85pts...

[apalisoc_9]

What a horrible offensive performance....again.

Despite Leonard scoring well...

[spursistan]

The lack of perimeter play-making from the guard position is just flat out disgusting..I'm officially open to all scenarios of playoff embarrassment for this team.

People forget that the Spurs got a decent-ish Parker in the OKC series and still got bounced..They'll have a much worse version this postseason and Mills who's been slumping for months..

Pop should ponder non- TP/Mills lineups in the playoffs so at least we can cover-up our asses on defense go all-in on that end--try to win basketball games in slugfests..

[apalisoc_9]

The lack of perimeter play-making from the guard position is just flat out disgusting..I'm officially open to all scenarios of playoff embarrassment for this team.

People forget that the Spurs got a decent-ish Parker in the OKC series and still got bounced..They'll have a much worse version this postseason and Mills who's been slumping for months..

Pop should ponder non- TP/Mills lineups in the playoffs so at least we can cover-up our asses on defense go all-in on that end--try to win basketball games in slugfests..

Pray for Murray tbh. We badly need a penetrating Guard.

I am almost 95% sure Mills is a gonner unless the spurs pull off a win this year.

[SAGirl]

Maybe playoff total embarrassment is the only thing that will move Pop to do something about the guard play.

I can't see them running this thing right back, although they would have to trade someone in a chunky contract to improve the team.

It's too bad we couldn't get some Murray to end the season and see how he could look with more regular playing time.

[daslicer]

A troll is going to troll. Spurs will get to the WCF.

[SAGirl]

Pray for Murray tbh. We badly need a penetrating Guard.

I am almost 95% sure Mills is a gonner unless the spurs pull off a win this year.

I am with you on that.

[TheGreatYacht]

Murray is the only hope. There's zero good guards on this team atm

[timtonymanu]

lol acting like another playoff embarrassment is gonna change things. We still have loyalty to Enrique for 1 more season.

[apalisoc_9]

lol acting like another playoff embarrassment is gonna change things. We still have loyalty to Enrique for 1 more season.

Parker can play the 15-20 minutes "composed" slow down the game role. You might need him if Murray is playing erractic. Sadly, They might just have to let go of Mills so this team can have some sort of progress in the PG department.

[GSH]

The lack of perimeter play-making from the guard position is just flat out disgusting..I'm officially open to all scenarios of playoff embarrassment for this team.


The guards were horrible, with the exception of Simmons. He had 8 points, 4 boards, and 4 AST, on 50% shooting and no TO's. For a marginal NBA player, that's a decent outing. I'd take that from him every single game.

But its not just the guard's playmaking, even though that was just about non-existent. I remember quite a few plays where Pau was standing out near the 3P line holding the ball, and nobody could even come open for him to pass to. Not only were they moving in slow motion, they weren't making hard cuts. Basically they were jogging around like they don't give a shit. Either that, or they just don't have the foot speed to get it done. I'm not sure which is worse.

I've been saying since preseason that they are a second round exit. I'm starting to wonder if I was being too optimistic. I know the Clippers were clawing for home court in the first round, and the game didn't mean anything to the Spurs. But I hate it when they go into the playoffs playing like shit. I hope they pick it up a notch for the playoffs, but all the other playoff teams are going to be trying to do the same thing.

[SAGirl]

Parker can play the 15-20 minutes "composed" slow down the game role. You might need him if Murray is playing erractic. Sadly, They might just have to let go of Mills so this team can have some sort of progress in the PG department.
MaNu4Tres
has been saying it all season. I have wavered sometimes bc frankly we haven't seen enough Murray to even begin to talk seriously about it. But he's right. It makes no sense to pay Patty when Tony is still under contract at a hefty price and they need to push Murray along.

Patty gets overwhelmed by size. He can't get passes clean bc he's so small. He's a jumpshooter that can streak to bad nights, has limitations on defense bc he's so small.

He's got a high motor and energy and I love him for 2014, just like I did good old Bobo, but moving forward he's not the answer either.

[GSH]

Pray for Murray tbh. We badly need a penetrating Guard.



