Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

by Matthew Powell on Jan 29, 2008 5:24 PM CST in Game_Threads

The Spurs can't lose tonight, can they?

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Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Anything is possible, but I'll say:
Riverwalk 102
Lake Washington 91

by Gino20 on Jan 29, 2008 5:46 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Hell they shouldn't, but they have to play to find out. I'm going with:

Spurs 91
Sonics 81

"I will slap you into a jelly!!!!"

by DennardC on Jan 29, 2008 6:29 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Spurs 100
sonics 89

Tonight's the night we begin our winning streak!

No, I'm not delusional... I'm a fan.

I am happy. I am proud. - Manu Ginobili

by bellasa on Jan 29, 2008 6:48 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

You don't start your rodeo trip till you beat the second worst team in the NBA.

Spurs 100
Sonics 80
Durant's shooting percentage %15

by LatinD on Jan 29, 2008 7:01 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Don't whisper it too loud Matthew, Pop might just hear you and ask, "Oh yeah?"

by Aaronstampler on Jan 29, 2008 7:17 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

SA 110
SEA 88

by Matthew Powell on Jan 29, 2008 7:30 PM CST 0 recs

Which Streak Will End Tonight?

SA: 94
SEA: 86

Ok, so we all agree that the Spurs have sucked of late...as a result, they enter tonight's game having lost their last two and six out of their last 11. The Sonics' suckiness has reached epic proportions, as they are carrying a 14 game losing streak into the contest. This is the second time in a week that the Spurs have faced a team that has lost 14 straight games...San Antonio barely beat a bad Miami Heat team in the first one, in a segababa no less.

One of these losing streaks will come to an excruciating end tonight. Let's hope our boys can contribute to Seattle's pathetic stretch and start a Rodeo Road Trip winning streak!

by ATLBraves4Life on Jan 29, 2008 7:54 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Great boogars. We dropped one to the Sonics. Who'd a guessed.

by AusTechSpur on Jan 29, 2008 11:23 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

It's probably best I didn't see the game. I watched the ESPN.com Gamecast in the last few minutes and that about gave me a heart attack.
But it's still only January boys (ok, it's almost Feb.)

by Gino20 on Jan 29, 2008 11:29 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Hey, maybe the Spurs are just like an alcoholic who needs to hit rock bottom before they can seek help and get their shit together, right? RIGHT?!?!?!? If that's the case, tonight's game was the equivalent of waking up with a throbbing headache in a poorly lit apartment, surrounded by old pizza boxes with roaches eating the bits left behind, with a pile of vomit next to the face.

by Hipuks on Jan 29, 2008 11:31 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

that's rock bottom?

um, hehe, uh... hangs head in shame

gospursgo. hook 'em. metal rules. ganja rules.

by metalandganja on Jan 30, 2008 7:06 AM CST up 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

well you can't win too many games when you are playing 2 on 5! Bullshit Manu and Tim play their hearts out and nobody else steps up!

by adam8065 on Jan 29, 2008 11:58 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

rock bottom will be the 30+ point beating administered by the suns thursday night. this one will begin the process of reaching toward the panic button for many and harkening us back to times in history when the spurs have done things like lose X in a row, or X out of X games and/or been beat by X number of points. past rodeo road trips will be compared to this one, etc.

im not saying it will be of "whopper freak-out" proportions or anything, but maybe close.

im not giving up on this bunch by any means - but the tide has already gone out too far in my opinion. i would have taken some kind of action by now. its easier to right the ship earlier rather than later and the move necessary to do it would be smaller in scale if done early enough. that's my two cents on the matter anyway.

the good news is that i think we can all see the lack of motivation on the team and coaching staff. perhaps the TNT beatdown, the 4 game losing streak and an 0-3 start to the famed rodeo road trip will provide the necessary motivation. didn't the spurs do the same on last year's trip? i didnt look it up before writing this.

certainly those with a say in the matter can see it too (right?). these people are not dumb, they have 4 rings.

by bones on Jan 30, 2008 7:56 AM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Why?!?!?! Did Manu take that crap three. Seriously, drive to the hoop.

Trade someone... anyone!!!

by efantich on Jan 30, 2008 9:43 AM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

It's more than a lack of motivation in my opinion. There is a paucity of talent as well and plus these guys are old as hell. My grandfather moves better than Robert Horry and he is 87 years old!!!! As I typed yesterday, I have always been a fan of Michael Finley. He exemplifies class and is a consummate professional, but he is really killing the team right now. Tim and Manu damn near have to combine for 60-70 points to offset the nightly poor shooting we are seeing right now. Maybe this team just isn't meant to repeat.

"I will slap you into a jelly!!!!"

by DennardC on Jan 30, 2008 1:17 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

I like Finley too, but what the hell kind of defense was that at end of the game letting Durant have a wide open jumper? He also left Harpring to help out Parker in the end of the Utah game and Matt got a open jumper too!

