11 losses already... 67-15 last season

[JohnnyMax]

what changed?

[TheGreatYacht]

The Spurs best defensive player retired

without him, wingstop is now drive-thru

[SAGirl]

Defensively they are not the same team. They miss Tim.
Lamarcus has been unreliable in his production.

[HarlemHeat37]

Spurs are 3rd in the NBA defensively and they finished 3rd in defense in January:lol

[TheGreatYacht]

The defense this year league wide is atrocious, lmao. Who's the tallest midget basically

[SAGirl]

Spurs are 3rd in the NBA defensively and they finished 3rd in defense in January:lol
Tim
Defense was clutch.... he'd block shots to pull out wins in close games.... don't tell me you are underrating the GoAT!

[AFMadison]

what changed?
You also forgot about the second round outing

[rasuo214]

Basketball just isn't that important. Pop is probably giving the team anti-Trump lectures instead of having them practice.

[YGWHI]

The Spurs had a great and reliable #2 option in LMA later in the season.

Now, after half season, they have a guy who shot .39 FG% and .69 FT% in the last 5 games.

[HarlemHeat37]

Duncan was horrible during the 2nd half of last season and the playoffs, tbh:lol

I know we're supposed to pretend like he wasn't, since it's blasphemous to speak ill of him, but it's true..

Last season's team was clearly fool's Gold(way more than this season's, since most fans here actually believed SA could compete with GS, last year), but their record was aided by Parker having a great 1st half of the season and Aldridge playing like a top 10 player..

[SAGirl]

The Spurs had a great and reliable #2 option in LMA later in the season.

Now, after half season, they have a guy who shot .39 FG% and .69 FT% in the last 5 games.Thats the truth... He has been stinking it up... maybe if he had Pau he'd cover that up. I don't know what's up with him... maybe he's slumping.

[cd98]

Tim's leadership. He calmed the Spurs and gave them confidence.

[YGWHI]

Basketball just isn't that important. Pop is probably giving the team anti-Trump lectures instead of having them practice.

I guess he's still having them practice...about how identify planets in the sky.

[Hoops Czar]

Duncan was horrible during the 2nd half of last season and the playoffs, tbh:lol

I know we're supposed to pretend like he wasn't, since it's blasphemous to speak ill of him, but it's true..

Last season's team was clearly fool's Gold(way more than this season's, since most fans here actually believed SA could compete with GS, last year), but their record was aided by Parker having a great 1st half of the season and Aldridge playing like a top 10 player..

So were the Spurs defense as a whole. There just weren't enough quality opponents to exploit it until the post season of course. I know we're suppose to pretend like it was historic or something like that but, it's true.

[BillMc]

We're fine. You really think Memphis or OKC is going beat us round 1? Houston has more problems than us. WCF is very realistic. And we got a shot against the Dubs... No reason to panic.

[sananspursfan21]

This isn't nearly as bad as that 40 point loss to the blazers a couple of years ago tbh...

[BatManu20]

Duncan was horrible during the 2nd half of last season and the playoffs, tbh:lol

I know we're supposed to pretend like he wasn't, since it's blasphemous to speak ill of him, but it's true..

Last season's team was clearly fool's Gold(way more than this season's, since most fans here actually believed SA could compete with GS, last year), but their record was aided by Parker having a great 1st half of the season and Aldridge playing like a top 10 player..

Harlem with the truth bombs

[SAGirl]

We're fine. You really think Memphis or OKC is going beat us round 1? Houston has more problems than us. WCF is very realistic. And we got a shot against the Dubs... No reason to panic.
They really need Lamarcus to be better. May be at this point he's missing the high low with Pau (Tim was great on those too).. It's tough to say. I like his effort on D and he's playing with teammates ,passing well etc. I really would not point to him except he is slumping lately and as much as for example Danny gets shat on for a mini slump... Lamarcus is more significant and takes more shots. He was dominant second half of the season last year. Hmmm Maybe he bounces back soon.

[vander]

Basketball just isn't that important. Pop is probably giving the team anti-Trump lectures instead of having them practice.

Pop always knew he couldn't win without TD. And when you can't accomplish anything, but have some cred to spare, what do you do...

[spurs10]

We're fine. You really think Memphis or OKC is going beat us round 1? Houston has more problems than us. WCF is very realistic. And we got a shot against the Dubs... No reason to panic. Yeah I'd advise anyone who thinks the Spurs are going to lose in the first round not to bet their house on it! WCF is very possible and will be over 40 games from now. If we are on the right side of the injury wheel I'm not throwing in the towel yet.

