Is this the most balanced line up ever?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

@ beating Miami..Spurs have a much better chance at beating LA than they do Miami..

As for the question..

The Spurs have 0 reliable perimeter defenders right now..Manu can defend well when he doesn't have too much offensive responsibility, but he obviously will, so his defensive ability comes down to help D/steals..

Hill has problems with lateral quickness and size inside, Temple is unproven and skinny, Parker is an average defender at best, Anderson is completely unproven and was never known as a defender, and Neal is unproven and has never been known as a defender at all..

Jefferson shows occasional flashes of help D, but he's an average overall defender that struggles with his lateral quickness and basketball IQ(missed a lot of rotations last year, should be better this year, but still has a relatively low IQ IMO)..


Spurs don't have reliable shooters..Bonner chokes in the playoffs, Hill is only consistent from the corners so far, Manu is streaky, Jefferson is average, Parker isn't an outside shooter, Anderson and Neal are unproven..


Spurs don't have interior defenders outside of Duncan..Splitter is unproven, Bonner is a below average interior defender, McDyess is average, Blair is terrible..


Spurs lack proven depth on the perimeter, as Bruno mentioned..



The Spurs have a lot of unproven players, so it's too early to make statements like the OP is trying to do..we'll have to see what happens a few months into the season..

The Spurs do have some strengths, obviously..playmakers(Manu, TP, Timmy), basketball IQ, coaching, interior scoring(Duncan, Blair, Jefferson, Ginobili, Parker, Hill), penetration(Parker, Ginobili, Hill, sometimes Jefferson) and other strengths..not the most balanced team, though..

Hill has issues defending Steve Nash on pick and rolls when shooters hitting over 50% for three are spacing the floor. All players have issues defending quicker guards. Hill is still better than most. I do not buy the size garbage. He is a + defender.

Manu will not need to score 20+ a night if Duncan and Parker are healthy. He is a + defender.

Parker doesn't put full effort on defense until the playoffs. When he fights through pick and rolls, he is a + defender.

Jefferson is the key if he can play average defense on opposing SF then we will be okay. It was his rotations that killed us over and over again. We need him to step up.

Temple showed flashes of +defender last year.

'Streak' Manu hit 38%. 'Choker' Bonner shot 37% from 3 in the playoffs. He is not going to get many minutes with bigs like Duncan, Splitter, Blair, and McDyess on the roster. Parker shoots a high percentage above the key. Jefferson was bad last year but is a career 36% shooter which is what the 9th place shooting Hawks shot.

Hill is absolute money from the corner and the Spurs live off that corner three. He shot 2.5 3s a game at 40%. Neal and Anderson are unknowns but they ARE known for being great shooters.

Duncan is one of the best interior defenders of all time. Splitter is unproven but he is known for solid interior defense. McDyess is a +defender as he showed when he stopped pulling an Horry.

And dear lord get off the Miami chode. They have not even had a team practice yet. This is not fantasy basketball.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

First, there are 144 min available per game on the perimeter. It doesn't change that I agree with you that few minutes behind Parker/Hill/Ginobili/Jefferson will be available when it will matter because they will play significantly more than 100mpg during the playoffs.

Second, I find that saying Spurs are fine because the situation is better than last year is just flawed logic. Last year depth was a disaster and Spurs got swept in playoffs. Being better than horrible doesn't mean that you're good.

Our perimeter rotation had nothing to do with Phoenix's bigs shooting 50+% from three. We also beat a 2nd place Dallas team who was scorching hot coming into the playoffs.

Those 4 are going to play more than 100 minutes during the regular season. They went for 120 last year. When they are playing 35+ for the playoffs then there are going to be no minutes behind them.

The rotation was a cluster last year because Parker, Manu, and Mason were out or playing hurt for periods of time. Who would have ever thought that Parker missing 25 games and not coming back until the last month of the season would have ed up our rotation?

If we are healthy we are fine.

[ElNono]

Hill just has horrible footwork... A guy like Nash just schooled him with fakes and dribbles while making layup after layup. I hope he worked on that in the summer.

RJ simply can't move laterally... quicker players simply go around him. He can be a decent help defender because he has hops, so he will have the occasional blocked shot, but that's about it.

