Sunday, May 9th, 2010...9:31 pm
San Antonio Spurs 101, Phoenix Suns 107: The Phoenix Suns were simply a better team
AT&T Center-It was over before it began, but for a brief moment with George Hill following through on a last minute three-pointer, with Amare Stoudemire making the stereotypical Amare Stoudemire lapse, it was almost enough to stir up a flicker of hope.
That, in short, was the 2009-2010 San Antonio Spurs season. In many ways, it was over before it began. Richard Jefferson was a horrible fit from the start. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were both ailing from years of international play. And Tim Duncan was another year older.
Yet the San Antonio Spurs resolve, their closing act in the regular season, was just enough to stir up memories of ghosts past. But these were not the same Suns, and definitely not the same San Antonio Spurs. Phoenix was simply better.
“This is, like we said before the series and it really rings true, it really is different teams,” Phoenix Suns point guard Steven Nash said. “Obviously there are similar cores, but so many players are different that you can’t act like this is a continuation.”
So much of what can be written about the Phoenix Suns this series can be taken straight from the San Antonio Spurs playbook of years past. Every game mirrored the previous, differing only in which player stepped up that night.
Channing Frye, Jared Dudley, Goran Dragic. These names stood in place of what use to be Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen and Michael Finley. It was as if the Phoenix Suns took every slight ever inflicted upon them by the Spurs and exorcised them one by one.
Tim Duncan hit a game-ending three in one game, but was too little too late. A facial injury from the previous series stunted the momentum of one player, but it was Manu Ginobli’s nose instead of Joe Johnson’s eye socket. There were hard fouls, but they were all delivered by the Phoenix Suns. And in a final act, the Spurs drew blood from Steve Nash. Only he came back.
Eye swollen shut after catching an elbow from Tim Duncan, Steve Nash returned in the fourth quarter and delivered the final nail in the Spurs coffin. Ten points, five assists and one momentous three-pointer in the closing quarter was enough to finally put to bed Nash’s playoff demons.
“I don’t know how (the eye) didn’t keep me on the sidelines, when they finished stitching me up it closed and I couldn’t see out of it I started to think to myself, ‘of course’,” Steve Nash said. “We’d gone three and a half games clear sailing so it seems like something always happens but obviously that’s just a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
The pivotal moment, Steve Nash’s defining moment, came early in the fourth quarter with the Spurs threatening to take all the momentum. With the score tied at 77, Matt Bonner (14 points) followed a Manu Ginobili steal with his only missed shot of the game, a 3-pointer. The Suns grabbed the rebound, raced down the court and took a three-point pull-up jump shot in transition.
A six-point swing and the Phoenix Suns never looked back.
“We’ve given him a lot more stitches than that,” joked San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. “I think (the win) is sweet for him. He’s a class, class, class guy.”
Tonight’s elimination game played out just like each of the previous. The San Antonio Spurs quietly got off to a sound start and appeared to be dominating while simply just running in place. If anything, the San Antonio Spurs good starts had more to do with the Suns starting one of their worst lineups-namely any that included Jarron Collins-than adjustments Gregg Popovich made.
Regarding effort and adjustments, the San Antonio Spurs and Suns were comparable in shooting percentages 47% to 46% and rebounding 42 to 37 (both in favor of the Spurs), but the Phoenix Suns hit six more three-pointers.
Shooting and spacing have been a recurring problem in this series, and in the final game if you exclude Tim Duncan’s final heave, only Manu Ginobili even attempted a three-pointer among the starting five.
Off the bench, Hill did not get off a three until his fourth quarter make, and Bonner was the only other Spurs to make an attempt (2 of 3). The lack of spacing was Kryptonite for Manu Ginobili, who had 15 points and nine assists but finished 2-11 from the field.
The Suns blitzed Manu Ginobili with length off of every screen, effectively managing the play to the point that the Spurs were almost better off isolating him.
“When you get blitzed on every pick and roll you have to find the open teammates,” Ginobili said. “If we decided to do that to Amare, he’d have to find his teammates too. I tried to do that and I think I did pretty well, but the times I had open looks I just couldn’t make it.”
Disappointing as this loss is, moving forward it appears that the Spurs model of the big three surrounded by valuable role players is not entirely broken. In many cases, all that was lacking were defenders and the corner three-pointer.
Unfortunately for the Spurs, they lost their way this season. And the Phoenix Suns found it.
55 Comments
May 9th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Thank you to our FO for giving their best and our coaches and players for fighting ’till the end. I love our organization.
Congratulations to Steve Nash and Grant Hill.
May 9th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Thanks to the San Antonio Spurs for teaching the Phoenix Suns what was needed to work as a championship team and to play as a championship team.
2 series still to go, but these Suns are different.
Thank you,
Suns Fans
P.S. Too bad I didn’t have a Hot Tub Time Machine and use it to make Alvin Gentry the coach back in 04-05.
May 9th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Mavs must be rolling over in their graves because I bet they felt they could beat the Suns…
May 9th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
also, we had way too many non-factors. the little minutes bogans and rmj had were useless. george hill was pretty much a nonfactor especially on defense, bonnar was nonexistant until finally contributing today. blair needs to learn how to finish among taller players and needs to stop committing stupid fouls and jefferson…wow.
antonio mcdyess has been the best pickup. he plays hard defense, rebounds well and hustles. would have liked to see him hit his misrange like he did for detroit but still, absolutely no complaints on dyess.
hope we resign mahini and mahinmi and sign splitter. splitter could be key to one last run.
also, no more talks about trading TP. hope he doesn’t bolt though which seems likely.
and enough of the rant. good year spurs. i will cheer any team on now that will beat the cavs.
May 9th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Yes, we tip our hats off to these “Nashty” Suns, who showed poise under the San Antonio cauldron; you broke the rock. We hope you also have success against the Los Angeles Lakers. Steve Kerr and Alvin Gentry, proud alumni of the Spurs’ organization, did a dang fine job of piecing all of you together.
As for Timmy and company, we your fans commiserate with you for unexpected season ending. But, knowing the team’s character, you’ll be back with a vengeance next year. Godspeed and God bless you all.
May 9th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
You guys are kidding yourselves if you expect these Spurs to do any better next year. They were healthy for the playoffs and this is the best they could manage? They’re too old, don’t have enough of the right horses, and have become too predictable. Their only chance is to trade Tony Parker for another quality big man. If that doesn’t happen and this same core group shows up next fall, they will struggle to make the playoffs and will not win 50 games.
May 10th, 2010 at 12:13 am
The Suns may have done to the Spurs what the ’85 Lakers did to the Celtics. After that series, the Lakers had no problems beating the Celtics in the playoffs. Hope the Spurs find a way to reload this summer.
Here’s a question I’ve been wondering lately, why does everyone think Splitter will contribute right away if he joins the Spurs next season?
May 10th, 2010 at 12:15 am
I dont think I have seen any season quite like this for the spurs, Amazing highs followed by horrible lows. The playoffs demonstrated this perfectly with the high of beating the 2nd seed to the low of being sweeped by phoenix… it made the season…. unusual.
Having said that we lost to a team that played great basketball and hit all the big shots, I really wish the suns the best ok luck, I’ll be rooting for them hard for the rest of the season, specially agianst the lakers.
May 10th, 2010 at 12:16 am
I pulled my recent comments forward from the previous thread:
I await the off-season with a good deal of trepidation. A slippery slope in the wrong direction is not that far off unless we work hard toward accomplishing the following over the next season, & two off-seasons:
(1) Make it a BIG priority to AGGRESSIVELY develop our best in-house YOUNG players. That includes playing them during the game! Get their feet REALLY into the fire to see how they respond! We need to find out which two to three out of this group are REALLY keepers: Hairston, Temple, Mahinmi, Gee, Jerrells, etc., and then PLAY THEM, AT LEAST 5-10 minutes most games! Blair WILL develop his game over the LONG summer, and needs 25+ minutes per game next year, including minutes WITH TD.
(2) Get a TALL, relatively YOUNG, SHOT-BLOCKING, front court player to help TD, particularly for the purpose of protecting the rim (e.g., Splitter, or I think someone like Amir Johnson of the Raptors is an interesting prospect). Otherwise, TD will probably retire at the end of his contract, burnt out, rather than agreeing to stay on to help us win another title in a bit more of a supportive role during his waning years (like the admiral did).
(3) We need to get back to Spurs DEFENSE!, and find someone that can hit big threes. Thus, there are two other areas that we should try to upgrade, if possible, via trade or the MLE: A Top-Notched Defender at the SF position (think the Shane Battier, Tayshaun Prince, Andres Kiralenko types are ideal (may require a trade of either TP or Manu), but we need an upgrade over Bogans, unless Hairston is a diamond in the rough and we just don’t know it because he hardly ever plays – remember, RJ will likely be gone within a year – so obviously use his expiring, if possible, would be preferred – maybe the Jazz could use him to get Kirilenko?). We also need a clutch, heavy volume, high percentage three-point shooter, at any position. Someone like Jason Kapono, Raja Bell, would be great, or perhaps Steve Blake, Eddie House, Tim Thomas, Anthony Morrow, Rasual Butler, or even Steve Novak of the Clippers could be a lower cost option that might work, but something needs to be done…!).
(4) We must be willing to evolve smartly to stay highly competitive! That MAY mean NOT committing to keeping Parker and/or Ginobli til death do us part. Otherwise we could end up like the Celtics of the 1990’s in the next 3-4 years. We need MORE high quality YOUNG talent on our team. Hell, all we know that we really have in this regard is Hill & Blair. That’s not enough. As a result, we should explore trades similar to the following: Ginobli & McDyess to OKC for 20 yr. old SG James Harden (who has star written all over his future, and he’s REALLY good right now), the 29 yr. old, and productive rotation player, the 6′10″, 255 pd. Nick Collison (or the 26 yr. old 7 footer, Krstic, if we’d prefer, because they would still have the up & coming star, Ibaka), and 23 yr. old, 6′9″, 251 pd. PF D.J. White (who has some promise), particularly if we’re never going to play Mahinmi, otherwise the third player could be someone else, or a 1st round draft pick; OKC has plenty of other young talent to choose from as well. They would love to have to have Manu, and would probably do that deal. Granted, this might not be the right type of deal for us, but we’ve got to start thinking along these lines if we want to avoid the potential of a “dark” half decade or more, starting mid-decade, or perhaps a bit earlier.
(5) REALLY encourage Blair to WORK HIS BUTT OFF in the off-season!
(6) Get lucky in the the next two drafts!
The off-season is now upon us. Good luck Spurs!
May 10th, 2010 at 12:53 am
Congrats to the Suns. Clearly they were the MUCH better team. I think they could win another four in a row against us.
