Rearranging the deck chairs amid this meltdown

[therealtruth]

Wow, some of you shouldn't even post. I mean seriously....the Spurs "are who we thought they were"....thats the best way to sum it up- Ive enjoyed watching them beat up on lesser opponents, but that all ends come playoff time(as last night showed us)...and then to think the Spurs will have a better chance w/ Kobe playing?? WOW LOOOL!!! Everyone plays off the concern with Memphis and LA, when in reality the Spurs are going to struggle with any of the teams. If Dallas gets the 8 we could see a repeat of what happend last year w/ Memphis...anyone that thinks differently needs to remove the homer goggles.

I will say this: Pop must be the only idiotic coach in the NBA that:
a) Rests his stars consistently, even when healthy and fighting for playoff position...these guys are million dollar athletes that do this for a living! Seems kind of odd that Pop understands they need to be healthy to do anything in the postseason but doesnt get that he needs both bigs on the floor together! WTF? Splitter was the only guy out there last night that could play any effective D inside(and that includes Timmy)!
b) Wont put his best players on the floor together when they need to be...not playing Tiago with Timmy is like MBrown putting Gasol on the bench..and starting MCroberts because hes concerned who will play the paint when Bynum rests. Its painfully obvious to everyone that watches the team but Pop?? If I was a player on the Spurs theres no way I could keep myself from saying SOMETHING!? Whats wrong with these people? Noone wants to admit it but the bottom line is the Spurs won les when Timmy was their BEST player...he hasnt been in a long time..well, since 2007(go figure). Unfortunetly they are not gonna win with an old/slow Tim doing it all by himself in the paint. Blair/Bonner are a JOKE at best...Diaw is weak and Pops ego is too big to play Splitter. THE END.

Teams don't move their second best big to the bench just because they need a center for their bench. McRoberts and Murphy aren't centers but their 3rd and 4th bigs.

[pgardn]

Scared...

Anyone who thinks a pro player, a professional gets scared... utterly ridiculous.

We did the same thing to them last year first game we met. Blair absolutely abused Bynum and Gasol. Do you think they were scared of Duan?

Meltdown.
Its one frggn game. Sure they are not a good matchup, Im just glad players dont react to these kind of games like fans sitting on the sofa. Who on the Spurs has stated that he does not wish to play the Lakers because they are scared... ahhh to get eaten? Is someone going to die? Scared...

I would think Tim might be scared to go to Afghanistan.

[Stringer_Bell]

But at the end of the season, if the Spurs need to tank a few games to get out of the Lakers' half of the bracket, they should absolutely do that.

I typically agree with you, but I have to speak up and say tanking anything to avoid the Lakers is bull . It all comes down to starting Duncan/Splitter and praying Kobe plays every game in the playoffs. To increase the chances of winning a 7 game series, all we need to do is:

-Only put Dejuan Blair in there when Gasol is in there by himself. Pop needs to just flat out tell Blair that he's not to care about anything other than beating up Gasol and getting rebounds. He needs to be a grunt and get Gasol out of any position/rhythm while our second unit is out there. No points, just bangin' and boards.
- When Bynum is out there without Gasol, the Spurs needs to focus in on disciplined ball movement and not getting cute with passes while Tim/Splitter are on the bench. Basically, the team (2nd unit guys in particular) needs to ACCEPT that Bynum can nullify the advantage they have had on every other 2nd unit in the league.
- Don't be scared, homie.

[ace3g]

was looking at the playoff bracket http://www.breathingfire.com/nba/pla...racket2012.php , would be a long shot but if Clippers can pass Lakers for #3 spot (are playing better recently, just beat OKC) and everything else stays equal, Lakers/Grizz would face each other in the 1st round.

[DPG21920]

was looking at the playoff bracket http://www.breathingfire.com/nba/pla...racket2012.php , would be a long shot but if Clippers can pass Lakers for #3 spot (are playing better recently, just beat OKC) and everything else stays equal, Lakers/Grizz would face each other in the 1st round.

Ideal scenario.

[Spurtacus]

was looking at the playoff bracket http://www.breathingfire.com/nba/pla...racket2012.php , would be a long shot but if Clippers can pass Lakers for #3 spot (are playing better recently, just beat OKC) and everything else stays equal, Lakers/Grizz would face each other in the 1st round.

1st round: Utah/Phoenix
2nd round: Clippers
3rd round: Thunder

Book your ticket to the Finals if we get those matchups.

[Capt Bringdown]

-Any Spurs fan who can't recognize the Lakers are by faaaaaaaaaaar the worst matchup for the Spurs in the playoffs (in the West, at least) needs to return their fandom card and go find another sport

Lakers own the Spurs, the only chance the Spurs have of getting past them is if somebody else knocks them off.
Beyond the question of matchups, the Lakers have a insurmountable psychological edge. The Spurs know they can't beat them, and, sadly it shows. Spurs don't even try.

