anyone else think this was a "good" loss?

[honestfool84]

i mean, losses aren't typically considered good, especially with the way the playoff race is right now..

but with this tough stretch of games coming up, i think pop wanted to wake the spurs up, not let them be lulled into any kind of slump because of their win streak.

[freemeat]

No loss is a good loss. There may be some positive things to come from it, but it's not "good."

I actually liked seeing the Big 3 on the bench at the end...let them soak in the sour taste.

[crc21209]

The Spurs were and are bound to lose games.... I just don't want another crappy line up situation from coach! Change the line up when are playing like shit, not when they are playing well.

Agreed! I don't understand why Pop started Finley instead of Manu to begin the 2nd half? Experiment? Didnt want Manu getting into foul trouble? or what? Because Melo lit up Finley for about 4 possesions in a row! Wtf? Why change shit when it was working?

[Kori Ellis]

The West is too tight for "good" losses, IMO. But I don't think Pop hated losing that much.

[pjjrfan]

NO loss is a good loss. I thought this was bound to happen since Tony returned Pop has been messing with the lineup and this game was all about tinker tinker with the biggest blunder being putting Fin on Melo. But I think Pop salvaged what he could by sitting our big 3 out and letting them stew on the bench. This group which includes Bruce have won 3 titles so they know what it takes, that benching may help them remember how to get back to that winning mentality, because that was what that benching was all about, getting their heads right for the playoffs.

[tmtcsc]

The Spurs had the ugliest 11 game win streak I've ever seen. This loss was over due.
We've been getting away with playing less than good basketball. The only impressive wins in those 11 were against Cleveland and New Orleans. The New Orleans win was huge. Dallas ? We could have lost that game easily.

We need to tighten things up for the playoffs. That means Tony P needs to come to play every night and start running this offense better. We have looked horribly out of sync...even with the wins.

[honestfool84]

maybe "good" was the wrong word to use..
i mean to say that i think it might have been a timely loss..

does that make more sense than "good"?

[freemeat]

I kind of think of this loss like accidentally crapping your pants. I mean, it was good to get the doo doo out of your system, cause you're gonna have to do that at some point...but let's face it, there's poop in your shorts now.

[loveforthegame]

I think it showed that Pop needs to quit messing with the rotation and minutes. Quit jerking players from the starting lineup to the bench and vice-versa.

It showed that the Spurs cannot play bad defensively even when the offense isn't going smoothly. It works against lesser teams but not a team like Denver no matter what there record shows.

[hsxvvd]

The only way this is good, is that it gives them (pop included) the kick in the backside they need to wake up and get winning again.

[crc21209]

The things I saw from tonight's game that led to this shitty game were:

1. Pop FUCKED up big time by starting Finley instead of Ginobili in the 2nd half! WTF?! Ginobili was hot, I know he had 3 fouls but Manu, for the most part is a smart player and would've avoid the 4th. Finley went on to get lit up 4 or 5 possesions in a row by Melo which FUCKED UP THE WHOLE GAME FROM THERE. Parker on AI on Bowen on Melo was working, why fuck it up? You couldve let AI get his and take Melo outta the game, instead, they both fucked us.

2. Why not more Stoudamire and Thomas and less Oberto/Horry and Vaughn. Thomas seemed to play well in the 1st half and i couldve sworn i didnt see him in the 2nd half till garbage time. Vaughn=bricks, he pisses me off. Leave Stoudamire in.

3. Tony having an off night in every way. TO's, missed shots, not driving/being aggressive.

4. REFS. I'm getting pissed at seeing Timmy getting hacked every game and doesnt get many calls and yet we breathe on the opposing teams players and we get called. BULLSHIT

[loveforthegame]

If Pop was set on starting Finley he should have put him on Iverson. He was already going off so him scoring on Finley wouldn't be a huge deal because it would allow Bowen to stay on Melo and keep him quiet.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Given that a loss was coming, this is a good one to lose.

Wins @Phoenix and at home hosting the Nuggets would make up for it in my eyes.

[sprrs]

I actually liked seeing the Big 3 on the bench at the end...let them soak in the sour taste.

Agree. I think Pop was like, "if you're not going to give a crap about winning, I'm not either." Hopefully it motivates them.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

The good thing about this is the Spurs have 2 1-2 days to measure their mistakes against the same team on Monday.

Think of it as an 11-1 run. Now the onus is on the Spurs to win on Sunday, because they don't want to lose their edge in top seedings.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Agree. I think Pop was like, "if you're not going to give a crap about winning, I'm not either." Hopefully it motivates them.
I'm a little iffy when Pop pulls that "teach them a lesson" card.
I mean, couldn't he have waited one more minute to pull the starters?? Not really a fan of seeing the white flag.

I remember when Pop sent that message in the playoffs during the Utah series. Sure it was Utah, but I think it's risky to insist on pulling the "disappointment" card when wins are more valuable.
That said, it's still the regular season, so it was a good call.

