Grades: Spurs @ Celtics - Apr. 4

[therealtruth]

That's precisely why my reaction to the Bonner shot was "oh no, not him. ANYONE BUT HIM!" Positive reinforcement for Pop's insanity.

Bonner is actually a pretty good 2pt shooter when he has his feet set. In fact I think he should probably use it more in his game in certain instances like when he gets run of the 3pt line and when he has a smaller defender on him.

[timvp]

I might have been too generous giving Manu that +. Here's a play-by-play of that possession at the end that ended up in the assist to Bonner:



1:20 - Ginobili loses the ball. Neal recovers.

1:11 - Ginobili crashes into Bonner and steals an offensive rebound that was going right to Bonner.

0:52 - Ginobili throws a duck of a pass to Duncan that is nearly stolen.

0:50 - Ginobili steals the ball from Duncan.

0:48 - Ginobili leaves his feet with nowhere to go and throws a blind pass to Bonner. Bonner hits a type of shot he never attempts at a time of game he never succeeds.

If that wasn't an F game by Ginobili, he'll probably never have an F game, tbh.

[Mel_13]

I might have been too generous giving Manu that +. Here's a play-by-play of that possession at the end that ended up in the assist to Bonner:



1:20 - Ginobili loses the ball. Neal recovers.

1:11 - Ginobili crashes into Bonner and steals an offensive rebound that was going right to Bonner.

0:52 - Ginobili throws a duck of a pass to Duncan that is nearly stolen.

0:50 - Ginobili steals the ball from Duncan.

0:48 - Ginobili leaves his feet with nowhere to go and throws a blind pass to Bonner. Bonner hits a type of shot he never attempts at a time of game he never succeeds.

If that wasn't an F game by Ginobili, he'll probably never have an F game, tbh.

Absolutely hilarious play-by-play.

At this point it's become obvious that Manu needs to be rested in order to really help the team. They should leave him in San Antonio when they go to Utah for the second half of the b2b coming up on Sunday/Monday. That way, he'd have three full days of rest for the Laker game on Wednesday. Probably should leave TD home as well, but I don't know if Timmy would go for that.

[Mugen]

Yeah that Manu pass to Duncan at 0:52 was a classic "WTF Manu!" moment, really dumb lob pass right into the teeth of the Celtics D

Worst game i've seen from him in a long, long time. I think Pop even screamed "get your head out of your ass at him!" after a high pass to Jax that sailed out of bounds...

[skin]

Not long ago in one of the countless "Free Thiago" threads timvp pointed out the reason why Splitter doesn't start over Blair is because Pop sees him as 5 and Bonner and Blair as 4. That also would explain his limited minutes + Bonner MPG.

I disagree cause IMO Pop uses this explanation only when is convenient for him. What really scares me in this terrible rotation we're stuck on is the fact that Tim is playing a lot of minutes. We need him healthy to lead us when playoff comes. If he gets hurt, OMFG, suddenly Ginger will become 5 and we're fkd once again.

No matter what we say, truth is: Ginger is the apple of Pop's eye, he doesn't trust Splitter and it seems Diaw won't have nothing but garbage time in the playoffs.

[SenorSpur]

We'll take it. Nothing to get too anxious over. Spurs played the hottest team in the league besides them in their own building on the second night of a b2b and still won. Honestly they looked tired in the second half. But if the Spurs can play, by far, their WORST half of ball all season and still manage to beat one of the top teams in the East then you have to take it a keep going

All of which would make one wonder why the coach didn't utilize this superior depth to overwhelm the Celtics?

[100%duncan]

Manu's and TP's grade just made this win much much sweeter.

[Whisky Dog]

To me Pop is wasting some valuable time in finding out if Diaw can get acclimated to the Spurs well enough to replace the minutes that Blair mostly plays. We really need a playoff rotation of Duncan, Splitter, Diaw, then Bonner running tight into the playoffs. Blair is just to deficient defensively to contribute positively in a playoff rotation, an if Diaw can give some defensive presence and passing with those minutes we need to find out now.

[letmk]

Allen didn't want to come back and they didn't know J. Green would need heart surgery.

It's more of Celtics didn't want to bring him back than the other way. At that time, Allen hasn't established himself as one of best defense players yet(His defense was already pretty good, but was seen more as a hustler from the bench), the leverage was on the Celtics side, and they blew it.

And even if Allen doesn't want to come back, it's more of Shaq's "they don't value me more or don't want to pay me more," instead of Howard's "I just want to get out here" mood. And Grizzlies didn't even give him a big contract at all. $10M for 3 years. (?)

And you still want to justify Perkins trade? It's not about the health of Green at all. You don't trade a big part of your championship team (if not for Perkins' injury, they should've got the second one), a legit low-post defender (although a little bit undersized), an enforcer, a guy who was having great rapport with his teammates, for a bench winger with so-called potential.

Plus, even the Celtics wants Green, with him having no chance to be a starter behind Durant (Thunder used him at PF from time to time to let him the start, but that's just a compromise), you don't need to pay the price of trading your starting center.

In all, you don't need to look further than watching Rondo and KG's response after the trade to see that their team-wide togetherness and iness (very essential to their success) got a big blow.