Maybe a penetrating guard is what Tony needs to keep him focused on basketball.

https://thepeculiarkenyan.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/chastity_belt.jpg

[sananspursfan21]

While I doubt they had their best effort on the floor tonight, I also remember the days when our Spurs entered the playoffs revved up and ready to tear a team up. I don't doubt they are keeping the dial turned down some because they don't look interested, I'd hate for them to slouch like this only to find out it's too late to flip the switch. Maybe I'm being a good ol days boy but I'd prefer to see them enter the playoffs guns blazing

[SAGirl]

The guards were horrible, with the exception of Simmons. He had 8 points, 4 boards, and 4 AST, on 50% shooting and no TO's. For a marginal NBA player, that's a decent outing. I'd take that from him every single game.

But its not just the guard's playmaking, even though that was just about non-existent. I remember quite a few plays where Pau was standing out near the 3P line holding the ball, and nobody could even come open for him to pass to. Not only were they moving in slow motion, they weren't making hard cuts. Basically they were jogging around like they don't give a shit. Either that, or they just don't have the foot speed to get it done. I'm not sure which is worse.

I've been saying since preseason that they are a second round exit. I'm starting to wonder if I was being too optimistic. I know the Clippers were clawing for home court in the first round, and the game didn't mean anything to the Spurs. But I hate it when they go into the playoffs playing like shit. I hope they pick it up a notch for the playoffs, but all the other playoff teams are going to be trying to do the same thing.

I hated that too. I would have rather seen one half of a game, the first half of them playing well and inspired, and then sit out and let the game fall where it may with the deep bench players, than the spectacle we saw.

[TheGreatYacht]

Spurs need to cut Anthony and try out some D-League guard in the last meaningless games....

Would've been great if Briante Weber (Pat Bev 2.0) was still available but he's in Charlotte.

[picnroll]

Maybe playoff total embarrassment is the only thing that will move Pop to do something about the guard play.


I'm down with that. If Pop's starting Parker next year Pop should be moved to an assisted living facility. Same with Mills. There are a bunch of third string PG that can bring more O and D at this point.

[MaNu4Tres]

MaNu4Tres
has been saying it all season. I have wavered sometimes bc frankly we haven't seen enough Murray to even begin to talk seriously about it. But he's right. It makes no sense to pay Patty when Tony is still under contract at a hefty price and they need to push Murray along.

Patty gets overwhelmed by size. He can't get passes clean bc he's so small. He's a jumpshooter that can streak to bad nights, has limitations on defense bc he's so small.

He's got a high motor and energy and I love him for 2014, just like I did good old Bobo, but moving forward he's not the answer either.

The ceiling is just higher with Murray and he's much cheaper option. That 15-17 mil per allocated to Mills could be huge in the summer of 18' to use on a more relevant and useful piece. I don't get why some ST'rs on here judge Murray kid based on 1 or 3 mop up minutes. The real assessment should come when he's played 20+ minutes playing in a disciplined role trying to run the offense with optimal focus with better players. In those scenarios, Murray avg. 11.4 points on 53% shooting, 38% from 3, 4 rebounds 3 assists per game in only 22 MPG. Its not just stats either, the kid passed the eye test too. He has tools that you just can't teach and a quick first step that is huge when penetrating against close outs ( off ball from Kawhi playmaking) and its huge in turning the corner on PnRs (on ball scenario). He has tools that Parker and Mills never had and never will have due to his size, speed, and length that's a rarity at the PG position. More importantly, he's an asset and a positive on BOTH ends and has potential to be a Kawhi but at the PG position ( being a top defender at the position and a leader offensively).

Paying Patty 15 mil would mean you ruin Murrays' edge using his size at the back up PG position because you basically move Murray to the 2 -- which is dumb because you stagnate Murrays growth towards being the starting PG Spurs need him to be. Spurs need him to be that guy as soon as possible. Letting Patty go, and giving Murray the keys at the back up PG position expedites his growth at the position. I guarantee Murray will be the starting PG by AS break next year as long as he's not injured.

[timtonymanu]

Yeah Pattys not coming back. Unless he wants to play for cheap again. They won't get rid of Parker and that means they won't target George Hill either if they go all in on Murray.

