Is Spurs Basketball Dead?

[timvp]

Spurs Basketball is predicated on defense. For the past eight seasons, the Spurs have been great defensively. Their system relies on the perimeter players to funnel the opponent into the Spurs' bigmen.

Offensively, the Spurs have been an inside-out team. Recently the guards have gotten more involved, but the Spurs still win or lose with the play of Tim Duncan down low.

For years, the Spurs have been successful using these strategies. The problem is that the NBA is evolving. With the rule changes that have been made over the past five years or so, it's now harder than ever to play defense. Perimeter players who can drive to the basket are almost impossible to stop.

The NBA is also getting smaller. Just a few years ago having a decent center was important. Nowadays, if you don't have Shaq or Yao, your center is going to struggle playing in today's game. Power forwards are a lot faster. Stand still perimeter players are going the way of the dodo bird.

Going into the 2006-07 season, do you think the Spurs can still win by playing Spurs Basketball? Can they win with defense and an inside-out offensive system?

Or do the Spurs need to evolve. Do they need to scrap the twin tower look and not funnel as much defensively? Do the Spurs need more all-around weapons offensively who can create without having to play inside-out?

These are questions that the Spurs need to answer during the offseason. If they try to win the same way that has worked over the years, they could look like a dinosaur next year. Or, perhaps, Spurs Basketball is still the way to the river parade.

What do you think?

[timvp]

Here is an article from a couple days ago. It details how the NBA is attempting to alter the game. They want high scoring action. They want perimeter players to get to the basket with ease.

The NBA is agaisnt Spurs Basketball. Do the Spurs still try to win with it anyways?


Trend in NBA favors offense
By David Aldridge
Inquirer Columnist

MIAMI - For the last two decades, just about every team that has won the NBA Finals has been the league's best defensive team. And on that team there has been a player - or players - considered among the best defenders at his position.

The '80s Lakers had Michael Cooper. The Celtics had Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson. The Pistons had Dennis Rodman and Joe Dumars. The Bulls had Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen - and, in their second Threepeat, Rodman. The Rockets had Hakeem Olajuwon. The Spurs had David Robinson and have Bruce Bowen. And the new-millennium Lakers had Kobe Bryant and Rick Fox.

Which is why this season, in so many ways, represents a sea change in the NBA.

The defending champion Spurs have already been shown the door. And the defending Eastern Division champs, the Pistons, are about to join them. After a half-dozen years in which either Detroit or San Antonio set the standard for defense, and won four championships between them, both dropped noticeably this season. And both have been sliced up by superior offenses in the playoffs.

Which is by design.

It's a natural progression from a series of rule changes over the last few years designed to liberate offenses, combined with an influx of quicksilver guards and forwards capable of handling the ball and finishing at the basket. It has made players like Miami's Dwyane Wade even more unstoppable. And it's keeping more fans in front of their televisions, if the increased ratings for this postseason are any indication.

People love offense. And they're getting it, while defensive-oriented teams look to be going the way of the stegosaurus.

"I think that it is fair to say we went through a period where it became fashionable to get a piece of a player" on his way to the basket, commissioner David Stern said Monday night before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"If he didn't stop him, he slowed him up," Stern said. "And we made a decision to say we want to try it the other way. And I think our fans - and our players - are responding beautifully to that. It's giving people a chance to see how talented our players really are. And so we're pretty excited about that."

Exhibit A is Wade, who is rolling faster than a beer barrel down the Matterhorn. He's averaging 30.7 points against the Pistons. In the series, Wade is shooting 69.5 percent from the floor.

That included two baskets Monday that defy description: one a flip over his head as he fell to the floor after being fouled, the other a heave from the corner as he was hit on the arm.

Right now, he is stupid hot.

And telegenic.

And cooperative with reporters.

And rocking the Sean John clothing line.

And saying things like "I'm just a kid in a candy store" after busting the Pistons for 31 points on Monday.

Think Stern wouldn't mind this kid being the image people think of when they think of the NBA - instead of, say, brawling Pacers and Pistons fans - for the next five or six years?

"He's the reason I came here," Shaquille O'Neal said Monday after the Heat's 89-78 victory gave them a lead of three games to one.

"I know I was getting older," O'Neal said. "I knew I needed somebody of his caliber. I never really heard of him before I saw him, but then I saw him do what he did to Baron Davis that one year" - in 2003, Wade's rookie season.

"I was, like, this kid has potential," O'Neal said. "And with the secrets I have, I came down here and showed him stuff, told him stuff. And now he's blossoming very nice. But the good thing about him is, he's doing it the right way. He's earning his spot. Other guys have been given their spot."

O'Neal made it clear to Pat Riley that he would not OK his trade from the Lakers in the summer of '04 if Wade were part of the package that went back to Los Angeles. So Riley resisted the insistence of Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak that Wade be in the deal.

"I wouldn't have done it" if Wade had to go, Riley said this week.

So Wade stayed. And he has teamed with O'Neal to create a 1-2 punch that is rolling through the East, just as the Mavericks, with Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry, have dominated the West and look as if they will ultimately wear down the game, but small, Suns.

That would set up a Miami-Dallas final, with everything the league could want - the Q rating of O'Neal, the style and scoring of Wade, and the international flavor of Nowitzki. And offense. Lots of offense, with scorers freed up to do what they do.

For that, the commish will put up with Mark Cuban for a couple of weeks.

[Leetonidas]

I don't think so. We had to play that way because of the matchup. The Mavs are a good jumpshooting team and a good team around the rim and putting in Rasho or Nazr wasn't going to do much.

[Jimcs50]

Pop thought so, obviously.

:rolleyes

[timvp]

I don't think so. We had to play that way because of the matchup. The Mavs are a good jumpshooting team and a good team around the rim and putting in Rasho or Nazr wasn't going to do much.

That is true. The Mavs presented matchup problems for the Spurs ... which led to adjustments.

But looking at the big picture, you have three teams left who averaged 100 points during the regular season. Offense is winning more games this playoffs than any I've ever seen.

[Leetonidas]

Because the Spurs aren't playing. It's hard to contain the offense of the teams in the West. Dallas and Phoenix are the two most prolific scoring teams in the West so it's not always easy to contain the offense.

[picnroll]

That's what I've thought for a while. The way the rules have changes and the refs are calling it is making it very difficult to stop middle penetration if the other team has outstanding penetrators. The Spurs defensive foundation of stopping middle penetration and channeling baseline is becoming much more difficult to exectue.

