What a challenge to get this team all on the same page

[Embedded]

Man, we went all in. Odd mix of old and very new. Very exciting time. Credit the Spurs for being able to rebuild while not rebuilding. I find myself very confused, and excited, anxious to see all of this in action.

The brilliance in this plan, which of course took huge sacrifices by the older players, is the blending of old and new.

[DMC]

Should get Harlem involved. He can PM the new shtick to everyone of them and have them all on the same page in a week or less.

[DesignatedT]

Are the Spurs going to just be in SA for training camp or are they going away again this year? Or have they announced this?

[ceperez]

Man, we went all in. Odd mix of old and very new. Very exciting time. Credit the Spurs for being able to rebuild while not rebuilding. I find myself very confused, and excited, anxious to see all of this in action.

The brilliance in this plan, which of course took huge sacrifices by the older players, is the blending of old and new.

Not going to be a problem.

Four of the starting five are coming back. Aldridge is replacing the one player who was injured most often.

Three 2nd string bench players are coming back, two of them are play makers (i.e. Ginobili and Diaw).

The old system will still be in place but with a lot more flexibility this time. Aldridge is a bigger offensive threat compared to Splitter.

West replaces Bonner. Marjanovic replaces Baynes. McCallum replaces CoJo. Simmons replaces Belinelli.

The first two are without a doubt better replacements. McCallum is likely just as good as Cojo.

Simmons isn't as good a 3 point threat as Belinelli, but is obviously a better slasher and defender.

It is overall a much better team, the one decline is 3 point shooting. Bonner and Belinelli did make a whole lot last year. Somehow that needs to be compensated with more efficient play elsewhere.

[gambit1990]

Are the Spurs going to just be in SA for training camp or are they going away again this year? Or have they announced this?
they haven't announced it as far as i know. i wish they'd have it in argentina. for manu.

[Agloco]

Won't be a problem tbh

[DAF86]

Aldridge, Leonard, Parker, Duncan, West. Are we gonna be among the leaders in mid-range shots? That's very un-Spurs like.

[cjw]

Simmons isn't as good a 3 point threat as Belinelli, but is obviously a better slasher and defender.

It is overall a much better team, the one decline is 3 point shooting. Bonner and Belinelli did make a whole lot last year. Somehow that needs to be compensated with more efficient play elsewhere.

I wouldn't worry all that much about three point shooting. While Bonner and Beli will be gone, you're replacing Baynes/Splitter with Aldridge who will almost certainly be taking ~2 per game in this offense. He and West help floor spacing immensely. Let's hope Parker can keep improving from deep too.



Aldridge, Leonard, Parker, Duncan, West. Are we gonna be among the leaders in mid-range shots? That's very un-Spurs like.

Perhaps they're getting ahead of the curve here? The league may be undervaluing floor spacing with mid-range guys and how it creates opportunities at the hoop. I imagine Parker, Manu, Kawhi will be much more efficient on drives this year, even with age on the first two adding up.

[Mr. Body]

The two major additions I. west and Aldridge are total pros. They shouldn't have huge difficulties. The others can fall in line. I believe personalities should mix well, although LMA's spot on the totem pole (and Parker's) are issues. As for in-game, the need for more hi-lo posts and sets to arrange for midrange shots should keep POo busy from now until January at least.

[AFBlue]

Agree with OP...having the mods approve new accounts with so many of the old faces coming back into the fold has Left me confused, excited and anxious for what's to come.

Looking forward to good things....or a train wreck.

[Russ]

Boban will be the glue.

They'll all be pulling for him (and laughing bit as well).

Genius signing.

:flag:

[skulls138]

Aldridge, Leonard, Parker, Duncan, West. Are we gonna be among the leaders in mid-range shots? That's very un-Spurs like.My thoughts as well. Too many jump shots can make for a stand around stagnant offense. Need to drive it to the hoop too.

[Kurik]

The threat of the mid-range shot should hopefully clear up space for any of the players who can operate close to the basket.

[Nathan89]

Parker shouldn't be taking any mid-range shots. If he can't get to the rim take him out of the game.

[maverick1948]

You won't have to worry about getting on the same page. LMA and West are already on the page. I read some many things on here that are not even close to reality. POP will get them going by Dec1 BOOK IT.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Pop will certainly be taking a different approach to his coaching this regular season. A lot of new players to assess, rotations to tinker with. I'm sure for him it will be a lot fun.

[ElNono]

Hopefully nobody gets hurt before or during training camp... you know how much Pop hates players missing those days...

[Mr. Body]

What interests me most is how the starting front court will shift into the second string. What pairings work best, LMA/Diaw? Duncan/West? LMA/West?

[Mr. Body]

Also, if we will see any big or super-big front lines.

[lefty20]

What interests me most is how the starting front court will shift into the second string. What pairings work best, LMA/Diaw? Duncan/West? LMA/West?