[m33p0]

Agreed! I don't understand why Pop started Finley instead of Manu to begin the 2nd half? Experiment? Didnt want Manu getting into foul trouble? or what? Because Melo lit up Finley for about 4 possesions in a row! Wtf? Why change shit when it was working?
3 fouls along with Bowen.

Had Ime been able to hold his own against Anthony, i believe the outcome would have been different. Ime not only got himself abused by Anthony, he was also lost on the offense commiting a couple of quick turnovers that led to easy baskets.

[TDMVPDPOY]

from a vbookie POV? im pissd ass 58500 biashes down the drain

seriously i hope the nuggets/suns/mavs missed the damn playoffs

[m33p0]

from a vbookie POV? im pissd ass 58500 biashes down the drain

seriously i hope the nuggets/suns/mavs missed the damn playoffs
unfortunately, only one will miss the playoffs. had the trailblazers didn't peeter(?) off, we can hope for 2.

[WalterBenitez]

moral victories doesn't count, crappy lose. a "good" lose is to lose at last moment for 1 miracle shot, the rest is dissapointing, even POP was owned!

[Nikos]

No. Each loss sucks. I would rather the Spurs win as much as they can rather than lose or have a slightly less then perfect record going into the playoffs. I don't buy the argument of a team 'peaking too soon'.

[Bruno]

You can't win every game and this one was kinda logical to lose (b2b on the road).
This loss will help Pop to send some message to his players.
A little positive side effect for Spurs fan is that it makes Suns and Mavs fans sweating by letting Denver in the playoff race.

The negative side of this loss is that the West is tight and Spurs have a tough schedule.
Spurs will have 5 games against teams with >.600 record in the next 6 games. The last game of this stretch will be Spurs' 11th game in 17 days. :shootme
Spurs will need to have at least a 3-3 record on this stretch if they want to keep some tranquility for the rest of the regular season.

[dbestpro]

Where was Parker?

[SpurAddict561]

I kind of think of this loss like accidentally crapping your pants. I mean, it was good to get the doo doo out of your system, cause you're gonna have to do that at some point...but let's face it, there's poop in your shorts now.

lmaooooooooooooo

[xtremesteven33]

Udoka needs the doghouse....
Barry needs to start when he comes back...
Thomas needs to start....
Ginobili needs to come off the bench....
Finley needs to sub for Bowen.....

forumla for

Spurs vs Celtics-NBA FINALS

[Rick Von Braun]

The West is too tight for "good" losses, IMO. But I don't think Pop hated losing that much.

Pop thinks losses are the only way he can get a grip on the team... I think this is a bad coaching philosophy.

He did a horrible coaching job last night... so horrible that one has to think he did it on purpose. He put Finley on Melo at the beginning of the 3rd, benched Manu and later put Vaughn on Iverson. Are you fucking kidding me?!?! Start Manu and put him on Iverson, leave Bowen on Melo and tell TP to be aggressive. Not precisely rocket science. [For those justifying Pop with Manu's 3 fouls... hint.. hint... Melo also had 3 fouls].

The loss was no good. It was expected, but this is not a good loss.

Giving up on the game with 6 minutes to play in the fourth down 15 is also chicken shit. "I'll show a lesson to the team by benching Bowen, Duncan, Manu and Parker." or "I've given up on them, let's cut the losses early." BS.

Ride the fucking horses, replace Udoka with Thomas and/or Bonner, and leave TP, Manu, Bowen, TD, Thomas until the 3 minutes mark to see if they cut the difference. In three minutes they could have cut the lead to 7 and you have a ball game. If not, you replace them, but at least you give it a try. He did it on purpose so he can ride them for the Suns' game and get "control" of the team.

:pctoss

[cash459]

the Spurs fell apart in the second half.

And can someone plese tell me where TP was throughout the whole game!? :wtf

[remingtonbo2001]

Personally, I'd rather have the 2 or 3 seed than the 1 seed.

[slayermin]

No shame losing in Denver on a back to back. But damn, I wanted this win.

I would say it's a typical "spurs loss."

[Holt's Cat]

Did Pop use Thomas too little in this game? When he was on the court with TD and Manu the Spurs controlled the game and built leads.

[SequSpur]

Pop thinks losses are the only way he can get a grip on the team... I think this is a bad coaching philosophy.

He did a horrible coaching job last night... so horrible that one has to think he did it on purpose. He put Finley on Melo at the beginning of the 3rd, benched Manu and later put Vaughn on Iverson. Are you fucking kidding me?!?! Start Manu and put him on Iverson, leave Bowen on Melo and tell TP to be aggressive. Not precisely rocket science. [For those justifying Pop with Manu's 3 fouls... hint.. hint... Melo also had 3 fouls].

The loss was no good. It was expected, but this is not a good loss.

Giving up on the game with 6 minutes to play in the fourth down 15 is also chicken shit. "I'll show a lesson to the team by benching Bowen, Duncan, Manu and Parker." or "I've given up on them, let's cut the losses early." BS.

