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just two years later, people realize it was all about Timmy
Run Mills (yes, still) Murray, Green, Gay, Aldridge as the starters with Manu, Anderson and Bertans as the main subs. Give Pau and Tony a chance each game, but also have a quick hook. Gay being the backup center would be a good adjustment against a team that actually likes to stay big Gay being checked by David West would be a huge advantage for the Spurs.
Again, though, the Spurs need to put Mills on Iggy. I've said that too much, but it would either keep Patty out of the line of fire on D or it would force the Warriors to bend their offense toward Iggy, which they probably don't want. It's too hard for Iggy to force a switch, because him being open behind the three-point line isn't really a big deal.
I didn't like Danny on Draymond. I get that they did that to discourage a 3/4 PnR with KD, and it worked, but it's an awkward match-up for Danny when they don't switch. By far the thing about Simmons I think the team misses the most was his ability to physically guard Draymond while also not being an afterthought on offense. Brandon Paul might be able to do something like that defensively, though his confidence is shot on offense (like a number of Spurs this season).
I think White's eventual spot would be as the starting PG. He has the game to compliment LMA and Gay, while being able to physically match up with Iggy. I'm not sure if that would be at the expense of Mills or Murray. Patty has match-up issues, but Murray might struggle all series with refs who won't let him get away with as much contact as he's been enjoying. Next game will be important to figuring that out. I expect the Spurs to look a lot better if they make the appropriate adjustments, but if they lose again, then obviously, Game Three is full-on desperation mode. That's really the first time I can see Pop legit dropping vets from the rotation.
just two years later, people realize it was all about Timmy
I can't wait til this trash roster is done and I never have to watch it again.
Knew before the season started it was piss poor, and that was before we knew about Kiwi.
PATFO are ed in the head.
Start Manu and Parker and let them go down in a blaze of glory or find that magic one last time. Better than watching the "clank" team.
Kindly tell me what other team, aside from the Dubs (and arguably maybe Washington) that could have handled losing their clearly best player for the overwhelming majority of the season, and still nearly gut out 50 wins?
Calling it a trash roster is dumb and ill-informed. I'm sure PATFO would have structured it differently had they known Kawhi was going to be out like he was. Or with Rudy for 30 games.
Yet klay thompson was the reason behind the beatdown. Pg is literally the worst position on sa. Pg expends no energy on offense. Might as well get their minutes on d. Especially when you need shots to drop this series.
Taking evidence from a twitter is worse than my sauces
I’m sad the roster is trash, but there’s always that what if of having a fully healthy Leonard. I wonder if Pop would’ve been called out for his political views had the team won 55-60 games this season. There probably are some issues with the organization (penny-pinching, forcing their “culture” on their players, loyalty contracts, Parker’s snide remarks about Leonard’s injury and his refusal to accept he’s way beyond his prime) but it’s weird Leonard just didn’t flat out play.
You will still lose. You need both non shooter player's since they have been among the best players ibn the team, sadly. As You saw in the last ga!e Pop largely completely benched Anderson who played 11 Minutes overall consisting of 7 minutes in the first and barely 4 minutes in the third and the team still got killed. Murray 's minutes were also cut due to foul trouble. Over half his minutes came in the 4th Q when Pop had a bench lineup. The team needed them defensively and on the boards.
The guys who can shoot are not nearly good enough to compensate for bad defense and Davis is an atrocious rebounder. Spurs were completely killed on the boards without Murray and Anderson and were still massively outscored and LaMarcus still looked awful. This is basically a pick your poison situation.
IMO you can't start Patty and win. The end. Doesn't matter what you do with everyone else. He's been atrocious against GSW each time. Can't shoot over their length and doesn't do anything else to help you. He's simply not a good enough player to be starting.... But as I said this is a pick your poison situation. You'd rather die with him starting. I'd rather die with someone else playing in his stead. Pop is going to start him and he's going to get minutes like he's the best player in the team. They will still lose. Patty will be back next season. The end.
I prefer this. Let the bench player's earn time with good play too. By that I mean Pop has to ride not hands. I don't want to play Pau at all, but cest la vie. I might have Murray instead of Manu tho bc I don't think Manu can give you 30 minutes against starter level compe ion without age showing.
GSW got off to a hot start because Pop chose to put Mills on Klay and then they started forcing switches so KD could get in on the action and roast Mills. Pop then chased that bad idea with subbing in Forbes to play alongside Mills which created ore problems.
The Aldridge-Bertans pairing has been solid defensively and excellent offensively. Gay's a meh defender but is big enough to not get exploited and can at least switch and contest. That's a decent way not to give 57 points in the first half while not being held to 41.
Green on Durant is a waste, put him on Klay..there's nobody in the NBA outside of maybe Kawhi and Giannis with the ability to bother Dominos 1 on 1, just try to get the ball out of his hands as much as possible..
