We are not ready for the Playoffs

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Today's loss was completely inexcusable


pathetic showing


We shouldn't be blowing games like this, this late in the season


We aren't going to make up 3 games on the Suns, and our complete disregard for executing down the stretch along with ridiculous small ball killing our rebound chances is gonna make this look like the worst looking spurs team heading into the playoffs since the TD injury of 2000

[Leetonidas]

Here we go with Armageddon meltdown. :rolleyes

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Pop needs to quit giving up on Elson so damn soon in games. How can a guy ever get any confidence, consistency, or figure anything out when you yank him so damn quick?

[SequSpur]

shitty.

[ShoogarBear]

I don't know if pulling Elson made that big a difference, but 7 minutes of Oberto guarding Diogu sure boosted Ike's confidence.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Pop needs to quit giving up on Elson so damn soon in games. How can a guy ever get any confidence, consistency, or figure anything out when you yank him so damn quick?


THANK YOU


I was saying this in the game thread



Elson hardly saw anytime in the 2nd half


And we've all seen the stats when Elson plays 25+ minutes ( i believe we're like 19-2 and when elson plays more than 25 minutes or something)


I think our coach is a huge question mark going into the playoffs and cosnidering he's won 3 rings, that is fucking sad

[ShoogarBear]

How Bout those SPURS!!!!!!! 100-99 LOSERS!!!!!!!!! To the Pacers!!! HAHAHAHA! I'd rather lose to the Suns than the Pacers!!!!! Mavs back up to a 9-game lead!!You're working on a ban, dude.

[Trainwreck2100]

Losing games by missing FTs=Championship form

[MannyIsGod]

:lol

Seriously? 20 out of 23 and you're going to sweat this one loss?

Meh.

[leemajors]

:lol

Seriously? 20 out of 23 and you're going to sweat this one loss?

Meh.

quit being rational and stuff.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

:lol

Seriously? 20 out of 23 and you're going to sweat this one loss?

Meh.

I would actually have preferred us gettin blown out and blaming it on "one of those nights" then faltering in crunch time execution after having a 96-88 lead.


It's just inexcusable at this stage of the season.

[MannyIsGod]

You expect them not to lose? Here's a newsflash - had they gotten blown out you would have made another thread saying basicaly the same thing but for different reasons. Losses happen because you play poorly. It happens.

[Budkin]

This was more the case of pure slacking... but still a pathetic loss.

[GrandeDavid]

Bad time for the Spurs to choke like bitches cuz I'm stuck in that shittily managed Chicago O'Hare airport awaiting my late ass flight to SA. Time to vent:

The Spurs did everything but show their ugly asses tonight. Inexcusable loss and choadf choking punk bitch clutch situation play, not to mention weak ass free throw misses by Bowen, Manu and Duncan. Soft shit.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I can excuse Bowen and TD for missing cuz when it comes to FT's I don't ever expect those guys to come through anymore, but MANU on the other hand.........just wtf

[Budkin]

Just one of those nights...

[sabar]

Small ball is blamed on every spurs loss. If a spurstalk poster coached the spurs, we'd be pushing a perfect 82 wins!

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Just one of those nights...


but its not though that's the problem


You don't fail to execute THAT badly in crunch time when you're up 8


It's one thing to miss gimme shots but to give up a layup like that in crunch time and the lack of execution down the stretch stems from something much deeper than an off night

[1Parker1]

:lol

Seriously? 20 out of 23 and you're going to sweat this one loss?

Meh.


It's not so much the fact that the Spurs lost to an highly under manned and sub .500 Eastern Conference team on the road. It's the fact that the loss highlighted the Spurs biggest weaknesses which have yet to be addressed since LAST playoffs: Lack of rebounding, lack of a big man, and small ball all of which leads to poor defense and easier baskets at the other end.

You can't win championships with Finley as your PowerForward trying to rebound and defend the paint. It's just never going to happen. Either Horry needs to get better and figure out a way to turn back the clock 5 years or Pop needs to learn to stick with Elson for longer streches giving him a chance and more confidence........or better yet play Bonner, Ely, or even f*ing White at this point. :pctoss

[Clutch20]

Strange game played against a strangely energized team, role reversals for most of Spurs players, a squad of black and silver imposters :spless: , Twilight Zone flashbacks anyone?

[MannyIsGod]

Well - what got you 20 out of 23 is what got you a loss tonight. The rotation has been pretty much the same the entire time, except that when the loss happens everyone spazzes out.

