McDonald: Spurs' Five Burning Questions

[duncan228]

Spurs' five burning questions (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_five_burning_questions.html)

Express-News Spurs beat writer Jeff McDonald has several burning questions about the Spurs this season. McDonald also has answers:

Is Tim Duncan still the centerpiece of this team?

Are you kidding? Duncan averaged 19.3 points per game last season, good for 34th in the league and only the second time in his 11-year career that he finished below 20.

No mere statistic, however, accurately captures all that Duncan means to the Spurs. He is the foundation of their system, at both ends of the court, and he still has a handful of elite seasons left in him.

For the 12th season in a row, the Spurs will go as far as Duncan can take them.

Can they make good without Manu?

For their first trick, the Spurs will attempt to survive the first month of the season, and possibly more, without magic man Manu Ginobili. The team's leading scorer last season, Ginobili could miss as many as 25 games while recuperating from offseason ankle surgery.

That puts pressure on three other wing players — Michael Finley, Ime Udoka and newcomerRoger Mason Jr. (above) — to somehow try and add up to one Ginobili. With the Western Conference power-packed again, the Spurs don't have the luxury of spotting the rest of the league too long of a head start.

Could this Ginobili injury actually be a blessing in disguise?

Maybe. Even before Ginobili reinjured the ankle at theBeijing Olympics (above), he was eventually going to need surgery. If the injury had not happened in August, odds are good Ginobili would have wound up on an operating table at some point during the NBA season. Not good.

With a month or more to rest at the beginning the season, the theory is that Ginobili should be fresh for the post-All-Star break stretch run.

Are they too young to win a title?

As the NBA's most senior team the past few seasons, the Spurs heard all the old-man jokes. This offseason, they went and did something that could damage their street cred at the retirement village: They added a few 20-somethings.

Gone are 36-year-old Brent Barry and 38-year-old Robert Horry.

Incoming are Mason (28), first-round pickGeorge Hill (22, above) and former Austin Toro Ian Mahinmi (21).

How this infusion of youth meshes with the old guard will go a long way toward determining the Spurs' fortunes this season.

They spent the entire offseason courting guards. Shouldn't they have chased a big man to pair with Duncan?

They did, and they landed him. His name isKurt Thomas (above). Undersized at 6-foot-9, Thomas isn't the sexiest center in the league. But if you were to flip your copy of Webster's to the entry for “solid,” Thomas' wide-eyed mug would be there.

He's tough, he's rugged and he makes Duncan's life easier at both ends of the court. So long as the 36-year-old Thomas can stay healthy — a big “if” for any player on the north side of 30 — the $8 million the Spurs used to re-sign him should be money well spent.

[Obstructed_View]

KT's looked good so far, especially if he's working off some rust.

[Manufan909]

Wonder why he didn't mention Damon, and wasn't Ian already on the roster? Plus we now have to figure in Tolliver's age, since he is now a Spur.

[SenorSpur]

Regarding question #5, "shouldn't they have chased a big man to pair with Duncan?, sorry folks. I just don't believe for one minute that simply resigning KT was enough. We saw that fact on full display last season. Duncan having to, at times, fend off or go against two opposing bigs on both ends of the court.

The way I see it, the Spurs were all set to add to frontcourt pieces in Mahinmi and Splitter. With Splitting giving the Spurs the shaft, I've proclaimed the need for another big to replace him. After all, Ian is unproven; Fab is ineffective for long stretches against superior competition, and KT, while solid, is old and gravity-challenged.

I just don't tnink it was enough and feel they've done Duncan a disservice. It is Tim who must block all the shots, get all the rebounds, defend the paint and provide frontcourt scoring. Without which, this team becomes a perimeter-only team. Obviously, Tim can handle the load. That's not the point. The question is should he? As he is getting older, his load should be lessened, not made more heavy.

[Obstructed_View]

Sorry folks. I just don't believe for one minute that simply resigning KT was enough. We saw that fact on full display last season. Duncan having to, at times, fend off two 7 footers on both ends of the court.

The way I see it, the Spurs were all set to add to frontcourt pieces in Mahinmi and Splitter. With Splitting giving the Spurs the shaft, I've always felt they should've added another big to replace him. After all, Ian is unproven; Fab is ineffective for long stretches against superior competition and KT is solid, but old and gravity-challenged.

I just don't tnink it was enough and feel they've done Duncan a disservice. As he's getting older, his load should be lessened, not made more heavy.

I agree. I'd have rather had Watkins than Tolliver or Farmer, or Tolliver and Farmer.

[urunobili]

Watkins was the ideal scenario for a shot blocking menace in the team... it was sad to let him go... both KT and Oberto are too slow with almost ZERO shot blocking ability.. the opposing guard will try to have a feast driving to our rim all the time... Hopefully Mahimni surprises me and many of us here and he turns out to be exactly that...

[nikegirl]

I think that KT wasn't able to showcase everything he's got last season cos he had not spent an entire season with the Spurs yet. But I expect him to be better this year together with Udoka given an entire summer camp with the Spurs. I just hope that Udoka becomes a pleasant offensive surprise to the Spurs this season and KT's midrange shooting reappears as well.

[SenorSpur]

Watkins was the ideal scenario for a shot blocking menace in the team... it was sad to let him go... both KT and Oberto are too slow with almost ZERO shot blocking ability.. the opposing guard will try to have a feast driving to our rim all the time... Hopefully Mahimni surprises me and many of us here and he turns out to be exactly that...

