Pop has to find a way to have Leonard play without Parker on the floor.

[apalisoc_9]

Just a few minutes without Parker. It should build his confidence up..

With all these talk about becoming a star, Leonard would virtually still average around 11-13 points a game when he's playing 95% of the minutes with parker because he's offensive usage drops by a ton when he plays with Parker.

[hooperflash]

Not to mention that when Parker is out of the game , the opposing team is definitely gonna naturally focus in a little bit more on Kawhi.

[cd021]

I agree. Its also worth mentioning Leonard had many of his big games with one of the big 3 injured. It would be better if he played if he played extended minutes, allowing him 7 or so minutes with the second unit. Playing with Beli/Manu, Diaw, Pendergraph & Mills would give him a plenty of playmakers and floor spacing and allow him much more scoring opportunities with Duncan & Parker on the bench.

[james evans]

pop has to find a way NOT to have bonner and splitter on the floor at the same time. nothing good ever comes from a lineup including both of those guys.

[iManu]

He's played 12 minutes in the first half in Miami and has 17 points on 86% FG (mostly with Tony).

Confidence isn't what he's playing for (he's playing ball for his Dad).

We are so incredibly fortunate that we only had to move Paul George for him (best decision since taking Tony instead of Gilbert).

[ehz33satx]

He's played 12 minutes in the first half in Miami and has 17 points on 86% FG (mostly with Tony).

Confidence isn't what he's playing for (he's playing ball for his Dad).

We are so incredibly fortunate that we only had to move Paul George for him (best decision since taking Tony instead of Gilbert).

Since when did Paul George ever play for the Spurs?

[ElNono]

Whatever happened with Paul George?

[FuzzyLumpkins]

With Manu on the second unit the Spurs need Leonard on the first unit. He was getting nice lanes and postups on Wade because they kept doubling Parker up top. We still haven't done anything about that. I expect we wouldn't show them if we have but they just went back to their finals gameplan and the results were the same.

Great lineups have three offensive playmakers on the court. You can only double and rotate so much.

[NickiRasgo]

Since when did Paul George ever play for the Spurs?

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...ht=paul+george

[Kidd K]

We had George Hill, not Paul George.

And tbh I'd be a lot happier if Leonard learned how to play better with Parker ON the floor. Parker and Leonard are part of the best lineup we can field (along with Duncan, Manu, and Diaw or Splitter).

I'm not entirely sure Leonard is a big star without a playmaker out there. He's not exactly LeBron. I think of him more like Luol Deng tbh. A great player, but not neccessarily a centerpiece. He's more like your 2nd or 3rd piece.

He's Goose basically, not Maverick.

I know we need a solid player to tie together our 2nd unit, but maybe Manu can get his together this year and continue handling that responsibility.

[NickiRasgo]

We had George Hill, not Paul George.

And tbh I'd be a lot happier if Leonard learned how to play better with Parker ON the floor. Parker and Leonard are part of the best lineup we can field (along with Duncan, Manu, and Diaw or Splitter).

I'm not entirely sure Leonard is a big star without a playmaker out there. He's not exactly LeBron. I think of him more like Luol Deng tbh. A great player, but not neccessarily a centerpiece. He's more like your 2nd or 3rd piece.

He's Goose basically, not Maverick.

I know we need a solid player to tie together our 2nd unit, but maybe Manu can get his together this year and continue handling that responsibility.

I think Leonard could be a superstar, in an "unorthodox" way. His athleticism is not as explosive as compared to PG but I think KL will be successful player as PG in a way of being efficient. If Kawhi could improve more on his post move, midrange jumper, ball handling skill plus work on his playmaking ability. He could be a dangerous one.

[Kidd K]

I think Leonard could be a superstar, in an "unorthodox" way. His athleticism is not as explosive as compared to PG but I think KL will be successful player as PG in a way of being efficient. If Kawhi could improve more on his post move, midrange jumper, ball handling skill plus work on his playmaking ability. He could be a dangerous one.

I hope so, but I haven't seen enough to make me logically think he's going to improve by THAT much. He would have to improve a LOToffensively to get to "superstar" status. Like nearly 50% better or more. I think his potential is "3rd wheel as part of big 3", but that's not exactly a bad result. It would mean he was incredibly successful. He was a 15th pick after all, and has already panned out better than most teams expected.

To expect him to take a huge leap up to superstar is a real faith push to me. If he gets 10-15% better, I will be more than satisfied with his progression and end game as a 15th pick.

