I dont believe we even wanted to win this one!!!

[Vash StampedE]

Its for our bench to get used to playing okc at their own floor... look at the minutes played of duncan/parke/manu vs durant/wrestbrook/ibaka... they gave us playoffs minutes while we did not... its our 2nd game of our b2b and they had 3 days of rest... 6 games remaining for us while they still have 8... can they go 8-0 in their last remaining games? they still have games against houston, indiana, clippers all are considered top contenders.. they still have games against phoenix and pelican (twice) which they had a hard time beating. compare that to our remaining schedule vs. dallas, memphis, wolves, phoenix, houston and lakers... we're 3-0 against dallas, memphis, wolves, lakers and only houston and phoenix has a win on us... i think we just have to beat 3 teams and watch okc lose 2 more games to secure home court advantage for us and if they lose to houston tomorrow they cant afford to lose another game or they will will give us homecourt easily...

[DarrinS]

No, Pop wanted to win this game.

[Hoops Czar]

Houston and Clippers are contenders..... NOT according to Spurstalk.

[Vash StampedE]

but they have beaten the thunders

[Vash StampedE]

"ACCORDING TO SPURSTALK", But if you tell that to others they will say differently...

[FireMicoHalili]

No, Pop wanted to win this game.
Ok I believe you

[DarrinS]

Ok I believe you

Any coach wants to win every game -- but at what cost?

[dallasmaverickslose]

Pop hates win streaks.

[DapDaGenius]

I kind of feel the same way, but we could have won this one. Oh well.

[Kidd K]

We did since we played almost everyone.

Should have just rested dudes tbh. Now OKC has confidence.

[Biernutz]

We are in the playoffs and Pop is more interested in us playing our best ball even if we
don't win. Playing good defense and no turn overs along a running plays with no mistakes.
All the games from here on are practice.........

[Horse]

I think he wanted to win but he pulled the plug pretty quick.

[rasho8]

Manu didn't play, Tim and tony barely played 3 quarters. This wasn't a real game. Once we went down 10 Pop pulled the plug.

[jag]

Yes, the Spurs lost 4 straight games to the Thunder simply because they didn't care to win those games.

[Solid D]

Pop sat Kawhi from the start of the 3rd Quarter until the 5:25 mark.
Parker played 25 min.
Duncan 28 min.
Leonard 28 min.

[Russ]

Pop wanted to win this one. Losing it brings on a panoply of tough decisions in the coming days.

[bklynspursfan]

The first game was the only "true" game and even then the Spurs weren't in full form. OKC had 3 days off while we were playing our 5th game in 7 nights. The middle 2 games, Kawhi left after the 1st quarter and didn't return, and the next he didn't play at all. I still believe if they meet in the playoffs we will take them out. Pop won't show his full hand. Durant hasn't gone nuts on us, and that's what we want. I'm sure Pop will stick Green on Jackson if they meet in the post season and he will bother him just like he did Curry.

Our biggest challenge is OKC's 6th man. The officials

[DesignatedT]

I think Pop pretty much did all he could do to throw the game without throwing the game.

He could have rested everybody and lost the game but that wouldn't have accomplished what he wanted in the locker room. He wanted these guys to have a wake up call and face some adversity before playoffs. Not putting Leonard in until 3 min left in the third and then inserting Ayres into the game are clear signs he didn't go hard at this one and welcomed the defeat.

[313]

I think he wanted to win but he pulled the plug pretty quick.

[McGusto55]

Spurs can't beat okc...tbh

[hater]

Should have just rested dudes tbh. Now OKC has confidence.

so OKC didn't have confidence before yesterday? :lmao

[Pako]

I think Pop pretty much did all he could do to throw the game without throwing the game.

He could have rested everybody and lost the game but that wouldn't have accomplished what he wanted in the locker room. He wanted these guys to have a wake up call and face some adversity before playoffs. Not putting Leonard in until 3 min left in the third and then inserting Ayres into the game are clear signs he didn't go hard at this one and welcomed the defeat.

This.

[heyheymymy]

if i was okc i'd be losing sleep that WB's knee is going to explode at any second.

[Horry Hipcheck]

Wanting to win and not caring if you lose are two very different things. Pop gave the starters their chance, but to be within 10 with a few minutes to play and not have a single starter on the floor indicates that this wasn't a game Pop wanted to win all that badly. The only advantage to winning would have been all but locking up the No. 1 seed, something the Spurs still have a very good shot at doing. Pop said it in a timeout: he doesn't care about winning or losing as long as the team plays the game right. The Thunder are in the Spurs' players heads, they get away with a lot of physicality and it knocks this team out of its rhythm. OKC depends HEAVILY on being able to force up-tempo play to get KD and other shooters pull-up opportunities in transition. Those come from turnovers, and the Thunder get away with murder in forcing them.

This game was not about wanting to win. Pop doesn't care about the streak, or about beating any one opponent in the regular season. He knows that this is a team the Spurs are likely to have to get through if they're going to return to the Finals, and he trotted out a few different rotations against the Thunder's full strength squad to 1) see how the players maintained composure and ran their sets and 2) to introduce the bench to the kind of maniacal play they'll be up against in the WCF, if both teams get there. More than anything, this is a wakeup call. A little taste of mortality for a team that has run roughshod over everyone else in 2014.

