Spurs Just Biding Their Time

[jdelar03]

This is what I think, the spurs are just hanging around making sure they make the playoffs. The west is so tight this year that all these teams are beating them selfs up trying to get every win possible. But if you look at it every teams star players other than Suns are averaging 35-39 mins a game. But the Spurs are averaging 31-35 mins a game. We are going to be seeded 4, 5 or 6 and go to the playoffs fresher and do what we do just win. Thoughts

[DazedAndConfused]

Have you been watching the Spurs lately?

[bdictjames]

Well I hope what you said is true..

They dont look like the Spurs out there still IMO.

[jdelar03]

Yeah, I agree we don't look as good but these other teams are playing their players balls to the walls big minutes and we are still only 1.5 games out of first playing our main players with less minutes. Our team has always been about the big picture and I hope this is something that they know what they are doing. Like Manu said on Rome he trust pop because it's about winning the championship and nothing else.

[jdelar03]

Thanks socal for the pic of your neighbor. :dizzy

[DazedAndConfused]

LOL fans will come up with the most ridiculous rationales for their team sucking ass. Laker fans do it just as badly.

[m33p0]

nah. spurs, particularly the bench, is struggling to find its feet atm.

[jdelar03]

I guess to me average minutes played is a reality and maybe I am wrong but the fact of the matter is if this is the spurs "sucking ass" and they are in 3rd in the west with Parker avg. 33.8, Duncan 34.7 and Ginobli 31.4 while Bryant is avg 38.5, Gasol 35.8 and Odem at 37.4. We'll have to just see what happens.

[spursrule32]

Nah, Spurs have gone through this before (last year in particular.) This year is different b/c we've had injuries all year and we haven't been able to find our niche yet with the new additions. The thing we have over every other team in the west is a core of players that have won and that means a hell of lot more than stats and the regular season record. Don't get me wrong - these losses are tough to see, but at the end of the day don't ever think that as fans you are more concerned about their current play than the actual players themselves. This is a very unselfish crew with a ton of desire (championships prove that.) If you really know your Spurs, you have to believe that they will get it together before the playoffs begin.

[DazedAndConfused]

The Spurs are held to a higher standard than any other team in the league. They are the defending champs and everyone expects them to be playing like the best team in the league. Their record is very good primarily because of their amazing 17-3 start. Since then they have been very, dare I say, mediocre against good WC teams.

And mpg is not much of an issue when you are dealing with athletes in great physical condition. Iverson has been playing damn near 40mpg his entire career and it hasn't affected his performance in the playoffs one bit. Kobe, Odom, and even Gasol are in good physical shape and can handle the minutes they are playing right now. In the playoffs this is more likely the kind of minutes they would be playing anyways.

[spursrule32]

The Spurs are held to a higher standard than any other team in the league. They are the defending champs and everyone expects them to be playing like the best team in the league.

That's exactly right and every team (that's in contention) has played balls to the wall against the Spurs mainly because they have been the barometer of success this year in the NBA. You beat the Spurs and suddendly you have a chance to win the Championship. Recently, we're playing almost playoff type games. Take that and the fact that a lot of players have played more minutes than normal due to injuries (Manu in particular) - it wears down on their bodies. I'm not making excuses and in fact I think it will make the Spurs better for the playoffs. The main concern for Spurs fans is not whether we have enough talent, but rather if they get their defense in shape for the playoffs and that always contributes to a better offense for the Spurs (at least in the past it has.) Yeah we're old, but how many back to back games do we play in the playoffs?

[Brutalis]

If anyone believes the Spurs are biding time for the playoffs, you are a fool.

SA is just getting beat and there's no biding, rough stretch, whatever kinda excuse.

[spursrule32]

If anyone believes the Spurs are biding time for the playoffs, you are a fool.

SA is just getting beat and there's no biding, rough stretch, whatever kinda excuse.

Definitely not biding their time - they haven't even figured out what starting lineup to put out there yet. No excuses either - they just need to work things out and unfortunately they don't have a lot time to do that. That said - if you think the Spurs are getting beat because they lack to talent to win than you forgotten how this team works. They haven't really come together yet (does that remind you of any other year) and once they do their defense and especially their offense will be so much more productive. Look at the recent games - bad shots and bad defense = poor chemistry. If they don't come together soon, they will absolutely be a first round exit. As a Spurs fan, all you can hope is that they get it together soon. Barry won't cure that and there probably isn't many players that would solve that problem. The fact is that they're not playing as a team right now and that can only be solved by time.