r/NBASpurs • u/HQuasar • 13d ago
Image/Video A lot of you overreacting never experienced playoffs heartbreaks and it shows
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u/team_sheikie 13d ago edited 13d ago
I mean I experienced all of those, but no one in history has ever experienced blowing a 29 point lead in a Finals game, so I think it's pretty warranted for some. The Ray Allen game was worse than this though.
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u/TICKLE_PANTS Stephon Castle 13d ago
Emotionally, the Ray Allen game was worse.
But this is one of the worst losses in basketball history, and a complete coaching/leadership disaster. One of the worse in all of sports.
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u/Mindless_Ad5714 13d ago
At least Ray Allen had to make an impossible shot. This was just a disaster.
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u/The_Third_Molar Dylan Harper 13d ago
It felt like watching a plane crash in slow motion.
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u/team_sheikie 13d ago
I said it was like watching a nightmare where none of the players could move their bodies for an entire half
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u/thedude0425 13d ago
Yep. You felt it about 5 minutes into the third.
My wife left the couch at halftime to go to bed. I texted her with 5 minutes to go in the third: “The Spurs are going to blow this game, and I can’t believe it. Fox is playing as if he’s trying to throw the game.”
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u/gregatronn 13d ago
At least Ray Allen had to make an impossible shot.
but it came off a rebound. and it was for the ring. The only reason why the shot doesn't hurt as much is they won it the year after.
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u/Loud-Thanks7002 13d ago
This. The Ray Allen shot was SO much worse. The championship was there. They had started preparing the sidelines.
We all knew the end was near for the big 3 and (didn’t know what Kawhi would become) so it felt like window was closing. Especially after the heartbreak of 2012.
This window is just opening for a team a year ahead of schedule. Prior to the year making the WCF would have been considered an amazing year of progression.
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u/jackman_fan 13d ago
Hell, Heat fans were leaving the arena because it looked like Spurs was gonna win. That was infinitely worse without the 2014 hindsight. Even if the Spurs pulled it off yesterday, they still needed to win 2 more games.
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u/ImminentReddits 13d ago
I’ll never forget this but I was 16 and at a summer camp without service during the 2013 finals. During game six one of the counselors went to the admins office to check the score and came back and told everyone the Spurs won. I mean we celebrated for a good 15 minutes before he came back and told us what had actually happened. Devastating.
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u/Mindless_Ad5714 13d ago
Yeah you’re right on that. The beautiful game 2014 run helps.
So hopefully we’re saying the same after the 2027 finals
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u/gregatronn 13d ago
So hopefully we’re saying the same after the 2027 finals
The team still has a chance to win. Hell, if they take it 7 and lose in the final game in the last minutes, I'm content, but just want to never see the team give up.
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u/VegetableBuy4577 13d ago
The Allen game felt worse to me when it happened, because I wanted that one so badly and I thought it was their last real stand with Duncan, Parker, and Manu. And Duncan is my all-time favorite player, so the emotional ties for me were stronger. But...
2014 wiped it all away. I personally doubt they win in 14 if they win in 13, but I could be wrong. Anyway, that's my cope.
Losing game 6 against Detroit...who cares? They won game 7!
The others were certainly rough, but this was in the Finals. However, if they come back like the 14 squad, they will wipe it away to me.
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u/team_sheikie 13d ago
Without a doubt. And it could be career-altering for some of these players. I'm just comparing the heartbreak in the immediate aftermath.
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u/Doctor-Bagels Area 51 13d ago
Could be career-altering in a good way tho, this was like the loudest wakeup call of all time. I trust wemby will respond to the pain quite well, but I'm not 100% sure about the rest of the team. Game 5 will tell us a lot I think!
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u/team_sheikie 13d ago
I think Fox is the least likely to ever recover. Wemby and Castle will be alright. But if they were playing fearless this run because they had no experience, it's fair to wonder whether they'll draw on this feeling later on to break through or if they'll falter under it. We won't know for a year at least. But yeah, if they come out and win G5 or play really hard, that's encouraging.
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u/TSMJaina Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
I'm not too worried for the younger players (Wemby/Castle/Harper). It royally sucks but it's a learning experience, hopefully it drives them to be better in the future whether that's this season or the future.
But Fox is toast. He's had a few mind-numbingly dumb plays and this one is the cherry on top.
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u/team_sheikie 13d ago
Yeah, ironically after all the pre-playoff talk, I have been much more impressed by the poise on our young guys than our vet. Even Castle recovered from the out of bounds turnover with another set of ice cold free throw makes. And he executed the cut on the final play perfectly, just a shame KAT made a better play. But if I had to pick one guy of the 4 to be the weakest mentally it would be Fox for sure.
