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I think this year the spurs will step up defensively like they were in 2005. Soild and renown as the best in the NBA
SI's 2008-09 NBA Scouting Reports
San Antonio Spurs
Projected Finish: 3rd in Western Conference
Go ahead, overlook them now. They know who they are, and where they'll be in June
Before a single ball had bounced on the floor at the Spurs' training camp, Tim Duncan fielded a question from a reporter about the team's entering the season under the radar. "We haven't even started, and we're under the radar?" Duncan asked with a playful smile. "Man, like we've never been there before."
With the "same, boring philosophy" (according to coach Gregg Popovich) and the league's most unassuming superstar (Duncan), San Antonio is the rare franchise that welcomes being overlooked. That is, until the Spurs cut other teams' hearts out in the postseason (four times since 1999). This year, in the much-improved West, "old" San Antone is even more underrated than usual. "I like when we're not the main team," says point guard Tony Parker, at 26 the youngest starter by six years. "We play better. There's no pressure."
The Spurs could well have been the hunted and not the hunter had guard Manu Ginóbili not been hobbled by a bad left ankle when they lost in the conference finals to the Lakers last May. But the injury, which required off-season surgery after he aggravated it at the Olympics, may work out in San Antonio's favor. He is expected to return in mid-December healthier, and by the time the team is making its playoff push, he'll be fresher.
So while people rave about the Lakers, Hornets and Rockets, the Spurs don't mind. Come April the starting lineup will feature three All-Stars who own a total of 10 rings. "We have a proven system," Duncan says. "We have a proven bunch of guys, and we like our chances." -- Gene Menez
Fast Fact
In their 187 games since March 6, 2006, when Kobe Bryant torched them for 43 points, the Spurs have not allowed an opposing player to put up 40 -- the longest current streak in the league.
Telling Numbers
Record: 56-26 (T-2nd in West)
Points scored: 95.4 (T-27th in NBA)
Points allowed: 90.6 (3rd)
Coach: Gregg Popovich (13th season with Spurs)
I think this year the spurs will step up defensively like they were in 2005. Soild and renown as the best in the NBA
You can tell Parker will be a beast this year.
This is one of his prime years and his shooting improved so much as you an see in the preseason
Didn't SI destroy the Spurs recently ?
+1(have I been posting here long enough to give one of those lol)I think this year the spurs will step up defensively like they were in 2005. Soild and renown as the best in the NBA
I totally agree. Last year our defense was not the top in the league and until around the all-star break I don't think we were in the top 5 in some of the major categories(opponent's fg% comes to mind). But this year it looks like the Spurs are going to recommit to defense. Our 2 new contributors, Mason and (especially)Hill, were brought in partially for the solid defense they are capable of playing. If you look at it we have at least one extremely solid lock-down defender at every position:
Pg:Hill, Vaughn(in his own scrappy way)
Sg:Mason
Sf: Bowen, Udoka
Pf: Duncan
C: KThomas
If you love D, get ready for a great season!
SI's season preview:
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107306
Lakers should've played the Spurs when Kobe is aiming for his 50-point streak.In their 187 games since March 6, 2006, when Kobe Bryant torched them for 43 points, the Spurs have not allowed an opposing player to put up 40 -- the longest current streak in the league.
I sure hope so. With all the hype and conversation has been surrounding the scoring droughts the team had last year, and they were significant, many fans forget this team slipped defensively, as a whole.
Another one.
2008-09 San Antonio Spurs Preview
By John McMullen
Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are still the nucleus of the San Antonio Spurs and it's an odd year.
In case you are wondering, that's a good thing. The Spurs' last three championship rings came in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
Gregg Popovich's trio of stars are truly battle tested and still have the desire and skill to compete with anyone in the league.
Ginobili led the Spurs, who won more than 50 games for a ninth straight time last year, in scoring (19.5 ppg), while All-Star forward Duncan posted a team-best 11.3 rebounds per game and Parker handed out a club-high 6.0 assists per contest.
The Spurs will continue to go only as far as Duncan, Ginobili and Parker can take them. Ginobili, however, will be sidelined until January with an injured ankle.
After first hurting the ankle in last year's playoffs, the swingman tried to give it a go for Argentina in the Beijing Olympics only to aggravate the injury. He finally elected to have surgery in September, leaving the Spurs without his late game skills early in the season.
Popovich does have a solid supporting cast as well. Defensive stopper Bruce Bowen performs the dirty work and Michael Finley adds veteran savvy in the backcourt while Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto are serviceable up front.
A veteran club that is built to win now, San Antonio, which lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference finals last year, is primed for another run at the top.
2007-08 Results: 56-26, lost to LA Lakers in Western Conference finals.
