Spurs Bench Probably the Best in the League

[SAGirl]

Sharing a relatively nice article telling us nothing new.
We have a super nice bench, with very diverse players and a mix of veteran champions, and youth, promising projects, etc.

It is nothing Spurs fans don't already know, but its nice to see it recognized. They have been fun to watch this season, and specially the new players' development has been both intriguing and exciting.

http://hoopshabit.com/2015/12/18/san-antonio-spurs-best-bench-nba/

[Fireball]

probably ...

[spurs10]

Thanks!:bobo

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I want to see what Popovich does in the Spring.

He is giving Simmons a real chance and he's making some good out of it.

Patty's underrated defensively.

Manu is making me wonder if he might reconsider retirement. His jumpshot is as good as it's ever been.

West and improved production from the 3 has helped improve rebounding for the bench which in years past has been a weakness. Not so anymore.

Bobo gets awesome post opportunities in Pop's lineups and he's been wrecking people in that role for years at this point. Having two bigs you can run offense through has led to that many more easy buckets.

Boban put on a show in Austin and has forced his way into some playing time but he has yet to see time in many high leverage situations. Very impressive display against Washington's starters matched up with Gortat. He has nowhere near the skills but I think he's more athletic than Fatboy Gasol. The way he can turn his hips, move laterally, bend, and run the floor are all pluses at his size. He's not a leaper but then again neither is Fattie. Boban is an intriguing prospect with starter potential if he can match skill with athleticism.

Kyle Anderson and Rasual Butler are losing playing time but that is more about the emergence of Simmons than either one doing anything poorly. Anderson plays surprising defense and Butler looks rather spry for an old man.

McCallum is the only one that hasn't at least flashed significantly yet but he is the low man on the totem pole with a lot of new players. PG is a difficult position. Chip away.

[r0drig0lac]

when Iggy return to their carrer %3pt, Barbosa not play as the best slasher in the league and Livingston not look like MJ in the post I'll agree

[ILoveOranges]

I know it's early to be wondering this, and honestly we're blessed enough as it is, but realistically I can't see Manu and Duncan playing more than one year beyond this season. When that happens, what happens to the Spurs? Parker's extension has a huge chunk of money locked up unfortunately for the next 2-3 seasons, and while Simmons and Anderson are developing, they're incredibly raw.

Ideally we'd have a successor for Parker and Duncan; it's clear that the Spurs FO intends Aldridge to take over Duncan's role, and we're lucky enough to have West for now. With Aldridge and Duncan fitting together near-seamlessly though, I have a hard time imagining the Spurs going back to one dominant PF/C and a glue-guy center like Tiago; the interior defense and rim protection has been absolutely world class, and even at his age Duncan is one of the best defenders in the league.

But who's going to take over for Parker? Mills is a huge spark off the bench and he fits their playstyle, though I could easily see him growing into a bigger role. His confidence is through the roof and the way he works in the offense has been fantastic, not to mention his sheer effort he exerts on both offense and defense. With the dependency of the PG position on speed, it's difficult to see Parker being as effective as he ages, though this year he's been playing as well as anyone could have asked him to. He's not a Jason Kidd or Chris Paul on defense, and relies more on hounding his man than anything else. Nor does he have their court vision, and with him getting older, can we expect the same collapsing of defenses that Parker has brought even up to this season?

I think next season, a swap with Parker off the bench could work out, but the aging trio of Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili leaves a lot of holes that I can't see a reasonable answer for, nor a smooth transition. Though as a side note, Parker is probably one of the most clutch players I've ever seen with the shot-clock running down. Anytime the timer is at 1-2 seconds and he runs behind a screen to shoot a 3, I always think it's going in. I'd love to see Parker do a Curry impression a few times at least a few times a game, running around screens and shooting 3's, as his turnaround jumper is beautiful.

[Spurtacular]

We go about 14 deep. McCallum is a warm body.

[SAGirl]

I know it's early to be wondering this, and honestly we're blessed enough as it is, but realistically I can't see Manu and Duncan playing more than one year beyond this season. When that happens, what happens to the Spurs? Parker's extension has a huge chunk of money locked up unfortunately for the next 2-3 seasons, and while Simmons and Anderson are developing, they're incredibly raw.

