timvp through the years of disappointment...

[ElNono]

tbh, with such a big game coming up, I thought it would be interesting to look up timvp writeups post-playoffs for the last four years of disappointments...

I thought it was a good way to put in some perspective on how far we've come this season... regardless of what happens tonight.

Anyways, here's the compilation. You can click on the header on each post to go to the thread.


2009

This Spurs lost to the better team. Props to the Mavericks for advancing. Good luck.

As far as the Spurs are concerned, they still have more gas in the tank. Tim Duncan will have the longest offseason of his career to get his knees right. Tony Parker proved he's taken his game to another level and will be able to carry a bigger portion of the load for the foreseeable future. Manu Ginobili will get healthy, he'll be rested and and he'll once again be once of the best players in the league next year.

Bruce Bowen has another year in him. George Hill should really blossom next season. The Spurs should be able to fill out the roster with younger and better pieces.

Even though any objective Spurs fan knew the Spurs were extreme longshots to do anything this postseason, losing still hurt. Especially to the Mavs. But in the long run, this early loss well help the team. More rest and the roster's deficiencies are now painfully obvious. Winning a few more games in the postseason would have been great but escaping without a major injury to Duncan or Parker is way more important. Duncan could have hurt himself playing on one leg, Parker could have hurt himself trying to carry the whole load.

After a decade on the grind, this rest will do the team good. Come back next year with the Big Three intact, get refueled with better role players and make a run at #5.

Thank you to the Spurs for the effort. Thank you to Spurs fans for supporting your team.

The Spurs will be back.

Believe.

2010

This is a good reminder of how hard it is to win a championship ... much less four championships. Not only do you need a great team, you need to avoid running into a team that is on fire that shoots like 80% on buzzer beating three-pointers for the entire series. You also need to avoid broken noses, shoulder-jarring fouls and unexplainable free throw woes.

This year's loss isn't too painful considering the Spurs weren't going to beat the Lakers and whoever came out of the East. It just wasn't going to happen. This team was running on fumes after having to play all out since March just to ensure a place in the playoffs ... without the benefit of decent depth.

That said, I am disappointed with the sweep. Give the Suns credit but these teams were too close in talent to justify a sweep. In my humble opinion, the series was lost in Game 1 after the Spurs couldn't sustain their numerous runs and instead handed the contest to the Suns. That allowed Phoenix to get confidence and proceed to live up to their explosive potential.

Going into this season, I had a lot of hope for these Spurs. The offseason went perfect. Everything seemed to be in line for a solid run in the playoffs. I can't really say I'm proud of what they accomplished based on preseason expectations, although I am proud that they recovered from the midseason mediocrity that made getting out of the first round look like a longshot.

Thankfully, I fully believe the window is open for at least another season. Tim Duncan is still one of the best at his position. Manu Ginobili appears to be recovered from his leg injuries and has returned to s om. Tony Parker has to have better luck next season when it comes to injuries. The youngsters, namely George Hill, DeJuan Blair and hopefully Tiago Splitter, should give the Spurs the horses they need to improve upon what we saw this season.

I'll remember this year as the season the Spurs needed to begin their transition away from being able to rely on Bruce Bowen. History won't remember Bowen as an all-time great but there's no doubt that the last three championships relied on a unique formula that included the best perimeter defender in the game who could spread the court on the other end with his three-point shot. Even though Richard Jefferson was an improvement on paper, his skillset is so different that it made it nearly impossible to transition in one season.

Getting number five is going to be difficult. Chances are it won't happen. The Big 3 probably has too many miles on their tires. The young players probably won't be able to develop quickly enough. But I have hope. I like the team's character. I believe that winning is everyone's main goal. With a few offseason moves and better luck next year at this time, things could be much different ... for the fifth time.

Thanks to the Spurs and Spurs fans for another entertaining season. Stay thirsty.

2011

Obviously, this is really, really, really early and I have kept myself from thinking about it until now ... but here is my five step rebuilding plan to turn this squad into a legit contender. Please post yours.

1. Start Tiago Splitter next to Tim Duncan and bring DeJuan Blair off the bench as the first big. Splitter needs to play big minutes in an attempt to revitalize the defense. Blair's explosiveness and energy will be great if he buys into the bench role. And his size won't be too much of an issue if he's playing mostly next to Splitter or Duncan.

