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  1. #1
    Big in Japan GSH's Avatar
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    This is not a championship caliber team. Not now, anyway. They could develop into one. But with the stunts they have pulled the last several nights - the unforced errors in crunch time? Not a chance. And the most disturbing part is that a lot of the worst mental errors are being committed by their best players.

    Tonight they had a 5 point lead, and possession of the ball, with about 1:10 left. Instead of running off some time and looking for a high percentage shot late in the clock, they tried to force an alley-oop on a damned fast break, and used up what? Four seconds? Stupid.

    And can they really be so casual in overtime that they fail to bring the ball across mid-court within 8 seconds? Seriously? In overtime, with the game on the line? I know Parker is talented, and he was a beast - in the fourth quarter especially. But every team has talented players, who can dominate quarters. Championship teams have a sense of urgency. Runner-up teams look back on all the opportunities they missed throughout the season.

    You could argue that the Spurs keep finding some way to come out on top. You could - but it would be a ridiculous argument. Only the fact that Memphis is a young, sub-.500 team allowed the Spurs to even get to overtime. The Spurs did everything they could to give the game away, and any better team would have said "Thank you" and gone home with a W. The previous two games required miracle plays by Manu. But when you look at how close Manu's last shot in Denver came to rolling out, or how close his last shot against Milwaukee came to being a travel, you have to recognize that the Spurs could just as easily be sitting on a 3 game losing streak. As good as Manu and Tony played at the end of those games, the W's are still a matter of luck.

    Championships aren't won on luck. The Spurs have quite literally thrown away three games in a row with stupid, lackadaisical play down the stretch. The fact that the basketball gods chose to go dumpster diving and give the games back doesn't mean a thing. The basketball gods take the months of May and June off.

    The Spurs have the talent, now, to win another championship. They have a better bench than they have had in years. And any of their Big 3 can rise to the level of hero on any given night. But even that won't be enough to overcome the kind of stupid unforced errors they have committed in the last few games. They began the season believing that they needed to get off to a fast start. Lately they seem to have gone back to the at ude that a loss or two, here and there, is no big deal. Losing a few games won't kill them - but the at ude will. There are no gimmes in the NBA, and every game along the way is important. Championship teams live and breath that.

  2. #2
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    I don't think they are a championship team yet either, but games like these are pretty meaningless IMO..the defending champion Lakers had plenty of games like these where they needed last second shots to win, same with the Celtics..

    As long as they aren't dropping the games and are still the #1 seed, it's fine with me..

  3. #3
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    You call that alley oop a mental error? It wasn't forced. It wasn't anything beyond the capabilities of what R.J. can do as a finisher around the rim. The ball slipped out of his hands and he knew he missed an easy one. It was written all over his reaction after the play.

    And, if you think this isn't a championship-caliber team right now, I'd be interested to hear what you think about the Lakers..right now, or the Heat..right now, or Dallas.. right now.

    I don't understand the point of such gloom and doom threads after a 23-3 start. People have generally been pretty good about not hyping up the start either, so I don't understand the point of this thread.

  4. #4
    Soak In Your Own Blood BanditHiro's Avatar
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    You call that alley oop a mental error? It wasn't forced. It wasn't anything beyond the capabilities of what R.J. can do as a finisher around the rim. The ball slipped out of his hands and he knew he missed an easy one. It was written all over his reaction after the play.

    And, if you think this isn't a championship-caliber team right now, I'd be interested to hear what you think about the Lakers..right now, or the Heat..right now, or Dallas.. right now.

    I don't understand the point of such gloom and doom threads after a 23-3 start. People have generally been pretty good about not hyping up the start either, so I don't understand the point of this thread.
    autoimmune fans need something to complain about

  5. #5
    THANK YOU BASED NEAL ClingingMars's Avatar
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    it's the regular season

    talk to me in March

    for Pop, this is the pre-season

  6. #6
    Big in Japan GSH's Avatar
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    I don't think they are a championship team yet either, but games like these are pretty meaningless IMO..the defending champion Lakers had plenty of games like these where they needed last second shots to win, same with the Celtics..

    Needing a last-second shot to win is one thing. Needing a last-second shot to win because you failed to call a time out, and inbounded the ball under the opponent's basket, is another thing. In the NBA, all the players are pretty damned good. And on some nights they are going to outplay you. On the nights when you outplay them, you can't afford to keep handing the ball back to them with stupid plays. They will beat you a good percentage of the time.

    If you're a football fan, think about the teams that gain a lot of yardage every game, but don't score in the red zone. It's a sure sign of a mentally weak team. The Spurs have been mentally weak in the last few games, especially in crunch time, which is where a lot of games are won or lost.

