'There's no basketball anymore, there's no beauty in it.' Pop

[tbdog]

A good article on ESPN about Melo and how he is a victim of the new game. When the Spurs recruited LMA a few seasons ago, I thought we could win with him as our number 1, and that was before Leonard became a offensive stud. When Leonard was traded for DD, I thought we could beat any team other that Warriors. I was living in the past and how the game was played. It is still puzzling for me how teams can feel in control of a game but can concede 12 points in 2 mins on 3 pointers and then just lose. And that is the norm.


Consider this: In the 10 years before the 2004 rule changes, the NBA handed out its MVP trophy to bigs seven times. In the 14 years since, it has happened only once. Bigs are more replaceable than ever (http://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/23795646/2018-nba-draft-centers-deandre-ayton-marvin-bagley-easily-replaceable), and so is interior play.


The Spurs were perhaps too slow to adjust to the new analytics. Perhaps not as slow as some teams. It's not like they paying Wall 37 million for many seasons.

http://www.espn.com.au/nba/story/_/id/25459090/carmelo-anthony-last-great-american-ball-hog

[apalisoc_9]

:lmao..

:cry

Im losing so im blaming everything but myself :cry

[RC_Drunkford]

the Spurs didn't adjust at all. They still play that old style of basketball which is why they are one of the worst teams in the NBA. Pop refuses to adjust

[baseline bum]

the Spurs didn't adjust at all. They still play that old style of basketball which is why they are one of the worst teams in the NBA. Pop refuses to adjust

They were adapted to this style until getting Aldridge. What a clusterfuck that turned out to be.

[Chinook]

Their offense is fine. I don't see why people need to keep bitching about that. It's their D that sucks. The Spurs either won or were close to winning the three-point battle in every playoff series they played because they were able to prevent their opponents from getting a bunch of looks from three while being judicious with their own. This year, they're canning threes with a lot of success and have an offense that generates more good looks than their 3P% suggests. But they can't seem to stop anyone from getting wide-open shot after wide-open shot. It makes it look like the Spurs are way behind on the three-point battle, but in reality they just have an alternate strategy that would work fine with better defensive personnel.

Of course, the reason why they're missing this personnel is because of PATFO. Pop doesn't get to act like the league is ruining things for him. They'd suck in most eras because they don't contain well and can't contest without swiping down. Blah, blah, blah coaching and all that. You know where I'm going with it.

[HarlemHeat37]

Aldridge and DeRozan not being able to win as #1 options has little to do with this era, they would be career losers in any era:lol

[sasaint]

They were adapted to this style until getting Aldridge. What a clusterfuck that turned out to be.

Hell, they created the style and then shot themselves in the foot with the LMA bullet.

[Dverde]

The whole we’re going to lead the league in contested two point jump shots proved horrible as everybody predicted.

[tbdog]

The blow outs was because the Spurs defense was bad. But there have been games this season, Kings and Lakers for example when teams did one last run on the dying minutes resulting in 3s made. And you could argue that games like Magic and Heat we couldn't get back into because we don't take enough 3s. When LeBron hit one of those nasty 3s last night, it never felt we could get those 3points back. Over the course of the game, we just not.

[tmtcsc]

This has nothing to do with offense and EVERYTHING to do with defense. Teams didn't just get better at shooting 3's overnight. I think the Spurs were one of the best teams at defending the 3 over the last 5 years. They overhauled their roster & now have players who don't or can't defend. I'm not sure what they can do to stop the onslaught because it seems no one is committed to playing on both ends of the court.

[Hoops Czar]

Aldridge and DeRozan not being able to win as #1 options has little to do with this era, they would be career losers in any era:lol
That's all NBA losers to you. :lol

[Keepin' it real]

Nobody plays defense anymore. They aren't allowed to, by decree from the league itself. Anyone complaining about defense is wasting their breath and missing the point.

[Clipper Nation]

:lmao..

:cry

Im losing so im blaming everything but myself :cry
:pop: "What? It's my fault we're losing? No, the rest of the league needs to get over themselves and stop shooting threes so I can win."

[apalisoc_9]

Nobody plays defense anymore. They aren't allowed to, by decree from the league itself. Anyone complaining about defense is wasting their breath and missing the point.

The leagues Defensive rating is roughly the same as it wad 15 years ago. Its called pace and threeballs moron.