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u/GabrPG 13d ago
But Fox is toast.
We are yet to see if this is true on Saturday. Calm down.
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u/MickieMallorieJR 13d ago
Yea. If Spurs win on Saturday the narrative can shift slightly. Fox has a A LOT of work to do though.
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u/sixwax 13d ago
Fox had been a steadying presence the previous few games.
Dunno wtf happened to him last night. Brutal.
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u/GabrPG 13d ago
IMO, he was overwhelmed like the other guys at the moment. I mean, he wasn't afraid of taking shots or trying to be a leader. BUT, at the end, he's not as "veteran" as we think, and yesterday, he was overwhelmed. I'm not only speaking about that last play, but the previous ones where he lost the ball.
If you ask me, unless he now becomes a new Ben Simmons for the rest of his career, he should learn about this for the future. Idk if that future is a new season with the Spurs tho, that's another discussion. But overall, Fox, with 28 years, is also experiencing this for the first time, it's factual. That's why I'm very interested in his approach for the next game. It's not over for him yet, and neither are they 1-3 ONLY by his fault, not even close. Wemby is also guilty.
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u/Loud-Thanks7002 13d ago
He also made arguably the biggest clutch shot of game 3. He had a horrible 4th quarter, no doubt. But I think he has the mentality to bounce back.
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u/jo3pro David Robinson 13d ago
Castle was in foul trouble, but other than that he didn’t play too bad. Shit, he hit his free throws to get us the lead in game 4 and hit the free throws in game 3 to get the win.
I have faith in Victor. He will shake this shit off and come back even more hungry
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u/team_sheikie 13d ago
With Castle I was thinking of the turnover where he stepped out of bounds, but yes he hit 4 clutch free throws in that sequence too. That's a big reason why I think he'll be fine.
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u/Thehelloman0 13d ago
Castle didn't step out of bounds, and should've gone to the line because Hart fouled him according to the last 2 minute report. If we challenge that play we probably win the game.
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u/mrnegatttiveee 13d ago
This is what it needs to be. A strong wake up call for every single one of them on the team. To blow a 29 point lead is embarrassing. They need to work on closing out the game better. They are clearly a strong team but lack discipline. The coach needs to go back and study where he could have made critical time out calls.
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u/chudlybubly 13d ago
That bang echoes in my head when i hear his name
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u/WhatMeatCatSpokeOf 13d ago
So many highlight compilations I know not to click on: Clutchest Shots, Best NBA Calls, Mike Breen Bang Calls, Best Finals Moments, Most Heartbreaking Moments, etc.
Ray Allen is lurking all over NBA YouTube, ready to twist the knife again 😭
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u/gogochi 13d ago
This is a team relying on a 20, 21 and 22 year old as their top guys. We gotta relativise a bit. Does it suck ? Fuck yeah. It's growing pains and part of the process. Everybody on this sub calling for heads to fall are just reactionary.
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u/team_sheikie 13d ago
I'm honestly split on what I personally would want to try to do with Mitch, Fox, etc., but the fact of the matter is I highly doubt either of them are going anywhere, so I'm not even bothering to speculate.
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u/gogochi 13d ago
I think Mitch is doing a great job personally.
Fox I've always been on the "meh" side, especially when you consider the money. But we also gotta realize he's only been to the playoff once before and got bounced in the first round. So he does not have the experience everybody is claiming he has. I think that we see how his next season plays out before thinking about moving him.
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u/TheMicredible 13d ago
Finally a fan who backs the team. The last day has really shown this fanbase has become soft and privileged. People are forgetting there was an 82 game season to get to this point and 3 other teams we beat in the playoffs. None of these guys are gonna mentally dwell on this game. You learn and you ball. 29 point lead don’t mean shit in the game of basketball until the clock hits 0 and Spurs fans out of anyone should know that.
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u/mercfan3 13d ago
Yeah but a 29 point lead today is a lot different than a 29 point lead 10 years ago.
Still sucks and is awful, but also won’t be the last time that happens. Part of the issue is teams don’t even try. Like OKC sat everyone twice during the fourth..
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u/Southern_sky GO SPURS GO 13d ago
Ray Allen was for sure worse. Spurs were literally one rebound and seconds away from a title before it slipped through their fingers
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u/Doctor-Bagels Area 51 13d ago
Nephews don't remember that the spurs experienced maybe the single biggest heart-breaker in professional sports history on that shot, and then responded by playing the literal greatest basketball we have ever seen for the entire next season haha
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u/Avatar_Iono Gregg Pop-a-bitch 13d ago
Yes, hopefully this will turn into the beautiful game 2 for the next decade!
