ESPN Columnist: The Spurs streak of 50-win seasons ends this season

[Uriel]

I'd never heard of this guy until today, but apparently he's a columnist on ESPN, and his opinion was significant enough to be featured in Marc Stein's first Power Rankings for this season (http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/17604715/nba-power-rankings-training-camp-edition).

771396756642889728

Personally, I think that, barring injury, the Spurs are a lock to at least win 50 games, even without Duncan. I mean, they probably won't touch the 60-win mark again, but I definitely don't think they'll go below 50, right?

[UNT Eagles 2016]

45-37

[Chinook]

Can we just have a "What Random Asswipes Think About the Spurs" thread to collect things like this and the Terry quote? It's really insignificant either way. But it'd clean up the front page, especially as more predictions come in (season preview are happening and will only increase over the next month). And it's much easier to bump one thread to laugh at than it is to bump a bunch of little ones.

[dabom]

Unt got one shit idea right and everything else shit. Terrible poster.

[bklynspursfan]

His tweet had 1 re-tweet
http://www.gamersnet.nl/profiles/nielsiebro/avatars/879546994498932007.jpg

[apalisoc_9]

Can we just have a "What Random Asswipes Think About the Spurs" thread to collect things like this and the Terry quote? It's really insignificant either way. But it'd clean up the front page, especially as more predictions come in (season preview are happening and will only increase over the next month). And it's much easier to bump one thread to laugh at than it is to bump a bunch of little ones.

The offseason usually brings out all the guys that want to make a name for themselves by making this shitty as predictions and opinions. :lol

[Chillen]

Ridiculous. A team with players like Leonard, Aldridge, Parker, Gasol, Ginobili and Pop as head coach is a near lock for a 50 win season.

[lefty]

I blame Porker tbh

[Dex]

I love Duncan as much as anybody, but I think some people are over-rating what he brought to the floor the last couple seasons. Yes, he was still a solid rim-protector and a staple of our good defense...but he could no longer switch effectively or guard anybody out to the perimeter. His offensive game withered and he was below average at finishing around the rim. His jump shot completely left him and he never went to the bank anymore. Fortunately, his intelligence and fundamentals allowed him to still be a net positive despite these things, but he was far from 2003 Timmy.

Tim will be greatly missed and there will be no replacing who he was in his prime or what he did for the organization. But I really don't buy into this notion that the player he was the past few years is irreplaceable. Spurs will have 50+ again and will be a challenger in the playoffs.

[dabom]

Spurs were winning and defending great without Tim Duncan. And we were playing Dworst. Now we got Pau as the starter. We ain't gonna win less than 50 games. :lmao

[FromWayDowntown]

He offered that as a response to a tweet asking for NBA Hot Takes for the coming season. I'd take his "prediction" with a grain of salt.

(Though, in theory, if the streak ends this coming season, it would say a whole lot about just how important even an aging Tim Duncan was to this squad.)

[cd98]

It is possible that Spurs don't win 50 games. If one of the main scorers gets injured or if our unproven bench doesn't step up or if the Spurs defense can't survive losing Duncan. That said, the West has only gotten top heavy with one team. The rest of the teams are not elite, so Spurs have as good a shot as any to win 50 games and be a 2-4 seed. But there are other good, young teams who can contend, say the Jazz and the Trailblazers and maybe even Minnesota.

[bigfan]

The writer can take his divining rod and shove it up his ass.

[FromWayDowntown]

If you were to make a more reasonable pick suggesting a decline by the Spurs, it would probably be that their streak of 19 seasons with a winning road record will come to an end this year.

[SPURt]

Spurs were winning and defending great without Tim Duncan. And we were playing Dworst. Now we got Pau as the starter. We ain't gonna win less than 50 games. :lmao
This. Tim missed 21 games last season, one of the games he played was off the bench. Not to mention Danny took a big Green dump on all our chests offensively, Diaw was bad, and yet the Spurs went for 67. Spurs are gonna win 50.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Unt got one shit idea right and everything else shit. Terrible poster.

:lol just kidding... 55-27 is more likely considering the West is watered down these days.

[dabom]

:lol just kidding... 55-27 is more likely considering the West is watered down these days.

