Grades: Spurs vs. Nuggets - Game 4, 2019 NBA Playoffs (Apr. 20)

[timvp]

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The Spurs played really well in the first three games of their first round series against the Nuggets. In the first quarter of Game 4, San Antonio's strong play continued. But then, unfortunately, the wheels fell off.

To begin the game, the Spurs were attacking on offense and swarming on defense. They were getting good shots, while Denver was struggling to generate any offense. At the end of the first period, the good guys were up by 12 points, 34-22.

To begin the second quarter, Pop used the same lineup (Poeltl, Bertans, Gay, Belinelli and Mills) that in Game 3 resulted in a 16-0 run for the Nuggets to start the second. Once again, things quickly went wrong at the beginning of the period, as Denver scored ten of the quarter's first 14 points.

A few minutes later, the starters came back in ... and things only got worse. The attacking offense was suddenly discombobulated and passive. The swarming defense was flatfooted and soft. The rhythm the Spurs played with for much of the series' first 13 quarters vanished.

After getting outscored 32-20 in the second quarter, the doldrums continued after halftime. Denver took advantage, outscoring San Antonio 37-25 in the third quarter.

In the final stanza, the Spurs never got within ten points; whenever they got a scintilla of momentum, the Nuggets answered with a big shot or a key play of their own.

Denver's 117-103 victory ties the series 2-2 and sets up a momentous Game 5 in Denver on Tuesday night.

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LaMarcus Aldridge
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In the first quarter, LaMarcus Aldridge was more productive than he's been all series. Playing all 12 minutes, he scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. He took advantage of the Nuggets not sending many double-teams his way and looked primed for a big night. But it didn't happen. Aldridge became increasingly passive as the game progressed, despite Denver playing him mostly one-on-one. Most glaring was his lack of physicality; even when he had a smaller man on him, Aldridge was too apt to settle for a finesse shot. With Aldridge not dominating, it allowed the Nuggets to stay close to the three-point shooters. All in all, 24 points in 29 minutes is usually good enough -- but it wasn't on this night. Defensively, I didn't have much issue with how Aldridge played. He defended Paul Millsap rather well and was good enough when switched onto Nikola Jokic.
Grade: B
Summary: Aldridge's stats look strong but the Spurs needed more to make the Nuggets pay for their defensive decisions.

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DeMar DeRozan
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Like Aldridge, DeMar DeRozan was really good in the first quarter. He was 3-for-3 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line in ten and a half minutes and had four assists to go with his eight points. His passing was excellent, his court vision was impressive and he was taking the ball strong to the hole. But, like Aldridge, DeRozan failed to do enough the rest of the way. With the Nuggets playing him mostly straight up, DeRozan had the green light to try to carry the team -- particularly when everyone else was struggling. Instead, he was 4-for-10 the rest of the night and only had one more assist. On defense, he lost shooters too often and his help was oftentimes a step slow. DeRozan's night ended a little bit early after he got ejected for throwing the basketball at the direction of a referee. Thankfully, his long range accuracy leaves a lot to be desired because if that ball would have been five feet closer to the ref, DeRozan could be facing a suspension. That was the latest example of the 29-year-old guard letting his frustration get the better of him. He's not the type of player who plays well when he's mad so DeRozan really needs to work on keeping his cool.
Grade: C+
Summary: DeRozan started with a bang and ended with a fling.

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Derrick White
https://i.imgur.com/IrTA2dV.png
Welp, I guess it's not time to put Derrick White in the Hall of Fame just yet. A game after dazzling the world with a career-high 36 points, White came crashing back down to earth. He came out of the gates sloppy and never truly regained his composure. He was making mental mistakes on both ends. On defense, Jamal Murray took advantage of White's questionable decisions to pour in 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting. On offense, White looked to be pressing. The Nuggets showed him more respect than they did in the first three games of the series and White struggled to make correct decisions. Let's hope he can bounce back with some more magic in Game 5.
Grade: D+
Summary: White's trip to Springfield will have to wait.

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Bryn Forbes
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Comparatively, Bryn Forbes played pretty well. Before garbage time, the Spurs had only three made three-pointers and Forbes tallied two of those (Aldridge had the other). Forbes was out of control sometimes but with most of his teammates in a daze, his activity was welcome. Defensively, he was about as good as he gets. He stayed with Gary Harris well and got back in transition consistently. The only area on defense Forbes struggled was the timing of his double-teaming, as the Nuggets usually saw his help coming and easily found the open man.
Grade: B
Summary: Forbes held up his end of the bargain.

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Jakob Poeltl
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Despite dealing with intermittent foul trouble, Jakob Poeltl played 30 minutes. (After playing 30-plus minutes once in the regular season, he's done it twice in the last two games.) All in all, I was pleased with how the big Austrian played. Offensively, he was assertive when rolling to the rim, consistently crashed the glass, authored heady passes and finished well in traffic. With the intensity turned up a notch or two in the postseason, it's great to see Poeltl able to hang on the offensive end. Defensively, he didn't have as much success in Game 4 as he had in Game 3. Jokic missed some shots against him but generally the Nuggets star was able to do what he wanted (Jokic not turning the ball over despite his deluge of touches was a leading reason for Denver's offensive success). Poeltl's help defense was okay but it's been better. Rebounding-wise, though, he was stout on the defensive glass and he was one of the few players playing with enough physicality on that end.
Grade: B+
Summary: Poeltl continues to look like a building block going forward. In the short term, though, dealing with Jokic is a handful.

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Davis Bertans
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After hardly playing in Game 3, Davis Bertans led the bench in minutes. The good: His burgeoning ability to make moves off the dribble paid dividends here and there. Although he didn't grab any rebounds, he was boxing out with muscle and the Spurs grabbed almost all available defensive rebounds when Bertans was on the court. The bad: Bertans turned down a couple open three-pointers, which really hurt because the Spurs weren't getting many decent looks from downtown. He's usually great at running the court and hunting for open space ... but he's just not doing much of that thus far in the playoffs. And when he is getting open, he's too often passing it. While Bertans is a better-than-you-think defender and has some other skills, if he's not shooting and making threes, his value is limited.
Grade: C
Summary: Bertans did a few small things but not enough big things.

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Patty Mills
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After a really bad showing in Game 3, I can't complain about Patty Mills' production in Game 4. He went to the line eight times (he was fouled on three-pointers twice), which is his most visits to the charity stripe since the last time the Spurs won the championship. With no one around him willing to take control of the reins, Mills even started attacking the paint and finishing at the rim -- that's not something we see too often out of him. He made a few good passes, didn't turn the ball over and he successfully upped the tempo when he was in the game. Defensively, he did enough flailing and flopping to disrupt Denver at times. All that said, the fact that Mills has only one three-pointer in four playoff games is really hurting the spacing of the second unit.
Grade: B+
Summary: Mills shouldered more of the burden than usual on offense and did enough on defense to avoid being too much of a liability.

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Rudy Gay
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Out of nowhere, Rudy Gay suddenly can't hold onto the basketball. Whenever the ball is in his hands, he's either fumbling it away, preparing to fumble it away or making an iffy decision. After a putrid 0-for-7 showing in Game 4, he's now 6-for-28 (21.4%) in the series outside of Game 1's second quarter. Gay being unable to produce is even more damning that it appears on first glance. Why? Because it allows the Nuggets to dictate the rotations. If Gay isn't taking advantage of his athleticism against big players or taking advantage of his size against small players, Denver doesn't have to think twice about deviating from whatever is working best on the offensive end. Gay's value to the Spurs is his ability to exploit mismatches. He's not doing that right now, at all, and it has left a large, gaping void. In addition to his poor offense, Gay was almost as equally bad on defense. Ouch.
Grade: F+
Summary: No word yet if the Easter Bunny is going to hide the egg Gay laid.

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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli is taking bad defense to a new level. He entered the postseason as a top three worst perimeter defender in the NBA. Against the Nuggets, he's a few steps below that. I don't know if he's injured (remember, he missed some time late in the regular season) or whether the increased intensity is too much for him to handle. To make matters worse, Belinelli was terrible on offense, too. If he wasn't shooting an unnecessary leaner, he was missing a wide open teammate. Belinelli's only basket was a three-pointer deep into garbage time. Going forward, if he can't play defense better than a dead man, the coaches have to look elsewhere.
Grade: F
Summary: Ugh.

