I don't know what to expect from the 2008-09 Spurs

[024]

i think i may be the only one who thinks the spurs have dramatically improved. first of all, offense wasn't the only problem the spurs faced last year. the spurs dropped from being the number one defense to the third/fourth. the reason the rockets were able to win so many even without yao was because their defense improved immensely during the second half of the season. shane battier will be better than bowen next season as bowen gets older. defense still wins games.

with that said, both offensively and defensively, kurt thomas will be an upgrade over oberto, mason will be an upgrade over finley, and george hill, because he's younger and quicker, will be an upgrade over vaughn. the whole spurs strategy is to play suffocating defense combined with a structured offense to lull the opponent to sleep. offensive droughts don't matter much as long as the opponent doesn't capitalize during the time period. with improvements on both the offensive and defensive end, the spurs will be better.

udoka played surprisingly well in the playoffs. by surprisingly well, i mean he did not suck. another year of experience with the team will make him a very good bench player. finley can still play, he might even be better because he won't have to play so many minutes. all he has to do is enter, take a few shots and hopefully make some to give others some rest. losing barry was bad but finley can fill that role now.

although so much hope is generated around mahinmi, gist, and tolliver, i doubt any of them will see any playing time during the playoffs unless they grow up VERY fast. gist is the only one i can see playing during the playoffs because of his good rebounding, defense, and ability to finish around the rim. can be good paired with either duncan or thomas.

and simply not having horry back is a tremendous upgrade. it would be nice to have someone replace his minutes though, maybe gist. but simply removing his 19.4 FG% from the playoffs is a big boost. i remember someone on ESPN saying that the hornets should pray that horry doesn't get suspended for that back screen on west because horry was killing the spurs.

the spurs also now have true reliable backup point guards during playoff time. vaughn hardly saw any action last year and usually leaves ginobili or 36 year old barry picking up the slack. but now mason and hill will fill that role, giving ginobili more flexibility to play shooting guard. hill, barring some major choking should see consistent minutes during the playoffs. i think his defense is good enough against the second unit point guards out there. let his offense and pg skills develop and he'll be good enough to lead the spur's second unit.

when your starters consist of one hall of famer, two all-stars, one veteran center, and a top two perimeter defender, that team can compete with any team. upgrading the bench now only increases the chances of winning. i don't know where all the negativity is coming from.

[DROB4EVER]

I think this years team withstanding any injury to the big 3 will be better than last years no doubt. Last years bench was old and not consistent in what they gave us. I think they weekend our D when they were on the court.

This years bench while not as experianced will give us more speedl, better D and rebounding and should provide enough of a scoring punch to help us not have so many scoring droughts.

Hill Ian Manu Oberto Gist and Fin, not a bad bench. Our D is my concern. We are no longer holding teams to shooting 40% like the old days, teams are shooting 45-46% against us. We have also seen our ppg decrease. I think we need to improve in both areas to win another le and so far I think we have improved our firepower but not our D as much as I would like.

Love to see us go trade for a shot blocker like Williams from jersey or heck even boone would be nice. Or sign Ratliff.

We also need to dump Bonner so we can have room for another youngster to get some pt.

[MannyIsGod]

I can't believe I just read "He's a perinal all-star but thats it". Thats IT? How many teams in the league have ONE perinal all-star much less 2?

[ducks]

I can't believe I just read "He's a perinal all-star but thats it". Thats IT? How many teams in the league have ONE perinal all-star much less 2?

not only that but a finals mvp

[honestfool84]

I can't believe I just read "He's a perinal all-star but thats it". Thats IT? How many teams in the league have ONE perinal all-star much less 2?

two?

ahem:

[1Parker1]

I said it last year and I think the same problem will be around this year; Spurs offense is waaaaaaaaaay too overreliant on the Big 3 to produce night in and night out. It's become predictable and it definitely takes a toll on them in the regular season. Spurs needed to get some better shooters this offseason, and the best they got was Roger Mason and an unknown PG from an unknown school. I know their options were limited, but honestly, they still need to do a lot more work this offseason or even next midseason if they want to be contenders.

[bus driver]

And I hope your'll make some smart decisions in the playoffs, like keeping a player who is on fire on the court (Barry), and bench an ice cold shooter (Finley). It just makes sense !
The man crush for Findog has to stop.

TRUE!!!

[angelbelow]

we'll be fine. just sit tight and watch.

[MannyIsGod]

two?

ahem:

At least you choose an appropriate screen name. You really had to edit that?

Does the name Tim Duncan ring a bell?