[FromWayDowntown]

I don't think we'll see the old grind it out persona that the Spurs had through about 2003, but I'm not sure we've really seen that as a truly consistent theme since the 2003 Finals. Popovich realized in 2004 that he had a group that was more offensively explosive than anything he had between 1999 and 2003. He has adjusted -- to a degree -- to permit more offense and settle for a bit less defense. There have been matchups that dictated a more defensive-oriented effort (the 2005 Finals, for example), but I think Pop has understood that the days of holding everyone under 90 and keeping shooting percentages in the low 40's are gone. The league won't allow teams to play that way anymore.

This season reminded me -- to a degree, at least -- of the 1999-2000 season in the sense that the Spurs seemed to struggle with holding on to their old identity in a league that is changing. As was true after the 2000 playoffs, I think the Spurs will find a way to evolve. That evolution, I think, is embodied in Pop's identification of "a Derrick McKey type" as the model for what he seeks this off-season; it indicates to me that Pop thinks that defense still wins, but that it's a different kind of defense. It's a more athletic defense that will prioritize rebounding over blocking or changing shots. It's a more athletic defense that will emphasize rotations to deny penetration. It's a more flexible defense that isn't prone to falling into gross mismatches.

The dynamism on offense doesn't change the fact that the Spurs with Tim Duncan will always play inside-out. Even with the changes in the league, the Spurs were thisclose to beating the likely West Champion and doing so by almost grossly emphasizing an inside-out game and allowing Duncan to exploit single coverage. The issue, I think, arises with how the Spurs respond to situations against opponents with bigs who are good enough to defend Duncan one-on-one: teams like Detroit (Rasheed Wallace) and Orlando (Howard and Darko), for example. It would be helpful to the Spurs offensive effort to find someone in the second group who can take people off the bounce and attack the rim, if only to create spot-up opportunities for shooters and to draw defenders away from Duncan. I don't see that as being a monumental tweak, though.

[Solid D]

They'll have to adjust for certain teams. They actually had to last year also with PHX but they beat the Suns at their own game in the WCF.

I still remember the OT reg. season game when Pop went with Tim, Bruce, Brent, Manu and Beno the 2nd half (with TP playing sparingly because he wasn't doing well that game)

[SpurYank]

We were not exactly routed out of the playoffs. Is it possible we are making too much of losing in the last second of game 7? Would you be pursuing "solving the Spurs great problem" if Manu had not fouled Dirk or perhaps made his shot, or even if Tim gets the rebound and slams it home.

You'd be like me and the rest of us with this assumption: WE are starting a dynasty! No! Spurs basketball is not dead.

I think it was a great season, with lots of thrills and things to be proud of about our team. And that seventh game against the Mavs was a thriller. One team had to lose.
Our season is over.

[ducks]

I like pop but if spurs basketball is dead do spurs need to bring in guy that is more famous for his o then d? the spurs o was fine in the playoffs though.
mike brown who is more of a d guy is thinking of bringing in a o guy...

[spurster]

The Spurs didn't have a bigman who could guard other perimeter bigmen or rotate quickly enough. Neither TD nor Horry showed much lateral quickness, and the other Spurs bigmen were too slow or too dumb. It's not like this is a completely new thing to deal with: Rasheed Wallace, Chris Webber (as a King), Robert Horry (as a Laker), in addition to Dirk are/were perimeter bigmen, at least in part. One might argue that TD of previous years was also, though not at the 3-point line.

[BigVee]

Aside from finding the player(s) Pop may want next season, he will spend the summer developing a new hybrid defense designed to counter the rule changes rather than embrace a new offensive and defensive philosophy. A hybrid that addresses one of the fundamental problems the Spurs defense had in these playoffs...mis-matches created by switching defensively. Whether it be a type of match-up zone in certain areas on the floor or whatever, I think he will still stick to his tenets of defense and believe that for every offense tweak there is a defensive counter...you just have to find it.

[ducks]

certain times against mavs in game 5-7 they showed signes they could d up going small

I think that is what they will practice during training camp

[picnroll]

The way it's going with Stern they ought to just eliminate the Defensive Player of the Year award.

[tlongII]

God I hope so!

[Solid D]

The Spurs will adjust but remember, the Spurs only lost 19 regular season games (team record) in this new era. They lost one more game than Detroit, who doesn't exactly play non-traditional ball, nor do the Heat.

[boutons_]

I don't think there's anything wrong with Pop's "both ends" system.

As long as we have Tim, it's gonna be inside-out.

Spurs defense suffered this year because Tim had PF-limited mobility, and no other front court guy was worth a shit or played enough (Rasho) to really help Tim. But I think the Spurs overall game suffered because of some mental/attitude/toughness problem. LJ says they weren't tested, but shit, WTF were the Mavs and Kings coming into ATT late in the season other than tune-up test for the playoffs? Letting Magic beat us @ATT? In April? The Spurs seemed to just shrug their shoulders and say "whatever" rather than stepping it up in March and April as it were June.

Spurs lost nearly every big/statement game last season, sometimes lost solidly.

If what LJ is saying is really case that 99-05 Spurs basketball is dead, then Bruce is dead meat. His perimiter defense will no longer effective, and his offense is, on average, non-existent, so " 'bye, Bruce. ".

Before the Spurs chuck everything out the door to become the Suns, I'd like to see "Spurs basketball" one more season, but with Tim 100%, with some real front-court help from a Robertas/Luis/other. But above all, with the Spurs showing some Championship mentality.

While the rules have changed on-the-ball perimeter defense, the defenders off-the-ball can still play their men tight, hassle the passing lanes, play good position defense, rotate quickly, and FUCKING HUSTLE THE BOARDS!

[CosmicCowboy]

The rules will continue to be tweaked to give offensive slashers the advantage. You can't funnel slashers baseline if you can't touch them and moving screens/picks are "wink wink" allowed. Spurs defense as we know it WILL change but I am confident that building around our core of Tim, Tony, and Manu that the Spurs will be very competitive for the foreseeable future.

[SequSpur]

The Spurs won 63 games this year and 3 championships the Spurs way.

Is this another attempt of letting Popovich off the hook with the illusion of a changing game?

I declare Bullshit again and again.

Pop didn't adjust, he lost the series.

Try again.

[austinfan]

Aside from finding the player(s) Pop may want next season, he will spend the summer developing a new hybrid defense designed to counter the rule changes rather than embrace a new offensive and defensive philosophy. A hybrid that addresses one of the fundamental problems the Spurs defense had in these playoffs...mis-matches created by switching defensively. Whether it be a type of match-up zone in certain areas on the floor or whatever, I think he will still stick to his tenets of defense and believe that for every offense tweak there is a defensive counter...you just have to find it.

