Watching Tim in that 4th quarter was beyond depressing...

[TDfan2007]

having to watch a guy who used to tear the Lakers apart sputter on layups and easy shots ONCE AGAIN was about the most deflating experience I've had as a Spurs since the 02 series against the Lakers.

And by deflating I mean just a feeling of hopelessness. He just completely ran out of gas. It just seems like he can't consistently score anymore like he used to and oddly enough it's not as much due to his loss of a "step," but rather the fact that he falls into funks where he can't hit shit around the basket. I want the old Tim (hell, even last year's Tim) back for game 5, but my gut tells me that these guys have just given it their all and are completely out of gas.

And before I get flamed, I'm not blaming this loss on Tim. Teams lose in the NBA, not players.

[KB24 MVP]

no it wasnt it felt good we got game 4 and will close u out Thursday night =)

[baseline bum]

Tim played 45 minutes. It's unreasonable to expect Tim to basically play an entire playoff game with no rest like he was 23.

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

10-26 against pau gasol is not going to get it done

[TDfan2007]

10-26 against pau gasol is not going to get it done

My thoughts exactly. I really wanted to see him get a shot to tie it but for whatever reason Pop decided against OT at HOME (wtf?) and went for the win. Stupid.

[jbspurs]

no it wasnt it felt good we got game 4 and will close u out Thursday night =)

good luck!!

[polandprzem]

Tim wanted it so bad

Now a loss to the biggest rival Lakers, and Lakers are easier to play against then NO were.
But things went not right.

Fucking turnovers all night long killed the spurs.
Nobody was able to rebound the ball.
Tim was left alone tonight - only Barry was contributing.

Too less ball movenment.

Depressing how it ended.
It ended in the worst scenario possible - letting game one slip away, being demolished in game two, get a hope in game 3 then losing a close game being behind a chasing all night long. Lakers broke the spurs and we are talking about end of the spurs.
Even Suns are in better position in ttwo years from now.

Gino will be slower, Tim could be shut down.

You got LA, NO, PTB and even Houston which can rise next season.
Spurs only can get Splitter or Mahinmi and that's it. No fresh legs, no athleticism on permieter.
I think that's it.
Kobe will drop now 46 pts.- he looked determined after the game. So the fuckers won with spurs. Nightmare.
\

Ps.Sory for not keeping the post in the topic

[T Park]

Tim literally laid it all on the floor.

He gets obvious partial to very small amount of blame for the loss, but still, 45 minutes, after all the years hes played, its just hard to fault the guy for running out of gas.

[td4mvp21]

He was exhausted. Pop should have managed his minutes a little better-there wasn't a whole lot he could have done but Tim needed a rest before the fourth quarter.

[td4mvp21]

I'm not mad at Tim. I'm disappointed but I could never be truly mad at him. He was trying hard out there.

[E20]

Tim's numbers show a stellar game, but throughout the game it didn't feel as if Tim was dominating, I felt that he was falling back way too much on his attempts inside the basket rather than barging in or attacking head strong, but this loss is not on Tim at all, but moreso on Ginobili and to some extent why Pop didn't play Barry for 48 minutes. For this series the Big 3 ALL need to show up, TP and TD have done that, but Manu is TOO inconsistent.

[Budkin]

Timmy gets a free pass forever.

[Ghazi]

It feels like the Spurs window has closed with this loss. but for some reason, I refuse to count the champs out. they will need to find a second wind, and play out of their minds to win this series. they will have to abandon their habit of offensive droughts, and the big 3 will have to string together 3 straight great games. they will also have to hit the 3-BALL at a high rate as well. Difficult, EXTREMELY difficult, but not impossible. I do feel that if they do not win it all this year that they will be unable to win a title again in the Duncan era, barring FO brilliance and massive roster overhaul.

Duncan is a warrior, nobody should ever be mad at him ever (Spurs fans atleast). At some point, EVERYONE loses a step in their career. Duncan is a human, after all.

He tried tonight, he just had trouble around the rim. how great is a player though that he can end up with a 29/17/3/3/3 statline and it still didn't feel like he had a great game? I guess the 10-26 is the bad stat, though.

