Game Thread: Spurs @ Hornets -- Mon. (3/21) - 6:00PM CST (1:00AM Riga time)

[loveforthegame]

Manu wasted to much time. WTF.

Mills and Verde bricks.

[Silver&Black]

Put more time on the clock please....

[sasaint]

Patty's defense has been putrid

Since the first quarter, why pick on Patty. Who has played well at either end?

[Uriel]

:lmao Spurs

[703 Spurz]

Wolves are ahead.

Warriors up 3 at the half.

[Spurs_Be_Beastin']

Wow Jermy Rin decided to have his one good game of the year against us... I'm not suprised

[ElNono]

Glad Manu didn't miss a 3 there, or the shitstorm would've been huge :lol

[Perry Mason]

2 shots, both bricked. Our shooters just couldn't get it done tonight.

[DAF86]

Meh. Not that important of a game either way but still sucks. Specially after that first quarter.

[DMX7]

Why did Green pass up that open three? smh

His confidence is totally shot. 0-7 tonight

[EVAY]

.4 Irony much?

[Mnky]

Kawhi with the major breakdown. Just shows his lack of development and the premature top 3 players talks. He just isn't consistent enough, especially when his shot isn't falling.

He needs to demand the ball more before the play if he wants to shoot, not pull those horrible forced shots. He has been doing that more lately when he doesn't get the first touch.

[Uriel]

I don't think it's fair to blame this loss entirely on a lack of focus. Charlotte played hard.

[sasaint]

Beat the Dubs to pick up a game and then hand it right back.

[Budkin]

Once again we lose after a Dubs loss

[Agloco]

Wow.....just wow.

[SupremeGuy]

http://beccadorr.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/its-a-trap-what-happens-when-advertisers-dont-meet-twitters-spending-quotas.jpg:downspin:

[TXstbobcat]

Fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ElNono]

wtf was that? :lmao

[NASpurs]

Welp... Yeah... Don't know what to say.

[bic50]

Damn that sucks

[james evans]

this loss is on popovich.

[Vokun]

Watch this dumbass team not even get a shot off :lol

[baseline bum]

Beaten by Courtney Lee and Chink in the Armor, what a disgrace :lmao

[loveforthegame]

Mills I bounding the ball.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

Bench was garbage again, this is a trend now.

[mexicanjunior]

What a fuckih choke...NIU aint got nothing on us.

[TE]

Fucking atrocious. Shitty fucking game. I guarantee Jeremy Fucking Lin won't play this well again. Holy shit man.

[EVAY]

Beat the Dubs to pick up a game and then hand it right back.

We did that after their last loss, didn't we?

[Robz4000]

This was as pathetic as the Dubs win was impressive. This team isn't ready for the postseason.

[timtonymanu]

:lmao a loss here isn't surprising, but of course the Spurs had to blow a 23 point lead to do it. No one gets a good grade tonight, tbh. Probably just Duncan/Aldridge.

[Darius Bieber]

Spurs are a garbage team. First round exit.

[BatManu20]

Brutal loss.

[LittleCriminal]

CIAPop!!

[Mugen]

:lmao

[HI-FI]

:lol

[Silver&Black]

:lol Gutless Worms

http://i.imgur.com/zq5m2r6.png

[Jdspur20]

meh, off night. Move on

[Ibleedslvrnblk]

Over reaction thinking the spurs could actually catch the warriors. Who cares....lets get the playoffs going this is meaningless...

[Uriel]

:lmao Spurs
:lmao Blowing a 23-point lead
:lmao Giving up 27 points to Jeremy Lin
:lmao Losing to the fucking Hornets
:lmao Spurs

[baseline bum]

wtf was that? :lmao

Pop had Patty inbounding the ball, because the inbounder is the most dangerous man on the floor with 4/10 second left

[703 Spurz]

WCF or bust. Not getting past GSW with Green playing like a faggot.

[Budkin]

this loss is on popovich.

Pop is the happiest man in the building tonight.

[dbreiden83080]

Yikes what a dog shit loss..

[Agloco]

I don't think it's fair to blame this loss entirely on a lack of focus. Charlotte played hard.

Doesn't matter. They have no business hanging with the Spurs. This was an uninspired shitfest.

[EVAY]

I don't think it's fair to blame this loss entirely on a lack of focus. Charlotte played hard.

Giving up a 23 point lead doesn't suggest much focus to me.

[SPURt]

Green/Patty go sit in the corner and think about what you've done

[james evans]

just 1 game. 11 losses is great

[MoSpur]

:lol

What a choke job.

[Perry Mason]

We were due a letdown. Shame. Happens to all teams. Spurs frankly shot their wad against GSW and looked tired this whole game.

[LakerHater]

Yeah…



…Gonna get destroyed by the media!

[Texas_Ranger]

chokers gonna choke

[ducks]

Leonard choked hard

[Nathan89]

What a fucking choke-job.

[TE]

I don't think it's fair to blame this loss entirely on a lack of focus. Charlotte played hard.
Sure they played hard. We just didn't have the focus to execute. It's not that hard. When the bench sucks as much dick as it did today, man if only someone stepped up and had fairly decent game, we wouldn't even have this discussion. Just atrocious all around.

[Strategic]

Where da meltdown

[SAGirl]

29 and 7 for Lin. Lmao.
Quick guards have given us fits all season.

[bklynspursfan]

Wolves are ahead.

They're down 3 at half. My point was if by some craziness they (gs) loses, we don't gain any ground. Hornets are a good team. But there are 0 excuses to let them back in it like that. That's absolutely pathetic

[r0drig0lac]

chokers gonna choke

[lefty20]

games like these are not uncommon after big wins. just gotta try and do better the next time.

[MoSpur]

Duncan finally has a good game and they lose a 23 point lead. Go figure

[$pursDynasty]

Pop is the happiest man in the building tonight.
And the guys that want the dnps forget about #1 seed now

[SAGirl]

Green/Patty go sit in the corner and think about what you've done
:lol this was funny. :toast

[objective]

They really could have benefited from Boban or Simmons tonight, guys who change the complexion of the game and alter the flow.

[sasaint]

What a fuckih choke...NIU aint got nothing on us.

THAT'S RIGHT! They choked for a mere 44 seconds. We sustained ours for 3 QUARTERS!

[Mnky]

Tbh, I agree with the Pop comments. He's not showing his hand and chasing the warriors next couple games.now he's just in playoff prep mode. Lessons to be taught. Better now than the playoffs. He didn't do much coaching or timely timeouts.let the players figure things out.

C.I.A. Pop.

[MoSpur]

I blame Lin's stupid hair. The Spurs probably lost focus due to his retarded hair.

[EVAY]

They're down 3 at half. My point was if by some craziness they (gs) loses, we don't gain any ground. Hornets are a good team. But there are 0 excuses to let them back in it like that. That's absolutely pathetic

Agreed. Really poor showing..

[BillMc]

Top 6 People Who Hate Jeremy Lin:

6. Me
5. Patty Mills
4. Kawhi Leonard
3. Danny Green
2. Carmello Anthony
1. Tony Parker

Guy's made his whole career on a month in New York and games against us. :bang

[SPURt]

:lol this was funny. :toast
:toast

[The Reckoning]

getting flashbacks of the knicks game

[bklynspursfan]

Lma should have gotten the ball more in the post. He was the only 1 who really could get his own high % shot tonight.

Kawhi had a good defender on him, no reason to force anything

[Kawhitstorm]

Patty was atrocious on BOTH ends

[daslicer]

The Hornets are my home team so I watch them a lot. This loss sucks but it's not too surprising since the Hornets have the ability to score a lot of points in quick spurts. The Spurs got too comfortable when they were up and assumed the game was over which was a big mistake. They underestimated the Hornets and paid the price in this game.

[$pursDynasty]

I was watching the Lin highlight real and Patty was being burnt in a majority of them

[Harry Callahan]

Jeremy Rin and Lamb - putrid effort against those POS. They let the zip get five quick ones right before the half and imploded from there. Awful performance.....

[tholdren]

just 1 game. 11 losses is great
agreed. but you have to see improvement from Danny's trash shots to KL not doing work when Spurs need it. Tired of typing the same thing about KL controlling the pace.

[sasaint]

Pop had Patty inbounding the ball, because the inbounder is the most dangerous man on the floor with 4/10 second left

Plus at his height, he gets a better view of the court.

[sasaint]

Patty was atrocious on BOTH ends

Danny was no better.

[MoSpur]

I would've felt better with Bonner inbounding the ball

[bklynspursfan]

Tbh, I agree with the Pop comments. He's not showing his hand and chasing the warriors next couple games.now he's just in playoff prep mode. Lessons to be taught. Better now than the playoffs. He didn't do much coaching or timely timeouts.let the players figure things out.

C.I.A. Pop.

Nah. He doesn't need to show his hand, but you're up big you shouldn't lose that lead. I mean patty/tony watched Lin shoot an open 3. Communication on defense was just a joke after the first quarter

[Kawhitstorm]

Media is gonna destroy us!

Nah, "trap game" is actually a phrase coined by the media. Considering the 1st quarter domination it's a "trap game" to the T.

[BillMc]

The silver lining is...

1) They'll be pissed and therefore no immediate danger to the home streak.
2) Pop knows we won't catch the warriors and continue with rest/experiments.
3) Don't have to worry about the hornets until the finals. :lol

[LakerHater]

http://i.imgbox.com/LmPenkhJ.jpg

[$pursDynasty]

As bad as Patty was I put some of it on Pop for sticking with the bench that was playing shitty in the 2nd too long giving the Hornets hope and momentum

[Budkin]

Spurs are a garbage team. First round exit.

Second at least.

[MoSpur]

Besides Lin's hair, I also blame dumb Andrew Monaco. Please bring back Bill Land ASAP

[SpurPadre]

Not an unexpected loss but that doesn't keep it from being the worst loss of the season. I hope this won't turn out to be like the loss we had to the Pelicans last year that sealed our fate.

[J_Paco]

Pop had Patty inbounding the ball, because the inbounder is the most dangerous man on the floor with 4/10 second left

Yeah, stupid move and either Boris or Timmy should have inbound the ball. Also, Kawhi rushed his shot when the team was down just 1 or 2 with a new 24 - second shot clock.

Sucks, but you gotta take the (few) losses with all the W's.

[TheMulletMan3000]

playoffs are here and spurs are trash

[Mnky]

Nah. He doesn't need to show his hand, but you're up big you shouldn't lose that lead. I mean patty/tony watched Lin shoot an open 3. Communication on defense was just a joke after the first quarter

No doubt. This is good for coaching though. They're a lock for the second. Pop just giving out lessons. He could have changed this game. He took Martin out when he was turning things around for the spurs.

[J_Paco]

playoffs are here and spurs are trash

It isn't April yet, idiot. And since when is 59 - 11 the record of a "trash" team?

[Kawhitstorm]

Embarrassing game. Just sick right now. GS in a tight battle with wolves, who knows what happens there. Every f'ing game matters now. Blowing big leads is a joke at this point

Stay as the 2nd seed since the Cripples are tanking for the 4th seed.:wakeup

[SAGirl]

Lma should have gotten the ball more in the post. He was the only 1 who really could get his own high % shot tonight.

Kawhi had a good defender on him, no reason to force anything
Tatum even blocked him once and started a fastbreak. He really had the length to make Kawhi take very difficult shots and Baytum is decent to good defensively.

[BillMc]

As bad as Patty was I put some of it on Pop for sticking with the bench that was playing shitty in the 2nd too long giving the Hornets hope and momentum

Yeah. The bench really bombed tonight. Tony, Timmy, LMA and Kawhi all played well enough to win.

[LakerHater]

As bad as Patty was I put some of it on Pop for sticking with the bench that was playing shitty in the 2nd too long giving the Hornets hope and momentum
Was jus sayin that!
Didnt understand why Coach Pop left that bench in while they allowed the lead to slip away!

[james evans]

agreed. but you have to see improvement from Danny's trash shots to KL not doing work when Spurs need it. Tired of typing the same thing about KL controlling the pace.
The problem is that leonard doesn't get the ball in his spots or sometime when time is running down. I saw about 4 consecutive plays in which parker came down and didn't pass it to him at all, look him off, or just turn it over. He's back on the bs. Shit, he'd pass it to Aldridge before Leonard. Leonard getting traded next season would be one of the happiest moments in his life. I see it, so I don't know why or how popovich doesn't see it

[bklynspursfan]

Tatum even blocked him once and started a fastbreak. He really had the length to make Kawhi take very difficult shots and Baytum is decent to good defensively.

Yea. Batum is a good defender. Kawhi really didn't have anything going tonight. But he forced up a couple shots, 3 was off. LMA was at least going to get a shot closer to the basket

[Kawhitstorm]

No doubt. This is good for coaching though. They're a lock for the second. Pop just giving out lessons. He could have changed this game. He took Martin out when he was turning things around for the spurs.

Should have stuck w/ K-Mart over Danny who checked into the game & gave Lin a wide open 3.:lol

[SAGirl]

The silver lining is...

