Game Thread: Spurs @ Bulls -- Mon. (11/30) - 7:00PM (3:00AM Riga Time)

[bic50]

Kawhi needs to work on his handles

Another shitty member of the kawhi hating krew. Smh

[313]

Diaw/West should never be on the floor together. I missed the last few games, has Boban got any burn, how;s he looking?

[still.focused]

I think this game highlights that we dont have a Manu replacement
He stunk it up pretty bad but we didnt have anyone better to put in the game
In other news if theyre gonna run that backdoor alley oop for Kawhi can they at least teach Tim how to throw it
Hes gonna get Kawhi hurt one of these days

[Robz4000]

What makes this more frustrating is how easily the Dubs beat these guys a couple weeks ago. Spurs have a ways to go despite a great record.

Dubs struggled to beat them at home until Butler ran out of gas tbh.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

The bright side is that the Thunder lost, so the Spurs don't give up any ground on the 2nd seed.

[NASpurs]

Hawks just beat the Tunder. I'll sleep better tonight.

[Kawhitstorm]

OKC lost so it's a wash:toast

[ElNono]

Is not the end of the world guys.

likenisaid earlier... Ginobili is old and he looks old. We don't win championships in November or December. Sit him every other week to couple of weeks and keep him fresh. We need him in get playoffs. This serves two purposes... It preserves manu(who very clearly only has spurts of quality play) and helps develop a guy like Simmons. We wil need the combination of the two come playoff time as you can't count on manu night in and night out.

Pop isn't sitting many every other week... not happening

[NASpurs]

Spurs > Hawks > Thunder >Wizards > Spurs < Bulls < GSW >All

:lol

[Johnny RIngo]

Lol, who made shots in the 4th moron? And yah, blame the only 2 guys who shot 50% or better.

No need to get so mad faggot. I said late in the 4th. Both Parker and Aldridge got their shit blocked in those last two minutes. Against shitty defenders too(Gasol and Rose)

[DeRozan m8]

I agree, just frustrated I guess. Gotta be patient that we're a work in progress.

I'm frustrated too, probably why I snapped at ya a bit.

Sorry mate haha

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Diaw/West should never be on the floor together. I missed the last few games, has Boban got any burn, how;s he looking?
Boban is fine, but Pop won't play him due to injury concerns and that he "bogs down the offense" even though he's far superior on defense to the alternative.

The Turd Towers are fucking GODAWFUL. Never should get a minute together again. One needs to be traded for sure.

[Neurosis]

Shooting was the killer for us really. We held the bulls to 92 (they average 99pg) but our offense was just getting bad results.

41% from the floor overall and 14% from 3. Bench went 6-22 and starters went 31-68.

Spurs have to find a way to get some easy buckets against other good defenses because even with the #1 ranked defense, we can't ring with this subpar offense.

[LongtimeSpursFan]

Kawhi, Mills and Green were a combined 14/39 tonight.

[SpurPadre]

That's like comparing apples to oranges. The Spurs play a different style and are currently in the midst of an identity change. Though the Bulls are under a changing scheme, they showed today that they can still play that ugly physical brand of basketball...unfortunately they were physical just enough to bother our bigs in the interior and that's not even mentioning how great Butler was defending on the perimeter.

The Warriors are on a hot street right now. When those shots stop falling down, teams will start to defend them a little better. Teams that are smart enough will punish them inside.

On point but the Dubs style is what we once were and I just haven't gotten used to this new change the team is undergoing. Encouraging play from LMA, though.

[daslicer]

OKC lost which is great since they were not able to make up any ground on the Spurs tonight in the standings. Shitty loss but standings still stay the same so it doesn't really mean much.

[Kawhitstorm]

Diaw/West should never be on the floor together. I missed the last few games, has Boban got any burn, how;s he looking?

Boban started when Tim was resting & he looked decent. Worst come worst he can actually protect the rim. West absolutely does nothing besides moving the ball. He's basically useless unless he's hitting his midrange shot.

[313]

Another shitty member of the kawhi hating krew. Smh
Go fuck your mother

[Darius Bieber]

Spurs are no longer good on the road either, only a measly 5-4.