I'm no fan of small ball - but I really don't think the Spurs have many options that look all that much better.

[T Park]

What no threads ripping up Ginobili like there would be of Parker?

[lefty]

The most dangerous games for a top team are the ones played against a desperate team.

Dallas was pounded by Golden State in March (117-100).

Nothing to worry about ; we'll be fine

[Amuseddaysleeper]

What no threads ripping up Ginobili like there would be of Parker?


I figured that was covered already

[T Park]

Just curious.

[Kori Ellis]

I'll wait to see how the Spurs play against Phoenix this week to determine if they are ready for the playoffs.

They aren't going to meet Boston, Milwaukee or Indiana in the postseason :drunk

(But I do not get why they went so small tonight.)

[efrem1]

Well - what got you 20 out of 23 is what got you a loss tonight. The rotation has been pretty much the same the entire time, except that when the loss happens everyone spazzes out.


M-I-G:

It is just the teams that we lost to. How can you have a team that wiped the floor against Seattle and Golden State on the road and yet lose to three lottery bound teams. These losses were all mental and they need to get on the stick.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I'll wait to see how the Spurs play against Phoenix this week to determine if they are ready for the playoffs.

They aren't going to meet Boston, Milwaukee or Indiana in the postseason :drunk

(But I do not get why they went so small tonight.)

yeah, I'm sure I'll cool off by tomorrow as will most other fans


A win against phoenix would be a good indicator of where we're at


I'm also a little bit more ticked off at losing ground on the two seed since a first rd matchup with the lakers would be somewhat tough to begin the playoffs with along with having no HCA for the rest of the playoffs after that

[ShoogarBear]

(But I do not get why they went so small tonight.)I'm convinced Pop would go small against a last-place AA high school team.

For some reason he equates playing defense with playing defensive.

[tlongII]

The Spurs have the 3rd best team in the Western Conference. That's not so bad.

[ShoogarBear]

Do you want to know what the Pacers' record over their last 19 games was before tonight?

2-17.

:vomit: :vomit: :vomit:

[1Parker1]

The Spurs have the 3rd best team in the Western Conference. That's not so bad.

It's not so much the fact that they have the 3rd best record in the league, etc. It's the fact that they are often forced to go for small ball down the stretch of close game when they clearly don't have the personell to do it. I mean...if small ball can't get a stop against an undermanned Pacers team, how does Pop expect it to work against the Mavs, Lakers, Suns, etc. in the playoffs?

[lefty]

Do you want to know what the Pacers' record over their last 19 games was before tonight?

2-17.

:vomit: :vomit: :vomit:

The most dangerous games for a top team are the ones played against a desperate team.

Dallas was pounded by Golden State in March (117-100).

Nothing to worry about ; we'll be fine

[ShoogarBear]

Golden State wasn't missing their best player.

[T Park]

Do you want to know what the Pacers' record over their last 19 games was before tonight?

2-17.



That means what exactly in the big scheme of things?


how does Pop expect it to work against the Mavs, Lakers, Suns, etc. in the playoffs?

Worked against Utah.

[Obstructed_View]

What kills me is that the Spurs are running gadget lineups in order to match up with fucking horrid teams. Good teams say, "Here we are, try and stop us". When the Spurs do that, they beat the crap out of their opponents. I can forgive lack of effort games or gutless performances, but you tell a defensive team to win with their defense, and you put them in a position to win that way. How the fuck do we find ourselves with ten games to go in the regular season running four guards and Timmy in crunch time? The biggest laugh is that Pop put Elson in for the offensive possession with 1.1 seconds left.

On another note, What's with Parker scoring ten points in the first quarter and six for the rest of the game? He's done that a few times here lately. Some people were bitching about the number of shots he was taking, but I'd rather have him taking layups than shooting 25 three pointers.

[ShoogarBear]

It means in the big scheme of things, the Spurs don't seem to have the mental focus to win it all.

Oh, but they'll just turn the switch against the Mavs, right?

[Obstructed_View]

Worked against Utah.
No it didn't. They hit three pointers and still got outscored.

[Buddy Holly]

Win and its a jerk off fest.

Lose and its razors to the wrist, swords to the stomach, gun to the temple, rope to the neck, body to the ledge.

[SequSpur]

fuckin tinsley took duncan to the fuckin hole... wtf is that? duncan is a puss.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

"From our point of view, I thought it was a pathetic performance for a team that's trying to prepare to go into the playoffs," he said. "In the fourth quarter, I thought we played embarrassing basketball. It was a very disappointing loss. A pathetic, pathetic performance."


