So I was checking out one of those NBA season preview magazines...

[ElNono]

And for the Spurs they wrote:

- Tim will get extra rest, ensuring LMA get his usual regular season touches
- Danny is still one of the most underrated 3 and D guys in the league, averaging over 1 block per game, even though he couldn't hit the ocean last playoffs
- Kawhi's health an ongoing concern, as he's never played over 66 games in a season in his career
- Tony looked gassed by mid-spring last season, and Pop will have to manage his minutes much more this season
- Patty is expected to have a strong rebound season after being injured most of the last one
- McCallum is solid insurance in case Patty can't find his stroke
- David West will be the guy that sacrifices the most touches in comparison with previous seasons
- Potential for a lot of versatility off the bench, with Diaw and Manu creating, Marjanovic's freak size and Bonner chucking the occasional 3
- Simmons trying to carve a rotation spot and Fredette trying to turn around his career provide hungry end of the bench guys
- Anderson will likely play very little and visit Austin frequently

Thoughts?

[spurraider21]

the parker quote is confusing. he sucked for basically all of last year, but his only "good" month was march iirc, so hard to say he looked gassed in spring. he was better in the spring than he was earlier in the year, which isn't saying much

[spurs10]

I don't think KA will be in Austin as much. With Beli gone he is looking to be Kawhi's primary back-up.

[Robz4000]

Most of it is terrible tbh; par for the course. What magazine was it so I know not to bother reading it?

[TheGreatYacht]

Tp will lead the team in PPG imho

[DPG21920]

Decent enough except for the fact that Tim was the Spurs best player in the playoffs.

[Mugen]

We signed Aldridge?

[All Mighty Janitor]

-I find it very hard to believe LMA will get 20 shots like he did last year. He won't be playing 38mpg(he said he wanted his minutes managed) and Kawhi was only taking 18 shots at the most at the end of the season. With both of them demanding touches i just don't see it. I think he'll be more efficient though so his ppg should be similar.
-Spurs fans know danny's value so not much to be said.
-I am pretty concerned with Kawhi's health. It shouldn't hurt the team as much if he does miss time because of LaMarcus, but I would officially consider him injury prone if he miss 10 or more games.
-Tony definitely needs to handle less of a scoring burden. Even if he can excel still, he focus should be staying healthy and distributing. Not sure how much less minutes he can play because the team needs pg play. The only other person we know that can do that is Manu and he may need to play less minutes too or risk getting burned out (or just not have it anymore).
-Yep, Patty should be back.
-I like what I saw from McCallum in the Kings games I watched so I'm hopeful he will contribute.
-I like west, but I just not sure how he fits with the team yet. I like the dimension Boris brings more but I can't help think West will eat Boris's minutes if Bobo doesn't play inspired.
-Simmons over Fredette please
-Anderson could run the bench if his midrange and foul shot attempts are as good as they were in summer league. If not, I don't think he will be useful until he can shot 3s.

[ElNono]

Most of it is terrible tbh; par for the course. What magazine was it so I know not to bother reading it?

It was some '2015 Pro-Basketball Preview' magazine, with yellow letters and a picture of Curry in the cover. IIRC, it was from Rotoworld, so lots of fantasy basketball shit in it.

I just read the Spurs preview page and put it back.

[Robz4000]

It was some '2015 Pro-Basketball Preview' magazine, with yellow letters and a picture of Curry in the cover. IIRC, it was from Rotoworld, so lots of fantasy basketball shit in it.

I just read the Spurs preview page and put it back.

Welp, there's your problem right there. No Lyfe Faggot posts better sports analysis than those fucks.

[apalisoc_9]

How do you play more than 66 games in a lockout season?

[RD2191]

Parker looked like shit the entire season. Gassed. Lol

[RD2191]

It was some '2015 Pro-Basketball Preview' magazine, with yellow letters and a picture of Curry in the cover. IIRC, it was from Rotoworld, so lots of fantasy basketball shit in it.

