Refs handed the game to Atlanta

[HarlemHeat37]

The Spurs lost for a variety of reasons and the refs weren't solely responsible for the loss, but they WERE really bad against the Spurs last night, it was pretty clear..A LOT of bad calls..

[TD 21]

Stop the offensive rebounds! I don't know how many times this year, I've seen us need a critical stop only to get beaten to the glass. It's got to be disheartening to the players (particularly Tim), to play decent to great defense on the initial possession, only to see the opposing team get an easy put back. Tim does his best to protect the middle, but against guys like Crawford and Johnson, if they beat their perimeter defender, he's all alone in there to do two things: contest the shot and secure the board. Maybe in his earlier years, he could do both, but now, especially against athletic bigs, late in a game, it's just too much to ask.

It's like Pop decided to play the entire season with one center on the roster...and that center (Tim), likes to be listed as a power forward. Where's the other big?

McDyess (6'9", 5 years past his prime, probably shrinking due to age),
Matt Bonner (6'10", two inch vertical, standing reach of a player 6'11"),
Dejuan Blair (6'7", maybe with lifts) I actually think he is the best playing option, but quickly becoming the G. Hill of this year - losing Pop's trust.

The Spurs try so hard to conserve Tim by limiting his minutes, but if they just got him some help while he's on the court, I think Tim would be better served. They're wearing him out, in his limited minutes!

We need an athletic big (someone at least 6'11") to pair up with Tim, especially against athletic clubs. Play him with someone who can help him defensively in the middle. Do we have ANYBODY on the roster that fits the bill?

Excellent post.

Pop's an idiot and outsmarted himself yet again. Why didn't McDyess play more? Because Pop knew it was going to be a tight game and that meant Duncan would have to play 35+ minutes, so he thought he'd be clever and play McDyess under 20 minutes in the hopes of keeping him fresh for tonight's game, when he'll presumably limit Duncan's minutes and extend McDyess'. Only he forgot one thing: you have to win the game at hand for this to make sense. Instead, the Spurs lost it and almost certainly lost tonight's game as well. Should have just pulled out all the stops to get the first one (like in the Heat-Magic back to back), but instead the Spurs will come home to face the two best teams in the league, needing to beat at least one in order to avoid being in a dogfight for their playoff lives.

Forget about these foolish listings, Bonner is no more than 6-9 and Blair no more than 6-5 1/2 - 6-6.

The only other player on the roster who fits that bill, in theory, is Mahinmi. 6-11, athletic, mobile and young, so of course that rules him out from being in the rotation. This is why Splitter needs to be brought in this summer, he's 6-11, experienced internationally, reasonably athletic and mobile for a player that size. He could potentially solve the Spurs longstanding need of having a center-sized big to pair with Duncan and someone who can guard mobile, face-up power forwards.

[DPG21920]

The officiating was very poor last night. Very poor.

[TJastal]

Excellent post.

Pop's an idiot and outsmarted himself yet again. Why didn't McDyess play more? Because Pop knew it was going to be a tight game and that meant Duncan would have to play 35+ minutes, so he thought he'd be clever and play McDyess under 20 minutes in the hopes of keeping him fresh for tonight's game, when he'll presumably limit Duncan's minutes and extend McDyess'. Only he forgot one thing: you have to win the game at hand for this to make sense. Instead, the Spurs lost it and almost certainly lost tonight's game as well. Should have just pulled out all the stops to get the first one (like in the Heat-Magic back to back), but instead the Spurs will come home to face the two best teams in the league, needing to beat at least one in order to avoid being in a dogfight for their playoff lives.

Forget about these foolish listings, Bonner is no more than 6-9 and Blair no more than 6-5 1/2 - 6-6.

The only other player on the roster who fits that bill, in theory, is Mahinmi. 6-11, athletic, mobile and young, so of course that rules him out from being in the rotation. This is why Splitter needs to be brought in this summer, he's 6-11, experienced internationally, reasonably athletic and mobile for a player that size. He could potentially solve the Spurs longstanding need of having a center-sized big to pair with Duncan and someone who can guard mobile, face-up power forwards.

This was defenitely a game where Ratliff's size, athleticism and shotblocking would have really come in handy. Ian would have helped too but is inexperienced. 12-15 minutes of Ratliff in the 2nd half and the spurs get the W. :sad

[TD 21]

This was defenitely a game where Ratliff's size, athleticism and shotblocking would have really come in handy. Ian would have helped too but is inexperienced. 12-15 minutes of Ratliff in the 2nd half and the spurs get the W. :sad

Pinching pennies was more important than retaining a useful player on a team that supposedly has championship aspirations. The geniuses who put this team together in an attempt to win a championship went thin in the two areas where you need the most depth: size and ball handling (positionally, center and point guard). There isn't a single natural center on the roster and only one natural point guard. As usual, virtually the entire roster's natural position is power forward or shooting guard.