[steeledl]

Pop isn't sitting many every other week... not happening


You ou are most likely right...... But I still think it would be a good decision. We need manu to be as fresh as possible come playoffs . He looked good early in the season rested but not so much lately. I'm not pop.... But it is what I would do because I think it would benefit him, Simmons, and he team in the long run.

[SpurPadre]

I'm frustrated too, probably why I snapped at ya a bit.

Sorry mate haha

No worries. :bobo

Every time I bitch about a loss, I snap out of it and try to focus on the positives and it was great to see LMA look more comfortable out there at least.

[Kawhitstorm]

Kawhi, Mills and Green were a combined 14/39 tonight.

Replace Kawhi w/ Manu.

[k_nguyen93]

Too many missed free throws and open jumpshots. Some bad offense down the stretch. Mills and Green definitely should have been out there for the last possession. Saw a tweet the Bulls didn't have a field goal the last 6-7 minutes. It honestly should have been a blowout if Kawhi and Aldridge didn't go off a bit early because our bench was terrible. Not completely surprising though, Gibson and Noah is a pretty good defensive combo to have come in.

[313]

Boban started when Tim was resting & he looked decent. Worst come worst he can actually protect the rim. West absolutely does nothing besides moving the ball. He's basically useless unless he's hitting his midrange shot.
That's good to hear, hopefully he starts eating into West's minutes like Simmons did with KA. If West wants his spot he has to earn it.

[Kawhitstorm]

Shooting was the killer for us really. We held the bulls to 92 (they average 99pg) but our offense was just getting bad results.

41% from the floor overall and 14% from 3. Bench went 6-22 and starters went 31-68.

Spurs have to find a way to get some easy buckets against other good defenses because even with the #1 ranked defense, we can't ring with this subpar offense.

LMA disappeared in the 2nd half. On the bright side, I guess he showed that he can play well for a half.

[ElNono]

You ou are most likely right...... But I still think it would be a good decision. We need manu to be as fresh as possible come playoffs . He looked good early in the season rested but not so much lately. I'm not pop.... But it is what I would do because I think it would benefit him, Simmons, and he team in the long run.

I wanna see Simmons too, but he's only going to get garbage minutes save for an injury to Danny or Manu, or rest...

It's what it is, we're going to be rolling with Manu and closing games with him, like we always had... we done well so far, 14-4 is a pretty good record so far...

[hitmanyr2k]

The East seems to be beating up on the West tonight lol. You can pencil in Golden State for a win though.

[TE]

On point but the Dubs style is what we once were and I just haven't gotten used to this new change the team is undergoing. Encouraging play from LMA, though.
Understandably so. We have grown accustom to ball movement galore. Now with LMA we're just figuring out how to best use him in our most basic sets. Behind the scenes I'm sure Pop has something up his sleeve with how to best utilize the talents of LMA and it'll show sometime in the Spring. Tbh what the Warriors are doing is a mesh between small ball and euroball. If done correctly it maximizes the shooting ability and makes the defense scramble which in turn opens lanes and shots. The Spurs will look like that with the bench, and it should appear with the starters eventually. Like I said, Pop is too smart of a coach not to be working on something behind the scenes. If there is no obvious change as to how LMA is being used then yeah, what a fucking throwaway waste of a talent.

[DAF86]

Meh, loseable game.I prefer to lose these ones that against crappy teams. Still pretty damn good record.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

The East seems to be beating up on the West tonight lol. You can pencil in Golden State for a win though.
Today was a bad day for the West, I think before today the West actually eked out a small advantage over the East too.

[Kawhitstorm]

Shooting was the killer for us really. We held the bulls to 92 (they average 99pg) but our offense was just getting bad results.

41% from the floor overall and 14% from 3. Bench went 6-22 and starters went 31-68.

Spurs have to find a way to get some easy buckets against other good defenses because even with the #1 ranked defense, we can't ring with this subpar offense.

Danny/LMA/Patty are eventually going to start making shots consistently. As long as the defense holds up, all is well.

[SAGirl]

On another note, it was refreshing to see Lamarcus really aggressive and making shots.

Kawhi had a beast of a game.

Tony played fantastic, considering how athletic and problematic Rose is. He distributed the ball and made timely plays to help in this.

I missed part of the game so maybe its just a partial review.

