Diagnosing the Problems on Defense

[GSH]

The optimal player would be a shotblocker on defense who is quick enough to defend the smaller fours in the league. On offense, this player would be able to shoot three-pointers to spread the floor ... or, at the very least, be a good passer who can also shoot from the midrange.

Unfortunately, that is an extremely rare type of player these days.

Rare - and pretty much unobtainable. Even without the ability to spread the floor or shoot from midrange, the pickings are pretty slim. In fact, it pretty much comes down to, "What would it take to pry Javale McGee away from Washington?" I think he could be a competent interior/baseline defender. And he's enough of an under-the-basket presence on offense that he could open up the outside shooters - if you could teach him to pass. He's definitely a good shotblocker. Dumb as a post, but a good shotblocker. Not that it matters, because Washington isn't likely to let him go.

The best way to get the guy you're looking for was to tank this season and pick him up in next year's draft. But that's not an answer anyone really wants to hear.

[velik_m]

Spurs defense went to the moment they traded Rasho for Bonner, it's been mostly downhill from there.

[timvp]

Yeah, the Spurs still obviously funnel opponents baseline, sometimes to a fault. It's one of my major pet-peeves of our lacking defense: sometimes our defenders seem to focus more on funneling baseline than they do actually staying in front of their man. They jump way too far out on their outside hip, at which point the baseline path to the basket is wide open.

Very good point. You just described one of Kawhi Leonard's biggest weaknesses right now. He oftentimes does too much funneling and not enough defending. It's a balance he'll learn in time but right now it can be frustrating to watch him open up a clear baseline path when his help is Blonnair.

"stacked western confererence"?

The Nuggets would get the third seed in the East and could miss the playoffs in the West. Call that what you will, tbh.

[cheguevara]

I see what you meant. I would have gone with "the tougher western conference"

my point is the level of basketball this season is pathetic. thus my problem with the "stacked' adjective.

[CGD]

The optimal player would be a shotblocker on defense who is quick enough to defend the smaller fours in the league. On offense, this player would be able to shoot three-pointers to spread the floor ... or, at the very least, be a good passer who can also shoot

Ryan Anderson of the Magic comes to mind; however, I don't think a guy needs to be able to spread the floor on offense if Duncan prioritizes his midrange shot. The spurs can then give splitter a greater role on the block.

[manufan10]

Very good point. You just described one of Kawhi Leonard's biggest weaknesses right now. He oftentimes does too much funneling and not enough defending. It's a balance he'll learn in time but right now it can be frustrating to watch him open up a clear baseline path when his help is Blonnair.



The Nuggets would get the third seed in the East and could miss the playoffs in the West. Call that what you will, tbh.

Good nickname, tbh

[GSH]

Ryan Anderson of the Magic comes to mind; however, I don't think a guy needs to be able to spread the floor on offense if Duncan prioritizes his midrange shot. The spurs can then give splitter a greater role on the block.

Ryan Anderson is their second leading scorer. There's no way the Magic lets go of that kind of size without knowing what's going to happen with Dwight Howard. Plus, Anderson isn't much of a shotblocker.

The only other remotely possible pickup I can think of is James Johnson with Toronto. He's a pretty good shotblocker, even if he is nearly as earthbound as Tim. He's also a decent passer, and a former Demon Deacon.

[Obstructed_View]

I must have missed that thread. The funnel-baseline strategy is still very much alive and well. It's obviously not executed as well these days but the philosophy today is basically exactly the same as it was in 1999.

Nah, I probably just remember it wrong. Isn't a very good strategy when you have Michael Finley playing power forward though. If they're still funneling it would explain why the Spurs have taken a nosedive on defense sinse Rasho and Nazr left.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Hey timvp if the focus is on offensive role players, what was the logic behind trading the number four scorer on the team, that was also the backup pointguard, for a lanky wing rookie, with hardly any solid offensive skill set but seems to be very promising on defense?

[DMC]

Danny Ferry even commented a few games ago that the Spurs funnel baseline while most teams funnel to the middle.

That left side is almost always completely open just after the halfcourt transition, most of the time the opponent ignores it though. I guess other teams have their flaws too.

[Bruno]

Damn, last ten games:

Duncan with Bonner = 106.6 points per 48 minutes
Duncan with Blair = 94.1 points per 48 minutes
Duncan with Splitter = 82.6 points per 48 minutes

Regular season Bonner is amazing

It's understandable while regular season Bonner do so well on the offensive end, a shooter as good as him brings a lot to the offensive execution by giving a lot of spacing.

What I wonder is how much the Duncan/Splitter offensive struggle can be put on a lack of chemistry and how much can be put on them being bad fits to play alongside? How will Ginobili starting impact that?

[ElNono]

Might be obvious, and excuse the lack of charts and graphs, but the biggest problems on defense are Tim Duncan aging and losing his dominance as a defensive force and the retirement of a perimeter defensive specialist like Bowen.

[ElNono]

Yeah, those Player Pairs are a little old now and predate the Splitter injury so it didn't account for Duncan playing with Bonner a lot more recently. I shouldn't have cited that stat, tbh. Good catch.

Damn, last ten games:

Duncan with Bonner = 106.6 points per 48 minutes
Duncan with Blair = 94.1 points per 48 minutes
Duncan with Splitter = 82.6 points per 48 minutes

Regular season Bonner is amazing

Frankly, the offense numbers don't matter much, IMO. Simply because pace slows down in the playoffs and ultimately offense isn't something the contemporary Spurs have struggled with. Getting a crucial stop on the other hand...