ADDITIONS:
Malik Hairston (G) - Trade with Phoenix; Roger Mason (G) - Free Agent; Salim Stoudamire (G) - Free Agent; Anthony Tolliver (F) - Free Agent.
SUBTRACTIONS:
Brent Barry (G) - Signed with Houston.
RE-SIGNINGS:
Michael Finley (F/G), Kurt Thomas (F).
2008 DRAFT PICKS:
1.(26) George Hill (G, IUPUI); 2. (45) Goran Dragic (G) - Traded to Phoenix; 2. (57) James Gist (F, Maryland).
PROJECTED STARTING FIVE:
PG- Tony Parker SG- Michael Finley SF- Bruce Bowen PF- Tim Duncan C- Fabricio Oberto
KEY RESERVES:
Matt Bonner (F); Manu Ginobili (G); George Hill (G); Roger Mason (G); Salim Stoudamire (G); Kurt Thomas (C/F); Ime Udoka (F)
FRONTCOURT:
Duncan is still playing at a high-level but the Spurs like to limit him to about 32-to-34 minutes a night. A wonderful low-post player, rebounder and defender, about the only hole you can find in Duncan's game is his free throw shooting.
Bowen is aging but he's still one of the best on-ball defenders in basketball and gets under the skin of the opposition with his unwillingness to let up at any time. Bowen has also made himself into a solid, weak side three point threat.
Oberto was up to 20 minutes a game last year and shot over 60 percent from the floor. A skilled player, Oberto has turned into a solid role player playing next to Duncan.
BACKCOURT:
Parker has always had amazing quickness that enables him to get to the rim at will. He's also improved his jumper to the point that you can't sag off of him defensively, making him one of the best point guards in the game.
"He's definitely improved on his jump shot, and he'll improve another step this year," Popovich said. "It's a matter of confidence at that position, and understanding what the defense is giving you."
Finely, who lost about 20 pounds in the offseason, is aging but still has the ability to score and defend, helping the Spurs become the most balanced group in the league.
BENCH:
You all know the cliche. It's not who starts, it's who finishes and Ginobili is the Spurs' best finisher but he will be sidelined for two months thanks to a left ankle injury. Any time you have a leg injury on a player that relies on his quickness and driving ability, you have to be concerned and the Spurts will be holding their collective breath, hoping the old Ginobili shows up in January.
Thomas is a veteran big men that brings tough interior defense and good rebounding off the bench.
The Spurs drafted George Hill and would like to see him take some of the backup point guard minutes away from Jacque Vaughn; They also brought in Roger Mason as a free agent in case Finley slips.
Salim Stoudamire is another option for Popovich in the backcourt but has been hampered by a strained right groin in the preseason.
OUTLOOK:
This may be the last hurrah for this group.
While San Antonio focused on getting younger and more athletic in the offseason with Mason, Hill and Stoudemire, this is still a veteran driven team. The core stars are clearly aging but if Duncan and Parker stay healthy and Ginobili returns at a high level, expect the usual odd year championship in the Alamo City.
"Things may work out for us and they may not, but we want to give ourselves the best opportunity we can," Popovich said.
Damn, no mention of Ian. Seems everyone is writing him off.
What's funny to me is that I haven't seen any mention of how much more athletic Duncan looks this year. He's been much quicker and has had some explosion to his jumps. I'm sure I'm not the only person here that noticed.
I haven't been able to see him on the court yet. I'll notice as soon as I can see him.
Last edited by duncan228; 10-21-2008 at 04:53 PM.
There is no way the Spurs will be tied for second if they average just 95 points a game.
I'm excited for our new prospects
*raises an eyebrow*
I don't think anyone is writing off Ian Mahinmi, but he hasn't played a second in the preseason. Until he does something, and by that I means plays one play he is irrelevant and can't be counted on.
This was worth posting just to get to see "You have no soul" again.
BDL's 2008-09 NBA Season Preview: San Antonio Spurs
By J.E. Skeets
As the NBA preseason marches on, Ball Don't Lie looks at all 30 teams, outlining off-season transactions, projecting win totals, spinning tracks, and much, much more. It's a fun, hot mess. Next on tap, the San Antonio Spurs.
Last Season: 56-26; lost in Western Conference Finals to Lakers
Key Players Added: BDL commenter Roger Mason Jr. (free agent), THE Salim Stoudamire (free agent), George Hill (draft)
Key Players Lost: Robert Horry (free agent), Damon Stoudamire (free agent), Joan Rivers
Kelly Dwyer's Endless Grey Ribbon: The Spurs are a brilliant basketball team full of smart and talented players, run by a borderline-genius with a beyond-borderline crazyman beard. They will be without their second-best player for a few months, they will still win a whole lot of basketball games; and though they will likely fall short of a ring this summer, the team will not go down without a strong fight. This means it shouldn’t be a surprise if they take the Western Conference finals or NBA Finals to seven games.
