How about starting competent defenders?

[Paranoid Pop]

Pop is so in love with his 3pt shooting that Neal and Green are gonna play big minutes no matter what...

Nando and JA are better defenders and also happen to be better playmakers, very useful since OKC is trapping TP.

[Brunodf]

Starting TP,Green(or JA), Kawhi, TD and Splitter will solve this

[Malik Hairston]

Agreed with De Colo, but he's the type of player that Pop likes, he's improving, therefore his minutes will increase IMO..

I'm probably the biggest Green hater on ST, but I don't know where the notion that Anderson is a good defender originated, tbh..he doesn't have the tools to be any better than Green on defense IMO..

[Paranoid Pop]

Agreed with De Colo, but he's the type of player that Pop likes, he's improving, therefore his minutes will increase IMO..

I'm probably the biggest Green hater on ST, but I don't know where the notion that Anderson is a good defender originated, tbh..he doesn't have the tools to be any better than Green on defense IMO..

He's by very far the best guard shotblocker and tonight I don't remember Durant scoring anything but the alley hoop on him.

[Chomag]

What the hell has happened to Green's defense? He was once one of Spurs better defenders

I guess he forgot what got him the NBA job

[SpursRock20]

Agreed with De Colo, but he's the type of player that Pop likes, he's improving, therefore his minutes will increase IMO..

I'm probably the biggest Green hater on ST, but I don't know where the notion that Anderson is a good defender originated, tbh..he doesn't have the tools to be any better than Green on defense IMO..
If we meet these guys in the playoffs, Green or Anderson should never be guarding Durant. It should always be either Leonard or Jackson each and every minute that Durant is out on the court.

[racm]

So you're telling me the Spurs lost a game with a perimeter scorer while their best perimeter defender is out with "tendinitis"? You don't say!

[Paranoid Pop]

What the hell has happened to Green's defense? He was once one of Spurs better defenders

I guess he forgot what got him the NBA job

He's playing out of position to be fair, but mainly feels like it's matador hustle and 3pt shooting keeping him on the floor.

[freetiago]

Green has been guarding big small forwards since our entire small forward rotation is out
hell be fine on SGs

[Malik Hairston]

Durant didn't even look engaged in the game at any point, to be fair..

It's possible that Anderson has improved as a defender, he hasn't received enough minutes to objectively judge, but using tonight as an example is flawed logic IMO..

[Cry Havoc]

:lmao

[Paranoid Pop]

Manu is also worlds better than Green on D, he could start again with a De Colo JA backup backcourt coming off the bench or De Colo Green since Danny is still a bit better on defense than Neal.

[cd021]

Are offense is kinda keeping up relevant...that being said I wouldn't mind Neal getting kicked in the sack everytime he leaves an opponent wide open, he'd be sterile before the first dead-ball. Splitter has played fantastic as of late. When Kawhi gets back, are starting lineup will be much better defensively and are bench could blow the doors off almost every teams starting lineup.

[cd021]

Manu is also worlds better than Green on D, he could start again with a De Colo JA backup backcourt coming off the bench or De Colo Green since Danny is still a bit better on defense than Neal.

Remember pop prefers to keep Manu off the bench because its easier to regulate his minutes he's already missed games with two injuries. Green is hit or miss of Offense but is very good defensively, Manu gambles and now adays fails. He isn't nearly the defender he was in his prime IMO.

[cd021]

Durant didn't even look engaged in the game at any point, to be fair..

It's possible that Anderson has improved as a defender, he hasn't received enough minutes to objectively judge, but using tonight as an example is flawed logic IMO..

He's the 15th man its kind of in the contract that he doesn't play aton. That being said he has played much better than i remember in his first stint. He isn't on the spurs hands team based on garbage time though, I'd agree thats a little ridiculous.

[SpursRock20]

I want Manu to start come playoff time against OKC. The Thunder can afford to trap and play Parker the way they do because they know there is no other ball handler out there. With Manu and Parker out there, we have two guys that can make plays with the ball in there hands.

