Kawhi

[ElNono]

sorry, went out for dinner (nice Thai restaurant, tbh) and I see some storm here... look, all I said was that I wished he would've made that game winner instead of that ugly airball, tbh, it would've been not just great for him personally on a game where he was outstanding, but also would've brought the Spurs a much needed W... much like Tim GW against the Sonics in '05, Manu against the Suns or Dubs in OT, or Tony against some team (I'm sure he has at least one)

- I didn't bring up anything about PPG
- I didn't bring up anything about +/-
- I don't think I 'hated' or diminished Kawhi's phenomenal game in any shape or form

There would've been nobody else I wanted to take that shot, tbh...

[kaji157]

Kawhi was great, nothing to see here.
It´s never good when a team needs a player to do that much.
Did he up the last play of regulation? He did, but also Tony, Manu and TD before him from time to time.
Spurs were usually very effective when faced against one-man teams, now they are feeling the backfire of being one.

[cd98]

After David and Tim, now we got Kawhi...we are not worthy.

[DMC]

My problem with Manu is not so much he sucks but the fact that he demanded to get overpaid during the summertime. He took that 15 mil and is definitely not worth it all.

It's in his best interest to get as much as possible. Do you think he held a knife to Pop's temple to get the contract?

[DMC]

sorry, went out for dinner (nice Thai restaurant, tbh) and I see some storm here... look, all I said was that I wished he would've made that game winner instead of that ugly airball, tbh, it would've been not just great for him personally on a game where he was outstanding, but also would've brought the Spurs a much needed W... much like Tim GW against the Sonics in '05, Manu against the Suns or Dubs in OT, or Tony against some team (I'm sure he has at least one)

- I didn't bring up anything about PPG
- I didn't bring up anything about +/-
- I don't think I 'hated' or diminished Kawhi's phenomenal game in any shape or form

There would've been nobody else I wanted to take that shot, tbh...

Let's get down to brass tacks El... we're just trying to avoid the upset. We know goddamn well we're not going to the Finals.

[ElNono]

Let's get down to brass tacks El... we're just trying to avoid the upset. We know goddamn well we're not going to the Finals.

I'm not the religious kind, tbh, but we're going to need some divine intervention to get there...

[daslicer]

It's in his best interest to get as much as possible. Do you think he held a knife to Pop's temple to get the contract?

You right but the caveat is that when you take the money expect the criticism and no empathy when you are playing like which Manu is.

[rasuo214]

Tim Had Prime Parker and Ginobili. He also had the best 3 and D player in the league.

Kawhi doesn't exactly have that kind of luxury.

Tim also had Pop in his prime, back when he cared more about winning than ing about the president or astronomy. Having a clutch guy like Horry didn't hurt either.

[bic50]

It's in his best interest to get as much as possible. Do you think he held a knife to Pop's temple to get the contract?

Agreed. Can't blame guys like manu or Parker for taking the money. I'd do the same if I were them.

[Play Boban]

New Spurs "fans...".

Manu and Tony earned 4 championship trophies... they are the only active NBA players with more than three... Father Time catches up to everyone... none can escape him...

Bunch of ingrates and internet warriors up in here...

It's disgusting to see these idiot "fans" trashing our legends tbh. They should be stripped of their fan hood and be GS fans tbh.

[daslicer]

It's disgusting to see these idiot "fans" trashing our legends tbh. They should be stripped of their fan hood and be GS fans tbh.

TBH I could never be a fan of the brothers, Draymonkey, and ****** Durant. I'll keep my fandom since I have been a fan of the Spurs since '94 which was before Duncan,Manu,Parker.

[absoloot66]

Kawhi was basically kicking the corner kicks and scoring the goals at the same time

Sure looked that way.

If he had won last nights game it possibly would be one of the greatest performances in playoff history.

My feelings exactly. Rest of the team wasted a jaw-dropping individual performance. Let's hope it inspires better performances from them also, here on out.

[daslicer]

It's disgusting to see these idiot "fans" trashing our legends tbh. They should be stripped of their fan hood and be GS fans tbh.

