This Loss Is On Pop

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Yeah, I know, same tired argument from AHF. For those of you that feel that way, so be it, go find another thread.

For those of you who want to talk shop, read on...

First off I do need to call out some players...

Tim Duncan. The Big Fundamental is a Big Pussy. Show some balls man. Christ, two years ago you came two blocks away from a quadruple double in the elimination game of the NBA Finals.

Tonight you let your starting two guard nearly outrebound you. Weak. And don't even get me started on your D the last 5 minutes of the game. I don't know what was worse - Antonio McDyess taking you to the rack for a layup, or Lindsey Freakin' Hunter. Nut up. And while we're at, get your shit together at the FT line. There is no excuse for being such a choke, it's all in your head.

Tony Parker - how many threes does Billups have to hit before you think about coming OVER the pick? I can give you one, maybe two, but three? four? five? Wake up kid.

Also, how hard is it to step up and take a charge? I have seen Tony get whistled for fouls trying to defend a driving Billups multiple times in this series. He's fast enough to get in front of Chauncey, and then all he needs to do is step up and he'll get the call. All those times Chauncey puts his head down and drives and gets blocking calls on Tony will start turning into charges.

All Spurs big men involved in pick and roll defense. HEDGE DAMNIT. Detroit is killing us on the switch, it's time to start hedging and forcing the guard backwards. I think Detroit's guards hit every jump shot where they ended up with one of Tim, Nazr, or Horry on them tonight. If it's broke.. fix it.

========================

Now, on to Pop. You got punked tonight by your mentor. Plain and simple. Even the Game Night React crew called it, so I know I'm not alone.

You never adjusted to Detroit running their offense on the perimeter, just let them cut you to pieces. Fucking weak.

Why were we doubling so much the first half? I've never seen a Spurs offense double as much as I saw tonight in the first 24 minutes. And it got us killed.

Where the hell was Devin Brown? The Hunter-Billups-Hamilton was just begging to be countered with a Tony-Manu-Devin lineup of our own. But instead San Antonio's favorite road runner was on the wrong end of a DNP-CD.

Number of times Bowen guarded Chauncey tonight: ZERO. Chauncey's line: 19 points, 6 assists. Ugh. You know, it worked in game 5, why the hell would it ever work again?

And am I the only one who remembers games 1 and 2 Manu absolutely getting into the head of one Rip Hamilton? Hamilton was convulsing like he was in a swarm of mosquitos for those two games when Manu played him. The guy even got T'ed up for it. Like I said, that Hunter-Billups-Rip combo was just begging to have Bowen switched onto Billups and Manu sent out to annoy the hell out of Rip.

We didn't adjust all night to Detroit's perimeter game.

Psst, Pop, it's the Finals, now is not the time to dick with your lineups. I saw some truly bazaar combinations out there tonight. When you do that, it looks like you're panicking. Plus, Larry took advantage of some matchup mismatches to get easy hoops off of you.

Now is also not the time to experiment with plays. If I never see Bruce Bowen try to run a pick and roll again it'll be too soon. Dumb play at a point we needed scoring.

Did I mention seeing Devin Brown tonight would have been a good thing?

And finally, I was reminded by a friend tonight of one long-standing problem of Pop's teams - we don't go for blood when a guy's in foul trouble.

Tonight it was Rasheed Wallace playing the last 5 minutes of the game with 5 fouls. Number of times we challenged him defensively: ONE. Rasheed's damage in the last five minutes: 7 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound.

Earlier in the playoffs when Duncan got into foul trouble we saw him continuously attacked, and easily scored on, out of fear of not fouling out.

But we seem to want to uphold the nice guy image and make sure that guys with 4-5 fouls are around at the end of the game. That's nice and all, but it gets you beat. You've GOT to attack someone guarding Duncan with five fouls.

And now for Pop's coupe de grace: writing the "Parade, Thursday afternoon" shit on the marker board in the locker room. How fucking conceited is that? When that's your attitude at the top, it cascades down to the guys out on the court. And it showed. We expected to Detroit to just lay down for us. You're going to have to take it form these guys, they're not just going to give it away. I thought Pop would be above something so stupid, but I guess not.

================================================== ==

Question, where are all the FTs don't matter crowd, who were so vicious in their attacks on me earlier this year? We lost a game earlier in the playoffs because of it, and tonight we bricked 10 freebies. But hey, Tim will figure it out, at least that's what Pop says.

And finally, a big fuck you to the fans up in section 221 who got pissed at me and the ten guys on my row who decided at the 5 minute point we were going to stand and yell our fucking guts out for the team the rest of the way.

This isn't piano recital, it's not a Disney movie, it's the mother fucking NBA Finals.

If you can't get off your ass and yell for your team for five minutes at a game that could decide the championship, you shouldn't be at the damn game. That is weak, weak, weak with a capital W weak.

When did the rowdy mob at game 6 in 2003 get replaced by a bunch of uptight, pretentious assholes who are too good to make some noise for their team? I see enough of that shit in Dallas, I don't want to see it in my hometown.

And finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't say it was good meeting some of you finally at the half - Kori, LJ, Sequ, SW, UU666, Spurchick, Ginobiiillli, great to put a face with the name.

All this said, I am putting my faith in Pop making adjustments for game 7, just hope that it will be enough (and wish I had waited until Thursday to try and come down).

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Oh, one more thing - we shot waaaaaaaaay too many three pointers tonight. Especially given Rasheed's foul trouble. Take it to the rack damnit!

[Solid D]

Pop let Larry win.

[T Park]

writing the "Parade, Thursday afternoon" shit on the marker board in the locker room

Not to piss you off, but Larry Brown wrote that in the Pistons locker room.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Not to piss you off, but Larry Brown wrote that in the Pistons locker room.

Well then I stand corrected on that one. Multiple people at the game (I was travelling all afternoon) around me said it was the Spurs locker room.

Strategy and personnel wise I stand by what I said.

[mouse]

Blaming Pop for this loss is like blaming T park for the war in Iraq.

[Dre_7]

Oh, one more thing - we shot waaaaaaaaay too many three pointers tonight. Especially given Rasheed's foul trouble. Take it to the rack damnit!

I agree with you again!! WTHeck is goin on??

But, BTW, Pop didnt write the parade thing on the board, LB did.

[Dre_7]

Opps, yall all ready covered the marker board thing. My bad, didnt see that.

[combs84]

Good Take.

I agree with you on Parker going over the pick, I thought it was pretty funny while he kept going around it and letting Billups shoot. Poor Coaching IMO.

[goliath]

And finally, a big fuck you to the fans up in section 221 who got pissed at me and the ten guys on my row who decided at the 5 minute point we were going to stand and yell our fucking guts out for the team the rest of the way

Thats bullshit. Fortunatly I sit around cool people who actually stand up and cheer but ive been in that position in the past. Theres nothing more annoying than it being a close game, standing up and cheering, and haveing the person behind you tug on your shirt and ask you to sit down. One time someone even got an usher to try and get us to sit. Fortunatly the usher told them to fuck off

[T Park]

Strategy and personnel wise I stand by what I said

and youd be 100% right.


I think the mistake wasn't practicing yesterday, Im suprised you didn't pick up on that.


"I told em to go home and don't think about basketball"

Good job Pop, it showed tonight, ITS THE GODDAMN FINALS YOU FUCKIN MORON!!!!

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Damn, hadn't heard that, that's unfuckingbelievable. "Don't worry about it"."