Funny to think of them being the more physical team and the team with more hustle. But, that’s exactly what they did to stomp us.
I, too, will root for them in the next round. I hope Pop gets some rest and perspective over the summer on how this team needs to change. I vote for getting a tougher mental group.
PS. I pretty much knew this game was over in the first half when Dudley had a break away layup and Bonner didn’t bother fouling him.
May 10th, 2010 at 1:30 am
@Art: because he’s good. Think Pau Gasol when he entered the league (their game is not the same, but you get the idea).
I hope he comes to SA, and I hope I’m not wrong (about contributing right away).
May 10th, 2010 at 1:38 am
Grats to those Suns.
They were a much better team on both ends of the floor and thoroughly deserved to win.
I can’t wait for next year, i really enjoyed this year the ups downs and bloody everything.
Really excited to see how the young guys develop the continuing storyline of Dejaun Blair, and the hopeful arrival of Tiago the magnificent!
Lots to talk about during the off season, and I’m actually keen for the suns to win the whole thing, I’d love to see Nash & especially Grant Hill get a ring.
May 10th, 2010 at 3:05 am
I hope this is Nash’s year
Let’s see if Tiago will make a good fit to the team
we also def. need a 3pt shooter
May 10th, 2010 at 3:31 am
I guess Pop should be fired, right? Lol j/k. I’m disappointed we lost, but you know, it’s just a game, with 30 teams, and only 1 can win.
The only teams I really follow are the Spurs and Bulls (Go Capt. Kirk!), but now I’ll be rooting for a Magic/Suns finals.
May 10th, 2010 at 3:34 am
facts: in game 1 the spurs were down one with 4:26 left. in game 2 the score was tied with 10:01 left. in game 3 the spurs were up one with 10:10 left. in game 4 the score was tied with 9:36 left.
every game this series was up for grabs in the final quarter, and the suns grabbed them all.
May 10th, 2010 at 4:26 am
That was 48 minutes of hell, congrats to the suns.
May 10th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Anyone ever think to say… Gee… we miss Finley? That guy could hit shots. Mason for whatever reason had his best year last season… No three point plays killed us.
Somehow, someway we need to find another Bowen.
May 10th, 2010 at 4:41 am
Jim another solid post:
1. Fire Pop and get someone who is willing to adapt basketball around the best players we have. Not someone who throws shitty players in the mix to fit his system.
Pop was outcoached from Game 1 of the season.
2. Develop the young guys.
3. Get Rid of : Mason, Bonner, McDyess, Bogans, Jefferson.
Embarassing.
May 10th, 2010 at 4:45 am
Congrats to the Suns! As a Spurs fan I felt as if nothing ever bounced the Spurs’ way the entire series as big shot after big shot simply dropped into the net. That last second 3 point shot by Richardson yesterday in game 4 was a microcosm of the series. I couldn’t help but admire the flurry of points by Dragic in game 3 who so reminds me of Ginobili.
Now that it is over I am happy for the Suns. The Suns team are a classy bunch just like the Spurs and I hope they go all the way.
Oh well, the obsession with the Spurs and 48MOH will have to take a break. Enjoy your summer everyone and hopefully we will be back stronger next year.
May 10th, 2010 at 5:33 am
Spurs were exposed vs the Suns, no shooters, no depth, no inside presence besides Duncan plus the Suns are pretty good!
May 10th, 2010 at 5:57 am
[...] about San Antonio Spurs 101, Phoenix Suns 107: The Phoenix Suns were simply a better team [...]
May 10th, 2010 at 5:59 am
facts: in game 1 the spurs were down one with 4:26 left. in game 2 the score was tied with 10:01 left. in game 3 the spurs were up one with 10:10 left. in game 4 the score was tied with 9:36 left.
every game this series was up for grabs in the final quarter, and the suns grabbed them all.
Very bitter!!
AND WE DID NOT HAVE :
-A (Young) solid shot-blocker to defend Amare…
-A solid (1 or 2) 3 point-shooter(s) who make the 3s….(R.Bell)
-A stopper defender like Bowen(S.Battier), we really need to update here, dragic nash and co tunneled in the 4th like in a butter cake…..
-The POP willingly to adapt his system to his (best) players……
GH did it in sommer 2009 now Blair should and must do it…DEVELOP all 2010 summer long; i do not think he likes soccer (WC2010!!!),other!!
We got beat by our own guys(Judas-Steve Kerr and Alvin Gentry)!!
-Mason, Bonner, McDyess, Bogans, Jefferson:
POP HOLT BUFORD; just work something here financially ,technically do you clean or you dont
we do not want see us being beaten by a UA PHOENIX OR DALLAS; HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE?? TRADE FIRST RJ TO CUBAN AND LET US GET DIRK!!!!
God Bless You All; WE ARE HEALTHY AND ALIVE; WE WILL COME BACK STRONGER NEXT YEAR( but please without Jefferson, Mason,and some other guys)
THE MANAGEMENT IS JUST TOO GOOD TO MESS UP THE LAST 2 YEARS OF OLD TIMMY.
POP if you stay put, what do you make with these guys : Hairston, Temple, Mahinmi, Gee, Jerrells(Blair,McDyess,Bonner)
WELL BUSY SUMMER 2010.
ALLEZ LA FRANCE
WC2010 WINNER
May 10th, 2010 at 6:06 am
As has already been said here, the playoffs have been a perfect microcosm for the season. A rollercoaster of a season ends on a disappointing sweep. But the Suns were most definitely the better team. We slipped on the defensive end and tried to make up for it on the offensive end. The Suns were better on defense and still extremely dangerous on the offensive end. The Spurs D just couldn’t get the stops when it counted.
