Timmy is quietly having an amazing start to the season on D

[TDfan2007]

That defensive performance against Marc Gasol last night was just masterful. He forced him into several turnovers, played great help, and gave nothing easy all night. The other night against the Kings he did a tremendous job against Cousins, who didn't really start getting in a rhythm until Timmy sat down in the 3rd quarter and Diaw was forced to guard him. In fact, I can't think of a single big who has gone off on us this season.

I don't have the advanced stats numbers to back up what I'm seeing (I'd love to know Timmy and Kawhi's numbers together), but it seems like he's having his best defensive season since 2012-2013. Major props to the legend. He's not even taking 10 shots a game, but he's still contributing with great passing and incredible defense.

:worthy:

[Robz4000]

Aldridge has a lot to do with it tbh. Nothing against Timmy but he's being crushed by switches more than ever and his lateral quickness is just about gone. His post defense and one-on-one D against other bigs is still elite, though.

[Russo21]

Hopefully they give him lifetime achievement recognition and finally give him DPOY

[pgardn]

Aldridge has a lot to do with it tbh. Nothing against Timmy but he's being crushed by switches more than ever and his lateral quickness is just about gone. His post defense and one-on-one D against other bigs is still elite, though.

He gets the majority of his blocks off help though. The team exterior defense really helps him as a rim guarding presence who blocks below the rim. His timing and positioning are aided by the guys outside.

[Spurtacular]

Hopefully they give him lifetime achievement recognition and finally give him DPOY

1.1 blks and 2.4 stls. If he keeps his numbers up and nobody has a truly great defensive season, then it could happen.

[tbdog]

Aldridge has a lot to do with it tbh. Nothing against Timmy but he's being crushed by switches more than ever and his lateral quickness is just about gone. His post defense and one-on-one D against other bigs is still elite, though.

You have to give credit to Pop and the coaches to implement their defensive schemes over this year, and I am seeing it more and more this year. They run teams off 3pnt line and encourage the drive. With LMA and TD playing the twin tower's role, plus with Leonard and Green who both have great hands, the driver is getting smothered by the tall trees. Plus, the Spurs new schemes over the year has been to contest the shot and not box out for the rebound (because statistically it is better to contest a shot and complete the defensive stop by gaining possession, than boxing out for the rebound.) This has made TD's block numbers high for this late in his career.

[Spurtacular]

but it seems like he's having his best defensive season since 2012-2013.

You forget that TD was a DPOY candidate at the all-star break last season.

[SpursFan86]

No way will Duncan get DPOTY...won't play enough minutes + he'd be splitting votes with Kawhi.

Regardless, agree with the OP. It's amazing to see him continue to have such a positive impact defensively. Kareem (or any big man really) was nowhere near the rebounder/defender Duncan is at 39.

Also worth noting that while his scoring volume is at a career low, he's having the most efficient scoring season of his career (59.4 TS%). You really couldn't ask for a nicer transition as he's grown older.

[Spurtacular]

No way will Duncan get DPOTY...won't play enough minutes + he'd be splitting votes with Kawhi.

Regardless, agree with the OP. It's amazing to see him continue to have such a positive impact defensively. Kareem (or any big man really) was nowhere near the rebounder/defender Duncan is at 39.

Also worth noting that while his scoring volume is at a career low, he's having the most efficient scoring season of his career (59.4 TS%). You really couldn't ask for a nicer transition as he's grown older.

I agree with the general notions of your premise; but as I said, (dark horse) Duncan could win DPOY if three factors are met:

1. He keeps his stats up (Probably plays 70 games or more).
2. Nobody else in the field puts up sensational numbers.
3. The narrative of Duncan winning a lifetime achievement DPOY gains some traction.

[TDfan2007]

Aldridge has a lot to do with it tbh. Nothing against Timmy but he's being crushed by switches more than ever and his lateral quickness is just about gone. His post defense and one-on-one D against other bigs is still elite, though.

Timmy hasn't been able to guard the pnr out to the 3 point line since 2010, so that's nothing new. When that left knee gave out it was the end of his elite lateral quickness. However, when he's defending the pnr he's doing a much better job of spacing and contesting those mid-range shots/getting up on floaters.

But yes, I agree that Aldridge has been very solid on D, especially on the boards. They complement each other very well.

[Kawhitstorm]

Timmy hasn't been able to guard the pnr out to the 3 point line since 2010, so that's nothing new. When that left knee gave out it was the end of his elite lateral quickness. However, when he's defending the pnr he's doing a much better job of spacing and contesting those mid-range shots/getting up on floaters.

But yes, I agree that Aldridge has been very solid on D, especially on the boards. They complement each other very well.