- Pop.

[Obstructed_View]

Finley as his power forward, and he's STILL surprised when they can't hold a lead.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

what is wrong with this lineup in crunch time...



C Elson
PF Duncan
SF Finley
SG Manu
PG Parker


I mean seriously

[Kori Ellis]

The coaching staff obviously doesn't believe in Elson. Because they go small more and more and more often.

It's a weird phenomenon. They got Elson so that they wouldn't have to go small. Now, they go even smaller than ever - using Parker and Vaughn in the backcourt and Ginobili and Finley (or Ginobili and Bowen) as the forwards. :wtf

Elson might not be awesome, but he can at least "out tall" some people.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Small ball is blamed on every spurs loss. If a spurstalk poster coached the spurs, we'd be pushing a perfect 82 wins!

I am so sick of shit like this.

Pop tried small ball last year in the playoffs. It didn't work then, and it's not going to work this year either.

It's not about us mindlessly blaming our losses on small ball. Small ball gets called out because this team doesn't shoot FTs well enough or rebound well enough to win a title without great defense.

And that defense gets gutted when you only have one guy over 6'7" (Duncan) in the game. So yeah, small ball is going to get called out on nights like tonight where all Indy did was run pick and roll the last 3 minutes (hmm, where have I seen that before - oh yeah, Dallas last year), and we got caught in mismatches and rotation problems the whole time.

Take Indy's last play, they get Tinsley going to the rack on Tim. Manu was on the weak side down low (LMAO, We are running a zone on the weak side with our fucking two guard down there to 'defend' the paint). You expect a two guard to help protect the paint? Are you fucking kidding me?

Pop has widely been regarded as a defensive genius for the twin towers model of defense he used to employ. Well, he's gone away from it, and it has cannabilized the interior of our defense to the point that 1) teams go to the rack with impunity at the end of games knowing all they have to do is deal with one guy - Duncan - and then they have a layup or foul because there is no weak side shot blocker coming and 2) with a bunch of small ass guards out there, we can't get a rebound to save our lives.

Anyone defending Pop and small ball must have vacation plans for June and don't want to be inconvenienced by having to worry about catching any NBA Finals games involving the Spurs, because they won't be there with this fucking lame ass small ball shit.

[SequSpur]

Duncan got used... :lmao

I'm sorry but David Robinson is/was better than Tim Duncan... Bullshit ranking.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Worked against Utah.

Utah sucks. Damn, it's not rocket science. Tell me you're not trying to equate Utah with Dallas or Phoenix. We won't have to get through Utah to win it all. We'll have to get through Dallas and Phoenix.

Oh well, another year, another playoff exit due to small ball, and you'll still be there kissing Pop's ass because he figured out a way to win it in '99 (ironically with THREE seven footers in the lineup at times).

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

"From our point of view, I thought it was a pathetic performance for a team that's trying to prepare to go into the playoffs," he said. "In the fourth quarter, I thought we played embarrassing basketball. It was a very disappointing loss. A pathetic, pathetic performance."


- Pop.

As long as he includes himself in that assessment.

[ducks]

duncan 7 turnovers and missed free throws lost the game
NOT SMALL BALL

[ducks]

once in a blue moon your team will blow a lead late in the game

relax

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

duncan 7 turnovers and missed free throws lost the game
NOT SMALL BALL

Spoken from the guy who thinks Lebron sucks. :lol

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Pop needs to quit giving up on Elson so damn soon in games. How can a guy ever get any confidence, consistency, or figure anything out when you yank him so damn quick?

Absolutely. Give the guy a chance - when we do, he looks pretty solid to me. Didn't h finish the game against Detroit and look pretty good doing so?

I'm not that worried about this one loss given our recent excellent form (when Manu goes 4/7 from the line, it's an ODD night), but I am worried that we will play small ball in the playoffs and not LEARN FROM LAST YEAR!

If he's fit, Rob should finish the game, if not it should be Fran or Bonner. Nuff said.

[td4mvp21]

The coaching staff obviously doesn't believe in Elson. Because they go small more and more and more often.

It's a weird phenomenon. They got Elson so that they wouldn't have to go small. Now, they go even smaller than ever - using Parker and Vaughn in the backcourt and Ginobili and Finley (or Ginobili and Bowen) as the forwards. :wtf

Elson might not be awesome, but he can at least "out tall" some people.


