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TP's always scared me because so much of his game depends on his speed. I don't think he will age well as a guard. He's already having trouble finishing his floaters in the lane.
I think this might be the end.
TP's always scared me because so much of his game depends on his speed. I don't think he will age well as a guard. He's already having trouble finishing his floaters in the lane.
I think people are getting a little carried away with the notion of them not making the playoffs. It's certainly a possibility now, but I don't see it as a probability. Short of a rash of injuries or a complete and total loss in belief, the only way they should miss is if Pop get's too carried away managing minutes. He needs to come to terms with the reality that it may take playing Parker 35-36 mpg during this stretch. Or Jefferson closer to mid 30's or Duncan in the low 30's.
As far as them not peaking, this might actually increase their chances. Ginobili should be just hitting his stride come playoff time and the only one who may have to do too much in the process is Parker. Duncan may play slightly more and should see a few more touches, but I really don't think they're going to greatly increase his role.
Because of the parity in the West, seeding is more irrelevant than ever. The only potential power in the West is the Thunder. But it may actually be better for the Spurs to get them in the 1st round, when they're as fresh as they're going to be.
Matt "the red rocket" Bonner isn't mentioned in the article?
The good thing about the injury is it's not his ankle. If he can get his stroke back quick when he comes back, he'll still have his legs. By the time playoffs roll around, he'll have the freshest legs possible.
I still think the Spurs can make it into the playoffs, and I think their chances are good. I think Tony is going to go off like '08. And people are forgetting how good Neal was for us. He'll be given the green light, I think JA and Leonard will play better and with more energy, and Blair is going to probably get more iso plays called for him, and I think he'll produce as he's shown he can so far this year. I think we'll stay afloat for the playoffs as probably a 6-8 seed. There's going to be other injuries to other players on good teams this year with the schedule be so crazy and lack of training camp. It'll balance out IMO.
Great breakdown, as usual TIMVP.
Reading the piece I was wondering if there was something you were missing. In your analysis you left out Bonner.
Lost any hope in him or did he just slip?
Spurs are gonna be fine. Manu will be back in a month, maybe even sooner. Other players will step up to carry the load. The team is still looking at a 4-5 spot imo. After all, people need to remember other teams in the picture will suffer key injuries too.
Love my Spurs but to say the Thunder are overrated is just insane. They have a great core of young athletic players and are going to run down teams in a seven game series.
I think OKC is overrated. Their problem has never been youth as much is at has been that they don't have a post scorer. They don't stand a chance against LA or Miami. They're not contenders.
OKC needs to trade Westbrook unless they plan on getting that post player some other way. They got too many perimiter guys.
As long as they have Durant they don't really need one. They just need bigs that can defend.
No update on the severity of Ginobili's injury today?
That's a bad sign
Probably means Ginobili is getting a second opinion regarding whether or not he needs surgery.
They are overrated. I'm not scared of them, and a healthy Spurs can beat the Thunder in the first round more so than later in the playoffs. Durant will get his, Westbrook is a scrub, and as mentioned they don't have many threats down low. The currently weak west will make them look great with a nice record, but they aren't that great of a team. They're among the best teams in the NBA, but I just don't think there are many great teams anymore. The Heat are clearly the best, then you have the Bulls, Thunder, Mavs, Spurs (with a healthy Manu of course), and Lakers a notch below the Heat and the rest of the NBA is pretty irrelevant. I think the Spurs can give any team not named the Miami Heat a 6-7 game series in the postseason, and when the games are close and the pressure is on in the 4th...a guy like Ginobili will give you an advantage.
That said, just give it to Miami already. They're gonna run through Chicago in the ECF again and destroy anything the west puts out there.
Not necessarily. Last year when Duncan and Parker got injured, they didn't give an update until late in the day. Then again, those injuries weren't as alarming.No update on the severity of Ginobili's injury today?
That's a bad sign
Probably means Ginobili is getting a second opinion regarding whether or not he needs surgery.
Dallas didn't have a legit post scorer last season and won it all, beating LA and Miami on the way...
What you need these days is a defensive big, and OKC has that...
With Manu out we're in real trouble as he facilitates so many other players to score, not to mention his own scoring and lively defence.
At this point, it's a pity we can't tank and try for one of the athletic bigs in this deep draft class... but of course you can't tank on Timmy in his last season. To have any chance of making the playoffs TP has to find form and quickly.
On the flipside, this is a huge opportunity for the youngsters to step up and show something.
PS If we could tank, as much as I hate to say it I'd ship out both Manu (he'll have great value around the deadline to a contender) and Tony (he's got a lot of games on him for a guard who relies on his speed - he'll decline soon), grab as many quality young players/high draft picks as possible, and get started on a proper rebuild... I'm dreaming about Andre Drummond already...
