32 year-old with big miles Lebron played the entire 2nd half and our cute coach ...

[spursistan]

is babying our 24-yo star player in do or die games..fuck this pos ego-driven coach :bang...he is holding back Kawhi..

Keep it simple: you have no depth; play your best player (s) as much as you can instead of trotting out opponent run-exploding shitty lineups..

[ducks]

Who won?

[apalisoc_9]

The Spurs were up 19-18 in game 6 only to be blitzzed from the three minute mark till the 8 minute mark when Anderson subed in.

It was the right decision to rest Kawhi but only because he's not accustomed to playing major minutes even as a 24 year old. Its not just him, even our other younger guys get tired easily. Green sometimes too.

Its a product of too much resting in the regular season. They need to play him like any other 24 year old superstar.

[Ginobilly]

The Spurs were up 19-18 in game 6 only to be blitzzed from the three minute mark till the 8 minute mark when Anderson subed in.

It was the right decision to rest Kawhi but only because he's not accustomed to playing major minutes even as a 24 year old. Its not just him, even our other younger guys get tired easily. Green sometimes too.

Its a product of too much resting in the regular season. They need to play him like any other 24 year old superstar.

now, now, Kawhi is only 24 and is still growing into his lungs:cry:pop: You'll need to get over yourself. Kawhi will play till he's 45 the way Pop manages his minutes.:lol Man, pop changed so much since the 2000's(2014 was anomaly). I remember he would play Tim, Manu, Parker 40+ minutes every close playoff game except for blowouts and foul trouble. You gotta play your top players almost the whole game if you want to win. It's always been that way in the playoffs. Pop has gotten too cute and enamored with rest, and his love affair with cheap ass players who should be outta the league or playing in the D-league.

[TheGreatYacht]

The Spurs were up 19-18 in game 6 only to be blitzzed from the three minute mark till the 8 minute mark when Anderson subed in.
Are you a Parker fan? Does Tony encourage his fans to hate on young players? Kyle is about to be 23, okay, so relax. He needs this playoff experience because he will be a key peace in the future. He has tons of potential and high bball IQ. Give him a pass. Why not go after Parker, Leonard, Aldridge, Duncan, Ginobili, Green, Diaw, Mills, West, Martin, Miller, Boban, Bonner, Simmons???? Leave Kyle alone

[rasuo214]

Game 2 was the worst, Kawhi only played 14 mins in the first half, Pop could have easily played him the entire 2nd half (only would have ended up with 38 mins). Instead Pop had both Kawhi and LMA on the bench to start the 4th, Kyle and company go -6 in the first 2 mins. Spurs end up losing by 1. Now Kawhi didn't have the best game that day but even a subpar Kawhi is a better option, especially when he barely played the 1st half.

[313]

We can complain as much as we want but the harsh reality is that Pop isn't going anywhere and he probably isn't changing any time soon, as disappointing as it may sound.

[Obstructed_View]

Kawhi is getting plenty of rest now.

[Mnky]

Kawhi is not an elite athlete. Having to guard elite athletes at an elite level takes an elite amount of endurance, without adding the offensive load he's expected to offer as well. Kawhi Always looked gassed when playing extended minutes. Defense isn't nearly as easy as offense on the body. Especially when you're expected to cover whoever has the ball while you're on the court, since you're team can't score and HAS to get stops.

Like it or not, the rest is needed for Kawhi. Lma has always played big minutes, but never the intense consistent defense the spurs employ. Being the only legitimate big on offense and defense for the series obviously took a toll on him as well. Two way players are rare for a reason.

[Stabula]

Kawhi is not an elite athlete. Having to guard elite athletes at an elite level takes an elite amount of endurance, without adding the offensive load he's expected to offer as well. Kawhi Always looked gassed when playing extended minutes. Defense isn't nearly as easy as offense on the body. Especially when you're expected to cover whoever has the ball while you're on the court, since you're team can't score and HAS to get stops.