Can't wait for Pop to go mad scientist mode and try virtually all scenarios. Should be pretty interesting, tbh.

[DeRozan m8]

Fuck yeah, all this talk is exciting.

The point about the mid range shooters will be interesting.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

I really hope Pop doesn't overthink it. This team has more talent than any Spurs team of the past, full of high basketball IQ players. I'm sure they'll find a way to make it work and fill holes where fit doesn't seem perfect. There's so much talent, that barring severe injuries, they could probably survive Pop's inevitable mad scientist period without piling up bad losses.

[benfti]

Not going to be a problem.

Four of the starting five are coming back. Aldridge is replacing the one player who was injured most often.

Three 2nd string bench players are coming back, two of them are play makers (i.e. Ginobili and Diaw).

The old system will still be in place but with a lot more flexibility this time. Aldridge is a bigger offensive threat compared to Splitter.

West replaces Bonner. Marjanovic replaces Baynes. McCallum replaces CoJo. Simmons replaces Belinelli.

The first two are without a doubt better replacements. McCallum is likely just as good as Cojo.

Simmons isn't as good a 3 point threat as Belinelli, but is obviously a better slasher and defender.

It is overall a much better team, the one decline is 3 point shooting. Bonner and Belinelli did make a whole lot last year. Somehow that needs to be compensated with more efficient play elsewhere.

but compared to last season you would expect Mills to be better than was last seasons, so in someways compensates for the loss of Beli

[therealtruth]

I really hope Pop doesn't overthink it. This team has more talent than any Spurs team of the past, full of high basketball IQ players. I'm sure they'll find a way to make it work and fill holes where fit doesn't seem perfect. There's so much talent, that barring severe injuries, they could probably survive Pop's inevitable mad scientist period without piling up bad losses.

I hope so too. When we made changes in '09 it took Pop a whole year to figure that out. And we only swapped out 2 starters (Oberto, Bowen) for (Dice, RJ).

[jag]

Should get Harlem involved. He can PM the new shtick to everyone of them and have them all on the same page in a week or less.

:lol

[ceperez]

I hope so too. When we made changes in '09 it took Pop a whole year to figure that out. And we only swapped out 2 starters (Oberto, Bowen) for (Dice, RJ).

RJ was such a large downgrade from Bowen.

[TDomination]

This is going to definitely be a challenge for the coaching staff to make sure they utilize this team to its max potential.

Will they still want to do motion offense? Will there be more isolations? Will Kawhi still be getting a chance to become a star player?

Making sure we utilize Aldridge and to a lesser extent West as much as possible without losing what Green, Kawhi, Duncan, Parker, Mills, Diaw Manu all bring to the table.

[therealtruth]

RJ was such a large downgrade from Bowen.

Looking back it's easy to say that but we were getting a +20ppg scorer at the time. In fact Pop even stated he should be fired if he didn't win that year.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Are the Spurs going to just be in SA for training camp or are they going away again this year? Or have they announced this?

I feel that going away is best. I would imagine a solid amount of camaraderie and gelling happens then; you have to think that the training camp at the AFA was a vital piece to 5.

[cutewizard]

Marjanovic is intriguing

he can also space the floor for the second unit,

Manu could be rejuvenated even if this is his last season, with the number of players who can receive his pass for automatic two points: LaMarcus, West and Marjanovic

[cutewizard]

i personally think this could be the most versatile line up for the Spurs

[tatteredprince]

The two major additions I. west and Aldridge are total pros. They shouldn't have huge difficulties. The others can fall in line. I believe personalities should mix well, although LMA's spot on the totem pole (and Parker's) are issues. As for in-game, the need for more hi-lo posts and sets to arrange for midrange shots should keep POo busy from now until January at least.


How about.....

Duncan is still Alpha Male (number one)

then Kawhi and LaMarcus are the beta males (equal number twos....)

Then Parker, then Manu, then the rest......

makes sense?

[Chinook]

I think LMA will help Parker a lot, seeing as he didn't have a reliable PnP big last season. Even though he's getting old, the added spacing will help him. The same goes from Green, who seemed to have a nice little PnP thing going with Tim the last two seasons. That should improve with LMA and West there to make those shots. Obviously, having a better shooter helps Kawhi's ability to post, but I don't see him taking a bigger role in the offense right off the bat this upcoming season.

The bench doesn't have an PnR finishers, which limits some of Manu's effectiveness. But he gains a player who should be able to handle the ball a bit more in either Anderson or Simmons. Ginobili's ability to gel with another bench ball-handler will be pretty key here. Diaw should be able to live in the post with all the spacing in the second unit. Hopefully, he and West get chemistry for duck-ins and hi-lows. David's smart, though, so I think they'll be fine.

[tmtcsc]

Mid Range = higher percentage baskets. I like.

[313]

Not as many three pointers may be a good thing. Last season, when our shooters couldn't throw it in the ocean all those missed threes lead to easy fast break buckets for younger athletic teams.