The problem in this thread is that a lot of people have focused on offensive problems from a stylistic standpoint..sure it might help a little if Parker passed a little more, but it wouldn't make a significant difference..
The D should be the main focus here..particularly getting some athletic wing defenders, and more importantly, getting a functional defensive big man next to Duncan..these have been needs since the last le..
Pop's style has clearly changed though..he talks about defense, but he doesn't follow through..defensive players no longer play on this team for the most part..
IMO, the main Spurs problems..
1- Parker and Ginobili's poor play, especially Manu..obviously this team won't go anywhere without them..
2- Defense..particularly P&R defense, defending switches, and Tony Parker's atrocious defense..those 3 are all huge issues..the last one isn't fixable..the other 2 might not be fixable with our current personnel..Duncan can be exploited on the p&r nowadays, we really need a mobile big..
I've noticed this for a while now..teams are running multiple screens to free up one of their big men to have a matchup advantage against one of our wing players, and this team doesn't know how to respond to this..it has been killing us for a while now..it's either lack of understanding how to rotate, and it's the lack of size..other teams are pounding the Spurs with this..
3- Energy players..Manu used to be the main guy, but he doesn't have it right now..Hill isn't an energy player on a consistent basis, he thinks too much, which is understandable considering his position..
Bogans and Blair are our only energy players..I love them both, but sometimes you need more athletic guys to spark a team with some blocks and dunks..some athletic plays..I'd love to see Ratliff and Hairston get in for 5 minutes in a game to spark the team, or at least let those guys play when guys ahead of them in the rotation are playing poorly..if not for production reasons, then at least to light a fire under some asses..what happened to Pop's doghouse?..
I'm tired of seeing every single team come out with some athletic players that kill the Spurs with their hustle, energy and athleticism..
4- Pop..I love the guy, but he's gone soft..Finley had him neutered, he doesn't have his balls anymore..he doesn't put players in the doghouse, he's too stubborn and abuses concepts like small ball(sometimes it works, but at least do something else when the team is struggling with it)..he's no longer a hard ass that focuses on D..we need the old Pop back..
This team is tough to read in general though..I find it interesting that we're ranked 6th in overall efficiency(O+D), only behind Boston, Cleveland, LA, Atlanta and Dallas..just ahead of Portland, Denver and Orlando..