WTF is that? I wish I would have known that before coming down, I wouldn't have bothered. DIdn't Pop learn a damn thing from the Seattle series?

[T Park]

Dont worry about no.

"Dont think about basketball"

Yeah.


What the hell, you know, its December, weve played 3 in 4...

what,
we are in the finals??

Oh, guess we couldve watched some tape, or practiced, and kept our minds sharp.


Nah.

What the hell, take tommarow off and dont show up thursday.

Thats what you did monday and today.

[T Park]

DIdn't Pop learn a damn thing from the Seattle series?

Pfft.

He doesn't learn shit.

Hes been around for 9 years, don't we know that by now.

[Gummi]

Getting 15 rebounds in a Finals game is pretty huge. But I agree with you on Duncan, he´s playing like a sissy sometimes.

Now. How in the world are you going to put this one on Pop? Prince getting 2 or 3 HUGE offensive rebounds with less then 3 minutes to go and they scored on all off them. Then Manu trying to be a one man show by driving against the whole Pistons team. That´s stupid.

Our players didn´t make the plays that we needed down the stretch, pure and simple. Devin Brown wouldn´t have made any difference at all. Actually Barry was playing well enough to be on the floor for once.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Dont worry about no.

"Dont think about basketball"

Yeah.


What the hell, you know, its December, weve played 3 in 4...

what,
we are in the finals??

Oh, guess we couldve watched some tape, or practiced, and kept our minds sharp.


Nah.

What the hell, take tommarow off and dont show up thursday.

Thats what you did monday and today.

Anyone else see what's wrong here?

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

How in the world are you going to put this one on Pop?

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to be an ass, but can you read?

And I beg to differ on Devin. Dude locked down Rip in game 5 for a while, and was highly active on the offensive end. He also can matchup with Tayshaun.

[T Park]

How in the world are you going to put this one on Pop?

Uhhh, your kiddin right.


Devin Brown wouldn´t have made any difference at all



Of course not, his defense wouldn't have helped at all, his agressive offense wouldn't have at all.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Uhhh, your kiddin right.





Of course not, his defense wouldn't have helped at all, his agressive offense wouldn't have at all.


Kinda like it did in games 3 and 4.

Kinda like it did in game 5.

[T Park]

Anyone else see what's wrong here?

Yeah, your a moron, stay on topic bozo.

[T Park]

Its called sarcasm dumbass, are you really that fuckin DENSE!?!!?

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Yeah, your a moron, stay on topic bozo.

Or that you're using a possessive form to describe the Spurs. Lsat time I checked, the load on the bandwagon wasn't as wide as it used to be.

You gave up.

So stop pretending to care.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Its called sarcasm dumbass, are you really that fuckin DENSE!?!!?

You're implying that he would have helped had he played.

No he wouldn't.

[Gummi]

I love how people can diss Pop all the time. Watch the F-ing game and you´ll know what I´m talking about. Devin or no Devin, the Spurs lost the game because we didn´t make plays down the stretch. Billups was making everything at time and Parker wasn´t making the defensive stops. Again would Devin made a world of difference on Billups? Who knows.

[T Park]

Parker wasn´t making the defensive stops

So why not switch Bowen over and put Ginobili on Hamilton??


Who does that stuff??

Oh yeah, Pop.....

[Kori Ellis]

:stfu

I knew that there would be threads of blame tonight, all in the wrong areas. And Spurs fans really just need to :stfu and admit that the Pistons just outplayed the Spurs. It happens sometimes.

Game Seven is going to be sweet. It is what sports dreams are made of.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

It's Pops fault that the Spurs can't get a single rebound on the defensive end in the last 2 minutes.

It's his fault the Spurs didn't rotate and cover the three point shooter or the very least body them up so they had to drive.

It's Pop's fault Tim can't make two freethrows in a row but once a game.

It's Pop's fault that Manu turnred the ball over every time he drove to the basket within the last minute and a half.

It's Pop's fault Tim missed two easy put backs within the last minute of the game.

It's all his fault.

[T Park]

Game Seven is going to be sweet. It is what sports dreams are made of.

Yeah if your a pistons fan.

[Kori Ellis]

Yeah if your a pistons fan.

:rolleyes

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Hey Kori, since T Park has said he'll stop posting here for a year when the Spurs win the title, why not ban his IP so he can't post under other names.

Come on, ppplllllease!

[Kori Ellis]

Hey Kori, since T Park has said he'll stop posting here for a year when the Spurs win the title, why not ban his IP so he can't post under other names.

Come on, ppplllllease!

Why should I ban him? I'd be more apt to ban you.

[T Park]

haha......

Back on topic.

Once again.

Can I ask, why also, could Glenn Robinson not played??


He wouldn't have neutralized Tayshaun Prince like in game 1, nahhhhhh....

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Why should I ban him? I'd be more apt to ban you.

That's not nice. :angel

Hey, he's the jackass that claimed he wouldn't post here if the Spurs woin.

You gotta make him a man of his word.

[whottt]

Actually Barry was playing well enough to be on the floor for once.


Barry was trying to be a scorer tonight and he was chucking shit up there...that's not what he is. We can get 50 guys out of the CBA that can do what he did tonight...probably better.

But I guess since Barry is now just a shot chucker who doesn't care if it's a good shot or not people will probably like him better now...I personally didn't like it...

I don't want see Brent Barry trying to be the leading scorer, Barry is not a star type player..he's a sidekick a very smart and good sidekick..but he's a sidekick...the guy is a 10 PPG scorer on about 6-7 shots per game for his entire career....he's not fucking Vinny Johnson.

If you just want some guy out there chucking it up nearly every time he touches it...I rather see Devin...he's better at it.

And he probably could have made an impact in this game...the guy is from San Antonio and he's been dreaming of it his whole life...a 5 minute stint for Devin to see what he had tonight in this close game, would not have hurt anyone.

I have no idea why Pop left him on the bench seeing as how our entire starting roster logged about 40 minutes each in the last game a day or so ago...

We have a deeper bench than Detroit and tonight we didn't use that to our advantage..

[Kori Ellis]

That's not nice. :angel

Hey, he's the jackass that claimed he wouldn't post here if the Spurs woin.

You gotta make him a man of his word.

A lot of people claim shit on the forum everyday. If he wants to keep posting, we are more than glad to have him post.

[T Park]

So Barry gets more shots, and more time, and WHottt thinks its a bad thing....


Am I not the only one confused?

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Prince has pretty much neutralized himself in this series.

And yeah, Big Dog sure did the deed in game one. Playing six minutes and helping hold Prince to 11 points in 32 minutes.

What did Prince have tonight without Big Dog in the game, like 33 or 34 points, right? Or wait, 13 points in 44 minutes.

Prince didn't beat us tonight, nor did he even hurt us in terms of offense.

[T Park]

No, those offensive rebounds he got, nor the easy baskets didnt hurt what so ever.


good god.....

[E20]

The real reason we lost is we didn't play defense that well and didn't rebound nor we could we match the Pistons energy. Shit, comeone everybody made stupid plays. Manu did some pretty stupid things, so did Duncan, so did Tony, so did Nazr, so did Barry, so did Horry. Oh yeah and Manu didn't almost outrebound Timmy, he wasn't even close.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

No, those offensive rebounds he got, nor the easy baskets didnt hurt what so ever.


good god.....


He had two more rebounds in game 1 than tonight.

