callo1
04-12-2010, 05:40 PM
So I'm locked up in my house sick as a dog today...what to do...? Watch the entire Spurs '05 playoff run.
I noticed a few thing that really got me excited. Manu is playing at the same level he did then, which bodes well for the Spurs, since many consider his '05 performance his best. He lokes as quick and agressive as he did in '05...seriously!!
Timmy had the two troubling ankles (especially the right) so his production now imho is about the same as it was with the ankles then...not as much lift, drive off one foot etc.
The biggest dropoff from a physical standpoint seems to be Parker's quickness. In '05 he was a speed demon, this year he clearly looks half a step slower. While this may easily be explaned by his ankle injury and plantar fasciitis, I think TP has lost a bit of burst.
I forgot a bit about how much '05 was really a physical grind; the hard physical cheap shots from the Thuggets and Seattle series, the run and gun series in which the Spurs beat the Suns at their own game, the clutchness of Brent hitting 5 threes in game 1 of the WCF, the endurance of Timmy in the Finals, and the way he brought the team to a huddle in game 7 of the Finals and told them he wanted the ball going through him...he made everything happen in the 4th.
Anyway, looking at this team this year, and the way they are peaking, there are many simularities, while at the same time some glaring questions.
Can Bonner be that X-factor like Horry was, and get timely rebounds and hit key 3-pointers?
Can TP find the balance between being a scoring PG and a facilitator?
In my mind Parker bashers on this forum are way out of bounds. TP had to carry this team last year when Manu and TD were hurt, and if he didn't, there would have not even been a Spurs playoffs. Toney hopefully got a chance to see that he doesn't have to be the scorer while he was hurt and watching from the bench. I expect TP will be fine, but I also hope Pop starts Hill and brings TP off the bench. TP playing the Manu roll with the second team ensures the Spurs have a guy on the court that can break down the "D" and get his own while dishing to open shooters like Bonner and (if Pop must contimue to play him) Mason.
Pop, please play Malik over Mason...PLEASE!!
The Spurs are playing some great ball, despite the horrific Nets and Grizz losses. Manu is back to being the beast he was pre-injury, Timmy when not on a back to back can still get his fill, and George stretches the court better than TP while offering improved rebounding and defense.
I see signs of Blair busting through the rookie wall, and think he will play balls out in the playoffs, and while he may not benefit from the calls as a rookie on a small market team, I see him eating glass and banging the tar out of people down low.
Unlike last year, this Spurs will be no easy out regardless of who they play, and if they continue to heal up and play well, anything can happen.
GO SPURS GO !! :lobt2: :lobt2: :lobt2: :lobt2: :lobt2:
I noticed a few thing that really got me excited. Manu is playing at the same level he did then, which bodes well for the Spurs, since many consider his '05 performance his best. He lokes as quick and agressive as he did in '05...seriously!!
Timmy had the two troubling ankles (especially the right) so his production now imho is about the same as it was with the ankles then...not as much lift, drive off one foot etc.
The biggest dropoff from a physical standpoint seems to be Parker's quickness. In '05 he was a speed demon, this year he clearly looks half a step slower. While this may easily be explaned by his ankle injury and plantar fasciitis, I think TP has lost a bit of burst.
I forgot a bit about how much '05 was really a physical grind; the hard physical cheap shots from the Thuggets and Seattle series, the run and gun series in which the Spurs beat the Suns at their own game, the clutchness of Brent hitting 5 threes in game 1 of the WCF, the endurance of Timmy in the Finals, and the way he brought the team to a huddle in game 7 of the Finals and told them he wanted the ball going through him...he made everything happen in the 4th.
Anyway, looking at this team this year, and the way they are peaking, there are many simularities, while at the same time some glaring questions.
Can Bonner be that X-factor like Horry was, and get timely rebounds and hit key 3-pointers?
Can TP find the balance between being a scoring PG and a facilitator?
In my mind Parker bashers on this forum are way out of bounds. TP had to carry this team last year when Manu and TD were hurt, and if he didn't, there would have not even been a Spurs playoffs. Toney hopefully got a chance to see that he doesn't have to be the scorer while he was hurt and watching from the bench. I expect TP will be fine, but I also hope Pop starts Hill and brings TP off the bench. TP playing the Manu roll with the second team ensures the Spurs have a guy on the court that can break down the "D" and get his own while dishing to open shooters like Bonner and (if Pop must contimue to play him) Mason.
Pop, please play Malik over Mason...PLEASE!!
The Spurs are playing some great ball, despite the horrific Nets and Grizz losses. Manu is back to being the beast he was pre-injury, Timmy when not on a back to back can still get his fill, and George stretches the court better than TP while offering improved rebounding and defense.
I see signs of Blair busting through the rookie wall, and think he will play balls out in the playoffs, and while he may not benefit from the calls as a rookie on a small market team, I see him eating glass and banging the tar out of people down low.
Unlike last year, this Spurs will be no easy out regardless of who they play, and if they continue to heal up and play well, anything can happen.
GO SPURS GO !! :lobt2: :lobt2: :lobt2: :lobt2: :lobt2: