Are you kidding? Parker is 30 now and will not have better years ahead of him and he chokes in the playoffs and Manu is declining.
Excited and ready for the next season. Considering the start of this season the Spurs overachieved and unfortunately met a great opponent in OKC. Leonard should improve, Green should improve, Splitter should improve, Diaw will hopefully improve and start taking wide open shots when the opposition dares him. That leaves us with 8 players to rely on for next years rotation if we keep Jackson too.
Blair should also improve - though I really think if Pop is not going to trust him in the playoffs than the team should just dump him now and start developing his replacement. In trying to keep his limited skill set I hope they can find someone closer to 7' for put backs. At this point, if Pop can't trust Blair to play then his replacement should be found as soon as possible.
Same thing should be said of Bonner though I am not convinced we need a three point shooting big since we haven't been able to utilize this type of player in the post season anyway. A solid mid-range jumper in lieu would be nice.
Or keep Blair and find Bonner's replacement. The team has invested a lot of time into Blair and he does a lot of the dirty work when he gets playing time.
Looking forward to what happens.
Are you kidding? Parker is 30 now and will not have better years ahead of him and he chokes in the playoffs and Manu is declining.
Eh ... a little harsh there, imo, tbh, fwiw.
Manu is the guy who has me worried his minutes are going to have to be reduced big time. I will be excited if we do three things.
1. Sign Lobrek
2. Get rid of Nutless Bonner
3. Get rid of Blair
4. Sign a PG
The Big 3 plus Leonard, Jax, Diaw, Splitter, Mills, Neal, maybe Grizz, is a nice core going forward. Somehow pull a deal for an athletic 4 like Josh Smith and we could contend. It'll be very interesting to see what the FO will do.
We'll stay relevant for another year or two, but my worry is how much better the Thunder are going to get. Anyway, that's why we follow sports - the thrill of the journey.
Kenny Smith said it.
You need the ability to hit a mid range jumper in the playoffs. I think all the Spurs role players should practice that. Neal is currently the best at it. When the defender runs the Spurs player of the line the player needs the ability to take 1 or 2 dribbles and then get a shot off. Now the next time the player tries to run the player of the line he's hesitant which gives enough time to get the 3 off.
There has to be a balance between rushing a shot and making the defender pay for the hard closeout. Right now it's too easy to negate the Spurs role players by closing out hard on them. Taking rushed shots that are likely to miss isn't the solution.
If we sign Lobrek, Pop isn't going to play him. I'd rather go after Novak. I like Andre Miller at the point because he plays DEFENSE. If someone younger is available that plays defense then I'd take that. Blair is a toss up. He eats regular season minutes, is cheap, but can't be played with Splitter. If I had faith Pop would play Lobrek, then Blair can walk. Splitter, Duncan, Diaw, and Lobrek would be perfect. I'm just not in the mood for a developing PG in this two year window. Neal showed me the value of a good backup PG.
Parker/Miller/Joseph
Green/Manu/Neal
Kawhi/Jaxx
Diaw/Lobrek
Duncan/Splitter
2 Years, 1 le
Mills will be the backup PG next year. He already proved that he can be a very good NBA backup at Portland. He can defend, score, and will learn how to run the team in the off-season.
Nope.
Hard to argue with that, would only say that this team will improve significantly with Jack and Diaw here for a full season.
we need to blow up this team.. Its old
You said it yourself, this year was the Last Stand. It didn't happen, the Spurs were just not good enough. Time to make a big roster move to upgrade the frontline.
Standing pat for another year with the same core won't get the team the badly needed frontline upgrade and without it the spurs will still be fighting an uphill losing battle on the defensive end. Duncan had no help down low against the Thunder and was trying to go one on two or three at times on the offensive end and defensively he had no help. The Thunder were taking it to the basket and scoring with ease. without strong inside defense it is almost impossible to make the tough stops against the better teams. OK City was the first tough opponent the Spurs faced in the playoffs and they fell. The banged up Clippers and Utah were boderline playoff teams.
Splitter is not the answer, Diaw is not a strong enough inside player, Bonner should be off the team, Blair is too short. Pop did not have confidence in any of these guys and was forced to play Diaw more minutes than he should have played. Diaw can be all right in limited minutes but he should not be anything more than an off the bench player.
the Spurs need an impact player on the frontline and it will take shaking up the roster to get one. If the Spurs come back with the same team they won't even get to the WCF next year. If they can't get past the WCF with favorable matchups and the core healthy then how can this team win next year with the same team?
So you are counting on improvements from Jackson and Diaw? How much better can Jackson play? He is on the wrong side of 30. And Diaw is just not a big enough player worthy of getting starters minutes on the frontline.
Leonard is the one likely to improve, Jackson is likely to regress.
I don't know what the big deal with jackson is. Sure he hit a few shots in game 6 but was his defense anything special? Can you count on him hitting big shots next year, I am not so sure.
I don't like the overall reliance on 3 point shooting to win playoff games. Too hard to get far in the playoffs without the athletes who can create their own shots and take it to the basket for easy scores.
Last edited by rascal; 06-10-2012 at 08:10 PM.
how are you getting Josh Smith while keeping the big 3, Leonard, Jax, Splitter, Diaw, Mills , Neal and grizz?
Going forward I like some aspects I see on this team, but I just can't help but laugh at those thinking Spurs can get an impact frontline player for our scrubs. Last time I checked decent big men are at a premium right now.
I see this team still as a good NBA team, but their core is just way too aged to get over the hump. I know many here were surprised at the success Spurs had this season as I was one of them, however could it be clouding the thought that many Spurs mains will be another year into the twilight of their careers? Even with reduced minutes Manu, and Tim are at the point where players with their milage have a major drop off, it's only natural.
They are going to most likely have to make a move of a fan favorite Spur. Will the FO do this? I'm thinking probebly not, but Spurs are going to need to take some high risks at this point to consider getting to the promise land.
Things I think the spurs should do/try:
1. Get Timmy signed
2. Try get de colo signed
3. Trade Neal+(blair or bonner)to move up in the draft preferably Cleveland 33 or 34 pick.
4. Draft big(O'Quinn, James)
5. Sign free agent (diaw, Randolph, Camby, KG,etc) a big that blocks shots.
6. Bonner amnesty or dies
Tony, de colo
Green, Manu, free agent
Leonard, Jack
Free agent, (O'Quinn, James)
Duncan, splitter
Meh ....
Whats the point ?
stern will us again next season
Guess I'll just become a fair-weather fan and retire in the dungeon.![]()
LOL seriosly you think the refs blew the whole series? GAME 5 at home you are down big and lose in the end right? Spurs blew that series, not stern nor the refs! Game 6 late some bad calls yes, but how the F you blow an 18 pt lead to begin with bro? COME On the SPURS LOST.
You can blow the whole series in 1 half
There should have been a game 7
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