I just read the Spurs preview page and put it back.
We know you mailed in that 2 year subscription.:lol

[K...]

How do you play more than 66 games in a lockout season?

Shut the fuck up you insufferable prick. Your argument is a red herring. Kawhi is a retard cripple that'll probably die when he forgets to breath. The fact that he played in lockout season is pretty irrelevant.


Jeez, op and his attention whoring. Guys look at me, I'm smart

[Sean Cagney]

Parker looked like shit the entire season. Gassed. Lol

Plus he sat all summer too man.

[ElNono]

We know you mailed in that 2 year subscription.:lol

:lol

[TheGreatYacht]

Kawhi is a retard cripple that'll probably die when he forgets to breath.
:rollin

[apalisoc_9]

:lol

Stop attention whoring. K is really pissed at you.


Jeez, op and his attention whoring. Guys look at me, I'm smart

[ElNono]

Stop attention whoring. K is really pissed at you.

who?

[SAGirl]

-Some of it makes sense. LMA may play less minutes but he will be featured and get shots. Not sure how many, but he will get his due. Even Tim said he's riding LMA coattails at this point in that bleacherreport interview. I'm sure they want him aggressive.
-Kawhi's health is always a concern, nothing chronic or year ending, but it is true he's always missed games. Hopefully he has a good season.
-Like someone mentioned above Tony's best month was march. He wasn't gassed. He was injured again. Pop may mamange him differently than we have seen anyways. He's the most concerning of all Spurs.
-Agree Patty should be back healthy and shooting well
-Mcallum hopefully plays well. He may end up being the most important acquisition after Aldridge, considering our main guards are old.
-I dont see Kyle Anderson in Austin. There is not much wing depth and outside of him and Simmons everyone else is severely undersized. I have him as backup Sf over Simmons but it may be similar to Patty/Cojo both guys having chances. Either way, unlikely he goes back to Austin for a long stretch like last year.
-i don't see Bonner playing much at all. At this point he is injury insurance and will need to see that 3 % go up. If his shot is not back he is done
-Jimmer is a big question mark. Simmons will get minutes and may prove to be a revelation.

[SPURt]

It's like it came from a giant silver and black fortune cookie.

[ElNono]

This is the magazine cover, for those trying to avoid it:

http://i59.tinypic.com/6f17hs.jpg

[SAGirl]

This is the magazine cover, for those trying to avoid it:

http://i59.tinypic.com/6f17hs.jpg
thanks for sharing it does seem like "predictions" is the focus of the magazine for those invested in fantasy teams. Some of the predictions are ok, not widely off the mark, like I pointed above.

[ElNono]

thanks for sharing it does seem like "predictions" is the focus of the magazine for those invested in fantasy teams. Some of the predictions are ok, not widely off the mark, like I pointed above.

Yeah, most of those magazines are good just for a quick browse, tbh...

[Seventyniner]

Thoughts?

They clearly don't read SpursTalk.

[tmtcsc]

Sounds like a bunch of juvenile bullshit to me.

[Splits]

Fredette won't make the team.

[hater]

:lol all terrible takes

[YGWHI]

I don't think KA will be in Austin as much. With Beli gone he is looking to be Kawhi's primary back-up.
Agree. Manu isn't strong enough to guard young SFs, Danny is a great PG/SGs defender but lacks the strength to guard bigger players.