And hell, put Brown in the game if you want rebounds. Dude gets 5 times higher in the air than Robinson.

[mouse]

Game Seven is going to be sweet. It is what sports dreams are made of.



Your dam right it will be, I will be sitting in front of your TV with Sophie drinking those 40 beers in the fridge as the Spurs win by 18 :smokin

[Nbadan]

Pop let Larry win.

:lol

What did I miss something? I never saw POP out on the floor guarding RIP, the Wallaces or Billups, and this is coming from a former POP critic.

[T Park]

put Brown in the game if you want rebounds

But, you said he wouldn't have made a difference....


If your telling me the Piston's second chance points didn't kill em, your wrong.

How many times did they get second chances in the 4th and 2nd half???


Whatever.

[goliath]

Your dam right it will be, I will be sitting in front of your TV with Sophie drinking those 40 beers in the fridge as the Spurs win by 18 :smokin

Glad to see we got Mouses MOJO.

Ill take all the help we can get

[Kori Ellis]

Your dam right it will be, I will be sitting in front of your TV with Sophie drinking those 40 beers in the fridge as the Spurs win by 18 :smokin

You are more than welcome to do that. The beers are still here. But please arrive at my house before 6pm on Thursday when I leave for the game because I don't want to worry about getting the key to you.

[E20]

BadlyDrawnBoy, you gotta quit trying to egg Kori on TPark. Him and her are like when people cross there fingers and say they're like this. He was one of the first on FullSportsPress and they do Spurs RoundTable and are pretty good friends. So you trying to egg Kori on Tpark........not gonna happen.

[whottt]

So Barry gets more shots, and more time, and WHottt thinks its a bad thing....


Am I not the only one confused?

Why are you confused?

I like his normal game, of playing off of players...I don't like it when he tries to be something he's not...He was probably doing wha the Spurs wanted him to do...but I think he knew more about offense that our offensive coaches do to begin with....he tried to be what they wanted him to be instead of what he is. I think he finally became it tonight.


It'd be one thing if he was being left open...but he wasn't, he was being pressured and he was still shooting threes, something he's been good at not doing all season...Detroit wasn't letting him shoot threes...that's why you saw him put it on the floor and take it to the hoop so often.

Detroit was definitely playing to stop the three tonight...can you blame them after the last game?

The middle was there more tonight...so IMO tonight is definitely not a night you want to see Barry taking a lot of shots. Going to the middle was fine...but it's not as good as Manu, Duncan and Parker doing it. It's not as good as Devin doing it.

Figure it out man...Barry can normally go scoreless or score 3 - 6 points a game...but we still average over 100 PPG when he gets 20+ or so minutes..he doesn't have to score to be effective, he can be effective just by playing smart and being the threat of the 17th best 3 point shooter in NBA history...and he's more effective when he doesn't try to be a scorer because it's not what he is.

I could never figure out why you guys worry so much about his PPG totals when basically we average 101 PPG when he is on the court for 25 minutes...regardless of what he scores.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

But, you said he wouldn't have made a difference....


If your telling me the Piston's second chance points didn't kill em, your wrong.

How many times did they get second chances in the 4th and 2nd half???


Whatever.

Brown wouldn't have. I didn't say he would. I said he'd be a better option for rebounds than Big Dog.

Neither would have.

But hindsight for you is 20/20, huh.

[mouse]

You are more than welcome to do that. The beers are still here. But please arrive at my house before 6pm on Thursday when I leave for the game because I don't want to worry about getting the key to you.


mabe I should come by tonight , so that won't be a problem :lmao

[tonillo]

tired sa more tired than det
denver seattle phx are not phil wash mia
larry brown>pop
for me duncan is not duncan now
game7 is very very difficult for us
sa have not killer instict in your dna

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

The Pistons starters played more minutes than the Spurs.

How are the Spurs more tired?

[tonillo]

body language
game 6 det more atletics than sa
sa more tired brain. the way for the finals more more difficult than det
the mismatch are in favor det always
GO SPURS GO

[ZStomp]

Yeah, I know, same tired argument from AHF. For those of you that feel that way, so be it, go find another thread.

For those of you who want to talk shop, read on...

First off I do need to call out some players...

Tim Duncan. The Big Fundamental is a Big Pussy. Show some balls man. Christ, two years ago you came two blocks away from a quadruple double in the elimination game of the NBA Finals.

Tonight you let your starting two guard nearly outrebound you. Weak. And don't even get me started on your D the last 5 minutes of the game. I don't know what was worse - Antonio McDyess taking you to the rack for a layup, or Lindsey Freakin' Hunter. Nut up. And while we're at, get your shit together at the FT line. There is no excuse for being such a choke, it's all in your head.

Tony Parker - how many threes does Billups have to hit before you think about coming OVER the pick? I can give you one, maybe two, but three? four? five? Wake up kid.

Also, how hard is it to step up and take a charge? I have seen Tony get whistled for fouls trying to defend a driving Billups multiple times in this series. He's fast enough to get in front of Chauncey, and then all he needs to do is step up and he'll get the call. All those times Chauncey puts his head down and drives and gets blocking calls on Tony will start turning into charges.

All Spurs big men involved in pick and roll defense. HEDGE DAMNIT. Detroit is killing us on the switch, it's time to start hedging and forcing the guard backwards. I think Detroit's guards hit every jump shot where they ended up with one of Tim, Nazr, or Horry on them tonight. If it's broke.. fix it.

========================

Now, on to Pop. You got punked tonight by your mentor. Plain and simple. Even the Game Night React crew called it, so I know I'm not alone.

You never adjusted to Detroit running their offense on the perimeter, just let them cut you to pieces. Fucking weak.

Why were we doubling so much the first half? I've never seen a Spurs offense double as much as I saw tonight in the first 24 minutes. And it got us killed.

Where the hell was Devin Brown? The Hunter-Billups-Hamilton was just begging to be countered with a Tony-Manu-Devin lineup of our own. But instead San Antonio's favorite road runner was on the wrong end of a DNP-CD.

Number of times Bowen guarded Chauncey tonight: ZERO. Chauncey's line: 19 points, 6 assists. Ugh. You know, it worked in game 5, why the hell would it ever work again?

And am I the only one who remembers games 1 and 2 Manu absolutely getting into the head of one Rip Hamilton? Hamilton was convulsing like he was in a swarm of mosquitos for those two games when Manu played him. The guy even got T'ed up for it. Like I said, that Hunter-Billups-Rip combo was just begging to have Bowen switched onto Billups and Manu sent out to annoy the hell out of Rip.

We didn't adjust all night to Detroit's perimeter game.

Psst, Pop, it's the Finals, now is not the time to dick with your lineups. I saw some truly bazaar combinations out there tonight. When you do that, it looks like you're panicking. Plus, Larry took advantage of some matchup mismatches to get easy hoops off of you.

Now is also not the time to experiment with plays. If I never see Bruce Bowen try to run a pick and roll again it'll be too soon. Dumb play at a point we needed scoring.

Did I mention seeing Devin Brown tonight would have been a good thing?

And finally, I was reminded by a friend tonight of one long-standing problem of Pop's teams - we don't go for blood when a guy's in foul trouble.

Tonight it was Rasheed Wallace playing the last 5 minutes of the game with 5 fouls. Number of times we challenged him defensively: ONE. Rasheed's damage in the last five minutes: 7 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound.

Earlier in the playoffs when Duncan got into foul trouble we saw him continuously attacked, and easily scored on, out of fear of not fouling out.

