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He's been the most miserable son of a for years.
Don't count on it.
What the is the matter with you? How many times have I stated in this thread that I agree with you about Dallas and LA, those teams will be the immediate concerns. Yet you continue to claim that I put an emphasis on Eastern conference teams.Last time I checked, the Celtics were an Eastern Conference team. Did that change?
You are talking about probably the two best teams in the league, not the two best teams in the conference. We need to get through Dallas and LA.
Technically you can be a theoretical champion caliber team without beating the best teams in the East. But to be the actual champion, however, you have to beat the ECF. You speak as if whoever comes out of the east is a sure fire loss, is that what you believe? Is that why you are solely worried about the Lakers and Mavs... because whoever comes out of the East is an auto-win?To be a championship caliber team, it doesn't mean that you will beat whomever the East puts out. It means that you have what it takes to get there. The Celtics were a championship caliber team last year, but they lost. They could have probably won if they had Perkins in that last game. Orlando was a championship caliber team the year prior, but they too lost. Neither team had the ability at that time to beat LA. If we can beat LA and make it to the Finals, we should be able to beat whomever the East lobs at us. That's my point.
My point isnt that we should be worried about Randolph and Love in the playoffs, my points is that we face elite rebounding teams in the Lakers and Mavs (West) and Celtics in the east. This is where I do think you did misunderstand what I as trying to say.You said Blair gets out-muscled by Randolf and Love. My point: So? Who doesn't? We aren't facing either of these in the playoffs or the Finals if we get there. It would be great to be able to crush these guys, but man there are some dudes out there that are just freaks and you just play around them.
Championship teams are built on more than poised. While poise is probably required, they're built more so on defense. This means we need to be above average in the areas such as team defense, perimeter defense, interior defense, defensive rebounding, etc. Almost every team that's ever won the coveted NBA le have been above average to great defensive teams.The Spurs don't need to be able to dominate all facets of the game in order to win a ring. We have never dominated all facets of the game. We just do what we do better than they do or for a longer time. The difference maker for the Spurs has almost always been composure in chaotic situations, when the opponent becomes agitated and crazy happens. That seems to happen in every playoff series, and invariably it's the Spurs who come out ahead because they remained poised.
He's been the most miserable son of a for years.
Don't count on it.
Oh they're definately contenders, but they don't have what it takes defensively to actually WIN the championship....
..and we all know that offense wins games & defense wins championships... 'nuff said.
Is it really necessary to play defense at this time of the season???? Whats the rush?
We are cruising and scrapping through the season so far by just having a good offense.
imo Pop has a defense system setup, but he wont unleash it until after All Star break leading into the playoffs.
The defense system most likely includes Tiago and his role to the team. But most importantly we are trying to get through the regular season with using minimal resources and effort.
You made me laugh, Manny.
How about this? I think the Spurs are incredibly talented, and have the best bench they have had in years. Potentially ever, if Anderson comes back 100% and Splitter can work his way into the rotation.
On top of that, they are playing at a very high level, for this early in the season. If they gel like they usually do duing the Rodeo road trip, they are going to be scary good.
But even with all of that, they aren't going to win it all by playing stupid. Especially in the last 5-6 minutes of ball games. The team that plays toughest down the stretch usually wins in the post-season. Like I said before, 3 minutes of stupidity can ruin 45 minutes of brilliant ball.
Am I okay so far?
I understand that nobody is perfect, and it's early in the season. I guess what I'm saying is that the guys who have been here the longest should be the leaders when it comes to disciplined play down the stretch. Not perfect - but disciplined. The Spurs have done some really stupid things at the end of about 4 games in a row. Not just bad plays. Riciculously, egregiously sloppy things. And most of them were from our experienced, star players. You may disagree, but I think that's a problem.
Those guys have been around too long to be able to blame it on being early in the season. Bad timing on the pick and roll, missed defensive rotations - those things you expect to get better as the season wears on. But failing to get the ball across mid-court, in overtime? Failing to call that time out in Denver? That kind of breakdown in discipline can turn a 7-game series.
It's just my amateur opinion, but I don't think you can wait until late in the season to set the tone for those kinds of things. The older guys have to set the bar high for the younger ones.
All you haters make me laugh. Shut the up and wait.
OP is right, tbh.
I guess I'm confused about where the Spurs are unaware of the mental lapses and not addressing them? It seems from what I've read that they are aware that they aren't perfect and have stuff to fix.
I really just don't get this thread.
I expect these things will be cleaned up when they cost them games. And if they aren't, well, then their record was a fluke and we can castigate them appropriately for it.
I just keep reading and shrugging. Like, ok. Yeah. And?
Teams that are not championship contenders do not go on multiple 9+ game winning streaks or have a record of 23-3 after only 26 games. Which by the way is almost one-third of the season.
I was always taught that a good sample is about 40. So after 40 games if they have one of the top 4 or 5 records in the league that means that statistically speaking they are one of the better teams. It doesnt matter who they played, championship teams find ways to win. Teams that are not good or championship level find ways to lose.