And what surprises me even more was that Bonner did not play at all in the fourth. He was doing awesome.

[ducks]

Spoken from the guy who thinks Lebron sucks. :lolyeah duncan can do no wrong

[SequSpur]

Free White and Ely!!!!!!!!!!

[leemajors]

Absolutely. Give the guy a chance - when we do, he looks pretty solid to me. Didn't h finish the game against Detroit and look pretty good doing so?

I'm not that worried about this one loss given our recent excellent form (when Manu goes 4/7 from the line, it's an ODD night), but I am worried that we will play small ball in the playoffs and not LEARN FROM LAST YEAR!

If he's fit, Rob should finish the game, if not it should be Fran or Bonner. Nuff said.

elson is wildly inconsistent.

[T Park]

duncan 7 turnovers and missed free throws lost the game
NOT SMALL BALL




include the godlike Ginobili's pathetic performance and you have a recipe for a loss.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

yeah duncan can do no wrong

Nowhere did I ever say that.

Look ducks, I know it's hard for someone like you to grasp the big picture here, but the bottom line is small ball ain't going to cut it in the post-season. If we had made two more FTs and won the game, it would have been fool's gold.

Pop is using small ball as a crutch for not having confidence in Elson, whom he doesn't give a chance to build any confidence or trust because he won't play him in crunch time.

[itzsoweezee]

elson is wildly inconsistent.

still better than small ball. and that's all that matters.

[leemajors]

Pop is using small ball as a crutch for not having confidence in Elson, whom he doesn't give a chance to build any confidence or trust because he won't play him in crunch time.

i agree wholeheartedly with the first part of the sentence. i just don't see where elson has shown any reason for pop to trust him in crunch time. every couple games he will play great, but too frequently he makes really bad decisions and racks up fouls instantly. unfortunately, i have no other solution. i agree he should get more run, but at this point i would rather pop at least let bonner play in the smaller lineups instead of the 3 guard lineup. at least he has a consistent basketball IQ and always gives all he has.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

someone pull out the stat about how when Elson plays 35+ minutes the spurs are 19-2 and or something


He may be suspect on D at times but with that stat he must be doing SOMETHING right on D.


And I don't care what scenario we're in, Elson as a C works much much better than Finley as a C.


As nice as the Jazz win was, people need to remember that OUT-REBOUNDING them was huge in that game. Small ball doesn't get you rebounds.

[leemajors]

elson played 21 mins vs the jazz. he did have 6 boards in that time though.

[lefty]

I think the reason Pop doesn't give Elson more minutes is because he doesn't want him to be injured...maybe he believes that Elson is our secret weapon vs Dallas...so he wants to make sure Elson enters an eventual Spurs-Mavs series 100% healthy.

[Capt Bringdown]

Small ball vs Elson just seems to be talking around the problem. I think that we're in trouble when career scrubs like Elson are considered as viable solutions to our rebounding and defensive vulnerabilities.

Just not enough ammo this year. That leaves no room at all for error. In order for us to win a title this year, both small ball and Elson are going to have to overachieve at an almost miraculous level. Along with a host of other factors: Coaching, 3 pt % FT shooting, etc.

So many things are going to have to change for us in the playoffs. That's what's discouraging about this loss. It seemed like we'd really turned the corner lately. Didn't somebody say something about fools gold?

[Kori Ellis]

I think the reason Pop doesn't give Elson more minutes is because he doesn't want him to be injured...maybe he believes that Elson is our secret weapon vs Dallas...so he wants to make sure Elson enters an eventual Spurs-Mavs series 100% healthy.

:lol good theory

[lefty]

:lol good theory


Tks

But remember our 1st game vs Dallas ? Cisco was terrific, and we won

He did not play much the last 2 games vs Mavs and we both of these games

[T Park]

As nice as the Jazz win was, people need to remember that OUT-REBOUNDING them was huge in that game. Small ball doesn't get you rebounds.



:lol

Uh, they played small ball all of the 4th quarter.

So, :lol

How did they get rebounds?



I agree Elson needs to play, but who knows if he will.

If we go small were toast. If we go with elson, were better off, but not guaranteed of squat.

[T Park]

He did not play much the last 2 games vs Mavs and we both of these games

One, he played in, they had a 9 point lead, and for some reason decided to go small and lost.

The other game I believe he was hurt.

[sabar]

When did Elson become this defensive god?

He is a scrub, sorry. He was a third string player. Whatever Oberto and Bonner are, they are even farther behind. Elson plays no defense. All he does is stick his hands up and rack up fouls.

