Can't blame anyone for armchairing coaching decisions or personnel moves following a season, but some fans need to keep things in perspective.
why did Pop "abandon" the defensive mentality as some have said? He didn't. He assessed what he had on the roster and adjusted. I think he knew the team was not built like teams of old, so he chose not to try to fit a square peg into a round hole, but instead he tried to keep the team compe ive enough to give an aging superstar another chance at a run. He took a calculated risk that earning a high seed would give his team the chance it needed. What he didn't know or couldn't know was that an eighth seed would be as good down low as Memphis was. Timmy just didn't have enough help. And 35 year old TImmy needs more help than 30-year-0ld Timmy.
And, Ian Mahinmi would not, will not, ever be the difference maker. So, please let that ridiculous argument die. Could Tiago, if more fully integrated into the system, have helped more? maybe, but he was still an NBA rookie who can't make free throws. Until he learns to make free throws at a rate of at least 65%, his offensive impact will be limited and his full potential unknown. Who could have helped? Kurt Thomas
So, what did we learn?
Tony Parker can't carry the team
Ginobilli still has it, if he can stay healthy
Tim Duncan is old and has to pick his spots
Antonio McDyess is tough as nails, but old
George Hill is not a starting poing guard, but he is a good combo guard coming off the bench
Gary Neal is fearless
Matt Bonner is a nice role player, but shouldn't be an integral focus of the offense
Dejuan Blair is too short and too fat for his position
Richard Jefferson is there in spurts, but not consistently
James Anderson must stay healthy to live up to potential
Tiago Splitter must learn to make free throws consistently if he is to reach his full potential
Based on what we know, the Spurs need to find another big man (7-footer) to run the offfense through so that TIm can become the weak side rebounder and defender that David Robinson became in his twilight years. Is Splitter that person? Don't know, but regardless, another big who can play in the low past is necessary given he shortcomings of Blair and age of McDyess. Also, need an enforcer type like a Kurt Thomas.
Spurs also need a shut-down perimeter defender (6'7 to 6'9) -- the Bruce Bowen type. I don't think George Hill is the answer. he's good, but not nasty enough.
If Spurs can find these pieces, and I think they're out there, then they might have enough to make another run before TIm retires.
as far as coaching goes, anyone can second guess but it's not really productive. Pop has made more good decisions than bad over his tenure and there is a delicate balance between players and coaches that can either make coaches look really good or really bad. I'd rather take my chances with Pop at the helm than any other coach in the league right now.
The golden era appears to be over, but things could be worse. And, in the end, the franchise brought us four les, which is a lot more than many teams can say. So rather than turn on Pop or the organization, I say thank you and let's work to put together the best team we can to give Tim another chance at a run. He deserves it.
Wow this is shocking. Another Popologist emerges from the woodwork with his rosey colored glasses and spewing garbage opionions trying to minimize the damage that Popovich has wreaked over the past 4 years.
Sorry buddy, these lame excuses might have worked in years past to mask all the flaws, but I think even the old timers are starting to see the reality of the situation.
Some of you guys slay me. As though Pop suddenly looked up when the playoffs started and tried to make due with what was there. I hate to break it to you guys, but Pop chose the roster, approved trades and free-agent signings and set lineups. If the team wasn't built properly, it's because Pop and RC built it that way.
The Spurs were too old, too small, and were just out-played.
It's that simple.
Thanks for all the kind words, DarrinS. We did the best we could with what we had, we really did!! Next year, we're thinking of putting Bonner on a new weight program so he can actually defend in the post. And I miight actually play a guard over 6'3". Once in awhile tee-hee.
Pop
No offense, but this is anything but an objective assessment - most of the OP is mostly spin.
It was a roster constructed by Pop and RC, with Pop having arguably the bigger influence. He was the one who extended RJ based on off-season workouts, signed Bonner believing that he could be an effective stretch 4.He assessed what he had on the roster and adjusted.
Good one. How about Matt Bonner's defensive impact being limited due to the fact that he is slow, undersized and can't jump? Didn't stop Pop from playing him 20 minutes.Until he (Tiago) learns to make free throws at a rate of at least 65%, his offensive impact will be limited and his full potential unknown.
There is nothing nice about Matt Bonner. He should not see minutes on a playoff team unless there are wholesale injuries.Matt Bonner is a nice role player, but shouldn't be an integral focus of the offense
That's like saying Brett Favre has thrown more good passes than bad. Except that both Pop and Favre did their good work early in their careers and basically made mistake after mistake over their last few years. There is a whole another thread devoted to Pop's decisions with small ball, Finley, Bowen, Mason, Bogans, Bonner, Hill and now Splitter. Most of his good decisions are more than 5 years old.Pop has made more good decisions than bad ...
Pop holds a share of the responsibility for this in the first place.
Hilarious! some of y'all are just freaking funny as . Here's my real objective perspective...
Y'all post on this forum thinking that anyone actually gives a ... as though what you think matters to the Spurs front office. You think forums like this are something more than for mere entertainment purposes... and ironically, THAT makes them all the funnier.
So I come in here and post some positive crap about Pop and y'all go all Tony Allen on me. LOL!
Look, I really don't give a about the people on the Spurs because I don't know them personally. I just know that after 20 some odd years of following the team they finally won a le and then they won three more, all under Popovich. So, I tend to cut him some slack. I also knew as many of this forum seemed to know that it was a long shot that this team would even compete for a le. You assemble the best team you CAN with the resources you have and give it your best shot. That's what the Spurs did. So why all the vitriol? Because some of y'all act as though you think you're next in line for a front office job or something. Or that you may be the next Marc STein or Tim Legler or something.
YOU'RE NOT an NBA analyst. You're not an expert. Your just a fan like me. But unlike me, you think what you say on this forum really matters in the grand scheme of things. It's funny (to a point) how much you hate on players and coaches, and then on people when they don't agree with you or don't join in the hate.
But then again, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe, as you're breaking down game film in your basement during "off" hours your phone will ring and it will be RC Buford calling to ask your opinion on a European kid with a sweet jumper; or maybe Pop will call to ask your recommendation on when to employ a zone versus man defense; or maybe Matt Bonner will call you to ask for some shooting pointers. It could happen.
Here's hoping it does.
objective.
Pop built this wagon of a team. It's his fault.
After all, Pop is not only the head coach, but he's also President of Basketball Operations.
This is an objective post? Posting your own opinion then ing at people becuase they post theirs? I just dont get it...
great, there goes the le for my thread on the Spurs and their future.
Now I gotta come up with something else.
The fact is that championship teams acquire franchise players through by hook or by crook. They either tank to get the lottery or they collude to get the known performer.
Other than the teams with lucky picks that develop into all stars, the same few teams always win because they have bargaining power and don't mind luxury tax. Small markets are always going to be behind the curve on that.
Lol! youre right, to a point. I posted my opinion, and then others piled on because they didn't agree with my opinion. So in MY opinion, I can at people if I want.
But who F'n cares, really. y'all take this way too serious... everything from posts like "is this the worst moment in spurs history"... spurs will suck til 2020... are the spurs the most overrate team in history... blah blah blah.
if you're gonna jump off the ledge, do it already. but the onslaught about the world coming to end is ridiculous. chill a little. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. y'all should know that. Y'all are the ones that ed about Pop, bonner, Tiago not playing, etc. all year long. you got what you expected. so, why the long faces?
but then again, y'all are the ones that think Ian Mahinmi is future hall of famer. and when another 7-footer from overseas comes over, you'll automatically think the same.
oh well, y'all are right, i'm wrong. And I'm okay with it, because none of y'all know me and this is just an internet forum.
Log out and NPALol! youre right, to a point. I posted my opinion, and then others piled on because they didn't agree with my opinion. So in MY opinion, I can at people if I want.
But who F'n cares, really. y'all take this way too serious... everything from posts like "is this the worst moment in spurs history"... spurs will suck til 2020... are the spurs the most overrate team in history... blah blah blah.
if you're gonna jump off the ledge, do it already. but the onslaught about the world coming to end is ridiculous. chill a little. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. y'all should know that. Y'all are the ones that ed about Pop, bonner, Tiago not playing, etc. all year long. you got what you expected. so, why the long faces?
but then again, y'all are the ones that think Ian Mahinmi is future hall of famer. and when another 7-footer from overseas comes over, you'll automatically think the same.
oh well, y'all are right, i'm wrong. And I'm okay with it, because none of y'all know me and this is just an internet forum.
Perfect.
OP: I'm really objective. Pop's awesome. It's not his fault.
Response: Pop built the team.
OP: I'm still really objective, and I'm just expressing my opinion. all of you mother ers. You're not in the NBA. Why are you being so mean to me?
Response: That's an objective opinion?
OP: in who cares? Strawman strawman. You don't know who I am.
There's nothing you posted there with the exception of Neal, Splitter and Anderson that we didn't know from last season.
Unlike what some people think, rosters are not static. There's this thing called trades that let you switch players and try to bolster your roster. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. And get this, you can actually make some of those midway through the season too!
So the whole 'he worked with what he had' argument is kinda silly. He could also had tried to modify things if he didn't like what he saw. He obviously liked what he saw or didn't think there was a major problem with it.
The whole notion of "work with what you've got" goes out the window when you realize that Pop didn't play Splitter the entire season and didn't have him ready for the playoffs anyway. This is a stupid post and we're all idiots for continuing it. I confess that Kick the Popologist is just too much fun at this point.
Pop has to take some of the blame you know he is the freakin head coach....I still remember when Pop fired Hill I wonder if he would have done the same after having the second best record and getting swept by the eighth seed?
Well, this team sold tickets and made it to the playoffs. For an organization in a small market, you can't complain with the results no matter how frustrating it is for us fans.
Pop is to blame with not developing players into the rotation better, but if you told me we would go into this series with Parker taking a massive dump for 3 solid straight games I would have seriously disbelieved that person and think they were stupid.
But it happened.
Players and the coach are equally accountable for this series. Just the way the series went.
Games 1-3 and 5 could have gone both ways for either team. The only real game that stood out was the dump on game 4. The teams made for a interesting and difficult series that was going to be tough. Probably will be the only series that carried out as physically as it did.
Reality is: in this league unless you belong to a big market like LA, your only realistic chance of getting a franchise player is through getting a high ( 1st or 2nd pick) in the draft. Reality is 95 % of the time , teams only win with a frachise player (an MVP) or recognized as 1 of the top 3 players in the game.
With that in mind, are only realistic chance is to draft a hakeem, admiral or Tim, to get back into serious le contention ( what are the chances of that happening ?? very slim) . Don't underestimate how bless we were with drafting the admiral then tim .
Yeah, yeah, some wise guy is going to say, Detroit won without an MVP. but seriosuly that really is the exception. Someone might say, what about boston in 08, well unless you can tell me we can buy a big three and move then to SA, forget that dream. ( A young Rey allen or KG ain't moving to SA)
So really like 25 or so other franchises , were in the same boat, winning another le is really wishful thinking, but what else are you supposed to do but try
Its also fun to kick the guy that thinks Mahimni is an allstar and that its better to shoot two point jumpers than three pointers.
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