[SAGirl]

The ceiling is just higher with Murray and he's much cheaper option. That 15-17 mil per allocated to Mills could be huge in the summer of 18' to use on a more relevant and useful piece. I don't get why some ST'rs on here judge Murray kid based on 1 or 3 mop up minutes. The real assessment should come when he's played 20+ minutes playing in a disciplined role trying to run the offense with optimal focus with better players. In those scenarios, Murray avg. 11.4 points on 53% shooting, 38% from 3, 4 rebounds 3 assists per game in only 22 MPG. Its not just stats either, the kid passed the eye test too. He has tools that you just can't teach and a quick first step that is huge when penetrating against close outs ( off ball from Kawhi playmaking) and its huge in turning the corner on PnRs (on ball scenario). He has tools that Parker and Mills never had and never will have due to his size, speed, and length that's a rarity at the PG position. More importantly, he's an asset and a positive on BOTH ends and has potential to be a Kawhi but at the PG position ( being a top defender at the position and a leader offensively).

Paying Patty 15 mil would mean you ruin Murrays' edge using his size at the back up PG position because you basically move Murray to the 2 -- which is dumb because you stagnate Murrays growth towards being the starting PG Spurs need him to be. Spurs need him to be that guy as soon as possible. Letting Patty go, and giving Murray the keys at the back up PG position expedites his growth at the position. I guarantee Murray will be the starting PG by AS break next year as long as he's not injured.
Yes I agree.
They go this way and see how he does. He doesn't hamstring them in any way in his rook contract and is bound to improve more and more as he grows. We shall see.

I don't have that much confidence in PATFO right now, but we shall see. Pop has definitely seen that Tony is not helping the team and is benching him. He also has been reluctant to quickly just flat out promote Mills to a starting spot bc he's not that much better for an entire game/all situations.

[spursistan]

IMO we have reached the point of "nothing to lose" if you trot out a 20 year-old rookie with panache style and athletic ability when Parker/Mills are this fuckin useless..

[MaNu4Tres]

The lack of perimeter play-making from the guard position is just flat out disgusting..I'm officially open to all scenarios of playoff embarrassment for this team.

People forget that the Spurs got a decent-ish Parker in the OKC series and still got bounced..They'll have a much worse version this postseason and Mills who's been slumping for months..

Pop should ponder non- TP/Mills lineups in the playoffs so at least we can cover-up our asses on defense go all-in on that end--try to win basketball games in slugfests..

I've been saying they need to do this on here and on twitter. It's their only hope vs. HOU and GS. They have to implement lineups of Kawhi, Manu, Green, Simmons or Anderson, Dedmon or LA. Or Kawhi, Simmons, Green, LA, Dedmon, ect.

[td4mvp21]

I've been saying since preseason that they are a second round exit. I'm starting to wonder if I was being too optimistic. I know the Clippers were clawing for home court in the first round, and the game didn't mean anything to the Spurs. But I hate it when they go into the playoffs playing like shit. I hope they pick it up a notch for the playoffs, but all the other playoff teams are going to be trying to do the same thing.

I'm pretty skeptical about this team's ability to get past the second round, but how they play right before the playoffs hasn't always been indicative of how they will perform in the postseason. They were on a 10-game win streak entering the postseason in 2012 and then flamed out in the WCF. In 2013, they were slumping hard at the end of the regular season but ended up making the Finals. Also, in 2015 they were hot (minus the Pelicans loss) but lost in the first round. I think the 2005 & 2007 teams entered the postseason on losing streaks. The 2014 team had gone 3-4 in their last 7 games and entered the postseason on a 2-game losing streak.

Basically, it's hard to draw conclusions about the Spurs' playoff hopes based on the final weeks of the regular season. You don't always know what you're going to get with them.

[MaNu4Tres]

I'm pretty skeptical about this team's ability to get past the second round, but how they play right before the playoffs hasn't always been indicative of how they will perform in the postseason. They were on a 10-game win streak entering the postseason in 2012 and then flamed out in the WCF. In 2013, they were slumping hard at the end of the regular season but ended up making the Finals. Also, in 2015 they were hot (minus the Pelicans loss) but lost in the first round. I think the 2005 & 2007 teams entered the postseason on losing streaks. The 2014 team had gone 3-4 in their last 7 games and entered the postseason on a 2-game losing streak.

