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Yeah Kobe has a passion other things too....like gizzing in white women's faces.
Sounds great. Let's just play Duncan, Parker and Manu all 40+ minutes in a game that means nothing.
Yeah Kobe has a passion other things too....like gizzing in white women's faces.
Yeah good idea since this is a "true test".....it's just another regular season game. Nothing to see here.
NOBODY is conceding or arguing that they shouldn't play the game with focus and intensity. NOBODY is saying that the Spurs should make no effort.
For 's sake, READ what is being said.
This game is NOT a test. NO game in NOVEMBER, DECEMBER, or JANUARY is a test of the championship-readiness or capability of this team.
The novel idea you propose? Is a TERRIBLE idea precisely because it is EXACTLY the WRONG mentality to have. There is no reason to go balls-out to win this game. I might, might give you that against the Lakers, maybe. If I were drunk. But certainly not against the Celtics, a team that has been wavering of late and isn't even in our ing conference. This game means nothing more than any other game and there is absolutely no reason to interrupt the process of team-building (you know, that thing that will ACTUALLY determine whether or not they are able to acheive championship levels, as opposed to a ing meaningless hype game in ing December) to 'make a statement' when what needs to happen is to continue to work the pieces.
This game may be an ideal time to try some things out against a better team and to see how well their defense is really holding up, but that's it.
Win this one for your old pals in forum blue and gold.
Careful there girl...if you disagree with TD 21 he will accuse you of lacking respect for him because you have a high post count and he doesn't.
Blue and gold?
Win this one for your old pals in forum blue and gold.
Anticipating HCA in the process of a finals match, all the while anticipating the Spurs not making it to the finals via WC?
Win this one for your old pals in forum blue and gold.
Oh, I assure you (and him!) that my lack of respect has not a whit to do with post counts.
Cmon facto, you're better than that. The only championship caliber team we've played this season are the Dallas Mavericks (<insert all "what, Mavs le contender" jokes here>). I don't mind experimenting with different lineups and such and resting players against scrubs. , we play Sacramento and Charlotte next week...let's bench the stars for those two games to even things out.
But Boston is a team that I think we should go all out to beat. The fact that they aren't in our conference doesn't matter...if we're thinking championship this year, odds are Boston will be the ones representing the East. We won't play them again until late March. Let's get an idea of how we match up with our main weapons, so we can have that nugget of knowledge as we get closer to the trading deadline and try to figure out if any moves will need to be made.
Looking that far ahead is fool's gold at it's finest. If you want to have this conversation in March, then I'll likely be on the opposite side. In March, the team should be gelled and primed for a solid end of season run towards the playoffs. In March, we'll actually know whether either team is looking like a contender. In March, we'll playing them on the road and that could be a big test and a statement game all rolled up in one fuzzy, potentially heart-warming package.
December is way to early for that .
Just looking ahead, how's this for an end of March sched?
3/24 - @ Lakers
3/26 - Cleveland
3/28 - @ Boston
and just for kicks
4/2 - Orlando
4/4 - @ Lakers
I guess my concern is this...if we go through this sched. in late March and lose a majority of these games, we're stuck with the players we have. Pop likely would have found his set rotation by then, so there wouldn't be much he could do. So when we have these opportunities to play championship-caliber teams early, I think we should take the opportunity to play them as if it were a playoff game, so we know for sure what our weaknesses are, and we can address them on the trade market if need be.
Throw in that mix 7 B2B's in March and April. That's over half of the total B2B's for the entire season in just 2 months at the end of the season.
The end is going to be rough. Does that make it more important to win now regardless who the team plays?
Interesting.
This may be more of a game of attrition because of the future more so than a test of who they are.
It's not a bad theory, it's just failing to address the problem of the rotations. Yes, in March they should be set. But in December they are still very much in flux. I suppose Pop could play what he envisions the rotations to be, but that has little meaning right now when the players are still (due to injury) feeling each other out and playing tentatively with each other.
Tony and RJ are not comfortable with each other and RJ is not being efficiently utilized. So if they play what is expected to be a set rotation in March and as an example, Tony and RJ are on court together for say, 28 minutes . . . what does that tell us now, except that Tony needs to learn how to set up RJ, because he's underutilizing him and reverting to roles that are more comfortable for him?
Even if you put the players out on the court, they are not playing to capacity together yet. So you aren't really going to get any kind of vision or true insight into how they will look, because they aren't there yet. Even if Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili play 35+ minutes, that doesn't give real, accurate insight into the championship quality of this group, because we already know they can play together.
We are still trying to work out how to get RJ and Dice and Blair into that picture regularly, while stepping back from Bonner and Finley and Mason (and are still figuring out how best to utilize these players in limited roles, and indeed, if they can perform at high levels in limited minutes. So far, the answer has been a relieving 'yes' but it's not done yet). Even if you throw them out there in the combos Pop is hoping to see in March, even if you play balls-out . . . it won't be real, because they will only continue reverting to what they know. Tony knows how Timmy and Manu play and how to get them the ball. He doesn't yet know how to use RJ in anything other than a Bowen capacity, and they haven't yet come to rely on Dice's lovely jumper.
So what you would see isn't how this team will look come trade deadline, or even how we could hope to see them - you'd only see them trying to make the game of the last couple of years work with players who are uncertain of their roles in both offense and defense. If they have a good night- they could win. But they won't have made any progress towards adjusting the game to include and utilize the new players and they won't have made any progress towards team chemistry and trust. They'll just be doing what they've done in the past, which hasn't been good enough, only with new people. Only the new people won't be used to their potential and their talents will be wasted.
Granted one game may not set them back - that would be building up a single game too much in the opposite direction. But this is when they need to learn and they need to branch out. And I'd much rather see a loss with the new guys on the court and Tony attempting to set up RJ and having people out of place a few times than a win with the Big 3 going balls to the wall. Because that only benefits their record minutely and gives fans something to feel complacent about.
If the team is going to be a legitimate contender for the le and not just a good team who could far if they stay healthy, then they have to learn to make the adjustments and they have to work out how best to adapt to the new skills they have. And that is what takes time, patience, work together and actual game experience, and that's why this game isn't a benchmark game, a measuring stick game, a statement game or an overly important game. It's a great learning opportunity game because Boston is one of the better teams in the league, but that's the only way I can view it.
I'm pretty much with easjer here bro. Even if we do play the important players/role players extended minutes, it won't tell us much because this team is not yet where it needs to be chemistry-wise to give us an accurate sample. , this is only Manu's second game back.
Anyway...I was being overly sarcastic mainly to give to TD 21. He thinks that Manu and Tony should just tough out their injuries instead of resting.
the true test game wil be when we play an elite team on the road and beat them. you could argue the Mavs, or Portland are elite, i suppose, but for me it's b/w LA, Boston, Denver, Cleveland, and Orlando.
the reason is i think this Spurs taem can already beat any of the elite at home. i don't think it porves anything to any of the naysayers and doubters that they can. where people doubt this team is in its ability to beat teams consistently in front of an opposing teams crowd and on the other teams homecourt. when the Spurs were Elite they could go into anotehr stadium with confidence and quiet the crowd. when this Spurs team is given the opportunity to do that, and takes advantage of it, this team will start to turn the corner. they'll have to do it consistently - put together maybe a string of wins against the Elite when they're away - in order to turn corner completely and re-insert themselves in that Elite group.
right now, it's about building confidence and chemistry so that they will be able to accopmlish that. they've got to show the same consistency and intensity on defense they've been showing over the past 6-7 games, they've got to keep building comfort with eachother on offense, and they've got to find out who will have key roles and small roles, or no roles, on this team.
basically, this game will probably mean more to the Celtics than it will to the Spurs. but even then, the Celtics and everyone else are aware the Spurs aren't at the top of their game collectively or individually so they'll be taking that into consideration.
If we're struggling during the Rodeo Trip, then we'll worry..
Interesting thread that IMO showcases a central problem with the Spurs the last few years. Simply put, the league has moved on, the bar has been raised, and the Spurs no longer have the legs to keep up. The Spurs old method of waiting until after the all-star break to start coming together is no longer valid.
The regular season matters, and teams that play hard during the regular season and fight for the HCA have a distinct advantage over compe ors who believe they can flip a switch.
No, they don't..nothing has changed in that regard..
The Spurs are worse because Duncan is old, Ginobili is old and constantly injured, Bowen is gone, Horry is gone, Finley isn't the same guy..I don't know why some fans seem to think something is different in the league..
yes, this year's Lakers team is potentially better than any other team we faced during our run, but it doesn't change the reasons for why the Spurs are worse than before..
It has nothing to do with playing hard for homecourt advantage or simply flipping a switch.
The Spurs are starting to come together - but it is a process and they will not be together in a championship capacity until later in the season.
That hasn't changed in recent years. But it's misleading to look at this team and what they are currently doing and to read this thread and what we are saying and argue that the Spurs are just trying to coast until later in the season.
They are trying to put the pieces together now - but doing it correctly means potentially sacrificing a few wins now so that they can be playing their best basketball later - that basketball being trust on offense, utilizing players to their best advantage, being crisp and in place on defense and knowing which lineups to use under a variety of cir stances. They have to take this time now to figure that out if you want them to have a legitimate shot at playing in May and beyond.
The way to do it correctly is to have patience and let them build, rather than insist they go all out to get a win Thursday or to fight for HCA.
is this april?
Really? Hard to argue with the Celtics and Lakers les isn't it?
Just as it was hard to argue with our le runs.
The league always changes, pay attention. And it's not an either/or situation: the Spurs have gotten older and the league has changed.I don't know why some fans seem to think something is different in the league..
We say this is only December but there are coaches out there that are being relieved from there jobs in the NBA.
The relevance of that being . . . what?
You think Pop is going to be fired? Over a game against an Eastern conf. team in December?
Ok, then.
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