Is the bench too gimmicky?

[100%duncan]

We have for sure one of the best benches in the league and at many points in the season they have looked better than the starters but when you think about it the bench relies on a lot of things to go for them. First, Manu needs to not be turnobili or show his age on a given night esp. against contenders, Diaw needs to be locked in, and Patty needs to be shooting lights out against great teams on the road. If just one of these 3 fail, the bench is automatically not as good as it is as it relies heavily on the 3 players I mentioned. And we go to the other guys, West has been very great for us this season, some guys he's the only guy showing some heart, but he is playing out of position thus getting wrecked defensively sometimes. Simmons, although has shown some flashes, is still too raw and is really a hit or miss this season. Anderson, we keep on hearing this guy's potential, but will he get better this season? Both guys are also reluctant to shoot the 3 so there's that. Also, Boban is not yet ready even against 2nd units as we have seen. We don't have the luxury of a 3rd pg if both Tony and Patty shit the bed since Ray is in the doghouse most of the time. Rasual has been the stereotypical "always ready" veteran but even his 3 ball wasn't going in when he got some playing time early in the season.

Obviously, this bench is still better than like 28 other teams on most nights but in order to be a championship contender the Spurs will need them to up their game as they the Spurs benches on previous champion teams have, I just feel like we have too many what-if's and it's really unreliable when it comes down to it. Now this wouldn't be much of an issue if LMA is going to play the big boys the same way he does with scrub teams or if Danny continues his good shooting like this January but still, the Spurs will rely on the bench but the bench has too many question marks imho.

[TheGreatYacht]

Yep. Crumble against contenders per par. They can't even contain Austin Rivers

[pgardn]

Is the bench too gimmicky?

No.

[SAGirl]

I would not say gimmicky, but the young guys are rookies/youngsters and naturally will be up and down. You can't expect them to be consistent except perhaps in their defensive effort you can be strict. Simmons is testing his limits, and Kyle is a developing prospect.. not yet all he can be, for example he should get muscle as he gets older. Both need to shoot the 3 more than they do, but if its not their strength, its better than them chucking at this point.

Simmons will need to shoot the 3 more willingly or his driving lanes will disappear as they sag off him. Kyle can shoot the midrange, but should add the 3 to his arsenal.

Boban is defensively a project.

Manu is old.

Patty is a chucker.

Boris can get in a passive state.

So ... gimmicky maybe yes. They are not very reliable at this point. The youngsters are young and inexperienced. The vets should be and have been for the most part reliable. The elite teams will be trouble. I have been on Manu a lot lately bc he gets into an out of control state against the elite but if he can be smarter about his spots too? We should be fine.

Season not over yet, would be nice if Simmons and Anderson develop confidence.

[pgardn]

Manu is old...

Nice analysis.

[SAGirl]

Manu is old...

Nice analysis.
:lol Basically means you can't run him to the ground, you have to manage minutes, and he will occasionally try to dominate but just wont be able to.

[pgardn]

:lol Basically means you can't run him to the ground, you have to manage minutes, and he will occasionally try to dominate but just wont be able to.

Agreed.

But Manu is so important for proper spacing and ball handling. And Manu can play with anygroup of players and figure out what his role should be.
we still need him for this until KA can continuously produce the type of game he had tonight. I don't think he can yet.

[DMC]

Benches are gimmicky. That's how they function. Our bench is an up tempo bench, and one of the best in the league. They could beat most teams as starters.

[DMC]

:lol Basically means you can't run him to the ground, you have to manage minutes, and he will occasionally try to dominate but just wont be able to.
I don't think Manu tries to dominate. I think he tries to convince the opponent that he's worth covering. That opens the lane for him and for others. He's out there for a reason, and it ain't his bat catching ability.

[SAGirl]

Agreed.

But Manu is so important for proper spacing and ball handling. And Manu can play with anygroup of players and figure out what his role should be.
we still need him for this until KA can continuously produce the type of game he had tonight. I don't think he can yet.
I agree with you, Manu playing this season has allowed the team to keep winning while KA develops. He is the future bench anchor in my mind and I think Spurs believed that too, but as you saw, he was timid when the season started and wasn't going to be ready to play like this from the get go. He had to develop. Next season when we don't have Manu is going to be the real trial and error.

[sasaint]

I would not say gimmicky, but the young guys are rookies/youngsters and naturally will be up and down. You can't expect them to be consistent except perhaps in their defensive effort you can be strict. Simmons is testing his limits, and Kyle is a developing prospect.. not yet all he can be, for example he should get muscle as he gets older. Both need to shoot the 3 more than they do, but if its not their strength, its better than them chucking at this point.

Simmons will need to shoot the 3 more willingly or his driving lanes will disappear as they sag off him. Kyle can shoot the midrange, but should add the 3 to his arsenal.

Boban is defensively a project.

Manu is old.

Patty is a chucker.

Boris can get in a passive state.

So ... gimmicky maybe yes. They are not very reliable at this point. The youngsters are young and inexperienced. The vets should be and have been for the most part reliable. The elite teams will be trouble. I have been on Manu a lot lately bc he gets into an out of control state against the elite but if he can be smarter about his spots too? We should be fine.

Season not over yet, would be nice if Simmons and Anderson develop confidence.

Can't cite any statistics, but Simmons and Kyle both seem to be taking and making more threes, not passing up the looks they did earlier in the season. To my eyes, both seem to be playing with much more confidence.

[ElNono]

no

[YGWHI]

Just for the record...Manu 0 TOs in this game.

Like others said, Manu's still the best playmaker of the second unit.
It's pretty obvious that we don't want him running fast-breaks or trying to penetrate in every play, but the Spurs need him to run the pick and roll with LMA/Diaw when Parker's on the bench.

[maverick1948]

Not gimmicky at all. Ray Mc is NOT in the dog house. He is going between SA and Austin to get playing time. He is like others who comes to SA, he has to learn the system. He seems to be far better now than at the beginning of the season. Right now the only thing that could cause a trade or signing is Timmy being out for playoffs.

[DAF86]

Kind of fucking question is this? :lol Spurs bench is the best in the league by far, but that doesn't matter. Bench play is barely an issue come playoffs time. We have other things to worry about.

[Spurs_619]

No it is just very weak defensively so other elite benches go off on them.

[houston spurs fan]

What does gimmicky even mean? They are a deep, talented bench and we need them all playing well to win a title

[FuzzyLumpkins]

smh. Pop is rotating his reserve wings not named Manu so completely obviously. He hasn't decided his SPAM rotation yet so things look a bit helter skelter. This is not new though.

Popovich has the best problem a coach can have. Butler, Simmons, Anderson, McCallum, and Boban all show promise and merit playing time/development.