TBH I could never be a fan of the brothers, Draymonkey, and n!gger Durant. I'll keep my fandom since I have been a fan of the Spurs since '94 which was before Duncan,Manu,Parker.

[TDomination]

For me it hurts that they lost Cause I badly want to go back and watch the game and enjoy everything kawhi did with clutch steal and clutch 3's but I just can't because I wouldn't enjoy it since we lost. Maybe if we bounce back and win game 5, I can go back and watch it and enjoy it.

[lilbthebasedgod]

ginobli has not scored a single point in this series. NOT ONE POINT!!! Are you aware of this?

Very well aware. Its only been 4 games, although its been an awful 4 games.

he's been a servicable 3 and d guy, but a horrible pg this season. If he will accept his role as the former then I'd be fine having him next year.

[UZER]

Very well aware. Its only been 4 games, although its been an awful 4 games.

he's been a servicable 3 and d guy, but a horrible pg this season. If he will accept his role as the former then I'd be fine having him next year.

He will never accept that role. That is his biggest problem. He plays the way he plays and has always played, even if he is 45 yrs old. That's why it's on pop to yank him after 3 minutes if he's doesn't have it. Instead, pop decides to put him back I'm the the 2nd half.

[Poolboy5623]

New Spurs "fans...".

Manu and Tony earned 4 championship trophies... they are the only active NBA players with more than three... Father Time catches up to everyone... none can escape him...

Bunch of ingrates and internet warriors up in here...

so Father Time clearly catches up....just ignore it and play on? I've been watching the Spurs since 1990. Your comment is BS.

[wildbill2u]

I think Kwahi took that next step to supers om with his play in the 4th quarter to get us to a great chance to win. But even superstars can run out of gas in OT when playing that hard both ways. You shouldn't put the loss on Kwahi because he tried to push himself a little too much in OT. Supurb effort.

[Horse]

NO ONE and I mean NO ONE couldve don't more than
kawhi did to win that game. And he was anyone hitting one more shot or the stupid ing timekeeper doing his job correctly from winning it.

[Phenomanul]

so Father Time clearly catches up....just ignore it and play on? I've been watching the Spurs since 1990. Your comment is BS.

So treat Manu and TP9 like they were hacks? Ok got it. Manu certainly isn't playing well offensively but he is contributing in other areas (steals / assists), but it isn't like he is playing many minutes... Tony has had a roller coaster series, playing really well in some games and not so good in others...

My point was THEIR performance today doesn't mean they need to be treated like S#1t around here which is what the n00bs are doing...

If you've been a fan since 1990 then you'd understand we haven't always been as blessed...

They deserve our respect no matter their current struggles... it's up to Pop to determine how best to limit their minutes... and to play the young guys a bit more...

For the record, despite Manu's inability to score a single point across four games... he has only taken 15 attempts (and should've gone to the line on at least 4 of those attempts). For context, Westbrook missed 15 attempts in the 4th quarter alone of Game 2 in his respective series. That said, Manu has managed to produce the 3rd best DRtg behind Kawhi and Dedmon in the series. He's second only to Kawhi in steals and tied for 3rd on the team with 8 assists - in fact he has the highest AST/TOV on the team with 4.0 (which is historically an area one can nitpick against him - but not in this series). In other words, Manu knows he is struggling to put the ball in the hoop but is still contributing.

[Phenomanul]

As for Kawhi...

I can't even... he put on a masterful performance... it just fell shy because the Grizzlies hit a lucky shot at the end... (Marc Gasol shot that with his palm...)

I remember two first round series in which the Spurs lost games on last second shots (Suns '03 / Mavs '14) and the Spurs' seemed to do ok...

What does surprise me is how often the Spurs are on the wrong side of unprecedented situations... and get screwed by the decision-making of the officiating crews or league decisions...

