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I think it would be dangerously shortsighted to think that this wasn't a horribly flawed team. If Manu's healthy, I think they get through Round 1, but even at full strength, that team wasn't going to seriously threaten a le.
Pop recently sat down with WOAI News 4 Sports Director, Don Harris in a one-on-one interview, in which he commented on all things Spurs.
As far as his assessment of the team and it's recent playoff failures, he pooh-poohs the notion that the Spurs were not "good enough" or "talented enough" to hang with the Grizzlies. In keeping consistent with his comments made the day after the Spurs were eliminated, Pop cites injuries and overall poor play as the primary reasons the Spurs were ousted. If not for those, the Spurs likely "move on to play OKC and later the Mavs", according to our local wine afficiando. He doesn't want to hear anything about "age", "size" or even a "lack of athleticism".
The question for the masses is do you feel that Pop is being truthful in his assessment of the team's playoff performance or is he just delusional?
See the entire video here:
http://www.woai.com/content/sports/s...gThWywtJQ.cspx
I think it would be dangerously shortsighted to think that this wasn't a horribly flawed team. If Manu's healthy, I think they get through Round 1, but even at full strength, that team wasn't going to seriously threaten a le.
I cast my vote for fiction. This Spurs team built an impressive 61-win record during the regular season. However, we all know the playoffs are a far different deal than the regular season. As significant as talent is, matchups also play a significant role in determining a team's chances for a deep playoff run.
The fact is this Spurs team was still undersized and was lacking the requisite talent needed to overtake teams like the Grizzlies, Thunder and Mavs. With little help from the supporting cast (RJ, Bonner, Hill), the Big Three were overtaxed - especially TD and Manu. They were required to carry far too much of the load in order for this team to have success.
Injuries and a loss of "mojo" notwithstanding, the Grizzlies merely exposed the Spurs and their deficiencies. Pop and even RC to an extent, are both in denial if they cannot see where the deficiencies are with this roster. To simply dismiss the Grizzlies series by making excuses about injuries and poor play is a clear sign of denial.
After all these years, if Pop doesn't feel that the better team prevails in a 7-game series, then he should probably consider hanging it up when Duncan leaves.
The Spurs knew what they had going into the playoffs. Pop knew how the Grizz would try to exploit the size factor. Pop screwed up by not playing Splitter more in the regular season. Splitter might not have been the answer to all our problems, but by the time Pop realized the Spurs played better with him logging more minutes I believe the Spurs were down 2-1.
With Splitter logging more minutes in the regular season, I see the Spurs winning round 1 in 5 games and then beating the Thunder. Would they have won the championship, probably not, but they would have been a of a lot better.
I think we need one or two pieces and thats it. Oh and get rid of Bonner/Blair lineup. One more big man who is actually big and an RJ that doesn't choke it all away all the time would be great.
If he's sincere and he's making decisions based on that premise, then we're headed for some pretty disappointing basketball.
Do you think Pop might trade himself to Dallas for Carlisle?
It's not just about the Grizzlies series guys.
2011- 1st round exit 4-2 Grizzlies
2010 - 2nd round exit 4-0 Suns sweep
2009 - 1st round exit 4-1 Mavs
This team needs to be blown up. That's the bottom line.
This. The Spurs have no one who can guard anyone on the perimeter and could really use an athletic 4. If they had a couple of guys like Tony Allen and Udonis Haslem on the team they could probably win a le, but no way with and Bonner.
Sadly, I think Pop is being sincere....hope he ultimately ends up right and rights the ship...
Pop crossed the line from genius to insanity years ago.
I would agree with this if I wasn't currently watching the ing Heat and Mavs compete for a le.
I've never been one to be so outspoken about Pop because I know that he sees more than we do in practice, in the locker rooms, etc. However, I think he's ing idiot if he maintains that having Bonner play in crucial minutes is a good idea. RJ doesn't produce as much as we'd like, but I don't feel that he's nearly as detrimental to the team as Matt Bonner is when he's not hitting his 3 ball. Of course, this occurs once the playoff lights are turned on. When Pop decided to play Splitter halfway through the series, you knew that he finally saw his error. The problem is that he kept playing Bonner. This team has weaknesses, yes, but if we hadn't gotten used to Bonner being in the game throughout the season and basically being on fire from downtown, then we would have had to find other ways to win. Once we didn't have that three-ball anymore, the offense was garbage because nobody knew what else to do.
Pop has sold himself, and now trying to sell everyone else, on fool's gold - which that 61-game season really was.
I think every possible reference to "fool's gold" as to define the the Spurs' regular season record has been explored, expelled, exploited, rehashed, recycled and repeated . . . ad nauseum.
I'm surprised Giuseppe hasn't made it part of his repertoire.
I don't think he's delusional but he isn't being completely truthful either.
Let's not forget that during the season when the Spurs had the best record he was the one who always said, "We have the best record but we are not the best team".
So he knows the team has flaws, he's just keeping things in perspective. Now can he say everything that goes through his mind? No because he's the coach.
Last edited by ogait; 06-10-2011 at 01:29 PM.
If Pop acknowledges that the team was not talented enough, then it forces him to make changes. I don't think Pop wants to do that and will try to keep the team as is, with the addition of maybe one or two minor free agents.
That's probably the best approach. However, it's also obvious the approach he took, with the roster limitations that were present, was not the right way to go. The team IS undersized. Duncan SHOULD NOT be saddled with the same responsibilities at 35, that he had at 25. For him to dismiss the lack of size and skill on the frontline is irresponsible.
If he doesn't want to make any public admissions about the team's flaws, that's fine. Then, he probably shouldn't say anything at all.
For all our sakes, I hope Pop is just posturing for public consumption. Still, don't pee on my leg and tell me that it's raining.
This team isn't built for grind-it-out style basketball games which is what the playoffs boil down to more often than not...no actual post players beyond Tim. Also, watching the Mavs, I see at least 4 guys that are clutch-type shooters. This team has Neal and Manu and really no one else who's clutch...another flaw. Perimeter defense is yet another glaring flaw.
So yeah, Pop's right, this team is pretty darn good, other than weak post play, no real perimeter defense, and a lack of shooters who can perform under pressure.
"Maybe it's Matt Bonner (as starter)" -
pop is not going to publically bash his players
he wants to get value for them
Ian wasn't on the team, so there's no way it could have won.
But Bonner was...and this alone should have meant a le...
Technically he is right. Then again, if you have a team where every player is playing above average then most likely you will win a majority of those games regardless of your roster. The Memphis players were playing out of their damned minds against the Spurs. The Spurs weren't playing well. Result, Memphis wins series.
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