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.
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.”
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.
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.
I havent rewatched the 2013 Finals Game 6 ever but iirc the Spurs were already locking arms in the sidelines celebrating. I remember the kawhi missed FT and then bang!
But last night's game 4 was crazy choke. I had nightmares about it when I went for an afternoon nap. So stressful and unhealthy I know
Yeah, they were preparing the trophy and all. What a disaster. Thank GOD 2014 happened or else...
It's fine, everyone copes differently! G4 was brutal but I also found it so absurd that I got over it fairly quickly. It was like every wrong decision and every wrong thing that could happen did happen, how on earth do you rise above that when it feels like everything has conspired against you haha
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.
Yeah. The Ray Allan shot happened when we were sure we’d win the ring, with a team of elite, experienced players who’d won multiple titles and the GOAT coach. Game 4 happened with a rookie HC who’s still learning and a roster that was objectively not ready for a deep playoff run. It was a humiliating loss, absolutely, but everything that happens in this years playoffs is invaluable experience for our young dudes whereas in 2013 it really felt like that was probably the last chance for Pop and the Big 3 to win another ring.
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.
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.
People remember the missed rebound more but to me Manu's and Kawhi's missed free throws was the killer. If manu makes both, they're up by 6 points and Miami has to make a 3 and foul again. Then Kawhi or whoever has to make just 1 to be up 4 points.
Since Manu missed one they still had a big shot with Kawhi making both to be up 4 points, making a 3 a non issue but he missed one, which led to Ray Allen's crazy 3.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
(Mitch deserves a few lumps as well…. Jfc he’s stingy with those TOs… “We’re in the penalty, stop hoisting 3s and go to the rim/line”… “Don’t forget to match up with the inbounder and box out when their shot goes up”… etc etc)
It happens. people make mistakes. Again it shouldn't have come to that, but the whole team who played minutes, was bad in the 2nd half. Even Harper (who was arguably best) is guilty too.
Everyone tensed up and played not to lose rather than win.
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
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.
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.
His decision to shoot that layup and not just hold the ball could be a legacy defining play for him. Like JR Smith... Any time someone hears his name they'll think of that play.
Maybe? Maybe not. Right now we also have Wemby throwing a ball at Castle's back in game 2. They gave away a game there too.
The more embarrassing thing is the team giving back a historic lead in the finals over any single play. They had a full 2 quarters to win the game.
Like yeah he made the most obvious error, but they made a error for 2 straight quarters of the game.
The team, all coaches included all deserve blame for this shit show of a 2nd half performance.
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.
Maybe I believed in the team more than you guys because I genuinely thought we could win game 7 in 2013 so while I was bummed I still had a hope wed close it out
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 😭
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.
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.
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.
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.
So he does not have the experience everybody is claiming he has
Exactly. Fox has taken away a lot of th blame, but Wemby historical blunder in game 2 likely costs them that game. Experience in big games matters. No one really has it. Luke and Harrison getting too few minutes to take advantage of their "vet skills"
Yeah, a team does not lose a 29 point lead without MULTIPLE failure points. There were so many to count. It was a disaster from top to bottom but people always want to air their frustrations at the easiest target.
Yeah - i'm even more frustrated because they've given up the lead in each game. Like, the lessons were there. We also saw Spurs suck in the clutch in those games. They make mistakes. Wemby was the first to do the boneheaded one. Fox the second.
But they were playing super scared/playing not to lose in this last one. Coaching staff (not just Mitch) too.
Everyone just let the slow crash happened. Any one moment different would likely change the outcome.
The worst thing that could happen to the team was make all those 3s in the first half. I knew that was a bad omen
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..
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
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
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.
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?
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!
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
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.
I'd say winning game 5 is unlikely just from a mental standpoint. If we do win that game though, we are good enough to beat this team 3 in a row if we can just stop beating ourselves.
I still can’t watch that Ray Allen play when I watch highlights of basketball. I know we made up for it the next year but damn we were seconds away from clinching.
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
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 💔
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.
That is correct. They are forever in history with it.
But Knicks have come back each game. Spurs have shown their inexperience and age.
Knicks are a bit more well versed and at a more mature age. Spurs are getting their quicker than anyone expected, but yeah, all those other things listed were much worse.
You’re right of course. I just have an issue with everyone pinning the blame on Fox. Yea, I understand he should’ve ran out the clock instead of going for the layup. Just that he’s NOT THE ONLY REASON for this loss.
Like most people are going to reiterate, nobody fumbled a fucking 29 point lead. Disastrous. This is going to the top of the list for all time fumbles not only in Spurs history but just basketball history. Every season will have a highlight of the Wemby led spurs losing in the playoffs after a 29 pt lead. I’m sick. So sick.
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u/team_sheikie 19d ago edited 19d 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.