OMG Fire Pop already

[Spurs Brazil]

You can lead a camel to water but you can't make him drink. Bowen is gone and Duncan is half the man he used to be. What do you expect from a coach that has no choice but to throw out the likes of Bonner, Neal, Green & company. This team is paper thin defensively and no matter what defensive strategy Pop draws up on the whiteboard, the team will fail miserably.

I don't agree with that. Pop had the chance to try something different like starting Tiago and Leonard instead of Blair and Jefferson. The defense would be better with 2 bigs and Leonard

[Hoops Czar]

I don't agree with that. Pop had the chance to try something different like starting Tiago and Leonard instead of Blair and Jefferson. The defense would be better with 2 bigs and Leonard

And then where's the offense coming from in the second unit? Manu won't be coming off the bench forever and then you have a second unit of Bonner, RJ, Green, Neal and Blair. That's dog crap.

Your not going to extend Splitter beyond 25-28 minutes if you want to lean on him in the playoffs. I suppose you could close the game out with the Duncan and Splitter but that will just force teams to shoot perimeter jump shots and thats usually money against the Spurs defense. There is no answer to solving the Spurs defensive woes.

[Fabbs]

I'm really hoping Pop had a different tone behind closed doors. If Pop was fine with that defensive effort, someone needs to put together an intervention.

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthre...t=intervention

[Kerr]

Postgame presser and he's praising the team's effort and talking about how hard they played and saying the reason the team lost was because Bonner and RJ missed some open shots.

Holy we scored 108 points. That should be enough.

Pop is R.I.P and has been for a while. He's Don Nelson now. We need to accept it.

He doesn't give a about defense. He's not even trying. Just cashing checks. And Holt is a clown who keeps paying them. Whole coaching staff full of yes men.

"What's that? Play RJ and Bonner 30 minutes a night Pop? Sure, great idea."

"What? You don't think Tim and Tiago can play together? Me neither."


I hate this.

Did you watch the game? Seriously inadequate posting. Paul and Williams just happened to have a mental game. We'll beat LOL City in a series every day of the week. Nothing to worry about.

And PS. POP is the best coach in the game, remember that!

[TJastal]

And then where's the offense coming from in the second unit? Manu won't be coming off the bench forever and then you have a second unit of Bonner, RJ, Green, Neal and Blair. That's dog crap.

Your not going to extend Splitter beyond 25-28 minutes if you want to lean on him in the playoffs. I suppose you could close the game out with the Duncan and Splitter but that will just force teams to shoot perimeter jump shots and thats usually money against the Spurs defense. There is no answer to solving the Spurs defensive woes.

There seems to be one pretty clear solution/answer, IMO.

As brittle as Manu has been this season, I think it's becoming increasing likely his role will remain as a bench player. That said....

Pop needs more defense in the 1st unit. At the very minimum, Leonard and Splitter need to move to the starting lineup, and that would leave Manu, RJ, Blair, Bonner, & Green as the 2nd unit which is a very strong offensive unit.

If that still isn't enough, Pop can always swap out Neal and Green again, giving that 1st unit even more defense but I would try it the former way first, I think once Neal gets used to his new role he'll do well.

[TJastal]

Another key advantage I forgot to mention to having Splitter start and Manu come off the bench is to maximize the Parker P&R game. This opens up even more scoring opportunities for Tony, and allows him to be the clear #1 option on offense.

[Hoops Czar]

There seems to be one pretty clear solution/answer, IMO.

As brittle as Manu has been this season, I think it's becoming increasing likely his role will remain as a bench player. That said....

Pop needs more defense in the 1st unit. At the very minimum, Leonard and Splitter need to move to the starting lineup, and that would leave Manu, RJ, Blair, Bonner, & Green as the 2nd unit which is a very strong offensive unit.

If that still isn't enough, Pop can always swap out Neal and Green again, giving that 1st unit even more defense but I would try it the former way first, I think once Neal gets used to his new role he'll do well.

