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hill and rj need to go
maybe rj if he is still a spur will be more aggressive
I've witnessed my share of Spurs losses. However, I've never watched a more depressing loss than Monday night's Game 4. After playing decently in the first half, the Spurs fell apart in the third quarter. By midway through that period, the game began to feel like a funeral -- not only for this season, but for this era. By the time the final buzzer sounded on the 104-86 Grizzlies victory, the only emotion left for Spurs fans to feel was sadness.
-Tim Duncan just didn't have it. The juice he played with in the first three games was absent. Simply put, he played like a 35-year-old with a ton of mileage on his wheels. Hopefully it was an aberration ... but Father Time is an unforgiving bas .
-I never thought I'd see it. But for a few moments in the third quarter, it appeared as if Manu Ginobili let up. The never say never, relentless, win at all costs Manu Ginobili we love said never. The uninspired play around him and the throbbing right elbow had to play a part ... but it didn't make it any less stunning to behold.
-Tony Parker resurrected his scoring output. He didn't miss in the first half on his way to racking up 19 points. However, his floor game was still in shambles; if he wasn't turning it over, he was failing to make the right read. When Parker's scoring cooled in the second half, the Spurs had no way to make up for his lack of production.
-I don't even want to think about how much money the Spurs owe Richard Jefferson. His performance in this must-win game was a disgrace. When the Spurs needed shooters to step up, Jefferson was instead finding reasons not to shoot. When the Spurs desperately needed offense, Jefferson became more passive than ever. Defensively, he was a 98.6-degree void of nothingness.
-I'm extremely disappointed in George Hill. I've been a believer in his talent over the years but I'm really having second thoughts now. His offense was a mess: passive at times, poor decisions throughout and just very un-postseason-like play. Defensively, he was even worse. He was jumping for pump-fakes, taking horrible angles on closeouts and getting destroyed by any quick move coming his way. Just a miserable, miserable outing.
-Spurs fans begged for Tiago Splitter. Spurs fans got Tiago Splitter in Game 4. Pop made the adjustment of giving DeJuan Blair's minutes to Splitter. In the first half, it really seemed to work. Unfortunately, Splitter played a role in the team's collapsed in the third quarter. It was like he didn't have much chemistry with the rest of his teammates. Oh wait, that was the reality of the situation.
-In another mid-series adjustment between Game 3 and Game 4, Pop altered the rotation to remove Gary Neal. After the debacle to begin the third quarter, Pop called on Neal ... but it was obviously too late to expect him to do much. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Neal's minutes in Game 5.
-Matt Bonner played another poor road game in the playoffs. I can't say I'm surprised. He missed both of his three-pointers and got destroyed on the defensive end. Absolutely annihilated. The fight we saw out of him in the two home games must have remained in San Antonio.
-I'm really disappointed in Pop. First of all, he panicked. The Spurs didn't need wholesale changes to win this series. By better executing their gameplan that they utilized in the first three games, I thought the Spurs had a good shot to beat these Grizzlies. But Pop, going against what he always preaches, blamed his hammer for the rock not splitting.
I don't think it was wrong to play Splitter, however Pop did a poor job of putting him in positions to succeed -- especially in the second half. Duncan and Splitter played together in the regular season for all of 35 minutes. That lineup that started the second half played 14 minutes together in the regular season. To expect for Splitter to suddenly know how to play with the rest of the starters in a pressure-packed playoff game is unfair to everyone involved.
Removing Neal from the rotation was a bad move in hindsight. Jefferson and Hill received more minutes as a result and they were arguably the two worst players on the floor. It didn't make much sense to begin with considering that the Spurs were in desperate need of shooting and Neal has been a big game shooter all season long.
Pop has pushed the Spurs to four NBA championships. On Monday night, he pushed the Spurs off a cliff. More damning, he pushed this golden era of Spurs Basketball to the edge of the precipice.
Last edited by timvp; 04-25-2011 at 11:35 PM.
hill and rj need to go
maybe rj if he is still a spur will be more aggressive
Good luck moving . $40 ing million for this .... unbelievable. I never figured Jefferson would be Steve Smith the sequel when the Spurs made the trade. Whottt was the only one who called it.
Thanks for the writeup, LJ
Dammit.
I was hoping to open the thread and read this:
Well it was a case of counter balance. On one end, TP scored and we got Tiago. On the other end, turnovers and rebounding were issues.
Every good was canceled out in another incomplete all around game.
What do you think of Manu quiting playing defense late in the fourth quarter? I can't blame him because it was a lost cause but it's something I have never seen from him before, even when the team is losing.-I never thought I'd see it. But for a few moments in the third quarter, it appeared as if Manu Ginobili let up. The never say never, relentless, win at all costs Manu Ginobili we love said never. The uninspired play around him and the throbbing right elbow had to play a part ... but it didn't make it any less stunning to behold.
Yeah, but the worst part of it is that's all self-inflicted. It was clear he was a mistake last year, and we go out and ing extend him
Another boneheaded move from Pop.
