What this team needs is...

[TwoHandJam]

someone who will tear them a new a--hole in the lockerroom when they are underperforming. Someone other than Popovich.

Let's face it. This Spurs team is immensely talented and has what it takes to win a title. However, their biggest enemy is themselves and their own self-motivation. We saw as much in their lackluster performance on Sunday.

Of course this point isn't really new. I've little doubt that they'll respond well tonight and go on another mini-streak but I believe their consistency could be better. If there was someone on the team who clearly filled the role of getting in guys' faces when they came flat, we'd be an even more formidable club.

Sadly, no one has truly played that role since AJ left and Popovich alone is left fill the void with his halftime outbursts and "soft" speeches. We've had Elie, AJ and even Robinson take stands in the lockerroom to rally the troops but I just don't hear of it with this team. At least Ludden doesn't report it to my knowledge.

I'm not a big Malone advocate but I know he wouldn't take the team's mental lapses lightly. I don't see us giving up 19 point leads to Toronto with him on the roster. At least not without someone being grievously injured in the process.

Tim hasn't and probably never will be a vocal leader. Tony has made strides but appears to still feel it's Tim's team. Bowen, Malik, Manu? It's just not there and it's too bad because a motivator who's actually in the trenches with you is often more effective than one who's on the sidelines. If nothing else it would be one other person than Popovich. When it's always the same person calling out the team, will it continue to be effective? What happens if one day it isn't?

With the likes of Elie gone from the staff and even Jackson from the roster, we've lost more of what this team needs at times; a swift kick in the pants. The team's record already displays it's potential. I believe if they could address this weakness they would much much closer to realizing their true greatness.

[CosmicCowboy]

What this team need is fans that don't jump off the cliff after a loss caused by an abberant poor shooting night. Do the numbers...for all the complaints Spurs are right on track for a 60 win season even if they don't improve their execution...and I have no reason to believe they won't get significantly better...they didn't need a player yelling in the locker room in Sacramento. They just needed a few more shots to fall...

[BigVee]

With all due respect, I totally disagree. Over the course of an 82 game season, there will be games when the shot is not there, the effort of some, and the coach will coach differently than a playoff game. Do you have any doubt that Pop would have played certain players more minutes if the Sac game was a playoff game? This team has played at a very high level all year. If anything, Pop needs to back off at times. His act is getting old. Anyone who think Manu needs motivation on the court is crazy. He is the one guy who plays with max effort at all times. It pisses me off when I see him single him out for such public abuse. I didn't see him rip Duncan for a miserable game. Talk about playing without effort? All TD did was turn to the basket, hold the ball where it could be tied up and then whine to the ref for a foul. Let's tell it like it is.

[Rummpd]

Actually, Tim stood up like a man and dissed his own play for the loss in the papers.

He is a leader and in my view it was Parker that needed to take over the game seeing that Duncan was struggling (and probably sick).

MadDoc

[BigVee]

Actually, Tim stood up like a man and dissed his own play for the loss in the papers.

He is a leader and in my view it was Parker that needed to take over the game seeing that Duncan was struggling (and probably sick).

MadDoc

Yes Tim did. No question he never makes excuses for his play. A stand up guy. I just think Pop needs to respect the effort of the other guys enough to keep it indoors.

[boutons]

This is nothing but my call for a "leader" who is necessarily a team member.

I think such a person's credibility in that role can only come being 1) team-veteran (not just NBA veteran) and 2) starter or very heavy contributor in the late-season rotation.

"Malone"

Hopping on the Spurs bandwagon just to get a ring, at the ASB, for a couple months, in his first and probably last season as a Spur is not a credible calling card for a team leader. As credible as he was as a (Jazz) player (was he such a leader on the Jazz, or do some fans "respect" him because he was a dirty player?), he would probably only get "E" grade for effort (willing mind, weak body) on the Spurs. As a dirty player, for this fan, he has no credibilty as leader for any team, let alone the "correct" Spurs. Formerly a good player, yes, a team leader, no.

"I know he wouldn't take the team's mental lapses lightly"

how do you know that? was he the fire-starting and butt-kicking for his last 10 years on the Jazz, or did he just play well and play dirty? I bet Sloan himself played that role.

I agree that the absence of a Spurs team leader probably will cost this very capable group of Spurs 1 or 2 rings that a Michael/Magic/Larry-type of leader would have not let get away.

