It is hard for Popovich when he has the weakest 1-2 punch in the playoffs

[hitmantb]

Regular season you can micro manage minutes and bring in fresh guys to win the fatigue game, and coach your way to victories. Playoffs, opponent has too much time to scout your role players and make adjustments. Physical play also hurts Spurs passing game more than anyone else.

This Spurs team is the least talented top seed in god knows how long. I think Parker only made all-star as an injury filler? In the post season, a balanced attack has much lower margin of error than if you have a LeBron/Durant/Griffin/Alridge who can draw so much attention all by themselves. Role players can perform in the regular season because nobody spend much time prepare for them, in a long series once adjustments are made, once defense is custom tailored against each player, if you don't have the best player on the court it is very very tough.

If you go by the regular season stats Dirk/Ellis are simply stronger than Duncan/Parker as a 1-2 punch. Per 36 minutes means very little because Duncan/Parker's strength diminishes tremendously once the minutes are up, especially if they have to take over a quarter or two earlier in the game (Parker today is a classic example).

Historically Spurs always lacked the talents to three-peat. The margin of error is too low when you don't have a Shaq/Kobe, MJ/Pippen, or LeBron/Wade (they will three-peat easily this year coasting through the east playoff's and take on a very fatigued opponent). We keep bringing up the 0.4, the foul, and game 6, without realizing these opponents simply had far more talents. It has nothing to do with mental weakness, the Spurs simply don't have the talents because Parker/Ginobili are both tier 3 stars (with the exception of their peak 1-2 years in which they jump to tier 2). And now Duncan is no longer tier 1.

I really hope the fans lower their expectations and enjoy what is left of GDP, it has been an amazing journey, anything they do is a bonus for me.

[Malik Hairston]

Pop's 1-2 punch is better than Memphis, Golden State and every team in the East outside of Miami, tbh..maybe Dallas and Houston, too..

Regardless, losing to an 8th seeded team that doesn't have much talent is embarrassing and he's getting severely outcoached, tbh..

[313]

Really our main problem in this series is turnovers. A lot, today were unforced. That is unacceptable if you expect to win a series in the playoffs.

[hitmantb]

I would argue Conley/Randolph are no worse than Duncan/Parker, both stats wise and looking at their performance against OKC. Can you even imagine Duncan/Parker beating OKC in OT playing 40+ minutes a piece?

They are much closer to their primes and can simply play more effective minutes without holding back.

Same with Golden State, offensively Curry/Thompson are ahead of Duncan/Parker, main difference is inside/outside is a much better combo than PG/SG.

East is a joke, Miami gets an easy three-peat this year barring injuries, coasting through the playoffs saving full energy for a very beat up opponent out of the west.

[rascal]

Really our main problem in this series is turnovers. A lot, today were unforced. That is unacceptable if you expect to win a series in the playoffs.

Turnovers will continue to be a problem against athletic aggressive teams because the spurs rely so much on so many passes to get a good look and shot and less on one on one beat your man athletic play. They are not built with superior athletes that can get their own shots and all the over passing which works in the regular season doesn't work so well in the playoffs with added defensive pressure to disrupt the passing game.

[Malik Hairston]

Turnovers will continue to be a problem against athletic aggressive teams because the spurs rely so much on so many passes to get a good look and shot and less on one on one beat your man athletic play. They are not built with superior athletes that can get their own shots and all the over passing which works in the regular season doesn't work so well in the playoffs with added defensive pressure to disrupt the passing game.

The Mavs aren't athletic, nor are they aggressive..

[Mugen]

:lol Pop has zero excuse if he loses this series tbh. He's been scotty brooks/Marck Jackson bad so far this series.

[Malik Hairston]

Dirk hasn't done anything in this series, too, so I don't know what the 1-2 punch has to do with anything:lol..

[therealtruth]

All the regular season stats point to the Spurs underachieving. The key off course is the playoffs is more about matchups and coaching strategies. That's where coaches really earn their money.

[therealtruth]

:lol Pop has zero excuse if he loses this series tbh. He's been scotty brooks/Marck Jackson bad so far this series.

His excuse is the Mavs have the coaching advantage.

[rascal]

The Mavs aren't athletic, nor are they aggressive..

The Mavs are more athletic than the spurs.

[Dverde]

We would be winning this series if we still had Coach Bud. I truly believe he was a big part of our success. The replacement assistants are not impressive.

[hitmantb]

Each team only has limited defensive resource. If Spurs chooses to focus on Dirk, other players will get open.

Besides, in game 1 Spurs won because Duncan/Parker outplayed Dirk/Ellis badly, Spurs won.

Game 2 Spurs lost because Duncan/Parker were non-factors.

Game 3 Spurs lost because Duncan/Dirk was a wash and Ellis outperformed Parker.

1-2 punch matters a lot. Everyone else help your 1-2 punch save energy and take over stretches where the team needs most help (i.e. 4th quarter), but the strength of your 1-2 punch is ultimately how far you can go. There are exceptions like the Pistons where they have four 8 of 10 players but 90% of the times the performance of the 1-2 punch will decide it.

