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

[TDomination]

Would be nice to get a nice blowout win for Game 3!

Hopefully home cooking helps Forbes/Beli/Mills out.

[Mugen]

The closing lineup to end the 3rd was just absolutely atrocious....

Not being able to stagger Derozan and White's minutes is such an elementary coaching mistake but here we are

[Chomag]

Despite many of the Spurs players playing poorly and Pop going full re doing everything he can to make the game harder to win and Murray going super scrub, Denver still had a hard time beating the Spurs. So I'm still feeling pretty good about the Spurs in this series.

However there is nothing more dangerous in the playoffs then letting a young team gain confidence.. It would help if Pop would get his head out of his ass and get over himself but in not going to hold my breath on that one.

[RC_Drunkford]

The closing lineup to end the 3rd was just absolutely atrocious....
wh
Not being able to stagger Derozan and White's minutes is such an elementary coaching mistake but here we are

reminds me of not staggering LA and Duncan against the Thunder in 2016 and keep playing West/Diaw who got destroyed on the glass

[Shakril]

Poetl an A-, hahaha.
Austrian bball player should never and i repeat, NEVER have a grade above C in any game let alone yesterdays game. One of the lowest defensive IQ's in the history of the game and lets not talk about offense and his non existent skills.
That was a big Pop mistake in that trade but i understand why he had to gamble on a young center since we didn't have anyone else.

Whatever you smoke, stop it. Poeltl ist propably the most important defender on the Spurs in this series and yesterday he has shown why. I dont know why you hate him so much, but judge him on his merits not on your personal feelings.

[Mugen]

The bar is so low too, just don't give up a 19pt lead late in the 3rd, don't put your 3 worst defenders together, don't play them too many minutes, just stagger minutes for the only playmakers you have.....

And he couldn't even do that

[NASpurs]

The bar is so low too, just don't give up a 19pt lead late in the 3rd, don't put your 3 worst defenders together, don't play them too many minutes, just stagger minutes for the only playmakers you have.....

And he couldn't even do that

He puts that ty defensive lineup to end the 3rd, the Nuggets get hot because of it and then has the audacity to say that they didn't play defense in the fourth singling the players out. Kind of hard to stop an avalanche once it gets going.

Take the L old man and admit you ed up.

[ShutUp SayItAgain!]

The bar is so low too, just don't give up a 19pt lead late in the 3rd, don't put your 3 worst defenders together, don't play them too many minutes, just stagger minutes for the only playmakers you have.....

And he couldn't even do that

Always feels like he does the on purpose all these years to troll his critics. He probably hears it or reads these criticisms in private senile old gave away a sure 2- 0 series lead. Makes no sense at all.

[sasaint]

jokic 24 plays 39min, while white also 24 plays only 32min... lol load management

Jokic is obviously in better condition.

[ShutUp SayItAgain!]

He puts that ty defensive lineup to end the 3rd, the Nuggets get hot because of it and then has the audacity to say that they didn't play defense in the fourth singling the players out. Kind of hard to stop an avalanche once it gets going.

Take the L old man and admit you ed up.

Weird that this gets ignored completely in the grades, and it's the single most glaring reason the game was lost/given away

[sasaint]

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-

Just agonizing to watch that happen time and again. We all know it’s coming, too. I guess the assistant coaches are good with it, too...

[diceman]

Thanks timvp!

[spurraider21]

patty not getting the worst grade

[GreekSpursfan]

Whatever you smoke, stop it. Poeltl ist propably the most important defender on the Spurs in this series and yesterday he has shown why. I dont know why you hate him so much, but judge him on his merits not on your personal feelings.

This is the Spurs we are talking about here who were always associated with high IQ players usually on both ends, not your team, the Lakers, who have Javale Mcgee, Lance Stephenson,kentavious caldwell-pope. The list is huge and people were thinking you were gonna make the playoffs with that roster.
There are plays last night that shows you Poetl's defensive IQ and you can clearly see even though the effort is there, he doesn't know where to concentrate that effort, its useless effort. Gonna mention one play where its a simple screen by Jokic to free Murray and play a pick n roll or Murray shoot it and Poetl goes and hugs Jokic without paying any attention to Murray and providing a double screen to White were he has two bodies to get around.
The effort is there and thats good but there's nothing else there.

[MannyIsGod]

There's zero way Pop deserves any blame for that technical. That's some ty referring. I can live with the missed calls, but to call that T at that point in the game is incredibly ty.

[bklynspursfan]

There's zero way Pop deserves any blame for that technical. That's some ty referring. I can live with the missed calls, but to call that T at that point in the game is incredibly ty.

And it only got worse from there. They were dog in that 4th quarter.

[Mugen]

And it only got worse from there. They were dog in that 4th quarter.

It's okay to say that Pop made some mistakes from time to time, B

[RC_Drunkford]

Just agonizing to watch that happen time and again. We all know it’s coming, too. I guess the assistant coaches are good with it, too...

fully expect him to play the same line up in the next game

[ShutUp SayItAgain!]

fully expect him to play the same line up in the next game

All the way to elimination. Then continue next season

[bklynspursfan]

It's okay to say that Pop made some mistakes from time to time, B

I know that much lol. But that tech was BS

[Seventyniner]

I'm certainly not cliff jumping yet. Those that do always manage to survive the fall and climb back up though.

If you reverse the results of the two games, we would be feeling pretty good right now.

I'm rather glad there's only one day of rest before game 3, it makes it easier for the Spurs to hold on to that pissed-off feeling. They know they should have won game 2.

[Mugen]

I know that much lol. But that tech was BS

[Spurs da champs]

Pop needs to mirror White's minutes with Murrays, that guy is streaky as can be but you cant give him the chance to build any momentum off Mills or Forbes. When he's on he looks like a poor man's Kyrie.

[objective]

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-

It's all true

[DAF86]

No mention of the 3 minutes stretch to end the 3rd quarter where Pop subbed out both DeMar and White and all went to ? No lineup change to mend the mistake and a TO that was called way too late. That alone should have given Pop a falling mark.