    I disagree that throw-away games along the way are unimportant. So far they have managed to get the W's. But this stuff will catch up with them.

  7. #7
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    Never take a snapshot of the NBA season and declare that what a team is, unless it was already definitively that beforehand (like the Clippers, Kings, Timberwolves, Warriors, Raptors, Bobcats, Wizards, Pistons, Cavaliers and Nets, who are all terrible teams . . . it doesn't matter if they're in the midst of a five game winning streak or they fluke out and win seven out of ten, etc.).

    A team like the Spurs, we know they're very good. We don't quite know yet if they're great. Ultimately, we won't even begin to be able to answer that until we see multiple games against the other elite teams. But really, we won't know until the playoffs. The only time we've seen this group in the playoffs, they were swept in the 2nd round. Not exactly an extensive track record. We know they've improved since then, though.

    The only two teams in the league that it can be said with certainty that they're championship caliber are the Lakers and the Celtics. Everyone else, we're just making educated guesses at this point.

  8. #8
    Guest Personality Hoops Czar's Avatar
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    it's only December...

  9. #9
    Veteran L.I.T's Avatar
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    Winning streaks of 12 and 8 games are pretty good indicators of the potential for a team to make some noise in the playoffs.

    No team wins every game in a dominating fashion, especially during an 82 game season. There will be lulls over stretches and in games. However, the Spurs have shown a remarkable resiliency when it comes to pulling out victories or making the necessary stops and plays to pull out games. Go back to any season the Spurs made it deep in the playoffs and you'll find multiple games where they played lackadaisical or made mental errors in the 4th quarter and during crunch time moments.

    I find the argument that the Spurs are showing a lack of urgency on the court when they have a 23-3 record odd. By no means are they that talented of a team to be able to 'coast' along to that type of record.

    There are many reasons why the Spurs aren't necessarily top-tier contenders; chief among them what the Clippers/TWolves/Grizzly have exposed. But their mental focus I don't think is one of them.

  10. #10
    GAME OVER gospursgojas's Avatar
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    Spurs on coast mode, playing down to opponent's level

  11. #11
    Believe.
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    Mental Errors, off nights, happens. Your focussing on the fact that the team almost lost how about the fact that instead of hanging their heads they took each and every game. 2 of their 3 losses this year came on nights when Tony didn't show up. Dallas needed a 12-14 night from Dirk and a complete off night from Tony to get the W.

    Go watch other teams that you are concerned about and then watch the Spurs. There is no doubt they are the best team in the league today. Boston is right there, the Lakers haven't hit their stride yet but they will and Dallas is still Dallas. Miami won't beat San Antonio, Boston or LA this year.

  12. #12
    Soak In Your Own Blood BanditHiro's Avatar
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    Didn't read, but I disagree.
    lol

  13. #13
    Believe. mingus's Avatar
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    Team is going to have major trouble against Boston and LA if Splitter isn't a key ingrediant to it. I think the Spurs are pretenders if they are running with the rotation of bigs they have going right now.

  14. #14
    Lol Crews jjktkk's Avatar
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    This is not a championship caliber team. Not now, anyway. They could develop into one. But with the stunts they have pulled the last several nights - the unforced errors in crunch time? Not a chance. And the most disturbing part is that a lot of the worst mental errors are being committed by their best players.

    Tonight they had a 5 point lead, and possession of the ball, with about 1:10 left. Instead of running off some time and looking for a high percentage shot late in the clock, they tried to force an alley-oop on a damned fast break, and used up what? Four seconds? Stupid.

    And can they really be so casual in overtime that they fail to bring the ball across mid-court within 8 seconds? Seriously? In overtime, with the game on the line? I know Parker is talented, and he was a beast - in the fourth quarter especially. But every team has talented players, who can dominate quarters. Championship teams have a sense of urgency. Runner-up teams look back on all the opportunities they missed throughout the season.

    You could argue that the Spurs keep finding some way to come out on top. You could - but it would be a ridiculous argument. Only the fact that Memphis is a young, sub-.500 team allowed the Spurs to even get to overtime. The Spurs did everything they could to give the game away, and any better team would have said "Thank you" and gone home with a W. The previous two games required miracle plays by Manu. But when you look at how close Manu's last shot in Denver came to rolling out, or how close his last shot against Milwaukee came to being a travel, you have to recognize that the Spurs could just as easily be sitting on a 3 game losing streak. As good as Manu and Tony played at the end of those games, the W's are still a matter of luck.

