Just how good is this team?

**duncan228** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by Manufan909

And why hasn't CIA Pop cloned Timmy yet?

He did.

Hemotivo's sig.

**whottt** · 11-22-2008

Re: Just how good is this team?

It's not very good at all. They have managed to get a couple of building blocks for the future though.

The biggest problem with this team...no supporting players with an assassins mentality.

Our veteran supporting players are chokers and our young guys don't have that instinct yet...I'll be surprised if we make it out of the first round.

Although it's not out of the realm of possiblity our young guys being assassins by seasons end...the odds are definitely against it with players this young.

Hopefully we'll tank and get that draft pick back.

**DPG21920** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

It's not very good at all. They have managed to get a couple of building blocks for the future though.

The biggest problem with this team...no supporting players with an assassins mentality.

Our veteran supporting players are chokers and our young guys don't have that instinct yet...I'll be surprised if we make it out of the first round.

Although it's not out of the realm of possiblity our young guys being assassins by seasons end...the odds are definitely against it with players this young.

Hopefully we'll tank and get that draft pick back.

Mason???? He shoots eveytime he can, has hit a game winning 3 and had a career high last night.

**whottt** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by DPG21920

Mason???? He shoots eveytime he can, has hit a game winning 3 and had a career high last night.

Seriously? Career high last night?

Holee ....no one told me that....that's ing incredible.

When's the parade?

**DPG21920** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

Seriously? Career high last night?

Holee ....no one told me that....that's ing incredible.

When's the parade?

Holy , a guy who is shooting 47% from 3, hits game winners and makes guys like you look clueless. He should get a parade.

**Spurtacus** · 11-22-2008

Good enough to make the playoffs and go deep. We are one big man away from being at the level of the Lakers. Mahinmi the answer? I hope. If not, we need to acquire one in trade.

**lefty** · 11-22-2008

This team is the best in the West.

We have won some games without TP and Manu (of course, the addition of Hill and Mason have something to do with it)

thanks to the good surprises (Hill and Maze), + healthy Ginobulus and TP + Duncan, I think we can beat anyone.

I'm 200% convinced that KFC, Rivers and Byron are ting in their pants right now

**whottt** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by DPG21920

Holy , a guy who is shooting 47% from 3, hits game winners and makes guys like you look clueless. He should get a parade.

Yes because I said his shooting PCT was poor, and it's completely amazing that a career bench player has put up a career high as a starter, and hitting one game winning 3

A. Counts as game winner[s]

and

B. Means he's clutch.

**024** · 11-22-2008

parker > fisher / hill = farmar (maybe)
ginobili < bryant / mason/finley > vujacic
bowen = rad / udoka < ariza
duncan > gasol / bonner/tolliver < odom
bynum > thomas/oberto

in a rough comparison in starter and bench positions,

spurs starters: 2
lakers starters: 2

spurs bench: 1
lakers bench: 3

i hate to say it but lakers are currently too good against the spurs. there are a lot of "ifs" for the spurs if they want to compete against the lakers. only if bowen beats off old age with a stick, if everyone stays healthy, if mahinmi proves himself, if udoka can return to last year's playoffs level or better, if george hill continues to improve, if parker can continue consistently hitting jump shots because it will be much harder to get to the basket against two capable 7'0 shot blockers, and if ginobili comes back better than ever. what concerns me is the lakers' defense. they have solid perimeter defenders in fisher, kobe, and ariza but they also possess an even stronger interior presence. best way for the spurs to stay compe ive right now is to find someone to match the lakers' frontcourt. spurs already have duncan, they just need one more capable big. people will say mahinmi but mahinmi will technically still be a rookie. will popovich really give a rookie a lot of minutes during the playoffs?

**whottt** · 11-22-2008

In looking for rays of hope as far as championships are concerned(and that's really what it is all about for this team)..the make up of this team is very similar to the 2002-2003 Spurs...it could go that way, but a lot of things went right for that team...and even more will have to go right for this team.

Maybe Mike Finley turns into Steve Kerr...
Maybe Thomas gives us what Kevin Willis and (for one game) Danny Ferry gave us...
Maybe Tolliver is to this team what Malik Rose was to that team.
Maybe Mahinmi in his first real season can give us some approximation of what Drob gave us in his final one...

Maybe Mason turns into Jack and Hill is to this team what Manu was to that one...

But that's a lot of maybes...and I haven't seen any evidence of it yet...I haven't seen any evidence of that sort of chemistry yet...

It's early and anything can happen...but to me this looks to be the worst team of the Duncan era as far as championship contention.

**DPG21920** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

Yes because I said his shooting PCT was poor, and it's completely amazing that a career bench player has put up a career high as a starter, and hitting one game winning 3

A. Counts as game winner[s]

and

B. Means he's clutch.

You said he is not an assassin. He does not hesitate to shoot and he is doing so at a nice clip. He has shown you he is not only willing to take a big shot, but also make a big shot. He cannot hit a game winner in every damn game, what more do you want? 1 game winner in 12 games is pretty good, not to mention the scoring he has done so far.