Like it or not, the rest is needed for Kawhi. Lma has always played big minutes, but never the intense consistent defense the spurs employ. Being the only legitimate big on offense and defense for the series obviously took a toll on him as well. Two way players are rare for a reason.

I agree with everything except that Kawhi is indeed an elite athlete

[hater]

Is landing Lebron a possibility nigs?

[TheGreatYacht]

Is landing Lebron a possibility nigs?
Nope, unfortunately. He cares too much about his stats and Poop let's stars know the deal before they sign here. LMA was aware his stats were going to get wrecked.

What would Lebron average on the Spurs in his first season? Pop would give him 14 shot attempts a game tbh :lol

[MVPCues]

Are you a Parker fan? Does Tony encourage his fans to hate on young players? Kyle is about to be 23, okay, so relax. He needs this playoff experience because he will be a key peace in the future. He has tons of potential and high bball IQ. Give him a pass. Why not go after Parker, Leonard, Aldridge, Duncan, Ginobili, Green, Diaw, Mills, West, Martin, Miller, Boban, Bonner, Simmons???? Leave Kyle alone

TheGreatYacht = SAGirl

[paperboy77]

Kawhi is not an elite athlete. Having to guard elite athletes at an elite level takes an elite amount of endurance, without adding the offensive load he's expected to offer as well. Kawhi Always looked gassed when playing extended minutes. Defense isn't nearly as easy as offense on the body. Especially when you're expected to cover whoever has the ball while you're on the court, since you're team can't score and HAS to get stops.

Like it or not, the rest is needed for Kawhi. Lma has always played big minutes, but never the intense consistent defense the spurs employ. Being the only legitimate big on offense and defense for the series obviously took a toll on him as well. Two way players are rare for a reason.

Yeah but why not put him on someone other than the other teams best? Spurs should be good enough to survive with KL not guarding 100%-max-effort all the time.

[cd98]

Kawhi is getting plenty of rest now.

Pop was resting him so he'd be fresh for the Olympics.

[Keepin' it real]

and our cute coach

Hmm, curious you describe him as cute. I thought ruggedly handsome would be more apropos.


Kawhi is not an elite athlete ...

http://static1.squarespace.com/static/5048e660e4b0bd178ab35a57/50f1c974e4b07e77c465685a/56dd6470f699bb4be00b9f15/1457354559403/?format=1000w

[TheGreatYacht]

TheGreatYacht = SAGirl
Caught me :bang

Pop was resting him so he'd be fresh for the Olympics.
:lol

[NameLess Scrub]

I don't think it's a great idea to compare anyone to Lebron.
Lebron is like a made in lab athlete. He has always had top durability.

[Spurs9]

Is landing Lebron a possibility nigs?
Only if the riverwalk and churros interest him.

[Russo21]

I don't think it's a great idea to compare anyone to Lebron.
Lebron is like a made in lab athlete. He has always had top durability.
Except when the A/C goes off :D

[Captivus]

Is there someone here with access to STATS? SportsVU has the answer to this.

[palangi]

Kawhi is getting plenty of rest now.
Really? You hang out with him and know that he is sleeping all day?

[NameLess Scrub]

Except when the A/C goes off :D

:lol

Lebron has run out of gas a couple of times. But with all the time and work he has put into taking games over, he's very durable.

Imagine Kawhi trying to play every minute and run every play.

[TheGreatYacht]

Trade Kyle Anderson for whatever this machine is. Maybe this will help Kawhi :lol

733796452627931136

[Ice009]

Don't bring up this resting shit. I've been mad about it for 5 years. I disagree with it completely.

Only players like Tim and Manu should be resting due to obvious reasons, but apart from those two, no one else should be unless they're legitimately injured. I agree with Tim Grover 100% where he says limit minutes within games instead of outright resting, and also for young players, resting them when they're not injured isn't allowing them to learn to mentally push through fatigue.