:tu

[alamo50]

Only when we play Dallas and Phoenix...............according to Pop.

[TheSanityAnnex]

The NBA is agaisnt Spurs BasketballDoesn't Spurs basketball also include Parker and Ginobli getting to the rim?

[MadDog73]

Doesn't Spurs basketball also include Parker and Ginobli getting to the rim?


Yeah, I agree. Spurs basketball is changing. The minute Pop let Tony and Manu create and make mistakes (for better or for worse), old "Spurs" basketball was dead...


Offensively, the Spurs have been an inside-out team. Recently the guards have gotten more involved, but the Spurs still win or lose with the play of Tim Duncan down low.

I was watching the 2003 Championship tapes, and was struck by how many times 3-point shooting saved our ass. Jackson, Kerr, Bowen, Horry, just to name a few.

Duncan will get his, but how many times as he hit the game-winning shot? I mean, it happens, don't get me wrong, but it seems many times in a pivital game, the Spurs win (or lose) based on their 3-point shooting.

And sure, Tim opens it up for that. By no means am I dissing Tim here. I'm just saying, I think Spurs Championship Basketball as always been about the team, the role-players stepping up and making plays, that one shot that either goes in.... or doesn't.

Dallas shot lights out against us, and we lost. We can go back and forth about why that happened, but in the end, Dallas made their shots (and some very tough ones, at that). Of course, the Spurs could play better defense. But, I truly believe if the refs are calling the games differently (a very real possibility), then the Spurs will adjust (hell, they HAVE been adjusting) to retake the Championship again.

[themvp]

The Spurs won 63 games this year and 3 championships the Spurs way.

Is this another attempt of letting Popovich off the hook with the illusion of a changing game?

I declare Bullshit again and again.

Pop didn't adjust, he lost the series.

Try again.


+1

[TheSanityAnnex]

Yeah, I agree. Spurs basketball is changing. The minute Pop let Tony and Manu create and make mistakes (for better or for worse), old "Spurs" basketball was dead...I think Pop was also adjusting and taking advantage of the new rules, and your team benefited from it. Didn't you just set a franchise record in wins this year? Don't you think it could be attributed to your new offensive look?

[MadDog73]

All right, smart guys, please apply for Head coaching job so we can win another Championship.

Seriously, if you think you can do better than Pop, prove it.

[picnroll]

It definitely benefited Parkeron offense. It should have benefited Manu but he was banged up most of the year. In terms of defense, regardless of stats this was the worst the Spurs have looked in years.

[polandprzem]

Well yeah.

Pop said the proble in the offseason will be if we want a Center or rather an athletic PF. That's the question that had to be answered.

Yup. The game has changed and we could see it last season, but the key to success in last years WCF was a transition. Phoenix was not that good at it so the spurs were succesfull in pushing the ball up tye court.
And that is the most important thing in todays NBA - the transition, penetraiting and athletic mobility. So that's why a game with 2 PF in S5 could leas you to a victory to a success. Like D"Antoni did it like Avery did it against us.

And is the Spurs basketball dead. Yes it is. That one with solid interior D. That's why Pop must to figure the new system out. To me the defense is winnin a championship but like FromDownTown said it's a different quality.

If you asking me. I would like to see an athletic Center in Spurs uniform, a defensive one. Like Steven Hunter but better.

Tough choices this summer real tough. We must refresh get more athletic inside and outside so we could match not the opponents but the NBA "smallball running" era.

Frickin '70 :rolleyes

[ploto]

Get back to me after Miami wins the NBA title- playing their big guys and stomping the little ones. :)

[strangeweather]

Going into the 2006-07 season, do you think the Spurs can still win by playing Spurs Basketball? Can they win with defense and an inside-out offensive system?

I think it needs to be updated, but I think the premises are valid.


Or do the Spurs need to evolve. Do they need to scrap the twin tower look and not funnel as much defensively? Do the Spurs need more all-around weapons offensively who can create without having to play inside-out?

These are questions that the Spurs need to answer during the offseason. If they try to win the same way that has worked over the years, they could look like a dinosaur next year. Or, perhaps, Spurs Basketball is still the way to the river parade.

I don't think the problem is with inside-out basketball itself. I also don't think the rules making it harder to defend are the problem in and of themselves -- we have guys that are built to score under those rules, and even if the league average becomes 110 points per game, there's no reason we can't continue to hold teams well below the average -- whatever the rules are, the Spurs are still much better defenders than all but a handful of teams.

I think there are two real problems:

1. We've been playing 4 on 5 on offense. It didn't cost teams a thing to double Tim off whoever was playing center. That's been killing us to varying degrees ever since David retired.

2. You can play two help defenders on the baseline against conventional teams, but against a team with 4 shooters like Dallas this creates obvious problems. Either you leave a guy wide open, or you move one of your defenders out to the perimeter.

I don't want there to be any confusion: we will be a damn good team even if we don't solve either of these problems. We have the best post player in basketball, we have the best perimeter defender, and we have two deadly penetrating guards who are ripping teams apart under the new rules. But I don't think anyone thinks that being a damn good team is good enough. These are the Spurs -- either they're hoisting a trophy, or the season went to waste.

Pop's attempt to resolve these problems against Dallas led to benching our centers to try and solve these problems. Finley added a perimeter threat, which left Tim single-covered. He (and Bruce, et al.) could cover Dirk on the perimeter, though this left more room to penetrate. The problems with this were that we were still allowing more penetration than should have, and we were playing 4 guards, and couldn't rebound for crap. I think Pop's strategy was better than the alternative, but obviously this is a source of debate. :)

In any case, if we want to do better next year, we need to try to find a better solution than we had available to us this year.

A power forward (or center) that can score with range solves problem #1. For that matter, playing a true SF at the 4 would also solve it.

Playing a true SF at the 4 solves problem #2, but it still exposes the problems we saw against Dallas: penetration is easier for the other team, and our rebounding is weaker. A 3 that can rebound effectively would mitigate the rebounding problem.

Playing a mobile, athletic 4 that can rebound solves problem #2 and keeps our rebounding from dropping off, but it still doesn't solve the penetration problem, and it only solves #1 if that PF can shoot jumpers.

Finally, we could just commit to playing two post defenders on the baseline against teams with 4 shooters, leave open their worst shooter, and sell out to stop penetration. But this is a pretty dangerous strategy, and guys like Josh Howard or Dirk can kill us with jumpers if we do that. Leaving open legit shooters really isn't Spurs basketball, any more than small ball is.

