Do you feel any better about the series now?

[Two10Whitey]

Because I don't. Dallas plays better on the road and we look tired and old. We need that 2nd quarter play all 48. Do you think we can turn this thing around, or are we tired and done?

[cjw]

Dallas plays better on the road because their regular season fans are silent. They get really excited for NBA playoff wins given how few there have been in the past two decades on the gridiron.

Advantage clearly swings back to SA now. We'll be 6-7 point favorites at home vs. 3-4 on the road.

[spursguy123]

Yes I feel better. Take away Vince's lucky shot and we are up 3-1. The crowd better bring it Wednesday.

[CitizenDwayne]

Yes. It's tied. Before, it was 2-1.

[KaiRMD1]

Quite the contrary, the Spurs role players are getting their rhythm back. Mills & Diaw showed up tonight. All that's left is Beli & Green (I guess Bonner since he is now seeing minutes). It was a tough win but it was good. Now to go home and give the fans what they paid for, a Dallas beating.

[DPG21920]

Yes and no. Obviously, to blow a must win game when you were up 20 points would be gut wrenching, so 2-2 is a great result. Result aside and evaluating process, Tony Parker's level of play is so alarming that it negates everything in my opinion. He doesn't look right, is killing the Spurs (outside of some great first Q's) and is being benched in the playoffs?

Tim not seemingly having it longer than in 10 minute spurts is very alarming. As is how Dalembert is putting up career high stats against him and Blair having a huge impact (this game, not overall). Seeing the bench (Boris/Patty) play well and Manu having such success gives me hope - as does that 2nd Q where the Spurs offense seemed to figure it out, but overall I don't feel better.

All the main parts for the most parts are just not functioning at a high level with an emphasis on TP/Pop.

[Malik Hairston]

Absolutely, tbh, especially if Carlisle leaves Blair on the floor..

The Spurs have finally recognized that Nowitzki is a horrendous defender nowadays, Diaw understands he has a mismatch every possession, and Mills finally made some shots..

If Pop can realize Beli is killing the Spurs and if they stop leaving Calderon wide open, they'll win in 6 IMO..

[slick'81]

Ginooooooooooobli

[dallasmaverickslose]

Diaw 2.0: The Return

[Texas_Ranger]

Not really. They are still playing like shit. And with Tony playing like that this team won't get anywhere. But, at least he played good for the national team.

[DPG21920]

I don't get how in a must win game they can't put together a complete game. To play 1.5 good Q's essentially then revert back to sloppy out of sync offense is mind numbing. Pop continuing to panic and not use common sense is bad. RC is not going to make many mistakes and will likely not even repeat the small mistakes he did tonight.

[soxxx]

Its time to flip the script, the Mavs have played better but its time for them to not play as well and its time for the Spurs to step it up.

[look_at_g_shred]

Yes. After game 2, we've played better each game. Series tied, and goin back home for game 5, I feel 10 times more confident before tonight!!!

[sananspursfan21]

They were smokin em at one point so yea if they can maintain that they've at least showed capabilities of whoop-mode. This game belonged to the spurs the whole game

[Horse]

dirk has always been a shitty defender, and why did they not go to Timmy more with blair on him?

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

We were able to stop Harris pretty well, but Dirk had a great game overall. Nothing you can do about that.

Overall, our bench did better. 2-2 series tied back in San Antonio is great. Win Game 5 and we got the series

[Seventyniner]

Absolutely, tbh, especially if Carlisle leaves Blair on the floor..

The Spurs have finally recognized that Nowitzki is a horrendous defender nowadays, Diaw understands he has a mismatch every possession, and Mills finally made some shots..

If Pop can realize Beli is killing the Spurs and if they stop leaving Calderon wide open, they'll win in 6 IMO..

Danny Green will have to show up first. He finally gets some burn in the early 4th and starts jacking midrange Js.

I still don't understand Leonard on Ellis. Isn't that a great matchup for Danny? Hound Ellis on one end and make him run through multiple screens on the other.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

I can't believe that Gino is playing with the most energy on the entire team.

[PingPong]

Diaw and Mills played better this game. Pop just need to stop putting Diaw on Dirk and Splitter on Blair or someone else.

[japre8]

I've felt like we were the better team from the start. That said I knew the mavs would play us hard, but I didn't think they would be this tough tbh. But from the top to bottom every team in the west is in a dog fight. I still think we win in 6 tho.

[DapDaGenius]

Kinda.

[Malik Hairston]

Danny Green will have to show up first. He finally gets some burn in the early 4th and starts jacking midrange Js.

I still don't understand Leonard on Ellis. Isn't that a great matchup for Danny? Hound Ellis on one end and make him run through multiple screens on the other.

Green has literally gotten 1, maybe 2 open looks in this series, tbh..Pop also has him on a short leash..

So, it's not a surprise that he entered the game and tried to get himself going..Danny shooting off the dribble shots is very unorthodox for him IMO, he never usually takes bad shots, he was definitely trying to get himself going..