[james evans]

6 of those losses are on popovich. The paint is open at all time for layups and dunks

[ElNono]

Spurs are 3rd in the NBA defensively and they finished 3rd in defense in January:lol

How they stack up to last year though? I think defensive numbers are down league-wide, right?

I'm not chalking it up to TD, tbh, but overall I thought we defended a lot better.

[Fireball]

losses happen ... but it should not happen against this Dallas team at home after a loss in NO ... THIS SHIT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN!

[Mal]

You really think that Spurs would be the same without Duncan ?

[r0drig0lac]

The defense this year league wide is atrocious, lmao. Who's the tallest midget basically

[Seventyniner]

The Warriors had 9 losses all of last season and 7 already this season. What's your point?

[TampaDude]

Tim's leadership. He calmed the Spurs and gave them confidence.

That and he was one of the best rim protectors ever.

[Mnky]

They're 2nd in the league behind the greatest offensive team ever assembled.

If your expectations are for every spur player to be the best who ever played at their position, then yes, this season might be worrisome. Otherwise they're coasting, and still contenders. Nothing matters til the playoffs.

[SAGirl]

6 of those losses are on popovich. The paint is open at all time for layups and dunks
This is what he said:

"Too many mental errors defensively," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought we did a really poor job discipline-wise. . Too many weak-side errors defensively where they got to the rim too easily. You know, we scored points. I know we got 100 points, 101 points, that's fine, but the mental mistakes were really costly."
http://www.espn.com/nba/recap?gameId=400900138
I don't think he planned for things to go down as they did. Players didn't execute their defensive plan.

[HarlemHeat37]

How they stack up to last year though? I think defensive numbers are down league-wide, right?

I'm not chalking it up to TD, tbh, but overall I thought we defended a lot better.

Worse than last season, defense is down across the league, like you said..

Still, though, it's only comparable to your competition in a given season..since that's the case, the defense has been great, considering they rank in the top 3..

Not only that, but the Spurs' defense actually improves vs. better competition(not surprising, since they've had trouble getting up for shitty opponents lately)..

Defensive rankings(using PPP) for teams vs. +.500 competition, this season:

1. GSW 1.039:wow:wow:wow:(
2. SA 1.074
3. Indiana 1.075
4. Jazz 1.082
5. Hawks 1.084

There's a substantial drop-off following these 5(drop-off following the top 3, too)..Spurs have been great vs. the better teams, defensively..unfortunately, the Warriors are dismantling their competition on both ends of the floor and have been on their own level, overall(Spurs beating them in their 1st game together was obviously meaningless:lol )

They have 2 elite defenders(Draymond and Dominos) and 2 other good defenders(Iggy and Klay), but more importantly(IMO), they don't have any liabilities at that end, including Curry when he's engaged..

[cd98]

Hate to say this, but I do think that Spurs are missing Gasol to a certain extent. I expected the Spurs to lose more with Duncan retiring. TBH, I was happy to see them as the 2nd best team record-wise. Losing Duncan was a killer, but Gasol gave some stuff that approximated Duncan and I think LMA played better with Gasol in the game. Ho hum. I'm just trying to make some excuses for this two game losing streak.

[Kawhitstorm]

Worse than last season, defense is down across the league, like you said..

Still, though, it's only comparable to your competition in a given season..since that's the case, the defense has been great, considering they rank in the top 3..

Not only that, but the Spurs' defense actually improves vs. better competition(not surprising, since they've had trouble getting up for shitty opponents lately)..

Defensive rankings(using PPP) for teams vs. +.500 competition, this season:

1. GSW 1.039:wow:wow:wow:(
2. SA 1.074
3. Indiana 1.075
4. Jazz 1.082
5. Hawks 1.084

There's a substantial drop-off following these 5(drop-off following the top 3, too)..Spurs have been great vs. the better teams, defensively..unfortunately, the Warriors are dismantling their competition on both ends of the floor and have been on their own level, overall(Spurs beating them in their 1st game together was obviously meaningless:lol )

They have 2 elite defenders(Draymond and Dominos) and 2 other good defenders(Iggy and Klay), but more importantly(IMO), they don't have any liabilities at that end, including Curry when he's engaged..

The best way to attack the Duds is via postups (posting up Softridge/Lee on Gaymond) where Dominos mobility & weakside defense on penetrations is nullified. Zaza/Javale are also terrible post defenders so Pau has to go to work on 'em.

[Kawhitstorm]

Hate to say this, but I do think that Spurs are missing Gasol to a certain extent. I expected the Spurs to lose more with Duncan retiring. TBH, I was happy to see them as the 2nd best team record-wise. Losing Duncan was a killer, but Gasol gave some stuff that approximated Duncan and I think LMA played better with Gasol in the game. Ho hum. I'm just trying to make some excuses for this two game losing streak.