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Donatas Motiejunas
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With Poeltl in foul trouble and Aldridge needing a rest, Pop dusted off Donatas Motiejunas for some real minutes. He didn't embarrass himself. The Lithuanian bigman obviously has good hands and good touch on the offensive end. However, it's also obvious that he's not capable of providing much on defense. He's too stiff and his reactions are too slow for him to have a chance of defending the Nuggets pick-and-rolls -- and Denver was well aware of that fact.
Grade: Inc.
Summary: Motiejunas was ready when called upon.

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Pop
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I didn't like that Pop failed to learn his lesson from Game 3 and started the second quarter of Game 4 with the same lineup that previously resulted in a 16-0 run. The Nuggets went on another run ... a run that never ended. Obviously, the loss wasn't on Pop for trotting out the Poeltl, Bertans, Gay, Belinelli and Mills lineup but that lineup shouldn't hit the floor the rest of the series. I disagreed with Aldridge never touching the hardwood in the fourth quarter. Sure, the Spurs were down but with two days off until Game 5, putting him out there in hopes of a miracle wouldn't have hurt anything. Despite those questionable decisions, every coach in the league would struggle to find a way to win a game in which the opponent is red-hot from three-point range (15-for-30 in non-garbage time), your team can't hit a shot from deep (3-for-13 in non-garbage time), the opponent only turns it over seven times and your two leading bench scorer don't make a basket (0-for-10 in non-garbage time).
Grade: B-
Summary: Pop's coaching was far from great but he didn't have enough players playing well to have much of a chance to make a difference from the sidelines.

Looking ahead: That was a disappointing collapse after how well the Spurs played in the first quarter. The good guys appeared to be on their way to a commanding 3-1 lead in the series ... and now they're back to square one.

The hope going into Game 5 on the road is that the Spurs handily outplayed the Nuggets in Denver in the first two contests of the series outside of the fourth quarter of Game 2. Rekindle that level of play, get some more players along for the ride and go out and get another one in enemy territory.

[MoSpur02]

Thanks LJ.

Pop's grade is a little too generous. He has to give more minutes to guys like White and Aldridge. Should I say limit the minutes that guys like Bertans, Gay, and Marco play? There's no reason to not play your better players 35-38 minutes per game in the playoffs.


Derozan's tantrums are past annoying. I wouldn't be surprised if the Spurs look to trade him this off-season. He's too weak mentally.

[tbdog]

Nuggets were hitting some pretty bad 3 point shots. It was very frustrating because Spurs positioning was pretty good. They were just rising up early and getting all but net. Spurs were aggressive and looking to score in the paint. Nuggets shooting was good everywhere, ft's, 2's, and 3's.

[tmtcsc]

I don't see the Spurs winning another game tbh. Two more double-digit losses coming. LMA is not going to react well to Pop benching him and Demar is Demar. He'll score some points but he won't take you over the top. The rest of the team is too young, old or one dimensional to be counted on.

[Fireball]

our three point shooters are unplayable this series .. if denver hits so many threes the spurs cannot keep up

[TheGreatYacht]

Pop, a B-?

It's okay to give him a failing grade, man. Game 2 was the worst coached game possible and he got a C. Just stop caring about what the vanillas will say.

He benched Aldridge in the 4th quarter even though he was the only one that showed up in favor of a 4 fingered freak who didn't record a rebound in 20 minutes. He continued to kill any momentum the starters were providing by subbing White out for 10 minute stretches. Doesn't know how to spread Derozan and White's minutes apart yet. They both sit together and come in together, leaving us with the foreign special olympics. Continues to waste his timeouts early leaving him without any when the Nuggets go on actual runs. He'll waste two timeouts trying to fix the Marco/Gay/Mills lineup instead of just realizing it won't work. We're 4 games in. Anyone that doesn't have autism would have done something already about that bench. Lonnie might not be the solution, but neither is limiting White's minutes like he's 40 years old. This 9 man rotation has to stop. Every team has a starter on the floor with the bench at all times. When will crater face adjust?

[monty4329]

What a pathetic performace really.

Defense was terrible, but the game was lost on offense. As soon as Denver decided to play aggressive on the ball, it was game over.
I can't understand how Pop didn't manage to take advantage of the ton of fouls Denver was called for at the beginning of the game. It should have been a trip to the free throw line at every possession.

Playoffs DDR is even worse than regular season DDR, what a loser. I almost hope he gets suspended.
Pity that Gay and Beli are clearly not OK physically, but it is the fucking playoffs, suck it up take a shot or two of painkillers and perform.

Series is almost certainly over now. From up 19 and en route for a sweep, to this....

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Denver were better and every bit the elite 3 point defending team they've been in the regular season. Impossible to win games when you get outshot that badly from 3 nowadays. They need some adjustments because if none of the better 3 point shooters can stay on the floor there'll more of the same in the remaining 2 or 3 games.

[lefty]

:lol the long range accuracy comment on DDR

[ca®lo]

Those summaries had me rollling :rollin

DeRozan started with a bang and ended with a fling. :lmao

[objective]

B- for Pop is mind-blowing. That's what I expect if Jeff McDougal was doing grades.

the SUICIDE LINEUP is an automatic F. Marco and his trash directly giving 5 points away in like his first 30 seconds is an F for Pop. Keeping Aldridge on the bench the entire 4th sure isn't above average either

[WallyTiger]

I don't see the Spurs winning another game tbh. Two more double-digit losses coming. LMA is not going to react well to Pop benching him and Demar is Demar. He'll score some points but he won't take you over the top. The rest of the team is too young, old or one dimensional to be counted on.

[monty4329]

LMA is not going to react well to Pop benching him .

Why? 4th quarter was all garbage time, game was already lost. LMA is not the issue.

[spurs10]

I think the grades are about right, especially Gay. I was there and every time he got the ball he either had it promptly taken from him or he had enough time to throw up a miss. Beli was just as bad. At least Mills and Bertans took it to the basket a couple of times, the only thing that seemed to work.

Now I can suspect that LMA was going to play in the 4th, but things went further awry in the beginning of the quarter. I guess that's when Pop decided to spare LMA, but it was strange not seeing him in the fourth. DDR is not going to have much sympathy from the coaches who are surely worried about his temperament. Credit to the Kind Buds, after their dismal shooting in the 1st quarter they came back with a vengeance. It was brutal. I'm on the fence about going to Game 6.

[smaka]

Just look at the minutes distribution for us and Denver. Their key players play as many minutes as they have to, while Pop is babying our guys with rest for what, first round exit?

Also, can't win in today's nba shooting 3/13 for three. Can't even win in a fucking pick-up game after work in the backyard shooting like that.

[objective]

I don't buy that Pop decided to rest Aldridge because things were already bad during the early fourth and why bother and such.

Not with 2 days before game 5.

It's more believable that Pop forgot he had LMA just like Boylan forgot he had Kawhi, and the yes-men & yes-women assistants were either too scared or too trusting to ask Pop why LMA wasn't being put in

[SpursFan0728]

Thanks for the grade as always.

[monty4329]

I don't buy that Pop decided to rest Aldridge because things were already bad during the early fourth and why bother and such.

Not with 2 days before game 5.

It's more believable that Pop forgot he had LMA just like Boylan forgot he had Kawhi, and the yes-men & yes-women assistants were either too scared or too trusting to ask Pop why LMA wasn't being put in

yeah, right, sure, you got it, he forgot...

LMA will play 42 minutes next game, 4th quarter was garbage time

[ceperez]

our three point shooters are unplayable this series .. if denver hits so many threes the spurs cannot keep up

If Denver keeps attempting twice as many 3's as the Spurs, then this series is over. It's simple math that Pop refuses to acknowledge.

[RC_Drunkford]

Gay/Belinelli/Mills/Bertans are the issue. At least 2 of them should never ever see the floor again in the post season. I wish we could decide to not play any of these players, but we don't have a good roster. Play Walker and Montiejunas. Shit play Cunningham if you have to, he's definitely better on defense than Belinelli.

This series basically comes down to if the Nuggets hit their 3s or not. Spurs got a lot of lay ups still, but the Nuggets making 3s extended the lead. I don't expect a win in Game 5

[RC_Drunkford]

Pop, a B-?