Glad you came to your senses. :lol

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Glad you came to your senses. :lol

But the Spurs aren't replicating the great seasons of 2011 or 2016 nor are they beating the Dubbies to get to the Finals. Spurs may lose in the semis again.

[dabom]

Those aren't hot takes. :tu

[LittleCriminal]

Those aren't hot takes. :tu

They are shit takes..

[houston spurs fan]

Watered down, very top-heavy NBA right now. No way we don't when 50...

[cd021]

58-24.

[RD2191]

70-12 imo tbh fwiw houstonspursfan is a faggot

[dabom]

70-12 imo tbh fwiw houstonspursfan is a faggot

:lol

[Kawhitstorm]

Neckbeard

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/741506113267486720/Yb8tL4w1_400x400.jpg

[Russo21]

Should get 55+ Gasol, LMA, Kawhi frontcourt is sick. Best starting frontcourt in the NBA? Who's better? Solid backcourt, solid bench. Shit league also. 50 wins easy. That columnist is a tard.

[TheRemix]

Neckbeard

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/741506113267486720/Yb8tL4w1_400x400.jpg

Chick is 7/10, would smash

[houston spurs fan]

Chick is 7/10, would smash
Seriously? 4/10. Maybe 7 in SA...

[TheRemix]

Seriously? 4/10. Maybe 7 in SA...

4? You got some high standards

[itzsoweezee]

The west is definitely worse this year with OKC and Houston taking steps back. If Utah is going to be the number three or four team in the conference, I really like the Spurs chances of winning 50 games

[RD2191]

4? You got some high standards

He's probably talking about the guy.

[dabom]

He's probably talking about the guy.

:lol

[dabom]

Houston faggot getting slayed. :lmao

[houston spurs fan]

He's probably talking about the guy.
Touché, that made me laugh...

[wildbill2u]

If you are a sportswriter, in order to make a name for yourself you can write something that is against the consensus of all other sportswriters/analysts. If your wild idea pans out, you can sell yourself as a genius. If it doesn't, keep quiet, and nobody will remember what a nobody said 10 months ago.

[Spur Bank]

FYI, Vegas has the O/U at 56.5

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/vegas-releases-2016-17-nba-season-overunder-win-totals-for-every-team/

Edit: Well ****, there's a whole thread on that, oops

[mookie2001]

The Spurs will win 60 games. I'll bet my bold name and two Spurs

[Hoops Czar]

Neckbeard

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/741506113267486720/Yb8tL4w1_400x400.jpg

Don't forget the nail polish.

[SASdynasty!]

I blame Porker tbh
Our 50-win streak will end once Parker retires tbh.

[FromWayDowntown]

Our 50-win streak will end once Parker retires tbh.

You mean the CP3, LMA, and KL2 Spurs won't win 50 games?

:spin

[Brazil]

ya no way this team reasonably healthy don't win 50 at least :lol

it's not like the West won't be even weaker this season after having been historically weak last season tbh

silly journalists...

[Brazil]

He's probably talking about the guy.

Season did not even start and you are already in Mid season form tbh !! :lol

Between you and ElNono half of the team is already peaking.... second round exit tbh... :depressed

[RD2191]

Season did not even start and you are already in Mid season form tbh !! :lol

Between you and ElNono half of the team is already peaking.... second round exit tbh... :depressed

Just putting in work before Trump deports us in November tbh.

[Brazil]

Just putting in work before Trump deports us in November tbh.

:lol I feel you bro... tough time to come

[apalisoc_9]

He's probably talking about the guy.

:lmao

[TD 21]

I love Duncan as much as anybody, but I think some people are over-rating what he brought to the floor the last couple seasons. Yes, he was still a solid rim-protector and a staple of our good defense...but he could no longer switch effectively or guard anybody out to the perimeter. His offensive game withered and he was below average at finishing around the rim. His jump shot completely left him and he never went to the bank anymore. Fortunately, his intelligence and fundamentals allowed him to still be a net positive despite these things, but he was far from 2003 Timmy.

Tim will be greatly missed and there will be no replacing who he was in his prime or what he did for the organization. But I really don't buy into this notion that the player he was the past few years is irreplaceable. Spurs will have 50+ again and will be a challenger in the playoffs.

Duncan was still one of the best players in the league in '14-'15 and by far the best Spur in the playoffs.