[HarlemHeat37]

The leagues Defensive rating is roughly the same as it wad 15 years ago. Its called pace and threeballs moron.

:lol

[Othyus Lalanne]

Nobody plays defense anymore. They aren't allowed to, by decree from the league itself. Anyone complaining about defense is wasting their breath and missing the point.

How does the Grizz do it?

[Rusty]

:lmao..

:cry

Im losing so im blaming everything but myself :cry
:lol

[apalisoc_9]

How does the Grizz do it?

Ite called pace control. You wait for higher percentage shots, take shots that doesnt result in long rebounds and increased emphasis in defensive boards instead of leak out offense. It's not rocket science. Everything they want to do leads to being able to defend in the halfcourt.

Its also called having good defensive players.

Its funny because the spurs can achieve something very similar, but they just dont have the players defenisvely. Even if they slow down the pace, get their defense set..they are still getting murdered.

[SAGirl]

How does the Grizz do it?
Part of it is pressuring ball handlers, sinking in the paint, rotating, bigs who show and recovers, they don't switch so much all the time, meaning they don't give so many mismatches to the opponent. They don't go for o boards to get back on defense, etc.

But more than the scheme, they have the right personnel, and commitment. By the right personnel I mean they have size, play two bigs all the times unless they have injury, two of those bigs are the athletic jamychal green and the talented Jaren Jackson Jr. Their wings have size, from Anderson, to Temple, to Casspi, to Dillon Brooks. They don't have multiple midget lineups. Conley is skilled on defense. Marc Gasol can still protect the rim and has good hands for steals and blocks. They have good communication, enough long arms to play passing lanes, some defenders are skilled at creating deflecfions.... Basically a combination of system, commitment, communication, and effort but 75% + has to be on having the personnel for it.

This past summer the front office made a concerted effort to improve defensively, from the draft pick they chose to the FA they pursued and they only kept those players from last season that fit in what they wanted to do. They don't have multiple midget non athletes at the same time very often.

[apalisoc_9]

Part of it is pressuring ball handlers, sinking in the paint, rotating, bigs who show and recovers, they don't switch so much all the time, meaning they don't give so many mismatches to the opponent. They don't go for o boards to get back on defense, etc.

But more than the scheme, they have the right personnel, and commitment. By the right personnel I mean they have size, play two bigs all the times unless they have injury, two of those bigs are the athletic jamychal green and the talented Jaren Jackson Jr. Their wings have size, from Anderson, to Temple, to Casspi, to Dillon Brooks. They don't have multiple midget lineups. Conley is skilled on defense. Marc Gasol can still protect the rim and has good hands for steals and blocks. They have good communication, enough long arms to play passing lanes, some defenders are skilled at creating deflecfions.... Basically a combination of system, commitment, communication, and effort but 75% + has to be on having the personnel for it.

This past summer the front office made a concerted effort to improve defensively, from the draft pick they chose to the FA they pursued and they only kept those players from last season that fit in what they wanted to do. They don't have multiple midget non athletes at the same time very often.

It all starts with how they run their offense. People forget basketball is a dynamic sport where offense directly influence offense.

Everything you said is true, but it all starts with how they generate their offense.

[apalisoc_9]

The Spurs should consider some of Memphis G-League assets right now. Stephens is old, but Watanabe is a 6'9 guy that is athletic, can shoot and can defend.

Its honestly comical how bad their scouting team is. They've done an ok job scouting players in college but their inability to find decent players in the NBA (Cunningham, Belli, Forbes) really speaks volume. They're clearly out of touch.

[SAGirl]

Ite called pace control. You wait for higher percentage shots, take shots that doesnt result in long rebounds and increased emphasis in defensive boards instead of leak out offense. It's not rocket science. Everything they want to do leads to being able to defend in the halfcourt.

Its also called having good defensive players.

Its funny because the spurs can achieve something very similar, but they just dont have the players defenisvely. Even if they slow down the pace, get their defense set..they are still getting murdered.
Good answer, I forgot the pace, Conley is a very good PG, and they are experienced executing their half court offense. A good PG helps a lot in getting a team the shots they want and are good at. They aren't a great team offensively but if they were they'd be even better on D.