1) They'll be pissed and therefore no immediate danger to the home streak.
2) Pop knows we won't catch the warriors and continue with rest/experiments.
3) Don't have to worry about the hornets until the finals. :lol
Always good with the silver lining! :turn You will be missed Bill!

[Kawhitstorm]

Duncan finally has a good game and they lose a 23 point lead. Go figure

I'll take it :toast

[SAGirl]

They really could have benefited from Boban or Simmons tonight, guys who change the complexion of the game and alter the flow.
These two are loosing games down in the dleague TBH. Simmons 3 in a row!
Won't claim for them until they really show up with better games in the d league. It's a start. Maybe they are both better next season.

[Kawhitstorm]

2) Pop knows we won't catch the warriors and continue with rest/experiments.

Would have sucked if the #1 seed came down to the final week of the season b/c Mad Scientist Pop would have thrown away the final game of the season. Just protect the homecourt & experiment on the road.

[BillMc]

Always good with the silver lining! :turn You will be missed Bill!

Thank you SAGirl. :toast But I'm not dying, just going to England! :lol

[Spur|n|Austin]

Besides Lin's hair, I also blame dumb Andrew Monaco. Please bring back Bill Land ASAP

Yep, I knew it was a loss right when I saw that goofy bastard. I'm pretty sure all our losses have come when he's in and Land is out.

[SAGirl]

Thank you SAGirl. :toast But I'm not dying, just going to England! :lol
There is just a lot of cliff jumping here even when we win so you can imagine what a breath of fresh air it is to see silver linings :lol

[EVAY]

Guess it was a trap game after all.

[KDKSpurs24]

I'm not that pissed but if the Warriors lose tonight I kind of will be. Because this could turn out to affect us like that Knicks game last year.

[Kawhitstorm]

Embarrassing game. Just sick right now. GS in a tight battle with wolves, who knows what happens there. Every f'ing game matters now. Blowing big leads is a joke at this point

Just enjoy the ride, I'm not bothering w/ the #1 seed or the 1st rd opponent b/c the #1 seed would have required the Spurs to go undefeated the rest of season including beating the Worriers TWICE (improbable considering Pop's history) & the 1st rd opponents won't be determined until the final week of the season.

All I cared about was avoiding the Cripples in the 2nd rd & that seems like a done deal.:toast

[J_Paco]

The problem is that leonard doesn't get the ball in his spots or sometime when time is running down. I saw about 4 consecutive plays in which parker came down and didn't pass it to him at all, look him off, or just turn it over. He's back on the bs. Shit, he'd pass it to Aldridge before Leonard. Leonard getting traded next season would be one of the happiest moments in his life. I see it, so I don't know why or how popovich doesn't see it

WTF?!?!?!?!

If anything Parker and Aldridge should have shot more since they both had favorable matchups, but I do agree that Parker was reckless with the ball at times. Doesn't mean that the team should trade Leonard (their best player), Parker should stop being aggressive (but efficient) and continue to feature Aldridge.

[sasaint]

No doubt. This is good for coaching though. They're a lock for the second. Pop just giving out lessons. He could have changed this game. He took Martin out when he was turning things around for the spurs.

Yeah losing that huge lead only makes Pop's coaching points easier to make, just as they make the loss harder for fans to swallow. Minimal Pop coaching, timeouts, etc. are always a give away as to his intentions. "Think you're great because you beat the Dubs, how great are you guys now?" - Pop

[Budkin]

Appropriate fear TBH.

[BillMc]

There is just a lot of cliff jumping here even when we win so you can imagine what a breath of fresh air it is to see silver linings :lol

Cheers!:bobo Stay positive everyone, these games happen, especially on the road.

[BillMc]

Appropriate fear TBH.

This.

[Kawhitstorm]

I'm not that pissed but if the Warriors lose tonight I kind of will be. Because this could turn out to affect us like that Knicks game last year.

The Knicks game resulted in the Spurs being matched up w/ the Cripples, the Hornet game might have reassured the Spurs NOT facing the Cripples in the postseason.

[sasaint]

Just enjoy the ride, I'm not bothering w/ the #1 seed or the 1st rd opponent b/c the #1 seed would have required the Spurs to go undefeated the rest of season including beating the Worriers TWICE (improbable considering Pop's history) & the 1st rd opponents won't be determined until the final week of the season.

All I cared about was avoiding the Cripples in the 2nd rd & that seems like a done deal.:toast

Great points. There was never a realistic shot at overtaking the Dubs. But as a fan, I hate any loss, but especially one like this meltdown. Pop will make a lot of lemonade though.

[J_Paco]

I'm not that pissed but if the Warriors lose tonight I kind of will be. Because this could turn out to affect us like that Knicks game last year.


How is that? This team is in a much, much better situation than last year's when they blew 5 or 6 games (Lakers, Knicks, Pistons, Trail Blazers (3 OT) and Grizzlies (3 OT) that cost them a top 4 seed. They virtually have the 2nd seed locked up and only delusional Spur fans think they can overtake Golden State at this point.

[Kawhitstorm]

Yeah, stupid move and either Boris or Timmy should have inbound the ball. Also, Kawhi rushed his shot when the team was down just 1 or 2 with a new 24 - second shot clock.


Pop is out there experimenting & Kawhi will learn from this, nothing that can't be fixed or executed better.

[daslicer]

Stay as the 2nd seed since the Cripples are tanking for the 4th seed.:wakeup

Exactly playing the Clippers in the second round is more difficult match up versus playing the Thunder. Also with Blake Griffin coming back they will be a pain in the ass for the Warriors to deal with.

[Kawhitstorm]

Great points. There was never a realistic shot at overtaking the Dubs. But as a fan, I hate any loss, but especially one like this meltdown. Pop will make a lot of lemonade though.

Pop will be MILKING this whenever they have a big lead the rest of the season. If it was a home game, I would have been pissed but it's not the first time they lost on the road. #shakeitoff:lol

[TheMulletMan3000]

It isn't April yet, idiot. And since when is 59 - 11 the record of a "trash" team?

12 games to play and they are not focused and not giving 100%. I'm aware of the record, I was just referring to recent lack of effort

[sasaint]

12 games to play and they are not focused and not giving 100%. I'm aware of the record, I was just referring to recent lack of effort

Did you miss the game against the Dubs?

[bklynspursfan]

Dubs could lose tonight. Not likely but they're down. Curry is struggling again from the field. Getting the 1 seed was always going to be tough, but it was possible. If we took care of our business
If they lose, we wouldve been 2 games back.we have to take care of our business. I know the clips would be a tough out, but we're a different team than last year. Plus who knows what kind of Blake they'll have

[J_Paco]

12 games to play and they are not focused and not giving 100%. I'm aware of the record, I was just referring to recent lack of effort

Lack of effort? Green has gone on a downward spiral shooting wise (sub .300 for the season is a big, big issue), but the team overall has been playing great, great basketball. Parker and Mills played some of the best defense of their respective careers on Saturday night, yet you think they aren't giving enough effort?!?!?!