Looking ahead to next season, has anybody seen Chad Ford’s mock draft? He has the Spurs picking Damion James. I think he would be a great fit at the 3-spot for the team. He’s got the tools to turn into a really good wing defender.
May 10th, 2010 at 6:32 am
Someone needs to get Jim Henderson into the Spurs front office ASAP. I love how he isn’t just thinking of big names (like I do below), but good role players. Shows he has done his homework. I’ve posted before the Spurs may turn into the old Celtics teams if they are too emotional with their big three. The Celtics didn’t want to trade McHale in the late 80s even though that would have helped, and look what happened.
Bottom line, you guys are Spurs fans first, TP, TD, MG fans second, right? I understand it’s hard to disassociate the players from the team after such a long run. Shaq is still may favorite player, but you can’t say now that it wasn’t the right move to trade him at 32. The Lakers have a chance at 2-3 more titles – that wouldn’t have occurred with Shaq.
Jermaine O’Neal could work and could probably be had for no more than $5 mill. Or, using Parker and others to get Bosh could work. I’d say Parker, Blair, and McDyess for Bosh to get the salaries matched. Parker goes to a French speaking place, the Raptors balance out their roster.
I actually think Jefferson still have value. We’ve all played ball before and if we’re the 4th option on a team, we can get passive over time in all facets of the game. Put him in a situation where he’s the 2nd or 3rd option, add in his expiring contract, and he’s attractive for lots of teams.
Spurs:
Duncan
Bosh/J. O’Neal
Jefferson
Ginobli
Hill
Raptors
Bargnani
Blair/McDyess
Hedo
DeRozan
Parker
May 10th, 2010 at 6:33 am
Disappointing to go out like this, 4-0. And while I hate that it has to be the Suns, I’ll be pulling for them here on out. As has been said above quite a bit, Nash and Hill are good guys who have been fighting for it a long time. You can’t deserve a win, but I hope they get it from here. (Plus, it would validate our losing to them…)
I’m hopeful for the future, too. George Hill and Blair have significant upsides ahead of them, Ginobili and Parker can still play, and I see Duncan heading into the “Robinson years”-where he gracefully grooms the next generation and contributes to another championship run.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:08 am
Part of me wants to root for the Suns (they are, after all, playing the accursed Lakers), but watching them play politics with Game 3 disgusted me a bit. Go play the game, guys.
Anyway, they definitely played a great series. There was no one else to really pick up the slack when one of the Big 3 faltered.
I’m going to hope that Varnado from MSU falls all the way down to our spot in the 2nd round, he’d be a steal there. I suspect we’re not going to be able to deal Jefferson, and who knows if Splitter is going to come or not?
This is going to be one strange off-season.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:09 am
@ Jason:
That lineup loses, and fast.
With the roster you just put together, the only player that can really create shots is Manu Ginobili. I’ll say this now, and probably have to repeat myself throughout the summer…If you trade Tony Parker it has to be for a Bosh quality player. And even then, you better also be getting back a point guard who can create his own shot AND for others, otherwise you are going to ride Manu Ginobili into the ground.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:29 am
Get Rid of : Mason, Bonner, McDyess, Bogans, Jefferson
May 10th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Looking forward we should have a bright future. Thats only if Tim is back.Below our rosters and changes that need to be made.
Tim- if he has one more all-star year left in him we will compete
Manu-after the nose surgery he needs to be manu of amrch 4 us 2 compete (and I dont c y he wouldnt be)
TP-never played a game this season which he was 100% hopefully that will change for next year
Dyss-should be back as a solid player by the time playoff starts
RJ- finally found his role in the system during the playoff. Next year he should get off to a good start, he wont be the player he was in the past but a contributes (14pts 6 reb?). I think of should resign him 4-40 mill and use the 5 years in his salary for free agency.
Hill-should only develop and start with confidence for next year
Blair-should only develop for next year and be used as a trade value.
Bonner-we should resign at this point one of the 2 players that could make 3s for us(assuming we r playing at home). plus he is not that expensive and knows the system.
rmj- probably his biggest fan but its time to say goodbye
Bogans-deserves another shot. he was solid at points in the season and could sometimes knock teh 3. plus he is the cheapest as they come.
Temple-deserve another chance has a world of confidence
MH- a young player and we could use his 3s.
Ian-time to say bye never. develop and he is overated, just atheltic.
The rest will not play in next year’s playoff.
SO our team finally found an identity in the playoff now they need to build on it. currently the roster that i suggested allows for only 2 spots unless trades r made(which I think is ill-advised)
biggest area of concern:
1. athletic Big who can play D. Splitter should solve this problem and with a MLE we should have enough money to afford him. Maybe we should resign Theo(and keep him) for insurance.
if we want to go to FA: haslem and O’neal seam like great fit. Haslem a great defender and has some shots, O’neal is just a good defender, should be cheap, and can make FT. But these 2 are like another Dyss(we have one already) so I woudlnt recommend it.
My Recommendations: Pryzbilla(always a solid defender, and plays hard).