Nice write up.
I thought father time caught up with manu
I trade rj for jr smith
Damn, I hate being right about not wanting him back even if there was no one else coming in last summer.Yeah, but the worst part of it is that's all self-inflicted. It was clear he was a mistake last year, and we go out and ing extend him
Another boneheaded move from Pop.
I think that if you told me Splitter was going to play before the game, I would have been all for it.
But if Splitter playing came with a complete changing of the rotation involving Neal and Blair both being completely taken out, I would have said that playing Splitter at the cost of a major rotation change like that isn't worth it when we only lost the last game by 3 points.
Like timvp said, Splitter just didn't know what to do with that lineup out there in the second half and I think that cost us. Sticking to the same rotation and preaching the gameplan harder probably would have been better for us.
But, there was alot wrong with the team tonight than just that.
ducks, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you need to go get laid. Tony Parker has gotten smoked by Mike freakin' Conley all series.
Father time didn't catch up with Manu. A foolish decision by Pop to play him in the last game of the season did him in.
Spurs need to trade for Walton and hope it jump starts 's battery.
RJ was fine the first 2-3 games of the series, but today he just didnt show up, along with Hill, Bonner, and Neal. What's new? The Spurs lost this game because of all the boneheaded plays and turnovers. They're playing with no sense of purpose, everything is rushed and panicked....
I never post but feel like I have to. This game hurt like no other, to see them just completely give up out there. I'm hoping the Spurs atleast don't lose in front of their home crowd.
of a write-up
ducks, enough is wrong without having to rile up the CoM.
Thanks.
I know I have been one to be critical over Manu at times, but to see him give up is something I thought I would have never seen. Watching him just stand there and watch Battier set up for 5 minutes for that corner three was heartbreaking.
It just doesn't make sense that we changed the gameplan that much when we're arguably a Battier and Randolph three away from being up 3-0 despite how poorly we played in the first three games of the series.
Said it in the Game Blog, but Jefferson would've thrown it down getting all the way to the rim a few years ago rather than the weakness he threw up at the basket in the 1st quarter over the backboard out of bounds while he try to scream for a foul....too bad that set the tone for his game. If he plays like that early in Game 5, I won't care if they go with the 3-guard lineup; at least the smaller guys will get it up on the rim. Hill is playing WAY too tentative, like he doesn't want to make mistakes.....we need him to attack the basket with reckless abandon (minus thje reckless TO) but it looks like RJ's going to continue to abandon his recklessness when the game's on the line.
Again, happy B-Day man, sorry for the results.
Pop's "strategy" on defending Conley completely sucks ass too. Just giving him all the space in the world coming off screens giving him open J after open J....
I've been following this team for 32 years and that third quarter is at the top of my list for a lack of heart and effort by the Spurs.
I think this group knows it can't do it anymore in the playoffs. It was sad to watch, but not totally surprising.
It's embarrasing to be showed up by the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies. One of the worst franchises in sports for most of its existence. For all the accolades those guys will get from the uninformed media, they still gave away Pau Gasol for pennies on the dollar (Marc Gasol included) and totally wiffed on the second pick in the draft two years ago. Nobody wanted Zach Randolph because he was a dog and a punk for eight or nine years in this league. Memphis was fortunate he was in a contract run and was looking at his career totaling going down the tubes without a serious at ude adjustment. Memphis was literally the last chance saloon for him (the Clippers didn't even want him).
I guess I have to remember Tim Duncan is 35 years old and is a s of the player he once was. He is still the Spurs best big, but if you can't win a single matchup on the floor, you are in trouble. I wish the 25 year old Tim was out there because he would have made mincemeat out of that opponent, but that is not the reality of it all.
The next 3-4 years may not be a lot of fun, unfortunately.
First props to all who watched this game in its entirety. I stayed away from the tv hoping to see a win on the scoreboard afterwards.
We had the league in our hands through 90 percent of the regular season, projected to win damn near 70 at the all-star break. Then Duncan goes down, the Spurs collapse in several games, and limp into the postseason.
Now we have to assess how much Ginobili's elbow injury in that meaningless Phoenix game has affected the Spurs chances of winning at least one of the 3 losses in this series.
There's a still another game to be played and along with it the chance exists that all this talk of imminent defeat will have been greatly exagerated....
Either way I'll definitely be tuning in on Wednesday unlike tonight.
It did officially end tonight, as opposed to '07 or '08, as some say. The reason it ended tonight is because the coach and the players knew it. It dawned on them that they more than likely weren't going to win this series and even if they did, they have no chance to win the championship or a championship in what's left of the Duncan era. And as soon as that realization hit them, the game, series, season and era, was over. Because of that, I don't even think they'll win game five.
There is no realistic trade that can vault them back into contention. Unlike '08, when the core was still good enough, the core is no longer good enough and even if they were, they're not surrounded by enough championship caliber role players. Also, they're not capable of staying healthy and being in peak form come the playoffs, no matter how much rest they're given during the regular season.
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