Will Pop Covertly Throw Game 4?

[8FOR!3]

You don't tank in the playoffs period.

[DMC]

They can deal with loss in the next round. If the winning streak is a burden, then you have your hurdle to cross on that one, Pop. You don't need a loss to create a bridge back to reality.

Be careful about trying to over manipulate the team's psyche.

[Bruno]

5. Tonight's game will be played directly after a hockey game. Last night, Game 4 between the Thunder and Lakers took place under the same cir stances.

Are you sure?
The game just before Lakers/Thunder game 4 was Clippers/Spurs game 3.

[Bruno]

Regarding tonight game, I don't think Pop should throw for the simple reason that you never know and a win in game 5 isn't guaranteed. Saying that Pop should use more his bench than yesterday. It's especially true at the center spot where Duncan minutes should be lower than yesterday. Hopefully, Splitter won't suck. If Spurs are done bu a lot in the secodn half, Pop should gave up quickly, rest his players and start thinking at game 5.

[Budkin]

No way. You know Pop always instills in his players "the appropriate fear." It's over tonight.

[ducks]

hopefully the big three will come out set the tone get up 10 -15 quick and then be able to play the bench alot

[icango]

if you can close out a game 4 then thats the plan. let pop deal with the win streak comments.

[BillMc]

No. Pop will not!

[ManuTastic]

Although I don't think he will, because it's best not to, it would be kind of bad ass of Pop to tank a playoff game.
I mean, has ANYONE ever done that before? If he does it and it works, he'll have a bit more interesting plaque in the Hall of Fame.

(Don't do it Pop.)

[Darkwaters]

With the way the Clippers lost yesterday and how defeated they looked afterwards, I think it'd be pretty difficult for Pop to find a way to tank this game.

Thats a pretty big dose of Cory Joseph.

[Darkwaters]

no. I didn't pay $280 to go to a game tonight where the Spurs tank.

No tanking in playoffs.

Suck for Luck!

[The_Worlds_finest]

[TimmehC]

Timmy played 38 minutes yesterday. That might be reason enough to limit his minutes tonight.

[Darkwaters]

hopefully the big three will come out set the tone get up 10 -15 quick and then be able to play the bench alot

I don't know. Apparently when we have them up by 24 we have them right where we want them.

[TampaDude]

After the way they lost yesterday, I don't think the Clippers have anything left in the tank. They are beaten.

Sweep.

[Jimcs50]

Had Lakers won last night, then I would have thought it a good idea to rest TD, because Spurs could have closed it out on Tuesday and still get days off waiting for Thunder to finish. But now, I do not want Thunder to finish up Monday and get 3 days off whele Sa is finishing up. I want SA to get 3 days off.

[timvp]

For the record, I'd personally go for the win. Injuries are my biggest concern and the less games the Spurs play the better.

But this is like the perfect storm for Pop to limit minutes in a playoff game even if it doesn't put the Spurs in the best opportunity to win.

[pgardn]

Totally disagree with the premise of using a purposeful loss to see how we bounce back from a loss.

imo this makes no sense whatsoever.

[-21-]

It sounds crazy but my Pop decoder ring is telling me that Pop would be happiest with a loss tonight. To make it happen, I wouldn't be surprised if we see the bench more than usual -- and maybe even some first half DeJuan Blair action. Why wouldn't Pop go all out for the sweep?

1. The joke among the coaching staff is that Pop is never more miserable than during a winning streak. With the Spurs on one of their most impressive winning streaks in franchise history, Pop is probably binge drinking after games to cope. In Pop's mind, a loss will stop the distracting questions about the streak and will allow the team to focus at the task at hand: winning a championship.

2. Since this current iteration of the Spurs hasn't had to deal with bouncing back from a loss, in Pop's mind it's probably better to learn how to do that now than against a team that could legitimately defeat the Spurs in a series (like the Thunder).

3. The soonest the Western Conference Finals can start is next weekend. I Pop's mind, a loss tonight probably isn't that big of a deal since the Spurs will play Game 5 in San Antonio on Tuesday. If they take care of Game 5, the Spurs would still have plenty of rest before the start of the WCF.

4. Tonight is a back-to-back after a playoff win that took a lot of energy. In Pop's mind, that could be the perfect excuse to play the bench players a lot more minutes than usual.