Basically, it's hard to draw conclusions about the Spurs' playoff hopes based on the final weeks of the regular season. You don't always know what you're going to get with them.

They flamed out in 2012 because Harden went God mode, and because Pop essentially took out Green and Splitter from the rotation because of a few bad games on the road in games 3 and 4. So dumb to just blow it up like that, shorting the rotation of two really solid defensive players with young legs. They had to lean heavily on old legs. Pop has made some decisions outside of 14' that have left me scratching my head.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I've been saying they need to do this on here and on twitter. It's their only hope vs. HOU and GS. They have to implement lineups of Kawhi, Manu, Green, Simmons or Anderson, Dedmon or LA. Or Kawhi, Simmons, Green, LA, Dedmon, ect.

But can they generate enough offense you think? Screw Parker but Mills can sometimes keep the defense honest even tough his own defense leaves a lot to be desired.

[spursistan]

The guards were horrible, with the exception of Simmons. He had 8 points, 4 boards, and 4 AST, on 50% shooting and no TO's. For a marginal NBA player, that's a decent outing. I'd take that from him every single game.

But its not just the guard's playmaking, even though that was just about non-existent. I remember quite a few plays where Pau was standing out near the 3P line holding the ball, and nobody could even come open for him to pass to. Not only were they moving in slow motion, they weren't making hard cuts. Basically they were jogging around like they don't give a shit. Either that, or they just don't have the foot speed to get it done. I'm not sure which is worse.

I've been saying since preseason that they are a second round exit. I'm starting to wonder if I was being too optimistic. I know the Clippers were clawing for home court in the first round, and the game didn't mean anything to the Spurs. But I hate it when they go into the playoffs playing like shit. I hope they pick it up a notch for the playoffs, but all the other playoff teams are going to be trying to do the same thing.

At least Pop recognized the lack of effort and will try to get the players intensity back....No rest for the un-weary..

850907095075618817

[skulls138]

Yeah, we have to learn in the first round. That series against Dallas in 2014 was difficult but made everything click. It clicked because it was difficult.

[Hoops Czar]

This team doesn't have the fear factor. The defense can't get stops when they need them and the offense is pretty one dimensional. To think the Spurs actually tried to win this game and the sad thing was they never really had a chance. The Clips were toying with the Spurs all night.

[MaNu4Tres]

But can they generate enough offense you think? Screw Parker but Mills can sometimes keep the defense honest even tough his owefense leaves a lot to be desired.

Kawhi, Green, Manu, LA, Dedmon or Kawhi, Green, Manu, Bertans, LA... floor spacing solved. No liabilities defensively they can exploit.

Mills is hit or miss. I love the guy for the teammate and person he is and how he hustles, but his value is strictly tied to his shot going in and going 3 for 6 or 4 for 6 from 3 every game or every series just is not going to happen. In the long run, he will give up more on the defensive end than he'll give on the offensive end. The past two years in the playoffs, teams have deliberately attacked both Tony and Mills and that's how OKC and LAC pulled the upsets the past two years. Of course there were other reasons, but having a weaklink like those two in at ALL times is such a pain in the ass and shot in the foot from the opening tip.

[SAGirl]

I've been saying they need to do this on here and on twitter. It's their only hope vs. HOU and GS. They have to implement lineups of Kawhi, Manu, Green, Simmons or Anderson, Dedmon or LA. Or Kawhi, Simmons, Green, LA, Dedmon, ect.
Frankly
I wanted to see Bertans too.
Lee didn't bring much here.
I feel like Pop is missing the boat with Bertans this season.

[Hoops Czar]

Frankly
I wanted to see Bertans too.
Lee didn't bring much here.
I feel like Pop is missing the boat with Bertans this season.

I think you're missing the boat on Bertans, particular on the defensive end. You can't sub him out every half possession so no matter how much you like his floor spacing abilities on the offensive side of the ball, he's virtually unplayable on the defensive end. The fact that you're bringing this up just goes to show you that the so-called Spurs depth is more myth based than fact.