The difference between the national media and Spurs fans is, the former conflates their decline as a playoff team with that as a regular season team and the latter conflates their regular season dominance with their ability (or lack thereof) to maintain that in the playoffs.

[Leetonidas]

:lmao what a fucking hack. The NBA in terms of its individual teams is pretty weak right now. In the West we have GSW of course, but imo no other teams really made any significant changes to get better and rivals like OKC got 10x worse. Outside of GS and maybe the Clippers, who is going to challenge the Spurs in the west? Portland? Dallas? Houston? :lmao Minny isn't ready yet and there are too many garbage teams still. As for the east, yeah they're getting better but none of those teams except Cleveland are better than SA, the next closest is Boston imo.

Spurs managed to win 67 games with their starting C being basically immobile for half the season, their starting PF playing his first season here, and Danny Green/Patty Mills both having off years from 3, which I personally dont think will happen again in '17. Spurs are starting to get criminally underrated at this point tbh, lot of people are counting us out from the get go

[SAGirl]

Unless this guy had a crystal ball and saw the team's stars injured for a huge chunk of the season he pulled this take out of his arse.

[DMC]

Can we just have a "What Random Asswipes Think About the Spurs" thread to collect things like this and the Terry quote? It's really insignificant either way. But it'd clean up the front page, especially as more predictions come in (season preview are happening and will only increase over the next month). And it's much easier to bump one thread to laugh at than it is to bump a bunch of little ones.
I thought that's what this forum was about.

[spursistan]

I love Duncan as much as anybody, but I think some people are over-rating what he brought to the floor the last couple seasons. Yes, he was still a solid rim-protector and a staple of our good defense...but he could no longer switch effectively or guard anybody out to the perimeter. His offensive game withered and he was below average at finishing around the rim. His jump shot completely left him and he never went to the bank anymore. Fortunately, his intelligence and fundamentals allowed him to still be a net positive despite these things, but he was far from 2003 Timmy.

Tim will be greatly missed and there will be no replacing who he was in his prime or what he did for the organization. But I really don't buy into this notion that the player he was the past few years is irreplaceable. Spurs will have 50+ again and will be a challenger in the playoffs.

NewSFlash: 38 yo Duncan was our playoffs MVP in our last title run..:rolleyes..

[Ron Swanson]

He's probably talking about the guy.

:lol

[Russ]

At worst this team is the late 2000's Pistons -- regular season winners but no longer a playoff threat.

At worst.

[sasaint]

Unless this guy had a crystal ball and saw the team's stars injured for a huge chunk of the season he pulled this take out of his arse.

Spurs should absolutely be better unless injuries take us down.

(Btw, in your avatar you should add a comma after "Shooting", else somebody might take you literally and take out Kyle. :))

[SAGirl]

Spurs should absolutely be better unless injuries take us down.

(Btw, in your avatar you should add a comma after "Shooting", else somebody might take you literally and take out Kyle. :))

Will do, thanks for the tip. lol

[sasaint]

:lmao what a fucking hack. The NBA in terms of its individual teams is pretty weak right now. In the West we have GSW of course, but imo no other teams really made any significant changes to get better and rivals like OKC got 10x worse. Outside of GS and maybe the Clippers, who is going to challenge the Spurs in the west? Portland? Dallas? Houston? :lmao Minny isn't ready yet and there are too many garbage teams still. As for the east, yeah they're getting better but none of those teams except Cleveland are better than SA, the next closest is Boston imo.

Spurs managed to win 67 games with their starting C being basically immobile for half the season, their starting PF playing his first season here, and Danny Green/Patty Mills both having off years from 3, which I personally dont think will happen again in '17. Spurs are starting to get criminally underrated at this point tbh, lot of people are counting us out from the get go

Good recap of last season. Spurs should hit 50 easily. Not sure what we will see come playoff time, though. I am very interested in 1) seeing how mad the scientist gets this season, 2) whether we make any interesting moves before the trade deadline, and 3) how the parts are fitting together when we get to the playoffs.

[Dex]

NewSFlash: 38 yo Duncan was our playoffs MVP in our last title run..:rolleyes..

I probably should have been more specific. I was really focusing more on the past 2 years.