It's okay to give him a failing grade, man. Game 2 was the worst coached game possible and he got a C. Just stop caring about what the vanillas will say.

He benched Aldridge in the 4th quarter even though he was the only one that showed up in favor of a 4 fingered freak who didn't record a rebound in 20 minutes. He continued to kill any momentum the starters were providing by subbing White out for 10 minute stretches. Doesn't know how to spread Derozan and White's minutes apart yet. They both sit together and come in together, leaving us with the foreign special olympics. Continues to waste his timeouts early leaving him without any when the Nuggets go on actual runs. He'll waste two timeouts trying to fix the Marco/Gay/Mills lineup instead of just realizing it won't work. We're 4 games in. Anyone that doesn't have autism would have done something already about that bench. Lonnie might not be the solution, but neither is limiting White's minutes like he's 40 years old. This 9 man rotation has to stop. Every team has a starter on the floor with the bench at all times. When will crater face adjust?

spot on. This fool still trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Then thinks it's not working cause players don't listen and need more of his superb coaching.

[cd021]

Pop needs to play White more minutes, and stagger. Maybe play him the first 8 minutes of each half then bring in Mills to close the 1st and 3rd and then bring White back to start the 2nd and 4th. Take him out for a couple of minutes from the around the 8:00-6:00 mark following a timeout in the 2nd and 4th.

He should be playing 36 minutes at the very least and if Beli is giving us nothing then playing Forbes more is fine tbh. Gay has been a trash fire, hard to play worse, there is really nothing Pop can do about he's just going to have to figure it out.

[cd021]

Gay/Belinelli/Mills/Bertans are the issue. At least 2 of them should never ever see the floor again in the post season. I wish we could decide to not play any of these players, but we don't have a good roster. Play Walker and Montiejunas. Shit play Cunningham if you have to, he's definitely better on defense than Belinelli.

This series basically comes down to if the Nuggets hit their 3s or not. Spurs got a lot of lay ups still, but the Nuggets making 3s extended the lead. I don't expect a win in Game 5


playing White more and staggering so Mills won't play along side Beli is a start. Cunningham is a non option tbh. Pop's biggest adjustment should be to change the lineups to start the 2nd and 4th quarter, though Gay playing poorly is exasperating the situation.

Maybe taking Forbes out earlier and having Beli play with White, DDR, LMA and Jacob would help him and more importantly keep him and Mills from playing at the same time. White, Forbes, Bertans, Gay, and Jacob can't be a worse lineup tbh.

[ShutUp SayItAgain!]

Pop a B-?

So his stupid Fatty Mills rotation is THE reason why Denver started their run that never ended but Pop gets a B- for that...ok.

:lmao :lmao

[r0drig0lac]

Pop B-? really?

[vavvi]

What a pathetic performance.

I didn't see playoffs intensity and urgency from our guys. Even losing teams like Brooklyn try harder in the postseason. Spurs played like a regular season games.
DDR and White were abysmal. We can't put this one on Mills and our bench. Our starters laid an egg.

Also: why every other team easily goes on a run being down 10-12 points, and we waive a white flag like the game is over?!

[Mugen]

Pop wasn't the major reason for the L but that grade is pretty ridiculous, timvp. And I'm starting to think that you're just doing that to troll the non-Pop suckers like me :lol

You already mentioned the lineup to start the 2nd qtr and LMA not seeing the floor in the 4th.

But DWhite was literally glued to the bench for most of the night without being a given a chance to get his play back up. That might not be the issue for most teams but it is when the alternative is Patty and Beli guarding the opposing team's perimeter players.

They literally only have one competent perimeter defender on the team and he's getting shafted unless he's having a career night. I also have no idea what game you were watching but Patty was good on offense and gave it almost all back on defense, he's been absolutely getting spitroasted by Morris and Beasley.

[Capt Bringdown]

I weesh you where my Engrish teecher, I mite hav passsetd.

[sananspursfan21]

Our guys were terrible no doubt. But like game 2, there were some shots hit by the Nuggets that had no business going in. Spurs gotta get back the recipe that worked in games 1 and 3 and fight like there’s no tomorrow.

Also, I get the starters need rest. You can’t just not play Patty or Belli. Can Pop not stagger them better? Because whether our guys win or lose, you can set a clock to Denver’s offensive runs. Even if you have to pull one of the starters early and bring them back in, that’s better than having that lineup where nobody gets stops AND can’t hit a bucket for nothing. I dunno, I’m just a 2k coach, what do I know?

[Shakril]

It is not Pops fault that Denver hit every 3 they could hit and spurs could not even make a layup. Denver didnt play really different, they just hit everything. Though the Bench is a catastrophe. None of those Players coming from the Bench are actually helping. As of right now you have to falt your hands an beg, they dont make too many blunders.

[spursistan]

Pop wasn't the major reason for the L but that grade is pretty ridiculous, timvp. And I'm starting to think that you're just doing that to troll the non-Pop suckers like me :lol

You already mentioned the lineup to start the 2nd qtr and LMA not seeing the floor in the 4th.

But DWhite was literally glued to the bench for most of the night without being a given a chance to get his play back up. That might not be the issue for most teams but it is when the alternative is Patty and Beli guarding the opposing team's perimeter players.

They literally only have one competent perimeter defender on the team and he's getting shafted unless he's having a career night. I also have no idea what game you were watching but Patty was good on offense and gave it almost all back on defense, he's been absolutely getting spitroasted by Morris and Beasley.

Kid's glove treatment per par :lol

Bottom line, Pop's shitty, kamikaze lineups are the main reason this is isn't sweep or Nuggets in a 3-1 hole. Instead, the Spurs are about to stare elimination in series in which they have had 3 of 4 best players/performers (LMA/WHite/Derozan)..

He is not responsible for Gay laying a massive egg, but the rotation and the minute allocation to his best players are on him..And he doubled down on the suicidal..

You said in that preview post: Don't expect Pop to out-coach anybody in 2019. I would add, don't expect him to play the likes of Mike Malone to a draw either..

You know when will Beli/Mills get yanked only for him to throw Lonnie into the fire? When the Spurs are down 20 in 3rd Q of Game 6..We have seen this boring movie before..

[monty4329]

This series basically comes down to if the Nuggets hit their 3s or not.

That was in fact clear from the very beginning. It was working for SA for 10 quarters.

[spursistan]

If there is a time for Aldridge to bitch, it is here and now and should concern Pop handling of his minutes..

No star player should stay glued on the bench for the entire 4th quarter in 10-point playoffs game at home.

What a fuckin' disrespectful bullshit from Pop..

[Chomag]

I always love reading your grades and takes Timvp but Pop getting a B- seems pretty generous to me. All I can say is I could have used you as my Highschool Math Teacher lol

[ShutUp SayItAgain!]

I always love reading your grades and takes Timvp but Pop getting a B- seems pretty generous to me. All I can say is I could have used you as my Highschool Math Teacher lol

But ur name's not Pop

[ginobilized]

What an embarrassing performance, ugh! Wasted home game.

A couple of small things that I noticed:

-Cunningham got so deep into Murray in garbage time. As if to show the team, this is how you guard this guy! I loved it.
-Lonnie Walker got a few minutes and brought some energy to the team. Might be something to build upon.
-Malone kept his stars on the court and the garbage time shifted the momentum a bit. They ended on a bad note, though they got the win. Might carry over psychologically.

The bad:
-What a weak, pathetic and gutless performance for the most part.
-Game 5 will be a lot of pressure on this squad, if Game 4 is any indication of how they will handle that we are screwed!
-DeRozan needs to get it together or be shipped out. He's supposed to lead the team and understand the Spurs culture and approach. That was a Jr. high move and so selfish.
-How does Pop handle this dysfunction between now and Game 5? Team dinners? Practice? Film sessions? Benching DeRozan? Vino, vino, vino?!?!

Keeping my fingers crossed for a competitive Game 5 and Game 6.

[TheGreatYacht]

I weesh you where my Engrish teecher, I mite hav passsetd.
:lol

[RC_Drunkford]

Our guys were terrible no doubt. But like game 2, there were some shots hit by the Nuggets that had no business going in. Spurs gotta get back the recipe that worked in games 1 and 3 and fight like there’s no tomorrow.