But we seem to want to uphold the nice guy image and make sure that guys with 4-5 fouls are around at the end of the game. That's nice and all, but it gets you beat. You've GOT to attack someone guarding Duncan with five fouls.

And now for Pop's coupe de grace: writing the "Parade, Thursday afternoon" shit on the marker board in the locker room. How fucking conceited is that? When that's your attitude at the top, it cascades down to the guys out on the court. And it showed. We expected to Detroit to just lay down for us. You're going to have to take it form these guys, they're not just going to give it away. I thought Pop would be above something so stupid, but I guess not.

================================================== ==

Question, where are all the FTs don't matter crowd, who were so vicious in their attacks on me earlier this year? We lost a game earlier in the playoffs because of it, and tonight we bricked 10 freebies. But hey, Tim will figure it out, at least that's what Pop says.

And finally, a big fuck you to the fans up in section 221 who got pissed at me and the ten guys on my row who decided at the 5 minute point we were going to stand and yell our fucking guts out for the team the rest of the way.

This isn't piano recital, it's not a Disney movie, it's the mother fucking NBA Finals.

If you can't get off your ass and yell for your team for five minutes at a game that could decide the championship, you shouldn't be at the damn game. That is weak, weak, weak with a capital W weak.

When did the rowdy mob at game 6 in 2003 get replaced by a bunch of uptight, pretentious assholes who are too good to make some noise for their team? I see enough of that shit in Dallas, I don't want to see it in my hometown.

And finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't say it was good meeting some of you finally at the half - Kori, LJ, Sequ, SW, UU666, Spurchick, Ginobiiillli, great to put a face with the name.

All this said, I am putting my faith in Pop making adjustments for game 7, just hope that it will be enough (and wish I had waited until Thursday to try and come down).


That's too fucken long man. Get a life. I'm a fan of this team but in no fucken way am I spending that much effort on a freaken post. I have other things to occupy myself.

[Sense]

Yeah, I know, same tired argument from AHF. For those of you that feel that way, so be it, go find another thread.

For those of you who want to talk shop, read on...

First off I do need to call out some players...

Tim Duncan. The Big Fundamental is a Big Pussy. Show some balls man. Christ, two years ago you came two blocks away from a quadruple double in the elimination game of the NBA Finals.

Tonight you let your starting two guard nearly outrebound you. Weak. And don't even get me started on your D the last 5 minutes of the game. I don't know what was worse - Antonio McDyess taking you to the rack for a layup, or Lindsey Freakin' Hunter. Nut up. And while we're at, get your shit together at the FT line. There is no excuse for being such a choke, it's all in your head.

Tony Parker - how many threes does Billups have to hit before you think about coming OVER the pick? I can give you one, maybe two, but three? four? five? Wake up kid.

Also, how hard is it to step up and take a charge? I have seen Tony get whistled for fouls trying to defend a driving Billups multiple times in this series. He's fast enough to get in front of Chauncey, and then all he needs to do is step up and he'll get the call. All those times Chauncey puts his head down and drives and gets blocking calls on Tony will start turning into charges.

All Spurs big men involved in pick and roll defense. HEDGE DAMNIT. Detroit is killing us on the switch, it's time to start hedging and forcing the guard backwards. I think Detroit's guards hit every jump shot where they ended up with one of Tim, Nazr, or Horry on them tonight. If it's broke.. fix it.

========================

Now, on to Pop. You got punked tonight by your mentor. Plain and simple. Even the Game Night React crew called it, so I know I'm not alone.

You never adjusted to Detroit running their offense on the perimeter, just let them cut you to pieces. Fucking weak.

Why were we doubling so much the first half? I've never seen a Spurs offense double as much as I saw tonight in the first 24 minutes. And it got us killed.

Where the hell was Devin Brown? The Hunter-Billups-Hamilton was just begging to be countered with a Tony-Manu-Devin lineup of our own. But instead San Antonio's favorite road runner was on the wrong end of a DNP-CD.

Number of times Bowen guarded Chauncey tonight: ZERO. Chauncey's line: 19 points, 6 assists. Ugh. You know, it worked in game 5, why the hell would it ever work again?

And am I the only one who remembers games 1 and 2 Manu absolutely getting into the head of one Rip Hamilton? Hamilton was convulsing like he was in a swarm of mosquitos for those two games when Manu played him. The guy even got T'ed up for it. Like I said, that Hunter-Billups-Rip combo was just begging to have Bowen switched onto Billups and Manu sent out to annoy the hell out of Rip.

We didn't adjust all night to Detroit's perimeter game.

Psst, Pop, it's the Finals, now is not the time to dick with your lineups. I saw some truly bazaar combinations out there tonight. When you do that, it looks like you're panicking. Plus, Larry took advantage of some matchup mismatches to get easy hoops off of you.

Now is also not the time to experiment with plays. If I never see Bruce Bowen try to run a pick and roll again it'll be too soon. Dumb play at a point we needed scoring.

Did I mention seeing Devin Brown tonight would have been a good thing?

And finally, I was reminded by a friend tonight of one long-standing problem of Pop's teams - we don't go for blood when a guy's in foul trouble.

Tonight it was Rasheed Wallace playing the last 5 minutes of the game with 5 fouls. Number of times we challenged him defensively: ONE. Rasheed's damage in the last five minutes: 7 points, 1 steal, 1 rebound.

Earlier in the playoffs when Duncan got into foul trouble we saw him continuously attacked, and easily scored on, out of fear of not fouling out.

But we seem to want to uphold the nice guy image and make sure that guys with 4-5 fouls are around at the end of the game. That's nice and all, but it gets you beat. You've GOT to attack someone guarding Duncan with five fouls.

And now for Pop's coupe de grace: writing the "Parade, Thursday afternoon" shit on the marker board in the locker room. How fucking conceited is that? When that's your attitude at the top, it cascades down to the guys out on the court. And it showed. We expected to Detroit to just lay down for us. You're going to have to take it form these guys, they're not just going to give it away. I thought Pop would be above something so stupid, but I guess not.

================================================== ==

Question, where are all the FTs don't matter crowd, who were so vicious in their attacks on me earlier this year? We lost a game earlier in the playoffs because of it, and tonight we bricked 10 freebies. But hey, Tim will figure it out, at least that's what Pop says.

And finally, a big fuck you to the fans up in section 221 who got pissed at me and the ten guys on my row who decided at the 5 minute point we were going to stand and yell our fucking guts out for the team the rest of the way.

This isn't piano recital, it's not a Disney movie, it's the mother fucking NBA Finals.

If you can't get off your ass and yell for your team for five minutes at a game that could decide the championship, you shouldn't be at the damn game. That is weak, weak, weak with a capital W weak.

When did the rowdy mob at game 6 in 2003 get replaced by a bunch of uptight, pretentious assholes who are too good to make some noise for their team? I see enough of that shit in Dallas, I don't want to see it in my hometown.

And finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't say it was good meeting some of you finally at the half - Kori, LJ, Sequ, SW, UU666, Spurchick, Ginobiiillli, great to put a face with the name.

All this said, I am putting my faith in Pop making adjustments for game 7, just hope that it will be enough (and wish I had waited until Thursday to try and come down).


You are a very stupid fan...


Wait... that is if you are a fan.

[T Park]

haha.

Speak the truth and get called stupid.

Classic stupidity at its best.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

haha.

Speak the truth and get called stupid.

Classic stupidity at its best.


