How is it possible?

[SenorSpur]

How is it possible that a team that is considered to be one of the top three teams in the Western Conference and a perennial championship contender make so many costly mistakes during the late stretches of ball games?

Consider the following:

- turnovers
- mental breakdowns
- failed offensive execution
- defensive breakdowns on pick and pops; pick and rolls
- allowing opponents a vast number of second chance opportunities
- committing unnecessary fouls

For good measure, throw in their achilles heel - being a very poor FT shooting team. Add all this up and you do not characteristics of a championship ballclub.

If this team were younger and lesser experienced, it would be somewhat understandable. However, this is supposedly a smart, veteran team that is supposed to know better - supposed to execute better.

This team is their own worst enemy - not just in this most recent loss to the Jazz but practically every other loss they've suffered to an inferior team this season. In each loss, you can find some or all of the "screw-ups" listed above.

It's painful to watch because in years past they would routinely "squeeze" their opponents into submission to overcome obstacles and win these types of games - bad FT shooting and all.

[bigfundamental21]

We are considered in the top three because we have the third best record.

[Pablo Escobar]

cause they suck

[mardigan]

We lost the game because of a bullshit call for Okur, that to me is the only reason we lost that game

[Extra Stout]

I must have been watching a different game. In the game I saw, the Spurs got killed on the boards, but still fought hard and had a late lead. Then the Mehmet Okur show started.

[SequSpur]

One comment that I have is....

The Spurs have no fucking leader at the end of the game. That's all....

Somebody, usually the best fucking player on the team... takes the shots, win or fucking lose..... I can live with that....

What I don't understand is possessions without shots... Bowen being an integral part of the Spurs offensive scheme... Duncan's constance fade away jumpshots... oh and rebounding,.....

typical fucking shit.

[MannyIsGod]

I must have been watching a different game. In the game I saw, the Spurs got killed on the boards, but still fought hard and had a late lead. Then the Mehmet Okur show started.These guys still have the same expectations they did when the Spurs were the best team in the league.

[Xylus]

We lost the game because of a bullshit call for Okur, that to me is the only reason we lost that game
The same thing happened to the Suns.

Suns up by 3, I think, with less than a minute to go, and Barbosa gets called for a foul on Okur behind the 3-point line. Replays showed absolutely no contact, and Okur hit all 3 of his free throws. Had no foul been called, the Suns surely would have won.

[SenorSpur]

cause they suck

Not just this game. If you look at each loss, where the games were close, you'll find the Spurs committing these bonehead errors that just KILL their chances of winning.

That's why the LA victory was great. It reminded us of how the Spurs have executed in past years. Even had they lost that game to the Fakers, it would be hard to argue with the way the executed at both ends down the stretch.

[VaSpursFan]

we have 3 gaping holes on this team:
no back up PG
no athletic wing player
and tonight confirmed that our center spot sucks horse nuts, which renders our defensive scheme useless

[THE SIXTH MAN]

We lost the game because of a bullshit call for Okur, that to me is the only reason we lost that game
Even though we got killed with the boards, that one bail out call for Okur did us in.

[Manu_The _Best]

The Spurs SLEPT for 3 1/2 quarters and decided to Play Ball in the 4th - it doesn't happen that way - you need to play HARD for 48 minutes in order to win...on just 12 min. Forget about the b******t call that Okur received to shoot 3 FTs...

[SPURS vs NBA media]

One comment that I have is....

The Spurs have no fucking leader at the end of the game. That's all....

Somebody, usually the best fucking player on the team... takes the shots, win or fucking lose..... I can live with that....

What I don't understand is possessions without shots... Bowen being an integral part of the Spurs offensive scheme... Duncan's constance fade away jumpshots... oh and rebounding,.....

typical fucking shit.

bla bla bla bla everyone is tired of you bitching do us a favor and just :stfu :stfu

[johnpaulwall21]

we lost cause of that little shit weezle ref that kept calling the fouls. the young dipshit out of the bunch

[rednecksbasketball]

I agree that foul was ticky tac, but in the modern NBA playing defense is illegal. Parker did have his hand on Okurs waist, which didn't even effect his shot since it almost went in. but there were a few odd fouls which went the Spurs way, IE the Millsap strip where Horry got three FTs to start the fourth.

[FromWayDowntown]

I agree that foul was ticky tac, but in the modern NBA playing defense is illegal. Parker did have his hand on Okurs waist, which didn't even effect his shot since it almost went in. but there were a few odd fouls which went the Spurs way, IE the Millsap strip where Horry got three FTs to start the fourth.

Of all the questionable calls in that game, the call on Millsap was not among them. He got his arm wrapped around Horry's and Horry had the wherewithal to go into his shooting motion. Tim Duncan has done that for years and it's always called that way. And it should be.

Frankly, of all the bad calls in the game, I thought the worst was the call with Ginobili simply walking backwards after making a pass and Harpring drawing a call for running into him. At best, that's a no call.

With all of that said, the Spurs lost this game, not the officials. The Spurs had too many turnovers in important stretches, played a horrible 3rd quarter, and were lazy on the boards for most of the night. They committed stupid fouls -- Horry's foul at the end of the 1st quarter was asinine. They were in that game at all mostly because Tony Parker carried them back in when nothing else was going right. It's a bad loss for a team that needed to capitalize on the win in LA and on Boozer's absence, but that loss had nothing to do with officiating.

[boutons_]

getting killed with -18 RBs and "playing hard" simply aren't compatible.

if you play hard,
you block out,
you crash the boards,
you get RBs,
you get stops,
you don't make multiple fatal errors in the last 2 minutes

The Spurs beat themselves.

[Manu_The _Best]

getting killed with -18 RBs and "playing hard" simply aren't compatible.

if you play hard,
you block out,
you crash the boards,
you get RBs,
you get stops,
you don't make multiple fatal errors in the last 2 minutes

The Spurs beat themselves.

AGREE!

[Budkin]

The Spurs SLEPT for 3 1/2 quarters and decided to Play Ball in the 4th - it doesn't happen that way - you need to play HARD for 48 minutes in order to win...on just 12 min. Forget about the b******t call that Okur received to shoot 3 FTs...

Story of the fucking season right there...