When TD and Manu hang it up it will be another era.
There will be a shock adjustment, but life will go on. The team is as ready as it can hope to be.
A few of the guys we have do project to be a part of that future.
At NBA level all 3 of Boban, Anderson, Simmons are still projects, but the fact they have had good games and shown flashes is a source for optimism specially this early.

Simmons is older and very athletic, his game depends a lot on his explosiveness, and he is showing that right away. He will need to refine his skillset.

Anderson is heady, and still a young prospect. Since he rarely played as rook and was not integrated into the rotation last year, this is really his first chance. Despite Simmons' emergence I don't see Anderson sitting the regular season out. Pop will probably go back and forth between and continue to develop both guys. The two of them have potential to be a tandem in the bench and also mix and match well with the starters.

The development of all three of these guys is probably going to take more than a single season bc Pop brings up new players ever so slowy (and yet I have to admire the old man, he does develop a bench while winning games, contrary to many HC around the league).

Simmons and Boban at 26, 27 are probably more about refining their skillset and getting better at what they already do well.
The one who is the most raw is the younger Anderson, who has the potential to develop his post up play further and his jumpshot. He's been very passive, and rather looking to set others up, but when the shot clock is running down you can see flashes of how he's able to create his own shot in a jiffy. I believe that is a stage of his development, Pop doesn't want him to take bad shots or force up the issue, so he's been careful and playing very restrained. In the future years (maybe next year?), he could get a green light and we could possibly see a more aggressive and skilled player than we have so far seen. That is why to me, he seems like he has the potential to add new things from what we have seen (or are likely to see) from him this season.

[EVAY]

Thanks for posting! Nice article.

[steeledl]

Damn sagirl are you that delusional or are trying to save face tbh.... Ka If you read this board will you private message this broad and fuck her silly already?:lmao

[100%duncan]

Damn sagirl are you that delusional or are trying to save face tbh.... Ka If you read this board will you private message this broad and fuck her silly already?:lmao

:lol

[SAGirl]

Damn sagirl are you that delusional or are trying to save face tbh.... Ka If you read this board will you private message this broad and fuck her silly already?:lmao

:gpower:wakeup

[100%duncan]

I think water is wet but 10 deep bench doesnt matter much in the playoffs imho. It will be starting 5 plus bobo manu patty, with simmons and west getting 10-12mins at most

[SAGirl]

I think water is wet but 10 deep bench doesnt matter much in the playoffs imho. It will be starting 5 plus bobo manu patty, with simmons and west getting 10-12mins at most

As the article points out the biggest benefit is keeping the old guys fresh while continuing to win games. That is a downright necessity fir a team that will rely a lot in the postseason in old players.

I think the bench is going to be short and matchup based in the playoffs, even the Diaw/West combo might be limited and they are logging a lot of minutes in the RS.

Beyond that, we do have some projects developing for the future. Don't let steeled jinx it, he's an asshole. I probably should start ignoring him at this point.

[Mel_13]

I think the bench is going to be short and matchup based in the playoffs, even the Diaw/West combo might be limited and they are logging a lot of minutes in the RS.


Fwiw, Diaw and West have played together in 25 of the 28 games, and have averaged 8.8mpg together in those 25 games.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Great to see the bench being that good after the concerns in the summer due to losing Beli, CoJo and Baynes. No real established 4th wing, but between Anderson, Simmons and Butler Pop has a swiss knife he can use depending on the situation. The only real issue remains the West-Bobo combo as they can't hang with any of the elite teams' benches ( except for Clippers ) but we'll probably not see much of them paired in the playoffs.

[100%duncan]

As the article points out the biggest benefit is keeping the old guys fresh while continuing to win games. That is a downright necessity fir a team that will rely a lot in the postseason in old players.

I think the bench is going to be short and matchup based in the playoffs, even the Diaw/West combo might be limited and they are logging a lot of minutes in the RS.

