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I'll go with coasting..........
.........and hope like that I'm right.
They really do look disinterested over the last month or so.
It has been evident that the Spurs have been playing with a poor energy level as of late..the games vs. LA and Miami in particular, where the Spurs didn't seem interested in playing from as early as the 1st..
It's understandable that a team that has virtually clinched the #1 seed won't have an incentive to play hard every night..it's also understandable that a team will attempt to conserve some bodies for the playoffs, especially when a number of these games are meaningless, at this point of the season, considering the Spurs' current position..
However, are the Spurs playing with fire?..can they "turn it on" for the playoffs, from an energy standpoint?..how would you like to see them play in this last month or so?(from an energy standpoint)..do they need some "statement wins"?..
A more dangerous and worrisome question could be: are the Spurs coasting, or are they worn out?..
I'll go with coasting..........
.........and hope like that I'm right.
They really do look disinterested over the last month or so.
They are playing out of sorts with physical pressure. Slightly rushed shots, timing off, frustration, etc. See Memphis, LAL and Heat games, of late.
Worn out from what? They've all had plenty of rest. The only one who some might say has played slightly more than what's ideal is Ginobili, but even his minutes have steadily decreased.
I buy the coasting and lack of urgency against mediocre and worse teams. Not against the elite ones. They need to beat one or two of them before the playoffs and restore the confidence they had. Right now, it's looking like 08-09 through the first half of last season. Defeatist at ude when playing anyone credible.
The coach has to use his brain though and bench Blair in favor of Splitter. Enough is enough. These elite teams have got to be licking their chops when they see a Blair-Bonner combo.
I know it won't happen, but I'd like to see Splitter utilized as the backup five/secondary Nowitzki defender on Friday and the starters run into the ground if it takes it to win.
You can play with all sorts of all energy in the playoffs but if you don't respond well to the physicality/length of opposing teams in the playoffs then it really doesnt matter...
I'll attribute their post AS play to coasting but the Spurs have a lot more issues that will take more than increased energy to correct.
I'm very concerned with the energy level I've seen from Hill and Jefferson..they were both playing solid D for the 1st half of the season, they were both very active, all over the floor..it seems like they have been very weak and lacking aggression for a while now, on both ends of the floor, particularly on D..
BTW, it's obvious that the Spurs have bigger issues than energy, but those are issues that are constantly being discussed on ST, so I decided to make a thread about a lesser discussed issue..
Another concern, which ties into the energy argument, is that the Spurs' pace keeps getting slower, and their ranking in points in transition keeps dropping as well..they're playing at a slower rate than earlier in the season, which doesn't translate to success for this team, since the personnel doesn't match that particular style of play(Bonner and Blair in particular)..
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I think the Heats were highly motivated for this game considering what happened to them March 4.
Irregardless, I wish we can just ffwd one month.
Spurs are getting exposed big time. No length, tenacity, poor defense, streaky shooting. Props for their record and for being class acts, but yeah, things aren't looking too good heading into the playoffs.
idk sometimes they look like they want to play and other times it seems like they don't....are they playing possum or there just not playing well...
^This
Two recent games versus upper-echelon teams (Fakers and Heat) in 8 days produced two big-time blowouts. Forget the fact that they lost, it's the way they lost both these games.
Hill is painful to watch. He looks like he doesn't care. Neal missed 10000 shots today but he was there attacking and playing with energy, Hill just don't ing care.
The last 5 games have been a real eye-opener: 3 single-digit wins against non-playoff bottom-feeders, and 2 crushing losses against contenders.
Yep. Playoff basketball in other words. They aren't coasting, they are getting their asses handed to them against teams that are play with playoff style defensive intensity.
The length is certainly a problem but I'll say again, the Spurs aren't matching the physicality of some of these teams.
Is it waht everybody have been talking about all year long?
The spurs has a fake record and without elite D and big frontcourt they are done.
It seems like to be the case ....
I think other teams are starting to figure the Spurs out. Sure, energy level is a factor, but once again, they live and die by the 3. The 3 ball isn't going to be there for them every night in the playoffs. George Hill should've been traded, he's been horrible this year, and as much as I love the Duncan/Antonio combo, it's a shame they can't play 48 min a night together.
I was feeling antsy heading into the Spurs/Mavs series last year, and the Spurs pleasantly surprised me. We have a better bench this year, but that also depends on Neal avoiding 2-12 nights and Hill actually doing something out there.
If the Spurs lose to Dallas this Friday, I think there would be a lot of flags that would need to be raised. Clinching a top seed this early ended up allowing for the team to get lazy heading towards the playoffs as oppose to staying sharp.
Yeah and they lose their confidence, their edge, when they don't match the physicality.
Can the Spurs match it, though?..
Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, McDyess and Neal have no problems matching the physicality and playing with confidence..
Can Bonner, Jefferson and Hill do it?..they're all streaky players that have confidence issues..all 3 of them are known to have shriveled balls when it's time to ..
we'll be fine. the 3 isnt there for us. when it comes back we will be unstoppable. as long as that 3 is there. and you also have to remember lebron is in his prime and is a beast. we ran into a beautiful train
Despite claims to the contrary, the lack of length IS and issue and will ultimately be the downfall of this team in the playoffs. If your lineup looks small against the Heat, you're a small team.
However in each of these recent blowout losses, the Spurs have failed to match the physicality of both the Fakers and Heat.
Losing is one thing. Poor effort and energy is quite another.
It's mainly the reserves that aren't matching it.
Hill is playing like a total pussy, Bonner is shocking in that area and then you got RJ who MUST turn up the aggression.
The Spurs defense has no energy. If we can't pick it up on that end of the floor we won't do anything in the playoffs. Our offense is way better when we play good defense.
It's no secret that physical teams win playoff games. The 2005-07 Suns ran a much better offense than the 2011 Spurs will ever run .. remember how the Nash/Amare pick-n-roll seemed unguardable? And they still couldn't win against us?
Well, the 2011 Spurs have nothing close to that level of offense, so unless we raise the physicality, we're going to get rolled.
Saying their coasting is giving them an excuse.
Like Ice009 said, they're getting their asses handed to them - and no one seems to be taking it personal or willing to do anything about it - except maybe Manu. Where is compe ive fire. The malaise is so bad that even Blair has gone passive.
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