Millicic ( Young(only 24), athletic, has shown some flashes in minnesota and 2 years ago in memphis. and he does one thing very well and tahts to block shots, we need that)
Haywood(might be too expensive but could rebound, block and be a weak side defender)
Elson(played 4 us very athletic and can block shots)
Diop(big, young and athletic)
2. Concern number 2 is premiere and we only have 1 roster spot left for it. Most importantly we need another established shooter that wont choke in playoff. and if we can maybe a solid defender, but thats not necessary. A developed hill, along with ginobli, and above average defender in rj and bogans should be solid.
Suggestions:
1. Michael Redd: (injured prone, Bucks wont need him, should not be that expensive. however, if he gets it going the game is over. he is established and should no disappear in playoff)
2.Mike Miller(established shooter, who wants a ring, and could play okay D, rebound, and pass. a lot of experience should not disappear in playoff)
3. raja bell(could defend and knock down the corner 3. a bowen like player only 3 times worse)
4. Kyle Korver(solid 3-pt shooter with tons of experience)
5. rasul butler(light out shooter that can only shoot)
6. Outlaw(a shooter that can rebound, he also has playoff experience and he has shown up in playoffs before)
7. Deveaon George(respectable defender, okay shooter, who can defend)
8.as insurance we might bring (FIndog back)
That being said we need to start running from the gate. This year I was fine with being the number 8 spot but we need a high seating next year for confidence, respect, more manageable schedule and homecourt(I ahve a hard time believing we would ahd lost game 1 against the suns at home). This shouldnt be hard since we r one of the only few teams that will have its core back. I’m eying a 56 win season good enough 4 competing even for the number 1 spot in the west.
May 10th, 2010 at 8:43 am
I 4got 2 mention matt barnes. (no matter what he will be leaving orlando next year). we coudl get him for a MLE(hopefully). He can shoot, defend and rebound. Perhaps the player we need the most
May 10th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Whoops, meant Game 2 on Cinco De Mayo. Guess all those losses just kind of ran together…
May 10th, 2010 at 9:30 am
The Suns did a good job of finally beating their older brother Spurs. I really hope they blitz the Lakers. With that said, the organization is truly at a crossroads. It is apparent to me that the Big 3 will not win another title as currently constructed unless we have a miracle trade involving RJ. The Suns really showed us that this team has a LONG way to go to truly compete. We have great needs in 4 areas.
1.) A quality big man to help cover for Duncan. The last two weeks have shown how vulnerable Duncan truly is at 34 yrs old. He just can’t produce for an entire season and then carry the team in the playoffs. The Spurs need to either sign Splitter, draft a good big (not likely at 20th pick) or trade for a good big man. Duncan needs to enter the teaching phase of his career by handing off much of the Center duties to a protege.
2.) 3pt shooting. Many on this blog have already laid out a great list of 3 pt shooters. Fortunately, I believe this is an area that can be easily improved especially with all the free agents available this summer. I would prefer to go for Anthony Morrow, Mike Miller, or Kyle Korver in that order, but I think we have many options in this area. We need to pick up 2 good shooters this summer.
3.) Develop the young guns. Goran Dragic was drafted by the Spurs. So was Leandro Barbosa for that matter. That screams that the FO is the BEST at evaluating and drafting talent, but no so much on developing it. We really need to develop Blair, Temple, and Hairston along with continuing to develop Hill. I think at least 2-3 of these guys could be special contributors to the team and of course would be cheap to keep. The coaches need to work with them over the summer and Pop needs to PLAY THEM in November and December.
4.) Retool entire bench. We have given Roger Mason and Matt Bonner all the chances they deserve. Remember that we picked up Keith Bogans as an after thought since no one else needed his services. These guys need to go. Period. No excuses for any of them. If we can successfully execute my points 1-3 then this should almost take care of itself.
This summer will not be like last. I believe we will see a number of new faces on the team and we may possibly make a trade involving Parker or Jefferson. There’s no way in hell we come into next season with a roster that is remotely similar to this season. Good luck Spurs! It was great chatting (and arguing) with you guys this season. I look forward to a summer of intense debate over what trades should happen!
May 10th, 2010 at 9:31 am
@Jim Henderson
Are you thinking long term?? CUZ HARDEN didn’t do anything on the road against the LAKERS.
I get what you’re saying but once TD is gone that’s it. THey had a great run but it doesn’t matter what moves you make. You’ll never get what another TD. He is a once in a lifetime player. He could have went to the Celtics and they could have four more rings right now.
THey should just keep MANU and TP for as long as TD is willing to go.
THey need better role players. Plain and simple. Players that can have big nights. They need shooters. You don’t need to make big trades to get decent shooters.
May 10th, 2010 at 9:56 am
I love the big 3 and I want another run from them but just 2 spice up the conversation remember TP 4 CP3 talks. TP & RJ/GH 4 cp3?
May 10th, 2010 at 10:29 am
I am a Spurs and Bulls fan living in Chicago. Love the Spurs organization from top to bottom. Even though we lost, the Spurs are the standard of excellence in sports. Even in defeat, I was so proud yesterday of this organization.
I do think we need to make a big off season splash once again. Realistically, it is probably the last shot with Timmy D. Trade RJ, Bogans, Bonner, and Mason. See what we can get for TP. Love him, but he is not the same player who used to get the better of Nash. Keep Manu, he is the heart of the team. I think the FO should aggressively pursue Bosh by offering TP and RJ. Any thoughts?
Congrats to the Suns! I don’t care about anyone on that team except Nash and Hill. Beat the Lakers!
