Who are these Spurs?!?

[vander]

seriously, WTF is going on? how can the same old team, just another year older, be this different? something's amiss...

[TJastal]

Parker = healthy & signed
Manu = healthy
Duncan = healthy
RJ = more confident
Hill = much improved 6th man of the year candidate (I knew I should have picked him)
Blair = improved
Splitter = interior defender
Neal = everything RMJ was supposed to be and more
Udoka = tough role player spurs lacked last year

[Em-City]

^^^^^ you're forgetting the best 3-point shooter in the league :p

[L.I.T]

Health, tweaks to the system, added depth and internal improvements. Amazing what health will do when you have a Top 5 players at 3 positions, continuity and chemistry.

Chemistry, which on account of injuries and a lack of depth, was missing last year and the year before.

[CubanMustGo]

Spurs are the only team in the NBA to start the same five players all year according to an article I saw yesterday. That helps too.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Health, tbh.

[dbestpro]

Health is the number one issue but I think second is the adjustments created by an up tempo game.

Last year we were destroyed by the other team's ability to get offensive rebounds and second chance points. This was even more apparent when we went small. Now that we push the ball the opposing teams have to get back in transition defense or they get burned thus limiting offensive rebounds.

[Spurminator]

I think rotation consistency has a lot to do with it as well. I'm glad to see we're not still experimenting with new starting lineups and substitution patterns like we were last year until March.

[Bukefal]

Health is the biggest reason for this so far very succesfull season. Everybody is healthy. Also Jefferson has changed, he adjusted to the team. It just gels and surprisingly how Neal turned out.

[Mel_13]

seriously, WTF is going on? how can the same old team, just another year older, be this different? something's amiss...

It all began with Manu's contract extension..

[DMC]

It's a combination of a few things:

1. Health of our squad
2. Health problems of theirs
3. Depth of our bench
4. Lack of depth on theirs

We've faced several good teams who've experienced injuries with their starters, at a time when we were at pretty much full strength.

We faced the Lakers when they were on a skid. They would be different today I think. We might still win, but it would not be a blowout.

We faced the Mavs while Dirk was injured. Everyone here knows it would have been different with Dirk. We still weren't convincing in that win.

We faced Denver without Carmelo in SA. We would have won, but it's another example of fortune.

Utah does not have Okur. Not a huge difference, but he does make us play differently.

The Bulls did not have Boozer.

These teams seem to be falling as we approach them. That's going to change. Let's just hope we have enough buffer to absorb our issues when they arise.

Our bench is deeper than any of our opponents benches. Dallas probably has the 2nd deepest bench. LA is notorious for lack of bench depth. Odom and Brown are their only saving graces. This year they've improved a bit, but it remains to be seen how effective they will be for a season or if Kobe misses a few games.

The sleeper that no one is watching this year, imo, is Phoenix. They now have the pieces to get back to the playoffs if they don't get too far behind.

[greyforest]

i had the same question last year...they sucked so bad.

[Frenzy]

When I read this thread something my wife told me came up. My wife likes the spurs she just doesn't think the regular season matters to much. She's more of a play off watcher. I was like this not long ago. Anyway I haven't missed one game this year and I love the way the spurs are playing. Some more defense is needed but I assume that will come with time. So like I said she has caught some of the regular season games with me and gets into the games as well. Her basketball ball iq may not me the highest but I love the effort. She will have occasional questions like "wtf happen"..."why isn't Duncan playing"..."who is the new guy"...."why is that a foul"....things of that nature. So as when been watching she has seen the star players. But since the spurs play almost everyone in the rotation she no longer ask "who is that"...she knows. Reason I think the spurs are winning is the deep bench and the chemistry to which they play with each other.

One night she asked me "why don't we have any bench no name players"


and That's why we are winning my friends.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Health my friend.

[DesignatedT]

Health, confidence,work ethic, change of game plan by pop.

[TJastal]

Health is the number one issue but I think second is the adjustments created by an up tempo game.

Last year we were destroyed by the other team's ability to get offensive rebounds and second chance points. This was even more apparent when we went small. Now that we push the ball the opposing teams have to get back in transition defense or they get burned thus limiting offensive rebounds.

That's an excellent point, teams cannot camp in the spurs paint all day getting o-boards anymore or risk being up-tempo'd to death. Pop telling the outlet guys to get it up the court faster is defenitely paying off in both senses. Just makes you wonder though if the spurs had tried this approach last year what mighta happened.

[DMC]

That's an excellent point, teams cannot camp in the spurs paint all day getting o-boards anymore or risk being up-tempo'd to death. Pop telling the outlet guys to get it up the court faster is defenitely paying off in both senses. Just makes you wonder though if the spurs had tried this approach last year what mighta happened.
Not much. RJ wasn't acclimated and they didn't have Neal or Anderson. Hill wasn't as good as he is now, not as confident, and the Spurs were coming off injuries.

[JWest596]

pixie dust

[jjktkk]

That's an excellent point, teams cannot camp in the spurs paint all day getting o-boards anymore or risk being up-tempo'd to death. Pop telling the outlet guys to get it up the court faster is defenitely paying off in both senses. Just makes you wonder though if the spurs had tried this approach last year what mighta happened.

They couldn't fully employ this years style of offense, because of health to Parker and Ginoboli.

[Agloco]

Not much. RJ wasn't acclimated and they didn't have Neal or Anderson. Hill wasn't as good as he is now, not as confident, and the Spurs were coming off injuries.


They couldn't fully employ this years style of offense, because of health to Parker and Ginoboli.

This.

[DMC]

Another reason is because Blair was coming off the bench, Dice can't run the tempo for starters minutes that they run now, which is one reason Blair is on the floor at the start I think.

[Quasar]

Just hope the knees without the ACLs hold up with all this up tempo running. GOod thing Blair doesn't play big minutes often.

[team-work]

Motivation also plays a part. After being bouncing out of the playoffs so abruptly last spring, and realizing the difficulty to have a deep run as a seventh seed, the team is determined to have a faster start. Most well-known example would be Manu's petition to the coaching staff. However the present record admittedly is unthinkable before the season started.

[Sense]

we staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacked

[Spursone]

I think the strategy of winning early in the season had improved the attitiude of the players and is positively feeding upon itself. Pops reluctance in the past to break away from the typical mold of play has also sparked energy. We look looser and players are having more fun, Pop has allowed players to go beyond there typical roles.

GO SPURS GO!

[hater]

#1, playing uptempo and going away from Duncan
#2, healthy parker + manu
#3, no Bogans and Mason in the lineup
#4, trust in the young guys from Pop
#5, Gary Neal
#6, Matt Bonner's great season so far

[Rummpd]

I also believe that unlike in year's past Pop and the team made a committment to try to win games early on and that will make in the end a 5-10 game difference in the season total, all things being equal.

Seeding is more important than ever to try to avoid if possible both LAL and the Mavs potentially and I believe the team is trying to get the top seed.

Even with the record so far that is not a lock as the Spurs have a lot of road games and tough games yet and the Mavs are still a force to be reckoned with; but they are certainly in a position to fight for it without an incredible surge at the end, as has been the case even in the high 50s season game winning years.

[bus driver]

the best damn (healthy) team in the league!

[easy7]

So many things including run and gun offense couple with good defense and less turnovers.