Also, I get the starters need rest. You can’t just not play Patty or Belli. Can Pop not stagger them better? Because whether our guys win or lose, you can set a clock to Denver’s offensive runs. Even if you have to pull one of the starters early and bring them back in, that’s better than having that lineup where nobody gets stops AND can’t hit a bucket for nothing. I dunno, I’m just a 2k coach, what do I know?

Pop does not know how to stagger minutes. He played West/Diaw and went down with the ship. I don't expect anything else from him. Although even Stevie Wonder could see that you can win this series just by staggering the ballhandlers with the defensive traffic cones

[vavvi]

Why literally every poster makes this loss about the bench?!
Sure, our bench sucked in games 1-3 and didn't help much in game 4.

But this game was lost by our starters. Have you checked the plus-minus?
White sucked. DeRozan sucked. LMA folded in the second half. They are supposed to be our stars and 3 of the 4 best players in the series. They were outcompeted and didn't played smart.
Mills actually played better than White which is a disaster.

[vavvi]

Pop does not know how to stagger minutes. He played West/Diaw and went down with the ship. I don't expect anything else from him. Although even Stevie Wonder could see that you can win this series just by staggering the ballhandlers with the defensive traffic cones

I agree with you in principle, and West/Diaw was maddening but we aren't winning shit with White and DDR playing like in Game 4 no matter how we stagger their minutes.

[Capt Bringdown]

Nuggets’ Torrey Craig was invaluable in road win against Spurs in Game 4 -- more -->> (https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/21/nuggets-torrey-craig-game-4/)

In his first-ever playoff start, Craig made a massive difference as the Nuggets went on the road and stole homecourt advantage to send the series back to Denver tied 2-2. Craig, who started in place of Will Barton, was the chess piece Nuggets coach Michael Malone tabbed to shadow Spurs star DeMar DeRozan. That matchup allowed Gary Harris to pester Game 3 star Derrick White.

Pop got solidly out-coached. A massive fail.

[monty4329]

Meantime, Clippers are playing two rookies in the starting five. And fight like madmen.

[vavvi]

Meantime, Clippers are playing two rookies in the starting five. And fight like madmen.

Yeah Clippers fight. Freaking Nets fight. Only we are playing another set of regular season games

[Capt Bringdown]

Meantime, Clippers are playing two rookies in the starting five. And fight like madmen.

Doc Rivers is doing a hell of job.

[Capt Bringdown]

“He’s our general”: Jamal Murray rebounds as Nuggets seize control of first-round series -- more -->> (https://www.denverpost.com/2019/04/20/jamal-murray-nuggets-seize-control-first-round-series/)


Murray’s defense drew the brunt of criticism after Spurs point guard Derrick White went off for a career-high 36 points in Game 3. Multiple players said they took his game — and the way the Spurs had imposed their will on the Nuggets — personally. As a result, Nuggets coach Michael Malone switched up his team’s defensive assignments. Murray drew Spurs guard Bryn Forbes, while Gary Harris took White. It was Craig who was left to nag DeMar DeRozan.

White managed just eight points while committing four turnovers. DeRozan was flustered into 19 points and an ejection. Forbes scored an inconsequential 10 points.

It's called coaching.

[TD 21]

First game of this series I felt leading up that they were definitely losing. With two closely matched teams, it didn't make sense that one would outplay the other in 4 consecutive games. This is why game 2, given the way it played out, needed to be a win.

Raptors version of Gay inarguably deserved the benching. Aldridge was more debatable. I could see both sides. On the one hand, he's mostly carried this poorly constructed roster for 2 seasons, yet he gets benched during the most important span. On the other hand, while his numbers might have looked fine, he again took some awful shots and wasn't quite as engaged as need be.

Maybe he mentally checks out at this point, but I lean towards it being worth it because the "mid 3" needs a kick in the ass if they're going to pull this out. They're not suddenly going to have the basketball IQ of the big 3, but they at least need to progress to their mean.

Outside of that, Pop's rotation was again pathetic.



Denver were better and every bit the elite 3 point defending team they've been in the regular season. Impossible to win games when you get outshot that badly from 3 nowadays. They need some adjustments because if none of the better 3 point shooters can stay on the floor there'll more of the same in the remaining 2 or 3 games.

This is the series in a nutshell. All the areas the Spurs are winning, often handily (points in the paints, free throw attempts, rebounding, etc.), are all secondary because they're getting destroyed from 3.

The Nuggets have made 22 more for the series (as usual, this team can't get any luck in terms of sub par 3-point shooters catching fire against them). What's more, the Spurs have somehow managed to attempt only 68 through 4 games. I realize 3 of the 4 shooters are playing less, but not by that much.

If their numbers, both in terms of attempts and makes, don't progress at least close to the mean, this series is over. There's no way they'd grinding out 2 more wins, including 1 on the road, by playing caveman basketball.

[monty4329]

(as usual, this team can't get any luck in terms of sub par 3-point shooters catching fire against them).

The poor defense on the wings and the zero pressure on lateral passes is helping the opposing offense finding a good shooting rythm. Any good shooter finds his shot when he is getting the ball in rythm, even on a bad day.

[Ozballer]

Switching Craig for Barton in the starting line up got the 3pt going for Denver. A great move. They are a talented young team yet still a bit volatile in their belief. They get down on themselves quite easily if things don't go their way. Their coach found the correct adjustment. They also do a great job at defending the perimeter (one of the best teams in the NBA at doing so), no wonder the Spurs are getting very few looks.
The Spurs are in the playoffs what they've shown the entire season, a Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde type performer. All in all 2-2 is a reflection of two teams that are, their own worst enemies due to lack of composure. The next 2-3 games are certainly more about the future of both teams than this ship (out of reach for both of them). From a spurs point of view, what pieces stay on for the bright re build taking place behind the scenes to support the young talents. For Denver, is more about "is this the right coach to take this team to the next level?" It will be fun to watch.

[DPG21920]

Why literally every poster makes this loss about the bench?!
Sure, our bench sucked in games 1-3 and didn't help much in game 4.

But this game was lost by our starters. Have you checked the plus-minus?
White sucked. DeRozan sucked. LMA folded in the second half. They are supposed to be our stars and 3 of the 4 best players in the series. They were outcompeted and didn't played smart.
Mills actually played better than White which is a disaster.

This is true. Bench was not good in game 4 but unlike the first 3 the staters are the ones that did not deliver. But the bench has not had a good game yet.

[objective]

Pop wasn't the major reason for the L but that grade is pretty ridiculous, timvp. And I'm starting to think that you're just doing that to troll the non-Pop suckers like me :lol

I don't think it's really timvp.

Based on his posts this season, I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff McDougal is now the operator of the timvp account.

The site has secretly been bought by the Express News, and the new ads and promised revamp are a result of that.

[wildbill2u]

Looked to me like the team was expecting another super performance from White and when he couldn't deliver, they weren't able to recover the attitude that won some games before. White/s problems were hard to see coming. He acted as though he was a rookie again, waiting for the veterans to lead. He must be the best he can be for the Spurs to win against Denver. No excuses.

[timvp]

B- for Pop is mind-blowing. That's what I expect if Jeff McDougal was doing grades.


I don't think it's really timvp.

Based on his posts this season, I wouldn't be surprised if Jeff McDougal is now the operator of the timvp account.

I try to stay above the fray but calling me Jeff McDougal crosses the line, tbh :lol

Honestly, though, blaming Pop for the Game 4 loss makes no sense. I expect Pop to be blamed by those who blame Pop for everything, obviously, because that's what they do.

This objective cat is the same guy who was miserable during the golden years of this franchise. He's been calling Pop senile for a decade-plus. He thought Duncan and Ginobili should retire around 2010-2011. He hated Parker because he was "fat." His long running shtick is to whine about the Spurs not signing some Euro scrub they have the rights to (Sanikidze, Javtokas, Dangubic, etc.), whine about the young, athletic players not playing enough (James White, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, etc) because they couldn't possibly be worse than the veteran player he's bored of, and any time the Spurs lose in the playoffs it's Pop's fault. I mean, it's fine to be perma-miserable but at least remix the shtick every now and then. Not every Euro asset the Spurs have is a diamond in the rough, not every young player with athleticism is a star player Pop is holding back and, gasp, not every Spurs playoff loss is Pop's fault.

