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I can agree with this, but I do think Hill and Mason bring us more rebounding from the guard position than we had last year, and much more hustle from the second unit that will help with those rebounding numbers.
the problem last season was two fold, scoring and rebounds. The Spurs tried to address scoring with the signing of Mason and I (feel) believe they thought Ian would help on the glass this year
I can agree with this, but I do think Hill and Mason bring us more rebounding from the guard position than we had last year, and much more hustle from the second unit that will help with those rebounding numbers.
Leaving all profundity aside, I agree with the cliched notion that the Spurs need to *add* another decent big and a wing. If they were to add a wing with an offensive game (capable of scoring 6-10 points every night) they'd be one of the best offensive teams in the league.
I respect Bruno's as much or more than anyone on this forum, but I have to disagree with him about the shot blocker. IMO, the defense would be greatly improved with a natural shot blocker.
This is all a bit greedy, though. From where I sit the Spurs look like they're one of the best 5 team in the league right now. Health is needed, but if Mahinmi can give them 6 and 6, they'll probably be looking up at only the Celtics and Lakers.
The thing with me is upon watching the team last season in the playoffs they looked old to me when it came to the glass. Now when I say old I'm not talking as most the media and expert have been the past 5 years or so but it just seemed (to me) that the Spurs weren't quick to the ball coming off the rim. That's te only area we seemed to be slow in. That's just my assessment (feelings or beliefs) based on what I saw. I've never seen a young team a la Portland, etc win a le. I never bought the argument abot us being old but at some point you need youth to carry the 2nd unit if for nothing more than that regular season and spot minutes throughout the playoffs. The Spurs have a good group at the moment but rebounds should be addressed and Pop knows that.
just need a rebounding/shotblocking big. Spurs have enough scorers to win games. the backcourt is certainly capable of winning ballgames on their own already.
1. When either Oberto/Thomas are on the floor at the same time as Bowen, the Spurs are playing 3-on-5 ball on the offensive end. That's a of a hill to climb.
2.Neither of those guys boxes out worth a damn, and both play like they are wearing ankle weights - which means we give up way too many second chance points. That's also a big hill to climb every night.
3.Neither Oberto nor Thomas get to the free throw line, unless the other team trips and falls on top of them. That leaves teams free to collapse on Duncan, and use all their fouls beating him to death.
We need a big that is young enough to crash the boards aggressively, and to do at least one other thing well - defend/block, take the ball to the hole strong, or hit an occasional mid-range jumper. The problem is that we aren't going to land another superstar big, and most of the realistic possibilities aren't any better than Oberto or Thomas.
I still think Camby would be enough to make this team a serious contender this year, but there just is no realistic way of making that happen. I wish there were some way we could talk Sacramento out of Spencer Hawes. (I wonder if they would take Finley straight-up?) Seriously - I don't know what we could offer, but I think he's about the best bargain-big out there. I'm sure the Kings think so too.
Last edited by GSH; 11-28-2008 at 06:49 PM.
These last two games are proving my point. The Spurs scored 84 points in Houston and 77 points tonight. In both games they outrebounded their opponents. 39-34 in the Houston game (8 offensive rebounds to 3) and 41-37 in tonight's game (9 offensive rebounds to 6).
The issue is still scoring and when they don't hit their three pointers....it becomes a bigger problem.
I'm not worried about getting another big....I want more scoring!!!!
Those two problems are ONE IN THE SAME! WE NEED A BIG WHO CAN SCORE! Having a badass big not only helps on the defensive end, but it allows for more OPEN SHOTS, EASY PENETRATION, AND ADDED ASSISTS FOR THE GUARDS WE ALREADY HAVE!.. I have been promoting a big from the get go. and i know i know, WE DONT HAVE THE MONEY OR SPACE..YADA YADA. But our front office has had awhile to get another big to pair up with duncan since d-rob. Its hard to believe teams like boston. lakers, rockets can have big THREES along with BIGS THAT ACTUALLY PRODUCE. I will be very disapointed if don't get done before the end of the year, IF NOT WE BETTER GET AN ALL-STAR COMING 2010(BOSH! and ill be happy with boozer too i guess)
Keep relying on jump shots because no bigs can ing post up.
A 6'10" who can create his own offense 4 feet from the basket. What a novel idea.