[NewJerSpur]

Tim gets swarmed by 3/4 defenders (not exaggerating) when he hits the lane and none of the other players have bothered to help after his shots on the offensive boards. It's a TEAM effort. If Tim's going to still draw that much attention after so many years of wear-and-tear, someone's got to be on the other side of the rim to cash in when he comes up a little short.

[jackseven]

Tim Duncan had nothing left and gave all he could. TTM were so visibly tired this game it was unreal.

This wasn't on Tim and it wasn't on Pop for overplaying him. This was on the playoffs for being hard.

[LakersMark]

having to watch a guy who used to tear the Lakers apart sputter on layups and easy shots ONCE AGAIN was about the most deflating experience I've had as a Spurs since the 02 series against the Lakers.

And by deflating I mean just a feeling of hopelessness. He just completely ran out of gas. It just seems like he can't consistently score anymore like he used to and oddly enough it's not as much due to his loss of a "step," but rather the fact that he falls into funks where he can't hit shit around the basket. I want the old Tim (hell, even last year's Tim) back for game 5, but my gut tells me that these guys have just given it their all and are completely out of gas.

And before I get flamed, I'm not blaming this loss on Tim. Teams lose in the NBA, not players.

The Guy has brought you 4 championships and you had won how many before he came? Players age Jordan did Shaq has Duncan will and Kobe will too reality check due for desperate SA fan. Your loss our gain.

[timvp]

Tim did all he could. Defensively he was really good. Offensively he shot a lot of good shots. The effort was definitely there.

He ran out of gas on this night. Even when the tank was on E, he kept coming up with big plays. Didn't shoot well but Duncan was far being one of the main problems.

[dbreiden83080]

Tim has had a good series but he just ran out of gas tonight. He is not missing those shots in the 4th if he is fresher. He is 32, i feel still in his prime but you can't really play any big man that many min and expect the tank to not go on empty. This series is about Manu, if he played anything like he can we are up 3-1 right now.

[dbreiden83080]

Tim literally laid it all on the floor.

He gets obvious partial to very small amount of blame for the loss, but still, 45 minutes, after all the years hes played, its just hard to fault the guy for running out of gas.

100% agree. He was playing well through 3, but 45 min is too much for him at 32 with all the miles on the tires. Timmy tried his best.

[Spurs1234]

You guys are nuts, duncan was the man tonight, it was pretty obvious he was not going to score alot in the 4th, he never got any rest, but he stayed in anyways and got all the big rebounds and hit his few free throws. He was the anchor down low and had great numbers and def. played better than gasol...it comes down to manu, he stunk, its not a surprise, he showed up in one game this series of the 4, and they won that game...duncan can't do it by himself.

[dbreiden83080]

Tim did all he could. Defensively he was really good. Offensively he shot a lot of good shots. The effort was definitely there.

He ran out of gas on this night. Even when the tank was on E, he kept coming up with big plays. Didn't shoot well but Duncan was far being one of the main problems.

Exactly, #21 gave all he had out there tonight. I could see it in the 4th he just had no lift and it reminded me of 2006 mavs game 7, he was just out of juice in that OT.

[dbreiden83080]

You guys are nuts, duncan was the man tonight, it was pretty obvious he was not going to score alot in the 4th, he never got any rest, but he stayed in anyways and got all the big rebounds and hit his few free throws. He was the anchor down low and had great numbers and def. played better than gasol...it comes down to manu, he stunk, its not a surprise, he showed up in one game this series of the 4, and they won that game...duncan can't do it by himself.

Nope Timmy can't do it all, this to me comes down to a injured Manu not being able to play like he can.

[T Park]

Tim did all he could. Defensively he was really good. Offensively he shot a lot of good shots. The effort was definitely there.

He ran out of gas on this night. Even when the tank was on E, he kept coming up with big plays. Didn't shoot well but Duncan was far being one of the main problems.

Yeah, hopefully Duncan can have something left for game 5, but I felt bad for Tim out there. You could see him demanding the ball and going for it, but just couldn't get the results.

[MannyIsGod]

Tim was out of gas at the start of the fourth yet came up with a ton of great plays through to the end.

The man deserves a ton of credit.

[bobbyjoe]

Its on Popovich. You cant not give Ducnan any rest between the mid third Q to end of game. He has to get a minute or 2 of rest to rejuvenate.