And that’s San Antonio’s season. If you read anything beyond this, you’re just going to see me repeat myself. As the Spurs do, brilliantly, year in and year out. Dominate, defend, rinse, repeat. Not "when necessary." Always. That’s why I couldn’t use this album.
The Spurs were going to be forced into depending way too much on Michael Finley even before Manu Ginobili’s injury, and now we’re likely going to get more than our fill of what has turned into a low-efficiency, so-so defensive player in Fin. It’s not Michael’s fault, he’s just been thrust (even as Manu’s backup, essentially) into a role that Finley is ill-suited for at this point in his career. The guy used to have to play 47 minutes a night for a pre-Nash era Mavericks team, so his legs are a little shot.
Coach Gregg Popovich will not bust out any new wrinkles or gimmicks in Ginobili’s absence, and you’ll be surprised by just how much they’ll win. They’ll be right there with the Rockets, Hornets, Jazz and Lakers for most of the year; though by the end of April those occasional odd losses will probably keep their win total in the lower 50s instead of the high 50s.
Then the playoffs will start, the team will go from underrated to overrated (pundits and opponents and fans often tend, out of fear I’m guessing, to overrate this team once the Spurs grab momentum in a playoff series) over the 24 hour course of a postseason off day, and San Antonio might even work its way toward another championship.
I’m not being flip, or lazy, but this is just how the Spurs work. There’s nothing new, here. Just intelligent, passionate, exacting basketball. The team needs another wing scorer, Tim Duncan is getting on in years, the pivot depth is pretty thin, and the team might scare itself into needlessly limiting Manu’s minutes this winter. And, to certain extent, none of that will matter much. Wins, wins, wins.
So that’s why I’m going with the album I’m going with. Straight up the kilt, expected, consistent, nothing flashy, aware of its limitations but proud of its accomplishments.
And, when nobody is around, a damned exciting thing. We might only get another year or two of the Spurs as we know them. Appreciate them now.
Expected Record: 51-31
Lolnbaz:
They Did This On Purpose:
Real Talk, Blog Talk (aka excerpts from other blogger team previews):
48 Minutes Of : "What are the goals for this team? Win a championship. I know many people feel that the Spurs’ championship era has passed us by, but if the team is fundamentally still composed of a core that won a ring two years ago, than a championship still has to be your goal. A team with a lot of problems still made it to the Western Conference finals last season (and was deceptively compe ive given the series’ 4-1 outcome). If the team can remain healthy (during the WCF last season our leading scorer was playing on a bad ankle), a fifth banner could be in the cards. Plus it’s an odd year."
Andre Gomes: "Tim Duncan will be like always the reference and the heart of the Spurs, but with the years passing (he is already 32 years old), it’s getting more important than never to save him, in order for him to be at 100% at the end of the season. 20 ppg and 10 rpg have been the natural numbers of Duncan on a season and this should happen once again this season, however it will be curious to see how Pop will manage Duncan’s minutes during the season."
Recliner GM: "This team won’t drop significantly, but I think their age will show much more than it has to this point. They have done nothing to get younger, faster or more athletic. That doesn’t worry me so much on the offensive end because they still have Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. But will they be able to keep up the kind of defense necessary to be that tough out in the playoffs? Father time hits everyone and this team has a lot more players than their opponents in the West who are susceptible to age being a major factor in terms of lingering injuries and the natural down swing in production."
Tim Duncan's H-E-B Brisket Poem:
Associated Wax: Huey Lewis and the News, Sports
Michael Bay's Twitter Season Projection:
michael_bay: With a core of Duncan, Manu and TP, the Spurs feel that they can still contend with anyone. I feel like a bacon sandwich. Win win!
Last edited by duncan228; 10-21-2008 at 09:13 PM.
Does this guy actually research before he says ? I would consider Hill, and Mason, replacing Damon, Barry, and Horry doing just that. Plus if Hairston makes the 15 man roster, the Spurs will be younger and more athletic than ever.Recliner GM: "This team won’t drop significantly, but I think their age will show much more than it has to this point. They have done nothing to get younger, faster or more athletic. That doesn’t worry me so much on the offensive end because they still have Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. But will they be able to keep up the kind of defense necessary to be that tough out in the playoffs? Father time hits everyone and this team has a lot more players than their opponents in the West who are susceptible to age being a major factor in terms of lingering injuries and the natural down swing in production."
Damn Fin, Vaughn, and Fab holding the Spurs back.
It completely fails to shock me that you didn't notice.
The Other Side: San Antonio Spurs
Ivan Carter and Michael Lee
Wizards Insider
Last season, the San Antonio Spurs failed in their attempts to win back-to-back NBA les for the third time. But it's an odd-numbered year. So that's a good thing, right? The Spurs have won in every odd-numbered year since 2001, establishing a mini-dynasty.