The bottom line: I think we still have the system and most of the players for more championships. We have some options open to us about how we want to fix the holes in our current lineup, and we just need to figure out what personnel are available to us to do it.

[MadDog73]

Get back to me after Miami wins the NBA title- playing their big guys and stomping the little ones. :)

Right, because Rasho and Nazr = Shaq and Mourning :rolleyes



Oh, and Nice Post, strangeweather.

[SequSpur]

The Spurs scored at will against Dallas. Dallas scored at will against San Antonio.

The game hasn't changed, Pop just forgot about what has made himself successful.

In the end, the first team that plays defense and makes stops will win the Championship. It isn't going to be Dallas.

[MadDog73]

The Spurs scored at will against Dallas. Dallas scored at will against San Antonio.

The game hasn't changed, Pop just forgot about what has made himself successful.

In the end, the first team that plays defense and makes stops will win the Championship. It isn't going to be Dallas.


That's a nice theory, except when they call the defense your playing "fouls", and you just end up sending the Mavs to the free throw line.

The NBA is not allowing traditional Spurs defense, it seems to me, so the Spurs need to change.

[pache100]

In the end, the first team that plays defense and makes stops will win the Championship. It isn't going to be Dallas.

My God, that's profound. :worthy:

Since Phoenix is not capable of playing defense...and can steal but not stop...hopefully the Pistons come out of the east. But, even Miami can probably do it.

[gameFACE]

I wouldn't say Spurs Basketball is totally dead. Someone mentioned "hybrid defense" earlier and that may be the way to go. It's funny but I think of the Spurs roots in the ABA days which were pretty much run and gun, shoot 'em out play. Sure that never won any titles but what goes around maybe comes around.

Still, until a small ball team wins a title the discussion is note quite substantiated. At this point the Spurs need small ball adjustments to get out of the West, true. But will it win a title?

[superfedja]

you're right timvp about the league evolving and advantaging the guard penetration but I still think the spurs can win it with Spurs basketball they just need another defensive center ... they havent had one with robinson out ( these past 2 years) and that's why they lost the series to the mavs its not bcuz of the match-ups ( mavs were a match-up problem though) but bcuz their interior and team-defense sucked bcuz u can stop those match-up problems if everyone rotates and play team-defense but then Nazr couldn't do that ... that's why we need to get a defensive center at all cost ... imagine having the twin towers again ... only this time we will have the international guard combo ( manu+tony) to go with it ( for the scoring since the league is encouraging the guard penetration)

[Melmart1]

Spurs basketball is not dead, we just need some personnel tweaks to be able to adjust to a couple of small ball teams.

[polandprzem]

Oh, and Nice Post, strangeweather.

Yes :) Give him a black color :)

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Holy crap! All day today, since about 10 AM, I was thinking about this very subject, pretty much constantly until about 5PM. Eerie.

Well, I think Spursbasketball is indeed DEAD, Schiavo style. We did come "this close" to beating the probable 2006 NBA Champions, BUT, as any NBA fan with eyes can see, it wouldn't have been "thisclose" if Mavs weren't allowed to free throw their way to two victories in a row. Why spurs basketball is dead:

1) Spurs have been jewed out of playoff games before and it will keep happening as long as they are a slow-it-down-team.

2) Whoever said we just need to change our defensive strategy is following the right track. I think if we found young, long athletic types, we will be okay. Drop the Center bull shit, let Duncan suck it up and play Center, and we will be bad ass again.

However...

3) We all know the nature of the Spurs front office, and the type of players they tend to get in the offseason when we "retool" "refuel" etc. Do you really think we'll get the type of guys we need in one year? Especially when we have like 4 players on our team that noone would pay two fucking cents for?

To make this matter worse...

4) No first round pick.

I truely think this is the Spurs' darkest hour. It's stupid to be stubborn and continue our same old strategy when we couldn't even use our centers in the playoffs.

The only way things could get worse is if Dirk walks over to Duncan's fishing pond and kicks him in the balls, then Cuban takes a picture, and they post it on the front page of the Dallas Morning News.

It's like I told Mookie after the Rose Bowl "Dude, a spurs championship, THEN a horn's championship? It's all downhill from here."

[MannyIsGod]

The Spurs darkest hour is now? Holy shit Spurs fans are spoiled. Get back to me after Tim and Manu retire and the team is struggling to win 50.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I meant symbolically

Like we're so close to the top of the mountain we can taste it yet get kicked in the teeth and stumble downwards.

Isn't that possibly worse than just staying at the bottom?

[MannyIsGod]

Spurs basketball is far from dead. One of the key reasons the Spurs have 3 titles is because they constantly evolve to meet the challenge. Every Spurs team that has won a title has been different. Every single one!

I'm pretty sure the twin towers look is dead, but honestly its been dead for sometime now. The past 2 seaons have seen Robert Horry as a game finisher as opposed to a legit 7 footer. The team tried to bring in Rasho and Nazr as a continuation of the twin towers after David, but the fact remains that neither has produce nearly enough to keep them on the floor when it counts.

Last year you saw Tim surrouned by 4 guards a lot of the time. It worked pretty damn well. We killed Pheonix with that lineup. This year we weren't able to beat Dallas that way. It can be argued that at some point you need to make teams adjust to you instead of adjusting to them, and I think this was an error. I think small ball was used far too much in this series and the centers weren't given enough of a chance. I understand Pops fears on how this would hurt the team, but I think there were also a ton of possible positives that were never explored. Pop thought our best angle on Dallas was going small. We might be able to beat Dallas in that type of game, but we weren't able to do so this year. I also think we would have competed with a bigger lineup, but I'm not sure we would have beat them either way. In the end the type of lineup may not have mattered as much as we think.

But the bottom line is that Spurs basketball starts with defense and rebounding. When your rebounding is weak, your defense needs to be that much stronger because of the extra chances the opposing team gets. I think the defense would have appered much stronger had they been able to do a better job on the defensive glass. If we're able to pick up someone who can do a better job on the boards then our defense will seem a ton better on its own. There isn't a large adjustment needed in that regard.

There is no way we're going to see a team that relies on offense first. There is simply no way we will have the personel to play a faster tempo and outscore teams. It would also be a complete waste of Tim Duncan's abilities on the defensive end of the court. The type of lineups we play next year depend entirely on off season acquisitions but the thing that will remina constant will be Pop's persistence to teach a defensive first mindset. The schemes may change somewhat and the offensive sets may change, but the fundemental belief that this teams best chances lie in a defense first philosophy will not.

[MannyIsGod]

I meant symbolically

Like we're so close to the top of the mountain we can taste it yet get kicked in the teeth and stumble downwards.

Isn't that possibly worse than just staying at the bottom?No fucking way. Are you nuts? Seriously, Spurs fans don't realize how lucky they have it. Many of them are currently complaining how the current crop of Mavs fans just popped up with the emergence of Cuban, but I wonder how many Spurs fans hopped on the Bandwagon when David first came to town?

There will come a time in the future when this team simply cannot retool in the summer. There will come an actual rebuilding era. And then we'll see who the fans are.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

No fucking way. Are you nuts? Seriously, Spurs fans don't realize how lucky they have it. Many of them are currently complaining how the current crop of Mavs fans just popped up with the emergence of Cuban, but I wonder how many Spurs fans hopped on the Bandwagon when David first came to town?

There will come a time in the future when this team simply cannot retool in the summer. There will come an actual rebuilding era. And then we'll see who the fans are.


Well I've been a fan of teams that had no chance of making the playoffs (admittedly not as hardcore a fan as I am a spurs fan) and I have to say losing like this hurts worse and will hurt for longer than if we were a losing team that did not make the playoffs at all. At least for me it is.

[angel_luv]

I think defense is really what gives team's longevity when it comes to success because defense can keep you in a game even when your shots are not falling.

The Spurs have an advantage/ skill in that area and, in my opinion, would be making a mistake to scrap those principles entirely.

[EVAY]

Spurs basketball is far from dead. One of the key reasons the Spurs have 3 titles is because they constantly evolve to meet the challenge. Every Spurs team that has won a title has been different. Every single one!

I'm pretty sure the twin towers look is dead, but honestly its been dead for sometime now. The past 2 seaons have seen Robert Horry as a game finisher as opposed to a legit 7 footer. The team tried to bring in Rasho and Nazr as a continuation of the twin towers after David, but the fact remains that neither has produce nearly enough to keep them on the floor when it counts.

Last year you saw Tim surrouned by 4 guards a lot of the time. It worked pretty damn well. We killed Pheonix with that lineup. This year we weren't able to beat Dallas that way. It can be argued that at some point you need to make teams adjust to you instead of adjusting to them, and I think this was an error. I think small ball was used far too much in this series and the centers weren't given enough of a chance. I understand Pops fears on how this would hurt the team, but I think there were also a ton of possible positives that were never explored. Pop thought our best angle on Dallas was going small. We might be able to beat Dallas in that type of game, but we weren't able to do so this year. I also think we would have competed with a bigger lineup, but I'm not sure we would have beat them either way. In the end the type of lineup may not have mattered as much as we think.

But the bottom line is that Spurs basketball starts with defense and rebounding. When your rebounding is weak, your defense needs to be that much stronger because of the extra chances the opposing team gets. I think the defense would have appered much stronger had they been able to do a better job on the defensive glass. If we're able to pick up someone who can do a better job on the boards then our defense will seem a ton better on its own. There isn't a large adjustment needed in that regard.

There is no way we're going to see a team that relies on offense first. There is simply no way we will have the personel to play a faster tempo and outscore teams. It would also be a complete waste of Tim Duncan's abilities on the defensive end of the court. The type of lineups we play next year depend entirely on off season acquisitions but the thing that will remina constant will be Pop's persistence to teach a defensive first mindset. The schemes may change somewhat and the offensive sets may change, but the fundemental belief that this teams best chances lie in a defense first philosophy will not.

I agree that rebounding would make our defense look a lot better than it did this year. We got beaten llike drums on rebounding by WAY too many regular season teams, much less playoff types.

Here's the biggest need that the Spurs have though, and it isn't going to be found in a player addition. WE NEED MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL TOUGHNESS!!! And it needs to come from the group we have now. We have a real problem with this because we like our players to be sort of quiet and laid back, and we all know that it is Tim's team, and he is kinda quiet and laid back, and unlikely to respond to anyone who isn't the same way, and Pop thinks it's not his job to get the guys going emotionally, so WE ARE TOO OFTEN FLAT!!

[strangeweather]

No.

http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/hell/camus.html
You know, if I'd been taking bets on who on this board was likely to drop Camus into the discussion, I don't think I would have bothered to set odds for you.

Just goes to show you never know.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

No.

http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/hell/camus.html


But he actually reached the top, if only for a moment.

[kris]

Yes.

I'm not surprised that a lot of fans can't see it, but all those bullshit Stern quotes mean that if you don't change to being more exciting we're going to keep you out of the finals. Look at those blatant calls on the defensive end of games 3 and 4. Those were typically non-calls or calls going the Spurs way after playing good old fashion Spurs basketball, but the NBA doesn't want Spurs basketball. Stern doesn't want suffocating defense.

So yeah, if the Spurs know what is good for them, they won't bring in a hulking center. Centers need to be athletic and quick and able to go out to 15'.

I'm kinda surprised Stern was so open about admitting they wanted new basketball. He always tries to put some positive spin on everything, but the way he constantly fucks with the game to give the fans what he thinks they want or should want is wrong.

The game of basketball is sacred and using it as your personal lab kit to experiment with it until you see the most profit makes me mad. He probably has some more plans that he'll slowly integrate as the years gone by.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I'm the most intelligent person on this board.


What about Rita929

[Brutalis]

The game is evolving, and so are the players we bring in each year, constant change.

What don't we know? The goal is the same it's just being done by fresher guys. I remember the first couple years I felt DRob was going to be soon gone and being thrilled to have seen him in his prime. Defense still wins rings and SA will as they have been for a long time be defense minded.

[strangeweather]

I'm not surprised that a lot of fans can't see it, but all those bullshit Stern quotes mean that if you don't change to being more exciting we're going to keep you out of the finals. ... Stern doesn't want suffocating defense.

The '84 Celtics gave up 105 points a game, but had the third best defensive efficiency in the league and won a title with defense.

Stern's new rules may change the tempo, and they may change how defense is played a bit, but they won't prevent teams from playing great defense.

[whottt]

Techinically speaking...Spurs basketball died last year when we defeated the Suns by outrunning them...

I wouldn't use the word died though...evolved is more like it, the Spurs became more versatile and skilled on offense, we could play more than one way, and we did so. This year we just had a weakness, we had it last year too...but it wasn't until this year that someone figured out how to exploit it.


