Before half of you guys go on suicide watch...

[Crickets]

Back to reality ...

[Crickets]

Mavs best team in the NBA and will be on top by weeks end

[jjktkk]

This is the confusing part to me. Pop made no effort to make defensive adjustments,

I don't know what kind of defensive adjustments Pop could of made. It seemed that all of the Spurs were a step slow. Maybe play Splitter more minutes? One thing that would of helped the defense, was the offense. Alot easier to set up your defense when you make a shot.


yet he leaves Manu in there working his tail off to make something happen..[/QUOTE]

Why wouldn't keep your best player out there to try and turn around the game? More times than not, if Manu isn't on, the Spurs will struggle to win a game.

[jjktkk]

This is the confusing part to me. Pop made no effort to make defensive adjustments, yet he leaves Manu in there working his tail off to make something happen..

Mavs best team in the NBA and will be on top by weeks end

So the Spurs are gonna lose out on the NBA champions of December award? Darn.

[angelbelow]

I don't know what kind of defensive adjustments Pop could of made. It seemed that all of the Spurs were a step slow. Maybe play Splitter more minutes? One thing that would of helped the defense, was the offense. Alot easier to set up your defense when you make a shot.


yet he leaves Manu in there working his tail off to make something happen..

Why wouldn't keep your best player out there to try and turn around the game? More times than not, if Manu isn't on, the Spurs will struggle to win a game.[/QUOTE]

I thought Bonner game was off. On offense he was hesitant, on defense he was lacking. i didn't see a good reason to keep bonner in the game. Duncan was getting owned 2v1. At that point, maybe Blair or Splitter could help? Worth a shot IMO.

I didn't see enough energy out of our guys and you're right, they just didn't have it tonight. So I would have preferred that pop rest guys like Manu and Duncan and play the 2nd string.. And who knows, they might even win it for us.

[angelbelow]

So the Spurs are gonna lose out on the NBA champions of December award? Darn.

Don't be so overly sensitive. This is a discussion board, if not for the discussion of our favorite team on game night than what us? My position on tonights game is that we should have rested our stars in the 4th because it was obvious we were tired. Its not a matter of winning or losing, just strategy for the long season.

I can see TD21's perspective as well. This was a winnable game in the 2nd and 3rd but once we got to the 4th, it was grim, not necessarily the score, but you can tell that the clippers had momentum. The clippers scored when they had to and they just looked focused and energetic. Therefore I didnt want to push the envelop too hard cause we know Manu is gonna go balls outs.

[jjktkk]

Why wouldn't keep your best player out there to try and turn around the game? More times than not, if Manu isn't on, the Spurs will struggle to win a game.

I thought Bonner game was off. On offense he was hesitant, on defense he was lacking. i didn't see a good reason to keep bonner in the game. Duncan was getting owned 2v1. At that point, maybe Blair or Splitter could help? Worth a shot IMO.

I didn't see enough energy out of our guys and you're right, they just didn't have it tonight. So I would have preferred that pop rest guys like Manu and Duncan and play the 2nd string.. And who knows, they might even win it for us.[/QUOTE]

I had wanted mutiquote your last post, but I screwed it up. I understand your arguement in resting Manu, but I also understand Pop keeping manu in the game, to try and spark a turnaround.

[angelbelow]

I thought Bonner game was off. On offense he was hesitant, on defense he was lacking. i didn't see a good reason to keep bonner in the game. Duncan was getting owned 2v1. At that point, maybe Blair or Splitter could help? Worth a shot IMO.

I didn't see enough energy out of our guys and you're right, they just didn't have it tonight. So I would have preferred that pop rest guys like Manu and Duncan and play the 2nd string.. And who knows, they might even win it for us.

I had wanted mutiquote your last post, but I screwed it up. I understand your arguement in resting Manu, but I also understand Pop keeping manu in the game, to try and spark a turnaround.

Yea, I think if he wanted to keep Manu in, he should have switched out Bonner. We needed to rebound the ball better and you mentioned that our offense makes it easily to set up our defense, I feel the vice versa is true too. If we could get some quality stops and rebound, that would help out our offense too. Pretty demoralizing every time Duncan went to help and we give up an offensive rebound.

[DrSteffo]

The Spurs wanted to win this game(i think), which is why Blair and Splitter did not get heavy minutes.

And it was obvious from early on that Bonner was red hot and should play heavy minutes right?

[UnWantedTheory]

It's an 82 game schedule, nights like this are going to happen. Don't start looking for who to place the blame on. Bonner, Udoka, Parker, etc. We were just worn out, should've maybe seen it coming a little last night noticing how tired both teams were in the Golden State game which was constant running. Considering they had to travel from Oakland to Los Angeles at 1-2 in the morning and still play at a professional level the next night I wouldn't be too worried.

Did you see Parker's eyes? They were redder than the cancer warm up suits they were all wearing. Only David Stern could manage to give us a young athletic team on a back to back both late night games. It's a testament to how bad the Clippers are that we even competed, our defense was slow, no one was in the game mentally because they were so tired, and our legs weren't under us so shots didn't fall. I have no idea how that wasn't a 15-20 point game with bench players playing for LA.

So it sucks that we lost, but we were put in a position to fail and to get where you need to go, sometimes you're going to have to fail.

Prediction: we go out there on Friday and tell Minnesota like it is. Doubt they compete with us like they did in the last game.