[SenorSpur]

Stop the offensive rebounds! I don't know how many times this year, I've seen us need a critical stop only to get beaten to the glass. It's got to be disheartening to the players (particularly Tim), to play decent to great defense on the initial possession, only to see the opposing team get an easy put back. Tim does his best to protect the middle, but against guys like Crawford and Johnson, if they beat their perimeter defender, he's all alone in there to do two things: contest the shot and secure the board. Maybe in his earlier years, he could do both, but now, especially against athletic bigs, late in a game, it's just too much to ask.

It's like Pop decided to play the entire season with one center on the roster...and that center (Tim), likes to be listed as a power forward. Where's the other big?

McDyess (6'9", 5 years past his prime, probably shrinking due to age),
Matt Bonner (6'10", two inch vertical, standing reach of a player 6'11"),
Dejuan Blair (6'7", maybe with lifts) I actually think he is the best playing option, but quickly becoming the G. Hill of this year - losing Pop's trust.

The Spurs try so hard to conserve Tim by limiting his minutes, but if they just got him some help while he's on the court, I think Tim would be better served. They're wearing him out, in his limited minutes!

We need an athletic big (someone at least 6'11") to pair up with Tim, especially against athletic clubs. Play him with someone who can help him defensively in the middle. Do we have ANYBODY on the roster that fits the bill?

It puzzling as to why Pop all of a sudden decided to keep Dice on the bench, in favor of Bonner. It wasn't like Bonner was scorching the nets anyway. Now, I'm not blaming Bonner, but Pop's decision to limit both Dice and Blair looks like a ill-advised move. For all the athletcism the Hawks have, and the Thunder too for that matter, I'd dust off Ian and give him a lil' burn. This would better disperse minutes among the bigs and give Duncan some badly-needed shotblocking and rebounding help.

[SenorSpur]

The only other player on the roster who fits that bill, in theory, is Mahinmi. 6-11, athletic, mobile and young, so of course that rules him out from being in the rotation. This is why Splitter needs to be brought in this summer, he's 6-11, experienced internationally, reasonably athletic and mobile for a player that size. He could potentially solve the Spurs longstanding need of having a center-sized big to pair with Duncan and someone who can guard mobile, face-up power forwards.

I don't think Pop needs to wait that long. In fact, I agree with you. inserting Ian, in small doses, could help offset this deficiency. He doesn't have to be part of the regular rotation. It's all about matchups and a player of his size and skill could be very useful against these ultra-athletic teams.

It's a sad sight having to watch Duncan having to bear so much responsibility at both ends of the court, simply because Pop constantly leaves him exposed by his insistence at running a woefully, ineffective small-ball lineup.

[DubMcDub]

Good thread, would read again.

[Biggems]

the refs frustrate me and have for the last few years....i am tired of Spurs players attacking the paint and getting downright beatdown with no whistle for their efforts, meanwhile if we look at an opponent funny, especially Dirl or Pau it is a foul.

that being said, the refs are not the reason we lose. we lose cause we cant close out games. we lose cause we cant make a basket when it matters. we lose cause we cant get a rebound when it matters. we lose cause we cant get a defensive stop when it matters. we lose cause we miss free throws when it matters. we lose cause of too many untimely turnovers in critical points of games. there are so many reasons we have been losing winnable games this season, however none of them are because of the refs, as bad as they have been.

basically the Spurs went from Standard to Automatic.....they no longer have a clutch.

[spurtech09]

yep refs are cheaters.....

[pjjrfan]

The refs were horrible. But the spurs had a lot of good looks in that 4th qtr. against the Hawks, just couldn't knock them down, and tonight we hit some clutch shots. The execution was still poor, and the Spurs rebounded better, the Hawks last night just dominated the Spurs, but I saw the hawks climb over the backs of the spurs all night without a single over the back call, tonight, the thunder were not as aggressive and the one time Tim stole a rebound he got an over the back call, go figure. Different refs see the game different.

[TJastal]

The refs were horrible. But the spurs had a lot of good looks in that 4th qtr. against the Hawks, just couldn't knock them down, and tonight we hit some clutch shots. The execution was still poor, and the Spurs rebounded better, the Hawks last night just dominated the Spurs, but I saw the hawks climb over the backs of the spurs all night without a single over the back call, tonight, the thunder were not as aggressive and the one time Tim stole a rebound he got an over the back call, go figure. Different refs see the game different.

That was one of the more bogus calls I've seen this year. Duncan simply reached up and grabbed the rebound as he normally does with his long arms there was little (if any) body contact.

The fact that Eddie Rush was johnny on the spot and still called that foul just makes it even more apparent that he has an agenda against the spurs.