Pop coached like he was down 12-14 pts instead of 4-6 most of the 2nd hafl...

[timmydidit]

the guy got 29 points what more do you people want... sheesh

[dbreiden83080]

Its on Popovich. You cant not give Ducnan any rest between the mid third Q to end of game. He has to get a minute or 2 of rest to rejuvenate.

Pop coached like he was down 12-14 pts instead of 4-6 most of the 2nd hafl...

Agreed your 6'11 32 year old Big man with lots of miles on the tires needed a blow POP.

[TDfan2007]

Yeah, hopefully Duncan can have something left for game 5, but I felt bad for Tim out there. You could see him demanding the ball and going for it, but just couldn't get the results.

That's what was so depressing. Shades of game 7 OT against Dallas in 2006. I loved the fire that he played with and I loved the defense. I just couldn't believe he missed so many bunnies in the 4th. He just had nothing left but still kept trying because he knew that aside from Brent, the rest of the guys had pretty much already packed their bags for LA.

Again, I'm not mad at Tim and I don't think anybody is. It was just really deflating to have to watch him wear out like that in the biggest game of our season.

[DarrinS]

I thought it was more depressing waiting for Manu to join the game. Damn.

[T Park]

Agreed your 6'11 32 year old Big man with lots of miles on the tires needed a blow POP.

and play who instead, matt Bonner?

He couldn't afford to take him out. Period.

[T Park]

I thought it was more depressing waiting for Manu to join the game. Damn.

God, you and me both...

[TDMVPDPOY]

it wouldve helped his game had ginoboli or the lame bench contributed instead of a have a mass orgy taking a shit together

[TDfan2007]

I thought it was more depressing waiting for Manu to join the game. Damn.

I didn't even notice that he was on the court half the time that he was playing so I can't agree with you there. I just sprained my ankle, which isn't even as painful as a jammed ankle, so I feel for him. It is SUPER painful to make sharp changes in direction (Manu's MO) when your ankle is like that.

Manu was taken out by great closeouts, he never had a chance to breathe that game.

[2centsworth]

Tim was gassed, end of Story. Dude was a warrior on the boards, but just didn't seem to have the energy on the offensive end. Same with Tony to an extent.

[T Park]

If Duncan would've gotten ANY help on the boards tonight, Spurs win easily.

[TDfan2007]

and play who instead, matt Bonner?

He couldn't afford to take him out. Period.

exactly. Pop was forced to play Tim because no other big man wanted any part of tonight's game. If I was Tim I'd be really dissapointed with everyone but Tony and Brent. However, with Tim being the way he is, he's probably putting the blame for this game on his shoulders and beating himself up about it. That's fine to me, if it means a monster game 5 :)

[TDfan2007]

If Duncan would've gotten ANY help on the boards tonight, Spurs win easily.

Exactly. I don't get guys like AHF trying to blame Pop, or Sequ trying to blame Manu. If we rebound then we win this game. All of our bigs outside of Tim need to go on some sort of permanent vacation this offseason...

[pad300]

If Duncan would've gotten ANY help on the boards tonight, Spurs win easily.


Agreed

Brent Barry was our 2nd best REBOUNDER tonight. As well as awesome on the offensive end...

Playing small ball really blows goats. Having Tim do all the heavy lifting as far as big man work goes, while playing 45 minutes? Of course he's going to be f'ing gassed...

[Spurtacus]

I still respect what Timmy did tonight. I wish Pop had taken him out to rest prior to the 4th. It would have been a gamble, but it may have payed off down the stretch.

[YellowFever]

Duncan was awesome tonight.

Yeah he struggled in the fourth and you can't even blame pop for that.

The Lakers have a much better bench.

Most likely if Duncan took a rest, the game would have been out of the Spurs reach anyways by the time he came back.

This is what deeper and better teams do to teams with a short bench.

No rubbing it in, no boasting, the Lakers are just a better 12.

If it was just the first five or six, I might give you guys the edge but it doesn't work that way in the NBA.

[TDMVPDPOY]

the next game, should just keep on attkn the rim

[jackseven]

That's what was so depressing. Shades of game 7 OT against Dallas in 2006. I loved the fire that he played with and I loved the defense. I just couldn't believe he missed so many bunnies in the 4th. He just had nothing left but still kept trying because he knew that aside from Brent, the rest of the guys had pretty much already packed their bags for LA.

