Will height be an issue for this team?

[BackHome]

Just looking at teams personnel and came away with the fact that most teams have more taller players on their roster then the Spurs. In fact I think the Spurs may have the smallest amount of players less then 6-9 in the enrire league right now.

Didn't really look at who they were but just height in genearl with the following teams to compare if it makes a difference.

Looked at 6-9 and up:

Chicago 6 players
Hawks 7 players
Heat 6 players
Orlando 6 players
Dallas 6 players
Houston 6 players
Denver 7 players
Portland 6 players
Lakers 6 players

Spurs 4 players
Utah 5 players
New Orleans 5 players

[Lukor]

This list is worthless if you dont consider playing times/positions etc. So what if the 13th man on a roster is 7feet tall? He's gonna DNP-CD anyway.

[ALVAREZ6]

Height has been an issue for the Spurs for quite some time now....it was the main reason they were never going to win a title last season, because they only had 1.5 true big men in Duncan and McDyess (Dyess kind of a perimeter threat, pretty small to guard big men on other teams like the Lakers). Hopefully the Splitter addition will help in this area.

[Man In Black]

I don't think it's height so much as athleticism with the height. Outside of Blair, the rest of our bigs jump abou as high as a loaf of bread or 1 stack of tortillas. Splitter has some athleticism, but Tim does his work, positionally speaking.
Even though, it's really about how much the height + athleticism plays in a given situation. It does a team no good if they have a bunch of Mahinmis or Eddy Curry type players on their bench.

[DirkISaCocLuvinPuSSy]

yeah length and athleticism will be big issues for this team, a team like Oklahoma is gonna really show the weakness of the defense if it plays soft like last year. The only why we become an elite team is by playing Spurs D, not fouling, hitting free throws and nailing the always there corner 3, but thats any team I guess.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Just looking at teams personnel and came away with the fact that most teams have more taller players on their roster then the Spurs. In fact I think the Spurs may have the smallest amount of players less then 6-9 in the enrire league right now.

Didn't really look at who they were but just height in genearl with the following teams to compare if it makes a difference.

Looked at 6-9 and up:

Chicago 6 players
Hawks 7 players
Heat 6 players
Orlando 6 players
Dallas 6 players
Houston 6 players
Denver 7 players
Portland 6 players
Lakers 6 players

Spurs 4 players
Utah 5 players
New Orleans 5 players


it's also a matter of quality bigs... 4 of LA's big guys are Gasol, Bynum, Odom, and Ratliff...that's beast. Mbenga is the only scrub, and both Caracter and Ebanks (both 6-9) are rookies.

[Bartleby]

Outside of Blair, the rest of our bigs jump abou as high as a loaf of bread or 1 stack of tortillas.


Blair has hops?

[bobby4germany]

Blair has hops?

Did you even watch the spurs last season?

[TD 21]

When people say height, they often automatically talk about the bigs, but really, where this team is most vulnerable height wise is at SF (that speaks to the lack of depth behind Jefferson, not Jefferson himself) and when they have to guard combo forwards. There is no 6-8 - 6-9 forward, who can move well enough to defend those types.

In terms of height amongst the bigs, they're still undersized, but it should no longer be a major issue.

Supposedly, Bonner is 6-8 1/2 barefoot, which means he's probably around 6-9 1/2 in shoes, even though he doesn't look it. He does hunch over quite a bit though, like Duncan.

[bobby4germany]

Blair says height will not be a problem...

q3zmUQbdiJk

[ElNono]

Defense will be an overall problem for this team...

[8FOR!3]

Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter are two legitimate big men. There's no question with those guys, that's like our Gasol/Bynum punch so to speak. And who really cares about the backups when you've got two guys like that? Sure, the Lakers might have Odom and Ratliff coming off the bench and while they may have the size advantage, are they going to dominate against Blair and McDyess? No way.

[JWest596]

Height isn't everything.
It will all depend if they are wearing their PF Flyers.

"You run faster and jump higher wearing your PF Flyers"

Jonny Quest wouldn't lie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Q8WLdbFr4

[Man In Black]

Per Draft Express. DeJuan's Vertical at max is 33 inches. Tiago's is 31.5 inches.

Tim's when younger was probably around 32.
Here's some old timer vertical's as well. Each of these guys are 6'9" tall.
Magic Johnson 30
Larry Bird 28
Karl Malone 28

[ALVAREZ6]

Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter are two legitimate big men. There's no question with those guys, that's like our Gasol/Bynum punch so to speak. And who really cares about the backups when you've got two guys like that? Sure, the Lakers might have Odom and Ratliff coming off the bench and while they may have the size advantage, are they going to dominate against Blair and McDyess? No way.

Umm...I do. Gasol and Duncan, this point in Tim's career, are at least equivalents (if not Gasol being more valuable AT THIS POINT IN TIME). Bynum >>>>>>>any other big we've had in years. Go further into the bench, Odom >>>>>> any other big other than Duncan we've had in years.

It's a pretty big concern I'd have to say.

[Bruno]

Not really.
Lakers won the title last year with a team that had a similar size than this year Spurs team.

There for sure some teams that are bigger than Spurs but NBA isn't a length contest.

[galvatron3000]

Spurs only small at the 3

[DPG21920]

Spurs need a very healthy Big 3, that can be carried by Manu & TP's offensive greatness. I am not sure if that is possible, but it is certainly not inconceivable.

The Spurs also need a few surprises from the young guys and they need lights out 3 point shooting. It's possible they could have that, but far from certain.

The biggest question mark is still perimeter defense (and to a lesser extent interior defense.)There are really no answers for the questions left from last year in this regard. Tiago should help the interior defense, but nothing was addressed to fill the void on the perimeter.

[Venti Quattro]

No. But I think speed will be.

[TD 21]

Not really.
Lakers won the title last year with a team that had a similar size than this year Spurs team.

There for sure some teams that are bigger than Spurs but NBA isn't a length contest.

Good point.

How quickly people forget that, once upon a time, the Spurs were the biggest (or at least annually one of the biggest), most defensively imposing teams in the league back in the twin tower days. Despite O'Neal's size, the Lakers didn't have much size outside of him, yet did anyone ever say back then, "The Spurs are bigger and more talented up front, so the Lakers have no chance at beating them"? No. So why do people act like this is the case now, when the roles are reversed? I understood that thinking the previous two years, when the Spurs didn't have the size nor the talent to contend with them, but now they do (at least theoretically).

At this point, the Lakers more than likely won't beat the Spurs on the basis of their bigs being a little taller (so long as Pop primarily plays Duncan, McDyess and Splitter against them).

I actually think where the Spurs could be more vulnerable now against the Lakers is on the wings. The lack of a Bryant defender and their formidable defensive trio on the wings, which can be used to wear down Ginobili, could be the Spurs downfall against the Lakers.

[tim_duncan_fan]

Yes height will be an issue. Speed will be too.

No height and no speed means the D will suck.

We have 1 big (maybe, possibly, hopefully 2 if Splitter can produce) and our perimeter guys can't guard. Steve Nash pwns us now.


But anyway, that doesn't mean that we can't be competitive. If our Big 3 are healthy, we have a shot regardless of whether or not we can play rebound or play D.

[TD 21]

Diogu's agent, Thad Foucher, wasn't available Monday night, but Diogu said that Denver, Utah and San Antonio are the last three teams that have expressed interest. (http://espn.go.com/blog/dallasmavericks/post/_/id/4670624/garlands-ike-diogu-waiting-for-call) New Orleans, Diogu said, is out of the picture. ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/blog/dallasmavericks/post/_/id/4670624/garlands-ike-diogu-waiting-for-call)