Duncan was amazing in 2014...but that was his last hurrah. He hit his major decline in 2015, but being the competitor he is, he still showed up in the loss to the Clippers. In 2016, he was definitely a top defender in the paint...but everything else just wasn't there. Duncan showed amazing heart in the final game against the Thunder but let's face it....he said he would play until the wheels fell off, and he hit that point. His knees just weren't there anymore.

Once again, I'm not suggesting that anybody could ever replace Tim Duncan. I'm just saying that in raw stats and production on the floor...there are guys already on this roster who can accommodate that. The Spurs will never be the same without Timmy, but they also aren't going to just fall into the cellar without him.

[Harry Callahan]

If the gay guy with the nail polish showed up in an NBA locker room looking like that, he would be laughed out of the arena by the players.

Does this guy/gay actually get paid by ESPN? Whatta joke if he/she does. Probably some kind of third tier blogger.

ESPN would very likely support someone like this representing their tarnished "brand".

[Solid D]

It's difficult to imagine how this Spurs team would win fewer than 50 games, unless there were injuries to several key players. They still have the potential to be a top 5 defensive team (#1 last season with Duncan) once they've played together for a while.

[Solid D]

If, somehow, a second unit of (for example) Mills, Ginobili, Anderson, Lee, and Dedmon would mesh well together, this Spurs team would shine. It's a BIG IF, because defensively there would be deficiencies, but their passing and scoring could be pretty good. If the Spurs 2nd unit cannot inject some energy, movement, and scoring, that will make for a long season.

[Spurtacular]

A team with 2 all-stars, a solid supporting cast and a good to great coach is supposed to land south of 50 for the first time since whenever it was? Nah. Dude's just trying for a cheap hook.

[SilverSpur]

55+ may take a little longer than in the past.
GO ! SPURS !

[hooperflash]

Neckbeard

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/741506113267486720/Yb8tL4w1_400x400.jpg


Chick is 7/10, would smash

R.I.P. Christina Grimmie

[gambit1990]

fuck this guy, fuck this thread tbh.

OP making a thread over a tweet that got one retweet :lol

[spurtech09]

Ridiculous. A team with players like Leonard, Aldridge, Parker, Gasol, Ginobili and Pop as head coach is a near lock for a 50 win season.agree

[BillMc]

With the weakened state of the league the only way our streak ends is if we have a massive amount of injuries. This "journalist" doesn't have to be much of a prognosticator to see that.

Yet, he fails.

[YGWHI]

He finally gets it.

779417598190575616
Won't do it again, Adam!

[T Park]

If, somehow, a second unit of (for example) Mills, Ginobili, Anderson, Lee, and Dedmon would mesh well together, this Spurs team would shine. It's a BIG IF, because defensively there would be deficiencies, but their passing and scoring could be pretty good. If the Spurs 2nd unit cannot inject some energy, movement, and scoring, that will make for a long season.


Them along with the youth of Bertans Jean-Charles and Garino should add spark.

[hater]

Ginobili plays >= 20 mpg: 39-43 record

Ginobili plays < 10 mpg: 53-29 record

[tony77]

don't forget to save that tweet, so you can show it to him at the end of the season:lol

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

If, somehow, a second unit of (for example) Mills, Ginobili, Anderson, Lee, and Dedmon would mesh well together, this Spurs team would shine. It's a BIG IF, because defensively there would be deficiencies, but their passing and scoring could be pretty good. If the Spurs 2nd unit cannot inject some energy, movement, and scoring, that will make for a long season.

I'll be very curious about our bench as well. Definitely the collective wild card for the Spurs this year. Losing Duncan, losing Diaw, suspect depth from the three point line, suspect depth at the bigs, suspect point guard play, suspect bench. All that being said, the weakness of the league should still allow for 55 wins even if those issues are never rectified.

Winning in the playoffs will be a different story however.

[Budkin]

50 games is fucking nothing for a team like this. What a stupid fucking prediction.

[Mr. Body]

They'll rack up wins, will be closer to 60 than 50. This guys a dumbass click-baiter. The league doesn't have many good teams, much less great ones and the Spurs are very good.

