Just a Thought

[ezau]

Since there are so many new faces playing for the Spurs this season, don't you think the team will have more than a few chemistry problems early on? Do you think the Spurs are going to struggle early in the season because of this?

[poeticism707]

Since there are so many new faces playing for the Spurs this season, don't you think the team will have more than a few chemistry problems early on? Do you think the Spurs are going to struggle early in the season because of this?

Possibly, but not necessarily. With the quality of vets they have, I think that will more than iron out any difficulties with the young players.

[mudyez]

its the nature of the beast, but I think, these players fit in nicely and it shouldnt take long for the group to click!

furthermore...if it doesnt work, Pop is a coach, which isnt affraid of playing the new guys less if they are not working wiith the others! (hopefully it wont get as far)

[celldweller]

The season hasn't started yet. Pop still has time to cut or trade are young players for some over the hill wiley vets. :depressed

[urunobili]

Dice will look as he has always been here... That's why he was my top choice...

I think that probably RJ and Haislip will be the ones going through the most difficult adjustments...

Our second unit building process is about to start in Vegas... there is a good chance we might retain between 3 and 5 of the players apart from George and Ian: Blair, MCClinton, Hairston and Gist will have a shot to prove they belong to this team and we may also witness a surprise...

If they all develop appropriately, they will be the ones with a game ready chemistry in between them established already in Summer League...

[L.I.T]

Most of the players (RJeff + Dice) are heady players who should be able to acclimate to the Spurs style pretty quickly. So, if everyone is able to get a full training camp in, I'm sure the Spurs will be able to avoid a KT/Gooden situation. Mason and Finley were able to slide fairly effortlessly into the Spurs system when they came over. What I remember of Rasho and Oberto was they didn't have too much difficulty either.

That being said, the rookies who make the team will naturally struggle initially. On top of the normal acclimatization process, they also have to cope with the Spurs voluminous offensive and defensive sets. I'd be curious to see if Pop creates a "dumbed down" version of his playbooks for some of his young bench players.

The 2nd year+ players who are competing for a spot on the big squad shouldn't have much a problem, as they have a year(s) under their belts playing the system and practicing with the vet players.

I think though, we will some early struggles, especially on defense, but also as a result of Pop mixing and matching and experimenting during in-game situations to find the right combinations for the stretch run.

[xellos88330]

I do not really think the Spurs will have much trouble considering Pop will most likely have a disciplined vet out on the floor at all times to keep the youngins under control.

[Knoxxx]

They may not start out 30-3, but working out those type of kinks are what preseason and practice are for. I can't see this group ever playing less that .700 ball, peaking towards season's end to easily win over 60.

[Extra Stout]

The team has a ton of talent, and a lot of the new guys are vets. The key is staying healthy enough for guys to get floor time together. If that happens, by January or so they should start clicking on all cylinders.

With this lineup, in a hypothetical world where Pop could get away without resting Tim and Manu some nights, this could be an .800 team. But in reality, if things go well and the team stays relatively healthy, the Spurs will start slow, return to their SPAM ways, post their once-typical 58-24 record, and floor the accelerator come playoff time. If Tim's knees go out or Manu goes down again, then we just shrug our shoulders and say, "Oh well, nice try."

[ernest787]

its not like the Spurs have ever been a team to come running out of the gates anyway

i figure it will be the same... expect the young players to get a lot of minutes early in the season and pop to experiment with things and line-ups as usual.

after the all-star break is when i'll start to worry about everything

[Bruno]

Chemistry won't be as good but the team is better and some players will be more motivated by the start of the season than some old vets.

All in all, I don't expect Spurs to have a bad start of the season. Just look at last year where Hill and Mason, two neo-Spurs were damn good in November.

[exstatic]

I think the shakeup is a good thing. This team has looked very bored for the last 3 seasons. Players won't zone out if they think they might get hit upside the head with an errant pass or throw the ball to someone who isn't there.