Pop's exit interview

[SinBAD]

http://www.nba.com/spurs/video/110430_pop.html

[DesignatedT]

size.

[Bruno]

I'm both sad and angry at listening at this interview.

Angry because Pop is basically saying that Spurs lost only because Spurs losing their rhythm with Tim and Manu's injury. Their are tons of other problems and Pop has made tons of mistakes. But no, it's just bad luck with some injuries...

Sad because because it is sad to see Pop being so stunned and powerless. He looks like someone who has tried everything without success and is ready to giving up.

[DesignatedT]

Pop addressed the size issue. If he would have answered No to the "Did the Grizzlies exploit any one area in this series" question then I would have been worried but he clearly knows and addressed that size & strength was a huge problem this series.

[Bruno]

Pop addressed the size issue. If he would have answered No to the "Did the Grizzlies exploit any one area in this series" question then I would have been worried but he clearly knows and addressed that size & strength was a huge problem this series.

That's when the journalist ask him a specific question about the Memphis match-up.

When Pop talks about the season, he called it wonderful and talks a lot about Spurs losing their rhythm because of injuries.

[K-State Spur]

I'm both sad and angry at listening at this interview.

Angry because Pop is basically saying that Spurs lost only because Spurs losing their rhythm with Tim and Manu's injury. Their are tons of other problems and Pop has made tons of mistakes. But no, it's just bad luck with some injuries...

Sad because because it is sad to see Pop being so stunned and powerless. He looks like someone who has tried everything without success and is ready to giving up.

i expected the spurs to beat memphis even if manu missed the whole series.

that said, if manu's healthy and tim's 100%, we don't a home game in this series* and likely get to the WCF. LA's still a matchup nightmare for us, but OKC would not have been (no interior scoring).

so, while that may be sugarcoating the bigger picture, pop's not necessarily wrong on that point either.

* and, if we get out 2-0, i think we get a game in memphis. this is a stout young team that will give us fits for years to come...but they did get some early confidence and played above themselves a bit for the remainder of the series. i don't expect conley, young, and allen to be knocking down jumpers against the thunders like they have the past 2 weeks.

[Bill_Brasky]

Pop addressed the size issue. If he would have answered No to the "Did the Grizzlies exploit any one area in this series" question then I would have been worried but he clearly knows and addressed that size & strength was a huge problem this series.

He also mentioned how good the Memphis defense was, hopefully something they'll address moving into next season.

[ManuBalboa]

Pop needs to go. He is delusional about the state of this team.

[DubMcDub]

I am a Pop fan, through and through. I think he's the best coach in the NBA. That said, I'm a bit surprised to hear him reference injuries

[Chomag]

Using the injuries card is kind of a cop out imo. Yes it didn't help but Spurs did not get beat becuase of those injuries.

[DesignatedT]

I am a Pop fan, through and through. I think he's the best coach in the NBA. That said, I'm a bit surprised to hear him reference injuries

He's just saying that the injuries at the end of the year hurt the teams rhythm going into the playoffs, something that was addressed on this board 1000 times. He isn't blaming the series on manus elbow or on duncans ankle and he gave more then enough credit to Memphis calling them the better team numerous times.

[Duncan2177]

Pop needs to go. He is delusional about the state of this team.

:tu

[DubMcDub]

He's just saying that the injuries at the end of the year hurt the teams rhythm going into the playoffs, something that was addressed on this board 1000 times. He isn't blaming the series on manus elbow or on duncans ankle and he gave more then enough credit to Memphis calling them the better team numerous times.

I understand what he's saying completely. I'm still surprised. I do appreciate honest answers, though. Athletes and coaches give too much fluff on the mic.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Four years in a row of blaming it on dumb luck, injuries, etc. What a clown :td

[silverblk mystix]

Pop has lost touch with reality--and that is saying a LOT- because Pop was one of the most no-nonsense, no b.s. type of people at one time.

Pop was once a great, great coach...changed the entire Spurs culture by not allowing anyone to be mentally soft and use injuries or refs as an excuse...

and to see him as lost and confused and out of touch as he is now...is pretty pathetic and sad.

This is a young man's game and you probably have a window of time to do your best work and to carry that FIRE inside...it usually happens when you still have youth on your side...but as you age and mellow...you don't burn as hot and you lose desire. You also begin to mature and realize that there are more important things in life than basketball....in some ways this is good..but to win titles...you kind of have to be a single-minded asshole with no other life except the game.

The only exception is Phil Jackson...but that is unfair to say because Phil has been gifted the most talent and money and unfair advantages than any other coach in history.

Remember how Jimmy Johnson was when the cowboys were at their peak? What a fuckin' bastard and ball-breaker J.Johnson was...but he was so intense that he fuckin' would not lose.

What happened to J.Johnson once he won titles and matured a little...he went to Miami and he just did not have the fire anymore....age was his only enemy.

Pop needs to go. The spurs need a YOUNG coach full of fire who is dying to achieve something, dying to prove something, dying to burn the candle at both ends and live,breathe & eat basketball.

Pop just told everyone here that next year will be more of the same.

[silverblk mystix]

Pop has lost touch with reality--and that is saying a LOT- because Pop was one of the most no-nonsense, no b.s. type of people at one time.

Pop was once a great, great coach...changed the entire Spurs culture by not allowing anyone to be mentally soft and use injuries or refs as an excuse...

and to see him as lost and confused and out of touch as he is now...is pretty pathetic and sad.

This is a young man's game and you probably have a window of time to do your best work and to carry that FIRE inside...it usually happens when you still have youth on your side...but as you age and mellow...you don't burn as hot and you lose desire. You also begin to mature and realize that there are more important things in life than basketball....in some ways this is good..but to win titles...you kind of have to be a single-minded asshole with no other life except the game.

The only exception is Phil Jackson...but that is unfair to say because Phil has been gifted the most talent and money and unfair advantages than any other coach in history.

Remember how Jimmy Johnson was when the cowboys were at their peak? What a fuckin' bastard and ball-breaker J.Johnson was...but he was so intense that he fuckin' would not lose.

What happened to J.Johnson once he won titles and matured a little...he went to Miami and he just did not have the fire anymore....age was his only enemy.

Pop needs to go. The spurs need a YOUNG coach full of fire who is dying to achieve something, dying to prove something, dying to burn the candle at both ends and live,breathe & eat basketball.

Pop just told everyone here that next year will be more of the same.

Sorry, had to add a couple of other reasons why Pop needs to go...

#1) There are things that Pop did that made the spurs 4-time champs and those things are really important....things such as only drafting players with good moral character..and ONLY guys that FIT into the system,etc...in other words---NICE GUYS!

This is, in theory, a really nice thing about the spurs...because the players are good citizens, likeable , solid people....true spurs as we like to say.

The downside to this is that these nice guys (RJ,Hill, Bonner, etc...) are not going to win you titles....

Tony Allen was dumped by Boston and was available...but I am pretty sure that Pop would not have Allen due to character issues...but look at Allen's defense and tell me if G.Hill is as tough? Honestly? And how many other free agents have the spurs passed on because they did not fit?

This is what being someplace for too long will do...Pop's original idea of only acquiring character guys was solid...but after a while time goes by...culture changes...young players change....THUGS are now the order of the day...young players with attitude seem to have most of the talent--the so-called ballers are now in vogue.

#2) In this series and in other years...Pop's philosophy when asked what he would tell his players before the game or before a series....

Pop would say, "nothing--they are professionals."

Very sound philosophy---and very commendable.

In contrast...Lionel Hollins was asked the same question and his response was that he tore into players and drilled it into them that the spurs would come out desperate and that they needed to play with more desperation,etc...

Well they did...and maybe those players NEEDED someone to push them, to motivate them,to make them believe they could do it.

I don't think Hollins will do the same thing 15 years from now when he matures.

But for now...it worked....young players respond to a young unproven coach who still has FIRE. A coach who relates to their youth and can spot a young lefty point guard with potential the same way that Hollins was an underrated lefty guard in the NBA at one time.


Pop, for all his class and greatness...has just run his course and the game has, sadly, passed him by.

[suitedkings]

As much as i want Pop gone, he isnt gonna come out and pinpoint all his mistakes or call out all the players that no-showed.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

Pop needs to go. He is delusional about the state of this team.

My question is: and then what? Popovich is the model for the successful coaches who've created teams that play as a team across the NBA Lionel Hollins, Scotty Brooks, Tom Thibodeau come to mind. Anyone like that out there? Why not stay with the guy who is the model?

And if by "delusional" you mean "we need to blow up the team and start over", well, Popovich isn't your guy, I guess. But I disagree with that idea. Seriously, who would you get? That plan would require, I think, tanking the next few seasons and building through the draft, mainly, and selected free agents. Are you really going to get players of the quality of Manu and Tony? (I leave Duncan out of this discussion because he's getting towards the tail end of his career anyway.)

I think clearly they need help at the Center position, especially with McDyess' pending retirement. I think they know that and I'm sure something will be done.

Popovich has shown that he can adapt and change styles to fit his personnel. What more can you ask?

[YoMamaIsCallin]

The other point is when you look at this series objectively it was not a disastrous meltdown. Arguably, absent Manu's absence from Game 1, and 3-point shots from Z-Bo and Battier, the Spurs could easily have been playing to close out the Grizz in Game 5 at home, rather than fighting for their life.

As Popovich said, "I can't think of a single Memphis player who didn't play well.". They all came together and peaked for the playoffs.

If anything, I think the biggest lesson is that they need to not focus as much on getting a good start on the regular season, as was their priority this year. They need to go back to the "let's make sure we're ready for the playoffs" mentality. Maybe play the Big 3 even less than they did, and give the bench a chance to gel even more than they did. Maybe move Manu back to a 6th man role. I don't know, I'm sure Popovich will figure it out.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

And as to the "lost and confused" narrative... really? He didn't seem either lost or confused to me. He seemed quite articulate, grounded, and honest. What makes you think that? I think it's more like you believe this is a crisis that must be addressed with drastic measures, and Popovich doesn't go there, so you think he's "lost and confused".

[romsho]

My question is: and then what? Popovich is the model for the successful coaches who've created teams that play as a team across the NBA Lionel Hollins, Scotty Brooks, Tom Thibodeau come to mind. Anyone like that out there? Why not stay with the guy who is the model?