Going to TD, and Manu in the end I can't understand. If they went to Lamarcus and he failed to score I can live with (which occurred), but it would not be so bitter if we had lost because we went to Kawhi more at the end and he didn't deliver. It was Kawhi who delivered against the Mavs too. Maybe the result is the same, but it was really sad that both TD and Manu looked old there at the end, and TD doesn't post up much anymore for a reason.

Got to enjoy these games regardless. It's all about the journey, not the destination. Some of our best players are old and won't be here much longer anyway.

[rasuo214]

Jazz have a shot at upsetting the GSW

[cjw]

These forced Boris / West lineups will disappear come the spring. Though Pop may be playing them together to get them reps so they up their rebounding game. Amazingly that pairing is still +6 in 129 minutes, despite how poor it's looked.

[SpurPadre]

Can't believe I'm rooting for the Jazz. They still got a shot to take down the Dubs tonight.

[Kawhitstorm]

Jazz have a shot at upsetting the GSW

Ian Clark (a dude the Jazz waived) bailing out Curry:lmao

[rasuo214]

On another note, it was refreshing to see Lamarcus really aggressive and making shots.

Kawhi had a beast of a game.

Tony played fantastic, considering how athletic and problematic Rose is. He distributed the ball and made timely plays to help in this.

I missed part of the game so maybe its just a partial review.

Going to TD, and Manu in the end I can't understand. If they went to Lamarcus and he failed to score I can live with (which occurred), but it would not be so bitter if we had lost because we went to Kawhi more at the end and he didn't deliver. It was Kawhi who delivered against the Mavs too. Maybe the result is the same, but it was really sad that both TD and Manu looked old there at the end, and TD doesn't post up much anymore for a reason.

Got to enjoy these games regardless. It's all about the journey, not the destination. Some of our best players are old and won't be here much longer anyway.

Yea Kawhi didn't need to take the shots but at least run the offense through him to help get open shots. Even running through LMA wouldn't have been as bad. Still the bench is the biggest reason why they lost. I really don't like how Pop plays Diaw and West together, especially against a team with a decent big on the bench.

[pgardn]

These forced Boris / West lineups will disappear come the spring. Though Pop may be playing them together to get them reps so they up their rebounding game. Amazingly that pairing is still +6 in 129 minutes, despite how poor it's looked.

And that's why games like we just witnessed are important.
We beat Atlanta by 20 cruising and then get slapped to reality.
Its gonna take a while. Maybe well past the Allstar game.

[SAGirl]

Well, Butler gets the win and Kawhi gets no plays called for him in the last minutes of the game. Aldridge gets a play called for him and gets stuffed at the rim.

Spurs have lost every real test this season on the road. Not looking like a great team at all. The bench bigs suck ass. Big weakness there. Hopefully Roy Hibbert is bought out. Not sure what they were going for with the Boban signing. I don't think Boban will even get any minutes in the playoffs at all.

Sad to agree with you a little.
We have some projects in the bench but they are not ready to contribute in this kind of environment. Some are too young and inexperienced and you can't afford to bring them along in games like this. Some are truly projects that may or may not pan out.

Some games I have wished that Pop really threw some guys out there, for a couple of minutes to see if the dynamic in the bench changes a little, particularly when they look like shit, but its Pop, that is not going to happen.

The teams that have given us the most trouble, all had athletic active bigs, except for the Wizards game, which the guys basically and literally threw away.

But Ibaka/Kanter/Adams were worse for us to handle than Westbrook/Durant.
A.Davis/R.Anderson run us out of the gym.
Noah/Gasol/Mirotic/Gibson killed us.
Mavs McGee/Powell ??

Plenty of other games, teams have gotten easy looks at the rim against our bench, they just don't have the talent to convert on those looks.

It has been concerning for awhile. Some games Pop staggered Lamarcus and Tim with Diaw and West, but Pop has been going away from that lately.

Of course when our bench is shooting lights out it doesn't matter as much, but there are too many jumpshooters there, a questionable 4th wing (Anderson too young/inexperienced, Butler ???, Simmons raw/undeveloped). Patty tends to enter a chuck mode at times too. He either saves you or sinks you. The bench still lives and dies with Manu.

