Spurs needs to tank hard and target Wembanyama un 2023

[MultiTroll]

Holy crap, I just realized the jazz got the wolves 23 frp fully unprotected and that the wolves are presently sitting at 8th giving Utah a 26% chance at a top 4 pick.

Exstatic this does not sound accurate.

Could you please verify the numbers?
Or if Utah does indeed have a 26% chance please note.

[The Truth #6]

From a glance at Tankathon’s draft simulation, they seem to have the Wolves pick this year, yes.

[duncan2150]

From a glance at Tankathon’s draft simulation, they seem to have the Wolves pick this year, yes.

I think that Mul roll is talking about the odds but their pick is the 10th now so they give Utah a 11.7% of the top four( not 26%).

Like i said i'm not too concerned about Minny they will not be a top 6 bottom team.

[rankingtear]

^^^

On that note, WTF do we still have Poeltl (and other vets) on the roster? Wasn't it ostensibly for defense and to help teach the youngsters proper rotations and positioning as a vet out on the court?

Yet clearly we suck balls there.

Take what you can get for him and move on. If the rooks and young guns are not going to start playing defense, then ship their asses out.

Our defense is just ing horrendous. Can't stay in front of anyone. Can't defend in transition (except Sochan and occasionally Johnson). Can't play man. Can't make proper rotations. Can't slip into zone without leaving horrible back door cuts with wide open lanes. Can't switch. Can't get out to shooters. **And the biggest one over the years, leave open or at least way too much space for the other team's best or hottest player.** Sean talks about this all the damn time.** It's like they're ing clueless about who not to leave open for a 3 or easy dribble drive to the hoop.

Buddy Hield says o.

There is definitely improvement. December starting lineup is +13 with 94 defensive rating. The bench defense sucks but you are going to rebuild that anyway.

[exstatic]

Good loss. Everyone matters!

One troubling thing though that I've been harping on for years, is the teams descent into a poor defensive team. It's seemingly been bad since LMA salvaged that season neph took a on the Spurs franchise. And it's been getting worse every year.

Used to be Spurs could hang their hat on that end of the floor even if the shots weren't going down on any given night.

As of tonight, spurs now have the worst +/- in the league and it's not even close. We are -2.7 pts behind the second worst team (Det) and -3 behind the next closest (Rockets).

To put that into perspective, we are now ~50% worse than any other team in the +/-.

Total PPG are also nearly 3 points worse than any other team (121 PPG). Other stats like fastbreak points also point to our decline.

I'm all about losing our asses off, but even if we get Wembanyama, I'm not sure we win many games 130 - 125.

Our trend is bad and has been for years. So what does that say about the spurs that we've been that poor on that side of the ball for so long? Poor coaching? Poor talent? Poor drafting? Poor talent evaluation? Poor scheme? Poor roster construction? Poor development?

Spurs used to be hated for boring low scoring games, now we get run out of the gym nightly. Granted we don't have The Big Three anymore but we really haven't even been respectable since neph decided to drop a duece on this franchise leading to LMA's season saving efforts on both ends. That was Pop's bread and butter and routinely had him call a TO to roast then bench someone for missing one assignment. Perhaps the game has just left pop behind...?

It’s not rocket science. Summer of 2021, we trade an All Star. Summer of 2022, we trade another All Star, and an All D selection, youngest ever. The game isn’t passing Pop by, the roster has been deconstructed. Why should he yell at guys who aren’t capable of playing high level D?

THE. SPURS. ARE. TANKING.

[offset formation]

It’s not rocket science. Summer of 2021, we trade an All Star. Summer of 2022, we trade another All Star, and an All D selection, youngest ever. The game isn’t passing Pop by, the roster has been deconstructed. Why should he yell at guys who aren’t capable of playing high level D?

THE. SPURS. ARE. TANKING.

Yes we are tanking and I'm all for it. Our defensive woes began well before 2021. I don't and have not seen the same fire from pop about defensive lapses in years either.

I can recall only a few over the past several years. Bryn once. White once. Rudy once. Johnson twice.

Granted I have only seen a few games this year but I'm guessing he's been quiet based on his praise for their effort and hustle lately in post game interviews.

[The Truth #6]

If they are preparing for getting Victor, it makes me wonder if they want to keep all of these veterans around and just not play them as much (rather than trade them) to keep them if they somehow got Victor… Seems like a lot of low chance scenarios, but it makes me wonder if they’re actually thinking this way and their reluctance to not trade yak extends to Josh and Doug as well.

[JPB]

If they are preparing for getting Victor, it makes me wonder if they want to keep all of these veterans around and just not play them as much (rather than trade them) to keep them if they somehow got Victor… Seems like a lot of low chance scenarios, but it makes me wonder if they’re actually thinking this way and their reluctance to not trade yak extends to Josh and Doug as well.

Situation will be clearer after the trade deadline.

[The Truth #6]

True. And the draft lottery.