Meanwhile, Belineli has by far the worst defensive on/off of any Spurs player in this series and the worst offensive on/off, somehow, yet Pop keeps him on the floor when he's providing nothing and continues to leave shooters wide open..

[tim_duncan_fan]

I feel better about our chances to win the series, but I don't think it matters.

This team folds at the slightest bit of aggression from the opponent.

At this point, I'm ready to talk about what moves the Spurs need to make for the future.

For the record, I don't think Kawhi is "that guy." Totally tradable.

[SpursRock20]

I can't believe that Gino is playing with the most energy on the entire team.
He always has, and always will. Doesn't matter what his age is. That's the great thing about Manu.

[DPG21920]

They were smokin em at one point so yea if they can maintain that they've at least showed capabilities of whoop-mode. This game belonged to the spurs the whole game

:lol what? Spurs lost 3 of the 4 quarters. If not for that unbelievable 2nd quarter, Spurs were toast.

[spurraider21]

:lmao cliff diving after a win

[kaji157]

Win game 5 and i´ll feel better.

[kjhip1]

Best 2 out of 3. No way spurs come out lethargic on our home floor. Green or belinelli go off in game 5!

[jag]

Beli needs to be benched.

Tony needs to stop being worthless.

Heavy minutes for Tiago.

Tim needs to step up his gme against Blair...because Rick is going to to give Tim some heavy doses of Dejuan after tonight.

Manu has to continue being an aggressive playmaker.

Kawhi needs to defend Monta.

[cd98]

This series has been so close. It's probably going 7 games.

[davidbowie]

Not really. Tony is a zombie. Danny sucked. We could def still lose lol

[-21-]

I think whoever wins Game 5 wins the series...

BUT

Even if the Spurs win this series, if they keep playing this way, they'll get swept in the 2nd round.

[DPG21920]

It's just glass half full v half empty. You could argue Spurs might be up 3-1 with Pop being awful, TP being bad, Beli sucking and the entire bench + DG sucking outside of this game. You could also argue that Spurs could be swept and Pop keeps making the same mistakes and that RC has a great game plan that Spurs won't adjust to and that something is seriously wrong with TP.

I go with what I see consistently. Spurs have surprisingly not consistently upped their effort, not played crisp and made many of the same mistakes. TP is regressing each game & Tim looks more rigid despite no back to backs..

[Capt Bringdown]

The doubt is all on the Spurs side. Mavs have players stepping up, while the Spurs still have no-shows.

Mavs have proven they can win a close game against us & come back from 20 points down.

[DPG21920]

Beli needs to be benched.

Tony needs to stop being worthless.

Heavy minutes for Tiago.

Tim needs to step up his gme against Blair...because Rick is going to to give Tim some heavy doses of Dejuan after tonight.

Manu has to continue being an aggressive playmaker.

Kawhi needs to defend Monta.

If Pop is going to be stubborn and stick with not only giving Beli minutes and putting Kawhi on Monta, he needs to have Danny on Calderon. I know that means either TP guards Marion or you switch Kawhi onto Marion and have TP guard Monta, but I think it's worth it. We will see.

[RD2191]

Not sure but this shit is personal now.

[ElNono]

I do... it might extend the inevitable, but heading home, some players might feel more confident, and the home cooking is always there... if we can play for 48 mins and win Game 5, we put all the pressure on them

[SpursFan86]

Yes, I feel better about being tied 2-2 compared to being down 2-1 or 3-1.

[siraulo23]

they showed up in the 1st half, layed an egg in the 2nd half

tp is somehow getting progressively worse as the series goes on, nope, still anybody's series, im shocked the spurs came away with the win in game 4, and the spurs arent going anywhere this year with THIS tp

[EIC]

We almost choked away a 20 point lead. We are still hanging by a thread.

This series is a little bit about the Spurs (bench) underachieving and a lot about Dallas's scrubs playing out of their minds, especially Carter, Blair, and Calderon.

[gameFACE]

There were flashes of the real Spurs in this game. You have to feel good about 2-2. The home crowd will be behind them on Wednesday.

And fuck Blair!

[jag]

If Pop is going to be stubborn and stick with not only giving Beli minutes and putting Kawhi on Monta, he needs to have Danny on Calderon. I know that means either TP guards Marion or you switch Kawhi onto Marion and have TP guard Monta, but I think it's worth it. We will see.

Danny doesn't fit in this series for whatever reason. I'd like to see Danny get minutes, but it's not happening. Kawhi has to hound Ellis on both ends of the floor. He has to go straight to the post every time.

I cringe when I see Beli take his warmups off. Either Green needs those minutes or Manu needs heavy minutes.

[DPG21920]

Feel better about the result, but not about going forward. Spurs are CLEARLY the better team. CLEARLY. This pain is 75% self inflicted, but they keep doing the same things and it's really inexplicable. That's why I don't really feel better overall. But it's clear the Spurs still have so much head room.