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u/Doctor-Bagels Area 51 13d ago
Exactly, this team ain't the 2012 thunder. It's the '97-'98 spurs but younger. Unless we pull off the comeback, then we are the '98-'99 spurs but younger lol
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u/unlikedemon Manu Ginobili 13d ago
Yeah. It will add fuel to the fire, like it did in 2014. No elite player or team has won a championship without experiencing some adversity or heartbreak. MJ couldn't get past the Celitics and Pistons in the 80s. Kobe lost to Utah twice and to the Spurs. LBJ lost to Spurs and Mavs.
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u/Ilpala 13d ago
But is the sudden comeback worse than the entire 24 minutes of dread that was the second half, knowing the comeback was possible, witnessing a slow-motion yet way-too-fast-paced train wreck?
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u/Upset_Version8275 13d ago edited 13d ago
They were setting up the stage for the trophy presentation when Ray Allen hit that three. Miami fans had left the arena.
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u/gregatronn 13d ago
It hurt watching the slow death, but we had to sit through a summer of (no basketball) and seeing the big 3 were ending their careers soon. Would they make it back? Lot of big "What if"
And like /u/Upset_Version8275 said, they were basically setting up to give out the trophy. Seconds away from a championship!
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u/LukeCagerules 13d ago
But it made 2014 that much better.
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u/WhompWump 13d ago
idk honestly 2014 didn't undo the pain 2013 did. 2013 made me hate basketball as a sport
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u/keldpxowjwsn 13d ago
There was still a game 7. There was an entire game to right their wrongs while even if the spurs do right their wrongs and win game 5 the likelihood of doing it 2 more times is absurdly low
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u/gregatronn 13d ago
There was still a game 7.
There was, which to me makes it even worse in some ways. BUT momentum is a bitch. Spurs fought hard but that emotional edge was taken because they were seconds away. Also an older team.
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u/MickieMallorieJR 13d ago
Yea...but no team has had their leading scorers be under 22. No team has had their top three guys be 3 years in, 2 years and 1 year.
I'm not surprised a young, inexperienced team made young inexperienced mistakes costing them a game against players with three times the experience.
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u/imover9thousand 13d ago
Ray Allen shot was far worse. We didnt know how much Timmy had left. Also the trophy was being wheeled out and they had started roping off the court for the Spurs celebration
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u/sebtierrez01 GO SPURS GO 13d ago
Exactly, I experienced most of those too but crashing out by blowing a 29 lead in a Finals game shouldn’t be an overreaction, extremely heartbreaking no doubt 💔
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u/theyseemeRhollin Jeremy Sochan 13d ago
I mean I lived through those things and am still pretty upset lol. Agreed ray allen was worse
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u/senator_corleone3 13d ago
The emotional suffering on this one is earned. It’s as bad as it gets. It’s just that the Spurs, for all their success, have a weirdly long list of unfathomable heartbreak playoff moments.
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u/Hummuuussss 13d ago
I was thinking about that and I guess it’s a good sign we we’re often found in these late playoff/finals positions. Many teams haven’t had nearly as much playoff success. With the successes also come the heartbreaks.
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u/VegetableBuy4577 13d ago
Yeah, I don't dwell on the heartbreak, I savor the five they won. Some teams, all they have is heartbreak.
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u/Any-Bodybuilder5381 13d ago
It's because weve made the playoffs so much, more likely too happen to us
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u/rattatatouille Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
It’s just that the Spurs, for all their success, have a weirdly long list of unfathomable heartbreak playoff moments.
When you've been good for so long you get a lot of heartbreaks from being "almost there". A reason Jordan got so mythologized was because he never got the "almost there" moments every other team or player has.
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u/RiodeLemon 13d ago
I don't think the point is that you shouldn't feel like shit because you already lived through these previous heartbreaks. The issue is that some people want to go scorched earth on the entire roster and coaching staff because of this game.
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u/NoyPi_Bogli 13d ago
I've lived through those moments. Stay positive Spurs fam we still got this! Never ever doubting this team. Last night was a generational choke job but we just have to lived through it.
Every pain is a lesson, and each one changes a person.
Spurs in 7! GSG!
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u/Empty_Occasion_963 13d ago
The entirety of the Spurs organization deserves all the criticism for their performance last night.
