Our bench

[RD2191]

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/38407497.jpg

[kaji157]

What can i say, they were doing OK with only one of West and Diaw, then Pop introduced Bobo for LA and all went south.

It is pretty obvious that you cannot play the chubby towers tonight.

[HarlemHeat37]

The bench carried the starters earlier in the season, tbh..they get a little benefit of the doubt, going forward..

[ElNono]

Bad night tonight. I thought the physicality bothered them. Give the Bulls credit too, they did a great job on Gino (3 shot attempts as I'm writing this midway in the 4th), and didn't give up open looks...

One thing looking forward is Patty's performance at home vs the road... it feels the dip has been pretty big

[apalisoc_9]

terrible tonight...still they were better than the starters the first two week so cut them some slack bro..:lol

[Cry Havoc]

The bench carried the starters earlier in the season, tbh..they get a little benefit of the doubt, going forward..

Yep. Wonder what happened to them.

[Brazil]

Bench has been terrible this game... Ugly but as others pointed out they have been solid so far... Shit happens

[TheGreatYacht]

Ginobili looking awfully similar to his 13' self, dude had a TO because he forgot to dribble :lol

37 years old and he still hasn't learned about those low bball IQ fouls

[gilmor]

Manu -17 :wow

[midnightpulp]

Eh, no meltdown should happen tonight. Bulls are a good team. 5-1 at home, put a scare into Golden State on the road, and they usually give us trouble. Benches typically play worse on the road. Now if they go through a 5-6 game stretch playing like this, it might cause for concern. Manu is also a wildcard. Is he back and rejuvenated? Or was his early season play simply a result of being fresh from an off-season?

I'm also concerned why we've been so underwhelming in the 4th all year. How many sub-25 point quarters have we had?

[ElNono]

We didn't even play the bench that much, they basically logged 17 mins...

[Nathan89]

http://media2.fdncms.com/sfexaminer/imager/golden-state-warriors-guard-jarrett-jack-was-fined-25000-for-verbal-abuse/u/slideshow/2337856/jarrett_jack0415.jpg

[spurtech09]

By the negative comments in here it wasn't a good night.....Didn't watch the game tonight so im guessing it wasn't good at all......I had a feeling the spurs would lose tonight....I even said this morning that the spurs are due for a loss....guess I was right :(

[TrainOfThought5]

We didn't even play the bench that much, they basically logged 17 mins...

17 of the worst minutes theyve logged all year.

[spurtech09]

Well its not like the spurs got blown out.....could of been worse....

[ElNono]

17 of the worst minutes theyve logged all year.

Agreed

[gilmor]

We didn't even play the bench that much, they basically logged 17 mins...

I think we will lose more if the bench logged more mins..

[ElNono]

I think we will lose more if the bench logged more mins..

Clearly not their night. But they did win us a bunch of games early in the season, so you never know...

I thought Patty was again terrible on the road, like against the Pelicans

[spursistan]

This team better get the 2nd seed at least..can't rely on this bench to win you a game or two on the road..

[Nathan89]

Could've used Jack tonight. Manu needs some help and Parker should probably play shorter stints of time to maximize his productivity.

[ThaBigFundamental21]

You know, Pop could play Simmons....too stubborn though

[spursistan]

hope that Manu start isn't a fluke..he has tailed off the past few games..

[Fireball]

We didn't even play the bench that much, they basically logged 17 mins...

because the loss would have been by 15 if they played 24 mins

[Fireball]

hope that Manu start isn't a fluke..he has tailed off the past few games..

we all knew it was coming but try to live in denial ... but Bulls are physical and thats where an old Manu will struggle I guess

[SAGirl]

Clearly not their night. But they did win us a bunch of games early in the season, so you never know...

I thought Patty was again terrible on the road, like against the Pelicans

I didn't think he (Patty) was particularly good even against Denver TBH. That game Simmons, Anderson were much more of a factor, (Kawhi absolutely dominated, but just mentioning bench). Patty was AWOL, played poorly and got benched on account of bad defense for Ray.

