Pop pulled the soft card after the loss against the Heat.Am I the only one who thinks this wasn't a wise time to use that card? Yeah, the Spurs played pretty soft after getting demoralized but I don't think softness had much to do with LeBron going ballistic.
Pop can only use the soft card one or two times a season. This wasn't a smart usage, IMO.
Last edited by timvp; 01-18-2012 at 01:25 AM.
I don't think it's out of place, tbh. As i said on your grades thread, I don't see players taking stuff personal and showing a bit of pride out there. I can understand not being able to stop Lebron and the barrage of 3s, but this team folded before and after that, and nobody rebelled.
All that said, Pop needs to do a bit of soulsearching. If you hire soft players, you can't expect them not to play soft. As far as guys like TD or TP, do you really think they're even listening at this point?
Did he use the soft card at all last year? Maybe once?
I do like that Pop is going a tad more ballistic this year on the sidelines than usual.
Felt like we went through one too many seasons of "They're veterans, they know what to do" stuff.
Pop is the one who has gotten soft. Look in the mirror Pop. You resigned Jefferson & Bonner. You play Bonner ridiculous amounts of minutes while you keep better players nailed to the bench.
Just STFU Pop, please.
Tbh, I feel the same.
fck his soft card, the only time he was fired up was when he gave up half way and the bench came in and took back the game into our favor, he gets fired up and wants to coach again...fck that is 2 times this season, he tried to pull that , again tonight against the heat after blowing a 20pt lead into a +15pt deficit he played that mercy card of his again which to effect didnt bail him out...
No, he's right, they did play soft. Their performance out of the locker room was atrocious. The same things I said in the other thread: no one played real defense and there was no energy. There was a stretch when the offense couldn't buy a basket. Although the Heat were playing solidly on both ends, there was no reason our guys couldn't try to drive to the rim more often, even considering the blatant refball occurring; they were settling for jump shots even while they weren't falling. The team really needs to man up and play a full game tomorrow night, no more of this winless-on-the-road bullcrap.
Personally, I prefer Pop to wait to use the soft card when the Spurs lose a game against a hardnosed opponent that literally won simply by being tougher. The players may listen to Pop calling them soft tonight but in the back of their minds they are remembering how LeBron was unconscious.
This was just more of a TKO.
Yeah, it is a bit early. I thought he should've waited at least for the Rodeo Road trip.
However, in the cases of RJ and Bonner, they deserve regular use of the term - especially on the road.
They're still 0fer on the road...the card is timely, imho
Im with you on this one but besides perhaps Cory Joseph I didnt see any spur with some fight in them. They could have tried double team him, show agressive D, maybe a hard foul. Lebron did went into Larry Bird meeting MJ but there's nothing worse than watching your team do nothing when Lebron got hot. Basically everyone stared as if Kawhi could've held his own into cooling him.
Is about the right time to use the soft card, he uses the soft card right before or after the ASG so he had to use it right now because is not a normal season
We had a 14 point lead to start the 3rd. The first 3 pointer Lebron made was for Miami to take the lead, 5 mins into the 3rd.
Even after all that, it was a 13 point game going into the 4th, 11 points after a Tiago hook 30 secs in. Lebron didn't even score in the 4th. Did TD or TP even play in the 4th? We folded. And Pop folded too.
They are soft, starting with Tim Duncan all the way to the last dude off the bench. RJ is so soft he's in danger of growing mushrooms out of his back.
Sure they outscored the Heat in the 1st half, but they played soft as soon as Miami went on a run. Everyone on the court in a black jersey was trying to hide.
Too early to pull the soft card IMO. It's early in the season, the guys were going to respond after this loss (especially against the even softer Magic) since it was embarassing, and probably break the road curse eventually. The Spurs aren't in terrible shape, considering Manu is not playing and they're still #1 in their division. The soft card should probably have been deployed later on when they lost to the Bucks (do they play the Bucks again)?
Need some 'thugness' on this team.
that soft card and shoutin into players heads...lol bonner just laughs at the fool cause his still gettin minutes everytime he drains a bucket even if he gives up 10pts on the other end
I don't think this was about "pulling cards", I think he was just being honest about how his team played. I think he will be saying this more often now that his team isn't completely comprised of vets. The young guys need honest criticism to know how Pop expects them to play going forward, don't think it was some kind of ploy to try and turn the team around.
That said, Pop has no one to blame but himself for this team being so limp ed. Bonner and Jefferson seeing major minutes will give ED to just about any team...his rotation, his soft beef injection.
We don't have a full indication if we played soft or not. We weren't in that huddle. If we had been in that huddle all night, and maybe heard/saw some of the players reactions during the run, we might be agreeing with Pop.
If he says we were soft, I believe him.
flawless
I agree the young guys need the honest criticism and they are going to have to grow up fast. Otherwise this road losing streak will likely continue.
I'd also like to see Pop shake up the lineup if he feels that some players are not playing with the appropriate intensity. RJ didn't deserve to see any 2nd half action. Neal was awful and Bonner was, well Bonner. Perhaps Pop should've turned more to Anderson and Thomas to help fill the void. At least, these guys would've competed hard on every play.
AT&T center biggest come court advantage in sports. Delta center (or wherever the the jazz play now) can suck it.
That's exactly what I saw. Lebron got hot when Leonard was left by himself. There was no attempt of help defense. Once Lebron was on fire, he drove towards the basket, drawing the Spurs defenders toward the paint and forgetting to guard the perimeter.
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