Again, they lost 3 of 4 quarters tonight.

[dav4463]

We survived. That's about it.

[timtonymanu]

If Pop stops playing Belinelli like he's Michael Finley and if someone actually starts forcing Calderon to put the ball on the floor, then yes.

If neither happen, Mavs in 6.

[Dex]

Bench players are stepping up and the offense is coming back around. I'm hanging my hat on that, tbh.

Would be nice if Marco fucking Belinelli would quit sexting on the bench and get his fucking head back in the game. I'm hoping that Dallas is really just that bad of a matchup for him, because he is playing completely out of his pace right now. Pop had to pull him early in both of his stints, as he was involved in both of Dallas' big surges tonight.

[ElNono]

Danny doesn't fit in this series for whatever reason. I'd like to see Danny get minutes, but it's not happening. Kawhi has to hound Ellis on both ends of the floor. He has to go straight to the post every time.

I cringe when I see Beli take his warmups off. Either Green needs those minutes or Manu needs heavy minutes.

Manu can't play any more minutes, tbh... we really could use some D out there when nobody else can create shit

[DPG21920]

Yup. Manu will provide diminishing returns. Especially since TP hasn't been able to keep anything going. Pop has to choose between Beli/Danny and it's damn obvious based on the first 4 games (despite both not playing that well). Thank God for Manu. Without him/Tiago Spurs would have been swept. How crazy is that.

[jag]

Calderon is my biggest worry. Pop has no answer for him. And TP might as well be invisible on D. Put Manu on Calderon and TP on Marion. If Patty gets heavy minutes, then you end up with Calderon/Mills because Patty can't guard Marion...even less than Tony.

[Arcadian]

Fuck that.....the Spurs are the better team and we all know that. The Mavs needed game 4 to win. They will now fold.

[DPG21920]

TP can play a lot better on defense (and will) if he's not chronically fatigued (which looks like it might be the case) or injured. But Danny Green is the biggest answer for Calderon. He would completely render him useless on offense.

[Robz4000]

Parker looks like ass, but I'm not too worried about everything else. Blair plays like he normally does and the Spurs win by 10+. He had arguably the game of his career considering the circumstances.

[jag]

Manu can't play any more minutes, tbh... we really could use some D out there when nobody else can create shit

I know. It's gotta be Danny. He's made some bonehead plays on both ends of the floor, but he has so much more upside than Beli who has been atrocious. I don't get why he's relegated to the bench.

[Mal]

I think whoever wins Game 5 wins the series...

BUT

Even if the Spurs win this series, if they keep playing this way, they'll get swept in the 2nd round.

Portland wont swept them

[DPG21920]

Fuck that.....the Spurs are the better team and we all know that. The Mavs needed game 4 to win. They will now fold.

What have you seen that makes you say that? Mavs played two fantastic games on the road to start the season, then played a very good game 3. They won 3 out of 4 quarters tonight and rallied back from 20 down.

[Staplepuffs27]

I feel better about our chances to win the series, but I don't think it matters.

This team folds at the slightest bit of aggression from the opponent.

At this point, I'm ready to talk about what moves the Spurs need to make for the future.

For the record, I don't think Kawhi is "that guy." Totally tradable.eh. We weathered the storm, and stopped them just enough against a tough crowd. I'd say that is stepping up against aggression. We didn't fold. We kept at it and won a tough road game.

[Mugen]

I feel great, the Spurs won a game they were about to choke away tbh.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

My big worry is that I don't think Manu can have 2 good games in a row.

[G-Dawgg]

I get no comfort in this win. I feel like this win fell to us. Without any consistent outside shooting from Green, Belinelli and Mills, the Spurs are sitting ducks.. ripe for the picking. We need some consistency from our shooters. They don't have to put up big numbers, but they have to hit the few open shots that they are given at a much higher %..

[hater]

SURE YOU DO. AT LEAST WE ARE PLAYING LIKE A TEAM NOW. AND AT LEAST POP ALREADY KNOWS WHO TO SIT (GREEN, FIAT AND MAYBE EVEN PARKERSHIT)

POP IS BASICALLY DOWN TO HIS LAST HAND AND IT'S A PRETTY GOOD HAND VS DALLAS. NOT TOO SHABBY.

STILL IMO THIS SERIES IS STILL 50-50

[Malik Hairston]

Danny Green has the best defensive on/off metrics of any Spur in the series, tbh..

He's going to be useless on offense, but it doesn't matter, the Mavs are still covering him..some Spurs fans still don't understand that Danny Green not scoring doesn't mean that the Mavs are leaving him open like he's Tony Allen or a player that can't shoot..they always have a man on him, so the Spurs are playing 4 on 4, which would usually result in Tony Parker exploiting the mismatch, like he did in game 1 and in the 1st quarter of game 3..it's not a case of the Mavs having a defender sagging off Green to help..