May 10th, 2010 at 10:36 am
Suns fan here - the Spurs have had a great run. I am glad to see some many positive comments from the fans. Don’t blow this team up yet…it is no easy feat to win titles (we Suns fans know it all too well - so many things have to go right) - there is no Duncan waiting for you in the next draft, stay competitive with this squad and let some of the young guys develop and see if you can make another good run.
May 10th, 2010 at 10:45 am
conragtulations to PHX. they have an excellent bench and a great, humble leader in steve nash. i believe they can beat L.A., but does PHX believe they can?
we must find a balance next season of developing young players as well as keeping the veteran chemistry intact. i would have liked to seen mahinmi, hairston, and temple get solid minutes, but these young guys weren’t going to help you win a championship. i think each one of these guys along with jerrels and gee should make for a very competitive preseason. i predict mahinmi, temple, and hairston will come through to fill out our roster. this was mahinmi’s 1st real season in the NBA after spending all of last year in the training room. he performed well in the minutes he was given and i expect a very productive offseason in which he strengthens his legs and works on his man-to-man defense. hairston proved to be an athelic, defensive option at small forward and temple proved to be a verstile guard that could provide a better back-up pg than hill. our team has done well to mine some talent. lets see it come to fruition.
i think richard jefferson may have a productive season in his scnd year as a spur, that is if he is not traded. we should consider trade options for antonio mcdyess. he had an excellent post season, but this is apart of the rebuilding process that we must undertake. his roster spot must be open to a developing player that can help in the future. roger mason and keith bogans are certain not to return so how about matt bonner? he has proved to be a solid regular season player, but he cannot be counted on to be a bench asset. his contributions have been admirable, but this may be another situaiton in which we must clear the roster spot for another defensive big.
i wouldn’t imagine a huge splash in free agency, but we have to find a way to get some spot up, CONSISTENT shooters.
hopefully we can acquire taigo splitter so we can have a beefy frontcourt of duncan, splitter, mahinmi, blair.
i expect us to be a good team, but not an elite. hopefully we start seeing some new, young spurs develop for the future.
I LOVE MY SPURS! SEE YALL NXT SEASON!
May 10th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
R.J
Why didn’t you spot up on the three point line more man?
lol
May 10th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
First of all congradulations to the phoenix suns you guys beat us at our own games. Not only were u a better team, you had way better role players than us.
I hate to keep sounding like a broken record but our last breath of air with our past role players was in 08 when we lost to L..A 1-4. With that being said I’m still livid about the Spurs blowing a 20 point lead in game 2 in L.A. (Remember Bowen had Kobe held to 0 points then Pop rests him and it was all over.) and a 16 point lead lead in game 5. ( Can u believe the Spurs bench 3 point role players didn’t make one 3 pointer the whole second half.) And plus Ginobli was injured.
So what does that have anything to do with this. Well HELLO, when u blow leads to good teams in the playoffs, you don’t come back from it.
People already forgot that the Spurs blew an 18 point lead in game 3 and missed 7 free throws in a row.
No one has addressed Timmy’s free throws. ALso Bufford tried to deal RJ & Mason JR at trade deadline and there were no takers. Also the Spurs tried to pick up Raja Bell but he was inactive becasue he was injured. RJ is not a good jump shooter and never has and never will. Actually the Spurs originally wanted Artest but he didn’t want to come to Sanantonio and picked L.A. instead. He would have been a way better fit here than RJ. Let’s blow up the whole bench and bring in 3 point shooters and another clone Bowen if there’s one out there.
I still don’t know why none of these issues weren’t addressed after the L.A. series in 08. Come on everyone knows that once L.A. got Gasol that made them the team to beat in the West. Now u have to go through L.A. to get to the finals. The Spurs wouldn’t have had a chance this year to beat L.A. at all. We need more big guys, shot blockers to help Timmy cause L.A. is big. Also we need someone like Bowen to guard Kobe. Remember u can never stop Kobe, only contain him. Everyone keeps talking about getting past Phoenix, but no one has said L.A. Unless for some miracolous first round upset in 2011 playoffs,L.A. is still the team to go through in the West.
I hate to keep sounding like a broken record but L.A. is too big down low, and too much Kobe right now for Sanantonio or even phoenix(I’m sorry suns fans, I wish u the best of luck against l.a. but your cinderalla season will stop in the conference finals.)
Spurs fan since 89.
P.S. Don’t mess with Texas. Beat L.A. all day every day. L.A. we will get our revenge for 01, 04, 08.
May 10th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
@Hobson, we can’t load up on 3 point shooters in free agency because we’re over the cap and Splitter will take the MLE. And the Spurs front office had nothing to do with drafting Dragic and Barbosa. Didn’t even work them out. Phoenix wanted them, swapped spots with us on draft day to get them, then told us who to pick on their behalf.
May 10th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Also Ginobli wasn’t the same after his broken nose, Timmy’s free throws weren’t falling, and TP still was a step or two slower from the injury that season, or from too many miles on those 28 year old legs.
I’m not making excuses for us, but that Dallas series took all of our energy. you could tell in game #4 the Spurs players were exhausted.
Beat L.A. still.
I’ll never forgot the 08 conference finals, by the way refs that was a foul on Bones in game#5 by Derrick Fisher.
L.A. always gets all the calls that’s why everyone from the band wagon, fair weather fans to the die hards all say loud and proud BEAT L.A. BEAT L.A.
