Pop Show 1 18 2007

[Kori Ellis]

so did he say the spurs were going to make ANY adjustments?

They apparently talked about it in the first half of the show, which I missed. I'm waiting for someone else to fill in that part.

[Solid D]

Sorry, I had an important phone call and couldn't comment earlier. The first part of the show went sort of like this:

Don Harris asked: Is this recent slide due to what the Spurs are not doing or more about what teams like Dallas and PHX ARE doing?

Pop said, 1st of all, credit to Dallas and PHX and others. From the Spurs perspective, the stars aren't playing very well, the bench isn't playing very well. Not playing defense very well. Not shooting very well. Lots of things. Our focus is not whether we are winning or losing. It's about whether we are getting better every day. Struggling right now.

PHX, Dallas, Houston bring a lot of fuel. They have a lot to bring. It's hard for us to bring (the intensity) all the time. (I didn't take this to mean an excuse...just a statement of the current state of the Spurs). We've really got our work cut out for us.

[Bruno]

The podcast is available :
http://www.ticket760.com/cc-common/podcast.html

[johngateswhiteley]

...i never understood the interest of the Pop Show?

1. nothing important is ever discussed
2. Pop isn't going to clue fans in on what his plans are, nor should he

[Solid D]

Let's see, Pop also said their problem with intensity is a mental thing. The last 6 minutes of the game last night he thought they showed good intensity.

Someone asked if there is one person that the team relies on to stir them up and spur them on (i.e. Magic Johnson did that) Pop said this team doesn't have one guy that is really vocal except maybe Robert Horry. It's not about one player like Manu turning it up but everyone needs to contribute to increasing the intensity (or something to that effect). At some point this season they need to figure out how to bring the necessary intensity.

Pop was asked about the bench play. Asked about Beno. Pop said it would be disingenuous to say that Beno has played really well. They had hoped the backup PG would be a strength for them but that hasn't been the case. We're not satisfied or pleased with what Beno has brought to bear so far and he isn't either. Don asked about the other bench players, if he was disappointed in their production also. Pop said to a lesser degree but yes. The injuries to Francisco and now to Matt really hurt them because they were starting to get their rotations down on the front line and now they have had to do some different things/combinations. They have had to go "small" more since they went down and they haven't had to go with a small lineup this season prior to the injuries.

That's all for now.

[SequSpur]

Intensity has nothing to do with ing skill level. The Spurs just ing blow.

[Jobbs]

I'm not giving up on the Spurs yet. They've been in the Finals 3 out of the last 7 years. I'm just thinking they don't want to play hard until the playoffs like Tim did last year.

Oh yeah, let Fab start over Horry. Horry plays better off the bench.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Pop started with - "we just didn't knock down shots"

[2centsworth]

Beno has great natural skill

I'm with you all the way on Beno except for that. I have yet to see the great natural skill. Does he jump really high, contort his body to get shots off, dribble fast up and down the court, is he stronger than average, does he have great vision, or does he have a great shot?

The guy looks slow and untalented, but I have yet to see him in practice.

[1Parker1]

I'm not giving up on the Spurs yet. They've been in the Finals 3 out of the last 7 years. I'm just thinking they don't want to play hard until the playoffs like Tim did last year.

It's not even a fact about playing hard. They've already lost 3 straight and now 2 straight and are 6-7 in their last 15 games and have a losing record against the top teams in the league. I can understand that they won't "play hard" every night (although it seems like other teams like the Suns, Mavs, Lakers can), but I do expect them to play hard in big games which they haven't been.

Spurs have several glaring weaknesses which began to be uncovered last season in the Mavs series. Problem is over the past few years, teams like the Mavs, Heat, Suns, Bulls, etc. have been working hard to become compe ive and the Spurs have not adjusted their roster accordingly.

[wildbill2u]

Pop started with - "we just didn't knock down shots"

Actually, if you look at the box stats, the big three hit a good respectable percentage. Manu probably didn't get enough shots. Barry had a good night both in % and in contribution (13 points in 19 minutes.)

Bowen was 2 of 9 and obviously had his head elsewhere. Beno was 0-4. Finley sucked. That was about it.

[Spurs Dynasty 21]

@ Pat Riley

???



Riley got the Heat to beat the Mavs down 0-2, yet you laugh at him as a coach

[Kori Ellis]

???



Riley got the Heat to beat the Mavs down 0-2, yet you laugh at him as a coach

No. I laughed at the idea of the Spurs firing Pop and hiring him.

[Spurs Dynasty 21]

No. I laughed at the idea of the Spurs firing Pop and hiring him.

my bad

[Russ]

Did he remind people that the Spurs currently have the 3rd best record in a 30 team league?

[timvp]

I'm with you all the way on Beno except for that. I have yet to see the great natural skill. Does he jump really high, contort his body to get shots off, dribble fast up and down the court, is he stronger than average, does he have great vision, or does he have a great shot?

Most of those attributes you listed would fall under great athleticism. Beno in the past when he was playing well had an innate ability to make the right pass with great timing and had a lethal midrange jumper off the jumper. Those two traits can't really be learned ... you are either born with that basketball ability or you're not.

What is hurting him right now is he's in bad physical shape and his basketball IQ is off the charts low for an NBA point guard. If he'd dedicate himself in getting into good shape and also dedicate himself to learning all the nuances of the point guard position, he could turn his career around.

I would have more hope if I ever have heard about him going early to practice or staying late after practice. He's actually known as the last one to get to practice and the first one to leave. Not good.

[1Parker1]

No. I laughed at the idea of the Spurs firing Pop and hiring him.