[apalisoc_9]

Good answer, I forgot the pace, Conley is a very good PG, and they are experienced executing their half court offense. A good PG helps a lot in getting a team the shots they want and are good at. They aren't a great team offensively but if they were they'd be even better on D.

That was PATFO mindset. Which is fine if you have kawhi Leonard and 29 year old Aldridge. I do think modern NBA can be dominated with proper pace control similar to Kawhis spurs but it needs 3 main ingredients.

1. A dominant offensive defensive wing ( They lost kawhi, Danny, Kyle) the latter two help immensley in making it work.

2. A Decent scoring big

3. A PG that can score and defend ( Murray)

The spurs have none this season. Aldirdge is a bum, and murray even if healthy doesnt have the IQ to control pace, pr the shooting.

Worse, they Signed Derozan which woukd have been fine if they picked players to hide laziness in defense but instead they have forbes, Belli, Mills eating a lot of minutes.

The Gasol Contract was bad, the Mills contract was bad but this Belli contract screams oh mama mia hes italian ima do messina favour and sign him. Its one lf the dumbest signings ever. Only toped by Cunningham..who is barely a G-League level player.

[RC_Drunkford]

the problem is this Spurs team doesn't have an identity. Not an offensive one, not a defensive one and not even one in the locker room. Guys don't talk and there is no leader on this team. That's why they seem to tune Pop out and play lackadaisical basketball where they are down 30 by half time. I said it in the offseason, this franchise needs a change of culture. They need some toughness, some loud guys who play hard instead of a bunch of quiet pussies who need psychotherapy cause they got confidence issues

[tbdog]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dtvc9PgWsAAv30g.jpg

[Slippy]

Their offense is fine. I don't see why people need to keep bitching about that. It's their D that sucks. The Spurs either won or were close to winning the three-point battle in every playoff series they played because they were able to prevent their opponents from getting a bunch of looks from three while being judicious with their own. This year, they're canning threes with a lot of success and have an offense that generates more good looks than their 3P% suggests. But they can't seem to stop anyone from getting wide-open shot after wide-open shot. It makes it look like the Spurs are way behind on the three-point battle, but in reality they just have an alternate strategy that would work fine with better defensive personnel.

Of course, the reason why they're missing this personnel is because of PATFO. Pop doesn't get to act like the league is ruining things for him. They'd suck in most eras because they don't contain well and can't contest without swiping down. Blah, blah, blah coaching and all that. You know where I'm going with it.

Pretty much this.

[MultiTroll]

there is no leader on this team.
:cheer Patty Mills, Leader. -:pop::drunk

[John B]

DJ, Green, Kawhi, Gay, LMA. I think that lineup could’ get Dubs a run for their money, and maybe a few rings with Kawhi, DJ and LW4, but we know what happened next. Just bad luck. Hey DRob went down and was like the worst thing but then resulted to Timmy. Maybe this could mean Zion? Who knows?

[r0drig0lac]

if we had an elite support cast (top 5-10 in the league, for example), that topic would not be done, I do not really think Derozan is the problem, but who PATFO put around him (maybe for Kawhi would have been enough, though with the current roster I really doubt), but Derozan needs more talent around him, this is obvious, if you had Demar, Giannis and Ben Simmons on the same team and a decent support cast, you would still win more than 50 games, even your best players not having an external shot, talent is still the most important.

[Brazil]

argument is kinda dumb, of course the game evolved but the fact the Spurs are in disconnect has nothing to do with lack of willingness or lack of vision.. 2014 Spurs would do great in today's nba.. Spurs could not pass opportunity to get LMA tbh and DeRozan is more kiwi fucking with the Spurs than not seeing how nba evolved. It does not mean PATFO did not fuck up here and there.

[SAGirl]

I know he said it in a context but when I read this headline it actually makes it sound like he’s a depressed old man. Perhaps retirement is really close.

[Brazil]

I know he said it in a context but when I read this headline it actually makes it sound like he’s a depressed old man. Perhaps retirement is really close.

dude lost his wife, saw tim and manu retiring, tony signing for another team, being betrayed by spoiled rat kiwi.. who would not be tbh..

I don't see retiring on a bad note.. I believe he will try to put back Spurs on track before that..

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I think when Pop made this statement he was actually talking about the current Spurs, not the league in general.

[duncan2k5]

I thought some smart poster told me defense doesn't matter in the NBA anymore