Manu: "We relied a lot on Kawhi and LaMarcus

[DarrinS]

Starters did their job last night. Bench got out scored 30-15.

[From Downtown]

I didn't get to see the game but from what I'm reading it seems pretty obvious that it was the bench that was last night

Manu has a point tho,we still need to find our balance offensively,LMA and Kawhi need the ball and need to shot,but they have to play within the offense,we're not going anywhere playing ISO-ball
Of course it doesn't help that Green and Manu are cold from 3 and Patty's playing like in away games,but while our defense has been great so far the offense needs to improve (and the starting lineup is much better than it was a month ago,so clearly we're getting where we want to be...slowly,but we're doing it)...said that it's a process and December just started,so I'm not concerned at all

I feel like there's also a bit of autocriticism in his words tbh
It's like saying "we just gave them the ball and didn't do much ourselves"

[DMC]

The intentional misinterpretation of a quote is what fuels this site.

Manu was saying the rest of them sucked balls. He wasn't saying they don't want to go through LMA and Leonard on offense.

[TheDoctor]

I took what Manu said as that the bench sucked, the offense stunk and KaMarcus can't do it all.

If each one of those guys (Green, Manu, Patty & West) made 1 one more basket thats between 8-12 more points = WIN.

[ElNono]

“They play hard,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. “They play good defense. They grab, they hold, they are physical. They make you take jumpers. You can’t get to the rim.”

“We’re not going to be good offensively until March, probably,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, not long after the Chicago Bulls made March seem so far away.

“We came back and played hard,” Popovich said. “But that was our downfall, giving up 32 in the second quarter.”

http://www.expressnews.com/sports/sp...witter-premium

[Yuixafun]

Would have rather had Simmons out there, than an uninspire Manu, playing with faint instead of purpose.

[Ice009]

There is nothing wrong relying on Kawhi and LMA but he is right about jumpers.

Spurs have had a terrible last minutes of the game against Bulls. Bulls late in the game were going inside to the rim to get easy lay ups or draw fools that's what happened instead Spurs settled on the perimeter with no FTs.

Spurs lack of drawing fouls and getting to the line is starting to become pretty bad. Aren't they something like dead last in the NBA in free throws attempted? I don't think you can win anything if you can't get any easy points from the line.

[Brazil]

Spurs lack of drawing fouls and getting to the line is starting to become pretty bad. Aren't they something like dead last in the NBA in free throws attempted? I don't think you can win anything if you can't get any easy points from the line.

They are 30 in the league on FT/FGA ratio... so yeah that's pretty bad

[DJR210]

Shifting blame for that crap he put up at the end

[el contusione]

I'll take Manu's analysis over some idiot troll every day of the week.

THIS...

[ceperez]

Spurs lack of drawing fouls and getting to the line is starting to become pretty bad. Aren't they something like dead last in the NBA in free throws attempted? I don't think you can win anything if you can't get any easy points from the line.

Not a good sign when the only player drawing contact is your most valuable player (Leonard).

Spurs need time go figure this out! To many holes in their game.

[ceperez]

““We’re not going to be good offensively until March, probably,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, not long after the Chicago Bulls made March seem so far away.

So he knows the offense sucks but isn't worried about the team improving? Does he have some adjustments come March, or is that all going to be kept hidden till then?

[TheDoctor]

Spurs lack of drawing fouls and getting to the line is starting to become pretty bad. Aren't they something like dead last in the NBA in free throws attempted? I don't think you can win anything if you can't get any easy points from the line.

Portland LaMarcus used to draw a bunch of fouls but Spurs are using him more like a role player. Meaning less shots/plays called for him. Manu is old and playing less minutes. Tony's also getting less plays called for him meaning less drivings to the hoop/FTAs. Kyle has a knack for drawing fouls but he just plays that much. Kawhi still has not developed that skill (he's just averaging 3.4 FTA per game).

So, it is what it is.

[DenialTwist]

Yet Manu was the one who took a horrible floater and fouled to give the Bulls free throws in crunchtime?!?

[ElNono]

So he knows the offense sucks but isn't worried about the team improving? Does he have some adjustments come March, or is that all going to be kept hidden till then?

Where did you read that? He merely pointed out that it's going to take a long time to get everything together offensively.

[UZER]

LaMarcus was rolling early, best game so far this season. pop sat him way too long in the 2nd qtr. Never got back his rhythm back.

[ceperez]

LaMarcus was rolling early, best game so far this season. pop sat him way too long in the 2nd qtr. Never got back his rhythm back.

Plus, nobody was passing him the ball. He needs Parker to set him up.

[JeffDuncan]

The intentional misinterpretation of a quote is what fuels this site.

Manu was saying the rest of them sucked balls. He wasn't saying they don't want to go through LMA and Leonard on offense.

You are correct. Manu just meant that the other Spurs need to score some points, too.

But I don't think the misinterpretation is intentional. There's some characters around here who don't read too well, or think too well. Their misinterpretations are accidental, because it's the best they can do.

[DMC]

You are correct. Manu just meant that the other Spurs need to score some points, too.

But I don't think the misinterpretation is intentional. There's some characters around here who don't read too well, or think too well. Their misinterpretations are accidental, because it's the best they can do.