I gave Pop plenty of low grades down the stretch run of the regular season. But I just don't see how anyone could honestly watch Game 4 and come to the conclusion that it was Pop's fault the Spurs lost.

1) From midway through the first quarter until garbage time late in the fourth, the Spurs hit exactly zero (0) shots outside of the paint. None. I don't care what else happens in an NBA game, you can't win a game when you go 3+ quarters without hitting a shot outside of the paint. You couldn't win a game in 1999 like that ... much less in 2019.

2) A lot is being made by the suicide lineup or whatever it's called but look at the actual game. When Belinelli and Mills entered the game in the first quarter, the Spurs were up by eight points. When they left the game in the second quarter, they were up by nine points. Please explain how Pop playing his bench players and his bench players actually increasing the lead is an example of how Pop lost the game. Honestly, I'd love to hear that explanation. The starters are the ones who lost the lead.

3) I think it's safe to say we all love White but the truth was he was pretty damn bad in Game 4. In fact, Mills was better. Doesn't happen much but White was hurting the Spurs on both ends of the court. The only time the Spurs made any sort of run outside of his first stint was when White was on the bench. I know it's easy to be blind to bad games by young, exciting players but let us be objective.

4) Expecting White to play 40 minutes is illogical. Each of his feet suffered overuse injuries already this season. When he returned the second time, the doctors put him on a strict minutes restriction to help him get through the season. On top of that, he has said after these playoff games that he's been exhausted on the court ... and that's with him playing ~32 minutes. Pushing him much more than that would be reckless. Besides, with the Warriors still around, is it really worth it to risk the long-term health of your best young player? I don't see how it is.

5) The Spurs have struggled mightily all season when Rudy Gay plays poorly or has missed games. Right now, it'd be difficult for him to play much worse. The truth is, with how this roster is constructed, without Gay punishing mismatches, the Spurs lack firepower. They've made up for it at times this series by having White play out of his mind but in a normal situation, the Spurs are going to struggle to beat playoff teams without Gay producing. I can't imagine anything Pop is doing that is causing Gay to play worse than he ever has in a Spurs uniform.

6) Pop not putting Aldridge into the game in the fourth quarter was interesting. Did it make a difference in the win or loss? No. They were down ~15 when Aldridge would have normally returned and they were circling the drain. It was interesting because Aldridge is the type of player who would get miffed by that snub -- even though it made a lot of sense. With the Nuggets not doubling Aldridge and Aldridge not being physical, the offense had a low ceiling if he went back out there -- a couple fadeaway jumpers and that was about it. Poeltl and some shooters around him at least kept the possibility alive of quick 9-0 run to get them back into the game.

7) While the Spurs literally couldn't hit a shot, the Nuggets were busy making contested three-pointers left and right. Torrey Craig is a nice little player but him going 5-for-7 is definitely in the fluke category. He's a low volume, 31% career three-point shooter. Him going for a career-high five threes is more bad luck than anything -- especially bad coaching. Oh, and Barton had been terrible shooting-wise for like a month and he goes 3-for-3 from deep. Well done; not Pop's fault.

8) Rotations-wise, I agree with just about everything. It's the exact starting lineup I prefer. I thought Pop should play Poeltl more minutes due to matchups even though Poeltl hasn't been a big minute player all season ... and now Poeltl is playing big minutes. The bench is struggling but that's mostly on Gay playing poorly. Without Gay providing a focal point for the bench unit, there's just not enough talent. Belinelli was an obvious weak spot in the rotation going into this series but he has played even worse than expected. Bertans has to be hid somewhere away from Millsap. But, really, the bench has to play some minutes. There's no one else to turn to (as exciting as Lonnie Walker IV is, going with a 20-year-old who was meh in G-League isn't the prudent move some make it out to be). If Gay, Belinelli, Mills, Bertans, etc are all struggling ... what is Pop supposed to do?

9) Gameplan-wise, I think the coaches have been pretty damn great. They adjusted on the fly and have consistently put Aldridge and DeRozan in advantageous sets. They realized White was being ignored so they made him the focus of pick-and-rolls. Even when the Spurs aren't scoring, it hasn't often been a case of not having quality opportunities. On defense, they're making life difficult for Jokic to create and find cutters. They're trying to make their guards and swimgmen shoot low percentage jumpers. In Game 4, yes they hit contested threes, but they shot only 43% on two-pointers. For the most part, the defensive gameplan worked as it was supposed to.



I'll blame Pop when there is reason to blame Pop. I don't find much value in being a wonderbread fan on either side of the sandwich who either always praises Pop or always blames Pop for everything, tbh.



All that said, I think some of the worst games Pop has ever coached are Game 5s in which the series are tied 2-2 :lol

This is when he has prematurely panicked, changed the rotation and made things worse instead of better (examples off the top of my head: benching Danny Green [actually taking him out of the rotation] in 2012 versus the Thunder, dusting off DeJuan Blair and putting him back in the rotation, panic starting Ginobili for the first time all season). If Pop overreacts this year and puts Dante Cunningham in the rotation or something like that, I'll be there to hand out pitchforks. But to blame him for an unwinnable game in which nothing he could have done would have changed the outcome outside of him going out there and knocking down some jumpers himself is not something someone would do if they're attempting to be objective, IMO.

[Robz4000]

I try to stay above the fray but calling me Jeff McDougal crosses the line, tbh :lol

Honestly, though, blaming Pop for the Game 4 loss makes no sense. I expect Pop to be blamed by those who blame Pop for everything, obviously, because that's what they do.

This objective cat is the same guy who was miserable during the golden years of this franchise. He's been calling Pop senile for a decade-plus. He thought Duncan and Ginobili should retire around 2010-2011. He hated Parker because he was "fat." His long running shtick is to whine about the Spurs not signing some Euro scrub they have the rights to (Sanikidze, Javtokas, Dangubic, etc.), whine about the young, athletic players not playing enough (James White, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, etc) because they couldn't possibly be worse than the veteran player he's bored of, and any time the Spurs lose in the playoffs it's Pop's fault. I mean, it's fine to be perma-miserable but at least remix the shtick every now and then. Not every Euro asset the Spurs have is a diamond in the rough, not every young player with athleticism is a star player Pop is holding back and, gasp, not every Spurs playoff loss is Pop's fault.

I gave Pop plenty of low grades down the stretch run of the regular season. But I just don't see how anyone could honestly watch Game 4 and come to the conclusion that it was Pop's fault the Spurs lost.

1) From midway through the first quarter until garbage time late in the fourth, the Spurs hit exactly zero (0) shots outside of the paint. None. I don't care what else happens in an NBA game, you can't win a game when you go 3+ quarters without hitting a shot outside of the paint. You couldn't win a game in 1999 like that ... much less in 2019.

2) A lot is being made by the suicide lineup or whatever it's called but look at the actual game. When Belinelli and Mills entered the game in the first quarter, the Spurs were up by eight points. When they left the game in the second quarter, they were up by nine points. Please explain how Pop playing his bench players and his bench players actually increasing the lead is an example of how Pop lost the game. Honestly, I'd love to hear that explanation. The starters are the ones who lost the lead.

3) I think it's safe to say we all love White but the truth was he was pretty damn bad in Game 4. In fact, Mills was better. Doesn't happen much but White was hurting the Spurs on both ends of the court. The only time the Spurs made any sort of run outside of his first stint was when White was on the bench. I know it's easy to be blind to bad games by young, exciting players but let us be objective.

4) Expecting White to play 40 minutes is illogical. Each of his feet suffered overuse injuries already this season. When he returned the second time, the doctors put him on a strict minutes restriction to help him get through the season. On top of that, he has said after these playoff games that he's been exhausted on the court ... and that's with him playing ~32 minutes. Pushing him much more than that would be reckless. Besides, with the Warriors still around, is it really worth it to risk the long-term health of your best young player? I don't see how it is.