And if by "delusional" you mean "we need to blow up the team and start over", well, Popovich isn't your guy, I guess. But I disagree with that idea. Seriously, who would you get?

I think clearly they need help at the Center position, especially with McDyess' pending retirement. I think they know that and I'm sure something will be done.

Popovich has shown that he can adapt and change styles to fit his personnel. What more can you ask?

When he mentioned size, that was his way of saying it was a matchup problem. Pop never directly discusses strategy or personnel issues, but he doesn't need to point out the obvious either. The problems from a talent standpoint are clear for all to see.

Blowing things up guarantee nothing. What he said about the team losing it's rhythm due to injuries and the like are true. Combine that with the size and matchup issues, it was a perfect storm for a 1st round loss.

Thre will be plenty of time to dwell in the lottery half of the league. No need to hurry. And Pop isn't and should not be going anywhere. Bad idea.

[024]

pop needs to recognize that this core is done. 4 years of injuries and flameouts are no coincidence. rebuild now before it's too late. the spurs desperately signed jefferson and bonner to try to keep the core alive. if the spurs attempt to do it again next year, they might take on even worse contracts. stop now please.

[spurs10]

Of course Tim and Manu's injuries hurt us. I don't see it as an excuse, it's just a fact. Every writer and sports analysts in the business is saying we're old and finished, while ignoring the fairly solid season we had, and the fact that a couple of our key players were not exactly 100%. We lost the hca we worked so hard for in the first game. Manu not being able to play certainly didn't help.
However, we had several perfectly healthy guys that gave us very little that should have able to pick up some of the slack.

[Cane]

That's when the journalist ask him a specific question about the Memphis match-up.

When Pop talks about the season, he called it wonderful and talks a lot about Spurs losing their rhythm because of injuries.

The Spurs certainly weren't playing well coming into the playoffs. They had inexcusable meltdowns and squandered the top record in the league as well.

Spurs really need their starters to be healthy to be competitive against this Grizz team especially since RJ and etc. didn't show up.

[Juanobili]

pop needs to recognize that this core is done. 4 years of injuries and flameouts are no coincidence. rebuild now before it's too late. the spurs desperately signed jefferson and bonner to try to keep the core alive. if the spurs attempt to do it again next year, they might take on even worse contracts. stop now please.

this

[Cane]

Gotta agree with Pop, Memphis did "manhandle" the Spurs in many ways throughout the series. Their defense and overall effort was more than excellent as well.

[mytespurs]

To those calling 4 pop's head, be careful what u wish 4.......when the spurs start 2 become regulars on the lottery & cannot make the playoffs or endure yrs of losing recorfds, many will be clamoring 4 pop or wished spurs had a coach like pop...........

[ElNono]

I'm with Bruno on this one... you think you would hear at least a bit of owning up to the mistakes, but nothing... unfortunately, this is what happens when you surround yourself with yes men...

[Cane]

And as to the "lost and confused" narrative... really? He didn't seem either lost or confused to me. He seemed quite articulate, grounded, and honest. What makes you think that? I think it's more like you believe this is a crisis that must be addressed with drastic measures, and Popovich doesn't go there, so you think he's "lost and confused".

Yup, I didn't get that "lost and confused" impression at all.

Not sure what else he could've said that would've meant anything either. The series was enough and he saw the same "manhandling" we all did.

[Bukefal]

Pop is not going anywhere. He IS the Spurs, he is the best coach in the damn NBA. If he was to go, then what? Will the Spurs get the chance to get a coach of Pop's calibre again anytime soon? I dont think so.

But, you people know everything much better than Pop and you all would have done a better job than him of course, you obviously exactly know what he should have done.

"Pop is senile, Pop sucks, he is delusional, he is a clown, he made mistakes, he should have done this, he should have done that"

Pop knows what he is doing and Spurs fans should be blessed to have such a coach.

[romsho]

Pop is not going anywhere. He IS the Spurs, he is the best coach in the damn NBA. If he was to go, then what? Will the Spurs get the chance to get a coach of Pop's calibre again anytime soon? I dont think so.

But, you people know everything much better than Pop and you all would have done a better job than him of course, you obviously exactly know what he should have done.

"Pop is senile, Pop sucks, he is delusional, he is a clown, he made mistakes, he should have done this, he should have done that"

Pop knows what he is doing and Spurs fans should be blessed to have such a coach.

Ec-fucking-xactly.

[DMC]

I wouldn't waste too many characters addressing the knee jerk meltdowns.

[SpurYank]

Everything you guys bitch about omits the other team. Pop does not. Nor did Manu, Tim, Tony, and everyone else with an ounce of a brain. Pop is the best coach we have ever had and it's time you Spurs fans suck it up. If Pop says we lost lost some things that hurt us when Tim and Manu suffered injuries, then I am more apt to believe Pop than you Monday morning quarterback who bitch because we are out of it. The main reason we are out of it are the Memphis Grizzlies. And I am excited about watching them the rest of the way.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Spurs for all the years we have had Pop as their coach. I would never ask that any other coach take over. Pop is the best.

Have a great weekend, whiners.

[silverblk mystix]

Everything you guys bitch about omits the other team. Pop does not. Nor did Manu, Tim, Tony, and everyone else with an ounce of a brain. Pop is the best coach we have ever had and it's time you Spurs fans suck it up. If Pop says we lost lost some things that hurt us when Tim and Manu suffered injuries, then I am more apt to believe Pop than you Monday morning quarterback who bitch because we are out of it. The main reason we are out of it are the Memphis Grizzlies. And I am excited about watching them the rest of the way.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Spurs for all the years we have had Pop as their coach. I would never ask that any other coach take over. Pop is the best.

Have a great weekend, whiners.

Pop is the best...enjoy the next few years of Bonner ball!!!!

Yay!

Maybe Pop can bring Finley back-since Finley singlehandedly brought us a title and showed true allegiance in the end.

[Brazil]

He IS the Spurs, he is the best coach in the damn NBA.

No, he is not.


If he was to go, then what? Will the Spurs get the chance to get a coach of Pop's calibre again anytime soon? I dont think so.

One day he will have to go, then what ? The franchise will survive after Pop and the franchise will have to figure out sooner or later to do so.


But, you people know everything much better than Pop and you all would have done a better job than him of course, you obviously exactly know what he should have done.

"Pop is senile, Pop sucks, he is delusional, he is a clown, he made mistakes, he should have done this, he should have done that"

Pop knows what he is doing and Spurs fans should be blessed to have such a coach.

I'm grateful to Pop for all these success years but thats the past. The franchise needs to move on and IMO the sooner the better. His past successes don't mean he is imune to criticism. I'm sorry but he lost it.

[GhosTown]

Well it is already starting.

Pop making excuses for his terrible choke job. And it appears the Spurs management are going to let him stay and continue ruining the Spurs.

Injuries??? Really Pop? Was the Grizz not injured? GTFOH

Who played Manu in a meaningless game? POP!

Who matched Bonner on Z-bo for 20 mins until he had 5 fouls and put them in the penalty early? Pop!

Who didn't matched TD on Z-bo until the last few mins of the game? Pop!

Who refuse to take away their first option, Z-Bo with double teams or what ever? Pop!

If there was ever a coach begging to be fired or retired, I don't care how you say it. It's Gregg "wino" Popovich.

This dude ruins the Spurs with his RJ and Bonner BS experiment, then tells us that it was injuries to blame, why he was the highest rated 1 seed to lose to 8 seed. He blames it on injuries.

Wow. At least be a man about it. What a choking weasel.

Injuries??? PAHLEASE

[++SaiNt TiAg0++]

to all of you who say pop is the best coach, yes he WAS the best coach im not a kid i know how bad it was losing half of my life as a spurs fan, however pop is no longer motivated/or able to motivate his players and that to me is DONE!

instead you have manu gionobili stepping up and telling pop we need to have a better season, and all sorts of signs that point to the players being frustrated with pop. i know for a fact pop is no longer what he was nor does he care about basketball the same way, he just got out coached by the grizz. head coach and i still dont remember that mans name that tells you something!

im sorry his name may be pop but it might as well be d antoni/van gundy/larry brown/ cause what it comes down to is winning or losing and were losing just like all the other coaches who arent AMAZING !hes no different in fact he has no excuse with this team and his prior knowledge either hes on drugs or a very bad alcoholic and needs help cause hes not the pop i remember!! screw this arrogant drunk that isnt a good coach to me!

[Bukefal]

I'm grateful to Pop for all these success years but thats the past. The franchise needs to move on and IMO the sooner the better. His past successes don't mean he is imune to criticism. I'm sorry but he lost it.


Of course he is not immune to criticism. Of course you can critize him, that's not the point. I'm sure pop has made mistakes, that's normal, but to question him as a coach and to call him all kinds of crap things like a retard, fuckface, senile, he needs to go etcetera..... that's just ridiculous.

[picnroll]

So is it another year of counting on Bonner? Hopefully Spurs can get a high lottery pick next year.

[Brazil]

Of course he is not immune to criticism. Of course you can critize him, that's not the point. I'm sure pop has made mistakes, that's normal, but to question him as a coach and to call him all kinds of crap things like a retard, fuckface, senile, he needs to go etcetera..... that's just ridiculous.

I agree a lot of guys around here showed huge lack of respect beginning with me but I maintain he needs to go, he is a great coach but there is a time when you need fresh air and fresh ideas especially in a rebuilding process

[SequSpur]

Pop is not going anywhere. He IS the Spurs, he is the best coach in the damn NBA. If he wmoas to go, then what? Will the Spurs get the chance to get a coach of Pop's calibre again anytime soon? I dont think so.

But, you people know everything much better than Pop and you all would have done a better job than him of course, you obviously exactly know what he should have done.

"Pop is senile, Pop sucks, he is delusional, he is a clown, he made mistakes, he should have done this, he should have done that"

Pop knows what he is doing and Spurs fans should be blessed to have such a coach.

Matt bonner.

[SenorSpur]

Pop may still be in the throes of shock, stemming from the stunning defeat at the hands of the Grizzlies. However, if he really believes the Spurs lost due to bad luck, injuries, and such, he is totally delusional. He has no one blame for this but himself.

The questions I pondered, in my mind, all throughout the year, while the Spurs were racking up wins, is one that I will again repeat here, "what was Pop thinking by bringing an undersized, over-aged frontline into this season, thinking that he could challenge for western conference supremacy?" "Why is Duncan still the tallest, best, frontline player on the roster, at age 35?" I ask what was he thinking because it was so obvious just how much Duncan had fallen off the cliff in last year's playoff series versus the Suns, when they ceremoniously swept out the Spurs and ran circles around Duncan.

By choosing to ignore what we all witnessed, and by electing to surround a declining Duncan with the likes of Blair, Bonner and Dice, and by not forcibly integrating Splitter into the rotation, he severely compromised his team's chances for a deep playoff run. Same thing for him investing another 4 years in Bonner. Same thing for him investing another 4 years in RJ. By having 4 inconsistent, non-producing players in its rotation (Bonner, Blair, RJ, Hill), any hopes of a deep playoff run were simply fool's gold. The Spurs had a raggedy foundation, which meant they never really had a legitimate chance to get to the mountain.

[silk]

Seriously, what happened to this pop guy ? He used to be quite smart and knowledgeable

[Russ]

Much of the "loss of rhythm" seems to have been self-inflicted. The Spurs lost their edge, not by happenstance or misfortune, but according to plan. They attempted a controlled withdrawal into the playoffs. That usually doesn't work on the battlefield, or in the NBA -- the Spurs were best when charging toward the finish to secure their playoff lives.

But Pop decided that having team playing at the top of their game wasn't as important as the team resting and staying healthy. Ironically, the plan produced just the opposite result. Keeping players out of games completely toward the end of the season (rather than just limiting minutes) may have backfired.

Both Tim's ankle injury and Manu's arm injury came the first game back after sitting out, and not even dressing for, a game. Maybe that's just coincidence, but it also may be that keeping older players loose and in rhythm (even for only 10-12 minutes/game) is better than sitting them out completely and then bringing them back cold and "out of rhythm."

Not only did both of Tim's and Manu's injuries came in the first game back, they also occured in the first couple of minutes of the return game after sitting the game before (as I recall). Perhaps because the players weren't in "rhythm" (there's that word again) after sitting out games? Injuries usually don't happen to players who are loose and warmed up, but rather to those who are cold and rusty. And when do those injuries usually happen? Right when the overly-rested player first returns to action after the layoff.

The ultra-conservative approach even extended into the playoffs and may have further robbed the team of its rhythm. The decision not to suit up Manu for Game 1 may have cost the series (it looks especially suspect when we saw how well Manu played the rest of the series). Does anyone think that merely dressing Manu for Game 1, or playing him with an injury to a non-weightbearing joint, was overly risky? Instead, the decision not to have him dressed for action, even if simply to sit on the bench and wait for his moment, appears overly conservative, again sending a message and sapping the team's aggressiveness in the first game of the playoffs.

Pop is a great coach, the best the Spurs ever had by a long shot, but this year it looks like he violated many of his own protocols regarding staying hungry and aggressive. Instead, he tried to finesse it going into the war that is the playoffs.

The result? The injuries didn't case a lack of rhythm as Pop implies. Rather, the willingness to abandon that rhythm likely caused the injuries in the first place. And an all too early end to the season. Such irony.

[silverblk mystix]

Pop may still be in the throes of shock, stemming from the stunning defeat at the hands of the Grizzlies. However, if he really believes the Spurs lost due to bad luck, injuries, and such, he is totally delusional. He has no one blame for this but himself.

The questions I pondered, in my mind, all throughout the year, while the Spurs were racking up wins, is one that I will again repeat here, "what was Pop thinking by bringing an undersized, over-aged frontline into this season, thinking that he could challenge for western conference supremacy?" "Why is Duncan still the tallest, best, frontline player on the roster, at age 35?" I ask what was he thinking because it was so obvious just how much Duncan had fallen off the cliff in last year's playoff series versus the Suns, when they ceremoniously swept out the Spurs and ran circles around Duncan.

By choosing to ignore what we all witnessed, and by electing to surround a declining Duncan with the likes of Blair, Bonner and Dice, and by not forcibly integrating Splitter into the rotation, he severely compromised his team's chances for a deep playoff run. Same thing for him investing another 4 years in Bonner. Same thing for him investing another 4 years in RJ. By having 4 inconsistent, non-producing players in its rotation (Bonner, Blair, RJ, Hill), any hopes of a deep playoff run were simply fool's gold. The Spurs had a raggedy foundation, which meant they never really had a legitimate chance to get to the mountain.

THIS.

Only Pop and his YES flock can continue to hide their head in the sand.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Pop is not going anywhere. He IS the Spurs, he is the best coach in the damn NBA. If he was to go, then what? Will the Spurs get the chance to get a coach of Pop's calibre again anytime soon? I dont think so.

But, you people know everything much better than Pop and you all would have done a better job than him of course, you obviously exactly know what he should have done.

"Pop is senile, Pop sucks, he is delusional, he is a clown, he made mistakes, he should have done this, he should have done that"

Pop knows what he is doing and Spurs fans should be blessed to have such a coach.

You're right. We should shut down the forum. Coming off our fourth consecutive season without a ring, and an offseason where Pop clearly showed he knows what he's doing by giving Bonner and Jefferson a combined $50 million dollars, Pop is clearly above reproach.

Thanks for setting us straight.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Everything you guys bitch about omits the other team. Pop does not. Nor did Manu, Tim, Tony, and everyone else with an ounce of a brain. Pop is the best coach we have ever had and it's time you Spurs fans suck it up. If Pop says we lost lost some things that hurt us when Tim and Manu suffered injuries, then I am more apt to believe Pop than you Monday morning quarterback who bitch because we are out of it. The main reason we are out of it are the Memphis Grizzlies. And I am excited about watching them the rest of the way.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Spurs for all the years we have had Pop as their coach. I would never ask that any other coach take over. Pop is the best.

Have a great weekend, whiners.

Quite a solid take. Sticking your fingers in your ears and head in a hole in the ground doesn't make you right.

This team is 0 for 4 the past four seasons because Pop thinks a combination of 86 year old Antonio McDyess, 6'5" Dajuan Blair, and pussy ass Matt Bonner is a winning frontcourt rotation when standing next to Tim Duncan.

This in a western conference full of huge front lines in LA, Memphis, and Oklahoma City. It's no coincidence that LA suddenly became champs after making the moves to trot out a Gasol/Odom/Bynum frontline.

Meanwhile, we trot out a 6'5" center and a redheaded whiteboy who can't shoot his way out of a paper bag in the playoffs and got punked repeatedly by Memphis at the defensive end, and you Pop loving nitwits sit here and try and mock anyone who criticizes Pop.

As Pop often likes to say about his rookies, you guys need to get over youselves.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Everything you guys bitch about omits the other team. Pop does not. Nor did Manu, Tim, Tony, and everyone else with an ounce of a brain. Pop is the best coach we have ever had and it's time you Spurs fans suck it up. If Pop says we lost lost some things that hurt us when Tim and Manu suffered injuries, then I am more apt to believe Pop than you Monday morning quarterback who bitch because we are out of it. The main reason we are out of it are the Memphis Grizzlies. And I am excited about watching them the rest of the way.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Spurs for all the years we have had Pop as their coach. I would never ask that any other coach take over. Pop is the best.

Have a great weekend, whiners.

Quite a solid take. Sticking your fingers in your ears and head in a hole in the ground doesn't make you right.

This team is 0 for 4 the past four seasons because Pop thinks a combination of 86 year old Antonio McDyess, 6'5" Dajuan Blair, and pussy ass Matt Bonner is a winning frontcourt rotation when standing next to Tim Duncan.

This in a western conference full of huge front lines in LA, Memphis, and Oklahoma City. It's no coincidence that LA suddenly became champs after making the moves to trot out a Gasol/Odom/Bynum frontline.

Meanwhile, we trot out a 6'5" center and a redheaded whiteboy who can't shoot his way out of a paper bag in the playoffs and has spent his entire career here in SA in the playoffs getting abused at the defensive end, and you Pop loving nitwits sit here and try and mock anyone who criticizes Pop.

As Pop often likes to say about his rookies, you guys need to get over yourselves.

[Warlord23]

I really hope that Pop does away with this "Emperor's new clothes" type approach. There's a reason the team lost their rhythm ... their offensive strategy can be easily disrupted by a playoff-style defense. If it wasn't Memphis, it would have been OKC or LA or even the Mavs. This shit does not work in the playoffs.

He does acknowledge the size advantage and defensive intensity of the Grizz. Good for you Pop - now can you try and add these aspects to the Spurs?

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Of course he is not immune to criticism. Of course you can critize him, that's not the point. I'm sure pop has made mistakes, that's normal, but to question him as a coach and to call him all kinds of crap things like a retard, fuckface, senile, he needs to go etcetera..... that's just ridiculous.


No, what's ridiculous is Pop's continued reliance the last several years on washed up losers like Finley, Bonner, and Jefferson. And his inability to acknowledge those mistakes for what they are and move on.

Everyone with a brain could see that RJ and Bonner were scrubs. Pop had an opportunity to let Bonner go and not extend Jefferson last summer, but instead of admitting those failures in talent assessment / fit in the system, he went out and added three more years of Spurs basketball for those two.

So he deserves every bit of criticism for that, because he compounded his original mistake in going out and getting two mental midgets thinking they would contribute in the playoffs.

Matt Bonner was the last guy off the bench in scrub ass Toronto for crying out loud, and he's our sixth man? LOL.

Oh, and I'm sorry, but there's at least 6-7 coaches in this league right now who I'd take in a heartbeat over Pop. He used to be the best coach in the NBA, but the last four years have seen him abandoned the focus on defense that got this franchise four rings in favor of some Don Nelson/Larry Brown hybrid model of overreliance on aging veterans and crack induced rotations.

Not surprisingly, we have zero rings to show for it.

[eric365]

You're right. We should shut down the forum. Coming off our fourth consecutive season without a ring,

If 4 seasons without a ring means the coach is dumb, spurs will have to change the coach every 4 years and a lot of coach in the NBA have to go.