[Solid D]

Consistency is always good and more vocal leadership could help...

but all things considered, Tim and Pop have made a nice team in the leadership area.

"Over the past eight years, ...no team in the four major sports has a higher winning percentage than the Spurs. Not the Lakers, Yankees, Red Wings nor Patriots."
(as reported by SA Express-News and on ESPN.)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA121204.1C.COL.BKNharvey.cb8e04a.html

[FromWayDowntown]

With the number of shots that rimmed out the other night or just missed, it's not like the Spurs got blown out on Sunday night or had some horrendous performance. They lost a road game in a very tough gym against a very good team -- a Sacramento team that many predicted would win its division this season.

That, and it's the first freakin' week of January.

Believe it or not, this team is going to lose games -- I'd hazard a guess that they'll lose at least 10 more, even if they found the greatest vocal leader in the world to step into that lockerroom. Should we prepare for such overreactions with every future loss??

Nobody was crying out for a vocal leader after the Spurs put it on Phoenix, after they beat Miami, or after the two wins against Dallas.

[Solid D]

Amen, good perspective FWD.

[T Park]

Agreed, how many shots went in and out.

I know Rasho had 1, Ginobii had one right at the end of the game.

Duncan had a few, Horry had 1.


It was one of them games.

Only thing that couldve changed was more minutes for Barry, but other than that, it was a night where nothing was falling for anyone.

[Jimcs50]

I disagree, they are grown men, they should not need someone to tell them that they are underperforming, believe me, they know. They need a coach or player to just show them where their deficiencies are and what they need to do to remedy it.

A floor leader can do this on the fly, someone needs to step up and do this on a regular basis. The problem is, the Spurs do not seem to have the kind of player that is capable of doing so. AJ was the last player that could do it on a regular basis.

[T Park]

May be true Jim, but that type of player is darn near hard to find, and when you a team finds one, they dont let them go.

I think Brent Barry could come as close to that as possible.

You see him direct traffic while hes in the game quite a bit.


Maybe the solution to THAT problem, (to be truthfull it honestly hasnt been a huge problem this year) is more Brent Barry.

IMO, 28 minutes for him, and that should be Gauranteed every night.

Even if the shot isnt going down. hes showing his slashing ability and his leader ship, court vision, and hell, NOW his defense is decent.

[Rummpd]

More steady or justifiable rotations. Barry plays well sits, Rasho plays well and sits, Rose plays well and sits, Parker or Ginobli tears up a half or quarter and sits etc. Must be maddening.

MadDoc

[ChumpDumper]

What this team needs is fans who realize what 25-7 means.

[Rummpd]

25 and 7 is truly great but the sad truth is that this team could easily well be 28 and 4 now and running away with their Division and leading the Conf. For all their work they are only 4 games (really 5 due to tie breaker) over Mavs and this year 1-3 are the Div leads first round.

As Duncan said in the papers you don't want games to haunt you no matter how stout the record.

MadDoc

[boutons]

The Spurs shooting 39% was not caused by a few near-misses. It was caused by overall bad shooting, and Tony not even trying to get his game-changing/winning number of layups. Manu took it to the hoop, showing it could be done vs Kings defense (ie, the Kinds D was not denying Tony), and got 18 pts.

Spurs getting outrebounded was not caused by a few bad bounces. It was lack of hustle. As Pop noted last year, normally when you shoot badly, you usually get more RBs. We managed to shoot badly and get outrebounded.

I would like to say the King's 20 TOs were all or even mostly forced by Spurs defense, but I doubt that, given the Spurs defense and overall shittiness. Does anybody know?

Tim, Tony, and Bruce sucked end-to-end, and Pop shouldn't have closed with them, so Pop sucked, too. The closers should been those players who were perfomring, Beno, Brent, Robert, Rasho, Manu, Malik and then we would have beaten a clearly inferior Kings team, and Spurs would be continuing the win streak tonight.

I agree with a lot of people here that this Spurs team is special, helped by the retention of the previous core, and upgraded by Brent and Beno and by Malik re-discovering his role and energy.

Special teams get special results (or they aren't special) by finding a way to win on off-nights. Losing to inferior teams ain't special, it sucks.

[ChumpDumper]

The closers should been those players who were perfomring, Beno, Brent, Robert, Rasho, Manu, MalikHey, with six players on the floor to close every game, we can go 82-0!

[Rummpd]

Well maybe 80 and 2 but good point! (Pop would still find a way to screw up two, a McGradyMiracle would happen, or more likely they would mess up the FT shooting etc)

[T Park]

Pop would still find a way to screw up two

yeah its amazing they have won 25 games with such a bumbling moron at the helm.

Too bad JOhn Lucas still aint here.

[bigzak25]

as long as our SPAM and all stay healthy, then it's all good.

[TwoHandJam]

With the number of shots that rimmed out the other night or just missed, it's not like the Spurs got blown out on Sunday night or had some horrendous performance. They lost a road game in a very tough gym against a very good team -- a Sacramento team that many predicted would win its division this season.

That, and it's the first freakin' week of January.

Believe it or not, this team is going to lose games -- I'd hazard a guess that they'll lose at least 10 more, even if they found the greatest vocal leader in the world to step into that lockerroom. Should we prepare for such overreactions with every future loss??Give me a break. Please. Why is it that when a critique is lodged against the team, there is so much knee-jerk reaction that loves to label this as "jumping off a cliff".

I know this team is great as I mentioned it in my original post. I know their record is formidable and believe it or not - I know they'll lose more games. Incredulous, isn't it. If you want a post about overreaction you should look at your own response. I'm not calling for Pop's head or advocating that someone be cut from the team. That's an overreaction. I'm simply saying that this team could be even better with a vocal motivator who's also a team member.

I know that they can be even greater than they are and yes, they do have faults (FTs being one of them) but another is that they tend to coast in certain games and get burned. I believe the Sac game was one of these. Tim may have been under the weather but Tony certainly might have been kickstarted into action if another team member tried to pump him up. I've still no clue (and neither does Pop) as to why he never even tried to penetrate the porous Sac defense. We got outrebounded by Sacramento and Webber can't even jump. I call that a lack of hustle.

Pop has motivated the team to a win on countless occasions so there certainly is a case to be made for more motivation at times. The team itself has acknowledged this. You only have to look at the Toronto game or the Sonics games to see this. Look how Manu responded after Pop got on his case. Wouldn't it be nice to see Tony or Tim not neccessarily rip another player but get in their face a bit or be more demonstrative in rallying them?

All I'm saying is that a more vocal leader on the team would help instead of Pop always having to play the heavy when they need it. Of course they would still drop games on occasion as every team does, but probably not as many.

Tim is not a vocal leader and accepting blame after the loss, while a great character trait, has nothing whatsoever to do with what I'm talking about.

[boutons]

This year, fuck diddling around Nov-Feb for SPAM!

We got core rotation back (no 5 months learning basketball), everybody's been rested and healthy (no Manu/Tim/Tony ankles), slow-starting Tim "feels great", and has started pretty damn fast, added Brent and surprising Beno, Malik "back in the saddle again".

The Spurs beat themselves 5 times, and lost 2 games, for 7 losses.

[ChumpDumper]

Alright.

Name a vocal leader to get and how to get him.

[T Park]

Im sure Pop and RC would be all ears to that as well.

[FromWayDowntown]

Special teams get special results (or they aren't special) by finding a way to win on off-nights. Losing to inferior teams ain't special, it sucks.

By that logic, the Spurs (who are alleged to be superior to every team in the NBA) should have no justification for ever losing, since every night, they'll play inferior teams. Give me a break!

They lost a tough game in Sacramento on an off-night in the last of a 3 game roadtrip and the 3rd game in 4 nights. All of that against one of the 5 teams in the NBA that has fewer than 10 losses. It's not like the Kings are lottery-bound or struggling to make the playoffs. That's a good Sacramento team that beat the Spurs, even if you choose to disrespect their record.

At that, for the Kings to beat the Spurs on an off night of horrendous free throw shooting and plenty of rimmed-out shots, it took an electric shooting performance from Peja (who hit some very tough shots) in the 2nd half, a miraculous jumper from Miller, and a blown call on Horry. Change either of the last two, and the Spurs probably win that game, despite their "poor performance." To hear some of you, you'd think they got run out of the gym. They've lost 5 roadies by a combined 19 points. Those things happen over 82 games, particularly when you play with the bigger picture of May and June in mind.

Does anyone really think that the Spurs would be better off over the long haul of this season if Manu, Parker, and Duncan were playing 40+ minutes every night and the Spurs were out 28-4 rather than 25-7? I'm particularly curious about that when history shows that Popovich's teams are extremely difficult to beat between the All-Star break and the end of the regular season.

