This one is on Pop

[DAF86]

He panicked and did unnecesary shit.

Parker on Sefolosha.
Manu on Durant.
Small ball with Ibaka and Perkins on the court.
Too much isolation.
Too much Duncan on the low block.
Anderson with playing time. :lmao
And Bonner, too much Bonner.

[spursfan1000]

Actually no, this one is on the players. Bonner being useless, Parker not being aggressive enough, splitter being man handled and Neal being a awful ball handler.

[slick'81]

i want some nasty

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Actually no, this one is on the players. Bonner being useless, Parker not being aggressive enough, splitter being man handled and Neal being a awful ball handler.

[DAF86]

Well, just one game. Let's hope he comes up with a better game plan for the next one and the players play better.

[Richie]

Honestly, we all knew the thunder would play exactly this way against the pick and roll. The fact that pop has no clue what to do against it is the most worrisome part

[spurraider21]

Duncan has been completely ineffective on offense in all 3 games of this series. We won the first two despite that, but we need some standard, efficient Timmy offense. Something like 7-12 and 17 points or somethin

[tesseractive]

Anderson with playing time. :lmao
Anderson's currently +8. :lol

[Spurs Brazil]

I'd say this is also on Pop. Most of the players had sub par games

[DPG21920]

Pop was atrocious tonight. What a colossal choke job from him. Team was woefully unprepared.

[Richie]

I'd say this is also on Pop. Most of the players had sub par games

Pop has no answer to thunders defense, which is the reason for the bad play from the players

[JustinJDW]

Spurstalk.

Where missed jumpers and turnovers on simple passes are the Coach's fault.

[MannyIsGod]

Pop was atrocious tonight. What a colossal choke job from him. Team was woefully unprepared.

I'm not convinced Pop didn't get the result he wanted. Pop's middle name is tough love.

[Uriel]

Agreed. It's almost as if he tried to lose this game on purpose.

[tesseractive]

Spurstalk.

Where missed jumpers and turnovers on simple passes are the Coach's fault.

If they'd been coached better, the players wouldn't have turned over the ball.

[ElNono]

we just sucked... it happens to the best of em...

[pgardn]

Honestly, we all knew the thunder would play exactly this way against the pick and roll. The fact that pop has no clue what to do against it is the most worrisome part

We did?

What did they do in games 1 and 2? And why?

They were just setting us up? Just give us the first two, make us overconfident?

All the coach couch potatoes out tonight.

Its much easier to lay blame than actually have a plan. I guess cynics are the basis of these boards anyways.

[Clipper Nation]

We'll gladly trade you Vinny Del Negro for Pop, TBH.

[Spurtacus]

Definitely some questionable moves by Pop. We were due for a loss.

[Shastafarian]

http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/game-on/2012/05/17/bonnerx-inset-community.jpg

"Ha-Ha! My plan is coming to fruition!"

[Obstructed_View]

I'm not convinced Pop didn't get the result he wanted. Pop's middle name is tough love.

This was the worst coached game in the history of the Spurs, so I'm hoping you're right. Coach of the year is gone, and the head scratcher makes his return.

[Reck]

I hope we have seen the last of Bonner in these playoffs.

If you needed proove he's a useless human being, there you go.

[Richie]

We did?

What did they do in games 1 and 2? And why?

They were just setting us up? Just give us the first two, make us overconfident?

All the coach couch potatoes out tonight.

Its much easier to lay blame than actually have a plan. I guess cynics are the basis of these boards anyways.

Seriously, are you this stupid? Listen to what EVERY analyst has been saying. End of game 2 they went small and switched on every pick and roll and it troubled us. They play that way for a whole game and blow us out.

Like Barkley said, it took brooks 7 quarters too long to do it

[Obstructed_View]

If they'd been coached better, the players wouldn't have turned over the ball.

You cannot possibly defend having James Anderson in at small forward. :lol

[pgardn]

Seriously, are you this stupid? Listen to what EVERY analyst has been saying. End of game 2 they went small and switched on every pick and roll and it troubled us. They play that way for a whole game and blow us out.

Like Barkley said, it took brooks 7 quarters too long to do it

No answer you twit?

Its one frggn game!

But I guess you understand failure for a season. Tottenham fan...
How will that champions league work out next season? I guess you know choking and I should hold you in high regard.

So whats the final series prediction? OKC 4-2 ,since Pop has no answer?

[SpursFaninMS]

He panicked and did unnecesary shit.