Spurs basketball historically also usually had a decent sized SF(Elliott, or 2g's that could play SF Hedo, Jack) and mobile bigman(David Robinson)...

Died? No.

Evolved and certain elements in need of refuel? Yes.

[SA Gunslinger]

Yes.

TD needs to play the five and the Spurs need to get a versatile four man that can play low or on the perimeter. He also needs to be able to play the three when the Spurs need to go big.

I think finding that player will determine if the Spurs will win another championship. The respect Dirk Nowitzki is receiving this year is sickening. If, and it's a big if, he wins a championship, you won't even be able to breathe on him without being called for a foul. The Spurs need a player that can matchup with Dirk well enough to make him work on defense and make him feel uncomfortable on offense. Lamar Odom comes to mind. Someone that has similar size and a similar game to Odom would work. Of course, combing Europe for another Andre Krilenko would fit the bill, talent wise and financially.

The long three is a quick fix. You need a player that can play the four and the three to completely solve the problem, imo.

Ian has the size and the athletic ability. I wonder if he can be groomed into the player the Spurs desperately need.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Yes.

TD needs to play the five and the Spurs need to get a versatile four man that can play low or on the perimeter. He also needs to be able to play the three when the Spurs need to go big.

I think finding that player will determine if the Spurs will win another championship. The respect Dirk Nowitzki is receiving this year is sickening. If, and it's a big if, he wins a championship, you won't even be able to breathe on him without being called for a foul. The Spurs need a player that can matchup with Dirk well enough to make him work on defense and make him feel uncomfortable on offense. Lamar Odom comes to mind. Someone that has similar size and a similar game to Odom would work. Of course, combing Europe for another Andre Krilenko would fit the bill, talent wise and financially.

The long three is a quick fix. You need a player that can play the four and the three to completely solve the problem, imo.

Rack

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Spurs basketball isn't dead. At least I hope not.


The Spurs will adjust but remember, the Spurs only lost 19 regular season games (team record) in this new era. They lost one more game than Detroit, who doesn't exactly play non-traditional ball, nor do the Heat.

And they'd still be playing if Pop had any balls. This whole thread may as well be titled the Gregg Popovich Society rally thread. :td

[Cant_Be_Faded]

The entire concept of winning a 62 reg. season wins, yet being rendered totally useless in a playoff series while not trying your reg. season formula once, is baffling

[Spurologist]

Spurs basketball isn't dead. You don't forgot how to play defense and run pop's season, however flawed it might be sometimes. The spurs are not mentally fragile like some teams. The talent will always be there. It's now a matter of regrouping, practicing harder, getting in some key pieces to aid on both ends of the court (hint to spurs management: long THREE), and come back strong in 06/07.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

The only practice this team needs is for their dumbass coach to realize what got them 3 titles and 63 wins in the regular season this year. Fucking moron. :td

[Das Texan]

It would have been helpful if the Spurs didnt have two centers who were inept at what they do to help you.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

You all are idiots



Sign Bobby Jackson

[Budkin]

Only dead for this year...

[Slinkyman]

Spurs ball isn't dead and it isn't about being boring or exciting, i believe you can play a run and gun style of play and still play good D. The problem for us is we have alot of old guys who can no longer, or never could move their feet and in the playoffs you're as strong as your weekest link.

When any combination of Barry, Horry, VanEx are on the floor are defense is a joke, Finley's no much better but he did some things well and at least scored some points to make up for his bad D. The scheme still works, it's that the personnel can't run it properly. The FO is to blame for this because they should have traded barry right after we signed Fin, he was expendible at that point and we could have brought in a young guy who would have had the whole season to adjust to spurs bball.

[strangeweather]

And they'd still be playing if Pop had any balls. This whole thread may as well be titled the Gregg Popovich Society rally thread. :td
So go start the "Nazr > Dirk" thread. :rolleyes

[Russ]

The Spurs may have opened a Pandora's Box that led to their own demise -- if you bring in international players, can the international game, itself, be far behind?

The Spurs brought in great foreign players to play Spurs (NBA Playoff-style) basketball. But what followed may be a case of unintended consequences, i.e., blowback.

Next thing you know, the NBA legalizes zone defenses (except for the dominant shot-blocker under the basket kind like the Spurs have). Everbody but your shot-blocker can play a zone. Vlade Divac lives.

Foreign players are notoriously un-physical and typically weak at man-to-man defense. So the NBA outlaws hand-checks and calls touch fouls -- even in the playoffs. In other words, FIBA is breaking out all over the place.

Coaches with a Euro up-and-down style like Mike D'Antoni flourish. And the NBA sees that it's entertaining. So we can expect more.

It's the future of basketball, so get used to it.

But for the contrarian point of view, we turn to Tim Duncan -- "FIBA sucks," I believe he said.

[SPARKY]

Would Spurs Basketball have died if Manu doesn't F up at the end of Game 7?

[Cant_Be_Faded]

According to the people who don't scoff Manu for that idiot move, that F up was within the limits of Spurs Ball cuz it was "Manu's nature".

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

So go start the "Nazr > Dirk" thread

I never said he was. Only that Spurs basketball > small ball.

Funny thing, we started Nazr on the way to a title last year and I believe Amare averaged about 8 more PPG than Dirk, so why didn't we change our D to 'match up' with Stoudemire?

Dance with what brung ya.

[BgT]

Nowadays, if you don't have Shaq or Yao, your center is going to struggle playing in today's game.
Yes, and if the opposing team HAS a real center, you better have one on your own team to play him. I hope all small ball fans (POP INCLUDED!!!) are watching the Heat game number 6. Would you like to have TD/Horry/Bowen/
Manu/Parker against them now or some other lineup with TD at PF position might be a LITTLE bit better? :rolleyes

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

The funny thing is we're going to get to see how the Spurs system really matches up with the Mavs, because the Heat are running the Spurs D 24/7/365 in the playoffs.

[Slinkyman]

The funny thing is we're going to get to see how the Spurs system really matches up with the Mavs, because the Heat are running the Spurs D 24/7/365 in the playoffs.

so shaq's gonna guard dirk?

[Cant_Be_Faded]

The funny thing is we're going to get to see how the Spurs system really matches up with the Mavs, because the Heat are running the Spurs D 24/7/365 in the playoffs.


Dude I hope the Heat fucking bukkake the mavs. It's already a given they will make Phoenix look like a WNBA team. But if they face the mavs? I hope they fucking bukkake them. Tokyo Style.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

so shaq's gonna guard dirk?

Where did you see that?

