SenorSpur..thanks for telling everyone TD is in major decline..maybe the blind loyalists on here will wake up..instead of thinking he is still viable..I thought the All Star game last year was sad..TD looked pathetic...just wait for this year..many single digit scoring games to come...
TD wasn't going to go all out in some crappy all-star game. Tim can still score if he wants to, the Spurs changed up the offense last season to make up for the lack of defense. Tim has declined, but not by the amount his numbers were at last season. He could have put up a lot better numbers if that was his only goal. And a Spurs fan calling Tim pathetic, is well, pathetic. Why don't you take your legendary ass someplace else.
Lol you act like he's in Kwame Brown or something. Many single digit scoring games to come....? Ok? That means he isn't viable? He's still a great defender, good scorer and plenty of teams would line up at the chance to have a 35 year old Timmy right now.
Do you feel that Tyson Chandler is viable? He's averaged 7pts a game since he entered the league. Duncans stats we're virtually better across the board than Chandlers and he just signed a 15mil/yr contract.
Lol Duncan not viable.
Dice's contract is the key to getting any player of worth. If the Spurs wait and just let him walk they are pretty much screwed and might as well just sign one of the camp fodder bigs...as there are basically no quality bigs out there that will sign for what the Spurs can offer.
Once again the Spurs handle the offseason foolishly. The whole RJ amnesty/SF search backfired on them and now they are stuck in the same situation we've seen so many times before...standing on the wall with no one to dance with. They may wind up with an ugly chick that will put out before the night is over, but that's what you get stuck with when you spend the whole night chasing women that don't want you.
First off, recall all the CIA Pop comments? They are made for a reason. This front office has never been one to let their plans get out in the press.
Then look at the McDonald article, Pop is actually talking about he needs another big man. That is unusual but the hole is so obvious, that Pop is willing to discuss it in public.
Now regarding the urgency of finding the big man, what exactly are you folks expecting from the front office?
Are you looking for a spot on the evening news where Pop with a bunch of microphones in his face says something to the effect of: "We need a big man and we are going to get that big man!"
Or do you expect R.C. to say "We are in the Dwight Howard sweepstakes."?
That is not and has never been this front office's style.
They have a crappy hand right now and they have to figure out a way to play that hand and land something productive. It might not happen.
Tim is very much still a viable player, but let's get real. He's always been the lynchpin of the Spurs interior offense and defense. While he can still score, his defensive decline, while expected because it happens to all players, has been nonetheless startling. If anyone needs evidence, go back and watch the 2010 playoff series versus the Suns, when they literally pick-n-rolled the Spurs, and particularly Duncan, to death. It was sad watching hiim repeatedly get caught on a switch and then labor to try and get back to the basket - albeit never in time. The quicker Suns guards ran circles around him. Watching the Spurs get swept, it was obvious that Duncan was no longer the dominant defender he once was.
The most recent playoff series versus the Grizzlies, back in April, served as only the latest reminder of how much Duncan has declined. Duncan, with some assistance from an overmatched and overwhelmed McDyess, tried gallantly tried to fend off the young Grizz tandem of Gasol and Randolph, but they were helpless. Both these guys were simply overmatched. Again, it was painful to watch.
This decline is not unusual. As a matter of fact, it's expected if any player plays long enough. No NBA player has ever outrun father time. I just feel bad for him because at 35 years old, he SHOULD NOT be the Spurs best interior defense and best low post player, but that's what he is. It's not fair to him and the FO has done him a great disservice by not providing him with a better frontline support to help offset his diminished play on both ends. For all he's done for the franchise, they owed him that much.
ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
Just going up on ESPN online: Sources say Mavs finalizing signing of Sean Williams after center secures release from Maccabi Haifa in Israel
ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
With two roster spots open, Mavs bringing in shotblocker after Williams finished second in D-League DPOY voting last season w/Texas Legends
the chinese team that kenyon martin is playing with is getting ready to release him....is he worth a spot? and will he take 3mil pay?
It gets better than this.
I just can't cite it.
~The Senor~
Define "viable."
First off, even if Tim was the lousiest player in the league, the FO has enough class to allow him to go out on his own terms - playing hard, leading the team, providing sage advice, etc. He's earned that.
But Tim is no longer a player who has the ability to lead a team to a Championship. Not his fault - he's just not that guy anymore physically. What I'm sure Tim wishes he had was a young PF prototype that he could help mold/tutor who might just be good enough to do so.
The FO thought that was Splitter. But, given Pop's style, Tiago's injuries, etc., that hasn't proven to be true. Again, teams like SA have to take chances and get the draft right or they suffer.
So, we suffer with them until we can draft that guy.