Beyond that, we do have some projects developing for the future. Don't let steeled jinx it, he's an asshole. I probably should start ignoring him at this point.

Well yeah of course. I actually think that having a good bench for the spurs is more of a necessity rather than a luxury when you consider Pop's minutes restrictions. I just dont want to get too carried away, since most of that good bench probably wont be played much in the playoffs.

[SAGirl]

Fwiw, Diaw and West have played together in 25 of the 28 games, and have averaged 8.8mpg together in those 25 games.

They have trouble getting stops against quality benches, but luckily the bench is a scoring machine and needs to stay that way. When someone has been cold (notably Manu or Patty) they have actually given up leads. The Chicago game comes to mind, Dallas, and OKC.

[Mel_13]

They have trouble getting stops against quality benches, but luckily the bench is a scoring machine and needs to stay that way. When someone has been cold (notably Manu or Patty) they have actually given up leads. The Chicago game comes to mind, Dallas, and OKC.

That Chicago game really has driven the narrative on the Diaw/West combo. They were abused in that game. The Spurs actually outscored the Thunder by one point with them playing together.

Anyway, my point wasn't that they were a great combo without flaws, or that they should be used more. Rather, that they haven't been nearly as bad as the general perception here, they don't play that many minutes together as it is, and that limiting or eliminating their time together can be accomplished rather easily when necessary.

[Spurtacular]

KA If you read this board will you private message this broad and fuck her silly already?:lmao

[ceperez]

As the article points out the biggest benefit is keeping the old guys fresh while continuing to win games. That is a downright necessity fir a team that will rely a lot in the postseason in old players.

I think the bench is going to be short and matchup based in the playoffs, even the Diaw/West combo might be limited and they are logging a lot of minutes in the RS.

Beyond that, we do have some projects developing for the future. Don't let steeled jinx it, he's an asshole. I probably should start ignoring him at this point.

Spurs will win by tiring out the opponents stars. That would mean that the Spurs have to have a deeper rotation than the opponent.

The KA problem in this scheme is that unless he's doing what Diaw does in the post, he's not having the opponent work.

[EVAY]

As the article points out the biggest benefit is keeping the old guys fresh while continuing to win games. That is a downright necessity fir a team that will rely a lot in the postseason in old players.

I think the bench is going to be short and matchup based in the playoffs, even the Diaw/West combo might be limited and they are logging a lot of minutes in the RS.


This is absolutely right. The value of the bench being so strong is the ability it gives us to rest our team members, placing less wear and tear on them during the regular season and thus making them less susceptible to wear-and-tear injuries that other teams will have to face.

Secondly, and almost as importantly, did you guys notice how fatigued the Clips were toward the end of the third quarter in that game? Even if our rotations are much shorter in the playoffs, the fact that our bench plays a totally different type of offense than the first team (frenetic and very fast paced) wears out the other team, even if our bench cannot keep them from scoring.

Aside from the HAJ pros and cons as a strategy, I think that game really showed us what the bench can contribute. Had Pop not used the HAJ technique, maybe we would not have been able to keep the Clips from their in-rhythm shooting, but maybe they would have just run out of gas anyway. We will never know the answer and I'm glad to have the win regardless, but I just think that the pace and the different pattern of offense that our second unit brings will stand us in good stead in the playoffs as well.

[PrimeMinister]

Board igoring quality points because poster has "girl" in name. Have fun jerking each other off.

[Nathan89]

As of now the bench only has 3 players(Diaw, Ginobili, and Patty) worth a damn in a playoff game.

[SAGirl]

As of now the bench only has 3 players(Diaw, Ginobili, and Patty) worth a damn in a playoff game.
More or less like that last season as well.
Healthy D-West better than injury prone Tiago (unfortunately since I like Tiago very much and would still take him back, the man just can't stay healthy).
Marco?? Clutch shooter but he gave up so much defensively, he was better used for spot minutes. That is still what we will likely see from whoever is the 4th wing... spot minutes and maybe the fact the options are better defensively actually pays off.

I agree we won't see much of options 9-15, but who knows? WE might have a CoJo like contributor this year as well.

[YGWHI]

Yes :flag: