Send 'em home, Pop

[timvp]

The Spurs gutted out a win in Houston when they were obviously tired. Tonight, they were tired again and almost pulled it out before the late collapse and the buzzer-beater.

Get the Big 3 and whoever else you want on a Southwest Airlines flight and get them to San Antonio ASAP.

F David Stern.

F National Television.

This ‘bout winning championships in June; not regular season games in December.

If it’s $250,000 decision, so be it.

Do it, Pop.

[polandprzem]

it's almost January ... tbh

[ElNono]

gimmie the 250K, I'll suit up!

[davidbowie]

he dont got the balls

[davidbowie]

nvm he does lol

[Mugen]

Amen.

GNSF is going to say that we can't lose b2b with Bos/OKC coming up but that's why they're GNSF tbh.

[Boomersgold]

Duncan didn't look very tired. Does being tired make Neal jack up poorly-selected three pointers?

[spurs1990]

Or we could take out our frustration and BTHO Portland tomorrow on national tv.

[Brunodf]

Send pop to home and make him watch Blair playing, maybe he will realize that Blair is shit

[Juggity]

F David Stern.


Somebody tell davud sturn. he aint bout dis life.

[Malik Hairston]

I'd play them against Portland..

The Spurs struggle in Portland, but the Blazers have the worst bench in the NBA and a few of their guys are suffering from injuries..blow them out early and rest in the 4th, tbh..go hard tomorrow night..

[BillMc]

I agree with OP. But my guess Pop rests them but doesn't send them home.

[dylankerouac]

Same type of atmosphere and tough games the Spurs will have to deal with in the summer when they are not steamrolling opponents, if that occurs at all. Spurs backup points also need to figure a good approach to the pressure defense.

I am happy with the whole team trying to figure it out together.

[BillMc]

Somebody tell davud sturn. he aint bout dis life.

:lol I laughed out loud at that reference. Thanks!:toast

[Uriel]

SpursTalk can clamor all it wants, but I seriously doubt Pop will do it again. Consider that they're reluctant to keep James Anderson merely for the sake of staying under the luxury tax.

[playblair]

Same type of atmosphere and tough games the Spurs will have to deal with in the summer when they are not steamrolling opponents, if that occurs at all. Spurs backup points also need to figure a good approach to the pressure defense.

I am happy with the whole team trying to figure it out together.

cojo should be back up pg ..... he can handle the pressure without turnovers

[TD 21]

I'd play them against Portland..

The Spurs struggle in Portland, but the Blazers have the worst bench in the NBA and a few of their guys are suffering from injuries..blow them out early and rest in the 4th, tbh..go hard tomorrow night..

Exactly. Hopefully the Spurs are pissed off enough from this result to take it out on the Trail Blazers tomorrow.

The game to "send 'em home" is the Nuggets game next week.

[Blackjack]

This one's on Tony.

They needed a rudder, someone to stay the course, and their point guard and leader got impatient.

One of 82 - and they've still got more road wins than the Lakers have wins. :smokin

[superjames1992]

I think Pop has a conspiracy going against Ted Turner.

[Splits]

Just announce it on Twitter so Ben-Stern can't say you didn't tell the league or the opposing team or the network.

[Boomersgold]

cojo should be back up pg ..... he can handle the pressure without turnovers

No he should not. Every time he's on the court, the other team outscores us. Ginobili should be the backup pg, with Mills as the SG, Bonner as SF, Diaw as the PF and Tiago as the C.

[TE]

Somebody tell davud sturn. he aint bout dis life.
:lmao

[justinandimcool]

Just tell the league and Failzers beforehand, and there won't be a fine.

[crc21209]

I highly doubt the Spurs go down that road again. I'd play the starters for a quarter, quarter and half, then give them the rest of the night off. Besides, as of late the Blazers starting line-up has been Lillard, Pavlovic, Claver, Hickson, and Aldridge. With Jeffries, Babbitt, Leonard, Smith, and Barton coming off the bench....

[timvp]

Duncan put in a lot of work tonight. Manu looks dead tired. TP was running at about 70%. I really wouldn't risk a potential injury.

Three long road trips early in the season have taken their toll.

[Floyd Pacquiao]

They'll make the trip imo but only manu and tony will play with limited minutes imho

[TrainOfThought5]

The Spurs gutted out a win in Houston when they were obviously tired. Tonight, they were tired again and almost pulled it out before the late collapse and the buzzer-beater.