They are guarding Bellineli the same way, tbh, so I don't have a problem with Marco's offense, either..

The Spurs are supposed to be a defense-first team..you leave Green in the game for defense until Manu can check in for offensive purposes..he should be guarding Calderon/Carter/Ellis at all times, tbh..

When Jae Crowder is in, you can put Beli on the floor..

[DPG21920]

If I could count on the Spurs just giving effort for the majority of the game and running their offense and crisply getting into sets, I would feel great. But they just haven't done it.

[Arcadian]

What have you seen that makes you say that? Mavs played two fantastic games on the road to start the season, then played a very good game 3. They won 3 out of 4 quarters tonight and rallied back from 20 down.

Look at the quarterly scoring in game 3. Spurs won every quarter except the 2nd. Same story. Series is tied 2-2. What makes me say that? The fact that we won 62 games and they won 49... You can spout the canonical "playoffs are different" story if you want, but it does mean something. Spurs are the better team, they have underperformed thus far, but are still going to win the series, and hopefully will peak at the perfect time to win it all this year.

[G-Dawgg]

Ok.. I guess I do get a bit of comfort in this win. However I think Dallas has been outplaying us and in order to stay in the series the Spurs need to step up a notch and not squander 20 point leads... the Spurs haven't played as a team that deserves to win the NBA championship thus far.

[DPG21920]

Look at the quarterly scoring in game 3. Spurs won every quarter except the 2nd. Same story. Series is tied 2-2. What makes me say that? The fact that we won 62 games and they won 49... You can spout the canonical "playoffs are different" story if you want, but it does mean something. Spurs are the better team, they have underperformed thus far, but are still going to win the series, and hopefully will peak at the perfect time to win it all this year.

I'm not talking about the Spurs winning the series - I'm talking about the Mavs folding.

[Budkin]

Yep they had their chance. This is our series now.

[crc21209]

Of course I feel good, it's 2-2 with the Spurs coming home for Game 5....

[chrhawk]

I feel good about THIS series. But I don't feel good the upcoming series if Parker continues to play like this.

[heyheymymy]

i feel great about this series, if we're to win a single game in rd 2, we really needed a tune up like this to get us in rythmn

[superbigtime]

It's the Mavs. It's not a typical 8 - 1 matchup. For that, see Eastern Conference playoffs. I feel better. Would have been nice to see Green play better. And Tony is a concern. Next game less than 48 hours away, so not much time for physical recovery and healing.

[sexinthatsx]

The Diaw / Dirk matchup is probably the Spurs best best for this series. Splitter has been defending Dirk really well this whole series, but on the offensive end Diaw is getting some ridiculously wide open looks at the 3 point line, but he has been gun shy up until the big 3 pointer. I hope the Spurs are able to keep exploiting it when possible.

[Horry Hipcheck]

I feel better than I did after Games 2 and 3. Coming home tied 2-2 was the objective after Carter's heroics, and they got it. Previous iterations of the Spurs might have wilted after losing a 20 point lead and fallen down 3-1 going home. To suffer a heartbreaking setback in Game 3, and win Game 4, requires a good deal of character.

What I don't feel better about is that the Spurs, at various times, continue to look like they don't know what they're doing. They looked godlike in the second and most of the third quarters tonight and then Dallas hit a few shots and forced a few turnovers and the Spurs started looking panicked. I'm among those here that things Kawhi on Monta Ellis is not working, he's burning the Spurs consistently. Leonard would be much better used disrupting passing lanes than trying to duck under screens chasing Ellis, and I'd rather Danny Green be given defensive duties on him. Green's most useful on offense when he's firing in transition or he's already locked in a spot he's money from, and something tells me his shot would return if Leonard was breaking up the Mavs' offense and forcing turnovers that led to Green threes. It happened fairly often against Miami last year, I don't see why they aren't trying it now.

In short, yes. The Spurs are knotted 2-2 with Game 5 at home, rather than being down 3-1 to a team that certainly knows it could pull the upset. Winning a series at 2-2 is much easier than winning one down 3-1. What concerns me is that despite small stretches of Spurs brilliance, Pop isn't making little adjustments in defensive rotations that are probably directly responsible for Ellis and Calderon murdering the Spurs.

[silverblackfan]

Whew. After watching them almost choke away a 20 point lead after not closing out game 3, I am checking my blood pressure more.
Tony is the main concern going forward, but I do think the Spurs have the momentum. Hopefully it will be enough to win game 5 at home. It seemed like the defense figured something out in game 3 and should be able to keep Dallas from hitting 100+ again. As for the offense, it seemed like they had that working well until the 2nd half when the wheels fell right off again. Perplexing team in this series. It just seems like they should be playing so much better, but Dallas is playing them with lots of confidence.

[rascal]

Spurs are lucky they are playing Dallas.

