Complete team effort in losing tonight's game, tbh..

[HarlemHeat37]

In before the attempted trolling by posters pointing the finger at specific players + meltdowns, this was a complete team effort, tbh..

There wasn't a single Spurs rotation player that was decent tonight outside of Aldridge's 3rd quarter IMO..they were all below average to terrible, no energy, bad decisions, couldn't make shots, etc..

Pop may have been the biggest contributor to this loss, to be fair..I don't really care, since I know he doesn't take these RS games too seriously, but continuing to put the bigs on Anderson and not making any adjustments to Ish Smith after 3 quarters was pretty bad:lol..it was also annoying how the Spurs barely went to Boris, despite having by far the biggest mismatch on the floor(against the same player that was destroying the Spurs on offense)..

Anyways, good test next game vs. a suddenly hot Grizzlies team..hopefully everybody plays with better effort, especially if Manu isn't there to bail them out..

[dabom]

Pop had 2 PGs the whole fourth and one big. WTF Pop. Loss is on Pop for fucking up the rotations.

[keeferob25]

In before the attempted trolling by posters pointing the finger at specific players + meltdowns, this was a complete team effort, tbh..

There wasn't a single Spurs rotation player that was decent tonight outside of Aldridge's 3rd quarter IMO..they were all below average to terrible, no energy, bad decisions, couldn't make shots, etc..

Pop may have been the biggest contributor to this loss, to be fair..I don't really care, since I know he doesn't take these RS games too seriously, but continuing to put the bigs on Anderson and not making any adjustments to Ish Smith after 3 quarters was pretty bad:lol..it was also annoying how the Spurs barely went to Boris, despite having by far the biggest mismatch on the floor(against the same player that was destroying the Spurs on offense)..

Anyways, good test next game vs. a suddenly hot Grizzlies team..hopefully everybody plays with better effort, especially if Manu isn't there to bail them out..

And that precisely is his problem...it could be the difference between playing an inferior team in the first round or playing someone like the Clippers who booted us early.

[DeRozan m8]

Ugly game in an ugly arena on an ugly court.

[apalisoc_9]

Yeah i said it in the game thread. The team played. Pop was non existant. He wanted to let the players play tonight.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I forgot originally that the Grizzlies are tomorrow (thought it was the day after) makes sense to rest Duncan in the fourth.

They've been looking good especially with Chalmers in the fold now.

[midnightpulp]

In before the attempted trolling by posters pointing the finger at specific players + meltdowns, this was a complete team effort, tbh..

There wasn't a single Spurs rotation player that was decent tonight outside of Aldridge's 3rd quarter IMO..they were all below average to terrible, no energy, bad decisions, couldn't make shots, etc..

Pop may have been the biggest contributor to this loss, to be fair..I don't really care, since I know he doesn't take these RS games too seriously, but continuing to put the bigs on Anderson and not making any adjustments to Ish Smith after 3 quarters was pretty bad:lol..it was also annoying how the Spurs barely went to Boris, despite having by far the biggest mismatch on the floor(against the same player that was destroying the Spurs on offense)..

Anyways, good test next game vs. a suddenly hot Grizzlies team..hopefully everybody plays with better effort, especially if Manu isn't there to bail them out..

Yep. Team loss. Low energy nights are going to happen with a roster of this age and experience (it's hard to get up for a Friday night game against the Pelicans when you've won titles and been through shit like 6).

Pelicans also always play us tough.

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

Funny how the one's melting down are the same one's every year.

[dabom]

Funny how the one's melting down are the same one's every year.

Catpiss. :lol

[HarlemHeat37]

Spurs struggle against quick guards and stretch bigs, too..Pelicans used both tonight..

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

yep..

I'll respond to the posters that matter. Tired of fucking with a midget.

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

Spurs struggle against quick guards and stretch bigs, too..Pelicans used both tonight..

Golden State's gonna be a bitch then huh?

[YGWHI]

it was also annoying how the Spurs barely went to Boris, despite having by far the biggest mismatch on the floor(against the same player that was destroying the Spurs on offense)...

Not sure, we saw Anderson denied Boris the ball...he was playing great on both ends, tbh.

[HarlemHeat37]

Golden State's gonna be a bitch then huh?

Well, they are, because they're a historically great team, but Curry isn't noticeably quick/athletic..

Green is going to be a huge problem, though, obviously..

