Bright Spots After Game 4

[ploto]

Ibaka shoots 50% you win.

Leonard shoots 50% and you still lose.

[Capt Bringdown]

Not exactly hard shooting over a guy who is maybe 6 feet...

Maybe, but those are shots he used to miss. Not anymore.

[TD 21]

Temporary fence sitting > Flip flop when going gets tough

Find me the part where I flip flopped . . .

You're as gutless as Bonner. Always looking for silver linings, instead of calling a spade a spade. And then when you encounter someone who actually does so, you accuse them of being fair weather.

[T Park]

Spurs have no answer for Ibaka - if he's going to continue to shoot like that.

No team would.

[dbreiden83080]

-Matt Vaginner is hopefully out of the rotation for good.

How is Bonner in the NBA exactly??

He can't defend
He can't rebound
He is soft as ice cream
He appears to be a dumb player
What can he do??

Make 3's.. If he can't make a 3 he is 100% useless..

That ensures him a roster spot and a 3 mil salary.. I shouldn't have quit playing ball when i was a kid..

[T Park]

You just lost the game

But IMO you wouldnt lose the series.

[slick'81]

How is Bonner in the NBA exactly??

He can't defend
He can't rebound
He is soft as ice cream
He appears to be a dumb player
What can he do??

Make 3's.. If he can't make a 3 he is 100% useless..

That ensures him a roster spot and a 3 mil salary.. I shouldn't have quit playing ball when i was a kid..

u forgot the ultimate criteria for an nba payer...hes tall lmao (6'9)

[TDMVPDPOY]

hopefully they dont get those sort of home cooking calls at the spurs gm5

[team-work]

This team they did fight back from a double-digit deficit to give them at least a chance, better than last game. Just a bit not enough.

Interesting fans including me who begged Pop to play Splitter all season now turns to Blair as potential savior. We will never face Lakers or Memphis again the season, so probably he should have some usefulness. The "matchup" thing is so marvelous that Blair always seems to do positives vs OKC.

As for the shooters (Bonner excluded), just keep shooting.

I have no doubt about the big three giving their best when it matters most.

[Keepin' it real]

I think greens last second buzzer beater 3 is a defining moment for playoff version of danny

Yes, that was very Matt Bonner of him.

[bresilhac]

Spurs have no answer for Ibaka - if he's going to continue to shoot like that.

It is highly unlikely Ibaka will have two perfect shooting nights in a row. Ditto with Perkins and Sefalosha shooting so well also. In fact the chances of those three combining for 21 of 26 again are astronomical. If those three players simply come back down to Earth and play to form the Spurs win easily in game 5. And that would be with the OKC big stars scoring big. Recall the 88 combined points of the OKC big three in game 2. I actually prefer Durant, Westbrook and Harden taking more shots because that will mean these second tier players aren't contributing as much.

[SenorSpur]

The Spurs would be better served if they had a big who was willing to actually go out on the floor and contend his shot attempts. Of course, the way IBaka was shooting tonight, it wouldn't have mattered.

[dbreiden83080]

u forgot the ultimate criteria for an nba payer...hes tall lmao (6'9)

So is my best friend but he's flat footed and unathletic.. Maybe he should have kept shooting 3's...

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Next time don't usurp hemans thread
dets bad karma lol.

[AnthonyM]

The more I sit on it and let myself calm down, the more confidence I gain in the Spurs going into Game 5.

Lol Ibaka and Perkins. Have fun going 18-for-20 in San Antonio...oh wait, you won't.

Don't get me wrong, it's going to be a bloodbath. But the Spurs won't lose three straight. Game 5 will be close the whole way...and the Spurs pull away and win by 8-10 points. Game 6 will be very intense, and the Spurs will be down for a good portion of the game, but they'll grind it out and win a very, VERY close game in OKC. Probably by 2 points.

Our year.

[Capt Bringdown]

The Spurs would be better served if they had a big who was willing to actually go out on the floor and contend his shot attempts. Of course, the way IBaka was shooting tonight, it wouldn't have mattered.

And on the other end, it'd be nice if we had a big who went up strong instead of shooting soft fade aways.

[slick'81]

So is my best friend but he's flat footed and unathletic.. Maybe he should have kept shooting 3's...

s yeah

[Capt Bringdown]

Shades of last year's Memphis debacle: "surely ____ won't shoot like that next game."

[SenorSpur]

And on the other end, it'd be nice if we had a big who went up strong instead of shooting soft fade aways.

Amen.

[KDtrey5]

Big Picture:

Parker must realize that if he keeps playing like a ing scrub then he won't be able to pull MVP-candidate level tail.

you wasn't complaining when westbrook was the one playing defense on him

[dbreiden83080]

Shades of last year's Memphis debacle: "surely ____ won't shoot like that next game."

Tony disappearing...

[Capt Bringdown]

Tony disappearing...

I think it's more of a matter of OKC having a plan and doing a great job.

History shows if you limit Parker, you beat the Spurs.

[dbreiden83080]

The elephant in the room for me, aside from Bonner's annual playoff choking, has been the continued poor play of Manu. From an array of ill-advised shots, unforced turnovers and the killer - his utterly careless passing.

We've all watched Manu for years and somehow his compe iveness, his skill level, and sheer will have always somehow exceeded his costly turnovers. I love the guy like everybody else, but now that he's older and his skills have declined a bit, his careless turnovers are killing this team. It's unforgivable for a player of his status to be so damn careless with the ball.

I still believe Spurs will prevail, but Manu, and many others, have got to get their act together. Of course, let's give OKC some credit because they are forcing the Spurs into these offensive droughts.

Spurs in 6

Believe

If i see Manu throw one more lazy bounce pass that gets tipped or run back for an easy 2 i am gonna chuck my remote through the plasma...

[dbreiden83080]

Big Picture: Coming into this season, if someone said the Spurs would be in the WCF with the series tied 2-2 with Game 5 at home, every single person in this forum would have been thrilled with that proposition.

The Spurs are experiencing some turbulence after one of the greatest runs ever seen in sport. Thankfully there is still plenty of time to straighten everything out.

True but a game 5 loss ends the season we all know that.. They can win in 6 if they take game 5 IMO but down 3-2 with that crowd they'll be down 20 by halftime.

[racm]

Bright spots:

The Spurs played two games in the most hostile arena they've faced so far. I say hostile not merely due to the fan atmosphere, but the officiating pandering to the home crowd.

A 12 point deficit at the half was cut down to 6 at the end, and that was even with Durant displaying his clutch gene, and Ibaka and Perkins shooting lights out.

DeJuan Blair is showing why he deserves to be the third big on the roster. Personally I think Timmeh (near the end of the 4th), Diaw, and Blair get a pass.

The Manu who played well in the first two games vanished. Either the home crowd got to him or it's a sign of something more sinister (pun fully intended).

The Thunder have figured out Tony Parker. So what can he do? force the issue.

Matt Bonner the bed again. No surprise tbh. Splitter likewise seems to be out of rhythm after they hacked him in game 2.

While I am concerned with Danny Green his issue isn't that he doesn't get good looks, it's that he probably crossed a black cat or something . His shots aren't airballing, but quite a few went in and out.

The most crucial advantage two evenly matched teams have is home court advantage, and I am thankful the Spurs have it.