**DPG21920** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

In looking for rays of hope as far as championships are concerned(and that's really what it is all about for this team)..the make up of this team is very similar to the 2002-2003 Spurs...it could go that way, but a lot of things went right for that team...and even more will have to go right for this team.

Maybe Mike Finley turns into Steve Kerr...
Maybe Thomas gives us what Kevin Willis and (for one game) Danny Ferry gave us...
Maybe Tolliver is to this team what Malik Rose was to that team.
Maybe Mahinmi in his first real season can give us some approximation of what Drob gave us in his final one...

Maybe Mason turns into Jack and Hill is to this team what Manu was to that one...

But that's a lot of maybes...and I haven't seen any evidence of it yet...I haven't seen any evidence of that sort of chemistry yet...

It's early and anything can happen...but to me this looks to be the worst team of the Duncan era as far as championship contention.

That I agree with for the most part. I have seen flashes of depth and shooting and defense and intangibles.

**whottt** · 11-22-2008

One shot doesn't make an assassin...if that's the case Hedo Turkoglu was an assassin...

Don't tell me you know this guy is going to preform in the biggest of games...he hasn't been anywhere near one yet.

**DPG21920** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

One shot doesn't make an assassin...if that's the case Hedo Turkoglu was an assassin...

Don't tell me you know this guy is going to preform in the biggest of games...he hasn't been anywhere near one yet.

One shot does not make an assassin, but continuing to shoot does. It is too early to say he is not one and maybe too early to say he is one. But he has shot often and well for the most part. He also hit plenty of timely shots in the playoffs for the Wiz last year.

**timvp** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

It's not very good at all. They have managed to get a couple of building blocks for the future though.

The biggest problem with this team...no supporting players with an assassins mentality.

Translation:

Originally Posted by whottt

I'm not a Spurs fan anymore.

Because Brent Barry left.

**xtremesteven33** · 11-22-2008

video to get the spurs/spurs fans pumped up to face the Lakers in the playoffs.....

**ChumpDumper** · 11-22-2008

They're pretty good.

And they can get better.

It's nice to have some players with upside playing substantial minutes.

**whottt** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by DPG21920

It is too early to say he is not one and maybe too early to say he is one.

That's exactly my point...and since that is a rare skill, the odds are against him having it.

But he has shot often and well for the most part. He also hit plenty of timely shots in the playoffs for the Wiz last year.

He's got to do it against teams like the Lakers, Celtics and Hornets...and Suns. And even if he does BTW, that's still not enough...it's going to take more than him.

But yeah if he shows giant killing skill...it will mean a of a lot more for our chances. I haven't seen it yet...

And the thing is with young players...it usually takes a couple of painful losses to where they develop that killer instinct. Most of the time they have to learn to hate losing. Rookies and really young players usually don't have it right off the bat because they have their heads in the clouds over just being part an important part of the team... some of them do have it, most do not...sometimes veterans can scare them into having it...but most of the time they don't.

**whottt** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by timvp

Translation:

Uh...that's ing false...I was the first guy on the forum to say Barry when he went to the Rockets....while your ass was saying he deserved more from the Spurs and talking about how he was going to be missed.

I don't give a crap if they were offering him 10 cents to play this season...he chose to go to the Rockets....and in doing so he chose to be the enemy.

Unlike timvp and his Avery Johnson fetish...my loyalty is to the team...not the player, except in only the most extreme of cir stances like the player being synonymous with the team...and I especially don't like it when the player slaps us in the face as he is leaving by going to one of our chief rivals.

To be fair though...it's not like Brent Barry did it knowing his jersey was going to be retired. That's a whole different level of s bag there...when they do it like that.

**K-State Spur** · 11-22-2008

Healthy - this team has the opportunity to be every bit as good as some of the past championship squads. Tim's looking the same as ever, and Manu and Parker each are coming off the best all-around seasons of their careers (pre-injury for Manu).

Even if he falls off this pace a bit, Mason may the best 4th option we've had in the Duncan era.

And Hill - by May - looks to have the potential to be as good as some of you remember Speedy Claxton being.

The only problem is that there is more quality in the division and at the top of the league compared to the past championship years.

**timvp** · 11-22-2008

Originally Posted by whottt

Uh...that's ing false...I was the first guy on the forum to say Barry when he went to the Rockets....while your ass was saying he deserved more from the Spurs and talking about how he was going to be missed.

I don't give a crap if they were offering him 10 cents to play this season...he chose to go to the Rockets....and in doing so he chose to be the enemy.

Unlike timvp and his Avery Johnson fetish...my loyalty is to the team...not the player, except in only the most extreme of cir stances like the player being synonymous with the team...and I especially don't like it when the player slaps us in the face as he is leaving by going to one of our chief rivals.

To be fair though...it's not like Brent Barry did it knowing his jersey was going to be retired. That's a whole different level of s bag there...when they do it like that.

Good to have whottt back in the Spurs forum. And good to still see that Brent Barry smack works like a charm. Glad I don't have to think of new material . . .

Anyways, "no supporting players with an assassins mentality" is obviously talking about Robert Horry. But who else left that made your statement plural.

Thanks.