[exstatic]

I hope so, but I haven't seen enough to make me logically think he's going to improve by THAT much. He would have to improve a LOToffensively to get to "superstar" status. Like nearly 50% better or more. I think his potential is "3rd wheel as part of big 3", but that's not exactly a bad result. It would mean he was incredibly successful. He was a 15th pick after all, and has already panned out better than most teams expected.

To expect him to take a huge leap up to superstar is a real faith push to me. If he gets 10-15% better, I will be more than satisfied with his progression and end game as a 15th pick.

Really? That's your rationale? He was picked at 15 in his draft year?

Kobe Bryant #13
Steve Nash #15
John Stockton #16

[Vash StampedE]

I agree. Its also worth mentioning Leonard had many of his big games with one of the big 3 injured. It would be better if he played if he played extended minutes, allowing him 7 or so minutes with the second unit. Playing with Beli/Manu, Diaw, Pendergraph & Mills would give him a plenty of playmakers and floor spacing and allow him much more scoring opportunities with Duncan & Parker on the bench.

I hope so, but I haven't seen enough to make me logically think he's going to improve by THAT much. He would have to improve a LOToffensively to get to "superstar" status. Like nearly 50% better or more. I think his potential is "3rd wheel as part of big 3", but that's not exactly a bad result. It would mean he was incredibly successful. He was a 15th pick after all, and has already panned out better than most teams expected.

To expect him to take a huge leap up to superstar is a real faith push to me. If he gets 10-15% better, I will be more than satisfied with his progression and end game as a 15th pick.

Hard to admit, but I may have to agree with you guys. So far in this ongoing preseason, Kawhi hasn't shown a reliable offensive arsenal, aside from his spot-up 3 point and midrange shooting, that will enable him to dominate his defenders game after game. I think Kawhi would benefit more if he is playing with a pure pg (a young Kidd, CP3), which we don't have, unfortunately. Yes, he did extremely well in the first half of the Miami game with Parker on the floor on the same time but the trade-off of that is Parker being ineffective, then vice versa. If Parker gets into his ball-domination game, tendency is Kawhi would not get the number of touches we are hoping for him to get.

[iManu]

Everyone knows we traded George to the Pacers!


LOL

[Kidd K]

Really? That's your rationale? He was picked at 15 in his draft year?

Kobe Bryant #13
Steve Nash #15
John Stockton #16

So you think he's going to be as good as Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and John Stockton because he was drafted around the same spot as them? That's your rationale?

My rationale is that doesn't have superstar talent, he has 3rd wheel talent, which is great considering that we drafted him at 15. I like what we're getting already and my expectations on his future improvements are realistic. I don't have my head in the clouds and expect miracles. I only like to deal in facts and reality.

Like I said, he's Goose, not Maverick. He has done nothing to prove he's a "Maverick" type player. His offensive game would require a quantum leap forward to get to that level. There's practically no way he's going to be MVP-caliber and/or an all-time great like the three guys you listed. The odds of that are well under 5% as far as I'm concerned.

[xmas1997]

So you think he's going to be as good as Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and John Stockton because he was drafted around the same spot as them? That's your rationale?

My rationale is that doesn't have superstar talent, he has 3rd wheel talent, which is great considering that we drafted him at 15. I like what we're getting already and my expectations on his future improvements are realistic. I don't have my head in the clouds and expect miracles. I only like to deal in facts and reality.

Like I said, he's Goose, not Maverick. He has done nothing to prove he's a "Maverick" type player. His offensive game would require a quantum leap forward to get to that level. There's practically no way he's going to be MVP-caliber and/or an all-time great like the three guys you listed. The odds of that are well under 5% as far as I'm concerned.

For the most part I agree with you. Kawhi has not shown enough to me to be considered one of the big three yet. He is good, yes, but not great. He could be maybe part of our Big Four, but at this point he is still way behind Timmy, Tony, and Manu. I hope he shows as much growth this year as he did last year.

[Fireball]

The great thing is that Kawhi increases his focus depending on the importance of the game. Last year he did not care in preseason, this year showed something against the Heat which is understandable after they beat us in the Finals. Kawhi will show us more this season, especially in important games ... and that is not dependant on Tony being on or off the floor ...

[look_at_g_shred]

This is irrelevant. Pop already said he's going to run plays for leonard, and who might be on the other side of that coin setting up the play? Parker!