2. Send Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson to the bench. Ginobili needs to conserve his body in the regular season. And I think he can be just as productive to the success of the team by giving the Spurs the best bench punch in the league. As for RJ, you'd obviously try to trade him but that won't happen. Playing him off the bench at least makes it so that anything he gives you is a bonus. He can't be relied upon, as was reinforced in this series.

3. Let George Hill, Gary Neal, James Anderson, Danny Green and Da'Sean Butler fight for starting spots. Bring in other young wings who are hungry to join the fight. To get back to a true championship level, the Spurs will need a couple swingmen to emerge.

4. Don't rely as much on three-pointers. I'll take 50 playoff-style wins over 60 fun-and-gun wins if it means the team is built for postseason success.

5. Don't panic too much. It's not time to start over. The Big 3 needs to be remained intact at all costs. Find a group of role players willing to compete. Revert to a playoff style strategy. Try again.


What would you do?

Thanks.

2012

Immediately after Game 6, some of the pain was dulled by the fact that the Spurs put up a good fight in a hostile environment. The opposition did what they set out to do and the Thunder played well too. The Spurs did all they could given the cir stances, IMO.

But, damn, this one hurts. Bad. I never allowed myself to get too high even as the Spurs were on their historic run. I've seen too many harsh U-turns occur in the NBA playoffs to get too caught up in any hot streak. And I know it's just a game, blah, blah ... but this morning, after soaking everything in, I can honestly say that was the most painful end to a season I've ever experience.

The Spurs weren't a perfect team. Despite the hype, if they won it all, I would have maintained it was the fifth best of their championship teams. But, man, they were right there. One more win in their last four games and their chance at a championship is pretty damn good. If they would have won it all, it probably would have been the sweetest of the five just because the ride was so enjoyable due to the low expectations at the outset of the season.

And then you add in the fact that this was very likely their last chance to get it done, and the pain is magnified. The Spurs needed a miracle just to stay this healthy for this long. Duncan was able to somehow turn back the hands of time for one final glorious run. Ginobili, despite declining physical skills, was able to remain relatively close to his best level. But add another year to those two and we probably see a huge drop in play by next season's playoffs. With that, San Antonio's chances go from slim to none.

I've been a hardcore fan since David Robinson's rookie season. In that time, the most painful defeats I've experienced in order:

1. 2012
2. 2006
3. 1995
4. 2001
5. 2004


Ugh.

[TacoCabanaFajitas]

Well if we lose tonight, 2012 drops down a notch

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

lol Da'Sean Butler

[Mugen]

Move over 2012!

[baseline bum]

I still think 1995 was way worse than the others. That's the series that made people start calling DRob soft. And what made that one really bad was going into Houston and winning two straight to even the series.

[ohmwrecker]

This one will be the worst.

[hater]

agree. given what happened in game 6 and the fact it was a championship close out game.

If Spurs lose, this will take the cake easily

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

Good posts!

[ChumpDumper]

I still think 1995 was way worse than the others. That's the series that made people start calling DRob soft. And what made that one really bad was going into Houston and winning two straight to even the series.

Agreed. This series is gravy to an unlikely season.

[TE]

I still think 1995 was way worse than the others. That's the series that made people start calling DRob soft. And what made that one really bad was going into Houston and winning two straight to even the series.

LOL this year would easily trump anything that's happened in the last 20+ years especially considering that game 6 was basically given away.

[timvp]

Looks like timvp peaked in 2011.

[ffadicted]

Well if we lose tonight, 2012 drops down a notch

And it wouldn't even be close

[ChumpDumper]

LOL this year would easily trump anything that's happened in the last 20+ years especially considering that game 6 was basically given away.

In terms of overall expectations, 95 is still it.

They made the got damn Simpsons fer cryin' out loud -- back when that meant something.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Being THIS close to the trophy (literally 5 seconds away) is what would make this inarguably the worst/most painful one ever if the Spurs can't win Game 7.

Oh well, let's see what happens tonight. The anxiety is killing me

[dunkman]

Opened the champagne, but had to put it back to the bottle tbh . . .

[TheGreatYacht]

2011


Originally Posted by timvp
Obviously, this is really, really, really early and I have kept myself from thinking about it until now ... but here is my five step rebuilding plan to turn this squad into a legit contender. Please post yours.