[SAGirl]

I think you're missing the boat on Bertans, particular on the defensive end. You can't sub him out every half possession so no matter how much you like his floor spacing abilities on the offensive side of the ball, he's virtually unplayable on the defensive end. The fact that you're bringing this up just goes to show you that the so-called Spurs depth is more myth based than fact.
Lee is not known as any kind of defensive presence. He was taken to the rim several times with no resistance too... and he didn't grab a single defensive board, which is valuable and I am aware is a Bertans weakness.

[MaNu4Tres]

I think you're missing the boat on Bertans, particular on the defensive end. You can't sub him out every half possession so no matter how much you like his floor spacing abilities on the offensive side of the ball, he's virtually unplayable on the defensive end. The fact that you're bringing this up just goes to show you that the so-called Spurs depth is more myth based than fact.

I think you're missing the boat on Bertans. The guy can defend. He's not a Kawhi, but he's close to Kyle on the defensive end. He's probably one of the smartest when it comes to awareness on both ends, out of the young players on the team. IMO.

[YGWHI]

I've been saying they need to do this on here and on twitter. It's their only hope vs. HOU and GS. They have to implement lineups of Kawhi, Manu, Green, Simmons or Anderson, Dedmon or LA. Or Kawhi, Simmons, Green, LA, Dedmon, ect.

Exactly. But I doubt Pop will do this in playoffs. Sadly, he's too much conservative and structured for a lineup w/o a point guard.

[YGWHI]

At least Pop recognized the lack of effort and will try to get the players intensity back....No rest for the un-weary..

850907095075618817

Damn...He blames players' effort when he's the only one responsible for killing their rhythm with all the resting in the last two games

[kobyz]

Patrick Mccaw of the Warriors is better than all the guards on this team, lol Spurs organization!

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Kawhi, Green, Manu, LA, Dedmon or Kawhi, Green, Manu, Bertans, LA... floor spacing solved. No liabilities defensively they can exploit.

Mills is hit or miss. I love the guy for the teammate and person he is and how he hustles, but his value is strictly tied to his shot going in and going 3 for 6 or 4 for 6 from 3 every game or every series just is not going to happen. In the long run, he will give up more on the defensive end than he'll give on the offensive end. The past two years in the playoffs, teams have deliberately attacked both Tony and Mills and that's how OKC and LAC pulled the upsets the past two years. Of course there were other reasons, but having a weaklink like those two in at ALL times is such a pain in the ass and shot in the foot from the opening tip.

Good call :tu

[Robz4000]

Spurs desperately need to acquire a PG next season, even if it's George Hill. It's ridiculous how bad the guard situation is.

[spurraider21]

We badly need a penetrating Guard.so did erin barry

[duncan2k5]

I think you're missing the boat on Bertans, particular on the defensive end. You can't sub him out every half possession so no matter how much you like his floor spacing abilities on the offensive side of the ball, he's virtually unplayable on the defensive end. The fact that you're bringing this up just goes to show you that the so-called Spurs depth is more myth based than fact.

u guys are exaggerating how bad bertrans is on defense...he is decent...can guard on switches...actually makes an effort to rim protect

[duncan2k5]

Spurs desperately need to acquire a PG next season, even if it's George Hill. It's ridiculous how bad the guard situation is.

dude...we have murray...getting another PG is like getting a different pg because we didnt think rookie TP was good enough (even before TP was given the starting position). i find it unbelievable no one else can see that murray is EXACTLY what we need...dude will take us to the next level

[duncan2k5]

I think you're missing the boat on Bertans. The guy can defend. He's not a Kawhi, but he's close to Kyle on the defensive end. He's probably one of the smartest when it comes to awareness on both ends, out of the young players on the team. IMO.

exactly

[GSH]

I'm pretty skeptical about this team's ability to get past the second round, but how they play right before the playoffs hasn't always been indicative of how they will perform in the postseason. They were on a 10-game win streak entering the postseason in 2012 and then flamed out in the WCF. In 2013, they were slumping hard at the end of the regular season but ended up making the Finals. Also, in 2015 they were hot (minus the Pelicans loss) but lost in the first round. I think the 2005 & 2007 teams entered the postseason on losing streaks. The 2014 team had gone 3-4 in their last 7 games and entered the postseason on a 2-game losing streak.

