Spurs are 8-4 since MVPau went down...

[ElNono]

He's not going to fix a lot of stuff, but he can get the offense to get to 100 pts, IMO... frankly, I think Tony is the guy that misses him the most, tbh...

[apalisoc_9]

He's not going to fix a lot of stuff, but he can get the offense to get to 100 pts, IMO... frankly, I think Tony is the guy that misses him the most, tbh...

Leonard and Parker both benefit from Pau..buts its largely irrelevant against great Teams because their defenses are smart enough to stop it.

The losess against Bucks, Knicks and some other shitty team though..Pau would have helped a lot.

[TheGreatYacht]

https://jsinocruz.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/pau-gasol-and-kobe-bryant-formal-photo-after-winning-2009-nba-championship.jpg

Head of the Mamba

[SAGirl]

He has been working out.

Hopefully he makes a difference. I suspect the guys are missing him, if anything bc he makes the game easier for them. His passing is top notch and he was shooting very well b4 getting hurt.

[BillMc]

He has been working out.

Hopefully he makes a difference. I suspect the guys are missing him, if anything bc he makes the game easier for them. His passing is top notch and he was shooting very well b4 getting hurt.

This. LMA especially got some nice high-low stuff from Pau which often got him going. (Similar to with TD and LMA last year, thought that was even better).

[MaNu4Tres]

5-4 since Parker has been back..

[lefty]

5-4 since Parker has been back..

[Seventyniner]

5-4 since Kawhi has been back..

Just as accurate.

[TheGreatYacht]

5-4 since Kawhi has been back..

[sananspursfan21]

Kinda wish the offense were a little less codependent on a 37 year old soft big tbh

[Clipper Nation]

Kinda wish the offense were a little less codependent on a 37 year old soft big tbh
MVPau is an HOF big man who dragged some awful supporting casts to rings as the first option in LA. Put some respeck on his name.

[GSH]

From mid-way through the 2nd quarter, until the end of the 3rd quarter, the Spurs got their asses kicked. During that stretch of almost 18 minutes, LMA made 2 FT's and Manu made a layup. ALL the rest of the Spurs' scoring was from Leonard and Lee. It will help to have Pau's scoring back in the lineup. But that doesn't change the fact that the rest of the team is playing like dog shit.

The Spurs have played 54 games now. In the last 18 games (1/3 of the total they've played) they are 12-6. They are 8-4 without Pau, and they were 4-2 with him, just before the injury. Yeah they've had some injuries and sickness. Yeah they miss Pau's scoring. But the biggest thing, IMO, is that Patty has been pretty bad with the exception of a few games. The Spurs basically don't have a backup PG. Patty is a streaky 2-guard, and when he's not hitting shots he just isn't worth a whole hell of a lot on the court.

The Spurs' offense will improve when Pau gets back. But he's not the kind of C who is going to anchor a Championship team, and neither Parker nor Patty are the kind of PG you need to win one. I said it from preseason - the Spurs are too weak at the 1 and the 5 to win a Championship. Without Pau, they could go out just like the 2011 team.

[UZER]

From mid-way through the 2nd quarter, until the end of the 3rd quarter, the Spurs got their asses kicked. During that stretch of almost 18 minutes, LMA made 2 FT's and Manu made a layup. ALL the rest of the Spurs' scoring was from Leonard and Lee. It will help to have Pau's scoring back in the lineup. But that doesn't change the fact that the rest of the team is playing like dog shit.

The Spurs have played 54 games now. In the last 18 games (1/3 of the total they've played) they are 12-6. They are 8-4 without Pau, and they were 4-2 with him, just before the injury. Yeah they've had some injuries and sickness. Yeah they miss Pau's scoring. But the biggest thing, IMO, is that Patty has been pretty bad with the exception of a few games. The Spurs basically don't have a backup PG. Patty is a streaky 2-guard, and when he's not hitting shots he just isn't worth a whole hell of a lot on the court.

The Spurs' offense will improve when Pau gets back. But he's not the kind of C who is going to anchor a Championship team, and neither Parker nor Patty are the kind of PG you need to win one. I said it from preseason - the Spurs are too weak at the 1 and the 5 to win a Championship. Without Pau, they could go out just like the 2011 team.

Yes they do, he's just not being given playing time.

[GSH]

Yes they do, he's just not being given playing time.


LOL. He's still a rookie, and making rookie mistakes. But it's getting harder to imagine that he could be much worse.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Pau's defense negates anything he does on offense. People are acting like he averages on 20 ppg. His defense is beyond shocking and doesn't compensate for what he gives on offense anyway.

[Joseph Kony]

Pau's defense negates anything he does on offense. People are acting like he averages on 20 ppg. His defense is beyond shocking and doesn't compensate for what he gives on offense anyway.not like the spurs defense has been stellar without him, its a layup line every game seemingly

[UZER]

LOL. He's still a rookie, and making rookie mistakes. But it's getting harder to imagine that he could be much worse.

That's the point. You know what you're getting, or not getting for that matter, with your current guards. The longer he sits, the more time is wasted finding out.

This team desperately needs someone who can attack with penetration to keep the defense working.

[Mikeanaro]

5-4 since Parker has been back..

