Can the Spurs win with the current core?

[024]

watching this damn awful offense in game 7 made me think about the spurs. when the lakers needed a score, gasol stepped up and powered the lakers through. however, the celtics did not have someone to do the same because they looked much slower out there.

the celtics offense had no flow and were only scoring through unstructured offensive sequences. can one player on the spurs core step up and take over like gasol? 2005 had a prime ginobili and duncan against the tough pistons defense but they aren't in their 20s anymore. can this core still beat through elite defenses? role players help but when it comes down to it, one member of the big 3 has to take over. can parker beat bryant? can ginobili overcome artest? can duncan handle the combination of bynum and gasol?

[justinandimcool]

This year showed, obviously not. We need Splitter, we need Manu/Parker/Duncan to be in top form in June, we need RJ or someone else to play like we paid RJ to do.

[slick'81]

core yes but they need help

[dbestpro]

Ray Allen played like Roger Mason Jr tonight.

[Sigz]

no

[024]

celtics and lakers have the best supporting casts but when it came down to the wire, they depended on their core to score. celtics couldn't produce. will the spurs fall victim to the same weakness?

[DesignatedT]

what's the core? Tony, Tim and Manu? Of course we can still win with those 3 guys. going to need better play from the supporting cast no doubt.

[BadMotorscooter]

We need a beast. Plain and Simple. We need Blair. If he can break through....scratch that....if Pop will actually give him some time....he is our ace in the hole. We need a guy who can get physical down low. Timmy is getting old.

[HarlemHeat37]

This is the concern I had as well..I made a thread about it after the Spurs were eliminated, and many criticized me for it(obviously being defensive, but whatever, doesn't matter)..

The only potential solution would be for Duncan to have A LOT of rest all year..the Tim Duncan of the 1st half of the season for the past 2 years is good enough to be the #1 on the title..the problem is that the Spurs don't know whether Duncan is wearing down due to age/wear and tear, or wearing down to the unexpected and heavy load he's had to carry due to the early injuries to Parker/Ginobili and the lack of help in the frontcourt..

The other solution would be for Tony Parker to play like it's 2009 again..unfortunately, teams that rely on their PGs to be primary scorers generally don't win titles..the Spurs are always a unique team though, so we'll see..

Assuming all needs are filled, rest is going to be the theme for next year's Spurs..

[L.I.T]

Of course.

The only thing is, their supporting cast has not been dynamic enough to really support them. In the past, the Spurs role players had the ability to maintain and even extend leads. The last few years? Not so much on a consistent basis.

Hill and Blair are solid additions. And I still believe that, in a certain role, RJeff can be an asset. Of course that role is likely off the bench playing run and gun with the young'uns.

The potential addition of Splitter is a major one. He's a dynamic two-way front court player, who actually can take some of the heavy lifting off of TD. Dice is a solid bench big at this point in his career, and I am curious to see how Blair will develop. My hunch is that he'll be a disruptive bench force with a solid 20-25 minutes a game.

The key will be how well the Spurs will be able to mine a deep FA pool for complementary pieces for range and defense.

But there is no doubt in my mind that a core of TP/Manu/TD/Hill/Blair/Splitter/Dice with RJeff can be contenders. Winners is another question.

[justinandimcool]

To get to the Finals, the Celtics had 7 guys play consistently well for two straight months against elite teams (starting 5 plus Sheed/Big Baby).

In the West, Duncan/Manu/Tony will get us to the 2nd round at best at their age, much like Allen/Pierce/Garnett would have gone nowhere without the help of their supporting cast.

If we get him Splitter needs to help hold down the paint, Dejuan needs to be an energy spark off the bench, RJ needs to grow some balls and hit big shots for more than once every eight games, Hill needs to be solid defensively and put up numbers offensively like he did vs Dallas. Not to mention Pop needs to not go full retard. All these needs to occur EVERY night, which is a lot to ask.

We're in a better position than 90% of the league, but to go all the way the perfect storm needs to happen. At least 7 guys have to be there physically and mentally for the whole postseason. I have a lot of optimism, but not enough to bet on it.

[024]

but when the cards are on the table the last five minutes, who is the go to player? celtics tried pierce and allen and failed. lakers went to gasol and succeeded. this isn't about the supporting cast, this is about the need to score against an elite defense during crunch time.

my opinion is that artest always plays very good defense against ginobili. artest's weakness is speed but ginobili has slowed during the recent years. so ginobili probably won't be able to do much. duncan will be hobbled as usual and has to deal with the gasol/bynum wall. that leaves parker against bryant.

