Random thoughts following back-to-back losses in Utah and Portland ...

-I'm not a big fan of using fatigue as an excuse but anyone who watched these last two games can tell the Spurs are tired. Looking at the schedule, it's not difficult to see why. They had a 5-games-in-7-days stretch, had a couple days off and then another 5GI7D stretch. The schedule stays tough for the next three games but then it starts to lighten up. The reward for this rocky early schedule is that the month of March is basically one giant homestand.

-The Spurs are really missing their small forwards right now. They were able to smoke and mirror it for a while but there's a reason why NBA teams have small forwards. Let's hope Kawhi or Jack can return soon.

-Diaw and Blair are both broken right now. Diaw seems to be out of sorts mentally; he's antsy when he gets the ball and is making strange decisions. Blair's problem is physical. He literally can't jump right now. He pulled down a few flat-footed rebounds against the Blazers. I'm really surprised the Spurs are letting him play.

-It'd be nice to get Mills' scoring on the court but he can't play point guard on either end of the court. Offensively, he just doesn't any passing instincts. Defensively, while he's extremely fast endline to endline, he's not very quick on his toes and as a result he gets burned more often than not when he attempts to apply extra pressure. I'd rate Neal as the better defender, and that's not exactly a high bar. That said, his scoring is potentially valuable enough that Pop should still try to give him a few more chances of making the rotation.

-Despite the losses, I see no reason to worry. The team is tired and Pop is tinkering with his rotations. That combination of factors makes it difficult to win, yet the Spurs have battled back in these last two games and could have easily been 1-1 or even 2-0. TD and TP look like they are capable of playing at high levels. Manu is showing flashes of brilliance ... and even when his play is herky-jerky, he's still producing. The role players are sputtering a bit right now but there is enough depth that Pop will be able to eventually carve out a rotation. Add back in the SFs and the Spurs are still on the same trajectory that they were before this two-game hiccup. Obviously the Spurs aren't championship favorites or anything like that but they are what they were a couple days ago.

Houston:? Isn't Utah?

Makes the wins all the more savorfull.

Timvp, it's 'following back-to-back losses in Utah and Portland ...' I guess.

As for the Portland game, Pop should have rested his players, even if he had to sub them out in the first minute to make Stern happy. These games prove nothing and it was always going to be tough to get the win no matter who played. I'd rather watch Splitter getting 40 mins a game than a the tired Duncan version from the second half.

GNSF hero timvp trying to calm down the masses tbh per par
spurs are done
trade duncan to a contender like the clippers so he can end his career with talented monkeyball players the front office refused to surround him with and prepare for the future

Not worried right now because it's December, and the guys that got hurt are not Tim or Manu. Plus both of these game were winnable, and I suspect having Khawi and Jack (if only to give the team some rest) would've been enough to win them.

I like that this team can still bang and play some D, especially when Tim is out there. I just hope that both of our wings being out doesn't wear Tim too much with the extra work.

Ultimately, my concern is the same as when the season started. Spurs need to replace the turd towers with another legit big. There's still time for trades to happen, so not sweating it right now.

:lol Even I can't keep this ish straight with all the games they've played lately.

I'm more and more thinking Pop should give the backup PG permanently to Joseph. He is the only Spur with all the tools to be a good in that role. He might not be ready right now but he will grow by getting a consistent role and consistent playing time. In 30/40 games, Spurs have a good chance of having a nice backup PG.

I haven't researched the exact overall numbers, but the Spurs are now +38 with the Duncan/Splitter frontcourt..this number may be hollow, I haven't looked at the quality of opponents, etc, but it's encouraging that they are more cohesive than last year, and that Pop seems more willing to build chemistry between them(presumably for the long run)..

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Originally Posted by Malik Hairston

I haven't researched the exact overall numbers, but the Spurs are now +38 with the Duncan/Splitter frontcourt..this number may be hollow, I haven't looked at the quality of opponents, etc, but it's encouraging that they are more cohesive than last year, and that Pop seems more willing to build chemistry between them(presumably for the long run)..