Get the Big 3 and whoever else you want on a Southwest Airlines flight and get them to San Antonio ASAP.

F David Stern.

F National Television.

This ‘bout winning championships in June; not regular season games in December.

If it’s $250,000 decision, so be it.

Do it, Pop.

Easy to say when its not your paycheck, tbh.

:lol NBA players on tiny Southwest seats

[ElNono]

I suspect it will be more than 250K for recurring... IIRC, per the NBA books, the max fine Stern can asses 'arbitrarily' is $1M...

[Sean Cagney]

Duncan put in a lot of work tonight. Manu looks dead tired. TP was running at about 70%. I really wouldn't risk a potential injury.

Three long road trips early in the season have taken their toll.

:( That makes me feel better they are tired this early in the year.

[timtonymanu]

Amen.

GNSF is going to say that we can't lose b2b with Bos/OKC coming up but that's why they're GNSF tbh.

I don't know. We are facing Portland tomorrow who we can easily beat. I rather we lose 3 out of 4 games instead of losing all 4.

[TD 21]

Duncan put in a lot of work tonight. Manu looks dead tired. TP was running at about 70%. I really wouldn't risk a potential injury.

Three long road trips early in the season have taken their toll.

When you're pursuing the 1 seed, as this team is, you don't throw away should be wins like the one tomorrow night. That team has five credible players, two might not play and one of the other three isn't much of a scorer.

The Thunder-Nuggets back to back is much more difficult and they're probably all but guaranteed at least one loss, so why compound matters?

You know full well what's going to happen if they sit the big three tomorrow. They'll play hard, have a decent lead late, then predictably blow it and lose at the end.

[crc21209]

I don't know. We are facing Portland tomorrow who we can easily beat. I rather we lose 3 out of 4 games instead of losing all 4.

Exactly. That Boston and back to back with OKC and Denver stretch is pretty damn tough....

[Mugen]

When you're pursuing the 1 seed, as this team is, you don't throw away should be wins like the one tomorrow night. That team has five credible players, two might not play and one of the other three isn't much of a scorer.

The Thunder-Nuggets back to back is much more difficult and they're probably all but guaranteed at least one loss, so why compound matters?

You know full well what's going to happen if they sit the big three tomorrow. They'll play hard, have a decent lead late, then predictably blow it and lose at the end.

Health > 1 seed, no matter what.

[timtonymanu]

Then again, if the Spurs bench can't even beat the Blazers' bench without the Big 3, then they don't belong in the NBA.

[HI-FI]

If they want to send a message and skirt around Stern's new bs rule, just play them for like a minute then sit them the rest of the game. I'm cool with sending them home, this loss has to be taxing, but Stern will react more harshly.

[TE]

Exactly. That Boston and back to back with OKC and Denver stretch is pretty damn tough....
Not to worried with Boston at home.

That Denver game will be tough after playing OKC the night before.

[TDfan2007]

Timmy has no business being in uniform tomorrow. Other than that I think everyone else should play. Our guys shouldn't be this tired. Just load the charter plane w/ Red Bull...

[timvp]

The Thunder-Nuggets back to back is much more difficult

Scheduling-wise, it doesn't make sense to rest the Nuggets game because they have a two-day break after that game anyways.

Rest tomorrow. No practice the next day. Play three games in four days. Rest two days. Then try to fatten your record on the four-game homestand. Makes a lot more sense to me, tbh.

[TampaDude]

Frankly, the Spurs looked SLOW tonight. The Jazz blew by them in transition like they were standing still.

Don't forget, SLC is at 4200+ feet altitude. That does make a difference. Probably the main reason the Jazz are so good at home.

[TD 21]

Scheduling-wise, it doesn't make sense to rest the Nuggets game because they have a two-day break after that game anyways.

Rest tomorrow. No practice the next day. Play three games in four days. Rest two days. Then try to fatten your record on the four-game homestand. Makes a lot more sense to me, tbh.

It's not about how many days off they get after, it's about throwing the games that are going to be extremely difficult either way. The Heat game was a perfect example of that. They had a day off after it, so why didn't they sit them in one of the three that preceded it? Because they wanted to make sure they got those. The same logic applies here.

Mugen, what does sitting them tomorrow as opposed to next Tuesday change/guarantee, health-wise?