2006 vs. the Mavericks (WCSF): Timmy fouls out of a game by being pushed into Dirk from behind by Dampier - Dirk actually steps on Duncan's foot... but Duncan gets assessed for the foul. Anybody else remember the Mavs getting 50 free-throws in Game 1? Or how about Duncan being deliberately hacked by Dampier on the final putback attempt in Game 7? And still... no whistle.

2008 vs. the Lakers (WCF): The league schedules Game 1 of the WC Finals as an early start even though the Spurs had been held up in New Orleans after beating NOH on the road in Game 7. They didn't arrive in LA until 5 am on May 20th... Game 1 on the 21st at 6:00 pm. The Spurs actually start strong but can't maintain their legs. Kobe and Fisher are allowed to beat up Tony and Manu on their way to a Game 1 win. Then in Game 4 the league assigns recently re-instated Joey Crawford to officiate a Spurs game (to make a point that there was no conflict of interest with his return to the league given the reason for Joey's departure). On the game's most pivotal play, Joey swallows his whistle (Fisher jumps on Brent Barry's back on a last second three point attempt that would've given the Spurs a chance to tie [yes Barry traveled on the play but one had to see that clip in real slow motion to even identify the violation... the foul however was OBVIOUS and should have been called]). Earlier that year NBA Commissioner, David Stern, goes on record saying that his dream Finals would be Lakers vs. Celtics... He got his wish...

2012 vs. the Thunder (WCF): Game 5 and Game 6 were so horrifically officiated I can't even recall how many goal-tending calls Ibaka got away with. Anybody else remember a nullified 3 pointer by Ginobili because they called an off-the ball foul AFTER Ginobili's shot went in... what would've been a go-ahead basket? Then there was Parker who fouled Westbrook on a pivotal layup except Parker never even touched him... a review of the play shows that the whistle was blown before Westbrook even jumped towards the hoop. Those last two games reeked of being rigged.

2013 vs. the Heat (NBA Finals): Everybody will rightfully remember Ray Allen's shot to force OT in Game 6. What they won't remember was Allen traveling on the shot. Or that he stepped out of bounds (right in front of the ref) two possessions prior (which resulted in points for the Heat prior to Kawhi's free-throw miss). Most egregiously of all, no one remembers the fact that Joey Crawford denied the Spurs a chance to catch the Heat flat-flooted after the euphoria of Allen's shot. Ginobili had a streaking Kawhi and would've inbounded the ball behind Rashard Lewis (who would've been behind the play) INSTEAD Joey Crawford stops the game (actually pulls the ball from Manu's hands) to check whether or not Ray's shot was a three or a two... everybody and their momma knew that Allen was behind the 3-point line when he shot that - that part of the shot wasn't even debatable. Popovich is shown on the sidelines furiously yelling something along the lines of "You can't f****** do that!!!" repeatedly at Crawford - who simply smirks back. On the next play, the Heat NOW with a set defense, Chris Bosh fouls Danny Green on a last second attempt - no whistle...

2015 vs. the Clippers (1st round): The Spurs end up as a 6th seed despite having better record than the 4th seeded Blazers. End up with a horrible match up against a streaking Clippers team. It's a fairly officiated series. With one really odd play (again a situational oddity that ends up screwing the Spurs). In the waning moments of Game 7, one of the officials allows the Spurs to set up their play and then "manually" stops the game clock with a device behind his back - giving the Clippers a preview of the play. Rivers makes an adjustment, makes a quick sub - the Spurs aren't allowed to draw up another play - Matt Barnes "reads" the play and intercepts the pass to Kawhi. Setting up the OT.

2016 vs. the Thunder (WCSF): Dion Waiters fouls Ginobili before inbounding the ball in the waning moments of Game 2... the Spurs manage to take possession of the ball on Waiter's badly thrown inbounds (Durant slips), Patty misses in the scramble, but Aldridge is fouled on his putback attempt (no whistle). The whole play should've been rendered moot and Ginobili granted free-throws. Later that series, Adams deliberately trips Danny Green who falls into Durant, Durant gives them the go-ahead points from the free throw line. Next play Spurs miss a shot, and Kawhi tries to purposely foul Westbrook to stop the clock since they are only down 1, but no foul is called - a bewildered Aldridge gets caught flat-footed on defense of the rim - Westbrook And-1 - game over. That whole sequence was crap.

