So, basically, it boils down to these:
1. TD injured in 2000
2. Admiral retired and .04
3. Manu's foul
4. Lost to Lakers in WCF and just wasn't the best team that year
Now, other than Admiral retiring, none of our le defenses really featured drastic changes. Should that continue on to next season with every other contender looking to get better and gunning for us? I mean, I obviously want us to keep Bobo and Party but would like to upgrade from Bonner, Ayres, Daye and maybe even Marco. Drafting Anderson might have been a great steal but that remains to be seen. And would that be enough of an addition to counter other contenders' moves that will try to buy a Championship? Will Bertans need to be brought in? How do we learn from past le defense failures?
Main thing is to stay healthy and fresh for the postseason. I would rest Manu for the first couple of months of the season because he'll be playing for Argentina. Maybe even do the same for Tim. Obviously, it wouldn't hurt to have players that can contribute even from the end of the bench. Try to upgrade Daye, Ayres, and Bonner. Also, Bertans will not come over this season.
Spurs weren't deep enough in '06 and '08.
The entire bench collapsed against Dallas in '06. It was pretty much Timmy/Manu/TP carrying the team. Besides Finley's 10 ppg, SA just wasn't getting enough production from anyone else. Horry choked that series as well. Meanwhile, all the Mavs roles players were stepping up.
In '08, Manu was clearly hurt and our role players were old/washed-up. It was obvious that the Spurs were on the decline. Winning three straight series without homecourt would have been impossible that year(that's what it would have taken to win the 'ship). , just beating that deep Hornets team was a monumental task.
Manu was severely injured in '08, his ankle was nowhere near being right and he only averaged something like 9, 10 ppg for the series against the Lakers. A healthy Manu does not play that poorly against the Lakers, unless there was something seriously wrong with him, especially at the age he was at, he was definitely injured and the Spurs couldn't make up for it. I also recall one or two Boston players saying that they didn't want to play the Spurs and were hoping the Lakers made the finals. I'd say Boston was the best team that year, but who knows, maybe a healthy Spurs team could have had a shot against Boston, or at least pushed them unlike the Lakers. Spurs may have had a mental edge going into a series against the Celtics, but I guess we'll never know if they had a chance as Manu wasn't right since his ankle injury in the playoffs didn't allow him to play anywhere near his best.
As for '06, how in the heck can you say the Spurs weren't deep enough? They were the best team in '06. You can't tell me otherwise. I still believe we were the best team that year. The officiating in the 4th quarter of games 3 and 4 in Dallas was something I did not like at all. I still feel we were ripped off. They got what the deserved in the finals (in regards to the officiating) as they shouldn't have been there in the first place IMO.
Last edited by Ice009; 06-27-2014 at 01:58 AM.
Why we could get back to the Finals
Richard Jefferson
Bonner's Defense
George Hill incosistancy
Gary Neal Liablity on Offense and defense
Manu's injuries
Blair beast Project failed due to him eating Whataburgers
combination......league + super teams, the league allowed to form.
The 7-game series with the Hornets took too much out of us in '08. Then a quick turnaround for game 1 of the WCF, the plane/tarmac situation in LA, and Manu's injury ended any chance for a repeat. I still believe a fresh and healthy Spurs team beats LA (definitely would have won game 1) that year. But a las....
I guess one of the reasons I started this thread is because I've read recent posts here suggesting we don't need to do much of anything in the offseason other than keeping Diaw and Mills but with how the rest of the league is trying to buy their way into Championships, I worry that we would be doomed to repeat the same mistakes of previous years. I know we can chalk up previous le defense failures due to injury and bad luck but maybe standing too pat has contributed to them as well? I know if we keep Diaw and Mills, we won't have much wiggle room but we can certainly improve upon Daye, Bonner, and Ayres right? And who knows how Manu will hold up next year?
Pop benched the entire center rotation in 2006 against the Mavericks, and the Mavs' roleplayers had a layup line, yet people still wonder why Manu was guarding the rim at the end of game 7.
Exactly. We had the better team and homecourt. There was no reason for us to lose that series. Pop tried to outscore the Mavs after we had one of the best defenses in the season.
1. Manu's foul (2006)
2. Manu's turnovers/Manu's missed free throws (2013)
3. Manu's decision to play for the national team (2015)
I'm talking about repeat chances only.
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