Some random observations regarding the Spurs issues, tbh..

[wildchild]

Evan Turner because of the Philly ties and his reported dislike for what's going on in Philly.

I can see Leonard in Sixers uniform. We really need a new guy bc the team don't figure out ways to utilize Leonard.
When searching for a potential landing spots, Leonard and his agent'll be looking for more opportunities and presence in playbook, and a young SF like Kawhi'd be a tempting trade for those teams (Sixers, Cavs, Pelicans).

[SpursFan86]

Y'all can't be serious...Kawhi for Evan Turner? Really? He's a horribly inefficient scorer, and nowhere near the defender/rebounder Leonard is. Y'all really want Danny Green guarding the opposing team's best perimeter scorer every game? Not to mention we'd then have Parker/Evan Turner, two mediocre defenders, left to guard the other two perimeter guys.

I'm sorry, but I can't take anyone seriously who legitimately considers Leonard for Turner to be a reasonable idea. That would immediately make our team noticeably worse.

And by the way, Evan Turner isn't even shooting 30% from 3 this year. If you're irked by Kawhi's 3-point shooting slump, Evan Turner would only be worse. Only difference is, Kawhi actually offers noticeable contributions in other areas like rebounding and defense.

[wildchild]

Y'all can't be serious...Kawhi for Evan Turner? Really? He's a horribly inefficient scorer, and nowhere near the defender/rebounder Leonard is.

Well I'm not sure if he's a bad scorer but we need a new guy and Leonard needs a change of team. It's just as simple as that.

We need another offense option and his role in the offense is still not clear. He has to be frustrated in San Antonio, he’s being completely underutilized, and Leonard's too talented to continue to underperform.

[marbles1991]

Bonner/Joseph/Ayres/Euro rights and our first rounder and even a few second rounders for Taj Gibson. It works in the trade machine and would solve basically every problem with this team.

[Baam]

Only thing I agree is starting Diaw is a must, will relieve Parker with the playmaking duties and allow Kawhi to play closer to the basket...

[boutons_deux]

Diaw is probably the 3rd best defender on this squad tbh. I don't know how he manages to move his feet that fast but he does.

grease aside (which does help backing down, blocking out), he's a pretty good athlete, moves well "enough", good BBIQ, good passer, and some of his soft-touch shots are very creative/won't see exactly that again.

[SpursFan86]

Well I'm not sure if he's a bad scorer but we need a new guy and Leonard needs a change of team. It's just as simple as that.

We need another offense option and his role in the offense is still not clear. He has to be frustrated in San Antonio, he’s being completely underutilized, and Leonard's too talented to continue to underperform.

Evan Turner isn't the answer as "another offense option" though. He's a mediocre volume scorer who doesn't contribute in any other aspect. I disagree that Leonard needs a change of team...we have the whole year to figure out ways to get him more involved and doing the things he's best at. I'm honestly a little shocked that there are actually multiple people here so ready to trade him at the first signs of problems (if you could even call his performance this year a "problem")...especially for someone like Evan Turner.

[PlayNando]

at the clowns wanting to trade Kawhi.

[quentin_compson]

Whatever the problems are, Evan Turner certainly isn't the solution.

I agree with sticking to pairing Duncan and Tiago and hoping that they figure out things on both ends of the floor. Splitter is pretty mobile and could be decent at closing out to the perimeter if he sets his mind to it or if he is told to do so on a consistent basis.

[HarlemHeat37]

While I do agree that Splitter/Duncan can figure it out defensively, I don't think that duo + Kawhi will solve their offensive problems, which is killing the starting lineup..

It worked last year because:

- Leonard was making his corner 3s much more efficiently
- Parker was much more explosive and benefited from spacing on the corners
- Duncan was having arguably the best "old man" season in league history
- Splitter was more useful offensively, at least at finishing

Duncan has improved from a ty start and it's quite possible that Parker eventually finds his form after some rest, but I'm not sure if Leonard's shot will improve and that Tiago will be more effective at finishing, tbh..

I think it was objective that said he thinks Splitter is trying too hard to shed the soft image after the embarrassment of last year's Finals and has gone away from his effective flip shots..it's possible, I'd have to look at the videos, his confidence could be shot..

[-21-]

Green should be starting and Bellineli should be on the bench. I think everyone agrees with that.

Starting Diaw is worth a shot, even for just a few games. He could help Tony with the playmaking duties and take some pressure off of him. Diaw will also provide better spacing compared to Tiago which could give Kawhi more opportunities other than spot up threes. Another thing is I think Tiago could flourish playing with Manu/Beli against opposing 2nd units. If it doesn't work than they can go back to Duncan/Splitter and hope they can work things out like last year.

[TD 21]

I'm not surprised by any of these observations. I've been saying for weeks that, as currently constructed, it's obvious Diaw needs to start and Bonner needs to be the fourth big, but Pop is clearly done with Bonner and they don't appear to be in any hurry to give Thomas a look. In other words, if Diaw starts, they wouldn't have a backup PF. The best realistic (because none of the top eight are going anywhere) trade I see to solve this and at least somewhat alleviate their spacing/mobility issues, is Bonner and Ayres for Bass.

