San Antonio Spurs Far From Peaking
By: Yannis Koutroupis
Hoopsworld
Every season there is a team who tears it up at the beginning of the year only to falter down the stretch. With the league's best record at 18-3 the San Antonio Spurs could theoretically be that team this year. They're currently exceeding everyone's expectations and playing like they're a true threat to the Los Angeles Lakers' pursuit of a third-straight championship. However, expecting a drop off in the Spurs play would be a mistake because despite their fantastic start, there's plenty of reason to believe that they can still improve significantly.
Tim Duncan Is In Cruise Control
The Spurs captain and foundation for their success is currently really enjoying being surrounded by the type of talent that doesn't require him to put up big numbers night in and night out. Duncan is averaging a career-low in points, rebounds and minutes played and wouldn't have it any other way.
Duncan will continue to pace himself throughout the rest of the regular season to ensure that he isn't banged up and worn out by the time the playoffs come around like years past. At the age of 34 Duncan understands that his career doesn't have but maybe a couple of years left and he wants to make the most of those. If his teammates can continue to carry him throughout the regular season, he'll be able to return the favor come playoff time.
With the departure of Amar'e Stoudemire (New York Knicks) and Carlos Boozer (Chicago Bulls) to the Eastern Conference the quality of big men play in the West is nowhere near the same. Duncan is going to be a tough matchup for every opposing team in the West that they will need to really focus on containing. Expect Duncan's numbers to jump noticeably once playoff time comes if healthy.
Their Defense Is Still Not Up To Popovich's Standards
As a team the Spurs are averaging 106 points a night, which is the third most in the league. That development has led to many speculating that Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has softened on the emphasis he puts on defense, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Defense is still Popovich's number one priority. It always has been and always will be. This year's group just happens to be incredibly gifted offensively, good enough that Popovich decided to change his approach on that side of the court. Unlike in the past Popovich doesn't ask the team to slow down and work the ball inside. He gives complete control and freedom to guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, allowing them to push the tempo as they see fit.
The results have obviously been stellar, but Popovich isn't going to allow the team to believe that just because their offense is winning them regular season games that it's going to win them a championship as well. It's going to be their defense that is key in any championship run and right now they could stand to improve on the amount of points they give up nightly (97) and how well they defend the long ball (Spurs are the third-worst team in the league at defending the three, allowing teams to shoot 39%). Popovich has plenty of time to work with them in those areas and they should make strides as the season progresses.
Tiago Splitter Has Yet To Find Himself
The Spurs high-profile offseason acquisition currently isn't running neck and neck with Los Angeles Clipper Blake Griffin or Washington Wizard John Wall for the Rookie of the Year award to say the least. Splitter, who was injured for most of training camp, is just playing 12 minutes a night so far and has actually started to become a bit frustrated. He's accustomed to being one of the best players on his team and a focal point of everything, which he hasn't been with the Spurs. Coach Popovich is still a big believer in him, though.
"Tiago is a tough customer," said Popovich. "He really rebounds hard and he plays hard defense. He's probably one of the most aware players, as far as taking charges and understanding what's going on on the court. He does a good job."
Splitter is eventually going to find his comfort zone as a Spur and once he does that will give them the additional big men they need to match up against the Lakers big man rotation of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. The Spurs wouldn't have brought him over if they didn't feel like he was a perfect fit for their system both on and off the court, so any concerns about the frustration he recently voiced should be looked past. It won't become an issue because the Spurs simply don't deal with those kinds of problems. He'll buy into the team-first philosophy and patiently wait for his time to come.
Keep Reading...
Tim Duncan Is In Cruise Control
On that fast break last night where he finished, it was painful to watch him try to accelerate at mid court. Looked like his ankles were tied together. He can't lift his thighs, esp that left one. A of a trooper, but ...
Seems like something a wishful thinking spurstalker would write on an optimistic whim tbh.
The whole article basically boils down to:
Here's to hoping Duncan is just laying low and not in decline
Not that I'm not hoping for those myself, but they are far from a done deal.
Good optimistic read though
These points are well-taken since there exactly what all spurs fan have been knowing and thinking the past month. I think this goes to show the other fans on this board that we're right!