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Is it because Pop wants to build chemistry between Splitter and Duncan or because Diaw has been worse than awful lately and nowhere near his last season's form?

0-2 since The Thread tbh.

Still, neither loss was particularly worrisome. Flukey stuff happens over an 82 game season. Mo Williams hitting game winners and JJ Hickson mastering the skyhook fit the flukey classification.

Spurs caught some breaks early in the year and now it's starting to even out. Rather they hit the lulls now rather than later.

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Originally Posted by Malik Hairston

I haven't researched the exact overall numbers, but the Spurs are now +38 with the Duncan/Splitter frontcourt..this number may be hollow, I haven't looked at the quality of opponents, etc, but it's encouraging that they are more cohesive than last year, and that Pop seems more willing to build chemistry between them(presumably for the long run)..

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Doubt it, Pop is avoiding to play them together as long as he can, Pop just uses Splitter/Duncan when there is nothing more to do. But i hope he proves me wrong and start Splitter next.

Patty Mills' defense is so bad, I'm trying to think of the last Spur not named Bonner who was this bad. Chris Quinn? Blake Ahearn? Richard Jeff...yeah, him.

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Originally Posted by Bruno

I'm more and more thinking Pop should give the backup PG permanently to Joseph. He is the only Spur with all the tools to be a good in that role. He might not be ready right now but he will grow by getting a consistent role and consistent playing time. In 30/40 games, Spurs have a good chance of having a nice backup PG.

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I'm surprised Joseph hasn't gotten a legit chance at winning that job. Especially with the other candidates not exactly tearing it up. De Colo shows some Beno tendencies when he's pressured. Mills just isn't a PG. Neal is a liiiiittle bit more of a PG than Mills but it's painfully obvious that he's better at SG.

I'm guessing Neal will still win out when all is said and done but, man, Joseph being able to dribble, pass and play D is enticing giving the alternatives.

Unfortunately, Pop is showing his recent roots by preferring scorers at that position, even if they can't pass, run the offense or play defense. If it keeps up, Patty will play himself out of his minutes.

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Originally Posted by timvp

I'm guessing Neal will still win out when all is said and done but, man, Joseph being able to dribble, pass and play D is enticing giving the alternatives.

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And whenever he is on the court Joseph should be paired with a creative SG (Nando or Manu). It could work a lot like the Hill/Ginobili backup backcourt that was great 2-3 years ago.

I don't see nando as a SG

Anyone knows why Pop did not use Anderson in portland game?

I mean really with the schedule

18-6 after a brutal schedule reminiscent of last season's and a team that's not fully healthy?

The Spurs will pick it up by the RRT.

We have no backup PG and are technically 2 strong with bigs and one of those is relatively unproven. I would not be surprised to see a trade for one or both needs. But those players have to be just right or the spurs will stand pat. Team as it is is two moves from a title in my opionion. We are better defensively. But we are not fully balanced.

Patty got burned on defence tonight by lillard, but so did TP

Patty doesnt play defense
just an illusion since he moves around a lot
his defense around picks is terrible, probably the worst on the team filled with guys who cant move around screens
he usually goes underneath the screen even if the PG is a great shooter then trips over himself trying to fight through it once the PG is set and gets a clean look off

We played two teams on a b2b which both had 2 nights off before ... Utah is a tough place with the way the refs call the game there and the Spurs always struggle in Portland ... still we were close to winning both games. Not the time to push a panic button, but I also think a decision with Blair und with backup PG position must be made ...

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Originally Posted by timvp

The reward for this rocky early schedule is that the month of March is basically one giant homestand.