    Championships aren't won on luck. The Spurs have quite literally thrown away three games in a row with stupid, lackadaisical play down the stretch. The fact that the basketball gods chose to go dumpster diving and give the games back doesn't mean a thing. The basketball gods take the months of May and June off.

    The Spurs have the talent, now, to win another championship. They have a better bench than they have had in years. And any of their Big 3 can rise to the level of hero on any given night. But even that won't be enough to overcome the kind of stupid unforced errors they have committed in the last few games. They began the season believing that they needed to get off to a fast start. Lately they seem to have gone back to the at ude that a loss or two, here and there, is no big deal. Losing a few games won't kill them - but the at ude will. There are no gimmes in the NBA, and every game along the way is important. Championship teams live and breath that.
    Thanks for pep talk coach.

  15. #15
    GAME OVER gospursgojas's Avatar
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    On the contrary, this team reminds me of our championship teams...

    Spurs build big lead, get bored lose lead...Pop calls time out, Spurs re-gain lead.
    Spurs build big lead, get bored lose lead...Pop puts in 3rd stringers, Spurs re-gain lead.

    When the lineup of Quin, Neal, Bonner, Udoka, and Manu can give spurs a lead, they're doing alright.

  16. #16
    Guest Personality Hoops Czar's Avatar
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    Look on the bright side... Splitter had two assists in eight minutes.

  17. #17
    Believe. mingus's Avatar
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    Also. Duncan is going to have to be in Beastmode like he was against Denver for the Spurs to have a shot.

  18. #18
    Lol Crews jjktkk's Avatar
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    Didn't read, but I disagree.

  19. #19
    Big in Japan GSH's Avatar
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    You call that alley oop a mental error? It wasn't forced. It wasn't anything beyond the capabilities of what R.J. can do as a finisher around the rim. The ball slipped out of his hands and he knew he missed an easy one. It was written all over his reaction after the play.

    And, if you think this isn't a championship-caliber team right now, I'd be interested to hear what you think about the Lakers..right now, or the Heat..right now, or Dallas.. right now.

    I don't understand the point of such gloom and doom threads after a 23-3 start. People have generally been pretty good about not hyping up the start either, so I don't understand the point of this thread.

    What's the point in any thread? I'm as big of a homer as anyone here. And there's no gloom and doom. I'm mostly saying that the last 3 wins are nothing to celebrate. It's one thing if another team comes out and outplays you on any given night. That's going to happen. The Spurs have been very, very sloppy down the stretch the last several games.

    And if you think that alley-oop was a smart play at that point in the game, you're just plain-old wrong. If they had been able to get a lay-up while only using up 4 seconds, that would have been fine. But the Grizzlies got back in transition. The pass had to be perfect, and Manu tried to force it in anyway. The smart play was running some clock. That wasn't a smart play.

    Say what you want, but the Spurs are a short and curly away from riding a 3 game losing streak. And none of those 3 games should have been nail-biters. Wouldn't have been, without some really stupid play in the last few minutes.

  20. #20
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    I don't think the Spurs are a legit contender yet, but that's due to my lack of confidence in the frontcourt, outside of Duncan, and perimeter defenders..hopefully Anderson helps, he was already showing flashes..

  21. #21
    Kawhichael 100%duncan's Avatar
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    stfu. you post on game blogs like ur a damn priest and now you post this.

  22. #22
    Ruffy RuffnReadyOzStyle's Avatar
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    3 games in 4 nights. We made some very poor errors, admittedly, but it's the middle of December and this team has every chance to grow into a killer by April.

  23. #23
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    I think they are a legit contender because I only see two teams that I can understand being considered more likely to win the championship than them. If you're third most likely (definitely no worse than fourth), it's tough not to be a contender.

    But we'll see after they play some games against the elite teams. I'd suggest not reading too much into this recent stretch. Sure, it's annoying and frustrating, but it's par for the course in an 82 game season.

  24. #24
    Seattles Biggest Spurs Fan suitedkings's Avatar
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    Best part of this thread is seeing the pic in gospursgojas signature.

  25. #25
    ......................... mystargtr34's Avatar
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    Spurs arent true championship contenders IMO either (despite what the record might suggest) but that realisation had nothing to do with this game.

    I cant see any scenario where a team can win a championship with DeJuan Blair and Matt Bonner as its 2nd and 3rd best bigs... especially when you look at what the contenders have up front. If anything... the Spurs W-L record is giving people a false sense of hope. Something doesnt feel right about the team.. like its lacking real championship pedigree outside of the Big 3.. but it could be just me.

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