Since when is ones opinion the truth?

Now see, that was classic stupidity at its finest.

Good job T Pee, you keep one uping yourself. :lol

[T Park]

This message is blocked because this user is on your ignore list

Ahhh, sweet silence.....

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

I love when nimrods post the ignore message and then add something lame like: "Silence is golden." or "I'm a chicken shit who has to put people on ignore because I can't take what they say without crying like my 12 year old sister."

[T Park]

This message is blocked because this user is on your ignore list

huh???
u say somfin?


BTW,

another question, where was the force the perimiter player down the middle or the sideline to the bigs??

What happened to that?

[timvp]

AHF is off base ... but not by much. Not practicing the day before game six of the NBA Finals is crazy. Not even film session? The Spurs didn't exactly dominate Game 5.

[whottt]

From game 5:

STARTERS MIN
Bruce Bowen, 44
Tim Duncan, 48
Manu Ginobili, 44
Tony Parker, 45

Bruce is 34 and Duncan and Manu have been playing ball for nearly 2 years straight...

This was our 104th game of the season...

Did the Pistons practice? Even if they did...the day of rest may payoff on Thursday.

[T Park]

Exactly.

Whats wrong with a film session. Uh, how about a shoot around, how about a WALKTHROUGH!!!


He acted like they won game 5 by 20 and that Chauncy billups ben wallace and rasheed wallace all got injured at once.

[T Park]

Tim Duncan, 48

Tim Duncan didn't sit down at all in game 5??

That is completely wrong.

[whottt]

Tim Duncan didn't sit down at all in game 5??

That is completely wrong.


It's called over time.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Exactly.

Whats wrong with a film session. Uh, how about a shoot around, how about a WALKTHROUGH!!!


You do know every Spur gets a DVD of the entire game. Even from different angles we don't see.

They probably even have notes.

And I bet they even have DVD players at their homes to put those DVD's in.

They just don't sit around all day playing Sega like you nimrod.

Oh wait... you can't read this... right? :lol

[T Park]

It's called over time

my bad I forgot.

Maybe.

But to shoot that down?? The Pistons played the same amount of goddamn minutes and they arent youngsters either.

[mouse]

You do know every Spur gets a DVD of the entire game. :lol

and a copy of ....... :lmao

http://www.meeko.org/disney/mermaid/lmsndtrck.jpg

[timvp]

You do know every Spur gets a DVD of the entire game. Even from different angles we don't see.

They probably even have notes.

And I bet they even have DVD players at their homes to put those DVD's in.

They just don't sit around all day playing Sega like you nimrod.

Oh wait... you can't read this... right? :lol

Pop told them not to even think about basketball.

And well ... it sure looked like it tonight.

[BadlyDrawnBoy]

Pop told them not to even think about basketball.

And well ... it sure looked like it tonight.

Yeah, I sure they took his advice and blocked anything that had to do with basketball.

I'm sure if Pop said he told them to think about cows fucking all day Monday you'd believe him.

[T Park]

And well ... it sure looked like it tonight.


I did hear there was a parade thursday.

For what, Fiesta?

[whottt]

my bad I forgot.

Maybe.

But to shoot that down?? The Pistons played the same amount of goddamn minutes and they arent youngsters either.

None of them are as old as Bruce...none of them had to chase the best conditioned player in the NBA around for 44 minutes...

None of them played in the Olympics and Olympic qualifiers last summer and the year before like Duncan and Manu...actually 3 years straight for Manu...they pussed out remember?

Look...I'll be honest...I don't know if the Spurs will be able to pull off game 7...I think dropping this game was a huge setback and the Pistons will have all the momentum in game 7 and HCA will mean exactly squat...

But I understand why Pop rested them this time...this was a must win game for the Pistons...it was also one for the Spurs...but they got two chances to win the title...the Pistons only have one.

[T Park]

Thats the same attitude Miami had and blew it.

You NEVER take games for granted....



Your exactly right.

This series was over when the Spurs couldn't stop the Pistons out of a time out after making it 87-86.

[tonillo]

None of them are as old as Bruce...none of them had to chase the best conditioned player in the NBA around for 44 minutes...

None of them played in the Olympics and Olympic qualifiers last summer and the year before like Duncan and Manu...actually 3 years straight for Manu...they pussed out remember?

Look...I'll be honest...I don't know if the Spurs will be able to pull off game 7...I think dropping this game was a huge setback and the Pistons will have all the momentum in game 7 and HCA will mean exactly squat...

But I understand why Pop rested them this time...this was a must win game for the Pistons...it was also one for the Spurs...but they got two chances to win the title...the Pistons only have one.

[whottt]

Thats the same attitude Miami had and blew it.

You NEVER take games for granted....



Your exactly right.

This series was over when the Spurs couldn't stop the Pistons out of a time out after making it 87-86.


LMAO far be it from me to defend Pop...I just don't think that was why we lost.

I mean do we even know if the Pistons practiced or not? I haven't got a clue...for all I know Pop and Brown agreed to both not practice today...sounds like something they would do.


This isn't like 2001 VS LA when Pop rested them for 2 weeks or something like that...it's different...much more excusable. They Spurs weren't rusty or illprepared tonight. I have a problem with some of the substitutions...but basically they just got beat.

[texbumTHElife]

I think it is a pretty sound argument that Pop hasnt made the adjustments, if any, needed to give the Spurs a leg up in this series.

The offense hasnt changed. We continue to walk the ball up into the heart of what is probably, after seeing them more, the best defense in the NBA. After Bruce shuts down

Chauncey at the end of game 5 to seal it for the Spurs Pop never puts him on Chauncey in clutch time tonight.

We still havent adjusted to stopping their guards from nearly out rebounding our bigs. Yet when we do get the rebound we cant run on them... hmmmmmm.

I am a huge Pop fan and I think for the most part he is a tremendous coach. He is getting completely out coached in this series however.

Then again how is Pop gonna know that Tim Duncan would have a sex change before game 3 and sink into his shell in the most important parts of games.

[T Park]

Tex,

what adjustments would YOU do to the above things?

[texbumTHElife]

Tex,

what adjustments would YOU do to the above things?

If we are going to allow their guards to crash the boards then the rebounds we DO get should be turned up court immidiately and it should be lay up, dunk or foul. We CAN run on this team it is just going to take a conciouse effort. We ran on them fairly well in game 2.

Chauncey should be guarded by Bruce Bowen whenever Parker is on the bench and in the 4th quarter of a close game, period. Good team defense CAN limit Hamiltons points because they all come off of screens.

If we are going to make a conciouse effort to keep their guards off the boards then a good running game would definately slow that down. If we choose to go about it another way then the Spurs guards need to stay with there men after the shots go up and at least contest them from getting into the lane.

There is nothing you, I or Pop can do about the fact that Tim Duncan is just embarassing with the game on the line in this series. His first three quarters of game 5 were iconic. His 4th quarter of the last two games WILL define his career though if we do not win this title.

[gilmor]

there's always a game 7. BELIEVE!!

[spyder]

yea...believe...besides, the texas longhorns baseball team plays tommorrow...we can worry about this stuff on thursday, which the spurs will win...sorry...just had to say that..game 6 is over..ill wait till game 7....

[spyder]

i meant texas plays today...doooohhh

[ShoogarBear]

Why I am not surprised that in that entire diatribe Manu completely escaped blame for anything?