[SAGirl]

Kawhi is not an elite athlete. Having to guard elite athletes at an elite level takes an elite amount of endurance, without adding the offensive load he's expected to offer as well. Kawhi Always looked gassed when playing extended minutes. Defense isn't nearly as easy as offense on the body. Especially when you're expected to cover whoever has the ball while you're on the court, since you're team can't score and HAS to get stops.

Like it or not, the rest is needed for Kawhi. Lma has always played big minutes, but never the intense consistent defense the spurs employ. Being the only legitimate big on offense and defense for the series obviously took a toll on him as well. Two way players are rare for a reason.
I agree. Guys like LeBron don't even play defense until the 4th Q and Durant has Roberson to defend the most dangerous wing for about half a game. Kawhi doesn't have that bc Danny is usually taking the other threat in the perimeter which is Tony's man (a reason why a defensive PG that can handle his own man is a need to relieve the defensive burden, even if it is for 20 minutes a game).

Kawhi's current burden for our team is not the same as for those other guys, that's what they ignore. Game 2 I believe Kawhi picked up 2 or 3 quick fouls in the first Q too. He had to sit. Anyways this play-Kawhi-48-minutes crew won't care if he gets so burdened that his body breaks down. Even Danny's minutes are managed bc he too puts a tremendous burden on himself on defense. I have seen pictures of Danny icing all the way up every joint. /sigh

[K...]

Coach LeBron has a great record in the finals. Makes pop look Uber vanilla.

And considering, on average, LeBron has made three the finals at a 100 percent clip, he should be considered a better coach as I can't think of any obvious reason that the playing field isn't directly even between levels of competition.

I've called op the emo kind of this forum, but he's also good at making irrelevant comparisons.

[T Park]

Coach LeBron has a great record in the finals. Makes pop look Uber vanilla.

And considering, on average, LeBron has made three the finals at a 100 percent clip, he should be considered a better coach as I can't think of any obvious reason that the playing field isn't directly even between levels of competition.

I've called op the emo kind of this forum, but he's also good at making irrelevant comparisons.



Yeah 2-3 makes pop's 5-1 record look like total shit

[baseline bum]

Kawhi's too injury prone for me to think playing him LeBron minutes is a good idea.

[NameLess Scrub]

I will say though, Kawhi probably did need to play big minutes in the OKC series.
I thought that was what Pop rested his players for, to be fresh for the playoffs, and he didn't seem to have any other option since his bench lineups were getting killed by OKC.

It's interesting though that some people say resting hurt Kawhi's conditioning to play big minutes. I wonder how accurate is that statement.

[FYM]

Without this cute coach Kawhi is playing for the Knights or the Wizards so yeah you would not have to ask yourself :cry if we played Kawhi the entire second half :cry

Spurs lost because Duncan body gave up at the worst moment not because you did not play a 15th pick enough

On a side note, unless you are a real retard, you actually don't believe Lebron could continue play at this level 40 mn every PO games after 45 K mn on 13 seasons without being loaded like a horse. I do believe Spurs don't dope their players to that extend and it's certainly one of the reason their players don't play 40 mpg their entire career not because Pop is cute but just because it cannot be done naturally.

Without Pop you are light 5 and you are light being still relevant despite the big 3 being done. Next year Spurs will still be a top 5 franchise because of him.

But yeah if you don't want him anymore Celts like 90% of NBA franchises would take him in a heartbeat....

Spurs fans are massive faggots tbh

[K...]

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2016/story/_/id/15698427/nba-playoffs-2016-rookie-mistakes-doom-tyronn-lue-cleveland-cavaliers-game-4-defeat


But Lue made two classic coaching mistakes in responding to his first playoff loss on Saturday night. He overreacted to what happened in Game 3, and when he got nervous, he responded by playing LeBron James into the ground.

On one hand...op and Lue....on the other Pop and windhorts.