Again, I'm not mad at Tim and I don't think anybody is. It was just really deflating to have to watch him wear out like that in the biggest game of our season.


Ok is bunnies the new official fad word for 2008? I had never heard of it until Rasheed talked about it earlier in the playoffs. Then Kobe copied him and said it after game 3. Now it's been incorporated in this post.

Who started saying bunnies instead of close shots?

[Anti.Hero]

He's past his prime. That is pretty apparent.

[SRJ]

And also, a lot of those so-called bunnies were taken through heavy contact. If tonight's game was being called by the book, you could call a playoff foul on almost every possession by both teams. Tim was being swarmed and hit often - which make sense, because Manu can't give us anything and they've designed a great anti-Tony scheme. They're better at keeping Tony out of the lane than the Hornets were.

[stealth21]

no it wasnt it felt good we got game 4 and will close u out Thursday night =)

Just make sure and show your lame ass here if the Spurs creep up and win the next two.

Or you could be a typical puss laker fan and disappear.

[aka_USAPA]

Simply put, Sasha has Manu's number in this series.

[jman3000]

speaking of tim... did anyone catch how pissed he was at the coaching staff for yanking him before the end of the half? i believe they missed a freethrow and got the rebound back and kobe hit a shot with about 1 second to go.

i remember looking at the jumbotron and reading his lips as saying "why the fuck did y'all sub me?" at coach bud.

[SouthernFried]

29 points
17 boards

Timmy was awesome. Practically matched his 22 points and 21 boards the previous game...which everyone was saying was one of his best performances ever.

Yah...the dude is way past his prime.

One of the stupidest goddamn threads ever.

[DazedAndConfused]

If Pau Gasol has taught you anything, if you put up weak shit you're not going to get calls. Doesn't matter if you got fouled or not.

The fact is Duncan was gassed and was repeatedly putting up weak shit at the basket. Doesn't matter if he got hacked, he wasn't taking it to the rim with aggression and therefore did not get any whistles.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

29 points
17 boards

Timmy was awesome. Practically matched his 22 points and 21 boards the previous game...which everyone was saying was one of his best performances ever.

Yah...the dude is way past his prime.

One of the stupidest goddamn threads ever.

Timmy wasn't going to do it all by himself. Pop kept calling a shitty offense as well. Forced it through Timmy, etc.

[SRJ]

Timmy wasn't going to do it all by himself. Pop kept calling a shitty offense as well. Forced it through Timmy, etc.

You saw the game - was there another viable option? Manu can't play his game, he's hurt. They've got Tony Parker under house arrest. Tim's the only person we've got right now capable of creating anything.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

You saw the game - was there another viable option? Manu can't play his game, he's hurt. They've got Tony Parker under house arrest. Tim's the only person we've got right now capable of creating anything.

More motion maybe earlier on in the game would have put us over the hump. We only had our comeback in the 4th, when they started to mix it up and help Timmy out.

[aka_USAPA]

You saw the game - was there another viable option? Manu can't play his game, he's hurt. They've got Tony Parker under house arrest. Tim's the only person we've got right now capable of creating anything.

Again, if Manu is hurt, then don't play. If he plays, don't make being hurt an excuse for incompetence.

[SRJ]

More motion maybe earlier on in the game would have put us over the hump. We only had our comeback in the 4th, when they started to mix it up and help Timmy out.

That's not on Pop - it's on the players.

For years, Tim would pass it out of the post and 2 or 3 passes later we'd get an open shooter out of it. Lately, the ball comes out of the post and it stops. No more passes. The execution just hasn't been as sharp.

[SRJ]

Again, if Manu is hurt, then don't play. If he plays, don't make being hurt an excuse for incompetence.

Single-cell analysis.

[aka_USAPA]

Timmie won't shoot as well from the line as well as he did in Game 5. Book it.

[aka_USAPA]

Single-cell analysis.

Kobe is playing with a broken pinkie that has his medical staff suggesting/demanding surgery. Nobody blamed it on that when the Lakers lost Game 3. At least not from this Laker fan.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

That's not on Pop - it's on the players.

