What is this team's defensive ceiling?

[Amuseddaysleeper]

The perimeter D is sloppy at best, and the interior D might be a little better than anticipated this season, but without an extra shot blocker to help out TD, I don't know how many points in the paint we can really prevent in the long run.

So I ask you guys, assuming everyone is healthy (including James Anderson), can the Spurs become a legit top 6 or 7 defensive ball club?

They've played good D in spurts, but can they sustain it night in and night out?

[Agloco]

Dunno enough about Anderson to answer that really. I'll just say that he'd have to be quite good and consistent to make the Spurs a good perimeter team.

I think the overall ceiling is going to be just a bit better than what you're seeing now. Overall, they will be inconsistent but with fewer keystone cops moments like you saw in the Knicks game.

Right now its an inverse of what we got during their championship runs. Back then, the offensive droughts were putting too much pressure on the D at times. Now we have a situation where the defense is putting too much pressure on the offense.

I had the same feeling during both games........ sure the Spurs can score, but can they get a stop? You saw what happened during the 1 for 14 stretch in the Boston game. That's when the wheels came off.

I'm not certain that they can be a Top 7 defensive team. Anderson's not the answer at this point IMO.

[Fpoonsie]

I'm actually curious to know what the ST ceiling is for number of "Defense" threads we can fit on the front page...

[surveys anxiously]

[Dex]

If they can get their act together, I anticipate that they should be able to finish 5th-10th overall defensively. That's assuming they stay healthy, Anderson and/or Splitter is able to contribute defensively, and the rotations become a lot more intuitive and crisper by the end of the season. Practice does make perfect, and this is still a relatively young season.

If they can make it there, their offense should give them enough firepower to compete. But they have to keep their foot on the pedal. What I fear is that Pop will pull back on the run game in lieu of a more structured offense and defense, which may help put the defense where it needs to be, but could set the offense back. The most important thing is finding the proper balance for this team.

[xmas1997]

It seems that playing really good defense can wear you out on the offensive end to an extent.
I have to agree that they need to find that balance between offense and defense in order to go far in the playoffs.
What ranking that might be is debatable.

[Mugen]

Top 10 Defense.

Which is pretty good considering there is really only one above average defender on the team (Duncan), maybe two if you count Dice.

But their ceiling is Top 10, bottom tier. Just don't have the personnel to reach elite level.

[fyatuk]

Considering even though they've played like crap, yet they are still a top half of the league team in points allowed, assists allowed, steals (top 5), blocks, Opponents turnovers (top 10), and of course Free Throws Allowed (#1) and of course 2nd in point differential, I'd say they have a pretty good ceiling. Unfortunately their just out of it in opponents Field Goal % and are almost at the bottom of opponenets 3pt%, due to their out of sync rotations.

The Spurs usually gain ground on defense by leaps and bounds after the All-star break, so they shouldn't finish any lower than 11th or 12th, and will probably finish somewhere in the top 10.

Their ceiling is probably top 5, but it would take a miracle for them to come together enough for that this year.

[WeNeedLength]

Simple answer: No one ing knows.

[DMC]

gnsf with the clutch...

So some homer fan knows the ceiling of the D? Better call Pop, he wants to know when to stop wasting his time I am sure. There could be nice bottle of R&H for you.

[Bruno]

The ceiling for this team is to be the 5th best defensive team in the league.

Defensively, there is a first tier in the NBA with Celtics, Bulls, Heat and Magic. I don't think Spurs have the players to belong to that tier. However, Spurs can be as least as good if not better than the rest of the league. James Anderson will help a little by lessening the size disadvantage on the perimeter but what could really allow Spurs to be that 5th best defensive team is less Blair/Bonner and more Dice/Splitter.

BTW, before their last 2 bad defensive games, Spurs were the 7th best defensive team in the NBA.

[mingus]

Depends on the rotation. Less Blair and Bonner, more Splitter and Dice. Splitter needs to play, even Sean Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ has mentioned that various times in the broadcasts. Big Baby went off yesterday and Splitter, with his footspead and length, could have bothered him.

[justinandimcool]

We can't guard teams that shoot threes well and spread the floor. Look how Jared Dudley, Reggie Williams and JR Smith went off on us, not to mention the Knicks and Magic.

