Spurs vs. Kings - Nov. 2 Random Thoughts

This looks like the strongest, deepest Spurs roster ever. Usually, there's a 12th man (or two) who we know will never really contribute. I can't think of who that is on this team. (And Splitter will only make it deeper and better next year.)

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Originally Posted by ShoogarBear

Right now, Franbrisco Elberto is averaging 11.5/11.5. I'll take that.

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Sig-worthy! :lol :lol :lol

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Originally Posted by mystargtr34

Really....the first 4-0 start in history??? Damn...

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They might have started a season 4-0 in the ABA days...but not since they joined the NBA.


I know it seems hard to believe....



This is only the 4th 3-0 start in team history.


The others are:

84-85
99-00
00-01

I can't put my finger on it, but there's something different about this squad. Usually they just start off the season slow and screw around until March.

This team has come out looking like it's on a mission. The guys look in great shape, Manu is fresh and is seeing the court tremendously well, Tim's hitting his FTs, and everyone on the team is busting their ass when they're on the court.

They look cohesive and determined, which could mean trouble for the league. They seem focused on that repeat, I like it.

something is different
does seem they care more now then they usually do
I expect a repeat

The new guys certainly help IMO... it must be refreshing to have a couple of young new faces around... especially guys like Ime (not that hes young) and D Wash with their attitude to the game and their past and what theyve been through. Even Ian. Manu is fresh, Parker is still buzzing from what he has achieved the past couple of months....Bonner is coming into his own, so is Elson... Fin and Brent are letting it fly.....everything is just different this year... its great man... i love it.

Mahinmi is young and he's athletic but he makes Elson look likes he's has a Horryesque basketball IQ. Hopefully it's because Ian just hasn't had any good schooling to date. If he's going to be a significant player it's critical that he show significant improvement over the course of a year in Austin. Not just offense but understanding defense and positioning and rotation.

TD 9-9 ft? Chip is going to have to work with Timmy, 100% ft? unacepptable... :lol
On other hands, I can't imagine other couple bigs better passing the ball in the paint like Tim and Oberto. Nice pass and assist Oberto to TD in two last game, big hands and brain

Tim shooting FT's good and the Spurs starting 3-0 are horrible omens for the Spurs.

In the 2000-2001 season the Spurs started the season 3-0 and Duncan had his finest FT shooting season when he shot @80% from the FT line...

In the playoffs that year, the Spurs were swept in the WCF by the largest average margin of defeat in WCF history.

Scary.

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Originally Posted by timvp

-Nice to see Udoka come into the game and produce. It's usually hard for perimeter players to figure out how to play within the system but Udoka seems like a natural. He still has a lot to learn but he'll be an asset if he can keep progressing.

-Beno should get plenty of time at point guard for that team. No one on the Kings seemed capable of even pretending to be a point guard.

-Manu's energy this season is through the roof. His stats weren't great but his energy has been awesome in preseason and into the regular season.

-I'd like to see Parker step back a few feet to avoid taking long two pointers as he has in the first three games of the season. His three-point stroke looks good enough that he shouldn't have to shoot long twos anymore.

-Duncan's rebounding in the first half was a big key to getting that big lead. Also good to see him nail all nine free throws.

-Finley and Barry both doing a good job of shooting shots when they are open. They both struggled at times last year in that area.

-Bowen's defense on Kevin Martin was impressive. It wasn't until he got switched off him that Martin started to score.

-Oberto's rebounding was really good. He's playing at a higher level than he was playing last regular season. Hopefully that keeps up.

-Elson is active and is playing with confidence. With the free reign pop has given him, Elson should be able to put up pretty good stats this year.

-Bonner on pick-and-pops with Manu or Parker could become deadly because Bonner's three-pointer when he pops is usually money. Bonner's D is still a work in progress, though.

-Darius Washington was out of the rotation for the first time this year. However, I'm guessing this was due to the Kings not really having a point guard to match up against. Instead, Pop put Manu at backup point which allowed Udoka to guard Martin. We'll see if this was a one game thing or something Pop could do more of.

-It's hard not to get excited about Mahinmi. He came in with six minutes to go and pretty much dominated as much as one can dominate in the final six minutes of a blowout. If I remember right, he got an And-1, followed by a block, followed by a nice jump hook. Then he had another block soon after. He's still far away from being able to contribute but he's looking like a nice prospect.

-Pop is probably the only unhappy one. Pop LOVES early season losses. He thinks that the team will listen to him more if they lose early in the year. With the Spurs 3-0, this is a nightmare for Pop :lol

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Pop said last night that he's having a hard time figuring out a way to rotate everyone in and out.
In fact, here you go...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=271102024

While the Spurs are off to a good start, coach Gregg Popovich still has a few things to figure out, including his bench rotation.

"I feel very uncomfortable," he said. "I have no clue on how to sub them."

On Friday, his star players gave him the chance to tinker a little bit, with most of them sitting out much of the fourth quarter.

I'll take that problem any day!!!

How many three point shooters do we have now? This bench looks like one of the deepest we have ever had.

I'm already confident the Spurs are going to have a hell of a shot at repeating, old or not. Looks like these guys may be in better shape than anyone around the league at this time of year. I think they are ready to roll, and put to sleep the discussions about a dynasty.

I can hardly wait for the Houston game, with all the talk about the Spurs "screw up". Of course, it already appears that the play of Udoka and Washington have silenced a lot of the "FO screwed us" crowd.