[duncan_21]

I agree with aggie. I couldn't believe bowen didn't guard billups in the 2nd half. As far as guarding the 3's, one of abc's reporters said pop was yellin for them to guard against the 3.

I agree that I would have liked to see brown out there mainly for his defense. However barry justified his playing time while he was out there.

WTF, why is beno getting any playing time?

It's sad to think that if td could just hit 70% of his fts the spurs probably would have won this game.

You also have to credit rip, billups, prince, and sheed for hitting some big shots some of them contested.

It also didn't help that horry was throwing up bricks for most of the game.

You could also blame manu for gambling and being reckless on both ends. And tp should be able to get a charge on billups.

[ginobme]

Tim Duncan. I know we play team ball but as far as I remember from playoffs past when its crunch time its Tim Duncan time. The guy is having "good" games this series but thats not going to win a championship.

Game 7 NBA Finals is when your star should say "hey guys i got this, climb on my back and i'll take us to the title" . I've been waiting the whole series for him to have one game like that. He is hesitant when he gets the ball in paint and he is missing his bank shot. I know he's gettin doubled but thats nothing new to him, every team they play doubles him and if he hasnt figured somthing out after 6 games.....Well this is where all the great ones lead their team to championships. Defining game for Duncan on thursday. [B]BELIEVE

[NameDropper]

:stfu

I knew that there would be threads of blame tonight, all in the wrong areas. And Spurs fans really just need to :stfu and admit that the Pistons just outplayed the Spurs. It happens sometimes.

Game Seven is going to be sweet. It is what sports dreams are made of.

I totally agree. Rumor has it all the finger pointing is directed at the Spurs when the finger should be pointed at the Pistons with a "great game" attached to it!!!!!

[ManuTastic]

The single biggest problem is Detroit is killing us by forcing mismatches on pick-n-rolls. Every fucking play, Tim winds up on Billups and Tony winds up on Sheed or Big Ben. Then we're at their mercy (I must say last night I was impressed by their stone-cold shooting balls). But mostly it's a switching problem. This has GOT to be figured out.
I've suggested a zone before, and I'll do it again. Despite last night, Detroit is not a heavy 3-pt shooting team. Mostly Billups and Hamilton get easy jumpers in the lane off of those pick-n-roll mismatches. A zone would easily negate that.
Any other ideas? Of course the best solution is for Tony to fight over/through the screen and have Tim STAY HOME, but that doesn't seem like it's going to happen. I do like the Devin Brown idea, just because he would be a better defender on Bps/Hamilton than Tony is.

PS. If Spurs can figure this out they win game 7 with ease. Just a clue.

[td4mvp21]

I think all of our losses have been Pop's fault. He does NOT MAKE ADJUSTMENTS. What noticeable adjustments have we seen since Game 4? Game 5 was Robert Horry's. Game 6, what adjustments were there? Very little or none. Pop is too stubborn when it comes to this stuff. In Game 5, Parker was RUINING our chances with turnovers and forced shots, yet Pop kept him in the game. At half time at Game 4, instead of encouraging the team he told them how much they sucked and that it was the worst performance he's ever seen. He doesn't know how to use this team's abilities. He's always messing with the rotations, etc. I'm not just posting this because we lost, I honestly think we might need another coach, even if we win.

[ALVAREZ6]

I wish we still had the Duncan from the beginning of the season, It's clear that his ankles are slowing his ass down, making him less aggressive. He's playing like if he didn't want to risk an ankle injury, but that isn't acceptable. He's gotta risk it and just go all out on Detroit, hustle his ass off, and be explosive.

[ALVAREZ6]

I think we should tip off with a different player guarding Chauncy. If he gets hot, then we lose...I guarantee it. Once he's hot, he'll do what he wants all night. I don't care if that means Bruce on Chauncy, Manu on Rip, and Barry on Prince for the starters. Tony can come off the bench and destroy Hunter.

Chauncy is the 1 single player deciding this series, IMO. If we stop him, I think this game is ours.

[ManuTastic]

A good point from ESPN today:

Tim Duncan only had one more shot than Rasheed Wallace even though he played 41 minutes to Wallace's 23. Duncan is supposed to be the best player in the league, and for him to have only 14 shot attempts is ludicrous. You can't expect to win when your best player is not getting the ball.

It wasn't as though he was being faced with tremendous defensive pressure, because the guy who does the best job on him, Rasheed Wallace, was out for most of the game with foul trouble. In that situation Duncan is supposed to be fed the ball. He should have had 25-30 shots, not 14.

– Greg Anthony, from the SBC Center in San Antonio

[ALVAREZ6]

That's exactly right^^^

Duncan had Ben and Prince on him for half the game, he should have gotten the ball and shot every time.

[td4mvp21]

I think we should tip off with a different player guarding Chauncy. If he gets hot, then we lose...I guarantee it. Once he's hot, he'll do what he wants all night. I don't care if that means Bruce on Chauncy, Manu on Rip, and Barry on Prince for the starters. Tony can come off the bench and destroy Hunter.

Chauncy is the 1 single player deciding this series, IMO. If we stop him, I think this game is ours.

Thats what I was thinking. Start Barry, put Bowen on Chauncey, Barry on Prince(he guards him anyway), and Gino on Rip. Parker off the bench would provide a boost for the team. But I don't think Pop is going to do that. He could start Barry and bring Ginobili off the bench too, but that isn't as good as the first. SOME adjustments need to be made.

[NoMoneyDown]

Here's an interesting set of stats ...

Parker's Turnovers -> 4
Ginobilli's Turnovers -> 3

Pistons' TOTAL Turnovers -> 5

[ALVAREZ6]

Here's an interesting set of stats ...

Parker's Turnovers -> 4
Ginobilli's Turnovers -> 3

Pistons' TOTAL Turnovers -> 5
It's just natural...we don't take care of the ball.

[NoMoneyDown]

It's just natural...we don't take care of the ball.

Ture. And last night our defense didn't force many either.

[boutons]

The Pistons low-turnovers is sign of their ball care plus some softness by Spurs' defense, a softness also indicated by the Pistons getting significanlty more STL and BS.

[ObiwanGinobili]

Damn it AHF- I hate it when I agree with you.
you make some valid points.


and yes, we got outplayed by the pistons - but we also MADE MISTAKES, I think it's just fine ot discuss those.

[tonillo]

I think all of our losses have been Pop's fault. He does NOT MAKE ADJUSTMENTS. What noticeable adjustments have we seen since Game 4? Game 5 was Robert Horry's. Game 6, what adjustments were there? Very little or none. Pop is too stubborn when it comes to this stuff. In Game 5, Parker was RUINING our chances with turnovers and forced shots, yet Pop kept him in the game. At half time at Game 4, instead of encouraging the team he told them how much they sucked and that it was the worst performance he's ever seen. He doesn't know how to use this team's abilities. He's always messing with the rotations, etc. I'm not just posting this because we lost, I honestly think we might need another coach, even if we win.

[ALVAREZ6]

The Pistons low turnovers shows their focus, something that we NEED.

[tonillo]

I honestly think we might need another coach, even if we win.quoto
mismatch pop don't understand. sa small guys vs. det big guys always (brown tricks)
sheed foul trouble why don't call play for tim
billups vs. parker???? no answer
may be change rotation??? never
brown in philly play vs. lakers 2001 with five small guys and embarassed mr. zen
where is pop tricks??

[cherylsteele]

You are more than welcome to do that. The beers are still here. But please arrive at my house before 6pm on Thursday when I leave for the game because I don't want to worry about getting the key to you.