[Splits]

all in all, we're ok... all the games we lost we were right in them pretty much to the end (I think the Pelicans might've been the only exception)... no blowout loss yet, and we're going to get better...

NO WE ARE NOT FUCK YOU ANUS FAG NOSTRIL SUCKER!


FUCK THOSE REFS :flipoff I want to chainsaw torture them and their families tonight for this, tbh... ruined my FUCKING night... FUCK YOU IN THE ASS WITH NO LUBE AND BACK UP YOUR FUCKING NOSTRILS FAGGOTS. YOU'LL GET PAYBACK FOR THIS!!


WHAT A FUCKING HORRIBLE NIGHT :pctoss :pctoss :pctoss :pctoss



4 GAMES BACK OF THE WARRIORS :pctoss

[Splits]

2-14 from 3...good for 14.3%.

:td

Kirby would be like...

http://www.nkayesel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/steve-carell-not-bad-the-office.jpeg

[nowitzkikopf]

late game execution not been there in close games for the spurs this year (somewhat a remnant of last year...). if they fix that + green gets his stroke back, this is an easy win

[spursistan]

the frustrating thing is that we wasted a good efficient Aldridge game even if he disappeared bit in the end...but to be fair Chicago bigs were hacking and pushing the shit of our guys inside..

[Fireball]

Just finished watching the game ... this was the LMA of Portland when he played us tbh ... dominant start but nowhere to be seen in the end.

I really liked how the starters played and perhaps Danny should have finished the game. Manu's fouls were not helpful.

Kawhi once again a beast ... he got his media votes (fuck kaboom) but how do the Spurs fare in games that I really really wanted them to win? OKC ..no, NO ... no ... MEM yes ... Dallas, yes ... Chicago, no ... that is a fucking .400 record

oh and Patty sucks big time this season ... time to ship his ass out IMO

[ducks]

Jeff McDonald
Jeff McDonald – Verified account ‏@JMcDonald_SAEN

Play at the end of the game was for Kawhi, with Manu as a second option. Spurs would have taken a quick 2 if it was there

[apalisoc_9]

LMA disappeared in the 2nd half. On the bright side, I guess he showed that he can play well for a half.

Why you so hard on the fatguy man? :lol

[gambit1990]

strange game. there were times i thought we were playing good enough to have the lead and then i looked at the score at it was tied or it was their lead. strange play at the end too...

what i saw by kawhi and la is what i wanted to see for the most part.

[Fireball]

Rose, Noah, Gasol ... all did not have a good season so far, but left their imprint on the game at least during one stretch ... I hate when they do it against the Spurs

[popdagreat]

just watched the game, our defense is looking very good at times, offensively seem like we were rushing too many shots esp mills, effort is definitely there. bulls bench play starting of the 4th hurt us the most.

kawhi looks really good, thank god we have this guy.

[Spurtacular]

I could very technically blame the refs for that sh***** reffing in the final two minutes; but why is Aldridge driving to the rim in traffic in a tied game with 1:19? That's not his game at all.

[Spurtacular]

Meanwhile, another team chokes down the stretch against the Dubs.

[popdagreat]

and aldridge was pushed by noah.

just realized jim? boylen is with the bulls now lol.

[NameLess Scrub]

Aldridge was definitely pushed.. it sucks to lose like that.
With that said, it shouldn't have come down to that.

The execution in the finals minutes wasn't good.
They couldn't make baskets, Aldridge with the heavily guarded layup,
Manu looking for a foul more than trying to score. It was just hard to watch.

Also don't know why Pop closed with that line up.
Why, needing a 3, they come from a time out with Tony/Manu/Kawhi?

And how with 10 seconds Kawhi tries to Kobe a shot from 3? Couldn't anybody at least look for the pass?

[ceperez]

Aldridge was definitely pushed.. it sucks to lose like that.
With that said, it shouldn't have come down to that.

The execution in the finals minutes wasn't good.
They couldn't make baskets, Aldridge with the heavily guarded layup,
Manu looking for a foul more than trying to score. It was just hard to watch.

Also don't know why Pop closed with that line up.
Why, needing a 3, they come from a time out with Tony/Manu/Kawhi?