Parker on Sefolosha.
Manu on Durant.
Small ball with Ibaka and Perkins on the court.
Too much isolation.
Too much Duncan on the low block.
Anderson with playing time. :lmao
And Bonner, too much Bonner.


No...this one is on Sefalosha's defense.

[TDMVPDPOY]

danny green once again a no show in 3 games, dude gives his man to much spacing to operate

neal is pathetic as a PG who cant play a lick of defense and slow with the rotation, hence his fkn penetration into teh key with teh stupid soft jumpers is pathetic when he doesnt know what to do

tim duncan needs to stop with the stupid leaning jumpers

matt bonner serves no fkn purpose on the court, i dont give a shit with the provided spacing, he has done shit all this series only 1 3pt made....fkn pathetic

diaw and jax needs to shoot the ball when they are free...stop with the penetration bullshit and live with the jumper

[Knoxxx]

Generally when a team loses badly both the coaches and players are to blame, not one or the other. Our team had no fire, and the refs typically do no favors to a flaccid team playing on the road.

Bonner seeing the court in 2nd half made no sense, that's on Pop.

I was never for the benching of Blair 100% of the time, and he showed a little something when he finally got in. No I don't think he should play big minutes, but an energy boost and limited role may be warranted. We can afford to play him at center against OKC bigs, who are limited offensively.

Not too much else to say, yes Pop had an off game along with the rest of the team. I do have faith he will make some good adjustments for the next game, but winning in OKC may not happen this series.

[lefty]

Pop did coach like shit


But we played like shit too

Duncan sucked ass
TP was average
Manu was somewhere I guess
Bonner wa sbeing Bonner

Too many turnovers, everybody standing around, horrendous D, slow rotations

[ElNono]

No...this one is on Sefalosha's defense.

what did he do?

[Richie]

No answer you twit?

Its one frggn game!

But I guess you understand failure for a season. Tottenham fan...
How will that champions league work out next season? I guess you know choking and I should hold you in high regard.

So whats the final series prediction? OKC 4-2 ,since Pop has no answer?

If he doesn't find a way to score against this defensive scheme, we're in trouble. He's seen 5 quarters of it so far, he's had no answer for it so far, let's hope he finds one

As for Tottenham, I was a fan when we were mid table year after year, ill be a fan when all our current players are long retired and I won't even remember this season

[Shastafarian]

Manu was somewhere I guess

On the bench for the first 7 minutes of the second half.

[lefty]

On the bench for the first 7 minutes of the second half.
I knew I spotted a bald spot on the bench


Great sig by the way

[Sean Cagney]

I hope we have seen the last of Bonner in these playoffs.

If you needed proove he's a useless human being, there you go.

Yeah right, we have hoped this for years now... Pop still will play that BUM.

[TDMVPDPOY]

it was stupid of pop to leave gino on the bench in the 3rd quarter when it was clear they needed another ball handler on the court while jax was lightin up...fkn pathetic display of coachin tonight....

[pgardn]

If he doesn't find a way to score against this defensive scheme, we're in trouble. He's seen 5 quarters of it so far, he's had no answer for it so far, let's hope he finds one

As for Tottenham, I was a fan when we were mid table year after year, ill be a fan when all our current players are long retired and I won't even remember this season

Then you should understand one game does make a series.

Pop can make all the adjustments he wants. The players have to carry it out. We were bad all the way around. Lazy lob passes, Duncan constantly falling away from his shot, never even attempting to draw fouls when up against Perkins. Its more than the coach. The players must execute plans. Pop can have the best ideas in the world next game, if the players dont play, it will not work.

The interesting thing is Pop was clearly pissed at the starters. He sat em and made em stew.

BTW I like Tottenham. Just ribbing ya:toast

[Shastafarian]

I knew I spotted a bald spot on the benchBald spot for a Ginger. Should be a no-brainer trade-off.



Great sig by the way

thank you.

[SpursFaninMS]

what did he do?

Seriously?! That was one of the best defensive efforts I've seen in the playoffs.

We looked lost on offense because we could never get our offense started. We could never get to square one because Thabo never let Parker penetrate and his long arms prevented him from making anything other than conservative passes. Four assists and five turnovers--I know Parker does not put up huge assist numbers for a 1, but he wasn't getting any of the "hockey assists" that he normally gets either.

Unless Duncan's midrange jumper is falling or Manu is on fire, if you take away Parker, we have no answer.

Popovich made some baffling decisions, I agree. But those would not have affected the outcome.

