Either Tim or Tiago (or both of course) have to be on the court the whole game if we do not lead by 20+. Kawhi needs to play 40+ minutes ... this should give us a chance to go far in these playoffs.
The only bench players that are of any real concern are Diaw and Manu. Splitter will need to be playing over 30mpg and Duncan will need to play around 37mpg for the Spurs to be successful. I still have faith that Jackson can rise from the ashes and be this year's Horry when the lights come on.
Yep. Spurs have 3 way overpaid players: Ginobili, Jackson and Bonner. The good news is that all 3 are expirings (Bonner's contract is only $1M guaranteed next season).
Yeah man depth is the . Remember last year?
Isn't this something of a good sign though? In the past few years SA has been making it through the regular season in large part due to the depth of the team. Come playoffs though, depth is not nearly as important as there will be regular breaks between games and most teams cut back to around an 8 man rotation. I miss watching our bench crush every other 2nd unit in the league and it is of course not a good thing to see some of the guys regress, but it seems to be a good sign that our top players are able to win without having to get much help from the deep bench guys. It is those top guys that really need to be clicking in a few weeks.
It's not a good sign.
Spurs had the best bench in the NBA or top 3. Depends how yo slice it.
Now it seems like the spurs have nobody on the bench who can take over games. and in the playoffs we will need few games with bench performer to win a game.
Not good. Hopefully Neal can recover and get going in the playoffs
Yeah I think it's not a good sign... Last year, only five guys played well against OKC (Duncan, Parker, Manu, Jack and Kawhi), and it clearly wasn't enough...
Just no
Duncan's minutes are creeping up. He's played 30 minutes per game this season, 33 minutes per game in the last ten, and 35 per game in the last five. Perhaps it's due to Parker's injuries and Manu's struggles, but it's a good sign for the postseason. Duncan played 36 minutes last night, and looked good doing it.
How so? Neal won't be physically right until he get's most or all of the off season to heal, De Colo and Joseph are too green to be trusted and other than the WCF, Jackson has been terrible since he returned.
They need two, because Ginobili can't play PG full time and because they need Jackson to be the secondary Durant/James defender.Aside of Manu, Pop will need another player able to play some solid 10/12mpg and it should be enough.
Obviously, the top seven are more important, but this isn't '05 or even '07 and they're not the Heat or Thunder; they can't just go down to 7 and 1/2 half if need be.
Yeah I think you need at least 8 playing well otherwise those 5 guys will get drained.
It doesn't look promising, but I'm hoping that:
- Leonard and maybe even Splitter play more minutes with the bench while Parker/Duncan sit..Kawhi has begun playing more with the bench, but he still doesn't touch the ball..Leonard with the bench unit should have the ball as much as Ginobili does, tbh..
- Neal needs to produce..De Colo and Joseph aren't ready..Neal has his flaws, but he's a proven scorer that can score in bunches, tbh..
- If Pop is going to play a 4th big, it should be Bonner..
- Ginobili, obviously..everything has already been said about Manu..
There's a difference from playing 36 every few nights and doing it every other night in the playoffs. Playoff minutes are much more intense.
one thing i think could help the bench
Splitter isnt a true anchor
an anchor to me can contest shots and rebound the ball
guys like Duncan, Howard, Chandler, Noah and M.Gasol are guys i would consider anchors
Splitter can only do 1 or the other
hes just not good enough to contest shots and rebound the ball
the big problem with the bench defensively seems to be Splitter contesting shots and no one stepping up to box out his guy and they get the putback after he forces the miss
maybe going with a Splitter/Blair frontcourt could work
Blair can get the rebounds Splitter contests because Diaw just isnt cutting it
Diaw would be moved to SF where he seems to play more aggressive and at his best (See games when Jack/Kawhi were injured and the Miami game)
Manu at SG
and a back up PG preferably Neal
Neal
Manu
Diaw
Blair
Splitter
or they could go
Manu
Jack
Diaw
Blair
Splitter
the defense suddenly gets better and if Diaw becomes aggressive at the SF spot then the offense becomes better and he can handle it also to take pressure of Manu
only thing i dont like is Manu or Jack having to guard perimeter guys because theyll blow by everytime and Manu/Jack are foul prone when guarding backcourt guys
but its not like every bench guy on the team isnt a defensive liabiltiy anyway
Manu
Kawhi
Jack
Diaw
Splitter
Good D and rebounding...
You won't get any argument from me about that. Duncan was asked to play those playoff minutes the last few seasons after having his minutes severely limited during the regular season, so IMO he wasn't ready. Having him light enough not to put so much wear on his knees has been a huge advantage for Pop.
Duncan already played as many games of 34 minutes or more this season as the previous two seasons combined. He's up to 33 minutes per game this month, and that's despite three of those games being massive blowouts. Playoff minutes ARE much more intense, and you've got to have the wind and the legs to be able to withstand it. I maintain that it's a great sign that Duncan's minutes are continuing to go up as the Spurs near the end of the season.
I like the idea of playing Blair with Boris and Tiago in a 3 bigs lineup like the Jazz did/does , all of them have good passing and they could do some damage inside. That said Boris would have to shoot the 3 every time he's open to give Blair and Tiago some room to operate.
That said it's well do ented that Pop is a midget lover who has no problem having Blair on the likes of Bynum and who goes small no matter what so I'm not holding my breath.
A healthy Neal would sure come in handy.
I know, I won't be popular with my idea, but with both the bench and Manu struggling, why don't we bring in T-Mac? I know he is old, washed and anything. But he can't be worse than Neal or Jax. Just not.
I know there are just 11 games left, we would love some corporate knowledge. But he wouldn't even need to play more then 15 minutes a game.
There is no way Spurs are bringing in another player at this point. But if following this hypothetical, Starbury is a much better choice. He is much more successful in CBA, and he instantly becomes the best backup PG in the whole NBA.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