Patty may be slumping, but his bad D, combined with West lack of rim protection will be a downer when he goes cold. As he becomes a more significant scorer in the bench (with a resting or slumping Manu), its noteworthy whether he can deal with the increase in defensive attention. He killed Denver in their first matchup but not the second. Both were without Manu so maybe Denver made an effort to contain Patty. I don't remember that specifically.

In this Bulls game, he was run off the 3 pt line, and attempted too many off the dribble shots. We all know he tends to chuck, instead of distributing.

[SAGirl]

You know, Pop could play Simmons....too stubborn though
Heck, I would throw Simmons out there for a couple of minutes and see what happens.
This is not the playoffs, who knows. He might TO or do something nice. Either way our bench was not cutting it.
But yea, stubborn, we know Simms is not going to be a factor in playoffs, so no need to test him here.

[Proxy]

Once the full second string got out there, it was like Manu and Patty were trying to force the tempo... but you know.... Marco and Tiago were in tune with that style. West and... was it Kawhi out there at that time?... don't seem to identify much with that method, or didn't this game at least. Haven't watched as many games this year as I would've liked.

[SAGirl]

Once the full second string got out there, it was like Manu and Patty were trying to force the tempo... but you know.... Marco and Tiago were in tune with that style. West and... was it Kawhi out there at that time?... don't seem to identify much with that method, or didn't this game at least. Haven't watched as many games this year as I would've liked.
When Pop gets upset with Kyle, he goes to Danny with the bench.

This is just my personal opinion of course, but I don't like Danny with that group, he strenghens their defense, but Danny is such a poor ballhandler and worse making decisions with the ball that it really makes them play terrible on Offense.

The bench plays a fast style, with a lot of passing, cutting, all perimeter players put the ball on the floor and consistently probe for a shot. As you know that is not Danny Green's style. In that free flowing style he tends to get worse.

Possibly the guy you are referring to was Kawhi, since he played 40 minutes. But the problem in the bench truly is not the wing.

It is the other 4, the bigs can't rebound or protect the rim, Manu is old and thus bound to have games like this, and Patty tends to chuck too much if no one else has it going on, instead of making real plays of others (its just not his talent).

[ceperez]

Badly coached game. The rotation was obviously shortened with Butler, Simmons not able to sniff a second on the court. KA only with 4 minutes. The starters did produce well, look at the +/-. The bench had trouble with a really good Bulls bench with good bigs like Noah and Taj Gibson. I think that's where the big problem is, West is not good enough. He's too small and too slow! I just hate it that he forced Spurs hand by taking that pay cut. Spurs don't need another slow guy manning the paint.

[venitian navigator]

I didn't like the way KA played (he has to take the shot when he has space to take it, be it from long range or penetration...otherwise all our offense is fucked) but I also didn't like the fact that Kawhi played all these minutes...inmho the point of having a veteran small forward (Butler) is that you can insert him on the court when your main guy is playing too many minutes and you realize that his natural young sobstitute (KA) has a bad night in terms of decision making.
At the end of the game Kawhi was obviously tired.

Talking about bigs, Imho, if it's true that the best bigs we have are Alridge/Duncan (and so they have to learn toplay together), it's also true that, in the long run, probably the best assembled couples of big are West/Alridge and Diaw Duncan...the point is that Alridge don't want to play center but we always need a sort of rim protector. That said, this could have been a right game to try Marjanovic, considering that both Noah and Gibson are not truly dangerous from outside...

[ceperez]

I didn't like the way KA played (he has to take the shot when he has space to take it, be it from long range or penetration...otherwise all our offense is fucked) but I also didn't like the fact that Kawhi played all these minutes...inmho the point of having a veteran small forward (Butler) is that you can insert him on the court when your main guy is playing too many minutes and you realize that his natural young sobstitute (KA) has a bad night in terms of decision making.
At the end of the game Kawhi was obviously tired.

