Reply With Quote
I like the fact spurs are letting others score more so tim can carry the d
the d is not as sexy but spurs need duncan d more then the o
I continue to be concerned about the Spurs' defense when Duncan is off the floor, or when he has to go up against a team that has too many weapons for him to defend all by himself..
After tonight, the Spurs' D is now approximately 11 points better when Duncan is on the floor, which is a ridiculous number, one of the highest numbers in the NBA..his on/off defensive rating is -9 now, while the next Spur is just a -4, and the next Spurs big isn't at +1, which is a massive discrepancy..
The Spurs' FG% D is 8% worse when Duncan is off the floor, which is disgusting..
Looking at other big name players, particularly the defensive anchors that play on a top 15 D, and how their team reacts when they're on/off the floor..
Duncan: -11
Garnett: -6
Josh Smith: -6
Horford: -3
Noah: +11
Okafor: +2
Howard: 0
Bogut: -4
Chandler: -6
Hibbert: 0
Gasol: -8
Odom: -5
Defensive on/off numbers are tricky, because they aren't adjusted for teammates, however, there are a few things you can learn from looking at them..
Gasol has a high number as well, but it's going to decrease with Bynum's return, which means Pau will play less minutes and won't have to do as much defensively..
Tim Duncan has a -11 number, which is the best of any defensive anchor on a top 15 D..this speaks on how well he has played D this year, but it also speaks on the lack of defensive support around him, and the fact that he has to make up for his teammates on D as much or more than anybody in the NBA..Duncan's minutes have been managed well so far, but how much longer can he do this?..
Is it safe to rely on a mid-30s year old Duncan with bad knees to pretty much carry the defense every single night during the playoffs?..it looks like it's gonna have to happen..
Last edited by HarlemHeat37; 12-21-2010 at 12:52 AM.
I like the fact spurs are letting others score more so tim can carry the d
the d is not as sexy but spurs need duncan d more then the o
Duncan seems to get schooled on a nightly basis now. It's so depressing to me. Even The Admiral never got pwned like Duncan does before he retired....
Good post. Though it's better to be worried about the defense without Duncan rather than recent years when it appeared as if Duncan's ability to be elite on the defensive end was in a steep decline.
Hypothetically, Splitter would be the anchor to the defense when Duncan is on the bench. But if Pop is putting Splitter in the Oberto program, we might have to hope that McDyess turns back the clock even more.
i think as the season goes on, it will become more and more obvious that the spurs need one more defensive big man to be a true championship contender. games are passing by and splitter still registers DNPs nightly. spurs need a true defensive big to anchor the floor when duncan isn't present and the chances of splitter seeing any significant playoff minutes are becoming less and less.
Excellent post.
Two questions, What's the score for Duncan in previous seasons?
And just to see how consistent this may be as an index, what's Bonner score?
Developing Splitter is the only viable option at this point. He's the only person on our roster with potential immediate (well, immediate as in by the end of the season and hopefully before the playoffs) defensive upside.
Given that they've started Blair and utilized Bonner as the third big (really, second if you by by mpg), I'm not surprised that they're as reliant defensively on Duncan as they've been. If Pop eventually comes to his senses and has McDyess starting and Splitter as the third big, then they'll be less reliant defensively on Duncan than they are now.
So it's more an indictment of the rotation being deployed than it is the personnel in general. If the personnel is eventually utilized properly, this team could be approaching top five status defensively.
Also, don't underestimate having Anderson out. I'm not saying him alone would make a massive difference, but if he reclaims his spot in the rotation, then Neal will play less, which should also help some, given the early promise Anderson showed defensively.
Anderson has the physical tools to be a better defender than Neal and early on was fairly impressive defensively. Obviously, the sample size isn't extensive enough to determine how good he is defensively, but I'd be surprised if he's not better than Neal. Like I said, him alone isn't going to make a massive difference defensively, but he could help some.
I guess you missed the 1995 WCF. Here's a brief recap:
Probably one of the greatest examples of one-on-one ownage over a playoff series
That has nothing to do with anything I said. I'm talking strictly defensively, not who has the more extensive offensive repertoire.
Dude, that's hall of famer talent schooling the Admiral... I'm talking about Tim getting schooled on a nightly basis by random big-men...
Who cares about that anyways, that's the Houston Rockets in that video, they won't be contending for for a long time..lol.
What's that? Matt Bonner is playing too many minutes??
I think James Anderson has the potential to be a Stephen Jackson type player..
JA has a lot of potential offensive upside, though. He wasn't Big 12 player of the year scoring 24 PPG just shooting 3 point shots.
The guy is better than a 20th pick as well. His stock fell because teams choosing before us felt he was too injury prone. Considering the cir stances (JA benched with an injury) they might have been right.
That said, his offensive potential is far more than what he showed us thus far. He had a couple of games where he shot 2-3 from 3 or similar. That's not even close to being the entirety of his game.
He's not the next coming of Kobe Bryant (I hope I'm not hyping him up too much) but for all he's done in college and for all the accolades he's received, he's better than just being able to give you 40% shooting from 3 point land.
Good eye, Harlem. I knew Duncan was having a good year defensively, but I didn't realize just how much the team was depending on him to maintain this level of production for their success. Definitely a cause for concern.
I think it will, due to the fact, that Pop won't wear out Dyess, nor Duncan, during the regular season, by over playing them.
WE seriously need another BIG down low to contribute, i dont think blair and bonner is the answer, even splitter isnt gettin any minutes so i count him out of the equation
Oberto was a much better defender than Blair or Bonner, arguably McDyess..more importantly, that was Duncan in his prime + Bowen on the perimeter + weaker compe ion, especially from a size perspective..
You're also forgetting that there was another key big on that team, he was pretty important, and he fit perfectly next to Duncan on both ends..
Oberto as a team defender was superior to Dice.
HH, that stat with Duncan off the court is disgusting as is the Suns shooting 53.5% tonight. Duncan has been having a good stretch recently - 10-17 in 31 mins. 20pts 15reb 7asst 2stl 3blk tonight.
lol out of all the bigs u mention no offense ben wallace?
we wont beat teams like the lakers or celtics who have bigs who can dominate a game
seriously for us to win against those teams is sheer defense, taking on charges and ..but holding them down low and blocking their shots...
Dice, IMO, is a better man-to-man defender. Oberto was crafty, high BBIQ.
Surely you jest. There's not one thing Bonner does better than Horry except his regular season +/- stats and who cares about that. Bonner is the anti-thesis of Horry who had an off-the-chart BBIQ and was clutch when it mattered. His performance in 05 Finals game 5 alone should silence any comparison with Bonner. I'll gladly eat crow if Bonner ever puts up any performance resembling that in any playoff game, much less the Finals.
i wouldnt touch mohammed, his contract is nasty if i remember he signed a MLE/5 or something 2-3 seasons ago
as for Elson...he wasnt that good
those players arent equal value anyway if we going to trade blair....
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