[Galileo]

NBA Spurs since 1977

NBA championships

Even numbered years = 0
Odd numbered years = 4 (4 of the last 5)

Western Finals appearances

Even = 2 (including last year)
Odd = 7 (including 6 of the last 7)

Spurs look good in '09.

[your_pimp]

- With Barry gone, our offense is going to struggle a lot; he was perfect for our motion offense, great passer, great shooter, great IQ, and a real catalyst off the bench.

- I like the additions of Hill, Gist and Mason, but what is to expect? Is Pop going to change the way we play on offense?
Gist and Hill are athletic players, and Mason is mostly a 3 point shooter.
George Hill, unlike Jaques Vaughn, seems to be an agressive scorer

- Michael Finley: we know he is mostly a jump shooter now; he can make big big shots, but he can also have ty series (as in the 08 WCF); he lives (yes he is still alive) and dies by his outside shooting.

- Manu Ginobili: we need a 100% healthy Manu to win the le; period.
Against the Lakers in the WCF, he was like 50%, and had only one big game; and it was our only win of the series.
Manu is healthy now, but is going to play in the Olympics, and considering how Lithuania just destroyed Argentina, you expect Manu to play 200% in Beijing in order to try to get one medal.
I hope Argentina gets kicked out early from the tournament, that way he can get more rest.
I'm crossing my fingers here.

- Matt Bonner: if Horry leaves, will Pop give him more minutes? what can he bring to the Spurs beside his outside shooting? I wish I had the answer.

- Oberto: he owes us big time; he played like last season, to the point he got outrebounded by Farmar and Fisher
What-The- .
He's good at passing the ball, moving without it, and boxing it out, but what about, hum, rebounds ?????

- Kurt Thomas: no concern here; super pro, excellent defender and can knock down the mid-range J consistently.

- Tim Duncan: as long as he is healthy, he is the best player in the league; period. But he is gonna need help, he can't win it all by himself

- Popovich: because of the 2 aforementioned players (KT and TD), no more ing small ball !!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I hope your'll make some smart decisions in the playoffs, like keeping a player who is on fire on the court (Barry), and bench an ice cold shooter (Finley). It just makes sense !
The man crush for Findog has to stop.

- Tony Parker: I don't know if he can get to the next level; I don't think he will; yes, he is a perennial all-star, but that's it; yes, he was the 2007 Finals MVP, but it was against a ty defense.
I hope he has matured a bit more; during the Hornets series, he went into 1-on-1 mode against CP3, causing a lot of careless turnovers; what the was that??? During the playoffs, against a contender ?????
This is not a pickup game, what was he trying to prove ?
He made a big shot in game 7, but he could have cost us the series as well

- Clutch factor: if Horry leaves, who will make big shots for us?
Tim, Manu, and Bowen make all kind of big plays in crunch time (stops, rebounds, baskets); Finley has made some big shots for us.
It's gonna be interesting to see who stands out for us if Horry leaves.

- Bruce and Ime: Bruce is still important for us; he played amazing D in the first 2 round of the 2008 playoffs, but you could see he was tired against Kobe Bryant.
Udoka had a nice 1st season as a Spur; excellent D, and good scoring. He is comfortable in the Spurs system, and for that reason he should get more minutes during the regular season; that way, Bowen doesn't run out of gas towards the end of the playoffs.

- WGAF ???? It's 2009, and we win the le every 2 years, so

Do not expect anything...

Your team is done!

[your_pimp]

NBA Spurs since 1977

NBA championships

Even numbered years = 0
Odd numbered years = 4 (4 of the last 5)

Western Finals appearances

Even = 2 (including last year)
Odd = 7 (including 6 of the last 7)

Spurs look good in '09.

Stupid asses who still live and feed from the past.

No le in 09.

[ChumpDumper]

A sunfan is trying to talk smack?

Oh, sorry -- I forgot.

A rocketfan is trying to talk smack?

[anakha]

Do not expect anything...

Your team is done!

If nothing else, Louis is pretty consistent with his trolling.

[DROB4EVER]

I said it last year and I think the same problem will be around this year; Spurs offense is waaaaaaaaaay too overreliant on the Big 3 to produce night in and night out. It's become predictable and it definitely takes a toll on them in the regular season. Spurs needed to get some better shooters this offseason, and the best they got was Roger Mason and an unknown PG from an unknown school. I know their options were limited, but honestly, they still need to do a lot more work this offseason or even next midseason if they want to be contenders.

If they want to be contenders? They did what they needed to do, they added a young shooter who can also handle the ball something Fin cannot do. He can also play more than 20 min pr game without needing 3 days off.