Aldridge has been assigned to pound the offensive boards to punish the Warriors small ball lineup when they eventually face each other.

[HarlemHeat37]

Doesn't even make sense what he's doing, tbh..the Patriots parallels continue with Duncan/Pop and Brady/Belichick..

Just this season alone, Father Time is destroying Peyton Manning, Kobe, Garnett, Paul Pierce, etc..not fair:lol..

[spursistan]

Doesn't even make sense what he's doing, tbh..the Patriots parallels continue with Duncan/Pop and Brady/Belichick..

Just this season alone, Father Time is destroying Peyton Manning, Kobe, Garnett, Paul Pierce, etc..not fair:lol..
you watch Manu and see Pierce, the dude looks completely done on both ends ..

[TDfan2007]

Doesn't even make sense what he's doing, tbh..the Patriots parallels continue with Duncan/Pop and Brady/Belichick..

Just this season alone, Father Time is destroying Peyton Manning, Kobe, Garnett, Paul Pierce, etc..not fair:lol..

It really defies logic, especially when you consider the fact that in addition to his age, he's got only 1 good leg...ridiculous, tbh.

If I'm going into the playoffs, there are only a few bigs I'd rather have on my team than 39 year-old Timmy.

[Biernutz]

You wonder how high Tim would be on the all time points list if
he would have been a better foul shooter years ago. He now
is an acceptable foul shooter that they don't do hack a Tim.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

You wonder how high Tim would be on the all time points list if
he would have been a better foul shooter years ago. He now
is an acceptable foul shooter that they don't do hack a Tim.

Meh, it's not his FT shooting that's hurting his raw numbers, unless you'd have expected him to shoot like Dirk. He's had a couple of sub-par seasons but he's never been hacked for it. He's at .700 for his career which is quite decent.

His scoring is lower because he's played in some of the lowest pace era of basketball, his FGAs per game have never been too high, like around 16 or 17 per game in his prime, whereas most scorers would average over 20-22 FGA easily. So even though he's always been an efficient scorer his raw numbers have suffered because of this. That said, raw stats mattered until 5-6 years ago, no so much anymore. People and media in general know better now.

[apalisoc_9]

TD and Manu are doping..nothing wrong with that though. Kawhi probably takes PED too.

[Thomas82]

That defensive performance against Marc Gasol last night was just masterful. He forced him into several turnovers, played great help, and gave nothing easy all night. The other night against the Kings he did a tremendous job against Cousins, who didn't really start getting in a rhythm until Timmy sat down in the 3rd quarter and Diaw was forced to guard him. In fact, I can't think of a single big who has gone off on us this season.

I don't have the advanced stats numbers to back up what I'm seeing (I'd love to know Timmy and Kawhi's numbers together), but it seems like he's having his best defensive season since 2012-2013. Major props to the legend. He's not even taking 10 shots a game, but he's still contributing with great passing and incredible defense.

:worthy:

Nobody has ever been this type of impact defender for this long.

[Cklbmk]

a DPOY at 40 would be pretty bomb

[Thomas82]

a DPOY at 40 would be pretty bomb

Yes it would!!

[T_L_P]

Aldridge has a lot to do with it tbh. Nothing against Timmy but he's being crushed by switches more than ever and his lateral quickness is just about gone. His post defense and one-on-one D against other bigs is still elite, though.

He played some of his best D against Memphis with Aldridge sitting on the bench.

[Robz4000]

He played some of his best D against Memphis with Aldridge sitting on the bench.

He shut down Fat Gasol (one-on-one defense) and kept Memphis from getting easy shots at the rim (post defense). Didn't say he was a liability on D, just that Aldridge has a lot to do with helping him play to his strengths.

[r0drig0lac]

Whiteside is DPOY for now, and is not even close

[YGWHI]

It's amazing how versatile on defense Tim has been. He has had to adapt to a faster pace in the league, changes in our defensive schemes, new teammates...Just amazing.

[Kawhitstorm]

Whiteside is DPOY for now, and is not even close

Whiteside is an OVERRATED defender although not to the same magnitude as DeAndre:lol. He is a stat whore & challenges shots only if he has a chance to block shots. You never see him picking up charges or fouling someone to prevent an easy basket. He also picks up fouls defending PnRs/post-ups. Gobert is by far the best rim protector in the game & it isn't even close. Tim is actually a better rim protector than Whiteside (he owns the league's best deterrence index). Then you have Draymond/Kawhi amongst non-shot blockers. Ibaka at his best is also better than Whiteside since he can switch onto guards & cover PnRs.

http://public.tableau.com/shared/NJX77X4BD?:display_count=no

http://public.tableau.com/shared/KGWQD7978?:display_count=no

http://public.tableau.com/shared/PQYC5NWZ3?:display_count=no (http://public.tableau.com/shared/KGWQD7978?:display_count=no)

[Thomas82]

It's amazing how versatile on defense Tim has been. He has had to adapt to a faster pace in the league, changes in our defensive schemes, new teammates...Just amazing.