More appropriately called confirmation bias. A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest. Someone said that once

[Ice009]

They are 30 in the league on FT/FGA ratio... so yeah that's pretty bad

Darn. That is not good at all. I just don't think you can win by only taking jump shots in crunch time. This game was a great example. The Bulls went to the rack with the game on the line and drew fouls while the Spurs took a lot of jump shots.

Being last in free throws is very concerning. Spurs needed to get another penetrator that can draw fouls since Manu and TP can't do it consistently anymore. I was hoping Simmons could be that guy which is a big reason why I was so keen for him so succeed in the preseason, but unfortunately it doesn't look like he's going to get into the rotation any time soon. His handles are worse than I originally thought too.

I also want Kawhi to stop settling for jumpers and try and drive it to the rim more. Not sure if that is a handles issue for him or lack of elite athleticism that is holding him back in that area? What do you guys think? Maybe a combination of the two. For example, Tony had supreme speed and very good handles that allowed him to get to the rim whenever he wanted, and Manu had good handles, good speed, and also great athleticism which helped him get to the rim almost at will too.

[SAGirl]

He simply means that the Spurs aren't designed to funnel the offense through 2 volume jump shooters. And that'd obviously be a recipe for disaster.

For the Spurs to be "who they want to be" there need to be a better performance (offensively) by Green + the whole bench, as well as more post game from our bigs. Basically a more balanced offensive game.

This makes perfect sense, thank you.

I agree with you that Manu here is talking about himself and the bench. What he likely meant goes hand in hand with what you said. The Spurs are not built or meant to rely on 2 players like the Thunder. They expect more contribution from others (Green and bench were nowhere to be found. . . Danny defensively was spectacular at times, but his shot selection is poor, still passes on good 3 pt shots for himself, and still makes bad decisions on what to do when he dribbles. Bench was just horrible in this game on both ends.)

[bic50]

Darn. That is not good at all. I just don't think you can win by only taking jump shots in crunch time. This game was a great example. The Bulls went to the rack with the game on the line and drew fouls while the Spurs took a lot of jump shots.

Being last in free throws is very concerning. Spurs needed to get another penetrator that can draw fouls since Manu and TP can't do it consistently anymore. I was hoping Simmons could be that guy which is a big reason why I was so keen for him so succeed in the preseason, but unfortunately it doesn't look like he's going to get into the rotation any time soon. His handles are worse than I originally thought too.

I also want Kawhi to stop settling for jumpers and try and drive it to the rim more. Not sure if that is a handles issue for him or lack of elite athleticism that is holding him back in that area? What do you guys think? Maybe a combination of the two. For example, Tony had supreme speed and very good handles that allowed him to get to the rim whenever he wanted, and Manu had good handles, good speed, and also great athleticism which helped him get to the rim almost at will too.

It's hard to tell what it is. Vince Carter was incredibly explosive but I remember him being criticized for settling for 3s too often and not driving to the basket enough.

[tholdren]

Darn. That is not good at all. I just don't think you can win by only taking jump shots in crunch time. This game was a great example. The Bulls went to the rack with the game on the line and drew fouls while the Spurs took a lot of jump shots.

Being last in free throws is very concerning. Spurs needed to get another penetrator that can draw fouls since Manu and TP can't do it consistently anymore. I was hoping Simmons could be that guy which is a big reason why I was so keen for him so succeed in the preseason, but unfortunately it doesn't look like he's going to get into the rotation any time soon. His handles are worse than I originally thought too.

I also want Kawhi to stop settling for jumpers and try and drive it to the rim more. Not sure if that is a handles issue for him or lack of elite athleticism that is holding him back in that area? What do you guys think? Maybe a combination of the two. For example, Tony had supreme speed and very good handles that allowed him to get to the rim whenever he wanted, and Manu had good handles, good speed, and also great athleticism which helped him get to the rim almost at will too.

Hes a wimp, just like LMA. He's athletic. He's long. He can dribble. He's either afraid, or stupid.

[SAGirl]

Portland LaMarcus used to draw a bunch of fouls but Spurs are using him more like a role player. Meaning less shots/plays called for him. Manu is old and playing less minutes. Tony's also getting less plays called for him meaning less drivings to the hoop/FTAs. Kyle has a knack for drawing fouls but he just plays that much. Kawhi still has not developed that skill (he's just averaging 3.4 FTA per game).

So, it is what it is.

I would actually like Pop to coach Kyle to be more aggressive offensively, make plays. The man is so crafty that he gets to the line despite such a low usage rate and timid offense. Most of the shots he has taken are actually bail out end of the shot clock shots, when obviously he has the green light to force bc there is no time for anything else, and surprisingly, he has created his own shots in a jiffy and either gotten to the line, made his jumper, or he finds somebody at the last second. I think that if pushed, Kyle could do more for this team than he's currently doing and Simmons has shown flashes in real NBA games as well, we are not talking about SL here. It might be time to push these two a little more, but alas! Pop won't do it.

[TD 21]

Like with many others, I dont think manu realizes the changes that needs to happen with a declining parker and him being 38. You cant play spurs 2014 with this personel. Its not possible.

That and Leonard and Aldridge aren't play makers and get to the line at embarrassing rates for players of their caliber.

As ugly as it is to watch, this is probably how it's going to be down the stretch of most close games going forward and it's why, along with the lack of three-point shooting, they're probably going to continue to struggle against any half decent team in these situations.