Who guarded Dirk in the Spurs system earlier this year when the Spurs won two games with Tim and Nazr playing side by side?

For the 5000th time. The Spurs system wouldn't have fucking shut Dirk down. It would have prevented Dallas from being +25 on the offensive glass for the series, and it sure as hell would have prevented 60 PPG for Dallas in the fucking paint.

[strangeweather]

The funny thing is we're going to get to see how the Spurs system really matches up with the Mavs, because the Heat are running the Spurs D 24/7/365 in the playoffs.
Yes, but is Tim Udonis Haslem, or is Nazr supposed to be Haslem?

[strangeweather]

For the 5000th time. The Spurs system wouldn't have fucking shut Dirk down. It would have prevented Dallas from being +25 on the offensive glass for the series, and it sure as hell would have prevented 60 PPG for Dallas in the fucking paint.
Yes, I've heard all about your master plan where we defeat a team full of dangerous jump shooters by leaving them open but outrebounding them after they make their shots. :rolleyes

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

So this is what it's come to for the Pop defenders? Transposing players from one team to another?

It's about the system. In the Spurs system, it's not about guarding a man. It's about forcing everything baseline where you've got two seven footers waiting to fuck with what is already a significantly lower percentage shot (baseline midrange jumper) instead of the Devin Harris/Jason Terry layup drill in the paint.

[Slinkyman]

Haslem, Walker> Rasho, Nazr

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Yes, I've heard all about your master plan where we defeat a team full of dangerous jump shooters by leaving them open but outrebounding them after they make their shots.

It worked against Phoenix last year, and they had more 'dangerous' jump shooters than Dallas.

BTW, I didn't know Devin Harris was a 'deadly' jump shooter, and obviously the Spurs defensive system demands leaving all the shooters wide open for jumpers :rolleyes

Talk about overexaggerating your counterargument strangeweather...

Fuck, tell me you are not this stupid. Did you even watch Spurs basketball the last seven years, or did you just decide to show up now we lost and act like you know something?

[strangeweather]

So this is what it's come to for the Pop defenders? Transposing players from one team to another?

It's about the system. In the Spurs system, it's not about guarding a man. It's about forcing everything baseline where you've got two seven footers waiting to fuck with what is already a significantly lower percentage shot (baseline midrange jumper) instead of the Devin Harris/Jason Terry layup drill in the paint.
Well then I guess we can go trade for Calvin Booth, because it apparently doesn't matter if you can actually play as long as you're 7 feet tall and you stand around aimlessly at the baseline. :rolleyes

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Well then I guess we can go trade for Calvin Booth, because it apparently doesn't matter if you can actually play as long as you're 7 feet tall and you stand around aimlessly at the baseline.

Well I guess Nazr and Rasho were good enough to hold down Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace (a long, jump shooting PF... HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM), and Antonio McDyess, but were not good enough for those juggernaut Dallas post players of DeSagana Diop, Erick Dampier, and Keith Van Horn.

Damn you are some dumbass motherfuckers.

[Slinkyman]

Well I guess Nazr and Rasho were good enough to hold down Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace (a long, jump shooting PF... HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM), and Antonio McDyess, but were not good enough for those juggernaut Dallas post players of DeSagana Diop, Erick Dampier, and Keith Van Horn.

Damn you are some dumbass motherfuckers.

you're right, rasho and nazr dominated the pistons the 2 times we played them this year.

[picnroll]

Heat would have a tough time with Dirk but Dirk will have a bitch of a time staying in front of Walker. Wade - Howard would be fun. Between Wade and Heat Mavs bigs would be in a world of foul trouble.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

you're right, rasho and nazr dominated the pistons the 2 times we played them this year.

Um, I was talking about the last time the Spurs won the title, you know - last year?

And as for the two Detroit games this year...

Nazr didn't get in the Christmas game until we were down 18 in the second half, and all he did was rattle off a 10 and 5 game in 17 minutes. Only got 6 minutes in game 2 while we got pummeled on the boards.

The irony of the ass whipping the Pistons put on the Spurs in San Antonio in February as well as the Christmas day game was that Pop tried to play small ball then as well, playing Horry over half the game at "PF" while Duncan played center in each of those games.

Funny how that all came back and bit us in the ass again in the post-season.

[strangeweather]

It worked against Phoenix last year, and they had more 'dangerous' jump shooters than Dallas.
We covered Amare primarily as a slasher last year -- if you cover Dirk that way, he'll rain jumpers on you. Amare doesn't have Dirk's shot.


BTW, I didn't know Devin Harris was a 'deadly' jump shooter
I suppose you could put Nazr on Harris. But even if you leave him inside so he gets a head start, I'm thinking that's a tough cover for him.


obviously the Spurs defensive system demands leaving all the shooters wide open for jumpers
You were the one who said we could put Nazr on Dirk but just let him sag inside without covering Dirk on the perimeter. I don't recall that being a feature of the Spurs system either, but I guess that was an improvement you made over that "idiot" Pop.


Did you even watch Spurs basketball the last seven years, or did you just decide to show up now we lost and act like you know something?
Yeah, it's a shame the Spurs coaches never watch their games either. Then they might be as smart as you are.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

We covered Amare primarily as a slasher last year -- if you cover Dirk that way, he'll rain jumpers on you. Amare doesn't have Dirk's shot.

Amare scored 10 more PPG against us last year than Dirk did last year, it's a good thing we changed our defense to take care of Dirk this year :rolleyes

Again, playing two bigs wouldn't have kept Dirk from getting his 30 PPG, it would have kept Terry and Harris from their fucking layup drill and Dallas from killing us on the offensive glass.

[Slinkyman]

Heat would have a tough time with Dirk but Dirk will have a bitch of a time staying in front of Walker. Wade - Howard would be fun. Between Wade and Heat Mavs bigs would be in a world of foul trouble.

I think Miami matches up pretty well against dallas, not as good as the pistons but haslem will do a better job against dirk then any big on our team. Walker and Posey will guard dirk too and they match up better then finley and bowen.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Yeah, it's a shame the Spurs coaches never watch their games either. Then they might be as smart as you are.

The ironic thing is that I have a lot of confidence in Pop's defensive system, and am critical of him for going away from it.

But I guess you thought that was a brilliant coaching move, what with us still playing basketball tomorrow and all...

[picnroll]

Pistons are/were playing like crap. Offense has gone to hell in a handbag. I'd rather have the Heat take a shot at kicking Cuban's ass back into his closet.