I hope Anderson becomes into a good backup but still think Pop shouldn't sit Kawhi and Danny at the same time. Patty-Manu-Kyle...not really a defensive lineup

[From Downtown]

And for the Spurs they wrote:

- Tim will get extra rest, ensuring LMA get his usual regular season touches
I guess he'll play more or less as much as in the previous seasons tbh Will he have less touches? Probably,but Pop will manage his minutes the way he's always done
- Danny is still one of the most underrated 3 and D guys in the league, averaging over 1 block per game, even though he couldn't hit the ocean last playoffs
Pretty obvious statement innit?
- Kawhi's health an ongoing concern, as he's never played over 66 games in a season in his career
Bullshit,it's not really a concern,he'll be fine
- Tony looked gassed by mid-spring last season, and Pop will have to manage his minutes much more this season
As someone else said,he had some injuries at the start of the season,looked good in March then bad again,he'll be fine again,he just needs to adapt his game a little bit as he's not as fast as he used to be...LMA's presence will help him as well
- Patty is expected to have a strong rebound season after being injured most of the last one
Again,obvious statement
- McCallum is solid insurance in case Patty can't find his stroke
They're different players,but I have lot of trust in McCallum
- David West will be the guy that sacrifices the most touches in comparison with previous seasons
It could be
- Potential for a lot of versatility off the bench, with Diaw and Manu creating, Marjanovic's freak size and Bonner chucking the occasional 3
Yes...hope to see Bonner play only in garbage time too
- Simmons trying to carve a rotation spot and Fredette trying to turn around his career provide hungry end of the bench guys
Fredette won't even make the team
- Anderson will likely play very little and visit Austin frequently
No

[DarrinS]

Tony will break NBA record for most dribbles.

[apalisoc_9]

Tony will break NBA record for most dribbles.

:lmao

[Russo21]

Pretty average takes from that person. Honestly with this lineup. Duncan in his last year/s, LMA signing a huge contract and being an offensive monster, Kawhi signing that huge contract and proving in 2 straight NBA Finals he has a mad offensive game, Danny with the biggest contract of his career.

I think we need to see Tony take the least shots out of the starting 5 and average a career high in assists and hockey assists per game. That line-up has offense everywhere, we need Tony to step up and really facilitate. So i'm looking for Parker to take maybe the second least FGA of his entire career (8.3) in his Rookie season. Still a good player but with Duncan around, and the additions of offensive monster LMA, improvement and more responsibility for Green and for Kawhi and thier big contracts etc. Tony has to step back and be a true PG and take the least FGA of the starting 5, or equal as little as TD. Let's see how many FGA attempts Tony takes, could be interesting. That's one thing i'll be looking for.

[ceperez]

And for the Spurs they wrote:

- Tim will get extra rest, ensuring LMA get his usual regular season touches
- Danny is still one of the most underrated 3 and D guys in the league, averaging over 1 block per game, even though he couldn't hit the ocean last playoffs
- Kawhi's health an ongoing concern, as he's never played over 66 games in a season in his career
- Tony looked gassed by mid-spring last season, and Pop will have to manage his minutes much more this season
- Patty is expected to have a strong rebound season after being injured most of the last one
- McCallum is solid insurance in case Patty can't find his stroke
- David West will be the guy that sacrifices the most touches in comparison with previous seasons
- Potential for a lot of versatility off the bench, with Diaw and Manu creating, Marjanovic's freak size and Bonner chucking the occasional 3
- Simmons trying to carve a rotation spot and Fredette trying to turn around his career provide hungry end of the bench guys
- Anderson will likely play very little and visit Austin frequently

Thoughts?

Surprised with the assessment for Anderson. Otherwise, decent review for the reader who doesn't follow the Spurs much.

[Seventyniner]

Pretty average takes from that person. Honestly with this lineup. Duncan in his last year/s, LMA signing a huge contract and being an offensive monster, Kawhi signing that huge contract and proving in 2 straight NBA Finals he has a mad offensive game, Danny with the biggest contract of his career.

I think we need to see Tony take the least shots out of the starting 5 and average a career high in assists and hockey assists per game. That line-up has offense everywhere, we need Tony to step up and really facilitate. So i'm looking for Parker to take maybe the second least FGA of his entire career (8.3) in his Rookie season. Still a good player but with Duncan around, and the additions of offensive monster LMA, improvement and more responsibility for Green and for Kawhi and thier big contracts etc. Tony has to step back and be a true PG and take the least FGA of the starting 5, or equal as little as TD. Let's see how many FGA attempts Tony takes, could be interesting. That's one thing i'll be looking for.