I recall poor outside shooting, absence of perimeter defense & Tony Parker turning the ball over as the main reasons we lost the 1st round.
Williams has been a problem child at times. Not the first guy you would think of for the Spurs. That being said, he actually got the most first place votes for DPOY, but finished second on total points. He seems to have found some focus.
There are reportedly several teams trying to buy out and sign Gustavo Ayon (Aguirre). He's 6'9" or 6'10", depending on who you talk to. The Spurs have looked at him in the past - not sure why they passed. If there was a city ready-made for a Mexican center, it's SA.
racist
Duncan is still a great player. He doesn't command the hard double teams like he used to, which means the other guys on the team get the attention they deserve. He needs a better supporting cast now.
Most of Duncan's output has fallen in proportion to his minutes. The one stat that really tells the story is his FTA's. His minutes dropped by about 20% from a couple of years ago, but his free throw attempts fell by almost half. He's finding ways to score - his [edit] FG% hasn't really suffered. But he isn't dominating around the rim.
When bigs start to age, they begin to score more of their points away from the basket. (The good ones do. The ones who can't don't stay around.) McDyess is a perfect example - he developed that mid-range jumper. Duncan always scored a fair amount of points away from the basket, with that deadly bank shot. The last couple of seasons, he can't hit that shot to save his ass. So he's stuck trying to score in the paint, and his knees are taking even more of a beating. Plus, it's really keeping the paint clogged on those trips when he can't get there.
I wish he could dial in that banker, they way it used to be. It would help him, and the rest of the team.
Last edited by GSH; 12-19-2011 at 01:09 PM.
I hope that was supposed to be funny. The city is more than 50% Mexican. The fans would go nuts. They would have loved Najera to come here. Selling tickets is part of the game.
Seriously, how much brain does it take to throw out the word "racist" every time someone acknowledges that we aren't all from the same place?
I think Duncan's defense would have been fine against the Grizz if he didn't have to worry about defending two people. Which is why it would have made sense to start TD and Splitter against Gasol and Randolph. TD and Splitter could defend both Gasol/Splitter while the other PF's (Dice,Blair,Bonner) could barely defend Randolph.
Aside from the other points made in my previous post regarding Duncan's decline, if there was ever another sure sign of how his skills have declined, this would be it. Opposing coaches and players know realize that they do not have to send the standard "extra" defender to slow him down.
Again, this is not a slam on our future HOFer, it's simply factual evidence that we've all witnessed. It's called the natural decline of all athletes.
Part of the reason for this is he's always struggled with long and bigger players. Now he's playing center alot more teams use their center to defend him and he has to use his declining athleticism to try to beat their center. Put a smaller power forward on him and I think he can still use his length and footwork to get 18 and 10. But that will only happen if he's playing power forward.
ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
RT @SportandoBasket: Source confirms Andrei Kirilenko on his way to leave CSKA Moscow and join New Jersey Nets to sign multi-year deal
UPDATE
apparently not happening yet....according to his agent...
Last edited by ace3g; 12-19-2011 at 01:53 PM.
Russian connection rules the day.
Perhaps there are some out there who are confused with the positions of center and power forward...
Power forwards are defined by the skill set of having several different scoring styles - one of playing with their back to the basket on the low post. That includes being able to spin, make the hook or scoop under, etc. These are typical center moves. But, the PF can also FACE THE BASKET and score. That includes the midrange jumper as well as driving to the basket from 15 feet and finishing. Some PFs actually have a good perimeter game as well to include knocking down threes.
Dirk Nowitzki is a PF. Tim Duncan used to be, but his face the basket skills (speed/quickness) isnt' there anymore. So now, he's a center.
Splitter is somewhat a PF and somewhat a C.
Blair is a PF but he's too small to play PF in the Spurs system due to his defense.
Bonner is a SG w/ PF size (he has almost no low post skills).
McDyess used to be a PF as well - now, he's a C much like TD but is too short to defend traditional Cs.
Now, the Spurs DON'T need a dominant PF to win games. They have in the past as that was who they drafted in TD. But a dominant C would essentially serve the same purpose given all the other complementary PFs they have on the roster. Dwight Howard and Tiago Splitter would be a great fit.
When I look at your description of positions Dice still is a PF ... he never lost his midrange jumper.
Marc Stein @ESPNSteinLine Close
RT @Monroe_SA: #Spurs make it official: Antonio McDyess retiring and they won't guarantee other half of his $5.2M deal. bit.ly/stSrma
Oh well, there goes that option(Either Dyess or via trade). Great career, shame about his injuries.
Spurs best trade chip just walks away.
lol Spurs
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