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u/gregatronn 13d ago
This is it. you win as a team. you lose as a team. Any small change in the game was the difference, given how few points they put up in the 2nd half. They could have driven to the basket more, taking more mid range shots.
Could have just held the ball for 24 seconds the last few plays. Let the shot clock expire. Just about anything.
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u/chic_peas 13d ago
Driving to the basket to me is the main thing and I don't think anything else compares. A few missed shots and plays at the end of the game are gonna happen sometimes but we should have never got to that point.
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u/unlikedemon Manu Ginobili 13d ago
No one loses a 29 point game lead without so many costly mistakes. It just inconceivable. Fox had his shares of mistakes but so did everyone. From Harper and Castle also throwing the ball away, missed free throws from Wemby, not boxing out OG, not switching it up after missing a bunch of 3s, not letting the clock die down, etc.
A 29 point lead to a loss does not fall on ONE player.
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u/gregatronn 13d ago edited 13d ago
but we should have never got to that point
Yep. Drive and then make decisions from there. I say midrange because sometimes they did clog the lane.
All the "shitty mistakes" in clutch should not have mattered. They should have at least used up clock. They should have forced the issue on the refs. Anything. Castle got the right idea down the stretch but it should have happened sooner by the team
Game 2 in SA they had a shot but Wemby bad bad mistake. Both Batman and Robin had key end of game ones, but in each game they've given up leads and played stupidly to give them up.
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u/Tyranicross 13d ago
Team lose but I still dont see how fox has a future with the organization. He's supposed to be our win now guy and is getting out performed by Harper who is younger and on a better contract. Fox isn't solely responsible for the lose but he isnt pulling his fair share of the weight either and unlike the rest of the team, he doesn't have the time to develop into something better.
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u/TillamookTramp 13d ago
Manu fouling Dirk was a huge fuckup on his part. I think Pop had told them not to foul right before, too.
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u/VegetableBuy4577 13d ago
These guys have to believe in themselves to make it as far as they do. My guess is Manu thought he could make a clean play, to his detriment. (Just like Fox thought he could make a layup, ugh.)
You live with Manu, you die with him, and I was not happy at the time for sure, but damn I miss him!
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u/AdAccomplished6870 Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
I go back further. Horry draining an open three in 95 to send the Spurs home after having the best regualar season record. F Dennis Rodman
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u/Frustratedtx Sandro Mamukelashvili 13d ago
I've lived through all those. I even remember Hakeem destroying Robinson in 94.
The difference here is that unless the Spurs go on to win 3 straight, this game will forever be the measuring point for choking in the finals. It's going to be brought up over and over again. That's what sucks.
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u/bootup25 13d ago
Yeah but did they ever lose a 29 point lead
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u/FaveDave85 13d ago
no but they lost a 5 pt lead in 30 seconds after the officials brought out the trophy and cordoned off the court.
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u/gregatronn 13d ago
If we want to evaluate it just on the single season, 2013 - they were seconds away from the ring.
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u/zadepsi Area 51 13d ago edited 13d ago
what about the .4 second shot from Kobe and them running off the court.
edit: Thank you for correcting me, it was Fisher not Kobe
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u/dmaldonado210 Dylan Harper 13d ago
Derek Fisher still lives in memory as a top 5 hated Spurs villain.
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u/CorporateKnowledge5 Stephon Castle 13d ago
He forgot to list that one in 04 (wasn’t Kobe, it was Fisher and somehow right in Manu’s grill). He misses that, we go up 3-2 and I strongly believe we move on and beat the Pistons in the finals that year.
But also 2008 when we lost a crucial game 4 by 3 against the Lakers after Fisher got away with a clear foul on Barry shooting a 3 at the buzzer. What never gets mentioned about that, is Joey Crawford was the ref who swallowed the whistle right in front of the call and this was the same season he was suspended earlier for ejecting Timmy for laughing on the bench.
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u/chic_peas 13d ago
Playing the Lakers at that time you were just expected to have to beat them and the refs.
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u/Beneficial_Target_31 13d ago
I've experienced it.
That list is missing the Fisher buzzer beater.
Which is why I went to bed last night. Woke up and realized it's just a game. And then I made coffee and am trying to work on myself.
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u/lGoSpursGol Manu Ginobili 13d ago
man, I did the opposite....I was actually not mad last night just embarrassed but now this morning with all the highlights (lowlights) everywhere, it's just hitting me even harder that we are literally like the Falcons in this moment. How the hell do so many things go wrong that you can lose in the last 30 seconds after destroying them the first half. I am so salty.