Parker's high usage and dribble rates have been by Pop's design. It's not selfishness on Parker's part per se, just following orders. I do agree that the system will likely change now and Parker's usage will drop. I'm not sure his assists will rise, though, if he's going to be relied on as a finisher more than point-of-attack distributor.

[Spurtacular]

And for the Spurs they wrote:

- Tim will get extra rest, ensuring LMA get his usual regular season touches
- Danny is still one of the most underrated 3 and D guys in the league, averaging over 1 block per game, even though he couldn't hit the ocean last playoffs
- Kawhi's health an ongoing concern, as he's never played over 66 games in a season in his career
- Tony looked gassed by mid-spring last season, and Pop will have to manage his minutes much more this season
- Patty is expected to have a strong rebound season after being injured most of the last one
- McCallum is solid insurance in case Patty can't find his stroke
- David West will be the guy that sacrifices the most touches in comparison with previous seasons
- Potential for a lot of versatility off the bench, with Diaw and Manu creating, Marjanovic's freak size and Bonner chucking the occasional 3
- Simmons trying to carve a rotation spot and Fredette trying to turn around his career provide hungry end of the bench guys
- Anderson will likely play very little and visit Austin frequently

Thoughts?

- Worrying about KL's health is a non-starter for me. I feel like he'll be fine. Injuries can happen though.
- McCallum is not a shooter. If Mills or Ginobili struggle and the Spurs need that extra shooter, it'll be Jimmer. McCallum is basically a poor man's CoJo. Offensively, he can run the offense; but he's not the strong defender that CoJo was.
- Marjanovic is an x-factor. I have low expectations; but if he thrives than the Spurs are that much more dominant.
- Simmons will receive pivotal minutes due to his defense. We'll see if he can get to the dish at the NBA level.
- Jimmer is a great guy to have on this team, imo. I think he can start when Parker is out, tbh.
- KA's PT will depend on whether we get rook KA or SL KA. There's minutes available to relieve KL though.

[ElNono]

- McCallum is not a shooter. If Mills or Ginobili struggle and the Spurs need that extra shooter, it'll be Jimmer. McCallum is basically a poor man's CoJo. Offensively, he can run the offense; but he's not the strong defender that CoJo was.

It was not my opinion, but I think the rationale there is that if Mills is not knocking down shots and spacing the floor, he's not a lot of help, and it's difficult to argue with that. McCallum is not a shooter, but he can play a traditional PG role better.

[MultiTroll]

they wrote:
- Tony looked gassed by mid-spring last season, and Pop will have to manage his minutes much more this season
- Patty is expected to have a strong rebound season after being injured most of the last one
- McCallum is solid insurance in case Patty can't find his stroke
- Anderson will likely play very little and visit Austin frequently

Thoughts?
Why should we have any faith that Popped will use Rique properly?
McCallum shows some promise but how is he "solid"? How he will do is still a relative unknown. Not like he set Sacramento on fire.
Anderson to Austin while Bonner robs space again? I thought Popped was making progress on his Bonner Era crap. 2014s Championship year was the least Bonner we had to endure for years.

Positives. I do believe Popped will give Duncan proper rest including (I hope) plenty of nights off. If Ginobili starts showing signs of Ahlzheimers-Turnobili syndrome again, sit his ass ASAP.

[ElNono]

Why should we have any faith that Popped will use Rique properly?
McCallum shows some promise but how is he "solid"? How he will do is still a relative unknown. Not like he set Sacramento on fire.
Anderson to Austin while Bonner robs space again? I thought Popped was making progress on his Bonner Era crap. 2014s Championship year was the least Bonner we had to endure for years.

Positives. I do believe Popped will give Duncan proper rest including (I hope) plenty of nights off. If Ginobili starts showing signs of Ahlzheimers-Turnobili syndrome again, sit his ass ASAP.

