Reigning Black: Process or Result: What's more important at this point?

[duncan228]

Process or Result: What's more important at this point? (http://reigningblack.blogspot.com/)
Radoslav Komljenovic - Reigning Black

It's clear to those paying attention that the Spurs aren't exactly playing as well as their record indicates. Their 5-1 record is mostly a product of their talent and a favorable early schedule rather than their overall level of play.

Offensively, they're more than fine, as they currently sit 6th in efficiency, including 3rd in points per game, 4th in field goal percentage, 8th in 3-point percentage and 2nd in assists.

Defensively, it's a different story, as they currently sit 17th in efficiency. Granted, the points per game can somewhat be attributed to the positively un-Spurs like blistering pace -- 7th in the league. Nonetheless, the Spurs currently sit 23rd in opponents points per game, in addition to 25th in opponents field goal percentage and 29th in opponents 3-point percentage.

What's most alarming about the defensive numbers is that this continues an ongoing trend of recent years where the Spurs have seen a steep decline from their heyday. No one is expecting the current incarnation to even faintly resemble that of the lock-down outfit of yesteryear, but they're also not supposed to resemble that of the Suns and Warriors of recent years, either.

Keep Reading... (http://reigningblack.blogspot.com/)

[MmP]

"Radoslav Komljenovic"

Rasho?

[Vito Corleone]

I want results, the process happens in a 82 game schedule. We need to make sure we have enough of a advantage going into every series. Anything can happen in the NBA, and you never know when a Laker disadvantage could occur to open the door for a team like San Antonio.

Fact is, we need two things, a good seeding and rest our big 3 as much as we can. Right now we are 5-1 and doing it without Duncan playing big minutes. We are on a good pace. Lets keep it up, especially beating the teams were supposed to beat.

[pjjrfan]

I think an important point is that in the Hornets game, the Suns game and the Bobcats game the team played excellent defense in the 4th qtr that allowed them to make a run at the Hornets and beat the suns and Bobcats. So to me that is an encouraging sign that the defense can come around.

[mountainballer]

Defensively, it's a different story, as they currently sit 17th in efficiency. Granted, the points per game can somewhat be attributed to the positively un-Spurs like blistering pace -- 7th in the league. Nonetheless, the Spurs currently sit 23rd in opponents points per game, in addition to 25th in opponents field goal percentage and 29th in opponents 3-point percentage.


all true. but to put things in perspective, two of the 6 opponents are currently top 3 in PPG (Rockets are 2nd and Suns are 3rd) and another (Pacers at 11) is almost top 10. those 3 teams might not be very good overall, but they do have the ability to score.
this doesn't try to make an excuse for the in fact scary bad defense the Spurs played for long stretches. it just takes away some of the dramatic to find the Spurs among the worst defensive teams in the league.
(if Spurs played, let's say Blazers instead of Suns and Wolves instead of Rockets, they would likely now be at #12-#15 in points allowed).

but what in fact is alarming is opponents FG %. (knowing this is the stat that Pop values most, we can imagine that he isn't happy about this number).
todays game should help this stat a lot, Clippers can't hit a bus from mid range or a house from downtown.
but the major problem will still be there. Spurs lack chemistry and effort on defense AND they lack at least one defensive specialist.

[Obstructed_View]

all true. but to put things in perspective, two of the 6 opponents are currently top 3 in PPG (Rockets are 2nd and Suns are 3rd) and another (Pacers at 11) is almost top 10. those 3 teams might not be very good overall, but they do have the ability to score.
this doesn't try to make an excuse for the in fact scary bad defense the Spurs played for long stretches. it just takes away some of the dramatic to find the Spurs among the worst defensive teams in the league.
(if Spurs played, let's say Blazers instead of Suns and Wolves instead of Rockets, they would likely now be at #12-#15 in points allowed).

but what in fact is alarming is opponents FG %. (knowing this is the stat that Pop values most, we can imagine that he isn't happy about this number).
todays game should help this stat a lot, Clippers can't hit a bus from mid range or a house from downtown.but the major problem will still be there. Spurs lack chemistry and effort on defense AND they lack at least one defensive specialist.

Chris Kaman's out. Their field goal percentage is about to go WAY up. His shooting struggles haven't been because of good defense.