[TJastal]

To me Pop is wasting some valuable time in finding out if Diaw can get acclimated to the Spurs well enough to replace the minutes that Blair mostly plays. We really need a playoff rotation of Duncan, Splitter, Diaw, then Bonner running tight into the playoffs. Blair is just to deficient defensively to contribute positively in a playoff rotation, an if Diaw can give some defensive presence and passing with those minutes we need to find out now.

I stated this before (and a dumbass chimed in I made no sense), Pop is going to savor every last bit of his saavy trade deadline acquisitions, so don't expect any steady rotations to be locked until he's good and satisfied. Which could take up until the last week of the regular season. Or never. I'm betting on the latter.

If I didn't know better it seems almost as if if he was just waiting for a few breakout games from his new acquisitions (Mills & Diaw) so he could show everyone how smart he is and now he'll thumb his nose at all his critics by benching them the rest of the way. Giving his narcissistic nature, I wouldn't put this past him. I think this could also be the reason Splitter languishes on the bench far more than he should.

[RodNIc91]

Am I the only one pissed at pop for making him guard Ray Allen? Seriously? The worst defender off screens with the best player who moves off the ball? Otherwise I agree with the general sentiment of the game.

[Arcadian]

I like the fact that we outrebounded Boston by 14. Rebounding is one of the keys to success in the playoffs, and it was a weakness for the Spurs last year.

[Horse]

I thought Pop stayed with the starters too long when they weren't getting it done. Also can anyone stop Splitter on the pick and roll I mean it's seems he gets a layup everytime, they should just run it to death and let him play more.

[HeroSquad]

I stated this before (and a dumbass chimed in I made no sense), Pop is going to savor every last bit of his saavy trade deadline acquisitions, so don't expect any steady rotations to be locked until he's good and satisfied. Which could take up until the last week of the regular season. Or never. I'm betting on the latter.

If I didn't know better it seems almost as if if he was just waiting for a few breakout games from his new acquisitions (Mills & Diaw) so he could show everyone how smart he is and now he'll thumb his nose at all his critics by benching them the rest of the way. Giving his narcissistic nature, I wouldn't put this past him. I think this could also be the reason Splitter languishes on the bench far more than he should.

With all due respect (remember, I can now say anything I want and you can't get upset--RICKY BOBBAY!), that is some paranoid, consipiracy-level reasoning right there. You're saying that Pop refuses to play Diaw, Mills, Splitter because he's narcissistic? That he is able to successfully undermine the Spurs organization by rebelling against basketball logic just so he can thumb his nose at people? Don't get me wrong, some of Pop's decision-making is questionable to be sure, but you'd be mistaken to presume that Pop is doing it just to show people up. I mean, just think about the logistics of integrating a new player into a team; it's not pick up basketball. Who's to say that Diaw doesn't see major minutes the last two weeks of the season? I understand the frustration but I am seriously confused when people claim that Pop is intentionally trying to sabotage the team by not playing Player X enough or giving Player Y too many minutes. I'm all for criticism, but what you're saying is both irrational and absurd. With all due respect of course. Also, I don't mean to attack you personally as I'm sure you're just as devoted a Spurs fan as everyone else. In the end, we're on the same team.

[EVAY]

I honestly felt that Duncan's grade was too high by a long shot. Yes he got a lot of rebounds but he wasn't exactly playing against a group of great rebounders for a fair amount go the time. Lots of spurs had good rebounding last night.

He only shot 25%!! Please. Come on guys...he was demanding to be given the ball in the fourth quarter and then failing to deliver. If you can't make the shot, stop demanding the ball!!

His defense improved in the second half but it almost had to. I assumed that Pop had gotten on his rear at halftime because he came out and started rebounding and contesting some shots...but man, his help defense in the first quarter was non-existent!

The grade was too high, imo. Sorry.

[maverick1948]

Thanks for the grades. Great read, blah blah blah.

But c'mon now. We only had an 11 point lead at the half and hung on to win our 9th straight against the 2nd hottest team in the league. 15/17 on the road and 26/31 overall. And the coach gets a D? The fact that we even have 13 players who are healthy and can contribute/start is an accomplishment of its own. Our defense only gave up 38 pts in the 2nd half while nothing was falling on offense. You can't just suggest Pop "should have given Boris Diaw a look in the second half" and expect a double-digit win. Pop can't shoot the ball. The offense was horrible. But the two goats, Bonner and Neal, both avenged themselves in the end. Pop deserves a B- at worst

The two goats???? Seems to me like there was 10 goats and 2 of them made a shot that counted. No not two goats, 10 goats who scored 28 points in the second half.

[Shastafarian]

I honestly felt that Duncan's grade was too high by a long shot. Yes he got a lot of rebounds but he wasn't exactly playing against a group of great rebounders for a fair amount go the time. Lots of spurs had good rebounding last night.

He only shot 25%!! Please. Come on guys...he was demanding to be given the ball in the fourth quarter and then failing to deliver. If you can't make the shot, stop demanding the ball!!