Talking about bigs, Imho, if it's true that the best bigs we have are Alridge/Duncan (and so they have to learn toplay together), it's also true that, in the long run, probably the best assembled couples of big are West/Alridge and Diaw Duncan...the point is that Alridge don't want to play center but we always need a sort of rim protector. That said, this could have been a right game to try Marjanovic, considering that both Noah and Gibson are not truly dangerous from outside...

I agree... KL was tired and started missing shots. That's what happens when you shorten the lineup.

My take with Marjanovic is that he may be injury prone and maybe being reserved for the 2nd season (playoffs). I don't think he suited up. Bonner was on the bench.

[TMTTRIO]

Time to shut Manu down for a while and play Simmons in the meantime.

[ceperez]

Time to shut Manu down for a while and play Simmons in the meantime.

+1 I agree. Manu needs more rest! Also against superior defenses like the Bulls, can I guy like Manu be really effective?

[Obstructed_View]

Everybody knows what the answer is, but everyone's afraid to do it. West needs to start.

[ElNono]

I didn't think he (Patty) was particularly good even against Denver TBH. That game Simmons, Anderson were much more of a factor, (Kawhi absolutely dominated, but just mentioning bench). Patty was AWOL, played poorly and got benched on account of bad defense for Ray.

Patty may be slumping, but his bad D, combined with West lack of rim protection will be a downer when he goes cold. As he becomes a more significant scorer in the bench (with a resting or slumping Manu), its noteworthy whether he can deal with the increase in defensive attention. He killed Denver in their first matchup but not the second. Both were without Manu so maybe Denver made an effort to contain Patty. I don't remember that specifically.

In this Bulls game, he was run off the 3 pt line, and attempted too many off the dribble shots. We all know he tends to chuck, instead of distributing.

I haven't looked, and I might be off on this, but I think Patty shot much better at home. Some players are like that, they just feel much more comfortable in front of the home crowd.

But you're also right, credit to the Bulls for closing down the 3 point line and still making it physical inside.

[BillMc]

hope that Manu start isn't a fluke..he has tailed off the past few games..

This is my concern. The bench was so effective when Manu was in god-mode. Now that he's come down to earth, it looks a lot weaker. Patty and West had poor games to be kind.

[spursistan]

I haven't looked, and I might be off on this, but I think Patty shot much better at home. Some players are like that, they just feel much more comfortable in front of the home crowd.

But you're also right, credit to the Bulls for closing down the 3 point line and still making it physical inside.



2015-2016 PER GAME SPLITS


SPLIT
GP
MIN
FGM-FGA
FG%
3PM-3PA
3P%
FTM-FTA
FT%
OR
DR
REB
AST
BLK
STL
PF
TO
PTS


Total
18
21.2
3.3-7.3
.447
1.6-3.9
.400
0.1-0.1
.500
0.2
1.6
1.8
2.1
0.1
1.2
1.3
1.1
8.2


Home
9
21.1
3.6-8.2
.432
1.9-4.8
.395
0.0-0.0
.000
0.3
1.9
2.2
1.9
0.1
1.4
1.3
0.8
9.0


Road
9
21.2
3.0-6.4
.466
1.2-3.0
.407
0.1-0.2
.500
0.1
1.3
1.4
2.2
0.1
1.0
1.3
1.3
7.3



Not really..his home/away splits are more or less the same, and even shooting tad better on the road. Mills getting continuously burned on D with lack of protection behind when paired with West has made his last games stretch look more awful to our eyes..I think Pop should get back to staggering Diaw/West mins especially on the road when the shots aren't falling for the bench, you have to put a defensive stand to win those games..

[itzsoweezee]

Gotta have either Aldridge or Kawhi playing at all times. the bench simply does not have the firepower.

[From Downtown]

Gotta have either Aldridge or Kawhi playing at all times. the bench simply does not have the firepower.
Yeah...the Patty-Manu-KA-Diaw-West lineup has Manu as the best defender...that really isn't sustainable

[Mr Bones]

Gotta have either Aldridge or Kawhi playing at all times. the bench simply does not have the firepower.

I agree. The Spurs have two max guys-- no reason they should both be off the floor at the same time...

[Mr Bones]

This is my concern. The bench was so effective when Manu was in god-mode. Now that he's come down to earth, it looks a lot weaker. Patty and West had poor games to be kind.

Looking ahead, this is my concern for the Spurs next year... The Spurs have to find a ball handler to replace both Parker & Manu, which is going to be hard... I think Kawhi & Mills have both improved their handles, but without Manu as the de facto 2nd string PG, there's a big gap there which is only made worse by Danny Green being almost useless in this regard...

[ElNono]

2015-2016 PER GAME SPLITS


SPLIT
GP
MIN
FGM-FGA
FG%
3PM-3PA
3P%
FTM-FTA
FT%
OR
DR
REB
AST
BLK
STL
PF
TO
PTS


Total
18
21.2
3.3-7.3
.447
1.6-3.9
.400
0.1-0.1
.500
0.2
1.6
1.8
2.1
0.1
1.2
1.3
1.1
8.2


Home
9
21.1
3.6-8.2
.432
1.9-4.8
.395
0.0-0.0
.000
0.3
1.9
2.2
1.9
0.1
1.4
1.3
0.8
9.0


Road
9
21.2
3.0-6.4
.466
1.2-3.0
.407
0.1-0.2
.500
0.1
1.3
1.4
2.2
0.1
1.0
1.3
1.3
7.3



Not really..his home/away splits are more or less the same, and even shooting tad better on the road. Mills getting continuously burned on D with lack of protection behind when paired with West has made his last games stretch look more awful to our eyes..I think Pop should get back to staggering Diaw/West mins especially on the road when the shots aren't falling for the bench, you have to put a defensive stand to win those games..

:tu

[Proxy]

When Pop gets upset with Kyle, he goes to Danny with the bench.

This is just my personal opinion of course, but I don't like Danny with that group, he strenghens their defense, but Danny is such a poor ballhandler and worse making decisions with the ball that it really makes them play terrible on Offense.

The bench plays a fast style, with a lot of passing, cutting, all perimeter players put the ball on the floor and consistently probe for a shot. As you know that is not Danny Green's style. In that free flowing style he tends to get worse.

Possibly the guy you are referring to was Kawhi, since he played 40 minutes. But the problem in the bench truly is not the wing.

It is the other 4, the bigs can't rebound or protect the rim, Manu is old and thus bound to have games like this, and Patty tends to chuck too much if no one else has it going on, instead of making real plays of others (its just not his talent).

Good points, I agree the wing not being the issue. Seeing players like e'twaun moore driving to the basket is tough.

at least he air balled his ft

[wildbill2u]

We lost a close game on the road to a pretty good team. It happens. Trying to analyze every minute for every player isn't going to get those few points back.

[RD2191]

Tbh "the bench looked good" was more "manu looked good". I still think we aren't getting far if we don't replace some of the trash on the 2nd unit.

[steeledl]

W

[Neurosis]

Bench shot 6-22, Danny Green went 1-5 from downtown, Kawhi 0-3 from downtown. Pop's rotations were weird and KA played close to the worst 4 minutes of his NBA career.

Multiple reasons coincided and it's an unfortunate loss. At least it wasn't for lack of effort. I can't hate on Diaw and West for being short and old or dudes for not hitting shots, and there's no point overreacting to a loss from a team that has tough D, when our offense is struggling.

People are melting down because Golden State are playing out of their minds. What do you expect, the Spurs to also go 19-0 to start the season? We're clearly the 2nd best team in the league right now, with Golden State ahead of us. 3rd is probably the Cavs but even with all our errors we're a shoe-in for 2nd seed and a trip to the WCF against GS.

On top of that Kawhi and LMA ensure that even if we don't ring, we have at least 3-4 good years ahead of us. Personally I feel totally privileged to have watched TD and Spurs get 4 rings as I grew up, to now watch Kawhi and LMA take the Spurs torch into the future. You're fucking blessed if you happen to be Spurs fan, don't know what you sissy faggots are bitching about

[LakerHater]

671923730378039296

[bic50]

671923730378039296

:wow

[ElNono]

671923730378039296

That's an and1 too :lol

[spurs10]

I expect to see the bench play much better against the Bucks. Curious to see the lineups for this weeks b2b.

[$pursDynasty]

I personally envisioned the perfect meld of the two end's of the Spur's dynasty, a Twin Towers 2.0, group of starters led by the KingSlayer with a little Manu sprinkled in a the right time, perfectly counterbalanced by the Manu led bench showing off the 'beautiful game'. I am not sure how any NBA team could adjust to handle two such different but equally deadly styles. However without Manu the bench can't run any offense and even with him looks like a shell of it's former glory. There was a time when the Spurs starting 5 was inferior to most of the playoff caliber teams but our bench's clear superiority was the difference in keeping us in the upper echelon. Now I put our starting 5 up against anyone's but our bench is also inferior :soapbox:. I feel a little like Captain Obvious stating the problem with no solution, maybe it needs time to gel. I personally think it might look better with a little more aggressive and a lot less passive Bobo :bobo. Some say he is in Robert Horry mode saving it for the post season but to get the #2 seed in the West (and still not sure if I am giving up on the best record in the league just yet) we need him to step up and help make the bench work by facilitating.

[SAGirl]

I personally envisioned the perfect meld of the two end's of the Spur's dynasty, a Twin Towers 2.0, group of starters led by the KingSlayer with a little Manu sprinkled in a the right time, perfectly counterbalanced by the Manu led bench showing off the 'beautiful game'. I am not sure how any NBA team could adjust to handle two such different but equally deadly styles. However without Manu the bench can't run any offense and even with him looks like a shell of it's former glory. There was a time when the Spurs starting 5 was inferior to most of the playoff caliber teams but our bench's clear superiority was the difference in keeping us in the upper echelon. Now I put our starting 5 up against anyone's but our bench is also inferior :soapbox:. I feel a little like Captain Obvious stating the problem with no solution, maybe it needs time to gel. I personally think it might look better with a little more aggressive and a lot less passive Bobo :bobo. Some say he is in Robert Horry mode saving it for the post season but to get the #2 seed in the West (and still not sure if I am giving up on the best record in the league just yet) we need him to step up and help make the bench work by facilitating.
The bench is a little different without Tiago rolling to the basket, you had to respect his roll and he was a good passer too. Baynes while a lower Bbiq player was strong finishing at the rim and could also hit the outside jumper if needed. Both also set nice screens which helped Manu out a lot. West doesn't provide any of what we lost with those two. He's more similar to Diaw with less ballhandling, perimeter game, and less crafty post up game. He's kind of redundant, but nothing can be done about it bc despite his awkward fit, he's better than anyone else we could have gotten for the min.

Point is we don't have a strong roll man that provides an inside presence and some real rim protection and that leaves the bench to shoot from the perimeter. When the jump shot is not falling they are in trouble bc they are not a strong defensive unit defensive unit to at least hold onto leads. When they are clicking they will blow teams out, but when they are not, it will spell doom. Manu can't get to the rim as he used to, his hot start was more due to how well he was shooting the 3 and jumpers and he will cool off.

That said, everyone in the bench can score, save Kyle maybe who is playing timid offensively due to Pop's strict coaching on his shot selection and he is very low usage. Pop could give Simmons a try with Manu and see how it goes. His athleticism can help with cuts and in transition. He could be the better fit for this current bench but it would be a small improvement anyway while we still have all the other problems I mentioned.

It also seems like so long as he's progressing and showing improvement Pop will find some minutes for Kyle to allow him to improve because they keep in mind that we have Manu in borrowed time at this point and Kyle has shown early potential as a bench leader. When Tim and Manu retire, the team will be much younger and you kind of have to get these youngsters ready for that.

[RD2191]

:wakeup

[RD2191]

Tbh "the bench looked good" was more "manu looked good". I still think we aren't getting far if we don't replace some of the trash on the 2nd unit.

:wakeup

[SAGirl]

Everything pointed out here holds true. If was noticeable from the very beginning.