In light of the Spurs' standing at this point in seasons gone by, thinking a 4 game lead is uncomfortably close is kind of funny.

[FromWayDowntown]

I know that they can be even greater than they are and yes, they do have faults (FTs being one of them) but another is that they tend to coast in certain games and get burned. I believe the Sac game was one of these. Tim may have been under the weather but Tony certainly might have been kickstarted into action if another team member tried to pump him up. I've still no clue (and neither does Pop) as to why he never even tried to penetrate the porous Sac defense. We got outrebounded by Sacramento and Webber can't even jump. I call that a lack of hustle.

Pop has motivated the team to a win on countless occasions so there certainly is a case to be made for more motivation at times. The team itself has acknowledged this. You only have to look at the Toronto game or the Sonics games to see this. Look how Manu responded after Pop got on his case. Wouldn't it be nice to see Tony or Tim not neccessarily rip another player but get in their face a bit or be more demonstrative in rallying them?


Your post suggests that there are teams out there that never have bad performances, never get outhustled, never seem lack energy, and never seem to fall prey to the consequences of the NBA schedule's intersection with human frailties. I'd be interested to know what teams those are; I've certainly not noticed that there is some great vocal leader in the league who manages to ensure that his team is never flat.

[TwoHandJam]

Alright.

Name a vocal leader to get and how to get him.I was lamenting the fact that we don't have a home-grown vocal leader. Seeing as Popovich himself has talked about how he's been searching for a guy who'll be more demonstrative and take the team by the horns, it isn't a easy problem to solve. There are no easy answers.

It needs to be a player who the team will respect and who's also somewhat of a veteran. Tony could still be that guy but he's only showed flashes and is still very young. Tim hasn't been a vocal, demonstrative guy for 8 years so it looks like he'll never fully fill that role. Tim likes to motivate by example but that just doesn't work when you're not having a great game yourself.

Malik might be that guy but he's also only shown flashes. Vets like Kerr and Willis have motivated at times, and that's great but it'd be great to have a starter in that role. I sometimes think Horry could be that guy but I wish I saw more from him in that respect.

Bottom line, I really hope Ginobili or Parker emerges as a more vocal leader but I suppose it'll be later rather than sooner. Who knows, maybe the crucible of the playoffs will change something this year.

[ChumpDumper]

Were we ever 25-7 with AJ or Elie?

[boutons]

"no justification for ever losing,"

My logic is fine, but not as fine as these Spurs. Spurs should only the lose, sometimes, to Top 4 or 5 teams, ie, Sonics@Heat was no shame for the Heat. Spurs beat the teams that are below the Spurs in standings, below in major stat categories, and then slug it out, .500 - .750 ball, with near/equal/better teams, and then add the
"any given night" losses (rare), and the injury losses.

I didn't say we got blown out by SAC, in no way. But we certainly gave that game away by having it too close at the end. Peja's scoring was 9 pts under what Amare did to us, but we blew out PHX. One guy going off isn't enough when the Spurs play their game.

[TwoHandJam]

Your post suggests that there are teams out there that never have bad performances, never get outhustled, never seem lack energy, and never seem to fall prey to the consequences of the NBA schedule's intersection with human frailties. I'd be interested to know what teams those are; I've certainly not noticed that there is some great vocal leader in the league who manages to ensure that his team is never flat.
I notice you conveniently neglected this excerpt from my post.


All I'm saying is that a more vocal leader on the team would help instead of Pop always having to play the heavy when they need it. Of course they would still drop games on occasion as every team does, but probably not as many.

You're just being facetious now. Popovich has lamented the lack of a vocal leader in the press and we all know how much Pop likes the press, so don't try and deny the lack of this dimension on the team. If you disagree with what I'm saying then that's fine but if you've nothing meaningful left to contribute then by all means, don't.

[T Park]

Dont get me wrong 2 hand, Your right, I agree this team could use it.

BUT IMO, its spilled milk, because there isnt a player available this summer, or on the horizon thats gonna come in.

I agree, Ginobili or Parker should become that, but wish in one hand you know what in the other.

[TwoHandJam]

Were we ever 25-7 with AJ or Elie?
Please. No one is denying we have a good record but we also have a team with a lot more talent. We won rings with AJ and Elie and you can be sure they played a large part in that.