You're giving him your key?!?!?!

[spur219]

Devin Brown should of played. He would of been an offensive spark.

[ALVAREZ6]

Devin Brown should of played. He would of been an offensive spark.
It's against Pop's rules.

It's in section 2.15

-No playing Devin Brown unless you are down 15 points in the 4th quarter.

[ducks]

early in the secon half the lady on tv said it was the FIRST TIME POP GOT ON THE SPURS ALL NIGHT!

[tonillo]

devin brown is good guy but he has not brain nba player for me

[FoxMulder]

C´mon men the man isn´t playing on the court. He just put what he think is the better choice.
The Spurs really need a real Point Guard, TPark plays like a shy shooting guard . Duncan has a cloud in his personality and Gino was too tired to play point guard, shooting guard, small forward and shooting in clutch. and where are the other players? C´mon just one game and is over...

The real problem is a matter of heart. Pistons have it and Spurs doesn´t.

Play smart and play together, the Spurs ar far better than Pistons. But they must play with heart, determination and staying on focus.

[MadDog73]

I honestly think we might need another coach, even if we win.


Then you are a moron. Even if we lose, what coach would you rather have?

Yeah, Pop screwed up royally as AHF has pointed out in a variety of areas. But so did all the Spurs.

Thing is, there is not a better coach available. Phil Jackson is not available, and I'm not sure Larry Brown would come back to SA.

Plus, I have a problem with firing a coach who consistently gets your team to the playoffs every year, and even manages to win a couple of Championships. Spurs fans are sooooo spoiled.

Beating Detroit is a major challenge, don't pretend it isn't difficult. That said, the Spurs are tied 3-3 with the Defending Champs who have a lot on their side. They have the whole "win one for the Gipper" mentality as Brown has health problems. They have a Chip on their shoulder the size of Texas as no one gives them credit for being Defending Champions. And Brown is using this "underdog mentality" to keep them focused and winning games.

BUT, the Pistons have yet to win this series. They still have to win one more in the SBC Center versus a Spurs team that should have been awakened last night. We'll see, I'm just happy the Spurs won game 5. If we had lost then, there would be nothing to plan for on Thursday....

[SLOVENIAN 8]

If Spurs will loos and Pop will containing to play with same players i tell you i will blame him forever damit. he must do something or this is over . Only if others will play like monsters. Damit i will nuts to watch that shit again :pctoss :pctoss :pctoss :pctoss

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

You are a very stupid fan...


Wait... that is if you are a fan.

Sense, I dropped a total of about $550 to get from Dallas to the game and back yesterday. But yeah, I'm not a fan. :rolleyes

There is no excuse for not at least watching film or having a walk through. Day off? You're playing for the world fucking title. Shit, win that game and they can have the next MONTH off.

Stupid. And it told the players (subconsciously if nothing else) that this series was over and to expect Detroit to lay down. Dumb dumb dumb.

Here's another one for you - the Spurs have taken the day off prior to four games now in the 2005 Playoffs. They are 1-3 in those games, and in the three losses our average margin of defeat is 18 points per game.

Take a look at that and tell me that in any way, shape, or form Pop should have thought that was a good idea, and I'd say he needs to be fired (and I don't want him fired, I just want him to wake the fuck up).

And I'm sorry, but there was no excuse for not sliding Bowen over to guard Chauncey some, the guy had 19 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds, 0 turnovers. He lit us up. If anyone was paying attention the last two years, Detroit goes as Chauncey goes.

Giving their heart and soul free reign out there when he knows the guy covering him (Tony) can't match up is just asking to get your ass kicked.


ShoogarBear - sorry, the Manu thing was kind of implied when I said we should have been attacking 'Sheed at the offensive end. He had some bad turnovers at the end last night, but again - it's been said all series - iso sets play right into the teeth of Detroit's defense, and that's what we were running for Manu. No pick and roll, no give and go, just a 1-4 setup that hasn't worked in six games.

[caspian]

I agree with you, in general. Gotta give the Pistons some credit though.

They made an AWFUL lot of very difficult shots without missing...

[T Park]

If there were better coaching options, youd get em.

But realisticly there isnt.

[GoSpurs21]

I have disagreed with AHF in the past but this time he has hit the nail on the head
Those of you that dont agree please take your heads out of the sand
Tim only played 40 minutes last night not 48 as someone said earlier

I still believe...but more importantly does TIM DUNCAN?

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Hiring an offensive coaching assistant can be done without replacing Pop.

Most of the other stuff Pop should have known better on, but it all goes back to lack of preparation. Which is what happens when you take the day before game 6 of the NBA Freakin' Finals off.

Inexcusable.

[E20]

Leave it to Aggie to make a 5+ page thread on Pop. :lol

[peskypesky]

A good point from ESPN today:

Tim Duncan only had one more shot than Rasheed Wallace even though he played 41 minutes to Wallace's 23. Duncan is supposed to be the best player in the league, and for him to have only 14 shot attempts is ludicrous. You can't expect to win when your best player is not getting the ball.

It wasn't as though he was being faced with tremendous defensive pressure, because the guy who does the best job on him, Rasheed Wallace, was out for most of the game with foul trouble. In that situation Duncan is supposed to be fed the ball. He should have had 25-30 shots, not 14.

– Greg Anthony, from the SBC Center in San Antonio


This is painfully obvious and this is why I'm calling for Pop's head even if we do manage to win Game 7.

People can call me an idiot for blaming Pop, but to not run the offense throught the greatest power forward of all time, your best scorer, and your highest percentage shooter (i.e. Tim Duncan) is moronic.

[boutons]

"run the offense throught the greatest power forward of all time"

Normally, Pop does run through Tim as first option, "inside-out", to a fault, aka "4-down" aka "4 Spurs watching Tim".

It wasn't only Rasheed playing Tim hard, fronting him, it was also whoevr else guarded tim. Tim had to fight his way around the defender, getting Tim in front of the defender, but off the low-block, and close to perimeter defender who could sag off and still prevent the ball from getting to Tim.

[td4mvp21]

Then you are a moron. Even if we lose, what coach would you rather have?

Yeah, Pop screwed up royally as AHF has pointed out in a variety of areas. But so did all the Spurs.

Thing is, there is not a better coach available. Phil Jackson is not available, and I'm not sure Larry Brown would come back to SA.

Plus, I have a problem with firing a coach who consistently gets your team to the playoffs every year, and even manages to win a couple of Championships. Spurs fans are sooooo spoiled.

Beating Detroit is a major challenge, don't pretend it isn't difficult. That said, the Spurs are tied 3-3 with the Defending Champs who have a lot on their side. They have the whole "win one for the Gipper" mentality as Brown has health problems. They have a Chip on their shoulder the size of Texas as no one gives them credit for being Defending Champions. And Brown is using this "underdog mentality" to keep them focused and winning games.

BUT, the Pistons have yet to win this series. They still have to win one more in the SBC Center versus a Spurs team that should have been awakened last night. We'll see, I'm just happy the Spurs won game 5. If we had lost then, there would be nothing to plan for on Thursday....