[Manufan909]

all true. but to put things in perspective, two of the 6 opponents are currently top 3 in PPG (Rockets are 2nd and Suns are 3rd) and another (Pacers at 11) is almost top 10. those 3 teams might not be very good overall, but they do have the ability to score.
this doesn't try to make an excuse for the in fact scary bad defense the Spurs played for long stretches. it just takes away some of the dramatic to find the Spurs among the worst defensive teams in the league.
(if Spurs played, let's say Blazers instead of Suns and Wolves instead of Rockets, they would likely now be at #12-#15 in points allowed).

but what in fact is alarming is opponents FG %. (knowing this is the stat that Pop values most, we can imagine that he isn't happy about this number).
todays game should help this stat a lot, Clippers can't hit a bus from mid range or a house from downtown.
but the major problem will still be there. Spurs lack chemistry and effort on defense AND they lack at least one defensive specialist.

There are indeed too many variables when comparing teams, especially this early into the season. Even at the end of the season, some teams might have played significantly more games where their opponent was off than others, but there's just no way to calculate that.

Where did you go for these stats and stuff, cuz I'm curious if the teams we played are high in FG%. I guess their not that high, or you would've added them to your argument.

No matter what, the Spurs should be better at defending the 3. But then again, this team is even more new than last year. Not only are there 3 rooks getting significant minutes, but Dice, Blair, and RJ have only been Spurs a year now. That's half our rotation with only 2 years at best in the system, so the defensive chemistry will come in time. It's scary to think of how well the offense will be running when everyone gets comfortable with each other, Blair and Hill get out of their funk, and Splitter/Neal/Anderson all get several months of NBA action under their belt. On the negative side, RJ could regress, and there could be an injury to an important member of the team (take your time healing Bonner, they have to pay you no matter what!:p:), but screw worst case scenarios. We're 5-1 baby!


Chris Kaman's out. Their field goal percentage is about to go WAY up. His shooting struggles haven't been because of good defense.

I thought you were exaggerating, but 36% is horrible. Much more so when it's a player of Kaman's caliber. Have you been following the Clippers this season?

[Russ]

Record is more important at this point because it sets the team up for a good seeding if and when the defense comes around. Face it, this is the glorified preseason -- it says little about how good your team will be. The key is to stuff a few W's in the bank for future use.

As for the D, I think this team has the potential to become much better because of the new blood. "SAN" as I call them, Splitter, Anderson and Neal, all look to have good defensive potential and more confidence, skill and basketball IQ than past Spurs in their roles.

Splitter, in particular, should shore up the Spurs' middle.

Anderson is simply a saavy, fully-formed basketball player who will fit like a glove for the Spurs both offensively and defensively.

Neal is quick (believe it or not) and has a good sense for playing the passing lanes and is willing to run, dish, and of course, gun.

These guys are not tentative. That is the killer on offense and, if it appears, it soon spreads to defense.

The Spurs have had problems developing athletic "project" players to fill the roles of departed championship guys. The project player is always taking a baby step forward and looking for a pat on the back as he tries to figure things out. None of these new guys are projects.

[mountainballer]

Where did you go for these stats and stuff, cuz I'm curious if the teams we played are high in FG%. I guess their not that high, or you would've added them to your argument.


it's pretty easy.
ESPN team stats page
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/team-comparison-per-game/sort/fieldGoalPct
good to use b/c you can can rank it by categories by just click it.

and right, the teams we played are not exactly the elite in FG%
(Hornets 4th, Suns 8th, Pacers 15th, Bobcats 19th, Rockets 22nd, Clippers 24th)
(on 3s: 5,6,9,11,26,29)

[Obstructed_View]

I thought you were exaggerating, but 36% is horrible. Much more so when it's a player of Kaman's caliber. Have you been following the Clippers this season?

Just following my man-crush on Blake Griffin, but Kaman's struggles have been striking. Guy's getting really good shots and missing them.

[mountainballer]

Kaman is horrible.
btw. he has always been pretty inefficient for a big who plays around the rim. that's why he was always a bit overrated. on a better team he wouldn't have got that many shots because of his inefficiency.

[Obstructed_View]

I must have missed all the overrating of Chris Kaman. He's having a horrible shooting time this season, but he's far from being a horrible NBA player.

[mingus]

The team can play defense. Just hasn't been a consistent effort.

[JWest596]

Defense is the key...Pop has to get it on track. It's the key to playoff success and a strong defense will generally win your 3-5 games in a season which is required in the settings and where we stand for home court.

I like the offense but until Timmy, Tiago, Hill and Blair, et al start playing strong D we are at risk.

The D will tell us how far we go this year and I think it has to be a Top 5 defense for long term success. It's our way.