Owner Real Deal Posted September 2, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted September 2, 2010 TIME: 7:00 PM ET TV: n/a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted January 10, 2011 Author Owner Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Spurs really don't seem as good as they were to start the season lately. Duration taking its toll? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Spurs really don't seem as good as they were to start the season lately. Duration taking its toll? I think it's that, along with the fact that teams are studying tape of Pop's new system and planning accordingly. I think they took everyone by surprise to start the season, and probably played above their normal capabilities. Mix the 'coming down to Earth' with better gameplanning, and they won't be the best team in the league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted January 10, 2011 Author Owner Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 I think it's that, along with the fact that teams are studying tape of Pop's new system and planning accordingly. I think they took everyone by surprise to start the season, and probably played above their normal capabilities. Mix the 'coming down to Earth' with better gameplanning, and they won't be the best team in the league.Well, it's just weird how they have been going away from Duncan, and yet they expect him to bail the team out when they need it. Of course, that's the idea with someone like him (the greatest PF ever)...but I don't see how this will work in the playoffs, because the system you're referring to is just so fast-paced, less going into the post and more guard-dominated. They have also sacrificed a bit of their defense, reserving some of that energy for their offense late in the game. Can a team REALLY go from running the ball, guard-dominant play, less defense...to a half-court set with a defensive intensity strong enough to solely win the most important games of the season? It's a complete 180, to be honest. Duncan isn't exactly being ignored completely, of course, but at one point, he seemed about as valuable as Richard Jefferson and George Hill, and I don't see how that will win championships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 10, 2011 Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Can a team REALLY go from running the ball, guard-dominant play, less defense...to a half-court set with a defensive intensity strong enough to solely win the most important games of the season? It's a complete 180, to be honest. Well, to be fair, that is basically what the Showtime Lakers did...not saying this Spurs team should be mentioned in the same breath as those Lakers, but it's a similar principle. I do kind of agree with you about Duncan in the sense that he should be a little more involved throughout the game. Although, one of the most effective systems is one based around speed, 3pt shooting and an efficient, low-post threat. Duncan simply isn't capable of carrying a team anymore, and since this particular roster is tailor-made for a faster system, I think Pop made the right adjustments to the offense. Defensively is where I don't have much confidence in the Spurs. Duncan, while still very effective, is not the same defensive player he once was, they still haven't replaced Bowen on the perimeter, and in the faster-paced system they are bound to give up points they wouldn't have given up in the past. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted January 10, 2011 Author Owner Report Share Posted January 10, 2011 Defensively is where I don't have much confidence in the Spurs. Duncan, while still very effective, is not the same defensive player he once was, they still haven't replaced Bowen on the perimeter, and in the faster-paced system they are bound to give up points they wouldn't have given up in the past.Definitely. Many didn't like him, but Bowen was a big deal in San Antonio, and the Spurs thrived off of containing, or slowing down, the superstar, while sending everyone else Duncan's way, much like what we started seeing out of Houston when Artest would take the more physical stars, and Battier would cover the star shooters and force them to the rim, with Yao awaiting (even though Houston set up so many odd defensive zones, I guess it's only similar in the way Battier sent his assignments to Yao, haha). Once you lose that elite perimeter defender, it burns a little. The Spurs have done that, but also lost a bit of Duncan as he ages, and Splitter isn't the defensive player he was made out to be (I could probably argue that McDyess is a better defender, actually). While TD is still the best defensive player on the team, he's probably playing the least amount of minutes he has ever played in his career (if he ever played less, it was last season) and he's just not the same defender he was around 2004-2006, where he seemed to be at his absolute best on that end of the court. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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