Pop's switch ups on D

[Manufan909]

Bonner and McDyess on Artest cancels out his strength advantage, and RJ on Odom cancels out his speed advantage. I thought Hairston on Bryant was also great, Pop needs to realize Mason truly brings nothing and play Hairston more than in the clutch and easy wins or blowouts. If he had tried Ian on Gasol for an extended amount of time, I would've ejaculated in my shorts.

And it wasn't a switch up, but Bogans took it to Kobe, and I loved every second of it. He isn't as crafty, quick, or long as Bruce, but he is a good deal more aggressive. I thought RJ on Kobe wasn't to bad either, but I know someone with stats will prove me wrong. At least RJ takes down guys hard.

[HarlemHeat37]

Bonner on Artest was a good strategy IMO, I agree..Matt has troubles with Odom, but Artest is extremely slow-footed and he can't push Bonner around like you would expect..

Jefferson's D has been outstanding as of late..he was horrible in the 1st half of the season, but he's making strides defensively..

The team D has been improving a lot..the rotations were beautiful in this game, the Spurs double teamed and recovered..only Mason was poor defensively IMO, but that's to be expected..

Pop seems to really trust Hairston defensively..surprised the refs didn't call him for phantoms against Kobe..

Good to see Pop making adjustments and some good strategic moves..hopefully the D can continue to play like this..

[BillMc]

Bonner on Artest was a good strategy IMO, I agree..Matt has troubles with Odom, but Artest is extremely slow-footed and he can't push Bonner around like you would expect..

Jefferson's D has been outstanding as of late..he was horrible in the 1st half of the season, but he's making strides defensively..

The team D has been improving a lot..the rotations were beautiful in this game, the Spurs double teamed and recovered..only Mason was poor defensively IMO, but that's to be expected..

Pop seems to really trust Hairston defensively..surprised the refs didn't call him for phantoms against Kobe..

Good to see Pop making adjustments and some good strategic moves..hopefully the D can continue to play like this..

This.

[EricB]

Bonner on Artest was a good strategy IMO, I agree..Matt has troubles with Odom, but Artest is extremely slow-footed and he can't push Bonner around like you would expect..

Jefferson's D has been outstanding as of late..he was horrible in the 1st half of the season, but he's making strides defensively..

The team D has been improving a lot..the rotations were beautiful in this game, the Spurs double teamed and recovered..only Mason was poor defensively IMO, but that's to be expected..

Pop seems to really trust Hairston defensively..surprised the refs didn't call him for phantoms against Kobe..

Good to see Pop making adjustments and some good strategic moves..hopefully the D can continue to play like this..

Agreed. I think due to PG injuries, Pops pretty much forced to play Mason the minutes he does now. I could be wrong, but thats just my observation.

[Manufan909]

Pop seems to really trust Hairston defensively..surprised the refs didn't call him for phantoms against Kobe..

You'd think he would get solid minutes before the 4th quarter then. Maybe Pop was just trying to throw yet another player at Kobe, and with Hairston seemingly the 2nd or 3rd best at it, he might actually get solid minutes in the POs.

[jag]

I love seeing Hairston on Kobe. You can tell he's been working on his lateral quickness, and he's got the hops to contest shots from many different angles.

[DesignatedT]

The D looks great as of late. glad to see this team get back to its old ways. now if we could only stay healthy

[The Truth #6]

With Kobe playing more in the post, Bogans is actually a good fit to defend him because he's strong and has a low center of gravity. Quick players running around screens gives Bogans problems.

[DJ Mbenga]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

[The Truth #6]

Also, great to see Malik get that block on Gasol. Super quick reaction. It caught me by surprise. His turnover after the offensive rebound was a bummer but its all good experience for young Malik. Great idea for Pop to get a chance to see what Hairston can do on Kobe. I thought he did well enough.

[TD 21]

Hairston is easily a better defender than Mason, but he's a vastly inferior ball handler and an unreliable shooter that doesn't have to be accounted for by the defense, unlike Mason, who does have to be accounted for, even if he's struggling. When Ginobili and Duncan are playing like they did today offensively, you can get away with this. When they're not, you need the ball handling/shooting of Mason over Hairston.

