Spurs @ Suns Mar. 9 - Game Blog

[UV Ray]

Dude, u gotta work on your plural. Seriously.

I tell you what. When you learn how to spell out the word, "you" I'll take advice from you. Untill then, STFU.

Seriously.

gotta?

[FromWayDowntown]

The Suns are a tough matchup for the Spurs.

Shaq and Amare in the middle makes TP reconsider taking it to the hole.
Duncan and Amare play even
Manu gets Bell on him

Both teams have quite a bit of Playoff experience but the Suns are more athletic.

Time for Nugz tomorrow, Spurs just gotta shake this off and get ready for tomorrow against a running Nugz team.

Actually, the Suns haven't really been that tough of a matchup for the Spurs in recent years. Suns fans might try to convince others that the Suns are a tough matchup, but the Spurs have consistently won games over the stretch from 2005 through to today and the difference is really quite significant.

With that said, the Spurs' offense right now is both way too predictable and far too passive in most instances. They play sometimes as if they're waiting to be bailed out by calls (particularly Timmy) instead of attacking without regard to the whistle. If the role players aren't making shots, this offense grinds to a halt and becomes stagnant other than the occasional attempt by Manu or Tony to penetrate, and those efforts are easily repulsed by a defense that's already sitting in the lap of Tim Duncan and daring the Spurs to win from behind the arc. Sometimes that's true even if the role players are making their shots. It's too easy for defenders to swipe down at the ball as Duncan holds it on the block and Duncan's seeming passivity on the catch and turn makes it less likely that he's going to get calls when he does get stripped.

Officiating didn't cost the Spurs this game; the Spurs cost themselves this game.

[temujin]

D'antoni was pretty good at getting a technical.
After that, the refs would not call a foul on any Sun.

Manu missing the FT was bad.

Scoring 2 points in the final 5' is inexcusable.

Even the Suns could win a game like that.

[td4mvp21]

When will our next win be? Seriously, someone tell me, because we play good teams for the next 5 games. vs. Nuggets, @ Hornets, @ Pistons, @ 76ers (they aren't good but we will probably play ty anyway!), vs Celtics. So I'm guessing the Spurs are going to be on a 7 game losing streak; apparently we can't consistently beat the good teams.

[E20]

People need to calm down with all this talk of fixing hte Spurs and .

The reason the Spurs lost was because outside of TD,KT,Manu,TP,Ime no one else did jack .

[TampaDude]

When will our next win be? Seriously, someone tell me, because we play good teams for the next 5 games. vs. Nuggets, @ Hornets, @ Pistons, @ 76ers (they aren't good but we will probably play ty anyway!), vs Celtics. So I'm guessing the Spurs are going to be on a 7 game losing streak; apparently we can't consistently beat the good teams.

Thank you...I'm glad someone else on here gets it...the Spurs are in deep if they don't get it together...

[temujin]

And parker was very annoying with overdribbling the ball late in the game.

The loss is bad because it would have put the Suns in a very very bad situation.

[ducks]

spurs need barry
he is another playmaker

[UV Ray]

Actually, the Suns haven't really been that tough of a matchup for the Spurs in recent years. Suns fans might try to convince others that the Suns are a tough matchup, but the Spurs have consistently won games over the stretch from 2005 through to today and the difference is really quite significant.

With that said, the Spurs' offense right now is both way too predictable and far too passive in most instances. They play sometimes as if they're waiting to be bailed out by calls (particularly Timmy) instead of attacking without regard to the whistle. If the role players aren't making shots, this offense grinds to a halt and becomes stagnant other than the occasional attempt by Manu or Tony to penetrate, and those efforts are easily repulsed by a defense that's already sitting in the lap of Tim Duncan and daring the Spurs to win from behind the arc. Sometimes that's true even if the role players are making their shots. It's too easy for defenders to swipe down at the ball as Duncan holds it on the block and Duncan's seeming passivity on the catch and turn makes it less likely that he's going to get calls when he does get stripped.

Officiating didn't cost the Spurs this game; the Spurs cost themselves this game.