:tu

[BillMc]

I don't think KA will be in Austin as much. With Beli gone he is looking to be Kawhi's primary back-up.

Agreed

[DeRozan m8]

I still can't see SloMo being anything aye

[AFBlue]

I get the Kawhi injury concern...if you haven't done any research on why he actually missed games in the past. There's nothing to suggest a chronic or lingering issue that the team should be worried about. He's just been the victim of some bad luck, and I would expect him for the full season.

[MultiTroll]

It was not my opinion, but I think the rationale there is that if Mills is not knocking down shots and spacing the floor, he's not a lot of help, and it's difficult to argue with that. McCallum is not a shooter, but he can play a traditional PG role better.
Agreed, and fellow Spursies can we please get on the subject of Defense?
Plenty of talk about Enriques dribble dribble dribble clank and Patty at times going cold.
Along with newbie McCaullum.......
Where do all 3 stand on Defense?

If Parker is perma - gassed, fuggetaboutit.
Patty never was and never will be Aces. Great with some quick steals? Yes. But, bottom line he is undersized.
McCallums D?

[FromWayDowntown]

KA will get his chances in camp, preseason, and perhaps early in the season to show that he's beyond his rookie uncertainties and can just go play the game. If he shows signs of assertiveness and confidence, I think he'll continue to get chances and the leash will get a bit longer with time. If he shows passivity and softness, it won't matter what he did over the summer because he won't play. In recent times, Danny Green and Gary Neal (of guys who weren't absolute gotta-play-them, no brainers; the brief flirtation with Devin Brown would be another example from the past) have came in and showed cajones to go along with useful NBA skills, so they played; others who've looked lost or have demonstrated an inability to execute any significant skill at an NBA level have been passed over by more reliable vets. I think, ultimately, Pop would prefer to give minutes to guys like KA and Simmons early in the year and to have them blossom into legitimate contributors because they appear to have skills and athleticism that the more seasoned choices don't.

I don't think it should be much of a surprise that a coach who has dealt with young players for almost 20 years now would continue to treat young players the way he's treated most of the young players who've come along in the past.

As for the rest, previews are opinions and like any opinions, some are more defensibly formed than others. Of a team with as many certainties as they seem to have, the Spurs are also riddled with uncertainties, too, and the resolution of those issues will most likely determine which way the 2015-16 season goes.

[FromWayDowntown]

Agreed, and fellow Spursies can we please get on the subject of Defense?
Plenty of talk about Enriques dribble dribble dribble clank and Patty at times going cold.
Along with newbie McCaullum.......
Where do all 3 stand on Defense?

If Parker is perma - gassed, fuggetaboutit.
Patty never was and never will be Aces. Great with some quick steals? Yes. But, bottom line he is undersized.
McCallums D?

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/8/4/9093341/kings-expert-spurs-fans-expect-mccallum

"Defensively, he has the size and effort to one day become a good defender. He puts in a lot of work on that end and I think given time and development that this will be an area he can excel at. Mike Malone said more than once that McCallum was the only defensive-minded player he had on the roster. That effort and intensity didn't often translate into results, but that will come with experience."

[MultiTroll]

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2015/8/4/9093341/kings-expert-spurs-fans-expect-mccallum
Ok FWD i'm gonna trust you on this one and give it a read but thus far Pounding The Cock has proved to be.....

[FromWayDowntown]

Ok FWD i'm gonna trust you on this one and give it a read but thus far Pounding The Cock has proved to be.....

Okay, if you find that unpersuasive, then use Google and search Ray McCallum. Perhaps you'll find some analysis from authors you trust. Or, better yet, you might find video that you can watch and decide for yourself what *you* think of Ray McCallum rather than waiting around to be spoon-fed an opinion about the guy.