It probably sounds like I'm a Mason fan/Hairston hater, I'm not, it's just how limited the Spurs are with ball handling (and to a lesser extent, 3 point shooting) right now. This is even more of a problem with Hill down. When Hill and Parker return, then I have no problem with Mason being stapled to the bench.

[Mr.Robinson]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

Cool, you should off.

[DesignatedT]

I thought Bogans played an excellent game. He did a good job defending Kobe.

[50Bestspurever]

lol, according to alot of jackasses on this board pop couldn't coach his way out of a ing paperbag. now everyone is kissing his ass. typical ing spur fan.

[DesignatedT]

lol, according to alot of jackasses on this board pop couldn't coach his way out of a ing paperbag. now everyone is kissing his ass. typical ing spur fan.

yup. don't worry. the next loss "fire pop" threads will re-appear.

[Manufan909]

lol, according to alot of jackasses on this board pop couldn't coach his way out of a ing paperbag. now everyone is kissing his ass. typical ing spur fan.

Is my name Fabbs, dip ? I think not. I am not in either extreme (blind supporter or blind with rage hater) when it comes to Pop, but I'm very glad crazy CIA Pop is gone, now he means business. His adjustments seemed to all be genius, and he rarely put a bad lineup on the floor... except when neither Duncan nor Manu were in. That was just a horrible decision.

[EricB]

Is my name Fabbs, dip ? I think not. I am not in either extreme (blind supporter or blind with rage hater) when it comes to Pop, but I'm very glad crazy CIA Pop is gone, now he means business. His adjustments seemed to all be genius, and he rarely put a bad lineup on the floor... except when neither Duncan nor Manu were in. That was just a horrible decision.

You can't keep one or the other on the floor for 48 minutes. Gotta give em some rest.

[Sean Cagney]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

MBENGA IS TRASH, you could not pick a better name to rep your team

[Mr.Robinson]

lol, according to alot of jackasses on this board pop couldn't coach his way out of a ing paperbag. now everyone is kissing his ass. typical ing spur fan.

Pop isn't really doing a lot. Manu is the reason the spurs are back. Him playing well makes other players gkive more effort.

[jjktkk]

It may be just coincidence, but alot of the ST wannabe Spurs Head Coaches are posting less and less of "Pop's a idiot" threads. Its like they all of a sudden just vanished.

[ulosturedge]

Was a great effort on D today. I think these wins against good teams have fed into the Spurs confidence which is feeding into their chemistry and vice-versa. I said it before. Pop gives minutes out like theres a fire-sale going on during the season to get everyone in playoff form. He does this even at the expense of blowing games and making others a lot closer then they should be. Agree with it or not he plays the fine line between bracket positioning going into the playoffs vs establishing better depth through his bench. What you saw from Mike Budenholzer against the Magic the other night was a coach going directly after the win and playing the core players heavy minutes. Something that Pop avoids doing because he knows the health and energy of our veterans going into the playoffs is much more important then trying to move up a couple of slots in the seeding. In the end we would more then likely play the top teams on their home turf in the late rounds anyways. We can't catch the Lakers, Cavs, or Magic so why go down that road anyways.

Pop is no idiot. He can be stubborn at times, but he's not dumb.

[dbestpro]

i think his adjustment to have the lakers miss 3's was probably what won him the game.

Contested 3s.

[dbestpro]

It may be just coincidence, but alot of the ST wannabe Spurs Head Coaches are posting less and less of "Pop's a idiot" threads. Its like they all of a sudden just vanished.

That happens when Pop stopped small ball and said just give the ball to Manu.

[Obstructed_View]

It may be just coincidence, but alot of the ST wannabe Spurs Head Coaches are posting less and less of "Pop's a idiot" threads. Its like they all of a sudden just vanished.

Funny how not starting Bogans and not playing four guard lineups with Richard Jefferson at center does that. Also funny how the defense seems to suddenly get better when you do those things.

[Spurminator]

It may be just coincidence, but alot of the ST wannabe Spurs Head Coaches are posting less and less of "Pop's a idiot" threads. Its like they all of a sudden just vanished.

Pop's not doing idiotic things as much anymore. That helps.