[TDMVPDPOY]

i dont think manu is fatigued....his just playin like shit as usual

[timvp]

It's not about how many days off they get after, it's about throwing the games that are going to be extremely difficult either way.According to who? Obviously not Pop since last year the Spurs tanked "winnable" games against Portland and Utah to name two.

[TDMVPDPOY]

tommarow without the big3 or duncan, the law of avges comes into affect for those who had a shitty game today to start statpadding....

[TD 21]

According to who? Obviously not Pop since last year the Spurs tanked "winnable" games against Portland and Utah to name two.

Last year was a different animal altogether.

It's common sense; you tank the games you're probably not winning anyway.

[Mugen]

It's not about how many days off they get after, it's about throwing the games that are going to be extremely difficult either way. The Heat game was a perfect example of that. They had a day off after it, so why didn't they sit them in one of the three that preceded it? Because they wanted to make sure they got those. The same logic applies here.

Mugen, what does sitting them tomorrow as opposed to next Tuesday change/guarantee, health-wise?

No guarantees of course. I'd sit em out on Tuesday as well if it were up to me. I'd be just fine with Tim not playing a b2b the rest of the year regardless of seeding implications.

To me, it's pretty simple for Pop. If they look gassed, you err on the side of caution and sit them. You'll lose winnable games, sure, but an injury to one of the Big 3 and the season is done.

[Em-City]

According to who? Obviously not Pop since last year the Spurs tanked "winnable" games against Portland and Utah to name two.

For some reason, I couldn't see us winning that portland game last year, even if we had the big 3.

This year we should blow them out in the first half.

[KaiRMD1]

"Duncan, Parker, Ginobili got food poisoning and got sent home to be re-evaluated by doctors" = avoiding the fine right there.

That's how you do it, problem solved.

[Sean Cagney]

i dont think manu is fatigued....his just playin like shit as usual

Yes as usual, he has been bad his whole damn career! YES you are right. Get it?

[spurraider21]

if it means spending 250k of somebody else's money, DO IT... :lol

[pookenstein]

I think it wouldn't be "just" 250k this time...

[spurraider21]

meh. stop treating them like babies. they had their rest which came in a 4 game 5 nights thing on a road trip. if anything just give them a 30 minute cap (more for tony. he's not exactly old) and let the reserves get run, but don't send them home. the more floortime tiago gets, the better he seems to play, anyway. tiago vs aldridge would be pretty fun to watch

[polandprzem]

Pop probably will try to play his best guys and limit their minutes and be ready to wave the white flag as soon as possible.

[Mal]

"Duncan, Parker, Ginobili got food poisoning and got sent home to be re-evaluated by doctors" = avoiding the fine right there.

That's how you do it, problem solved.

Knee tendonitis ftw

[racm]

For some reason, I couldn't see us winning that portland game last year, even if we had the big 3.

This year we should blow them out in the first half.

Portland was still fancying itself a playoff team. They blew it up after getting blown out against the Knicks in Woodson's first game and it was clear that the vets simply did not GAF.

[exstatic]

:( That makes me feel better they are tired this early in the year.

Look at the schedule. It's been BRUTAL. This is their third road trip of 4 or more so far, and their second set of 5 games in 7 days. OKC would even be tired with this schedule.

[racm]

Look at the schedule. It's been BRUTAL. This is their third road trip of 4 or more so far, and their second set of 5 games in 7 days. OKC would even be tired with this schedule.

And yet the Spurs are only 1 game behind OKC and their home-heavy, bottom-feeder heavy schedule. When the schedule evens up later in the season it will benefit the Spurs.

[JRHernandez88]

Lets do it Pop, Fk Stern and all the "fans" that never cared for us anyway.

I got 5 on it.

[Beaverfuzz]

For some reason, I couldn't see us winning that portland game last year, even if we had the big 3.

This year we should blow them out in the first half.

That's because Portland shot over 50% for most of the game and got up big...you're right the Big 3 might not have made a difference in that one.

[Brunodf]

i dont think manu is fatigued....his just playin like shit as usual

Ginobili needs more minutes, he will never get his rhythm back playing 20-25.

[TampaDude]

And yet the Spurs are only 1 game behind OKC

Only 1/2 game, actually.

[Drom John]

Duncan, knee
Parker, eye
Ginobili, back
Green, huge defensive error doghouse.

[TampaDude]

Duncan, knee
Parker, eye
Ginobili, back
Green, huge defensive error doghouse.

Stern, stroke

[Strategic]

For all of the successes of the brain trust of the team, this scenerio is what I don't understand. They have known for years that Duncan would need to be rested throughout these final seasons(they've been doing it for years), but have done little to prepare for it. Two years ago they had Mcdyess to use. He was older than Tim and was expected to bring it along side Tim, and then when Duncan needed rest, Mcdyess was counted on to carry the load, and then the next game he had to bring it again beside the rested Duncan. I wonder if being used as a "sacrificial lamb" deterred Antonio from calling the Spurs this year? I'm not against resting Duncan this year, but that leaves Splitter and nobody else to fill the minutes. Maybe that was Pop's reasoning in the Heat game, if he sends Duncan home the team doesn't stand much of a chance, so send half the team home with him? Just my piss poor thoughts for the day. Go Spurs Go!!!!!

:wakeup:pctoss

[Strategic]

Irolas (http://www.spurstalk.com/name/nm0400655/): It is as the Lord Denethor predicted. Long has he forseen this doom.
Gandalf (http://www.spurstalk.com/name/nm0005212/): Forseen and done nothing!

[sananspursfan21]

gimmie the 250K, I'll suit up!

let's go! i'm 6'3 so i qualify for power forward

[superbigtime]

Play em all and see how it goes. Give Tiago big minutes. Play Tim 20. I think Bonner is playing with productive energy, limit Blair's PT. Don't send anyone home. This is Portland, not Miami.

[Russ]

The Spurs gutted out a win in Houston when they were obviously tired. Tonight, they were tired again and almost pulled it out before the late collapse and the buzzer-beater.

Get the Big 3 and whoever else you want on a Southwest Airlines flight and get them to San Antonio ASAP.

F David Stern.

F National Television.

This ‘bout winning championships in June; not regular season games in December.

If it’s $250,000 decision, so be it.

Do it, Pop.

Generally, I agree with timvp, but not this time.

Quit now and you'll quit when it matters.

A tough loss demands a tough win the next night -- just like the playoffs. A moment of self-pity means an eternal summer off.

This is a teachable moment.

It's a gut check by golly. A must win tonight!:flag:

[Cane]

Losing to a buzzer beater last night probably makes the players want to play.... but rest is best for at least Duncan

Damn it sucks not having healthy SF's

[polandprzem]

esp vs portland

[Beaverfuzz]

They're playing tonight vs Portland. Go Spurs Go!

[jiggy_55]

Is Kawhi back tonight? Popovich did say yesterday before the Utah game that Kawhi is expected back in 1 or 2 games, which means possibly tonight or the next game.

[phxspurfan]

Agreed. I was wondering how ST regs would react to watching that game last night. I'm no expert but I could still see that Duncan was relied on too much and we needed to use our bench more.

[Beaverfuzz]

Is Kawhi back tonight? Popovich did say yesterday before the Utah game that Kawhi is expected back in 1 or 2 games, which means possibly tonight or the next game.

Unless something has changed, expect Kawhi in uniform tonight and given a pretty good test during warmups to see if he can go. Even if he does play, don't expect more than 10-12 minutes out of him.

[Mugen]

Pretty shitty 24 hours for Pop, tbh.

Caving into Stern and playing the Big 3, horrible rotations, no adjustments to Lillard whatsoever, and some questionable decisions at the end.

[timvp]

The Big 3 shouldn't have played this game. Ginobili was holding his back all game, TP had no legs and Duncan's energy level fell off a cliff after a hot start.

Did Stern really get to Pop? Did Pop just really want this win?

Odd decision.

[Mugen]

The Big 3 shouldn't have played this game. Ginobili was holding his back all game, TP had no legs and Duncan's energy level fell off a cliff after a hot start.

Did Stern really get to Pop? Did Pop just really want this win?

Odd decision.

Definitely the former. Pop hasn't given a shit about a road game in POR in about 4 years. Don't know if it was all Pop or if Holtcat had a say in it.

[timvp]

Definitely the former. Pop hasn't given a shit about a road game in POR in about 4 years. Don't know if it was all Pop or if Holtcat had a say in it.

Definitely weird. This game screamed for no Big 3. I'm hoping that Pop didn't get pressured into changing the way he coaches.

[justinandimcool]

:lol yes-man Pop.


seriously, big 3 was in TOSB mode, they need their fucking rest.