And how with 10 seconds Kawhi tries to Kobe a shot from 3? Couldn't anybody at least look for the pass?

Shouldn't Green or Patty be on the court during that play?

The lineup absolutely did not make sense.

[ceperez]

Boban is fine, but Pop won't play him due to injury concerns and that he "bogs down the offense" even though he's far superior on defense to the alternative.

The Turd Towers are fucking GODAWFUL. Never should get a minute together again. One needs to be traded for sure.

This is a major problem. Tim has to play with one of them. I don't think it is efficient to play Tim with LMA at the same time. Clogs the paint too much.

[NameLess Scrub]

Shouldn't Green or Patty be on the court during that play?

The lineup absolutely did not make sense.

It's like he was trying to lose.
Nobody was shooting well from 3, but imo they needed at least Patty or Green even if it was as decoy.
Having 10 seconds and still shooting that kind of shot... didn't need a timeout for that.

[TheDoctor]

Spurs are no longer good on the road either, only a measly 5-4.

2014 Spurs finished with the best record on the road. The comparison of that team to this version of the Spurs is unfair tho'.

[ceperez]

It's like he was trying to lose.
Nobody was shooting well from 3, but imo they needed at least Patty or Green even if it was as decoy.
Having 10 seconds and still shooting that kind of shot... didn't need a timeout for that.

It's like Pop would rather not go into overtime.

Spurs treat the regular season like it is practice. Didn't the lineup against the Hawks do well? Why didn't he use the same lineup?

[TheDoctor]

Aldridge was definitely pushed.. it sucks to lose like that.
With that said, it shouldn't have come down to that.

The execution in the finals minutes wasn't good.
They couldn't make baskets, Aldridge with the heavily guarded layup,
Manu looking for a foul more than trying to score. It was just hard to watch.

Also don't know why Pop closed with that line up.
Why, needing a 3, they come from a time out with Tony/Manu/Kawhi?

And how with 10 seconds Kawhi tries to Kobe a shot from 3? Couldn't anybody at least look for the pass?

Even Bulls' commentators were surprised Pop didn't go with Danny for the last play. In fact Verde sucked hard for the game, but still, Pop could have used him as a bait or even as a screener and put JButler on the uncertainty of whether or not to switch. Messed up play for sure. It looked as if Pop put Kawhi in a very tough spot intentionally. Maybe as a learning process?

[boutons_deux]

All 4 Ls were giveaways by the Spurs.

[ceperez]

Even Bulls' commentators were surprised Pop didn't go with Danny for the last play. In fact Verde sucked hard for the game, but still, Pop could have used him as a bait or even as a screener and put JButler on the uncertainty of whether or not to switch. Messed up play for sure. It looked as if Pop put Kawhi in a very tough spot intentionally. Maybe as a learning process?

I don't know why Pop would make up a 'teachable moment' for somebody who is already a veteran with the Spur. Pop gave the game away because he didn't want to exhaust his players with an OT. Besides, Spurs still have 2nd best record in the NBA. No use trying to catch GSW for the best record. Only goal now is to have a record better than the Cavs.

The Spurs are a much better team than last year. They can easily dominate in defense. It's just the offensive style of play isn't that explosive since you they aren't taking as much 3's as last year.

[TheDoctor]

I don't know why Pop would make up a 'teachable moment' for somebody who is already a veteran with the Spur....

Because Kawhi might be a veteran in the system but this playmaker-clutch-moment-go-to-guy role is new to him. Before this year, the ball would have been in Manu's or Rique's hands.

[DarrinS]

Because Kawhi might be a veteran in the system but this playmaker-clutch-moment-go-to-guy role is new to him. Before this year, the ball would have been in Manu's or Rique's hands.

And Rique still had a decent look at the final seconds, just didn't go in.

[spurs10]

And Rique still had a decent look at the final seconds, just didn't go in. Yeah I think it was blocked...hard to tell.

[rasuo214]

Diaw and West are alright when the opposing team doesn't have a good big on the bench but against teams like the Bulls Pop needs to change up the rotations to limit that duo as much as possible.

[TheDoctor]

Yeah I think it was blocked...hard to tell.

It was blocked.

[SAGirl]

Aldridge was definitely pushed.. it sucks to lose like that.
With that said, it shouldn't have come down to that.

