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Question: wasn't Elson 7ft?
(EDIT: Answering my own question, yes, he's listed as 7ft in NBA.com)
Some of you guys are underestimating the defensive potential of this team.
i can't remember how many times last year opposing teams' guards and wings penetrated our perimiter defense and had to go up against Bonner at the basket for an easy two points, or against Blair (less often). this happened at least 8 times per game. the Splitter/Duncan combo will limit a lot of those opportunities for opposing teams. that's 16 less points for the other team (at least as far as scores in that manner are concerned). remember, in '99 the Spurs did not have anybody that was great defensively on the perimiter (though rules of late have softened perimiter defense quite a bit), but they had the luxury of having 2 7-footers in the paint. sure, one of them happened to be David Robinson, i'm in no way comparing Splitter to him, but it's a luxury that the Spurs will finally have again. i think that's being downplayed. if Hill, TP, RJ, and JA can prove to be solid defenders, we'll be good.
Question: wasn't Elson 7ft?
(EDIT: Answering my own question, yes, he's listed as 7ft in NBA.com)
BTW, I'm not comparing Elson with Tiago...
I'm just trying to remember if that was the last time we had two 7-footers in the team
I think last year was a bit of an anomaly. Seven new players, and parker often injured, made for an
up and down season, and still we were able to knock of 2 seeded mavs as a 7 seed, which has
never been done.
Centerpiece 20 min a game
Mason 19 min a game
Thats 40 minutes a game of barelly adequate d, at best, removed. Can't underestimate that.
Less minutes for bonner due to improved frontcourt defencivelly.
Healthy parker, improved Hill, improved Blair, improved Jefferson,
added best center in Europe Splitter, added 20th pick
Anderson, who looks very promising, simmons might work out, not like hes gonna see alot of minutes anyway.
Common sense, says that there is a much higher chance spurs will be better defencivelly this year.
As an added bonus the west got weaker, which should also help.
not having Mason on the team will help in itself. the guy did absolutely nothing for this team last year. he didn't defend, score, create--nothing. i'm just glad a guy like Anderson, who seems to have potential, is replacing him.
people don't understand how both unlucky and ty the Spurs were last season, yet still managed to beat a hit dallas team, and have many people at the end thinnking they thrust themselves into the eilte teams.
RJ was a horrible fit last year offensively on the basis of his 3-point shooting.
IF he improves on this front alone, this team is going far.
Blair was inconsistent and appeared to have hit a wall last year.
IF he is able to play consistently and the hard work that put in over the summer offensively pays off, GREAT.
Bogans - ugh
addition by subtraction and less minutes going to players that hurt the team.
JA>>>>>>>>>Mason
this year we can also put together a formidable frontcourt --meaning no Bonner.
this team has contender written all over it if things work out for the better. this team is going into this year so in' disrespected that it's sickeneing. meanwhile, every body is blowin' OKC.
Having two top notch rebounders like Duncan and Blair as well as two plus rebounders like McDyess and Splitter(hopefully) will allow the guards to run a bit more. We will not need to keep everyone back all the time to secure a rebound.
I've got people like to take care of me OV, so I don't have to deal with the messy business of opening up new tabs or windows.
lol. Glad you took that with the intended humor.I've got people like to take care of me OV, so I don't have to deal with the messy business of opening up new tabs or windows.
As an aside:
I don't mean to come off negative. I am very excited about this year and despite my worries and criticisms, I fully expect the Spurs to be an excellent team. There is plenty to be excited about.
But when you are one of the teams on the outside looking in from a championship perspective, it is important to be realistic in your shortcomings. I for one am very worried about the SF position and subsequently the perimeter defense. I only harp on it because it seems to be the elephant in the room when it comes to the Spurs' problems. But I am hoping for the best and I hope guys step up or these problems are addressed.
It's definitely not the elephant in the room. The elephant in the room is essentially something everyone is aware of, but chooses to ignore or avoid discussing because they're not comfortable doing so. The SF position and perimeter defense have been talked about ad nauseam.
I don't disagree with the majority of things you say and I've never been known as an eternal optimist, but I do think you're (and you're not the only one) overly critical of the team.
I don't need to explain to you all of their strengths, since it's clear you know the game and the team well enough to know them. But because you know the team so well, you have a tendency to nitpick and harp on their few glaring weaknesses to the point of overshadowing their many strengths.
The reason I call it the elephant in the room is because even though there are a few (vocal) that discuss and harp on it, most seem to think RJ and the rest are fine and expect big time improvements.
I may be critical, but I don't think I am overly critical. I am just more vocal than most about the things (negative) I see. I don't nit pick a million different things, but the major things I see.
I am only evaluating with regards to a championship team and in my opinion what the Spurs need to get to that point. I know they will be an excellent team, but as everyone else, I am only concerned with one thing at this point in time because those are the expectations with Duncan/Parker/Gino still in tact.
You got me curious now. What do you think that is?
IMO you are not being overly critical about the sf position, but my question is what can the Spurs do about it? Make a trade, like the Wilson Chandler rumor on here last week? It would be great if the Spurs could pick a perimeter defender. I do not currently see a lock down perimeter defender on the Spurs team right now.
With the rules the way they are is there one in the NBA?
Neverminddddd!!!!! I see now what you meant...
I think the lakers are the favorites, no doubt about that, but its not easy to threepeat, its a long season, and in the playoffs upsets do happen. After the lakers though, who would you put above the Spurs in the playoffs? Mavs? Thunder? Blazers? Rockets? Come on. I like the Spurs chances, come playoff time.
Jefferson doesn't have to have big improvement over last season for spurs to compete for a championship, lets not forget hes just the 4th, maybe 5th option, hill will be even better. RJ already played much better last year during second half of the season, and in the playoffs, he was a big reason spurs upset the 2nd seeded mavs.
Backup sf? What is that like 18 minutes a game? I'm sure between anderson, simmons, gee, manu, hill, theyll be able to cover it, lol. Lets not overreact here, more importantly our interior d, well be much better with the addition of splitter, and improved blair.
I haven't gotten that vibe at all. Those that think Jefferson will improve, I don't think are under the illusion that he's suddenly going to turn into a stopper. At least not the vast majority of them. It's more so that he'll have more knowledge and understanding of the system and because of that, more confidence, assertiveness and improved efficiency.
Overly critical wasn't the right term, more like overly negative.
So am I. It's clear they have a glaring weakness. But find me a team that doesn't. Should the Lakers win the championship, they'll likely do so despite mediocre outside shooting. Should the Heat win the championship, they'll likely do so despite being weak in the middle. Should the Celtics win the championship, they'll likely do so despite not having a stopper. Should the Magic win the championship, they'll likely do so without a true go-to perimeter option, as far as championship teams go.
Can the Spurs overcome (shore up?) their glaring weakness? Only time will tell obviously, but I think they have enough strengths that it shouldn't be dismissed or ruled out.
You're confused. Re-read what I wrote.
Yes, I see what you mean now. Nevermind.
One of the better posts I've seen in a while.
Good point.
Random Manu twitter today.
@George_Hill3 easier to get an elephant to the moon than getting TD to tweet.
It gets better.
George Hill: I'm still trying to get Tim and Matt on twitter and this is the face he gave me. LOL sorry Twittas I'm trying
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