That just makes what he's doing that much more impressive.

[TDfan2007]

Figured this thread deserved a bump since RAPM numbers just came out and Timmy is #1 in DRPM. Just ridiculous stuff from one of the GOATs.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/sort/DRPM

[SAGirl]

Aldridge has been assigned to pound the offensive boards to punish the Warriors small ball lineup when they eventually face each other.
nice observation.

It kills transition offense too, if 2-3 guys need to stay back to box out or fight with Aldridge for a board, and he may still get his O put backs here and there. Tristan Thompson did a number on all small ball the past post season, for how aggressive he was with this. It may have shown Pop the way.

I am looking forward to healthy Aldridge.

[Kawhitstorm]

nice observation.

It kills transition offense too, if 2-3 guys need to stay back to box out or fight with Aldridge for a board, and he may still get his O put backs here and there. Tristan Thompson did a number on all small ball the past post season, for how aggressive he was with this. It may have shown Pop the way.

I am looking forward to healthy Aldridge.

Offensively he can't do worse than Mozgov who had a nice series in the Finals. At times Cavs couldn't throw the ball to him b/c Draymond was fronting him but with Tim/Diaw/West being great passers they would make them pay w/ the high low passes. Defensively he's a bit more mobile than Mozgov & has proved to be a very good rim protector so he should be able to protect the paint when Tim is off the floor. He's most likely going to play a lot of center when Bogut/Ezeli aren't on the floor which include their "Death Squad" (Curry/Klay/Iggy/Barnes/Draymond). If Kyle can become a rotation player, he would come in very handy to counter their small ball lineup.

Most likely counter to the "Death Squad":

Tony
Manu
Danny
Kawhi
LMA

Defensively, they are going to have whomever LMA is guarding set screens for Curry so he's going to need a lot of practice hedging then recovering, if Pop resorts to trapping then they are at the mercy of the Warriors missing open shots. Best option is probably to put Kawhi on Klay to take him out of the series then put Danny on Curry since he's very good at recovering on D which is imperative for anyone guarding Curry. Kawhi can still play free safety occasionally as long as Klay isn't hot. If Kyle become a rotation player then Pop can also try a Kawhi/Kyle front-line (like the Suns game) for desperate measures.:lol

[SAGirl]

If Kyle can become a rotation player, he would come in very handy to counter their small ball lineup.

Most likely counter to the "Death Squad":

Tony
Manu
Danny
Kawhi
LMA

Defensively, they are going to have whomever LMA is guarding set screens for Curry so he's going to need a lot of practice hedging then recovering, if Pop resorts to trapping then they are at the mercy of the Warriors missing open shots.

Did you see Slo-mo's "slow-break" it came from a steal on a hedge. Those long arms and the excellent timing and quick hands he has are a terror (not on Kawhi's level, but he's still able to make a play on a lot of guys with the ball that you would not think he would be able to reach, cleanly).

I don't know if you have paid attention to him, since most people don't really like him, but I am curious about him, and Pop has him switching defensive assignments whenever.

He picks up PG, SG, SF, stretch 4, some with more success than others, but he switches on defense more than anyone else in our team that I have observed. Switching on that level, when he's so new has got to be Pop sanctioned. He's got an elite defensive rating, so his decisions are mostly on the good end. It is early in the season, but he's looked well defending on the perimeter, and has even provided solid post up defense on some guys using his length to contest, even coming up with blocks. He looks promising on that end.

[pgardn]

nice observation.

It kills transition offense too, if 2-3 guys need to stay back to box out or fight with Aldridge for a board, and he may still get his O put backs here and there. Tristan Thompson did a number on all small ball the past post season, for how aggressive he was with this. It may have shown Pop the way.

I am looking forward to healthy Aldridge.


This is not Aldridge's game but I can hope it works.

[SAGirl]

This is not Aldridge's game but I can hope it works.
His game is kind of changing. I am still not sure what Pop has in mind or where he's heading with Aldridge, since Aldridge has looked a bit out of sorts and off his game at times, he is having aldridge crash the O boards a whole lot though. That is obvious.

[pgardn]

His game is kind of changing. I am still not sure what Pop has in mind or where he's heading with Aldridge, since Aldridge has looked a bit out of sorts and off his game at times, he is having aldridge crash the O boards a whole lot though. That is obvious.

If he was as mobile as Tristan Thompson I would be more confident in the plan if we must face GS.