He will be a better defender as well. We added a young very good player in Hill who will give us a better defender of the bench, has more range than vaughn and will be a threat to score by mid season.

We added a young big who can run the floor as well as any 4 or 5 and has shown a good post game and nice 15ft jumper as well as the ability to put the ball on the floor a dribble or two.

We added a young super athletic 3-4 who at the very least will provide a good defender, shot blocker rebounder at the 3 and can beat his man down the floor most of the time.

We may still sign Fin after he comes to ters with the fact he is no longer a good NBA player and will be limited where ever he goes to spot duty.

What we lost, a creeky 4 who gave us nothing all yr long and could not hit a shot to save his life. And a 36yr old 9th man. Who played well in the playoffs but is a turnstile of a defender.

I say the offseason was Ok. I would have liked to add a true small forward who can score and is over 6-5. And wouldnt mind having upgraded at Center but you can only have so many players.

I think the spurs will see how things go and if they need to make adjustments they may be willing to use the Trade Exc to try to make an improvement.

[Septic]

Who cares we've had more than enough proof it's rigged.

[ceperez]

If they want to be contenders? They did what they needed to do, they added a young shooter who can also handle the ball something Fin cannot do. He can also play more than 20 min pr game without needing 3 days off.

He will be a better defender as well. We added a young very good player in Hill who will give us a better defender of the bench, has more range than vaughn and will be a threat to score by mid season.

We added a young big who can run the floor as well as any 4 or 5 and has shown a good post game and nice 15ft jumper as well as the ability to put the ball on the floor a dribble or two.

We added a young super athletic 3-4 who at the very least will provide a good defender, shot blocker rebounder at the 3 and can beat his man down the floor most of the time.

We may still sign Fin after he comes to ters with the fact he is no longer a good NBA player and will be limited where ever he goes to spot duty.

What we lost, a creeky 4 who gave us nothing all yr long and could not hit a shot to save his life. And a 36yr old 9th man. Who played well in the playoffs but is a turnstile of a defender.

I say the offseason was Ok. I would have liked to add a true small forward who can score and is over 6-5. And wouldnt mind having upgraded at Center but you can only have so many players.

I think the spurs will see how things go and if they need to make adjustments they may be willing to use the Trade Exc to try to make an improvement.

Great summary! Definitely not spectacular but decent off season.

Did you forget to mention Tolliver?

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I doubt the Spurs would have beaten the Hornets without Parker. I love how fans bust on him.

[Solid D]

True Chopper, and you know what? I'm still not sure how the Spurs beat the Hornets at their place.

[I. Hustle]

[Manufan909]

Experience.

[barbacoataco]

I get the feeling that the Spurs are going to emphasize their defense next year. If you look at who they signed: Mason (especially before last season) is known primarily as a defensive player. Hill and Gist are good defenders coming out of college. They resigned Thomas who is the only Spur who can defend Shaq type players.
Maybe their off-season looks a little bland because they went with more defensive type players. Personally, I like this strategy. The Spurs have won championships with defense. Last year they were scored on so easy at times that it was painful to watch. I have been a fan since 1988, and I can take losing. But I would rather lose with a good defense.

[DROB4EVER]

Great summary! Definitely not spectacular but decent off season.

Did you forget to mention Tolliver?

Yes I did forget, I like him alot but I dont think hes gonna get alot of burn. He is a 1 trick pony right now. I like his size and hope he develops into more than a spot up shooter. Still like to add more via trade.

[DROB4EVER]

I get the feeling that the Spurs are going to emphasize their defense next year. If you look at who they signed: Mason (especially before last season) is known primarily as a defensive player. Hill and Gist are good defenders coming out of college. They resigned Thomas who is the only Spur who can defend Shaq type players.
Maybe their off-season looks a little bland because they went with more defensive type players. Personally, I like this strategy. The Spurs have won championships with defense. Last year they were scored on so easy at times that it was painful to watch. I have been a fan since 1988, and I can take losing. But I would rather lose with a good defense.

I dont see us being a real great defensive team, like we were a few years ago without adding another shot blocker. We give up to many easy looks in the paint. Last year teams shot like 45% against us and that is really a high clip. We need to get it down to 41-42%

And rebound better

[venitian navigator]

I dont see us being a real great defensive team, like we were a few years ago without adding another shot blocker. We give up to many easy looks in the paint. Last year teams shot like 45% against us and that is really a high clip. We need to get it down to 41-42%

And rebound better

I agree.
Dikembe Mutombo ? David Harrison ? Adonal Foyle ?
I think we need a shot blocker/rebounder (at least for some minutes) in case Mahinmi does't show he's a stud...