[z0sa]

Diaw shooting that last 3 with confidence is probably the biggest takeaway from this game. He was key all season being aggressive and that aggression must be refound if the spurs want to compete at their highest level.

[dg7md]

I feel good about it, but I won't feel great about it until we have a good win in game 5 going into game 6.

[100%duncan]

Do I feel better? Yes. Do I feel confident? Yes. Is Dallas still dangerous? Yes.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Yes, its b/c the Mavs don't have fuckin' 2 days to rest up. The Spurs have more depth and they should win the next game. Mavs don't play better on the road. They were just playing all out the first 3 games and had 2 days to rest in b/n. Not anymore, and their dismal FG and FT shooting showed that they are starting to wear down, just like I thought they would.

[Seventyniner]

Danny Green has the best defensive on/off metrics of any Spur in the series, tbh..

He's going to be useless on offense, but it doesn't matter, the Mavs are still covering him..some Spurs fans still don't understand that Danny Green not scoring doesn't mean that the Mavs are leaving him open like he's Tony Allen or a player that can't shoot..they always have a man on him, so the Spurs are playing 4 on 4, which would usually result in Tony Parker exploiting the mismatch, like he did in game 1 and in the 1st quarter of game 3..it's not a case of the Mavs having a defender sagging off Green to help..

They are guarding Bellineli the same way, tbh, so I don't have a problem with Marco's offense, either..

The Spurs are supposed to be a defense-first team..you leave Green in the game for defense until Manu can check in for offensive purposes..he should be guarding Calderon/Carter/Ellis at all times, tbh..

When Jae Crowder is in, you can put Beli on the floor..

Completely agree. I think Danny is ideally suited to guard Ellis while Leonard can either sag off of Marion and play the passing lanes or get up in Carter's face. Parker will just have to find a way to stay with Calderon.

Chinook is on record saying that Green should be getting 40 MPG if I remember right. He definitely should be matching Ellis minute-for-minute.

About that last line, I was flabbergasted in the early 4th last night. Pop finally put Green in and sics him on Crowder of all people.

[ManuTastic]

Yes and no. Obviously, to blow a must win game when you were up 20 points would be gut wrenching, so 2-2 is a great result. Result aside and evaluating process, Tony Parker's level of play is so alarming that it negates everything in my opinion. He doesn't look right, is killing the Spurs (outside of some great first Q's) and is being benched in the playoffs?

Tim not seemingly having it longer than in 10 minute spurts is very alarming. As is how Dalembert is putting up career high stats against him and Blair having a huge impact (this game, not overall). Seeing the bench (Boris/Patty) play well and Manu having such success gives me hope - as does that 2nd Q where the Spurs offense seemed to figure it out, but overall I don't feel better.

All the main parts for the most parts are just not functioning at a high level with an emphasis on TP/Pop.

My thoughts exactly. Parker needs to get his Mojo back in the 4th quarter, where he looks flat out bad. Timmy should be waxing Dalembert, but he can't. Thank god for Manu and Splitter, tbh.

[dg7md]

Just remember we'd have a game 5 at home, to close up the series, if not for the last second Vince Carter shot tbh...

So now we get it done in 6. I don't like a game 7 in the first round, it'd be too up in the air to call.

[EVAY]

It's just glass half full v half empty. You could argue Spurs might be up 3-1 with Pop being awful, TP being bad, Beli sucking and the entire bench + DG sucking outside of this game. You could also argue that Spurs could be swept and Pop keeps making the same mistakes and that RC has a great game plan that Spurs won't adjust to and that something is seriously wrong with TP.

I go with what I see consistently. Spurs have surprisingly not consistently upped their effort, not played crisp and made many of the same mistakes. TP is regressing each game & Tim looks more rigid despite no back to backs..

I think this is why I feel better about the series. Tony is in fact worse each game…it is incredible to me how bad he has consistently been, and Timmy is looking worse and worse also…but in the face of all of that, we won!!! That's why I feel better. The whole team except for Tony and Tim to a lesser extent, won the game.

Pop excoriating Tony multiple times during times out was a a beautiful sight, imo, and long overdue. Tony responds to Pop and only Pop…so he might actually play better.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

I think this is why I feel better about the series. Tony is in fact worse each game…it is incredible to me how bad he has consistently been, and Timmy is looking worse and worse also…but in the face of all of that, we won!!! That's why I feel better. The whole team except for Tony and Tim to a lesser extent, won the game.

Pop excoriating Tony multiple times during times out was a a beautiful sight, imo, and long overdue. Tony responds to Pop and only Pop…so he might actually play better.


Tony needs to stop forcing shit and start passing the ball. He is reverting back to his '05 self where he was a ballhog. 2 of his 3 assist came in the 4th I believe. That's right, only 3 freakin' assist from TP in 30 minutes of play. Pop is just reverting back to his old self where he tore TP a new one for his ball hogging play.

