Expectations?

[raspsa]

Everyone probably has an opinion on how the infusion of athleticism and new talent will be reflected in the Spurs' game. Assuming that rebounding and the defense meet expectations, can we look forward to a more freewheeling, uptempo game with TP, Manu, and RJ leading the charge with youngsters GHill and Malik backing them up? Or will the primary focus still be Tim-centric, letting him do his thing in the post then feeding to cutters or open teammates on the perimeter?

[TDMVPDPOY]

NBA championships, thats what spurs play for, everything else we dont give a flying shit

if you want records and other bs go watch the cavs...kid

[Sniper]

I expect a 5th ring.

[raspsa]

NBA championships, thats what spurs play for, everything else we dont give a flying shit

if you want records and other bs go watch the cavs...kid

The question was about type of play.. nothing about records or ther bs as you put it.. kid.

[SpurCharger]

I expect Us to Go In As A 2 seed to The Lakers......... but we Will Beat them in the western Conference finals...... And Play the celtics in the final...... spurs in 6 or 7... 2010 champions!

[Duncanonu]

The style of play shouldn't change. Our bread and butter is still Tony and Manu penetrating and Duncan in the post. Everything else feeds off of those things. The biggest difference is that we have another guy capable of creating his own shot and scoring in Jefferson. Last year if one of the 3 was out, nobody else was capable of that. Defensively, we still funnel people baseline and collapse on the ball in the paint. The biggest difference there is probably our blocking out (Blair and McDyess) has improved, and we picked up a 2nd shot blocker to funnel the opposition to in Ratliff. The most interesting things to watch develop for me are our bigs. Finding the right rotation there is going to be key, and I believe much better than last year. George Hill's improvement should be interesting as well. But, the style of play won't change at all, just better players executing it. That should be good for a West Finals trip and hopefully getting past the Lakers and back in the Finals.

[lotr1trekkie]

I expect us to be more up tempo than last season because of the personnel changes. Last season, when Tim and Tony were out, I was hoping we could run the 4-corners or have Pete Carrill install the Princeton Tiger motion offense. Less reliance on 3's, more going to the rim and and more emphasis on fast breaks. We need to add about 8 points to our offense. The D will come along later in the season as the newbies learn the system.

[bishopospurs]

an exciting road to a 5th championship. I expect a few young players to show they can contribute for the long haul as well. I am looking at you Ian and Blair.

[mytespurs]

My expectations for 2009-2010 is cautiously optimistic.
I want to see if Tim and especially Manu can return completely healthy to play throughout the season.
I want to see if and how the returning vets/new additions gell with each other.

I understand Pop isn't concerned with getting the best record in the league and that he at least wants HCA in first round so I expect the Spurs may struggle and be up/down for awhile but come together towards the end of the season.

I'm not predicting championship but I hope they not only get to the playoffs but get past the first round. :toast

[raspsa]

Appreciate your insights. Thanks.
My personal feelings are:
- Would love to see Duncan as aggressive and active as he was at the start of last season. It will depend on how healthy he is, of course so maybe he should save this for the later part of the season. He was really hitting his jumper last season w/c helped him conserve energy and wear and tear on his body. His post game is still potent. Dice, Blair, Ratliff and the other Bigs.. Timmy will have a lot of help next season specially in rebounding the ball and guarding the paint. I expect the Spurs to be a LOT more physical in their interior defense.. still play the finesse game but very willing to mix it up and bang baodies if needed.
- As good and unselfish as Duncan is, I expect the rend of the past several years to continue with more of the load being shared. Tony will continue his development into a more rounded point guard and make better decisions on ball distribution. His offense will continue unabated. I expect RJ to be a starter and inject some life by attacking the rim with some frequency. This should get him to the line for freebies as well. He can still run the court and hit the 3-pointer. He'll be a tough matchup for any defender. Manu will revibe his game and morph into the energy bunny most probably off the bench. Hustling, attacking the rim, hitting the long bomb and doing the intangible things he's noted for.. he'll be a sight for sore eyes and a headache to defend. Malik and George contribute strong attacking games and more defense to backup the trio.

[peskypesky]

:lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2:

[Spursmania]

San Antonio Spurs Championship Memorabilia Set 2006-2007

http://www.hoopsforever.com/cardimages/hoopspurschamps07.jpg
5th title coming!

[SouthTexasRancher]

If Manu and Tim are healthy along with everyone else then I expect us to be able to play any style but, with emphasis on lockdown defense. I'm not worried about the regular season record as long as we are playing with great team chemistry going into the playoffs. With so many new players both experienced veterans and youngsters who haven't really experienced the NBA we'll need most of the regular season to bring it all together. Then I'd say we have an excellent chance at trophy #5.

:lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt2:

[SouthTexasRancher]

San Antonio Spurs Championship Memorabilia Set 2006-2007

http://www.hoopsforever.com/cardimages/hoopspurschamps07.jpg
5th title coming!



It is going to be really strange not seeing Bruce in the arena. I for one am going to miss him.

[bigdog]

Championship

[Brutalis]

Bruce better be a Spur. I will be sad as shit to be honest.

How many times did he get robbed for DPOY?

The block on Chauncy...

[raspsa]

If Manu and Tim are healthy along with everyone else then I expect us to be able to play any style but, with emphasis on lockdown defense. I'm not worried about the regular season record as long as we are playing with great team chemistry going into the playoffs. With so many new players both experienced veterans and youngsters who haven't really experienced the NBA we'll need most of the regular season to bring it all together. Then I'd say we have an excellent chance at trophy #5.

:lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt::lobt2:

:worthy:

[Solid D]

I think the Spurs will look different. There may be some resemblences to the 2003 team (Jefferson instead of Jack and Blair instead of Rose). There will also be some uniqueness to this team, especially if Pop uses his resources to gain matchup advantages.

I think they will run more this year than last year. There will be some poor execution with their new additions but that is to be expected. I expect a lot of experimentation the first 1/2 of the year. There will be more dunks. The point differential should increase.

I also expect a lot of berating of Finley and Bonner if Pop gives them anything close to the number of minutes they had last season. Those two players are almost in a no-win situation.

I expect Ratliff to take young Ian under his wing and teach him the lessons of the NBA. We will find out if Ian is an enigma or an NBA player this season.

At end of games, I expect lots of screen/rolls and 4-out, 1-in sets...just like always.

Pop should have lots of fun with matchups and we'll enjoy watching some of them, some not so much. I look forward to the next Mavs, Lakers, Blazers and Nuggets games, as well as the Cavs, Magic, and Celts games.

I think the Spurs will sorely miss Bruce Bowen. George Hill has an opportunity to really shine along with RJ against the All-Star perimeter players of the NBA. That will be exciting and new and sometimes frustrating, because of what Spurs' fans are used to seeing... a la Kobe going 7 for 28 against the "handsy" Bruce.

Let's go see some games at the AT&T Center, shall we?

[duncan228]

Let's go see some games at the AT&T Center, shall we?

There's nothing I'd rather do. :toast

Great breakdown Solid D. It's going to be a fun season.

[raspsa]

I expect Ratliff to take young Ian under his wing and teach him the lessons of the NBA. We will find out if Ian is an enigma or an NBA player this season.


Now that you mention it, Ian's game comes closest to matching Theo's rather than Duncan's or Dice's so maybe he could learn something from ratliff.

[Dingle Barry]

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/numbers/5.jpg