Pop Coaching Lazy Defense

Mr Potato Head is ice cold. Every time he launches a three, you see people in the first few rows ducking to avoid the ricochet.

Parker, who is one of the quickest, if not the quickest guy in the Association, is getting schooled on defense. The number of guys rocketing past him is amazing. Is he just lazy? Doesn't give a fuck? Conserving his energy for offense? Whatever the reason, his defense is as shaky as a bowl full of high school cafeteria jello.

Parker also sees fit to jack up jumpers when we can least afford to have him heaving up concrete blocks at the bucket.

There have been so many horrific turnovers of the last couple of games. You put it all together, switching the pick and roll instead of fighting to stay with your man, passes being zipped out of bounds, guys not diving for loose balls, constantly losing rebounds where an opponent is surrounded by Spurs, the body language of water buffalo after a crocodile attack, Pop sitting on the sideline not calling timeouts looking like he could care less.....you put it all together and it shows point blank the Spurs don't give a shit about winning again. This bullshit about flipping the switch and pacing ourselves is right out of Rudy Tomjanovich's "Heart of a champion" Shtick. He won a single championship when Clyde Drexler fell in his lap at the end of the season and made a big run out of nowhere. Then, for the next few seasons, as the Rockets floundered around with an aging team, Rudy T would break out the "Heart of a champion" line. Just wait until the playoffs he would add. They would invariably be embarrassed in the playoffs and fall flat on their face. Don't think Pop is falling in the same trap? Look closer. Reminds of me of Eric Bischoff at WCW when Vince was pulling the carpet out from under him and the company was in its dying days. Bischoff still thought he was on top, right up to the day he got fired and then the company went under. He held on to old guys just like Pop. While Vince was out pushing young talent like the Rock, Y2J and the like, Bischoff hitched his wagon to old yeller (Hogan), Macho man, Bret Hart..etc.

Whatever happened to Pops guard the middle and funnel to the baseline defense? Wherever it went, it is long gone. Pop apparently doesn't care anymore, because he no longer calls timeouts or bothers to yell at his players. The Spurs go through quarter long stretches where opponents just do not miss. There is a pattern forming here. I sit watching screaming for at least one defense stop and we will go like 9-10 minutes not making a single stop. The scores our opponents are making are of the highlight variety. Wheel house dunks, 3 point bombs one after the other (see the consecutive StojJo pointers last night as no Spur defender was within 20 feet of him), nifty layups and uncontested mid range jumpers (see West last night). It is funny to hear all the local sportscasters commenting on how Pop must be really lighting his team up in the locker room and at practice. Oh really? Is he? Is he? I smell a line of bullshit from the fish hacks and TV goons who Pop has in his pocket like so many nickels and dimes. Who gives a fuck anyway? Everybody has their rings already. That is why you don't have the exact same team come back after winning a championship. Remember how the Bulls would always throw a couple new guys into the mix? Remember the 2000 Spurs how badly they sucked ass? Jarren Jackson came into training camp all fat and out shape. The fire from everyone was completely gone? It is all happening again.

Everyone is banking on the rodeo road trip to serve as a wake up call and for the Spurs to go on their traditional run. Uh, don't bet on it. This is an old, injury prone and unmotivated team. They are going nowhere. Grrrrrr!

(From memory, since I was there and had no DVR of it) Spurs were down 4 in a close game when Duncan went to the bench with a minute to go.

The resulting lineup was something like: Ginobili, Oberto, Horry, Udoka and Vaughn.  Seriously?  Ginboili was tripled-up every time he touched the ball and was only once able to find a shooter that could hit an open 3 (Udoka for one of the TWO threes the Spurs hit).

The terrible shooting, rebound and defense that came turned a 4 point deficit to 8 in a minute, then 20 shortly there after in the fourth.

A side note: David West can shoot.  Oberto can't guard him 17 feet from the basket.  Horry can't guard him at all.  Why did we not try a small ball lineup with Bowen/Udoka on him, Dirk-style?

Also, for anyone claiming "resting" players for the road trip, why did Bonner register zero minutes to Horry's 17? It HAD to be Pop wanted to lose this game, it just had to be.

Tony Parker has been pathetic.  The "heel", "flu", "rumors" excuses have worn thin.  If he can't get his shit together and start playing he needs to be traded.

Losing is one thing, but playing like a junior high school B team is another thing altogether.  AND very embarrassing I must say considering we are the NBA Champions.