For years, Tim would pass it out of the post and 2 or 3 passes later we'd get an open shooter out of it. Lately, the ball comes out of the post and it stops. No more passes. The execution just hasn't been as sharp.
True, but it's kind of predictable, Phil knows how to counter Timmy passing out of a double team.

Phil Jackson knows how to make due with his crap. I'm sure our squad has a certain level that they've yet to play up to, in terms of shooters.

Anyway, there were a lot of controllable mistakes from all our players that made Timmy work even harder to carry us...:depressed

[SouthTexasRancher]

Simply put, Sasha has Manu's number in this series.

Is everyone from LA this dumb? Jay Leno has a never ending supply of really, really ignorant people to ask questions when he goes out on the streets of LaLaLand. I am still waiting to see if anyone from California even has an IQ. Sheeeeeesh, start watching the game and have yo' momma read you Basketball For Dummies!!! Put a healthy Sasha up against a healthy Manu and Sasha would be eating dirt and dust. Your silly statement would be like a Spurs fan saying Bowen has Kobe's number. Get a life, kid!!! :ihit

[mVp]

Pop was forced to play him almost the entire game, otherwise we would've lost by 20...

That's not Pop's fault... that's on the guys who were on the court when Tim was taking a breather.

Tim showed up huge, and so did Brent, and Tony for moments... mad props for them.

[SRJ]

Kobe is playing with a broken pinkie that has his medical staff suggesting/demanding surgery. Nobody blamed it on that when the Lakers lost Game 3. At least not from this Laker fan.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Your analysis comes with emotionally loaded terms like "blame" and "excuses". I look for "reasons".

For example, it's not an "excuse" to say that Karl Malone's knee injury was a blow to the Lakers' pursuit of the 2004 championship. Instead, I think losing him may have been the most significant "reason" they didn't win.

But you and others like you adopt the language of the athlete as though you are involved somehow. Well, apart from yelling things at opposing FTs at Staples, you have nothing at all to do with the final score. Therefore, it's better to look for "factors" and "reasons" behind the outcomes of games. Otherwise, when you "blame" a particular player for this or that, it sounds like you're putting yourself on the roster and making it clear that you had nothing to do with the loss. (In a sense, you're right)

[Lakers14Titles]

Is everyone from LA this dumb? Jay Leno has a never ending supply of really, really ignorant people to ask questions when he goes out on the streets of LaLaLand. I am still waiting to see if anyone from California even has an IQ. Sheeeeeesh, start watching the game and have yo' momma read you Basketball For Dummies!!! Put a healthy Sasha up against a healthy Manu and Sasha would be eating dirt and dust. Your silly statement would be like a Spurs fan saying Bowen has Kobe's number. Get a life, kid!!! :ihit

God damn man, go get a fucking tissue already and wipe your nose.

Stop crying on your keyboard already pussbag.

[SouthTexasRancher]

God damn man, go get a fucking tissue already and wipe your nose.

Stop crying on your keyboard already pussbag.

I rest my case! What idiot's you people are! Must be the smog you inhale!

G'nite kid...

[Lakers14Titles]

I rest my case! What idiot's you people are! Must be the smog you inhale!

G'nite kid...

Ironic that a guy calling someone else an idiot, can't even use proper punctuation. Dipshit, maybe you should inhale some smog, because you're pretty fucking stupid without it.

Go back to your tinker toys and get some real game.

[SRJ]

Ironic that a guy calling someone else an idiot, can't even use proper punctuation.

Self-ownage :lol

[SouthTexasRancher]

tinker toys???


LMAO!!! I'm posting to some kid in pre-school. Does your mommy make you take your blanket to school?

What a waste of my time. I'm going to bed...!

[Joe Dodger]

Tim literally laid it all on the floor.

He gets obvious partial to very small amount of blame for the loss, but still, 45 minutes, after all the years hes played, its just hard to fault the guy for running out of gas.

Do you know what "literally" means?

Are you saying he physically laid down on the floor? Otherwise, he didn't literally lay it all out on the floor. It's a figurative saying. :ihit

[Lakers14Titles]

LMAO!!! I'm posting to some kid in pre-school. Does your mommy make you take your blanket to school?

What a waste of my time. I'm going to bed...!

We already used up the mommy jokes. Go for something new there Einstein.

[dav4463]

Timmy gets a free pass forever.

Absolutely agree!