His defense improved in the second half but it almost had to. I assumed that Pop had gotten on his rear at halftime because he came out and started rebounding and contesting some shots...but man, his help defense in the first quarter was non-existent!

The grade was too high, imo. Sorry.

I would agree with this. When he wasn't getting pushed out of the post, he was slow to rotate on driving players. Obviously it's not his fault his teammates were no better than turnstiles, but he definitely looked his age on defense a fair share and on offense the majority of the time.

I also noticed a VERY heated exchange in the 2nd half between Pop and Manu. I have a feeling the Spurs got reamed out more post game than the Celtics did.

[maverick1948]

There's supporting the team and then there's being in denial.

I want the Spurs to win it all and I think that the pieces are there to do it. However, given what we've seen of the way those pieces are being utilized, there's no reason to think the Spurs will go all the way short of an unprecedented hot streak or some extremely favourable match-ups.

You're free to think otherwise and I won't question whether or not you're a fan...

What is your record as an NBA coach??

[therealtruth]

I thought Pop stayed with the starters too long when they weren't getting it done. Also can anyone stop Splitter on the pick and roll I mean it's seems he gets a layup everytime, they should just run it to death and let him play more.

I've never understood when teams go away from something that is working. I say keep running the play till the other team adjusts.

[TheSkeptic]

What is your record as an NBA coach??

*sigh*

I've never said that Pop is a bad coach. He's actually one of the best in the business. But that doesn't mean he never makes mistakes.

What I'm saying is that if he doesn't adjust the Spurs are probably not going to win a championship.

I thought that much was obvious after the Memphis series. I gave him the benefit of a doubt then but I personally don't think the same strategy that costed them last season is going to somehow be effective this time around.

Since I'm a fan of the team, however, I'm watching and hoping that I'm wrong. Is that really so hard to understand?

I've never understood when teams go away from something that is working. I say keep running the play till the other team adjusts.

+1

[rmt]

I think this is a legitimate strategy that older/slower teams tend to use. In order to not be out of place on defense, there are teams like the Celtics that will sacrifice offensive rebounds in order to prevent fastbreaks and get set up.

The Celtics in particular also seem to have (had?) a set goal of making opponents shoot more long 2's than anything else. They pack the paint and make it very difficult to score in the post and they also run teams off the 3 point line. Or they used to anyway. From what I've seen of them this year they still make an effort to crowd the paint in any case.

If they're able to control the defensive glass while executing efficiently in the half-court, then for the most part it's a wrap. I think it's pretty clear to see how they've won games more often than not these past few seasons.

When they get it going, their defense is a thing of beauty.

Seems just like the Spurs philosophy when the defense was great - no layups, protect the paint, chase off the 3pt line, contested long 2s, run back on defense early. Probably why DAL - which is a great jumpshooting team, always gave them problems.

[Brazil]

I also noticed a VERY heated exchange in the 2nd half between Pop and Manu. I have a feeling the Spurs got reamed out more post game than the Celtics did.

don't remember seeing this.

I need a gif ! I'll put that in my sig ala Fkla

[therealtruth]

Seems just like the Spurs philosophy when the defense was great - no layups, protect the paint, chase off the 3pt line, contested long 2s, run back on defense early. Probably why DAL - which is a great jumpshooting team, always gave them problems.

The Spurs give up too many uncontested 2's and then wonder why teams shoot so well against them. You can't allow players to develop rhythm that's why you have to contest all shots. Once a player develops rhythm contesting shots doesn't have the same effect.

[roycrikside]

Absolutely hilarious play-by-play.

At this point it's become obvious that Manu needs to be rested in order to really help the team. They should leave him in San Antonio when they go to Utah for the second half of the b2b coming up on Sunday/Monday. That way, he'd have three full days of rest for the Laker game on Wednesday. Probably should leave TD home as well, but I don't know if Timmy would go for that.

I'd rest Tony vs. NO, Tim for the home Utah game and Manu for the road Utah game.

[TD 21]

The lack of mental toughness and poise was really disappointing to see. They didn't win this game; they survived it. Three times this season an elite defensive team turned up the pressure, got into the Spurs' jerseys and all three times they folded. The difference between the Heat and Bulls games and this one was, the Celtics don't have the talent that those teams do. They labor to score and are terrible on the glass and ultimately, their inability to rebound is what did them in.

Pop's rotation was atrocious. I'm not sure why he rushed Duncan back in so soon in the 1st half. I thought Splitter was playing Garnett too soft defensively, but he still should have played another 3 or so minutes. I don't care if he might have been winded, he'd have been done for the half after that and would only have been needed for 6-9 minutes in the 2nd half. How do they expect to get him back in game shape by constantly babying him? He's 27, has missed a bunch of games, plays 19 mpg and barring a Duncan injury, won't see a e in minutes in the playoffs. So it's not like they're saving him.

And I've never seen Pop more reluctant to go small. In the end, it payed off, as Bonner his a clutch shot and cleaned the glass, but it hurt them throughout much of the fourth, as Pierce and Pavlovic did their best Parker and Rose impersonation, by blowing by defenders at will. Still, Pop surprised me. I thought he'd be all too pleased to oblige.