Are we back?

[Cry Havoc]

3 straight blowouts in a row now.

Defense still isn't where it needs to be, but destroying a team that's obviously better than the Mavericks :lol without Manu playing, that's gotta say something, right?

[Cry Havoc]

Well I like where the team is going but they still need to play a competative team and do great still.

Well I'm not saying we're going to dominate everyone from here on out.

But we're laying the smack down on teams. I just want to see us start playing Spurs ball again, and it seems like we're on our way.

[NRHector]

not yet, let's see friday:flag:

[TD 21]

Depends on what your definition of "back" is. If it's back to simply strolling along at a win roughly 2 out of every 3 game pace, then yes, the Spurs are back. If it's back to playing as an elite team and a championship contender, not quite, but there are encouraging signs.

Just going through the NBA.com team stats today you can see this team is significantly better in a lot of categories from last year and they haven't even hit their stride. They're blocking more shots, getting to the line more, defending the 3 significantly better, rebounding significantly better and scoring significantly more.

[Xevious]

They still need to win on the road.

[benefactor]

We never went anywhere. The slow start was something that was expected.

[benefactor]

They still need to win on the road.
Greater words of wisdom have never been spoken.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

You will find out on the 5th December :smokin

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Next Thursdays home game against Boston should be a good measuring stick, but I also agree they need to start winning on the road.

[SpursDynasty]

The Spurs were never gone. It comes down to getting good on the road. 7-2 at home, 0-4 on the road.

[Ditty]

we better win friday

[Solid D]

Nope. Pick and roll defense is awful and RJ still looks like ducks on a Microsoft Windows pc.

[DynastySpurs210]

uh

[Shastafarian]

You will find out on the 5th December :smokin

We'll know on this stretch of Houston-Philly-Boston-Denver-Utah in 11 days.

[Johnny RIngo]

We'll know on this stretch of Houston-Philly-Boston-Denver-Utah in 11 days.

This should give us a good indicator of where the team is really at.

[ElNono]

I thought we laid an egg defensively today, but you look again and if Micky Moore is shooting and hitting 20 footers, what are you supposed to do? So it was a so so effort on that end of the floor.
Like somebody else said, let's win on the road and beat a good team or two and then we can talk about being back...

[igruex]

Apart from Dallas, the only contender we've faced was Portland, and we didn't come out well.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

No, but we are looking more together at both ends. Long way to go, but the signs are positive.

[DubMcDub]

You guys aren't "back" because you were never "gone." You lost a few games. Now you've won a few games. In reality, you're better than you ever looked while you were losing, and likely not quite as good as you've looked in these wins.

It's like Steve Nash says, "After you win a game, you feel like you'll never lose again. After you lose a game, you feel like you'll never win again."

[HarlemHeat37]

Our D was bad for stretches tonight, but like Elnono said, they were making some unusual shots..Mikki Moore makes mid-range Js, but he made a 20-footer type of shot tonight..Maggette was making his Js, including a turnaround J(and got fouled on one)..Ellis was making his outside J, which makes it a lot tougher to guard him..

It's too early in the season to make statements like "we're back" or we're "legit contenders"..it's a LOOOOOONNNGGGG season..even when we were "struggling", we had significant injuries..even in the Portland game where we thought we had our guys, it turned out Duncan was playing with a messed up ankle from the night before, which clearly affected him(as you can see with how he's been playing since)..

[Solid D]

As bad as the Spurs have looked early in the season, would you believe....at 7-6 and barely over .500........the Spurs are the 6th seed in the West?

[timvp]

The Houston game will be a good litmus test. We'll see but it looks like there's a whole lot more work to be done.

[coyotes_geek]

Back? No.

Getting better? Yes.

[Whisky Dog]

Back? Back above .500

[ElNono]

The Houston game will be a good litmus test. We'll see but it looks like there's a whole lot more work to be done.

Actually the Rockets game is twice as interesting now because they just got curbstomped by Dallas, so they'll be hungry for a win.

[duhoh]

Apart from Dallas, the only contender we've faced was Portland, and we didn't come out well.

neither are contenders

[DubMcDub]

neither are contenders

But the Spurs are? :lol

Come on, man. If the Spurs are contenders, the Mavs certainly are, as are several other teams.

[jag]

But the Spurs are? :lol

Come on, man. If the Spurs are contenders, the Mavs certainly are, as are several other teams.

I'd say Dallas is a contender..Portland, not so much.

And the Spurs have looked like anything but contenders.

