HP: With David West Signing, the San Antonio Spurs Have an Embarrassment of Riches

[Supreme_Being]

After declining his player option for next season with the Indiana Pacers, David West has agreed to a veteran’s minimum deal with the San Antonio Spurs. It’s almost embarrassing to see what the Spurs have accomplished in two weeks–re-signing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to insanely reasonable deals. Then convincing Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to come back on discounted salaries and, finally, turning Tiago Splitter, Marco Belinelli, Aron Baynes and Corey Joseph into West and LaMarcus Aldridge. The Spurs roster is now deep, even beyond their own uniquely high standards.

Continue reading... (http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2015/07/07/with-david-west-signing-the-san-antonio-spurs-have-an-embarrassment-of-riches)

[Marrow]

:tu good read...version 2.0 here we come

[GSH]

The article has a link to this: http://nyloncalculus.com/2015/07/07/teamspace-san-antonio-spurs-reloaded/

The guy is playing with some interesting stuff, looking at shooting tendencies, congestion, and overlap. I think he may eventually get to something useful with the analysis. It may not be ready for prime time yet, but there is some interesting stuff in there. One thing I guess is obvious - Pop is going to have to massage things, to get the best out of Aldridge and to find the balance in the starting five. Tiago's TS% was a good bit better than LMA's, but he obviously didn't shoot as much. Hopefully Aldridge won't be taking some of the shots that drug his percentage down. He also talks about Duncan taking on the role that David, Rasho, and Tiago previously filled, with Aldridge filling roughly the role that Tim has been in. It means less touches for Tim, but he could be uber-efficient there.

If that doesn't sit well, imagine if there had been a Tim Duncan clone to fill Tiago's place last year. Pretty damn awesome. Tiago was good, but Tim could have kicked ass in that position. Now just mentally leave the clone, and sub in LMA for the original. Tim's still going to kick ass in that position.

The original article also talks about having guys who can be effectively toggled between C and PF (key word being "effectively"). Not that they are interchangeable in the sense of being identical. But think of the different looks they can bring, and the match-ups they can hopefully exploit. He doesn't mention Diaw, but throw him in there, too.

The more I think about it, the more excited I am to actually see them on the floor together. October can't get here fast enough.

Oh, yeah, he says we got West cheap. Who knew? :lol

[kawhidoyoudothistome]

Yeah, I just wanna see them play. Winning in free agency really feels good, but it makes the wait even more excruciating. Luckily the Cowboys will be starting up soon.

[DeRozan m8]

Yeah this has made for an extremely slow off season

[spurspokesman]

Good read. Can't wait"bart scott voice"

[Mr. Body]

The article has a link to this: http://nyloncalculus.com/2015/07/07/teamspace-san-antonio-spurs-reloaded/

The guy is playing with some interesting stuff, looking at shooting tendencies, congestion, and overlap. I think he may eventually get to something useful with the analysis. It may not be ready for prime time yet, but there is some interesting stuff in there. One thing I guess is obvious - Pop is going to have to massage things, to get the best out of Aldridge and to find the balance in the starting five. Tiago's TS% was a good bit better than LMA's, but he obviously didn't shoot as much. Hopefully Aldridge won't be taking some of the shots that drug his percentage down. He also talks about Duncan taking on the role that David, Rasho, and Tiago previously filled, with Aldridge filling roughly the role that Tim has been in. It means less touches for Tim, but he could be uber-efficient there.

If that doesn't sit well, imagine if there had been a Tim Duncan clone to fill Tiago's place last year. Pretty damn awesome. Tiago was good, but Tim could have kicked ass in that position. Now just mentally leave the clone, and sub in LMA for the original. Tim's still going to kick ass in that position.

The original article also talks about having guys who can be effectively toggled between C and PF (key word being "effectively"). Not that they are interchangeable in the sense of being identical. But think of the different looks they can bring, and the match-ups they can hopefully exploit. He doesn't mention Diaw, but throw him in there, too.

The more I think about it, the more excited I am to actually see them on the floor together. October can't get here fast enough.