Aldridge Bertrand has been solid with Anderson in the lineup and Murray ... Just last night he wasn't anything to write home about. I do like him with Anderson though. I think they play well together.
Green's historically been about as good at defending Durant as anyone in the league, including Kawhi. That's even more true without Curry, because Durant will be on the ball a lot more. As great of a scorer KD is, he's not very dynamic at creating his own offense. He'll run PnRs, but he won't use multiple screens or reverse direction very much. It's exactly the type of match-up that works well for Green defensively.
Designating anyone as the Klay defender is a waste, because he gets screened too much to reliably keep a guy on him. You just have to hope whoever is there when Thompson shoots can get a good contest.
Fair its not like a lineup that included Murray, Green, Gay, Bertans would be so much worse defensively than Murray, Mills, Green and an Anderson unit. The Spurs have to strike a balance with offense and defense, that second lineup is a defensive unit and the first lineup is a more balanced lineup without a clear defensive liability to attack while also giving providing spacing for LMA to operate without getting swarmed.
Why do Rivers and to a lesser extent, Van Gundy and Thibodeau get roasted for their involvement in building their respective rosters, but Pop is given a free pass? It's convenient to claim the Spurs demise had to come sometime, but the reality is, they lucked into a superstar, then lucked into a star mostly because he considers this home. Had they done so much as a decent job in recent years, specifically last off season, this could have remained a promising situation.
Loyalty to Parker and Ginobili is one thing (and like it or not, it's understandable, at least to an extent), but Mills and Gasol? I know it's been said countless times, but the amount they spent on two role players, who can't play against the two teams that matter most, was/is insane. So was not going out and finding someone who could run an offense.
Voulgaris has criticized Pop for years, tbh..pro gamblers are far more knowledgeable than media and ex-players, considering they actually watch tape and analyze data(unlike narrative-driven media)..
What's puzzling is the replies..people saying "what can Pop do when his options are limited?"
Um, ya, who built this roster?do people actually think RC Buford calls the shots here? Without Pop's input?
Pop gets a pass for 2 things: Kawhi situation, obviously + Green's broken jump shot..other than that, how is everything else not his fault? Who signed Mills and Gasol to $98 million? Who still uses Tony Parker? Who built a team centered around posting up and midrange Js in a slow-paced offense in 2018? Who has TWO 6-foot SGs in his rotation?
If there is any pass to give it is that compared to Thibs and Van Gundy, the perception is that Pop doesn't work on the roster in the summer anymore because he doesn't want to. He goes on his restaurant and wine tours, he doesn't put in the work anymore or care enough to make decisions. He'll show up at a pitch meeting if he has to, but he's not interested otherwise.Why do Rivers and to a lesser extent, Van Gundy and Thibodeau get roasted for their involvement in building their respective rosters, but Pop is given a free pass? It's convenient to claim the Spurs demise had to come sometime, but the reality is, they lucked into a superstar, then lucked into a star mostly because he considers this home. Had they done so much as a decent job in recent years, specifically last off season, this could have remained a promising situation.
Loyalty to Parker and Ginobili is one thing (and like it or not, it's understandable, at least to an extent), but Mills and Gasol? I know it's been said countless times, but the amount they spent on two role players, who can't play against the two teams that matter most, was/is insane. So was not going out and finding someone who could run an offense.
Thibs and Stan WANTED that power, wanted to control everything. Pop wants vacation. Even his Olympics job is to get the players who can win in their own, assistant coaches who can cover for him, and then enjoy himself in different countries.
Doc is black, Ron Jeremy doesn't have loyalist b/c he doesn't play favorites, Thibs isn't a self aggrandizing mofo who thinks he's captain planet.
Poop is a caricature of an 'elite coach' who is getting exposed now that he doesn't have a 1st ballot HOFer on his roster.
Gsw got off to a hot start because spurs didnt score. Thats the issue. Need more nasty. No more murray anderson or pau
Problem is, if they get nasty then Draymond gets nastier, and they’ll back down again.
Doc barely gets a fraction of the criticism from Media that he deserves. He sucks up to reporters so they don't say anything negative about him most of the time.
I honestly don't see any other signings or trades that would've made this roster better this season tbh.
Problem is, if they get nasty then Draymond gets nastier, and they’ll back down again.
true, spurs are softs
Pop hates the media. That has gotten worse as time is going on. He obviously thinks most of the media are filled with blathering idiots that are wasting his time. And in 95% of the scenarios that is correct. We live in a world where someone like Skip Bayless can become a millionaire many times over just for saying the stupidest that pops into his head about pro athletes that he can possibly think of on a daily basis. The media sucks.
Having a guy to take a rotating/ swarming defense off the dribble & attack the rim is where Kawhi is missed the most. Van Gundy pointed out how the spurs lacked that type of player & Tony was the closest player to that type. He was being very kind. Spurs dont have anyone good enough.
Also where someone like Simmons of last season would of helped.
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