[EVAY]

Tony needs to stop forcing shit and start passing the ball. He is reverting back to his '05 self where he was a ballhog. 2 of his 3 assist came in the 4th I believe. That's right, only 3 freakin' assist from TP in 30 minutes of play. Pop is just reverting back to his old self where he tore TP a new one for his ball hogging play.

He was also screaming at him for some missed defensive assignments.

As long as he(Pop) screams at him enough to get him to play better, I'm all in favor of it. The ball moved SO much better when Manu was running point (okay so occasionally it moved right off the court - but we all accept that about Manu - he giveth and he taketh away), it seems impossible that someone wouldn't point that out to Tony in a film session.

[rascal]

This series has been so close. It's probably going 7 games.

If it goes 7 the spurs willl lose. Winner of next game takes series in 6 and I expect it to be the Spurs.

[rascal]

I think whoever wins Game 5 wins the series...

BUT

Even if the Spurs win this series, if they keep playing this way, they'll get swept in the 2nd round.

This is right. I expect the spurs to get past dallas but they are not getting to the championship unless there are some injuries to other top teams.

[CGD]

This team goes as Tony goes. If spurs are able to get passed Mavs They won't advance much further without Tony playing better.

[therealtruth]

So they win a close game and a blowout and we win 2 close games. That blowout might end up costing the Spurs like it did in '06. The Spurs spotted them a game.

[cd021]

Absolutely, tbh, especially if Carlisle leaves Blair on the floor..

The Spurs have finally recognized that Nowitzki is a horrendous defender nowadays, Diaw understands he has a mismatch every possession, and Mills finally made some shots..

If Pop can realize Beli is killing the Spurs and if they stop leaving Calderon wide open, they'll win in 6 IMO..

Dirk has better awareness on D now, butt he just cant move as well as he use to. Diaw 2.0 has finally made his post season debut you're right about Diaw getting it now. He went at Dirk in the post at least 5 times and when the trapped P&Rs, Diaw hit 3 of those 4 attempts from 3.

Pop chewed out Tony forr his D on Calderon Jose didn't seem to be as big of a factor afterwards.

Dallas got to the line 28 times, that probably wont happen in S.A. If we can under 40% from 3 and hold them to about 20-22 FTA attempts, The Spurs can suffocate them.

[TampaDude]

Yes, because the difference between 2-2 and 3-1 is like night and day.

Now it's a best-of-3 series, with the Spurs having two games at home.

Whoever wins Game 5 will win the series in 6. There will not be a Game 7.

[Dex]

Something else to consider: if it weren't for Vince fucking Carter's stupid, flukey ass shot, the Spurs would have taken both games in Dallas, and would have a commanding 3-1 series lead right now.

[TampaDude]

Something else to consider: if it weren't for Vince fucking Carter's stupid, flukey ass shot, the Spurs would have taken both games in Dallas, and would have a commanding 3-1 series lead right now.

Yup...shit happens...just be thankful that was in Game 3 and not Game 7.

[boutons_deux]

Spurs DID lose an 18 pt lead, all the way down to a tie.

As everybody has seen, TP is a huge absence, and now he's got a tender ankle.

[Chinook]

I think the elephant in the room is the fact that Green may still be injured. He hasn't really had a good defensive game since he went out in that Nuggets game. If he's still hampered, then he ISN'T a good player to defend Ellis, nor does he provide a ton of general help to the team if he's not being left open. I hope that's not the case, because the team is absolutely dead in the water going forward if Green isn't 100 percent.

Provided that that's not the case, Pop is being absurdly stubborn to the extent that this could really hurt the team outside of this series. Danny was too important to the team going down the stretch for Pop to toss him aside at the first sign of adversity, especially while he continues to allow Mills and Beli (and the Big Three to a lesser extent) to work out of their slumps. I think Pop's convinced that Leonard is a superior defender to Green, even though the stats don't bear that out. He seems to consider Danny to be a secondary perimeter defender who only gets an opportunity to guard the opposing team's first option when Leonard isn't in the game. If the Spurs can win this series and advance to face Portland, Pop could absolutely tank the team by putting Leonard on Lillard (against whom Kawhi's never done well) as opposed to Green (who's probably been the most successful player in the league at defending Lillard).

Offensively, I think Pop is valuing folks getting their own shot seeing as the system is breaking down. As far as I see it, he needs to work harder to get the team to generate good looks for Green and everyone else who's struggling by calling more plays instead of just letting things flow. Or he needs to accept that the Big Three (along with Splitter and now Diaw hopefully) are going to carry the team offensively, which means he needs to let Green and Leonard play as much as possible to slow down Dallas on the other end. What he can't do is waffle in between those two and play glass cannons like Beli significant minutes because he's hoping they can pull more points out of their asses without having plays called for them than they give up on the other end.

[cjw]

Something else to consider: if it weren't for Vince fucking Carter's stupid, flukey ass shot, the Spurs would have taken both games in Dallas, and would have a commanding 3-1 series lead right now.