[spurraider21]

How do you play more than 66 games in a lockout season?

well everyone says Anthony Davis' main weakness is his durability, so let's compare....

games played last 3 seasons

2014-2015

Kawhi: 64 on 32 mpg
Davis: 68 on 36 mpg


2013-2014

Kawhi: 66 on 29 mpg
Davis: 67 on 35 mpg


2012-2013

Kawhi: 58 on 31 mpg
Davis: 64 on 29 mpg

[MultiTroll]

Akis Yerocostas: Defensively, he has the size and effort to one day become a good defender.
and
He's not the most physically gifted player, although he's got good size and strength for a Point Guard. <end of article snippet.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6'3" 190 hmmmn. That is George Hill size. Have we got a wingspan measurement?
I don't know that i would call 6 3 190 good size but maybe that is the NBA average point guard? Above average?

[MultiTroll]

Okay, if you find that unpersuasive, then use Google and search Ray McCallum. Perhaps you'll find some analysis from authors you trust. Or, better yet, you might find video that you can watch and decide for yourself what *you* think of Ray McCallum rather than waiting around to be spoon-fed an opinion about the guy.
No need to get testy.
I appreciate the link, it was informative.
Bear in mind this is the site that had a group discussion with several of the pundits singing the praises of Bonner.

[ElNono]

McCallums D?

He's not a specialist and he'll have to work on it. He's not coming into the team as a player known for his D. But don't kill him early, he has the tools to get better at it, so we'll see if he puts in the work.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

I don't think KA will be in Austin as much. With Beli gone he is looking to be Kawhi's primary back-up.
Hell no, Anderson shouldn't see the court except in huge blowouts

[MultiTroll]

Originally Posted by FromWayDowntown (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8190864#post8190864)
Okay, if you find that unpersuasive, then use Google and search Ray McCallum. Perhaps you'll find some analysis from authors you trust. Or, better yet, you might find video that you can watch and decide for yourself what *you* think of Ray McCallum rather than waiting around to be spoon-fed an opinion about the guy.


No need to get testy.
I appreciate the link, it was informative.
Bear in mind this is the site that had a group discussion with several of the pundits singing the praises of Bonner.
In addition to being informative, your post and link was
a) spot on the op basketball topic. A huge rarity at ST.
b) not just generally but exact spot on the topic of McCs defense.
Props!

[TheGreatYacht]

I still can't see SloMo being anything aye
Stfu. Respect our future starting Small Forward

[SAGirl]

KA will get his chances in camp, preseason, and perhaps early in the season to show that he's beyond his rookie uncertainties and can just go play the game. If he shows signs of assertiveness and confidence, I think he'll continue to get chances and the leash will get a bit longer with time. If he shows passivity and softness, it won't matter what he did over the summer because he won't play. In recent times, Danny Green and Gary Neal (of guys who weren't absolute gotta-play-them, no brainers; the brief flirtation with Devin Brown would be another example from the past) have came in and showed cajones to go along with useful NBA skills, so they played; others who've looked lost or have demonstrated an inability to execute any significant skill at an NBA level have been passed over by more reliable vets. I think, ultimately, Pop would prefer to give minutes to guys like KA and Simmons early in the year and to have them blossom into legitimate contributors because they appear to have skills and athleticism that the more seasoned choices don't.

I don't think it should be much of a surprise that a coach who has dealt with young players for almost 20 years now would continue to treat young players the way he's treated most of the young players who've come along in the past.

As for the rest, previews are opinions and like any opinions, some are more defensibly formed than others. Of a team with as many certainties as they seem to have, the Spurs are also riddled with uncertainties, too, and the resolution of those issues will most likely determine which way the 2015-16 season goes.
This is a good take. I agree with you on both Anderson and Simmons. Spurs pushed both guys hard to score for themselves in SL. A little unspursy yes, but then they were the most talented in that SL team. A lot of others in SL couldn't score efficiently anyways. IMO it also pushed them to get more confident. They can't go out there in defer/passive mode, not bc they should be chucking, but bc they have to be a threat and not pass up shots that they should take. As bad as selfishness is, it's right up there with passiveness and overpassing, sometimes you end up with a worse shot.

