A little analysis for those of you blaming Pop/the refs

[TDfan2007]

1) Game 6 was over before the 4th quarter, and before the officials started blowing their whistles at every turn. The Spurs were up by 15 points at the half and were simply run out of the gym in that 3rd quarter (32-18) thanks to a defense that can be called putrid at best, and poor decision making and shot making from the Big 3. The 3rd quarter definitively proved OKC's mettle and showed that they were the better team.

2) This team's Big 3 has played together for 9 years now. They all have high basketball IQ and have access to game film. As PROFESSIONALS it's up to them to tweak their individual games to adjust to the opposing team's defense/offense from game to game. Pop shouldn't have to tell Timmy to stop shooting over his right shoulder on the block, or tell Tony to attack the hedge/switch off of screens instead of moving horizontally. Pop also didn't collectively neuter every bench player aside from Jackson and Neal.

3) Pop is primarily responsible for two things: substitution patterns and halftime adjustments. With that in mind, let's see how Pop fared in the 4 losses.

Game 3: Regular sub pattern, players just shit the bed. Poor halftime adjustments by Pop, and the Spurs continued to get steamrolled.

Game 4: Pop slightly altered the substitution pattern by giving minutes to Dejuan Blair, a solid move that shifted the momentum in the Spurs' favor in the 4th. Pop still stuck with Green for 20 minutes and got nothing from him. In hindsight, it's easy to see that Jackson should have played more this game. Really though, the Spurs lost this game due to a listless performance from Tony Parker, and incredible shooting nights from Ibaka and Durant.

Game 5: Pop starts Manu Ginobili and the move pays immediate dividends. Pop makes the correct call in giving most of Green's minutes to Jackson, but his substitution pattern goes bizzaro after foul trouble to Duncan and Diaw at the end of the first quarter. That said, the Spurs lost this game due to another poor offensive night from Tony Parker, shaky defense (at best) from Duncan, and a fluke shot from Harden. Pop's last second play call is defended as well as possible by the Thunder.

Game 6: Manu starts again, and the Big 3 look as solid as they have all year. Jackson is relied on heavily again, and Green is given a chance only to be yanked after missing a wide open 3 and failing to box out on defense. Pop is forced to play an even tighter 7-man rotation in this game, as most of our "deep" bench proves to be too overwhelmed by OKC's talent and the playoff intensity. After half-time, the Spurs inexplicably collapse due to unrelenting pressure from OKC and the aforementioned struggles of our Big 3, who seemed worn out after that fantastic first half effort.

Pop did well enough with what he had to work with. Most of the adjustments that would have helped the Spurs should have come from Parker and Duncan in realizing how to capitalize on the way they were being defended. Unfortunately, that clearly didn't happen, and OKC's players played with more energy, stamina, and determination than the Spurs over these 6 games. The Thunder also made very difficult shots, while also knocking down almost every open look that they were given. As difficult as it is to admit, the Thunder were the better team for a majority of this series, and seemed to almost magically morph into a champion as the series progressed.

[Richie]

Stopped reading after the first line tbh. Up 7 in the 3rd quarter, Westbrook nails Leonard in the face and gets a no call. It would have been his 4th and would have been put on the bench. The we get it to 8 with a Jax 3 and he gets a ridiculous tech for looking at the bench.

The reality is that we had a horrible run in the 3rd quarter in part because the referees swallowed their whistles on one end, and blew for everything on the other. We couldn't stop OKCs momentum because the refs wouldn't let us.

Maybe we didn't deserve to make the Finals after really poor games 3, 4 and 5, but that Game 6 was a joke

[Jumi]

Stopped reading after the first line tbh. Up 7 in the 3rd quarter, Westbrook nails Leonard in the face and gets a no call. It would have been his 4th and would have been put on the bench. The we get it to 8 with a Jax 3 and he gets a ridiculous tech for looking at the bench.

The reality is that we had a horrible run in the 3rd quarter in part because the referees swallowed their whistles on one end, and blew for everything on the other. We couldn't stop OKCs momentum because the refs wouldn't let us.

Maybe we didn't deserve to make the Finals after really poor games 3, 4 and 5, but that Game 6 was a joke
This
It's hard to fight back when you're not allowed to!!

[TDfan2007]

Stopped reading after the first line tbh. Up 7 in the 3rd quarter, Westbrook nails Leonard in the face and gets a no call. It would have been his 4th and would have been put on the bench. The we get it to 8 with a Jax 3 and he gets a ridiculous tech for looking at the bench.

The reality is that we had a horrible run in the 3rd quarter in part because the referees swallowed their whistles on one end, and blew for everything on the other. We couldn't stop OKCs momentum because the refs wouldn't let us.

Maybe we didn't deserve to make the Finals after really poor games 3, 4 and 5, but that Game 6 was a joke


This
It's hard to fight back when you're not allowed to!!

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

[Richie]

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

I have no problem sleeping at night. I can accept the home team gets the calls, thats part of the game and I'm sure we got a bunch of homer calls in our games, but the refs really didn't give us much of a chance.

Hopefully the young players learn from this experience and don't let a team wriggle out from under a 2-0 deficit. Game 3 was shocking, we were coasting, Pop was right when he said how we just gave them quarters in those middle three games.

As I said in another thread, this series deserved a Game 7 and I feel the refs really played a hand in stopping that from coming to fruition. Nothing to do with it being fixed or anything like that, just the referees made some bad calls and were hugely swayed by the home crowd.

I'm over it. Whats done is done. We need to regroup and improve for next season. Come on your Spurs.

[KaiRMD1]

Season's over, whatever happened happened at this point. I'm on the same boat as far as the blown ref calls but at the end of the day, the Thunder WERE the better team and this series could have had an epic game 7 but oh well, good luck to the Thunder.

[TXstbobcat]

It was a great series to watch and it was a great season for the spurs. Nobody even thought they would make it that far into the playoffs. I even remember after the Griz series was over when Chris Webber was singing "it's the end of the road." He and most everyone else thought that was it for the spurs. They proved him wrong with a trip to the WCF.

[thispego]

1) Game 6 was over before the 4th quarter, and before the officials started blowing their whistles at every turn. The Spurs were up by 15 points at the half and were simply run out of the gym in that 3rd quarter (32-18) thanks to a defense that can be called putrid at best, and poor decision making and shot making from the Big 3. The 3rd quarter definitively proved OKC's mettle and showed that they were the better team.

2) This team's Big 3 has played together for 9 years now. They all have high basketball IQ and have access to game film. As PROFESSIONALS it's up to them to tweak their individual games to adjust to the opposing team's defense/offense from game to game. Pop shouldn't have to tell Timmy to stop shooting over his right shoulder on the block, or tell Tony to attack the hedge/switch off of screens instead of moving horizontally. Pop also didn't collectively neuter every bench player aside from Jackson and Neal.

3) Pop is primarily responsible for two things: substitution patterns and halftime adjustments. With that in mind, let's see how Pop fared in the 4 losses.

Game 3: Regular sub pattern, players just shit the bed. Poor halftime adjustments by Pop, and the Spurs continued to get steamrolled.

Game 4: Pop slightly altered the substitution pattern by giving minutes to Dejuan Blair, a solid move that shifted the momentum in the Spurs' favor in the 4th. Pop still stuck with Green for 20 minutes and got nothing from him. In hindsight, it's easy to see that Jackson should have played more this game. Really though, the Spurs lost this game due to a listless performance from Tony Parker, and incredible shooting nights from Ibaka and Durant.

Game 5: Pop starts Manu Ginobili and the move pays immediate dividends. Pop makes the correct call in giving most of Green's minutes to Jackson, but his substitution pattern goes bizzaro after foul trouble to Duncan and Diaw at the end of the first quarter. That said, the Spurs lost this game due to another poor offensive night from Tony Parker, shaky defense (at best) from Duncan, and a fluke shot from Harden. Pop's last second play call is defended as well as possible by the Thunder.

Game 6: Manu starts again, and the Big 3 look as solid as they have all year. Jackson is relied on heavily again, and Green is given a chance only to be yanked after missing a wide open 3 and failing to box out on defense. Pop is forced to play an even tighter 7-man rotation in this game, as most of our "deep" bench proves to be too overwhelmed by OKC's talent and the playoff intensity. After half-time, the Spurs inexplicably collapse due to unrelenting pressure from OKC and the aforementioned struggles of our Big 3, who seemed worn out after that fantastic first half effort.

Pop did well enough with what he had to work with. Most of the adjustments that would have helped the Spurs should have come from Parker and Duncan in realizing how to capitalize on the way they were being defended. Unfortunately, that clearly didn't happen, and OKC's players played with more energy, stamina, and determination than the Spurs over these 6 games. The Thunder also made very difficult shots, while also knocking down almost every open look that they were given. As difficult as it is to admit, the Thunder were the better team for a majority of this series, and seemed to almost magically morph into a champion as the series progressed.

:lol

[silverblk mystix]

What about Pop not calling a timeout in the last minutes of the game?

[Viva Las Espuelas]

1) Game 6 was over before the 4th quarter, and before the officials started blowing their whistles at every turn. The Spurs were up by 15 points at the half and were simply run out of the gym in that 3rd quarter (32-18) thanks to a defense that can be called putrid at best, and poor decision making and shot making from the Big 3. The 3rd quarter definitively proved OKC's mettle and showed that they were the better team.

2) This team's Big 3 has played together for 9 years now. They all have high basketball IQ and have access to game film. As PROFESSIONALS it's up to them to tweak their individual games to adjust to the opposing team's defense/offense from game to game. Pop shouldn't have to tell Timmy to stop shooting over his right shoulder on the block, or tell Tony to attack the hedge/switch off of screens instead of moving horizontally. Pop also didn't collectively neuter every bench player aside from Jackson and Neal.

3) Pop is primarily responsible for two things: substitution patterns and halftime adjustments. With that in mind, let's see how Pop fared in the 4 losses.

Game 3: Regular sub pattern, players just shit the bed. Poor halftime adjustments by Pop, and the Spurs continued to get steamrolled.

Game 4: Pop slightly altered the substitution pattern by giving minutes to Dejuan Blair, a solid move that shifted the momentum in the Spurs' favor in the 4th. Pop still stuck with Green for 20 minutes and got nothing from him. In hindsight, it's easy to see that Jackson should have played more this game. Really though, the Spurs lost this game due to a listless performance from Tony Parker, and incredible shooting nights from Ibaka and Durant.

Game 5: Pop starts Manu Ginobili and the move pays immediate dividends. Pop makes the correct call in giving most of Green's minutes to Jackson, but his substitution pattern goes bizzaro after foul trouble to Duncan and Diaw at the end of the first quarter. That said, the Spurs lost this game due to another poor offensive night from Tony Parker, shaky defense (at best) from Duncan, and a fluke shot from Harden. Pop's last second play call is defended as well as possible by the Thunder.

Game 6: Manu starts again, and the Big 3 look as solid as they have all year. Jackson is relied on heavily again, and Green is given a chance only to be yanked after missing a wide open 3 and failing to box out on defense. Pop is forced to play an even tighter 7-man rotation in this game, as most of our "deep" bench proves to be too overwhelmed by OKC's talent and the playoff intensity. After half-time, the Spurs inexplicably collapse due to unrelenting pressure from OKC and the aforementioned struggles of our Big 3, who seemed worn out after that fantastic first half effort.

Pop did well enough with what he had to work with. Most of the adjustments that would have helped the Spurs should have come from Parker and Duncan in realizing how to capitalize on the way they were being defended. Unfortunately, that clearly didn't happen, and OKC's players played with more energy, stamina, and determination than the Spurs over these 6 games. The Thunder also made very difficult shots, while also knocking down almost every open look that they were given. As difficult as it is to admit, the Thunder were the better team for a majority of this series, and seemed to almost magically morph into a champion as the series progressed.


Whatever helps you sleep at night.

X8PyTo6NyXA

[Legacy]

Fuk yo 'analysis' clown.

[The_Worlds_finest]

:lol

It is very True. Basically people are saying the usual rhetoric about the Spurs age vs thunder talent. But its simply not true, Spurs were winning that game and competing. The refs just fucked us, Period. Ultimately the kicker that would have over come the ref induced collapse would have been a better inside presence. (and for the conspiracy fans, which I give as much weight to, we would have still been fucked as the ref would have simply called foul after foul) As hard as it is, I swallow the bullshit pill of denial.

[thispego]

you realize what side i represent, right? :lol

[Budkin]

Bullshit analysis. The point is that we were right in the game with chances to go up. The refs cost us at least 10 pts and gave at least 10 to OKC. We lost by 7.

[Mr Bones]

I've never once read a thread on a basketball website that claimed there was a fix in, in favor of someone's favorite team, and that's why their team won. It's only after someone's favorite team loses. That's how the mind of conspiracy theorists work: the world is out to get them and therefore some evil force out there is working behind the scenes to make the poor internet poster's life miserable. Someday I want to see someone post that their favorite team just won the NBA championship but it feels unsatisfying because the series was clearly rigged in their favor.

[Knoxxx]

Fuk yo 'analysis' clown.

Well said. It was just like blah blah blah blah blah...

Sports has been fixed in the past so that is nothing new and certainly possible.

I'm more of the opinion that the refs just sucked, and got caught up in the OKC momentum, they are better dunkers and all that. At least subconciously, I think the refs did not want an ugly old team like the Spurs to win. They just like watching OKC better.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Valiant effort OP, but you can't help the mentally weak. Everything you said was correct, but it's like trying to talk sense into a Christian Fundamentalist

[Knoxxx]

At least my explanation was better than the conspiracy theory, I thought. If you watched the game and have an alternate explanation for the one sided and blown calls, we're all ears.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I've never once read a thread on a basketball website that claimed there was a fix in, in favor of someone's favorite team, and that's why their team won. It's only after someone's favorite team loses. That's how the mind of conspiracy theorists work: the world is out to get them and therefore some evil force out there is working behind the scenes to make the poor internet poster's life miserable. Someday I want to see someone post that their favorite team just won the NBA championship but it feels unsatisfying because the series was clearly rigged in their favor.

Exactly! :tu

Sad as it is to say, we were beaten by a better team playing transcendent basketball. It is true that a few breaks didn't go our way, but that's not the reason we lost the series.