Matt Moore, CBS Sports, doesn't think Spurs will win with LaMarcus Aldridge

[DenialTwist]

CBS Sports - Eye on Basketball Podcast: (August 14 podcast Spurs Discussion @32:00-42:00)

Listen around the @32:00 mark

http://www.cbssports.com/audio/player?playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.cstv.com%2Ff eeds%2Fnba.xml&trackGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fcstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesu ite.net%2Fnba%2F081415_nba_podcast.mp3

Matt Moore (@HPBasketball) of CBS Sports and Hardwood Paroxysm says he agrees with Warriors beat writer, Ethan Strauss. He questions how Aldridge will fit with the Spurs next season and after Duncan retires. He doesn't buy into the hype that the spurs will win a title even with Aldridge, who he calls "a hyper efficient long-two shooter." He believes they lost continuity and the backcourt is lacking but are hopeful about McCallum and Kyle Anderson.

Zach Harper says the Spurs are the 3rd best team in the West. He truly believes Aldridge won't make the sacrifice to win the "spurs way." He says they have the best Frontcourt rotation but says backcourt is weak. Manu is "not good anymore" and unpredictable and hopes that he can look as good as two years ago for the Spurs to be successful in the postseason. He doesn't "trust Tony Parker's hamstring." "The passing happens off of dribble penetration, they don't have that guy." If Parker is injured, they're screwed."

Interesting to hear how much they had to say considering the new-look spurs haven't set foot on the court yet. Can't wait for the season to start!

[SquawkinHawkBigCock]

From what I've read on here, a former Suns front office member, a Warriors* beat writer, and a Grizzlies beat writer are the only ones who think the Spurs will falter this year.

What do all those teams have in common? :lol

[DenialTwist]

Moore isn't a Grizzlies beat writer though lol he's just a Grizzlies/Gasol fan who happens to work for CBS Sports as an NBA Analyst.

[Mikeanaro]

The butthurt is too much.

[apalisoc_9]

The spurs won't be relying as much with parker this year, hopefully..

Alridge is a great fit. These guys are just supreme losers.

But The spurs not winning is entirely possible. very Possible.. the can lose to 3 teams in the west.

[Dex]

Well that's just like...his opinion, man.

[TheGreatYacht]

I'm guessing Moore thinks LMAlpha will look like he did against the Grizzlies... He knows his stuff, but he's underestimating how different Aldridge will look under an actual NBA coach and help.

[Namundy]

They're not exactly wrong... but fuck them. :bobo

[Spurtacular]

If members of the media depended upon being right to keep their jobs, they wouldn't pick against the Spurs routinely. But as it is, they have motivations to sell the Spurs; and I can even see much of this Matt Moore's reasoning. I'm not inclined to agree with his take though.

[SAGirl]

Thanks for sharing! :meeting:

The Manu-Tony duo is actually a concern. Tony has had injuries with increasing frequency and they have affected his play. Manu was average last year. He had a stretch when he was overplayed and never recovered his mojo. I just think that yes, they are both a concern.

I am hopeful the new kids on the block will pick up the slack though. Summer League IS summer league, but it is still a good sign to have the young kids dominate lesser competition. At least one and maybe more of the new guys will come through and have a good year for the Spurs. I am hoping it is Anderson. He played in that December stretch last year as a very green rookie and straight up dominated all lesser competition after that stretch. :lmao

[Spurtacular]

Thanks for sharing! :meeting:

The Manu-Tony duo is actually a concern. Tony has had injuries with increasing frequency and they have affected his play. Manu was average last year. He had a stretch when he was overplayed and never recovered his mojo. I just think that yes, they are both a concern.

I am hopeful the new kids on the block will pick up the slack though. Summer League IS summer league, but it is still a good sign to have the young kids dominate lesser competition. At least one and maybe more of the new guys will come through and have a good year for the Spurs. I am hoping it is Anderson. He played in that December stretch last year as a very green rookie and straight up dominated all lesser competition after that stretch. :lmao

For the mainstream fan, Simmons may be flying under the radar right now. But he was a defensive star on the perimeter in SL. If that translates at the NBA level, that'll give the Spurs three elite perimeter defenders (KL, Green Simmons). If this happens, look out league!

And in this event, Pop would only need to squeeze whatever juice out of Manu/Parker that he can get.

[SAGirl]

For the mainstream fan, Simmons may be flying under the radar right now. But he was a defensive star on the perimeter in SL. If that translates at the NBA level, that'll give the Spurs three elite perimeter defenders (KL, Green Simmons). If this happens, look out league!