[Slinkyman]

Amare scored 10 more PPG against us last year than Dirk did last year, it's a good thing we changed our defense to take care of Dirk this year :rolleyes

Again, playing two bigs wouldn't have kept Dirk from getting his 30 PPG, it would have kept Terry and Harris from their fucking layup drill and Dallas from killing us on the offensive glass.

so who in your mind guards dirk? Tim or Nazr/Rasho?

[strangeweather]

Amare scored 10 more PPG against us last year than Dirk did last year, it's a good thing we changed our defense to take care of Dirk this year :rolleyes

Both Kobe and Shaq can score a ton of points. Do you use the same scheme to stop them?


Again, playing two bigs wouldn't have kept Dirk from getting his 30 PPG, it would have kept Terry and Harris from their fucking layup drill and Dallas from killing us on the offensive glass.

Who says Dirk would get 30? He dropped 50 on the Suns. And if you didn't bother to cover his jump shots like you suggested, he could drop a lot more than that.

[rascal]

If spurs basketball is dead than the spurs are dead. They will not win trying to out score people with the current roster locked in as it is.

They need a big time consistent 2nd scoring star and manu (I don't expect he will get any better than what you see now) and Parker are not there yet. Also they need to over haul their bench and get younger and more athletic, something Pop has never been able to do instead opting for signing or trading for unathletic or over the hill type players.

I have no confidence that Pop can get the type of players that will transform the spurs style of play.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Both Kobe and Shaq can score a ton of points. Do you use the same scheme to stop them?

Well, best I remember we manned up on both of them and let them get theirs. I remember in 2003 Kobe going for about 36 a game on us, someone remind me how that year turned out for us.


Who says Dirk would get 30? He dropped 50 on the Suns.

He got half his points from the FT line. Wow, one game he scored 50. Guess it's game over there :rolleyes

Like I said, Dirk getting his wasn't what beat us in that series, it was us turning Devin Harris into an 18 PPG scorer because we had no one to help Duncan protect the paint in there.

[strangeweather]

Like I said, Dirk getting his wasn't what beat us in that series, it was us turning Devin Harris into an 18 PPG scorer because we had no one to help Duncan protect the paint in there.
I agree, letting Dirk get the points he got in that series wasn't what beat us. But that was with a fairly quick perimeter defender staying with him the whole way.

Why is it that you think that if we stopped putting that defender on him and left him wide open anywhere outside the paint, he couldn't have scored any more points?

[Nikos]

If spurs basketball is dead than the spurs are dead. They will not win trying to out score people with the current roster locked in as it is.

They need a big time consistent 2nd scoring star and manu (I don't expect he will get any better than what you see now) and Parker are not there yet. Also they need to over haul their bench and get younger and more athletic, something Pop has never been able to do instead opting for signing or trading for unathletic or over the hill type players.

I have no confidence that Pop can get the type of players that will transform the spurs style of play.

The Spurs might be finished due to the fact that Manu and Bowen getting older, and the fact they might not pick up anybody good. But they didn't lose to Dallas cause of a lack of second scorer. Manu was by far the best player statistically after Duncan and Dirk of course. Not even Howard or Terry were close. Dallas won with more depth, and even so they barely squeaked it out.

BTW Manu was an awesome second scorer last playoffs, and the team still struggled versus everyone except the Suns. Against teams with shady #1 scorers. So your argument isn't perfect.

Every team that isn't extremely dominant needs a little luck to win some playoff series. It's not as if the Western teams are easily going to be better than the Spurs if everyone is healthy. Now if Miami was healthy maybe, and the Suns are good. But after that you can't say for certain Dallas will be better than SA. Nor any other team.

[BgT]

You know what the ultimate small ball fan is? He can see small ball will not win us the title and he still wants to play it. You can't be bigger fan than that. :lmao We have tons of those here not to mention Pop. :lol

[Slinkyman]

In football terms this is like when a team goes with 4 wide outs and the defense has to match up with that, they can't expect to keep their 4-3 on the field and hope their LBs can run with those 4 WRs. You have to match up with what the other team is doing.

[Spurologist]

Dead? More like haitus.

[SequSpur]

I didn't realize Popovich had so many screen names. :lmao

[ploto]

Yes, and if the opposing team HAS a real center, you better have one on your own team to play him. I hope all small ball fans (POP INCLUDED!!!) are watching the Heat game number 6. Would you like to have TD/Horry/Bowen/
Manu/Parker against them now or some other lineup with TD at PF position might be a LITTLE bit better? :rolleyes
Even Pop said the day after the game 7 loss that the Spurs traditionally have stayed big even against smaller teams, but that it simply does not work against Dirk. The Spurs are not going to abandon their entire style- their goal is to be versatile enough to play all styles. If the Spurs played Houston and the Clippers in the play-offs and the Heat in the finals, it would be entirely different.

[ManuTim_best of Fwiendz]

This team is a lot different than the team in 1999-2001 twin tower defense, and 2003-2004 youthful speed 2005-2006 Parker-Ginobili-Duncan Trifecta. I'd say this thread is stupid because if you paid attention, we've made tweaks every year. Tim's been on 3 different teams with an adjusted style. As long as we have Tim; Spurs basketball will never be dead. We don't just play one way where we slow-down tempo for every opponent. Pop emphasizes versatility. The only problem with Pop is that he hasn't constructed a team that murderlizes the opponents consistently like Phil Jackson can. Only in the asterisk year but that seemed flukey and Pop has improved as a coach since then-- so it wasn't his doing really.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Even Pop said the day after the game 7 loss that the Spurs traditionally have stayed big even against smaller teams, but that it simply does not work against Dirk.

It's retarded to abandon your seven year strong system for one player, especially when you were batting .500 against said player.

All this back and forth is pointless though, we'll never know because we never tried.

Like I said though, we'll get to find out how well our system does work against the current iteration of the Mavs, because the Heat are running the Spurs system on defense.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

It's retarded to abandon your seven year strong system for one player, especially when you were batting .500 against said player.

All this back and forth is pointless though, we'll never know because we never tried.

Like I said though, we'll get to find out how well our system does work against the current iteration of the Mavs, because the Heat are running the Spurs system on defense.


Anthem for the year 2006.

[sakpase]

The Spurs won 63 games this year and 3 championships the Spurs way.

Is this another attempt of letting Popovich off the hook with the illusion of a changing game?

I declare Bullshit again and again.

Pop didn't adjust, he lost the series.

Try again.

fucking true, Pop destroy our playoffs; good Defense will still be the keys to victory.
ask Team that are poor in Defense (Toronto, Phily, etc...)