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On the other hand we couldn't stop nobody. I guess after we built a little cushion pop felt like hill on the perimeter would help to protect our lead and hill made a few clutch plays late against indiana so I sort of see pops logic.
So in the fourth quarter, Gary Neal has a hand in 12 straight points. With four and a half minutes remaining, Pop subs out Neal for George Hill. The Spurs don't hit a field goal the rest of the game and only score two points on free throws.
That decision doesn't make much sense to me. Hill was a disaster most of the night on the offensive end. If he wasn't missing a shot, he was hesitating when wide open. Manu looked tired so it wasn't much of a surprise he couldn't generate offense.
The Spurs needed a playmaker on the court. Neal was making plays. If Parker isn't going to play (illness, I assume), the Spurs could have used someone who could have broken down Minny's weak defense. And , if Bonner is going to actually rebound, might as well have his offense out there on the court.
It was odd to me that the complete stagnation of the offense almost cost the Spurs the game yet there was no subs ution made to try to solve the issue.
On the other hand we couldn't stop nobody. I guess after we built a little cushion pop felt like hill on the perimeter would help to protect our lead and hill made a few clutch plays late against indiana so I sort of see pops logic.
Looks to me he thought the separation was finally given to the team and he's was looking to lock down the game with what he believed was his best defensive unit.
Defense.
neal plays above avg defense, thats good enough to close out games, then again this is the ty wolves we talkn about here...
That sub is simply a bad decision to me.
What was Hill doing on the defensive end that made it mandatory to keep him in the game? The T'Wolves were putting Ridnour in pick-and-rolls and Hill wasn't doing anything special in defending those plays. I could see if Hill was defending a hot scorer but Hill's not exactly a great pick-and-roll defender, as the Spurs unfortunately saw too clearly against the Suns in the playoffs . . .
If Pop doesn't believe Parker's an option and he believes -- as you suggested -- that Manu is tired or tiring, I don't think you want to make Neal into your primary or secondary ballhandler, especially when they're turning the ball over against a team as poor as the Wolves are defensively.
Maybe Pop really doesn't want to coach the all star game...
Except for experience or TP's sickness, there is absolutely nothing to justify Hill presence in the last 6 minutes, nothing at all.
See. I told yall Hill was playing like .
Yeah. The Spurs are lucky that Wolves didn't make the open 3 from that double screen. The game could have been tied.
He's up and down. He actually looked like he was on the verge of a breakthrough but has been spotty since.
But he did come up with a big shot late against Indiana and I'm sure the combination of that and maybe an ailing Parker and tired Ginobili, led to him going with Hill down the stretch -- best potential defender and ballhandler available and it could pay dividends down the road if Hill comes through again, building that confidence.
Read my mind. I was looking for Neal and couldn't find him.
It would make some sense to me that with the standings being what they are, Pop is trying to put George into some situations like these and using the results as an opportunity to do some teaching while giving George some experience trying to make the right decisions. A loss here or there won't necessarily torpedo the Spurs and it's basically indisputable that Pop will occasionally make decisions that aren't meant to win games in the here-and-now, and with a big lead in the division and conference, the temptation might be strong for him.
Of course, it might just be a poor decision without any sort of big picture premeditation.
Although Neal was playing great he is not a playmaker or good enough ball handler so I think bringing in Hill was a good move. My question is who would have been out there if Tony was healthy.
I thought the same thing. Why take out the only player making shots down the stretch?
Pop's thrown out questionable rotations the last 5 games or so, nothing new here.
Another win despite Pop's coaching, not because of it?
As a spectator/fan you can see the reasons in a lot of coaching moves, however, that's been difficult lately with Pop. Some bush-league decision making lately IMO, but the wins keep piling up.
Escaping with a win against the mighty Timberwolves is nice, but I'd feel better if we we're playing well - as the season rolls on, we seem to be playing worse.
I was wondering why Neal wasn't playing as well. This isn't the first time I've been worried about making shots when he's been taken out. The beginning of the 4th quarter seemed odd too, with RJ as the only starter I believe. We lost a 9 point cushion pretty quickly. Can't complain about the d in the end...won us the game...
Did you really expect the spurs to keep shooting lights out like they did the 1st couple of weeks? The same wide open looks are there, they just are not hitting those same shots as much. It happens in any sport..As far as the pop rotation goes, I think you have ing about Pop for years and yes, the wins just keep on coming so therefore proceed to keep ing.
To see the potential a player like Hill has and to see him play like bull is completely baffling. C'mon Hill!
whatever...spurs are kicking ass...always ing about something...
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