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I'd prefer the famous make your efforts at the beginning, try to win the game early and bench everybody in the fourth
+1
Exactly, this was a really stupid move that backfired and affected the team in an extremely negative way. Essentially it ruined all the good chemistry the team had developed up to this point. I don't know if the team will recover, it was a serious blow to team morale. I wouldn't be surprised to see the spurs not ever regain that swagger and confidence they had been enjoying this season.
Moral of the story for Coach Pop? It's good to rest your veteran key players but do it by keeping their minutes reasonably low (which you had been doing a great job all season so far), not by trying to give them nights off against
red-hot teams at their buildings with the full intention of bringing said key players back in if things go terribly wrong.
I'd prefer the famous make your efforts at the beginning, try to win the game early and bench everybody in the fourth
actually everyone is missing the important point tat for all our off season acquisitions we are still ridiculously dependent on Duncan. I mean, I can understand spurs go as far as he carries us in the PO. But cmon regular season against raps? I think mcdyess/RJ should have been able to spell DUN if not the entire thing.
in fact id go so far as to say duncans superlative play has resulted in camouflaging our real struggles to find consistent performances from any other player not named Timmay.
Are other clubs giving their 30+ superstars nights off? Don't see Nash getting a day off for "rest". Dirk Nowitski, nope. Kobe? No. Billups? No. Never heard of any player getting a night off until now.
And only a fool would look past the raptors. They are in 2nd place in the eastern conf and are 7-3 in the last 10. So obviously they are not a team to be taken lightly.
And like I said before, it was foolish of Pop to put Ratliff and McDyess in together, two guys who are new to the spurs system and only seem to know the high pick and roll so far.
The much better strategy would have been to go small ball with 1 big + Jefferson as the PF. Jefferson could have guarded Bargnani out on the perimeter just fine. Offense would have flowed much smoother with Money Mason or Manu in there.
Funny that Pop loves to use his small-ball lineups all year long in unfavorable cir stances but then when they do favor it he stubbornly refuses to do so.
Maybe it is time to concede that SPurs' RJ experience is a failure, very much like Pop's moving TD to the bench.RJ is supposed to be the go to man on situation like this...but look at his stat
i was pissed too! in popovich just think all he does is right. that er...
popovich bet on the raptors that night!
Jefferson's 37 minutes for 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. the scoring, those are Eddy Curry numbers... lazy .
Dumb gamble, he should have know the raptors would be tough as nails at home and riding a hot streak.
Even dumber when you consider in exactly one week the spurs will play the worst team in the NBA in their own comfortable confines of the AT&T center.
That would have been the night to give TD off, as its a much safer bet to snag a victory without him and it also gives him a solid 4 day rest before the lakers.
Best example that POP JUST DOESN'T GET IT. HE'S SO ING STUPID.
Actually, when heard he was doing that I thought it would work, but for whatever reason, it did not. I am not sure if it was a chemistry issue, they haven't played together much, or what it was.
Theo is best used in a role similar to Kevin Willis when he was here.
I feel certain that Pop thought the Spurs did not need Duncan to beat the Raptors and thought he could rest him the whole game. Raptors felt disrespected and responded as they did.
I say nope
If Pop wanted to give Tim day off he would. Not making a decision during game. You will play or not.
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