[rmt]

Kawhi is not an elite athlete. Having to guard elite athletes at an elite level takes an elite amount of endurance, without adding the offensive load he's expected to offer as well. Kawhi Always looked gassed when playing extended minutes. Defense isn't nearly as easy as offense on the body. Especially when you're expected to cover whoever has the ball while you're on the court, since you're team can't score and HAS to get stops.

Like it or not, the rest is needed for Kawhi. Lma has always played big minutes, but never the intense consistent defense the spurs employ. Being the only legitimate big on offense and defense for the series obviously took a toll on him as well. Two way players are rare for a reason.

A tired Leonard is still better than Kyle Anderson. Pop did it with LMA too - elimination game - play your best players almost the whole game or you'll be resting the whole summer. I get the feeling that Pop thinks that if they can't win the championship, might as well get the whole summer to rest.

[K...]

A tired Leonard is still better than Kyle Anderson. Pop did it with LMA too - elimination game - play your best players almost the whole game or you'll be resting the whole summer. I get the feeling that Pop thinks that if they can't win the championship, might as well get the whole summer to rest.

but you can play your kyle minutes in any quarter.....gassed leonard only appears in the 4th.

Also, tired leonard may be better than kyle, but he has to be better than Durant to beat okc. He wasn't and we lost.

Also LMAO, Tim Duncan's last game? PLZ PLAY LMA MORE!!>!>!>!>!>

you guys can't decide. boban, duncan, max lma, how do we beat Adams, kanter, etc.....? There isn't a good answer so pop went with one of the many bad options.

[SAGirl]

Without this cute coach Kawhi is playing for the Knights or the Wizards so yeah you would not have to ask yourself :cry if we played Kawhi the entire second half :cry

Spurs lost because Duncan body gave up at the worst moment not because you did not play a 15th pick enough

On a side note, unless you are a real retard, you actually don't believe Lebron could continue play at this level 40 mn every PO games after 45 K mn on 13 seasons without being loaded like a horse. I do believe Spurs don't dope their players to that extend and it's certainly one of the reason their players don't play 40 mpg their entire career not because Pop is cute but just because it cannot be done naturally.

Without Pop you are light 5 and you are light being still relevant despite the big 3 being done. Next year Spurs will still be a top 5 franchise because of him.

But yeah if you don't want him anymore Celts like 90% of NBA franchises would take him in a heartbeat....

Spurs fans are massive faggots tbh
Post of the year!

Some spurs fans are the massive ..

Been saying this loss is because of the decline of Tim for a while (and Ginobili), but ppl rather blame Pop than admit realities of life, ppl get old. Their idol player is not elite anymore and we didn't have the depth that we thought we had because of it.

[Obstructed_View]

Really? You hang out with him and know that he is sleeping all day?

He's logged no NBA minutes in the last couple of weeks. What do you call it?

[Obstructed_View]

Don't bring up this resting shit. I've been mad about it for 5 years. I disagree with it completely.

Only players like Tim and Manu should be resting due to obvious reasons, but apart from those two, no one else should be unless they're legitimately injured. I agree with Tim Grover 100% where he says limit minutes within games instead of outright resting, and also for young players, resting them when they're not injured isn't allowing them to learn to mentally push through fatigue.


Limiting minutes in games is the problem when your players can't play more than 35 minutes in the playoffs without getting winded. You'd be better off playing them 45 minutes every other game so they're ready for the playoffs.

[K...]

Limiting minutes in games is the problem when your players can't play more than 35 minutes in the playoffs without getting winded. You'd be better off playing them 45 minutes every other game so they're ready for the playoffs.

This isn't just playing 45 minutes.....it's playing 45 minutes of hell!!!!!!! He's guarding the two best offensive talents in the league after curry and playing first option. Likewise LMA was the only healthy nba quality big we played. He clearly wore down as the series went on....dealing with a rotation of Adams, Kanter, etc with a gimpy dunc and a shorto west will really wear him down.

[K...]

It's been said already, that resting during the season does not equal conditioning. Conditioning happens on bikes and runs and shit. Yes, playoffs basketball is unique but basketball is demanding on joints in a unique way.

