Popovich concerned by Spurs inability to score more???

"Monday, Jan 7, 2008 1:39 pm EST
Gregg Popovich has been troubled by the San Antonio Spurs' recent inability to put the ball in the basket. Sunday's 88-82 victory over the Clippers marked the third time in six games that the Spurs have failed to score at least 90 points. They went 3-3 in those games, despite holding opponents to a league-best 85 points per game over that span.

"We haven't generated much offense," Popovich said. "The defense is good. We just can't put it in the hole at the other end."

After averaging 100 points over the first 21 games of the season, the Spurs have surpassed the century mark just twice in the past 11 contests.

Source: San Antonio Express-News"

THE REASON WHY WE ARE NOT SCORING IS BECAUSE POP PUT TIMMY IN THE CENTER POSITION "FOR GOOD" AND TOOK AWAY MOST OF OUR "POST UP" GAME - TIMMY USED TO BE PF...We had centers helping him getting the rebounds and the blocks...THE ANSWER TO Pop's TROUBLES IS TO PUT TIMMY DUNCAN BACK AT THE PF POSITION TO "POST UP" AND SPREAD THE FLOOR AND CREATE OPEN SHOTS, AND PLAY ELSON (WHY IS HE NOT PLAYING???????) AND OBERTO AT THE CENTER, THEN USE HORRY AND BONNER FROM THE BENCH TO REPLACE TIMMY, i.e., THE SAME WAY Pop DID DURING THE FIRST 21 GAMES OF THE SEASON - when we scored over 100 pts per game...Playing Tim and HORRY together usually comes in the Playoffs in the last 5 min. of the game...WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT???

Coupled with Bowen inability to score from 3 pts shots and Oberto's limited offensive productions. SPURS offense is now totally relied on Tony speed, Manu's fearness to draw fouls and Finley's catch and shoot

I think it's because Manu and Barry have been missing and/or injured.

If you take away Manu's offense, that's taking away 19 points per game...no wonder when Manu missed 5 or 6 games, the offense went down...The Big Three are the main offense...so if you take one of them, the offense will always go down unless the other two main players get more points...When Tony was out, the offense was also lacking...same when Timmy was out...

I think it should pick up now since The Big Three is back...

As long as our defense remains strong, we should be okay. It's harder to beat teams when you are struggling on offense if you can't stop them from scoring. Shots will start falling as long as we keep taking the shots. Anytime you take key players out the rotation, it will force a team into situations that they are not comfortable with. Now that we have the big 3 back, our offense should improve. No need to hit the panic button.

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84550

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Originally Posted by Manu_Ginobili

THE REASON WHY WE ARE NOT SCORING IS BECAUSE POP PUT TIMMY IN THE CENTER POSITION "FOR GOOD" AND TOOK AWAY MOST OF OUR "POST UP" GAME - TIMMY USED TO BE PF...We had centers helping him getting the rebounds and the blocks...THE ANSWER TO Pop's TROUBLES IS TO PUT TIMMY DUNCAN BACK AT THE PF POSITION TO "POST UP" AND SPREAD THE FLOOR AND CREATE OPEN SHOTS, AND PLAY ELSON (WHY IS HE NOT PLAYING???????) AND OBERTO AT THE CENTER, THEN USE HORRY AND BONNER FROM THE BENCH TO REPLACE TIMMY, i.e., THE SAME WAY Pop DID DURING THE FIRST 21 GAMES OF THE SEASON - when we scored over 100 pts per game...Playing Tim and HORRY together usually comes in the Playoffs in the last 5 min. of the game...WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT???

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Poppycock and balderdash!!! Whether Timmy is playing PF or C, he is still doing the same thing. He has played 4 and 5 his entire career. Remember when Malik and Timmy used to play together.........even at the end of games? The 4 and 5 positions are interchangeable in a lot of the Spurs offensive schemes. I will agree that Oberto and Elson are not the biggest rebounders and shot-blockers as the "other Bigs" like David Robinson or Rasho Nesterovic were. Timmy is still posting up just as much as he always has.

Is Popovich for real?

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Originally Posted by Solid D

Poppycock and balderdash!!! Whether Timmy is playing PF or C, he is still doing the same thing. He has played 4 and 5 his entire career. Remember when Malik and Timmy used to play together.........even at the end of games? The 4 and 5 positions are interchangeable in a lot of the Spurs offensive schemes. I will agree that Oberto and Elson are not the biggest rebounders and shot-blockers as the "other Bigs" like David Robinson or Rasho Nesterovic were. Timmy is still posting up just as much as he always has.

