Do the Spurs Have a Confidence Edge Now They May Have Lacked the Last Several Years?

[Knoxxx]

After having Miami all but beat and steamrolling the Western Conference?

[Sean Cagney]

I have no damn clue, about to find out soon I am guessing ;) I hope they do.

[slick'81]

They still gotta face okc I want to go thru them

[UZER]

I've said it before...the spurs have a chance to run out of the gates and reclaim best team in the west early and tun with it the whole season. But, alas, we all know pop will starts playing weird lineups and jack it all up.

At least Neal isn't hear anymore to be played as point. I'm sure belineli will come out of the gates strong then pop will move him to back up point and screw him all up.

[Sean Cagney]

I've said it before...the spurs have a chance to run out of the gates and reclaim best team in the west early and tun with it the whole season. But, alas, we all know pop will starts playing weird lineups and jack it all up.

At least Neal isn't hear anymore to be played as point. I'm sure belineli will come out of the gates strong then pop will move him to back up point and screw him all up.
Sadly some of what you said is probably correct.

[ohmwrecker]

I don't think Belinelli is going to shrink and wither if and when he is asked to play PG.

[therealtruth]

I've said it before...the spurs have a chance to run out of the gates and reclaim best team in the west early and tun with it the whole season. But, alas, we all know pop will starts playing weird lineups and jack it all up.

At least Neal isn't hear anymore to be played as point. I'm sure belineli will come out of the gates strong then pop will move him to back up point and screw him all up.

No need to run out of the gates but homecourt and improving the defense is important. Also changing the offense to emphasize Kawhi, Tiago, and Green more.

[ace3g]

It comes down to how the Spurs handle close games (especially in the playoffs) this season.

Kawhi having bigger role in the offense is exciting.

[Knoxxx]

No need to run out of the gates but homecourt and improving the defense is important. Also changing the offense to emphasize Kawhi, Tiago, and Green more.

I don't know how you emphasize Green more with him just being a spot up shooter. More jump shots off screens inside the arc? Can he even shoot from inside the arc?

[silverblk mystix]

After having Miami all but beat and steamrolling the Western Conference?



Oh, fuck yeah...it's in the fuckin' bag....

[ace3g]

Green actually added quite a bit to his game last year (making cuts, step in jumper, etc), now needs to work on off the dribble/attacking the basket

[LarryDavid]

After having Miami all but beat and steamrolling the Western Conference?

Sure.

[TheGoldStandard]

I'm sure they have confidence right now during the offseason but it's a long season and many things can happen. They have to be prepared to weather injuries as they are sure to happen and hope that our younger guys step up and carry over what they did last season. TP will be leaned on again, Marco should fit in fine but who knows how Pop plays him, Kawhi will have a bigger role, Hope Tim stays legendary and well just hope Tiago doesn't fuck things up.

[TXstbobcat]

Being so close to winning the title last year should make the team hungry to come back even stronger this year.

[Baseline]

As long as somebody strangles Pop, we'll be fine. We would have won Game 6 if we had NO coach. Because NO coach wouldn't have pulled Duncan in the last minute.

[DrSteffo]

No.

[The Reckoning]

now that neal and blair are gone. the real performers will rise up...bonner notwithstanding...

[therealtruth]

As long as somebody strangles Pop, we'll be fine. We would have won Game 6 if we had NO coach. Because NO coach wouldn't have pulled Duncan in the last minute.

Hopefully some of the new assistant coaches will be able to talk sense to him. I don't get why none of them questioned Pop for leaving Duncan of the floor.

[Seventyniner]

Hopefully some of the new assistant coaches will be able to talk sense to him. I don't get why none of them questioned Pop for leaving Duncan of the floor.

Cause it worked against Golden State.

[silverblk mystix]

Cause it worked against Golden State.


This is like saying;

"I leave my child unattended in the car in the Texas summer with the windows rolled up while I shop in the mall- nothing bad happened yet- so....it worked!"

[peacemaker885]

Yes. OKC isn't the same without Harden. I think we are still the favorites to come out of the west. I think that the Heat have more problems on their side.

[Kidd K]

In a way we do, mentally. Talent-wise though, we don't.

The west has been weaker than it "used to be" more than 5 years ago. It was pretty weak in 2009, '10, and '11 due to injuries to many teams, raised up in 2012 but diminished a little again last year because of injuries. This next season it looks like it's recorrected itself with multiple longshot contenders adding talent while the Spurs all but stayed the same only got older.

We didn't address our main needs even with a makeshift replacement (playmaking, especially off the bench). We're stuck with the same weakness. Now yet again we have to over-rely on Duncan and Parker to carry the team. Two guys who just came off their best seasons in years. The odds of that repeating again? Not too high.

So unless Leonard takes a BIG leap forward in offensive reliability, we don't have an edge over anyone. Rockets are lookin good, Thunder will be tough, Clippers and Grizzlies are still solid too.

The good news though is that the east hopefully won't just be one team anymore. The Bulls and Pacers are both capable of beating the Heat if healthy. Let's hope they don't both hit the 2/3 seeds so the Heat are forced to play both of them instead of just one.

[Kool Bob Love]

This years team can do something that has never been done before in Spurs history. Back2back NBA finals and win. Simple.:flag:

[Vash StampedE]

What effin confidence are you talking about? Confidence after a team, led by a soon-to-retire Greatest power forward of all time, made it to the championship only to be beat by another team that is and will be in their top game for years to come? There is absolutely no build-up of confidence of any sort if that's what you're talking about. The only thing that I'm confident about heading to next season is the development of our young players (Leonard, Tiago and Green). Also, I know this is asking too much but if Duncan could have another monster season or just a solid one, then that would totally boost our chances.

We can talk about motivation of being one game away from winning it all last season. However, that's also what happened two seasons ago when we got backdoor swept by the Thunder. Hence, we can't just keep on talking about motivation year after year. Time is not on our side. Spurs should win it next season. The Spurs' players and coaching staff must use the offeason time/training camp wisely to develop players, incorporate new players to the system and just prepare themselves to what seems to be a tougher season.

[elmanutres]

The difference maker this year will be kawhi. He flourished in the finals last year and had no plays centered to him. all the plays are made for the big 3. Pop said they are gonna make plays for him, so now the ball is gonna go through him alot more. His knee is now healthy and now has 2 years of experience. He got 2 years of DEEP playoff runs under his belt I think this young horse can help pull the carriage that is the spurs back to the finals.

[therealtruth]

Cause it worked against Golden State.

I thought when Pop did that against GS he had Splitter on the floor.

[Arcadian]

I don't think they've lacked confidence in previous years, but they certainly should have it this year. Favorites to repeat as West champs for sure.

[barakz21]

Being so close to winning the title last year should make the team hungry to come back even stronger this year.

I'll never forget watching the documentary about the 05 championship, and PJ said the Spurs felt pretty confident coming into the season despite being backdoor swept the by the Lakers in the POs. Heck, if they felt confident after THAT, I don't see any reason why they won't feel confident after being 28s away from #5.

[superbigtime]

Sure they're confident. But who is going to step up for the Spurs when Tony runs into a wall? Who can take over? Tim? Kawhi? I don't know. The same over thinking mind-fucking coach is calling the shots. He needs to unfuck himself.

[Vash StampedE]

I don't think they've lacked confidence in previous years, but they certainly should have it this year. Favorites to repeat as West champs for sure.
I would like to believe that but realistically, I really think that West would be wide open.

[Vash StampedE]

I'll never forget watching the documentary about the 05 championship, and PJ said the Spurs felt pretty confident coming into the season despite being backdoor swept the by the Lakers in the POs. Heck, if they felt confident after THAT, I don't see any reason why they won't feel confident after being 28s away from #5.
Are you serious? Duncan was still in his prime that time. Now, he's a season or two from retiring.

[therealtruth]

Sure they're confident. But who is going to step up for the Spurs when Tony runs into a wall? Who can take over? Tim? Kawhi? I don't know. The same over thinking mind-fucking coach is calling the shots. He needs to unfuck himself.

The problem is he isn't thinking. He's just doing the same thing over.

[racm]

Spurs with choker RJ on the floor - one playoff series win
Spurs with Kawhi on the floor - two deep playoff runs, a few plays away from a championship

[skulls138]

Are you serious? Duncan was still in his prime that time. Now, he's a season or two from retiring.Of course he's serious. Your kind of thinking, along with everybody elses, wouldn't even imagine what happened last year, yet it did. What does it take for people to stop constantly putting the Spurs in the old folks home? A championship I know but no one else has to prove themselves like that.

[Vash StampedE]

You do realize that Duncan is 37? Not that I'm discarding any chances that Duncan gets to have another solid season. It's just that it's very difficult, for my part, to expect him to carry the team the way he did last season. Sure the team has successfully gone younger yet remain a championship contender in the past 2 years or so. But last season, just like every other season, it was clear that the team's success depends on how far Tim Duncan could carry the team. If Duncan didn't have that renaissance season he just had, I don't think we would have that a great team at both ends of the floor. I know all of us would love Duncan have another "All-NBA first team" kind of season even for just one more time but it's just that I sometimes feel that we are getting way over our expectations from Duncan considering the stage of the career he's currently at and all the things he has given the Spurs franchise and us fans.

Having said all that, what I really want to say is that we can't heavily rely anymore on Duncan shouldering such load next season. And I do hope Pop realize the exact same thing. He definitely should prepare and put Leonard, next season, in a situation that will make Leonard and us believe that the torch has indeed been passed.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Are you serious? Duncan was still in his prime that time. Now, he's a season or two from retiring.

You must have been watching a different TD than the rest of the world last season. If anything, it was his best season in years, even if he declines a little bit, we'll still be watching the GOAT, smh.

[Vash StampedE]

Obviously, you didn't read my previous posts.

[Vash StampedE]

And you don't understand the context of our argument

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

The Spurs have this tendency to let off the gas a little bit when they're feeling confident in a game/series. I doubt we'll see any of that in next year's post season. Health will be a key for them. If they can stay healthy into the post season I think we'll see a very determined bunch. I don't think I've ever seen these guys play with a chip on their shoulder before....this next playoffs I think we will.