5. Tonight's game will be played directly after a hockey game. Last night, Game 4 between the Thunder and Lakers took place under the same cir stances. If you watched that game, you would have noticed players slipping on the floor more than usual. So not only would Pop have the back-to-back excuse, he'd have the "I don't want to risk my best players on a slippery floor" excuse.

6. Joey Crawford is reffing the game. If Pop is looking for reasons to not go all out, Crawford's presence could come into play. "Even if it's a close game, is Joey going to go out of his way to call a fair game down the stretch?," Pop's mind may ask itself.


There are two reasons why I think the Spurs may indeed win this game and sweep the Clippers:

1. As much as Pop may agree with the above points, his paranoia about injuries may overshadow any other thoughts in his mind. Pop may think no matter what, it's best to avoid having the Spurs to play 48 more minutes on Tuesday.

2. The Spurs are just too damn good.

All good reasons but it's gonna be difficult to lose because of our depth. We're just too damn good!!! Unless he plays a lot of Cory Joseph, James Anderson, and Derrick Byars...

[Jimcs50]

No way. You know Pop always instills in his players "the appropriate fear." It's over tonight.

The Spurs are going to go Aladeen mother er.

[roycrikside]

I generally agree with your premise, L.J., but I'm not sure how "covert" it'd be for all the reasons you stated. If they lose, it won't be with the big three playing all out.

I think Pop will be going for the win, but in regular season terms. I predict Tim and Manu will be on a strict 24-26 minute limit and Tony will be at 28-30.

If we're to sweep then the bench will have to rise to the occasion. So far it'd be extremely charitable to say they haven't pulled their weight. More like they've done more harm than good, as Splitter, Bonner, Jackson and Neal are all huge minuses this series. Time for them to sink or swim.

Hopefully the Clippers are just demoralized (and exhausted) enough where we'll get it done.

[DAF86]

I think he will definitely play the bench more minutes.

[DDS4]

Let's just say that if the Spurs are down 24 again, the big 3 will sit this one out this time.

It would be interesting if Pop had the big 3 with DNPs. Stern's head would explode.

[TD 21]

I generally agree with your premise, L.J., but I'm not sure how "covert" it'd be for all the reasons you stated. If they lose, it won't be with the big three playing all out.

I think Pop will be going for the win, but in regular season terms. I predict Tim and Manu will be on a strict 24-26 minute limit and Tony will be at 28-30.

If we're to sweep then the bench will have to rise to the occasion. So far it'd be extremely charitable to say they haven't pulled their weight. More like they've done more harm than good, as Splitter, Bonner, Jackson and Neal are all huge minuses this series. Time for them to sink or swim.

Hopefully the Clippers are just demoralized (and exhausted) enough where we'll get it done.

Why would he do that when, if they win, they don't play again until next weekend at the earliest? I suspect he'll be going all out for the kill. All of these pseudo problems are just that; he's not stupid enough to intentionally throw a playoff game. Not when he knows how quickly things can change. Play an unnecessary game five and maybe a key player suc bs to injury, or maybe the Clippers flat out pull off a minor miracle. You don't leave anything to chance in the playoffs.

I'm sure he'll attempt to buy Duncan a few more minutes of rest, but Ginobili still isn't playing all that much, so I'm not sure why he'd need any more rest. Parker, he might play around 40 to ensure victory. He did this game four against the Jazz, by playing him something like 21+ minutes in the 2nd half, including all of the 4th quarter.

[DBMethos]

Why would he do that when, if they win, they don't play again until next weekend at the earliest? I suspect he'll be going all out for the kill. All of these pseudo problems are just that; he's not stupid enough to intentionally throw a playoff game. Not when he knows how quickly things can change. Play an unnecessary game five and maybe a key player suc bs to injury, or maybe the Clippers flat out pull off a minor miracle. You don't leave anything to chance in the playoffs.

I'm sure he'll attempt to buy Duncan a few more minutes of rest, but Ginobili still isn't playing all that much, so I'm not sure why he'd need any more rest. Parker, he might play around 40 to ensure victory. He did this game four against the Jazz, by playing him something like 21+ minutes in the 2nd half, including all of the 4th quarter.

This. Get the job done tonight.
Oh, and Joey Crawford.