5) The Spurs have struggled mightily all season when Rudy Gay plays poorly or has missed games. Right now, it'd be difficult for him to play much worse. The truth is, with how this roster is constructed, without Gay punishing mismatches, the Spurs lack firepower. They've made up for it at times this series by having White play out of his mind but in a normal situation, the Spurs are going to struggle to beat playoff teams without Gay producing. I can't imagine anything Pop is doing that is causing Gay to play worse than he ever has in a Spurs uniform.

6) Pop not putting Aldridge into the game in the fourth quarter was interesting. Did it make a difference in the win or loss? No. They were down ~15 when Aldridge would have normally returned and they were circling the drain. It was interesting because Aldridge is the type of player who would get miffed by that snub -- even though it made a lot of sense. With the Nuggets not doubling Aldridge and Aldridge not being physical, the offense had a low ceiling if he went back out there -- a couple fadeaway jumpers and that was about it. Poeltl and some shooters around him at least kept the possibility alive of quick 9-0 run to get them back into the game.

7) While the Spurs literally couldn't hit a shot, the Nuggets were busy making contested three-pointers left and right. Torrey Craig is a nice little player but him going 5-for-7 is definitely in the fluke category. He's a low volume, 31% career three-point shooter. Him going for a career-high five threes is more bad luck than anything -- especially bad coaching. Oh, and Barton had been terrible shooting-wise for like a month and he goes 3-for-3 from deep. Well done; not Pop's fault.

8) Rotations-wise, I agree with just about everything. It's the exact starting lineup I prefer. I thought Pop should play Poeltl more minutes due to matchups even though Poeltl hasn't been a big minute player all season ... and now Poeltl is playing big minutes. The bench is struggling but that's mostly on Gay playing poorly. Without Gay providing a focal point for the bench unit, there's just not enough talent. Belinelli was an obvious weak spot in the rotation going into this series but he has played even worse than expected. Bertans has to be hid somewhere away from Millsap. But, really, the bench has to play some minutes. There's no one else to turn to (as exciting as Lonnie Walker IV is, going with a 20-year-old who was meh in G-League isn't the prudent move some make it out to be). If Gay, Belinelli, Mills, Bertans, etc are all struggling ... what is Pop supposed to do?

9) Gameplan-wise, I think the coaches have been pretty damn great. They adjusted on the fly and have consistently put Aldridge and DeRozan in advantageous sets. They realized White was being ignored so they made him the focus of pick-and-rolls. Even when the Spurs aren't scoring, it hasn't often been a case of not having quality opportunities. On defense, they're making life difficult for Jokic to create and find cutters. They're trying to make their guards and swimgmen shoot low percentage jumpers. In Game 4, yes they hit contested threes, but they shot only 43% on two-pointers. For the most part, the defensive gameplan worked as it was supposed to.



I'll blame Pop when there is reason to blame Pop. I don't find much value in being a wonderbread fan on either side of the sandwich who either always praises Pop or always blames Pop for everything, tbh.



All that said, I think some of the worst games Pop has ever coached are Game 5s in which the series are tied 2-2 :lol

This is when he has prematurely panicked, changed the rotation and made things worse instead of better (examples off the top of my head: benching Danny Green [actually taking him out of the rotation] in 2012 versus the Thunder, dusting off DeJuan Blair and putting him back in the rotation, panic starting Ginobili for the first time all season). If Pop overreacts this year and puts Dante Cunningham in the rotation or something like that, I'll be there to hand out pitchforks. But to blame him for an unwinnable game in which nothing he could have done would have changed the outcome outside of him going out there and knocking down some jumpers himself is not something someone would do if they're attempting to be objective, IMO.

:wow holy shit, you wrote this much over objective's posts?

[apalisoc_9]

Op got triggered by objective.

Truth hurts?

The reality is that the spurs lost because everyone played like ass save for Jakob and 50, but the lack of minute staggering is clear as day.

I don't know how anyone can give pop a B in this game. Its just borderline ridiculous.

Should pop be blamed for the loss alone? No. But he should definitely be judged based on his minute stggaring..

[apalisoc_9]

It wasnt just his inability to stagger minutes really, but the timeouts, plays after timeouts, the energy levels after quarters etc. Yes players should be blamed, but if you fail in every one of your in game responsibility as a coach
.how can you possibly get a B?

[weeks]

yeah pop gave up
that should always be a failing grade IMO

[ShutUp SayItAgain!]

Op got triggered by objective.

Truth hurts?

The reality is that the spurs lost because everyone played like ass save for Jakob and 50, but the lack of minute staggering is clear as day.

I don't know how anyone can give pop a B in this game. Its just borderline ridiculous.

Should pop be blamed for the loss alone? No. But he should definitely be judged based on his minute stggaring..

Yup lol

[ShutUp SayItAgain!]

yeah pop gave up
that should always be a failing grade IMO

Totally gave up. You could tell. Stayed with that shitty lineup so many mins into 4th quarter, most important game of the season like it was garbage time. Like it wasn't even the playoffs. In school when you quit, you get an F, not a B.

[timvp]

:wow holy shit, you wrote this much over objective's posts?Meh, that's nothing. RIP whottt, tbh.


but the lack of minute staggering is clear as day.

Which specific "minute staggering" do you have a problem with, tbh? I'm assuming you mean DeRozan and White but the lead grew without them and they lost the lead when they returned to the court. How exactly did that play a role in the loss?


It wasnt just his inability to stagger minutes really, but the timeouts,What issue did you have with timeouts? I don't remember an instance where timeouts factored into anything.


plays after timeoutsIIRC, Spurs got a Gay jumper over Plumlee, a good look on a Forbes three-pointer, a five second violation after White forgot how to play basketball and a Mills basket after timeouts.


the energy levels after quarters etc.It's the playoffs. There's no coaching "energy level" at this stage of the season. During the dog days of the regular season? Sure. But not now.


Yes players should be blamed, but if you fail in every one of your in game responsibility as a coach
.how can you possibly get a B?I have literally not seen one responsibility of a coach that Pop failed at in Game 4 ... much less the hyperbolic claim of "every one." I gave him an average grade because I didn't think he did a whole lot that was too right or a whole lot that was too wrong. Truth be told, Pop's decisions didn't have much of an impact either way. There were a lot of reasons the Spurs lost ... coaching decisions were far down the list.

[vavvi]

I try to stay above the fray but calling me Jeff McDougal crosses the line, tbh :lol

Honestly, though, blaming Pop for the Game 4 loss makes no sense. I expect Pop to be blamed by those who blame Pop for everything, obviously, because that's what they do.

This objective cat is the same guy who was miserable during the golden years of this franchise. He's been calling Pop senile for a decade-plus. He thought Duncan and Ginobili should retire around 2010-2011. He hated Parker because he was "fat." His long running shtick is to whine about the Spurs not signing some Euro scrub they have the rights to (Sanikidze, Javtokas, Dangubic, etc.), whine about the young, athletic players not playing enough (James White, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, etc) because they couldn't possibly be worse than the veteran player he's bored of, and any time the Spurs lose in the playoffs it's Pop's fault. I mean, it's fine to be perma-miserable but at least remix the shtick every now and then. Not every Euro asset the Spurs have is a diamond in the rough, not every young player with athleticism is a star player Pop is holding back and, gasp, not every Spurs playoff loss is Pop's fault.

I gave Pop plenty of low grades down the stretch run of the regular season. But I just don't see how anyone could honestly watch Game 4 and come to the conclusion that it was Pop's fault the Spurs lost.

1) From midway through the first quarter until garbage time late in the fourth, the Spurs hit exactly zero (0) shots outside of the paint. None. I don't care what else happens in an NBA game, you can't win a game when you go 3+ quarters without hitting a shot outside of the paint. You couldn't win a game in 1999 like that ... much less in 2019.

2) A lot is being made by the suicide lineup or whatever it's called but look at the actual game. When Belinelli and Mills entered the game in the first quarter, the Spurs were up by eight points. When they left the game in the second quarter, they were up by nine points. Please explain how Pop playing his bench players and his bench players actually increasing the lead is an example of how Pop lost the game. Honestly, I'd love to hear that explanation. The starters are the ones who lost the lead.

3) I think it's safe to say we all love White but the truth was he was pretty damn bad in Game 4. In fact, Mills was better. Doesn't happen much but White was hurting the Spurs on both ends of the court. The only time the Spurs made any sort of run outside of his first stint was when White was on the bench. I know it's easy to be blind to bad games by young, exciting players but let us be objective.