[sasaint]

Pop will be MILKING this whenever they have a big lead the rest of the season. If it was a home game, I would have been pissed but it's not the first time they lost on the road. #shakeitoff:lol

On the road... Good timing with only 12 games left. Pop is giddy on the inside.

[Kawhitstorm]

On the road... Good timing with only 12 games left. Pop is giddy on the inside.

The team finally has its best 1st quarter & it ends up in the worst final 3 quarters of the season.:lol

[sasaint]

The team finally has its best 1st quarter & it ends up in the worst final 3 quarters of the season.:lol

I couldn't get my quote function to work for some reason, but I mentioned during the game that your boy, Courtney Lee was auditioning by playing his best game of the year against us. Don't actually know if it was his best game, but he looked good. I wish we could get Batum, but I dream sometimes.

[KDKSpurs24]

How is that? This team is in a much, much better situation than last year's when they blew 5 or 6 games (Lakers, Knicks, Pistons, Trail Blazers (3 OT) and Grizzlies (3 OT) that cost them a top 4 seed. They virtually have the 2nd seed locked up and only delusional Spur fans think they can overtake Golden State at this point.
Delusional? It's not that big of a stretch to think that.. If we were 5 games behind then it would be. My point was that IF they lost tonight and we had not blown that game it would be a 2 game lead and we still have 2 games against them. Plus they play the Clippers soon. They could have a stretch of bad games. There was nothing wrong with being optimistic(It's narrow-minded to not think of different possibilities) ). But as I said this is ONLY if they were to lose tonight.

Last year we could have been 2nd seed as well. I'm not talking about middle of the season games like the OT games from last year. The Knicks loss was a kind of late season game like this one. But i'm not mad. I've officially accepted the 2 seed now and it's still a great situation.

[TheMulletMan3000]

Did you miss the game against the Dubs?

Dubs missed 3 very good players and were on a second night of a b2b. Nevertheless, my point was that Spurs should be better right now considering talent that they have. They shouldn't have so much inconsistencies which I think are effort related.

[KDKSpurs24]

The Knicks game resulted in the Spurs being matched up w/ the Cripples, the Hornet game might have reassured the Spurs NOT facing the Cripples in the postseason.

I agree but I had that mindset that I wanted to crush the Warriors season in every way :lol.
But now I want to beat the team that broke all those records in the playoffs. Would ruin their season even more. As long as we win it all i'm good.

[Ditty]

We will be fine calm down :lol

We should have a first round bye to get our guys out of coasting mode.

They will bring when it's on, we have seen that in years past tbh

[SpurPadre]

Bowen just blasted the team for choking on espn.

[BillMc]

I don't know if I'll be happy or sad if the Dubs lose to the T-Wolves. Happy they lost, pissed that we blew the chance to close the gap. Might feel better if Dubs win so I don't feel we blew the opportunity. :lol

[sasaint]

Dubs missed 3 very good players and were on a second night of a b2b. Nevertheless, my point was that Spurs should be better right now considering talent that they have. They shouldn't have so much inconsistencies which I think are effort related.

Effort was not the real issue tonight. After the first quarter (which Imadmittedly missed) we were unfocused and sloppy, making mostly mental mistakes.

[sasaint]

I don't know if I'll be happy or sad if the Dubs lose to the T-Wolves. Happy they lost, pissed that we blew the chance to close the gap. Might feel better if Dubs win so I don't feel we blew the opportunity. :lol

I think it was unrealistic to expect us to overtake the Dubs even when there were 20 games left. Pop was never going to push our guys in the regular season to do that. I want us to beat them after they beat the Bulls' record. That would be SWEET!

[Kawhitstorm]

I couldn't get my quote function to work for some reason, but I mentioned during the game that your boy, Courtney Lee was auditioning by playing his best game of the year against us. Don't actually know if it was his best game, but he looked good. I wish we could get Batum, but I dream sometimes.

Courtney is a nice medium b/w Danny/K-Mart & can probably be had for the MLE. Batum is a guy that will probably get the max & won't be worth it unless he's going to playing point-forward (he become disengaged when he's playing off the ball).

[SpurPadre]

Effort was not the real issue tonight. After the first quarter (which Imadmittedly missed) we were unfocused and sloppy, making mostly mental mistakes.

I couldn't see the last quarter, but on the play by play, I saw that Kawhi went for three down 1 after TD got an offensive rebound with the shot clock in our favor. WTF happened there? Was that also a mental mistake or was that truly the best shot attempt available at that point?

[Kawhitstorm]

I don't know if I'll be happy or sad if the Dubs lose to the T-Wolves. Happy they lost, pissed that we blew the chance to close the gap. Might feel better if Dubs win so I don't feel we blew the opportunity. :lol

The only team worse the the Wolves during crunch time is OKC.:lol

[james evans]

WTF?!?!?!?!

If anything Parker and Aldridge should have shot more since they both had favorable matchups, but I do agree that Parker was reckless with the ball at times. Doesn't mean that the team should trade Leonard (their best player), Parker should stop being aggressive (but efficient) and continue to feature Aldridge.
haha, cmon man. I'm not saying we should trade leonard. I'm just saying, if that would happen(and it's not happening), he'd be happy. paker goes a game or 2 being a pg and passing, then he's back to his bullshit as usual. I knew it was too good to be true.

[Kawhitstorm]

I couldn't see the last quarter, but on the play by play, I saw that Kawhi went for three down 1 after TD got an offensive rebound with the shot clock in our favor. WTF happened there? Was that also a mental mistake or was that truly the best shot attempt available at that point?

He got the ball while the defense was scrambling after the offensive rebound & shot it right away w/ Batum running at him.

[BillMc]

The only team worse the the Wolves during crunch time is OKC.:lol
:lol Wolves are young, what's OKC's excuse? :lol

Watching the game now. KAT is the real deal. He might make All-NBA as a rookie given the lack of great centers in the league now.

[Kawhitstorm]

712089282601730050

[KDKSpurs24]

He got the ball while the defense was scrambling after the offensive rebound & shot it right away w/ Batum running at him.
Nooo I just rewatched that. If we are talking about the 3 pt shot where it was 88-89. Kawhi had just shot an airball and the ball didn't hit the rim. Duncan grabbed it then passed it to Danny. Danny passed it to Kawhi and it was 2 seconds on the shot clock. He HAD to shoot that.

[Kawhitstorm]

:lol Wolves are young, what's OKC's excuse? :lol

WestBrick playing heroball.


Watching the game now. KAT is the real deal. He might make All-NBA as a rookie given the lack of great centers in the league now.

He's handling his own against Draymond who might make the All-NBA 1st team as a center.

[SAGirl]

Just enjoy the ride, I'm not bothering w/ the #1 seed or the 1st rd opponent b/c the #1 seed would have required the Spurs to go undefeated the rest of season including beating the Worriers TWICE (improbable considering Pop's history) & the 1st rd opponents won't be determined until the final week of the season.

All I cared about was avoiding the Cripples in the 2nd rd & that seems like a done deal.:toast
Good point. I hate to loose to anyone but we were not getting first seed, too much of an uphill battle and we still have too many question marks about us, like Pop integrating Kmart and Manu getting his swagger back to make it. Then OTOH, I really did not want the Clippers like you. I think they are matchup nightmare for us. Kawhi was effective on CP3 last time but they didn't have Blake. They have given us more trouble than OkC.

Team will have to be strong enough to win at Oracle. If they don't it wasn't their season after all.

[Kawhitstorm]

Nooo I just rewatched that. If we are talking about the 3 pt shot where it was 88-89. Kawhi had just shot an airball and the ball didn't hit the rim. Duncan grabbed it then passed it to Danny. Danny passed it to Kawhi and it was 2 seconds on the shot clock. He HAD to shoot that.

That's what I thought too when I watched it live but then I looked at the play-by-play & it says "offensive rebound". I guess there is an offensive rebound on air-balls.:lol

[TheMulletMan3000]

Lack of effort? Green has gone on a downward spiral shooting wise (sub .300 for the season is a big, big issue), but the team overall has been playing great, great basketball. Parker and Mills played some of the best defense of their respective careers on Saturday night, yet you think they aren't giving enough effort?!?!?!

Defense is great this year, no doubt (except for tonight where Lin looked like an all-nba) but there were so many possessions that they look passive on offense, just waiting something to happen.

[r0drig0lac]

damn wolves

[sasaint]

I couldn't see the last quarter, but on the play by play, I saw that Kawhi went for three down 1 after TD got an offensive rebound with the shot clock in our favor. WTF happened there? Was that also a mental mistake or was that truly the best shot attempt available at that point?

He did not take a turrible shot. He had a little room, but he forced it on a night when he was not playing particularly well or very hard, tbh. Quite frankly, it was Kawhi trying to be a hero when we had time to get a better shot. We had time, but we really had nobody who was hitting 3s, so I don't really blame him for taking the shot himself. If it went in, everybody on ST would have hailed him as the best player in the league taking and making the pressure shot, etc.

Actually KDKSpurs24 said the previous shot did not draw iron, so Kawhi took the shot with like 2 seconds left on the shot clock. I don't know.

[DPG21920]

Spurs hold someone to 91 and they should win. Offense looks really bogged down when things go bad, but they have shown enough most games to be ok.

[sasaint]

Courtney is a nice medium b/w Danny/K-Mart & can probably be had for the MLE. Batum is a guy that will probably get the max & won't be worth it unless he's going to playing point-forward (he become disengaged when he's playing off the ball).

I would definitely be interested in Lee for the MLE.

[BillMc]

Spurs hold someone to 91 and they should win. Offense looks really bogged down when things go bad, but they have shown enough most games to be ok.

Bench's decline is a bit worrying. But otherwise no big deal this loss and as others have said, Pop can use it to his advantage.

[SAGirl]

I don't know if I'll be happy or sad if the Dubs lose to the T-Wolves. Happy they lost, pissed that we blew the chance to close the gap. Might feel better if Dubs win so I don't feel we blew the opportunity. :lol
Really if we want to sour ourselves, this loss was a chokejob and the loss against the Pacers was a magnificent come back from behind with a lot if grit, that fell short. Both game on the road to playoff teams that had been playing very well. Both featured SF with length that gave Kawhi hell all night.

Both games the bench didn't give much, Manu played 20+ mins but didn't give much offensively bc he is not 100% and nobody else stepped up. The Pacers game Messina played it very conservative, here Pop was full mad scientist mode. Early season Manu would have nabbed both IMO. That is probably the most critical lesson here. Without 100% Manu we are not whole.

[SpurPadre]

And the Dubs just unofficially clinched homecourt. I hope the team is happy about that.

[timtonymanu]

And the Dubs just unofficially clinched homecourt. I hope the team is happy about that.

Spurs were never gonna catch the Dubs anyway, not a team trying to beat 72 wins. At this point, they care more about preparing for the playoffs than chasing the 1st seed.

[Mugen]

And the Dubs just unofficially clinched homecourt. I hope the team is happy about that.

:lol I know Pop probably is. The Spurs weren't catching the Dubs regardless of tonight's outcome tbh.

[SpurPadre]

Spurs were never gonna catch the Dubs anyway, not a team trying to beat 72 wins. At this point, they care more about preparing for the playoffs than chasing the 1st seed.

They felt the same way last season too and look what happened. Game 7 at home is a huge deal for the Dubs. It will be the biggest challenge in NBA history to beat them in a 7 game series now.

[Floyd Pacquiao]

Spurs win if Patty and Danny hit 3 out of the 13 open 3s they had. Just missed some shots

[BillMc]

Really if we want to sour ourselves, this loss was a chokejob and the loss against the Pacers was a magnificent come back from behind with a lot if grit, that fell short. Both game on the road to playoff teams that had been playing very well. Both featured SF with length that gave Kawhi hell all night.

Both games the bench didn't give much, Manu played 20+ mins but didn't give much offensively bc he is not 100% and nobody else stepped up. The Pacers game Messina played it very conservative, here Pop was full mad scientist mode. Early season Manu would have nabbed both IMO. That is probably the most critical lesson here. Without 100% Manu we are not whole.

All your points are valid, and we need 2014 Manu not 2013 Finals Manu to dethrone the champs in a series. That said, a loss like this was coming after the week we had with OKC, Clips, Portland and Dubs. Blowing the big lead made it sting more, of course.

If you really want to be a cliff jumper we could start posting "IT'S 2011 ALL OVER AGAIN! IT'S 2011 ALL OVER AGAIN!" :lol But I'll save that for the UNT's of the world.

[SpurPadre]

:lol I know Pop probably is. The Spurs weren't catching the Dubs regardless of tonight's outcome tbh.

I guess time to sit TD and Manu for the rest of the season...

[Mugen]

I guess time to sit TD and Manu for the rest of the season...

I would give several players several games to rest for the rest of the season tbh.