I also don't think we will lose much from our bench if Manu starts against OKC. Their bench does not scare me as much as it used to, so I see no reason starting Manu now.

[timvp]

-JA becoming a savior in some fans' minds is just ..... weird. Don't even know what to say to that.

-Green doesn't have the size to be a good SF defender. As is mentioned in this thread, he'll be better once he gets back to defending SGs and PGs. (That said, he still needs to up his aggression level on that end from his current level.)

-It's too early to say what kind of defender De Colo will be. He looks pretty good at times but he hasn't played in many big moments so far and other teams don't have a scouting report on him yet. To say he's a better defender than Green is pretty crazy at this point.

[Paranoid Pop]

Fair points but Green's D is not that good even vs SGs. Regardless we need some extra playmaking if we start Tiago in place of Boris, won't come from the 3 so starting Manu or Nando makes a lot of sense to me and the D is a bonus.

[td4mvp21]

I mean this in a nice way, but did you forget about the injuries? Neal is only starting because Leonard is out. Green's defense is fine.

[Paranoid Pop]

I mean this in a nice way, but did you forget about the injuries? Neal is only starting because Leonard is out. Green's defense is fine.

Green's defense sucks and his choking on o lost us the series last year. Guard version of Bonner tbh.

[Brunodf]

What the hell has happened to Green's defense? He was once one of Spurs better defenders

I guess he forgot what got him the NBA job

He was never that good defensive player, his defense is good against PGs. Against SGs and SFs not so much

[letmk]

-JA becoming a savior in some fans' minds is just ..... weird. Don't even know what to say to that.

-Green doesn't have the size to be a good SF defender. As is mentioned in this thread, he'll be better once he gets back to defending SGs and PGs. (That said, he still needs to up his aggression level on that end from his current level.)

-It's too early to say what kind of defender De Colo will be. He looks pretty good at times but he hasn't played in many big moments so far and other teams don't have a scouting report on him yet. To say he's a better defender than Green is pretty crazy at this point.

Agreed on all three points.

As bad as Green looks on defense, Pop always put him on the opponent's best perimeter players from PG to SF. It's simply others are even worse one-on-one defenders.

And no team has ever tried to expose De Colo on defense yet since his minutes is even unknown to Pop. We can only know whether he is decent or not after somebody do that.

[Slippy]

Manu is also worlds better than Green on D, he could start again with a De Colo JA backup backcourt coming off the bench or De Colo Green since Danny is still a bit better on defense than Neal.

Glad some-one pointed this out. Watch Danny Green coast or get lost when there's screen to get around. Then watch manu fight tooth and nail to get around one. Probably why he got injured too but atleast he knows what's required on D.

[Strategic]

-JA becoming a savior in some fans' minds is just ..... weird. Don't even know what to say to that.

-Green doesn't have the size to be a good SF defender. As is mentioned in this thread, he'll be better once he gets back to defending SGs and PGs. (That said, he still needs to up his aggression level on that end from his current level.)

I'm with you on Anderson. While I once thought he could make an early impact with the team now I think he needs at least a couple of seasons with the Toros, or overseas. He follows up a decent play with some weak sauce or bone headed shit like he is still just 20 games into his career. I know he's had his injuries but instead of improving any way he could during those injuries it appears he's kept his head in his ass.

Concerning Green, he is more savy and polished than Anderson(same position player), but I think his successes above Anderson are mainly due to superior college tutoring and some BB IQ, certainly not abilities. Add his obvious work ethic to this and I still view him as a poor man's George Hill. While Hill could guard Kobe, Durant, Melo and a healthy Wade I don't see Green ever doing it.

[lefty]

Starting TP,Green(or JA), Kawhi, TD and Splitter will solve this

:lmao

[benstanfield]

:downspin:bizarre anti-green schtick
:downspin:shit takes
:downspin:not sure if trolling



:downspin:makes a thread whining about defense
:downspin:wants to trade for bargnani


:lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2:: lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::l obt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2::lobt2:

[Paranoid Pop]

:downspin:makes a thread whining about defense
:downspin:wants to trade for bargnani

Yes I want a chucking PF with range to open things up, be it Teletovic, Bustnani or anyone. OKC's rim protection is too much otherwise.