There is a pretty strong indication that will freeze over before you see RJ coming off the bench.

Putting Blair and Bonner together is a recipe for disaster even if it were only for 15-20 minutes a game.

[TJastal]

There is a pretty strong indication that will freeze over before you see RJ coming off the bench.

Putting Blair and Bonner together is a recipe for disaster even if it were only for 15-20 minutes a game.

The idea here is that by concentrating the Blair/Bonner minutes against the opposing teams' bench players their combined suckitude will be somewhat deflected. And Pop can always reinsert Tim/Tiago if there is a matchup problem.

I have a strong su ion that unit would be a terror offensively, and really ratchet up the crowd/intensity and when guys are playing with emotion they tend to play better defensively as well. I really think it would be a great rotation. I think Jefferson would play much better in this role as well. We might actually see some of the old Richard Jefferson run and gun production that he was known for in NJ. Seriously, something has to be done about Jefferson, because right now in the starting lineup he sucks badly, game after game after game. How Pop cannot see this is utterly beyond me.

So basically come at em with defense first, then shift gears and smack over the head with an offensive barrage. I think this rotation would really give opposing teams fits.

[JRHernandez88]

Pop is a world class bull ter, but he's done a damn good job considering he's had extremely limited assets to work with (partially his fault tbh..). He's had to abandon his principles but, it's hard to find too much fault with Pop overall.

What he said

[Wild Cobra Kai]

You would of been more convincing if you started this thread after a win. Instead you come across as a raging, whiny, Spurs fan, whose having a meltdown after a loss. But, hey, maybe you feel better now.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Another key advantage I forgot to mention to having Splitter start and Manu come off the bench is to maximize the Parker P&R game. This opens up even more scoring opportunities for Tony, and allows him to be the clear #1 option on offense.

Haven't been watching much this year, have you?

[TJastal]

Haven't been watching much this year, have you?

Well obviously Parker has been the #1 option since Manu went down, but one has to wonder if that would change if Manu was brought back to the starting lineup (and I don't care what Manu says publically about Tony being the "leader" nwo, we all know that's just media fluff).

IMHO it would serve the team well (and especially Tony) for Pop to delineate Manu's role ASAP. Which IMO should be the 6th man role due to various factors. That is what I meant by clearing up the issue. I think it would do Parker well to not be worrying about what his role is/isn't going to be and he would thrive once he knows the challenge bar has been set and he will be the clear #1 option. And with Splitter added, most of the offense would run through the Splitter/TP P&R, which has been wildly successful and you also have Neal there to help shoulder the scoring if teams want to strictly focus on stopping TP.

Hope that makes sense.

[TJastal]

Another thing. As Timvp has already pointed out: A starting Parker/Neal backcourt cannot be successful with Richard Jefferson. There is simply not enough defense there. Leonard has to also start for this to work. A Parker-Neal-Leonard-Splitter-Duncan lineup is a great blend of offense and defense and the thing I love about it it's not trying to "mask" ty players like Blair & Jefferson against starting quality players that will simply eat them alive in a playoff atmosphere.

[Ryan Fitzpatrick]

Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, and that Polock from Duke together couldn't make the Spurs a contender.

Stop blaming the coach for an NBA team's success or failure.

[DMC]

Pop is making a load of money for what he does. He knows the fortunes of the Spurs rose and fell with the rise and set of the David Robinson/Tim Duncan era. Now he's making quilts out of role players and trying to use those to cover the gaping holes in the Spurs' game. Pop got a reprieve from Manu and Tony, two late picks that out performed expectations.

Shuffling your money in your wallet doesn't make you richer, and starting this or that guy instead isn't going to make the Spurs a better team. They need an infusion of talent and size, and unfortunately those things have free will to not come to SA.

Enjoy the regular season while you can. Soon even that won't be fun.

[therealtruth]

And then where's the offense coming from in the second unit? Manu won't be coming off the bench forever and then you have a second unit of Bonner, RJ, Green, Neal and Blair. That's dog crap.

