Spurs Still Believe (Hoopsworld)

[duncan228]

Hoopsworld justification: This is full of quotes from Media Day if anyone missed them.

Spurs Still Believe
By: Yannis Koutroupis

The Los Angeles Lakers are the team to beat this year. After them, it's the New Orleans Hornets, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, and you have to consider the Portland Trail Blazers a dark horse because of all the talent they have. That's the majority consensus on how the Western Conference will shake out this year. After winning a le in 2007 and advancing to the Western Conference Finals in 2008 the San Antonio Spurs are viewed by many as a team whose championship days have come to an end - at least for now.

The Spurs couldn't concern themselves less with thoughts like that. All they are worried about right now is improving as a basketball team. They know what it's like to win a championship.

"Even in the championship years we had no clue we were going to be the last team standing. It's the same boring philosophy in the sense that we want to be as good as we can possibly be come April. Things may work out or they may not, but we want to give us the best opportunity we can," explained coach Gregg Popovich.

The NBA community may not be high on what the Spurs accomplished this offseason, but within the organization there is definitely a lot of confidence in the team they currently have assembled. One of the biggest additions is Roger Mason, coming to San Antonio from Washington with a lot of expectations in year one.

"Roger is somebody who has been in our gym before in years past. It hasn't worked out timing or contractual wise, but we felt he was someone we needed in the program. We talked to Corey Maggette and after he made his decision to go to Golden State Roger was the top guy on our list. Hopefully he can do some of the things we need done on the perimeter like Brent Barry did for us in the past few years. He's a versatile guy that can play a couple positions and is tough minded on the defensive end. He's got to play a big role for us with or without Manu. He's going to be important to us," said Popovich.
Mason could potentially be the answer to a lot of the Spurs' woes, and he's coming into camp with the mindset to be the difference maker this team needs.

"I think I can be an X-Factor. Everyone talks about Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker. I want to fit in, but I want to make a difference. I think I'm at a point in my career where I'm growing up. Last year gave me a chance, but I'm hungry and I want to prove myself to the rest of the league and win a championship," stated Mason, who also said that he's never worked harder in his career than he did this offseason.

Another key move this offseason for the Spurs was re-signing veteran big man Kurt Thomas. Thomas was acquired in a deadline deal last February with Seattle and will be getting his first full training camp under his belt with the Spurs.

"He didn't get that benefit last year, although he caught on very quickly. It'll be better for him to understand exactly what we're doing," said Popovich, whose excitement over having Kurt Thomas was shared by Tim Duncan.

"He was great last year and I know he's going to bring the same thing to the table," said Duncan. "To have him on a night to night basis so he can know what to expect coming in, he's going to have half a year under his belt. He knows what pop expects from him and knows how to play with some players. He'll be great for us. You'll never know his true impact by the box score, but you can feel it out there on the floor. He takes a lot off of my shoulders. He's a good defender and a smart player, his intelligence with the game is something that is underrated."

Coach Popovich was equally enthused with the re-signing of Michael Finley. With Manu Ginobili out and Brent Barry going to Houston the Spurs would have lacked a true shooting guard with any knowledge of the system if Finley would have decided to retire. Finley is still capable of helping the team, although at this point in his career his impact may be felt the most off the court.

"It was very important to keep Mike. With Robert not coming back and Brent going to Houston losing Michael would have really been a depreciation of corporate dollars, if you will. His leadership is paramount to our success. He's really respected in the locker room. We were really happy when he decided to stay. His role will be the same. We want him to shoot the basketball, knock it down, and keep being the teammate and leader he has been," said Coach Popovich.

Even with a lot of the talk about a new season and the offseason singings, the big topic remains Manu Ginobili and how his absence will affect the team in the early going. It could cause the Spurs to fall behind early in the home court race, and Tim Duncan recognizes that.

"It's going to be tough," admitted Duncan. "He brings a different aspect to the team. Without him in the playoffs we struggled at times. We're going to have to work around that. Luckily enough it's not the playoffs, which is a completely different animal altogether. We'll figure it out."

Considering this franchise's track record it's hard not to place faith in Tim Duncan's optimism. No team has been better over the past ten years. They are still capable of accomplishing what they've already done three times this decade, although the task has never been as difficult as it's going to be this year. It's early, though, and Duncan pretty much summed it up perfectly:

"Nobody's played a game, nobody's done anything. People will be surprises this year. Teams will step up that you'll never see coming. Some teams will implode, you never know. We have a proven system and we like our chances."