:tu :tu

I hope there is a some way Watkins gets another chance to crack this ball club in the future.

[Cry Havoc]

Why do you guys think we need a shot blocker? I would MUCH rather have a player who knows how to rotate on defense and play smart, staying in front of his man and helping when necessary than a guy who gets blocks. Seriously, what are you going to find at that price range? 1.5 BPG? That's not enough to make a difference if he gives up 6 or 8 easy buckets a game.

[BronxCowboy]

I think I'm going to vomit if I read on more comment about how the Spurs needed Watkins' shot-blocking. Mahinmi is a better shot-blocker than Watkins, any way you measure it. Plus nobody has ever blocked a shot with their ass on the bench.

[SenorSpur]

Why do you guys think we need a shot blocker? I would MUCH rather have a player who knows how to rotate on defense and play smart, staying in front of his man and helping when necessary than a guy who gets blocks. Seriously, what are you going to find at that price range? 1.5 BPG? That's not enough to make a difference if he gives up 6 or 8 easy buckets a game.

You obviously didn't take notice of Chris Paul's forays to the rim during the WCSF series vs the Spurs. Or perhaps you forgotten about all those alley-oops he threw to Tyson Chandler. Or maybe you're ignoring how effortlessly Pau Gasol established low-post position whenever Duncan was out of the game. Or maybe you don't recall the infinite number of second-chance points the Fakers got of their own missed shots, during the WCF.

We all know Tim can get it done on both ends. That's not the problem. He doesn't have enough frontcourt help. This is especially noticeable when he's either out of the game or playing with foul trouble. Believe whatever you want, Oberto and KT just AREN'T getting it done. The Spurs need another solid low-post defender and some shotblocking. If Ian can provide some quality depth, that's great. However, the jury is still very much out on him.

[BronxCowboy]

If Ian can provide some quality depth, that's great. However, the jury is still very much out on him.

Statements like this make my head spin coming from posters who point to an even more unproven player (Watkins) as a solution.

[Chomag]

Statements like this make my head spin coming from posters who point to an even more unproven player (Watkins) as a solution.

At least Watkins was actually playing...

[BronxCowboy]

At least Watkins was actually playing...

If you think he would have been once the regular season started, you haven't paid much attention to the Spurs.

[Obstructed_View]

Mahinmi is a better shot-blocker than Watkins, any way you measure it. Plus nobody has ever blocked a shot with their ass on the bench.

How many blocks does Ian have in the preseason again?

[Obstructed_View]

I would MUCH rather have a player who knows how to rotate on defense and play smart, staying in front of his man and helping when necessary than a guy who gets blocks.

Apparently Pop would rather have a scorer and another guy who jacks up a lot of shots and needs four tries to make a layup.

[BronxCowboy]

How many blocks does Ian have in the preseason again?

I'm humbled by your flawless argument. :rolleyes

[Obstructed_View]

I'm humbled by your flawless argument. :rolleyes

You said nobody gets blocks from the bench, exactly one sentence after saying Ian was a better shot blocker than Watkins. I'm baffled by your illogical statement.

[SenorSpur]

Statements like this make my head spin coming from posters who point to an even more unproven player (Watkins) as a solution.

Nobody touted Watkins as THE "be-all, end-all" solution. However since YOU brought him up, there's no question Watkins is a project player, but he certainly could have been used sparingly in spot duty. There are many project big men of size at the end of various NBA rosters.

[Obstructed_View]

And an interesting stat: Watkins has appeared in 9 NBA games, Ian has appeared in 6. Niether is particularly "proven".

[SenorSpur]

And an interesting stat: Watkins has appeared in 9 NBA games, Ian has appeared in 6. Niether is particularly "proven".

...and with Ian being injured, there was no body of work (apologies to Mr. Body) to evaluate and compare with Watkins.

[BronxCowboy]

You said nobody gets blocks from the bench, exactly one sentence after saying Ian was a better shot blocker than Watkins. I'm baffled by your illogical statement.


...and with Ian being injured, there was no body of work (apologies to Mr. Body) to evaluate and compare with Watkins.

You guys are aware of the D-league, right?

[Obstructed_View]

You guys are aware of the D-league, right?

I'm waiting for you to explain how my awareness of the D league makes Ian healthy.

[Manufan909]

You guys are aware of the D-league, right?

Yeah, everything I know I thought you'd know OV, it's been mentioned that Ian was a superior player in every way in the D-League a couple times when Watkins was still getting minutes.

[SpursDynasty]

First we're too old, now we're too young?

[Obstructed_View]

Yeah, everything I know I thought you'd know OV, it's been mentioned that Ian was a superior player in every way in the D-League a couple times when Watkins was still getting minutes.

I agree, and I certainly hope Ian's better. But Ian's on the bench hurt, so Watkins might have been a nice insurance policy, and as I said, I hesitate to say Ian's more "proven" when he's been in three fewer NBA games. I've been chomping at the bit for Ian to be here for a LOOOONG time. If he comes back healthy and plays to his potential, I'm more than happy to forget that Watkins ever existed.

[dbestpro]

The key is Mahinmi. If he can show anything, Oberto and Bonner will be big candidates for mid-season trades.

[Dex]

KT's looked good so far, especially if he's working off some rust.

Not too long ago, I remember Kurt Thomas being the only Sun who could give Tim Duncan fits, and that's good enough for me.

I'm glad he's on our side now.