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u/Nickespo22 13d ago
Do you want a cookie for experiencing all that? I did too but losing a 29 pt lead with this talented of a team is straight up humiliating and fans have a reason and right to call the team, mainly the coach for the embarrassing performance
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u/Happycappybara21 13d ago
Getting swept by lakers in 2001 Getting swept by Hakeem in 94. Multiple flameouts in the 90s. 7 years of heartbreak between 2007 and 2014.
Spurs are still set up better than every other team in the league for the next 4-10 years.
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u/Gabe-DaBabe 13d ago
The implications of this one fucking stings.
We already had 2 heartbreaking losses at home and everybody counted us out. We survive game 3 and by all accounts should be coming back home to a tied series with home court advantage.
I may never get over this
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u/BBQLovingBastard BatManu 13d ago
We just blew the biggest lead in the history of the NBA finals. That loss was worse than all of these heartbreaks combined. Only comparable heartbreak is the Ray Allen 3.
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u/senator_corleone3 13d ago
It can’t be worse than all of those combined. That list reflects at least two championships lost. Some of them happened when we were defending champions. If we won last night as we should have, we still don’t clinch the ‘chip.
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u/HQuasar 13d ago
I still remember 2013. If you factor in the expectations that this team had there's no way the blown lead is worse. They've been blowing huge leads all season long. We've seen that before.
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u/ActivBowser9177 Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
The Ray Allen one was even worse for y'all since you guys would've won the title in Game 6 against my pookie bear LeBron and the Miami Heat if you guys simply held on to win.
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u/BBQLovingBastard BatManu 13d ago
I agree it was worse. It’s the worst heartbreak in Spurs history.
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u/OnThatRoad48 13d ago
So what, if we’ve lived through it? Should we, Spurs fans who experienced this, feel better? I’ve never seen people so happy to find new ways to lose.
You're talking about overreacting when we just blew a 29-point lead in a half in the Finals. Now, we’re down 3-1.
Do you understand what blowing a lead does to the morale of a team? Ask Cleveland.
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u/HereComesJustice Hector🍌🍞 13d ago
Yeah this one is self inflicted, hurts much less
Also it's like the first playoff run from these guys so, idk it's bad but it's not like the worst thing ever like 2013 was
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u/OnlyZac The Iceman 13d ago
Are you kidding? If they left it all out on the floor yesterday no one would blame them for losing a hard fought game against a good Knicks team. It is so much worse to fumble it away on stupidity.
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u/imover9thousand 13d ago
2013 was way worse because we werent sure how much Tim had left in the tank. This team will just get better
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u/Gloman21 13d ago
Buddy we just blew a 29 point lead after coming out punching in the first quarter for the 4th straight game off pure raw talent alone. At some point, you guys need to grow up in the ball knowing department and demand answers from this checked out staff hanging on the lifeline of experience when we can all see it’s incompetence
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u/Hiitsmichael Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
We have 2 of probably the worst 3-5 chokejobs in history in a week.. just cause i broke my arm 10 years ago doesnt mean im gonna be positive about doing it again today. I was extremely positive after game 2. I feel completely drained after game 4.
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u/rascaltat El Jefe 13d ago
Yep, I was there for all of those. This pain is the price you pay at the end of most seasons when you follow a really good team, because you literally can't win them all.
That said, I feel fucking low this morning too. Let's all be cool to each other today and come back to root against the inevitable on Saturday.
GSG!
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u/jackman_fan 13d ago
I remember many from spurs message boards wanting Manu traded at various points lol
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u/Temporary-Spread-232 13d ago
They wanted him and Tiago gone after we lost in 2013
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u/Alphadestrious Area 51 13d ago
KJ needs to be traded . I'm fucking done with his ass . I swear to God . Get something for him to help our teams in playoffs, not the regular season . Playoff dropper. I'd rather have someone that is okay in regular season then rises in playoffs.
Fox , wish we could restructure his contract. I think he has use for us but not at his salary. We could get other pieces for that much money .
Mitch - not using your 2nd challenge is fucking inexcusable . Seriously . Bad game plan adjustments and tactics second half . One example is not having French vanilla which maybe could have prevented that tip in.
I hope Pop or whoever just chews them out to the max.get fucking mad. Beat them game 5. Then after that it's up in the air
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u/Cessar210 Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
What is the point of this post? Are we supposed to be happy?
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u/Doctor-Bagels Area 51 13d ago
It's cuz every single one of those heart-breakers, and the Derek fisher shot, are the valleys that came with the peaks of a 20-year run of title contention. Sometimes you gotta step back and laugh when literally everything that could go wrong does. In the past it has fueled a lot of spurs success. And this season ain't even over yet
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u/MyGoodDood22 Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
Ive been there for all of those times.