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

"He was great last year and I know he's going to bring the same thing to the table," said Duncan. "To have him on a night to night basis so he can know what to expect coming in, he's going to have half a year under his belt. He knows what pop expects from him and knows how to play with some players. He'll be great for us. You'll never know his true impact by the box score, but you can feel it out there on the floor. He takes a lot off of my shoulders. He's a good defender and a smart player, his intelligence with the game is something that is underrated."


Nice praise for Thomas from TD. I hope they can figure out how to get the two of them on the floor together this year. You can tell that KT has the kind of basketball IQ that we haven't had in the post along side Duncan since DRob retired.

[InRareForm]

IMO, even though the big 3 (if healthy) can still win a le, I think the definite success of the Spurs (although defense is #1 priority, spurs are used to performing or coming close to that level of stellar D) will be finding that 4rth reliable scorer. Mason has the tools for it, and I think the first 20 games will be a good preparation as Manu slowly comes back from injury. IF Mason gets hot in playoffs with the Big 3 performing, writing off the spurs would be foolish.

[T Park]

"He was great last year and I know he's going to bring the same thing to the table," said Duncan. "To have him on a night to night basis so he can know what to expect coming in, he's going to have half a year under his belt. He knows what pop expects from him and knows how to play with some players. He'll be great for us. You'll never know his true impact by the box score, but you can feel it out there on the floor. He takes a lot off of my shoulders. He's a good defender and a smart player, his intelligence with the game is something that is underrated."


Nice praise for Thomas from TD. I hope they can figure out how to get the two of them on the floor together this year. You can tell that KT has the kind of basketball IQ that we haven't had in the post along side Duncan since DRob retired.

Reverse Thomas's age back to 99.


Freaking Spurs could've gotten him for Rasho the worthless

[Avitus1]

Spurs aren't done yet not as long as Timmy, Parker, and Manu are good to go come playoffs.

[m33p0]

only an idiot will think that Spurs aren't going to make some noise.

[024]

at first i was kind of optimistic about the spurs' season but then ginobili went down. every other major power in the west have things to look forward to. rockets have artest, lakers have bynum, hornets and jazz have young cores with more experience, and the blazers have talent up their asses. the only thing spurs can look forward to is roger mason, which just isn't as exciting. spurs will be good, but some young player will really have to step up his game whether it's hill or mahinmi.

[T Park]

The Jazz are the dumbest team in the western conference.

Easily.

They pose no threat.

[xellos88330]

at first i was kind of optimistic about the spurs' season but then ginobili went down. every other major power in the west have things to look forward to. rockets have artest, lakers have bynum, hornets and jazz have young cores with more experience, and the blazers have talent up their asses. the only thing spurs can look forward to is roger mason, which just isn't as exciting. spurs will be good, but some young player will really have to step up his game whether it's hill or mahinmi.

Well to me the excitement is in the wondering how the Spurs can cope with this off season. You never know if any one of those new guys can be a diamond in the rough. That is all the excitement I need. This is the first season in a while that I have been overly anxious about. So many questions need answering, and the only way to answer them is to watch every pixel of every game. I think the league is when it comes to the Spurs.

[HarlemHeat37]

I don't ever count our team out..we aren't the best anymore, but everybody always wants to avoid the Spurs..we have the best system in place, we still have one of the 3 best big 3's in the NBA..our coach is one of the best..you can't count out a team with this experience..

Utah and New Orleans are both overrated IMO, especially Utah..Houston is a huge ? depending on injuries..Phoenix can't beat us, and Dallas isn't really a threat anymore..

those are teams that I think we would beat, even without a Mahinmi or Hill or another young guy stepping up..it's obviously questionable, but I'm confident in our current team to beat any of those teams..

to beat the Lakers though..we'd absolutely need one of our young guys to step up and break out..whether it's Hill, Mahinmi or somebody unexpected, we'd need somebody..that's assuming that Bynum stays healthy and lives up to some of the hype..

Roger Mason isn't a ? for me..I'd be surprised if he doesn't give us a legit 4th scoring option..

[Manufan909]

Me too, I think he can be a seroius scorer. It'd be great if Hill or Mahinmi could score 7-12 pts a game.

