Could Pop do a worse job?

[TD 21]

- Still clueless, in terms of a switching defense

- Calling post ups for Leonard on Ellis out of timeouts, with Duncan and Splitter out there cramping the spacing

- Playing Ginobili and Belinelli together at their usual time, while ignoring the fact that one has to guard a guy with PG size, speed/quickness and ball skills

- Wasting minutes on Ayres, who barring injury to Duncan or Splitter, has no business playing a meaningful second in the playoffs

- Acting as if he's Jackson, either not calling timeouts or calling them way too late, allowing this mentally fragile team (who's psyche was clearly punctured the instant they saw the Mavs defensive game plan in game 1) to continue to play as recklessly and ragged as they wish

- Instead of using the spread out schedule in the past week as a springboard to ramp up Parker's minutes and getting him in shape to play 38-40, continuing to slowly build him up, as if they've got all the time in the world

[BatManu20]

Hated winning COTY and now purposely rubbing it in our faces tbh

[TheGreatYacht]

Thread of the day

[TheGreatYacht]

Hated winning COTY and now purposely rubbing it in our faces tbh

Bullshit

[Mal]

Guess you cant be passing and cutting to the basket in playoffs, where opposing team will grab you, knock you out of your rythm and pressure the ball all the time. Spurs need to switch from passing happy offense, to grinding playoffs basketball, and they have do it quick

[tim_duncan_fan]

It ain't Pop's fault.

His troops need a nut-check, to be honest.

This girly shit they are doing aint gonna take us anywhere.


How is this motherfucker gonna be Tim Duncan for 38 years of his life and still not think that maybe he should try taking a fucking shot now?

I just don't get it.

[Johnny RIngo]

Pop and the front office deserve a lot of the blame. They had a chance to improve the team this offseason and instead wasted the MLE on Belinelli/Ayres. SA needed a backup PG, a backup SF, and a rotation big. They didn't address ANY of those needs.

[tim_duncan_fan]

To be fair, they probably thought Beli was a more confident player than he actually is.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

It ain't Pop's fault.

His troops need a nut-check, to be honest.

This girly shit they are doing aint gonna take us anywhere.


How is this motherfucker gonna be Tim Duncan for 38 years of his life and still not think that maybe he should try taking a fucking shot now?

I just don't get it.
Nothing Duncan can do, there was no spacing.

Diaw is scared to shoot anything but a layup apparently, and Belinelli + Green kept trying to cut, which completely fucked up the spacing.

[TheGreatYacht]

Pop and the front office deserve a lot of the blame. They had a chance to improve the team this offseason and instead wasted the MLE on Belinelli/Ayres. SA needed a backup PG, a backup SF, and a rotation big. They didn't address ANY of those needs.

TIAGO SPLITTER?!!??!?!? 10 MILLION THIS YEAR

[spurraider21]

you really don't think your OP couldn't have fit in another one of the cliff diving threads? and instead deserved its own thread to further crowd the front page with more wrist-slitting bullshit?

[siraulo23]

destroyed by carlilse for 2 games in a row

[ElNono]

I'm gotta admit I didn't see the Errors crap coming at all... props to OP, you called it. Baynes in a suit should never happen when Errors is in your roster.

It's still one game. It seemed like Pop didn't think he had to do any adjustments since we won Game 1. Turnovers and Kawhi in foul trouble didn't help.

We'll see what happens in Game 3.

[TheGreatYacht]

playbonner :lmao

[Malik Hairston]

He's getting severely outcoached, tbh..

Ayres getting any PT is ridiculous, and he needs to increase starter minutes, obviously..

I'm also bothered by the premature benching of Green when he's struggling, tbh, especially in favor of Bellineli, the worst defender on the roster..this defense is heavily reliant on Green, especially against perimeter-centric offense like Dallas's..

[TheGoldStandard]

I don't expect any changes at all.. he's a stay the course kind of guy.. he'll make the adjustment next season.

[UZER]

Guess you cant be passing and cutting to the basket in playoffs, where opposing team will grab you, knock you out of your rythm and pressure the ball all the time. Spurs need to switch from passing happy offense, to grinding playoffs basketball, and they have do it quick

Mother effin this. That's what I've said about both outings so far. They're getting pushed around like girls outthere. I'm not talking about the spurs trying to start fights, but they're bumped, grabbed, nudged, hit, and it's leading to turnover after turnover and ref whining. Nut up and play some playoff basketball.


I'm gotta admit I didn't see the Errors crap coming at all... props to OP, you called it. Baynes in a suit should never happen when Errors is in your roster.

It's still one game. It seemed like Pop didn't think he had to do any adjustments since we won Game 1. Turnovers and Kawhi in foul trouble didn't help.

We'll see what happens in Game 3.

:lol Pop and adjustments don't belong in the same sentence.

Not cliff diving, and I still fully expect the spurs to win the series.

[ElNono]

:lol Pop and adjustments don't belong in the same sentence.

He did adjust after game 2 in the GSW series last season... you can say he's stubborn and that sometimes he rolls with what brought him there too long, but he does do stuff...

[TheGoldStandard]

Pops adjustment: Make baskets

[crc21209]

He's getting severely outcoached, tbh..

Ayres getting any PT is ridiculous, and he needs to increase starter minutes, obviously..

I'm also bothered by the premature benching of Green when he's struggling, tbh, especially in favor of Bellineli, the worst defender on the roster..this defense is heavily reliant on Green, especially against perimeter-centric offense like Dallas's..

This. Kawhi and Green need to check the 2 best perimeter scorers that Dallas has out there on the floor. Whether it's Ellis/Calderon, Ellis/Harris, Ellis/Carter, etc..

[Johnny RIngo]

Jim Boylens and Udoka replacing Budenholzer and Brett Brown is worrisome. We had two great assistant coaches last year and now have two shitty ones.

[UZER]

:lol I just had the conversation with a friend today (before the game) that the last adjustment I remember making is putting green on curry.

[TheGoldStandard]

Kawhi can't stay in front of any of their guards.. He can probably check Carter but kawhi doesn't fight through screens very well.

[Malik Hairston]

Leonard is terrible at defending guards, as I've been saying all year, tbh..

[UZER]

I know you're being sarcastic, but they made 50% today. It was the turnovers that killed them.

Right now Tony is not even looking to shoot coming off the pick. He just continues to drive into the heart of the sagged defense.

[MI21]

He's getting severely outcoached, tbh..

Ayres getting any PT is ridiculous, and he needs to increase starter minutes, obviously..

I'm also bothered by the premature benching of Green when he's struggling, tbh, especially in favor of Bellineli, the worst defender on the roster..this defense is heavily reliant on Green, especially against perimeter-centric offense like Dallas's..

The treatment of Green is driving me crazy, tbh

[Mikeanaro]

Pop is so fucking stubborn he never watch tapes.

[TD 21]

Leonard is terrible at defending guards, as I've been saying all year, tbh..

I don't know how I forgot to mention this, considering it's perhaps the most egregious error committed by the genius, but the fact that Leonard/Ginobili are sharing the Ellis responsibilities is beyond comprehension. There's not even a semi-rational reason for this; it's flat out insane.

Green is the best SG (not counting Bradley, who's the size of a PG) in the league at defending small, quick guards, yet he's not only not defending Ellis, which is unthinkable, he's not even defending Calderon. Instead, in the ten minutes he get's, he's being wasted on Marion. The most bizarre part of this season has been watching the genius decide he's going to make Green his season long whipping boy, because he foolishly blamed him for the collapse that was game 6.

Beyond that, there was so much mismanagement of the rotation, I don't even know where to begin. His combination of ineptitude and panic is a major reason why these mentally fragile losers are once again on the verge of embarrassing themselves and going down in NBA history as one of the biggest joke teams of all time.

[Malik Hairston]

Pop's handling of Green is beginning to remind me of the 2009 Spurs, where he constantly benched Bowen in favour of Finley and Mason's offense all year, including the beginning of the playoffs..

He finally realized Bowen should be playing and started Bruce in the last 2 games of the playoffs, but it was way too late by that point and he only did it out of desperation:lol..

[ElNono]

I think Pop wants more offense and playmaking and feels like Green can't give him that. Monta is going to score. He's getting great screens from Dalembert (a lot of them moving, but it's the playoffs). Danny started on him on the 3rd, and got burned too.

The Spurs are getting scored on by everyone though. You can't have Calderon lighting you up. Same for Crower, Blair, Wright, even Dalembert. Pop has decisions to make on who will score for them and who won't.

[Robz4000]

I guess we know now the real coach(es) left last Summer...

[timtonymanu]

I didn't watch the post-game. I wonder if Pop said "They're grown men. They're professionals. They'll figure it out, " about the adjustments to the series.

[HI-FI]

I didn't watch the post-game. I wonder if Pop said "They're grown men. They're professionals. They'll figure it out, " about the adjustments to the series.
:lol
while staring hard at any reporter for calling him out. smdh. :bang

[TheGoldStandard]

Just two more years of the regular season genius before we can get some new blood in there. They might not win 60 games a season, they will make mistakes but they will own up to them and learn from them. Something Pop clearly can't do anymore

[Johnny RIngo]

Yes. 2006 against the Mavs was worse. Outcoached by Avery fucking Johnson...with homecourt. And he had prime Timmy and prime Manu back then.

[ceperez]

Shouldn't they have played a much longer player to bother the passer in the final play?

Splitter or Green instead of Cojo?

[UZER]

Amazing that in all these years, they refuse to bring in a big man that has jumping ability. Every damn team in the NBA has one. On a good team, it helps keep defenses honest with the threat of the back door lob, or back door block. Good NBA teams know its always gonna be a bounce pass in the lane for the Spurs, hence all the turnovers against Dallas.

And I'm not talking about big, slow baynes either. I'm talking about a quick jumping big.....you know...a black guy.

[TD 21]

I think Pop wants more offense and playmaking and feels like Green can't give him that. Monta is going to score. He's getting great screens from Dalembert (a lot of them moving, but it's the playoffs). Danny started on him on the 3rd, and got burned too.

The Spurs are getting scored on by everyone though. You can't have Calderon lighting you up. Same for Crower, Blair, Wright, even Dalembert. Pop has decisions to make on who will score for them and who won't.

Green's been the whipping boy all season, since the genius inexplicably decided he was going to blame him for the collapse that was game 6.

I didn't think they could top the embarrassing finishes of the past three seasons, but sure enough they're on the verge of doing just that. There's literally no half decent reason/excuse for what's taking place, which means someone needs to pay the price.

It shouldn't be Green, but unfortunately all signs point to him. There were rumors of them being interested in Afflalo at the deadline and I wouldn't be surprised to see them push hard for him this summer.

[therealtruth]

I think Pop wants more offense and playmaking and feels like Green can't give him that. Monta is going to score. He's getting great screens from Dalembert (a lot of them moving, but it's the playoffs). Danny started on him on the 3rd, and got burned too.

The Spurs are getting scored on by everyone though. You can't have Calderon lighting you up. Same for Crower, Blair, Wright, even Dalembert. Pop has decisions to make on who will score for them and who won't.

That's why you got to believe in your defense. He believed in it against the Warriors last year and that's how we turned it around. Trying to win by outscoring is what has got Pop into trouble before.

[therealtruth]

Shouldn't they have played a much longer player to bother the passer in the final play?

Splitter or Green instead of Cojo?

That's a PJ move and he was very successful at it. To play really good defense you've got to make the offense uncomfortable.

[therealtruth]

Just two more years of the regular season genius before we can get some new blood in there. They might not win 60 games a season, they will make mistakes but they will own up to them and learn from them. Something Pop clearly can't do anymore

I agree that mentality from Pop doesn't help the players. How can they own up to mistakes if he refuses to do so. Carslile all the time says I've got to coach better.

[ElNono]

The Spurs definitely had uncharacteristic defensive mistakes, but it isn't guarding a scorer like Monta, or even Dirk. Monta is scoring off handoffs near the rim, or off solid screens. Unless you suddenly tell players to stop going over, he's going to penetrate. If you tell them to go under, you're giving the shot. Green, Manu, Kawhi, they all got burned. Dirk is going to score too. You just gotta try to contain them.

The Spurs can survive Monta, but there's no excuse of shitty transition D that gives guys like Marion or Calderon easy baskets. Pop called a timeout, but he's been harping on that too. At some point, players need to take responsibility for screwing up and step up their games.

[KaiRMD1]

Honestly, today's game was about the lack of defense. Those two Marion wide open threes, the easy penetration, not being able to guard the three. The offense is fine, the turnovers weren't as MUCH of a factor as it was in game 2 but it was a factor nonetheless. These are all fixable but Pop has to be willing to put aside his stubbornness. I feel like a lot of the time, Pop just shrugs his shoulders and says "whatever" to adjustments.

[objective]

At least he didn't pay Ayres, so I guess that's progress.

[superjames1992]

Leonard's defense on Monta down the stretch was embarrassing. He can't defense quick guards, per par. He's no Bowen...