Cat, why do you think that *nobody* agrees? While sometimes I admire your fortitude... what do you think of the fact that it's basically a universally acknowledged fact that the Lakers are better than the Spurs? Even those who say the Spurs *could* beat the Lakers in a series acknowledge it would be an upset.
Well Cat, the Spurs were missing wide open 3's in the playoffs against the Lakers also. So how many times do the Spurs have to choke for you to realize that it's no longer an "off-game", but a trend?
Cat, if the Lakers meet the Spurs in the playoffs I'll let you pick your own price. We can bet whatever you want on the Spurs winning in 5 games or less. The Spurs are a good team in a league with alot of parity, but that does not put them in the same class as the Lakers, who arguably have the best big man and another top 5 player on the team. So if you are willing to bet on the series if it happens then you can have opinions. But if you're not willing to bet on your opinions, then I will choose to ignore them.
Honestly, I have no idea, and I really don't care. I pick games based on what I see, not what other fans see, or the media, or whoever. Personally, I think everyone underestimates the great chemistry it took for the Lakers to go on their run last season, and accordingly don't realize how unlikely it will be for them to recapture that. However, what kind of fan would I be if I let the opinions of others dictate my views? I watch as many games as I can, and I make my judgments by that, despite what other fans may have to say. Well Cat, the Spurs were missing wide open 3's in the playoffs against the Lakers also. So how many times do the Spurs have to choke for you to realize that it's no longer an "off-game", but a trend? Yeah, I'm very aware that the same situation occurred in the WCF. However, even if it happens for 20 games in a row, I cannot accept that the Lakers defense is causing the Spurs to miss wide open threes. I also can't accept it as "choking under pressure", since many of the players missing on Saturday were different than those who choked in the WCF. I don't think it's logical to say that every player who puts on a Spurs jersey instantly becomes a choker. Cat, if the Lakers meet the Spurs in the playoffs I'll let you pick your own price. We can bet whatever you want on the Spurs winning in 5 games or less. I'll bet ten or twenty dollars, but not more than that cause I already have some bets going at other places...
Oh, I'll agree with you there. I just meant, when it seems like *everyone* disagrees with me, even those with whom I generally agree with and those I whose judgement I respect... ...I look very long and hard at the opinion in question. Sometimes I change it, sometimes I don't. Everyone's right now and then when they're in a small minority. But not often. I was also curious to know why you *think* everyone else *does* like the Lakers so much... and you just in part answered that.
Accept it The Lakers lead the league in opponent three point percentage allowed Seems like every team is choking and missing open shots against the Lakers pretty consistently huh?
The Cat, as great as tim duncan is (and he is great), he gets absolutely stifled by robert horry every time they play. now, before you go and quote #s on tim for the game, allow me to point out something to you that greg pockmarkovich has not noticed: phil jackson consistently allows tim to get what he wants for the 1st 3 quarters. he'll put madsen on him. he'll put samaki on him. he'll (last year) put ho grant on him. he'll put medvedenko on him. and the spurs concentrate almost 100% on feeding tim. but...when...the...4th...quarter...comes... phil puts robert horry on him. he did it in the playoffs last year. and he's doing it in the regular season this year. tim struggles mightily against the quick handed, long armed horry. NO DOUBLE TEAM. with no double teaming, the lakers can really clamp down on the spurs outside shooters that cannot dribble/drive. so the spurs get shut down. other factors: dave has no heart. explain to me how dave plays against the lakers backup center and can't reach double figures in anything??? explain to me why he isn't hustling on the court??? it's because he is not only old...but has no heart. the spurs have absolutely ZERO chance to beat the lakers in a playoff series.
Dave also has a bad back that was re-injured earlier this season. It's obvious that he's nowhere near 100%. He's looked like that for the last 10 to 12 games. Heart is always an interesting concept. He could easily be resting on IR and drawing a paycheck, yet he's playing through the pain. I guess that's not heart. The main problems as I see it is that Pop has not established a second scorer and also the defense is not what it used to be. Steve Smith has the skills to be the second scorer, but so far has been relegated to catch and shoot status. He's done well, leading the NBA in 3pt fg%, but the Spurs need him to do more. Tony Parker and Charles Smith have been pleasant surprises. Part of what hurts the Spurs defensively is Malik Rose getting so many minutes as the primary backup bigman. Parks, McCaskill, & Bryant are all on the roster, yet have seen little, if any PT. The Spurs' lack of size on account of Rose at the 4 does hurt them. There is not the same strong interior D presence that there has been in previous seasons. The Spurs have 3 guys bigger than Rose who Pop is not using. With DRob not healthy, this is a double whammy. Rose must have some dirt on Pop because there is no logical reason for this. The Spurs have a number of young and athletic perimeter players in Daniels, Parker, CSmith, and SJackson...the main problem is that Pop, until recently, did not give these guys minutes and tends to rely on 67 year old Terry Porter a tad bit much. The only reason that CSmith and SJackson have gotten minutes recently is due to injuries to Parker and Bowen. Cat, I admire your optimism. The team did improve in a number of areas that it needed to since last season. But you can't overlook the current health issue at hand.
Seems to me he's looked like that for the last 10 to 12 years Poppy never has been known as a brilliant coach.....