[mrspurs]

at first i was kind of optimistic about the spurs' season but then ginobili went down. every other major power in the west have things to look forward to. rockets have artest, lakers have bynum, hornets and jazz have young cores with more experience, and the blazers have talent up their asses. the only thing spurs can look forward to is roger mason, which just isn't as exciting. spurs will be good, but some young player will really have to step up his game whether it's hill or mahinmi.

Agreed, only I still hope we will make a trade to find Tim some help. You cant count us out with Manu, TP and TD playing 100 percent. But if you cant rest them you will only go as far as their bodys will allow. As of right now I dont see Tim getting much rest. I dont see TP getting much rest as well. And we dont have a center.....still. For the most part we have a small old team with alot of heart. Not sure that scares LA,NO or HOU. Pop did a great job of distributing minutes during the season allowing his stars rest. And we still didnt have enough energy togo all the way. How are we supposed to get better with the same non-star players on our roster? We're not.

[mrspurs]

Well to me the excitement is in the wondering how the Spurs can cope with this off season. You never know if any one of those new guys can be a diamond in the rough. That is all the excitement I need. This is the first season in a while that I have been overly anxious about. So many questions need answering, and the only way to answer them is to watch every pixel of every game. I think the league is when it comes to the Spurs.

Your excited because we dont have a good team is what your saying? The only guy that might be a diamond is tolliver. And he isnt gonna take us nowhere this season. If he makes the team.

[mrspurs]

I don't ever count our team out..we aren't the best anymore, but everybody always wants to avoid the Spurs..we have the best system in place, we still have one of the 3 best big 3's in the NBA..our coach is one of the best..you can't count out a team with this experience..

Utah and New Orleans are both overrated IMO, especially Utah..Houston is a huge ? depending on injuries..Phoenix can't beat us, and Dallas isn't really a threat anymore..

those are teams that I think we would beat, even without a Mahinmi or Hill or another young guy stepping up..it's obviously questionable, but I'm confident in our current team to beat any of those teams..

to beat the Lakers though..we'd absolutely need one of our young guys to step up and break out..whether it's Hill, Mahinmi or somebody unexpected, we'd need somebody..that's assuming that Bynum stays healthy and lives up to some of the hype..

Roger Mason isn't a ? for me..I'd be surprised if he doesn't give us a legit 4th scoring option..

NO overrated? your kidding right. Their big 3 are younger and no better or no worse then ours. CP3,West,Tyson,Peja,Peterson,Posey. There not being overrated. They are that good. Beating teams in our division alone will take alot out of players. The key is the younger ones can go farther without rest then the older ones. Byron was right, NO just wasnt ready. Make no mistake they will be ready this season. Ive always hated the lakers but they're gonna be the team to beat. If bynum stays healthy I hate to say it but the lakers will breeze thru the season, because they dont play in our division. Then like last season they will breeze thru the PO's well rested waiting for someone in the western championship. Now who will be there to play against them. Someone in our division. Us, HOU, or NO.

[bigfundamental21]

We all know that the Spurs are often overlooked and that the Spurs are not always the popular pick with the media, but we also know that anytime you have Tim Duncan on your team, you can't count them out. Sure Manu is out for the start of the season, but you know he will be special when he comes back. We have a few guys with a lot to prove... Mason, Hill, Mahimni... and that combined with our vets will always give us a chance to win. Impossible is nothing.

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

The only guy that might be a diamond is tolliver.

And Mason. And Stoudamire. And Hill. And Ian.

[SpurSupremacist]

Me too, I think he can be a seroius scorer. It'd be great if Hill or Mahinmi could score 7-12 pts a game.

They won't play the minutes to score that much. The Spurs also don't play the pace for them to score that much.

[mrspurs]

They won't play the minutes to score that much. The Spurs also don't play the pace for them to score that much.

excellent point on the pace we play and the points those guys will get. but its not the points im concerned about. we used to have a team that would only score 70 points and still win. we didnt have that last season. if anything im hoping hill and ian can play great defense. who cares if they cant score alot. if hill can defend guys he plays, and ian can get 3 blocks and 5 or more rebounds, we'll be alot better. a whole lot better

[SpurSupremacist]

What I hope to see from Ian is a presence around the rim that will alter a shot, but the main thing I'd like to see is offensive rebounding and high energy. The Spurs have never been particularly good on the offensive glass from my eye, I'm hoping that he can grab a few of them.