[all_heart]

We are on the way.. any win is good right now. I think Tony used this game tonight to get his rhythm back. He wasn't quite himself lately, but tonight he made some nice shots. Spurs offense looks very basic out there, I'd like to see them take it up a notch as far as play calling, because w/good defensive teams it will be harder to score.

[lennyalderette]

all heart is right, and even though tony picked it up tonight, i want to see him take it in like he used to do every time, he seems scared to penetrate the paint. i was really happy to see haislip out there!!! i hope he starts making the rotation because were going to need him for certain teams. overall we look like were making progress, and all we can do is pray for manu to stay healthy

[lennyalderette]

oh and dallas are def. contenders at this point.

[draft87]

Yeah, what exactly does "Being Back" mean?

Are we playing better than the first 7 games?

Are we the best team in the league?

Is our record NOT 7-6?

Are we on pace to be the 7th or 8th seed in the playoffs?

Were we "gone"?


Seems like you're trying to search for a way to put your mind at ease. .. A way to sleep at night thinking there's a prepaid ticket to a division or conference championship, and even Larry O'Brien. I think you really can answer that question after 82 games are played and 16 playoff games are won. Does winning 3 straight mean something? Yes. Is our margin of victory a good thing? Yes. Are there 69 regular season games left? Yes. I think we should focus more on the upcoming games. The games are so fun to watch(especially when winning, and/or seeing the team come together, breakout play, etc) I think it'll less fun to spend more hours on this board trying to predict the future and claim bragging rights for championships that are won months from now than actual time watching the games.

Let's focus on the games. The only true answers are in the games that are played.

[Jess]

What have seen the last 3 games? A consistent starting lineup, with TD/TP PnR as the centerpiece, complimented by physical defenders that can spot up on O. This unit is really similiar to lineups of old, plus Jefferson's slashing ability.

And on a completely healthy Spurs team? Manu and Hill get to lead a second unit full of sharpshooters, and play Yin to the first unit's Yang. Instead of the TD/TP machine you get Manu/Hill caroms into a cleared lane with shooters all around.

For once, the Spurs have an embarassment of riches, and the only real issue is finding who fits where. I'll take that "problem" any day. What we've seen the last few games is Pop finding something that works...

...at least, against the Wizards, Bucks, and Warriors. :toast

So, are we back? I don't think we were ever gone, it's just a process.

[draft87]

But the Spurs are? :lol

Come on, man. If the Spurs are contenders, the Mavs certainly are, as are several other teams.


You guys aren't "back" because you were never "gone." You lost a few games. Now you've won a few games. In reality, you're better than you ever looked while you were losing, and likely not quite as good as you've looked in these wins.

It's like Steve Nash says, "After you win a game, you feel like you'll never lose again. After you lose a game, you feel like you'll never win again."

Dear DubMcDub,
Happy to read your posts on the board. You are wiser those most of the sorry-ass poor excuses of Spurs "Fans" on here. I look forward to reading and discussing basketball with you in the future. Granted, the nature of our interests makes us NBA enemies I believe we can engage in healthy, realistic, and interesting basketball conversations. Feel free to put the Fakers on blast anytime. -And yes, by "Faker" I mean the fake Spurs fans that immediately shit on any player who doesn't put up 20/10 yet claim to love and support the organization. The Mavs have an exciting roster, a deeper bench, a rookie I covet, two forwards with questionable work ethics but undeniable skill(Gooden/Thomas) so I look forward to several exciting wins against them this year! ;)

[Chieflion]

On these three Spurs wins, the Spurs only beat up teams they were supposed to beat up. Really nothing to discuss about. Huge problem if those three teams were not punished like they were supposed to be punished.

[callo1]

I didn't know the Spurs ever left. All I saw was a new bunch of players trying to work through some early injury issues and learn to play with one another.

The only thing that bothers me is that Timmy slimed down, and while I'm sure his ankles, and knees feel better for it, he has lost some strength as well I fear. He had a tough time backing down Radmanovich a few times tonight.

I don't know though...what do you guys think? Am I seeing things, or has Timmy lost some strength as well?

[mountainballer]

damn, did anyone see the win lose curve of Houston over the last 12 games?
W - L - W - L - W - L - W - L - W - L - W - L -.........
ok, every series comes to an end

Houston is the right team at the right time. they are not to strong and struggled badly last night, so there is a good chance the Spurs can win this one, but a win in Houston does still have value, especially for the confidence.
Hill,Parker and Bogans should be able to totally shot down their back court, much like Dallas did. put enough pressure on Brooks and Lowry and they will collapse!

if Spurs can win this one and then against Philly, things look much better before the big games against Boston and Denver. (then we also should be back to full health of Manu and Tony)

[Chieflion]

I didn't know the Spurs ever left. All I saw was a new bunch of players trying to work through some early injury issues and learn to play with one another.