[tenbeersbold]

Yup but against good defensive teams in the PO's Bonner is gonna be closed out upon and his slow,low release on his 3 ball shot is a killer rendering him mostly useless.Only Neal and Green have a quick shot release on the 3 ball.Even Jefferson takes a little too much time gettin' set unfortunately.that being said GO SPURS !!!!

[Agloco]

Spurs' points scored by 48 minutes (using nba.com +/- stats):
Duncan with Blair: 93.9 (512 minutes)
Duncan without Blair: 97.2 (389 minutes)

Damn, last ten games:

Duncan with Bonner = 106.6 points per 48 minutes
Duncan with Blair = 94.1 points per 48 minutes
Duncan with Splitter = 82.6 points per 48 minutes

Regular season Bonner is amazing

Just a thought:

These stats are a strong function of who the other three players on the court are. This fact makes a direct comparison of these combos quite tricky imo.

[Dex]

Just a thought:

These stats are a strong function of who the other three players on the court are. This fact makes a direct comparison of these combos quite tricky imo.

So what you're saying is this is RJ's fault?

[ElNono]

Just a thought:

These stats are a strong function of who the other three players on the court are. This fact makes a direct comparison of these combos quite tricky imo.

Yes, using that stat.

[dylankerouac]

Anyone hoping the Spurs don't get home court advantage in the playoffs? I know this would generally mean them facing tougher compe ion but this could be beneficial for a team like the Spurs that have many young pieces, plus our standing didn't matter much last year when we lost to the eight seed.

The first two away games of the series would basically be an adjustment period for the new blood, in addition to the Spurs probably playing some of their worst ball possible.

This sounds bad but it also gives them a chance to come home after playing bad and re-energizing their play. I would rather the team find out it's playoff faults sooner rather than later, and them not having home court advantage may give that opportunity.

Am I nuts for thinking of it in this way?

[Amuseddaysleeper]

The Spurs have the best home record in the NBA. And considering how many new/young players we have, there are much better chances that the team will play better at home than on the road.

Spurs have been a pretty poor road team in the playoffs since 2008. The more games they can get at home during the playoffs, the better.

Also, look at last year. Spurs got off on the wrong foot in Game 1, and then were playing catch up for most of the series. The Spurs lost every road game against the Grizz in the playoffs, yet had Manu played in Game 1, they were very cose to being 3-0 at home in that series with Game 7 in their building.

[therealtruth]

Against Detroit Pop went with Tp Manu Kahwi Tiago Tim in the first, we got every single rebound barring a putback. Then he went with BonBon then small with Kawhi-RJ as 3 and 4.

It's clearly a roster problem, we put a great defensive 5 on the floor at times, but not all game.

That's probably the best defensive lineup. They probably need to develop more chemistry on offense. But on defense they have the ability to limit opponents to one shot which is crucial for closing out a game and maintaining a lead.

[therealtruth]

Yup but against good defensive teams in the PO's Bonner is gonna be closed out upon and his slow,low release on his 3 ball shot is a killer rendering him mostly useless.Only Neal and Green have a quick shot release on the 3 ball.Even Jefferson takes a little too much time gettin' set unfortunately.that being said GO SPURS !!!!

Plus Bonner releases the ball from in front of him instead of overhead which makes it easier to block.

[therealtruth]

Rare - and pretty much unobtainable. Even without the ability to spread the floor or shoot from midrange, the pickings are pretty slim. In fact, it pretty much comes down to, "What would it take to pry Javale McGee away from Washington?" I think he could be a competent interior/baseline defender. And he's enough of an under-the-basket presence on offense that he could open up the outside shooters - if you could teach him to pass. He's definitely a good shotblocker. Dumb as a post, but a good shotblocker. Not that it matters, because Washington isn't likely to let him go.

The best way to get the guy you're looking for was to tank this season and pick him up in next year's draft. But that's not an answer anyone really wants to hear.

That's the Spurs problem. They're holding out for some elusive player that doesn't exist. If they didn't insist on bigmen being able to hit 3's they would not overlook competent bigs like Splitter. How did the Spurs win before Horry/Bonner?

[therealtruth]

Anyone hoping the Spurs don't get home court advantage in the playoffs? I know this would generally mean them facing tougher compe ion but this could be beneficial for a team like the Spurs that have many young pieces, plus our standing didn't matter much last year when we lost to the eight seed.

The first two away games of the series would basically be an adjustment period for the new blood, in addition to the Spurs probably playing some of their worst ball possible.

This sounds bad but it also gives them a chance to come home after playing bad and re-energizing their play. I would rather the team find out it's playoff faults sooner rather than later, and them not having home court advantage may give that opportunity.

Am I nuts for thinking of it in this way?

Playing and winning tough games is the best way to find out playoff faults. Easy wins don't do much for you.

[dylankerouac]

Playing and winning tough games is the best way to find out playoff faults. Easy wins don't do much for you.

I agree. Which is why I suggested the above. What would be tougher than starting the playoffs with two road games?

Winning just one of those would shift a lot of the momentum to SA and be a huge confidence builder for the young players.

[RodNIc91]

@Bruno

Who do you think the spurs are targeting right now if anyone at the trade deadline? Is a trade likely?