting isn't as good as it's going to be. However, his rebounding and defense are already miles ahead of what anyone could've expected.

Hill, on the other hand, while a very good player most of the time, had pretty much topped his ceiling. He likely wasn't going to get much better.

Anyone how wants a redux on the Hill-for-Leonard trade cannot possibly see the present and isn't looking at the big picture.

I'm just looking at the picture that includes Green. Hill + Green is a nice backcourt to have coming off the bench. If Green doesn't lose that passport and stays in Europe, then ya one could make the argument the spurs are probably better off (assuming that KL continues steady improvement).

[jjktkk]

Same here. One lackluster game and the natives are already having buyers remorse on KL? Ridiculous. Of course his offense is lagging behind, and his 3-pt shooting isn't as good as it's going to be. However, his rebounding and defense are already miles ahead of what anyone could've expected.

Hill, on the other hand, while a very good player most of the time, had pretty much topped his ceiling. He likely wasn't going to get much better.

Anyone how wants a redux on the Hill-for-Leonard trade cannot possibly see the present and isn't looking at the big picture.

Tjastal will be crossing you off his Christmas card list. :lol

[RodNIc91]

Neal has been bad this year. He is a liability when he doesn't hit his shots. Pop should really consider giving Anderson another shot.

My thought exactly. Its a shame Anderson lost confidence but its impossible for him to regain it if he gets no playing time. Right now actually would be the perfect timing for JA to step up his play since nobody is hitting their 3's and Neal has been flat.

[SenorSpur]

Tjastal will be crossing you off his Christmas card list. :lol

What was I thinking?

But wait, he and I will always be "joined in unison" on the Ian Mahinmi diatribes, so that should count for something. :lol

[Obstructed_View]

I'm just looking at the picture that includes Green. Hill + Green is a nice backcourt to have coming off the bench. If Green doesn't lose that passport and stays in Europe, then ya one could make the argument the spurs are probably better off (assuming that KL continues steady improvement).

There's nothing that Hill provides that the Spurs can't get from the players they have. That they refuse to play certain players is a long-standing Spurs problem that's unrelated to the situation. If the Spurs didn't want to play a rookie point guard, then perhaps they should have traded their draft pick for a vet. They didn't.

There's nobody on the roster that does what Leonard can do, that much is evident from just a few games.

[TJastal]

There's nothing that Hill provides that the Spurs can't get from the players they have. That they refuse to play certain players is a long-standing Spurs problem that's unrelated to the situation. If the Spurs didn't want to play a rookie point guard, then perhaps they should have traded their draft pick for a vet. They didn't.

There's nobody on the roster that does what Leonard can do, that much is evident from just a few games.

I've been pleasantly surprised by Leonard so far, I just think Green is better at the 2 if that's where Pop plans on using him mostly.

Where I can see a few extra uses for Leonard is against the thunder (Durant). Not convinced however that Green couldn't D up KD. Green's rebounding isn't too shabby either. Just sayin'.

[timvp]

Leonard >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Green when defending the ball.

[Obstructed_View]

I haven't seen any defense from Green to make me think he's an adequate replacement for Hill, let alone Leonard. He's a good scorer and doesn't seem to fall asleep on defense too often.

[timvp]

Green looks like his ceiling is a Manu Ginobili type defender. In other words, not someone you put on the ball but someone who can make a huge impact on that end by wreaking havoc.

[ElNono]

Green is chaos. Agree with the Manu comparison on that extent. Chaos can sometimes work out and sometimes it does not. But the effort is there to cause chaos and make things happen. He has a hounding and relentlessness about him, that I really appreciate.

Hope he keeps growing and improving, because we really need a spark like that.