Edit: The reason why I brought all this up was because I saw another such play with less than two minutes left in the recent Game 4 (when the shot-clock failed to reset and Mills rushed his shot). You can't tell me the officials didn't have the authority to stop the game and reset the play. Memphis came back and scored on their end. Do I believe the Spurs will lose the series? No... I do however believe the league is allowing Memphis to be overly physical with the Spurs because they might have a subvert agenda to push for a rematch of the last two NBA Finals - the only team that legitimately stands in the way of that are the Spurs.

[spurs1990]

As for Kawhi...

I can't even... he put on a masterful performance... it just fell shy because the Grizzlies hit a lucky shot at the end... (Marc Gasol shot that with his palm...)

I remember two first round series in which the Spurs lost games on last second shots (Suns '03 / Mavs '14) and the Spurs' seemed to do ok...

What does surprise me is how often the Spurs are on the wrong side of unprecedented situations... and get screwed by the decision-making of the officiating crews or league decisions...

2006 vs. the Mavericks (WCSF): Timmy fouls out of a game by being pushed into Dirk from behind by Dampier - Dirk actually steps on Duncan's foot... but Duncan gets assessed for the foul. Anybody else remember the Mavs getting 50 free-throws in Game 1? Or how about Duncan being deliberately hacked by Dampier on the final putback attempt in Game 7? And still... no whistle.

2008 vs. the Lakers (WCF): The league schedules Game 1 of the WC Finals as an early start even though the Spurs had been held up in New Orleans after beating NOH on the road in Game 7. They didn't arrive in LA until 5 am on May 20th... Game 1 on the 21st at 6:00 pm. The Spurs actually start strong but can't maintain their legs. Kobe and Fisher are allowed to beat up Tony and Manu on their way to a Game 1 win. Then in Game 4 the league assigns recently re-instated Joey Crawford to officiate a Spurs game. The game's most pivotal play - Joey swallows his whistle. Earlier that year NBA Commissioner, Stern goes on record saying that his dream Finals would be Lakers vs. Celtics... He got his wish.

2012 vs. the Thunder (WCF): Game 5 and Game 6 were so horrifically officiated I can't even recall how many goal-tending calls Ibaka got away with. Anybody else remember a nullified 3 pointer by Ginobili because they called an off-the ball foul AFTER Ginobili's shot went in... what would've been a go-ahead basket? Then there was Parker who fouled Westbrook on a pivotal layup except Parker never even touched him... a review of the play shows that the whistle was blown before Westbrook even jumped towards the hoop. Those last two games reeked of being rigged.

2013 vs. the Heat (NBA Finals): Everybody will rightfully remember Ray Allen's shot to force OT in Game 6. What they won't remember was Allen traveling on the shot. Or that he stepped out of bounds (right in front of the ref) two possessions prior (which resulted in points for the Heat prior to Kawhi's free-throw miss). Most egregiously of all, no one remembers the fact that Joey Crawford denied the Spurs a chance to catch the Heat flat-flooted after Allen's shot. Ginobili had a streaking Kawhi and would've inbounded the ball behind Rashard Lewis (who would've been behind the play) INSTEAD Joey Crawford stops the game to check whether or not Ray's shot was a three or a two... everybody and their momma knew that Allen was behind the 3-point line when he shot that - that part of the shot wasn't even debatable. Popovich is furious yelling something along the lines of "You can't f****** do that!!!" repeatedly at Crawford - who simply smirks back. Next play, with a set defense Chris Bosh fouls Danny Green on a last second attempt - no whistle...

