Spurs Pre-2019-2020 season predictions

[phxspurfan]

Going much brighter on this one than last year's.


1. Spurs make the playoffs again, in 7th. Lakers don't make the playoffs :lol lottery mode activated

2. Someone gets traded by midseason. Be it Belinelli, etc.

3. Luka Sammic spends basically the entire year in the G League, so does Keldon

4. DeMar gets max extension and gives :pop: a big hug

5. Mills continues to play big minutes over guys who deserve it more (White, Murray) because 50 Mills. It costs multiple wins due to defensive liabilities

6. White struggles most of the year due to Alpha IG Baller taking over

7. Alpha IG Baller makes a run at all-star consideration (doesn't make the team but is a dark horse candidate). Dude lights it up this year and is a comeback player of the year candidate.

8. Purrtl gets better

9. Silver Dancers return (hopefully)

10. TD gets ejected from a game for arguing a ref's call. Pop gets ejected a few times per usual and Becky takes over a game or two as head coach, does decently (Spurs win 1/2 games with her coaching).

[sananspursfan21]

Here’s my crazy prediction: Spurs get 4th seed :wow

[DC23]

Here’s my crazy prediction: Spurs get 4th seed :wow
That is crazy. How do you rationalize that? On paper the Lakers, Clippers, Rockets, Nuggets, and Jazz all finish better than the Spurs. I think best the Spurs can do is 6th. Blazers take a step back and finish 7th or 8th.

[R. DeMurre]

I made the same prediction last year, and I'll repeat it: I bet D White finishes with a better +/- than Murray. Not because he's "better," but because of a combination of his making teammates better plus his leading the second team. White had the highest +/- (by far) on the Spurs in both of the last two pre-season victories.

[TDomination]

My prediction:
spurs make a top 4 seed on these conditions:
1) Murray continues his rise and becomes a legit all star candidate
2) DDR finds a 3 pt shot
3) White plays similar to last year
4)Walker plays 20mpg (this will come about when one of patty or Marco get hurt and miss a few games making pop play walker more and walker shines in those games forcing pops hand to finally play him more)

if these happen and everything else goes as expected, I can see us definitely being a top 4 team

[RC_Drunkford]

Here’s my crazy prediction: Spurs get 4th seed :wow

definitely possible. I'd say 5th seed

[FutureMan]

That is crazy. How do you rationalize that? On paper the Lakers, Clippers, Rockets, Nuggets, and Jazz all finish better than the Spurs. I think best the Spurs can do is 6th. Blazers take a step back and finish 7th or 8th.

Denver seems like a lock to be a contender but the other teams you’ve mentioned have their question marks just like the Spurs. Just have to wait and see how everyone does and if those teams can stay healthy

[sananspursfan21]

That is crazy. How do you rationalize that? On paper the Lakers, Clippers, Rockets, Nuggets, and Jazz all finish better than the Spurs. I think best the Spurs can do is 6th. Blazers take a step back and finish 7th or 8th.

Eh, every year the pundits do the same song and dance about how crowded the west is. I’ve been hearing that for the last 10 years. Now, if ever they were right, it’d be this year :lol but I’m willing to bet that a couple of teams won’t have the year they’re projected. I’m not sold on the Lakers at all. On paper and 2K, the Lakers look unstoppable, but man so did the Dwight Howard Lakers. AD is a different player, but we’re about to really see what he’s made of this year. I’m also not completely sold on the Rockets. I know they were sleep walking that preseason game, but if I were a Rockets fan, there was definitely some reason for concern. Russy appeared to be the only one still going balls to the wall and he looked rough as all get out. I’m sure things will change as the games begin to matter, but I don’t know how he and Harden will share the ball and coexist on the floor together. Nuggets should be insane this year and the Jazz on paper should be great.

There’s not really much rationale, hence why I acknowledge it’s nuts :downspin:

[KobesAchilles]

Spurs miss the playoffs bc of Pop. He doesn’t play DJ and White together. He does play Marco and Patty together. He refuses to play Lonnie over Marco and he will play Lyles, a useless big man who has an entire career proving he’s useless over Luka.

Pop then retires from the NBA and his dream team will be the last time he coaches. Everyone will overlook this year and say what an amazing coach he was and how it’s an honor to play for him on the olympics.