Oh, yeah, he says we got West cheap. Who knew? :lol

Talking about Splitter's efficiency is an example of where advanced stats still fail to tell a complete story. Yes, Splitter's usage/sample size was smaller than Duncan and Aldridge, but more to the point, he failed to garner the attention those better players did and had a higher proportion of his shots as dump-offs and unencumbered put-backs precisely because of better offensive players around him. He never pulled doubles and was a total adventure in contested situations. If you had teams failing to account for Aldridge or Duncan the way they didn't pay attention to Tiago their efficiency would be ridiculous.

[Keepin' it real]

Yeah, I just wanna see them play. Winning in free agency really feels good, but it makes the wait even more excruciating. Luckily the Cowboys will be starting up soon.

Oklahoma State or Wyoming?

[therealtruth]

Talking about Splitter's efficiency is an example of where advanced stats still fail to tell a complete story. Yes, Splitter's usage/sample size was smaller than Duncan and Aldridge, but more to the point, he failed to garner the attention those better players did and had a higher proportion of his shots as dump-offs and unencumbered put-backs precisely because of better offensive players around him. He never pulled doubles and was a total adventure in contested situations. If you had teams failing to account for Aldridge or Duncan the way they didn't pay attention to Tiago their efficiency would be ridiculous.

Go back to '12 and there was a stretch where Splitter was dominating. Drawing doubles on the block and shooting an extremely high percentage around the basket +75%. It was awkward as heck but effective. I think he got injured then the team went away from that and made him strictly a pick-and-roll player. It's not his fault Pop couldn't figure out how to use him correctly. I think Bud might figure it out though.

[Dex]

Go back to '12 and there was a stretch where Splitter was dominating. Drawing doubles on the block and shooting an extremely high percentage around the basket +75%. It was awkward as heck but effective. I think he got injured then the team went away from that and made him strictly a pick-and-roll player. It's not his fault Pop couldn't figure out how to use him correctly. I think Bud might figure it out though.

Yes, Splitter typically was able to maintain great percentages, but that's because everything he did on offense was within 3 feet of the basket. He was a great finisher, but if he wasn't wide open under the hoop or rolling to the rim, he was pretty damn ineffective. While Tiago was great at finding those seams, that's also the first place that opposing defenses are going to shore up, which is going to limit opportunities there.

Hopefully, Aldridge will be just as efficient at finding those spots and finishing around the basket. The only difference is that he can also stretch the defense out to 18 feet, which means a lot more opportunities to score, and a lot less packing of the paint by opposing defenses which should result in even more bunnies for Tim and cutters.

[TheDoctor]

Now that we are so deep in the front court with Duncan, LMA and West, Houston needs Josh Smith desperately. Terrence Jones is gonna get his ass raped by LMA every time we play the Rockets that's its not gonna be pretty. Josh on the other hand has guarded LaMarcus much better than Jones throughout his career. He "locked down" Blake Griffin in the Playoffs too.

[jsandiego]

To me, one of the amazing things about our Spurs teams over the last two decades is the ability to either adapt or to lead the evolution of the game, from 4-down & defense in the late 90s / early 00s, to having the ability to run 'n gun OR slow it down in 2007, to becoming the best offensive team in the league in the early 2010s, to a total team game 2012-2014.

Now we'll see Duncan replace Splitter, and LMA replace Duncan. Add in West and Diaw, the changing of Parker's game, the continued ascension of Kawhi's game, and we'll have yet another metamorphosis, and it is simply amazing to see.

This seems like Spurs v5.0 or v6.0, instead of v2.0.

[kawhidoyoudothistome]

Oklahoma State or Wyoming?

HAHA! Good one...If I had to choose, it'd be OK state for sure, but it's only because Dez came from there.

[ace3g]

Yes, Splitter typically was able to maintain great percentages, but that's because everything he did on offense was within 3 feet of the basket. He was a great finisher, but if he wasn't wide open under the hoop or rolling to the rim, he was pretty damn ineffective. While Tiago was great at finding those seams, that's also the first place that opposing defenses are going to shore up, which is going to limit opportunities there.

Hopefully, Aldridge will be just as efficient at finding those spots and finishing around the basket. The only difference is that he can also stretch the defense out to 18 feet, which means a lot more opportunities to score, and a lot less packing of the paint by opposing defenses which should result in even more bunnies for Tim and cutters.

Do you have this pic in full?

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/image.php?u=403&dateline=1436368878

[Dex]

Do you have this pic in full?

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/image.php?u=403&dateline=1436368878

Here you go, sir:

https://i.imgur.com/eiL0kvo.jpg

[ace3g]

Here you go, sir:

https://i.imgur.com/eiL0kvo.jpg

Thank you

[PublicOption]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGZCKlonx78

next year can't wait

[Spurtacular]

West also brings an forceful edge which the Spurs haven’t really had since the days of Antonio McDyess and Bruce Bowen. Over the past half-decade,

Hmmm....

[cutewizard]

interesting take on David West:

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25236459/nba-free-agency-five-brilliant-dark-horse-additions

[cutewizard]

David West choosing to give up $12 million next season with the Indiana Pacers (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/page/IND/indiana-pacers) to take the veteran's minimum with the Spurs certainly didn't count as under the radar. But his impact and playing style fitting with what the Spurs ask their big men to do offensively may have gone underappreciated. West is one of the best passing big men in the NBA, and surrounding that ability with what the Spurs are capable of as shooters is almost an unfair marriage.
According to Synergy Sports, Boris Diaw (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/players/playerpage/400542/boris-diaw) accumulated 216 assists in 940 possessions in the half court last season. He created 1.2 points per possession on these possessions (ending in a shot by Diaw, a free-throw attempt, a turnover or an assist), which placed him in the 80th percentile. West racked up 208 assists in 1,058 half-court possessions for 1.14 points per possession. He was almost the same level of passer in producing efficient points as Diaw, despite playing with a Pacers team that was far worse than the Spurs.
West can sling the ball all over the court, and his dual threat as a post threat and a catch-and-shoot guy usually means the defense has a tougher decision to make when deciding how to defend him.

West excels at big-to-big passing (should come in handy with Tim Duncan (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/players/playerpage/6552/tim-duncan) and LaMarcus Aldridge (http://www.cbssports.com/nba/players/playerpage/1113136/lamarcus-aldridge) on his team) and finding 3-point shooters on the perimeter (that probably helps when you're on the Spurs). It's not just that West took the minimum to play for the Spurs. He would've still been an amazing addition and value to them if they had to pay him the $12 million player option he declined for the Pacers. He doesn't change their offense, necessarily; he just keeps giving them killer passing options to great shooting options throughout the entire game.
The Spurs have the best frontcourt in the NBA now, and I'm not sure how anybody can simply stop what they do because of it.

[cutewizard]

The article has a link to this: http://nyloncalculus.com/2015/07/07/teamspace-san-antonio-spurs-reloaded/

The guy is playing with some interesting stuff, looking at shooting tendencies, congestion, and overlap. I think he may eventually get to something useful with the analysis. It may not be ready for prime time yet, but there is some interesting stuff in there. One thing I guess is obvious - Pop is going to have to massage things, to get the best out of Aldridge and to find the balance in the starting five. Tiago's TS% was a good bit better than LMA's, but he obviously didn't shoot as much. Hopefully Aldridge won't be taking some of the shots that drug his percentage down. He also talks about Duncan taking on the role that David, Rasho, and Tiago previously filled, with Aldridge filling roughly the role that Tim has been in. It means less touches for Tim, but he could be uber-efficient there.

If that doesn't sit well, imagine if there had been a Tim Duncan clone to fill Tiago's place last year. Pretty damn awesome. Tiago was good, but Tim could have kicked ass in that position. Now just mentally leave the clone, and sub in LMA for the original. Tim's still going to kick ass in that position.

The original article also talks about having guys who can be effectively toggled between C and PF (key word being "effectively"). Not that they are interchangeable in the sense of being identical. But think of the different looks they can bring, and the match-ups they can hopefully exploit. He doesn't mention Diaw, but throw him in there, too.

The more I think about it, the more excited I am to actually see them on the floor together. October can't get here fast enough.

Oh, yeah, he says we got West cheap. Who knew? :lol


Thank you for this Sir!

[cutewizard]

his other articles are also very engaging and erudite:

http://nyloncalculus.com/2014/07/21/nba-hunting-ground-new-york-knicks-introduction-teamspace/

[cutewizard]

amazing budding analyst.......!!!!!! impressive stuff