Game Thread: Spurs vs. Lakers — Fri. (12/7) - 7:30/C (3:30am Riga Time)

[NASpurs]

It's time for White to start over Forbes, seriously. I don't care if Forbes is there to spread the floor. Lately the only thing that he's been spreading are his cheeks. At least if White is sucking on offense, he can actually play some competent enough defense.

[NASpurs]

OTOH, if Forbes starts, that means that he, Patty and Marco (and Cunningham too if they continue starting Bertans...after the Lakers game) are going to get a lot of minutes together coming off the bench. There's just no easy solution for this ing horrendously put together roster.

[JeffDuncan]

Trap game.

[Gibbz]

I'm ready for the tank. I'm not disgusted with the franchise or anything. It's been a ridiculously long run and when you end the run of 3 HOF players including one of the greatest players of all time, along with your perceived torch-bearer who's an All-NBA talent, is gonna be tough-sledding. I like our players but it's a roster with a play-style constructed for 2002. I'd like to see Lonnie be with the team soon and he and DW get a lot of run, along with Poeltl. Spurs are on-pace for a top-8 pick even without letting the young guys take their lumps. Hit on that pick and have a returning Dejounte and we're right back to having an intriguing team.

[RC_Drunkford]

Spurs are favored tonight. We actually play the Lakers well and give them trouble for some reason. Don’t know if Lebron can go God-mode down the stretch in b2b games against us. I think we win this one tbh.

We play them well because they don't have 3-point shooters. If their 3s are not falling we can hang with them. If they fall, you saw what happened in the 4th quarter of the last game

[NASpurs]

Lose this one and the Spurs will have more losses than the team above them, the Heat, who would have pick #7 according to tankathon. The Heat have seemingly a gimme against the Suns tonight.

[Duncan(DonPerro)]

https://www.si.com/nba/2018/12/07/wo...son-rj-barrett

The 2018-19 NBA Season's Worst Rebuilding Situations


...

WHICH NBA TEAM HAS THE SADDEST REBUILD?


San Antonio Spurs. It is hard to watch San Antonio right now, especially with Kawhi Leonard immediately returning to MVP form in Toronto. The Spurs are ahead of only the lifeless Suns in the West, and they appear headed to the lottery for the first time in a couple decades. What does this team’s future hold? It’s unclear how much longer Gregg Popovich wants to keep coaching. DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge are good players but hardly modern superstars. And both are signed through 2021, though Aldridge’s deal is only partially guaranteed for that last year. The Spurs, too proud to full-on tank right now, also likely won’t even have a great draft pick next summer.

So how do they get better? Their young talent isn’t exciting, their vets can’t get them over the hump, and the city has never really been a free-agent destination. The situation is especially sad because of how consistently great this organization was, and how strange it is to see the team be nothing more than... below average. It’s hard to watch Pop, who deserves to be in charge of a contender, even if he’s the last person to ever ask for sympathy. It’s one thing for the Suns to suck. They have a terrible owner and routinely make bad decisions. Watching the Spurs stumble is like finding out your parents actually have flaws. I just don’t see how this team gets significantly better any time soon. And watching one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports toil in irrelevance in the twilight of his career—after so recently being feared—is diifcult to swallow. — Rohan Nadkarni

...

NASpurs : Great analysis.

[SpaceCoast Spursfan]

Pop deserves what he gets. Even if you put the Kawhi situation 100% on Kawhi and uncle, Pop still had a major role in shaping this roster and direction of the franchise unlike many coaches in the league. Add to that some of the rotations he has chosen to roll with (not only this year) and I for one don't have any sympathy for Pop (obviously not speaking about his personal loss)

[NameLess Scrub]

We play them well because they don't have 3-point shooters. If their 3s are not falling we can hang with them. If they fall, you saw what happened in the 4th quarter of the last game

Exactly.

Also why do we keep playing the Lakers all the time? Is this some ESPN LeBron conspiracy?

[spurraider21]

Spurs by 20+ tbh

[Ragamuffin]

spurs by 7 pointsss...

[NASpurs]

Incoming loss

[spurs10]

We will play hard tonight and this 6 game home stand will help greatly.


We've got the Suns right where we want'em!!

[slick'81]

Incoming loss

Gotta play the lebron stopper

[SpurPadre]

Why does Pop insist on starting the same lineup if he's not trying to tank? What was the point of starting Bertans that one time if he's just going to revert to this bull ?

[timvp]

Incoming loss

[objective]

I don't know what Cunningham does that is any better than Pondexter at this point.

[spurs10]

My first thought was timvp​ is gonna love this!

[RC_Drunkford]

Incoming loss

Is there any doubt that Pop will play the same rotation like in the last game? I expect 0 changes

called it

[spurraider21]

I don't know what Cunningham does at this point.

fify

[spurraider21]

basically the thing that cunningham brings to the table is being 6'8 230, which sounds nice for a SF

[r0drig0lac]

spurs...

[NASpurs]

Impressive ball movement...by the Lakers

[NASpurs]

game

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Already tempted to turn this one off.