I caught a lot of for this thread early in the season. All I said was that no matter how much talent or heart the team has, they aren't going to be able to beat the better teams in the league when their best, most experienced players do ridiculously stupid things in crunch time. They got by with it a bunch of times through this season, and came out with W's anyway. But you can't count on riding the luck train all the way through the playoffs.
The other thing I said was that they couldn't wait until the end of the season to straighten that out. You feel me now?
Back atcha.
Don't give me any about how the Spurs didn't have Duncan. I know that having Duncan would have helped - we all know that. But that's not the reason they lost to Portland. (Or Denver, for that matter.) They lost because their floor leaders - their guys with championship experience - got stupid and careless down the stretch. And so did their coach.
Put Duncan in the lineup, but against any of the really elite teams that we will be facing in the post season. Nothing changes. Playoff games are going to be hard-fought. And you can't win those series when you totally give away any games in the last few minutes.
Championship teams have an at ude - an edge. They put their foot on the throat of a lesser opponent, and they execute in crunch time. Right now, this team doesn't show me that. And it's gotten pretty damned late in the season to develop it.
Championship caliber teams doesn't blow, championship cliaber teams doesn't lose this kind of games. Bla bla bla.
Boston lost to Charlotte at home while leading 13 at the beginning of 4th quarter. There is no championship caliber team in the league.
Portland is, didnt you see the streamers fallin after they beat the Spurs!??
bumping this now.
We lost 2 games in a row on the road against 2 of the hottest teams in the NBA without our team captain. Declare the season over. Might as well forfeit
of course not duncan isn't in the line-up.....with timmy d no matter what are nba championship material.....just wait intill they win the nba championship 2011.....
We aren't getting past the Lakers, sorry guys.
I can live with having the best the Spurs have (Manu, TP) mess up. What I can't live with is not putting the best out there - having Novak inbound the ball, playing Blair/Bonner instead of Splitter/Dice.
I guess even the best of them are human - Pop included. Too bad his love for Bonner's been going on nearly 3 years. It was acceptable when there was no other alternative but now there is and he's kept him planted on the bench. I think that with Splitter integrated this team is as close to championship caliber as it could be without a perimeter defender and would have a shot at beating LA but Pop's stubbornness and Blair/Bonner are not going to cut it.
Cliffs: Duncan doesn't make a difference if he had played.
Ok. Thanks for the top notch analysis.
this would have been bumpable if we would have lost both with TD... that said... I feel you brother...
Come on, you'e better than this.
my feelings about this team before the season started were this, and they've for the most part stayed the same: the Spurs can win it all, they've got about 15% chance of beating the Lakers. assumming that Splitter gets pt and has a significant role, my feelings were and remain that Duncan will have to turn back the clock--maybe not all the way, but close to it--in order for the Spurs to beat LA. he would, in other words, have to make Gasol his for an entire series. defensively, he would have to make him struggle, and offensively he'd have to average at least 18 ppg. i think that it is fairly possible, not probable. but to say that the Spurs won't be able to win a championship is just moronic.
We might win one or two games. The Lakers have kicked it to another level since the all-star game, and it ain't even the playoffs yet. The emergence of a healthy Bynum makes them even better than last year's squad. That will make them champions again.
Spurs are rolling with essentially the same team that got curb-stomped by Phoenix last year. A healthy big 3 has produced the best regular-season record. But like recent regular season warriors such as Cleveland, Dallas & Phoenix, the Spurs will soon discover that gimmicks don't get you far in the playoffs.
Defense and rebounding win rings, not small ball & 3 point shooting. We had a real chance to improve in these depts, and to provide Duncan with some help this year, but it didn't happen.
jeez man, you definitely live up to your username. This Spurs team is too damn good to be considered 5 or 6 game fodder against LA, especially with HCA.
Spurs are damn good, but the Lakers are way better. It's a fact.
It'll be the closest series these teams have had since, well I guess 2008. But I think the length of the Lakers and the fact that PJ owns Pop will be the end of it.
The Lakers will have 3 of the top 4 bigs in the series.
The Lakers are better than everybody right now, but they aren't unbeatable. Momentum is a huge factor in the playoffs and even a good, or seemingly, superior team can fall victim to a unfavorable momentum swing. The Spurs are good enough to get to the WCFs and you can safely assume that they are playing good basketball if they get there. With HCA, a chance to get a 2 game lead and catch a fortunate wave . . . I still like the odds.
If Duncan is coming back sooner than expected and enough time to gear up and key in on the defects, the Spurs have the personnel to figure it out and focus on maintaining a high level of playing for every minute and every possession that every team has to do to succeed in the post season.
The Spurs also have a good chance at drawing more favorable match ups in the first two rounds, while the Lakers will more than likely, have a tougher path to the WCFs. Worry about if and when it happens. Reality without retrospect is assuredly distorted.
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