Spurs' defense without Duncan..

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Originally Posted by jjktkk

I think it will, due to the fact, that Pop won't wear out Dyess, nor Duncan, during the regular season, by over playing them.

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WE seriously need another BIG down low to contribute, i dont think blair and bonner is the answer, even splitter isnt gettin any minutes so i count him out of the equation

Oberto was a much better defender than Blair or Bonner, arguably McDyess..more importantly, that was Duncan in his prime + Bowen on the perimeter + weaker competition, especially from a size perspective..

You're also forgetting that there was another key big on that team, he was pretty important, and he fit perfectly next to Duncan on both ends..

Oberto as a team defender was superior to Dice.

HH, that stat with Duncan off the court is disgusting as is the Suns shooting 53.5% tonight. Duncan has been having a good stretch recently - 10-17 in 31 mins. 20pts 15reb 7asst 2stl 3blk tonight.

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Originally Posted by guitardude27

meh, it would be nice but not essential. Oberto wasn't exactly a stud down low defensively. Mohammed wasn't GREAT. He was however good enough to defend Ben Wallace (what a feat).

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lol out of all the bigs u mention no offense ben wallace?

we wont beat teams like the lakers or celtics who have bigs who can dominate a game

seriously for us to win against those teams is sheer defense, taking on charges and shit..but holding them down low and blocking their shots... :(

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Originally Posted by L.I.T

Oberto as a team defender was superior to Dice.

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Dice, IMO, is a better man-to-man defender. Oberto was crafty, high BBIQ.

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Originally Posted by guitardude27

Defensively yes, but Matt Bonner's shot selection >>>>>>>> Robert Horry's shot selection, both in the regular seasons and in the playoffs. People forget about the ones he missed in the playoffs that "counted" just as much, he got the reputation as "Big Shot Rob" because he always made the last one but he also threw up some airball threes in series I recall against the Lakers and Mavericks.

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Surely you jest. There's not one thing Bonner does better than Horry except his regular season +/- stats and who cares about that. Bonner is the anti-thesis of Horry who had an off-the-chart BBIQ and was clutch when it mattered. His performance in 05 Finals game 5 alone should silence any comparison with Bonner. I'll gladly eat crow if Bonner ever puts up any performance resembling that in any playoff game, much less the Finals.

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Originally Posted by guitardude27

I wouldn't mind us trading Blair for a 7-footer but who's available? (Aside from guys who "know the system" like Mohammed and Elson).

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i wouldnt touch mohammed, his contract is nasty if i remember he signed a MLE/5 or something 2-3 seasons ago

as for Elson...he wasnt that good

those players arent equal value anyway if we going to trade blair....

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Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37

Oberto was a much better defender than Blair or Bonner, arguably McDyess..more importantly, that was Duncan in his prime + Bowen on the perimeter + weaker competition, especially from a size perspective..

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Originally Posted by guitardude27

Robert Horry was great...BUT he might have won the title in 04 if he didn't [in Game 5 vs the Lakers] a) chuck up a bad three up three points with a minute left and b) double team Kobe who was 30 feet away from the basket instead of guarding the inbounds with 0.4 to play which allowed for an easy pass to Fisher. Just my rant.

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Everybody has a mental fart here and there, including Manu in '06.
Horry played better the higher the stakes. He was a guy that would come up with a timely blocked shot or a charge when it mattered. Stuff that Matty can only dream about.

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

WE seriously need another BIG down low to contribute, i dont think blair and bonner is the answer, even splitter isnt gettin any minutes so i count him out of the equation

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I agree, but I don't see any big additions this year, so we have to hope Blair continues to develop and hopefully Splitter will somehow get into the mix.

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

WE seriously need another BIG down low to contribute, i dont think blair and bonner is the answer, even splitter isnt gettin any minutes so i count him out of the equation

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Isn't it ironic that the Spurs have somehow developed this need for a low-post big, when they allowed a young, athletic, low-post big to simply leave in FA over the offseason? A move that still chaps my hide.

Imo its always surprising to see how much of a defensive impact that the anchor named Duncan still dishes out; props to the OP :toast. Once someone sees those numbers it no question that Duncan deserves another all star appearance in addition to other NBA honors and awards like All-NBA. His impact on the game is remarkable even though he's playing with really flawed talents in Blair and Bonner and ancient vets like McDyess.

However I'm not overly-concerned of the Spurs defense without Duncan for these reasons:

1. Spurs are winning to the point of having the best record in the NBA :flag:
   
2. Spurs still have plenty to work on and the season's still young. The Spurs defense seems to go up another level as the season progresses.
   
3. Duncan's averaging a career low in minutes and looks healthy, if he was playing more than he did last season it'd be more of a concern. The Spurs have also used him less on offense this year which should allow him to rest or focus that energy on the defensive end.
   
4. Those numbers when Duncan's off the court might be inflated since it doesn't distinguish what minutes are garbage-time, when the Spurs have gigantic leads, etc.
   
5. James Anderson and Tiago Splitter. Yes they're NBA-rookies but I expect both of these players to get more minutes in the 2nd half of the season as the Spurs schedule becomes demanding and busier. Both of these players seem to be pretty decent on defense however Anderson's rotations, quickness to stay on his man, and ability to block shots was surprising since I thought he was more offensively-minded.

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Originally Posted by SenorSpur

Isn't it ironic that the Spurs have somehow developed this need for a low-post big, when they allowed a young, athletic, low-post big to simply leave in FA over the offseason? A move that still chaps my hide.

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No its not ironic. If the Spurs would have of kept Mahimni, that would be 3 developmental bigs on the roster. Although Splitter, for whatever reasons, has not played much this year, he was, coming into this season, considered to be an upgrade over Mahimni. Throw in Blair's expected improvement in his 2nd year, and there wouldn't have been no room for a 3rd developmental big man. How could Pop find enough minutes for Blair, Mahimni, and Splitter?

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Originally Posted by jestersmash

Developing Splitter is the only viable option at this point.

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This this this this this this this this this this this

lol Noah at +11

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: The Spurs need another long, defensive minded big on the roster.

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Originally Posted by SenorSpur

Isn't it ironic that the Spurs have somehow developed this need for a low-post big, when they allowed a young, athletic, low-post big to simply leave in FA over the offseason? A move that still chaps my hide.

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It isn't like Mahinmi is suddenly fantastic in Dallas and we're all kicking ourselves over him leaving.:lol

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Originally Posted by Agloco

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: The Spurs need another long, defensive minded big on the roster.

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if only Splitter would get here. The Spurs could sure use him.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Hypothetically, Splitter would be the anchor to the defense when Duncan is on the bench. But if Pop is putting Splitter in the Oberto program, we might have to hope that McDyess turns back the clock even more.

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Its hard to play defense when your lying on your back.