4 Down Podcast, Ep. 79: Good Riddance, Rodeo Road Trip

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The Spurs had a bad Rodeo Road Trip. Worst ever kind of bad. Trevor Zickgraf joined me to reflect on the awfulness, but we also put a positive spin on things.

San Antonio has looked a little bit more like itself over the last two games since reinserting Tiago Splitter back into the starting lineup. The move seems to have created a bit more normalcy with the team. Over the last five quarters (the fourth quarter against the Kings and the entire Suns game) have provided a modicum of hope for the Spurs as they head back to the comforts of home.

And what awaits them there is a very favorable schedule. Maybe this is the time everybody figures out a way to stay on the same page. Then again, that stuff won’t matter as much as it perhaps should if Tony Parker doesn’t get himself out of his funk.

However it pans out, the Spurs better right the ship before the last week of March. Have you checked the schedule around that time? It gets pretty brutal. There’s a chance for this team to find its collective legs in the coming weeks, but if they don’t, there is danger of another losing streak. The alternative? If they get right in the head, there’s also a chance to make up ground in the crowded Western Conference.

Only a couple of games separate the Spurs from the fifth-seeded Clippers in the loss column. Now might be their best timeframe to take advantage of a relatively easy schedule.

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  • thedrwolff

    Nobody was “Jumping Ship” as you refer as much as they were pissed at their team…and rightfully so. Tony IS old for a marathon Guard. 33 is under the grade but 1200 NBA games is Definately NOT spring chicken mileage. He’s not used to how long it takes at 33 and his game IS evolving. He’s the most accurate 3 ball shooter we have and it’s not just from the corner as he kept it for so many years. His strength was wearing people down and we don’t know if he has that track meet capability game in and game out at this age and mileage. Spurs DO get old but Tim Adjusted with his mind. He’s not scoring 12 points a game off the block. Cuts and being in the right position always… He never DEPENDED on superior athleticism for his greatness and when he DID have it we saw what a wrecking ball he was for many years. Tony DEPENDS on being in better running shape then his opponents. 4th gear for the WHOLE game and running defenders through endless screens till they relent. Nobody wants to write off the spurs till the corpse is buried, especially the fans, but some reality long fended off hits home. He has played in OVER 1200 Games. By the end of Micheal Jordans 33 yr old season he had played in 927. NOBODY looks great at game 1500 (except TIM freaking Duncanbot…simply insane if you actually WATCH Garnett play at this age and see the HUGE difference between them) and nobody just drops off the map . Tony is 3 seasons from that milestone…I look at Jason Kid at 38/39 and Nash playing ER ball for his last 3 REAL seasons of 36-7-8 and think (wait a minute, Tony is 33 and not 37) which is true, but he IS getting old in mileage so I add a couple of years and realize how close he is to KOBE/NASH land of perpetual bruise. He may put it together for this last 35 games or so but make no mistakes, the physical challenges for TP with age have begun. Step out of the shadows Kawhi, Patty, Tiago, Danny. Ask Rondo how easy it is to look good playing with three future hall guys. When they leave are you good, or were you always only as good as they were?

  • Suave Groove

    Nice Podcast guys! That free agency topic at the end; about Danny Green’s et all would be a hell of a conversation.

    About the negativity of the fan base, it’s difficult to point fingers at anybody when even Manu Ginobili is saying the Spurs aren’t a playoff caliber team at the moment. Which I think he’s referring to a “championship caliber team” instead, because the Spurs are going to be playing in the 1st round unless something bad and terrible happen.

    In his last column of the Argentine newspaper La Nación “We need to start from scratch”, Manu talks about the meetings and conversations the team had/is having regarding their level of play (too much passiveness and zero level of urgency). Almost hitting rock bottom after that Utah loss. I imagine that was when Pop closed the locker room for about half an hour. In that line, Manu feels the team isn’t treasuring each possession like last season when the mentality was “every possession is life or death”. Furthermore he doesn’t think the Spurs BBall is back after only 5 mere quarters of good play, but that’s a good start. The correct approach to face the games from now on.