Gaining separation from the rest of league

[mchammer]

Thinking back on our run this year vs. last year, I think there is primarily one reason why we were the champs this year: We made our 3 point shots, esp. Horry and Manu. Looking at the stats, we shot a sizzling 41% from 3-pt land in the finals vs. ~30% against the Lakers last year. Horry shot almost 50% against the Pistons this year vs. less than 20% against the Lakers and that was against an inferior Laker perimeter defense. And to be frank, we were one Horry 3 pointer away from losing the series.

I had feared that our 3-pt shooting in the finals esp. during the last 3 games would revert back to our regular season pct. of 36% but it never did. I don't know if we can again count on shooting 41% in a series. For us to repeat, we are going to need to be less dependent on the three. Mid-range jump shooting from Manu, Parker, Barry, and Big Dog (or whoever replaces him) will have to pick up. Oberto's offensive output should also help out.
And maybe with the hiring of a shooting coach, we can get a few more poitns from free throw shooting. I still like our chances but I don't think we can dominate the playoffs the way the Lakers did a few years back (since the competition out East is also a lot tougher).

[Chris]

Yeah Turkoglu royally screwed us last year in the playoffs with horrible 3 point shots.

[Mr. Body]

One thing that helps... take a look at the roster right now versus what we had at the beginning of last year. Even without any further trades and assuming a re-sign of Big Dog:

We replaced Malik Rose with Nazr Mohammed. Replaced Sean Marks and/or Tony Massenburg with Fabricio Oberto. Added Glenn Robinson.

And we started the season off better than we had in years.

[Solid D]

The passing was much better this season. The cuts, the movement without the ball, the ball reversals, and the aggressiveness was much better this year.

In the Lakers series in 2003-04, the Lakers got to the FT line so much more, it was pathetic. The Lakers and Spurs had shot the same number of FTs after the first 2 games of that series. The Lakers started packing the lane and daring the Spurs to shoot. The Spurs bogged down and lost their confidence, aggressiveness, and rhythm. The disparity in FT attempts over the final 4 games was 126 - 87, Lakers (+43 Lakers).

[clubalien]

i worry what will happen when this team doesn't have a kerr or horry to bail it out we weren't dominating the pistons by huge margins

[spursfaninla]

Remember that Jordan's teams had secondary players hit key, clutch shots that made the difference in a series/finals.

Horry and Sam Cassell for Hakeem's Rockets, Paxton and Kerr for the Bulls, Fischer for the Lakers. We could come up with other examples I'm sure.

The Spurs have stars that hit clutch shots (Manu, Duncan). If Parker is having a good game he is not afraid to shoot inside or out either.

[Solid D]

I can still see David Robinson doing euphoric pirouettes on the sideline in Dallas after Steve Kerr nailed another clutch 3 in Game 6 of the WCF.

[jochhejaam]

Thinking back on our run this year vs. last year, I think there is primarily one reason why we were the champs this year: We made our 3 point shots, esp. Horry and Manu. Looking at the stats, we shot a sizzling 41% from 3-pt land in the finals vs. ~30% against the Lakers last year. Horry shot almost 50% against the Pistons this year vs. less than 20% against the Lakers and that was against an inferior Laker perimeter defense. And to be frank, we were one Horry 3 pointer away from losing the series.

I had feared that our 3-pt shooting in the finals esp. during the last 3 games would revert back to our regular season pct. of 36% but it never did. I don't know if we can again count on shooting 41% in a series. For us to repeat, we are going to need to be less dependent on the three. Mid-range jump shooting from Manu, Parker, Barry, and Big Dog (or whoever replaces him) will have to pick up. Oberto's offensive output should also help out.
And maybe with the hiring of a shooting coach, we can get a few more poitns from free throw shooting. I still like our chances but I don't think we can dominate the playoffs the way the Lakers did a few years back (since the competition out East is also a lot tougher).

The 3 pointers definitely made the difference. I would have put money on it that Horry wouldn't have been the one to do it. In Horry's last year with the Lakers he made just 2 of 38 3 pointers in the post-season, including an nba record 24 in a row!

[saspursfan4life]

I can still see David Robinson doing euphoric pirouettes on the sideline in Dallas after Steve Kerr nailed another clutch 3 in Game 6 of the WCF.

Seeing David Robinson jumping up and down like that was certainly a moment to remember for all spurs fans.

I think that Brent Barry will find his shot this year. He struggled all year with his 3's. I tihnk he was trying to impress the staff and was worrying about not doing well which caused him to put more pressure on himself .. just a theory i have..

[Kori Ellis]

I think that Brent Barry will find his shot this year. He struggled all year with his 3's. I tihnk he was trying to impress the staff and was worrying about not doing well which caused him to put more pressure on himself .. just a theory i have..

Barry will be more acclimated to his role, so I think you are right. He came up big on a few occasions in the postseason, so hopefully he'll contribute consistently during the season.

[Mr. Body]

I'm in full support that Brent Barry will have a fine year this year. Coaching staff might have him handle the ball more in second unit, too, with Udrih more in the SG role. In any case, I see Barry with a higher shooting percentage.

[Solid D]

It was interesting watching the Spurs DVD hearing Brent Barry talking to his teammates in the pre-game huddle prior to Game 3 in Detroit. It was the first time I had noticed Barry being entrusted with leadership duties, particularly since it was his first year with the team and it was his first Finals experience.

I agree with the notion that Brent should be more confident and comfortable with his shot. I noticed that whenever Brent leaned back slightly on his shot, he missed, especially on the quick catch-and-shoot situations. Whenever Brent squared up and shot the ball in an upright (90 degree to floor) posture, he had much better accuracy.

[Merlin]

Teams will always double Duncan so if you constantly have open 3's, then you need to make them. The team needs to improve the free throw shooting, that will cost you games and it has. Parker needs to be more consistent in the playoffs also. At times, he is unstoppable and at others, he is not really out there. He gets taken out of his game easily at times. Same thing happened last year vs. the Lakers.

[mchammer]

I think what will benefit us most next year is what has happened to other top contenders, namely Detroit and Miami. The impact of Larry Brown cannot be underestimated--Flip is not nearly as good as Brown. Miami will be weaker with an older Shaq and a weaker bench with no Dooling. I think Indiana will come out of the East next year--they probably would have won the East this year with Artest. I don't see Phoenix taking more than 2 games out of the Spurs if they keep the same offense first mentality. For the Spurs, an improved Manu, Parker and Nazr, a healthier Duncan, a more confident Barry, and good minutes from Oberto (plus whoever we get for Rasho) should still make us solid favorites for next year. I am much more concerned about '07 when Bowen, Barry, and Horry will be at the twilight of their careers and Duncan will start to show his age. Hopefully, our farm league in Europe could start helping out then.