[DesignatedT]

The bench and supporting cast have to be strong enough to give our big 3 (mainly manu and tim) enough rest while still being able to win games. Having Tony in and out of the lineup really hurt this last year.

[TD 21]

I give Gasol credit for not shying away from the moment, but let's not act like he pulled a Duncan in game 7 in '06 against the Mavs. He shot the ball poorly, choked at the free throw line and was bailed out with a few calls as always. He wasn't just destroying the Celtics with a bevy of post moves.

As for the Spurs core, I say yes they can. The off season just started, so obviously it's far too early to make predictions and I'm not going to, but my inclination is yes. When healthy, they have three of the top twenty - twenty-five (at worst) players in the league and all three are experienced and trustworthy in the clutch. When you have that, you have a chance.

[justinandimcool]

but when the cards are on the table the last five minutes, who is the go to player? celtics tried pierce and allen and failed. lakers went to gasol and succeeded. this isn't about the supporting cast, this is about the need to score against an elite defense during crunch time.

my opinion is that artest always plays very good defense against ginobili. artest's weakness is speed but ginobili has slowed during the recent years. so ginobili probably won't be able to do much. duncan will be hobbled as usual and has to deal with the gasol/bynum wall. that leaves parker against bryant.

We're paying Manu how much? He'll have the stones to give it a good go. Never sleep on Duncan and Tony either. I don't worry about the Spurs down the stretch, I worry about them being able to play well for the whole 48 minutes, which let's face it was seldom in April and May.

[HarlemHeat37]

but when the cards are on the table the last five minutes, who is the go to player? celtics tried pierce and allen and failed. lakers went to gasol and succeeded. this isn't about the supporting cast, this is about the need to score against an elite defense during crunch time.

my opinion is that artest always plays very good defense against ginobili. artest's weakness is speed but ginobili has slowed during the recent years. so ginobili probably won't be able to do much. duncan will be hobbled as usual and has to deal with the gasol/bynum wall. that leaves parker against bryant.

Artest had trouble with Ginobili during Manu's hot streak..this was due to Pop putting Manu in p&r situations, off the ball catches, and coming off screens..

Artest is still a good defender, but he's no longer good at defending the p&r and running through screens..

I agree that the Spurs inability to play in clutch time was a huge factor to the lack of success this year..health is really the only answer..

[DesignatedT]

Even though Duncan played a career low in minutes, He still played way to many regular season minutes especially against teams that we should be running out of the building without Tim even on the floor. Tony being in and out of the lineup all year and the lack of confidence and experience from the new guys made it to where Duncan was playing 35 minutes against the minnesota timberwolves at home and us riding him down the stretch to get a meaningless win. By getting better play out of your role players and bench and being able to sustain the lead once the starters go to the bench is the key. Duncan and Manu shouldn't be having to carry the team to victories every single night against the worst teams in the league.

[slick'81]

Even though Duncan played a career low in minutes, He still played way to many regular season minutes especially against teams that we should be running out of the building without Tim even on the floor. Tony being in and out of the lineup all year and the lack of confidence and experience from the new guys made it to where Duncan was playing 35 minutes against the minnesota timberwolves at home and us riding him down the stretch to get a meaningless win. By getting better play out of your role players and bench and being able to sustain the lead once the starters go to the bench is the key. Duncan and Manu shouldn't be having to carry the team to victories every single night against the worst teams in the league.


yeah but u need a real fckn bench

http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Orlando+Magic+v+San+Antonio+Spurs+_pQvsYHctevl.jpg

[crc21209]

A cast of TD, Manu, TP, Blair, Hill, Dice, Splitter, draft pick, FA shooter, FA shooter/wing defender, FA big, and fill out the rest could be able to get it done..

[mingus]

They can if they can manage to stay healthy. the bigger question is can the FO shore up the supporting cast.

[barbacoataco]

Ginobili was really turning it on as the season went on. The face mask slowed him quite a bit in the playoffs.
I think the answer to your question is YES. Parker is young enough to theoretically have a career year next season. Ginobili seems to have recovered from his ankle injury, played better as the season progressed, and is not playing international ball.
Duncan is clearly not the force he was, so I think the Spurs would need Splitter to be effective, with Blair also contributing.

[DesignatedT]

yeah but u need a real fckn bench

http://www4.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/Orlando+Magic+v+San+Antonio+Spurs+_pQvsYHctevl.jpg

Definitely. That's what FA and the draft will be for. Mason-Bogans-Bonner are a straight up joke. You could put RJ in that category as well but we have to find a way to make him work.

[tdunk21]

with the way rj, bogans, mason, bonner played...we r lucky to beat the mavs even without hca...