[SAGirl]

All your points are valid, and we need 2014 Manu not 2013 Finals Manu to dethrone the champs in a series. That said, a loss like this was coming after the week we had with OKC, Clips, Portland and Dubs. Blowing the big lead made it sting more, of course.

If you really want to be a cliff jumper we could start posting "IT'S 2011 ALL OVER AGAIN! IT'S 2011 ALL OVER AGAIN!" :lol But I'll save that for the UNT's of the world.
:lol lol nah. I think we could have won both.

Frankly as much of a fan of Anderson as I am, I want us to win and if that means he's benched, perfectly ok with that. I thought him going back to the dleague early in the season would have helped his aggressiveness but Pop thought no apparently. He's just at that point that needs this experience...

But really the barometer is that he's not ready to replace what Manu brings and frankly they are very different. I think Kmart is more likely to give you at least the scoring Manu does, but not everything else. I thought the lineup with Patty/Tony/Kmart was terrible although Kmart scored they were still a negative bc they can't defend. Maybe it was a Pop experiment for Kmart?

[timtonymanu]

They felt the same way last season too and look what happened. Game 7 at home is a huge deal for the Dubs. It will be the biggest challenge in NBA history to beat them in a 7 game series now.

Except last season, the Spurs were a 6th seed. This year, they're the 2nd seed. They got homecourt this time in two rounds and in the Finals (if they get that far). Of course it will be a big challenge to beat a team like these Dubs, but whats the point in forcing our older, more mileage players to catch up to a team full of players in their prime and play their starters majority of the minutes? It's not the Spurs or Pop's way of doing things.

Despite the loss tonight and the usual cliff jumping (even from certain really good posters, not ripping on you either Padre), we still showed things against the Dubs that gives us a chance in a series so we may not have homecourt, but the Spurs will compete hard.

[twincam]

It was quite obvious that this game was going to slip away, one way, shape, or form. Major melt down, plus the Warriors squeaked by the T'Wolves. 4 games back now. Race over.

[BillMc]

I'm guessing our final record, with the resting and experimenting, will now be about 66-16.

[timtonymanu]

I'm guessing our final record, with the resting and experimenting, will now be about 66-16.

Looking at the remaining games, OKC, @GS, @Den (b2b after the Dubs game, Denver has been better than their record lately), vs GS are all the remaining games I see the Spurs struggling in. I'm fully expecting Pop to tank that @Oracle game and just play everyone against Denver, so I could see us ending the season 68-14 imo.

[SpurPadre]

Except last season, the Spurs were a 6th seed. This year, they're the 2nd seed. They got homecourt this time in two rounds and in the Finals (if they get that far). Of course it will be a big challenge to beat a team like these Dubs, but whats the point in forcing our older, more mileage players to catch up to a team full of players in their prime and play their starters majority of the minutes? It's not the Spurs or Pop's way of doing things.

Despite the loss tonight and the usual cliff jumping (even from certain really good posters, not ripping on you either Padre), we still showed things against the Dubs that gives us a chance in a series so we may not have homecourt, but the Spurs will compete hard.

Yeah, we got no choice now. Now I just hope the Clips stay at #4 and get Blake back to give the Dubs everything they've got.

[sasaint]

I would give several players several games to rest for the rest of the season tbh.

I disagree. Both Tim and (obviously) Manu have had time off. Maybe a DNP or two - but no more. Both need to get their rhythm going into the playoffs. The only silver lining I saw tonight was Tim's hustle and generally good play. However even Tim was not as mentally sharp as he needs to be. On one play during the Hornets' comeback, Tim was ball watching and failed to move to the right side of the basket. He lost the board to Kaminsky and promptly gave up a third look when he failed to box out Kaminsky on the second shot. Maybe some of our guys could do with a little less in-game playing time, but all of our guys need to get enough court time to get their rhythm and sharpen their focus.

[Kawhitstorm]

They felt the same way last season too and look what happened. Game 7 at home is a huge deal for the Dubs. It will be the biggest challenge in NBA history to beat them in a 7 game series now.

The team they needed homecourt advantage against was OKC b/c of the ThundeRefs factor & that has been locked up. The Worriers don't get to the line & Kawhi doesn't even get calls at home so it shouldn't REALLY be that much of a factor.

If a team is begging for homecourt b/c "role players don't play well on the road" then good luck winning a series when you lose Gm 1 on your homecourt.:lol

[SpurPadre]

The team they needed homecourt advantage against was OKC b/c of the ThundeRefs factor & that has been locked up. The Worriers don't get to the line & Kawhi doesn't even get calls at home so it shouldn't REALLY be that much of a factor.

If a team is begging for homecourt b/c "role players don't play well on the road" then good luck winning a series when you lose Gm 1 on your homecourt.:lol

Still the Dubs home winning streak is longer than ours. It matters against them. They take their game to another level at the Oracle and their point differential at home is better than the Spurs' home differential.

[Ice009]

Just finished watching the game a minute a go. I cannot believe we lost after having a 23 point lead. What a horrid performance. Game felt like the Pelicans game to end last season. It kind of feels like the team choked away another golden opportunity to push the Warriors a little more. I know that we weren't likely to get the number one seed, but pushing the Warriors a little more may have pushed them harder, and who knows, they may have picked up an injury trying to keep ahead of us. Now they can probably start resting players if they want to.

Kawhi just doesn't have it in crunch time. He doesn't have a dribble drive game to get to the rim and he has no confidence in his 3 point shot. Fucking atrocious, always passing up open 3s to take a couple of dribbles in for a long two. I'm a shooter, and if I was able to shoot 47% in the NBA from 3, I sure as fuck would be taking every open 3 point shot that I got with a massive smile on my face. If I could dribble (I can't), I'd either shoot the 3 or take it to the rack if I could see a pathway there. I don't understand his reluctance to take the open shot. Either shoot the 3 or try and dribble in deep and get to the rim. I don't understand why he always has to take those long 2s. I'm not a fan of that.

[Kawhitstorm]

Still the Dubs home winning streak is longer than ours. It matters against them. They take their game to another level at the Oracle and their point differential at home is better than the Spurs' home differential.

That's b/c punks meltdown at the Roracle Arena like college players during March Madness.:lol

The Spurs have performed well in all the recent elimination games on the road when they didn't have homecourt advantage:
-2013 Finals: Gm 6/7
-2015 1st rd: Gm 7

The Spurs have also lost their hard earned HCA plenty of times during the first 2 games of a series including recently against the '13 Worriers, '14 Mavs/Heat.

If the Spurs are going to take down the Worriers, it is most likely going to be in 6 (go up 3-2 & finish 'em at home ala 2007 Suns:toast).