2015 vs. the Clippers (1st round): The Spurs end up as a 6th seed despite having better record than the 4th seeded Blazers. End up with a horrible match up against a streaking Clippers team. It's a fairly officiated series. With one really odd play (again a situational oddity that ends up screwing the Spurs). In the waning moments of Game 7, one of the officials allows the Spurs to set up their play and then "manually" stops the game clock with a device behind his back - giving the Clippers a preview of the play. Rivers makes an adjustment, makes a quick sub - the Spurs aren't allowed to draw up another play - Matt Barnes "reads" the play and intercepts the pass to Kawhi. Setting up the OT.

2016 vs. the Thunder (WCSF): Dion Waiters fouls Ginobili before inbounding the ball in the waning moments of Game 2... the Spurs manage to take possession of the ball on Waiter's badly thrown inbounds (Durant slips), Patty misses in the scramble, but Aldridge is fouled on his putback attempt (no whistle). The whole play should've been rendered moot and Ginobili granted free-throws. Later that series, Adams deliberately trips Danny Green who falls into Durant, Durant gives them the go-ahead points from the free throw line. Next play Spurs miss a shot, and Kawhi tries to purposely foul Westbrook to stop the clock since they are only down 1, but no foul is called - a bewildered Aldridge gets caught flat-footed on defense of the rim - Westbrook And-1 - game over. That whole sequence was crap.

Bravo on this summation; a must-read for all Spurs fans of this and the older era to remind them that overall the calls have always gone against SA.

I've always referred to the 2006 Mavs series (where AJ had the stones to actually complain about calls against Dallas!) and that s-storm of bad calls vs OKC in 2012 as the most egregious.
But I actually wasn't even aware of that bad timing in 2008 game 1 vs LA (not to mention that no-call on Brent Barry when Fisher clearly fouled him at the end of game 4.... I suspect your theory is spot on in the league being dead set on not having a repeat of 2007 Finals ratings.

And I also want to add caveats to every other possible le season since Duncan was drafted:
1998 - Robinson is hammered by a nasty elbow from Malone coupled with Duncan injuring his ankle doomed them in the semis vs the eventual West champ
2000 - Duncan doesn't even play in the postseason due to cautionary treatment of his knee
2001 - Spurs lose their 2nd leading scorer (maybe 2nd best player?) in Derek Anderson after a super dirty flagrant by Juwan Howard vs Dallas - Can't score worth a lick in game 1/2 losses to LA in WCF
2002 - DRob is hobbled vs Lakers and the series is extremely close - Spurs have the lead in every single game's 2nd half
2004 - Fisher

At least we can all confidently admit 2009 and 2010 Spurs had no business in the later rounds...so many deficiencies, injuries those two years.

[spurs1990]

Great one minute of video (starting at 4:31) showcasing Leonard's worth.

[Thomas82]

As for Kawhi...

I can't even... he put on a masterful performance... it just fell shy because the Grizzlies hit a lucky shot at the end... (Marc Gasol shot that with his palm...)

I remember two first round series in which the Spurs lost games on last second shots (Suns '03 / Mavs '14) and the Spurs' seemed to do ok...

What does surprise me is how often the Spurs are on the wrong side of unprecedented situations... and get screwed by the decision-making of the officiating crews or league decisions...

2006 vs. the Mavericks (WCSF): Timmy fouls out of a game by being pushed into Dirk from behind by Dampier - Dirk actually steps on Duncan's foot... but Duncan gets assessed for the foul. Anybody else remember the Mavs getting 50 free-throws in Game 1? Or how about Duncan being deliberately hacked by Dampier on the final putback attempt in Game 7? And still... no whistle.

2008 vs. the Lakers (WCF): The league schedules Game 1 of the WC Finals as an early start even though the Spurs had been held up in New Orleans after beating NOH on the road in Game 7. They didn't arrive in LA until 5 am on May 20th... Game 1 on the 21st at 6:00 pm. The Spurs actually start strong but can't maintain their legs. Kobe and Fisher are allowed to beat up Tony and Manu on their way to a Game 1 win. Then in Game 4 the league assigns recently re-instated Joey Crawford to officiate a Spurs game (to make a point that there was no conflict of interest with his return to the league given the reason for Joey's departure). On the game's most pivotal play Joey swallows his whistle (Fisher jumping on Brent Barry's back on a three point attempt that would've given them a chance to tie [yes Barry traveled on the play but one had to see that clip in real slow motion to see that... the foul however was OBVIOUS]). Earlier that year NBA Commissioner, David Stern goes on record saying that his dream Finals would be Lakers vs. Celtics... He got his wish...