Your not going to extend Splitter beyond 25-28 minutes if you want to lean on him in the playoffs. I suppose you could close the game out with the Duncan and Splitter but that will just force teams to shoot perimeter jump shots and thats usually money against the Spurs defense. There is no answer to solving the Spurs defensive woes.

The reason teams shots are money against the Spurs is because the perimeter defenders sag off so much. The reason they sag off so much is because they don't have enough help inside. The best way to correct it by getting them help inside by playing TD/TS together.

[ThaBigFundamental21]

I don't think you in clowns get it. We are the shortest team in the NBA. WTF do you want Pop to do??? We have 2 close to 7 foot guys. The rest of the roster is tiny. Our D won't be until we add size.

[roycrikside]

I don't think you in clowns get it. We are the shortest team in the NBA. WTF do you want Pop to do??? We have 2 close to 7 foot guys. The rest of the roster is tiny. Our D won't be until we add size.

NO . Why do you think I'm ranting?

If Pop wasn't an incompetent, stubborn old fool living off the luck of some ping pong balls bouncing the right way and RC finding Manu and Tony for him, everyone would've seen that he's a fraud a long time ago. He has no defensive magic tricks. Never did. It's all been about having two world class defensive bigs in Duncan and Robinson, and then once Robinson retired he still had Horry and Bowen and Manu, so a pretty good defensive squad. Now that Bowen and Horry are retired and Duncan is 35, Pop has no tricks and he's been exposed.

If he had a brain, if he wasn't so set in his ways and stubborn and afraid to admit that he was WRONG about Tiago, he's play him and Duncan together 30+ minutes a night, play Kawhi in the Bowen role with instructions to stay close to his man and funnel everyone baseline if they do drive by you and ride the Parker/Ginobili backcourt as much as possible.

No, we wouldn't score 100+ points with this lineup, we'd have to win games 85-83, but it's the only way we can compete for a le, short of trading for another big.

And the fact that Pop hasn't made finding one more big in trade a bigger priority so that we can bench Blair is something I'm holding against him as well. I have zero faith in Pop. None. Even if we do find another big, he'd probably bench Tiago before he benches Blair or Bonner because "they've gotten over themselves" and "Tiago isn't very skilled."

[therealtruth]

NO . Why do you think I'm ranting?

If Pop wasn't an incompetent, stubborn old fool living off the luck of some ping pong balls bouncing the right way and RC finding Manu and Tony for him, everyone would've seen that he's a fraud a long time ago. He has no defensive magic tricks. Never did. It's all been about having two world class defensive bigs in Duncan and Robinson, and then once Robinson retired he still had Horry and Bowen and Manu, so a pretty good defensive squad. Now that Bowen and Horry are retired and Duncan is 35, Pop has no tricks and he's been exposed.

If he had a brain, if he wasn't so set in his ways and stubborn and afraid to admit that he was WRONG about Tiago, he's play him and Duncan together 30+ minutes a night, play Kawhi in the Bowen role with instructions to stay close to his man and funnel everyone baseline if they do drive by you and ride the Parker/Ginobili backcourt as much as possible.

No, we wouldn't score 100+ points with this lineup, we'd have to win games 85-83, but it's the only way we can compete for a le, short of trading for another big.

And the fact that Pop hasn't made finding one more big in trade a bigger priority so that we can bench Blair is something I'm holding against him as well. I have zero faith in Pop. None. Even if we do find another big, he'd probably bench Tiago before he benches Blair or Bonner because "they've gotten over themselves" and "Tiago isn't very skilled."

Pop's main excuse for not playing them together is probably the offense. But I am sure once they start playing together and running plays to take advantage of them together the offense will be better than expected. He has to make the adjustment though. You don't play the same way with TD and TS as you do TD and Blair or TS and Bonner.

[Spurs da champs]

Phil Jackson, Larry Brown, and that Polock from Duke together couldn't make the Spurs a contender.

Stop blaming the coach for an NBA team's success or failure.

The guy constantly plays ty players over his better players, I mean he'd be the only coach in the league who would play Green/Jefferson more then Leonard & Bonner/Blair more then Splitter.

[silverblk mystix]

NO . Why do you think I'm ranting?

If Pop wasn't an incompetent, stubborn old fool living off the luck of some ping pong balls bouncing the right way and RC finding Manu and Tony for him, everyone would've seen that he's a fraud a long time ago. He has no defensive magic tricks. Never did. It's all been about having two world class defensive bigs in Duncan and Robinson, and then once Robinson retired he still had Horry and Bowen and Manu, so a pretty good defensive squad. Now that Bowen and Horry are retired and Duncan is 35, Pop has no tricks and he's been exposed.

If he had a brain, if he wasn't so set in his ways and stubborn and afraid to admit that he was WRONG about Tiago, he's play him and Duncan together 30+ minutes a night, play Kawhi in the Bowen role with instructions to stay close to his man and funnel everyone baseline if they do drive by you and ride the Parker/Ginobili backcourt as much as possible.

No, we wouldn't score 100+ points with this lineup, we'd have to win games 85-83, but it's the only way we can compete for a le, short of trading for another big.

And the fact that Pop hasn't made finding one more big in trade a bigger priority so that we can bench Blair is something I'm holding against him as well. I have zero faith in Pop. None. Even if we do find another big, he'd probably bench Tiago before he benches Blair or Bonner because "they've gotten over themselves" and "Tiago isn't very skilled."

This.

I've been saying this for awhile...now get ready to have the Pop nut-riders come and say you are having a meltdown, Pop has 4 rings, Bonner is not so bad, Tiago isn't any good, and of course...the other Popologist fave; "If you got rid of Pop, who would you replace him with?"...

and whomever you choose will always be a laughable choice....

[TJastal]

NO . Why do you think I'm ranting?

If Pop wasn't an incompetent, stubborn old fool living off the luck of some ping pong balls bouncing the right way and RC finding Manu and Tony for him, everyone would've seen that he's a fraud a long time ago. He has no defensive magic tricks. Never did. It's all been about having two world class defensive bigs in Duncan and Robinson, and then once Robinson retired he still had Horry and Bowen and Manu, so a pretty good defensive squad. Now that Bowen and Horry are retired and Duncan is 35, Pop has no tricks and he's been exposed.

If he had a brain, if he wasn't so set in his ways and stubborn and afraid to admit that he was WRONG about Tiago, he's play him and Duncan together 30+ minutes a night, play Kawhi in the Bowen role with instructions to stay close to his man and funnel everyone baseline if they do drive by you and ride the Parker/Ginobili backcourt as much as possible.

No, we wouldn't score 100+ points with this lineup, we'd have to win games 85-83, but it's the only way we can compete for a le, short of trading for another big.

And the fact that Pop hasn't made finding one more big in trade a bigger priority so that we can bench Blair is something I'm holding against him as well. I have zero faith in Pop. None. Even if we do find another big, he'd probably bench Tiago before he benches Blair or Bonner because "they've gotten over themselves" and "Tiago isn't very skilled."

Worthy of post of the year.

[jjktkk]

If Pop wasn't an incompetent, stubborn old fool living off the luck of some ping pong balls bouncing the right way and RC finding Manu and Tony for him, everyone would've seen that he's a fraud a long time ago.

Imagine a coach winning championships with great players. Who would of thought? Seriously, next time, ask a family member or friend to look over your next post before you hit that enter button.

[DMC]

Coaches aren't frauds. People who credit the coach entirely with the success of the team are ignorant, and media types who boost coaches because of the team records (CoY) without consideration to acquisitions are frauds.

Coaches coach, they teach fundamentals and make adjustments. They clock manage and deal with egos. They inspire the team, but even the greatest artists ever could only turn a turd into a cooler looking turd. It's still a turd.

The team has to buy into the coach's methods and plan. They also have to have the ability to carry it out. There are three Spurs players who have the ability. The rest are trying to get there, including Tiago.