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Yep. As I noted in another thread, the Spurs only leave the state of Texas once between February 25 and March 31, and that's to play the 2nd night of a back-to-back in Minneapolis on March 12. The only other road game in that span is at Houston. And since the league generally doesn't schedule teams (in normal years and circumstances) to play home back-to-backs, a whole bunch of home games in a row means few back-to-backs. Once the RRT ends on 2/24 in Phoenix, the Spurs have only 4 back-to-backs in their last 24 games and only 1 stretch of 4 games in 5 nights (March 31-April 4). Of course, that 4 in 5 is brutal, per par -- v. MIA, @ MEM, v. ORL, @ OKC.

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Originally Posted by timvp

-It'd be nice to get Mills' scoring on the court but he can't play point guard on either end of the court. Offensively, he just doesn't any passing instincts. Defensively, while he's extremely fast endline to endline, he's not very quick on his toes and as a result he gets burned more often than not when he attempts to apply extra pressure.

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Even as a Patty fan, I'm not defending his play making abilities (they're terrible), but I completely disagree with your expectation of him. Mills' role on the court these last few games hasn't been that of the play maker. Pop usually either plays Mills with De Colo or Ginobili, and they play the role of the play maker, which allows Mills to act as the scorer. I've found that the bench have outplayed the starters the last few games (in terms of +/- efficiency), so the way in which Pop has used Patty seems to be effective enough for him to keep using it.

At least the Boston Celtics will not be fresh either as they also play tonight in Houston before coming to SA on Saturday

NBA
San Antonio Spurs vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Postgame Grades and Analysis



http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...nalysis/page/8

Agree or disagree?

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Originally Posted by Boomersgold

Agree or disagree?

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Were Aldrige and Hickson really that good?

We have a huge hole at SF right now and our game to win was the Utah game. Not really gripping...

No worries... back to back road games in December..

Not worried AT ALL. We came into these 2 losses with the best record in the league. Tim & Tony are looking like monsters, Manu is working himself back into shape still & we are still missing our defensive stud and Jack. The Utah game we lost with a 3 pointer by mo Williams @ the buzzer and then had a back to back @ Portland where we find it hard to win anyway. Once we make it through these tough stretches we'll be alright. The highlight of all this mess is like what you said, we get pretty much a home stand in March. We're finishing with a top 3 seed.

Can't believe anyone would worry. Even the best teams in NBA history have lost two games in a row. Especially on a long and wearisome road trip. No big deal and should be expected.

I've watched 100's of spurs games and somehow i've never been more disgusted with a particular game then i was with that one. (@ Portland, though blowing an 8 point lead with the 2nd best offensive team in 3 minutes in pretty bad)

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Originally Posted by cd98

Can't believe anyone would worry. Even the best teams in NBA history have lost two games in a row. Especially on a long and wearisome road trip. No big deal and should be expected.

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I agree. Those two losses are meaningless, except fans don't like to lose games.

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Originally Posted by DMC

I agree. Those two losses are meaningless, except fans don't like to lose games.

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I somehow get the feeling the Spurs manage to play low-scoring yet more interesting games against good teams (or teams perceived as good, see the Lakers) this season.

OTOH against fringe playoff teams like Utah or Portland they manage to beat the Spurs... just when they're dead tired on the tail end of a back-to-back that's the end of a four-game road trip in all four American time zones. OKC has had only 8 road games and no real road trips to worry about, same with Memphis.

That's why I think Golden State's 15-7 start has been pretty impressive.

Utah is good at home, the Spurs were still close (without Jack and Kawhi).
In Portland, Parker and specially Duncan were tired. No other player stepped up. Manu and Diaw were throwing passes to the stands. Like 20 TO's and was still close.

The Spurs left various sharpshooters wide open on the perimeter.

The only thought that I can have is that Blair is completely worthless, offensively and defensively.

It was a nightmare to watch him trying to guard Aldridge and he adds nothing offensively. Not a slightly improvement since his rookie year. Without Kawhi and Jack, Pop should really consider play BIG with Diaw/Splitter/Timmy. Neal is better off the bench and Blair is worthless.

I completely agree that the Spurs are really feeling the effects of not having SJax and Leonard. I've been surprised that the team has played as well as it has without those two, tbh. These last two games would have been wins, and we'll defiintely miss them against OKC. I can't see us defending those guys without our wings. Hopefully they're back soon.