DRob didn't rally the team often but he certainly did it at key times during our last title. Especially before game 6 of the finals when he issued the ultimatum at half-time that he wasn't going to lose that game. And he didn't. That's what we need more of.

DRob is now retired so who's going to step up now. That's the 64K question.

[FromWayDowntown]

I notice you conveniently neglected this excerpt from my post.

My sincere apologies for the oversight. I thought a bit of hyperbole might bring this back to reality. I missed your observation and understand your tempered opinion; but I still think what you're asking for borders on a plea for a season without any bumpiness.


You're just being facetious now. Popovich has lamented the lack of a vocal leader in the press and we all know how much Pop likes the press, so don't try and deny the lack of this dimension on the team. If you disagree with what I'm saying then that's fine but if you've nothing meaningful left to contribute then by all means, don't.

You're citing Popovich while omitting his routine admission that these guys aren't inherently vocal leaders and that he can't ask them to become things that they aren't. Somehow, without the now-much-lamented-absence of vocal leadership, the Spurs are off to the best start in franchise history and are playing well beyond any reasonable expectation that could have existed for this team.

I frankly disagree with you about the need for any of these players to step out of character in an effort to become something they can't be or don't want to be. There is an upside to vocal leadership within a team, but there's also a downside -- if the vocal leader doesn't get a player or players going, his "vocal leadership" will often be ignored or become abusive; both are detrimental to team chemistry. Don't you recall Malik and AJ's escapade on a shower-room floor in Cleveland? It's a prime example of "vocal leadership" becoming a bad thing.

I think an inherent strength of this team is its ability to recognize lulls (whether within a game or from game-to-game) and recover quickly from them. They rarely lose consecutive games and never face prolonged losing streaks, largely, I think, because these guys are such professionals that they don't need much external motivation.

[ChumpDumper]

No one is denying we have a good record but we also have a team with a lot more talent.Kind of relative -- that team was more experienced. This team has a lot of young and inexperienced talent it is depending on. Maybe the last championship is a better comparison -- but who was really the vocal leader then?

[FromWayDowntown]

Kind of relative -- that team was more experienced. This team has a lot of young and inexperienced talent it is depending on. Maybe the last championship is a better comparison -- but who was really the vocal leader then?

David Robinson might be a good guess. I recall an impassioned speech on a bus in Phoenix and his now-famous halftime talk during Game 6 of the Finals.

But that team, like this one, was primarily a lead-by-example group.

[ChumpDumper]

David Robinson might be a good guess. I recall an impassioned speech on a bus in Phoenix and his now-famous halftime talk during Game 6 of the Finals.Well if all we need is a guy to say a few words during a couple of games....

[maxpower]

The soft tag will definitely never go away when the team's own fans throw it around at any loss. The Spurs will not be the first nor the last team to lose a game they should not lose. Drop the soft tag or lacking a vocal leader. They have been winning around 70% of their games since Robinson has been here.

[boutons]

"but who was really the vocal leader then"

I suspect, guess that David was kind of a moral/spiritual backbone that, vocally or not, influenced the team, allowing Tim to just play ball, without having to carry the responsibility for meta-issues like leadership. Also, I'd bet there was a quite strong "win it for David" spirit, again non-vocally, in what was announced as his last season. Sort of like an "we players all owe David for Spurs success" responsibility. That's more than enough to hold a team together internally without somebody butt-kicking externally.

[FromWayDowntown]

The soft tag will definitely never go away when the team's own fans throw it around at any loss. The Spurs will not be the first nor the last team to lose a game they should not lose. Drop the soft tag or lacking a vocal leader. They have been winning around 70% of their games since Robinson has been here.

To be fair to TwoHandJam, I don't think this is the "soft" discussion. I think there is a wistfulness for guys like AJ and Elie who lacked great talent, but understood the game in a manner that allowed them to motivate teammates who respected the fact that those guys struggled for so long to make it.

I can see the argument in a sense, but I don't think you can wish that a bunch of guys who aren't inherently bent towards vocal leadership will become vocal leaders -- or that any particular one of those guys will do that.

[TwoHandJam]

I think an inherent strength of this team is its ability to recognize lulls (whether within a game or from game-to-game) and recover quickly from them. They rarely lose consecutive games and never face prolonged losing streaks, largely, I think, because these guys are such professionals that they don't need much external motivation.Yes. I agree largely with what you say here and I believe we're more in agreement than you think. This team is a great bunch of professionals and they don't need much external motivation but they do need some.

That missing motivation is now routinely filled by Pop but I believe the quality and effectiveness of said motivation would be much better derived from a team member.

It's true that a vocal team member rides a fine line and the vocal leadership can become abusive but it can, and has definitely been done before by the likes of Elie, Robinson and AJ - shower scuffles and all.

What's more, the Spurs have never really won a title without it. Without Popovich's rants in the playoffs, we probably drop some key games. Without DRob's ultimatum in game 6, things could have gotten quite hairy. His speech on the team bus when we were in a funk midseason that year alone was huge.

The Spurs are indeed incredibly professional but they still seem to need that edge to reach the ultimate prize. They are off to the best start in franchise history but I disagree that they "are playing well beyond any reasonable expectation that could have existed for this team." I for one fully expected them to excel this year. There was almost no churn on the roster, Parker and Manu have reached key points in their development and there are no contract issues. We've also been able to secure a key bench player in Barry and the level of talent on this team is probably the highest it's been in Spurs history.

Again, there inevitably will be losses during the season but that one leadership dimension we are missing, I believe, would lift this team to an even higher level of excellence. Nights such as when we came out flat against our second meeting with the Sonics (or any game where Pop goes ballistic) are a key example of games that might not be lost due to a lack of motivation and focus.

[FromWayDowntown]

That missing motivation is now routinely filled by Pop but I believe the quality and effectiveness of said motivation would be much better derived from a team member.

I don't disagree, but I don't understand where you want that to come from. If you're wishing that one of these players would become a vocal team leader, you might as well wish that Malik Rose would become a seven footer. And, frankly, I think if you're asking that it come from some outside source, you're only wishing for a major disruption of team chemistry.

[Spurminator]

I would agree if this were the Bulls... but like FWD, I'd worry about disrupting team chemistry by bringing in an outsider as a lockerroom pitbull. Most of the key cogs on this team (Duncan, Parker, Manu, Bowen, Rose) have already won a Championship here or elsewhere (Horry), and probably wouldn't take kindly to some outside nobody coming in and busting balls. Barry is a veteran, and we've seen how Rasho responds to fierce personalities.

Frankly, the two players most likely to respond to an ass-chewing teammate are Beno and Brown... and considering their play this season, it doesn't look like they need it.

[wildbill2u]

What this team needs is...

1Tougher opponents and closer games. It's tough to get 'up' when you're beating teams by an average of 15 ppg. Winning close games makes for championship attitudes.

2.Aroma Therapy: The smell of a hard won victory is sweeter than that of a blow out. A winning team gets that smell in its nostrils and doesn't forget it when times are hard and the shots aren't falling.

3.Ear plugs: Too many people whining about various faults as though the team is supposed to win every stinking game this year is bound to be a little boring--and the team will finally tune out when too many folks keep yelling the sky is falling.

[TwoHandJam]

I don't disagree, but I don't understand where you want that to come from. If you're wishing that one of these players would become a vocal team leader, you might as well wish that Malik Rose would become a seven footer. And, frankly, I think if you're asking that it come from some outside source, you're only wishing for a major disruption of team chemistry.
Sometimes I get the feeling you aren't reading my posts. As I said previously:

Bottom line, I really hope Ginobili or Parker emerges as a more vocal leader but I suppose it'll be later rather than sooner. Who knows, maybe the crucible of the playoffs will change something this year.I don't expect much change, I'm just thinking about what might be.

[Spurminator]

I just saw the part about one of our players stepping up. So I guess that renders my last post irrelevant. But I'm really not convinced there hasn't been enough vocal leadership from within. It's hard to expect any better defense than we've seen, and yelling doesn't make shots go in.

[ALVAREZ6]

This team doesn't NEED anything.

The Spurs are winning, they have a great record.period.

No need to change anything if we are fine how it is.

[BigVee]

Yep, correct. What this team needs to do for the regular season is to keep doing what they have been doing.....winning 78% of their games, which equates to 64 wins. And Pop needs to stop using Parker and Manu as his whipping boys.....and afford them the same respect he does Bowen and TD. Don't try and tell me that BB and TD haven't been more inconsistent lately as 9 and 20. All part of a long season.