Basically, it's hard to draw conclusions about the Spurs' playoff hopes based on the final weeks of the regular season. You don't always know what you're going to get with them.


Yeah, you're right about some of that. But I'll never be anything but pissed off about that last RS game against the Pelicans, in 2015. They pissed off one game and dropped from the 2 seed to the 5 seed. They would have had a different first round opponent, and home court for the first two rounds, and they just tanked it.

And in 2011 they won 61 games, but they lost 8 of their last 12. Lots of people here were insisting that the 61 wins meant more than the .333 finish to the season, but it was pretty obvious that they weren't going anywhere in the playoffs, regardless of how many RS wins they had.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

At least Pop recognized the lack of effort and will try to get the players intensity back....No rest for the un-weary..

850907095075618817
:lol that Pop stare-down at that idiotic reporter

[td4mvp21]

Yeah, you're right about some of that. But I'll never be anything but pissed off about that last RS game against the Pelicans, in 2015. They pissed off one game and dropped from the 2 seed to the 5 seed. They would have had a different first round opponent, and home court for the first two rounds, and they just tanked it.

And in 2011 they won 61 games, but they lost 8 of their last 12. Lots of people here were insisting that the 61 wins meant more than the .333 finish to the season, but it was pretty obvious that they weren't going anywhere in the playoffs, regardless of how many RS wins they had.

Yeah, that team had disaster written all over it. This year's team is a mystery to me. They haven't really melted down, they were something like 16-3 over their previous 19 games up until that Warriors loss. But their play as a whole lately has left a lot to be desired.

[SASdynasty!]

The lack of perimeter play-making from the guard position is just flat out disgusting..I'm officially open to all scenarios of playoff embarrassment for this team.

People forget that the Spurs got a decent-ish Parker in the OKC series and still got bounced..They'll have a much worse version this postseason and Mills who's been slumping for months..

Pop should ponder non- TP/Mills lineups in the playoffs so at least we can cover-up our asses on defense go all-in on that end--try to win basketball games in slugfests..
Lol, Spurstalk wanted Parker to stop shooting...so he did and now everyone wants his production back. Lol wow.

[TD 21]

Spurs offensive rating in February: 105.6, March and April (this game not included): 106 . . . league average: 106.9.

:lmao At those who took shots at Duncan (as if there was something he could have done to prevent his one decent knee from filling giving out) and thought they'd be improved offensively with Gasol.

I've been saying it for 3 seasons now: While still efficient, they're not explosive offensively. I don't care how good they are defensively, no one is winning a championship in this era like that.

[spursistan]

Spurs offensive rating in February: 105.6, March and April (this game not included): 106 . . . league average: 106.9.

:lmao At those who took shots at Duncan (as if there was something he could have done to prevent his one decent knee from filling giving out) and thought they'd be improved offensively with Gasol.

I've been saying it for 3 seasons now: While still efficient, they're not explosive offensively. I don't care how good they are defensively, no one is winning a championship in this era like that.

850797815748067329

the offense was actually fine in Dec/early Jan but Green/Mills shooting falling off cliff along with Parker losing whatever pulse he had in those two months has cratered it..

[KenziE]

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/webkit-fake-url://aafd2031-fb7f-4ac6-b0dd-5e9cc6a06052/imagepng

[KenziE]

How do i post images from my mobile ? Damn im
such an idiot

[TD 21]

850797815748067329

the offense was actually fine in Dec/early Jan but Green/Mills shooting falling off cliff along with Parker losing whatever pulse he had in those two months has cratered it..

But those things were inevitable. The former because they were both shooting unsustainable percentages and the latter needs no elaboration.

Really, they're probably somewhere in between December/January and February on, but that's not good enough.

If another elite regular season gives way to another early playoff flameout, despite the limited financial flexibility, I'm beginning to think they at the very least they look into drastic changes, both personnel and philosophically. Pop seems to have finally realized that, no matter the continuity or health, they're not good enough offensively and running it back again will only lead to a similar fate.

[Spurtacular]

Biggest rimjob OP in ST history, tbh.

[skulls138]

Lol, Spurstalk wanted Parker to stop shooting...so he did and now everyone wants his production back. Lol wow.Not me. People called Parker selfish and an ego maniac for not turning into Nash in an instant not realizing that we needed his points production. They just werent falling was the problem.