Last edited by RuffnReadyOzStyle; 01-03-2012 at 09:31 PM.
You like Drummond over Davis? I'm really disappointed in Andre's passing this year; it was supposed to be one of the strongest parts of his game and I'm just not seeing it at UConn.
That's what Boston thought, but we ended up with Tim anyway.
But we can't lose Manu, he is the heart and soul of the team.
They have almost zero leadership without Manu. Tim led by example...and his example isn't so great anymore (though you have to marvel at his willingness to keep at it and not make excuses even as his body fails him). I think Tony will step it up, but I'm not sure if his play will make anyone else better.
I'm trying to imagine how to restructure/adapt the offense with the absence of Manu. My best thought is to play ugly grind it out basketball and play inside out through Blair and Tiago in the post. It's not a great option but there are no great options at this point. Blair and Tiago are both great passers. I would force feed them down low and kick out to Neal and RJ for open 3s when possible. Until Tony shows the ability the get deep in the lane I'm not sure how else to facilitate ball movement and quality shots (JA and KL don't look to provide much of that).
they had/have Dirk, who is a high post player and plays in the low post sometimes as well. even Marion has a post up game that he is successful with.
not denying you need a defensive big (that's the reason the Mavs will not repeat), but you need an offensive post player too.
Durant shot around 45% last year in the playoffs, Westbrook 39%. like i said they relied too much on the perimiter players, much like the Spurs, and don't have an inside threat. and they'll be pretenders until they have someone that can get 14-16 ppg at least on a 50% clip int he post. Memphis would've beaten them last year had they had Gay. Gasol would've been great for them. I would've waited on him and hoped to sign him instead of Perkins. he would've provided enough defense and a legit offensive threat from the post.
I agree, though, I don't think he's declined that much yet. I've always seen a lot of similarities between TP and KJ from the old Suns. I just hope TP doesn't fall victim to chronic injuries late in his career like KJ.
I'll defer to your greater wisdom on matters College. Either would work.You like Drummond over Davis? I'm really disappointed in Andre's passing this year; it was supposed to be one of the strongest parts of his game and I'm just not seeing it at UConn.
Don't get me wrong, I love Manu, in fact he might now be my favourite balla ever (ahead of Tim and David, which says a ton), but he is 34 with one year left on his contract after this and if we are going to rebuild there's no point in keeping him around. You can't go for half-measures with rebuilding - gotta acquire the right kids, take your lumps for a few years, then become relevant again.
I also think Manu'd want a trade to a contender as he is a winner first and foremost. If he wanted to stay and help the rebuild that would be cool, but I doubt that's in his sights.
PS On second thoughts, I can't separate David/Tim/Manu - I love them all equally until the day I die!
they had bigs that can defend last year. they got taken to seven by a team was missing it's second best player, arguably best player in Gay, and they had HCA to go along with it. they got handled by the Mavs in 5 games. i don't think they would've beaten LA or the Spurs if they had to play them. they played the Spurs horribly last year partially because the Spurs biggest weakness (low post defense) they couldn't exploit.
Good points, but I don't see Pop playing Duncan and Parker the minutes you're suggesting. Especially not Duncan.
I know its not the popular choice, but I'm still in favor of tanking. Unless Ike provides immediate relief offensively and defensively.. I'm not sure our fragile front line can last the season.
Also, tanking wouldn't necessarily mean rebuilding our team from the ground up (unless TD decides to retire then we have no choice.) If we can get a high pick and a solid prospect, we still might be in a great position to make a run next year.
All in all, I want to see how we look for the next 10 games before making any big time judgements like "tank!"
[QUOTE=R
PS If we could tank, as much as I hate to say it I'd ship out both Manu (he'll have great value around the deadline to a contender) and Tony (he's got a lot of games on him for a guard who relies on his speed - he'll decline soon), grab as many quality young players/high draft picks as possible, and get started on a proper rebuild... I'm dreaming about Andre Drummond already...[/QUOTE]
I see the logic why a contender would trade for Manu, but the question is what can they give up in return, (no way they trade a main cog as that would take them out from being contenders, and being contenders they won't have any high draft picks in the near future worthy of trade value). So the bigger concern is what can we get in return for Manu or Tony that be worth a trade.
BTW I was thinking the NBA should reward teams that make the playoffs in favor of teams that just missed them, and award the 11th to 14th picks (or their equivalent lottery balls) to the 1st round playoff eliminated teams, that way teams that are in the middle of the road have incentive to win to make the playoffs , while teams that just give up get penalized (they get the 15th to 19th picks). I know it won't happen , but just saying
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