Agree. This was clearly borne out during the series with the Hornets and Fakers. Whether it be loose balls, rebounds, or defensive rotations, the Spurs were routinely outquicked and outhustled by these opponents. IT definitely caught up with them against the Fakers. Over the offseason, the Spurs added a couple of young players, but they're never going to develop on the fly, unless they get consistent court time.
Detroit provided a shining example of how to rebuild on the fly. Their bench has been developing for over a year now. Providing significant practice and playing time, as a unit. Now guys like Stuckey, Johnson,, Maxiell and Afflalo are all significant contributors on a nightly basis. They provide that extra jolt needed to disrupt opponents and change game tempo. It's beautiful to watch.
To your point, it'd be nice if the Spurs bench crew could develop to a point where they can provide the same jolt. I know Hill and Manu can, but there isn't a lot of extra "jolt" among the remaining bench players on the roster.
Your stats don't tell the whole tale. Did you see what happened when Duncan went to the bench last night? Detroit went on a huge scoring run...mostly at the rim. Outrebounding another team matters little when you cannot protect the paint...unless you are expecting Duncan to play 40+ minutes every single night. You can talk about the last two games all you want. The fact of the matter is that for the SEASON we are still second to last in blocks per game and offensive rebounds per game. Defense was more the issue than scoring.
But to with it. Lets just bring in a bunch of shooters and call ourselves the Sacramento Suns.
we just need better bigs. end of story.
if they are improving the frontcourt offense, great. if they improve defense, great as well. whatever area they improve doesn't matter, because there is room for improvement in all aspects of the game. currently there are IMO 2 free spots in our big rotation between Tim and whoever is the #4 (Matt, Fab, KT). neither of our current bigs is good enough to fill the role of the #2 or #3.
Offensively, they have no issue. They are not built to be a team that averages 110 PPG, the current roster provides them with the offense capable of doing its job on this team the way it's built. Their issue is defense, plain and simple. In 2005 and 2007, they didn't have a David West or Llamar Odom they had to guard, they had Amare Stoudemire but letting Amare score his points and stopping the Richardsons, Bells, Barbosas and Marions was more important because the Suns are uncomfortable when not firing on all cylinders offensively.
Before that they had Malik Rose who guarded guys like Odom and West extremely well. This is a problem they almost addressed last year via Josh Smith but that fell apart, and they'll probably go after a guy like Smith again. Don't mean to rub it in, but Scola provides that defense they are lacking. Oberto does look pretty useless these days. I'm wondering what they'll do at this point after seeing the way Sheed beat them by stepping out and making one of their unathletic big men follow him and play out of position I think Pop might start wondering if their big men aren't athletic enough to play defense against guys like West and Odom.
You're probably right the one weakness to Duncan's game is lack of athleticism, David Robinson covered that up to say the least and they really didn't need great athleticism out of their big men against Denver Phoenix Utah or Cleveland in 2007.
We need another big, we have no one with any athleticism at the PF or C position. Timmy is stupendous, and Fab, KT, and Bonner fill their roles, but we still don't have any big that can come from the weak side and block shots, or dominate the boards. Ian may fill that roll, if he does, great, but if he doesn't we are still going to struggle against the Gasol's, Odom's, and Wests of the league. Besides, if we can get an athletic big who gets offensive boards, then we will not be as terribly effected during our scoring droughts, since, hopefully, those 2nd chances would score.
Look at the opp FG% that is the issue, and our lack of offensive rebounds is alarming. Good teams are shooting 52-55% against us, in years we won the champion ship temas shot low 40s.
Have all the scoring you want, ask the lakers you play no defense and you dont win. If scoring was what won Championships we wouldnt have any and La and Pnx Denver would be powerhouses!
remember, summer 2006 the Spurs offered Przybilla the whole MLE, before they went after a million other big FAs and finally ended with Butler and Elson.
this days Przybilla would look good in our rotation. just saying.
Man, I'm soooo glad Przybilla turned that down!
Przybilla = joke of an NBA player. His post defense is almost as overrated as Bell's perimeter defense, which says a lot since Bell being voted on the first all defensive team last year still baffles me to this day.
Hey we are (or were I guess) powerhouses in the regular season
And opposing FG% is the problem, opposing FG% and defensive rebounding % are the two things the Spurs live and die by.
scoring is not important. if we scored 60 points a game and won everyone id be happy. what we need is a big
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