The sweet voice of maturity and reason from way downtown

[Don Quixote]

Crap. Los Espuelos better get it together again in a hurry, and learn to close out victories. Even the bottom-feeders this year -- i.e., Suns, Nugs, Mavs -- are good, and more than capable of taking them out in the first round.

[td4mvp21]

I don't think it's over, the world is ending, and I'm not jumping ship, I'll cheer for the Spurs no matter what, but I am very concerned. Obviously they can't beat the good teams consistently. Our record vs. +.500 teams is horrible, it's embarrassing considering we are the ing defending champions. Major changes need to be made and if they aren't, we can kiss a repeat goodbye. I think the players got content with their little 11 game win streak over mostly ty teams, and they need to realize how they are playing isn't ing cutting it. Wake the up already, it's March.

[tmtcsc]

Yeah and you didn't want those grapes anyways.

What sour grapes ? We played like and missed easy layups. To have our shooting % in the 30's against Phoenix is inexcusable. It had nothing to do with the refs and everything to do with us not closing out the game and playing smart.

Don't get me started on Snaq's fat ass diving for balls he knows he can't save. He's such a fraud. Uh, ok Shaq, we get it..you are actually trying to hustle. Why did the refs blow the whistle when we had numbers off that stupid ass play ? Snaq takes up room in the paint and grabs the boards that land in his hands. We'll show Kurt that you have to deny him the ball by fronting him. Next time we face him he'll be on the bench loaded with fouls.

I'm sure you feel good about your win and you should. You are still alive in the playoff chase. Kudos to you but if you think you are going to see the same effort from your team going forward you are kidding yourself.

As for the Spurs, they better win these games that they are supposed to. No more losses to the ing Suns or Grizzlies of the league.

[mojorizen7]

Tim Duncan guarding Shaq/Amare in the paint=1 personal foul? Stop complaining about the officiating for s sake. It was the same type of officiating we all watch from game to game night after night.....bad.

[SpursDynasty]

Well, Phoenix hit a couple of lucky shots here and there. What cost the Spurs the game was missing about 3 or 4 point-blank shots in the final minutes of the 4th. So I'm not worried about this loss. Phoenix is still 6th place in the West and is 4-6 over their last 10, so I don't know what they are all excited about.

[JohnnySixString]

what? They played well all the way till the end of this game? THey didn't get the calls it happens! They didn't to the refs and whine about anything like you are doing.

Denver's game was a back to back game and some line up rotations that were absolutely horrible.

calm down, you are going to have a heart attack over nothing

I agree about the calming down part. The Spurs played like . And it's not like we can do a damn thing about it anyway. Don't get so stressed over something you have no control over. It sucks, but that's sports.

BTW, they're playing the Denver game tomorrow... back to back again. That's not a good sign, even with homecourt. Hopefully losing two in a row motivates the Spurs to whip some ass.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

Spurs were just stupid and didn't play the 48 minutes

We had the ing lead against these guys 5 minutes in, and then choked it away.

[SpursDynasty]

We are 43-19, at this point last year we were 44-18. One game difference which isn't a big deal.

This Spurs team knows who they are already as the rest of the West (Lakers, Hornets, Mavs, Suns, Rockets) haven't even found their iden ies yet, much less their playoff iden ies.

Pau Gasol and Bynum have to adjust playing together.
The Hornets are inexperienced.
Mavs have struggled with Kidd, why would it be any different come playoff time?
Suns have struggled with Shaq, why would it be any different come playoff time?
The Rockets are soft and don't have Yao.

See what I mean...

[1Parker1]

Spurs need to employ something to get their offense going. I said it even before all these trades happened, this season more than any other, Spurs offense has been horrendous to look at. It's become so predictable, it's almost scary and I wonder how the Spurs coaching staff doesn't see it or isn't doing anything to address it. I can't remember the last time the Spurs had a significant contributor outside of their Big 3 on offense.

[td4mvp21]

what? They played well all the way till the end of this game? THey didn't get the calls it happens! They didn't to the refs and whine about anything like you are doing.