Softridge didn't play well w/ Pau (Lee is doing fine), the issue is actually the 2nd unit has been murdered on defense the past 2 games as Dedmon has taken a complete 180 on that end of the floor this month.

[cd98]

Softridge didn't play well w/ Pau (Lee is doing fine), the issue is actually the 2nd unit has been murdered on defense the past 2 games as Dedmon has taken a complete 180 on that end of the floor this month. Dedmon has been awful. I'd say he's playing his way out of a nice contract (though the collective bargaining agreement pretty much shut the door on that), but we all know he's going to continue this way until the first or second round of the playoffs, where he has two or three good games and then gets a big payday (relatively speaking).

[ElNono]

Worse than last season, defense is down across the league, like you said..

Still, though, it's only comparable to your competition in a given season..since that's the case, the defense has been great, considering they rank in the top 3..

Not only that, but the Spurs' defense actually improves vs. better competition(not surprising, since they've had trouble getting up for shitty opponents lately)..

Defensive rankings(using PPP) for teams vs. +.500 competition, this season:

1. GSW 1.039:wow:wow:wow:(
2. SA 1.074
3. Indiana 1.075
4. Jazz 1.082
5. Hawks 1.084

There's a substantial drop-off following these 5(drop-off following the top 3, too)..Spurs have been great vs. the better teams, defensively..unfortunately, the Warriors are dismantling their competition on both ends of the floor and have been on their own level, overall(Spurs beating them in their 1st game together was obviously meaningless:lol )

They have 2 elite defenders(Draymond and Dominos) and 2 other good defenders(Iggy and Klay), but more importantly(IMO), they don't have any liabilities at that end, including Curry when he's engaged..

Thanks for the numbers. Also, to be fair, last season was, IIRC, the best regular season record in franchise history. So it's a high bar, it shouldn't be considered the standard.

[ElNono]

Hate to say this, but I do think that Spurs are missing Gasol to a certain extent. I expected the Spurs to lose more with Duncan retiring. TBH, I was happy to see them as the 2nd best team record-wise. Losing Duncan was a killer, but Gasol gave some stuff that approximated Duncan and I think LMA played better with Gasol in the game. Ho hum. I'm just trying to make some excuses for this two game losing streak.

Actually, I think the pairing that has worked well for both is Gasol-Parker. I think Tony is a bit lost out there without Pau, and we're missing some of Pau's passing.

[ElNono]

Softridge didn't play well w/ Pau (Lee is doing fine), the issue is actually the 2nd unit has been murdered on defense the past 2 games as Dedmon has taken a complete 180 on that end of the floor this month.

I don't know about that entirely. I do agree Dedmon has come back down to earth, but against the Mavs, the 10 pt lead we had at the half vanished in the 3rd quarter with the starters, tbh... against the Pels, outside of Mills, all the reserves shot well (but the starters did not).

The reality is that we had back to back games where the defensive effort was only there for a quarter, if that. Maybe it's just the grind of the regular season, or just the AS break coming up... whatever it is, they can defend better and they should.

[SpursforSix]

They really need Lamarcus to be better. May be at this point he's missing the high low with Pau (Tim was great on those too).. It's tough to say. I like his effort on D and he's playing with teammates ,passing well etc. I really would not point to him except he is slumping lately and as much as for example Danny gets shat on for a mini slump... Lamarcus is more significant and takes more shots. He was dominant second half of the season last year. Hmmm Maybe he bounces back soon.

They need LaMarcus to give a shit. He doesn't. At least not enough to get in better shape and work on the weak parts of his game.

[Kawhitstorm]

I don't know about that entirely. I do agree Dedmon has come back down to earth, but against the Mavs, the 10 pt lead we had at the half vanished in the 3rd quarter with the starters, tbh... against the Pels, outside of Mills, all the reserves shot well (but the starters did not)

Against the Pelicans Moore/Jones/Evans killed the 2nd unit & yesterday, Curry abusing Patty in the 4th quarter was the difference.

[SAGirl]

I don't know about that entirely. I do agree Dedmon has come back down to earth, but against the Mavs, the 10 pt lead we had at the half vanished in the 3rd quarter with the starters, tbh... against the Pels, outside of Mills, all the reserves shot well (but the starters did not).

