How The San Antonio Spurs Can Win The 2008-09 NBA Championship

[TDomination]

That was an excellent article.

Like others have said, the biggest thing for me to have "real" hope is whether Duncan can be Duncan.

I am hoping that the reason Duncan looked so bad against the Blazers was because it was a back to back, not to mention an earlier start than usual.

So if no back to backs in the playoffs keeps Duncan from hurting, that would be a major plus.

[Russ]

Bottom Line -- This team has more talent without Manu than last year's team with a subpar Manu. Gooden, Mason, and even Hill are big upgrades over last year's squad. (All this assumes Duncan can play at a decent level in he playoffs, of course.)

Put Gooden in the starting lineup and go for a physical, scoring, rebounding front line. Gooden can also take up the scoring slack and allow Bowen to play more. Pop then takes the chains off Duncan and lets him go all out.

The key will be establishing some kind of dynamic between Duncan and Gooden -- it may not happen but its their only realistic chance.

Then go inside out with Mason and Finley hitting threes. Reprive the '99 formula with Mason being Jaren Jackson.

This team can still play at a higher level than any West team not named the Lakers in stretches (like they did against Porland and they will against Utah tonight). They just have to find a way to make that enough.

Oh, and playoff defense of course. Some of the younger teams may find that unnerving if they expect to fly up and down the court.

[DPG21920]

Oh and if you've already folded tent and have given up on the season, please post in one of the other hundreds of threads dedicated to your cause.

Thanks.

I knew you would be back.

[mexicanjunior]

Good read...I didn't agree with much of it but solid writing nonetheless and I will still watch the games and hope for a miracle...

[EricB]

Add a four-time NBA champion coach to the equation who has shown his Hall of Fame mettle over the years

The same coach who Greg Moore wants fired?

[z0sa]

Bout time. i was about to be lurking for a while since no one can do anything but dog our own players and jump ship til 2010 ...

good read, now lets GO SPURS GO!

[Trimble87]

Very good read TVP. Realistically I cant give us a good shot to beat the lakers, seeing as before manu was down and out I thought the Lakers were the beter team and it was going to be tough. But one thing Ive learned from the Spurs is to never count them out in April/May.

Having no manu is certainly better then having manu at 60-75% in the playoffs like last year. IF TD can get back to 90% and TP can keep up his play I truly believe we can give the lakers a run.

Its nice not only to see a positive post, but one so well thought out. Seeing 3 pages worth of "Spurs suck" ... "No you suck" ... "No the Lakers suck"... "Gooden Rulez!"... "Fire Pop!" can get so demorallizing.


To all the spurs fans deciding to keep a positive outlook on things heres a link for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip1zsUIosoA

Dont Stop Believing.

[peacemaker885]

Thanks TimVP! Very good read. Its not over till its over and I'm pretty sure team has something cooking. Its Good Friday today so for Catholics, this is a very gloomy day...but on the third day we all know what happened.

[phxspurfan]

Nice writing. I had no idea Bonner led the team in some of those +/- categories. That's pretty interesting. Let's hope he can continue to be an asset during the pressure-packed situations to come.

I also like our chances without Manu. If still playing, I just didn't see consistent production out of him that we normally see going into the postseason. I like how this team has come together this season without some of their best players, and specifically how guys have stepped up in Ginobili's absence.

Another thing to mention is the external factor of the Spurs ability to sneak up on teams and steal a win or two. We have always been a team that plays under the radar, and now that everyone is counting us out, that may enable us to 'steal' a game or two during each series before teams realize we are for real with or without Manu.

Don't give up!

[GervinGirl]

Great job, Sir! An excellent post worthy of printing out and posting near office copy machines everywhere. Let folks have something to thing about while printing and collating.

[bugmenot]

Best thing I ever read on Spurs Talk

[wuss cones]

Wow. Thanks for the effort.

What about Jacque??

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Post of the year.

[Brazil]

the things you write are really some of the only things worth reading on this board. thanks.

[Brazil]

Ah and timvp the Believe. is much better than the Four Rings. even written in French : 4 bagues salopes !!

[I. Hustle]

The part I enjoyed the most is when you talked about suckling teats

[Mal]

Only pray can help

[Spur|n|Austin]

Nice well written post Timvp! Thanks for taking the time to do that!

Bring on the playoffs!

Bottom Line -- This team has more talent without Manu than last year's team with a subpar Manu. Gooden, Mason, and even Hill are big upgrades over last year's squad. (All this assumes Duncan can play at a decent level in he playoffs, of course.)

Put Gooden in the starting lineup and go for a physical, scoring, rebounding front line. Gooden can also take up the scoring slack and allow Bowen to play more. Pop then takes the chains off Duncan and lets him go all out.

The key will be establishing some kind of dynamic between Duncan and Gooden -- it may not happen but its their only realistic chance.

Good points!

[Thomas82]

Timvp with another money post!!

[Old School 44]

The part I enjoyed the most is when you talked about suckling teats

My favorite too. That reference made me LOL!

BELIEVE!

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Ah, I guess desperate times require desperate sophistry... and a tidy, subtle bit of sarcasm for anyone who dares to disagree. Fun reading, if only for a reminder of what obsession paired with homerism can reveal.

I think the point is that you should post in another thread. A message not really all that complicated or disguised, IMO.

G

T

F

O

[biba]

That time is to regroup. For Spurs. For SpursTalk.

[Illusionarist]

Man Timvp, you are awsome. Your articles are fantastic. Do you write anywhere? You really should. I agree with everything you say. Thanks for the nice post again.

[Austin_Toros]

Winning the championship will be hard with an ailing Duncan and injured Manu.

Let's go Gooden!

[baseline bum]

man, your Duncan and Parker arguments have me fired up for this to start in 8 days!

Especially looking back on how bad Tim looked with the plantar fasciitis in '06 and how he sucked it up and had what most stars would consider the series of a lifetime.