Seriously what Pop does with this roster is simply unheard of in NBA history! Not a single starting all-star, plays purely off precision and coordination instead of individual talent and athleticism. Just amazing! I actually believe Pop took his coaching to a much higher level than winning championship with prime Duncan days. His roster has no business being at #1 in the NBA, but it is. When this team clicks, it is pure art. This is without a doubt the best pure skill-based team in the NBA, no real athleticism to rely on, no dominant 1v1 scorer, it is pure execution!
However unlike Soccer, basketball is 5v5 and a LeBron/Durant can take over the game by themselves, that is the luxury Spurs does not have and the role players who play good in regular season tend to choke in playoffs. Also very scared of Parker locked down by LeBron or some other long/athletic defender, they eventually wear him down by the 4th quarter and Spurs have no reliable scorer. I have seen this too many times in Parker's career. Also, refs can either kill Spurs with free throws rewarded to opposing superstars, or worse, allow teams to go physical and break Spurs flow with sheer brute force and athleticism. This team can not win in 1v1 ISO.
I pray to god Timmy wins his 5th, game 6 was my most painful sports moment ever and 3 days after he shed tears after game 7, he was back in the gym shedding blood and sweat. He already won everything there is to win, for him to put himself on such strict diet and regime to stay compe ive at 38, it is love of the game!
TP was an All-star this season (although he didn't start) and Duncan has played at an all-star level all season. Just remember that who starts at an All-star game is determined by the fans, not by how well they've actually played or how important a factor they are to their team.
Kobe was voted a starter FOR GODS SAKES! I agree there the fans are idiots.
Truth Bombs tbh
While I'm happy Marco won the 3 pt contest and that TP was a coaches selection, I would have preferred that NO Spur had been there... All that is an EXHIBITION. One for the thumb is within reach.
Pop is awesome but we need to start giving more credit to our core rotation. They aren't chopped liver. They can ball and deserve more respect.
While I do agree with most of Hitmantb's takes regarding the spurs system, I think that we do have the personnel to go one on one as the situation dictates. What remains to be seen is whether or not we exploit the matchups. I feel that Boris' low post prowess has been vastly understated. When he wants to, he can frustrate the best one on one defenders in the league with a dazzling and endless array of tricky low post moves. He also has the ability to pull bigs away from the paint and face them up. Another key difference i've noticed recently is that Manu is back to being Manu. Some of you may feel that he has been hot & cold/inconsistent. But I've noticed that he has been at his best recently on those rare occasions that the Spurs offense is not humming, allowing the team to weather the storm. It seems that he has finally learned to conserve his energy and preserve his health. I guarantee he doesn't want to go into the playoffs banged up again. And then there is Patty. He's figuring things out rapidly and seems to have the potential for big game moments. He's nothing like Neal as a back up. When Neal was playing point, he looked like he was trying to solve a math problem. I.e. "defender under screen = shoot, defender over screen = dribble drive to spot A then pass to roller." I actually felt bad for the guy, he had no feel for the position and never should have been put in that situation, or at least not kept there. Patty's different, sure he likes to shoot, but he flies like Maverick instead of trying to fly mistake-free like IceMan. I think we have the pieces, guys and I don't think any of the players I mentioned will shrink in the face of playoff pressure. Go spurs!!!
Can someone explain why there is a YouTube video covering half of my post? What the he'll did I do?
Spurs don't have #1 options as good as the other elite teams, but their #2 to #9 are probably better than any team in the league outside of maybe the Clippers and Thunder, tbh..
This has what to do with Spain?
Except Errors, that ol' sport is terrible
It's an international soccer reference. And, honestly, it should be the Netherlands of basketball since Spain are playing the Dutch style.
That kind of play is good in the regular season but it won't work in the playoffs. The other teams are going to neutralize the role players and force the stars to step up.
Nah, ours are still better than the Clips and Thunder. They have bigger names, but we have a better system.
I thought you were referring to the Spanish National Basketball Team, tbh.
That would be a bad thing, because then we'd end up finishing 2nd place to LeBron and company.
Spain of Basketball? what..
It isn't the players at all. It's entirely the system. Put half of the Spurs roster on another team and you'll never hear from them again. Yeah, I'm talking about Green, Diaw, Splitter, Mills, and Belinelli.
Diaw was a respected player in his days with the Suns and was sought-after. Splitter was also respected in Spain and Belinelli was a guy people expected to be a long-time NBA player coming out of the draft and held his own with the Bulls. Give the players credit...except for Ayres and Bonner of course.
Spain is most famous for their world cup / euro cup winning soccer team of course, and they do it same way, precise passing, far and away most complete system, no real dominant individual player.
The only difference is soccer has twice as many players per team, so coordination is even more important than individual athleticism. Spurs in a 5v5 is still vulnerable to LeBron/Durant explosions.
Yeah I presumed that was the reference, but Spain has loads of talent, as do the Dutch (albiet not so much this year). If he's trying to make a football reference, i.e. good team game v. individual stars, it should be any of the Guus Hiddink coached world cup teams... say South Korea 2002.
All that said, If his reference was about Spain being a team of ageing stars, them maybe the original reference works.
The attention to proper spacing, movement off the ball, passing... I think its a good comparison. With the exception that it took Spain a while to win it all.
The Dutch system never got them a World Cup and it was born in the 70s.
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