Quick Grades: Spurs @ Nuggets - Game 2, 2019 NBA Playoffs (Apr. 16)

[Maddog]

I'm disappointed.
But WTH. You are the 7 seed playing the 2 seed on the road
Who happen to have the best home record and you blow a lead after one of their players gets hot and some calls go against you.
It's not shocking.

[mclinejr]

Way too easy on Popovich. You don't build your legacy on the first 3 quarters. It wasn't Murray going nuclear; it was the fact Poop failed to make the necessary adjustments to take him out of the game, at least temporarily at the critical juncture. Popovich failed and cost us a critical point near the end with the technical... deserves an F.

“Build your legacy”??? Um, he has the most wins of any coach in NBA history. One poorly coached game doesn’t change anything.

[Millennial_Messiah]

“Build your legacy”??? Um, he has the most wins of any coach in NBA history. One poorly coached game doesn’t change anything.

He used to be great, but now he just doesn't give a rat's ass. After the Kawhi/Zaza moment, he's spewed more political bullcrap and cared less about basketball than probably any other coach.

[TD 21]

2-7 is irrelevant in this case. This was and is a coin flip series. The Nuggets overachieved early on but have slowly but surely come crashing back down to earth as the season wore on. Meanwhile, the Spurs have been better from at least the All-Star break on, if not the new year.

This is the type of series where whoever loses it, is going to feel like they let one slip away but the difference is, the Nuggets can mostly chalk it up to inexperience. The Spurs have no such excuses.

[SwansonInSibagat]

We won one on the road and that's all that matters for the moment. HCA is ours.

DeMar played really well. Here's hoping he keeps it up. Will be integral to the team's fortunes in this playoffs.

I'm pumped!

[wildbill2u]

Murry was getting double screens in the 4th where Jokic and another player would build a wall and then bull forward toward the basket against the defenders. This technically might not have been a screen since the were moving away from the guy with the ball, but it blocked White from following Murray on the screen and gave him some easy looks. Good strategy by Denver if the refs don't call the moving screens for what they were.

[slick'81]

patty not getting the worst grade

he was solid

[Spurch]

Everyone on this forum has made great points but the 1 thing we all have in common besides being Spurs fans is we let this game slip away, this game 2 should've been won, where as I'm laying blame to Rudy gay as our 3rd best scorer and primary defender he came up wayyyyy too short he needs to be better a lot better, pop gets the majority of the blame in my opinion simply bcuz he has the most experience in these situations before Murray got hot Beasley and others were scoring tremendously and while we were scoring we weren't getting stops pop should've made the proper adjustments just as some of you highlighted and that's why I like coach doc Rivers he most times don't panic and keeps a calm demeanor even when trailing in games however white is a good defender but even good or great defenders sometimes get beaten in the white vs Murray match up white did a good job but most times Murray is coming off a yokic screen and lma almost never comes up to contest or even show so that white can recover so Murray shoots an elbow jumper or floater yokic doesn't roll to the basket so lma can contest the shot or make him past and that guys is my most important point the Spurs entire rooster have to be better defensively and Rudy gay needs to step up on all ends.

[The Whopper]

This team has 2 ballhandlers: White and DeRozan. You don't sit them both at the same time and play a back court of Mills/Belinelli. Not only can they not run offense, they can't defend either. That is the main reason why we lost the game. When you're up 19 at the middle of the 3rd quarter you want to keep a PG out there who runs clock and gets you good shots, so you keep scoring the ball and don't let the other team back in the game. Pop on the other hand thinks that this is the time to experiment with dumbass line ups.

Not only did he bench both playmakers, he called a time out way too late when Denver cut the lead to 7. When you're up 19 you don't save time outs for crunch time, since it shouldn't even come to having to make plays in the clutch when you up by such a wide margin.

Then after he called time out, he ran out the SAME LINE UP. If that ain't re ed coaching I don't know what is. Everybody could sense that we was going to lose the game after that. I don't care how bad the refs were in the 4th. We would've swept Denver if he had kept one of White or DeRozan out there.