[Cane]

As long as the Spurs core are healthy then yes I do think they can win however the Western conference is only going to get stronger and the supporting cast needs huge improvements. The Spurs core haven't really been healthy since 2007 and this year it was Parker that suffered injuries throughout the season. At least Ginobili and Parker are both resting and for the latter its a contract year so thats even more motivation.

Spurs need to get a strong supporting cast and basically gameplan against LA. The Spurs need length, size, and need to go back to a twin towers approach. Hopefully Tiago will help the Spurs reach that goal. Artest, Odom, Gasol, Bynum, and Kobe all present a good combination of size and length --- something the relatively undersized Bonner, Mason Jr, Bogans, Hill, and Blair seem to have problems with especially in the passing lanes.

Bynum's injury prone, Kobe's having surgery in the summer and only getting older, and Artest is due for a mental collapse or two. I don't think LA is going to be as dominant as their championships will suggest in the upcoming seasons.

[UnWantedTheory]

I think the core that is our big three is good, but not good enough. I feel we need to add considerable young vet. size to our front court, while adding an additional 4th to our big three to actually have a chance. Even with Splitter and a few sharp shooters, I still believe we dont have much of a chance. We need one more impact player that should have been RJ, to make a semi big 4, to truly contend....and once again, add the vet. size to our front court.

[200 miles]

YES, but to insure that...

First of all,
do not re-sign Bonner/Mason/Bogans.

Second,
get a least verbal commitment or any kind of indication that Splitter will sign in July.

Third,
trade McDyess and possibly Hairston for a higher 1st-rounder. Draft either George or Pondexter. If there is no sign of any kind that Ian is coming back, then in addition to the two SF's, also either Whiteside or Jordan. As for the second round, draft Tim Ohlbrecht, who could be the prized stretch 4/5 that Pop covets and can be a big upgrade to Bonner.

2010-11 possible roster: C Splitter, (Ian/Hassan/Jerome), Ohlbrecht
PF Duncan, Blair
SF (George/Pondexter/RJ), Gee
SG Ginobili, Hill, maybe Hairston
PG Parker, Temple, Jerrells

With this roster, if the chemistry is right, this team can once again be title contenders and finally become a threat to the Lakers.

And lastly,
if Hairston is still on the team come October, why, OH WHY, can he not play the 2-guard?

[temujin]

No.

[Kamnik]

Yes.

With development of Blair, Hill, addition of Splitter and much better play of RJ it would be possible.

[Indazone]

No, Spurs need another big. Too small in the post.

[BackHome]

To get to the final you are going to have to go through a lot of good teams and seven game series are killers. With the team we have no way I was realy suprised we beat Dallas to be honest they were a better team then us but we just got bigger balls then they do!

With the addition of Splitter then we get alot better but will need another big and scorer to help us in the playoffs. I am high on the trade with Indiana I think tradding Hill for Rush and trading draft positions gives us a chance to get Ed Davis who gives us the type of depth we will need to have a legit chance.

[tdunk21]

To get to the final you are going to have to go through a lot of good teams and seven game series are killers. With the team we have no way I was realy suprised we beat Dallas to be honest they were a better team then us but we just got bigger balls then they do!

With the addition of Splitter then we get alot better but will need another big and scorer to help us in the playoffs. I am high on the trade with Indiana I think tradding Hill for Rush and trading draft positions gives us a chance to get Ed Davis who gives us the type of depth we will need to have a legit chance.

hill is better than rush IMO....

[Vito Corleone]

The only way we can with our current core is if we can add two more pieces to that core to counter what the Lakers are doing.

[spurs10]

If the Lakers shoot 21 freethrows in the 4th qtr.... it is impossible for any team to beat them...it's not possible unless the team shoots 90+%...last night the world witnessed the end of basketball as we've all known and loved it....really sad....again it is not mathematically possible for the Celtics, who had led all game, to have won with the free shots given to L.A.....AND THEY STILL WON BY ONLY 4.....that's the true miracle about last night.

[easy7]

The core is fine, it is the role players, that are not good. Get rid of Bonner, Bogans, and Mason, even at 50 dollars per game they are not worth it.

[tmtcsc]

We can't win with Tim Duncan being the center point of our team anymore. He's digressed due to age and wear and tear. He's never going to be the same again but that's ok. He's still consistent and one of the better power forward /C's in the league but he can't anchor the defense or carry the offense. His FT's were atrocious in the playoffs but he actually looked decent in the regular season.

So....I believe we have a good enough core to challenge but not without changes to our offensive and defensive schemes. We have to find a new way to do this. Splitter will help but we need better defenders and shooters.