Reply With Quote
Great post... all these games have been really close. It's coming.
No, I don't want to trade tony/manu/RJ or fire Pop, nor do I think Holt wasted money this summer. If you watched the first half of the game (especially 1st quarter) and the 4th, the spurs looked SCARY good. Duncan was on fire, TP was playing well, our bench was clicking, and our defense was tough (and we all know about Bonner tonight). The team was working well together, solid execution, and it was gorgeous basketball to watch. Needless to say, we outscored Utah 82 - 67 in those quarters.
Then the 3rd quarter was a completely different story. Out of nowhere, the team lost its will, heart, and started playing sloppy basketball. They forgot their fundamentals, and blew a big lead. I'm not sure what happened, but out of nowhere, everything suddenly went wrong in a certain span of time. Turn overs, bad shots, sloppy D.... everything. The same basic story happened in the denver and boston games.
Basically what I'm getting at is this spurs team is most definitely lacking something, but it's not something fixed with a trade or change in coaching staff. This is a problem the team itself has to fix; they have to start playing with pride again. I'm not making excuses for them, I'm definitly holding them accountable. But not their skill; there's a big difference between like "can't do", "can't play defense" and "aren't doing". The spurs just aren't doing the things they should, and CAN, to pull out wins against teams. Denver, Boston and Utah were close and very winnable games, that in my opinion, the spurs lost to themselves.
So in summary, I guess I'm just upset that it seems the team just isn't putting their hearts and pride into games, and they aren't playing with the effort, intensity, and killer instinct of champions that we've come to expect. I just want to see the silver and black heart shine once again! It's there, just hidden somewhere.... and I can't wait until the day we find it.
Until then, hang in there guys!
PS: Not usually one to get angry at stupid comments by fans after losses because I know they're just as heartbroken as I am... but do you guys seriously think that last play went as designed by pop? Gimme a break.... happens, things don't go as expected, and they had to get a shot off. That's just basketball.
Great post... all these games have been really close. It's coming.
Totally agree with you. Like Pop likes to say, we arent competing for the entire 48 minutes. And the thing about the Killer instinct I completely agree. I was thinking that from about the Boston game. That instict to terminate the game is gone. I think that is what is missing. I know we'll get through this, although I cannot say I'm happy with the L either.
This Thread = Win.
Once they lose enough games and hit rock bottom they will find their swagger. That is the only option after reaching your low.
Look how Bonner responded tonight. Pretty soon the entire Spurs team will play pissed like that.
I really think that one of the coaches or players need to call out this team. They need to wake up and remember that it is a 48 minute game. I am sick of seeing the Spurs be the victim of a bad call and just trot down the court with their heads down.
EDIT: Great thread btw!!!
the storm is coming.....it def. is.
awake sleeping giants!
what's coming? A smack in the face telling you to wake up from that dream.
yeah spurs have been playing well in the first 2 quarters but when they come out of half time they start losing there momentum....there not finishing there games right
Maybe Pop needs to pull the soft card early again...
I don't really care how many points we scored. If you tell me we allowed 60+ points in two quarters, we're not going anywhere...
the spurs right now are not taking the game and the losses personally....and quite frankly, it's up to TP and TD to light the fire. Duncan needs to be more vocal, both praising and being critical of his teammates. You've got a lot of new guys and some younger guys on this team...the leaders need to lead and give an example. I think we miss Bowen in this aspect along with his defense.
I don't know what the RJ is doing... but he looks like a guy that needs to play with some emotion in order to play well...he's better when he is pissed... Same with Blair. The leaders need to do a better job of getting this team to play with some fire. RJ and our role players are not playing with much confidence right now.....
IIRC, Pop usually calls team soft sometime around the Rodeo Road trip.
Desperate times call for desperate measures...and "soft" is the perfect description for this team.
That'll be way too late for this year's squad
If that is the case, Timmy will have to Hakeem Olajuwon this team from the 6th seed this year.
This game was unlike Spurs games I am used to seeing. The rotations changed from the first half, We came back but then couldn't get a stop to seal the deal, the whole game except for Bonner's play was like an experiment. Throwing people out there to see what would happen, this is beginning to look frieghtning.
Maybe because, uhm,,,, alot of the team is new?
Definitly agree with Pop calling out his players earlier this season, they need a jolt. I also wanna see tony manu and tim demand more of their teammates. Everything's gotta start with the team leaders, it always has.
My favorite part of the game tonight was when Bonner got called for that loose ball foul on Boozer in the last minute of the 4th. He was furious. Two years ago, Bonner would have looked down at the floor and shook his head. Boozer proceeded to miss both free throws (THE BALL DON'T LIE) and we had a chance to win it at the end.
You're right, and my favorite part about the game tonight was everything Bonner did. I'll even forgive him for the last shot; it was a bad shot, but he deserved to take it. We need to see effort like that from everybody, night in and night out.
Me too...it's nice to see Bonner playing with confidence...I don't mind he took the last shot, showed some balls...almost went in too
I'll tell you exactly why this happens:
Popp is getting too ing soft.
His halftime speech was probably as soft as one of his recent interviews of the early 2009/10 NBA season.
He needs to be drilling this ing team every goddamn second like the old Poppovich did. No matter how well/ ty they're playing.
The old Pop never drilled teams into the ground.
Pop is still the same as he was in 99. Improved in some areas, not improved in others.
He's mellowed a tad in retrospect to early season games.
motivation lacking = bad coaching.
its simple
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
