Best team in franchise history?

[Frenchise player]

Hello everyone,
I am a Spurs fan living in Paris since Tp was drafted in 2001,
I would like to know if the current spurs team is better than the spurs of 1999 and 2003, it' s difficult to compare Elliot and ginobili or Parker and Avery Johnson but I really enjoy watching the spurs on tv with manu doing his crazy things and TP blowing out defenses.
PS: excuse-me for my poor english

[SpursWoman]

Welcome to the forum! :)



I'm not entirely sure they are better, but they sure are a lot more fun to watch. :)

[samikeyp]

I think that this team can be the best Spurs team of all time. Right now, IMO, its still a little early to tell.

Your English is better than some of those who live here! :) Welcome.

[Slo spurs fan]

Don't worry about your english, its way better than Ducks eng. :lol

[ALVAREZ6]

Your English is fine, Frenchise.

I think this is the most exciting Spurs team. They do everything well, they have barely any weaknesses.
They pass well, shoot well, contest shots with Rasho and Duncan, and Parker, Bowen, and Manu are all threats to stealing the ball.

[GoSpurs21]

I agree this is definitely the most exciting Spurs team to watch and Tony Parker >>>> AJ

[Solid D]

Yes, I think it is the best team 1-12. It is better, not because of the defense - the 1999 and 2003 teams were slightly better with Tim and David both in there, but offensively this year's team is better.

[polandprzem]

Your English is fine, Frenchise.


:depressed nobody will say that about my english :depressed


Somtimes, I think, ypu don't understand nothing what I'm wrutig.

Oh, well - you've got to live with that :spin







:pctoss

[whottt]

It is definitely the most talented and deepest team in Spur history.

Brent Barry was a starter last season, one of the most efficient guards, if not the most efficient, in the NBA...he is the 9th man on our bench...Robert Horry, a defacto start on 5 NBA champions, is our 10th man.

That is called depth and talent.

To be the best team in Spur history they have to win a title though, and they have to do it in as convincing fashion as the 99 champs.

Anything can happen in the playoffs, the 2001 team appeared to be the best team in history up to that point...and Phil Jackson said he didn't think it was possible for last years team to be beaten...

Note, the team that beat both of those teams is no longer in existence...but there's a reason they play the games.

If we stay healthy and don't choke, play up to the talent and potential of this team, and if our coaching staff doesn't forget about offense...I suspect we will not be asking ourselves if this is the best Spurs team in history..

We will instead be asking where it ranks among the greatest teams in NBA history...but that's a long way off and a title must be won before those types of questions can be asked.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

It is definitely the most talented and deepest team in Spur history.

Brent Barry was a starter last season, one of the most efficient guards, if not the most efficient, in the NBA...he is the 9th man on our bench...Robert Horry, a defacto start on 5 NBA champions, is our 10th man.

That is called depth and talent.

To be the best team in Spur history they have to win a title though, and they have to do it in as convincing fashion as the 99 champs.

Anything can happen in the playoffs, the 2001 team appeared to be the best team in history up to that point...and Phil Jackson said he didn't think it was possible for last years team to be beaten...

Note, the team that beat both of those teams is no longer in existence...but there's a reason they play the games.

If we stay healthy and don't choke, play up to the talent and potential of this team, and if our coaching staff doesn't forget about offense...I suspect we will not be asking ourselves if this is the best Spurs team in history..

We will instead be asking where it ranks among the greatest teams in NBA history...but that's a long way off and a title must be won before those types of questions can be asked.


Couldn't have said it better, Whottt.

This team is damn fun to watch. They're scary good some nights. When nearly every Spur can click in their own way at the same time, a team such as this will be tops in the league.

We keep seeing clips of this team finally coming together and if they do this in the playoffs - it's damn near over.

[Sense]

You can't say much until we win this year.


Last year's looked good, but thanks to Hedo,and a couple of other failures, we didnt succeed.

I can't say it's the best, but I will if we win the championship, which I'm not doubting.

[alamo50]

'02 - '03

[rob5]

Here we go again with the "best team ever" thing. It seems like every other year or so when the Spurs put together a string of convincing wins it pops up. Let's save that question for June where it belongs.

[BigVee]

One thing is for certain. They are much improved over last year, when they were pretty damn good. The game dominance has been amazing. Games that we all had to sweat out last year are being won by 15 or 20 going away. It takes a little luck as well as a great team to win a championship so time will tell. But when they kick into high gear, I can't see anyone being able to play with them.

[Mark in Austin]

This year's team is better at this point in the season than any Spurs team in history. However, it remains to be seen if we will witness the same level of improvement throughout the season as we've seen most years, in particular 1999 and 2003.

The potential is there though, no doubt about it.

[Solid D]

The Point Guard position is the biggest difference-maker between last season and this season.

[boutons]

"The Point Guard position is the biggest difference-maker between last season and this season."

Do you mean _backup_ PG?

Because Tony's Nov/Dec 03 are not that much different from his Nov/Dec 04 in effectiveness. He was hurt in Nov03, and struggling in Nov 04. He was playing pure, distributing PG in the Dec03 win streak, and is now scoring a lot more in Dec04. Very effective, but in different ways.

Beno has been a huge and welcome relief vs last season's backup PG, but he hasn't been a difference maker.

[spursfaninla]

"The Point Guard position is the biggest difference-maker between last season and this season."

