duncan228
01-28-2008, 02:23 PM
It's Hoopsworld, so take it with a grain of salt. :)
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=7089
San Antonio Spurs Midseason Report
By: Yannis Koutroupis
Despite being the defending NBA champions and seen by many as a favorite to win the championship this year, the Spurs have had a somewhat mediocre first half of the season. If this was any other team, there would be reason to be alarmed. But this Spurs dynasty has been going for nine years now and we've learned that the Spurs will never be the most impressive team during the regular season.
The fact that they aren't leading the Southwest division isn't surprising as it's so early. What has been surprising is their sub .500 record on the road so far. This is still a team that has no problem going into the playoffs without home-court advantage though. Through the first half of the season their reserves were unable to fill the void left by players who were out with injuries, which led to a lot of games where they just weren't able to keep up offensively.
In eleven of their fourteen losses the Spurs have gotten the defensive effort they needed to win the game but failed to score more than 95 points. Outside of Manu Ginobili the Spurs really have nobody they can consistently depend on for scoring from their bench. Their most potent offensive reserve outside of Manu has been Brent Barry. Unfortunately for the Spurs, Brent's return from his calf injury lasted just three games as he re-injured it and will be out for the next 3-4 weeks.
Developing their reserves and expanding their roles is the most important thing for this Spurs team to do in the second half. Come playoff time proven guys like Robert Horry and Michael Finley's game will step up. What they need is for Ime Udoka, Jacque Vaughn, and Matt Bonner to expand upon what they already bring to the team. With Barry's absence and their current offensive struggles, more scoring from Udoka, Vaughn, and Bonner has become a necessity rather than a luxury.
The center position has also been unreliable so far for the Spurs this season. At times Popovich has gone to a smaller line up that starts Tim Duncan at center with four perimeter players. If the Spurs offensive struggles continue, Oberto and Elson could continue to find themselves on the bench. In a seven game series having two big men that are strong defenders will come in handy. With offense being a problem for the Spurs and so few dominant big men in the league though, it may be until the playoffs that their minutes pick back up.
Don't expect the Spurs to be very active as they trade deadline is approaching. The Spurs still have the exact same pieces that Popovich was unwilling to move at this point last season because he felt they were capable of winning a championship – and did. They also have few movable pieces. In theory Elson and Barry's 8 million in expiring contracts could be valuable to a team looking to get under the cap, but those are both pieces that Coach Popovich will likely call on come playoff time. The chemistry and experience on this team is among the best in the league – and that isn't something you want to risk damaging.
The Spurs play through the first half has certainly not been ideal, but Coach Popovich has done a nice job handling the rash of injuries they encountered. He unsuccessfully attempted to find some offensive help from the development league but it now appears that it will have to come from within. It's just about getting into the post-season healthy for this proven group of players though. The first half was a struggle, but they've always been a second half team. They aren't first in the West or even their own division for that matter – but a championship caliber team is going to start coming together really soon in San Antonio.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=7089
San Antonio Spurs Midseason Report
By: Yannis Koutroupis
Despite being the defending NBA champions and seen by many as a favorite to win the championship this year, the Spurs have had a somewhat mediocre first half of the season. If this was any other team, there would be reason to be alarmed. But this Spurs dynasty has been going for nine years now and we've learned that the Spurs will never be the most impressive team during the regular season.
The fact that they aren't leading the Southwest division isn't surprising as it's so early. What has been surprising is their sub .500 record on the road so far. This is still a team that has no problem going into the playoffs without home-court advantage though. Through the first half of the season their reserves were unable to fill the void left by players who were out with injuries, which led to a lot of games where they just weren't able to keep up offensively.
In eleven of their fourteen losses the Spurs have gotten the defensive effort they needed to win the game but failed to score more than 95 points. Outside of Manu Ginobili the Spurs really have nobody they can consistently depend on for scoring from their bench. Their most potent offensive reserve outside of Manu has been Brent Barry. Unfortunately for the Spurs, Brent's return from his calf injury lasted just three games as he re-injured it and will be out for the next 3-4 weeks.
Developing their reserves and expanding their roles is the most important thing for this Spurs team to do in the second half. Come playoff time proven guys like Robert Horry and Michael Finley's game will step up. What they need is for Ime Udoka, Jacque Vaughn, and Matt Bonner to expand upon what they already bring to the team. With Barry's absence and their current offensive struggles, more scoring from Udoka, Vaughn, and Bonner has become a necessity rather than a luxury.
The center position has also been unreliable so far for the Spurs this season. At times Popovich has gone to a smaller line up that starts Tim Duncan at center with four perimeter players. If the Spurs offensive struggles continue, Oberto and Elson could continue to find themselves on the bench. In a seven game series having two big men that are strong defenders will come in handy. With offense being a problem for the Spurs and so few dominant big men in the league though, it may be until the playoffs that their minutes pick back up.
Don't expect the Spurs to be very active as they trade deadline is approaching. The Spurs still have the exact same pieces that Popovich was unwilling to move at this point last season because he felt they were capable of winning a championship – and did. They also have few movable pieces. In theory Elson and Barry's 8 million in expiring contracts could be valuable to a team looking to get under the cap, but those are both pieces that Coach Popovich will likely call on come playoff time. The chemistry and experience on this team is among the best in the league – and that isn't something you want to risk damaging.
The Spurs play through the first half has certainly not been ideal, but Coach Popovich has done a nice job handling the rash of injuries they encountered. He unsuccessfully attempted to find some offensive help from the development league but it now appears that it will have to come from within. It's just about getting into the post-season healthy for this proven group of players though. The first half was a struggle, but they've always been a second half team. They aren't first in the West or even their own division for that matter – but a championship caliber team is going to start coming together really soon in San Antonio.