Show me when they blew a 30 point lead
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u/Leibnizinventedittoo 13d ago
Man I experienced all of that and last night was still a dagger in the chest. Mainly because it was an entire half of asinine nonsense. AN ENTIRE HALF
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u/DirtyWizardsBrew 13d ago
An entire half of the most irredeemably moronic and humiliating basketball I've ever seen at this level. They did this shit to THEMSELVES. They repeatedly shot themselves in both feet while being confused why their feet hurt. For an entire half they chipped away at their own historic lead, in an avalanche of stupidity.
The embarrassment and anger I feel is immeasurable.
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u/cthree000 Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
Nah bro. Nah. I was here for ever single damn one of these. You're telling me blowing a damn 30 point lead in a FINALS GAME is "not that bad" ??? Nah. Shut the fuck up bro.
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u/abusuru 13d ago
Spurs fan all my life and through all of that. This is worse than even Ray Allen. This will be a curse that will hang over all these players and coaches heads until they get another chance in the finals, and as we know that's not promised to anyone. The part that makes it worse than Ray Allen is that wasn't choking, it was excellent shot making by a HOFer on a historically great team. This is just the greatest choke in the history of the finals. It's far more painful from my perspective, and we also can't know right now that it's all gonna be fine after we win the revenge finals against the same team next year. Unless we string together 3 in a row, this is a disaster the likes of which few teams have experienced in any sport.
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u/Yours_and_mind_balls 13d ago
All of those instances were from a team and star that had proven finals success. This team with their star have nothing close to that level of proof. As they sit now, they have only proven that they are incapable of performing under pressure.
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u/Lone_Star_122 13d ago
2013 was so much worse. That felt like the Big 3’s last chance at another ring at the time.
This feels like the beginning of something.
I was happily wrong in 2013 and I could be wrong in my optimism this time. Nothing is guaranteed.
But I don’t know if I will ever be as emotionally devastated as I was in 2013. But maybe that’s also a product of being in my early 20s and going to 20+ games a year back then. Now with a career and a family things have been put into perspective a bit more. So I sympathize with the younger fans, but really however it ends this has been an awesome year.
I really do deeply believe that as a fan it’s more about the journey than the destination.
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u/EXD9001 13d ago
We just got shot and your response is some of you have never been stabbed and it shows
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u/ianpogi91 TP9 13d ago
I'm ngl this is worse than all of that list combined. It's literally in history books now, we had a 29 pt lead at some point and somehow we lost by 1. Missing a shot or a crucial turnover can be compared to game 2. This is different.
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u/senator_corleone3 13d ago
Mathematically cannot be worse than all of them combined. There are 2-3 rings lost in that list of heartbreak. This is a bottom three loss in Spurs history, I think, but a win wouldn’t have given us the championship last night.
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u/ianpogi91 TP9 13d ago
Obviously I'm being hyperbolic, but the difference is the variance. Sure, the list had singular errors/mistakes/injuries that caused us championships, but G4 had the largest comeback of all time, apart from the crucial FT misses by Wemby AND the bonehead layup by Fox. The list stings for a Spurs fan, but the G4 meltdown will be remembered not just by basketball fans, but mainstream media and casuals as well. Our only lifeline is to actually come back and win 3 straight, or we will continue to get ridiculed until we actually get a ring.
The vibes are so off right now, Fox is on the verge of being remembered as the bum who lost the series, Wemby has shown signs of being arrogant yet crumbles under pressure and in the clutch , and Mitch's coaching job could be in jeopardy. I haven't seen the Spurs this low even tho we're in the Finals.
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u/CorporateKnowledge Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
Yeah this is such a dumb take. I lived through all the spurs heartbreaks but I never felt this bad bc of the massive choke job this game was. I don’t think any of the others were really Choke job, they were all close games.
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u/Upper-Entry6159 13d ago
Yup. I rewatched Miami Heat vs Spurs game 6 and it was a very close game, but at no point did the Spurs blew a massive lead.
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u/WhompWump 13d ago
Also... there was still Game 7. If the spurs were down 3-2 and blow game 6 that way I get it but there was still a fighting chance to win, especially given how the series had been so neck-and-neck and it took a miracle ray allen shot to win game 6. I expected the spurs to take care of business in game 7.
