The Psychological Destruction of Steph Curry [Archive]

Calispursfan11

03-21-2016, 01:01 AM

Spurtacular

03-21-2016, 01:27 AM

I wish we had a Bowen. Kawhi is great; but Bowen would take that sh** personal and be all over a guy for an entire game.

dabom

03-21-2016, 01:32 AM

Bowen is not a better defender than kawhi faggot. :lmao

BanditHiro

03-21-2016, 01:33 AM

I wish we had a Bowen. Kawhi is great; but Bowen would take that sh** personal and be all over a guy for an entire game.

he undercut him and make sure he never took another 3 without thinking twice.

popdagreat

03-21-2016, 01:37 AM

esp with those glass ankles

99 Problems

03-21-2016, 02:31 AM

Kawhi is such a presence and we saw it working on Bron. Who says by season end we don't see Curry deferring just to keep Whi away from the ball. :claw

ezau

03-21-2016, 03:27 AM

Kawhi is such a presence and we saw it working on Bron. Who says by season end we don't see Curry deferring just to keep Whi away from the ball. :claw

I read somewhere that other teams purposefully don't attack Kawhi because their players' shooting percentages drop significantly.

Horry Hipcheck

03-21-2016, 03:36 AM

TheGreatYacht

03-21-2016, 03:46 AM

Why is Kawhi being mentioned in this? :lol he didn't guard Curry, Parker and Green did.

Fireball

03-21-2016, 03:56 AM

b2b for Curry ... he was exhausted ... still good to know there is a strategy to slow them down and make it a competitive series

DenialTwist

03-21-2016, 04:39 AM

Why is Kawhi being mentioned in this? :lol he didn't guard Curry, Parker and Green did.

I re-watched the game. In the second half, Kawhi did a good job on Draymond. Green was the MVP considering he was the first player to block a Curry three. Would love to see that a few more times.

Chinook

03-21-2016, 06:16 AM

I actually liked Pop's strategy to throw Green at Curry. Kawhi is the better one on one defender, but Curry is too fast to chase for 40 minutes while also having to be the playmaker on offense. Green doesn't need to expend the energy on offense that Kawhi does. The return of Bogut and Igoudala in the playoffs, should these teams meet, may change Pop'a tactics. But I was pleased with what I saw Green doing on Curry.

I agree with the idea of using Danny as the designated defender to let Kawhi pick his spots, play off the ball and use his energy for offense. But I think you're selling Green way short. He's been the better Curry defender for years. Kawhi had one good game (and yes, it was a fucking awesome game) against Curry and people try to rewrite everything else.

EVAY

03-21-2016, 07:00 AM

I don't honestly think that Curry has any psychological damage done from that game whatsoever. Next game he will be rested and will make it a point to redeem his scoring numbers, much like Aldridge did this time. This past game Curry was exhausted. He knows it and we should know it. Doesn't mean we can't bother him and limit him...but I doubt it will be like this last game again unless he is hurt somehow.

Ice009

03-21-2016, 07:18 AM

spursparker9

03-21-2016, 07:25 AM

Danny and Parker was on Curry.
Kawhi was on Draymond

Who was on Klay?

spursparker9

03-21-2016, 07:25 AM

bic50

03-21-2016, 07:35 AM

Green did a great job on curry

Horse

03-21-2016, 07:47 AM

They did a marvelous job, you can see it works and can be done again. Maybe he doesn't always go 1-13 but just running him off the line and constant switching was beautiful. This team is always gonna wanna take jumpers and in the playoffs that won't work.

r0drig0lac

03-21-2016, 07:49 AM

It has only begun. The Spurs shadowed Curry for 48 minutes straight, in a regular season matchup no less. Just wait until the playoffs when the Spurs turn it up a notch. Steph is a great player but he got exposed on Saturday as a human being with flaws who can and will be completely locked down by the best defense. Spurs will not give him any more free passes. As Aldridge said, he didn't get off. Green, Tony, Kawhi, Boris, Aldridge and Duncan, doesn't matter who. I am convinced the Spurs will let anyone but this guy go off, which is a winning formula for success, tbh. :flag:

It's basically what Wilkins says this article:

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/features/sekou_smith/03/04/kia-race-to-the-mvp-ladder-any-way-for-anyone-to-stop-stephen-curry/

"When you have great shooters, especially guys who can shoot off the dribble, you gotta trap him," said Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, the NBA's 12th all-time leading scorer. "You designate who's going to shoot that ball. Make Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green beat you. You don't let Steph beat you, it's demoralizing when that No. 1 guy tears you apart."

lefty

03-21-2016, 08:09 AM

Curry had an off night

He will torch Parker in the playoffs tbh

UZER

03-21-2016, 08:17 AM

It's basically what Wilkins says this article:

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/features/sekou_smith/03/04/kia-race-to-the-mvp-ladder-any-way-for-anyone-to-stop-stephen-curry/

"When you have great shooters, especially guys who can shoot off the dribble, you gotta trap him," said Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, the NBA's 12th all-time leading scorer. "You designate who's going to shoot that ball. Make Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green beat you. You don't let Steph beat you, it's demoralizing when that No. 1 guy tears you apart."

Wrong you don't trap curry. He will burn you every time. You play straight up one on one, and switch picks immediately. The plays the spurs even slightly overplayed curry with two guys they got burned.

Chinook

03-21-2016, 08:21 AM

Wrong you don't trap curry. He will burn you every time. You play straight up one on one, and switch picks immediately. The plays the spurs even slightly overplayed curry with two guys they got burned.

They really didn't. Kerr got them a couple of times, but McAdoo and Varejao not being able to shoot negated some of the value of the short-roll.

UZER

03-21-2016, 08:30 AM

They really didn't. Kerr got them a couple of times, but McAdoo and Varejao not being able to shoot negated some of the value of the short-roll.

Yes they did. I can think of two right off the bat. Manu reached through the pick instead of switching to green, green got the pass and drove down the lane for a dunk. Patty took two steps through the pick, curry drove for a lay up. It's that fast with this guy.

I'm on the opposite end, let him try to beat you by himself. 1) the spurs have the best defensive minded and disciplined team to harass and bother him even without doubling 2) you keep anyone else from getting involved in the game. 3) its not a knockout blow approach. It's a grind him down approach like a boxer. He'll punch himself out if he tries to do it by himself in a series, IMO

BSfromTX

03-21-2016, 08:44 AM

Fuck Curry. Stop making excuses for him. I can't believe Spurs fans in here are making excuses for him. Don't give him any room to shoot, and if/when he drives past the defender to the rack, foul him HARD. Make him earn everything. Don't make anything easy on him.

+1
dude could probably play 5 games in a row. and if he was tired, it's because he ended up having to drive a lot due to 3 pt line being covered. You can bet the farm that GS has doubts about beating us in playoffs

Calispursfan11

03-21-2016, 08:50 AM

+1
dude could probably play 5 games in a row. and if he was tired, it's because he ended up having to drive a lot due to 3 pt line being covered. You can bet the farm that GS has doubts about beating us in playoffs

If you saw Curry postgame, you could tell he was shaken. He wasn't expecting what happened. He may not always be limited to 14 pts and 1-12 from three, but the Spurs will impose their will on him again and again come playoff time assuming they meet. Gang defense is going to wear him down.

Chinook

03-21-2016, 08:54 AM

Kerr got them a couple of times

I can think of two right off the bat.

I'm glad we agree. I don't know why you think the Spurs letting Green drive or McAdoo catch the ball too far out to shoot better than letting Curry get daylight. The Warriors eventually started trying to attack that hedge explicitly, but it's really hard to depend on your bigs to do well on the perimeter. That's another reason why playing big would hurt the Warriors more than it would hurt the Spurs.

toki9

03-21-2016, 08:58 AM

I don't think Curry really wants to drive into the paint. He's not someone who plays off of contact. And he's always worried about his ankles.

ChumpDumper

03-21-2016, 09:04 AM

Danny and Parker was on Curry.
Kawhi was on Draymond

Who was on Klay?Parker when Green was on Curry.

And Curry will be back.

dweaver99027

03-21-2016, 09:29 AM

'Psychological destruction'??? Really??? If this game destroyed Curry's psyche, what should game 6 have done to our guys?

ceperez

03-21-2016, 09:40 AM

It was a regular season game and a back-to-back. This post is definitely an exaggeration.

picnroll

03-21-2016, 09:44 AM

What I saw late in the shot clock Curry doesn't see the open player, focuses on getting open to get a shot off. That's when you trap him.

honestfool84

03-21-2016, 09:58 AM

Bowen is not a better defender than kawhi faggot. :lmao

faggot :lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao

Mnky

03-21-2016, 10:12 AM

Why is Kawhi being mentioned in this? :lol he didn't guard Curry, Parker and Green did.

Solid D

03-21-2016, 10:17 AM

For every strategy, there is a counter-strategy.

Blake

03-21-2016, 10:29 AM

For every strategy, there is a counter-strategy.

Then a counter-strategy to the counter-stategy

Chinook

03-21-2016, 10:32 AM

For every strategy, there is a counter-strategy.

Short-roll. GS tried it and had success. But it's still an open question as to whether that will get Curry free. The Warriors feed off his energy, so even if they are getting inside looks, they should fade if Curry can't start beating the trap.

Solid D

03-21-2016, 10:47 AM

Short-roll. GS tried it and had success. But it's still an open question as to whether that will get Curry free. The Warriors feed off his energy, so even if they are getting inside looks, they should fade if Curry can't start beating the trap.

Possibly so, if their supporting cast cannot make up the slack. Letting Stoudamire get "his" was a strategy which consistently allowed the Spurs to get the best of the Suns. Letting LeBron shoot 3s in '13 and fouling DeAndre in '15 had their drawbacks. Hounding King James in '07 did work, but his supporting cast couldn't help him.

Chinook

03-21-2016, 10:55 AM

Possibly so, if their supporting cast cannot make up the slack. Letting Stoudamire get "his" was a strategy which consistently allowed the Spurs to get the best of the Suns. Letting LeBron shoot 3s in '13 and fouling DeAndre in '15 had their drawbacks. Hounding King James in '07 did work, but his supporting cast couldn't help him.

I'm just saying that if Curry kicks it to Draymond at the top of the key, that's a whole lot better than letting Curry have it at the wing. Question is if the Spurs would let Draymond have the ball with little pressure. I am pretty damned confident that Green wouldn't be able to drop the 30-plus he'd need to be able to drop to force the Spurs to commit to stopping him over taking Curry out of the series. Would be interesting to see how the rotations look off that play.

ambchang

03-21-2016, 11:22 AM

NameLess Scrub

03-21-2016, 11:28 AM

Yes they did. I can think of two right off the bat. Manu reached through the pick instead of switching to green, green got the pass and drove down the lane for a dunk. Patty took two steps through the pick, curry drove for a lay up. It's that fast with this guy.

I'm on the opposite end, let him try to beat you by himself. 1) the spurs have the best defensive minded and disciplined team to harass and bother him even without doubling 2) you keep anyone else from getting involved in the game. 3) its not a knockout blow approach. It's a grind him down approach like a boxer. He'll punch himself out if he tries to do it by himself in a series, IMO

I tend to like this. He can't score 100 pts through a 7 games series by himself.

I always think there's something I'm not considering though :lol

EVAY

03-21-2016, 11:36 AM

'Psychological destruction'??? Really??? If this game destroyed Curry's psyche, what should game 6 have done to our guys?

It did destroy their psyches enough to lose game 7 and the championship. That's pretty significant, imo.

I still don't think we destroyed any part of Curry's psyche, though. He will just use more screens next time. If the refs let those screens move, we will still have problems. If Curry passes out from behind a screen and then reverses to get a clear shot with the ball, he will get in a rhythm from three. If he questions anything, all it will take it two or three long range bombers made to give it back to him. Remember that he is a pure shooter. They don't have confidence problems or consciences. They just shoot.

313

03-21-2016, 11:44 AM

Green is clearly the better defender on Curry than Kawhi. Kawhi is great in terms of guarding SG, SF, or even small PF, in that he is both quick and strong, has a huge wingspan, but Green, while not as strong, is quicker and is better at positioning.
Id say Green is quicker laterally as well, which is the biggest thing. Not to mention those cat like reflexes. Man, we're lucky to have him.

baseline bum

03-21-2016, 12:05 PM

I hope people here don't think the Spurs are holding Curry to 1-12 again.

ceperez

03-21-2016, 12:07 PM

I hope people here don't think the Spurs are holding Curry to 1-12 again.

I want to see Spurs beat GSW even when Curry is on fire. That would be a convincing display of dominance.

baseline bum

03-21-2016, 12:09 PM

It did destroy their psyches enough to lose game 7 and the championship. That's pretty significant, imo.

?? The Spurs came back ready to win Game 7, and had their chances. Wade hit long jumpers he usually doesn't, Battier was hot, and James was hitting the three.

Horse

03-21-2016, 12:19 PM

It's definitley a start. I'm telling you they're a team of pussies struggled against a severly undermanned cavs team and david lee is the one who turned that series. It will take more than one reg season game but keep it up and frustrate him and they can be had. We already know Gay Thompson will choke.

SpursBig3s

03-21-2016, 12:56 PM

I'm just saying that if Curry kicks it to Draymond at the top of the key, that's a whole lot better than letting Curry have it at the wing. Question is if the Spurs would let Draymond have the ball with little pressure. I am pretty damned confident that Green wouldn't be able to drop the 30-plus he'd need to be able to drop to force the Spurs to commit to stopping him over taking Curry out of the series. Would be interesting to see how the rotations look off that play.

I agree with you and want to add this one thing. When that happens, I think it's a mistake trying to double draymond from the weak side, Etc. Let Draymond be a scorer, turn him into a scorer instead of a facilitator. He is not a natural and willing scorer, but he is an elite facilitator. That's where GS burns teams. I'm completely fine with having him look for his offense while we bottle up the shooters. Even if it's a mismatch. That means it's just 2pts rather than 3pts (if he scores). I guarantee he won't be very efficient when forced to be a scorer

LaMarcus Bryant

03-21-2016, 01:03 PM

Bowen is not a better defender than kawhi faggot. :lmao

Bowen never had much luck with PGs but at least Curry woulda have appropriate fear of landing on Bowen's foot.

Bowen had a great psychological edge against jump shooting

LaMarcus Bryant

03-21-2016, 01:05 PM

?? The Spurs came back ready to win Game 7, and had their chances. Wade hit long jumpers he usually doesn't, Battier was hot, and James was hitting the three.

Www.truthbombs.org

elbamba

03-21-2016, 01:13 PM

Bowen is not a better defender than kawhi faggot. :lmao

Two completely different kinds of defenders. Bowen did not steal and block shots. He contested everything and made the opposing best player's life hell with his speed and quick hands. Kawhi does not have the speed Bowen had to play point guards, which is why Pop will usually run Green and Parker at point guards. Kawhi is stronger and has a longer reach which allows him to defend more versitile players. His offense is also counted on too much to allow him to spend the entire game on the oppoisng team's best player.

elbamba

03-21-2016, 01:14 PM

Bowen never had much luck with PGs but at least Curry woulda have appropriate fear of landing on Bowen's foot.

Bowen had a great psychological edge against jump shooting

This is just wrong. Bowen was great against Steve Nash, Paul, Williams, and the other PGs who were considered the best 8-10 years ago.

dabom

03-21-2016, 01:27 PM

Kawhi defends all PGs all SGs all SFs and all small ball 4s.

Are ya fucking retarded?

And I've already said many times it's better when Kawhi defends the perimeter not guarding Steph. He gets those steals off passes, deflections, rebounds, and can help defense better. When he is the primary defender he is pulled away from all that action and are left with not great area defenders.

YGWHI

03-21-2016, 01:33 PM

Two completely different kinds of defenders. Bowen did not steal and block shots. He contested everything and made the opposing best player's life hell with his speed and quick hands. Kawhi does not have the speed Bowen had to play point guards, which is why Pop will usually run Green and Parker at point guards. Kawhi is stronger and has a longer reach which allows him to defend more versitile players. His offense is also counted on too much to allow him to spend the entire game on the oppoisng team's best player.

Kawhi was the guy on Westbrook in the last game against OKC, and it was the adjustment that Pop did in the last two games of 2014 WCF. IIRC Russ only scored two points in the paint in game 5 because Kawhi didn't allow him to penetrate easily like in the previous games...

Also, Paul was guarded by Kawhi in the 2nd half of the last game against Clips and scored only 4 points after made 18 in the first half over Parker.

I wouldn't say Kawhi can't defend PGs, in fact he had a great game against Curry last season too, but I rather to have him on Klay or Green, because he neutralized Green's playmaker skills last game, also, it has alowed Kawhi to play his best off ball D against GSW.

elbamba

03-21-2016, 03:00 PM

Kawhi was the guy on Westbrook in the last game against OKC, and it was the adjustment that Pop did in the last two games of 2014 WCF. IIRC Russ only scored two points in the paint in game 5 because Kawhi didn't allow him to penetrate easily like in the previous games...

Also, Paul was guarded by Kawhi in the 2nd half of the last game against Clips and scored only 4 points after made 18 in the first half over Parker.

I wouldn't say Kawhi can't defend PGs, in fact he had a great game against Curry last season too, but I rather to have him on Klay or Green, because he neutralized Green's playmaker skills last game, also, it has alowed Kawhi to play his best off ball D against GSW.

I am not saying he can't defend PGs. Kawhi is the best defensive player in the league in my opinion and can defend 1 - 4 which Bowen could not. But I think Bowen was better at guarding point guards. Kawhi is a natural to defend someone like Westbrook though.

KL2

03-21-2016, 03:22 PM

Things are going to change when they get their bigs back, Ezeli/Bogut set really hard (illegal) screens, takes to long to get around them it buys Curry that extra split second to get his shot off. The bigs will slow down their pace, but will really benefit Curry.

TrainOfThought5

03-21-2016, 04:21 PM

I don't think Curry really wants to drive into the paint. He's not someone who plays off of contact. And he's always worried about his ankles.

This. Curry isnt built for 10 hard drives a game. Hes not built like Lebron or even Westbrook. If he goes up, hes gotta be worried about coming back down. And ROFLMAO Green landing on top of him during that second block.

DarrinS

03-21-2016, 04:23 PM

lol, psychological destruction

Spurs fans overreact to wins and losses, tbh

ElNono

03-21-2016, 04:45 PM

:lol these kind of threads...

HarlemHeat37

03-21-2016, 04:54 PM

This is just wrong. Bowen was great against Steve Nash, Paul, Williams, and the other PGs who were considered the best 8-10 years ago.

Bowen routinely got destroyed by Chris Paul, tbh..Nash never had any problems against him, either..

The Spurs had much more success in the 2008 playoffs when they took Bruce off Paul and put him on Stojakovic instead IIRC..same with putting him on Marion in some of those Suns' series IIRC..

The number of dynamic PGs during that era was not very high..

sprrs

03-21-2016, 05:39 PM

I'm tired of people blaming Curry's poor shooting night on the back to back.

Opp GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT%
10/31 @NOP W (+14) 1 35:38 17 27 .630 8 14 .571 11 11 1.000
11/12 @MIN W (+13) 1 37:42 15 25 .600 8 13 .615 8 8 1.000
11/20 CHI W (+12) 1 36:05 9 20 .450 3 11 .273 6 6 1.000
11/28 SAC W (+19) 1 29:48 4 7 .571 3 6 .500 8 8 1.000
12/6 @BRK W (+16) 1 32:14 11 17 .647 5 9 .556 1 4 .250
12/12 @MIL L (-13) 1 35:14 10 22 .455 2 9 .222 6 7 .857
1/5 @LAL W (+21) 1 26:08 6 13 .462 4 8 .500 1 1 1.000
1/9 SAC W (+12) 1 37:54 12 21 .571 8 14 .571 6 7 .857
1/14 LAL W (+18) 1 29:31 9 18 .500 8 16 .500 0 0
1/31 @NYK W (+21) 1 31:59 5 17 .294 3 11 .273 0 0
2/10 @PHO W (+8) 1 30:06 9 17 .529 5 10 .500 3 4 .750
2/20 @LAC W (+3) 1 35:30 5 15 .333 3 8 .375 10 12 .833
2/27 @ORL W (+16) 1 34:02 20 27 .741 10 15 .667 1 1 1.000
3/7 ORL W (+6) 1 37:20 14 24 .583 7 13 .538 6 6 1.000
3/12 PHO W (+7) 1 34:59 12 24 .500 7 16 .438 4 4 1.000
3/19 SAS L (-8) 1 37:36 4 18 .222 1 12 .083 5 5 1.000

On the second night of back-to-backs this season, Curry is shooting 46% from three. In fact, of all 66 of his games this season, he's shot sub .400 on 21 of those. How many of those 21 games were on the second night of a back to back? Counting last Saturday, only five.

It's also worth mentioning that including this past Saturday's game, only two of their 7 losses have come on the second night of a back to back. How about we start giving a little more credit to the Spurs defense?

EVAY

03-21-2016, 05:42 PM

?? The Spurs came back ready to win Game 7, and had their chances. Wade hit long jumpers he usually doesn't, Battier was hot, and James was hitting the three.

i'll agree to disagree with you on this. I truly believed during that entire game that we were not emotionally ready to win that game. They were high on the energy of the comeback and we didn't match it. Our confidence was broken, imo.

baseline bum

03-21-2016, 05:57 PM

i'll agree to disagree with you on this. I truly believed during that entire game that we were not emotionally ready to win that game. They were high on the energy of the comeback and we didn't match it. Our confidence was broken, imo.

Kawhi looked pretty confident hitting that three to cut it to two with about a minute left even though his missed FT cost the team the title two nights before. You're literally the only person I have ever heard say the Spurs didn't look ready for Game 7. They didn't look broken until Tim missed that layup and LeBron drained that jumper to put Miami up 4 with about 20 seconds left. Then it fell apart, with Manu sealing it by throwing a retarded pass to LeBron in mid-air after the timeout.

ElNono

03-21-2016, 05:59 PM

baseline bum

03-21-2016, 06:11 PM

Yup, Tim was a monster in the 1st half, and even Manu was pretty great throughout except at the very tail end...

I literally expected the Spurs to lose Game 7 by 20, and I think most everyone else did too. When teams lose games like 6 they can almost never put it back together facing elimination. Look at the defending 3x champion Lakers and how crushed they were when Horry's game winner rimmed out in Game 5. Spurs walked into Staples and took them by 28 two nights later. And yet the Spurs were a Leonard three or a Duncan layup from probably winning that game. They just got beat by one of the greatest performances LeBron had ever had, and Wade dialed in too. Wade's jumper was wet as fuck that night, LeBron played the game of his life, and yet the Spurs had their chances to win that game. No way a shook team doesn't lose to them by less than 20, Miami was razor sharp outside of Bosh in Game 7 and that's why they were the champions.

EVAY

03-21-2016, 06:12 PM

Kawhi looked pretty confident hitting that three to cut it to two with about a minute left even though his missed FT cost the team the title two nights before. You're literally the only person I have ever heard say the Spurs didn't look ready for Game 7. They didn't look broken until Tim missed that layup and LeBron drained that jumper to put Miami up 4 with about 20 seconds left. Then it fell apart, with Manu sealing it by throwing a retarded pass to LeBron in mid-air after the timeout.