[SpurPadre]

That's b/c punks meltdown at the Roracle Arena like college players during March Madness.:lol

The Spurs have performed well in all the recent elimination games on the road when they didn't have homecourt advantage:
-2013 Finals: Gm 6/7
-2015 1st rd: Gm 7
The Spurs have also lost PLENTY their hard earned HCA during the first 2 games of a series including recently against the '13 Worriers, '14 Mavs/Heat.

We lost all 3 games you mentioned but I get your point.

[Kawhitstorm]

We lost all 3 games you mentioned but I get your point.

Lost all 3 b/c Porker/Turnobili were either injured or playing like shyt while carrying a good chunk of the offensive burden. This season you have two guy in their PRIMES (LMA/Kawhi) to do the heavy lifting.

[TampaDude]

LOL...what a crap game for the Spurs...blowing a 23-point lead...at least Pop will have plenty to bitch about.

In the big picture, it means nothing. We weren't gonna catch GS, and OKC isn't catching us. We're locked into the #2 seed. Other than keeping the home win streak alive, the Spurs don't have much left to play for in the regular season.

[NameLess Scrub]

Couldn't watch. Checked in 1st qtr and thought the game was done.
I can't believe this team. It's like they do it on purpose.

[TampaDude]

Couldn't watch. Checked in 1st qtr and thought the game was done.
I can't believe this team. It's like they do it on purpose.

Pop probably did do it on purpose. We're the #2 seed in the West, and barring Al Qaeda nuking Oakland, nothing is going to change that.

[KenziE]

Pop and crew knew whats goin on they let bobcats come back so they wont cover the spread (-6) then tried to get the win at the end alas it didnt happen. this game means nothing in the big picture . When they took that 23 pt lead that was the real deal then they just coasted from there tbh.


remaining games are gonna be experiments and locking of playoff rotation . The 5-0 homestand was the real test and they did a good job .

[99 Problems]

Tbh dubs will need home court. They've chased this 72 hard all season including their share of o/t victories.

[SAGirl]

Just finished watching the game a minute a go. I cannot believe we lost after having a 23 point lead. What a horrid performance. Game felt like the Pelicans game to end last season. It kind of feels like the team choked away another golden opportunity to push the Warriors a little more. I know that we weren't likely to get the number one seed, but pushing the Warriors a little more may have pushed them harder, and who knows, they may have picked up an injury trying to keep ahead of us. Now they can probably start resting players if they want to.

Kawhi just doesn't have it in crunch time. He doesn't have a dribble drive game to get to the rim and he has no confidence in his 3 point shot. Fucking atrocious, always passing up open 3s to take a couple of dribbles in for a long two. I'm a shooter, and if I was able to shoot 47% in the NBA from 3, I sure as fuck would be taking every open 3 point shot that I got with a massive smile on my face. If I could dribble (I can't), I'd either shoot the 3 or take it to the rack if I could see a pathway there. I don't understand his reluctance to take the open shot. Either shoot the 3 or try and dribble in deep and get to the rim. I don't understand why he always has to take those long 2s. I'm not a fan of that.
This opinion made me recall that game against the Lakers where Kobe famously Saud he was approaghed by Pop to coach Kawhi. This right here is probably what Pop wants Kobe to teach Kawhi. Sometimes you have to be selfish and greedy and have the assassin gene. Maybe film of this will fuel Kawhi next time he's in a similar situation. He's been clutch already this season but as a star he cannot afford a game off.

[DenialTwist]

This opinion made me recall that game against the Lakers where Kobe famously Saud he was approaghed by Pop to coach Kawhi. This right here is probably what Pop wants Kobe to teach Kawhi. Sometimes you have to be selfish and greedy and have the assassin gene. Maybe film of this will fuel Kawhi next time he's in a similar situation. He's been clutch already this season but as a star he cannot afford a game off.

How can Kawhi have the assassin gene playing with Tony Parker? Look, Parker got overconfident because of his 1st half performance and decided to take it upon himself and win the game. Bad idea. He simply had a hard time trying to run the offense and they all looked real sloppy in the 2nd half. I do agree that Kawhi should do what Pop said last season and say "To hell with them" and take over. When ball movement doesn't produce anything and everyone is COLD you just need to let your main scorers do work.

I wish Pop would just try Kawhi at point forward one game and let him distribute. The KL-LMA pick n roll is unstoppable. Kawhi draws so many defenders, it would lead to wide open shots.

How many more games do we have to see Tony dribble 16 seconds of the shot clock just to brick a mid range jumper, get trapped trying to attack the basket or turn it over because of a bad pass? Enough is enough, man. Spurs need to get their shit together for the playoffs. This stuff won't fly in a series against OKC and Warriors, who have assassins themselves. Curry, Westbrook and Durant have numerous times said fuck it, I'm going to will my team to a win and score no matter what. Prime Manu would've had the guts to do it. He was always a better "closer" than Parker. That's why Kobe said he liked watching and playing against Manu, his competitiveness.

[SAGirl]

How can Kawhi have the assassin gene playing with Tony Parker? Look, Parker got overconfident because of his 1st half performance and decided to take it upon himself and win the game. Bad idea. He simply had a hard time trying to run the offense and they all looked real sloppy in the 2nd half. I do agree that Kawhi should do what Pop said last season and say "To hell with them" and take over. When ball movement doesn't produce anything and everyone is COLD you just need to let your main scorers do work.

I wish Pop would just try Kawhi at point forward one game and let him distribute. The KL-LMA pick n roll is unstoppable. Kawhi draws so many defenders, it would lead to wide open shots.

How many more games do we have to see Tony dribble 16 seconds of the shot clock just to brick a mid range jumper, get trapped trying to attack the basket or turn it over because of a bad pass? Enough is enough, man. Spurs need to get their shit together for the playoffs. This stuff won't fly in a series against OKC and Warriors, who have assassins themselves. Curry, Westbrook and Durant have numerous times said fuck it, I'm going to will my team to a win and score no matter what. Prime Manu would've had the guts to do it. He was always a better "closer" than Parker. That's why Kobe said he liked watching and playing against Manu, his competitiveness.
Ok this is my gods honest opinion. I am not known to troll but do have my shifty takes from time to time like anyone. I think Pop had specific agendas for this game in terms of things he wanted to see. That is why we see sometimes different offensive sets and different things either with Kawhi or Tony from one game to the other. He's still CIA Pop.