Something else to consider - Spurs didn't mail it in after that shot nor after Ray Allen's. You win some and you lose some.

Scary thing looking at the +/- from last night is how negative both Green and Marco are. One of them really needs to step up unless Pop plans on running Patty big minutes with Parker when either Manu / Kawhi hit the pine.

[Proxy]

Felt better seeing Kawhi and Patty play aggressively in the first half, matching Manu and Tiago. Not sure why they couldn't bring that tenacity in the second half though. It's frustrating. Danny isn't making jack shit, but he's still spacing and playing defense as harlem pointed out. Thought the team did a better job on Ellis. Tiago is beasting imo.

Maybe Manu looking to score is taking the open shots Marco is used to getting on the offensive side? I don't know, but he's sucking ass all around. I'll remain optimistic that he'll have an impact in a game this series though.

Parker and Timmy obviously don't look 100 percent so that sucks. Their body language isn't the best. I'm guessing it's mental with Parker by the way Pop has been talking to him. Whatever it is, the team needs them to be leaders.

Thankful that Manu has been great.

[Russo21]

Matty BonBon 5 minutes, 0 shots, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 assists, 0 blocks and has a +/- of +9 How is that shit possible.

[chrhawk]

:lol Maybe Carlise will think they lost Game 4 because Blair got ejected and play him big minutes in Game 5.

[SpurYank]

For 2-10-Whitey! MAN! What a pessimist? "Are we tired and done?" No, the only ones tired and done are the pessimists who visit here. HEY! WAKE THE F>>> up you piss poor Spurs fans. The team goes out & works their butts off and we lose because we play poorly? Don't think so. What about how well the other team plays and what THEY have to do with their victories?

[Proxy]

Matty BonBon 5 minutes, 0 shots, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 assists, 0 blocks and has a +/- of +9 How is that shit possible.

Watch the game again... dude looked like Hakeem out there, defending and shit. Poor Mavs didn't stand a chance for that 5 minute stretch.

[peacemaker885]

Watch the game again... dude looked like Hakeem out there, defending and shit. Poor Mavs didn't stand a chance for that 5 minute stretch.


"When all things fail bring out the Red Rocket" - Chuck Norris

[Seventyniner]

I think the elephant in the room is the fact that Green may still be injured. He hasn't really had a good defensive game since he went out in that Nuggets game. If he's still hampered, then he ISN'T a good player to defend Ellis, nor does he provide a ton of general help to the team if he's not being left open. I hope that's not the case, because the team is absolutely dead in the water going forward if Green isn't 100 percent.

Provided that that's not the case, Pop is being absurdly stubborn to the extent that this could really hurt the team outside of this series. Danny was too important to the team going down the stretch for Pop to toss him aside at the first sign of adversity, especially while he continues to allow Mills and Beli (and the Big Three to a lesser extent) to work out of their slumps. I think Pop's convinced that Leonard is a superior defender to Green, even though the stats don't bear that out. He seems to consider Danny to be a secondary perimeter defender who only gets an opportunity to guard the opposing team's first option when Leonard isn't in the game. If the Spurs can win this series and advance to face Portland, Pop could absolutely tank the team by putting Leonard on Lillard (against whom Kawhi's never done well) as opposed to Green (who's probably been the most successful player in the league at defending Lillard).

Offensively, I think Pop is valuing folks getting their own shot seeing as the system is breaking down. As far as I see it, he needs to work harder to get the team to generate good looks for Green and everyone else who's struggling by calling more plays instead of just letting things flow. Or he needs to accept that the Big Three (along with Splitter and now Diaw hopefully) are going to carry the team offensively, which means he needs to let Green and Leonard play as much as possible to slow down Dallas on the other end. What he can't do is waffle in between those two and play glass cannons like Beli significant minutes because he's hoping they can pull more points out of their asses without having plays called for them than they give up on the other end.

Good post. :toast

Has anyone noticed Green moving differently than before that Nuggets game? I didn't see any limping or anything, but I'm no expert.

As far as springing Green open, maybe it's time to go back to inside-out basketball. The Spurs have 4 legit post options and there's only one Dalembert. Nowitzki, Blair, and whatever non-Marion Mav that guards Kawhi can be relentlessly attacked in the post. Kawhi and Diaw are good enough shooters to keep them on the floor while one of Duncan or Splitter posts up too.

[SpurPadre]

Well, they beat us 3 out of 4 quarters and had to miss 10 free throws and shoot 38% for us to beat them by 4 points and also had to rely on a Blair kick...so that's troubling. With that said, if we can free up TP somehow and Danny can get a little more involved, there's reason to believe we can win this in 6.

[Horry Hipcheck]

Well, they beat us 3 out of 4 quarters and had to miss 10 free throws and shoot 38% for us to beat them by 4 points and also had to rely on a Blair kick...so that's troubling. With that said, if we can free up TP somehow and Danny can get a little more involved, there's reason to believe we can win this in 6.