Denver's game was a back to back game and some line up rotations that were absolutely horrible.

calm down, you are going to have a heart attack over nothing

They didnt' play well at all. Ever. All of us were laughing when they were up because they sucked ass the entire game. I don't know how any one can get giddy about the Spurs losing when they played like -how does that make you happy, to know that they can't play well against good teams? You do know that the only teams that make the playoffs are GOOD teams, right? I'm not going to calm down until I see some changes in the way we play good teams, I'm going to continue to worry about it until something changes. I guess I don't have to wait long to find out because the next 5 are going to be ing hard and I'm willing to bet nothing will change and we will find our selves barely in the playoffs...hopefully I'm wrong.

[tmtcsc]

When will our next win be? Seriously, someone tell me, because we play good teams for the next 5 games. vs. Nuggets, @ Hornets, @ Pistons, @ 76ers (they aren't good but we will probably play ty anyway!), vs Celtics. So I'm guessing the Spurs are going to be on a 7 game losing streak; apparently we can't consistently beat the good teams.

Take a deep breath. We will play better against the Nuggets. If we lose a few more games, we have no need to panic. I know its a tight race but we'll be ok. We have 1/4 of the season left to get back on track. Wins and losses are important but getting better is the most important thing.

Kurt Thomas will get better adjusted and Pop's rotation will come into form. After that, I suspect that our offense and defense will come together too.

Seriously, would you rather be the Spurs or the Suns ? They just gave 110 % effort, at home after being embarrassed by other teams and barely won. They can't keep playing every game like it might be the last. Teams like Philly will continue to expose them for what they are. They play defense sporadically and still take stupid shots on offense.

[ducks]

spurs need to hire a new assistant coach with new o ideas
pj was here for so long
spurs o is starting to get more predicatible

[temujin]

We are 43-19, at this point last year we were 44-18. One game difference which isn't a big deal.

This Spurs team knows who they are already as the rest of the West (Lakers, Hornets, Mavs, Suns, Rockets) haven't even found their iden ies yet, much less their playoff iden ies.

Pau Gasol and Bynum have to adjust playing together.
The Hornets are inexperienced.
Mavs have struggled with Kidd, why would it be any different come playoff time?
Suns have struggled with Shaq, why would it be any different come playoff time?
The Rockets are soft and don't have Yao.

See what I mean...

That, and Scola are the big advantages.

[td4mvp21]

Our offense has always been predictable. I'm surprised people are just now talking about

[Allanon]

We are 43-19, at this point last year we were 44-18. One game difference which isn't a big deal.

This Spurs team knows who they are already as the rest of the West (Lakers, Hornets, Mavs, Suns, Rockets) haven't even found their iden ies yet, much less their playoff iden ies.

Pau Gasol and Bynum have to adjust playing together.
The Hornets are inexperienced.
Mavs have struggled with Kidd, why would it be any different come playoff time?
Suns have struggled with Shaq, why would it be any different come playoff time?
The Rockets are soft and don't have Yao.

See what I mean...

I'm not trying to rub it in or anything, you guys are suffering some tough losses with a horrendous schedule but I think the record is misleading.

Even though you are only 1 game behind last year, the big difference is last year closed with a much easier schedule. This year, the easy games are done and a rough road is still ahead. Unfortunately, with your 5 more back to backs (including tomorrow), I think it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Again, not trying to rub it in, just trying to express my point of view. And as a Duncan fan myself, I was dieing watching him out there on the court. That was painful.

[SenorSpur]

I'm not trying to rub it in or anything, you guys are suffering some tough losses with a horrendous schedule but I think the record is misleading.

Even though you are only 1 game behind last year, the big difference is last year closed with a much easier schedule. This year, the easy games are done and a rough road is still ahead. Unfortunately, with your 5 more back to backs (including tomorrow), I think it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Again, not trying to rub it in, just trying to express my point of view. And as a Duncan fan myself, I was dieing watching him out there on the court. That was painful.

Point taken. Very observant of a Fakers fan.