Best offensive team of the Duncan era?

[whottt]

Right now the Spurs are averaging over a hundred points a game.

I believe this is the first time in the Duncan era they've been averaging over a hundred this late in the season.

They also are in the top 3 in FG% and 3PT%.


Not to mention they have 3 players averaging right at 20ppg....also probably a first in the Duncan era...this late in the season anyway.


Thoughts?




The only teams that might come close to this one offensively would be the team from Duncan's first season and the 2001 Spurs.

That comparison doesn't exactly make you feel like throwing a parade but still...if the defense comes together...this just might wind up the best Spurs team of them all...and one of the best in NBA history.

[BonnerDynasty]

What's scary is the team rarely plays on all cylinders.

If you were to tell me 5 years ago we'd have Barry, Finley, and Horry all coming off the bench...

[whottt]

Yeah this team is clicking on all cylinders....not just in PPG, but also in FG% and 3PCT...hell even FT%.


I guess you could say the last two Spurs teams were pretty good offensively and this team is just following a trend...but this team is better across the board in relation to the rest of the league.


They Spurs have had some very good offensive teams that didn't score a lot of PPG, but shot lights out from the field relative to the rest of the league....the 97-98 team and the 00-01 team.

This team is doing all 3....




BTW, the worst offensive team of the Duncan era is easy to peg...that's the 03-04 Spurs.....by far the worst team, and our offense was why that team didn't repeat.

[ArgSpursFan.]

yes,but as soon as manu goes back to normal(hopefully not soon)
this team will be just at the same level as last year´s.
But still good enough to repeat.

[whottt]

I'm sorry ArgSpursfanPana...I couldn't understand what you were saying with your lips attatched to Manu's ass...would you mind removing them from it and discussing the topic at hand...which incidentally, is about the Spurs team...and not individual players.

Thanks in advance...

[ArgSpursFan.]

I'm sorry ArgSpursfanPana...I couldn't understand what you were saying with your lips attatched to Manu's ass...would you mind removing them from it and discussing the topic at hand...which incidentally, is about the Spurs team...and not individual players.

Thanks in advance...

what I´m saying is that this team is a great as last year´s
the diference has been Manu playing out of his fricking mind,and I´m sure He´ll go back to the normal regular season Manu and stay around 16/17 ppg as usual.
That´s all.

[thispego]

potent offense indeed. I've never expected shots to go down as much in any other season.

[whottt]

what I´m saying is that this team is a great as last year´s
the diference has been Manu playing out of his fricking mind,and I´m sure He´ll go back to the normal regular season Manu and stay around 16/17 ppg as usual.
That´s all.



I think Manu has his mind set on having his best season...he knows what Duncan is...and he just saw Parker win a finals MVP...he wants to have his best season. So I don't really that's going to be a factor...barring injury. His down periods will be the exceptions to the rule this season IMO.



The biggest obstacle to our offense continuing at this rate, is going to be Pop himself...


But you never know...looking at the trends...the biggest problems in repeating for the Spurs...have been on the offensive end. That might have been what was hurt the most by the annual roster turnover....would seem to be the case looking at the 00 and 03 teams.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Execution on both ends of the floor has been the Spurs calling card in the championship years. One hand washes the other, so to speak. It's easier to get back on defense when you execute your offense well. The extra second or so that you buy when you force the other team to collect and inbound the ball can make a world of difference against a track team like the Suns.

[FromWayDowntown]

For whatever it's worth, at the 1/4 mark (roughly) of the season, the Spurs are #1 in the NBA in offensive efficiency at 110.8 points per 100 possessions, while sitting 3rd in effective field goal percentage and 4th in true shooting percentage. Raw numbers aside, those numbers are remarkable for a Spurs team in the Popovich era.

Meanwhile, they're held Dallas (8th in the league in PPG) and high-scoring Utah (4th in PPG) under 100 points in consecutive games and are now 8th in the league in defensive efficiency (though, alarmingly, they're still allowing opponents to shoot better than 46% from the field).

[FromWayDowntown]

I think Manu has his mind set on having his best season...he knows what Duncan is...and he just saw Parker win a finals MVP...he wants to have his best season. So I don't really that's going to be a factor...barring injury. His down periods will be the exceptions to the rule this season IMO.

I have this theory that Manu, while an amazing competitor, a driven winner, and a fearless player in any circumstance, is particuarly driven this year and I think it's because he (unfairly) holds himself responsible for the failure to repeat in 2006. Given another chance to reach that goal, I have this hunch that Manu is going to go balls out whenever he must to give the Spurs every chance to accomplish that goal. That's not to say that Manu hasn't played hard in the past or that he's ever held anything back -- it just seems to me that Manu is particularly driven and focused this season and, from a distance, it makes me wonder if that one foul on Nowitzki and its ultimate effect in 2006 isn't a reason for that.

[whottt]

Yeah I'm impressed with their offense...like I said earlier, relative to the other teams in the league...this one's pretty stand out and a stand out amongst Spurs team as well. The only Spurs teams that come close are the 97-98 teams and the 00-01 teams.


The 97-98 team makes my list because it had two bigmen score over 20 ppg and shoot over 50% from the field...that's not just one of the best interior scoring duos in Spurs history or in the NBA that season...that's one of the best in NBA history, probably a top 5, definitely a top 10. So of course that team makes the list...


The 00-01 team lead the NBA in 3 shooting and was up there in FG% as well, it was up there in every category actually, both offensively and defensively...it seemed like that team was a top 10 team in every stat category...so that's why that team made my list.


Those are the only teams that are really comparable IMO to what this team is doing.

[ancestron]

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