Pop is a freakin genius!

[LEONARD]

Kidd - 27 minutes
Dampier - 22 minutes
Dirk - 26 minutes
Howard - 26 minutes
Terry - 23 Minutes

You're right, the Mavs are going to be EXHAUSTED on Saturday.

[SenorSpur]

I can't say that I always understand Pop or agree with him, but every now and then he does something to remind me of what a good coach he really is.

I applaud him for banishing the starters to the bench. A clear strategic and tactical move, and good job for keeping the big picture in mind. It was clear those guys weren't ready to play, as evidenced by their half-ass effort.

For the life of me, I can't understand why teams can't seem to handle wins. It's one thing to bounce back from a loss, but maintaining or ramping up the intensity after a win seemingly goes against human nature, I guess. We'll see what they're made of on Saturday.

If and when the Spurs are ever eliminated from the playoffs, I hope Pop pulls a Pat Summitt and makes the team practice the very next day.

[hater]

Yes, you are not getting it! No more explanation. It's a waste of time.

[Halberto]

I don't think his motive was for the benefit of their bodies, it was more of a psychological thing.

[Halberto]

Crawford and Rush were going to make sure the Spurs didn't win this one anyway, so at least this way...

The starters got some rest and then bench got some minutes.
It was a good night for the shooting to be stone-cold.
Dallas got their butt-hurt adrenaline used up.
We got a good (albeit painful) look at their adjustments.
Pop got a jab in at the NBA by giving them another slow boring game full of scrubs.

If the fix is in anyway, and it was (it just wasn't needed), that's the way to do it.

Really? Crawford and Rush weren't keeping Tony from penetrating. They also weren't blocking our shots and making us miss every 3.

Man up and take the licking. We got our asses kicked fair and square.

[poop]

pop does not make adjustments. he does not coach.

utah needed more defense so SLoan put Kirilinko in the starting lineup. result? lakers finally have a slow start, utah has a strong one and wins the game.

dallas needed more offense after their game 2 defeat so they put Barea in the starting lineup. result? high-scoring start, win the game.

spurs need more defense to set the tone. what does pop do? keep the same ty starting lineup. result? we lose. repeat x1000

[phxspurfan]

Too bad Dallas isn't old...for this series it matters not whether they have little rest. If anything, if they get past the Spurs they *may* become tired later on.

[island_dude]

Yeah, that's right Pop told his guys to take it easy because of Joey Crawford, and that zaney Mark Cuban. Let's just tank this one, and get em' next game.





GENIOUS!

[SenorSpur]

Too bad Dallas isn't old...for this series it matters not whether they have little rest. If anything, if they get past the Spurs they *may* become tired later on.

In some respects, they are old. They're just not as old as the Spurs.

One thing that bothers me is Pop usually bristles at any suggestion of him team being old. Yet he, and some others on the team, issue subtle hints about the teams age. "We need to manage our minutes", "we need to be well rested before the next game", "we're worried about the short turnaround and the playoff schedule because this is not a young team", "We're glad to draw the 3 seed because there was concern about the possible long flight to Portland because of the health of some players."

All these references to the age of the squad. If it's such an issue, get some younger players and play them.

[RedRaider]

Rest is everything for this team. I hope Mavs starters playing through 4th quarter last game comes back and bites them in the asses.

[TampaDude]

Last night was a missed opportunity for the Spurs, nothing more. If the Spurs had won last night, they wouldn't have to worry as much about Game 4. Now, Game 4 is a MUST WIN for the Spurs. If they lose, they're in a 3-1 hole, and pretty much done. That's why they're going to win Game 4.

CIA POP in full effect. Spurs in 7. Book it.

[Muser]

Why is everything CIA Pop...

[TampaDude]

Why is everything CIA Pop...

Because it just IS, that's why!

[Spursmania]

Genius Pop better find a way to win game 4 or Spurs are going on a long fishing vacation.

[LEONARD]

takes our starters our for good with 6 minutes to go in the 3rd.

game 4 coming up in less than 48 hours. Mavs starters still playing at least until 4th quarter.

Spurs come in fresh in game 4 and take the game.




will make sure to bump this after game 4

You forgot to bump this...