What a Bizarre Game

[timvp]

>The Spurs were amazing defensively in the first half. They were defending just about every shot while cleaning up the boards. On the other end, the offense was flowing with nary a bead of sweat emerging.

>The second half started off okay but then the Spurs just fell asleep defensively. On offense, they went from cruise control to park. It’s like the game was so easy in the first half that San Antonio turned off all of their intensity, curled up into a ball, found their favorite blankie and took a nap.

>The bench comes in and is horrific at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth. The Sixers find their rhythm and suddenly they can do no wrong.

>Pop seeming waits too long to go back to Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. TD and TP can’t do anything to stem the tide.

>All of a sudden, the defense goes back to being amazing. The offense regains its rhythm. Philadelphia, on the other hand, completely collapses.

>Spurs win

tl;dr: Spurs go up 17 with ease. Fall asleep. Go down by 7. Storm back with 14-1 run. Win.

[xellos88330]

I call it a bad win. Kawhi seems to have tweaked his knee.

[freetiago]

Need insider information on what happened to Kawhi
wont be able to watch the team if that TOSB Jack is out there hogging his minutes

[TDMVPDPOY]

tony parker the hero once again....chuck a big lengthy wing player on him and he just shuts down

gary fkn neal, cant depend on this clown to protect a fkn lead....

[crc21209]

Hopefully Kawhi is OK. After he went down, he got back up and was able to run back down on the offensive end and even made a cut to the basket running so he should be ok...I hope.

[HI-FI]

I call it a bad win. Kawhi seems to have tweaked his knee.

this felt like a moral defeat, or whatever timvp called it previously.

I'm starting to hate Neal like some hate Bonner on here. He goes heroball way too much, and if that ain't working, then he's useless out there.

The injury to Kawhi really put a damper on things.

[Paranoid Pop]

Need insider information on what happened to Kawhi
wont be able to watch the team if that TOSB Jack is out there hogging his minutes

Green would get the other half of the SF minutes, even worse news.......

But agreed, I don't think I could take it, would probably have to take a break from watching the games.

[DesignatedT]

After watching the replay it didn't look like Kawhi banged knees with anyone. Maybe he hit it hard on the court.

Also, it looked like Duncan was favoring his left leg during the 4th quarter. He was limping around a little.

[TDMVPDPOY]

tl;dr: Spurs go up 17 with ease. Fall asleep. Go down by 7. Storm back with 14-1 run. Win.

lol the clown in the game thread who betted on this game, line was +/-6pts line betting...lol

[Paranoid Pop]

this felt like a moral defeat, or whatever timvp called it previously.

I'm starting to hate Neal like some hate Bonner on here. He goes heroball way too much, and if that ain't working, then he's useless out there.

The injury to Kawhi really put a damper on things.


Pyrrhic victory but not moral defeat imo...

Our stars play like stars, Pop gonna open his eyes on some of the scrubs tho.

[SpursRock20]

Duncan really got it done this game and that short stint by Leonard was key to the comeback. However, it looked like Duncan was limping, anyone else notice this?

[Blizzardwizard]

A win's a damn win. Good road win again. Nothing new here. Green still awful, as is Neal, Jackson. Parker still not getting his way in the paint as of late.

[Jumi]

There was nothing wrong with that win. I'm seen many games where a team gets up to a big lead then takes their foot off the gas. Every team in the league goes on a run so that was expected. Spurs win! This was not like the Laker game imho.

[DesignatedT]

Clippers and Thunder both lose and we win. It was an important victory.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Unfortunately I have a bad feeling about Kawhi's knee. It could just be a tweak, but he was seriously uncomfortable.

Oh and Green has been CRAP.

[timtonymanu]

I'll take it. Spurs players outside of Duncan, Parker, Leonard, and Splitter were crap.

No Manu. Philly is a tough place to win. Glad the Spurs didn't fold over.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Yup, very strange game, but I'll take any win, particularly on the road.

[objective]

Danny Bonner doing what he do.

Drives me nuts on defense when he sees a screener coming near his man who has the ball. He then runs to the other side to get behind the big who isn't even there to screen yet. After putting the screener between himself and his man, he then hugs onto the screener, giving the shooter yards of space to nail a shot.

Bugs me.

[freetiago]

Been saying it for a while
Green/Leonard/Ginobili cant guard guys who go around screens
and Green/Ginobilis position is basically guarding guys who either play pick and roll or play offball using screens to free themselves

[AFBlue]

Definitely odd.

I absolutely loved what I saw from Kawhi though. The last two games he's really made an effort to leave his imprint with hard cuts and sound decisions on offense.

[exstatic]

After watching the replay it didn't look like Kawhi banged knees with anyone. Maybe he hit it hard on the court.