[John B]

Tankers here want to lose but lose with face

Competing while losing is hard enough, we want us to be tough defensive team as well While being the 3rd youngest team in the league

[slick'81]

Tankers here want to lose but lose with face

Competing while losing is hard enough, we want us to be tough defensive team as well While being the 3rd youngest team in the league

fck that just fckn lose. Compe ion is for sucka's

[Mr. Body]

Tankers here want to lose but lose with face

Competing while losing is hard enough, we want us to be tough defensive team as well While being the 3rd youngest team in the league

They're the worst defense in the NBA and it's ing atrocious. I don't mind losing, but being punted around like chihuahuas is embarrassing. Our players are still paid millions -- they need some effort.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Na, if anything our D needs to get worse.

We are in danger of falling out of the bottom four. Some of these guys and Pop are just dumb enough to screw around and win enough games to get out of those bottom four slots, and waste another season of mediocrity.

[Mr. Body]

Na, if anything our D needs to get worse.

We are in danger of falling out of the bottom four. Some of these guys and Pop are just dumb enough to screw around and win enough games to get out of those bottom four slots, and waste another season of mediocrity.

Will you your pants then?

[cd98]

Our D will get much better once we have Wembanyama as our starting center. For now, we need a layup line defense to get him. We need more destruction like the Nets did to the Spurs. That will get us to the promised land.

[offset formation]

Tankers here want to lose but lose with face

Competing while losing is hard enough, we want us to be tough defensive team as well While being the 3rd youngest team in the league

I'm guessing you were replying to my post on defensive incompetence. If so, @ me bro...

Now to be clear, I don't give two s about our current defensive position. We are in the midst in the long term of absolutely un-Spurs like basketball and its clear we are and are likely to remain a poor defensive basketball team. And given the current roster, not sure one guy, even as long as Wembanyama is, turns that around. So I'm concerned about the trend and the lack of any flashes for improvement....Not the current situation.

The ability in debate to allow for context is a lost art.

[scott]

Yes we are tanking and I'm all for it. Our defensive woes began well before 2021. I don't and have not seen the same fire from pop about defensive lapses in years either.

I can recall only a few over the past several years. Bryn once. White once. Rudy once. Johnson twice.

Granted I have only seen a few games this year but I'm guessing he's been quiet based on his praise for their effort and hustle lately in post game interviews.

Seems like the fire altogether is gone from Pop aside from the occasional flare up. The Mavs game was a good example IMO. We lose by 1 after having multiple chance to extend or win the game, and immediately after Pop goes over with a big smile and hugs it out with Jason Kidd. Losses don't bother him. Sloppy play doesn't seem to bother him. He is just enjoying "teaching" and obviously feels zero pressure.

With that said, IMO he has earned the right to do this... whereas the Pop haters will use this as a reason why he has to go. Honestly this is the best headspace for Pop to be in as we tank.

[ambchang]

Honestly don’t have any issues with the spurs losing games or even losing huge. As long as the younger players improve, I’m happy as a fan. Sochan seems to be progressing. Vassell is taking a notable leap this year on offence, Johnson seems to be really stretching his ability. There are some nice rehab cases in Roby, S Johnson at times. Poetl has shown flashes of being a high tier centre. Tre Jones is a serviceable PG who can be a good backup for a decent team.

I’m concerned about the defensive side of things like everybody else, especially when we are supposedly stocked with good defensive players, but that is about building a young team where they learn to communicate and play together.

This is how small markets roll. You look at the blazers, kings, wolves, pacers, thunder, magic, pistons, hornets and even medium sized markets like the wizards, hawks, pels, Mavs and rockets, this is the path to go. Take huge risks and hope things stick. They don’t more often than not and most teams are stuck in the middle.

My suggestion is to get used to it and just hope lightning strikes multiple times when everything goes right for another ring.

[dbestpro]

They're the worst defense in the NBA and it's ing atrocious. I don't mind losing, but being punted around like chihuahuas is embarrassing. Our players are still paid millions -- they need some effort.

Is punting chihuahua's a thing? I mean, is it like a sport or something? Do they do it in an Octagon?

[rascal]

It’s not rocket science. Summer of 2021, we trade an All Star. Summer of 2022, we trade another All Star, and an All D selection, youngest ever. The game isn’t passing Pop by, the roster has been deconstructed. Why should he yell at guys who aren’t capable of playing high level D?

THE. SPURS. ARE. TANKING.

Don't forget not using cap space to add anyone significant to the roster.

[ace3g]

[wildbill2u]

It's easy to complain about the FO and Pop failing to completely have an at ude that the "tank" comes first and foremost without regard to putting a reasonably entertaining team on the floor every night. The NBA is an entertainment business and you have to put some fans who are willing to pay to put their butts in those expensive seats night after night in order to pay some bills.

Losing by 50 in order to MAYBE get a superstar in the lottery isn't going to get those paying fans into the arena. Ticket prices aren't cheap and a night at the game also probably includes some refreshments, maybe dinner out before or after the game plus parking.

Not to mention that the rookies and young players aren't gonna learn much of anything if every move by the coaches is designed to make them lose and look bad. Frankly, I like to see the youngster scrap and claw to win some games, even when they come up short.

[ace3g]

[Thomas82]

We need to make up some ground soon.

[exstatic]

We need to make up some ground soon.

I don’t see us finishing any higher than 4th. OTOH, it’s going to be very difficult for teams behind us to catch up. We’re essentially 2.5 behind the big clump at 1-3, and 3 ahead of Orlando.