We don't have an all time great in his prime anymore since 2009.
Spurs will be very lucky to win it all again in the next 10 years :depressed

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

If 4 seasons without a ring means the coach is dumb, spurs will have to change the coach every 4 years.

We don't have an all time great in his prime anymore since 2009.
Spurs will be very lucky to win it all again in the next 10 years :depressed

Uh, way to ignore the rest of the argument. Keep rocking those blinders. You think Tim is excited to be winding down his career with Matt Bonner and Richard Jefferson as his wingmen?

Or Michael Finley playing power forward next to him?

[1Parker1]

Why are Spurs fans so surprised Pop is pointing to the injuries as an excuse? He is never one to singularly call out players in the press. The Spurs players are basically crushed right now, after winning 61 games and finally staying healthy and having the #1 seed overall in the West, to lose and go down in history as losing to an 8th seed has got to sting about 5 times worse than the Suns sweep last season.

Pop isn't going to go out and say we lost because we have chokers on our team like RJ and Bonner. He basically knows that outside of the Big 3, he's dealing with players who soft mentally and cannot handle getting yelled at or called out in front of the press. He also knows that more than likely---he's going to be stuck with the same shitty role players next season. Why call them out and blame them for this loss if it's just going to hurt them in the long run?

[1Parker1]

Oh and the injuries really did hurt the Spurs. More than any other year...this year's Spurs team was based on rythmn. When Duncan went down and the Spurs went on a 6 game losing streak, it was no coincidence. It was also no coincidence that Spurs fans and players were out of sorts in Game 1 without Ginobili.

That being said, injuries certainly weren't the sole reason why the Spurs lost to a team who's playing with a much better rythmn at the right time. Lack of bench production and lack of being able to put the ball in the hole for key stretches, turnovers, and lack of anyone to stop Zbo and Gasol certainly hurt the Spurs as much as the injuries did.

[temujin]

Pop is right: injuries played the key factor.
Bonner hardly got injured and Jefferson always played.

[alchemist]

lmao @ the fire Pop crowd, who do get in replacement? Any coach that's available for hire is a step below Pop.

[1Parker1]

Pop is right: injuries played the key factor.
Bonner hardly got injured and Jefferson always played.

:lol Good point. The wrong players got injured.

[Warlord23]

That being said, injuries certainly weren't the sole reason why the Spurs lost to a team who's playing with a much better rythmn at the right time. Lack of bench production and lack of being able to put the ball in the hole for key stretches, turnovers, and lack of anyone to stop Zbo and Gasol certainly hurt the Spurs as much as the injuries did.

Expecting a successful playoff run based on the team showing great rhythm is unrealistic IMO. The playoffs often see teams struggling to execute, since the refs allow more physicality. Also a lot of the Spurs rhythm was based on moving the ball from one end to the other fairly quickly. Again, this doesn't happen much in the playoffs, because teams make it a point to get back on D.

Teams that usually succeed in the playoffs do so by overcoming the lack of rhythm. They do this with defense, rebounding and executing in the halfcourt. The Spurs did poorly on all three fronts. The Grizz OTOH had high-percentage halfcourt plays (thanks to Randolph and Gasol down low) and rebounded and defended much better.

Perfect offensive rhythm in the playoffs is a pipe dream. You need to tough it out and grind out wins. The Spurs weren't equipped to do that.

[SenorSpur]

Pop may still be in the throes of shock, stemming from the stunning defeat at the hands of the Grizzlies. However, if he really believes the Spurs lost due to bad luck, injuries, and such, he is totally delusional. He has no one blame for this but himself.

The questions I pondered, in my mind, all throughout the year, while the Spurs were racking up wins, is one that I will again repeat here, "what was Pop thinking by bringing an undersized, over-aged frontline into this season, thinking that he could challenge for western conference supremacy?" "Why is Duncan still the tallest, best, frontline player on the roster, at age 35?" I ask what was he thinking because it was so obvious just how much Duncan had fallen off the cliff in last year's playoff series versus the Suns, when they ceremoniously swept out the Spurs and ran circles around Duncan.

By choosing to ignore what we all witnessed, and by electing to surround a declining Duncan with the likes of Blair, Bonner and Dice, and by not forcibly integrating Splitter into the rotation, he severely compromised his team's chances for a deep playoff run. Same thing for him investing another 4 years in Bonner. Same thing for him investing another 4 years in RJ. By having 4 inconsistent, non-producing players in its rotation (Bonner, Blair, RJ, Hill), any hopes of a deep playoff run were simply fool's gold. The Spurs had a raggedy foundation, which meant they never really had a legitimate chance to get to the mountain.

Oh, and watching that end-of-season presser makes me even more mad. Size was an issue against Memphis, and it was an issue during the season, while the team was racking up wins. Pop chose to act as though it was no big deal. Makes me furious.:bang

[BoneyTee]

Pop is the best...enjoy the next few years of Bonner ball!!!!

Yay!

Maybe Pop can bring Finley back-since Finley singlehandedly brought us a title and showed true allegiance in the end.
So at the time who EXACTLY were we gonna sign besides Bonner. Eventhough we have won 4 titles SAN ANTONIO IS STILL A SMALL MARKET. No one wants to come here because we get no tv time. Look the damn CLIPPERS got more tv games than we did. Everyone is whining so much about POPS mistakes so who were we gonna get at the time besides Bonner. Bonner will always be ineffective as long as we don't have adoubleteam threat down low to spread the floor. I don't like Bonner alot but I understand the premise. HORRY would not have been able to score the way he did in Bonner's position with these last few teams. Of course Horry had a better Basketball IQ (something you can't really teach) but his three's and scoring would have dropped with this line up. Not enough spacing.
Pop needs to stay. I mean who would we get to coach. And then when this coach goes 10-72 you will want to run him out of town because he didn't continue 50-60 wins like POP. Pop is the best out there for the Spurs right now. He makes mistakes but ALL coaches do this. But we can't upgrade the team any better if NO ONE wants to play in SAN ANTONIO that's why we get all the good citizens like Tim, David, Sean, Vinny D, Avery, and the like they are loyal, play hard and won't leave for more money. You must have longevity with the team in order to produce Championships....Just ask LEBRON
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

That being said, injuries certainly weren't the sole reason why the Spurs lost to a team who's playing with a much better rythmn at the right time. Lack of bench production and lack of being able to put the ball in the hole for key stretches, turnovers, and lack of anyone to stop Zbo and Gasol certainly hurt the Spurs as much as the injuries did.

We didn't lose because of 'rhythm'. We lost because Pop ditched defense wins for D'Antoni / Nellie ball, and we ran into a team in Memphis whose coach preaches defense wins.

Shocker that defense actually won out over Nellieball.

[temujin]

Some people think Popovich will never get old.

He does, like everybody else.

[BoneyTee]

Oh, and watching that end-of-season presser makes me even more mad. Size was an issue against Memphis, and it was an issue during the season, while the team was racking up wins. Pop chose to act as though it was no big deal. Makes me furious.:bang

So again the question I put to all of you "COACHES" is who in the hell were we going to get to come to Small Market San Antonio. This is not the first time this has come up. We are not La, Chicago, Boston, New York, hell not even NJ. Dwight Howard will NEVER come here. Why do you think Orlando tried to get Timmy. Everybody wondered how the hell did we get Timmy? So they tried to get him outta here. Timmy, David never left but for all Tim's years after David we were NEVER able to sign a Big Time Free Agent......And we never will....Why? Because we are a SMALL MARKET TEAM who wins championships but no one cares because we play boring and we get no tv exposure. Run from it, hate me for saying it, flame me for it.....But we all know IT'S THE TRUTH!!!!!!!:bang:ihit:depressed:flag::lobt2::lobt 2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

So at the time who EXACTLY were we gonna sign besides Bonner.

We let Anthony Tolliver and Ian Mahinmi walk away. We let Tiago rot on the bench all year. Should I keep going?


No one wants to come here because we get no tv time.

It's a funny thing, NBA players are known to connect these things called paychecks. Spurs are known to pay them from what I understand. So as crazy as the idea sounds, if the Spurs paid a guy, maybe he'd come play here...



Bonner will always be ineffective as long as we don't have adoubleteam threat down low to spread the floor. I don't like Bonner alot but I understand the premise. HORRY would not have been able to score the way he did in Bonner's position with these last few teams.

Bonner wasn't ineffective because of the rest of the players. He was ineffective because he's a choker in the playoffs. Period. Three years running now.

[BoneyTee]

Aggie are you really gonna come at me with Anthony Tolliver, and Ian. Ian couldn't stay healthy for three years. He goes to Dallas and isn't even the third option there. And where is Tolliver at now. Playing for who's starting line up, or second line up. Hell is he even playing. Understand what I have been saying....We have not signed a viable allstar back up since Oberto. See the Grizzlies have Gasol and ZBO, Lakers have Gasol and Odom and Bynum, the Bulls have Boozer and Noah, Boston has Garnett and combo of the O'neals and Big Baby.....You see where I am going with this....Why is Orlando out of round one .....Cause they got rid of Gortat now no extra size next to Howard. Without another Allstar or Damn good big next to Tim we have nothing. I am not just a Bandwagon fan here. Been a Spurs fan since 1975. If we get a defensive SF, and a rebounding scoring center we are right back in it.

Splitter went without a training camp and got hurt twice. He played great but offensivly he needs work. I agree he should have been on the court, but we don't know how he was in practice throughout the year. We can say what we want but WE ARE NOT THE COACH
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

[temujin]

Splitter has played tons of physical games in Euroleague, which i WAY more phisycal than the NBA, so much so that he got in fouls trouble early in the first games of the RS.

PO comes, a physical team shows up and he sits the first 3 games?

This is outright ridiculous.

[temujin]

SA traded Luis Scola for Vasilis Spanoulis.

[BackHome]

That breaks my heart every time I think about that we could have Scola, Splitter, on our team. Which makes it even worse is that we traded him to Houston and just thinking if we had stayed with Scola no way in HELL would we haver ever needed RJ!

Pop needs to play the young guys early next year and find out who can play......Hell Splitter better be starting and I even want to see Ryan Richards get some playing time!

