Spurs vs Mavs Game 1 Rant

[SpursFanFirst]

give Bonner a seat on the bench guarding the gatorade.

I am definitely not a Bonner hater, but I agree with you and the countless others saying he should be benched.

Last night was tough to watch. Something needs to be done.

More Bowen is just what we need...and I am with you on Hill.
I know he's a rookie and all, but for crying out loud, he should be given a shot.
If he stinks it up, THEN sit him.

Pop is a very stubborn man. I hope he puts that aside though, or this will be a very short postseason.

[VaSpursFan]

Speaking of Carlisle, I thought the most genius thing he did was keeping Howard off the court in the fourth. When Howard was going off I wasn't too worried because he typically sucks in the fourth quarter. But then he never re-entered the game

supposedly they are limiting his minutes for his bad ankle. the mavs were also fortunate that bass, damp and jjb stepped up and filled the void. j.ho is like an assassin now because of his limited minutes so he comes in gunning. and, he just lights up when Fin is on him because he know that Fin can't guard him. that matchup killed up when j.ho went nuts in the 3rd. it was all downhill from that point onward.

[Laker Lanny]

Not to toss a wrench in this Kori love fest you all have going, but even if the Spurs had Manu and was able to get past the Mavs they would never win a game against the Lakers.

So you all need to stop dreaming and leave Kori's salad alone its been tossed more than a midget at a Charles Barkley house party.

[The Truth #6]

Senor hit it..Pop is a great coach, and I believe he's the best..but his arrogance and ego has taken over him this year, there's no question..all the praise he gets around the NBA must have gone to his head..

he clearly feels like ANY player can fit his great system, which is the only logic for having Bonner as the starting PF on a team with a defensive-oriented system..

All coaches look better with good players. And Pop is probably the best coach possible at getting 3 HOF players to submit to a system so they play as a team.

His stubbornness would have been exposed on another team. It's been a good fit but as the cir stances have changed Pop hasn't changed with them. I guess we have to take the good with the bad. Hopefully Coach Bud has the balls to speak up and inject some reality-based thinking into the conversation but that's just speculation on my part.

[tmtcsc]

People have broken down yesterday's performance by the Spurs down to micro-technicalities but that's not what I'm going to offer here. Let's go with some generalities.

Its painfully obvious that this team is missing so much that we are not destined to go far at all in these playoffs. Anytime # 21 suits up and feels good, you have a chance to win but he can't do it by himself.

Tony Parker has had his best season as a Spur and has been outstanding. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have even made the playoffs. However, throughout his career, his performance has been peppered by "no shows" or "slow shows" in big games. Yesterday, we got the same thing. This time, there's no Speedy Claxton to turn to or Manu Ginobili to bail us out.

Our defense is the poorest its been since the Duncan era began. Our offense has always been a bit vanilla and labeled boring but it wasn't really an issue because our D was usually outstanding. Now ? Now we have a mediocre, unatheletic, poor rebounding and poor offensive team.

Dallas' victory was not a surprise. They aren't going anywhere in the playoffs either. Its like watching two C teams battling it out. You want impressive ? Houston busting a young, athletic Portland team in the mouth on their floor is impressive. , we can only blow out teams that suit up 7 players.


End of Part 1

[kace]

Tony Parker has had his best season as a Spur and has been outstanding. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have even made the playoffs. However, throughout his career, his performance has been peppered by "no shows" or "slow shows" in big games. Yesterday, we got the same thing. This time, there's no Speedy Claxton to turn to or Manu Ginobili to bail us out.

you know you're a superstar when a 24-8 game is called a "no shows".

Our defense is the poorest its been since the Duncan era began. Our offense has always been a bit vanilla and labeled boring but it wasn't really an issue because our D was usually outstanding. Now ? Now we have a mediocre, unatheletic, poor rebounding and poor offensive team.

why did we lost a step on defense ?

manu is out but he's not a defensive force. Bowen was here and was almost as efficient as in the past. Pop, the gameplan and the roster have not changed so much.

i see only a reason there: Tim has lost a huge step in anchoring our defense, and even in one on one (even if that won't be too obvious in this serie considering who tim is defending). People won't admit it since it's Tim, but it's a fact.

the solution: give Tim, who has been doing the work inside by himself for too long, some help inside. KT on defense and Gooden on offense are supposed to help, but in G1, they both played poorly so....

[Summers]

Kori...that should be the next le under your name "that woman"

I was thinking the same, but I rather like the current one.

[Killakobe81]

I agree that this series is FAR from over ...
Duncan played one of his best games all year like many of the smarter fans (Timvp, Duncan228 and Kori called)
Finley played lights out and Mason shot real well ...
Parker was up and down but he has been that way in many playoff series in his career ...
Bowen looked good on D ...Gooden can score ...

Adjustments needed:
1. Limit small ball ...the advantages you get with scores is MORE than offset by making Dampier look like a dominant big man.
2. Work Duncan when he is in ...(feed him non-stop run offense through him) through Tony when he is on the bench ...(they should bnever be out at the same time)
3. Play hill WITH duncan and Mason ...that way You have Tim's leadership and mason's scoring when hill is on the floor (and Parker is not)
4. DOn't let up on dirk keep the multiple defenders on him , get Damp and/or Hollins in foul trouble so they HAVE to put dirk on TIm and DESTROY him down low ...
5. stay on the Jet dont let him get hot ...if you go down with JJ and Bass beating you then so be it ..you were not going to win anyway.
6.Trust in Pop ...Im not saying that the Mavs win was a fluke but if you can hold down 2 of a team' top 3 scorers you are SUPPOSED to win ...problem was the MAVS bench KILLED the Spurs ...Udoka, hill, Gooden Bowen whomever they bring in has to limit the Mavs bench and give the starters SOME help ...if they do the Spurs will win in 7 they have won series before after losing Game 1 ... just ride timmy and the rest will fall in to place

[ElNono]

you know you're a superstar when a 24-8 game is called a "no shows".

He was ready to put up 40 last night. Until Barea came in and he couldn't shake him off the dribble. That got into his head. Tony was forcing the issue when all he needed to do is play his game. Tony is the #1 reason we're playing this series, but sometimes he can't just read and adjust to certain situations in the game.

why did we lost a step on defense ?

manu is out but he's not a defensive force. Bowen was here and was almost as efficient as in the past. Pop, the gameplan and the roster have not changed so much.

i see only a reason there: Tim has lost a huge step in anchoring our defense, and even in one on one (even if that won't be too obvious in this serie considering who tim is defending). People won't admit it since it's Tim, but it's a fact.

the solution: give Tim, who has been doing the work inside by himself for too long, some help inside. KT on defense and Gooden on offense are supposed to help, but in G1, they both played poorly so....

I disagree. I think our perimeter defense has been a lot worse, especially since Bowen has not seen that many minutes. That allows penetration too easily and exposes our bigs. And the reality is that with the exception of Kurt in the latter part of the season, nobody has helped Duncan man the middle. Bonner is soft, and they go at him because you know he's a liability. There's so much Duncan can do to counter that.

[kace]

He was ready to put up 40 last night. Until Barea came in and he couldn't shake him off the dribble. That got into his head. Tony was forcing the issue when all he needed to do is play his game. Tony is the #1 reason we're playing this series, but sometimes he can't just read and adjust to certain situations in the game.

i agree that Barea staying in front of him, with a lot of annoying things such as flopping, seemed to bother tony. and that's not the first game we see that.

I disagree. I think our perimeter defense has been a lot worse, especially since Bowen has not seen that many minutes. That allows penetration too easily and exposes our bigs. And the reality is that with the exception of Kurt in the latter part of the season, nobody has helped Duncan man the middle. Bonner is soft, and they go at him because you know he's a liability. There's so much Duncan can do to counter that.

Bruce was in. he played 23 minutes, not as much as in the past but still a decent PT. and he was pretty good. Tim has lost a step on defense. i won't blame him for that but that's my opinion. he still find ways to be damn clutch on defense but he can't be as consistent as in the past.

[mytespurs]

Go Kori!!!! Great analysis!

My thoughts.....with all the ranting that pop sucks/bonner sucks/trade duncan, etc., etc., don't forget....it's only 1 game!!!!!

I do think that Game 2 is important. The Spurs need to win that one to regain homecourt advantage and go into Dallas w/some momentum. If not, then I don't know if they'll make it. I believe in Pop so one should never say never but it wouldn't look good.

Go Spurs!!

[Fabbs]

Though many of you think Pop sucks, he doesn't. But he can be stubborn. He has to be willing to adjust and not adjust by going small.

At what point is failure to adjust = sucking?

poop

heres a description of game 2:

1.despite criticism, despite all, pop starts bonner.

2.spurs come out agressive, end 1st up 7-10.

3.pop puts mason as PG. offnese dies. mavs come out in 2nd and cut lead to nothing by the half.

4.bonner starts 3rd, gooden,thomas,bowen do not. mavs go on run and take the lead after spurs go 3-4 minutes without a FG.

5. in response to the mav's run, pop changes nothing. despite barea scoring run, Hill remains on the bench.

6. 3 minutes left in 3rd, bowen, gooden, thomas come in. spurs fight back and tie it up, capped off with gooden dunk. gooden comes out and is sat.

7. 4th quarter pop again starts bonner. no bowen, thomas. dirk, mavs go on run and go up 6.

8. 7 min left in game, spurs down. finally parker is put in. still no hill. no bowen. barea contiunes to score.

9. spurs lose by 8-10.

10. bonner = 33 min, 3pts,3rb,5 fouls. meanwhile bowen+thomas+gooden = 25 min.
geaorge hill = 0 min. barea = 20pts, 15 in 2nd half.

[tmtcsc]

you know you're a superstar when a 24-8 game is called a "no shows".

I guess you didn't see the "slow show" part. That means he gets off to a slow start but at the end of the day his numbers look decent. At his position, he dictates pace and aggressiveness. He was a "slow show" in the second home game against the Lakers this year. That helped us get into an 18 pt hole.

why did we lost a step on defense ?

manu is out but he's not a defensive force. Bowen was here and was almost as efficient as in the past. Pop, the gameplan and the roster have not changed so much.

Why ?

Several reasons.

1. Tim is slowed by his injury
2. Bruce has lost a step. He's still a good defender but it is tougher for him to stay in front of his opponent and it leads to him fouling and/or holding. He still needs more playing time though.
3. New players: Gooden and Mason - The just aren't that good on Defense.
4. Old PLayers: Just don't have the legs to chase and cover and switch on D.
5. No Manu. -- He offers chaos and forces turnovers.
6. Matt Bonner - Poor defensive player. Lacks technique and athleticism to cover. If he isn't scoring, he is worthless. He tries but he just can't cut it. He's a terrible rebounder too.

[Kori Ellis]

Tony Parker has had his best season as a Spur and has been outstanding. If it wasn't for him we wouldn't have even made the playoffs. However, throughout his career, his performance has been peppered by "no shows" or "slow shows" in big games. Yesterday, we got the same thing. This time, there's no Speedy Claxton to turn to or Manu Ginobili to bail us out.

It's like you haven't watched any playoff games since 2005.

[ElNono]

i agree that Barea staying in front of him, with a lot of annoying things such as flopping, seemed to bother tony. and that's not the first game we see that.

That's correct. And in years past, when Tony struggled with his jumper, it was excusable. But nowadays, he's perfectly capable of mixing it up, and he didn't. Like other people said, he should be able to adjust after watching some tape.

Bruce was in. he played 23 minutes, not as much as in the past but still a decent PT. and he was pretty good. Tim has lost a step on defense. i won't blame him for that but that's my opinion. he still find ways to be damn clutch on defense but he can't be as consistent as in the past.

I disagree with your opinion.

[tmtcsc]

Part 2: Birdseye Analysis

As a fan, I've been hoping that this team would come together and show signs of playing better and finding another level. The truth is, they haven't. Besides Tim and Tony, Mason has been solid, but that's it. Bonner had a nice 5 game streak but Manu's injury issues kept this team trying to cope and find an iden y in his absence.

Of this year's playoff teams, there is one A team and that's the Lakers. They are healthy, they have been playing cohesively all season and seem determined to win it all.
IMO, they will. -- Trust me, I hate to admit that because this is not the best Laker team we have seen and I just can't get used to hearing them regarded as the best in the west. I still think that if we were 100% healthy, we could beat them. But we aren't and that's that.

The Spurs, Jazz, Hornets and Mavs are all C teams. The Blazers and Rockets are B teams and the Nuggets are B-.

I don't think the series with Dallas is over and I wouldn't be shocked either way (winning it or losing it) with the outcome. I'm just tired of kidding myself that this team might find another level and make a run at this. They can't and they won't.

This is no fun. Our unlikely win over the Hornets was telling. It showed that we have experience and character but it also showed that we need to rely on other teams making mistakes in order for us to win.

We cannot dictate anything anymore. We are at the mercy of the other team playing worse than us. -- That sucks.

[bulletedge]

The Mavs are going nowhere this year- just like the past two...but I sure did enjoy last night

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I don't think changing the personnel would have changed much tonight. The Spurs basically tried to take away Dirk and Terry and force someone else to beat them. Tonight, someone else did.

So the question now is do the Spurs stick with that strategy? And can the Mavs other players continue to come through? Or do the Spurs switch to a more conventional defense?

To be honest, I don't know what I'd do if I were Pop.

The difference is, we had to double both Dirk and Terry to do it. Hill's got enough defensive skills to check Terry without help, and Gooden looked good against Dirk straight up in the limited stretch where he was in that matchup.

Oh, and it's not like Dirk had to expend any energy to play any defense at all covering Bonner

[tmtcsc]

It's like you haven't watched any playoff games since 2005.

I've seen them all. Granted, he played great against the Cavs in 2007 but the team we have now needs much more from him. The compe ion we faced in the 2007 playoffs was weak, all the way up to the Cavs.

He's been carrying the offensive load most of the year but I'm not shocked when he plays lackluster. Why is that ? Are you surprised when he isn't aggressive on offense ? When ever he had one of those games, we always had someone to pick up the slack. We don't have that anymore.

[Kori Ellis]

I've seen them all. Granted, he played great against the Cavs in 2007 but the team we have now needs much more from him. The compe ion we faced in the 2007 playoffs was weak, all the way up to the Cavs.

He's been carrying the offensive load most of the year but I'm not shocked when he plays lackluster. Why is that ? Are you surprised when he isn't aggressive on offense ? When ever he had one of those games, we always had someone to pick up the slack. We don't have that anymore.

He was actually very aggressive in the first half yesterday. Even in the first quarter when he went 0-for-4 to start, he was pretty much getting to the rim. So that doesn't really qualify as a "slow show". He just got tired in the second half.

The reason I said haven't you watched since 2005, is because no one has "bailed him out" in a long long time.

[MaNu4Tres]

As for the game, all of you who thought the Spurs were going to blow by the Mavs are crazy. This is going to be a long series. I honestly thought the Spurs wouldn't have a chance if Pop didn't play Bowen, but he did. So that's a good sign. (Even though it took Udoka f'ing up within a minute of getting on the floor in order to get Bowen subbed in.)

The Spurs need to re-think a lot of things.

Starting Lineup should be Duncan/Gooden/Bowen/Finley/Parker. I don't really care if it's Finley or Mason, but Mason can't really guard anyone and Finley isn't a good bench guy. So Finley it is.

Bonner is doing nothing offensively or defensively. He hasn't earned a minute on the floor. Gooden is starting to play well with Tony, and the Spurs need as much O as they can get. And though he's not a good defender, he's actually getting to the right spots and can hold his ground.

Parker's slow start (he went 0-4 to start the game) can't happen again. He was really inconsistent in this game, though 9-22 isn't as bad as people are making it out to be. He also needs to pull out his playoff defense. Also more and more pick and rolls for Duncan/Parker combination.

Fluke shots vs Lights Out. Though the Mavs played really well, they also had their share of fluke shots (Bass off the top of the backboard, etc.) But hey, don't rationalize it by saying that "those shots won't happen again." Spurs aren't going to shoot lights out from 3 again either. So put away the "fluke card."

Bowen's D. I cannot express the importance of Bowen logging big minutes in this series. I know... the majority of you thought he was done. He's not. And even if he's slower than before, he's the best thing the Spurs have. He does a fantastic job fronting Dirk, plus he can play the quickness of Terry. Bowen has to see 30+ minutes a game. Don't worry about his legs giving out. He's been resting all year, he is retiring soon, so it's time for him to lay it all out in a blaze of glory.

The Backup Point Guard. Got damn. Tony Parker has been in the league for almost a decade now and had a backup point guard for like 20 games in the form of Speedy Claxton. I do not care how bad George Hill can possibly be... I want to see him try. Mason doesn't cut it as a backup point and I don't even want to see Pop glancing toward Vaughn. Hill's length will be able to do something against the Mavs. I know it will.

Thaw Out Oberto. Crazy, right? Not so much. Oberto is a playoff performer. Thaw him out and play him a few minutes a game and give Bonner a seat on the bench guarding the gatorade. I'm not saying that Oberto should get major minutes, just put him in the rotation for spot minutes. The main big man rotation should be Duncan/Gooden/Thomas.

Rick Carlisle vs Gregg Popovich. I haven't been a fan of Rick Carlisle since he called me out on the radio, but he coached a smart game. Though many of you think Pop sucks, he doesn't. But he can be stubborn. He has to be willing to adjust and not adjust by going small.

In conclusion...

More Gooden on the floor with Duncan.
More Duncan/Parker pick and rolls.
Less Bonner.
Lots of Bowen.

The series will still be long and I don't know who will win, but it will be fun to watch.

Agreed 100 percent

[Das Texan]

Kori

I dont know if its been said...


But do we really want Bonner guarding the gatorade? He might not have much success at that neither with the way he is playing right now.

[Obstructed_View]

Kori

I dont know if its been said...


But do we really want Bonner guarding the gatorade? He might not have much success at that neither with the way he is playing right now.

I believe the point is, with Bonner guarding the Gatorade, everybody gets a drink.

[Kamnik]

Stoping Barea to play like the second coming of John Stockton/Might Mouse would be also good to add to Kori's list....

[Das Texan]

I believe the point is, with Bonner guarding the Gatorade, everybody gets a drink.

true but you never know, some fan might take the gatorade leaving none for timmy, tony et al