And in this event, Pop would only need to squeeze whatever juice out of Manu/Parker that he can get.
That is what I am hoping. I have not seen either Jimmer or McCallum so its difficult to get excited for them personally, but I do think at least one of the new guys and maybe more will break out, much like Mills and Green did back in the day a couple years ago. The Spurs have talent, it's just untested talent, but they always keep looking for guys who can contribute.

[DPG21920]

Matt, while knowledgable is a very big time Spurs whiner/hater. He's a MEM fan and constantly whines about the Spurs winning.

[objective]

On the EOB CBS podcast the week after LMA agreed to terms, Moore listed the spurs as one of the off season winners but said that was only because of the vitriol he would get if he didn't have the spurs as one of the winners.

The CBS EoB guys are just more basketball hipsters, who have literally spent time talking about their monocles and pocket watches. As long as you remember that they're just buffoonish hipsters who occasionally make decent NBA observations, they're not too bad

[DenialTwist]

On the EOB CBS podcast the week after LMA agreed to terms, Moore listed the spurs as one of the off season winners but said that was only because of the vitriol he would get if he didn't have the spurs as one of the winners.

The CBS EoB guys are just more basketball hipsters, who have literally spent time talking about their monocles and pocket watches. As long as you remember that they're just buffoonish hipsters who occasionally make decent NBA observations, they're not too bad

I actually like Zach Harper, he is funny and I listen to all the EOB pods with him featured as the main host. He is also the popular "Wolf among Wolves" guy. However, I don't like Moore. He's pretentious, snarky and spins narratives to fit with his agenda. He used to work for NBC Sports then he was fired, not sure what happened, then he moved to CBS Sports. He really should just be a Grizzlies beat writer, he's very biased as a featured national "NBA analyst."

Basketball hipster is the perfect phrase lol

[DPG21920]

I mean, everything he said (outside of fit with LMA) is technically correct. Also, it's strange to say something like "I don't buy the hype they will be the champs".

Well, nothing is guaranteed and even though the Spurs got LMA/West, they do have question marks (especially Parker). The West is incredible. Spurs got better, but it's not about winning it all - it's about being legit good enough to have a real shot. So much is luck, health and match ups, but it's really impossible to say who will win it.

It's hilarious to act like if the Spurs make the finals but lose, you could be like "see I told you don't buy the hype"!

[aal04]

Im expecting Parker to be a top 5-10pg again. He should be injury free.

Green is the ultimate 3 n D player. We have insane shooters coming off the bench and Kawhi can guard wings if an opponent has a few good ones.

Our back court is fine. But I do agree that there are question marks over LMA into spurs system. I think hes a quiet achiever that wants to be numero uno without the spotlight and thats how spurs work.

[cd98]

Moore with legit takes. Pop has to solve the puzzle of making the sum greater than its parts. He still says they win 60+ games, which is like saying Spurs are a great team bc only great teams win that many games.

[Uriel]

On the EOB CBS podcast the week after LMA agreed to terms, Moore listed the spurs as one of the off season winners but said that was only because of the vitriol he would get if he didn't have the spurs as one of the winners.

The CBS EoB guys are just more basketball hipsters, who have literally spent time talking about their monocles and pocket watches. As long as you remember that they're just buffoonish hipsters who occasionally make decent NBA observations, they're not too bad
Exactly. They're basketball hipsters. Their dismissal of the Spurs doesn't stem from logic and reason. It stems from the fact that everyone else is picking the Spurs to win it all, and they want to go against the mainstream by doing otherwise.

[Baseline21]

Spurs nation don't worry about these jabroni's because these are pretty much the same ones and a lot and I mean a lot of other writers saying Spurs were done and Duncan needed to retire like 6yrs ago. These are the same idiots that been saying Spurs are old for like 8yrs and that's why they aren't winning shit. These people just never learn and look like idiots when it comes back to bite them in they're ass. It's like Shaquille saying to Kobe "how's my ass taste". That's what Spurs been doing to all these haters that happen to write articles and show their faces on TV. Eventually, they will get it right some decade. It's funny how he's saying if Parker goes down or is not the old tony Spurs are done. That's fuckin bullshit because when we won the chip in '14 Parker didn't even have to play and I wouldn't care. Patty mills was tearing the league up and when he came in that's when Spurs blew teams out or made their run. These guys are delusional because remember when pop sent Parker away for 2weeks to get healed up. We didn't lose a beat.

[YGWHI]

There is an obvious imbalance between the level of the frontcourt and the backcourt bench with the new young guys, it usually isn't a good thing but I expect the starters and the old guys play good enough to hide that weakness.