Also, it looked like Duncan was favoring his left leg during the 4th quarter. He was limping around a little.

Duncan's brace this year makes it look like he's limping at almost any time. It doesn't allow him to completely straighten his left leg, hence the limp look.

[DesignatedT]

I've pretty much watched every game this season. I had never seen him hobble down the court like he was tonight.

[timvp]

I call it a bad win.I disagree. Good win, IMO. It looked like the classic let-your-foot-off-the-gas loss. But Spurs didn't give up and fought back for the W. Sixers are coached well and they had all the momentum before the comeback. Add in no Ginobili (which was especially painful with how much the bench sucked) and this was definitely a good win, in my opinion, of course.


Kawhi seems to have tweaked his knee.Hmmm. To me it looked like they were working lower on his leg on the sidelines. I'll have to watch the replay to get a closer look. I initial thought he hit his knee/leg hard on the court...

[Paranoid Pop]

Also the most bizarre thing may be that we might need a guard more than a big man at this point, especially if Baynes doesn't suck.

[Mugen]

Kawhi prob will get diagnosed with a lower leg contusion, maybe miss the NO game.

[CubanMustGo]

RT @Monroe_SA (https://twitter.com/Monroe_SA) Why did Kawhi Leonard leave Spurs-76ers game? Sez he cut his kneecap wide open on a nail sticking up in the court after a fall

[FromWayDowntown]

Also the most bizarre thing may be that we might need a guard more than a big man at this point, especially if Baynes doesn't suck.

I think some of that lack of continuity gets solved when Manu comes back, though counting on his availability is always a gamble.

Still, I had the same thought watching that lead evaporate; had the same thought on Friday night as I contemplated the Spurs' current backup PGs trying to deal with Jarret Jack in a playoff series.

[Mr. Body]

Spurs completely got listless and counted the victory, as all have said. Normally you can count on a few meagerly taken jumpers to fall to stem the inevitable comeback, but absolutely nothing was falling. Then the starters finally were let back in - the bench couldn't sort things out, but no shame in letting them try - and then Kawhi wound up all but winning the game by tying it on the steal and then the 3-pointer. After the game was tied there was no way Philly was going to win the game.

[FromWayDowntown]

Spurs completely got listless and counted the victory, as all have said. Normally you can count on a few meagerly taken jumpers to fall to stem the inevitable comeback, but absolutely nothing was falling. Then the starters finally were let back in - the bench couldn't sort things out, but no shame in letting them try - and then Kawhi wound up all but winning the game by tying it on the steal and then the 3-pointer. After the game was tied there was no way Philly was going to win the game.

Undoubtedly, Pop had to try to burn clock before bringing in the cavalry; at this juncture, it would almost be preferable to lose a game because you brought the starters back too late than to push those guys to play extra minutes to win a game -- particularly on the road.

[Leetonidas]

RT @Monroe_SA (https://twitter.com/Monroe_SA) Why did Kawhi Leonard leave Spurs-76ers game? Sez he cut his kneecap wide open on a nail sticking up in the court after a fall

Holy shit I hope that's not serious

[Mugen]

RT @Monroe_SA (https://twitter.com/Monroe_SA) Why did Kawhi Leonard leave Spurs-76ers game? Sez he cut his kneecap wide open on a nail sticking up in the court after a fall

Dafuq? What's up with these flukey, arena related injuries to our SFs?

[Russ]

This was an old fashioned Spurs win from their title days.

Instead of trying to milk a lead down the stretch, the Spurs were the hunter rather than the hunted. Much more fun to watch (I'd almost forgotten).

[ElNono]

It was too intense live, tbh... I have to watch the tape... great win!

[TDMVPDPOY]

dont know how u can call it a good win against a young team that choked it at the end, wtf is holiday deferring so much to that clown nick young...dude is just another volume shooter who will shoot any given look...

they basically went away from what got them that lead...

that white center of theres....he looks good and improved....

[FromWayDowntown]

It was too intense live, tbh... I have to watch the tape... great win!

Glad you got a good game and a nice payoff at the end.

[ElNono]

Glad you got a good game and a nice payoff at the end.

Thanks you... the huddle was crazy at the end there... but Tim always looked calm... amazing to see, tbh...

[superbigtime]

There's not much to brag about with Gary Neal these days. When he and Green both suck they are a total liability. Damn the bench as a whole sucked.

[Fireball]

>Pop seeming waits too long to go back to Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. TD and TP can’t do anything to stem the tide.

>All of a sudden, the defense goes back to being amazing. The offense regains its rhythm. Philadelphia, on the other hand, completely collapses.

