Spurs' Problem In Cleveland: When The King Reigns, It Pours

The San Antonio Spurs picked the worst time to visit Quicken Loans Arena. Actually, they did not pick this fate, and Gregg Popovich joked that he wanted to find the scheduler who did and kill him.

When Popovich proposed that his Spurs could forfeit the contest, he did so knowing the Cavaliers would be motivated after back-to-back humiliating defeats.

The Magic thumped the Cavs by 29 in a Friday night laugher, and the Wizards bested the Cavs a night earlier for the second time this year. How would LeBron James respond against the squad that swept him on the NBA's biggest stage two years ago?

Popovich knew, and that's why the prospect of an early Sunday matchup with the league's best home team both frightened and angered him.

The Spurs lost the game 101-81, and everything the coach imagined would go wrong did.

There were moments during Sunday's key tilt when the Spurs looked like the superior team. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker scored layups on backcuts. Drew Gooden bombarded through passive interior defense and dunked with authority in the third quarter.

The Spurs outscored the Cavaliers in the paint 36-24, and in general, secured much better looks. This miserable march to the postseason, though, has been defined by improbability, paltry shooting, bad luck, and worst-case scenarios.

James' start to the game, in which he drilled every perimeter shot he could create, set the tone for the yawn of a finish. He abused Michael Finley, and seemed to laugh off any notion that he could not shoot.

The Spurs allowed James the same shots the Lakers had earlier in February, but this time, the self-proclaimed King decided to make them. He started the game in Orlando 1-of-8. He began this one 4-of-5.

If you missed the game, you might look at the Cavaliers 101 points and 53 percent shooting and blame it on the Spurs' defense.

James enjoying the best shooting first quarter of his career has nothing to do with defense. The Spurs forced the Cavaliers to beat them with jumpshots, the same game plan Phil Jackson used with the Lakers.

It worked for Jackson's bunch. It killed the Spurs.

One wide-open shot deserves another. The Spurs missed, the Cavs made everything. At least, it seemed that way.

James scored only three baskets in the paint, one on an undefendable backdoor lob, and the Spurs still lost by 20.

That would be the same number of inside scores he managed against the Lakers.

Mo Williams and Delonte West took James' cue and also dropped jumpers from every inch of the court. Many were uncontested, but hey, you have to miss sometime, right?

Charles Barkley's favorite saying, "live by jumpers, die by jumpers," did not ring true Sunday.

The Cavaliers now own an impressive 37-1 mark at home, with a chance to lock up the East's top seed and home court advantage throughout the postseason.

The Spurs also left the Q with an unmistakable mark. It is on the forehead of their playoff hopes and is about to blow like Old Yeller.

Popovich's Spurs are stumbling like around like drunken rodeo clowns, and the reason should alarm everyone in San Antonio.

The Spurs can't shoot these days. Popovich might have been tempted in the month of March to sign a sharpshooting fan.

If you can put the ball in a bucket to win free Whataburger for a year, who says you can't do it in a real game?

The boxscore spews the ugly truth about this team. Increasingly reliant on 3-pointers as a source of firepower, the Spurs dropped only 4-of-16 in Cleveland.

Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combined to make four field goals. The Spurs cannot beat elite teams when two of their three stars disappear like that. Duncan scored six points, and did nothing notable after the two minute mark of the second quarter.

Parker looked at times like he had time traveled 2007, with a 24-point masterpiece. His 21-point, seven-assist average in the month of March was a rare bright spot in a patch of dark days for the Spurs.

But, Parker can only do so much when defenses are geared toward limiting his deadly penetration. Even when his jumpshot falls, the Spurs need the other supposed shooters to help him to have any chance.

Defense should be the least of the Spurs' concerns after Sunday's rout.

Instead, Popovich should look at Roger Mason Jr.'s awful line (3-of-9 shooting) and Matt Bonner's lone triple and punch something. His fist would certainly be more accurate than any of his shooters have been in the last three weeks.

The guys who get paid to stand around the corners and make shots would struggle to pin the tail on the donkey. Are they wearing blindfolds?

When James goes nuts, the opponent's only hope is to counter with precise execution.

The Spurs lost hope when it was clear that open shots had a better chance of going in the stands than the basket. They finished at 31 percent.

With Duncan still hampered by sore knees, the Spurs' have abandoned playing through him. With no certainty in the offense besides Parker, and everyone else in a slump, the Spurs have not been able to respond for most of the month.

Popovich likes to say this about opponents after tough losses: "They made shots."

The Lakers are the lone team to win in Cleveland because they did just that. The Spurs misfired.

If only the solution was as simple as the diagnosis.