If we can avoid those teams we can be fine. If not, we're gonna have to pray they don't go in, or find a big who can close out on the perimeter well if the wings lose their guy. Splitter's the only one remotely quick enough right now.

Because our defense on the Lakers, Chicago, and OKC who don't really try to shoot us out of the universe is pretty well above average.

[Cane]

Mainly depends on Duncan and whether or not the Spurs supporting bigs can give the team worthwhile minutes when he's off the court. He's going to get a significant increase in minutes come playoffs time which will test his health and fatigue level but the Spurs seem to be pacing him better than ever. Old vets will always run into the question of what they've got left in their tank. Duncan's defensive stats shown he's still amongst the league's elite despite averaging a career low in minutes and thats going to have to keep up.

[BoricuaCJA]

Considering even though they've played like crap, yet they are still a top half of the league team in points allowed, assists allowed, steals (top 5), blocks, Opponents turnovers (top 10), and of course Free Throws Allowed (#1) and of course 2nd in point differential, I'd say they have a pretty good ceiling. Unfortunately their just out of it in opponents Field Goal % and are almost at the bottom of opponenets 3pt%, due to their out of sync rotations.

The Spurs usually gain ground on defense by leaps and bounds after the All-star break, so they shouldn't finish any lower than 11th or 12th, and will probably finish somewhere in the top 10.

Their ceiling is probably top 5, but it would take a miracle for them to come together enough for that this year.

Whats our statistics against the top 10 teams in the NBA? Thats all that matter imo. Against the lesser teams of the NBA, our stats get inflated and since we don't even play those teams in the playoffs, its a bad indication of our team's defense.

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

Top 10 D for sure I would say.
Once March rolls around and playoffs are in the air you can count on Pop getting that D right

[frodo]

Top 10 D for sure I would say.
Once March rolls around and playoffs are in the air you can count on Pop getting that D right

cut JET & JJB off the squad and the mavs will have a top 3 D.

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

cut JET & JJB off the squad and the mavs will have a top 3 D.

Can't argue that one

[jjktkk]

The problem with the Spurs D, is their defensive rotations and team defense need to be pretty much perfect, because their perimeter D is lacking overall athleticism and size. The Spurs should be a solid defensive team by April, but they don't have any margin for error.

[mystargtr34]

The Spurs absolute maximum potential is to be the 5th best defensive team in the league.. in other words the best defensive team from the second tier of defenses as Bruno put it. Having said that, i think their more likely or realistic potential is to be the 6th or 7th best defense in the league. With the return of Bynum the Lakers will be at least as good a defense as the Spurs IMO especially in the playoffs where the games are a little more methodical.. and i also think the Mavs have shown the ability to play more consistent D than the Spurs.

That leaves the Spurs at number 7. The main positive outlook in these rankings are that Duncan has played so few minutes. Harlem pointed out how bad the team is defensively when Duncan is off the floor.. and so far that has been around 40% of game time during the regular season. Once the playoffs come around Tim will likely be up in the 36-40 MPG range which will mean the defensive numbers would obviously improve alot.. so you could say that the Spurs defensive statistics are more skewed than any other side, other than maybe the Lakers (Bynum).

Anyway.. there are 2 things that would allow the Spurs to max out their potential and be the 5th best defensive team in the league. As Bruno pointed out... James Anderson will be crucial since the Spurs second unit of Hill and Neal is really undersized which makes it difficult to contest shots when defending one-on-one, but more so getting a hand up to the three point shooters and on defensive rotations in general. One of the biggest myths is George Hill playing like he is 6'6' or 6'7', despite having long arms (which are good for steals and playing the passing lanes) he actually has a really average standing reach for a 6'2-6'3' player since he has such a long neck and head.

The other thing... the more you play Blair and Bonner next to Duncan, the lower the defensive cieling. The only other scenario i see that would impove the defense is more Dyess and Splitter.

[cheguevara]

If they can get their act together, I anticipate that they should be able to finish 5th-10th overall defensively.

excellent

these last couple of games they have been scrambling and looking like . But they have shown in previous games (LA, OKC) that they can be disciplined.

I'm pretty confident they'll be top 10, not sure if good enough to get to the finals but should be able to get to WCF