May 10th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Bowen, Horry, Finley, Barry , nelson oberto, udokha were never replaced since the 08 ousting of L.A. Hey Bufford it’s been 2 years, and 2 dissapointing playoff loses. What’s going on? You say were’re rebuilding but to me it doesn’t look that way. Now players don’t even want to come here, hence Artest. We haven’t brought in any defensive or 3 point shooting role players. I don’t count Bonner because he is too inconsistent. You should have learned from last years loss to dallas in 5 games that Mason Jr, and Bonner were no shows in the playoffs. If you are going to be a no show in the playoffs for Sanantonio, then u don’t belong on the team because that’s when we play the hardest. Bufford u should have saw that and Mason Jr, and Bonner shouldn’t have been on the roster this year. Also Spurs fans, you can’t teach a nobody like Bogans to be a Bowen defender, it just doesn’t work that way, just like u can’t expect RJ to be an effective jump shooter. Props to Bufford for trying to pick up Artest first, but he didn’t want to come here he’d rather play for L.A.
Spurs fan since 89
Elliot
Robinson
Cummings
Anderson
Strickland
May 10th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Hats off to the Suns… they beat us fair and square, no talks of shady calls, injuries etc. They were the more talented team and Gentry did a fine job with his personnel. In many ways it was like watching the Mosley/Mayweather fight. Mayweather was known more for flash and point than grit and power. Mosley was the “tougher” fighter. When Mosley landed some bombs early and staggered Mayweather, critics said this is what he’s not used to. Mayweather shortly thereafter picked Mosley apart… bit by bit. No matter what Mosley did, Mayweather was simply better. So the series went… Every time the Spurs landed haymakers and enjoyed a double digit lead, the Suns bench would drain another 3 and hit a quick bucket in transition. Like Mayweather, the Suns were just better than this once great team. There have been talks about the great bench that the Suns have and deservedly so. Gentry did a great job of letting the team play within itself and not panic. The veterans also calmed the younger bench. Throughout the season the bench was a different bench on the road and nowhere near as productive. The Suns are a mix of youth and aged veterans eerily similar to the Spurs during their championship years. The Spurs should take note of this. Grant Hill played an fantastic series at 80 years old and still counting. The original “El Contusion” played incredible defense on Manu for the entire series. Not to mention… hit some very timely jumpers. It’s good to see Hill finally get out of the first round for the first time in his career and play beyond well. I’ve got nothing but respect for players that let their game do the talking and stay out of the tabloids and police blotter. Again… very Spur like. Hat’s off to Hill and the Suns. While I hate being swept, while I’m not a Suns fan and hate seeing my Spurs lose (much less be swept); let’s ask a few simple questions here. How many times did Nash waive his finger at the Spurs bench and crowd after hitting a big shot? How many times did Frye do an “airplane” in front of the Spurs bench and crowd after hitting a 3. Big shot after big shot, I didn’t notice anyone sticking their tongue out at any of the Spurs players or fans like a lizard with down syndrome. Memo to Spurs fans…. we did not lose to the Dallas Mavericks and for that I am thankful. I’ve not only been impressed with the play of the Suns, but also with the way they have conducted themselves during the wins. Act like you’ve been there before, don’t show the other team up and “Stay classy San Diego” err… Phoenix. I think you get the drift. This is a solid and very deep team that is disciplined and respectful. Cuban and the Mavs said they respected San Antonio and the Spurs, the Suns actually DO respect the Spurs. Not sure if I can get behind them since they bounced my beloved Spurs but a lot worse things could happen than see this deserving team win a championship. Whether they do or not, at least they are winning the right way. Best of luck Suns fans, you earned it. See you next year.
Now to the offseason. We all knew we needed some length in the offseason. I firmly believe that the Dallas series would have been much more difficult if Carlise had managed his bigs better (not to mention Roddy riding the pine most of the series). If we go into the offseason thinking bigs weren’t a problem in the Dallas series, we are only kidding ourselves. We need another big to help Timmy. What the Phoenix series exposed were a few things. First of all, George Hill is not yet ready for prime time. I like most Spurs fans, after the Dallas series thought this was going to be his break out play-offs ala Rajan Rondo. His defense was really exposed against Nash’s quickness and against Richardson’s post up. Seemed like his shooting confidence dropped when his defense suffered. McDyess was the player we picked up and hoped for. He gave us exactly what we expected of him and that is a good thing. Great playoffs Dyess, you can sleep well knowing you fully earned your paycheck. I think we all know who did not earn his paycheck. While Jefferson had a few games here and there, he’s been so far gone and out mentally it has been painful to watch. Perhaps it’s because we made a player who usually gets his baskets in transition into a spot up jump shooter? Perhaps that is why his confidence was so shot that he missed open dunks? Jeff is nowhere as mentally tough as the big 3. You could visibly see him hang his head low and even in his decent scoring games, he was frequently late on defensive rotations. Hopefully the expiring contract allows Jeff to exit stage left. Ol’ Gingerballs played well in the last two games but was missing from the previous games. The regular season means nothing when you can’t hit shots in the playoffs. Especially when you are a defensive liability. Channing Frye is what we’d hope Dan Bonner would be in the playoffs. Time will tell but if he sticks around, Bonner can only be thought of as a stretch 4 off the bench, nothing more nothing less. The last two games did show that he is capable of producing from the bench. Blair was only a rook but got major minutes for a Popovich coached rookie. We need some length in there so Blair can be used as a PF and not as a center. In this position he’ll thrive with a very Barkley like game. Roger Mason may have just played his way out of the NBA. I can’t even give him a failing grade. How about we give him an incomplete, don’t let him graduate and kick him out for bad behavior. His game disappeared faster than Jimmy Hoffa. The biggest facet to the Spurs game that the Suns exposed was the lack of 3 point sharp shooters. It was a stark reminder of what once was. It used to be the Spurs with Ferry, Kerr, Finley (a younger Fin), Barry, Horry and Bowen manning the 3pt line. Instead it was the Suns that peppered the Spurs with a barrage of 3 pointers every time it looked like the Spurs might pull away. It forced the defense to change (which killed the Spurs) and much has been said about the spacing and how it affected the Spurs offense. All problems that need to be addressed in the offseason. In closing it’s been a hugely unsuccessful and very successful season. Gauging from the offseason moves the season began with Spurs thinking title or bust, “If I can’t win with this group I should be fired.” Not far into the season we started with the, “Don’t panic it’s only ____(fill in appropriate month here)___.” Followed by a real fear of the Spurs actually missing the playoffs. At that point I did not think the Spurs were capable of beating the #2 seed in the West. That all changed and realistically we thought we had a chance at the title. So in the same season not only did we exceed midseason expectations, but we also fell far short of the preseason expectations. See you guys next time…
May 10th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Trade Bonner, Mason, Bogans and Jefferson( if possible) for a big who can protect the rim and grab some offensive rebounds.