This loss is on the coach F-

winner winner chicken dinner. That’s where Pop lost it for us.

[TDMVPDPOY]

lma/poetl/bertans is a solid frontline rotation, problem is bertans on offense...nobody is looking for him, or when he receives it his always 2-3ft behind the 3pt line for that brick shot..., defense his getting abuse but he makes them work for them points

rudy gay...seems like this clown forgot to bounce a ball...

belli i was hoping he eat up most of mills/forbes minutes, u need size out there, not fkn midgets, hence belli only shoots when his free..unlike these 2 clowns who have the green light to chuck out of nowhere wasting possessions...these 2 idiots dont even try making plays like a pg, to busy trying to counter a basket

[Play Boban]

lma/poetl/bertans is a solid frontline rotation, problem is bertans on offense...nobody is looking for him, or when he receives it his always 2-3ft behind the 3pt line for that brick shot..., defense his getting abuse but he makes them work for them points

rudy gay...seems like this clown forgot to bounce a ball...

belli i was hoping he eat up most of mills/forbes minutes, u need size out there, not fkn midgets, hence belli only shoots when his free..unlike these 2 clowns who have the green light to chuck out of nowhere wasting possessions...these 2 idiots dont even try making plays like a pg, to busy trying to counter a basket

Dropping truth bombs per par

[blah28]

lma/poetl/bertans is a solid frontline rotation, problem is bertans on offense...nobody is looking for him, or when he receives it his always 2-3ft behind the 3pt line for that brick shot..., defense his getting abuse but he makes them work for them points

rudy gay...seems like this clown forgot to bounce a ball...

belli i was hoping he eat up most of mills/forbes minutes, u need size out there, not fkn midgets, hence belli only shoots when his free..unlike these 2 clowns who have the green light to chuck out of nowhere wasting possessions...these 2 idiots dont even try making plays like a pg, to busy trying to counter a basket

So true, it is frustrating that no one looks for Bertans when he is on the floor, unless they want him to bail them out.

I cannot believe why White who is only 24 years old plays around 32-33 minutes. He should be playing at least 40 minutes. This is the playoffs when your best point guard plays the most. Why sub him for a 5'10 Shooting guard when you don't need to. There are no back to back games plus he is also our best perimeter defender too.

[monty4329]

Everyone on this forum has made great points but the 1 thing we all have in common besides being Spurs fans is we let this game slip away, this game 2 should've been won, where as I'm laying blame to Rudy gay as our 3rd best scorer and primary defender he came up wayyyyy too short he needs to be better a lot better, pop gets the majority of the blame in my opinion simply bcuz he has the most experience in these situations before Murray got hot Beasley and others were scoring tremendously and while we were scoring we weren't getting stops pop should've made the proper adjustments just as some of you highlighted and that's why I like coach doc Rivers he most times don't panic and keeps a calm demeanor even when trailing in games however white is a good defender but even good or great defenders sometimes get beaten in the white vs Murray match up white did a good job but most times Murray is coming off a yokic screen and lma almost never comes up to contest or even show so that white can recover so Murray shoots an elbow jumper or floater yokic doesn't roll to the basket so lma can contest the shot or make him past and that guys is my most important point the Spurs entire rooster have to be better defensively and Rudy gay needs to step up on all ends.

you probably are making some sense but after two lines it all gets blurred....Paragraph please

[Ozballer]

Denver got going half way through the third when the series was truly on the line. They started playing with passion, the crowd lifted, the refs lent a hand and the Spurs suc bed. Not too bad for 8 quarters of basketball in tough away conditions. Denver did just enough. If the Spurs really want this one they should be favoured win at home the next 2. They have more basketball tricks. Great effort by the team across the series so far. Keep it up

[SouthTexasRancher]

Lol pop c
He should get out the red state of Texas and go to blue lakers
Him and James can talk how great Hilary Clinton is because basketball is just basketball

[Arcadian]

If only we had our Murray to stop their Murray. I look forward to BATTLE OF THE MURRAYS

[BillMc]

If only we had our Murray to stop their Murray. I look forward to BATTLE OF THE MURRAYS