[Capt Bringdown]

Going back to game 2, OKC has outscored the Spurs in 4 out of the last 5 quarters.

OKC is making the right adjustments.

The Spurs were in a great position after the 1st quarter, but Pop went too long with a terrible lineup.

Bonner continues to be a nightmare for us in the playoffs, for how many straight years now?

One could feel the tectonic plates of this series shifting in the second quarter. Spurs will likely win, but I'm starting to wonder if they now must win a game in OKC to do so.

We know OKC is a young, streaky, mercurial team. Spurs need to avoid a game 7 scenario.

[SA210]

I agree with the OP. Team played like shit, but Pop giving up a playoff game basically before the 4th quarter ever began, going back to his Bonner love, waiting too long to try out Blair..Pop was definitely part of the meltdown, a big part of it.

[DMC]

It's actually on the Thunder. Sometimes you just get beaten. That's why it's a best of 7.

[therealtruth]

You cannot possibly defend having James Anderson in at small forward. :lol

I agree Kawhi should have been in for Anderson. He's shown the ability to have a Sefalosha effect on defense but Pop grounded him for no reason.

[SenorSpur]

At one point, Bonner was guarding Harden. Are you kidding me?

[therealtruth]

Seriously?! That was one of the best defensive efforts I've seen in the playoffs.

We looked lost on offense because we could never get our offense started. We could never get to square one because Thabo never let Parker penetrate and his long arms prevented him from making anything other than conservative passes. Four assists and five turnovers--I know Parker does not put up huge assist numbers for a 1, but he wasn't getting any of the "hockey assists" that he normally gets either.

Unless Duncan's midrange jumper is falling or Manu is on fire, if you take away Parker, we have no answer.

Popovich made some baffling decisions, I agree. But those would not have affected the outcome.

They definitely made lackadaisical passes and played without a purpose. Pop needed to give another nasty speech but I have a feeling he was comfortable getting the loss.

[therealtruth]

At one point, Bonner was guarding Harden. Are you kidding me?

No. Pop had some nonsensical lineups out there.

[ElNono]

Seriously?! That was one of the best defensive efforts I've seen in the playoffs.

We looked lost on offense because we could never get our offense started. We could never get to square one because Thabo never let Parker penetrate and his long arms prevented him from making anything other than conservative passes. Four assists and five turnovers--I know Parker does not put up huge assist numbers for a 1, but he wasn't getting any of the "hockey assists" that he normally gets either.

Funny, I just saw Tony having a bad game. We also purposely ran 4-down for like 50% of the first half... I didn't think Thabo had much of anything to do with it.

[cutewizard]

cia POp

[Spurs21Fan4Ever]

To me, this one was on everybody. Fact is, Thunder outhustled the Spurs. Thunder wanted this game more. Spurs, with the exception of part of the 1st quarter, had very lazy cuts and passes. Maybe this will wake them up. Can't wait til Saturday, hopefully the Spurs respond the way they need to.

[crc21209]

I agree. Pop made some HORRIBLE fucking decisions tonight. There were some real head scratching decisions out there tonight. But the #1 thing that pissed me off was at the start of the 2nd half the first sub he made was Bonner for Diaw at around the 9-8 minute mark. From there, the Thunder lead went from 12-13 points to 20 points. And no Manu? Why? When he FINALLY decided to bring Manu in at around the 3 or 4 minute mark (seriously?) the game was basically over, down 20 points. And yet, Bonner was STILL in there! Not to mention some of the match ups made no sense out there either...Manu on Durant? Parker on Sefolosha? WTF?!?!

[Russo21]

pop tanked to end the talk of the win streak ;-)

[therealtruth]

I agree. Pop made some HORRIBLE fucking decisions tonight. There were some real head scratching decisions out there tonight. But the #1 thing that pissed me off was at the start of the 2nd half the first sub he made was Bonner for Diaw at around the 9-8 minute mark. From there, the Thunder lead went from 12-13 points to 20 points. And no Manu? Why? When he FINALLY decided to bring Manu in at around the 3 or 4 minute mark (seriously?) the game was basically over, down 20 points. And yet, Bonner was STILL in there! Not to mention some of the match ups made no sense out there either...Manu on Durant? Parker on Sefolosha? WTF?!?!

I agree this series isn't a good one for Bonner.

[SA210]

No. Pop had some nonsensical lineups out there.