[Sportcamper]

Wondering if anyone taped the game & took a 2nd look at it? It was chippy in the 1st half & the Lakers pulled away in the 3rd…Artest played his best game in over two years and Matt Barnes had a good game…I don’t see it as a meltdown…Most of Bynum’s 30 rebounds came right to him, he only had to lift up his hands & catch the ball…

[rmt]

This is true. I've had enough with trying and failing to match-up with their bigs. Aside from playing Duncan and Splitter a combined 70 or so minutes against them, which is obviously not going to happen, it's time to try something radical, because that's the only other chance at beating this team in a series, since the Spurs clearly still don't believe they can beat them.

Put Jackson on Gasol for stretches, mix up the coverages on him and force them to match-up with a four who can make plays. Isolate Jackson some on Gasol and also put him in some pick-and-rolls against him, as the ball handler. The Warriors did this to them a few weeks ago and damn near beat them (granted, this was with Bynum sitting down the stretch; but still, it clearly threw them off, someone going small on them) and this was without their two best players. Jackson is tough enough mentally to not be defeated beforehand, which is key.

- If it was possible for the Lakers confidence against them to grow, it just did. I'd say they diminished their own confidence against them, but it was abundantly clear they have none. I have no idea why they're still terrified of this team, but they are. Their record isn't great and they almost never win easy, so don't give me this "their size is too much". Evidently, it's not for the rest of the league.

What the heck, SJax on Gasol is worth a try. Gasol is the weakest mental link and SJax is crazy enough not to back down. I was proud of that sequence when he was on Gasol even if he did get the foul.

I typically agree with you, but I have to speak up and say tanking anything to avoid the Lakers is bull . It all comes down to starting Duncan/Splitter and praying Kobe plays every game in the playoffs. To increase the chances of winning a 7 game series, all we need to do is:

-Only put Dejuan Blair in there when Gasol is in there by himself. Pop needs to just flat out tell Blair that he's not to care about anything other than beating up Gasol and getting rebounds. He needs to be a grunt and get Gasol out of any position/rhythm while our second unit is out there. No points, just bangin' and boards.
- When Bynum is out there without Gasol, the Spurs needs to focus in on disciplined ball movement and not getting cute with passes while Tim/Splitter are on the bench. Basically, the team (2nd unit guys in particular) needs to ACCEPT that Bynum can nullify the advantage they have had on every other 2nd unit in the league.

This is the only use I see for Blair. Only he of the bigs are physical and Gasol is prone to disappearing when bigs get physical with him. Unfortunately, Pop is too much for "doing things the right way" for him to tell Blair this. I wish Kevin Willis or Tony Massenburg were still on this team - that's exactly the type of veteran big man that's needed.

[ace3g]

With the Suns winning tonight, Spurs back to playing the Nuggets in 1st round. If Nuggets beat the Lakers tonight, if will change again.

http://www.breathingfire.com/nba/pla...racket2012.php

[Legacy]

I typically agree with you, but I have to speak up and say tanking anything to avoid the Lakers is bull . It all comes down to starting Duncan/Splitter and praying Kobe plays every game in the playoffs. To increase the chances of winning a 7 game series, all we need to do is:

-Only put Dejuan Blair in there when Gasol is in there by himself. Pop needs to just flat out tell Blair that he's not to care about anything other than beating up Gasol and getting rebounds. He needs to be a grunt and get Gasol out of any position/rhythm while our second unit is out there. No points, just bangin' and boards.
- When Bynum is out there without Gasol, the Spurs needs to focus in on disciplined ball movement and not getting cute with passes while Tim/Splitter are on the bench. Basically, the team (2nd unit guys in particular) needs to ACCEPT that Bynum can nullify the advantage they have had on every other 2nd unit in the league.
- Don't be scared, homie.

Yeah. I haven't jumped on that bandwagon, either. We get who we get in The Playoffs, and go from there. Sorry. *shrug*

[Legacy]

... And I'm sorry if I'm not a "TRUE fan" if I say this, either ( en' ridiculous). I've seen us beat them before. I'll continue to BELIEVE. To The End. KTHANX.


ETA: If I'm wrong in the end, then so be it.

[Legacy]

I typically agree with you, but I have to speak up and say tanking anything to avoid the Lakers is bull . It all comes down to starting Duncan/Splitter and praying Kobe plays every game in the playoffs. To increase the chances of winning a 7 game series, all we need to do is:

-Only put Dejuan Blair in there when Gasol is in there by himself. Pop needs to just flat out tell Blair that he's not to care about anything other than beating up Gasol and getting rebounds. He needs to be a grunt and get Gasol out of any position/rhythm while our second unit is out there. No points, just bangin' and boards.
- When Bynum is out there without Gasol, the Spurs needs to focus in on disciplined ball movement and not getting cute with passes while Tim/Splitter are on the bench. Basically, the team (2nd unit guys in particular) needs to ACCEPT that Bynum can nullify the advantage they have had on every other 2nd unit in the league.
- Don't be scared, homie.

Yeah. I haven't jumped on that bandwagon, either. We get who we get in The Playoffs, and go from there. Sorry. *shrug*

I liked the rest of your post, too, BTW, Stringer_Bell. Aye!

[ace3g]

With the Nuggets losing to the Lakers tonight, they move back to the 8th spot, and Rockets move to the 7th spot:

http://www.breathingfire.com/nba/pla...racket2012.php