Tony and Manu are our best defenders on the perimeter, period. And neither is what you would call a stopper (Bowen, Artest, Ariza... that kind of defender).

On the interior defense, the jury is still out, but basically any improvement will come from whatever Splitter can give you. Duncan is a year older and he's our best defender.

I'm not concerned about the offense. We had enough of that last season too. But there's plenty of talented offensive teams. When push come to shove, you're going to need stops, and that's something we didn't have last season. I don't see how we made progress on that with the current roster either.

[DrSteffo]

I completely agree with ElNono. The big 3 are our best defenders and I don't think that's a good thing since they are getting older and we need them on O too. I like Hill and Blair but both have obvious limitations on D.

Another unbalanced team position wise is the Pistons and they have what we lack, tall SFs who can defend.

[lotr1trekkie]

This team will have a lot of small-ball lineups. I would not be opposed to bringing Tim and Manu off the bench together. Robinson will also be huge for any le run. We need a pure scorer.

[duhoh]

2003 would hold that le. Most versatile GROUP the championship run teams have had. Deep with players who could play multiple positions.

only, that team sucked on the court. on paper, it sounds amazing.

that was duncan's brilliance that led to such heights.

He shot 2.5 3s a game at 40%. Neal and Anderson are unknowns but they ARE known for being great shooters.

Duncan is one of the best interior defenders of all time. Splitter is unproven but he is known for solid interior defense. McDyess is a +defender as he showed when he stopped pulling an Horry.

And dear lord get off the Miami chode. They have not even had a team practice yet. This is not fantasy basketball.

Irony

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Irony

Not really. I try using empirical examples and my view is hardly the popular one around here where ists virtue to be miserable and despairing.

And irony sets itself around expectations of certain events. Miami not winning the le after all the chodeblowing would be ironic. Manu being a good defender when he already is is not.

[DPG21920]

Not really. I try using empirical examples and my view is hardly the popular one around here where ists virtue to be miserable and despairing.

Hyperbole master.

Being realistic about expectations does not mean one is miserable.

[Chomag]

Still one of the better line ups for the Spurs but it's far from the most balanced. There is just way to many holes.

[Ace]

Not really. I try using empirical examples and my view is hardly the popular one around here where ists virtue to be miserable and despairing.

And irony sets itself around expectations of certain events. Miami not winning the le after all the chodeblowing would be ironic. Manu being a good defender when he already is is not.

No they live in reality.

[Leonard Curse]

No they live in reality.

you obviously dont. you go around acting like miami has this years le sealed they have no bigs!!!! who are you getting? erika ? thats who your hoping for? and you making fun of our frontcourt defenders? even if they win 80 games ill still bet against that loser lebron come playoff time everygame!!!!

[Anonymous Cowherd]

This team will have a lot of small-ball lineups. I would not be opposed to bringing Tim and Manu off the bench together. Robinson will also be huge for any le run. We need a pure scorer.

Not concerned about age? He might be a little rusty...

[Ace]

you obviously dont. you go around acting like miami has this years le sealed they have no bigs!!!! who are you getting? erika ? thats who your hoping for? and you making fun of our frontcourt defenders? even if they win 80 games ill still bet against that loser lebron come playoff time everygame!!!!

[ElNono]

I don't feel miserable or in despair. I actually can't wait for the season to start.

[admiralsnackbar]

I don't feel miserable or in despair. I actually can't wait for the season to start.

+1

There are reasons to believe we won't win it all, but in the end this is my team, and that ultimately trumps reason. There were as many reasons to believe the 2003 squad wouldn't unseat the Lakers, or the 2005 one the Pistons.

The games get won on the court, and there is too much talent and intelligence on this squad to justify automatically writing them off. I'm not so blinded by homerism to think the Spurs won't need a fair amount of luck to get through, but that only doubles my desire to watch the games.

That said, this is not the most balanced Spurs line-up ever. It is not even as balanced as our championship squads in the past. So be it.

[TJastal]

Poppy 's philosophy the past 4-5 years has been to rely on experienced vets/journeyman players rather than go through the growing pains of developing youth. The culmination of all this today is a squad which is defenitely a mix of old vets and greenhorns, and "balanced" is not a word I'd use to describe it.