The only thing that bothers me is that Timmy slimed down, and while I'm sure his ankles, and knees feel better for it, he has lost some strength as well I fear. He had a tough time backing down Radmanovich a few times tonight.

I don't know though...what do you guys think? Am I seeing things, or has Timmy lost some strength as well?
Timmy did not lose strength. If anything, he lost weight which made him easier to push around. If he did, then he must have lost muscle mass.

[emanueldavidginobili]

come mid season i think were just going to be rolling, if manu is healthy and back in playing condition and got his rust off from not playing this summer and the chemistry is there and everyone is used to playing together were going to be a force to reckon with, with TP timmy D , Dice knocking down the mid range RJ feeling comfortable mason hitting threes bonner hitting his threes hill playing to his potential blair playing tough D also bogans and the whole team getting back to Spurs Defense and manu "just being manu" were going to go far.

[Spursmania]

You guys aren't "back" because you were never "gone." You lost a few games. Now you've won a few games. In reality, you're better than you ever looked while you were losing, and likely not quite as good as you've looked in these wins.

It's like Steve Nash says, "After you win a game, you feel like you'll never lose again. After you lose a game, you feel like you'll never win again."


BTW McDub, you guys are looking good. Gooden sure is producing for you.

[Kori Ellis]

I don't think they are "back" in terms of playing Championship-level basketball. But I wouldn't really expect them to be in November. They still have a lot of meshing to do. But they are headed in the right direction. And at least Mason/Bonner are off the SpursTalk hit list for a few days.

[Spurs Brazil]

Back? No.

Getting better? Yes.

:tu

[Spursmania]

The Spurs are not back to playing Championship ball yet. Long way to go, but they are making strides. We'll all know when the Spurs are back, so will everybody else.:smokin

[pjjrfan]

For this team it's a process, I think the the real positive signs are that we have more offensive weapons, that defensively the team is starting to gel, although last nights defense let the guards get to many easy points, but they made key stops. Remember last season how Hill would almost always miss on a steal, well, this season he is making the steals and last nights game turned on his two steals in the 3rd, and he would've had at least 2 more if the refs hadn't hit him with some stupid calls, as both were clean steals, and believe me guys are going to know Hill is around the way he just attacks guys after they go by him. My hope is that once Mcdyess learns the defense scheme our interior defense will be a lot better than it is right now, as it is I still see it as the teams major weakness.

[PUPPETMASTER]

/we are getting better/

[benefactor]

I don't think they are "back" in terms of playing Championship-level basketball. But I wouldn't really expect them to be in November. They still have a lot of meshing to do. But they are headed in the right direction. And at least Mason/Bonner are off the SpursTalk hit list for a few days.
Exactly. We are right where most of were expecting this team to be at this time...considering all circumstances.

So again...we were never gone.

[ffadicted]

Quite simply, no.

No road wins, no convincing wins over contenders (except for no Tony/Tim over Mavs) ... can't say much else

[DJB]

We won't be back until game 1 of the 2010 NBA playoffs.

[spursnatic]

I think we are close to getting there?...But anytime you completely re-do your roster, you are gonna have problems in the begining getting everyone used to eachother...Spurs will be okay, people just need to realize that everyone cannot have 30 pts a night...It takes a team to put aside their egos and just go out everynight and play team ball...The Spurs are the one team that will not have a problem with that...They have been playing that way for many years, so why change that up now?....You can never count out the SPURS!!!.....

[LOL@MavsFan]

We'll see next week when Denver and Boston come to town.

[JustinJDW]

I won't say we are "back" until I see how we do on the road against the Rockets. Remember, after 13 games, we still haven't won a game on the road.

[tlongII]

No.

[dbestpro]

No. Parker won the Warrior game, but continued reliance on Parker will not work come play off time. We will be where we need to be when Parker finds no need to force a shot and when the defensive rotations are on time.

[SpursWench21]

Lets win 6 out of next 10 road games and then well talk..

Also, id like to see us against the Celts, Magic, and Lakers...and both our team and Dallas to be at full strength play each other.

[spurspokesman]

The jury is still out. We haven't played the elite yet. And we are getting beat by average teams. Not good.

[raspsa]

I have a good feeling about the Rockets' game.. I think the Spurs are starting to play with more confidence as a team.. I really think they can get a Win in Houston.

[sabar]

Nope, we still look lost at times at both ends of the floor. We will probably be at .500 to .650 through a good part of December. Doing better, but not great.