Sick with loss
by Manuwar on May 9, 2010 11:49 PM CDT
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PrintCannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream. Cannery Row is the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots and junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses. Its inhabitants are, as a man once said, "whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches," by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, "saints angels and martyrs and holy men," and he would have meant the same thing.
-Opening paragraph from Cannery Row, John Stteinbeck
Perspective is an peculiar thing. And it is your own perspective that dictates how you view the 2010 season for the San Antonio Spurs. You might say it was an utter failure, a waste of time and investment, emotional and financial. You might also say that it was an overachieving year, a year full of joy, encouragement and inspiration. Either statement is correct and no one can tell you that you are wrong.
I envy those who are able to find rays of sunshine on such gloomy days (Daveed I'm looking at you) for I am not one of those people. Every 48 minutes that ends in a loss is a failure. And every year that does not end in a championship falls short of my expectations.
A few years after the Duncan-Manu era, having missed the playoffs for consecutive years, we might look back and think, "hey those playoff exits weren't so bad." But right now I'm simply heart broken. Teams with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili should not be beaten by one stud and a bunch of, whatever. Much less swept! We couldn't muster one game?
The last two seasons were easy to shake off with laments of, "Well, if Manu were healthy..." This year Manu is healthy and arguably playing the best basketball of his career and our roster is littered with proven talent. So how did we get swept by the freaking Suns? Were we short on ability? Maybe. Was it a lack of execution? Partly. Or were we missing the heart and determination that is found at the core of champions? God, I hope not.
For the next few months I'm going to try really hard to be encouraged for next season. This site will certainly help. But there are only so many moves the front office can make. After that it boils down to a simple cliche. How bad do we want it? And that question will not be answered until next season.
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Suns are a bad matchup for us. Tonight is the first time all year we held them below 110. Their defense has improved enough and our post play and 3 point shooting have deteriorated enough that we can’t match that kind of scoring.
They are deceptively athletic in their role player positions. As old as Hill is, he sat a few years pretty much sparing him from injury. I have always wanted him on the Spurs and he once again proves why he would have fit well.
Spurs holes have always been noticeable. When the Spurs had big games, they were able to hide them, but they were still there. However., next season does seem like one of the brightest, even if it doesn’t involve big names (outside of Splitter).
Not sure that their defense got better as much as our 3-pt shooting and FTs got worse. The former is about personnel but the latter is about the Spurs. It seemed we got every shot we wanted all series but could not make open shots. Sometime it’s just not meant to be. A collection of good for them: Manu’s nose. Tony’s elbow. Joey Crawford in game 2. Contested 3pt shots falling early in game 3. Our FT shooting. Pop’s strange decision to keep switching the p&r during the 4th Q of game 3. Our lackadaisical 3-pt defense all season. Our being out-rebounded in game 2 (where the series was truly lost). They worked harder, got luckier and executed better. In a best of seven, you need only two of those to break your way.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Suns defense is good, not great. As it turns out, good is a tremendous improvement over non-existent.
by doggydogworld on May 10, 2010 8:44 AM CDT up reply actions
I doubt anyone is really that comfortable with the loss. However, the Spurs played hard and just faced a team that was better. Hey, if they met the Lakers in the 2nd round, they’d likely be having issues. Maybe not as many 3 point bombs, but definitely other issues.
Suns deserve credit. Grant Hill was solid on Manu. And his injury also got in the way. The Suns were not the same Suns they once were. Grant Hill is definitely an upgrade over Marion for example. Barbosa’s role was counted on much less than previously, for example. .
Anyway, the new crop of Spurs that are around the corner makes the future seem bright.