Again, we are not talking about normal scrubs here, we are talking two way talent. It's an order of magntuder above normal scrub nba player output. If 2014 was the proof that management of minutes is ideal, how are 2015 and 2016 suddenly more important?

Face it kiwi and Lame are not better than Durant, westy, Adams.



People have told me i'm underestimating the talent of this team and that we were easily more talented than OKC. I don;t see it. Maybe during the RS but our guys clearly faded as the season wound down. And no amount of conditioning would overcome OKC's size.

[apalisoc_9]

Jesus..reading K talk about basketball is like pouring acid into my eyes. Terrible takes. :lol

Ben Golliver, Haralsbos and a lot of other smart analyst have talked about how detrimental it is for younger guys to micromanage them.

[spurtech09]

Jesus..reading K talk about basketball is like pouring acid into my eyes. Terrible takes. :lol

Ben Golliver, Haralsbos and a lot of other smart analyst have talked about how detrimental it is for younger guys to micromanage them.Never say the Lords name in vain...

[K...]

Jesus..reading K talk about basketball is like pouring acid into my eyes. Terrible takes. :lol

Ben Golliver, Haralsbos and a lot of other smart analyst have talked about how detrimental it is for younger guys to micromanage them.

no rebuttal just spin, lol Delladova is our savior



The opposite of resting is overplaying which is what makes Thibs a bad coach.

Is there a healthy compromise? Sure...but a blanket "resting caused kawhi to gas" is dumb. Defending two top 10 talents gassed him. There is no preparing for that. WE did not lose because kyle got 10m, we lost bc of size. Kawhi had his chances to win the series, just like last year, failed more often than not. Great player, but not a generational talent that can win by fiat like Duncan and Lebron can. Fanboys get mad when you say that, but i feast on their tears.

Anyway, i think playing kawhi for a whole game every 10 games in the RS is fine. But in a year in which we posted a historically great differential saying kawhi should play though garbage time, while Pop tried to reinvent a dominate bench is pretty dumb.

[Obstructed_View]

Jesus..reading K talk about basketball is like pouring acid into my eyes. Terrible takes. :lol

Ben Golliver, Haralsbos and a lot of other smart analyst have talked about how detrimental it is for younger guys to micromanage them.

I agree with you. Christ.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Who won?

:lol true

[apalisoc_9]

I agree with you. Christ.

Kawhi as it stands right now does not have the mental fatigue or even Physical fatigue to get through a 40m game having the same responsibility.

The biggest issue with pops managing is that it assumes that by resting Leonard, it allowes him to have more Gas in the 4th but the reality of what has happened is that it backfired and the dude can barely play at the same level anymore in the 4th.

Playing him 40 every playoff game this year though would have made no difference since his body is not accustomed to heavy minutes. It worked when he had a lesser offensive responsibility and he can afford to rest on Offense, but its pretty clear now that he just runs out of breath. Pop just made the bad assumption that Kawhi 2014 would show up in thost 40 minute games...but terrible assumption sonce his role is now significantly different.

It works with older guys because they are naturally never going to play 38mpg. It doesnt really work with younger guys because their bodies work differently.

Every Superstar out there, Including curry gets extended minutes. We will see if hes sill stuborn next year when so many analyst are saying the same thing.

[spursistan]

Jesus..reading K talk about basketball is like pouring acid into my eyes. Terrible takes. :lol

Ben Golliver, Haralsbos and a lot of other smart analyst have talked about how detrimental it is for younger guys to micromanage them.

[dbreiden83080]

Lebron will never win another ring.

[YGWHI]

It's interesting though that some people say resting hurt Kawhi's conditioning to play big minutes. I wonder how accurate is that statement.
Getting tired isn't just about body condition, it's a mental thing, too.

Most young players learn when to go, when to save energy, how to deal with fatigue, playing many minutes in regular season games.