[random21]

Come playoff time, the lineups get tighter than a straight mans asshole... Regular season would be Michael Sams A-Hole...
So much talk about depth being an issue, but we didn't see much Belli/Joseph in the 2014 or 2015 playoffs, did we? Nope....
We know pop will resort to higher mins with Parker, Green, Kawhi, Lemarcus, Diaw, Duncan, West, and probably Mills come playoff time...
With spot mins to Manu, Ray M, and possibly Kyle....

[Dingle Barry]

Does this guy really get paid to spout a bunch of unsupported conclusions? Any moron can do that.

[RD2191]

Lol. Niggas is salty as hell. Spurs are going to win back to back titles.

[admiralsnackbar]

Does this guy really get paid to spout a bunch of unsupported conclusions? Any moron can do that. But only special morons have the hubris to use their real name when they speak/quote with certainty about things they know dick about... those are the real job skills in sports journalism: desire to stand out by any means necessary, lack of interest in how their future credibility could be impacted by their present positions, and (implicitly) cynicism regarding human memory. Que sera sera.

[Chillen]

It's all about health. We know Duncan, Manu are veteran players, but if they along with Parker can stay healthy all season, with the additions of Aldridge, West and resigning Leonard, this Spurs team has potential to be scary good this season.

[Nathan89]

Didn't listen but the field is more likely to win.

[DenialTwist]

Matt, while knowledgable is a very big time Spurs whiner/hater. He's a MEM fan and constantly whines about the Spurs winning.

Exactly. Why does Moore have to be so "whiny" about the spurs though? He must still be upset about the 2013 WCF I guess?
I've seen spurs fans and nba fans in general call him out on twitter for being "salty" and he hates that word lol but as a national NBA writer he needs to, at the very least, look unbiased in his analysis. He isn't a paid beat writer for the Grizzlies but sure acts like one.

[spursistan]

Do you really guys pay attention to these various non-descript talking/twittering/writing heads that have popped in the last half decade?..I honestly only read couple of them on the net on the regular: one is Grantand's Zach Lowe whom i think is probably the best NBA basketball writer around; the second Kevin Pelton on ESPN insider for an advanced metrics-heavy analysis/angle and obviously Bill Simmons here and there for entertainment value.

[DenialTwist]

Do you really guys pay attention to these various non-descript talking/twittering/writing heads that have popped in the last half decade?..I honestly only read couple of them on the net on the regular: one is Grantand's Zach Lowe whom i think is probably the best NBA basketball writer around; the second Kevin Pelton on ESPN insider for an advanced metrics-heavy analysis/angle and obviously Bill Simmons here and there for entertainment value.

I wonder if Zach Lowe will follow Bill Simmons to HBO Sports?
Anyways, Kevin Pelton is the best on ESPN. But he doesn't play the click-bait/hot takes game the way Strauss and Elhassan do. That's probably why he isn't front and center because he's very objective. He even replied to Strauss after that true hoop tv pod came out and said he wants to debate with them about LMA on the Spurs.

[TheDoctor]

Matt Moore isn't wrong by THINKING San Antonio is not going to win it. It may happen easily if any key player suffers an injury. The way I see it, Matt Moore publicly "praise" the Spurs as constantly he's always "afraid" of MEM playing the Spurs in Playoffs. But secretly he despises us. With all his heart. And sometimes he writes articles that seems legit but in reality he's trolling and I THINK this is one of those.

So, we shouldn't feel anything about it. If a Spurs' coach (Ime Udoka) already said that LMA integration is gonna be good and awesome, we shouldn't worry.

[Harry Callahan]

How many times have Spurs been the Clear Cut favorite and won the title? For the majority of their titles, some other team has been considered better.

The first one was a bit of a surprise because Tim Duncan was still just a kid. The second one involved eliminating the defending champ Lakers with O'Neal and Bryant. The Spurs were probably the favorite in the 2004-2005 season and beat the defending champ that year.

Dallas was supposed to win in 2007 with their 67 win season and subsequent flop (still funny by the way).

The Spurs were already too old in 2014 when they got on a huge roll after Leonard and Parker came back from injury late in the year. Remember now - "they couldn't beat the real contenders" early in the season.

Opinions are like ***holes. Everybody has one. I don't even know who Matt Moore is. I thought he was a quarterback for the Dolphins.

[ceperez]

Thanks for sharing! :meeting:

The Manu-Tony duo is actually a concern. Tony has had injuries with increasing frequency and they have affected his play. Manu was average last year. He had a stretch when he was overplayed and never recovered his mojo. I just think that yes, they are both a concern.