[SenorSpur]

We let Anthony Tolliver and Ian Mahinmi walk away. We let Tiago rot on the bench all year. Should I keep going?
.
Bingo! :toast

It's a funny thing, NBA players are known to connect these things called paychecks. Spurs are known to pay them from what I understand. So as crazy as the idea sounds, if the Spurs paid a guy, maybe he'd come play here....
Bingo! :toast

Bonner wasn't ineffective because of the rest of the players. He was ineffective because he's a choker in the playoffs. Period. Three years running now.
And Bingo...again! :toast

It's funny how these Pop-apologists seem to think that that raggedly frontline, that the Spurs rolled out there this season, was either good enough to contend or that the team was strictly handicapped and couldn't have acquired anyone else. If Pop pissed on their shoes and told them it was raining, they would reach for an umbrella.

The most frustrating part to all this is that the Spurs have needed more size ever since the balance of power shifted to the Fakers in the much-balleyhooed Pau Gasol trade. That was 2008. That gave the Spurs 3 years to try and figure out a way to increase their frontline size and length, as Duncan marched toward the end of his career. However, that was never Pop's priority nor his intention.

Yes, there were options. There are reserve big men on the various NBA benches that they could've targeted via trade or through the draft. Yet, they did nothing.

They had Drew Gooden two seasons ago. Sure he was a black hole, but he was physical, servicable and could rebound and score the basketball from the low-post. He wasn't favored and was allowed to walk.

In the 2008 NBA draft, after losing out their preferred choice, Nicolas Batum, the Spurs had a chance to draft the young, athletic forward Darrell Arthur, but elected to go small with George Hill.

Ian Mahinmi was an underdeveloped player, who suffered some unfortunate injuries during his first year or two, that hindered his development and opportunities. However he worked hard and wanted to stay with the Spurs. He had size, athleticism, could rebound, and defend the rim. Those types of skills that are not currently on this roster. The type of skills that this frontline could've sorely used against a very physical team like the Grizzlies. Much like Splitter, he was never given any consistent court time, when healthy. I don't give a shit about the perception of him when he was here, the fact is no one saw him play on a consistent basis, so therefore no one can say he didn't deserve a roster spot. The guy showed flashes of abilities that the Spurs could've used to their advantage. People can talk all they want about how he didn't fit here, however I believe he wasn't wanted because he didn't fit Pop's philosophy of small-ball. The Spurs front office arrogantly allowed the guy to leave in free agency, as though he were some undrafted free agent. In fact, after allowing Ian to walk, Pop proudly proclaimed the Spurs have enough bigs. Huh? Frankly, I would've rather preferred going into battle with the young combo of Mahinmi and Splitter versus Blair and Bonner. He had his chance, but he thought that re-upping Bonner was the way to go. By elected to retain Bonner over Mahinmi, he decided smaller. perimeter-oriented offense was better.

No one forced Pop into small-ball, he elected to do so in an effort to try and keep up with changing league trends. I'm sorry, it doesn't work. The tenets of basketball success have remained the same for over 50 years. Successful teams are built from the inside-out - not the other way around. Pop should be the first to know this, after all he won 4 championships with that formula. In fact, what team has won with a small-ball, perimeter-oriented, attack? None.

[ChumpDumper]

Ian?

Really?

There are many legitimate gripes against Pop, but Ian just isn't that good.

[SenorSpur]

Maybe not, but we all know Bonner is shit. I'd take Ian any day over him.

[ChumpDumper]

Bold.

[temujin]

Ian is a bench player "under development" by definition.
At 43, he will still be developping.

unfortunately, in basketball, sometimes you have to actually PLAY.

[The Truth #6]

Pop isn't going to change much because that's just not in his nature. I kind of agree with his strategy in the regular season of playing more fastbreak basketball to focus on Manu and Tony, but by mid season he was already slowing the game down, yet in the process he wasn't developing Tiago, so I had no real idea what Pop's goal was after the All Star break. It seems like he took a mixture of both approaches, and chose the worst aspect of each.

Anyway, big picture - Pop doesn't want to be around to rebuild so we aren't going to rebuild until Tim and Manu are out of the league. It's that simple. When we get to that point I only hope that Coach Bud isn't given the keys to the team.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Aggie are you really gonna come at me with Anthony Tolliver, and Ian. Ian couldn't stay healthy for three years. He goes to Dallas and isn't even the third option there. And where is Tolliver at now. Playing for who's starting line up, or second line up. Hell is he even playing. Understand what I have been saying....We have not signed a viable allstar back up since Oberto. See the Grizzlies have Gasol and ZBO, Lakers have Gasol and Odom and Bynum, the Bulls have Boozer and Noah, Boston has Garnett and combo of the O'neals and Big Baby.....You see where I am going with this....Why is Orlando out of round one .....Cause they got rid of Gortat now no extra size next to Howard. Without another Allstar or Damn good big next to Tim we have nothing. I am not just a Bandwagon fan here. Been a Spurs fan since 1975. If we get a defensive SF, and a rebounding scoring center we are right back in it.

Splitter went without a training camp and got hurt twice. He played great but offensivly he needs work. I agree he should have been on the court, but we don't know how he was in practice throughout the year. We can say what we want but WE ARE NOT THE COACH
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

Splitter could have been playing all season but Pop said "it wouldn't be fair to the team" because the guy missed training camp. Total joke.

You asked who we could have signed, I gave you alternatives, and that was just off the top of my head.

Your response shows how ignorant you are. Try watching something other than a Spurs game once in a while. Tolliver is a starter for Minnesota, and I'd trade him in a heartbeat for the loser that is Matt Bonner. Keep in mind that Pop has tried Bonner as a starter before he's so in love with the red retard.

Tolliver's making half of what Bonner is, and produces more, plays longer, actually blocks shots, and isn't a complete black hole defensively to his squad.

Call me the next time Bonner throws down a 22 and 10 game like Tolliver's shown he can do.

Yes Ian is raw. Isn't it the coach's job to coach guys up?

But those were just guys off the top of my head. There are several threads in the Think Tank that detailed options for stretch 4s last year, especially in the wake of Bonner being a choke artist for the second consecutive postseason.


Without another Allstar or Damn good big next to Tim we have nothing. I am not just a Bandwagon fan here. Been a Spurs fan since 1975.

Do you think Rasho or Nazr were 'damn good' bigs? They had size, which is what we needed. They won rings. LMAO at your idea of Oberto being an All-Star center. What crack you smoking?


We can say what we want but WE ARE NOT THE COACH

This is what pisses me off. This is a discussion board. We're discussing the Spurs, and the obvious problems with our squad. Yeah, we're not the coach but Popdamnit this is a free country and anyone is free to say whatever they want.

And if you don't like it, take your since 1975 Spur watching ass and scroll to the next topic.

This team has systemic problems that have been ongoing for multiple years now, and the only constant is Pop's refusal to deal with them or even acknowledge them.

Just more scapegoating, blaming it on injuries, and trotting out the same old unathletic retreads hoping for a different result. And anyone who questions Pop is blackballed.

Kevin O'Keefe, fired from the Express News for questioning Pop. Bruce Bowen calls out the fact that Finley absolutely blows and has no business playing PF, Bowen gets banished to the end of the bench while Finley gets abused on the low post. The list goes on and on.

Hell, if we hadn't traded Finley he probably would have been playing power forward against Randolph this week (getting his ass kicked while doing it), and sycophants like yourself would have been here saying there's not a damn thing wrong with that.

This team, this city, and its fans deserve better. Tim Duncan deserves better than to go into a postseason in the twilight of his career with a retiring Dice, pansy choker Bonner, and 6'5" freaking Blair as its front court rotation.

And that's on Pop. He makes all the decisions for the Spurs, all the way up to offseason roster changes. If you don't want to hold him accountable for it, that's fine, but you have no right to tell us all we're not coach so we shouldn't have an opinion.

And if that's your only response to valid criticism (i.e. "well, we're not the coach, so there!"), then you just need to excuse yourself from the topic and quit wasting everyone's time.

The downright criminal thing with respect to Pop is we had Splitter rotting on the bench all season when everyone knew we needed size to compete. Arguing about Ian or Tolliver is just a diversion to the real problem with Pop's decisions with respect to our big men over the last several years.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Ian?

Really?

There are many legitimate gripes against Pop, but Ian just isn't that good.

Ian will probably be a bust. We all know Matt is. I'd rather have Ian at the end of the bench as the fifth big for the minimum (where Bonner should be) than watching Matt Bonner "guard" Gasol or Zach in the low post :lol

I was just making the point that we had options last year. We all had seen what Bonner has to offer come postseason time, when it matters. That's my point. I was responding to BoneyTee's assertion that we had no options last summer.

[tmtcsc]

Injuries don't explain playing flat and without enthusiasm and passion. I didn't think Tim's injury was that bad. Maybe it was worse than we all thought.

So....

1. Grizz better than any of us thought
2. Injuries didn't help
3. We were out of sync

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Injuries don't explain playing flat and without enthusiasm and passion. I didn't think Tim's injury was that bad. Maybe it was worse than we all thought.

So....

1. Grizz had more tall guys than we did, and ours couldn't guard them
2. Tim Duncan in his prime wouldn't have made a difference in this series, Zach would have still been punking Matt freaking Bonner
3. Pop's mad scientist rotations and putting offense over defense did us in

fify.

[TJastal]

So at the time who EXACTLY were we gonna sign besides Bonner. Eventhough we have won 4 titles SAN ANTONIO IS STILL A SMALL MARKET. No one wants to come here because we get no tv time. Look the damn CLIPPERS got more tv games than we did. Everyone is whining so much about POPS mistakes so who were we gonna get at the time besides Bonner. Bonner will always be ineffective as long as we don't have adoubleteam threat down low to spread the floor. I don't like Bonner alot but I understand the premise. HORRY would not have been able to score the way he did in Bonner's position with these last few teams. Of course Horry had a better Basketball IQ (something you can't really teach) but his three's and scoring would have dropped with this line up. Not enough spacing.
Pop needs to stay. I mean who would we get to coach. And then when this coach goes 10-72 you will want to run him out of town because he didn't continue 50-60 wins like POP. Pop is the best out there for the Spurs right now. He makes mistakes but ALL coaches do this. But we can't upgrade the team any better if NO ONE wants to play in SAN ANTONIO that's why we get all the good citizens like Tim, David, Sean, Vinny D, Avery, and the like they are loyal, play hard and won't leave for more money. You must have longevity with the team in order to produce Championships....Just ask LEBRON
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

classic popsucker take.... I bet you graduated cum laude in the school of popsucking

[wildbill2u]

What caused the Spurs to lose their rhythm and coherence in this series was the Memphis defense--fueled by size, strength, quickness, attitude, and athleticism. They excelled the Spurs in all of those areas.