Do you mean _backup_ PG?

Because Tony's Nov/Dec 03 are not that much different from his Nov/Dec 04 in effectiveness. He was hurt in Nov03, and struggling in Nov 04. He was playing pure, distributing PG in the Dec03 win streak, and is now scoring a lot more in Dec04. Very effective, but in different ways.

Beno has been a huge and welcome relief vs last season's backup PG, but he hasn't been a difference maker.

Agreed that Parker is not that different Dec 04 from dec 03.

However, Beno has been a difference maker in the sense that our backup pg last year was mostly REALLY BAD. My sense of last year is cringing when Parker when out. I remember thinking Manu should be the backup point most of last year, which is clearly not his strength.

In that Beno is a VERY GOOD backup, considering the minutes he gets, he is a huge improvemtent from a MODERATELY BAD backup from last year.

In that we beat the average opponent by 10+, Beno is not changing the fact that we win or lose, night in and out, true.

I think the biggest differences between this year's team and last, in order;

1)Familiarity between starting 8 (only Beno and Barry are new, last year 8 of 12 were new, right?) Explains why this Spurs team is doing so well at such an early point in the season.

2)Depth: Backups are playing well (Rose, Beno, Horry and Barry are all effective. Last year our bench was Horry and Manu/Hedo, depending on how you look at it.) Explains the general lack of injury, even with players in the Olympics.

3) Running; I see us pushing the ball more when it is smart, and it is leading to more easy baskets. In the past pop wanted us to play half court unless it was (practically) a breakaway.

[Solid D]

What I mean is the PG position. It has been upgraded significantly and I'll tell you how.

Tony's raw numbers are similar, but as Pop has said recently, TP is starting to keep up with time and space much better this year. He knows what the shot clock and game clock status is almost all the time this year and he recognizes what the defense is doing with more acuity.

Secondly, Beno Udrih's high level of play has created a shift in the way and time the Spurs' staff substitute their entire bench. Starting with Beno, Pop likes to bring Beno in at the close of the 1st and 3rd quarters and then continue to keep him in as long as possible in the 2nd and 4th quarters. There have been certain games where the team was clicking so well that Beno has played almost the entire 4th quarters, with Parker coming in to share the backcourt. That substitution pattern never happened with Jason Hart. Jason closed out some quarters but then Tony would be back in to start the next quarter more often than not. Beno is also matched up with certain players creating a synergy that never occured with other backups. When Beno is matched with Devin and either Brent or Manu plus Rasho, the Spurs excel. That dynamic has not been there with previous Spurs teams.

Thirdly, Mike Wilks is a very solid PG with good quickness to defend some of the quicker PGs when Tony needs a quick rest and Beno can't stay in front of them as easily. Mike takes the place of some of the things Jason Hart provided...except that Mike is the 3rd string PG, not the primary backup.

Finally, Beno provides some similar capabilities to what Steve Kerr provided in 2003, surprisingly. Steve backed up up Tony for 8 minutes a game when Speedy was injured and his overall floor management and outside shooting fit the bill. Beno provides similar capabilities.

Therefore, the PG position, as a whole has been upgraded including a near paradigm shift in the way substitution times and combinations have been used by previous Spurs teams.

[Solid D]

I will add one other thing regarding Beno and combinations. Malik Rose seems to have benefited greatly from being on the floor with Beno. There are fewer times where Rose is put into the "Black Hole" postion where it goes to him in the post and he tries to make something happen.

Beno gets the ball to Malik in a postioin to score right away or draw the foul. Malik is smiling more and playing at a more productive level.

[BigVee]

Deep, deep, deep. The second unit of rose and B's could make the playoffs in the east.

[Drachen]

Hello everyone,
I am a Spurs fan living in Paris since Tp was drafted in 2001,
I would like to know if the current spurs team is better than the spurs of 1999 and 2003, it' s difficult to compare Elliot and ginobili or Parker and Avery Johnson but I really enjoy watching the spurs on tv with manu doing his crazy things and TP blowing out defenses.
PS: excuse-me for my poor english

To answer your question this IS the best spurs team ever, and if we could get our FT shooting % to 75 % it would be the best NBA team ever! oh and TP is a lot better than AJ.

[ducks]

tp is ALOT better on d this year then last year also

[Jimcs50]

That 03 team was awesome with the Twin Towers, the stingy defense, and the long range bombers they had. The 99 team finished stronger than almost any team in NBA history. Including the playoffs, they won 45 of their last 53 games, that is 45-8 my friends, and that will be hard to duplicate ever again.(they are 25-6 now, so would have to go 20-2 to match that)

[T Park]

they are 25-6 now, so would have to go 20-2 to match that)

no injuries, and no stupid play by the players or coaches.

Id say thats doable.

Look at the NBA right now. Its become the NFL.

Mediocre teams out the wazoo, and only a handfull of great teams, Seattle, Phoenix, Miami, San Antonio.

I think 20 and 2 is NOT out of the realm of possibility.

But there are always "one of those nights" that creep in a couple times a year.

[Jimcs50]

Just do it, do it, do it, do it.
:)

The first 10 games, they can sweep, but the next 10, it will be hard to go 8-2.

21 at Phoenix Tickets 9:00 PM
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Too many away games and even great teams can not win 80% on the road w/o fucking up.