1. Start Tiago Splitter next to Tim Duncan and bring DeJuan Blair off the bench as the first big. Splitter needs to play big minutes in an attempt to revitalize the defense. Blair's explosiveness and energy will be great if he buys into the bench role. And his size won't be too much of an issue if he's playing mostly next to Splitter or Duncan.

2. Send Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson to the bench. Ginobili needs to conserve his body in the regular season. And I think he can be just as productive to the success of the team by giving the Spurs the best bench punch in the league. As for RJ, you'd obviously try to trade him but that won't happen. Playing him off the bench at least makes it so that anything he gives you is a bonus. He can't be relied upon, as was reinforced in this series.

3. Let George Hill, Gary Neal, James Anderson, Danny Green and Da'Sean Butler fight for starting spots. Bring in other young wings who are hungry to join the fight. To get back to a true championship level, the Spurs will need a couple swingmen to emerge.

4. Don't rely as much on three-pointers. I'll take 50 playoff-style wins over 60 fun-and-gun wins if it means the team is built for postseason success.

5. Don't panic too much. It's not time to start over. The Big 3 needs to be remained intact at all costs. Find a group of role players willing to compete. Revert to a playoff style strategy. Try again.


What would you do?

Thanks.

This one is my favorite. Sounds like timvp was forecasting the future.

[MeloHype]

Add the 2013 season with 03, 05, 07 post

[tesseractive]

1995 is a mortal lock for worst ever.

This one's agonizingly close if it doesn't pan out, but I agree with everyone who feels like it's a gravy year instead of being as devastating as '95, '06, etc.

[TheyCallMePro]

Timvp you bailed on us last year man! You're supposed to always be the one with a little faith you know? How could you!?

[Ninja]

Yet another reason tonight's game is so huge. A win tonight pretty much wipes out all of the disappointment and frustration from last year's loss to the Thunder AND the game 6 collapse against the Heat. A loss tonight takes last year's disappointment to a whole new level.

[Phenomanul]

tbh, with such a big game coming up, I thought it would be interesting to look up timvp writeups post-playoffs for the last four years of disappointments...

I thought it was a good way to put in some perspective on how far we've come this season... regardless of what happens tonight.

Anyways, here's the compilation. You can click on the header on each post to go to the thread.


2009



2010



2011



2012

Immediately after Game 6, some of the pain was dulled by the fact that the Spurs put up a good fight in a hostile environment. The opposition did what they set out to do and the Thunder played well too. The Spurs did all they could given the cir stances, IMO.

But, damn, this one hurts. Bad. I never allowed myself to get too high even as the Spurs were on their historic run. I've seen too many harsh U-turns occur in the NBA playoffs to get too caught up in any hot streak. And I know it's just a game, blah, blah ... but this morning, after soaking everything in, I can honestly say that was the most painful end to a season I've ever experience.

The Spurs weren't a perfect team. Despite the hype, if they won it all, I would have maintained it was the fifth best of their championship teams. But, man, they were right there. One more win in their last four games and their chance at a championship is pretty damn good. If they would have won it all, it probably would have been the sweetest of the five just because the ride was so enjoyable due to the low expectations at the outset of the season.

And then you add in the fact that this was very likely their last chance to get it done, and the pain is magnified. The Spurs needed a miracle just to stay this healthy for this long. Duncan was able to somehow turn back the hands of time for one final glorious run. Ginobili, despite declining physical skills, was able to remain relatively close to his best level. But add another year to those two and we probably see a huge drop in play by next season's playoffs. With that, San Antonio's chances go from slim to none.

I've been a hardcore fan since David Robinson's rookie season. In that time, the most painful defeats I've experienced in order:

1. 2012
2. 2006
3. 1995
4. 2001
5. 2004


Ugh.

Well looks like you predicted Ginobili's demise...

[SnakeBoy]

Whatever happens tonight this year won't rank as a disappointment to me. It's been an incredible season!

[baseline bum]

LOL this year would easily trump anything that's happened in the last 20+ years especially considering that game 6 was basically given away.

This one is way worse than 1995. ing LeBron James has the second best game of his career.

[Budkin]

This one is way worse than 1995. ing LeBron James has the second best game of his career.

Battier and Lebron hit 11 3s... game.

[mexicanjunior]

This season goes to the top of the list for me...we never handed a championship away until game 6.