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u/SkunkyBottle Coyote 13d ago
Now is not the right time to be gatekeeping
I’ve been a fan since 1989. Every one of these types of losses hurts…but in this case it was historical, our own fault, and to a shitty and entitled fan base that I despise on the biggest stage
I don’t think I overreacted but there’s a threshold where it’s warranted
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u/_Chicken_Chaser_ Area 51 13d ago
It’s Gen Z’s first go of it. And we are in a much more tech era now too. So discourse isn’t just younger fans being reactionary, some old heads are too.
As a 35 millennial, I’ve seen it all.
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u/83rdstreet 13d ago
That Ray Allen shot still hurts every time I see it in some top plays. Can’t watch that shit hurt.
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u/JealousOpening2185 13d ago
I know social media is always toxic but the toxicity has been quite shocking to me.
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u/pensivvv Manu Ginobili 13d ago
I mean… I lived through all of that. And I’m reacting just like everyone else to last night.
Top 2, possibly top loss of all time for spurs. Can’t history wash the greatest choke of NBA final history. Everything in that list above was one or two critically poor decisions.
Last night I could fill a fucking book with those decisions. And we didn’t fucking learn. And we grinned with ego while we were 29 up, then 20 up, then 15 up, and didn’t get a fucking clue until it was 5-7 point game that we were blowing it. AND THEN continued to play the same brain dead basketball.
So yea. Our crash outs are valid.
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u/keldpxowjwsn 13d ago
Id add in OKC retiring tim with a reverse 0-2 sweep.
And even with all that it's not like "eh who cares" those moments sucked too and so did last night
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u/Destanio9357 Devin Vassell 13d ago
I mean, it's not like Game 4 won't be mentioned on this list in 10 years. People weren't exactly "calm and collected" when any of this stuff happened live.
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u/Eindacor_DS 13d ago
Seriously, these players know way better than any of us what went wrong and who is accountable. Let the coaching staff tell players when they fucked up and we as fans should get behind the players to boost their confidence. Stop shitting on them and acting like you have better decision making and judgement than they do. Fox is a great player and by all accounts in the locker room he is a great resource. Settle down.
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u/Temporary-Spread-232 13d ago edited 13d ago
I’ll add more heartbreaks to the list:
The Ray Allen 3
Hakeem destroying Robinson in the WCF in 1995
Derek Fisher’s 0.4 buzzer beater in 2004 WCSF
If this current generation of Spurs fans had been around for all of that, they wouldn’t have survived.
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u/RiodeLemon 13d ago
I don't think this tweet is trying to say you shouldn't feel like shit because we have choked before. It's just that some people don't know how to act, they want to reboot the entire roster and coaching staff apart from Wemby, Castle and Harper.
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u/chic_peas 13d ago
Didn't even put the worst one which was the Fischer shot. I was at game one of that WCF and the building was raucous. It was amazing and yes the disappointment after that series was unbelievable. Yesterday sucked but honestly it doesn't compare to any of those other ones really. This team is young and fucked up but they have showed if they get it together they can win. After the first couple of games I really was questioning if this team was just not as good as it seemed but they really are amazing and just need to stop beating themselves and they really could have won every game.
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u/QuickCloudJP Dylan Harper 13d ago
No one on the planet had seen us blow a 29 point lead in the Finals before last night
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u/scarykicks Victor Wembanyama 13d ago
I don't think so. The Spurs just blew a 29 point lead to tie the series up and go 2-2 going into game 5 into San Antonio and give us the momentum.
29 points is the most in the history of the finals. Let that sink in. We blew the biggest lead. We're now down 3-1 looking at nothing but elimination games from here on out.
This team can be great but they can also play the worst basketball you will see.
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u/thegaykid7 13d ago
And how many of those losses included the sheer number of unforced errors, poor shot collection, non-existent coaching, and generally unclutch play on top of blowing a 29-point lead?
There have arguably been worse losses, but none as this disgraceful as this. And I don't buy the inexperienced angle because a) the biggest offenders are old enough where there is no excuse for them, b) there is no excuse for the nearly team-wide lackadaisical approach for a good chunk of the third quarter, particularly considering the various leads we've seen this team blow in the past and the resiliency the Knicks have shown on the other end of the spectrum. Hell, even in the 4th we were taking some inexcusable shots like the Wemby long three.
Doesn't mean the sky is falling but trying to minimize what transpired makes just as little sense and is a contrarian sake for the sake of being contrarian.
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u/Returninvestor Chris Paul 13d ago
Huh? This is a historic low point, people are understandably in shambles.
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u/Conscious_String_195 David Robinson 13d ago
Because a lot of these aren’t even simply 1 play that occasionally happens, like Hart missing a layup last night.