You can talk about how they swept the Spurs this season, or how it appears the Thunder have this team's number. Maybe they do, but Westbrick and his pack of goons can pound their chest over regular season wins all they want. If things go the way they seem to be going, they'll have to win 4 out of 7 against Pop and the Spurs without HCA for the second time in three years, and last night they showed us their entire hand.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Pop sat Kawhi from the start of the 3rd Quarter until the 5:25 mark.
Parker played 25 min.
Duncan 28 min.
Leonard 28 min.


Solid, don't bore people with meaningful facts. You might swerve people's opinions from unsupported hyperbole.

[Kidd K]

so OKC didn't have confidence before yesterday? :lmao

Feel free to mentally add the word "more" before "confidence" if your pretentious personality has that much of a problem with my comment.

[shorttotry]

Wanting to win and not caring if you lose are two very different things. Pop gave the starters their chance, but to be within 10 with a few minutes to play and not have a single starter on the floor indicates that this wasn't a game Pop wanted to win all that badly. The only advantage to winning would have been all but locking up the No. 1 seed, something the Spurs still have a very good shot at doing. Pop said it in a timeout: he doesn't care about winning or losing as long as the team plays the game right. The Thunder are in the Spurs' players heads, they get away with a lot of physicality and it knocks this team out of its rhythm. OKC depends HEAVILY on being able to force up-tempo play to get KD and other shooters pull-up opportunities in transition. Those come from turnovers, and the Thunder get away with murder in forcing them.

This game was not about wanting to win. Pop doesn't care about the streak, or about beating any one opponent in the regular season. He knows that this is a team the Spurs are likely to have to get through if they're going to return to the Finals, and he trotted out a few different rotations against the Thunder's full strength squad to 1) see how the players maintained composure and ran their sets and 2) to introduce the bench to the kind of maniacal play they'll be up against in the WCF, if both teams get there. More than anything, this is a wakeup call. A little taste of mortality for a team that has run roughshod over everyone else in 2014.

You can talk about how they swept the Spurs this season, or how it appears the Thunder have this team's number. Maybe they do, but Westbrick and his pack of goons can pound their chest over regular season wins all they want. If things go the way they seem to be going, they'll have to win 4 out of 7 against Pop and the Spurs without HCA for the second time in three years, and last night they showed us their entire hand.

Solid take.

[shorttotry]

Wanting to win and not caring if you lose are two very different things. Pop gave the starters their chance, but to be within 10 with a few minutes to play and not have a single starter on the floor indicates that this wasn't a game Pop wanted to win all that badly. The only advantage to winning would have been all but locking up the No. 1 seed, something the Spurs still have a very good shot at doing. Pop said it in a timeout: he doesn't care about winning or losing as long as the team plays the game right. The Thunder are in the Spurs' players heads, they get away with a lot of physicality and it knocks this team out of its rhythm. OKC depends HEAVILY on being able to force up-tempo play to get KD and other shooters pull-up opportunities in transition. Those come from turnovers, and the Thunder get away with murder in forcing them.

This game was not about wanting to win. Pop doesn't care about the streak, or about beating any one opponent in the regular season. He knows that this is a team the Spurs are likely to have to get through if they're going to return to the Finals, and he trotted out a few different rotations against the Thunder's full strength squad to 1) see how the players maintained composure and ran their sets and 2) to introduce the bench to the kind of maniacal play they'll be up against in the WCF, if both teams get there. More than anything, this is a wakeup call. A little taste of mortality for a team that has run roughshod over everyone else in 2014.

You can talk about how they swept the Spurs this season, or how it appears the Thunder have this team's number. Maybe they do, but Westbrick and his pack of goons can pound their chest over regular season wins all they want. If things go the way they seem to be going, they'll have to win 4 out of 7 against Pop and the Spurs without HCA for the second time in three years, and last night they showed us their entire hand.

Solid take.

[TampaDude]

Spurs can't beat okc...tbh

OKC is ringless...tbh

[exstatic]

No, Pop wanted to win this game.

I think you're wrong. I think Pop completely trolled Scott Brooks. He knew we were likely to lose this regardless, but by playing Tim and Tony, he forced Brooks to counter with Westbrook, who normally sits the first game of B2Bs. He was then unavailable for tonight's game against Houston, which they LOST.

Pop's playing chess, and everyone else is playing checkers. If we win Sunday, we're right back where we were after the GS victory, and time is ticking down on the season.

[LoneStarState'sPride]

I think Pop pretty much did all he could do to throw the game without throwing the game.

He could have rested everybody and lost the game but that wouldn't have accomplished what he wanted in the locker room. He wanted these guys to have a wake up call and face some adversity before playoffs. Not putting Leonard in until 3 min left in the third and then inserting Ayres into the game are clear signs he didn't go hard at this one and welcomed the defeat.

DT with the goods, per par.

I completely agree.