Plus I was kidding.....well kind of.

[Russ]

Our focus is not whether we are winning or losing. It's about whether we are getting better every day.

Phil Jackson could have said that.

A caller asked about Kobe clearing out with his off arm.

Pop said that Kobe probably wasn't clearing out as much as fans think.

PJ probably doesn't say that -- especially after a loss.

[Russ]

Beno in the past when he was playing well had an innate ability to make the right pass with great timing and had a lethal midrange jumper off the jumper. Those two traits can't really be learned ... you are either born with that basketball ability or you're not.

Beno always struck me as a functional point guard on a top tier Euro team. No more, no less. He was always solid but without much upside. With all due respect timvp, why make him into some tragic waste of talent -- that doesn't seem fair to him or anyone else.

[timvp]

Beno always struck me as a functional point guard on a top tier Euro team. No more, no less. He was always solid but without much upside. With all due respect timvp, why make him into some tragic waste of talent -- that doesn't seem fair to him or anyone else.

Beno is damn talented, whether you want to believe me or not. He's not a John Crotty just-don't-mess-up type of player. At one point in time, he was the most talented young player in Europe. He even torched Tony Parker when they played against each other. We're talking 35 points, 10 assists while shutting TP down.

But if he doesn't want to put in the work, that talent is never going to show.

[ploto]

Most of those attributes you listed would fall under great athleticism. Beno in the past when he was playing well had an innate ability to make the right pass with great timing and had a lethal midrange jumper off the jumper. Those two traits can't really be learned ... you are either born with that basketball ability or you're not.

I would have more hope if I ever have heard about him going early to practice or staying late after practice. He's actually known as the last one to get to practice and the first one to leave. Not good.

Beno's timing is what impressed me when he first came to the Spurs. I liked the rhythm of the way he played, so to speak. That's gone, unfortunately. He also used to stay after practice, or even go back for a second time later in the day, during his rookie year. That unfortunately seems to be gone, too.

I am not sure why it is that he really seems to be so unclear as to what Pop wants him to do during the game. It does make you wonder why a young player would get progressively worse. When he first came, he seemed to be playing more on his natural instincts, but they are gone. Pop used to get on Hedo and Rasho and Brent because he wanted them to shoot more and not pass up shots. I guess Beno thinks he is supposed to shoot. He is such a great passer. He should just focus on setting guys up more and wait for the shots to come. Somehow, it's not being communicated or understood.

Now, for the comment to get bashed for. I said some time ago that Beno just isn't a player who would respond to the whole mind games, dog house, calling out in the media, etc... routine of Pop's. While not an excuse, I don't think it's helped much.

[Russ]

Beno is damn talented, whether you want to believe me or not. He's not a John Crotty just-don't-mess-up type of player. At one point in time, he was the most talented young player in Europe. He even torched Tony Parker when they played against each other. We're talking 35 points, 10 assists while shutting TP down.

But if he doesn't want to put in the work, that talent is never going to show.

Well, I hope you're right. But the impression I got was that the Spurs wanted to draft a young point guard whom they could count on for years but who, at the same time, understood that he would be behind TP his entire career, and accept it (unlike Speedy Claxton).

The problem now is not that he hasn't exploded onto the scene -- it's that he can't get the ball past the ten second line when he's closely guarded.

[Kori Ellis]

...
I said some time ago that Beno just isn't a player who would respond to the whole mind games, dog house, calling out in the media, etc... routine of Pop's. While not an excuse, I don't think it's helped much.

What do you think would motivate him? He's hard for me to figure out. I don't know if he didn't expect he would have to work on his game in the NBA, if he was overconfident when he arrived in the league or what. Do you remember that interview at Rasho's house where they asked Beno about winning a le and he said something to the effect of that it wasn't that important to him, that his goal was to make the league and he did? Maybe he's already satisfied.

[FromWayDowntown]

I am not sure why it is that he really seems to be so unclear as to what Pop wants him to do during the game. It does make you wonder why a young player would get progressively worse. When he first came, he seemed to be playing more on his natural instincts, but they are gone.

It makes me curious too, mostly because just the opposite has happened with Parker. Maybe it's just a case of two guys with very, very different personalities -- but Pop, I think, nurtured Parker (with a lot of tough love) into an All-Star caliber point guard. Tony was younger than Beno was when he entered the league, and maybe there's something to that. Tony was also given starter's minutes almost immediately and it might be that the carrot of being a starter on a championship caliber team was enough to give Parker the motivation to listen to Pop's rantings.

Whatever the case, it is clear that pretty much the opposite has occurred with Beno. Even if Pop wanted him to shoot, he seems to have absolutely no confidence and has regressed in that aspect of his game. I agree with timvp that Beno's decision-making is beyond ridiculous. The sequence at the end of the 2nd quarter of the Dallas game in January nearly made me jump out of the upper deck at the AT&T Center.

It might be that Beno is just a sensitive guy who struggles with criticism and gets down on himself, deflating his own confidence in that process. If that's the case, that trait isn't usually one you find in an NBA player -- particularly a point guard -- and I don't know that anything will ever change this situation. Maybe Game 4 of the 2005 Finals changed Beno forever; maybe the decision to sign Nick Van Exel last year has forever stunted Beno's growth. Such possibilities are more discouraging to me than anything else. I have hoped that Beno would experience some great success by having a great shooting night or suddenly grasping some concept that allowed him to flourish, but I don't think that's ever going to happen -- at least not in SA.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Did he remind people that the Spurs currently have the 3rd best record in a 30 team league?

Did anyone remind him that third place is good for exactly jack ?