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Thomas has the right mind set, it would have been nice if Pop had played him last night!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...me2/index.html
Spurs know they're in big trouble
Chris Mannix
LOS ANGELES -- The funereal procession out of the San Antonio locker room began about thirty minutes after the final buzzer of its 101-71 loss Friday. With the media clustering around the door, Spurs center Fabricio Oberto emerged first and pushed through the crowd, shaking his head in frustration as he pored over a stat sheet.
A few minutes later Tony Parker stepped out. Parker politely declined a reporter's interview request before shuffling toward the other end of the hallway, a glazed look painted on his face.
Yes, the San Antonio Spurs are in trouble and, for perhaps for the first time in the 2008 playoffs, they know it.
Game 2 of the Western Conference finals was a thorough and complete beatdown. The vaunted Spurs defense allowed the Lakers to shoot a blistering 54.9 percent from the field, while San Antonio connected on 34.5 percent of its own shots. Among the other lowlights for the defending champs: a 26.1 three-point percentage (including an 0-for-4 night from Manu Ginobili), a 50.0 free throw percentage (including an 0-for-4 effort from Tim Duncan) and a 44-36 disadvantage on the backboards.
There were literally no silver linings for San Antonio. Ginobili (2-of-8 overall) is struggling to play through ankle and finger injuries that are serious enough that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich considered sitting the Sixth Man award winner Friday. "We knew it would catch up this game, not last game," said Popovich.
After a solid Game 1, Parker struggled mightily in the face of constant pressure from Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar and seemed to lose faith in his jump shot as the game progressed.
"I thought Tony was probably a little tentative tonight," said Popovich. "He went to the basket fine, but I thought he had shots and he missed a couple and I thought he just backed away from it. He didn't have the confidence, for whatever reason."
And while Duncan was his usual steady self (12 points, 16 rebounds), he received virtually no help on the glass: Oberto (two rebounds) and Kurt Thomas (one) were non-factors in Game 2, while Lakers forward Lamar Odom was one of five Lakers to pull down at least four rebounds.
"We have to do a better job of helping Timmy out," said Thomas. "We know he can't do it by himself."
While the Spurs continued to speak like they were not overly concerned about falling into an 0-2 hole for the second series in a row -- "We're confident," said Thomas; "It is what it is," said Duncan. "We're either going to turn it around and make this thing into a series or not" -- San Antonio is not facing the same kind of fight as they were with New Orleans, a talented but inexperienced team that lacked a closer the likes of Kobe Bryant, who once again validated his claim that he can "get off anytime," scoring 22 points in a little over three quarters of play. They know they have no answer for Odom, who licks his chops every time he sees Oberto or Thomas chasing him out on the perimeter.
Whatever faith the Spurs have in themselves, they have to realize that climbing out of this hole against the Lakers will be much more difficult than bouncing back against New Orleans. And with only one day to try to figure out the Lakers, the prognosis for their survival is grim.
Thomas has the right mind set, it would have been nice if Pop had played him last night!
Agreed, instead we got to watch Robert Horry look old. Way to rely on your vets, Pop.
we were in a lot more trouble being 0-2 to the Hornets. We had so many mismatches. This series is just about making our shots. Much better situation IMO
This may be 2003 in reverse. We now find ourselves the old veteran team that's been there before down to a pretty young team that's in its first year together being a le contender. The Lakers are still a relatively young team so winning the next two isn't out of the question. Games 5 & 6 would be really really hard to win though. I'll take anything at this point
Stop flip floping!
who is flip floping you ho?
Pop's coaching choices have made a bad situation worse.
I agree with you. This is 2003 in reverse. The Spurs have matchup problems everywhere.This may be 2003 in reverse. We now find ourselves the old veteran team that's been there before down to a pretty young team that's in its first year together being a le contender. The Lakers are still a relatively young team so winning the next two isn't out of the question. Games 5 & 6 would be really really hard to win though. I'll take anything at this point
Popovich may have said he was joking at the time he said he would have vetoed the Gasol trade but don't buy it.
The problem is nobody is coming in to pick up Ginobli's scoring load.
Even during the PHX series I remarked how the Spur's big 3 were contributing to nearly all of SAS's points. If you can stop or slow down one of them the Spurs just can't put up enough points to win a game. Especially not against a good offensive team like the Lakers.
The problem is.. the Lakers are just better, younger, hungrier. It almost hurts to see the Spur age since I remember when Duncan was drafted after the Spurs tanked a season. The Spurs are yesteday's news.
Last edited by aka_USAPA; 05-24-2008 at 12:56 PM.
This may be 2003 in reverse. We now find ourselves the old veteran team that's been there before down to a pretty young team that's in its first year together being a le contender. The Lakers are still a relatively young team so winning the next two isn't out of the question. Games 5 & 6 would be really really hard to win though. I'll take anything at this point
Games 5 & 6? Try Game 3. :
You've got your mama's style but you're yesteday's child to me...
+1 The Spurs need a fresh injection of young, athletic players if they wish to remain compe ive in the future...teams like the Lakers and Hornets are good models to follow.
True. The only game our role players have played a significant role in has been Game 7.
It's more like 2002. It's even complete with the geriatric swing man (Finley as Terry Porter) that Pop relies on way too much against LA, crazy subs ution patterns that don't make any sense, the Lakers packing the lane, the Spurs shooting way too many three pointers, and Phil slapping Pop.This may be 2003 in reverse. We now find ourselves the old veteran team that's been there before down to a pretty young team that's in its first year together being a le contender. The Lakers are still a relatively young team so winning the next two isn't out of the question. Games 5 & 6 would be really really hard to win though. I'll take anything at this point
Yeah, it's a shame the Spurs don't have anyone like that on the roster or the draft rights to anyone like that.+1 The Spurs need a fresh injection of young, athletic players if they wish to remain compe ive in the future...teams like the Lakers and Hornets are good models to follow.
OK, we ARE in big trouble, but BELIEVE this series is far from over. It will be hard as , but we can make 2-2, and then...
Poor Timmy, he needs some help. boohooo. Unfortunately for Thomas, he needs a 29 year old MJ to help out the Spurs!!!!!
ahhahahahahhahahahhahahahahahahha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!
Go to the cathedral. Kneel from the start of the opening to the altar. And ask the priest to bless the Spurs. Pray for them. ahahhahahahahhahahahahha!!!!!
Did that sheet include the points he could've scored if he had dunked the ball instead of trying to lay it up? How many times do we have to say "DUNK IT RASHO!!!!" ?
These guys just have to do things the hard way. The Spurs continue to put themselves into unbelievably dire situations. In the previous series versus the Hornets, they were able to summon up the for ude necessry to dig themselves out of an 0-2 hole. We'll see what they have left in the tank. A tough task for an older team.
It's hard to beat a younger, quicker team when you can't match their athleticism.
Good point. The problem is Phil is coaching the Lakers and not the spurs.This may be 2003 in reverse. We now find ourselves the old veteran team that's been there before down to a pretty young team that's in its first year together being a le contender. The Lakers are still a relatively young team so winning the next two isn't out of the question. Games 5 & 6 would be really really hard to win though. I'll take anything at this point
I wouldn't even say it's that. The problem is that the spurs can't exploit the Lakers weakness, which is a soft frountcourt. The spurs should be taking advantage of Gasol and Odom playing center and forward. This is on the front office. They continue for whatever reason to make Duncan play the 5 instead of the 4. While he can play center, and is damn good at it, he's better suited as a PF. Gasol is also a PF masquerading as a center, but the spurs don't have the personnel to exploit it. They ask way too much of Duncan. He has to score, rebound, black shots, defend the paint, pass the ball, etc. all by himself. Even a stiff like Kwame would be a great addition for the spurs. The Kurt Thomas trade didn't address this because he's also a PF masquerading as a center. This should be #1 priority for the spurs this offseason. Get Duncan some help down low.
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