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Wow, Pop is amazingly calm after losing the regular season championship to the Thunder.
Sorry if it's been posted already
Wow, Pop is amazingly calm after losing the regular season championship to the Thunder.
Screaming A. Smith dropping truff bombs from 6:30 onward
bluffing
I'm surprised he's not pissed. I mean, how sweet would it have been to hang that regular season championship bann- oh wait
That is one of the best segments I have seen from Stephen and he was very composed there.
is that blair in the "thunderstruck" graphic? cmon espn...
I particularly agree with Pop's comments about not matching OKC's intensity. They made us look soft out there.
Skip jumping off the bandwagon after 1 loss in 20 games
Why is it that I'd much rather have Stephen A. as the Spurs homer than Skip?
The other day Skip was also saying how he wasn't impressed with the streak and Stephen A. dropped some more truth bombs. I usually like Skip, because he calls out the refs and supports the Spurs, but it seems they've switched roles recently.Skip jumping off the bandwagon after 1 loss in 20 games
Why is it that I'd much rather have Stephen A. as the Spurs homer than Skip?
Even Hollywood loves Pop
Funny how the Spurs had adequate intensity during the prior 19 game winning streak, but suddenly they lack it vs. OKC.
Makes you almost think Pop meant "athletic ability" when he said the Spurs lack "intensity."
Do you turn the ball over 18 times because you lack intensity or because you're getting bumrushed by quicker players.
That said, I think Pop has the right approach -- you can't tell your team they don't match up because that will kill their confidence.
You have to blame them for their own good (even if you don't believe it) to preserve their psyches.
I still think the Spurs can beat OKC, but I doubt they have ever lacked intensity, just the ability to execute when faced with that kind of opposition.
Adjustments are needed. And that's not just on the players, it's on the coach too. Fortunately, the Spurs have one of the best.
lol this is the NBA, where the best of the best athletes play. To blame our loss last night on lack of athletic ability, when we previously beat 19 other NBA teams (including MIA, IND, etc) in a row, is asinine.Funny how the Spurs had adequate intensity during the prior 19 game winning streak, but suddenly they lack it vs. OKC.
Makes you almost think Pop meant "athletic ability" when he said the Spurs lack "intensity."
Do you turn the ball over 18 times because you lack intensity or because you're getting bumrushed by quicker players.
That said, I think Pop has the right approach -- you can't tell your team they don't match up because that will kill their confidence.
You have to blame them for their own good (even if you don't believe it) to preserve their psyches.
I still think the Spurs can beat OKC, but I doubt they have ever lacked intensity, just the ability to execute when faced with that kind of opposition.
Adjustments are needed. And that's not just on the players, it's on the coach too. Fortunately, the Spurs have one of the best.
OKC got away with playing very physical, but we also beat ourselves by fumbling the ball on passes, passing too much, and just looking like a team that was playing it's fifth game in 7 days.
Like you, come the playoffs I believe we'll have made the necessary adjustments to beat this OKC team. We just can't afford to beat ourselves, or the Thunderefs will definitely make us pay.
I'm surprised Stephen A. name dropped Larry Brown lol. Greatest coach of all time tbh.
The Spurs hurt themselves each time they play OKC, they think that this game is somehow different than any other game they have played. They play out of character and with fear and it makes no sense whatsoever.
In the playoffs, I feel if we can win the first game in OKC we'll be good for the rest of the series and won't play so timid. That is, if the refs don't take us out first.
The level of execution is going to have to go up. Way too many players standing around watching the ball rather than blocking out and attacking the rebound. The thing that drives me the most nuts is not taking open shots, dribbling into defenses. Diaw is the most notorious for this when he catches the ball on the perimeter and his guy is 5 feet away but he insists on pump faking allowing his defender to closeout and then go into a more difficult shot. Not to mention he could post up and look to score against most 3s and 4s but he opts to dish the ball out.
With HCA and assuming this WCF happens (the Spurs will have to get through Houston and OKC will have to get through LA), the Spurs MUST win Games 1 and 2. Absolutely must. Winning 4 of 7 against that Thunder team will require nothing short of flawless execution and tenacity for 48 minutes, and tbh the officiating must be equal. The Spurs can get blamed for lacking intensity but when the calls aren't coming in the paint and Kawhi's getting hit with 3 early ones, the natural response is going to be to back off.
That's what I was going to type at first, and then i remembered we won the first two games at home in the 2012 WCF. I'm not taking winning at home for granted, but I feel like that won't be as big of an issue as beating reflahoma in their house, with their crowd, and their refs. If they win two at home, they'll have all the momentum just like 2012. We have to beat them on the road, ideally, in blowout fashion to send a morale blow to their role players.
This this thisWinning 4 of 7 against that Thunder team will require nothing short of flawless execution and tenacity for 48 minutes, and tbh the officiating must be equal. The Spurs can get blamed for lacking intensity but when the calls aren't coming in the paint and Kawhi's getting hit with 3 early ones, the natural response is going to be to back off.
We're one of the best teams in the league at not fouling, but when we play the Thunderrefs we magically become undisciplined
tbh I don't see the reffing being equal, but somehow, someway, I believe we'll persevere and win in 7. That is, if we beat the Rockets who are criminally underrated on here.
If we get #5 this year, I believe, it'll be the toughest one we've won.
Beating the Rockets in the semis would hardly be a guarantee. Easier than the Thunder, I think, but a lot of people act as though it's already said and done.
Spurs were botching layups bc they were too worried about getting blocked. And the played passive defense.
Agree ^^
It was a weird game all around for the spurs, and for Pop in particular. If he wanted the team to play more intensely then he did some strange things.
-Hampering the team by taking out Manu, but allowing Tony to play bc "Tony wanted to." As if Manu didn't also tell Pop that he wanted to play.
-Playing unusual lineups like the one that started the third, or playing Duncan, Diaw, and Splitter all at once (also during the third, I believe).
-Mentioning that he doesn't really care if they lose. I'm sure he's said it plenty of times but it seemed like unusual timing to say it when the other team is making a run.
-Only playing Tony 25 minutes
IMO those are all things that would hamper a team's intensity level. Gotta play better, gotta coach better.
I beg to differ -- I don't think it's choking, I think it's just running into superior athleticism.
The Spurs are way too savvy and experienced to choke, they're just getting beat.
Choking generally shows up in much lower three point % -- the Spurs hit 9-20 or 40.9 %. That ain't choking. (OKC only hit 6-18 or 33%.)
The problem was the 18 turnovers that, IMO, were the result of OKC's superior quickness and athleticism. The same perimeter ball movement that usually works just backfired due to OKC's ability, not the Spurs' failure.
But you can still adjust -- even to superior athleticism -- and still win.
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