People wonder why we went small last year? Look at our crappy centers. You have Nazr playing 30 minutes, shooting 1 of 3 and grabbing 6 rebounds. Amazing. Then they are slow on top of that.

Being tall doesn't make you a better defensive option than a small person. The NBA would be full of 7 foot scrubs and centers wouldn't be such a valuable commodity. It's no wonder the forward/center hybrid is becoming more popular along with small ball.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

When did Elson become this defensive god?

He is a scrub, sorry. He was a third string player. Whatever Oberto and Bonner are, they are even farther behind. Elson plays no defense. All he does is stick his hands up and rack up fouls.

People wonder why we went small last year? Look at our crappy centers. You have Nazr playing 30 minutes, shooting 1 of 3 and grabbing 6 rebounds. Amazing. Then they are slow on top of that.

Being tall doesn't make you a better defensive option than a small person. The NBA would be full of 7 foot scrubs and centers wouldn't be such a valuable commodity. It's no wonder the forward/center hybrid is becoming more popular along with small ball.
We should go with Melvin Ely! Spurs rely too much on the "stay the course" action. Gamble on the other options in these last games. Elson has proven, by this point, he hasn't come through. (in pop's eyes. and apparently he does get into foul trouble very easily)

[Amuseddaysleeper]

:lol

Uh, they played small ball all of the 4th quarter.

So, :lol

How did they get rebounds?



I agree Elson needs to play, but who knows if he will.

If we go small were toast. If we go with elson, were better off, but not guaranteed of squat.


I would rather lose going big then dropping another game with small ball


now granted, there have been times where small ball helped us go on a run or led to a victory, but Pop's lack of faith in the bigs after halftime is unsettling. As i said before, he may as well just have the starting lineup be a small one since he completely refuses to give the bigs a shot in crunch time.

Anything can happen

That extra rebound could change the game

[Capt Bringdown]

We play small ball because we can't play Spurs ball anymore.
What continues to surprise and frustrate is that we didn't see this coming (what were all those pick-n-stashes supposed to amount to anyway?), nor did we do anything about it last off season. Or should I say we did all we could, i.e. gamble on scrubs.

[SpursDynasty]

Today's loss was completely inexcusable


pathetic showing


We shouldn't be blowing games like this, this late in the season


We aren't going to make up 3 games on the Suns, and our complete disregard for executing down the stretch along with ridiculous small ball killing our rebound chances is gonna make this look like the worst looking spurs team heading into the playoffs since the TD injury of 2000

It's also completely inexcusable to complain about losses to Eastern lottery teams. That is the Spurs biggest weakness: Losing to non-playoff East teams. Oh no, they're in trouble.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

It's also completely inexcusable to complain about losses to Eastern lottery teams. That is the Spurs biggest weakness: Losing to non-playoff East teams. Oh no, they're in trouble.
Well yeah,

but it's still annoying, the issue has more to do with how we're playing in regards to these losses, not who we're playing.

We beat UTAH on Friday, there's no reason for us to be losing today's game, in regards to execution. Especially with the fact that SMALLBALL keeps coming back to haunt us? Why do we keep pigeonholing ourselves into these losses? and is it indication that we are gonna have a tougher time in the Post-Season?

Ultimately, it's just a regular season loss, and every team drops one now and then, but this is kind of a recurring pattern that gets under a Spurs fan's skin, when we keep racking up, losses we didn't need to be losing.

[anonymous coward]

"From our point of view, I thought it was a pathetic performance for a team that's trying to prepare to go into the playoffs," he said. "In the fourth quarter, I thought we played embarrassing basketball. It was a very disappointing loss. A pathetic, pathetic performance."


- Pop.

i would say, pathetic small line ups.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

elson is wildly inconsistent.

I understand that. I think it has to do with the fact that he doesn't get consistent minutes. Give him at least half a game every game and see what he does. Since Pop has yanked him so much, I'm sure it has affected his confidence - if Pop shows some confidence in him, we might be surprised by the response.

I have seen Elson play wonderfully and horribly this year, but whichever we're getting at least we have a guy who goes after rebounds, tires out the other team's big men by getting up and down the floor, and will show up on help D when guys like Tinsley drive to the hole. I'll take that from our centre.

[T Park]

I have seen Elson play wonderfully and horribly this year, but whichever we're getting at least we have a guy who goes after rebounds, tires out the other team's big men by getting up and down the floor, and will show up on help D when guys like Tinsley drive to the hole. I'll take that from our centre.




That Tinsley layup was disgusting.

Duncan just let him go by, and Ginobili just stood there and watched as opposed to helping out.

Pathetic.

[mathbzh]

So we are not ready after this pathetic loss.
The suns are not ready after an embarassing loss against GSW.
The Mavs are not ready after a 20 pt loss against the Suns.
The Jazz are not ready after a loss against us...

Toronto has a 3 games winning streak! They will probably win it all :p:

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

So we are not ready after this pathetic loss.
The suns are not ready after an embarassing loss against GSW.
The Mavs are not ready after a 20 pt loss against the Suns.
The Jazz are not ready after a loss against us...

Toronto has a 3 games winning streak! They will probably win it all :p:
I think we're just hoping that Pop finally wakes up and risks going "Big" as in playing "Spurs ball"
because

Smallball always allows us to make more critical errors on D. Tim needs help in the front court.

I mean, by now Pop should realize that a lot of these losses have come, and every single time, I see the board bringing up smallball :lol

So if he hasn't got a clue, to use these losses as an indicator and a preparation for the playoffs. I think , nobody's really "overreacting" to this one loss.

[slayermin]

I'm not sure if I hate small ball but the offensive rebounding it allows is frustrating. We don't have the right player to man the four.

I don't think eliminating the strategy completely is a great idea. Maybe Pop was getting the rotations ready for Thursday for the Suns. Tonight's loss was disappointing but probably just a slight hickup in the big picture. Catching the Suns would have been a tough endeavor, even with a win in Indy.

[Clutch20]

Strange game played against a strangely energized team, role reversals for most of Spurs players, a squad of black and silver imposters :spless: , Twilight Zone flashbacks anyone?
Well, now it is April, Jelling time.
The focus starts and the team concept takes over, there were early signs of this last week, the few who did rebound well and the number of assists were decent, and the dependence on 3's was cut down.

The Indy game skewed those numbers but with the random substituting that was going on there had to be some abnormalities, question is were there some mind games taking place. Those kind of game decisions personel wise had to create some inconsistencies.

Here's to a good Tue. night game, let's see some Spurs Ball!

[bull62400]

Today's loss was completely inexcusable


pathetic showing


We shouldn't be blowing games like this, this late in the season


We aren't going to make up 3 games on the Suns, and our complete disregard for executing down the stretch along with ridiculous small ball killing our rebound chances is gonna make this look like the worst looking spurs team heading into the playoffs since the TD injury of 2000

when we lose, why does everybody bitch.

[Man In Black]

Only in America...HIGH FIVE-UH

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

That Tinsley layup was disgusting.

Duncan just let him go by, and Ginobili just stood there and watched as opposed to helping out.

Pathetic.

Last year when Manu tried to help against Dallas in the same situation, he was chastized. Yesterday, he doesn't, and he's chastized.

Make up your fucking mind.

Actually, you shouldn't have to, Pop should recognize small ball for the failure it is and have a second big in there at the end.

[ShoogarBear]

Last year when Manu tried to help against Dallas in the same situation, he was chastized. Yesterday, he doesn't, and he's chastized.Well, to be fair there's a huge difference between doing it when you're up by three and a seven footer is driving the lane and when you're up by one and it's a guy 6'3".

However, I don't see how it would have mattered if Manu had rotated. I don't think he would have affected Tinsley's release.

[Spurminator]

Forget rotations, Tinsley wouldn't have won the game on a lay-up if we had been up by more than a point against the Pacers practice squad.

[smrattler]

I'm ready for the playoffs. :-)

I'm not panicking. It was weird, almost like Pop wanted to use this game to test his small lineup, figuring we should be able to beat a beaten up team with our worst lineup or something.

Anyway, we're pretty much locked in the 3rd seed now. Let's close the season up already and get down to business. The Suns and Mavs games are the only ones we need to overanlayze from here on.

[ploto]

I understand that. I think it has to do with the fact that he doesn't get consistent minutes. Give him at least half a game every game and see what he does. Since Pop has yanked him so much, I'm sure it has affected his confidence - if Pop shows some confidence in him, we might be surprised by the response.
Isn't this almost the exact same thing word for word that people said about Nazr last year.

[Bruno]

:lol @ this kind of thread.
Spurs are (with Dallas) the hootest team in the league since the ASG.
I agree that everything isn't perfect but it's kinda crazy how people overreact after each loss this year.