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...82199593_n.jpg

And Splitter can pass, btw. Pop has to unleash him.

considering the losses so far were all games the spurs were still in it till the final minute...

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Originally Posted by Bruno

I'm more and more thinking Pop should give the backup PG permanently to Joseph. He is the only Spur with all the tools to be a good in that role. He might not be ready right now but he will grow by getting a consistent role and consistent playing time. In 30/40 games, Spurs have a good chance of having a nice backup PG.

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Before the season started I was very interested in Joseph getting a shot at earning the job because of his defense. The fact that he can also dribble the ball and play PG is a bonus for me. I don't think we need the backup PG to be a scorer at all. If we really, really need offense in a specific game then Pop can run Gary at PG every now and then, more as a part time thing though. He shouldn't do it on a full time basis.

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

considering the losses so far were all games the spurs were still in it till the final minute...

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only one blowout at Staples vs. the Clips ... but as you said that the promising part about the losses ... but that was also the case in the WCF in games 4-6 ...

A losing streak can be a good thing if it wakes up the Spurs front office to make an upgrade on the frontline. This team is going no where in the playoffs as it is constructed. It is the same team as last year.

Last second wins and overtime game wins like the Spurs were putting up just hides the realization that they still need to strengthen the frontline if they have any hopes to go far in the playoffs.

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

considering the losses so far were all games the spurs were still in it till the final minute...

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The Spurs have won more games in the last minute than they have lost.

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Originally Posted by rascal

The Spurs have won more games in the last minute than they have lost.

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I didn't think it was a great decision by Pop to keep going to the starters when he obviously knew that they were fatigued. The starters would start by giving the other team the lead, the bench would then tie it up only for the starters to come back in the fourth and lose the game.

We are all just spoiled to be complaining at all. 18-6. No Kahwi no Jack, clearly tired. I think for the most part the D made both teams take the shots they wanted them to take unfortunetly they hit them. We never win in portland so who cares. The jazz had revenge to motivate and it still took a fluke for them to win. We played like dogshit last night, portland played over their head and we still had a shot. No worries Splitter is finally coming around and Timmy found the fountain of youth. Go Spurs!

Also did anyone consider they're probably get a little bored with the reg season and are no where near where they're going to be in march, april.

I was also thinking along those same lines. As for this most recent road game, I thought Pop would have tried giving Cory a run at trying to slow down Blazers rookie phemon PG, Damion Lillard. After all, nobody else on the Spurs was capable of slowing that kid down.

Duncan, Parker and Splitter are playing like bosses, so I'm not worried. Manu is cruising, but he'll pick it up after the all-star break. Everyone else has time to get healthy, be it physically or mentally (looking at you Diaw).

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Originally Posted by cd021

I've watched 100's of spurs games and somehow i've never been more disgusted with a particular game then i was with that one. (@ Portland, though blowing an 8 point lead with the 2nd best offensive team in 3 minutes in pretty bad)

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You have a memory problem.

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Originally Posted by timvp

I'm surprised Joseph hasn't gotten a legit chance at winning that job. Especially with the other candidates not exactly tearing it up. De Colo shows some Beno tendencies when he's pressured. Mills just isn't a PG. Neal is a liiiiittle bit more of a PG than Mills but it's painfully obvious that he's better at SG.

I'm guessing Neal will still win out when all is said and done but, man, Joseph being able to dribble, pass and play D is enticing giving the alternatives.

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Yeah I take my claim that his ability to protect the ball and handling ability were so un-Beno like a couple games ago. He seems tentative. CoJo deserves a turn.

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Originally Posted by will_spurs

You have a memory problem.

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My memories fine, I really thought it was one of the worst games i've seen including blowout losses. We turned the ball over 19 times and looked completely lost defensively at times. Maybe i'm still upset about the UTAH game.

Hi.

IT'S THE REGULAR SEASON.

Bye for now.