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April 28, 2012: Start of NBA playoffs
Spurs are much better then the majority of the wanna be pops want to admit. so my question is? When are we going to actually need a that big you whiners were going on about?
April 28, 2012: Start of NBA playoffs
Bonner truly is tough and an enforcer that can produce in the playoffs... You're right...
That above post is really the answer but I will also elaborate, in that Duncan can't be expected to carry a team that plans to do anything serious in the play-offs at his age as the only post scoring presence, as well as the primary interior defender. Splitter is turning out decent, but at this point in his NBA career is really not a prime time bigman but a rotation player, on a good team. Blair is not the defender on this level that he was in college, and his scoring and rebounding come in bursts and are game to game. Both are worthy enough NBA players but neither is capable or ready to be the number 2 big on a team making play-off noise. Bonner is himself and has also shown a tendency to wilt badly in the play-offs.
So on the interior you have a a s of Duncan (slightly above average starting calibre NBA big), then your choice of Splitter (not much offense and defense lapses at times at this point he's a good back-up but really just needs a year of proper experiance with training camp and regular minutes), or Blair (little bigman he's so match-up dependent its not funny he's also questionable on most defensive assignments because people can shoot over him). Either way you end up pairing one of them with Bonner for two 5 minute stretches per game. Bonner-Blair equals a lay-up drill for the opposing team and isn't great offensively as Bonner will be hedging the 3 point line which makes passing out of a double team tough for a short trappable Blair. Splitter-Bonner is less Defensively scary but offensively even more challenged as Splitter at this point doesn't have the interior scoring game to get people away from Bonner who honestly needs a surprisingly large amount of space.
About to go 0-5 on the road. Spurs are only a mediocre team.
lol
It's past time they make a trade to balance out this team. They need to get creative. Maybe Blair, Anderson and their 1st can't get them what they need, but maybe Jefferson can. The Nets are a desperate team, without a starting caliber SF and an overall lack of talent period. Who knows, maybe they bite on a Jefferson/Thomas for Okur swap. If they do, then the Spurs have a quality trade chip to play, one that would broader their options significantly.
So long as they can get the type of PF they need and it doesn't cost them any of the big three, Splitter or Leonard, I don't really care what combination of players has to go to make it happen. Just make it happen.
Again with the Tank?!And ODEN??
Wait!!!! What happened? You've said multiple times that the FO could make this trade in a hearbeat to land a starting caliber big. Did some of T2S's "sources" give you some bad scouting reports or something?
The sad part to this is that the Spurs FO clearly knew the frontline was their achilles heel for about 2 seasons now. Even before they made ill-fated decisions like re-upping RJ and Bonner and allowing Mahinmi to walk away scot-free. Duncan's inevitable decline has only excaberbated this situation each year.
I fear the only solution is the drastic one that Texas 2 Step has outlined above. The only way to get appreciably better is to have a substantially higher draft pick than they've had in years past. Another first-round playoff exit and a pick in the mid 20's in the June draft aren't going to resolve their desparate need for a young, athletic frontline player. Of course, earning a high draft pick is one thing, selecting the right player is quite another. Yet, the Spurs have done that. Just look at the handsome dividends being reaped from them moving up in the draft to take Kawhi Leonard. That's panning out quite nicely.
The fact of the matter is that the Spurs are such a mediocre team that they will likely not need much help missing the playoffs. As a matter of fact, it's a very realistic possibility that has been enhanced by Manu's unfortunate injury. There is simply no progress to be gained from a team being caught up on a "treadmill of mediocrity". From someone who has endured 16 years of mediocrity as a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, I do not wish to see the same from the Spurs. That said, I sincerely hope a missed playoff berth and a date with the NBA Draft Lottery is in their immediate future.
Last edited by SenorSpur; 01-18-2012 at 03:27 AM.
I doubt a late lottery pick is going to make enough of an impact to make us a le contender next year.
They still need another starting quality big. Don't let the home wins cloud your judgement.
A starting quality big could be wonderful, but is not so easy to trade for such player....
I frankly think that more than all we need a real big man with the skills to defend in the middle...altering shots and making a lot of dirty work.
We have a lot of players capable to score...but with limited defensive skills.
The point is to have someone that can defend the paint when our players need to defend the perimeter at the cost of being beaten.
One of these "bruisers" is still on the market but is not known if he's healty (Przybilla).
One other is probably out of shape (Fesenko) otherwise someone would have already signed him.
One or two we could trade for, could be Hill or Thabeet from Houston (maybe we could have them both plus a first draft choice for RJ...Hoston is currenly playing their 2° choice of the past draft at the small forward position)...'cause they are both out of favor in their team (Hill plays just garbage minutes and Thabeet is sidelined) but could provide some skills and energy we desperately need on the interior defensive side.
Spurs are 9-5 and sitting atop the Southwest division. Not bad for mediocre team missing their main player.
True, but it's really fools gold similar to last year and destined to be knocked out in the first round also similar to last year.
They need to get lucky in the lottery this year, not next year. This draft is loaded with quality bigs, exactly what they need and not a draft pick in the 20s.
I doubt they have to tank to get there either, the way they are going, even though they are presently leading the Southwest division.
Manus' injury might turn out to be a blessing in disguise like Robinsons' was the year before they drafted TD.
A high lottery pick, plus another year of development with KL, DG, TS, JA, and CJ, plus a lowering of salary of TD, plus getting rid of Jefferson and Bonner, might place them in the elite again.
So I could suffer through a shortened condensed losing season for that to happen.
Yes, a lottery pick would be the best route to go because the roster as currently constructed isn't good enough to go far in the playoffs. But the Spurs are too good to land in the lottery.
With every win they fall further away from a chance at landing a top draft pick big.
Probably the easiest thing the Spurs can do at this point is start Splitter at pf and get a backup center.
Agree
A pick in the 20s and the spurs are right back to where they are currently, still looking to add a quality young big.
And that is precisely the quandary the Spurs face, though even with Manu they are a mediocre team, they are too good to land in the lottery.
Without Manu, they are below average, and we will see how many they win and lose until Manu comes back.
However, if we lose any more players to injury before then, and especially TD or TP then we will definitely fall to the lottery, and the way things have been going league wide in this abbreviated condensed injury plagued season, that is a likely hood.
(posted this on another thread but it really fits here too...because it is true...)
Who the ever said that the spurs really are looking for a big? Nobody?
That bull in training camp about not just looking for any big is code for "I am in' senile and the proof is in the Scola, Bonner & RJ decisions that I signed off on"
Actually think your getting senile tbh.
Schtiickkk to Pop's rescue...
I never said that. I said and I'll continue to say, that I think that package could get them a starting caliber big . . . it just may not be the type they need or covet most.
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