I think the real game was the first Q and a half, with KA in the rotation. After he sat it was full on experimenta in terms of rotations and things and sets Pop wanted to see. But Charlotte is a playoff team that has been playing really well recently and they started to get very active defensively and playing passing lanes. Pop put Kmart there in with Danny, benched Kawhi for a little bit to try Kmart out. Things got sloppy, TD and LMA failing to rebound... Charlotte plays stretch 4s but Pop refused to sit TD. Pop was trying TD out, who generally had a good game but he also had lapses where he was slow, didn't rebound, or box out and got killed in transition. It was a test for TD to see if he can hang with this kind of team.They got TD rolling too, involved him in PNR, made a lot of plays for him. Remember that Td didn't play well against GSW, so it was important to get TD rolling against a quality perimeter team.

But, we were getting killed in transition and perimeter teams precisely kill teams like us forcing TO... I think Pop let this go on for maybe too long bc it was a test for guys. Kmart was on test too, and I thought save a few sequences he did well, but playing Kmart meant Kawhi was benched for a good long while. By the way Danny was terrible in that stretch, really bad and it forced Pop to play Manu longer than he has recently. He could have gone to Kawhi, but he probably wanted to reduce his minutes since he's played sammich lately. The other explanation is that he wanted to see 'Kmart with Danny and Manu and at the SF spot.

By the time Kawhi got into the game, Charlotte got even more active defensively and killed us in transition. Dwest can't hang with this kind of teams. I think his stats are deceiving bc he made a couple of shots but he fouled a 3 pts shooter result in a 4 pts play and was slow always in transition. TD was actually a better option. Just in general I think Pop had a bucket list of guys and things he wanted to see.

He wasn't even playing his best hand against a team like this IMO which was going small. He wanted to try his traditional big lineups and we were killed in transition defense. In all of these experiments from Pop he may have hidden Easter eggs. When he finally wanted to win the game it was too late. The other team was confident with momentum playing at home. Pop maybe even let mistakes like Tony not controlling pace, tempo or bad shot selection go as teaching lessons.

I believe like the team has said they are looking to improve in areas of weakness. It is not representative of what Pop ultimately will play as his style. Just putting a lot of guys through challenges and seeing how well or bad they do.

[NameLess Scrub]

Pop probably did do it on purpose. We're the #2 seed in the West, and barring Al Qaeda nuking Oakland, nothing is going to change that.


What good can come from throwing away a game? Specially a 23 pt lead? Rest?

[SAGirl]

Repeat post sorry tablets error.

[BatManu20]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CeKCm2-WwAE31jA.jpg

[jyra]

I can't remember the last time the Spurs ran a great play where they needed a three at the end of the game. This was far from the worst one though.
Patty got a decent look because Kemba turned his head looking for a screen from Green but he still managed to recover pretty well to contest the shot.
The second (or maybe first) option was Green getting a flare screen from Aldridge but the Hornets did well to take that pass away with Zeller doubling up on Manu. They could afford to do that because you don't need to guard TD in this situation.

http://abload.de/img/clipboard02jfkmd.jpg

[ceperez]

Ok this is my gods honest opinion. I am not known to troll but do have my shifty takes from time to time like anyone. I think Pop had specific agendas for this game in terms of things he wanted to see. That is why we see sometimes different offensive sets and different things either with Kawhi or Tony from one game to the other. He's still CIA Pop.

I think the real game was the first Q and a half, with KA in the rotation. After he sat it was full on experimenta in terms of rotations and things and sets Pop wanted to see. But Charlotte is a playoff team that has been playing really well recently and they started to get very active defensively and playing passing lanes. Pop put Kmart there in with Danny, benched Kawhi for a little bit to try Kmart out. Things got sloppy, TD and LMA failing to rebound... Charlotte plays stretch 4s but Pop refused to sit TD. Pop was trying TD out, who generally had a good game but he also had lapses where he was slow, didn't rebound, or box out and got killed in transition. It was a test for TD to see if he can hang with this kind of team.They got TD rolling too, involved him in PNR, made a lot of plays for him. Remember that Td didn't play well against GSW, so it was important to get TD rolling against a quality perimeter team.

But, we were getting killed in transition and perimeter teams precisely kill teams like us forcing TO... I think Pop let this go on for maybe too long bc it was a test for guys. Kmart was on test too, and I thought save a few sequences he did well, but playing Kmart meant Kawhi was benched for a good long while. By the way Danny was terrible in that stretch, really bad and it forced Pop to play Manu longer than he has recently. He could have gone to Kawhi, but he probably wanted to reduce his minutes since he's played sammich lately. The other explanation is that he wanted to see 'Kmart with Danny and Manu and at the SF spot.

By the time Kawhi got into the game, Charlotte got even more active defensively and killed us in transition. Dwest can't hang with this kind of teams. I think his stats are deceiving bc he made a couple of shots but he fouled a 3 pts shooter result in a 4 pts play and was slow always in transition. TD was actually a better option. Just in general I think Pop had a bucket list of guys and things he wanted to see.

He wasn't even playing his best hand against a team like this IMO which was going small. He wanted to try his traditional big lineups and we were killed in transition defense. In all of these experiments from Pop he may have hidden Easter eggs. When he finally wanted to win the game it was too late. The other team was confident with momentum playing at home. Pop maybe even let mistakes like Tony not controlling pace, tempo or bad shot selection go as teaching lessons.

I believe like the team has said they are looking to improve in areas of weakness. It is not representative of what Pop ultimately will play as his style. Just putting a lot of guys through challenges and seeing how well or bad they do.

Good summary.

Too bad Spurs waived Butler. Could use an extra body to go up against smaller teams.

Looks like both Duncan and West have been exposed!

[Budkin]

I can't remember the last time the Spurs ran a great play where they needed a three at the end of the game. This was far from the worst one though.
Patty got a decent look because Kemba turned his head looking for a screen from Green but he still managed to recover pretty well to contest the shot.
The second (or maybe first) option was Green getting a flare screen from Aldridge but the Hornets did well to take that pass away with Zeller doubling up on Manu. They could afford to do that because you don't need to guard TD in this situation.

http://abload.de/img/clipboard02jfkmd.jpg

Spurs have always been absolutely terrible in this situation as long as I can remember.

[LakerHater]

Feel bad for Maimi!

[TampaDude]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CeKCm2-WwAE31jA.jpg

Really? I seem to remember the Spurs blowing a 26-point lead to the Celtics a number of years ago.

[TampaDude]

What good can come from throwing away a game? Specially a 23 pt lead? Rest?

Not throwing a game, but tinkering with lineups. Pop's been doing it for years. Regular season.

[NameLess Scrub]

Not throwing a game, but tinkering with lineups. Pop's been doing it for years. Regular season.

Yes.. that I know.. it's just given the lead I think he could've gotten both.

Anyway, who knows what Pop's thinking? :lol

[peacemaker885]

Pop doing MJ a solid. Wants MJ to mentor Kawhi.

[look_at_g_shred]

This game :lol