Pop and Boeheim

[cuseinseattle]

I don't agree with this. He hit the big shot in game 1 but was 5-14 from the field and had 5 assists and 5 turnovers. He was awesome in game 5 but in games 6 and 7 he was combined 9-35 from the field although he had a good assist to turnover ratio. He struggled in the series at times for the same reason Manu did, they are both old and can't drive by people easily anymore which is a huge part of their game.

Just for clarification I agree Parker should have been in the game I just don't think he was the one that got them to game 7. He was good and bad in this series. Granted outside of one game Manu was basically all bad.

 

[thebigeast44]

Cuse- Parker got them to the NBA Finals and was their best player all year. Not in each individual game of course. We both agree he should have been in the game at the end. Leaving the player who was arguably the best point guard in the league for a good part of the year on the bench at the end of the last 2 games would be unforgivable for almost any coach other than Pop.

 

[moqui]

Agreed Cowtown but the one who brought the Spurs to the finals this year was Parker and not Manu. Pops a HOF coach but he deserves serious criticism for keeping Parker out of the game in key situations the final 2 games in favor of the turnover machine Manu.

Pop is the guy who got the team to the finals, more than any individual player. Very few of you watch much NBA until the playoffs, and fewer still watch the Spurs. This was a team that people have been calling "too old" for the last 3 years, but Pop manages to pull high seeds out of them every year and this year took them on a deep run against much younger legs and then to Game 7 against the best team in the world.

You don't know the back story - how bad is Parker's injury? Was he spent (looked it to me)? Not only does Pop know what he is doing, he has his finger on the actual pulse of the team, not buried in a bag of cheetos like the armchair geniuses who think their two dimensional view gives them omniscient powers.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Pop is the guy who got the team to the finals, more than any individual player. Very few of you watch much NBA until the playoffs, and fewer still watch the Spurs. This was a team that people have been calling "too old" for the last 3 years, but Pop manages to pull high seeds out of them every year and this year took them on a deep run against much younger legs and then to Game 7 against the best team in the world.

You don't know the back story - how bad is Parker's injury? Was he spent (looked it to me)? Not only does Pop know what he is doing, he has his finger on the actual pulse of the team, not buried in a bag of cheetos like the armchair geniuses who think their two dimensional view gives them omniscient powers.

PWND

 

[cuseinseattle]

Pop is the guy who got the team to the finals, more than any individual player. Very few of you watch much NBA until the playoffs, and fewer still watch the Spurs. This was a team that people have been calling "too old" for the last 3 years, but Pop manages to pull high seeds out of them every year and this year took them on a deep run against much younger legs and then to Game 7 against the best team in the world.

You don't know the back story - how bad is Parker's injury? Was he spent (looked it to me)? Not only does Pop know what he is doing, he has his finger on the actual pulse of the team, not buried in a bag of cheetos like the armchair geniuses who think their two dimensional view gives them omniscient powers.

you are correct I don't watch a lot of the NBA. I was merely stating my opinion on how the series played out. I like Pop and really just think the Heat are the better team but I do think Pop made some decisions that have a right to be questioned. Pop is a great coach and knows more about basketball than I do. I should have started my previous comment out with that statement but I thought it was so obvious it didn't need to be mentioned. Also I eat Sun Chips not Cheetos.

 

[thebigeast44]

Almost everyone who has criticized Pop's decisions in the final 2 games (particularly letting Manu handle the ball at the end instead of Parker and not having Duncan in to rebound which resulted in 3 pointers for the Heat), has also stated he is a HOF coach and one of the best in history.

But does that make him immune from criticism? At the very least, people who are defending Pop (and he doesn't need much defending - his record speaks louder than any words could) should acknowledge that those decisions did not turn out well.

And it's not just the "armchair geniuses" of this board who have criticized him, professional commentators whose job it is to follow the NBA also have. And I would not be surprised if Pop is questioning himself as many competitive coaches do after dealing with close, difficult losses.

I'm sure Pop will keep leading the Spurs onto better than expected results. They are almost always a pleasure to watch.

 

[realorange]

If a free throw had been made near the end of regulation in the 6th game, Pop would be praised by everyone as a great coach with no questioning of his decisions. Strange media world we live in. No gray areas, only black and white.

 

[CorduroyG]

Pop is the guy who got the team to the finals, more than any individual player. Very few of you watch much NBA until the playoffs, and fewer still watch the Spurs. This was a team that people have been calling "too old" for the last 3 years, but Pop manages to pull high seeds out of them every year and this year took them on a deep run against much younger legs and then to Game 7 against the best team in the world.

You don't know the back story - how bad is Parker's injury? Was he spent (looked it to me)? Not only does Pop know what he is doing, he has his finger on the actual pulse of the team, not buried in a bag of cheetos like the armchair geniuses who think their two dimensional view gives them omniscient powers.

Pop is 1 of the greatest coaches ever. He's a huge part of the spurs success every year, including this year. That doesn't mean he can't make mistakes, and doesn't mean fans aren't allowed to criticize him. Pop was bad in the 4th qtr of game 6. He kept Duncan and Parker on the bench way too long to start 4th qtr as the heat wiped away a 10 pt lead very quickly, something the announcers were questioning, and I don't think their fingers were buried in Cheetos at the time. He didn't double Lebron in the 4th which led to a layup drill for Lebron the entire 4th qtr. he had Duncan on the bench twice in the last 30 seconds that led to 2 offensive rebounds for miami which led to two 3s that forced ot. He didn't call timeout down 1 with 10 seconds left to get Parker back in the game and let an out of control ginobili turn it over when he was god awful all game. He was awful in the 4th qtr and ot of game 6. Now I'm gonna have some Cheetos.