[SAGirl]

I agree with the spirit of this thread Harlem. I think Pop should have made adjustments when whatever he was throwing there wasn't sticking, maybe even going to some players he's been reluctant to play.
We do need Manu, but Manu should only be playing 18-22 minutes at the most, and he should not be coming to the rescue every single time. Without Manu we would be a loosing team quite frankly, so this to me is a little alarming.
I am not sure if this team will gel. Lamarcus doesn't look like himself or the player Pop wants him to be. Kawhi can score, but not create for others. Tony is inconsistent. As much as everyone criticizes him, when he plays well, we do well, when he has a bad game, we struggle. He is still important, particularly with the patent lack of playmakers and passers in the team.

Our youngsters need to develop and like the old players, maybe even more than the old vets in this team, they also need playtime to gel, get chemistry and get their rhythm going. This is where playing 36 yr old Rasual, who won't play in the playoffs or develop into someone who can help is actually a hindrance.

Kind of upset at Pop's stubborness a little bit, but maybe after this he will tweak things.

[YGWHI]

We do need Manu, but Manu should only be playing 18-22 minutes at the most, and he should not be coming to the rescue every single time. Without Manu we would be a loosing team quite frankly, so this to me is a little alarming.
Pels' bench outplayed our bench, Manu's the key to build or maintain a lead with the second unit, at this point, he's irreplaceable. And yes, a bit alarming. We need more from Boris, Patty...


I am not sure if this team will gel.
They will. Don't worry.

[Robz4000]

LMA out tomorrow and possibly no Manu. Already counting tomorrow as a loss.

[TDfan2007]

Totally forgot that the Grizzlies game is tomorrow. I was wondering why Pop rested Timmy for so long...hopefully it pays off.

But yeah, shitty game by everyone not named Lamarcus. Doesn't help that Ish Smith played WAY over his head.

[SpursFan86]

Green is going to be a huge problem, though, obviously..

Gotta hope his 3-point shooting falls back to where it was last year (34% in the regular season, 26% in the playoffs)...he's going to be a serious threat if he continues shooting 40% from deep like he has so far this year.

[wildcardX]

The Spurs played like dog shit. Should've gone home from work at halftime to play Fallout.

[GSH]

In before the attempted trolling by posters pointing the finger at specific players + meltdowns, this was a complete team effort, tbh..

There wasn't a single Spurs rotation player that was decent tonight outside of Aldridge's 3rd quarter IMO..they were all below average to terrible, no energy, bad decisions, couldn't make shots, etc..

Pop may have been the biggest contributor to this loss, to be fair..I don't really care, since I know he doesn't take these RS games too seriously, but continuing to put the bigs on Anderson and not making any adjustments to Ish Smith after 3 quarters was pretty bad:lol..it was also annoying how the Spurs barely went to Boris, despite having by far the biggest mismatch on the floor(against the same player that was destroying the Spurs on offense)..

Anyways, good test next game vs. a suddenly hot Grizzlies team..hopefully everybody plays with better effort, especially if Manu isn't there to bail them out..


That's pretty hilarious. Yeah, it really was a total team effort at sucking, wasn't it?

Parker laying on the floor, begging for a whistle, and letting his teammates go 4-on-5 really pissed me off. LMA getting blocked by the Brow, and THEN getting beat to the sideline and losing possession? That was unforgivable laziness.

This is a game where I miss TimVP's grades. I'd love to see how he scored tonight's "effort". Maybe just one big F.

[100%duncan]

Should wi tomorrow with Manu back

[apalisoc_9]

Should wi tomorrow with Manu back

Two games out.

[100%duncan]

Two games out.

He was out against denver

[apalisoc_9]

He was out against denver

Two games out in pops terms the whole week.

[Mikeanaro]

:tu

[Calispursfan11]

Tbh

[HarlemHeat37]

I'm actually pretty surprised at the Spurs record, even with the easy schedule..I expected Houston to win the division and the Spurs to be inconsistent until February, tbh..

At least most of us acknowledged that the team isn't as good as their record, though, even prior to tonight's loss..it was evident to anybody that has watched every game..they have no fluidity or structure on offense, which was kind of expected, considering they have been trying to implement a high-usage player in Aldridge, and Parker/Green are making major adjustments to their roles..

There's major confusion with Parker, Aldridge and Green in particular..Tony is in a difficult spot, as he has to figure out when to be aggressive and when to fall back, while conserving his body for the long run..I can't really recall a player that was in his current position, it's going to be very tough to find a balance IMO..

Green's jump shot seems to have finally adjusted to the new role of catching out of completely different sets(he's shooting 40+% from 3 in the past stretch of games, finally), but he's also being way too unselfish and playing out of character..he's often being put in a bad position by being forced to create, but he also needs to just accept that he isn't a playmaker, which is going to result in semi-contested, forced jump shots, at times..he just needs to accept that a semi-contested 3 from him is much better than trying to drive and create in a congested lane:lol..

[Man In Black]

I'm actually pretty surprised at the Spurs record, even with the easy schedule..I expected Houston to win the division and the Spurs to be inconsistent until February, tbh..

At least most of us acknowledged that the team isn't as good as their record, though, even prior to tonight's loss..it was evident to anybody that has watched every game..they have no fluidity or structure on offense, which was kind of expected, considering they have been trying to implement a high-usage player in Aldridge, and Parker/Green are making major adjustments to their roles..

There's major confusion with Parker, Aldridge and Green in particular..Tony is in a difficult spot, as he has to figure out when to be aggressive and when to fall back, while conserving his body for the long run..I can't really recall a player that was in his current position, it's going to be very tough to find a balance IMO..

Green's jump shot seems to have finally adjusted to the new role of catching out of completely different sets(he's shooting 40+% from 3 in the past stretch of games, finally), but he's also being way too unselfish and playing out of character..he's often being put in a bad position by being forced to create, but he also needs to just accept that he isn't a playmaker, which is going to result in semi-contested, forced jump shots, at times..he just needs to accept that a semi-contested 3 from him is much better than trying to drive and create in a congested lane:lol..

I'm good with this. Pop gifted his fellow Larry Brown Alum a game. Interior D was the issue and Tim plays 19 total minutes.

[TD 21]

Everything about it was predictable, from the Pelicans conveniently getting a few (significant) injured players back, to them clearly being more motivated, to the Spurs continuing their season plus long "trend" of atrocious offense on the road against any half decent opposition.

I don't buy that Pop didn't care though. The tight rotation, particularly in the second half, indicated otherwise. The fact that he doesn't trust either Butler/Anderson, without Ginobili and in a back to back scenario, speaks volumes.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Everything about it was predictable, from the Pelicans conveniently getting a few (significant) injured players back, to them clearly being more motivated, to the Spurs continuing their season plus long "trend" of atrocious offense on the road against any half decent opposition.

I don't buy that Pop didn't care though. The tight rotation, particularly in the second half, indicated otherwise. The fact that he doesn't trust either Butler/Anderson, without Ginobili and in a back to back scenario, speaks volumes.

What?? Pop didnt even play Duncan in cruch time of the fourth quarter and when it was close he brought in McCollum and that is precisely when the game got away from us. That 4th quarter was typical dumbass popovich coaching

[TD 21]

What?? Pop didnt even play Duncan in cruch time of the fourth quarter and when it was close he brought in McCollum and that is precisely when the game got away from us. That 4th quarter was typical dumbass popovich coaching

Because they couldn't guard Anderson, so he wanted to play small. In these scenarios, Aldridge is generally going to be the lone true big on the floor.

He only brought in McCallum because they needed a fifth perimeter player to play spot minutes and to see if he could stay in front of Smith.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Because they couldn't guard Anderson, so he wanted to play small. In these scenarios, Aldridge is generally going to be the lone true big on the floor.

He only brought in McCallum because they needed a fifth perimeter player to play spot minutes and to see if he could stay in front of Smith.

Yeah, when you are struggling for offense, you need to bring in your playmakers, Pop seemed incapable of seeing that our problem was our offense. We werent going to stop Anderson or Ish anyways so bringing in a 3rd string PG in crunch time is a dumbass decision. He was trying to be cute and keep Duncan fresh for the Grizzlies game and steal one in NO, and in typical fashion when he tries to get cute with the lineup, it failed miserably.

[TD 21]

Yeah, when you are struggling for offense, you need to bring in your playmakers, Pop seemed incapable of seeing that our problem was our offense. We werent going to stop Anderson or Ish anyways so bringing in a 3rd string PG in crunch time is a dumbass decision.

Fair enough, but that's why he did it.

I should also mention, he clearly wanted to save Duncan more so for tonight, particularly with Aldridge not playing.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

Fair enough, but that's why he did it.

I should also mention, he clearly wanted to save Duncan more so for tonight, particularly with Aldridge not playing.

Yeah, but why do we need to "save" Duncan, is a few minutes in the 4th quarter really gonna make a big difference... No, Pop got cute and it blew up per usual. Duncan has time and time again proven he can play and still be effective the next night, Pop just boggles my mind sometimes, he does some of the stupidest shit I have ever seen and people suck his dick just because he has 5 rings.

[TD 21]

Yeah, but why do we need to "save" Duncan, is a few minutes in the 4th quarter really gonna make a big difference... No, Pop got cute and it blew up per usual. Duncan has time and time again proven he can play and still be effective the next night, Pop just boggles my mind sometimes, he does some of the stupidest shit I have ever seen and people suck his dick just because he has 5 rings.

I'm not excusing Pop, I'm just explaining his reasoning.