We could go 82-0, sweep the playoffs, bring home the chip, & assholes will still how poor we played. It is what it is. Let the cliff jumpers jump to ease both of our pain.

[UnWantedTheory]

15-3. Best record in the NBA. Damn re- s.... ing Hangover moments.

[TJastal]

A loss on a btb happens. If you watched the game, you would of noticed the tired legs, and besdies Neal, the whole team was bricking shots. These things happen. Why are you questioning their mentality? Their 15-3 now. Thats a good indication to me that their mentality is just fine. What exactly did you want Pop to do about the team's tired legs, and inability to hit open shots? Order the trainer to hand out some 5 hour energy shots? Maybe you should just start another fire pop thread, just to make you feel better.

[ElNono]

15-3. Best record in the NBA.

Looks like it's not enough to win the December championship:

So the Spurs are gonna lose out on the NBA champions of December award? Darn.

More seriously, that's just how tough the League, and the West specifically is. And the reason you don't want to be giving games away. Dallas actually gave one up early against Memphis without ZBo that I'm sure would like to have back.

I think a good goal would be to try to be in the top 3, as Manu said, and have a decent cushion there before you go full out regulating minutes. The current record might be pretty impressive looking at it historically, but look at the standings and we're only one game up compared to the next team in line, and there's a total of 6 teams with only 5 loses or less. Can't take a breather now.

[TD 21]

You can't be serious.... Our mentality HAS changed and that is the reason we are 15-3. Seasons past we would be sitting with 9 or 10 wins right now. We just didn't have it tonight and it had absolutely nothing to do with mentality. Exactly why the players approached Pop and told him exactly this before the season started.

Well, it hasn't changed enough. They need to value every game and not become content so easily. They have an opportunity right now to really put the Lakers in their rear view mirror and keep them there permanently, barring multiple significant injuries striking this team simultaneously.

Like I said, it's not that they lost, it's how. The Clippers didn't just ask, they practically begged the Spurs to win that game and the Spurs basically said "nah, we're good, we already got the best record in the league and we're starting to get national recognition, so you go ahead and take this one".

So General Patton, what happens if the Spurs ever lose 2 in a row? Off with their heads?

Depends how.

See, you guys are trying to pretend I'm doing the cliche fan thing where I overreact to every loss. Only, I don't do that. Case in point, the Mavs game.

[Leonard Curse]

agree with you but i still dont like pop benching tiago WHEN EVERY ONE ELSE IS TIRED!!!!

[jjktkk]

And it was obvious from early on that Bonner was red hot and should play heavy minutes right?

Maybe in your world. I noticed Bonner had a horrible game.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Spurs lost. It's as simple as that. Just a bad game with poor shooting. Spurs need to start focusing on the next game ahead on Friday.

[JR3]

I'm going to go ahead and say that Parker was feeling under the weather last night and Pop didn't see the need to let the media in on it. Tired AND sick. Game is over... I'm not mad. Spurs are the best in the league, Lakers lost tonight too...

[jjktkk]

Is this a home video of you trying out deodorant for the 1st time Tjastal? Hint, your suppose to spray goes under your arms.

[TJastal]

if we had a days rest before tonights game we win by double digits, that's how much I think fatigue had to play in this game.

You blame fatigue. Well , I thought Splitter was supposed to be the savior on back to backs to avoid Duncan getting fatigued? That's what your fellow popsucker buddy yazoverb told us anyway. Apparently Splitter doesn't even have back to backs to look forward to playing anymore.

And I think you're avoiding the fact that the team is distracted and/or discombobulated over Parker's situation, no ifs and or buts, it's showing right now in the player's body language. Parker just sits with a blank stare and Duncan won't even look at him.

And if that wasn't enough you get Greg Popovich playing Matt Bonner 30 minutes a game. Against the most athletic power forward in the game, and perhaps ever. HOF coaching move, right there.

[biskvito]

It's as if people want to pretend mistakes aren't happening. I think the good start gave Pop the rope and he's starting to hang himself now.

[jjktkk]

It's as if people want to pretend mistakes aren't happening. I think the good start gave Pop the rope and he's starting to hang himself now.

Please post the next time you see a perfect game, with no mistakes.

[rascal]

This looked like the team of last year that came out flat and lacked passion, ability and players.

Tonight, we saw the downside of the team and it was pretty low. The Lakers lose games as well, but not in this fashion. To me, you can still see the clear gap.

Its just the law of averages during the course of a long season. The early fast start of the season (win %) by the Spurs has them with an inflated record far better than the team really is. They were not going to continue to win at that pace. As the season wears on the record will better reflect the strenght of the team which it is not right now.

[TJastal]

It's as if people want to pretend mistakes aren't happening. I think the good start gave Pop the rope and he's starting to hang himself now.

Sig worthy line, right there.

[migol]

My only concerns are why do the Spurs play mediocre against the worst teams. They are playing the Timberwolves right now. I'm not watching the game on t.v so I'm keeping up on ESPN. It's over 6 minutes into the game and the Spurs have 0 rebounds while the TWolves have 11 rebounds. Now that is a "what the " worthy regardless how early it is into the season or the game. They just finished losing against the worst team and now playing against the 2nd worst team. They are a bit suspect when they play against teams that have solid big men.... regardless who the team is, or what the situation is. Whether a road game, home game, just finished a winning streak, or losing streak.... it doesn't matter, this is indicative of some problem.