[8FOR!3]

We're definitely a better team with Pau starting and Dedmon coming off the bench with Lee.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Good post, El Nono. I think Pau missing from the lineup has really hurt the Spurs. He helps facilitate the offense with his ball movement, screens and court savvy. The bench is bolstered by allowing our bench bigs to return to their regular rotations. LMA, Parker and even Leonard seem to play better with Pau in the game.

[SAGirl]

Kinda wish the offense were a little less codependent on a 37 year old soft big tbh
It's just the team RC and Pop put together. They are frontcourt heavy with two very old guards as playmakers and a couple of shooters. That's the team. Not a fan of MVPau myself. They have had very ugly losses with him too. Hawks, Clippers twice, the Suns, etc. But Lamarcus is shooting so poorly lately and Tony has been so off that I think they both miss Paus floor spacing and his passing... again he was also shooting very well which lessens the pressure on the rest of the SL... Lamarcus specially.

We can criticize and dislike this team in aspects, but it's how they are built....

[SAGirl]

From mid-way through the 2nd quarter, until the end of the 3rd quarter, the Spurs got their asses kicked. During that stretch of almost 18 minutes, LMA made 2 FT's and Manu made a layup. ALL the rest of the Spurs' scoring was from Leonard and Lee. It will help to have Pau's scoring back in the lineup. But that doesn't change the fact that the rest of the team is playing like dog shit.

The Spurs have played 54 games now. In the last 18 games (1/3 of the total they've played) they are 12-6. They are 8-4 without Pau, and they were 4-2 with him, just before the injury. Yeah they've had some injuries and sickness. Yeah they miss Pau's scoring. But the biggest thing, IMO, is that Patty has been pretty bad with the exception of a few games. The Spurs basically don't have a backup PG. Patty is a streaky 2-guard, and when he's not hitting shots he just isn't worth a whole hell of a lot on the court.

The Spurs' offense will improve when Pau gets back. But he's not the kind of C who is going to anchor a Championship team, and neither Parker nor Patty are the kind of PG you need to win one. I said it from preseason - the Spurs are too weak at the 1 and the 5 to win a Championship. Without Pau, they could go out just like the 2011 team.
Good points on Paddy.
He has been bad lately. Playing exactly how he did in the OKC series. If the shot is not on he just can't do anything else to help you. They put him in a lot of PnR situations (easing the burden and phasing Manu out--he's retiring ... book it), but he has trouble even making passes out of PnR bc he's so small he cannot get those passes to the shooters cleanly. His passing is so off that by the time the shooter gets the ball he has a defender on him... I hate to criticize on anyone bc you do and the player fan police comes out but he has been bad. Then he's a poor defender. Basically he had a hot start this season and has cooled off.

[SAGirl]

Pau's defense negates anything he does on offense. People are acting like he averages on 20 ppg. His defense is beyond shocking and doesn't compensate for what he gives on offense anyway.
Unfortunately he has the empty calories syndrome... not a fan of his bc of that.

[HarlemHeat37]

He'll help due to the way the front office has chose to build the team, since he's the #3 option, unfortunately..

Very antiquated team build, but whatever, it's the path they have chosen..

[GSH]

Good points on Paddy. His passing is so off that by the time the shooter gets the ball he has a defender on him... I hate to criticize on anyone bc you do and the player fan police comes out but he has been bad. Then he's a poor defender. Basically he had a hot start this season and has cooled off.


That right there. I commented on it in the game thread, but I've been screaming about it for the last several seasons. For a team that is supposed to be so detail-oriented, THAT clearly isn't a priority - and it should be. It kills a spot-up shooter when he has to take a step to grab and gather, and then square and get his feet under him, before taking the shot. And yeah, it gives defenders a chance to close, when the shot should have been wide open.

But it also kills a motion offense when a guy has to stop, reach back, or can't get a good handle. Hell, it even kills iso play when the guy starts his possession in a hole. Kawhi and LMA are MUCH more dangerous when they have a step of space to work in.

It's just like a QB who hits his man in stride vs. making him stop/jump/slide. A lot of times it's the difference between winners and losers. The Spurs' PG's, in particular, are really bad about not putting passes on target. They aren't the only PG's in the league that do it, but if you aspire to be a championship team, that shit won't fly. It costs them points every single game. And when you think about the difference in maybe +4-5 PPG over a season? It translates into wins. In the postseason you really can't afford to leave any points on the floor.

[sananspursfan21]

It's just the team RC and Pop put together. They are frontcourt heavy with two very old guards as playmakers and a couple of shooters. That's the team. Not a fan of MVPau myself. They have had very ugly losses with him too. Hawks, Clippers twice, the Suns, etc. But Lamarcus is shooting so poorly lately and Tony has been so off that I think they both miss Paus floor spacing and his passing... again he was also shooting very well which lessens the pressure on the rest of the SL... Lamarcus specially.

We can criticize and dislike this team in aspects, but it's how they are built....

Yep. Hence why I used the term 'wish' :)

[DPG21920]

Pau's defense negates anything he does on offense. People are acting like he averages on 20 ppg. His defense is beyond shocking and doesn't compensate for what he gives on offense anyway.

Spurs had a top 3 defense with Pau playing.

[ducks]

Gasol is the Duncan spurs are struggling without Duncan