I am hopeful the new kids on the block will pick up the slack though. Summer League IS summer league, but it is still a good sign to have the young kids dominate lesser competition. At least one and maybe more of the new guys will come through and have a good year for the Spurs. I am hoping it is Anderson. He played in that December stretch last year as a very green rookie and straight up dominated all lesser competition after that stretch. :lmao

Tony is a real concern, he's been hurt all too often come playoff time. Manu is also a concern, he's been turnover prone all too often. He's got to play more conservatively and not force the issue.

Spurs don't win without Tony Parker being ineffective on the court.

These are all legitimate issues and its not exactly going to be a walk in the park unless there are no injuries.

The other alternative is that scrubs like Simmons, Anderson, McCallum, Fredette and Marjanovic actually surprise everyone come playoff time.

[Knoxxx]

Let's be realistic, if the Spurs play to their potential this will be a CAKEWALK to the championship.

[DPG21920]

But again, the key is what is Matt reallly trying to say. 29 teams won't win - it isn't in anyone's favor that they will. Is he trying to say Spurs aren't legit contenders?

So if Spurs lose in GM7 of the finals will he say "they just had too much hype and I knew I couldn't buy into them"? No. Of course not. He's seems to be saying they aren't legit contenders in his mind.

[hater]

sure that's possible. but the opposive is possible too.

[Obstructed_View]

From what I've read on here, a former Suns front office member, a Warriors* beat writer, and a Grizzlies beat writer are the only ones who think the Spurs will falter this year.

What do all those teams have in common? :lol

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iTD9nD4h6QM/VO8e_Jc-GwI/AAAAAAAAr04/XMq-VmpRhQo/s1600/whistle-past-graveyard.jpg

[DMC]

Well he could be right. Talent alone won't get them there. They need to enter the playoffs healthy. They cannot have long stretches where LMA doesn't play because he won't adjust to the team if he does.

It's going to really rest on Tony though, if he's still a sack of shit we're done already. LMA and West are great, but someone has to pass them the fucking ball.

It's really easy to say one particular team out of 30 won't win it all. The odds of you being right are much greater than you being wrong. It doesn't matter what anyone says or how it's broken down to predict this or that. All that matters is health. If the Spurs are healthy they are going to give other coaches sleepless nights.

[Raven]

his points are perfectly legit, so i don't see the problem with his opinion.

[LoneStarState'sPride]

Exactly. They're basketball hipsters. Their dismissal of the Spurs doesn't stem from logic and reason. It stems from the fact that everyone else is picking the Spurs to win it all, and they want to go against the mainstream by doing otherwise.

Bingo

[Beaverfuzz]

CBS Sports - Eye on Basketball Podcast: (August 14 podcast Spurs Discussion @32:00-42:00)

Listen around the @32:00 mark

http://www.cbssports.com/audio/player?playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fpodcasts.cstv.com%2Ff eeds%2Fnba.xml&trackGuid=http%3A%2F%2Fcstvpodcast.cstv.com.edgesu ite.net%2Fnba%2F081415_nba_podcast.mp3

Matt Moore (@HPBasketball) of CBS Sports and Hardwood Paroxysm says he agrees with Warriors beat writer, Ethan Strauss. He questions how Aldridge will fit with the Spurs next season and after Duncan retires. He doesn't buy into the hype that the spurs will win a title even with Aldridge, who he calls "a hyper efficient long-two shooter." He believes they lost continuity and the backcourt is lacking but are hopeful about McCallum and Kyle Anderson.

Zach Harper says the Spurs are the 3rd best team in the West. He truly believes Aldridge won't make the sacrifice to win the "spurs way." He says they have the best Frontcourt rotation but says backcourt is weak. Manu is "not good anymore" and unpredictable and hopes that he can look as good as two years ago for the Spurs to be successful in the postseason. He doesn't "trust Tony Parker's hamstring." "The passing happens off of dribble penetration, they don't have that guy." If Parker is injured, they're screwed."

Interesting to hear how much they had to say considering the new-look spurs haven't set foot on the court yet. Can't wait for the season to start!


Fuck him.

[Sean Cagney]

Matt, while knowledgable is a very big time Spurs whiner/hater. He's a MEM fan and constantly whines about the Spurs winning.

He is still bitter over the big losing streak they had to the Spurs after the upset and the sweep in 013 playoffs TBH. Fans just carry a grudge against the Spurs because they routinely beat up on their fave teams. Memphis is isn't going anywhere with that team.

This is all speculation though and until they step on the court and it plays out this is b.s. to me as of right now and small talk.