>Spurs win

after TP and TD entered, I think Nick Young scored 5 points to extend the lead further ... then Tiago entered the game and the defense went back to amazing

I know it was a team effort, but the turnaround came with Tiago coming back on the floor ...

Kawhis injury sucks, but better than tearing an ACL ...

[silverblk mystix]

this felt like a moral defeat, or whatever timvp called it previously.

I'm starting to hate Neal like some hate Bonner on here. He goes heroball way too much, and if that ain't working, then he's useless out there.

The injury to Kawhi really put a damper on things.


Relax on the Neal hate.

Neal will ride out the slump and will hit some daggers and everyone will be chiming in with "neal with it" any day now.

Don't ever compare a "player" to a piece of choking shit like Boner.


Ever.

[Budkin]

Didn't catch the game but just saw highlights. 17 up to 7 down? Dafuq? Nice to see they closed it out at the end though. Talk about a game of runs.

[FromWayDowntown]

Relax on the Neal hate.

Neal will ride out the slump and will hit some daggers and everyone will be chiming in with "neal with it" any day now.

Don't ever compare a "player" to a piece of choking shit like Boner.


Ever.

If there's anything to be said about Gary Neal it is that he's a mentally tough guy. Pop's point guard experiment broke Roger Mason, Jr. almost completely. Neal doesn't have that sort of fragility.

He's not remarkably consistent, which is why he's a 7th man on an elite team. If he loses, though, it's because of his physical limitations and not because he's mentally given in.

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

RT @Monroe_SA (https://twitter.com/Monroe_SA) Why did Kawhi Leonard leave Spurs-76ers game? Sez he cut his kneecap wide open on a nail sticking up in the court after a fall

What the fuck?

[playblair]

cojo needs playing time ..........

[benefactor]

I think some of that lack of continuity gets solved when Manu comes back, though counting on his availability is always a gamble.

Still, I had the same thought watching that lead evaporate; had the same thought on Friday night as I contemplated the Spurs' current backup PGs trying to deal with Jarret Jack in a playoff series.
Don't mind him. He's become desperate to trade Danny Green and will use whatever reasoning necessary to get it done.

[Manufan909]

Also the most bizarre thing may be that we might need a guard more than a big man at this point, especially if Baynes doesn't suck.

But of course. Tim, Tiago, and Diaw are almost good enough by themselves (especially this starting version of Tiago), so with Baynes to go along with the Turd Towers as insurance, everything should be gravy on the bigman front.

I think the need for a guard might be caused more by panic than any serious need. The Spurs have just had injuries completely focused on smalls this season (technically one injury was on the 6'7" Blair), with Leonard hurt once, and Jax and Manu both hurt twice it makes it seem worse than it is. Pop isn't helping by playing Neal so much over Mills and Nando, as well as never giving CoJo a serious chance. Don't forget that Green looked bad for a good-sized chunk of the season because he was forced to play at SF.

Having said all that, I would love to put Neal/Bonner/Blair in a trade for a lock-down guard with range.

[Phenomanul]

Ginobili (when in rhythm) is the glue that makes the bench unit roll... take him out and they become too predictable on offense. That is why they seem to unravel without his somewhat irreplaceable playmaking ability. That said, when not "on his game" he can contribute to the problem... resulting in turnovers...

[Johnny RIngo]

Gary Neal's simple rating from 82games: -4.7

The worst on the team among all rotation players.

[Man Mountain]

PHILADELPHIA — As the 76ers put the finishing touches on an 18-2 run that turned a 12-point Spurs lead into a four-point fourth-quarter deficit, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker sat on the bench and pondered what they were seeing.

“I was thinking, ‘This is a very interesting game,’?” said Parker, whose 18-foot jumper with a minute left helped seal a 90-85 victory. The decision extended the Spurs’ winning streak to five games and made them the first team to record a 33rd victory this season.

Parker has spent more than 11 years with the Spurs, but you have to remember that English is still a second language for the native of France.

What he likely meant was that Monday’s game was bizarre for its twists and turns.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2013/01/21/spurs-respond-derail-sixers%E2%80%99-charge-with-closing-spurt/

Did Mike Monroe read this thread lol

[hater]

wouldn't call 1st half D amazing. Sixers were just jumpshooting bunch of shots

the D in last 2 minutes was pretty high grade thou

[Seventyniner]

wouldn't call 1st half D amazing. Sixers were just jumpshooting bunch of shots

the D in last 2 minutes was pretty high grade thou

I agree. It would've been a tie game at halftime if the Sixers shot a decent percentage on wide-open midrange jumpers.

[Capt Bringdown]

The NBA season should be shorter. Games like this underline this point. As much as I love NBA basketball, I'd rather see a shortened season with more intense and meaningful games than what we have now.

[DesignatedT]

I knew Tim was limping around.