They just beat a young OKC team by the same method, getting lots more steals and turnovers.

I agree with someone who said Pop referring to injuries was a cop out to the real reason. Manu was still able to put up 33 with a bum arm in one game. Tim had near his average. So those weren't the failures that Memphis exploited.

We had some players like Hill, Bonner, Jefferson, MyDyess etc who couldn't match the Memphis players skillsets.

[SequSpur]

Splitter could have been playing all season but Pop said "it wouldn't be fair to the team" because the guy missed training camp. Total joke.

You asked who we could have signed, I gave you alternatives, and that was just off the top of my head.

Your response shows how ignorant you are. Try watching something other than a Spurs game once in a while. Tolliver is a starter for Minnesota, and I'd trade him in a heartbeat for the loser that is Matt Bonner. Keep in mind that Pop has tried Bonner as a starter before he's so in love with the red retard.

Tolliver's making half of what Bonner is, and produces more, plays longer, actually blocks shots, and isn't a complete black hole defensively to his squad.

Call me the next time Bonner throws down a 22 and 10 game like Tolliver's shown he can do.

Yes Ian is raw. Isn't it the coach's job to coach guys up?

But those were just guys off the top of my head. There are several threads in the Think Tank that detailed options for stretch 4s last year, especially in the wake of Bonner being a choke artist for the second consecutive postseason.



Do you think Rasho or Nazr were 'damn good' bigs? They had size, which is what we needed. They won rings. LMAO at your idea of Oberto being an All-Star center. What crack you smoking?



This is what pisses me off. This is a discussion board. We're discussing the Spurs, and the obvious problems with our squad. Yeah, we're not the coach but Popdamnit this is a free country and anyone is free to say whatever they want.

And if you don't like it, take your since 1975 Spur watching ass and scroll to the next topic.

This team has systemic problems that have been ongoing for multiple years now, and the only constant is Pop's refusal to deal with them or even acknowledge them.

Just more scapegoating, blaming it on injuries, and trotting out the same old unathletic retreads hoping for a different result. And anyone who questions Pop is blackballed.

Kevin O'Keefe, fired from the Express News for questioning Pop. Bruce Bowen calls out the fact that Finley absolutely blows and has no business playing PF, Bowen gets banished to the end of the bench while Finley gets abused on the low post. The list goes on and on.

Hell, if we hadn't traded Finley he probably would have been playing power forward against Randolph this week (getting his ass kicked while doing it), and sycophants like yourself would have been here saying there's not a damn thing wrong with that.

This team, this city, and its fans deserve better. Tim Duncan deserves better than to go into a postseason in the twilight of his career with a retiring Dice, pansy choker Bonner, and 6'5" freaking Blair as its front court rotation.

And that's on Pop. He makes all the decisions for the Spurs, all the way up to offseason roster changes. If you don't want to hold him accountable for it, that's fine, but you have no right to tell us all we're not coach so we shouldn't have an opinion.

And if that's your only response to valid criticism (i.e. "well, we're not the coach, so there!"), then you just need to excuse yourself from the topic and quit wasting everyone's time.

The downright criminal thing with respect to Pop is we had Splitter rotting on the bench all season when everyone knew we needed size to compete. Arguing about Ian or Tolliver is just a diversion to the real problem with Pop's decisions with respect to our big men over the last several years.

This!!!!

[silverblk mystix]

Originally Posted by silverblk mystix
Pop has lost touch with reality--and that is saying a LOT- because Pop was one of the most no-nonsense, no b.s. type of people at one time.

Pop was once a great, great coach...changed the entire Spurs culture by not allowing anyone to be mentally soft and use injuries or refs as an excuse...

and to see him as lost and confused and out of touch as he is now...is pretty pathetic and sad.

This is a young man's game and you probably have a window of time to do your best work and to carry that FIRE inside...it usually happens when you still have youth on your side...but as you age and mellow...you don't burn as hot and you lose desire. You also begin to mature and realize that there are more important things in life than basketball....in some ways this is good..but to win titles...you kind of have to be a single-minded asshole with no other life except the game.

The only exception is Phil Jackson...but that is unfair to say because Phil has been gifted the most talent and money and unfair advantages than any other coach in history.

Remember how Jimmy Johnson was when the cowboys were at their peak? What a fuckin' bastard and ball-breaker J.Johnson was...but he was so intense that he fuckin' would not lose.

What happened to J.Johnson once he won titles and matured a little...he went to Miami and he just did not have the fire anymore....age was his only enemy.

Pop needs to go. The spurs need a YOUNG coach full of fire who is dying to achieve something, dying to prove something, dying to burn the candle at both ends and live,breathe & eat basketball.

Pop just told everyone here that next year will be more of the same.

Sorry, had to add a couple of other reasons why Pop needs to go...

#1) There are things that Pop did that made the spurs 4-time champs and those things are really important....things such as only drafting players with good moral character..and ONLY guys that FIT into the system,etc...in other words---NICE GUYS!

This is, in theory, a really nice thing about the spurs...because the players are good citizens, likeable , solid people....true spurs as we like to say.

The downside to this is that these nice guys (RJ,Hill, Bonner, etc...) are not going to win you titles....

Tony Allen was dumped by Boston and was available...but I am pretty sure that Pop would not have Allen due to character issues...but look at Allen's defense and tell me if G.Hill is as tough? Honestly? And how many other free agents have the spurs passed on because they did not fit?

This is what being someplace for too long will do...Pop's original idea of only acquiring character guys was solid...but after a while time goes by...culture changes...young players change....THUGS are now the order of the day...young players with attitude seem to have most of the talent--the so-called ballers are now in vogue.

#2) In this series and in other years...Pop's philosophy when asked what he would tell his players before the game or before a series....

Pop would say, "nothing--they are professionals."

Very sound philosophy---and very commendable.

In contrast...Lionel Hollins was asked the same question and his response was that he tore into players and drilled it into them that the spurs would come out desperate and that they needed to play with more desperation,etc...

Well they did...and maybe those players NEEDED someone to push them, to motivate them,to make them believe they could do it.

I don't think Hollins will do the same thing 15 years from now when he matures.

But for now...it worked....young players respond to a young unproven coach who still has FIRE. A coach who relates to their youth and can spot a young lefty point guard with potential the same way that Hollins was an underrated lefty guard in the NBA at one time.


Pop, for all his class and greatness...has just run his course and the game has, sadly, passed him by.

[BoneyTee]

Splitter could have been playing all season but Pop said "it wouldn't be fair to the team" because the guy missed training camp. Total joke.

You asked who we could have signed, I gave you alternatives, and that was just off the top of my head.

Your response shows how ignorant you are. Try watching something other than a Spurs game once in a while. Tolliver is a starter for Minnesota, and I'd trade him in a heartbeat for the loser that is Matt Bonner. Keep in mind that Pop has tried Bonner as a starter before he's so in love with the red retard.

Tolliver's making half of what Bonner is, and produces more, plays longer, actually blocks shots, and isn't a complete black hole defensively to his squad.

Call me the next time Bonner throws down a 22 and 10 game like Tolliver's shown he can do.

Yes Ian is raw. Isn't it the coach's job to coach guys up?

But those were just guys off the top of my head. There are several threads in the Think Tank that detailed options for stretch 4s last year, especially in the wake of Bonner being a choke artist for the second consecutive postseason.



Do you think Rasho or Nazr were 'damn good' bigs? They had size, which is what we needed. They won rings. LMAO at your idea of Oberto being an All-Star center. What crack you smoking?



This is what pisses me off. This is a discussion board. We're discussing the Spurs, and the obvious problems with our squad. Yeah, we're not the coach but Popdamnit this is a free country and anyone is free to say whatever they want.

And if you don't like it, take your since 1975 Spur watching ass and scroll to the next topic.

This team has systemic problems that have been ongoing for multiple years now, and the only constant is Pop's refusal to deal with them or even acknowledge them.

Just more scapegoating, blaming it on injuries, and trotting out the same old unathletic retreads hoping for a different result. And anyone who questions Pop is blackballed.

Kevin O'Keefe, fired from the Express News for questioning Pop. Bruce Bowen calls out the fact that Finley absolutely blows and has no business playing PF, Bowen gets banished to the end of the bench while Finley gets abused on the low post. The list goes on and on.

Hell, if we hadn't traded Finley he probably would have been playing power forward against Randolph this week (getting his ass kicked while doing it), and sycophants like yourself would have been here saying there's not a damn thing wrong with that.

This team, this city, and its fans deserve better. Tim Duncan deserves better than to go into a postseason in the twilight of his career with a retiring Dice, pansy choker Bonner, and 6'5" freaking Blair as its front court rotation.

And that's on Pop. He makes all the decisions for the Spurs, all the way up to offseason roster changes. If you don't want to hold him accountable for it, that's fine, but you have no right to tell us all we're not coach so we shouldn't have an opinion.

And if that's your only response to valid criticism (i.e. "well, we're not the coach, so there!"), then you just need to excuse yourself from the topic and quit wasting everyone's time.

The downright criminal thing with respect to Pop is we had Splitter rotting on the bench all season when everyone knew we needed size to compete. Arguing about Ian or Tolliver is just a diversion to the real problem with Pop's decisions with respect to our big men over the last several years.