Kawhi barely plays +30 mpg...He never had the opportunity to know how play 40 minutes or more in a game.

That's why resting hurts his physical and mental conditioning.

[YGWHI]

Jesus..reading K talk about basketball is like pouring acid into my eyes. Terrible takes. :lol

Ben Golliver, Haralsbos and a lot of other smart analyst have talked about how detrimental it is for younger guys to micromanage them.

[YGWHI]

Game 2 I believe Kawhi picked up 2 or 3 quick fouls in the first Q too. He had to sit.
No, he didn't have to sit. He wasn't in foul trouble for the rest of the game, he finished the game with only 3 fouls.

Pop sat him -and Danny, Parker, Tim- remaining 6 minutes in the 1st quarter because he overreacted to OKC lead, sitting his 3 best defenders at the same time...it didn't end so well.

Like it or not, Pop made many mistakes in the series.

[poeticism707]

Kawhi is not an elite athlete. Having to guard elite athletes at an elite level takes an elite amount of endurance, without adding the offensive load he's expected to offer as well. Kawhi Always looked gassed when playing extended minutes. Defense isn't nearly as easy as offense on the body. Especially when you're expected to cover whoever has the ball while you're on the court, since you're team can't score and HAS to get stops.

Like it or not, the rest is needed for Kawhi. Lma has always played big minutes, but never the intense consistent defense the spurs employ. Being the only legitimate big on offense and defense for the series obviously took a toll on him as well. Two way players are rare for a reason.

Kawi IS an elite athlete.

Not otherworldly, but easily elite.

Agree with everything else, great post.

People that haven't hooped before forget how much more effort it takes to be great on D.

And you haven't even gotten to his offensive duties.

Kawi will always need more rest,

Because he is elite on both sides of the ball.

24 or no.

[SAGirl]

No, he didn't have to sit. He wasn't in foul trouble for the rest of the game, he finished the game with only 3 fouls.

Pop sat him -and Danny, Parker, Tim- remaining 6 minutes in the 1st quarter because he overreacted to OKC lead, sitting his 3 best defenders at the same time...it didn't end so well.

Like it or not, Pop made many mistakes in the series.
You are right I think they did not come in with the required level of effort. He could have put them back in after he talked to them. Still that was Timmy's terrible layup missing line. Terrible start. In the past Pop would go to the bench to jumpstart slow starts like that. It didnt work here as Manu is done.

[YGWHI]

Game 2 was the worst, Kawhi only played 14 mins in the first half, Pop could have easily played him the entire 2nd half (only would have ended up with 38 mins). Instead Pop had both Kawhi and LMA on the bench to start the 4th, Kyle and company go -6 in the first 2 mins. Spurs end up losing by 1.

727406237998940160

Pop's rotations in game 2...:bang

[YGWHI]

You are right I think they did not come in with the required level of effort. He could have put them back in after he talked to them.
Even NBA-rookie coaches like Donovan and Tyronn Lue know they can't sit their stars at the same time, when Donovan sits Durant, Westbrook is still on the court, when Lue sits LeBron he lets Irving and Love on the court...

Pop not only sat his 3 best defenders at the same time in the 1st quarter but also he sat his two starts in the 4th, Kawhi and LMA, both at the same time.

[SAGirl]

Even NBA-rookie coaches like Donovan and Tyronn Lue know they can't sit their stars at the same time, when Donovan sits Durant, Westbrook is still on the court, when Lue sits LeBron he lets Irving and Love on the court...

Pop not only sat his 3 best defenders at the same time in the 1st quarter but also he sat his two starts in the 4th, Kawhi and LMA, both at the same time.
He had done that in the past bc he relied on Manu, and co. to hold the bench together as Manu had consistently been one of the team's best players and had not ever needed a starter to hold his hand with his bench group. This time, this year he did. Last season Manu was done too. ElNono (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=8054) will come out of the woods and shoot this down with a stat here or there, but he knows deep down Manu's confidence was shaken in the latter part of the season and he didn't arrive to the postseason playing his best. Marco and Patty were the ones holding the bench with some insane hot shooting and Diaw had a good series scoring at least, but Manu was subpar and it looks like he's now done and as Manu goes so goes the bench.