[RC_Drunkford]

Rockets have a problem with the Harden/Westbrook back court cause Westbrook can't shoot
Warriors have no bench at all
Lakers are overrated and will have spacing issues playing with 2 bigs and a Rondo/Icy-Hot back court
Blazers are basically the same. Don't expect Whiteside to change much.
Mavs improved but aside from Doncic and Porzingis their supporting cast is garbage. Their 3rd best player is Tim Hardaway Jr.
Kings and NOLA will be fighting for the 8th seed
T-Wolves, Grizzlies, Suns, OKC are lottery bound garbage

Nuggets will improve, but if we had the same playoff series against them this year I think we'd beat them

Jazz and Clippers are a problem.

I see this Spurs team between 4th - 7th seed. Key will be a strong start while these other teams go through the usual growing pains of having a new team.

[raybies]

just gonna predict second seed like i seem to do every year

[mookie2001]

Jazz aren’t doing shit except regular Utah Jazz things.

[timtonymanu]

The west will be tight like it was last year. Big advantage the Spurs have is chemistry and continuity. Other teams have to accommodate their new pieces and the Spurs hopefully will take advantage of that. It is possible Pop goes with his “muh vets and muh culture” nonsense and let’s Patty/Beli play way more minutes than they deserve so the Spurs will throw away games they should win like it was last season.

It’s really hard to say confidently which Spurs team will show up all year. I expect more of the same inconsistent energy, Jekyll and Hyde team from last year but the Spurs should get around 45+ wins and I can even see them getting 50 if things go their way.

[gospursgojas]

My standings predictions:

Clippers
Denver
Utah
Spurs
Rockets
Warriors
Lakers
Pelicans

[Down Under]

Cut Beli from the rotation & cap Mills at 15mpg & we'll go alright.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

spurs win 50.
lma and ddr are easily the team’s best players, Again, and they will be criminally underrated by SpurStalk, Again
forbes posts more PPG, games played and minutes played than white

[phxspurfan]

That is crazy. How do you rationalize that? On paper the Lakers, Clippers, Rockets, Nuggets, and Jazz all finish better than the Spurs. I think best the Spurs can do is 6th. Blazers take a step back and finish 7th or 8th.

Nah dude, Blazers have Whiteside now. They will finish higher than Spurs.

[phxspurfan]

My standings predictions:

Clippers
Denver
Utah
Spurs
Rockets
Warriors
Lakers
Pelicans

Blazers fall into a black hole :lol ok

[TheGoatishere]

Nah dude, Blazers have Whiteside now. They will finish higher than Spurs.

whiteside:lol

[Coach X]

Health will have a key impact in several teams but let's imagine an ideal world whithout season ending injuries:

Clippers have lost George for some time and nefew will rest some games. A lot of new players in the roster, new leaders... it will take them some months to develope their potential and play at full throttle. Zubac and Harrell may need some help inside. Probably favourite team to win the ring this season but less than 55W in RS.

Denver should win a lot of games in RS. They already did last year with a young group, their leadership is clear, there is young potential to develope, a few veterans and good coaching. Playoffs are another story. Around 55W

Rockets. Westbrook-Harden fit, that's Houston's season. I don't think RW can replace CP3 straightaway, running exactly the same stuff they run with Harden on the floor. This is another team that should need some time to adjust but I think Harden, Gordon, Tucker, Capela and D'Antoni can win games from day 1 until the rest of the teams learn to play together and they integrate Westbrook into his system. Unsure about the end of this story, I give them between 47 and 57W

Lakers are tough to predict. Is James playing defense this year? Answer being NO, they might end their season early again. James taking defense seriously converts the current group of players in a contender team. I have my eyes on the coaching staff. Vogel did a great job with the Pacers but he's facing too many challenges: can he coach Lebron? how many games will lose Davis and how will them affect the team construction? can he manage that locker room, and the LA environment? And finally, he has two coaches next to him, Kidd and Hollins that I'm not sure if he chose and if they will really assist him. The fact is they have a great roster and ver experienced coaching staff. I'm afraid I just can say they'll be in the 45-55W range.

Utah. Will Mike Conley solve Utah offensive problems? He's more talented than Rubio but can he help teammates to play at their best like Ricky did? Snyder and Gaubert guarantee a good defense but Conley and Bogdanovic aditions, and Favors replacement will need some time. They might start slow and progress as the season advances. Around 45W

Spurs. 43-47W

Blazers have lost their entire starting frontcourt. That team will need some adaptation time as well. I respect Lillard, he's a good leader and he'll make that team play together. Stotts will manage to make his team play good basketball again. Around 45W

Warriors have lost too much. It's not only Durant or even Klay Thompson, but that amazing group of secondary players is gone. Their bench and rotations aren't good at all. D Rusell is a great point guard and he will do well under Kerr's coaching and next to the unselfish Steph Curry. It's hard to imagine Draymond Green being the player he has been when he positively knows they have no chance for championship this season. 2019/20 GSW roster is unbalanced and lacks talent (number of players wise) but hey, Steph Curry unchained, DAngelo Russell and Kerr represent a huge offensive threat for any team. 40-45W unless Steph hurts his ankle, then they could easily shut the season down.

Kings. New coach after a decent season, Divac and the ownership messing up again. Can Walton become the coach Sacramento needs? Harrison BArnes isn't an NBA first option caliber player, but Fox is. And B Hield thinks himself is. They have to adjust their play and their day to day to this reality, other than that, sooner or later they'll have problems in that young lockerroom and their not the kind of franchise that deals well with problems. 35-40W but I still give them and GSW Walton a chance to fight for the playoffs if other teams miss their spot due to injuries or just losing too many games.

The Pelicans are too young. They have talent, they look like a fantastic project but they're too young and inexperienced. Too many players need still to learn how to play winning basketball in the NBA. Some of them still need to become a profesional player. I don't think they can contend for the playoffs yet. They will get some good wins though.

Thunder. Watch out. Their starting five is very good, Chris Paul could take four of us, mere nba forum posters, and make us play like an nba team. You don't need athleticism for that work, you just need how to play basketball from the point guard position. Shai Gilgeous Alexander is a great name and a great basketball project. They have solid players in all the positions, they're just missing some 3pt shooting coming from the bench. I think Billy Donovan is coaching for his job. OKC's front office plan B for this season is cristal clear: fire Donovan, trade Paul and their valuable pieces, give the team to SG Alexander and reboot in 2019-2020 summer. I consider this plan B as the most likely scenario but I won't be surprised if Paul stays healthy and they stay into the playoff contention for a good part of the season.

Dallas. Two young but inexperienced stars and a short roster. Doncic is fantastic, Porzingis seems to be healthy but what about their defense? and who else is contributing there? I don't think even Carlisle can make them a playoff team.

Phoenix. Here we have one of my candidates to surprising team of the year. Compared to the last season, their roster it's at the next level. A lot of very good signings: a court general, Rubio in the PG, multiskilled forward Dario Saric, solid center Aaron Baynes, explosive Tyler Johson, first class rookie Cam Johnson plus valuable existent pieces like Kelly Oubre or Jevon Carter (classic supercompetitive selfmade player). Phoenix has perfectly surrounded Devin Booker and De Andre Ayton for them to progress to their respective next level as well. Monty Willians has the tools to convert the crappy Suns in a teams who contends for the playoff and appear in the Coach of the Year conversation. Nobody expects the Suns to win more than 30 games but I say: watch out!

Wolves. I don't believe in KAT as a franchise player anymore. Minnessota has in Wiggins probably the worst contract of the NBA. No real point guard, no experienced coaching, no leadership. I dare to say the Wolves are having a bad season.

Grizzlies. Team under construction. Bottom of the standings.

Edit. I said Joerger was the Kings coach this season and praised SACs continuity :downspin: Nice mistake.

[dbestpro]

I go with the Spurs in the top four providing Murray and White get playing time together. Together, they can do the one thing most teams cannot do, that being playing good defense with both guards.

[GreekSpursfan]

I see us between the 7th seed and missing the playoffs so my prediction is the 8th seed and a 1st round exit.

[Uriel]

52-30. 4 seed.

Believe. :flag:

[Spurs oman]

Probably 4th seed demar and LA are usually really good in the regular seoson but then will come the regular no show games where nobody plays well and the games were pop will rest L.A.
Really trust this team through regular seoson I can see increase productivity from Forbes, white and Murray but it's the playoffs that doesn't look good

[Dex]

Spurs start out well, but struggle down the stretch starting with a tough RRT. Still scrap enough at the end of the season to get the 5th seed.

[SpurPadre]

I see alot of posters here question how Harden and Wesbrook fit, completely ignoring the fact that they've played together before and backdoor-swept our asses 7 years ago (even though we were jobbed by Thunderefs big time in Game 6). They fit well together. There's no question about that.

[Dex]

I see alot of posters here question how Harden and Wesbrook fit, completely ignoring the fact that they've played together before and backdoor-swept our asses 7 years ago (even though we were jobbed by Thunderefs big time in Game 6). They fit well together. There's no question about that.

Different time, different system.

In 2012, Harden was coming off the bench and was the third option behind Durant and Westbrook in Scotty Brooks' iso heavy gameplan when they were on the floor together. Both players have earned MVPs on separate teams since then, and consider themselves to be the alpha.

Now they will be starting together in D'Antoni's pace-and-space three-palooza system and, knowing Pringles, he is gonna play them each 35-40 MPG...which means they have to co-exist even though they both are accustomed to having high usage. Who is going to demand the ball in crunch time of big games?

Not to mention that Westbrook is basically the opposite of Morey-ball. Terrible three-point shooter (but perfectly willing to chuck them), loves to shoot in mid-range, doesn't really move or cut without the ball, hangs around for rebounds instead of breaking out in transition, the list goes on and on. That would all be okay if he was just playing a role in spot minutes, but he is sure to have the 2nd-highest usage on the team.

Houston will still win lots of games because they are starting two MVPs and this is a player-driven league. But when the chips are down and it's time to show your cards, I fully expect Westbrook to resort to his bad habits and do more bad than good.

[buttsR4rebounding]

Lakers Achilles heel exposed 1st game. Bench outscored 60 to 19. Lost with Green going 7 of 9 from 3.

[Fireball]

Lakers Achilles heel exposed 1st game. Bench outscored 60 to 19. Lost with Green going 7 of 9 from 3.

AD and Lebron already exhausted in the second half of the season's first game ...

[Prime BEEF]

I see us between the 7th seed and missing the playoffs so my prediction is the 8th seed and a 1st round exit.

exactly my thoughts. 8th seed

[mo7888]

I'm going 5th seed and being ahead of the Lakers in the standings.

[phxspurfan]

I'm going 5th seed

Lots would have to go right for us and lots would have to go wrong for many better teams for that to happen

[spurspl]

clip
denver
gsw
lakers
jazz
houston
portland
dallas

[Roscoe P. Coltrane]

Walker plays a lot of D league games and Gay doesn't play in more that 40 games.

[Russ]

I'm going 5th seed and being ahead of the Lakers in the standings.

I see the Spurs finishing ahead of the Lakers (on a bit of a limb, I admit).

Spurs -- 50-54 wins.

Lakers -- 48-52 wins.

[Seventyniner]

I'm going 5th seed and being ahead of the Lakers in the standings.

My bold take is that the Lakers have a sneaky-high chance of missing the playoffs entirely. I thought that last season too.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

spurs win 50.
lma and ddr are easily the team’s best players, Again, and they will be criminally underrated by SpurStalk, Again
forbes posts more PPG, games played and minutes played than white

ok so far i was right about everything except the one main important thing

[paperboy77]

Spurs miss the playoffs bc of Pop. He doesn’t play DJ and White together. He does play Marco and Patty together. He refuses to play Lonnie over Marco and he will play Lyles, a useless big man who has an entire career proving he’s useless over Luka.

Pop then retires from the NBA and his dream team will be the last time he coaches. Everyone will overlook this year and say what an amazing coach he was and how it’s an honor to play for him on the olympics.

This guy pretty much called it or stumbled on it. (I though I posted in this one and thought they could be a 3 seed.... guess not.)

[KobesAchilles]

This guy pretty much called it or stumbled on it. (I though I posted in this one and thought they could be a 3 seed.... guess not.)
I had to redeem myself from last years horribly wrong prediction where I said the Raptors weren’t winning the championship and the Spurs would make the conference finals :lol

This year I could just kinda see the writing on the wall tbh

[sasaint]

Spurs miss the playoffs bc of Pop. He doesn’t play DJ and White together. He does play Marco and Patty together. He refuses to play Lonnie over Marco and he will play Lyles, a useless big man who has an entire career proving he’s useless over Luka.

Pop then retires from the NBA and his dream team will be the last time he coaches. Everyone will overlook this year and say what an amazing coach he was and how it’s an honor to play for him on the olympics.

If I said I was going to treat you like E. F. Hutton after reading this, are you old enough to get the allusion?

[KobesAchilles]

If I said I was going to treat you like E. F. Hutton after reading this, are you old enough to get the allusion?
Sorry but no :lol

[sasaint]

Sorry but no :lol

Ima pay close attention. You could probably YouTube their old commercials. Quite memorable - at least to me.

[RC_Drunkford]

Spurs miss the playoffs bc of Pop. He doesn’t play DJ and White together. He does play Marco and Patty together. He refuses to play Lonnie over Marco and he will play Lyles, a useless big man who has an entire career proving he’s useless over Luka.

Pop then retires from the NBA and his dream team will be the last time he coaches. Everyone will overlook this year and say what an amazing coach he was and how it’s an honor to play for him on the olympics.

damn :wow