[FromWayDowntown]

I don't expect much change, I'm just thinking about what might be.

And all I'm saying is that hoping that such a change will come about is not unlike my hope that Malik Rose will grow 6 inches by the end of the season. Like you, I'm just thinking about what might be; but I also realize that players are who they are. Malik isn't going to grow, and I really can't imagine that Parker, Ginobili, Duncan, Rose, or anyone else among this group is going to suddenly blossom into the vocal leader that you desire.

[TwoHandJam]

I just saw the part about one of our players stepping up. So I guess that renders my last post irrelevant. But I'm really not convinced there hasn't been enough vocal leadership from within. It's hard to expect any better defense than we've seen, and yelling doesn't make shots go in.No but it definitely does make a difference in the level of focus and intensity and it usually makes a difference in something you can do something about when shots aren't falling. Defense.

I don't know about you but I was really dismayed when we didn't get up for the Sonics in our second meeting and dug ourselves a 19pt hole. It was fucking embarrassing to have that happen on our own home court, especially after we'd already dropped a game to them.

Yes, it was very uncharacteristic of the Spurs but these things do happen and when they do, it'd be nice if a player stepped up and did something about it instead of relying on Pop to rip on them. It didn't make our shots go down when he did but you'd better believe we clamped down on them defensively after that.

This is an example of the leadership I'm looking for. If someone on the team had done something demonstrative before half time, we might have won that game.

Yes, the Spurs are professional. Yes they often self-motivate but sometimes, they just lack that extra effort and focus in tight spots and it should really come from within, not just from Pop's rants.

The Spurs are human and it's only human not to get up for every game, but having at least one player on the team who is more vocal and demonstrative would probably help us not to drop some games that we now do.

Call me a perfectionist but that's the way I see it. We could be better in the leadership dept.

[TwoHandJam]

This team doesn't NEED anything.

The Spurs are winning, they have a great record.period.

No need to change anything if we are fine how it is.
The Spurs are playing very well but there are always areas every team needs to improve. I think FT shooting personally is higher on the list than what I'm discussing now.

If I asked you last year if the Spurs needed to improve anything during their 17 game win streak, I'm pretty sure I'd know what your answer would be, yet history shows you would be wrong.

[TwoHandJam]

And all I'm saying is that hoping that such a change will come about is not unlike my hope that Malik Rose will grow 6 inches by the end of the season. Like you, I'm just thinking about what might be; but I also realize that players are who they are. Malik isn't going to grow, and I really can't imagine that Parker, Ginobili, Duncan, Rose, or anyone else among this group is going to suddenly blossom into the vocal leader that you desire.
So you are telling me that the odds that a 22 year old Parker might become a more vocal leader are on par with Malik growing 6 inches? Let's not go overboard here.

We've already seen flashes of Parker's leadership when he ran the show against the Lakers at the start of the playoff series last year. He was yelling at Tim and telling him where to be on the floor. Is it just me or did Rose look a bit taller in those games?

Parker or Manu's leadership growth may not continue but at least it's in the realm of possibility.

[Spurminator]

Honestly, if I had to complain about anything this year, a lack of a motivational personality would be one of the last things... Far behind FT shooting, perimeter size and turnovers.

Is there any team in the NBA that approaches every game with the same professionalism and maturity as the Spurs do? They're not as "rah rah" as other teams, but I don't think that means their effort is lacking. Don't confuse being "off" with being "unmotivated." I think the team attitude towards each game has been one of the Spurs' greatest strengths.

[TwoHandJam]

Honestly, if I had to complain about anything this year, a lack of a motivational personality would be one of the last things... Far behind FT shooting, perimeter size and turnovers.

Is there any team in the NBA that approaches every game with the same professionalism and maturity as the Spurs do? They're not as "rah rah" as other teams, but I don't think that means their effort is lacking. Don't confuse being "off" with being "unmotivated." I think the team attitude towards each game has been one of the Spurs' greatest strengths.I understand what you're saying but there are times that the Spurs drop games because they aren't focused or motivated. If they were just "off" then all Pop's yelling wouldn't make a difference yet it often rallies them into winning games they might otherwise lose. You have to agree that when Pop goes beserk, the team (or player) often responds.

And btw, as I said previously:

The Spurs are playing very well but there are always areas every team needs to improve. I think FT shooting personally is higher on the list than what I'm discussing now.

See? We agree more than you think.