Not sure how much of that was Hill and how much was their decision to constantly trap Manu. He could never create his own offense and the guys left open took his passes but missed shots. His nose injury also didn’t help.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Hill is quick enough laterally and he’s long enough to bother Manu. Unlike Marion, Hill is so much smarter and knows how to position himself better. That’s not to say he did it himself. Hill forced him into the crowd. Obviously without 3-point shooters, it is easier for defenders to sink into the lane. However, Hill’s D was definitely a highlight for the Suns both in this series and against Portland. It’s a reason the Spurs lost, but not “the reason”
Im not really that crushed about this seasons conclusion.
San Antonio never really gelled into a great unit. And after they won that game against Dallas without a single three pointer, you knew it was going to come back to haunt them.
Richard Jefferson sucks.
Hill needed to get his ass beat, now he will come back tougher.
Our bench is shit, etc etc etc
We need at least one more
The Spurs = Not your granddaddies 7th seed !
They need more swing guys who can hit jump shots/mix it up. Hairston and Temple likely will hit the rotation next season. Those two bring some of those aspects. They also have a bunch of other guys they are bringing in this summer (Curtis Jerrells, Marcus Williams, Alonzo Gee). If they can do that and bring in Splitter, they’ll be in good shape.
I don’t mean to be a downer, but I’m willing to bet that Curtis Jerrells, Marcus Williams, and Alonzo Gee are going go the way of Haislip and Menah Bonsu.
I hope we score someone useful in the draft. The Spurs should be able to find someone good with the 20 pick.
The Spurs = Not your granddaddies 7th seed !
No way of knowing for sure. However, this past year’s commitment to young athletic guys is a sign of the Spurs front office acknowledging the need to get more athletic.
They key guys, Hariston and Temple have seen key play time and have performed. They are almost likely to have spots off the bench, especially as the Spurs want to keep their payroll in check.
Those other guys have potential. Gee also performed with the Wiz. So it’s not like he hasn’t seen any time in the NBA. Spurs are big on him. That is why they gave him a deal.
When I think about these guys, I don’t think impact like Hill. However, the abilities these guys provide can help off the bench to fill in minutes.
Not all are going to work out. Not all will make the team either.
Imagine how this feels for someone like Manu, who wants to win at a level most of us can’t even comprehend.
I did a lot of soul searching. I didn't find anything.
I think that’s unfair to the other vets. You can tell Parker was doing everything he could, playing injured himself. Or Duncan who says little but does a lot. And Dice had the after burners on all post season. Sucks, especially for him since he hasn’t had a chance to taste the joy of a championship.
I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that people who have played with him have talked about how he’s the most competitive person they have encountered. So I can only guess what a loss like this is for someone like him.
I did a lot of soul searching. I didn't find anything.
manu was playing hurt. he wasnt balling after his snoz got broke in game 3 of dallas SA series
by i luv this site on May 10, 2010 1:15 AM CDT reply actions
I feel ya Manuwar. This week just sucked and I am just going to be pathetic and lifeless for a few days. Now I need to go get a life or something.
'What color do you want?" (Tim Duncan)
The summer will be forgiving. August I’ll be up your way and we’ll paint the town red silver and black.
"It's Manuway or the Highway" - tlo
Have you considered the wonderful, fast moving world of fishkeeping?
I did a lot of soul searching. I didn't find anything.
I know how that feels, I had an awesome Bamboo Shrimp once, and it climbed out of the tank to its death.
I might get another one this week.
I did a lot of soul searching. I didn't find anything.
Some sunshine for you: It’s just one series, one season. I immediately thought of the great Milwaukee Bucks teams (yes, this used to be true) that constantly could not get past the Celtics and Sixers. They lost to Boston four times in a 12 year period from ’74-86, but one time they did finally beat their nemesis: 1983 in a sweep. All was fixed, except it was a one season outlier, not the norm. As this series will be remembered.
The Spurs don’t need a plethora of transactions to get better. They need Hill, Blair, Hairston and Temple to work all off-season on improving their respective games. Blair needs to become a 10&10 player. Hill a 15+ point scorer who ups his 3-pt attempts while maintaining his 40% average. Hairston need to develop a 3-pt shot and improve his team defense. Temple needs to continue working on his shooting and get better with playing time in our system.