[racm]

OKC playing inspired by the home crowd and the Spurs going through the motions tbh

I think the winning streak got to their heads no matter how much they denied it tbh

[ViceCity86]

When your pick n roll is not working,you can always go through Duncan...oops those days are over.

[Fireball]

Play big and go with Duncan and Splitter ... Splitter could get Durant in foul trouble ...

[shingo_318]

Still believe spurs in 5. Maybe Pop deliberately loses this game to win the series. OKC will not play hungrily like this in next game, then its a great opportunity for Spurs to grab a W.

[boutons_deux]

" OKC will not play hungrily like this in next game,"

they know losing Game4 would be fatal. 1-3 going to SA.

[Admidave50]

Agreed, don't really understand what the hell he tried to accomplish today...

[GrandeDavid]

Honestly, we all knew the thunder would play exactly this way against the pick and roll. The fact that pop has no clue what to do against it is the most worrisome part

What's funny is 12 hours ago the same thing was being said about Scott Brooks. Pop will adjust and the Spurs will get results (slick reference to your avatar).

[The Reckoning]

What's funny is 12 hours ago the same thing was being said about Scott Brooks. Pop will adjust and the Spurs will get results (slick reference to your avatar).


maybe pop needs to hide a canteen on the sidelines to smooth out his decision making like olllllll harry.

[Obstructed_View]

Pop did what every good general does, he let his opposition ride the wave of excitement and intensity, didn't expend energy or wear out his finest to try to match, and once the emotions wears off for the opposition, you crush them because basically you are rested and baited them to show you their best early on, at that point, you know how to counter.

You lost a battle, doesn't mean you lost the war. The opponent who strictly relys on impulse to win, like last night, is the one who ends up on the losing end 99% of the time. Honestly, that is basic military strategy, which Pop uses alot in his coaching.

As long as nobody gets injured in game 5, I guess that's one way to go.

[Josepatches_]

Everybody is guilty and Pop is the first one because he's the coach.

[therealtruth]

What's funny is 12 hours ago the same thing was being said about Scott Brooks. Pop will adjust and the Spurs will get results (slick reference to your avatar).

You hope he makes strategic adjustments rather than just telling them to play harder. OKC played harder but their adjustments also helped them.

If the Spurs end up losing the series this would be on him because he couldn't match Scott Brooks adjustments. I still don't see how the Spurs weren't prepared for the Thunder's adjustments. SB showed his hand at the end of game 2.

[TJastal]

Play big and go with Duncan and Splitter ... Splitter could get Durant in foul trouble ...

Depends whose reffing tbh.

[Obstructed_View]

Depends whose reffing tbh.

Yeah, the refs seemed intent on taking Splitter out of the game, and the Spurs just let it go.

[silverblackfan]

Well, one could go with the theory that Pop saw the team was getting out played, and threw in the towel early. Why?
Send a message to his starters, that they need to play harder, smarter or lose their time.
Try out some combinations or ideas in the loss for next games strategy. (There will be small adjustments to running the plays)
Bring in one more home game revenue for game 5.
Its a gutzy gamble, but if the other team was way more committed to winning than your team... The Thunder were playing desperate and in the groove. Our guys were just too slow to figure out the solution before it got out of hand.

[ballhog]

http://oi49.tinypic.com/2b2ssy.jpg

[diego]

I havent seen anyone talk about it, because obviously we didnt lose just because of the refs. But if you remember, at the start of the game (when we were still in it) the thunder were putting their arms way into the ballhandler, and clocked manu and tony hard a couple of times. those got called, but its almost as if that set the bar and anything under that just became a no call. IMO that allowed them to play very physical the rest of the way, the spurs never matched that challenge. especially disappointing because manu used to get basketball revenge after taking a hit, but not this time...

[therealtruth]

Well, one could go with the theory that Pop saw the team was getting out played, and threw in the towel early. Why?
Send a message to his starters, that they need to play harder, smarter or lose their time.
Try out some combinations or ideas in the loss for next games strategy. (There will be small adjustments to running the plays)
Bring in one more home game revenue for game 5.
Its a gutzy gamble, but if the other team was way more committed to winning than your team... The Thunder were playing desperate and in the groove. Our guys were just too slow to figure out the solution before it got out of hand.

Yeah Pop may have been looking at the bigger picture. Their level of play had been getting sloppy and the loss and end of the streak might get them to refocus. The fun thing is going to see how the Spurs react to finally losing. If the Spurs are the better team which I believe they are OKC has just won their last game.