You could say the same thing about the Mavs in Game 3. It's the playoffs, you find a way to win. It's 2-2 now, so it might as well be 0-0 and best of 3. The Spurs could come out tomorrow night and play the best game of the season and mop the floor with Dallas and it wouldn't mean anything other than a 3-2 series lead.

[superjames1992]

I think the Spurs likely win this series now, IMO. I think 40% chance of closing it out in 6, 40% chance in 7, and a 20% chance DAL wins it, IMHO, tbh, per par, FWIW, tbqh.

[superjames1992]

Matty BonBon 5 minutes, 0 shots, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 steals, 0 assists, 0 blocks and has a +/- of +9 How is that shit possible.
He defended pretty well and created spacing for others to operate and make shots. Bonner doesn't have to do much to be effective, tbh.

[Budkin]

Green has been the fucking worst. Jogging his ass back on defense after doing nothing to give Monta the free 3 that started the collapse.

[hater]

Dallas will be there every step of the way. they are not going anywhere. this is a loooong series folks

[Malik Hairston]

Green has been the fucking worst. Jogging his ass back on defense after doing nothing to give Monta the free 3 that started the collapse.

That wasn't Green, he closed out Vince on that play:lol..

It was Parker that missed a layup and fell, leaving Kawhi to pick up his man(Calderon), and Danny Green to guard both Carter and Ellis on the 3-point line with Tim under the net, because Tony didn't get back on defense..

Green chose to close out on Carter, which is the right move since he's a 40% 3-point shooter, and Tim had to protect the rim, because if he went out to contest Ellis, he would have been blown by for an easy layup..

It was just another horrible play for Parker in one of the worst games he's had in a long time, tbh..

[Budkin]

Dallas will be there every step of the way. they are not going anywhere. this is a loooong series folks

Def. going 7 unfortunately. Or fortunately maybe considering we could be down 3-1 right now?

[downunder]

Dallas is a confidence driven team - if shots go in they improve, if shots miss they deteriorate quickly. Problem for Pop is that he knows his marquee players are old (like him) and need rests. Spurs have a depth on the bench that no other club in playoffs have . Question is whether their stars will stay on the Court longer.

[downunder]

And I am still worried as Spurs are lousy in blocking out, switching on posts and securing defensive rebounds.

[Phillip]

Something else to consider: if it weren't for Vince fucking Carter's stupid, flukey ass shot, the Spurs would have taken both games in Dallas, and would have a commanding 3-1 series lead right now.

On the other hand, you could say that if it weren't for Monta Ellis somehow missing a chippie layup that he makes the vast majority of the time, or one of the best offensive teams somehow only scoring 4 points in over a 7 minute stretch to close a game, the Mavs could have a commanding 3-1 lead or 4-0 sweep.

Coulda woulda shoulda means nothing, and there is nothing to consider.

[Mugen]

On the other hand, you could say that if it weren't for Monta Ellis somehow missing a chippie layup that he makes the vast majority of the time, or one of the best offensive teams somehow only scoring 4 points in over a 7 minute stretch to close a game, the Mavs could have a commanding 3-1 lead or 4-0 sweep.

Coulda woulda shoulda means nothing, and there is nothing to consider.

Compelling stuff tbh.

Thank god for Dejuan, Phil, or the Mavs are probably closing us out in Game 5.

[weeks]

Yes, I feel better about being tied 2-2 compared to being down 2-1 or 3-1.

[Slippy]

yes. When you factor in Tony missed a lot of easy shots and Tim took many un-characteristic ones, Spurs still managed to win. These 2 will play better.

[rascal]

Spurs will wrap this up in 6.

[TampaDude]

Spurs have the advantage if it goes 7 because of HCA, but it's not going 7. Whoever wins Game 5 wins the series in 6. BOOK IT.

[rascal]

Spurs have the advantage if it goes 7 because of HCA, but it's not going 7. Whoever wins Game 5 wins the series in 6. BOOK IT.

Spurs will lose the first elimination game they will be in. So no game 7 in this series.

[Two10Whitey]

For 2-10-Whitey! MAN! What a pessimist? "Are we tired and done?" No, the only ones tired and done are the pessimists who visit here. HEY! WAKE THE F>>> up you piss poor Spurs fans. The team goes out & works their butts off and we lose because we play poorly? Don't think so. What about how well the other team plays and what THEY have to do with their victories?

:lmao

What do you want me to say? "Aww yeah we're back in it!! We blew a 20 point lead and almost lost!! Tony looks worn out and has a sprained ankle!! Our defense is slacking!! GO SPURS!!!" I hope we win but I'm just stating my opinion.. I don't feel any better after blowing a big lead and winning the hard way. I understand this is the playoffs, but if we were playing our best like during the winning streak, this wouldn't be happening.