I also laugh at people thinking we could just automatically get an all-star caliber PG to replace Parker. As if every move we make would turn to gold. Also we are the second best team in the fucking league, record wise. Guess thats not enough

[Ice009]

The lack of perimeter play-making from the guard position is just flat out disgusting..I'm officially open to all scenarios of playoff embarrassment for this team.

People forget that the Spurs got a decent-ish Parker in the OKC series and still got bounced..They'll have a much worse version this postseason and Mills who's been slumping for months..

Pop should ponder non- TP/Mills lineups in the playoffs so at least we can cover-up our asses on defense go all-in on that end--try to win basketball games in slugfests..

This is ridiculous. Spurs look like shit going into the playoffs.

I keep hearing about how much of a terrific guy Patty Mills is, but so what. When did it become about being a terrific guy? Is he a terrific player? No, he's not, so why would the Spurs want to be paying him 10-15 million to come back?

I don't know if anyone remembers, but back in the day - late 90s, early 2000s, I recall Pop cutting players and getting rid of them if they failed twice in the playoffs. He'd usually give someone two chances, and if they failed twice in a row in the playofs, they'd be gone. If Mills fails again, he should be let go (not brought back because he is a great guy).

Parker, well, he should have been gone after 2015. I was really mad at that contract extension (was it an extension?) at the end of the 2014 season. If Pop was going by his old logic, he should have waited to see how Parker performed in 2015 before any contract extension or re-signing him. That would have been two bad seasons in a row, so back in the day, Pop would have gotten rid of him or tried to trade him if he was still under contract. I understand the loyalty thing, but earlier on, Pop mostly based things on how that guy performs on the court. He didn't seem to give a shit about loyalty as much as he does now. They let Stephen Jackson go after helping them win a championship, they let Horry go, they cut Jarren Jackson, they traded Rasho, they just didn't mess around back then. They've really gotten soft and it sucks they don't do things like they used to. It's not helping the team out at all.

To top it off, Murray should have played a lot more minutes when he was healthier. Parker and Mills have been average for most of this season, there was no reason not to play Murray after he showed up in games against top teams such as the Cavs.

All I know is, that in the playoffs Kawhi will show up and play hard. Anyone else, for the first time in years, I have no clue about how they will perform in the playoffs. I really don't know what to expect from the rest of the guys on the team. That's not a good position for a team that just finished second in the entire NBA to be in, especially if you're looking to challenge the Warriors for the championship.

Oh, and I'll also take a shot at the resting. I think the resting has completely fucked up this team's rhythm and cohesion. They look like crap, and I think the resting has really hurt them. They needed to play more regular lineups when there wasn't injuries so that they could build up as much chemistry as possible. Half of this shit is on Pop.

[TheDoctor]

But those things were inevitable. The former because they were both shooting unsustainable percentages and the latter needs no elaboration.

Really, they're probably somewhere in between December/January and February on, but that's not good enough.

If another elite regular season gives way to another early playoff flameout, despite the limited financial flexibility, I'm beginning to think they at the very least they look into drastic changes, both personnel and philosophically. Pop seems to have finally realized that, no matter the continuity or health, they're not good enough offensively and running it back again will only lead to a similar fate.

Good post :tu

[Horse]

They flamed out in 2012 because Harden went God mode, and because Pop essentially took out Green and Splitter from the rotation because of a few bad games on the road in games 3 and 4. So dumb to just blow it up like that, shorting the rotation of two really solid defensive players with young legs. They had to lean heavily on old legs. Pop has made some decisions outside of 14' that have left me scratching my head.

They didn't flame out in '12 they got fucked plain and simple. The nba thought Durant would be lebrons rivals for years to come. And meet in the finals over and over, you'll see when they screw us this year to ensure the tiebreaker.

[Russ]

I think you're missing the boat on Bertans. The guy can defend. He's not a Kawhi, but he's close to Kyle on the defensive end. He's probably one of the smartest when it comes to awareness on both ends, out of the young players on the team. IMO.

I never got the Bertans can't play D chorus.

It's like a Charles Barkley observation -- quick stereotype, no analysis.