This year, winning a fourth le in seven years isn't impossible, but is much more difficult since they are getting older (we've heard that before, huh?). And, the Spurs will start the season with Manu Ginobili on the shelf because of a bum left ankle that had the Argentine looking like a s of himself in the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, and hobbling off the court during the Olympics. Ginobili had arthroscopic surgery and is expected to be out at least until December.
The Spurs also face some serious challengers in the conference with the defending Southest Division champion New Orleans Hornets, the defending Western Conference champion Lakers and the Ron Artest-upgraded Houston Rockets, to name a few.
The Spurs, however, still have Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan andTony Parker, and Ginobili will return. They have won three consecutive preseason games and are 3-2. Here are some story lines to pay attention to as the Wizards face the old Spurs tonight at 8:30 p.m.
1. Mason Fitting In
Roger Mason was the Wizards' most valuable sub last season, as he averaged a career-high 9.1 points and filled in admirably for Gilbert Arenas and Antonio Daniels. During the offseason, the Wizards blew all of their money re-signing Arenas and Antawn Jamison and elected to let Mason explore other options. He signed a two-year, $7.3 million deal.
He is averaging 7.8 points and shooting 37.1 percent in four preseason games, which includes two starts, while Popovich looks for someone to open the season in place of Ginobili. Veteran Michael Finley is the favorite to open the year at shooting guard. Mason is still adjusting to his new surroundings after spending the past two seasons with his hometown Wizards.
Here's today's San Antonio Express-News:
2. The Age Old, Old Age QuestionsHis move to San Antonio, in every way, is still a work in progress. He's moved into a new house near Stone Oak, for instance, but still drives a car with Maryland plates. Sometimes, he spends more time in that car than he cares to admit. "I've been around (Loop) 1604 a few times," Mason said. "I've done a few laps by accident."
Mason's gas-guzzling excursions aside, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been impressed with how quickly the 28-year-old has transitioned to a new environment. "Roger's had a great training camp," Popovich said. "He's been a big-time scorer in camp. He's learned the defense. He passes to the open man. Again, a great teammate. He's been outstanding, and we're thrilled we were able to bring him here."
The Spurs have been called old for the past 10 years, even when they were carried by a young Tim Duncan or a young Tony Parker. But the "Spurs are old" drumbeat is getting louder this season, as the team's reliance on veterans has them looking a step slower than the younger upstarts in the conference. Here's ESPN's John Hollinger on the topic:
He then added this:Everyone else can be expected to be somewhere between slightly worse and massively worse than they were a year ago. Taken individually, it doesn't seem so horrible that Ginobili and Udoka are 31, or that Mason is 29, for instance. It's when you start piling up the ulative impact of all their ages that it really sinks in. Bowen is 37, Finley and Thomas are 35, Fabricio Oberto and Jacque Vaughn are 33 and Duncan is 32. Yeesh.
A rapid Heat-like droppoff is unlikely, but the Spurs will have to generate some offense from some older wing players, especially with Ginobili out for a month. It would be hard to ask Finley, Ime Udoka and even Mason to fill the gap, which will likely place more pressure on Parker and Duncan in the outset.San Antonio is trying to squeeze two more years out of this nucleus, but there's a possibility they won't make it that long -- in fact, the roster's advanced age leaves open the possibility of a sudden, unexpected collapse. I don't think it's likely, mind you, but that's the thing about sudden age-related collapses -- we never expect it. Just ask Miami.
3. Popov Smurf
Have you seen Popovich this summer? If you haven't, he has a new, bearded look. It's pretty scraggly and Rip Van Winkle-ish. I read somewhere, where he was compared to Muppets creator Jim Henson. Popovich has gone grizzly - and no, he didn't catch on to the DeShawn Stevenson-Drew Gooden bet a year too late. He actually went on a fishing trip to Vancouver, spotted a bear and came back looking like Paul Bunyon. The look isn't expected to make it to the regular season, but it has led to some funny jokes. Here's the Buck Harvey of the Express-News:
Popovich says he has heard all the jokes, and he's made a few jokes himself. On media day he announced he would do whatever Tim Duncan wanted him to do regarding this matter. "If he tells me he wants it gone, it's gone," Popovich said. "If he wants me to leave it, I'll leave it. If he wants me to trim it, I'll trim it."
That leads to another explanation why the beard still existed as of Saturday. Duncan likes it. But Duncan probably sees this beard as all of the Spurs do. Popovich has grown summer beards before, and they've always gone down the drain before the start of training camp. Yet the Spurs show up the next day in the gym, expecting change, and there is the beard, seemingly another inch longer. Now they joke and wonder. Will he leave the Spurs for a ZZ Top tour?
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