And Efantich: the reason Manu took that 3 was because there really wasn't enough time to drive, Seattle kept collapsing on Manu; and he was 4-5 on the 3's before that shot!
Also nobody else could make a 3 to save their lives.

by adam8065 on Jan 30, 2008 1:48 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Sitting Parker to heal is all we can do now. If we kept playing him as is we were near guaranteed a first round exit. I'd rather go this way. Bench him. Sign Lil' Mouse. Either Parker comes back right before the playoffs and we get on a hot streak and storm the playoffs or we go to the lottery. (Of course we could limp into the playoffs and lose but I like the other two options much more.)

by Jones on Jan 30, 2008 4:09 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.

We are being beaten in every hustle category

Seattle 14 combined blocks and steals
San Antonio 4 combined blocks and steals

Seattle 45 rebounds
San Antonio 38 rebounds

A sign of getting old
A sign of a lack of fire
A sign of a coach not motivating his players
A sign of a lack of athleticism

The ultimate blame rest with Pop. His obsession with older players has gone over the edge. Now they are talking about bringing in Damon Stoudamire. Now I will say the exact opposite of what I am really thinking...Damon Stoudamire will show some decent foot speed, he will commit himself to defense, he will easily stop younger more athletic players from dominating him, he will fight through screen and roles, he will install a tremendous sense of confidence in his teammates, he will not ding himself up before the season ends and gimp around, this is not a sign of sheer desperation.

Now back to normal thought....
Did the Old Man River (Terry Porter) and Nick Van Winkle experiments teach Pop anything? What could he have been thinking? We have a team full of ginger bread men. How many guys do we have limping around? How many guys do we have "pacing" themselves? How many guys do we have that have lost half their vertical jump from just 3 years ago? A terrible job of assembling personnel. A repeat of 2000. How about our recent draft choices? Oh those have been some real winners.

Tiago Splitter (Now milking cows on his family farm in Yibiskistan)
Damir Markota (Herding sheep on the steps of the sarengetti)
Ian Mahinmi (Mahi Mahi has been spotted on the Spurs bench and behind the 2nd level popcorn stand at halftime serving patrons)
Beno Udrih (Having a lot of fun in NOCAL with a much more athletic team)
Romaine Sato (Fighting the Giant Baba for the All Japan Pro Wrestling championship)
Sergei Karaulov (Named by Vladimir Putin as the new minister of shoes in upper Siberia)

Boy, that is some honor role there. To Pops credit, he has been a very good coach. Pop has been great at assembling personnel in the distant past. He has been a great system guy. He has made the necessary adjustments right before the ship sank, he has kept the team focused. But with that said, his skills have fallen apart. The line between confidence and arrogance has been crossed. In the words of the Godfather, let me be even more frank, the guy is a fucking egomaniac who has started to take winning for granted.

Let me play coach. OK. This season is done. So, I start planning for the future. For sure Horry is gone. We need a Speedy Claxton type guy for a back up point. Plays D, gets steals, has a good jumper, gives a shit. Vaughn is a good third guard. Tony needs to split time with the Speedy Claxton type guy. Elson is a joke, I put his ass in a Coyote costume. We need a Jarren Jackson, Steven Jackson, young guy with some hops, athletic talent and a sure fire three point shot. We need two athletic big guys that give a shit. Fab is a great backup, maybe third center, but he threatens nobody. We need a three guy who is athletic. He won't be Mr. Potato Head, but at least he can stay in front of and hang with the young guns of the NBA.

Anyway,

I am disgusted by Pop and the way he set up the team for this season.

-Hannibal ad portas (Hannibal is at the gate!)

by ClintonsCigar on Jan 30, 2008 6:30 PM CST 0 recs

Re: Game Thread # 43 -- @ Seattle

I'm as disheartened as anyone else by the last few performances, but other than the NO game, we could've won all of the others if we'd made some stops late in the game.

We're playing badly, we really are. But not so much as to give up on the team for this season, like ClintonsCigar suggests. That's just silly.

And regarding efantich's comment, we needed a 3 there. It's the only play that made sense. Manu was awesome the entire night. Oberto screwed up that layup and should've grabbed that rebound after Manu's missed 3 pointer, instead of batting it out of court like he did. But hindsight is 20/20, and he was the only Spurs not named Manu or Tim that played above average last night, so whatever.

Vaughn shot too much. Finley's fadeaways are eye-goungingly bad. Horry's rigor mortis continues to set in. Bowen should never drive to the hoop. Bonner seemed to miss every single open shot Manu created for him. That's why we lost.

BTW, Manu as the playmaker for most of the game seemed to work. If Bonner, Timmy, Finley et al would've made a higher percentage of their shots, I think he could've reached 10 assists easy. Not bad.

Cheer up, fellas. There's a heartbeat somewhere, you'll see.

by LatinD on Jan 30, 2008 6:59 PM CST 0 recs