Hold up AGGIE so its OK for you to give an OPINION but I can't discuss mine. Look I just wanted to get some different perspectives to this than the BULLPOP we were getting from certain fans. It's funny my posts don't seem to be worthy unless you or SENOR answers. I am not saying POP is not at fault here I never have. I feel he should take ALOT of the blame for this, but the players are at fault as well. You are all laying this on POP's doorstep like he was on the court. You all saw the lack of FIRE from the starters just like I did. You tell me why the BENCH was scoring like crazy but the starters couldn't do jack. Where the hell did Jefferson disappear to? Why the hell did Hill stop going to the hole. Seems to me the only one's who came to play were Neal, Gino and Splitter. No one seems to put the blame where it should go we were out played by a team that played JUST LIKE the SPURS in our CHAMPIONSHIP years. Pop gets 75% of the blame mainly cause he's the coach and that's how it is. The players need the rest and WE the fans need to know that. I am not attacking your opinion I value it cause you make good points.......I would take my grandmother on a walker, support hose, wheeling an oxygen tank over having Bonner in the line up. But he's there nothing we can do. I still feel no STRONG free agt will come here because of our tv market. You can pay them money but we don't have it. And really no trade bait either. But just MY OPINION just like the above was yours
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Hold up AGGIE so its OK for you to give an OPINION but I can't discuss mine. Look I just wanted to get some different perspectives to this than the BULLPOP we were getting from certain fans. It's funny my posts don't seem to be worthy unless you or SENOR answers. I am not saying POP is not at fault here I never have. I feel he should take ALOT of the blame for this, but the players are at fault as well. You are all laying this on POP's doorstep like he was on the court. You all saw the lack of FIRE from the starters just like I did. You tell me why the BENCH was scoring like crazy but the starters couldn't do jack. Where the hell did Jefferson disappear to? Why the hell did Hill stop going to the hole. Seems to me the only one's who came to play were Neal, Gino and Splitter. No one seems to put the blame where it should go we were out played by a team that played JUST LIKE the SPURS in our CHAMPIONSHIP years. Pop gets 75% of the blame mainly cause he's the coach and that's how it is. The players need the rest and WE the fans need to know that. I am not attacking your opinion I value it cause you make good points.......I would take my grandmother on a walker, support hose, wheeling an oxygen tank over having Bonner in the line up. But he's there nothing we can do. I still feel no STRONG free agt will come here because of our tv market. You can pay them money but we don't have it. And really no trade bait either. But just MY OPINION just like the above was yours
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

What opinion do you have? You told us that Pop was right and we were wrong. That's not an opinion. That's you having your head in a hole in the ground.

Pop deserves 75% of the blame because he is coach and these are all guys he wanted. It's his roster, his system, and it's been broken for four seasons now.

[bluefoot]

If confidence, rhythm, and mojo were so important, probably would have been a good idea not to chicken out for that Lakers game and then give a half ass try in the PHX game only to lay down in the last 5 minutes.

That cowardly display by Pop probably had something to do with the excuses coming from the newly built excuse factory in San Antonio.

Pop may as well have just came out and said he was scared to death of the Lakers. That might have had something to do with confidence issues.

[TJastal]

Hold up AGGIE so its OK for you to give an OPINION but I can't discuss mine. Look I just wanted to get some different perspectives to this than the BULLPOP we were getting from certain fans. It's funny my posts don't seem to be worthy unless you or SENOR answers. I am not saying POP is not at fault here I never have. I feel he should take ALOT of the blame for this, but the players are at fault as well. You are all laying this on POP's doorstep like he was on the court. You all saw the lack of FIRE from the starters just like I did. You tell me why the BENCH was scoring like crazy but the starters couldn't do jack. Where the hell did Jefferson disappear to? Why the hell did Hill stop going to the hole. Seems to me the only one's who came to play were Neal, Gino and Splitter. No one seems to put the blame where it should go we were out played by a team that played JUST LIKE the SPURS in our CHAMPIONSHIP years. Pop gets 75% of the blame mainly cause he's the coach and that's how it is. The players need the rest and WE the fans need to know that. I am not attacking your opinion I value it cause you make good points.......I would take my grandmother on a walker, support hose, wheeling an oxygen tank over having Bonner in the line up. But he's there nothing we can do. I still feel no STRONG free agt will come here because of our tv market. You can pay them money but we don't have it. And really no trade bait either. But just MY OPINION just like the above was yours
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

oh, BULLPOPPYCOCK

:lol

[BoneyTee]

Poppycock haven't seen that in a while.....:lol:lmao

[BackHome]

Hold up AGGIE so its OK for you to give an OPINION but I can't discuss mine. Look I just wanted to get some different perspectives to this than the BULLPOP we were getting from certain fans. It's funny my posts don't seem to be worthy unless you or SENOR answers. I am not saying POP is not at fault here I never have. I feel he should take ALOT of the blame for this, but the players are at fault as well. You are all laying this on POP's doorstep like he was on the court. You all saw the lack of FIRE from the starters just like I did. You tell me why the BENCH was scoring like crazy but the starters couldn't do jack. Where the hell did Jefferson disappear to? Why the hell did Hill stop going to the hole. Seems to me the only one's who came to play were Neal, Gino and Splitter. No one seems to put the blame where it should go we were out played by a team that played JUST LIKE the SPURS in our CHAMPIONSHIP years. Pop gets 75% of the blame mainly cause he's the coach and that's how it is. The players need the rest and WE the fans need to know that. I am not attacking your opinion I value it cause you make good points.......I would take my grandmother on a walker, support hose, wheeling an oxygen tank over having Bonner in the line up. But he's there nothing we can do. I still feel no STRONG free agt will come here because of our tv market. You can pay them money but we don't have it. And really no trade bait either. But just MY OPINION just like the above was yours
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

"The buck stops with Pop" you know he signed off on the RJ trade he signed off on the Scola trade nothing happens on this team without Pops OK. I have to agree with Aggie everyone new that we would not go far with Bonner or Blair in the starting line up and Splitter should have gotten more minutes.

You are also right that certain players did not show up but they did the same thing last year....Bonner sucked, RJ sucked, Blair didn't play, Hill got abused by Nash..etc.......But as in life.....would have could have should have....

Oh Hill and Bonner are Pops two favorite players..lol

[pancakechef]

Originally Posted by silverblk mystix
Pop has lost touch with reality--and that is saying a LOT- because Pop was one of the most no-nonsense, no b.s. type of people at one time.

Pop was once a great, great coach...changed the entire Spurs culture by not allowing anyone to be mentally soft and use injuries or refs as an excuse...

and to see him as lost and confused and out of touch as he is now...is pretty pathetic and sad.

This is a young man's game and you probably have a window of time to do your best work and to carry that FIRE inside...it usually happens when you still have youth on your side...but as you age and mellow...you don't burn as hot and you lose desire. You also begin to mature and realize that there are more important things in life than basketball....in some ways this is good..but to win titles...you kind of have to be a single-minded asshole with no other life except the game.

The only exception is Phil Jackson...but that is unfair to say because Phil has been gifted the most talent and money and unfair advantages than any other coach in history.

Remember how Jimmy Johnson was when the cowboys were at their peak? What a fuckin' bastard and ball-breaker J.Johnson was...but he was so intense that he fuckin' would not lose.

What happened to J.Johnson once he won titles and matured a little...he went to Miami and he just did not have the fire anymore....age was his only enemy.

Pop needs to go. The spurs need a YOUNG coach full of fire who is dying to achieve something, dying to prove something, dying to burn the candle at both ends and live,breathe & eat basketball.

Pop just told everyone here that next year will be more of the same.

Sorry, had to add a couple of other reasons why Pop needs to go...

#1) There are things that Pop did that made the spurs 4-time champs and those things are really important....things such as only drafting players with good moral character..and ONLY guys that FIT into the system,etc...in other words---NICE GUYS!

This is, in theory, a really nice thing about the spurs...because the players are good citizens, likeable , solid people....true spurs as we like to say.

The downside to this is that these nice guys (RJ,Hill, Bonner, etc...) are not going to win you titles....

Tony Allen was dumped by Boston and was available...but I am pretty sure that Pop would not have Allen due to character issues...but look at Allen's defense and tell me if G.Hill is as tough? Honestly? And how many other free agents have the spurs passed on because they did not fit?

This is what being someplace for too long will do...Pop's original idea of only acquiring character guys was solid...but after a while time goes by...culture changes...young players change....THUGS are now the order of the day...young players with attitude seem to have most of the talent--the so-called ballers are now in vogue.

#2) In this series and in other years...Pop's philosophy when asked what he would tell his players before the game or before a series....

Pop would say, "nothing--they are professionals."

Very sound philosophy---and very commendable.

In contrast...Lionel Hollins was asked the same question and his response was that he tore into players and drilled it into them that the spurs would come out desperate and that they needed to play with more desperation,etc...

Well they did...and maybe those players NEEDED someone to push them, to motivate them,to make them believe they could do it.

I don't think Hollins will do the same thing 15 years from now when he matures.

But for now...it worked....young players respond to a young unproven coach who still has FIRE. A coach who relates to their youth and can spot a young lefty point guard with potential the same way that Hollins was an underrated lefty guard in the NBA at one time.


Pop, for all his class and greatness...has just run his course and the game has, sadly, passed him by.

Nicely said. However I would NEVER say POP was a great coach. He was in fact a rat, who single handedly fired a coach only to take the team over himself and tank the 97' draft. SUSPICIOUS...... Not only that... HE SINGLE HANDEDLY rode Duncan to the high life. Much like the other dirtbag, Phil Jackson.

[ChumpDumper]

Nicely said. However I would NEVER say POP was a great coach. He was in fact a rat, who single handedly fired a coach only to take the team over himself and tank the 97' draft. SUSPICIOUS...... Not only that... HE SINGLE HANDEDLY rode Duncan to the high life. Much like the other dirtbag, Phil Jackson.

[pancakechef]

Haha funny but true

[SenorSpur]

Hold up AGGIE so its OK for you to give an OPINION but I can't discuss mine. Look I just wanted to get some different perspectives to this than the BULLPOP we were getting from certain fans. It's funny my posts don't seem to be worthy unless you or SENOR answers. I am not saying POP is not at fault here I never have. I feel he should take ALOT of the blame for this, but the players are at fault as well. You are all laying this on POP's doorstep like he was on the court. You all saw the lack of FIRE from the starters just like I did. You tell me why the BENCH was scoring like crazy but the starters couldn't do jack. Where the hell did Jefferson disappear to? Why the hell did Hill stop going to the hole. Seems to me the only one's who came to play were Neal, Gino and Splitter. No one seems to put the blame where it should go we were out played by a team that played JUST LIKE the SPURS in our CHAMPIONSHIP years. Pop gets 75% of the blame mainly cause he's the coach and that's how it is. The players need the rest and WE the fans need to know that. I am not attacking your opinion I value it cause you make good points.......I would take my grandmother on a walker, support hose, wheeling an oxygen tank over having Bonner in the line up. But he's there nothing we can do. I still feel no STRONG free agt will come here because of our tv market. You can pay them money but we don't have it. And really no trade bait either. But just MY OPINION just like the above was yours
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

You're right about the players themselves needing to shoulder some of the blame. However in watching that series, it just appeared that they ran into a better, more skilled, more hungry team. This Spurs team has several limitations and various flaws. All Memphis did was expose them. Duncan and Dice cannot be blamed because they got old. Blair cannot help that he's 6'5". Bonner isn't suddenly going to develop quick feet, long arms or great hops. RJ, on the other hand, well some things just cannot be explained. However even he, didn't ask to come the S.A. Dude was a passive player before, the Spurs should've known that.

Where Pop bears the brunt of the blame is moreso for his role of President, el Heffe' and grand poobah of all basketball-related matters. He assembled this roster. He's the one that signed off on the RJ extension. He's responsible for re-upping the classic playoff underachiever and chief butt-boy, Bonner to a new 4-year contract, for years of playoff failure. And the biggest sin of all, knowing the Duncan is on the decline, Pop sent his future HOF bigman out to battle with an undersized, short-handed group of bigs. Essentially, he put Duncan into an unfortunate situation where, with very little support, he was forced to continue in his role as team's best big, on both ends of the floor. Thus forcing him into having the same level of responsibility at 35, as he did when he was at 25.

Pop, as a head coach deserves blame, but Pop the basketball executive deservers so much more.

[NRHector]

You're right about the players themselves needing to shoulder some of the blame. However in watching that series, it just appeared that they ran into a better, more skilled, more hungry team. This Spurs team has several limitations and various flaws. All Memphis did was expose them. Duncan and Dice cannot be blamed because they got old. Blair cannot help that he's 6'5". Bonner isn't suddenly going to develop quick feet, long arms or great hops. RJ, on the other hand, well some things just cannot be explained. However even he, didn't ask to come the S.A. Dude was a passive player before, the Spurs should've known that.

Where Pop bears the brunt of the blame is moreso for his role of President, el Heffe' and grand poobah of all basketball-related matters. He assembled this roster. He's the one that signed off on the RJ extension. He's responsible for re-upping the classic playoff underachiever and chief butt-boy, Bonner to a new 4-year contract, for years of playoff failure. And the biggest sin of all, knowing the Duncan is on the decline, Pop sent his future HOF bigman out to battle with an undersized, short-handed group of bigs. Essentially, he put Duncan into an unfortunate situation where, with very little support, he was forced to continue in his role as team's best big, on both ends of the floor. Thus forcing him into having the same level of responsibility at 35, as he did when he was at 25.

Pop, as a head coach deserves blame, but Pop the basketball executive deservers so much more.this :toast

[lefty]

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/4793/pophobo.jpg

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

That's when the journalist ask him a specific question about the Memphis match-up.

When Pop talks about the season, he called it wonderful and talks a lot about Spurs losing their rhythm because of injuries.

He didn't notice that they started to lose their rhythm back in early March, long before the injuries? That is a bit of a concern.

[NRHector]

Fucking Pop using injuries as an excuse for his fuck ups

[pjjrfan]

There's nothing to be gained by airing out all the ills of the Spurs during the last month and in the playoffs, as far as I can see he is towing the company line, something everyone does. In the next couple of months, lockout notwithstanding, we will get a clearer picture of what went wrong and how they will go about fixing it. Coaching was a problem as far as to how certain players were used or not used, and really the staff did an excellent job throughout the year, it's the last month where everyone lost focus and direction and even though injuries didn't help, some decisions were really head scratchers.

[underdawg]

the frustrating part is not who's at fault, it's the fact that there will be little change just like '08, '09 and '10. Teams get better and the Spurs get older and less rounded.

If Memphis wins it all, sure that will lessen the blow a bit, but it still won't change the fact that the Spurs were dominated by a team in the crunch time. You can "what if" all you want about inuries and lucky shots (the Spurs had a couple of their own) - the Spurs still had a chance to compete and they couldn't.

It's the same story - if this or that would have happened, if there's a minor change to the lineup, etc. The FO and the fans will concede that the Spurs organization is doing the best they can and have exceeded expectations already.

I've become used to the medicrity, but it doesn't mean that I have to like it. Spurs have won just one playoff series in the past 3 years. The Spurs have not improved since 2005. Pop will not win another ring - if you're ok with that, carry on with the support.

[jjktkk]

aggie are you really gonna come at me with anthony tolliver, and ian. Ian couldn't stay healthy for three years. He goes to dallas and isn't even the third option there. And where is tolliver at now. Playing for who's starting line up, or second line up. Hell is he even playing. Understand what i have been saying....we have not signed a viable allstar back up since oberto. See the grizzlies have gasol and zbo, lakers have gasol and odom and bynum, the bulls have boozer and noah, boston has garnett and combo of the o'neals and big baby.....you see where i am going with this....why is orlando out of round one .....cause they got rid of gortat now no extra size next to howard. Without another allstar or damn good big next to tim we have nothing. I am not just a bandwagon fan here. Been a spurs fan since 1975. If we get a defensive sf, and a rebounding scoring center we are right back in it.

Splitter went without a training camp and got hurt twice. He played great but offensivly he needs work. I agree he should have been on the court, but we don't know how he was in practice throughout the year. We can say what we want but we are not the coach
:flag::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::flag:

thisssssssssssss

[jjktkk]

Bingo! :toast

Bingo! :toast

And Bingo...again! :toast

It's funny how these Pop-apologists seem to think that that raggedly frontline, that the Spurs rolled out there this season, was either good enough to contend or that the team was strictly handicapped and couldn't have acquired anyone else. If Pop pissed on their shoes and told them it was raining, they would reach for an umbrella.

The most frustrating part to all this is that the Spurs have needed more size ever since the balance of power shifted to the Fakers in the much-balleyhooed Pau Gasol trade. That was 2008. That gave the Spurs 3 years to try and figure out a way to increase their frontline size and length, as Duncan marched toward the end of his career. However, that was never Pop's priority nor his intention.

Yes, there were options. There are reserve big men on the various NBA benches that they could've targeted via trade or through the draft. Yet, they did nothing.

They had Drew Gooden two seasons ago. Sure he was a black hole, but he was physical, servicable and could rebound and score the basketball from the low-post. He wasn't favored and was allowed to walk.

In the 2008 NBA draft, after losing out their preferred choice, Nicolas Batum, the Spurs had a chance to draft the young, athletic forward Darrell Arthur, but elected to go small with George Hill.

Ian Mahinmi was an underdeveloped player, who suffered some unfortunate injuries during his first year or two, that hindered his development and opportunities. However he worked hard and wanted to stay with the Spurs. He had size, athleticism, could rebound, and defend the rim. Those types of skills that are not currently on this roster. The type of skills that this frontline could've sorely used against a very physical team like the Grizzlies. Much like Splitter, he was never given any consistent court time, when healthy. I don't give a shit about the perception of him when he was here, the fact is no one saw him play on a consistent basis, so therefore no one can say he didn't deserve a roster spot. The guy showed flashes of abilities that the Spurs could've used to their advantage. People can talk all they want about how he didn't fit here, however I believe he wasn't wanted because he didn't fit Pop's philosophy of small-ball. The Spurs front office arrogantly allowed the guy to leave in free agency, as though he were some undrafted free agent. In fact, after allowing Ian to walk, Pop proudly proclaimed the Spurs have enough bigs. Huh? Frankly, I would've rather preferred going into battle with the young combo of Mahinmi and Splitter versus Blair and Bonner. He had his chance, but he thought that re-upping Bonner was the way to go. By elected to retain Bonner over Mahinmi, he decided smaller. perimeter-oriented offense was better.

No one forced Pop into small-ball, he elected to do so in an effort to try and keep up with changing league trends. I'm sorry, it doesn't work. The tenets of basketball success have remained the same for over 50 years. Successful teams are built from the inside-out - not the other way around. Pop should be the first to know this, after all he won 4 championships with that formula. In fact, what team has won with a small-ball, perimeter-oriented, attack? None.

Totally shocked to hear this coming from you Senor. Your clamoring for an undersized Tolliver who couldn't make the Spurs team but is a back up for a lottery team. And still wishing that the Mavs 3rd string center was still a Spur. Wow!

[SenorSpur]

Totally shocked to hear this coming from you Senor. Your clamoring for an undersized Tolliver who couldn't make the Spurs team but is a back up for a lottery team. And still wishing that the Mavs 3rd string center was still a Spur. Wow!

If you not ever watched Tolliver lately, he's developed into a fine role player and occasisonal starter. Just because he didn't make the Spurs squad doesn't mean he didn't further his game.

Ian's meager and occasional on-court production, in limited minutes, and in short stints, were enough for me to wonder what else was there?

Still, is you compare either of their contributions versus that of the suckiness of Bonner and what the Spurs were lacking from the bigs, then you would know why I posted that comment. I already know what Bonner is, and even more importantly, what he isn't.

Essentially, Pop chose a more expensive, one-dimensional, perimeter player (Bonner), who's a known playoff choker over an unproven big. What else is there to know? I don't know how anyone came justify this was the better decision.

[ElNono]

Splitter must have done wonders in practice after the first two playoffs games to cause Pop to reverse his season-long decision of not giving him sustained playing time...

Yep, that's probably it... :rolleyes

[ElNono]

People who think Matt Bonner should be anything but a 3rd string center (5th big), or a backup on a lottery team needs to get themselves checked. I don't necessarily like Tolliver or Mahinmi, but that's exactly who Matt Bonner is, and why he shouldn't get over 10 minutes per game.
It's the role Novak had in this team.

[MaNu4Tres]

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkbtjuwPnL1qi0ij1o1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId =AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1304405813&Signature=N8YoTQDF%2FRLtX5RVzWLrbOUGW38%3D