MrSpur, i was beginning to wonder if you were still alive out there! good to see ya in here. anyhoo, if dave is injured, he should sit. that's not heart, that's poor decision making. heart would be diving for loose balls, jumping for rebounds, dunking instead of laying it up (or having a guard *ahem* kobe *ahem* block it), not settling for 18 footers all the time (and airballing a few), etc. i realize those are all things that your back can affect, but then again, what in basketball does your back NOT affect? like i said, if his back is that bad, he should sit and stop hurting the team. i must note, that i have heard absolutely nothing about dave's back being hurt. his right hand, yes. his back, no. but maybe you heard something i didn't hear. either way, to be honest with you, we all know that dave's heart has been in question ever since hakeem *exposed* him in the playoffs. as for rose...you gotta love the guy. if dave had malik's heart and effort, he would be one of the best centers of all time. but you're right...malik vs. the top big men is a clear mismatch in the big man's favor. and why pockmarkovich refuses to play the big men he was soooo proud to get (cherokee parks , mark bryant , amal mccaskill ) is beyond me. oh, wait, maybe it's because they really are nothing but journeymen. pockmarkovich's ignorance amazes me. how is the hell did you have steven jackson and charles smith parked on the bench - getting NO PLAYING TIME - for the first half of the season???? charles smith, in the past 2 weeks, has given the spurs (on offense) everything that DA gave them at a cheaper price. now, i'd like to give pockmarkovich credit for this, but i can't. if he knew that smith could replace DA's game, he would have been playing smith from the beginning of the season. instead, it took injuries to get smith on the court at all. do you mean to tell me that charles smith has shown none of this ability in practice???!!! re: steve smith... steve, IMO, does not have the ability to be that 2nd scorer. in the spurs system, i don't see what else he can be other than a catch and shoot specialist. his 2nd best asset is his post game, but when you have tim/dave in the paint already, it's hard to fit a guard in there...and equally hard to justify it. BTW, look for steve's % to slowly start to decline. 1. wear and tear 2. league learning more and more to not rotate off of him 3. league learning to rotate off the poorer shooters p.s. didn't i tell you that bruce bwen couldn't shoot and his defense was overrated??? do you believe me now???
Bowen's done well defensively. He was the 5th option on offense like I said he would be. Popovich made CSmith a member of the rotation before any of the injuries occurred. And of course he started Parker soon after the season began. Pop is sometimes resistant to change, and then other times he will make the change. I suppose that is his nature. SSmith can be a second option. You're right that the current offensive arrangement does not allow for that. I'm saying a change should be made. Same for the frontcourt rotation. The interior D is not what it used to be. If they stumble during the next 10 games, I would imagine that there will be an attempt at a personnel move. They may have to wait until closer to the deadline to see if they can work their way into a 3way deal.
Cat, man, I have some friendly advice you might consider. If you really want to pin all your hopes on someone beating the Lakers, you would be much, much better off taking the Kings. I'll break it down this way, the Kings have a better frontline than the Spurs, a better backcourt than the Spurs, a better bench then the Spurs, have more multi-threat players than the Spurs, and are more athletic overall than the Spurs. The Kings are the one team with enough firepower to potentially outscore Shaq and the Lakers (maybe they can score enough and take advantage of Shaq's missed free throws). It is doubtfull the Kings can, and I honestly don't know if I'll rout for them because of Webber's and their piss-ant fan's egos (at least the ones I have heard from so far are almost as blindly stupid and obnoxious as Jazz fans--unlike the Spurs, Nugs and Warriors fans who provide fun banter and overall contribute to this board), but they are the only team that has a chance against a healthy Laker team.
MrSpur, i never argued with you on whether or not Bwen would be the 5th option - that was agreed on. my point has always been that, even as a 5th option, he hurts the team with his inability to shoot the ball. you retorted that he would be a much better shooter with the spurs. obviously, you were wrong. i'm not looking for the proverbial "pat on the back." i'm just trying to get you to understand a basic basketball theory: that you HAVE to have a "threat" from every position on the court. not an allstar necessarily, but a "threat" to score, a "threat" to hit the open shot! bwen is not capable of hitting open shots. even as that 5th option, teams are able to double off of him and help out on other players!! i refuse to believe that you have not seen this. as for his defense, name the star scorers that bruce bwen has shut down this year... i can only think of one, and frankly, bwen has always done a good job on him. let's see if you can guess who...and please supply me with some of those other star scorers that bwen has "shut down". at best, he has held them to their average. that is a net loss, because of the detriment on the offensive end of the court that bwen is. hmm, i hold you to your average, but i only score 4 points, and don't make you play a lick of defense on me (rather letting you double down on tim, dave, or whoever is hot). that's not good enough. *** as for pop and change, i really don't recall charles smith being part of the rotation before the injuries. i'll have to look that one up. he DEFINITELY was not called upon to do anything offensively before the injuries to parker and bwen. and that's a shame, because he has the capabilities and the spurs would have been a much better team had they allowed him to shine. re: s smith what change would you make to allow steve to be that 2nd option? re: trades do you really think they would trade malik/steve smith? and do you see any team that would give a quality frontcourt player up for either of those two?
I never liked the Spurs. They aren't a fun team to watch and the AlamoDome is a dump. HEB Hotdogs at the concessions??? I'll take the fine food court at the Compaq Center anyday. Their players aren't even fun to watch. Their games are ugly. Spurs suck!