Ride the fucking horses, replace Udoka with Thomas and/or Bonner, and leave TP, Manu, Bowen, TD, Thomas until the 3 minutes mark to see if they cut the difference. In three minutes they could have cut the lead to 7 and you have a ball game. If not, you replace them, but at least you give it a try. He did it on purpose so he can ride them for the Suns' game and get "control" of the team.

:pctoss

Sup Rick! How ya been? Good take.

[nfg3]

Can't win them all and frankly we were due. And that was one of the weakest 11 game winning streaks I've ever seen. :spin Hopefully from the film session and team discussion things will get better. Losing games here and there don't bother me all that much but not learning or improving from them do. The rotation needs to be established so everyone will know what is expected from them every game. And that will probably take the return of Barry for that to happen, though. I know Pop has been experimenting with the tlineup - trying to integrate Damon and now KT into the team - but I believe we are entering the home stretch where order and consistently are a must.

I'm a little concerned about Horry. Even for him he's way off and just doesn't seem to be into the game at times. He's so inconsistent that it's painful to watch. I hope I'm wrong but so far it seems that he stayed one year too long. :depressed Maybe he'll come together come playoff time but...???

I believe that the Spurs will get this done but as a fan I will have to go thru the all the little tweaks neccessary to make that happen. I feel like I'm twisting in the wind at times. :bang

[WalterBenitez]

Where was Parker?

He stayed in the hotel with Mrs Parker :rolleyes

[Manudona]

The things I saw from tonight's game that led to this shitty game were:

1. Pop FUCKED up big time by starting Finley instead of Ginobili in the 2nd half! WTF?! Ginobili was hot, I know he had 3 fouls but Manu, for the most part is a smart player and would've avoid the 4th. Finley went on to get lit up 4 or 5 possesions in a row by Melo which FUCKED UP THE WHOLE GAME FROM THERE. Parker on AI on Bowen on Melo was working, why fuck it up? You couldve let AI get his and take Melo outta the game, instead, they both fucked us.

3. Tony having an off night in every way. TO's, missed shots, not driving/being aggressive.




I think those two points are contradictory, you need to make up your mind. Either Tony was having an off night in every way or he was having at least a good defensive game working on AI, I think the former is more accurate thou :D

[smeagol]

Pop thinks losses are the only way he can get a grip on the team... I think this is a bad coaching philosophy.

He did a horrible coaching job last night... so horrible that one has to think he did it on purpose. He put Finley on Melo at the beginning of the 3rd, benched Manu and later put Vaughn on Iverson. Are you fucking kidding me?!?! Start Manu and put him on Iverson, leave Bowen on Melo and tell TP to be aggressive. Not precisely rocket science. [For those justifying Pop with Manu's 3 fouls... hint.. hint... Melo also had 3 fouls].

The loss was no good. It was expected, but this is not a good loss.

Giving up on the game with 6 minutes to play in the fourth down 15 is also chicken shit. "I'll show a lesson to the team by benching Bowen, Duncan, Manu and Parker." or "I've given up on them, let's cut the losses early." BS.

Ride the fucking horses, replace Udoka with Thomas and/or Bonner, and leave TP, Manu, Bowen, TD, Thomas until the 3 minutes mark to see if they cut the difference. In three minutes they could have cut the lead to 7 and you have a ball game. If not, you replace them, but at least you give it a try. He did it on purpose so he can ride them for the Suns' game and get "control" of the team.

:pctoss

I cannot agree with you more. Pop wanted this loss.

[xamila rey]

after following the spurs for a while
anyone can tell that Pop wanted this lost for the way that he coached the second half of the game.

[Brutalis]

I kind of think of this loss like accidentally crapping your pants. I mean, it was good to get the doo doo out of your system, cause you're gonna have to do that at some point...but let's face it, there's poop in your shorts now.
:lol

[Brutalis]

the Spurs fell apart in the second half.

And can someone plese tell me where TP was throughout the whole game!? :wtf
When TP is off it looks like you just woke up, ran from lions, right into a bear, while falling in a snake pit. It's just really ugly and painful to watch.

[Brutalis]

after following the spurs for a while
anyone can tell that Pop wanted this lost for the way that he coached the second half of the game.
True... Pop used the reserves and they did to me a very decent job against Mavs starters ending the game. Maybe just a couple calls a different way, and a couple in and outs go in and they brought us back, then I bet Pop would have put in Tim or Manu.

[CaptainLate]

You can't win every game and this one was kinda logical to lose (b2b on the road)....Spurs will have 5 games against teams with >.600 record in the next 6 games. The last game of this stretch will be Spurs' 11th game in 17 days. :shootme

To hell with the NBA and :donkey Stern for sked all these damn b2b games. Doesn't that idiot know you put out an inferior product making great teams :sleep so they lose vs. inferior crap...Or is that the point?