[HarlemHeat37]

Damn, big fan of this columnist now, tbh..some of the finest click-baiting I've seen in a minute..aside from the clicks he got on Twitter, ESPN, etc, he generated 3 pages here by simply making an outrageous and silly prediction for the sole purpose of getting views, yet it worked:lol

[alpha_HaZE]

There is always someone, each preseason, that predicts "this will be the year where the Spurs will finally become a mediocre team". I mean do we forget Tony saying Spurs are no longer contenders the year prior we won it, lol. I don't blame them, you are a young ESPN journalist who tries to make a name for himself, the Spurs will not win 50 games this year is still an appealing story. I know we have been called too old, year and after year, so yes I don't really hold it against the guy. But it is interesting, since this summer we got a lot younger.

"According to RealGM.com, via Paul Garcia of Project Spurs, the average age of San Antonio's roster has dropped significantly as the Silver and Black have gone from an average age of 31.6 during the 2015-16 season to an average age of 27.6 for the upcoming year."

So the only real claim I can see is the following; Spurs lost corporate team chemistry and got younger and inexperienced. Yet, I expect our best two players to raise their game, I also expect KA, Patti, and Danny Green to have good years. Tony and Manu will take another step back, but their role will also be smaller. If the Olympics are any indication, Pau will have a positive impact on our team. I don't think our success relies as much on guys like Dijon and Jon Simms or even the players we brought overseas. Those guys have great potential but at the moment appear to have huge limitations as well. If two of them pan out, then watch out :P but again we don't really need them. We are 10 players deep, with only question mark being the defense and rebounding of Pau and Lee. They pale in comparison with Timmy, but don't do so bad against D West and B Diaw last year, especially the rebounding. Plus there is Dedmon, who is brought specifically for his ability to defend the rim.

[DeRozan m8]

Gee, don't hear this one every season.

Also didn't expect dumb cunts to overreact one Duncan retired.

Smh

We aren't the Lakers lol

[Gervin44Silas13]

fuck this dude 58-24 is my prediction

[Russ]

fuck this dude 58-24 is my prediction

Pretty optimistic (and damn good) prediction.

But they did even better.

:flag:

[Spurtacular]

70-12 imo tbh fwiw houstonspursfan is a faggot

You came the closest, tbh.

[SAGirl]

this columnist....:lmao

[SASdynasty!]

Our 50-win streak will end once Parker retires tbh.
I stand by this prediction tbh

[Spurtacular]

I stand by this prediction tbh

Well of course it's going to end at some point. You have to put a time limit on it.

[SASdynasty!]

Well of course it's going to end at some point. You have to put a time limit on it.
Probably the year after he retires tbh. This team was 6-0 after Parker came back (beating Boston among others). We’re 0-2 with Kawhi back...hopefully that turns around.

[wildbill2u]

The problem issn't the Spurs roster. We're doing damn well with Kwahi and Parker not in the mix until this week. However, the West is even tougher this year so whether we win 50 depends on how well these youngster respond. As much as I doubted his contributions in the past, I think losing Kyle significantly weakened the bench.

[Spurtacular]

Probably the year after he retires tbh. This team was 6-0 after Parker came back (beating Boston among others). We’re 0-2 with Kawhi back...hopefully that turns around.

Spurs were gonna win 50 this year if Parker/Kawhi had never came back, tbh.

[daslicer]

The problem issn't the Spurs roster. We're doing damn well with Kwahi and Parker not in the mix until this week. However, the West is even tougher this year so whether we win 50 depends on how well these youngster respond. As much as I doubted his contributions in the past, I think losing Kyle significantly weakened the bench.

Spurs are still on pace to get over 50 wins despite the two losses. They should easily get it. My prediction is that they will eventually go in 10-12 game winstreak this year once Kawhi is 100 percent and end up somewhere around 55-57 games.

[tonight...you]

Spurs were gonna win 50 this year if Parker/Kawhi had never came back, tbh.
This is true...

[skulls138]

Spurs were gonna win 50 this year if Parker/Kawhi had never came back, tbh.Now we'll never get that 50 win trophy thats so coveted, darn it.

[Spurtacular]

Now we'll never get that 50 win trophy thats so coveted, darn it.

Their consecutive 50-win streak will be the gold standard when it's all said and done.

[spursistan]

Bump..

The toughest part of schedule is still ahead, I think we could be another Kawhi couple of weeks out from this streak being snapped..

[UZER]

A broken clock is right twice a day.

[Hoops Czar]

I hope they maintain the streak of 50 wins. It's all they have left to play for these days.