To me, it was/is a characteristic of the team when they have had a bad setback. The team had a game to potentially come back after Derek Fisher's 3 in the Laker's series but couldn't pull it off. I just think that that kind of loss (the last 30 seconds of the prior game - Miami or the Laker series) had an enormous negative confidence effect for the Spurs and an enormous positive confidence effect for the Heat. We all say that the championship was lost in that last 30 seconds, and that is why we say it, in my mind. Yes, not only did Kawhi miss the free throw (that's not really all that unusual for Spurs teams,tbh), not only did Tim miss point- blank bunnies at the end (which was VERY unusual at that time and had him slamming his hand on the floor afterwards), and not only was Manu throwing the ball around (he did it all game in that last game), but Wade had the confidence that he was going to make those shots. They believed that they could close it out and we believed that we could lose it at the end.

Then exactly that happened. Psychology is an important thing, imo.

But all of this has nothing to do with Curry's shooting in the last game. Yes, it was sort of a perfect storm of him being tired and thus just a split second slower than normal and our defense as good (and maybe better) than it has ever been, but I don't think it will effect Curry in the future because he has that shooter's mentality. If he continued to miss over the next couple of weeks he might wonder about a slump, but he is unlikely to miss that many again this year, including against us. And this is what the thread was about.

I may be quite wrong about the psychology of the team after heart-breaking losses (which is the exact terminology that Pop used after the Fisher shot in the Laker series), but that's how I see it.

baseline bum

03-21-2016, 06:16 PM

Even in defeat I was really fucking proud of the Spurs and their Game 7 performance in 2013. I imagine it's how Pistons fans felt in 1988, crushed to lose the title after being so close in both Games 6 and 7, but knowing their team was pretty amazing.

EVAY

03-21-2016, 06:26 PM

I am always proud of the team...have never participated in a player or team hate thread. I just felt so badly for them, and the win in 2014 was the most satisfying of all the titles, imo. I was so unbelievably happy for them. They stayed focused ALL YEAR and just would NOT be denied. I hope we win this year for Tim and Manu, but nothing will ever match the satisfaction of the 2014 series. Movie quality experience. Still expect somebody to make that into a movie.

baseline bum

03-21-2016, 06:27 PM

To me, it was/is a characteristic of the team when they have had a bad setback. The team had a game to potentially come back after Derek Fisher's 3 in the Laker's series but couldn't pull it off. I just think that that kind of loss (the last 30 seconds of the prior game - Miami or the Laker series) had an enormous negative confidence effect for the Spurs and an enormous positive confidence effect for the Heat. We all say that the championship was lost in that last 30 seconds, and that is why we say it, in my mind. Yes, not only did Kawhi miss the free throw (that's not really all that unusual for Spurs teams,tbh), not only did Tim miss point- blank bunnies at the end (which was VERY unusual at that time and had him slamming his hand on the floor afterwards), and not only was Manu throwing the ball around (he did it all game in that last game), but Wade had the confidence that he was going to make those shots. They believed that they could close it out and we believed that we could lose it at the end.

Then exactly that happened. Psychology is an important thing, imo.

I don't buy that at all with the 2013 team. Yes, the 2004 team was absolutely crushed by Fisher's shot, and at no point did they look like they could compete with the Lakers in Game 6 of that series. Which is what made the 2013 team special to me, they weren't crushed by a loss way worse than the 2004 Spurs suffered. People say the Spurs lost the title in that 28 seconds because they were big underdogs to a historically great 66 win Heat team (don't forget they won 29 straight games that year), and they almost stole a title by forcing LeBron into two really bad turnovers back to back. They almost stole a title with their best player on one leg. I can't believe you're calling that team soft.