I'm surprised how comfortable everyone looks out there. The new guys (Washington, Ian, Udoka) look like they've been playing with the team longer than they have. And last season guys (Bonner, Elson) look better. Not that work still isn't to be done but plenty of time to work it out

The energy and hustle is there and most impressive is the passing.

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Originally Posted by whottt

Tim shooting FT's good and the Spurs starting 3-0 are horrible omens for the Spurs.
Scary.

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These were my first thoughts also.

I hope this team proves to be different.
They sure seem different than the way they usually start a season.

I'm going to try to take it as a good omen instead of a bad one. :)

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"I feel very uncomfortable," he said. "I have no clue on how to sub them."

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Sorry pop, thats what you get for having a damn good team :)

how was Ime's defense last night? rotations? on ball defense? passing lanes? boxing out?


didn't watch the game

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Originally Posted by exstatic

Ian's first block was a jaw dropper. Who the fuck blocks a shot at the FT line extended, and does it easily, to boot? He just climbed right up the ladder. Right now, he's a raw freakish athlete, but if they can actually turn him into a basketball player, he's going to be a very good one.

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http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/...kings_spur.jpg

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Originally Posted by Aggie Hoopsfan

I can't put my finger on it, but there's something different about this squad. Usually they just start off the season slow and screw around until March.

This team has come out looking like it's on a mission. The guys look in great shape, Manu is fresh and is seeing the court tremendously well, Tim's hitting his FTs, and everyone on the team is busting their ass when they're on the court.

They look cohesive and determined, which could mean trouble for the league. They seem focused on that repeat, I like it.

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I agree, but I don't think its that they are 'on a mission' I think its just the team cohesiveness did not wear down or dissolve during the offseason....It's like we never stopped playing, we just picked up where we left off, hit the ground running so to speak.
I have to say I also tend to agree with Whottt about this being a horrible horrible omen............Usually we never see the spurs take care of business early and put away inferior teams with ease. That's something a Mavs or Suns team does.

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Originally Posted by whottt

Tim shooting FT's good and the Spurs starting 3-0 are horrible omens for the Spurs.

In the 2000-2001 season the Spurs started the season 3-0 and Duncan had his finest FT shooting season when he shot @80% from the FT line...

In the playoffs that year, the Spurs were swept in the WCF by the largest average margin of defeat in WCF history.

Scary.

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2001 doesn't mean squat. This is NOW. This is the SPURS. They are going to REPEAT. BOOK IT! :toast

How often do they have the SAME team year to year? Never? This is what I would expect from a team of vets who won the championship last year. They know the system, they know each other, just go out and play and beat scrub teams, not to mention they are just CLUTCH.

Deepest bench Spurs have ever had?

Another note on Darius Washington. I'm one who thinks by the end of the year he'll be the best Spurs back-up at the position of the Duncan era. Whether he's explicitly ready for the playoffs is another matter.

His offense and timing will come around. But two things I'm going to keep my eye on as positives are his steals and rebounds.

Reading some of these comments reminded me of the Mavs last season (after they got the jitters out after losing 4 straight in the Finals). They were on a mission and rolled right through the rest of the league and the season. And look how well that turned out.

I tend to think that much of the good play comes from people having played together so well and so long last year. Of course some of these guys have been together for 3 titles now - that's trust. The others feel good in their skins and the final bunch are finding their way more quickly than I would have anticipated - they clearly want to be here and be playing.

I don't sense the urgency to prove something that the Mavs had last year. There is freshness, energy and hustle, but I think Pop is also managing minutes really well. And given how deep the bench is going right now, that should continue. That is terrific. The tricky thing will be managing their peak - you don't want them to peak before March or April.

Having said that, while they are playing well, especially against inferior teams, their play is hardly playoff ball. How many turnovers last night? Far too many. Far too many stupid fouls. Defense is nowhere near where it needs to be (not that I'm concerned for 3 games in, just an observation). That's the sort of stuff that will come in time, and between managing the minutes and throwing bizarre lineups out to see what happens - that's where Pop will keep them going, I think.

I can always comfort myself with this thought - the Spurs always seem to find a way to make it competitive at the end, so I don't have to worry about them not knowing how to play in tight games. :lol

Well the Mavs didn't start out well last season. They and the Suns had terrible records in the beginning, but then just put it all together. But you're right that the Spurs haven't played a tough team yet. Looking forward to the Rockets game, that should be a good comparison.

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Originally Posted by Aggie Hoopsfan

I can't put my finger on it, but there's something different about this squad. Usually they just start off the season slow and screw around until March.

This team has come out looking like it's on a mission. The guys look in great shape, Manu is fresh and is seeing the court tremendously well, Tim's hitting his FTs, and everyone on the team is busting their ass when they're on the court.

They look cohesive and determined, which could mean trouble for the league. They seem focused on that repeat, I like it.

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I agree.

I think the team is extremely dedicated as a whole. And I also think that Pop is being pretty damn tough on them (not that he usually isn't).

Some examples ...

Manu said that this year's training camp was the hardest/most intense that they have had since he has been here.

Last night after the game was over, the team went to lift weights right afterward, instead of going home immediately because they have the day off today.

Damn its like someone pissed em all off :lol

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Originally Posted by T Park

Damn its like someone pissed em all off :lol

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The championship was strangely unsatisfying last year. It was wonderful, obviously, but they played a C-level team in the championship and never got to face the Mavs. They also collectively know this is their shot at a back-to-back. Let's get it done.