[pjjrfan]

The Mavs aren't athletic, nor are they aggressive..

Exactly yet they are running all over the spurs, you would think they had a team of young talented players who have been fastbreaking teams all season long. They haven't, but they obviously saw something and exploiting it, and so far the coaching staff just can't get a grip on the Mavs guards.

[rayjayjohnson]

Pop's 1-2 punch is better than Memphis, Golden State and every team in the East outside of Miami, tbh..maybe Dallas and Houston, too..

Regardless, losing to an 8th seeded team that doesn't have much talent is embarrassing and he's getting severely outcoached, tbh..

You think portland's lillard and Aldridge is better? Just curious

[HemisfairArena]

LeBron with whoever is the best 1-2 punch in the playoffs,,,,just fact.

[rayjayjohnson]

LeBron with whoever is the best 1-2 punch in the playoffs,,,,just fact.
Seconded.

bron is miles ahead of duracne.

[rascal]

Duncan is still one of the best players in the league, just can't bring it game in and game out anymore.

[HemisfairArena]

Duncan is still one of the best players in the league, just can't bring it game in and game out anymore.

Sure he could,,,,problem is Popovich has conditioned him to believe he is as delicate as a porcelain doll over the last 5-7 years.

[Johnny RIngo]

They haven't, but they obviously saw something and exploiting it, and so far the coaching staff just can't get a grip on the Mavs guards.

The coaching staff is comprised of a drunk has-been that choked away the title last year, the fat fuck from Indiana that brought Ayres to SA, Udoka, and Sean Marks. No doubt in my mind that Carlisle and his coaching staff are smarter than this group. Should have given Budenholzer a raise - he was clearly the brains behind this team.

[tim_duncan_fan]

We are physically weak and shitty on defense against real basketball players. That's just a combination of being too old and too European.

We are also a very weak team, mentally. Our extremely meek, extremely timid players don't have the mentality to make the plays necessary to win.

We aren't a smart team anymore and that means we can't make up for our lack of strength, speed and length.


Oh well, blow this shit up.


Hang Tim's, Tony's and Manu's jerseys in the rafters and retire their asses.


The sooner we get on with the struggling, the sooner we can get back to prominence.

[rudwick]

You think portland's lillard and Aldridge is better? Just curious

I think they are.

[RD2191]

We are physically weak and shitty on defense against real basketball players. That's just a combination of being too old and too European.

We are also a very weak team, mentally. Our extremely meek, extremely timid players don't have the mentality to make the plays necessary to win.

We aren't a smart team anymore and that means we can't make up for our lack of strength, speed and length.


Oh well, blow this shit up.


Hang Tim's, Tony's and Manu's jerseys in the rafters and retire their asses.


The sooner we get on with the struggling, the sooner we can get back to prominence.

[Sean Cagney]

Really our main problem in this series is turnovers. A lot, today were unforced. That is unacceptable if you expect to win a series in the playoffs.
And how long are we going to say this TO shit, until they wake up and get it right? Right now I don't see it man.

[hitmantb]

Duncan only has stamina to take over the game for a quarter or two at most, at the expense of completely worn out rest of the way and relative non-factor. See game 6 last year when he turned back the clock in the first half and had very little left in the second half. He is got great hands and can get easy passes or offensive rebounds and blue collar his way to decent stats, but these do not do anywhere near the same damage as drawing double teams and posting up ISO play when the team desperately needs a basket and clock is running down.

Parkers because of playing for the national team, is unfortunately the same way. I am actually scared whenever he scores 15 points in a quarter, he is probably going to go downhill rest of the way.

When is the last time you saw Duncan/Parker score 60+ points together? Even 50+ is extremely rare.

Also, teams will let both of them take medium to long range jumpers all day, even if they get on a good streak they can not sustain it. The easiest way to beat the Spurs is to let Duncan play 1v1 and he will be out of stamina for both sides of the floor later in the game. Any team's #1 offensive option can easily out-produce Duncan with stamina alone, with blue collar bruisers wearing down Duncan. It is sad the best player on your team is 38 and not much Popovich can do about it.

Even when you look at Dirk vs Duncan today, Dirk got his points via ISO play when the team had no other options. Duncan gets most of his through good passes and offensive rebounds. That is the difference.

[james evans]

The Mavs aren't athletic, nor are they aggressive..
this mavs team isn't that good. the thing is, dirk isn't even killing us. that's the most embarassing thing. i could accept it more if dirk was averaging like 30 a game, but it's guys like ellis, carter, and marion that are killing us and that's what i can't accept. leonard is acting like he's forgotten how to play defense. playing like he' doesn't even want to be out there. there was a play in which he was guarding dirk and dirk just flew past him off the dribble and got fouled at the time for a dunk. at no point should a slow ass, non dribbling, past his prime, 16 year 7 footer blow past your best perimeter defender. it should NEVER happen.