The reality is that we had back to back games where the defensive effort was only there for a quarter, if that. Maybe it's just the grind of the regular season, or just the AS break coming up... whatever it is, they can defend better and they should.
I see their issues really being on defense the past couple of games too. They gave up something close to 60 points in the paint to the Pelicans. That tells you their defens was terrible and Dedmon only played 8 minutes that game. Davis IMO struggled (as well as he shot, he gave more right back.. but he was set up for failing having to cover up for Mills bad defense IMO... who made no effort to go under or over screens, etc... leaving Davis with a bag of shit.) Lamarcus struggled too and so did everyone who guarded Holiday, etc.

Guards just kill the Spurs, no doubt about it. Mills when he's hot negates his bad defense, but when he's off it's murder out there with him. Tony ... ehhhh. I'd rather not give a take on it bc he's so polarizing. Anyways, their defense was terrible. They gave up a 10 pt lead, but that happens in the NBA regularly. The could not complete come backs bc they could not get stops. Pop has to go back to the drawing board and either get the guys to play better... or alter schemes depending on situation.

[ElNono]

Against the Pelicans Moore/Jones/Evans killed the 2nd unit & yesterday, Curry abusing Patty in the 4th quarter was the difference.

The Pels dropped 37 and 34 in the 3rd/4th quarter. You can't tell me we were just playing the bench. Heck, it was an 8 point game with 5 mins to go in the 4th.

Patty not being a good defender is well known, the fact that nobody was there to provide help defense on that one play is more worrisome, but then again, the 20 point swing spanned from the start of the 3rd with the starters, all the way to the middle of the 4th quarter...

http://www.nba.com/games/20170129/DALSAS#/matchup

[ElNono]

I see their issues really being on defense the past couple of games too. They gave up something close to 60 points in the paint to the Pelicans. That tells you their defens was terrible and Dedmon only played 8 minutes that game. Davis IMO struggled (as well as he shot, he gave more right back.. but he was set up for failing having to cover up for Mills bad defense IMO... who made no effort to go under or over screens, etc... leaving Davis with a bag of shit.) Lamarcus struggled too and so did everyone who guarded Holiday, etc.

Guards just kill the Spurs, no doubt about it. Mills when he's hot negates his bad defense, but when he's off it's murder out there with him. Tony ... ehhhh. I'd rather not give a take on it bc he's so polarizing. Anyways, their defense was terrible. They gave up a 10 pt lead, but that happens in the NBA regularly. The could not complete come backs bc they could not get stops. Pop has to go back to the drawing board and either get the guys to play better... or alter schemes depending on situation.

I'll buy all that. And injuries have also forced Pop to play around with lineups. Ridiculous to scapegoat the 2nd unit though. They legitimately had some bad games here or there, but when you have two guys taking almost half the shots on the team and shooting at around 30-something %, that's definitely one of your problems. Shit like that happens, it's not that they didn't want to make the shots.

[kobyz]

What's up with the spurs? Stopped follow nba since Tim gone, is it worth to return?

[Joseph Kony]

What's up with the spurs? Stopped follow nba since Tim gone, is it worth to return?if you want a reason to kill yourself, sure

[kobyz]

Aldridge is such anemic as a player, you're not gonna win anything with him as a top 2 player on the team, spurs just wasting time and money instead of trading him and rebuild...

[Budkin]

And we know how well having our best record ever worked out...

[TD 21]

:lmao At the notion that Duncan didn't receive criticism. His struggles were discussed ad nauseam, but the fact that he was playing injured rarely was.

I'd agree that the offense is slightly better and the defense clearly worse, though that's probably more a reflection of a league wide trend, but this team is also fools gold.

The difference is, that team was always going to have to play a fellow elite in the WCSF, whereas this one might get lucky and avoid one until the WCF (not that I'm confident they'll make it that far) but on the whole, it's the same flawed team.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

And we know how well having our best record ever worked out...

And our second best. The Spurs' two best regular seasons both resulted in second round exits, so I'm not sure why anyone would want to get worked up about the Spurs regular season record not being as great as it could be. The Spurs are still on pace for 63 wins which would tie their second best regular season mark...so they may want to dial it back a bit based on the previous observation.

I hope the Spurs come in with every chip possible to hold against the Warriors in a post season matchup. All-star snubs, lack of personal achievement awards, media focus on the regular season champs...pour it on. The Spurs play better when they feel slighted.

[Kawhitstorm]

The best way to attack the Duds is via postups (posting up Softridge/Lee on Gaymond) where Dominos mobility & weakside defense on penetrations is nullified. Zaza/Javale are also terrible post defenders so Pau has to go to work on 'em.
:wakeup

[TimDunkem]

Not gonna work. Pau is going to get stripped almost every time, and will get beaten down the court by whoever was guarding him every time.