EVAY

03-21-2016, 06:33 PM

I don't buy that at all with the 2013 team. Yes, the 2004 team was absolutely crushed by Fisher's shot, and at no point did they look like they could compete with the Lakers in Game 6 of that series. Which is what made the 2013 team special to me, they weren't crushed by a loss way worse than the 2004 Spurs suffered. People say the Spurs lost the title in that 28 seconds because they were big underdogs to a historically great 66 win Heat team (don't forget they won 29 straight games that year), and they almost stole a title by forcing LeBron into two really bad turnovers back to back. They almost stole a title with their best player on one leg. I can't believe you're calling that team soft.

Wow...I don't believe I'm calling the team soft. I'm calling them subject to the laws of psychology. Please don't put words in my mouth.

I agreed to disagree with you and gave you my reasons. You are interpreting my reasons as being me accusing the team of something, when I believe I am only acknowledging the impact of psychology on every team, including the Spurs.

I even said in my post that I could be wrong.

You don't have to buy any goddam thing. Just disagree and leave it at that, huh? No attribution necessary.

baseline bum

03-21-2016, 07:04 PM

Wow...I don't believe I'm calling the team soft. I'm calling them subject to the laws of psychology. Please don't put words in my mouth.

I agreed to disagree with you and gave you my reasons. You are interpreting my reasons as being me accusing the team of something, when I believe I am only acknowledging the impact of psychology on every team, including the Spurs.

I even said in my post that I could be wrong.

You don't have to buy any goddam thing. Just disagree and leave it at that, huh? No attribution necessary.

It sounds like you're calling them soft, especially making a comparison with the 2004 team that was unquestionably soft. I wish you could point to parts of the game the Spurs didn't look emotionally ready to win, because I can't think of any until that timeout right before Manu threw the ball away in midair down 4 with game basically over. Duncan missing the chippie wasn't one of those, he has missed a lot of shots like that being so long out of his physical prime and playing on one leg for years. The Spurs were right there the entire time and came up a little short to a better and healthier team playing in their own building.

EVAY

03-21-2016, 07:21 PM

It sounds like you're calling them soft, especially making a comparison with the 2004 team that was unquestionably soft. I wish you could point to parts of the game the Spurs didn't look emotionally ready to win, because I can't think of any until Manu threw the ball away in midair down 4. Duncan missing the chippie wasn't one of those, he has missed a lot of shots like that being so long out of his physical prime and playing on one leg for years. The Spurs were right there the entire time and came up a little short to a better and healthier team playing in their own building.

I don't intend to pursue this ad infinitum. I gave you reasons and you want more or don't accept what I gave you. That is not my problem, it is yours. YOU call the 2004 team soft, which I didn't then and don't now (I don't believe a 'soft' team gets as far as the 2004 team did or the 2013 team did). You attribute motivation to me that is unsustainable from the evidence. I don't even remember the details of the 2013 game 7 except what I gave you. I have a doctoral degree in social psychology and gave you what I thought happened, respectfully to you and to the team. You agree with what I said about Tim (except you claim he did it frequently, which I never did); you yourself brought up the Manu thing and the Kawhi free throw miss.

Besides the 2004 team (which I still don't call soft), I remember the team unable to sustain the OT against Dallas after the Manu foul on Dirk at the end of regulation that tied it. I didn't call them soft then, either. I just think it is hard for them to come back from those situations. I'm even on record in this forum as defending Manu after that game because if he hadn't had the guts to take that three just before the Nowitzki layup with the foul we wouldn't have even had a chance. I was at that game and watched Pop's reaction. It was awful.

One of the best things about Pop as a coach and a man is his recognition that the game is only a game; that recognition is honestly superb. One of the other things it is is mindful that young men have trouble coming back from heartbreaking moments. Sometimes, that means they don't quite get back. Unfortunately, some fans (apparently like you) call them 'soft' if that happens. I don't and never have. However, if you don't attribute that to them in some other situation and someone else recognizes similarities, you assume that the other person is being as disrespectful as you were. It is called attribution.

I'm kinda getting the impression you just want to argue for the sake of it. Me, I don't and I'm done.