The execution in the finals minutes wasn't good.
They couldn't make baskets, Aldridge with the heavily guarded layup,
Manu looking for a foul more than trying to score. It was just hard to watch.

Also don't know why Pop closed with that line up.
Why, needing a 3, they come from a time out with Tony/Manu/Kawhi?

And how with 10 seconds Kawhi tries to Kobe a shot from 3? Couldn't anybody at least look for the pass?

Pop might be too attached to the old big 3, or he's really stubborn.

He really doesn't make adjustments mid game to force the other coach to adapt. It's always him reacting to what the other coach is throwing out there, and sometimes not even that. If we are having troubles to score ourselves, he just yells at guys. Maybe its because for Pop its the process, the big picture or what not. His only adjustment in all of the tough games against elite competition has been to play Kawhi 40 minutes, tighten the rotation (cutting out all wild cards minutes--a bad strategy since maybe he has guys out there who can help and give the others a rest, so that they have energy to close out the game, but nope.) He doesn't make lineup changes or forces up the other coach to make adjustments themselves.

Not surprisingly, some of the best coached games by Pop lately have been games when someone was out. When he doesn't have Manu, TD or Kawhi (the Philly game), those are the only games that I have seen Pop really make lineup adjustments and tweaking things, benching guys who are actually playing badly, and instead going with whoever is playing well or has the hot hand. Those games are some of the most interesting because Pop actually coaches the rest of the team to improve, and some young or new guys have actually given surprisingly good play in short opportunities.

Then we have the tough games on the road, and if he has his old vets and Kawhi, he will ride them. If one or two are having a terrible game, he doesn't make adjustments, either in lineups or introducing a wild card into the bench specially. In the closing minutes, why oh why go to Manu. I know he has come through during his career, but he's 38 Pop! He was terrible this game on both ends, just awful. So was TD on offense. He just didn't have a good game, then why do you have him make the last plays? Why go to him on a post up?

It was painful to watch.

I am not cliffjumping or anything. Pop said we are not going to be good offensively until March and blamed this loss entirely on the second Q (when we had some defensive lapses and McDermott went off). I think he knows more went on in the game beyond that Q, but that stuff he's keeping to himself.

CIA Pop.

[EVAY]

And Rique still had a decent look at the final seconds, just didn't go in.

It was blocked by Rose just as Kawhi's shot was blocked by Butler. Terrific defense by Chicago in the last minute. Poor play calling for us - really poor.

Someone should have come to Kawhi when he was smothered by Butler before he put that shot up, but if you look, nobody was open and apparently the play was for Kawhi to figure it out. We can do better than this.

[DarrinS]

It was blocked by Rose just as Kawhi's shot was blocked by Butler. Terrific defense by Chicago in the last minute. Poor play calling for us - really poor.

Someone should have come to Kawhi when he was smothered by Butler before he put that shot up, but if you look, nobody was open and apparently the play was for Kawhi to figure it out. We can do better than this.

Ah, didn't notice the block. Gotta give props to Bulls defense

[lilbthebasedgod]

Daily reminder that momentum doesn't matter.

We didn't win the first half when the reffing appeared to be on our side. They only took two more free throws than us. There were many points in the first half when I thought we got away with some fouling and we took more free throws.

Reffing was inconsistent, but it doesn't seem like they were on the bulls' side to me.

[rasuo214]

There were bad calls late but the Spurs still had plenty of chances to win. All you can do is use it as a learning opportunity. Still for how bad the bench was, the questionable calls and poor 3P shooting it was still only a 3 point loss.

[james evans]

ok guys, I missed the game last night. 1st time this season. Other than danny green shooting like shit, what happened? I looked at the box score and it looks like butler didn't do much. What happened?

[RD2191]

ok guys, I missed the game last night. 1st time this season. Other than danny green shooting like shit, what happened? I looked at the box score and it looks like butler didn't do much. What happened?
The bench happened. Terrible all around play by the bench.

[spurs10]

It was blocked. Yep...Good block by Rose.

[TheDoctor]

Yep...Good block by Rose.

I saw the Vine over and over and Rose had to have blocked the ball with his fingernails. It was that close.