The difference is in coaching

[Obstructed_View]

You're an idiot, Walton. Don't you know Pop's not going to give everything away when there's a potential playoff matchup looming? Shock the world, that's the mission of CIA.

[Russ]

Coaching ability comes and goes for some reason.

At times Pop has been a better coach than Phil ('03, '05-'07). Phil was a better coach before then and after.

[Cane]

The problem is Duncan going for 2-11 for the game and the entire Spurs team sucking ass in the second half.

[santymrc]

See, that's the difference here. Some of you peeps, think well, Manu can't sit. He's completely gassed but he can't sit.
At the 7:11 mark, he gets a clean screen and airballs a wide-open 3. at the 6:53 it's a TV timeout. Then the clock begins, Manu comes back at the 3:29 mark.

You say in that time, he can't get a rest? but add a TV timeout in there and Manu is actually sitting for 8 minutes of real time. I triple-checked my DVR, so yeah, he got a good rest. But see, in my opinion from a coaching standpoint, you can't just tell the team that you suck without Manu. You have to continue the mantra of sharing the ball, help each other on defense and try to get the best shot possible. See, the problem here wasn't coaching, the problem was that those other guys didn't have faith in their abilities and at the same time, placed the Lakers abilities on a higher pedestal. In short, they stopped competing once Manu went to the bench gassed.

Here's a list of plays after the airballed 3 that Manu took and then he went out and then up to his return:

07:11 Ginobili 3pt Shot: Missed (this is the 1 off a nice screen that gave him a wide-open shot that he airballed. No legs here.)

Odom Rebound (Off:2 Def:9) 07:09
Odom Jump Shot: Missed 07:01
06:59 Duncan Rebound (Off:2 Def:7)
06:53 Team Timeout : Regular
Brown Subs ution replaced by Artest 06:53
06:53 Ginobili Subs ution replaced by Jefferson
06:53 Bonner Subs ution replaced by McDyess
06:44 Jefferson Jump Shot: Missed
Gasol Rebound (Off:3 Def:7) 06:42
Odom 3pt Shot: Missed 06:18
06:16 Jefferson Rebound (Off:1 Def:4)
06:05 Duncan Jump Shot: Missed Block: Gasol (2 BLK)
Gasol Rebound (Off:3 Def:8) 06:03
Bryant 3pt Shot: Made (19 PTS) Assist: Artest (3 AST) 05:41
[LAL 80-74]
05:25 McDyess Turnover : Bad Pass (1 TO) Steal:Artest (3 ST)
Artest Layup Shot: Made (15 PTS) 05:21
[LAL 82-74]
05:02
[SAS 76-82] Mason Jump Shot: Made (7 PTS) Assist: Duncan (5 AST)
Gasol Turnaround Bank Hook Shot: Made (10 PTS) 04:43
[LAL 84-76]
04:28 Hill Turnover : Bad Pass (2 TO) Steal:Gasol (1 ST)
Odom Layup Shot: Missed Block: Duncan (3 BLK) 04:13
04:11 Jefferson Rebound (Off:1 Def:5)
04:04 Duncan Turnover : Poss Lost Ball Turnover (3 TO) Steal:Artest (4 ST)
Bryant 3pt Shot: Made (22 PTS) Assist: Gasol (2 AST) 03:29
[LAL 87-76]
03:29 Team Timeout : Short
03:29 Jefferson Subs ution replaced by Ginobili
This game is about Stops and Scores.
On all the bolded text, those are Laker Stops. How is that all to be blamed on Pop, other than his best player wasn't out there because he needed rest, so blame Pop because the rest of the players stopped competing? So who needs to look in the mirror? Pop, or every other player not named Ginobili?

Ok, you and your DVR are right
Still, your DVR didn't put Mason in there. I still blame Pop. LA might be better than us, but we gave us a chance to win, just to blow it in 3 mins.

[picc84]

Artest and Kobe killed the Spurs last night, not Phil. Who wins this game if Manu and Kobe switch places in the 4th quarter?

PJ will tell Kobe whats what though. One of the few things I like about him.

[mytespurs]

The difference is the lakers are the better team.

And that's it-in a nuts .

Pop could've done his best coaching job tonight but if he doesn't have the talent to compete, then the results would've been the same regardless.

[mytespurs]

I've noticed that the Spurs seems to start strong and fade in the second half of games. Sometimes they're good enough to pull it out, other times they lose.
Perhaps its age, injuries, lack of talent in key positions, lack of a strong bench........

[Russ]

I've noticed that the Spurs seems to start strong and fade in the second half of games.

(1) Three games in four nights against (2) three elite (15 games over 500) teams + (3) no TP = 2d half fades.

But it's not a permanent situation due to the lack of 2 of the above 3 factors in the playoffs.

[jjktkk]

Coaching ability comes and goes for some reason.

At times Pop has been a better coach than Phil ('03, '05-'07). Phil was a better coach before then and after.

Exactly, which Walton Buy Me Off, for some reason, forgot to mention in his thread, which is the reason I disagree with his thread.

[Man In Black]

Ok, you and your DVR are right
Still, your DVR didn't put Mason in there. I still blame Pop. LA might be better than us, but we gave us a chance to win, just to blow it in 3 mins.

I agree Mason didn't play well, I did say he missed the shot coming out of the timeout when Manu came back. But in that play-by-play I listed, who is the only 1 that scored for the Spurs in that time period?

[SAS 76-82] Mason Jump Shot: Made (7 PTS) Assist: Duncan (5 AST)

4 Turnovers plus Laker made baskets off those turnovers was the difference late. Maybe if Tim isn't playing his 6th game in 9 nights, he gets the team his usual 18 & 10 performance and we're talking about a different result.
Those turnovers were all over the place.

Tim Blocked-Led to a Kobe 3
McDyess Bad Pass-Led to an Artest layup
Tim lost ball-Led to a Kobe 3.

That's 8 points right there.