Rarely do I start threads...

[Phenomanul]

I still think the Spurs can still win this series... a lopsided Game 1 loss has never been the deciding factor. As defeatist as the bench looked I remember the same faces in Games 3 & 4 of the 2005 NBA Finals... tbh blowouts are easier for the players to process cause they can brush them off better than a truly demoralizing hard-fought loss (Ray Allen's triple, Fisher's 0.4, etc...).

Pop simply can't be stubborn Pop in this series.

Smallball worked for good stretches against Houston in 2 of their regular season matchups...

The starting lineup should be:

C - Dedmon
PF - Leonard
SF - Bertans
SG - Green
PG - Parker

Subs would be:
Aldridge for Dedmon
Kyle for Bertans
Manu/Simmons for Green
Mills for Parker

Play Lee / Gasol only when Harden is on the bench...

The games still need to be played, nothing is a given... Don't forget we are talking about Pringles here.... he will find a way to screw it up...
Injuries are also x-factors.

[DMC]

Pop cannot bench a 20 mil a year player in the 2nd round. It would be career suicide if he lost anyhow (it would be the reason, according to the press).

Pop is the only coach in the league who could get away with it if he won, but not if he lost.

[Phenomanul]

Yet this is what needs to happen... In small-ball, Leonard and Aldridge would close the game... but defensively the game would need to start off on the right foot... LMA looked exceedingly slow yesterday, he was deferring too much, being too passive, non-assertive. Sure you could start Aldridge as the smallball 5 but if the same intensity he displayed in the last game surfaced the Spurs would still be in trouble. Light a fire under him, bench him. Sub him in early.

[coachmac87]

You have the right idea except the line up and rotation is wrong

[gospursgojas]

Pop simply can't be stubborn Pop in this series.



Hold my wine... :pop:

[Phenomanul]

You have the right idea except the line up and rotation is wrong

Yeah, in my mind Aldridge and Dedmon were interchangeable but tbh, Aldridge needs to be held accountable for that crappy start, for his passiveness and lack of intensity.

Dedmon was almost too intense... LOL

[DMC]

Yet this is what needs to happen... In small-ball, Leonard and Aldridge would close the game... but defensively the game would need to start off on the right foot... LMA looked exceedingly slow yesterday, he was deferring too much, being too passive, non-assertive. Sure you could start Aldridge as the smallball 5 but if the same intensity he displayed in the last game surfaced the Spurs would still be in trouble. Light a fire under him, bench him. Sub him in early.
You won't light a fire under Aldridge by benching him. He's getting paid 20m with a built in excuse for shitty stats "Pop benched me".

[Phenomanul]

You won't light a fire under Aldridge by benching him. He's getting paid 20m with a built in excuse for shitty stats "Pop benched me".

Have Manu punch the diva out of him... he's trained with Jesse James Leija.

[Sigz]

Let's be honest. David Lee will be starting.

[sananspursfan21]

I agree. I wasn't even mad about last night. I guess I was pretty annoyed I wasted my time watching but I wasn't pissed or worried about the series. I still think they'll win. Shoot, I still think they've got a shot at the Finals. Not because of who they are, but simply because I've seen so many times in the NBA or in sports in general a team will instantly catch fire and appear to "figure it out" all of a sudden. Rare, but I've seen it before. I mean, to use a cliché, it is why the game is played.

[baseline bum]

I don't think there is any lighting a fire under Aldridge by benching him. If he was the type of player who was going to play better by getting pissed off it would have happened last night after every NBA beat writer and analyst picked Houston in this series because LMA was playing like a bitch. Pop's just gotta roll with Aldridge and hope he stops being a pussy, because this series is unwinnable if he isn't going to be an efficient scorer in the post that the Spurs can dump the ball in to over and over again. That's how the Spurs would control pace in this series. If Aldridge isn't going to abuse Ryan Anderson on the block and force D'Antoni to play Nene more this will be a short series.

[TheRemix]

Pop won't do anything that drastic unfortunately..your idea is great and is logically sound but pop is gonna stick with his normal lineups. I expect lee to get a lot of playing time again next game

[RD2191]

I don't think adjustments matter, no way in hell we can win this series if the rockets stay hot from 3.

[SpursforSix]

I don't think adjustments matter, no way in hell we can win this series if the rockets stay hot from 3.

:pop: meh. Either way I'm wealthy.

[Nathan89]

Pop cannot bench a 20 mil a year player in the 2nd round. It would be career suicide if he lost anyhow (it would be the reason, according to the press).

Pop is the only coach in the league who could get away with it if he won, but not if he lost.

Pop would get away with it either way. He's virtually untouchable and not playing LMA isn't going to change that.

[james evans]

I swear I was driving thinking about this shit today. Move Leonard to the PF to stop those fucking screens and bring Aldridge off the bench. Timmy could handle coming off the bench so if Aldridge can't, pack his shit and get the fuck out of Texas before the game starts. That seems like the reasonable thing to do, but we all know Pop is gonna go down with ginobli, gasol, aldridge, and whatever else bullshit lineup to prove he's in charge

[objective]

I love Bertans, watched tons of his games over the years. And I think Dedmon needs more minutes.

But here's the sad truth.

Bertans isn't as good as Ryan Anderson right now, not very close either.

Dedmon isn't close to Capela. At all. Sure, he's an athletic monster compared to the other Spurs bigs the last few years, but he's not as quick, not as fast, not as explosive, not as bouncy, not as agile, not as supple, not anything on Capela's level.

