last year tiago != this year tiago ...
and its not a question of jus increasing his minutes in last years regular season either, since he was a bit confused out there... and had issues finishing. Plus we were on pace to a 61 win season and blair looked quite good intially. Who knew whataburger + manu injury would happen.
Well, Kyrie Irving is obviously the best rookie. But after him, there's really no one else who stands out as more capable of helping the Spurs right now outside of Leonard. Maybe Faried but it's doubtful that a rookie bigman could step in and help right away in San Antonio.
Yes, like he did last year. If you recall, Blair was forced to watch from the bench for most of that series. I would love to see Memphis in the Playoffs again. It's the type of tough match-up that prepares your team for the rest of the playoffs. Plus, we owe them some payback.
Things would be different this year. We're a better team and Memphis took steps backwards with injuries and roster changes.
My thoughts exactly. Not bad for a 15th pick, is it
Bringing Lorbek for next season too would make this draft trade a total home run.
Sean mentioned during the telecast(and I agree) that another thing Kawhi is going to be great at is pulling down defensive boards and taking it coast to coast. With his length he has sneaky speed, and once he learns to navigate through a couple of defenders and polishes off that finishing ability he will be pretty damn good. I'm so happy with the way hes hes developing.
Jax was great too. Now THIS is somebody Kawhi can learn from. Already playing way better defense and bringing balls like RJ never did.
What I have been impressed is how Leonard's Ball Handling has really improve from the beginning of the season. Sean Elliott brought up an interesting point "In theory Leonard should be a good ball handler because of those massive hands of his" Not an exact quote but close....Maybe Sean's theory is proving right?
Although, I have confidence on this new upgraded Spurs, a healty Grizz team is a dangerous threat to a healthy spurs team
He started 2-12 in his first 10 games in the league. Since his first start and playing 30 minutes a night on a regular basis, he is shooting over 42% from three point territory!
Seems to be a mixture of getting confidence, rhythm and practice with the spurs staff:
"Long after practice ended over the last several days, rookie Kawhi Leonard was one of the last players to leave as he battled Ginobili for the most shots per day at the facility. The Spurs’ shot doctors were working on Leonard getting his corner jumper up more quickly. That attention was beneficial Wednesday after Leonard went 6 for 10 from the field and scored 16 points after his offensive struggles in Dallas Saturday night."
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...-us-something/
Really good to hear we got a young talented athlete who has lots to improve on, working hard. What a very well-rounded individual.
Yeah, if Randolph keeps improving, they will be a tough out for anyone. I just think its too late for them. Battier was a bigger loss than people seem to realize. He gave our guys fits on the defensive end and posted up Manu and was really physical with him on the offensive side.
They just punched the Spurs in the mouth last year and totally demoralized the team. It went 6 but could have easily been a sweep.
is it too early to claim that Spurs fans are happier with Leonard than what they would have been with Batum?
In the past, one of the little things I've noticed about the Spurs is that after they have a game where everything comes easy, the next game they get their asses kicked. It's like they come out expecting all their shots to fall, like the previous night, and when they don't the team just crumbles. Maybe every team is the same, but they have been really consistent about it.
I was thinking about that last night, but then I realized - this wasn't one of those kind of games. They didn't shoot any outrageous percentage from the floor, or from the 3P line. (In fact, Manu, Neal, and Green together shot just 3-12 from distance.) Everything wasn't coming easy, so much as the Spurs just played good team ball. I'm looking forward to the upcoming Dallas game, instead of dreading it. I do hope Tony is healthy, as it will be a good benchmark game.
Timvp - Speaking of Pop, since that Portland game that Pop forfeited and Kawhi got big minutes, Kawhi has a PER of 23.1.
For those who don't follow PER stats, that's just pretty damned incredible. To give you some idea, for the season, a PER of 23.1 would be tied with Blake Griffin. Just a hair below Chris Paul, and a hair above Dwayne Wade. It's the kind of stat that, without question, puts a player in the upper tier in the league. I know it's not a whole season, but it is a dozen games or so. And he really is making it look effortless.
Some stats can be really misleading, when the player isn't getting enough minutes. Come in and nail two 3-pointers, and you're shooting 100% from the arc. But with PER, you have to contribute enough different ways to make the number go up, and you get punished for things like missed shots and turnovers. If a player puts up a PER of 23.1, he's contributing a of a lot to his team.
Remember the days when you would think that Tim wasn't having a great game, and look up and he has 24 and 12? That's what it's like to have a 23.1 PER, and be flying under the radar.
I don't know if I'm happier but I can say that I'm pretty pleased by Leonard. At this point I wouldn't trade Leonard for Nicis it too early to claim that Spurs fans are happier with Leonard than what they would have been with Batum?
the only chucker we need to look out for now is gary neal
yeh sure when he hit his shots nobody has any qualms about it,
but when he decides to go NVE chuck a 3, seems like a wasted possession if it aint a good shot, or when u have 4 other guys on the court in position to setup something....
Anderson finally looks like an NBA player.
We still need a backup PG and big to go anywhere. And maybe even a new team doctor?
This was the first game I got to watch with Jack back. What I noticed was Jackson taking control by being vocal and calling out players. He is already being one of a mentor for Kawhi and James. I cant wait for more Spurs basketball!
I could swear at one point Kawhi almost smiled during the game. But he got his together before it broke through...
Solid grades as usual. Thanks!
After watching Kawhi early in the season, I really thought he had a higher ceiling than most here were seeing, but now I think I even underestimated how high! Absolutely incredible so far.
Jack was fantastic his first home game. Didn't miss a beat getting back into Spurs mode. I loved the leadership. There was one segment where he was barking some sort of instructions down the court while standing up near the bench. He wasn't even in the game.
You really need to follow the local beat writers on Twitter to know more about what's going on.
For example, today at 11:45 EST
@JMcDonald_SAEN: Patty Mills has signed w/Spurs, could be in uniform within week pending resolution of visa issues, agent says. http://bit.ly/GHu0Uw
@Monroe_SA: @JMcDonald_SAEN reports #Spurs deal for Patty Mills is done; joining team awaits clearance of visa issues http://bit.ly/GGbdhC
Normally I follow Wojo from yahoo. That guy seems to be pretty good at getting Spurs info.
Sorry, I had forgotten my blue ink at home.
I guess I did too.
I'm not going to get all happy about seeing Tim and Tiago on the court together, after all Bonner will be back ASAP after his oil boy lubes him up.
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