4) Expecting White to play 40 minutes is illogical. Each of his feet suffered overuse injuries already this season. When he returned the second time, the doctors put him on a strict minutes restriction to help him get through the season. On top of that, he has said after these playoff games that he's been exhausted on the court ... and that's with him playing ~32 minutes. Pushing him much more than that would be reckless. Besides, with the Warriors still around, is it really worth it to risk the long-term health of your best young player? I don't see how it is.

5) The Spurs have struggled mightily all season when Rudy Gay plays poorly or has missed games. Right now, it'd be difficult for him to play much worse. The truth is, with how this roster is constructed, without Gay punishing mismatches, the Spurs lack firepower. They've made up for it at times this series by having White play out of his mind but in a normal situation, the Spurs are going to struggle to beat playoff teams without Gay producing. I can't imagine anything Pop is doing that is causing Gay to play worse than he ever has in a Spurs uniform.

6) Pop not putting Aldridge into the game in the fourth quarter was interesting. Did it make a difference in the win or loss? No. They were down ~15 when Aldridge would have normally returned and they were circling the drain. It was interesting because Aldridge is the type of player who would get miffed by that snub -- even though it made a lot of sense. With the Nuggets not doubling Aldridge and Aldridge not being physical, the offense had a low ceiling if he went back out there -- a couple fadeaway jumpers and that was about it. Poeltl and some shooters around him at least kept the possibility alive of quick 9-0 run to get them back into the game.

7) While the Spurs literally couldn't hit a shot, the Nuggets were busy making contested three-pointers left and right. Torrey Craig is a nice little player but him going 5-for-7 is definitely in the fluke category. He's a low volume, 31% career three-point shooter. Him going for a career-high five threes is more bad luck than anything -- especially bad coaching. Oh, and Barton had been terrible shooting-wise for like a month and he goes 3-for-3 from deep. Well done; not Pop's fault.

8) Rotations-wise, I agree with just about everything. It's the exact starting lineup I prefer. I thought Pop should play Poeltl more minutes due to matchups even though Poeltl hasn't been a big minute player all season ... and now Poeltl is playing big minutes. The bench is struggling but that's mostly on Gay playing poorly. Without Gay providing a focal point for the bench unit, there's just not enough talent. Belinelli was an obvious weak spot in the rotation going into this series but he has played even worse than expected. Bertans has to be hid somewhere away from Millsap. But, really, the bench has to play some minutes. There's no one else to turn to (as exciting as Lonnie Walker IV is, going with a 20-year-old who was meh in G-League isn't the prudent move some make it out to be). If Gay, Belinelli, Mills, Bertans, etc are all struggling ... what is Pop supposed to do?

9) Gameplan-wise, I think the coaches have been pretty damn great. They adjusted on the fly and have consistently put Aldridge and DeRozan in advantageous sets. They realized White was being ignored so they made him the focus of pick-and-rolls. Even when the Spurs aren't scoring, it hasn't often been a case of not having quality opportunities. On defense, they're making life difficult for Jokic to create and find cutters. They're trying to make their guards and swimgmen shoot low percentage jumpers. In Game 4, yes they hit contested threes, but they shot only 43% on two-pointers. For the most part, the defensive gameplan worked as it was supposed to.



I'll blame Pop when there is reason to blame Pop. I don't find much value in being a wonderbread fan on either side of the sandwich who either always praises Pop or always blames Pop for everything, tbh.



All that said, I think some of the worst games Pop has ever coached are Game 5s in which the series are tied 2-2 :lol

This is when he has prematurely panicked, changed the rotation and made things worse instead of better (examples off the top of my head: benching Danny Green [actually taking him out of the rotation] in 2012 versus the Thunder, dusting off DeJuan Blair and putting him back in the rotation, panic starting Ginobili for the first time all season). If Pop overreacts this year and puts Dante Cunningham in the rotation or something like that, I'll be there to hand out pitchforks. But to blame him for an unwinnable game in which nothing he could have done would have changed the outcome outside of him going out there and knocking down some jumpers himself is not something someone would do if they're attempting to be objective, IMO.

The voice of reason!
Our big4 have to deliver: with LA, DDR, White and Gay playing subpar and two of them playing abysmal no coach can't do anything

[objective]

I try to stay above the fray but calling me Jeff McDougal crosses the line, tbh :lol

Honestly, though, blaming Pop for the Game 4 loss makes no sense. I expect Pop to be blamed by those who blame Pop for everything, obviously, because that's what they do.

This objective cat is the same guy who was miserable during the golden years of this franchise. He's been calling Pop senile for a decade-plus. He thought Duncan and Ginobili should retire around 2010-2011. He hated Parker because he was "fat." His long running shtick is to whine about the Spurs not signing some Euro scrub they have the rights to (Sanikidze, Javtokas, Dangubic, etc.), whine about the young, athletic players not playing enough (James White, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, etc) because they couldn't possibly be worse than the veteran player he's bored of, and any time the Spurs lose in the playoffs it's Pop's fault. I mean, it's fine to be perma-miserable but at least remix the shtick every now and then. Not every Euro asset the Spurs have is a diamond in the rough, not every young player with athleticism is a star player Pop is holding back and, gasp, not every Spurs playoff loss is Pop's fault.

I gave Pop plenty of low grades down the stretch run of the regular season. But I just don't see how anyone could honestly watch Game 4 and come to the conclusion that it was Pop's fault the Spurs lost.

1) From midway through the first quarter until garbage time late in the fourth, the Spurs hit exactly zero (0) shots outside of the paint. None. I don't care what else happens in an NBA game, you can't win a game when you go 3+ quarters without hitting a shot outside of the paint. You couldn't win a game in 1999 like that ... much less in 2019.

2) A lot is being made by the suicide lineup or whatever it's called but look at the actual game. When Belinelli and Mills entered the game in the first quarter, the Spurs were up by eight points. When they left the game in the second quarter, they were up by nine points. Please explain how Pop playing his bench players and his bench players actually increasing the lead is an example of how Pop lost the game. Honestly, I'd love to hear that explanation. The starters are the ones who lost the lead.

3) I think it's safe to say we all love White but the truth was he was pretty damn bad in Game 4. In fact, Mills was better. Doesn't happen much but White was hurting the Spurs on both ends of the court. The only time the Spurs made any sort of run outside of his first stint was when White was on the bench. I know it's easy to be blind to bad games by young, exciting players but let us be objective.

4) Expecting White to play 40 minutes is illogical. Each of his feet suffered overuse injuries already this season. When he returned the second time, the doctors put him on a strict minutes restriction to help him get through the season. On top of that, he has said after these playoff games that he's been exhausted on the court ... and that's with him playing ~32 minutes. Pushing him much more than that would be reckless. Besides, with the Warriors still around, is it really worth it to risk the long-term health of your best young player? I don't see how it is.

5) The Spurs have struggled mightily all season when Rudy Gay plays poorly or has missed games. Right now, it'd be difficult for him to play much worse. The truth is, with how this roster is constructed, without Gay punishing mismatches, the Spurs lack firepower. They've made up for it at times this series by having White play out of his mind but in a normal situation, the Spurs are going to struggle to beat playoff teams without Gay producing. I can't imagine anything Pop is doing that is causing Gay to play worse than he ever has in a Spurs uniform.

6) Pop not putting Aldridge into the game in the fourth quarter was interesting. Did it make a difference in the win or loss? No. They were down ~15 when Aldridge would have normally returned and they were circling the drain. It was interesting because Aldridge is the type of player who would get miffed by that snub -- even though it made a lot of sense. With the Nuggets not doubling Aldridge and Aldridge not being physical, the offense had a low ceiling if he went back out there -- a couple fadeaway jumpers and that was about it. Poeltl and some shooters around him at least kept the possibility alive of quick 9-0 run to get them back into the game.

7) While the Spurs literally couldn't hit a shot, the Nuggets were busy making contested three-pointers left and right. Torrey Craig is a nice little player but him going 5-for-7 is definitely in the fluke category. He's a low volume, 31% career three-point shooter. Him going for a career-high five threes is more bad luck than anything -- especially bad coaching. Oh, and Barton had been terrible shooting-wise for like a month and he goes 3-for-3 from deep. Well done; not Pop's fault.