[dallasmaverickslose]

this mavs team isn't that good. the thing is, dirk isn't even killing us. that's the most embarassing thing. i could accept it more if dirk was averaging like 30 a game, but it's guys like ellis, carter, and marion that are killing us and that's what i can't accept. leonard is acting like he's forgotten how to play defense. playing like he' doesn't even want to be out there. there was a play in which he was guarding dirk and dirk just flew past him off the dribble and got fouled at the time for a dunk. at no point should a slow ass, non dribbling, past his prime, 16 year 7 footer blow past your best perimeter defender. it should NEVER happen.

It just seemed like we couldn't stop Ellis. Particularly in the 4th quarter.

[hitmantb]

this mavs team isn't that good. the thing is, dirk isn't even killing us. that's the most embarrassing thing. i could accept it more if dirk was averaging like 30 a game, but it's guys like ellis, carter, and marion that are killing us and that's what i can't accept. leonard is acting like he's forgotten how to play defense. playing like he' doesn't even want to be out there. there was a play in which he was guarding dirk and dirk just flew past him off the dribble and got fouled at the time for a dunk. at no point should a slow ass, non dribbling, past his prime, 16 year 7 footer blow past your best perimeter defender. it should NEVER happen.

Dirk + Ellis out-produced Duncan + Parker last two games, it is your 1-2 punch vs theirs vast majority of the times, as simple as that.

Specifically, Ellis saved Mavs's season when Spurs was up 5, two consecutive baskets at a critical time, that is what top 1-2 punches do. Spurs just doesn't have that anymore, a reliable go-to player.

Heck you can compare GDP vs Dirk + Ellis + Calderon too, we lost that battle as well. Parker is supposed to win his match-up against Calderon, when he is a wash against him it is extremely hard for Spurs to win.

[SAmagic]

I don't know why pop took Tiago off the last few minutes. He scored 6 points and one assist to Matt Bonner within the dunk at 7:12 and being subbed off at 4:06 not to mention the rebounds. He looked sure to score more.

[Johnny RIngo]

Dirk + Ellis out-produced Duncan + Parker last two games, it is your 1-2 punch vs theirs vast majority of the times, as simple as that.

Duncan's been outplaying Dirk all series though. The real problem is Tony hasn't stepped up while Ellis has.

[dallasmaverickslose]

Duncan's been outplaying Dirk all series though. The real problem is Tony hasn't stepped up while Ellis has.

It's a shame. Tony started the game on fire. Don't know what happened to that...

[BackHome]

The reason we are loosing is because the following players have played like shit:

Green - The dude can't dribble the ball to save his life he had the first two turnover in the second game
Mills - Yeah he is a second unit guy but he is getting killed on defense and giving nothing on offense
Diaw - Someone please help him find his nut sack
Kawhi - He is playing like this is his first year
Bi--What ever his name is has given nothing

[Baam]

diaws infinite pussitude is cutworthy

He hit 2 clutch shots tbh...

[Boomersgold]

He hit 2 clutch shots tbh...

Made up for being blocked by Dalembert on what should have been a wide open dunk.

[peacemaker885]

Like others have said I dont think this is a Pop problem but will end up being blamed for it nonthless. You can coach all you want but if your players dont produce then game over.

[therealtruth]

Like others have said I dont think this is a Pop problem but will end up being blamed for it nonthless. You can coach all you want but if your players dont produce then game over.

So it's not the coaches job to get the players focused and ready to play? They're professionals. They should figure it out?

[The_Coyote]

Our bench will wake up in game 4.

[TampaDude]

Our bench will wake up in game 4.

Hopefully in time to get to the game. :lol

[hitmantb]

Ginobili stepped up big time, but I think you can see why I think Spurs has by far the weakest 1-2 punch now.

Dirk > Duncan and Ellis > Parker at this stage of their careers.

[hitmantb]

Bumping this, game 6 was lost when Dirk/Ellis outplayed Duncan/Parker again, and this time Manu couldn't put together a huge game to save them.

Hard to see the team beating the likes of MIA/OKC in its current state, outside of a third player dropping 20 points a game.

[Johnny RIngo]

Ginobili stepped up big time, but I think you can see why I think Spurs has by far the weakest 1-2 punch now.

Dirk > Duncan and Ellis > Parker at this stage of their careers.

Dirk has been pretty mediocre for most of this series.

It's Parker that's really dragging the Spurs down right now. Efficiency is among the worst on the team(.486 TS% is horrible) yet he's taken 20 more field goal attempts than our next scoring option. Isn't playmaking, isn't scoring. Frenchie's just about given up and this is probably the worst team we'll see in the playoffs(if we make it out of the first round).

Tony deserves most of the blame, especially since he carved up Dallas in the regular season but seems unable to do so right now. Meanwhile, Ellis is one of the most notorious chuckers in the NBA yet he's scoring at a higher volume and better efficiency than TP. When your first option is worse than Monta, you don't deserve to advance in the playoffs.

[hitmantb]

Bumping this, full strength OKC is just too much.

A great coach and system can frustrated a more talented team momentarily, but Thunder's peak is simply higher than Spurs when they have the best two maybe even three players in this series. If they play the way they play today they have an excellent chance to beat the Heat if Durant/Westbrook can outplay James/Wade.