[Spurs da champs]

I agree with everything except this:

Strategically, it doesn't make sense..Kawhi Leonard is a good defender(although overrated), but his defensive style is suited to guard big SGs/SFs/small PFs..he is not a good defender against guards, he does not possess the lateral quickness to defend PGs and quick SGs like Lebron..

Someone didn't watch the Finals? Kawhi did as great a job as I've ever seen on the best player in the world, in terms of top defenders; he's got the best speed, length, & strength combination to guard LeBron.

[Chinook]

I agree with everything except this:


Someone didn't watch the Finals? Kawhi did as great a job as I've ever seen on the best player in the world, in terms of top defenders; he's got the best speed, length, & strength combination to guard LeBron.

You misunderstood Harlem's statement. He's saying Leonard can't guard quick guys like Lebron can, not that he can't guard Lebron.

[Spurs da champs]

You misunderstood Harlem's statement. He's saying Leonard can't guard quick guys like Lebron can, not that he can't guard Lebron.

Yeah, just noticed it now, my bad. Harlem is still a , however.

[ThaBigFundamental21]

You misunderstood Harlem's statement. He's saying Leonard can't guard quick guys like Lebron can, not that he can't guard Lebron.

Except I disagree. Late in the series Lebron did get his. But early in the series Lebron was being shut down in a way nobody had ever seen. Even the announcers, also Barkley and his crew were saying Leonard was playing the finest Defense they had ever seen on Lebron. Then for some damn reason Pop decides in game 7 to change it all and let Lebron shoot wide open time after time again. Not just a little room, WIDE OPEN. If you dare a guy to shoot and he is killing you in a game 7 you have to in adjust. Leonard did amazing when he was actually guarding Lebron.

[Chinook]

Except I disagree. Late in the series Lebron did get his. But early in the series Lebron was being shut down in a way nobody had ever seen. Even the announcers, also Barkley and his crew were saying Leonard was playing the finest Defense they had ever seen on Lebron. Then for some damn reason Pop decides in game 7 to change it all and let Lebron shoot wide open time after time again. Not just a little room, WIDE OPEN. If you dare a guy to shoot and he is killing you in a game 7 you have to in adjust. Leonard did amazing when he was actually guarding Lebron.

You misunderstood again. He's comparing Kawhi's defense on quick players to Lebron's. He's not talking about Leonard's defense on James.

[ThaBigFundamental21]

You misunderstood again. He's comparing Kawhi's defense on quick players to Lebron's. He's not talking about Leonard's defense on James.

Oh me, my bad. I just read his response. Not HH's post. I got you.

[jimbo]

Tiago has done absolutely nothing to help his offensive game, no post moves at all, not even basic stuff you learn as a kid. It's embarrassing. Sure we have some players to trade but a lot of the teams that would want to shed players for cap relief have absolutely nothing of interest, hence why they are sucking in the first place.

You can't use the stuff you learned as a kid in the NBA. Tiago probably knows a lot more moves, just not at a level where they can be used against other 6'10 freak athletes.

You could probably test this for yourself in a rec league. Go try out some sick post moves you've practiced on your own and watch that get smacked back at you

[TheGoldStandard]

You can't use the stuff you learned as a kid in the NBA. Tiago probably knows a lot more moves, just not at a level where they can be used against other 6'10 freak athletes.

You could probably test this for yourself in a rec league. Go try out some sick post moves you've practiced on your own and watch that get smacked back at you

I understand you can't go "And 1" tourney in the NBA but like using your left hand to shoot a hook in the post would be nice and that's something you learn very early on as a big, to use both hands. That stupid sweeping hook is god awful or maybe faking that hook and pivoting inside to use your left for a layup, you know basic post ball.

[DPG21920]

One of the best threads all year from mah dude HH. Subtle goods..

[Chinook]

One of the best threads all year from mah dude HH. Subtle goods..

Nothing subtle about these goods.

[ElNono]

Good read. Boris been beasting, tbh. Can't say enough good things about him.

[Bruno]

Nice post. While I think Belinelli might improve Spurs starting lineup offense, it might not be enough to make it decent. The key is benching one of Splitter or Duncan and bring a player that will bring more mobility and spacing.

Some stats to back up the OP:
Offensive rating for some lineups:
Parker/Green/Leonard/Splitter/Duncan: 90.3 in 133 min.
Parker/Belinelli/Leonard/Splitter/Duncan: 89.9 in 55 min.
Parker/Ginobili/Leonard/Splitter/Duncan: 86.6 in 43 min.

Sample size are small but it seems that replacing Green by another SG, even a better offensive version, doesn't really improve the offense.

Now a killing stat:
This season, 127 quartets of players have been on the court for more than 200 minutes. Among these 127 quartets, Parker/Leonard/Duncan/Splitter rank 127th in offensive rating at 89.5.
http://stats.nba.com/leagueLineups.h...&sortOrder=ASC

[ElNono]

I think another thing to take into account is Pop has been experimenting quite a bit. Things need to settle down a bit, Tony needs to regain his footing, and then I think we'll get a better idea.