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....and that's a large reason for the Spurs poor rebounding numbers. This really hurts against teams that "pound the glass" like Dallas, Utah, and Boston. Tim's rebounding numbers are declining year after year. It's too much to expect him to protect the rim, play weakside defense and initiate the offense. It's incumbent that they get more frontline production from somewhere - even from the SF position.

I guess the Spurs were just trying to prove to Pop that they could score. So they just abandoned the D tonight :lol

We need some production from the center spot on defense.

of the 121 points scored tonight by the Spurs, roughly 85 was scored by the Big 3. That means that the rest of the team managed to score 36 points or so.

I wonder WHY we lost the game? Our old players cloudn't stay in their legs in the OT...This year we take Dallas's role and LOST already 2 times against Golden State - Elson was perfect to play in this game - he could run, he was fresh, and the Spurs could've drilled GS's defense on the middle by going through the center - the problem is Pop was playing ONLY Timmy at the center - he benched Oberto, who is playing him only 13 minutes per game - so, Oberto doesn't perform...Elson was on bench as well and played ZERO minutes again (!!!) - so there you go again - we are playing WITHOUT CENTERS (the same way we lost from Dallas 3-4 in the Playoffs), and the defense in the middle is NOT working properly (Horry is too old to do what Elson and Oberto can...)...When you look at the stats - when Timmy, Tony and Manu score in double digits, the Spurs should win, right? But, because Pop is playing WITHOUT CENTERS-BIGS, NOBODY could close the PAINT and could block shots - it is too much work for Timmy to work on both ends, who has to score, gets rebounds, and play in both ends of the floor - something impossible to do - that is WHY we will keep LOSING when playing like this...The questions is HOW FAR this could go? I said before Popovich has tendency to do FOOLISH things after he wins Championships - THAT IS WHY HE COULDN'T REPEAT titles because he NEVER kept the system that gave him the success (while there is an argument that he couldn't keep some of his players before, this year he even kept all the players, but he is changing the system all the time - he benched elson and Oberto!). His problem is - he gets 'off balance' too easy - Elson irritated him somehow, now he sits, and we suffer the consequences from that(???);

THE SPURS ARE CURRENTLY a .500 team - win one and lose one...By that said, if they keep the current system to play "WITHOUT CENTERS", they WILL NOT REPEAT...Horry is NOT the same as before to help timmy in the end of games - Oberto played very well in the Playoffs last year - he deserves to start - Elson showed some good signs as well - he blocked the "game winning" attempt at ATT centers against Dallas this year...

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Originally Posted by greenleo

If you take away Manu's offense, that's taking away 19 points per game...no wonder when Manu missed 5 or 6 games, the offense went down...The Big Three are the main offense...so if you take one of them, the offense will always go down unless the other two main players get more points...When Tony was out, the offense was also lacking...same when Timmy was out...

I think it should pick up now since The Big Three is back...

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Manu played last night, scored 20 pts...and we lost - it is not the offense, but the system (playing with BIGS and without BIGS) - in fact the Spurs BIG 3 scored pretty good, and we LOST - the Spurs CANNOT play and win without REAL CENTERS - Oberto and Elson proved last year they could be a good supporting cast to Timmy and we won the title - Horry's minutes were limited anyway. Now, we take that away and we see the results - a .500 team...

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Originally Posted by Solid D

I will agree that Oberto and Elson are not the biggest rebounders and shot-blockers as the "other Bigs" like David Robinson or Rasho Nesterovic were. Timmy is still posting up just as much as he always has.

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You are probably right - I am not that concerned about that - Manu played last night, scored 20 pts...and we lost - I WILL REPEAT AGAIN - it is not the offense, but the system (playing with BIGS and without BIGS) - in fact the Spurs BIG 3 scored pretty good last night, and we LOST - the Spurs CANNOT play and win without REAL CENTERS - Oberto and Elson proved last year they could be a good supporting cast to Timmy and we won the title - Pop has to give them the minutes (Horry's minutes were limited anyway last year). Now, we take that away and we see the results - a .500 team...

Agreed.

Spurs have a long way to go. I have a feeling this won't turn out like last year's turnaround.

I agree, it's frustrating to look at the box score and see so little production and so few minutes from our bigs. However, Elson, Horry and Oberto don't exactly inspire confidence these days.

I wish Pop would adapt the Phil Jackson approach and just play Golden State straight up.

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Originally Posted by Solid D

Poppycock and balderdash!!! Whether Timmy is playing PF or C, he is still doing the same thing. He has played 4 and 5 his entire career. Remember when Malik and Timmy used to play together.........even at the end of games? The 4 and 5 positions are interchangeable in a lot of the Spurs offensive schemes. I will agree that Oberto and Elson are not the biggest rebounders and shot-blockers as the "other Bigs" like David Robinson or Rasho Nesterovic were. Timmy is still posting up just as much as he always has.

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Originally Posted by SenorSpur

....and that's a large reason for the Spurs poor rebounding numbers. This really hurts against teams that "pound the glass" like Dallas, Utah, and Boston. Tim's rebounding numbers are declining year after year. It's too much to expect him to protect the rim, play weakside defense and initiate the offense. It's incumbent that they get more frontline production from somewhere - even from the SF position.

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Before Horry's time as start. Oberto had 6,2 rpp in 22' not bad.
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84269
Now Oberto not playing much (last games only 12') and slows him down rebounds stats. However, against warriors 6 rebounds in 12' again not bad.

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Originally Posted by Manu_Ginobili

[B]- the Spurs CANNOT play and win without REAL CENTERS....

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Pop has confidence in small balls all game. all time and against all teams.

we are kind of out of sort right now.

I hope everything will be clear in april, I mean tactics ang game plan change in playoffs ... in those we will go with TD first, TP sencond (3 first quarters), Manu the last quarter... we also have some good weapons here and there, I assume that we are gonna play a slow Bball and strong defense in playoffs as usual.

Losing to Memphis and Raptors were games that surprise me (Denver I hated), but normally Spurs plays like Spurs; IMHO (and without any prove) DET and Boston are playing really above Spurs' level.

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Originally Posted by WalterBenitez

I hope everything will be clear in april, I mean tactics ang game plan change in playoffs ... in those we will go with TD first, TP sencond (3 first quarters), Manu the last quarter... we also have some good weapons here and there, I assume that we are gonna play a slow Bball and strong defense in playoffs as usual.

Losing to Memphis and Raptors were games that surprise me (Denver I hated), but normally Spurs plays like Spurs; IMHO (and without any prove) DET and Boston are playing really above Spurs' level.

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it always is. spurs don't play slowball all the time. in fact, a good part of the offense is created by early offense and quite a few fastbreaks. this is a team that can kill opponents any which way they choose if they are at the top of their game. but to be at the top of their game means playing good, solid, stifling defense. that is the team's identity which it will, hopefully, will assume come february and march. this fan ain't worried. just pissed at the loss. :bang

Like everyone else, I love Horry. I just have a problem when I hear that "Pop is starting him to get him motivated and get some of the rust off" Huh? He's still one of the more active bigs, but he's seemingly always a step too slow or too late. I just hope he didn't stay one year too long.

like many teams, especially your Western Conference rivals down I-10, I know how it feels when your guys cannot put the ball in the hole. I have no answer for this. Look at the Utah Jazz. Who would have predicted their shooting numbers to be so dismal. Or last year's playoff Chicago Bulls.

Tim must be returned to PF position from where he can deliver much better.

As it is right now, I think the defense is not where it needs to be.
GS shot well over 50% from the field on us. This needs to improve if the Spurs are to repeat. I know last year we started off like this too. I am just hoping the defense comes around like last year too.

Its the second week of January. The coaching staff is still trying to figure out what works and what doesnt against which teams. All the injuries havent helped any either.
The story is unfolding as it should. I would actually be more worried if the Spurs had lost fewer games at this point.

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

I guess the Spurs were just trying to prove to Pop that they could score. So they just abandoned the D tonight :lol

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My thoughts exactly

I think POP likes these lulls in the season. He wants the team to struggle and re-learn to be tough. I think he pulls cia tricks to make the defense look worse than it is. Every year since he's taken over there have been parts of a season where fans complain, what is wrong, it's the system (a system that has won four trophy's by the way) and we need to make an impact trade, and the team goes on rodeo rode trip and unite. I think it is more a been there done that. Maintain a decent first half of the season and put it together in the second half. I will wait until after the rodeo road trip and allstar game before I start complaining about a team in first place

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Originally Posted by Manu_Ginobili

"Monday, Jan 7, 2008 1:39 pm EST
Gregg Popovich has been troubled by the San Antonio Spurs' recent inability to put the ball in the basket.

"We haven't generated much offense," Popovich said. "The defense is good. We just can't put it in the hole at the other end."

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Usually, Pop says "I don't care how we shoot, that's not an indication of how we're playing so I don't talk about it."

The fact that he's talking about it now speaks volumes. He's concerned about the lack of offense and so should Spurs fans as we watch the Spurs at 21 points mid-way through the 2d quarter against Detroit.

Well, still an issue... our offense is MIA.