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yes. expect the spurs to amnesty duncan tomorrow.
I know how SpursTalk can get better next season: You can stop posting
yes. expect the spurs to amnesty duncan tomorrow.
Spurs must lose today against GSW to ensure that Lakers cannot move to #7 spot or they'll be in a world of problems. TP, as usual, disappears vs the Lakers and they are a horrible match-up against Spurs. Well, Pop didn't want them going into the playoffs like last year - on a winning streak. He got his wish - instead they're the very opposite of the cohesive, full of chemistry, flowing offense team that they were last year at this time.
Let's hope that it turns out better than last year. IMO, Pop messed up getting rid of SJax - they're already looking scared and if there's one thing SJax isn't - it's scared.
Speaking of confidence - Kwahi's confidence in his 3pt shot is gone - iirc - he's 0-6 in the past 2 games with his passing up some 3s to run into traffic. That's not a good thing. Team chemistry is such a fine line - it's been the Spurs' calling card for a while and without it, they look like what they are - lacking in talent and/or aging.
Pop needs to bench Blair for throwing up 17 foot jump shots that haven't a prayer of going in and Bonner for the (warranted) disrespect he gets from the other team - no one guarding him - he's certainly not pulling Gasol or Howard out of the paint.
I agree, Pop should have retired in 2007 in a blaze of glory riding dirty on prime Duncan's coattails and nobody would have been the wiser...
Only on the seeding a week or so ago. With all the health issues, I think he just gave up on trying to push them too hard to maintain the number one seed. I think the Spurs goal the past couple weeks was more to hold down the number 2 seed, even when they had a one game edge on OkC. I don't see any problem with the Spurs getting to the WCF, but it's going to take a "Jaren Jackson" like performance from Danny Green or Gary Neal to get past the Thunder.
My comment is not about the game last night.
Tony must've had a menage a trois last night cuz his legs were shot.
I knew those true colors would shine through OP
I have to agree, as hard as it is right now. We may very well lose out the remaining two games, not because of lack of focus, but because they are meaningless. All we can hope for at this point is a different team when it actually matters.
You can book that. The naysayers are people who panic when the market goes down and then wonder why their retirement looks so bad.
We haven't looked hungry in years, except during regular-season winning streaks.
Back to the OP: I think that the answer is yes: Pop has, if not given up, admitted that he is out of ideas as to how to motivate this team and get the best out of them.
Look at what has happened since TP has been hurt. Pop reverted to the 4 down play that got him several championships. No doubt he had to do that at the time TP went down and in the absence of Manu. But now Tim doesn't seem to know how to stop playing like that and Pop doesn't know how to get back to the more recent success style of guard-based motion offense. Look how stagnant the offense seems now after Tim gets the ball. He no longer shoots right away or passes right away. We are back to everybody standing around and waiting for Tim to figure out how to play the set. This team doesn't work that way anymore and it is showing that it doesn't work that way anymore because everything is breaking down into iso plays and we are losing.
Yes. Pop has given up.
Pop runs a system. When system hits the fan for a variable number of reasons, he's clueless.
Pops Pussification Plan has it's beginnings in summer 2005 with turning down Lewie Scoldawg for Greek.
Playoffs 2006 he went small balls with his newfound lover Michael Finley.
The PF/SF spot has been pussified ever since in either starter or backup.
But you really think it's just a health issue? The ball movement is dead in the water and Manu hasn't looked like Manu in months.
Even TP hasn't been the same lately. Also, outside of health this team has zero rhythm and the playoffs start this weekend.
You still see flashes of the offense when Tony is at his best. He (and to a lesser extent Manu) are the sole engineers when it comes to our offense performing like it has in the past. Without those two guys its impossible for the Spurs to do what they want to do. You saw flashes of it against Sacramento the other day when Tony was finding open shooters and open guys for dunks but then he goes back into hobbled mode last night and the offense is back to having to chance.
RC can't bench Pop, Pop outranks everyone as president of Spurs basketball. Only the owners can oust him.
And I don't know why everyone is complaining. This wasn't a championship team to begin with. Popovich changed the offense and with some clever smoke and mirrors to make this team overachieve. Realistically, they should be in the middle of the pack with Denver, Grizzlies, and Clippers. What I do fault Pop with is that he should have recognized the core could no longer win championships a long time ago after getting sent home in 2008. Instead of this "reloading" crap, the Spurs should have been assembling a different core for Duncan. This is still a superstar's league, all teams that won championships in the modern era, with the exception of Detroit, had a superstar crunch time scorer. Can't win it all without one. To be fair, the result might have been the same since the Spurs probably couldn't have acquired a good enough player and develop him into a superstar. But we wouldn't have to watch Manu scuttle the Spurs' championship chances every year with an injury or watch Parker try desperately to turn into a superstar (which he never had the potential to be).
Your preaching to the chior man. Again, the comment was sarcasm and not for this one game. It's for everything you just said and the corresponding mad scientist coaching due to it. We all know who's really in charge.
it's all about the regular season, you even make the news for such a beautiful regular season, then come playoffs time and you can't wait to pack your bags and zip to that comfy house by the lake... fish, fish, fish....
Pretty sure this is CIA Pop doing what has been done to him over the years. Stacking the playoff matchup deck. Facing the Rockets > facing the Lakers and OKC facing the Lakers > OKC facing anyone else
That "core" also includes Parker and Ginobili, and now Leonard, so were you, or are you advocating trading Parker and Ginobili?
I applaud the OP and others for taking both sides of the issue so completely.
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