Rest of the roster is similar. Mills isn't on the level of Lou Williams. Retiring Manu doesn't belong on the same court as Eric Gordon. Parker and Beverley isn't a win for the Spurs. Slo-mo loses everywhere to Sam Dekker.

Even if Pop plays the best matchups, they probably still don't win the matchups.

[SAGirl]

I love Bertans, watched tons of his games over the years. And I think Dedmon needs more minutes.

But here's the sad truth.

Bertans isn't as good as Ryan Anderson right now, not very close either.

Dedmon isn't close to Capela. At all. Sure, he's an athletic monster compared to the other Spurs bigs the last few years, but he's not as quick, not as fast, not as explosive, not as bouncy, not as agile, not as supple, not anything on Capela's level.

Rest of the roster is similar. Mills isn't on the level of Lou Williams. Retiring Manu doesn't belong on the same court as Eric Gordon. Parker and Beverley isn't a win for the Spurs. Slo-mo loses everywhere to Sam Dekker.

Even if Pop plays the best matchups, they probably still don't win the matchups.
I think you have to give it a try at some point. They played well to end the game. At least they weren't outplayed... but I'd like to see Dijon instead of Mills.
But, you have a point.. here is another. It's not even about how good individually they are. It's also about how they are as a team.
The Rockets played like that all season. They became a machine. They got chemistry, confidence, etc. and are used to that style.

This team didn't. They lived and died with two bigs, with slow Gasol, with the LmA Post ups, Lee, etc. The ball was in Mills and Manu's hands more, etc. The only ones who did get a real shot were Dedmon and to me it's not so much what you said, but rather that he started playing late in life relatively speaking and it shows. He's very raw in a lot of ways, passing especially, though in a less noticeable way, he makes mistakes everywhere, timing of plays is off, etc. Simmons also got a shot all season but he's limited. He's got athleticism but he could be more active off the ball IMO. I'd like to see him cut more, etc. For some reason, he disappears when playing off the ball. I only see him aggressive when he has the ball... when he could be a threat every time. Maybe it's the fact the team is not moving the ball well and when you think you aren't going to get it, you hustle less, you don't cut sharp, etc. Or maybe he is just not a good basketball player. He had a whole season.
The others have had less of a chance and as you said, even if Pop alters matchups, they won't be as ready. They just didn't play like that the whole season period, which gives confidence and chances to improve (or get exposed.) Either way, you can't change who you are in the middle of the playoffs and Pop due to personnel, adding Gasol, Lee etc. just didn't play these younger players or go to them enough. It will not be fair to them. I do believe the team is more ready to play how they played all season, than if they alter things right now to play the younger guys. Maybe there is a talent gap, but it's probably not as dramatic everywhere had they played all season, IMO.

So, I don't expect adjustments. Maybe next season they play differently, maybe ... if they change personnel... for now they will go back to the LMA post ups, etc.

[spurs10]

I and many people get what you're saying. LMA is going to start, but I certainly would like to see us make the necessary adjustments it's going to take to beat these guys. LMA will play more aggressively and hopefully we will play Kawhi at the 4 for part of the game.

[DMC]

Pop would get away with it either way. He's virtually untouchable and not playing LMA isn't going to change that.

They thought Tom Landry was untouchable as well.

[DMC]

I love Bertans, watched tons of his games over the years. And I think Dedmon needs more minutes.

But here's the sad truth.

Bertans isn't as good as Ryan Anderson right now, not very close either.

Dedmon isn't close to Capela. At all. Sure, he's an athletic monster compared to the other Spurs bigs the last few years, but he's not as quick, not as fast, not as explosive, not as bouncy, not as agile, not as supple, not anything on Capela's level.

Rest of the roster is similar. Mills isn't on the level of Lou Williams. Retiring Manu doesn't belong on the same court as Eric Gordon. Parker and Beverley isn't a win for the Spurs. Slo-mo loses everywhere to Sam Dekker.

Even if Pop plays the best matchups, they probably still don't win the matchups.
If Spurs played their best game of the season last night they still lose.

[Phenomanul]

If Spurs played their best game of the season last night they still lose.

The first game of the season Simmons made several 3 pointers... Green's 3 pointers fell, Mills 3 pointers fell, Kawhi's 3 pointers fell... Heck, even LMA had a decent outing... If they played like that, they can beat this Rockets team...

[MultiTroll]

Pop would get away with it either way. He's virtually untouchable and not playing LMA isn't going to change that.
This.

:lol The notion that Popped would not "get away with it." :lol

[DMC]

The first game of the season Simmons made several 3 pointers... Green's 3 pointers fell, Mills 3 pointers fell, Kawhi's 3 pointers fell... Heck, even LMA had a decent outing... If they played like that, they can beat this Rockets team...

The 1st game of the Season the GSW were experimenting. Rockets aren't. Spurs are gun shy when it comes to guarding Harden on the perimeter, since he hooks your arm and draws a foul that way faking a 3pt shot. You could see them almost afraid to get involved, as if Pop preached it incessantly. Pop needs to let the team play through lapses, not scold them with his patented 20 seconds into the game timeout like he's a grand wizard and they are all minions.

[Phenomanul]

The Spurs nearly scored 130 points in that game... yeah, if they can play that way and close out on the 3 point shooters they can overcome Houston's gimmicky system.

[Horse]

Barkley said we are in trouble you know what that means. We got this