8) Rotations-wise, I agree with just about everything. It's the exact starting lineup I prefer. I thought Pop should play Poeltl more minutes due to matchups even though Poeltl hasn't been a big minute player all season ... and now Poeltl is playing big minutes. The bench is struggling but that's mostly on Gay playing poorly. Without Gay providing a focal point for the bench unit, there's just not enough talent. Belinelli was an obvious weak spot in the rotation going into this series but he has played even worse than expected. Bertans has to be hid somewhere away from Millsap. But, really, the bench has to play some minutes. There's no one else to turn to (as exciting as Lonnie Walker IV is, going with a 20-year-old who was meh in G-League isn't the prudent move some make it out to be). If Gay, Belinelli, Mills, Bertans, etc are all struggling ... what is Pop supposed to do?

9) Gameplan-wise, I think the coaches have been pretty damn great. They adjusted on the fly and have consistently put Aldridge and DeRozan in advantageous sets. They realized White was being ignored so they made him the focus of pick-and-rolls. Even when the Spurs aren't scoring, it hasn't often been a case of not having quality opportunities. On defense, they're making life difficult for Jokic to create and find cutters. They're trying to make their guards and swimgmen shoot low percentage jumpers. In Game 4, yes they hit contested threes, but they shot only 43% on two-pointers. For the most part, the defensive gameplan worked as it was supposed to.



I'll blame Pop when there is reason to blame Pop. I don't find much value in being a wonderbread fan on either side of the sandwich who either always praises Pop or always blames Pop for everything, tbh.



All that said, I think some of the worst games Pop has ever coached are Game 5s in which the series are tied 2-2 :lol

This is when he has prematurely panicked, changed the rotation and made things worse instead of better (examples off the top of my head: benching Danny Green [actually taking him out of the rotation] in 2012 versus the Thunder, dusting off DeJuan Blair and putting him back in the rotation, panic starting Ginobili for the first time all season). If Pop overreacts this year and puts Dante Cunningham in the rotation or something like that, I'll be there to hand out pitchforks. But to blame him for an unwinnable game in which nothing he could have done would have changed the outcome outside of him going out there and knocking down some jumpers himself is not something someone would do if they're attempting to be objective, IMO.

Well, you've proven you're not McDougal, he would never write that much, too much work.

First, I remember posting that I was fine with whatever the FO decided in those years, rebuild or goodbye-into-the-sunset, I was fine either way. I didn't think they'd title again (this was pre-kawhi), but hey, whatever.

Among other things, your characterization of my post history is off, find a new slant. With regards to some of the euros you've mentioned, all I ever did was believe that they could be bench hustle players, or end of bench hustle players like Sanikidze and Dangubic, not starters or 6th men rotation guys. Milutinov yes. Javtokas could have played in that era before pace and space took off, and couldn't have been worse than Jackie Butler. I also had constant arguments in this forum that Scola could play in the NBA and was well worth the contract he got, which he was rumored to be looking for the whole time. My signature, which I rarely leave turned on, is still a glorious reminder of the bizarre anti-Scola arguments that flooded this place. Scola might not have been enough to get them a title in that 08-10 timespan, but I think he would have gotten them an extra series win at least.

And I was damn right about Splitter too. I remember your takes on Splitter, and I'll be happy to brag on mine.

And something else. I was right about Ian. Most posters here were convinced he couldn't play. Pop went out of his way to prove that he didn't think he could play. I haven't forgotten that game at Toronto where because Duncan had a an ankle sprain or some injury or sickness, and second night of a back to back, 23 hour turnaround even, that Pop held him out but dressed him. And instead of playing Ian in that meaningless regular season game, he waited until the start of the 2nd quarter already down 8 to get Duncan in the game and played him 29 out of the last 36 minutes. What was the point of that? They still lost anyway. Ian could have played.

And I sure as hell don't remember being a Pops Mensah-Bonsu fan. Maybe in a game thread I could have brought up bringing him in if the team was down big, but other than that I don't know what you're talking about. I liked James White as an energy guy who could entertain, but there were no massive love letters to White like I've done with Simmons or Milutinov or Scola. Critique me for my belief in Simmons, not some imaginary James White cultism.

Yes I called Parker fat, because he got fat. His game declined and I noticed, and I wasn't the only one. I knew the second he signed that last contract he wouldn't be worth it.

Same with Mills. He's actually slimmed down during the season and isn't as fat as he used to be so I don't use the 'Fatty' nickname as often. But don't pretend like he didn't get fat. Are you a Mills-truther who thinks it's a great contract for him?

And about the mass volume of your posts on the game with the shooting and the this and the that ... I don't see absolution of Pop. To me, when the talent is worse, or the players are playing worse, that's when the coaching decisions become More important, not less. Coaching becomes a bigger factor, not a smaller one. And the seemingly small things like the suicide lineup matter. They do.

I kill Marco all the time and have been doing it for years, I don't want him in the playoffs, he's just bad. Pop seemingly agreed in 14 only using him sparingly against Miami. I don't want him out there. It'd be one thing if they needed Marco's size, but Denver plays 2s at the 3.

Yes, Lonnie Walker could play. I'm not even some big Walker guy, I was all about Zhaire and Huerter in the draft, didn't think Walker would fall and as a result never watched him too closely. But I do feel the ceiling would be higher with a rookie Walker right now than Marco. I guess Walker could get backdoored, play bad defense, shoot off balance bricks and just be trash. But I think we get that from Marco about 75% of the time anyway.

I already know I'm right about Walker. Just like me and a few others were right about White last year. And right about Splitter and right about Hill instead of Jacque Vaughn.

And about White and his minutes ... I don't know about 40, but he can damn sure play more. It's funny, for all the worry about too many minutes for poor old Derrick, he actually played MORE minutes in the regular season against Denver on March 4 than he has in any playoff game. And that game was the fourth one back from the last stretch he missed with injury. Well, arguably fourth, he first came back for Toronto and then sat against the Knicks.

If Derrick White can play over 35 minutes in a regular season game in Denver fresh off missing games due to injury, I don't think it's unreasonable to think he could do it in the playoffs.

It is the playoffs, right? Isn't that why they felt they had to pull the trigger on the Kawhi-DeRozan trade, to stay competitive and be a playoff team?

And lastly about Pop and coaching stuff: I only hold him accountable for the things he can control. He can't control missing shots. He can give instructions, but he can't control if a player just freezes and misses a rotation or loses his man. He can call plays, but he can't control how sharp the cuts are, how crisp the passes are. He can prepare the players pregame (and I feel he's awesome at preparation, rarely knock him for that), but he can't control if the players retain all the info and apply it. The prep against Harden in 17 was incredible. To this day I still admire the call to put Vaughn near the rim against Phoenix in 07 to force them to guard him.

But he can control who plays and when.

And this series should be over. I picked Denver in 5 and was wrong, I admit that easy. But they had the series sewn up and the rotation killed it. Denver loses game 2 and they quit, they aren't the Westphal Suns and the Spurs aren't the Sedale Threatt Lakers.

Pop put the starters back in that game also, but getting it going matters. I remember Pop's bizarre pull of Bowen in 2008 G1 middle third quarter, after getting his third foul up 20. Kobe was shut down, but Bowen getting off the court set the stage for the comeback. That was it, it was done. And I don't care if Bruce slept on the plane, that game was lost when Bowen was taken out.

Now sure, grand scheme of things, they probably lose the series to the Lakers anyway. Just like this season. I think they could beat Portland or OKC, and if Houston beat GS I'd pick the Spurs, I'm much higher on their Rockets matchup both because of White and that the iso ball creates hiding places for the not so good defenders. I wouldn't pick them in the finals, so ultimately does it matter if they lose to Denver when they probably were just delaying the inevitable? Maybe not, but I can still be upset when it happens if it was reasonably preventable.

[RD2191]

Giving Pop anything but an F :lol

[DPG21920]

Unc I agree overall but game 2? That was on pop a lot more than this one.

I still don’t see why Beli is not eliminated from the rotation yet or at a minimum not on the floor at the same time as Mills. Bertans could take all of Belis minutes and guard Belis man better than Beli.

Even if you think it’s wrong to extend Whites minutes at least play DeRozan 40