PJ Carlisimo? He's a darn good coach, a LOT of other teams were seeing if he wanted the head coaching job. Doesn't he like to run the motion offense? That's very good for the Spurs instead of stupid 4-down when Duncan keeps passing it off. Pop is a very good coach, don't get me wrong, but maybe not for this team. He doesn't seem to know how to use the abilities of the individual players. Like last night he could have played Devin Brown instead of Beno Udrih. Devin Brown is a good, physical player who plays defense. That's adjustments. Also, what on earth has Pop done the last few games to stop the Pistons' guards? NOTHING. Bowen is playing Rip well, Rip just went off last night. However, why in the world would you want Parker on Billups when he is on fire? I am blaming Pop for our loss in Game 4 and last night because he failed to make adjustments. Simple as that. Larry Brown obviously made adjustments after two losses in a row. IMO, he's the best coach in the NBA.

[Jimcs50]

AHF, was this your favorite book as a child, or what?


http://www.sonymusicstore.com/coverimages/SMD_200x200_1LV51263.jpg

[bigbendbruisebrother]

Dropping the whole blame game for a minute, I would like to discuss the game plan.

It seemed like Pop's defensive game plan last night was to deny interior scoring and make Detroit beat us from the perimeter, which they did.

Blame Pop all you want, but 1. you shouldn't have to give a pep talk or rip assholes this late in the season. The Spurs were too relaxed, and they did not play with the appropriate amount of fear. That comes down to the players--Tony and Tim in particular. The agressiveness on the boards was nonexistant.

This was a team loss.

Spurs in 7.

[timvp]

Did I miss where AHF admitted that Nazr sucked?

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Yeah, Nazr's playing like it's his first time in the Finals.

What's Tim's excuse? Pop's? Tony's?

For all the defensive greatness that is Gregg Popovich, he is letting Chauncey light us up with no change in sight.

It's become painfully obvious the last 3 games that Tony can't matchup with Billups and that Billups knows this.

So why does Pop keep letting us get our teeth kicked in defensively with that matchup?

Granted I already know the answer - Pop is good for one adjustment per series. Any more than that, and the Simulator Crew breaks down.

[boutons]

"The agressiveness on the boards was nonexistant."

WTF? The Spurs outrebounded the Pistons by 3 RBs. (each team had 13 O RB)

The stat that really killed the Spurs was horrible shooting (just like May 04) in the second half:

3rd:
(11:36) [SAN] Duncan Jump Shot: Missed Block: R. Wallace (2 BLK)
(10:59) [SAN 49-46] Ginobili Running Jump: Made (14 PTS)
(10:19) [SAN] Parker Jump Shot: Missed
(9:26) [SAN] Ginobili Jump Shot: Missed
(8:47) [SAN] Bowen Jump Shot: Missed
(8:31) [SAN] Ginobili Jump Shot: Missed
(8:22) [SAN 53-50] Parker Driving Layup: Made (12 PTS)
(7:34) [SAN] Duncan Turnaround Jump: Missed
(7:32) [SAN 55-52] Mohammed Hook Shot: Made (4 PTS)
(6:49) [SAN] Parker Layup Shot: Missed Block: R. Wallace (3 BLK)
(5:46) [SAN 58-59] Duncan Layup Shot: Made (11 PTS) Assist: Bowen (1 AST)
(4:19) [SAN 62-61] Bowen Jump Shot: Made (6 PTS) Assist: Horry (2 AST)
(3:44) [SAN] Barry Layup Shot: Missed Block: Prince (1 BLK)
(3:37) [SAN 64-64] Duncan Jump Shot: Made (14 PTS) Assist: Barry (2 AST)
(3:00) [SAN 66-64] Barry Driving Layup: Made (8 PTS) Assist: Parker (5 AST)
(2:22) [SAN] Parker Jump Shot: Missed
(0:43) [SAN] Parker Jump Shot: Missed
(0:00) [SAN] Barry Jump Shot: Missed

4th:
(11:14) [SAN] Ginobili Jump Shot: Missed
(11:05) [SAN] Barry Jump Shot: Missed
(11:04) [SAN 69-74] Barry Tip Shot: Made (10 PTS)
(10:26) [SAN] Barry Jump Shot: Missed
(9:19) [SAN 73-76] Horry Jump Shot: Made (8 PTS) Assist: Ginobili (2 AST)
(8:14) [SAN] Mohammed Layup Shot: Missed Block: McDyess (1 BLK)
(7:31) [SAN] Barry Layup Shot: Missed
(6:09) [SAN 76-80] Parker Jump Shot: Made (15 PTS) Assist: Barry (3 AST)
(5:18) [SAN] Bowen Jump Shot: Missed
(4:48) [SAN 81-82] Ginobili Jump Shot: Made (21 PTS) Assist: Duncan (1 AST)
(3:12) [SAN 84-87] Duncan Dunk Shot: Made (19 PTS) Assist: Ginobili (3 AST)
(2:22) [SAN 86-87] Duncan Layup Shot: Made (21 PTS)
(1:46) [SAN] Ginobili Layup Shot: Missed Block: B. Wallace (2 BLK)
(0:45) [SAN] Parker Jump Shot: Missed
(0:43) [SAN] Duncan Layup Shot: Missed Block: B. Wallace (3 BLK)
(0:40) [SAN] Duncan Layup Shot: Missed
(0:35) [SAN] Ginobili Jump Shot: Missed
(0:20) [SAN] Horry Jump Shot: Missed
(0:13) [SAN] Ginobili Jump Shot: Missed

13 made + 24 missed for total of 37 => 13/37 => 35%!!
Goddamit, that's not championship basketball.

Had the Spurs shot in the 2nd half as well as they shot in the 1st half, then:

"River Parade on Thursday".

The Spurs outshot the Pistons in the first half, and the Pistons outshot the Spurs in the second half.

iow, as the game progressed, the Spurs shot worse, and the Pistons shot better.

[ducks]

what was manu's excuse
he has been to the finals before

[Nikos]

what was manu's excuse
he has been to the finals before

That he stinks?

[ducks]

he sure stinked the last 2 minutes of the game up last night

[Nikos]

I think he sucked all game. He should have had 40pts 12 reb if he just made his threes. But he choked.

[smeagol]

I think he sucked all game. He should have had 40pts 12 reb if he just made his threes. But he choked.
Agreed.

The problem is he is from Argentina.

Argies are all softies. Just like Frenchies and people from the Virgin Islands.

[SequSpur]

Alot of the Spurs fucked up last night, including Popovich.

They just fucking blew it last night. The Pistons were through and the Spurs fucked it up.

[ducks]

I think he sucked all game. He should have had 40pts 12 reb if he just made his threes. But he choked.

HAD HE MADE ALL HIS THREES HE MIGHT HAVE :lol

DOES ANYONE THINK PLAYING 39 MINUTES BEFORE THE LAST 2 MINUTES HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH HIS TROUBLES AT THE END OF THE GAME?(
HE USUALLY DOES NOT SUCK AT THE END OF A GAME LIKE THAT)

[ducks]

Agreed.

The problem is he is from Argentina.

Argies are all softies. Just like Frenchies and people from the Virgin Islands.

I COULD CARE LESS WHERE HIS ASS WAS BORN

[smeagol]

I COULD CARE LESS WHERE HIS ASS WAS BORN
It was a joke patito feo.

[CalsonicKansei]

You really cant blame Pop for everything, because when we were playing Phoenix going in to game 5 with a Phoenix momentum skyhigh, he really made good adjustments, and when they were interviewing Robert Horry coming off the bus in Phoenix, they said to him," what are you guys feeling going into game 5 coming off that loss?". Robert responded, "yea the guys are not really feeling bad about it, they are playing video games and having a good time on the bus." They would have been lost without Pop.