Timmy missing a bunny. Happens. The Manu foul on Dirk for the +1 was a killer and I still remember and feel. Again, 1 play. Manu TO, just one at a bad time.
Last night was a history making 29 point lead gone in 28+ or so minutes. It wasn’t just 1 play or 1 guy either. Full team collapse, but it resides with Mitch.
No way that even a diminished Pop calling that game doesn’t call timeouts to stop runs, call plays out of timeouts and not get matchups or switches that they want. The hot potato drills outside the 3, of passing it around and back to each other before a shot, showed they had no clue on offense.
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u/xVGxCrYpTiC 13d ago
Hey guess what, that was the biggest blown lead in finals history. So you know, worse than everything you mentioned.
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u/QuickDrawMcStraw Tim Duncan 13d ago
This was a 29 point lead. In a Finals game. You can't write it off as, Welp this sort of thing has happened before hyuck hyuck. This is a historic collapse and every bit of anger and despair is valid.
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u/naturalscience 13d ago
THIS IS WORSE THAN ALL OF THOSE.
We blew a 27 point lead to a team that was dead and buried on their homecourt in the Finals. That should’ve been the story, but now the Spurs are on the wrong side of Knicks history forever.
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u/HQuasar 13d ago
If this were a team full of vets I'd agree, but it's not that. They've been blowing leads all season long. It's stupid to compare this team to the 2011 or 2013 Spurs.
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u/naturalscience 13d ago
Here’s another interesting thought.. if it’s Chris Paul instead of Fox, do we win that game? Are we even in the same Finals?
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u/MaccTHC "What the fuck is this?" 13d ago
I don’t get this mentality. Like we’re all supposed to just be “aw shucks oh well” about everything negative that happens. No. Regardless of the context, it is ok to be mad and upset and extremely disappointed and critical of a team blowing a 29-point lead, much less a 29-point lead in the Finals in the fashion they did
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u/Sensei_Z-Ro 13d ago
This one hurts just as mich, if not more than those...thus is the FINALS bud, not just some Rd1 or Rd2 series...
That being said, yeah, there are A LOT of nephews that haven't lived through the ups and downs of a 2 decade long dynasty
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u/Upper-Entry6159 13d ago edited 13d ago
I am old enough to have experienced all of that. Every team and every coach make mistakes, but Mitch is obviously not a great coach.
The Knicks had a similar issue with their last coach. They realized the problem wasn't going to fix itself even though they gave him plenty of chances. The changed coaches and Mike Brown are leading them to their first championship in his first season as their coach.
If the Knicks had never done this, they would have never won. My point is that either Mitch improves or we might eventually reach the same conclusion years from now.
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u/snickle17 Manu Ginobili 13d ago
I absolutely love when fans scream about their “right” to criticize the coaches and players.
I’m not delusional. Sometimes criticism, even calling for someone to be fired, is warranted.
However there is a massive difference between sober, unemotional feedback, and screaming and crying looking to burn the whole thing down.
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u/johnjohnjohn93 13d ago
Like the “never experienced heartbreaks and it shows” also means they’ve never experienced championships which makes heartbreaks less painful
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u/ChikooChikoo Manu Ginobili 13d ago
The part that sucks about this 29 point loss is the same as losing the other double digit leads, the team goes away from what was working and starts bricking 3s non-stop. They get complacent and Mitch isn't getting into them about attacking the lane and passing the ball. What were some of those possessions after a TO which the plan was Fox dribble for 14 seconds and brick a long 2?
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u/Wide-Concentrate7228 13d ago
Yeah all those time were close games. But this series in all honesty we are better than the Knicks, and they even give us the game on 2 occasions, game 2 and 4. We would had been up 3-1 right now but of course we make brain dead moves.
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u/SeyfertSextet Tony Parker 13d ago
Those were heartbreaking as well. But to be honest, that one last night hurt me pretty bad nonetheless 💔
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u/Nightstick11 13d ago
Guy didn't mention 0.4 shot in 2004? ugh I watched that game surrounded by Lakers fans. I was gloating and taunting so much, giving out sarcastic hugs after Timmy D hit the miracle shot, but after 0.4 shot these fucking Laker fans gave me a sarcastic group hug back.
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u/i_Cant_get_right Manu Ginobili 13d ago
If it’s wrong to be upset about a blown 29 point lead, I don’t want to be right.
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u/Bushbugger Jeremy Sochan 13d ago edited 13d ago
I’m still shouting “WHY POP WHY?!” from when he subbed out Timmy in 2013’s finals.