2012 vs. the Thunder (WCF): Game 5 and Game 6 were so horrifically officiated I can't even recall how many goal-tending calls Ibaka got away with. Anybody else remember a nullified 3 pointer by Ginobili because they called an off-the ball foul AFTER Ginobili's shot went in... what would've been a go-ahead basket? Then there was Parker who fouled Westbrook on a pivotal layup except Parker never even touched him... a review of the play shows that the whistle was blown before Westbrook even jumped towards the hoop. Those last two games reeked of being rigged.

2013 vs. the Heat (NBA Finals): Everybody will rightfully remember Ray Allen's shot to force OT in Game 6. What they won't remember was Allen traveling on the shot. Or that he stepped out of bounds (right in front of the ref) two possessions prior (which resulted in points for the Heat prior to Kawhi's free-throw miss). Most egregiously of all, no one remembers the fact that Joey Crawford denied the Spurs a chance to catch the Heat flat-flooted after Allen's shot. Ginobili had a streaking Kawhi and would've inbounded the ball behind Rashard Lewis (who would've been behind the play) INSTEAD Joey Crawford stops the game to check whether or not Ray's shot was a three or a two... everybody and their momma knew that Allen was behind the 3-point line when he shot that - that part of the shot wasn't even debatable. Popovich is shown on the sidelines furiously yelling something along the lines of "You can't f****** do that!!!" repeatedly at Crawford - who simply smirks back. On the next play, the Heat NOW with a set defense, Chris Bosh fouls Danny Green on a last second attempt - no whistle...

2015 vs. the Clippers (1st round): The Spurs end up as a 6th seed despite having better record than the 4th seeded Blazers. End up with a horrible match up against a streaking Clippers team. It's a fairly officiated series. With one really odd play (again a situational oddity that ends up screwing the Spurs). In the waning moments of Game 7, one of the officials allows the Spurs to set up their play and then "manually" stops the game clock with a device behind his back - giving the Clippers a preview of the play. Rivers makes an adjustment, makes a quick sub - the Spurs aren't allowed to draw up another play - Matt Barnes "reads" the play and intercepts the pass to Kawhi. Setting up the OT.

2016 vs. the Thunder (WCSF): Dion Waiters fouls Ginobili before inbounding the ball in the waning moments of Game 2... the Spurs manage to take possession of the ball on Waiter's badly thrown inbounds (Durant slips), Patty misses in the scramble, but Aldridge is fouled on his putback attempt (no whistle). The whole play should've been rendered moot and Ginobili granted free-throws. Later that series, Adams deliberately trips Danny Green who falls into Durant, Durant gives them the go-ahead points from the free throw line. Next play Spurs miss a shot, and Kawhi tries to purposely foul Westbrook to stop the clock since they are only down 1, but no foul is called - a bewildered Aldridge gets caught flat-footed on defense of the rim - Westbrook And-1 - game over. That whole sequence was crap.

Edit: The reason why I brought all this up was because I saw another such play with less than two minutes left in the recent Game 4 (when the shot-clock failed to reset and Mills rushed his shot). You can't tell me the officials didn't have the authority to stop the game and reset the play. Memphis came back and scored on their end. Do I believe the Spurs will lose the series? No... I do however believe the league is allowing Memphis to be overly physical with the Spurs because they might have a subvert agenda to push for a rematch of the last two NBA Finals - the only team that legitimately stands in the way of that are the Spurs.

Excellent post!!

[spurs1990]

I just googled it and found out Manu Ginobili was out for the season starting April 5 in 2009.

We can attribute that to why Spurs got bounced in the 1st round vs Dallas.