Pop should have realized these were not even the early season 2015 Spurs. But he had relied on these guys and they have brought him 5 rings... just no more. Time for him to recognize that too.

[apalisoc_9]

Lebron will never win another ring.

On his way to a third one if OKC holds up

[ElNono]

He had done that in the past bc he relied on Manu, and co. to hold the bench together as Manu had consistently been one of the team's best players and had not ever needed a starter to hold his hand with his bench group. This time, this year he did. Last season Manu was done too. ElNono (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=8054) will come out of the woods and shoot this down with a stat here or there, but he knows deep down Manu's confidence was shaken in the latter part of the season and he didn't arrive to the postseason playing his best. Marco and Patty were the ones holding the bench with some insane hot shooting and Diaw had a good series scoring at least, but Manu was subpar and it looks like he's now done and as Manu goes so goes the bench.

Pop should have realized these were not even the early season 2015 Spurs. But he had relied on these guys and they have brought him 5 rings... just no more. Time for him to recognize that too.

Not gonna shot anything down, but, there's no way Manu was worse than Diaw, West or Patty... that's not me saying he was good or anything like that. He's obviously not even close to 2014 Manu (which was a gigantic renaissance season, and we needed it), but I wouldn't call him done either. He's got game left in him, but he has to be a minor part, he's not a difference maker anymore, and he won't make up for other pieces around him having down performances.
I though he mostly played that minor role this season. He didn't force anything. Regardless of what he does, we're going to need to overhaul that bench, especially if Boris remains the Bobcats Boris...

[TheGreatYacht]

Without Pop you are light 5 and you are light being still relevant despite the big 3 being done. Next year Spurs will still be a top 5 franchise because of him.
Duncan is light 2 championships because of Pop. Spurs will be a top 5 franchise next year because Duncan made this team what it is today and if the Celtics would've landed the first pick that year.... Holt would've moved the team and you'd be looking at the Kansas City Spurs. Pop would've been fired in his second season after winning under 20 games just like he did his first year. He'd probably be drunk and passed out behind a corner store had Duncan never landed on his lap.

[dbreiden83080]

On his way to a third one if OKC holds up

The way OKC is playing. Totally different team and Westbrook looks to be a man on a mission..

[apalisoc_9]

Duncan is light 2 championships because of Pop. Spurs will be a top 5 franchise next year because Duncan made this team what it is today and if the Celtics would've landed the first pick that year.... Holt would've moved the team and you'd be looking at the Kansas City Spurs. Pop would've been fired in his second season after winning under 20 games just like he did his first year. He'd probably be drunk and passed out behind a corner store had Duncan never landed on his lap.

Pop is a great coach tbh...but its retarded how much his "system" or coaching gets credit for those 3 championship in the big 3 era.

I honestly think hes ego has balloned to a point of no return.

[ducks]

Pop is a great coach tbh...but its retarded how much his "system" or coaching gets credit for those 3 championship in the big 3 era.

I honestly think hes ego has balloned to a point of no return.
nope that would be U

[DrunkTXLabrat]

lol. take a look at the draft and stash policy. been winning championships. to hell with 1st round picks!

[ceperez]

Leonard does a ton of work on both ends of the court. Considering his style of play, there's no way he can play the same kinds of minutes that Durant, James or Curry play.

He also is not as gifted a offensive talent as any of the 3 mentioned. So he needs to work harder in offense to score.

Spurs lost against OKC because the played iso ball against a much bigger opponent.

[z0sa]

Definitely the biggest issue I had with Pops coaching. It was truly terrible decision making subbing Kawhi out in first quarters.

[SD126]

On his way to a third one if OKC holds up

pretty much has #3 wrapped up regardless of the WCF outcome.