You are right everyone has their opinion on these two, as well as Jimmer. Even the team's stars are a source of debate here. So, we will just have to see on these predictions. They are fun to speculate about, but that's it.

[All Mighty Janitor]

Bump. Thoughts?

[apalisoc_9]

Bump. Thoughts?

Kawhi always underrated by spursfans.

Fredette sucks.

[SAGirl]

And for the Spurs they wrote:

- Tim will get extra rest, ensuring LMA get his usual regular season touches
- Danny is still one of the most underrated 3 and D guys in the league, averaging over 1 block per game, even though he couldn't hit the ocean last playoffs
- Kawhi's health an ongoing concern, as he's never played over 66 games in a season in his career
- Tony looked gassed by mid-spring last season, and Pop will have to manage his minutes much more this season
- Patty is expected to have a strong rebound season after being injured most of the last one
- McCallum is solid insurance in case Patty can't find his stroke
- David West will be the guy that sacrifices the most touches in comparison with previous seasons
- Potential for a lot of versatility off the bench, with Diaw and Manu creating, Marjanovic's freak size and Bonner chucking the occasional 3
- Simmons trying to carve a rotation spot and Fredette trying to turn around his career provide hungry end of the bench guys
- Anderson will likely play very little and visit Austin frequently

Thoughts?
A lot wrong in the early season predictions.

Anderson not a day in Austin, coming up with buckets and helping win a few games. Has played well enough to show Pop his only path to improvement is NBA level competition.

Freddette not a day past the preseason, but Simmons did prove to be a hungry bench dude, also coming up big to help win a few games, particularly earlier in the season, when Danny was sucking.

Ray the one who has seen a lot of Austin and been less of a factor than initially thought. His role as a defensive guard possibly taken up by Simmons.

Boban very intriguing, but a league that is going increasingly perimeter saw a lot of Anderson and D.West instead of Boban when Timmy was out with a bad knee. The jury is still out in Boban. He clearly has skill and his size and length is disruptive defensively when he's got good position to contest, getting in that position is the test.

Tim got rested but he also got injured. Had games when he didn't look right either. Age finally catching on.

Danny had a very unpredictably bad 2 1/2 months to the season, giving development opportunities to Simmons.

Kawhi healthy all season, save 2 games. (Lets not jinx him now)
Patty found his shot, though streaky, it's there.
David has been instrumental with all the games Timmy has rested or been injured.
Bench is versatile and proved to be the best in the league when Manu was healthy. Manu's injury clouds the prognosis for the bench.

[SAGirl]

-Some of it makes sense. LMA may play less minutes but he will be featured and get shots. Not sure how many, but he will get his due. Even Tim said he's riding LMA coattails at this point in that bleacherreport interview. I'm sure they want him aggressive.
-Kawhi's health is always a concern, nothing chronic or year ending, but it is true he's always missed games. Hopefully he has a good season.
-Like someone mentioned above Tony's best month was march. He wasn't gassed. He was injured again. Pop may mamange him differently than we have seen anyways. He's the most concerning of all Spurs.
-Agree Patty should be back healthy and shooting well
-Mcallum hopefully plays well. He may end up being the most important acquisition after Aldridge, considering our main guards are old.
-I dont see Kyle Anderson in Austin. There is not much wing depth and outside of him and Simmons everyone else is severely undersized. I have him as backup Sf over Simmons but it may be similar to Patty/Cojo both guys having chances. Either way, unlikely he goes back to Austin for a long stretch like last year.
-i don't see Bonner playing much at all. At this point he is injury insurance and will need to see that 3 % go up. If his shot is not back he is done
-Jimmer is a big question mark. Simmons will get minutes and may prove to be a revelation.
Wow I wasn't so far off, except my concern fir Kawhiii.