May 10th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Hey I’m a diehard spurs fan from singapore! Our team had a great yet disappointing playoff run this year. TD has and will always be our rock, Manu our heart and soul. I really think we gotta make major changes and retool our bench this offseason. Without getting too specific, Bonner needs to go (he just isn’t clutch) and ditto for mace, bogans and possibly rj.
May 10th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
Lastly, I’d love to give a big shout out to the guys in 48 minutes of hell. Tim, Graydon, Jesse and everyone of us fans that have contributed to this blog. You guys have been phenomenal and I cannot put to words how valuable and enriching your insight and analysis has been to me. Every article put out has so much thought put into it and carries a certain amount of depth; there has never been a dull read. Thanks for being such great writers and fans, spurs fans are really the most privileged!
May 10th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
doggydogworld
“May 10th, 2010 at 2:41 pm @Hobson, we can’t load up on 3 point shooters in free agency because we’re over the cap and Splitter will take the MLE. And the Spurs front office had nothing to do with drafting Dragic and Barbosa. Didn’t even work them out. Phoenix wanted them, swapped spots with us on draft day to get them, then told us who to pick on their behalf.”
Good point on Dragic an Barbosa. I forgot about that. However, we are going to be over the cap anyway around it. With just the big 3 plus Jefferson we have over $61 million in committed cap space. The salary cap next year is around $54 million. It is simply inevitable unless we fill out 2-3 spots in the rotation with veteran minimum players. Unless we can trade RJ or Tony for these shooters (hopefully RJ) then we have to spend money somewhere.
May 11th, 2010 at 8:06 am
@Hobson, we can’t “spend money” on free agents if we’re over the cap. That’s what the cap means. We have the MLE for Splitter. I think we have the biannual exception, but that’s only 2m. Other than that we can only sign free agents for minimum salary and there aren’t many sharpshooters available at that price.
The only way we bring in shooters is to find a team willing to dump them in exchange for RJ’s expiring contract. A long shot, at best.
May 11th, 2010 at 9:28 am
@Dogg, I read up on the NBA salary cap rules and see what you are saying. We can only go further over the cap if we resign our current slew of bums. (Bonner, Bogans, and Mason) This means that we will HAVE to trade in order to get the bench/3pt
shooter(s) we need to compete.
May 11th, 2010 at 10:21 am
What doggydogworld said is correct, and so is Hobson’s conclusion:
“This means that we will HAVE to trade in order to get the bench/3pt
shooter(s) we need to compete.”
That’s what I’ve been trying to get through to people on here. But no, they want to upgrade the team by magic wand, by only giving up their rejects. Utterly delusional. Apparently we’d all prefer to go down with the ship, rather than make some hard decisions. Lets grow-up, please!
May 11th, 2010 at 10:38 am
@Jim and Dogg,
Realisically we have only two trade assets; Tony and RJ. I can’t see us trading Duncan or the newly resigned Manu. Even if we bring over Splitter, we have to address the bench and 3pt shooting, which means an active summer in the trade market. If we don’t get Splitter, our job becomes even more difficult and more based on trades. We would have to trade for a bench, 3pt shooting, AND a big man. Let’s hope we can sign Tiago and simply unload Jefferson for a couple decent parts plus cap relief.
May 12th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Hobson,
“I can’t see us trading Duncan or the newly resigned Manu.”
Perhaps not, but Manu is probably our best trade piece overall. And just because we signed him recently does not preclude us from trading him for the right pieces.
May 12th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Jim Henderson
May 12th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
“Perhaps not, but Manu is probably our best trade piece overall. And just because we signed him recently does not preclude us from trading him for the right pieces.”
True. There’s no law keeping us from trading Manu, but I still think if one of the big 3 go, it’s Parker. I simply think Parker has the best trade value due to his relative youth, expiring contract, and the fact that he’s a legit top 6-7 PG. We’ve seen Manu influence games in a way Tony can’t imagine. When Manu is on, he’s behind only a few SGs in the league. Besides, Manu sell seats due to the Hispanic population in SA. Who knows what will happen this summer, but I think we both agree that there are going to be some serious fireworks and the roster won’t be the same heading into training camp.
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