Beware the Thunder and Lakers, Popovich says

[Duncan2177]

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2012/09/28/beware-the-thunder-and-lakers-popovich-says/

The way Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sees it, if the Western Conference were a race — and we suppose it is — his team is already running behind.

Asked at a pre-training camp press briefing Friday to handicap the West, Popovich echoed an opinion already the consensus of NBA followers with eyes everywhere.

Though the Spurs finished with the best mark in the conference by three games last season (50-16), Oklahoma City and the new-look L.A. Lakers are the two teams to chase this year.

“There are a lot of teams that are competitive in the West,” Popovich said. “But if you look on paper, you’ve got to look at those two teams right off the bat. There are others, but those two hit you in the face pretty quickly.”

The Thunder and Lakers come about their place as conference frontrunners from different directions.

OKC brings back a team at its core identical to the one that backdoor-swept the Spurs from the Western Conference finals last season before losing to Miami in the championship round.

The Lakers, meanwhile, added a Hall of Fame point guard (albeit an aging one) in Steve Nash, and pulled off the coup of the summer by trading for Dwight Howard, the NBA’s premiere big man.

If both of their backs hold up — a legitimate “if” at this point — the Lakers will be a tough out come playoff time.

“When you see what the Lakers did, they have the potential to be a great team,” Popovich said. “Oklahloma City is Oklahoma City. The rest of us want to all improve so that we can catch those guys.”

[Russo21]

Thanks Captain Obvious

[lefty]

And yet he hasnt noticed that Bonner doesnt even belong in the Greek League

[dylankerouac]

Thunder and Lakers' coaches more ready for adjustments tbh.

[hsxvvd]

Can I do the spurstalk survey again? Slow news day.

[TDMVPDPOY]

eerr no shit sherlock

[wildbill2u]

What would anyone expect Pop to say except the very obvious truth about expectations this year. He doesn't BS.

[SenorSpur]

And yet he hasnt noticed that Bonner doesnt even belong in the Greek League

:tu

[therealtruth]

I'm tired of Pop always trying to lower the expectations.

[superbigtime]

Beware the pigheaded coach who mindfucks his own team and juggles the lineup in the Western Conference Finals to send his team packing after blowing a 2-0 lead.

[SenorSpur]

I'm tired of Pop always trying to lower the expectations.

I'm tired of Pop entering every season thinking his team has a chance to contend, while surrounding Duncan with undersized & underskilled players along the frontline.

It's as though he continues to reaffirm his love of stretch-4s and small ball.

[rmt]

I'm tired of Pop entering every season thinking his team has a chance to contend, while surrounding Duncan with undersized & underskilled players along the frontline.

It's as though he continues to reaffirm his love of stretch-4s and small ball.

Yep. He continues to add more combo/2 guards and nary a thought for a real big man.

[therealtruth]

Beware the pigheaded coach who mindfucks his own team and juggles the lineup in the Western Conference Finals to send his team packing after blowing a 2-0 lead.

That lineup shuffle was a desperate move that destroyed the bench. There was no way they were winning that series without getting more contributions from TS and Green. Pop should have been more focused on making that happen.

[Shastafarian]

Rope-several-dopes

[JRHernandez88]

OKC are the WCF champs and The Lakers just did the shaq trade all over again. He's stating the obvious. Now that thats out the way though lets let these 82 games play out and lets see where theyre all at. Our team played the best basketball ive ever seen just a few months ago until the role players choked. Im excited to see what we do this year. You can hate on Pop all you want but the fact is we're here still competing for the west after what 15+ seasons in with Duncan and using the same core he's had forever? The man doesn't have the best talents but damn can he mold a team. LETSSSSS GOOOO

[SpurPadre]

OKC are the WCF champs and The Lakers just did the shaq trade all over again. He's stating the obvious. Now that thats out the way though lets let these 82 games play out and lets see where theyre all at. Our team played the best basketball ive ever seen just a few months ago until the role players choked. Im excited to see what we do this year. You can hate on Pop all you want but the fact is we're here still competing for the west after what 15+ seasons in with Duncan and using the same core he's had forever? The man doesn't have the best talents but damn can he mold a team. LETSSSSS GOOOO

THIS. But does Bonner have to be along for the ride? Really? Year in and year out?

[JRHernandez88]

Lol true idk?? Nobodys perfect i guess lol

[Kidd K]

Not that worried about OKC tbh. I don't think they are better than us unless we get hurt or they continue get more temporary assistance with an extra 3 players on the court when they need it most.

If the latter happens again, no team upgrades are going to help. If it's "chosen" that we lose, that's what will happen unless we just hit every shot.


Lakers. . .yes, obviously that's a problem. I think there's a chance they won't be as good as they look on paper though. Nash is old, Kobe is declining, Artest is declining, Jamison is old and declining, and Howard's back is a question mark.

Artest's decline will be more pronounced than Spurs players, since his game is based more on his athleticism than his skill (unlike Spurs players, who don't seem to "age quickly", as their games are based on skill, not athleticism).

Kobe's defense has already suffered so much to the point he takes defensive possessions off half the time. His offense is sometimes a negative as much as it is a positive. I think Kobe's tenency to jack up shots when he gets even the slightest bit of room can be taken advantage of. Kobe has very rarely put up an impressive game against the Spurs since like. ..2009. So literally for about 3 years, he's been pretty terrible against us, with only a single game even coming close to his seasonal averages (he got 26/7/5 on us once last year, and everything else has been shit games like 18/2/1, or 16 point games on 28% shooting, or 21/5/1 on 29% shooting, or 16/1/3. . .shit games for his standards)

Nash, tbh I think Parker/Ginobili is better at PG, but Nash is a skill player so I don't think his age will be a huge factor. . .so I'm concerned about him.

Howard though, we could get lucky and he will not be the same.


LA is the biggest problem, but I think we're still as good as/better than OKC.

[superbigtime]

Yes, Spurs' great strengths -- multi-player contribution, ball movement, bench play -- were snuffed out. I'm tired of the cycle of underdeveloped players being screwed with by the coach. Players need to always be ready, yes, but they need to know what to expect from their coach. He really shuffled the lineup and it sunk the ship. The refereeing was fucking pathetic too.

Also, one more grievance I'd like to air ... Spurs FO ('i can't drive' Buford and Pop) ... please stop over-using the word 'thrilled.' When Pop says "We're just thrilled to have __" he looks about as thrilled as a coalminer.