Best player on the team with 9 FG attempts in a close game..

[Hoops Czar]

And again...If they would have gave the ball to Kawhi in the 3rd and exploited his matchup, he would not have been cold in the last quarter.
If a guy doesn't touch the ball in a whole quarter it's likely he gets cold.



They could use just his defense...

The guy has a favorable matchup against almost all wings in the NBA, shooting overall 50FG%, one of the best post-up/mid-range combo in the league...but they could use his defense...

he's not taking shots away from Blake or CP3 on a regular basis nor should he. He'd be a third option.

[YGWHI]

Well LeBron only took 13 shots against Portland the other night (granted he didn't play in the 4th because it was a blowout).

My point is that melting down because your best player didn't take a ton of shots in a regular season game against a mediocre opponent is stupid...especially when your team still won and the offense still played fairly well.

Again, make these topics if we lose a playoff game because Kawhi takes 9 shots. Not because we won against a non-playoff team in the regular season and Kawhi didn't get as good of a statline as you wanted.

Well, it's not this game.

I'm talking about all those games where he didn't even touch the ball for whole quarters... I've said before the Spurs need to continue developing him on offense because he is still a far ways from being a finished product.
He needs the ball in his hands to know when to shoot, when to pass, when the team need him to take over...and he needs they call different plays for him, not just a single iso-post up

It's not about the statline, it's about the way the Spurs play him.

[Texas_Ranger]

he only had 7 FG attempts!

[YGWHI]

he's not taking shots away from Blake or CP3 on a regular basis nor should he. He'd be a third option.

2nd option because that could give Paul more rest, but even as 3rd option he would have more FGA with them than playing for the Spurs.

Crawford as 3rd/4th option had 14.7 FGA per game just two years ago...Kawhi as 1st option is taking 15 shots per game.

[AFMadison]

he only had 7 FG attempts!

Sounds like Kawhi should shoot more.

[Texas_Ranger]

Sounds like Kawhi should shoot more.

Kawhi?? no, I was talking about Boban.

[AFMadison]

Kawhi?? no, I was talking about Boban.

I was just joking. Boban is a beast.

[YGWHI]

IMO, more surprising was that they went to LMA in crunch time and the dude panicked with the double team and ended up turning it over...

Most people could find more surprising that they didn't go to the guy who was handling pretty well the double team and finding the open guys, or didn't go to him in the next offensive play after LMA's turnover, or didn't go to the guy who has the highest free throw percentage on the team to close the game...but not the Spurs fans, we're getting used to it.

[AFMadison]

Most people could find more surprising that they didn't go to the guy who was handling pretty well the double team and finding the open guys, or didn't go to him in the next offensive play after LMA's turnover, or didn't go to the guy who has the highest free throw percentage on the team to close the game...but not the Spurs fans, we're getting used to it.

We won. Case closed. If the glove doesn't fit you must acquit.

[Obstructed_View]

The Spurs should definitely be forcing more shots, and it should be one guy doing it. That worked really well for the Timberwolves in the 4th quarter tonight.

[YGWHI]

Tony is still a very good point guard and we need his offense.

We need his offense when he looks good, that wasn't the case tonight.

He was shooting bad, took bad decisions...in these nights, most people would expect that Kawhi, who's younger/needs more experience with the ball in his hands/shoots better than Parker, can get more touches than him

Parker is a proven offensive player, the Spurs don't need to develop his offense like with Kawhi. When Parker has a night off, why not give the ball to the young guy who is shooting better than him?

[TheMulletMan3000]

Ball was in his hands versus Houston. But yes, I agree, against these lesser teams, the ball should be in his hands.

lebron is shooting worse than kobe from 3pt this year. just to give you something to think about.

[SPURt]

The T Wolves prioritized Kawhi defensively more than any team I've seen this season.

[ceperez]

Isn't the Best player in the team the guy who gets paid the most? The max player?

Zero points in the first half, 6 points total. SIX points!

Spurs needed an end of bench player (Boban) to show him how to rough up the opponent.

[SAGirl]

The end to this game was coached by Messina, so no reference to Pop adjustments.

Kawhi was double teamed super quickly and away from the basket so there was no drive or play to make but pass out.
There wasn't anybody cutting so it reset, and Kawhi didn't get assists and we had to get buckets from others, but Tpups were effective in putting us in a tough situation with less time on the clock and other guys improvising. At one point we were lucky Danny got a midrange shot to go off the dribble. That is a low % shot for Danny. Tony was chaotic. LMA turned it over out of the doubles so he was worse than Kawhi.

Messina could have called for screens, a curl, bunch of other plays they could have run. (for those who wanted more Kawhi post up, this is why its better to have a diverse offense). All things considered, I am just glad we got this one.

[Mnky]

Been saying it since last year. The veterans try to do too much. The execution in the fourth today again was Piss poor. Ginobili and Parker trying to take pver the fourth quarter just does not work anymore.

Against elite team they are going to the bed.

Parker taking over the 4th against the clips is why the spurs won.

You don't basketball much, do you?

[ceperez]

The T Wolves prioritized Kawhi defensively more than any team I've seen this season.

T-wolves played pretty good defense. They got length and athleticism.

Spurs play wasn't the greatest, no wonder Pop went ballistic. He just used the ref to throw him out. But the truth, he went ballistic with that bad pass my LMA that led to a t-wolves score.

He was thinking, "we went through all this effort for some prima-dona that can't pass, forget it, I quit!".

[SAGirl]

T-wolves played pretty good defense. They got length and athleticism.

Spurs play wasn't the greatest, no wonder Pop went ballistic. He just used the ref to throw him out. But the truth, he went ballistic with that bad pass my LMA that led to a t-wolves score.

He was thinking, "we went through all this effort for some prima-dona that can't pass, forget it, I quit!".

I know you have been super harsh on LMA, last game he was terrible. In reality some guys are super harsh on Tony bc it suits their annoying agenda, but LMA had a very poor game. Not reflected in Tony stats were all the passes he made trying to set Danny and LMA up, that got us nothing but a cold start. Can't blame that one on Tim.

Tony picked his spots this game, he maybe picked the wrong spots, but he didn't heroball the whole game.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

I know you have been super harsh on LMA, last game he was terrible. In reality some guys are super harsh on Tony bc it suits their annoying agenda, but LMA had a very poor game. Not reflected in Tony stats were all the passes he made trying to set Danny and LMA up, that got us nothing but a cold start. Can't blame that one on Tim.

Tony picked his spots this game, he maybe picked the wrong spots, but he didn't heroball the whole game.

I agree, Parker played a decent game, but Rubio's 6'9" wingspan was giving him fits, especially on his shots. There is a reason Rubio has avg 2.3 spg and 5 rpg despite not being the fastest or most athletic point guard (actually far from it).

[SAGirl]

I agree, Parker played a decent game, but Rubio's 6'9" wingspan was giving him fits, especially on his shots. There is a reason Rubio has avg 2.3 spg and 5 rpg despite not being the fastest or most athletic point guard (actually far from it).

Rubio has terrific instincts on passing lanes and he's active on defense. I agree that he gave Tony fits at times.