Bustnani couldn't do worse than Tiago's 3 rebounds and the humilation by Ibaka on D.

[TheSkeptic]

Yes I want a chucking PF with range to open things up, be it Teletovic, Bustnani or anyone. OKC's rim protection is too much otherwise.

Bustnani couldn't do worse than Tiago's 3 rebounds and the humilation by Ibaka on D.

You have got to be kidding me. I try to stay out of these conversations, but the bolded is just not an educated opinion.

[Paranoid Pop]

You have got to be kidding me. I try to stay out of these conversations, but the bolded is just not an educated opinion.

Of course he was often drawn out of the paint or helping on Durant but bottom line is he was to slow to be efficient on D.

[TheSkeptic]

Of course he was often drawn out of the paint or helping on Durant but bottom line is he was to slow to be efficient on D.

I don't disagree that Splitter didn't do a good job on Ibaka. My main point is that Bargnani is not the answer.

3 rebounds in 22 minutes is what we consider a bad night on the boards from Tiago. 3 rebounds in 30+ minutes is not unusual with Bargnani. I don't have the precise stats with me, but there probably aren't too many 6 foot 10+ players in NBA history who rebound as badly as Bargnani does. Last night's game was partially lost due to rebounding and since Bargs doesn't usually box out or do anything to get boards, he wouldn't have helped last night on that front.

Defensively

Tiago is normally decent. He rotates, he hedges, he's smart, and he's mobile. Bargs can only guard the post decently -he's not a rim protector by any stretch of the imagination-. He's also slow(er than Tiago) to recover, he doesn't help, and his lack of defensive awareness would've probably resulted in Ibaka scoring *and* nobody helping out with penetration. The work Tiago did against Aldridge, for instance, is just not the type of thing Bargs is capable of on a consistent basis.

Believe it or not, I actually kinda like Bargnani. He's a potent offensive player who can drop 20 points or more on any given night. When he's allowed to work from midrange/the paint area, he's surprisingly good on the offensive end of the floor and if he's given a structured defensive system he won't singlehandedly sink the team on that end either. But if you want someone who can actually address San Antonio's bench big problem as far as better rebounding off the bench goes, Amir Johnson is the only player from Toronto that the Spurs should be looking at. He's slightly undersized to play the 5 but if Tiago's moonlighting as a bench big as well, Johnson easily shores up a lot of roster issues and he can be counted on to spell TD or Splitter if either are in foul trouble or whatever.

[Bill_Brasky]

JA looks decent but still doesn't have very good handles...

[Paranoid Pop]

You make fair points TheSkeptic, wanting Bargnani is irrationnal I know, especially if it means parting with Tiago. I just we'd have a confident trigger happy stretch 4 as an alternative for Boris.

[TheSkeptic]

^^ Welcome back. :D I actually kinda understand it because Bargnani can do a decent Dirk impression when he tries. Last season before he got hurt he was playing like a legit all-star. This season he's been taken out of that midrange area to make room for Val and Derozan and he's souring on the Raptors which has seriously brought down his numbers. You really can't use him as a 3 point specialist but the Raptors are determined to do so. With a change of scenery and a coach like Pop, Bargs could do a lot of damage on a nightly basis and the offensive potential is tantalizing. The problem is that he doesn't have the skills San Antonio needs in order to get over the hump against teams like OKC, the Clippers, or Memphis. Our offense in most of these games has been good enough without him.

Diaw has the talent, range, and shooting percentages to be the stretch 4/playmaker for the Spurs. His problem is that he's coasting. Theoretically though, Pop could kick Diaw a few times and get him going that way.

I think that's why most people are more concerned about acquiring a big who can rebound and defend. Bonner just won't cut it in either role.