Manu won’t be coming off a leg injury. RJ will be in a contract year, meaning we’ll either see a big improvement (also due to his second year in the system) or have tremendous contract trade bait. Dyce will be better in the system but mostly saved for the playoffs. Like everyone, I hope for Splitter. Our other most glaring need is a 3-pt specialist that can punish teams for packing the lane. This problem will also be helped by continued improvement from Hill, Hairston and Temple. Beyond that, we’ll trust in a FO and system that knows how to do. I’ll trust that the embarrassment of this series, ending in a sweep, will have the leaders of this team preparing to defeat the Suns in a revenge match-up next playoffs. They will work to correct the mistakes and shortcomings that were put on full display in this series and throughout the season.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Our other most glaring need is a 3-pt specialist that can punish teams for packing the lane.
You mean like Mason? Or even Bonner. Yeah, we should get one of those, but with a better warranty period. Losing Findog also hurt, he would have made some threes.
'What color do you want?" (Tim Duncan)
I’m not sure Finley would’ve made those 3s anymore, at least not enough to change the series. I also think he would have given up as many points as he scored. I’m glad the way it worked out; Finley’s minutes went to Hairston and Temple late in the season. They will both be further along next season as a result of this.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Also reason to look forward to the double-double beast that will become Blair.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Or were we missing the heart and determination that is found at the core of champions?
You said it. There is no way to avoid this sad conclusion for the season.
Next season doesn't exist. Only today exists. So say we all.
I must say, at times during game 4, it looked like the Spurs had already given up.
Despite this, the Suns were the better team. More heart and determination would not have won us the series.
The Spurs = Not your granddaddies 7th seed !
More determination would’ve won game 2 which at least alters the series. It also would have won game 3. Our lack of 3-pt shooting would’ve ultimately cost us vs this opponent, but I’d rather have those two wins and see if the Suns went cold rather than come up lame. Or see if Manu would’ve found his shot as the nostril healed.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Unfortunately, our lack of heart made it look like the Sun were Supersuns. Look at them in the next series and I bet you’ll see very different picture. Those games were winnable, and that team was beatable, but we came out soft, lost and embarrassed ourselves. Shameful.
Next season doesn't exist. Only today exists. So say we all.
Said the same thing all series. Not to take ANYTHING away from phx, because they won fairly and executed appropriately; but there was nothing in their team that wowed me to the point of gushing with everyone else. I didn’t see anything that we didn’t have the capability of stopping, we simply chose not to.
Contrast phx with LA. I had hope with phx, I felt we matched up with them well and would destroy them if we played our game and executed as we could. LA on the other hand, I truthfully didn’t have hope. We didn’t match up well with them and would struggle to execute our system. I told everyone privately, “No one’s getting through LA.”
That’s what made this series loss so disappointing- not the loss itself; the feeling that we gave a series away when we could have affected the outcome.
The suns will look much less “new & improved” and “different” when playing a team that cares, mark my words.
"If I was the kind of guy who posted a signature line, this would be it from now on." -SiMA
by SgtinManusArmy on May 12, 2010 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions
We didn’t match up well with them and would struggle to execute our system.
Is that why we had two 20+ wins against them this year?
Yeah, I thought our matchup with LA was actually better than our matchup with Phoenix.
Free Tiago Splitter!
The Suns killed us with their 3-pt shooting, strong bench, hustle, free throws. The Lakers would kill us inside, with their toughness and clutch shooting. It would be a different way to die, but the result would be likely the same (may be we would take one game in SA though).
Next season doesn't exist. Only today exists. So say we all.
“At times during game 4??”
Hell, I saw it in games 2 and 3.
"If I was the kind of guy who posted a signature line, this would be it from now on." -SiMA
by SgtinManusArmy on May 12, 2010 10:48 AM CDT up reply actions
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