"SAN" [Splitter, Anderson, Neal] is still not a big part of SAN ANTONIO.
If and when that happens, watch out.
Anderson I suspect won't be in any shape to contribute after a 3 month layoff. I wouldn't be surprised to see Udoka stay in the rotation even after Anderson returns."SAN" [Splitter, Anderson, Neal] is still not a big part of SAN ANTONIO.
If and when that happens, watch out.
A decent, factual article from Hoopsworld?
Amazing...and a good read - for a change.
He's laying low and in decline, but not nearly as much as the vast majority think. His PER is steadily rising by the game, to the point where he's now up to 17th in the league. About a week to ten days ago, he was 34th. Before that, he was in the 40s.Seems like something a wishful thinking spurstalker would write on an optimistic whim tbh.
The whole article basically boils down to:
Not that I'm not hoping for those myself, but they are far from a done deal.
Good optimistic read though
His defense has been better this season than it's been the past few, the rebounding and mostly everything else is about the same. The only significant drop has been in shooting, but he's picking that up recently, both from the field and from the line.
In other words, he's not that far off the player he was last season and might very well end up being about the same, only this time it looks like they'll (barring significant injuries to the other bigs) be able to get him to the playoffs without wearing him down. So we may very well get to see his best at the end of the season, as opposed to the start. That's a scary proposition for the rest of the league.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) my guess is that Andy will contribute big down the stretch or else he probably never will.
Such is the insidious nature of foot stress fractures in basketball players.
Last edited by Russ; 12-10-2010 at 08:36 AM.
Lol, Hoopsworld actually wrote something right this time.
Amazing? What ever happen to "iTS ONLY HOOPSWORLD!!" Oh, thats right, they're not criticizing the Spurs so its a good read.
And if none of the above are true, this has still been the best team in the league through the first 21 games. Pretty impressive.Seems like something a wishful thinking spurstalker would write on an optimistic whim tbh.
The whole article basically boils down to:
Not that I'm not hoping for those myself, but they are far from a done deal.
Good optimistic read though
No, because it's factual read. Wouldn't have bothered me in the least, had the writer been critical of the Spurs - so long as it wasn't hyperbole. The Spurs are not a flawless team or one that's above criticism.
We now return you to the Cavaliers dismal season.
A positive article about the Spurs
I guess it's a " good read "
"Hi, we had the best player in the NBA for 7 years, and the best player we could get alongside him in that time was Mo Williams."
Meh, it's a nothing piece. You could say the same about a lot of teams in the league. Not bad, not good, just decent as speculative pieces often are.A positive article about the Spurs
I guess it's a " good read "
Yannis has been writing some decent Spurs articles for Hoopsworld for a while now. It's all their other writers who leave quite a bit to be desired...
I agree... pretty pointless article.Seems like something a wishful thinking spurstalker would write on an optimistic whim tbh.
The whole article basically boils down to:
Not that I'm not hoping for those myself, but they are far from a done deal.
Good optimistic read though
Duncan is able to save most of his energy for defense with the way the rest of the team is playing on offense. This saves a good bit of wear and tear, even without reduced minutes.
Hi... If you didn't make that Mo Williams crack, I would have sworn you were talking about Duncan. Maybe you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. How do you know I'm not a Harlemheat37 troll? How do you know if I'm a cavs fan? I'm not sure whats worse. Watching a player leave and take his talents to south beach or watching a legend limp toward the finish line. The penthouse has its perks and should be enjoyed while it lasts, but the outhouse is on the horizon.
P.s. Jamison is better than Mo Williams.
While I agree that the Spurs could very well be undefeated at this point, every team is far from peaking, especially if you ask their fans.
Of course Tim is in decline, but so is Kobe. if he weren't he would be playing 39 minutes a game and catching alley oops from half court, getting 35pts a game and 8 blocked shots. No, Tim is like all bigs at that age, except his fundamentals keep him viable where people like Shaq relied heavily on their size and strength but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a hand full of rocks at 20 feet.
Splitter needs to pull his head out of his ass. We don't need Oberto 2.0
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