Will Pop Covertly Throw Game 4?

[Keepin' it real]

Another point is that the Spurs have not faced a lot of 4th-quarter adversity. The closest the Spurs have come to late-game adversity was the 4th quarter of Game 4 vs. Utah, and we all remember how poorly the Spurs played in that situation.

I expect that the WCF will feature a lot of close games, so if nothing else, I hope Game 4 tonight comes down to the wire, especially so the younger fellas can get a taste of playoff pressure in crunch time.

[timvp]

Pop limits Duncan and Leonard. Spurs still win.

Well played

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

It's funny how quickly a postseason goes by when your team advances to the WCF by playing just eight games!

[urunobili]

Pop trolling timvp TBH

[easjer]

I hope Pop is satisfied with that close 4th quarter. Frankly, I feel lucky that they escaped with the win (the last two minutes of play notwithstanding).

[Sec24Row7]

Pop limits Duncan and Leonard. Spurs still win.

Well played

No... the right troll was... intentionally kept it close to get the young players close game experience... then just won by accident.

[therealtruth]

No... the right troll was... intentionally kept it close to get the young players close game experience... then just won by accident.

That was no accident. Green's late game defense was huge. You saw how CP was able to pull out games against the Grizzlies.

[024]

I would have liked a loss but a win is never a bad thing. Spurs get some extra rest, good days to practice, and have plenty o time to prepare against the thunder. Pop is the best coach in the world so the extra time for planning will be pretty nice.

[ShoogarBear]

Pop limits Duncan and Leonard. Spurs still win.

Well played

Why would he intentionally limit Leonard's minutes under any cir stances?

[Spurfect21]

Honestly pop has been holding back with the team this series. He hasn't run everything, not even close. I think he will use this time to plan an onslaught for okc

[therealtruth]

I would have liked a loss but a win is never a bad thing. Spurs get some extra rest, good days to practice, and have plenty o time to prepare against the thunder. Pop is the best coach in the world so the extra time for planning will be pretty nice.

Losing a game never helps. OKC may close out the Lakers next game.

[MannyIsGod]

Pop isn't throwing games in the playoffs to make a point. Thats regular season .

[capek]

Pop trolling timvp TBH

Actually, it's timvp underestimating Pop's Jedi mastery. Pop just allowing things to get to the edge of a loss. Gives his players some stress. Then pulls them from the brink with his mind. HIS MIND!

[jiggy_55]

There was never a chance of this happening.. Pop knows this is the PLAYOFFS regardless of a 3-0 series lead.. You just don't do that ever in a playoff series no matter the cir stances

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

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.

The final point proved to be correct in the end.

However, the last two games have also been really good for the Spurs because they've had to fight back from a huge early deficit in game 3, and close out a gritty win in game 4, two things they hadn't had to do yet these playoffs.

While I'd have preferred them not to have to sit around for 5 days waiting for the Thunder, it also means that any niggling injuries should be gone by game time.

I'm going to mentally prepare for a rusty Spurs outfit in the first half of game 1 (as they were for the first half of game 1 in this series), and hope that they don't fall too far behind before they get their timing and rotations right and click into gear.

PS Time for the SA crowd to really flex their muscles and influence this series - no going quiet when things aren't going well!

[PublicOption]

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