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Not that. How do you figure Leonard (and Anderson) is the only guy who can play the three?
That's actually the only way to quantify. With numbers.
Not that. How do you figure Leonard (and Anderson) is the only guy who can play the three?
Reliably? Who else do you see? Manu? I wouldn't want to put his 40 year old legs up against SFs in the West playoffs. Just asking for him to be worn down to a nub again.
We're talking backup SFs here. Who has a bench three that's going to give Manu trouble? And of those threes, who can Anderson guard that Simmons can't?
I think the value w/ Simmons could be that he could guard the best perimeter player off the opposing bench -- whether its a PG, SG, SF. Which in turn, could relieve Manu/Mills from having a mismatch. With Anderson your perimeter defense is left vulnerable to a degree.
Green can also play SF when Kawhi goes to the bench.
Yeah, I think Simmons can check Brewer, Barnes and Stephenson, in so far as Leonard and Green don't. No one has a Lebron coming off their bench, or even a Rudy Gay. If we're talking defense, I'd prefer Simmons until Anderson shows he can defender wings at the NBA level.
several playoff teams have upgraded their bench. Clippers w/ Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson figure to be problematic. I'd say Simmons could possibly handle most bench assignments. If rebounding is an issue I'd give the nudge to Anderson. I also think KA is the better help defender and can contest shots a lot better with his length. If you are having to contain someone like Austin Rivers though, Simmons is your man. We will see how it plays out.
Season can't start soon enough.
Regardless, I think in compe ive games Green and Leonard will play over 34-35 mpg each and Pop will probably stagger their minutes so that one of them is always on the floor. In these games, Manu wil probably be playing the remaining minutes.
Think the only times Kyle or Simmons gets playing time is if there's an injury, if there's foul trouble, if the game is noncompe ive or if Pop sits Green ,Leonard or Manu in a back 2 back situation.
Last edited by MaNu4Tres; 07-17-2015 at 04:34 PM.
On the fence. I'd have to flip a coin.
Pop likes defined roles. I expect Kyle to be the designated Kawhi backup when the season starts and it will be up to him to keep that role. As far as Simmons, there's many scenarios where he'll get minutes in the back court. Tony and Manu will likely be on a minute limit, besides rest here or there. Patty probably will need some rest for that shoulder here or there too. Manu will also likely see some of his limited minutes with the starters. That opens up some minutes for Simmons at the two. When Tony/Manu/Patty are available, they will be small, but otherwise, he'll have ample time to show what he has.
I don't disagree entirely with this premise, but I don't think that will apply during the regular season. At least not until March or so...
The only chance Simmons is able to stay in the floor is if he plays great defense and passes the ball well in offense. If the intends to dribble and dunk the ball, Pop will throw him out of the arena.
ILL put it to you this other way, there is no way I can see Simmons giving KA any sort of trouble in a scrimmage. Dude is too crafty, sneaky, and tall for a defender like Simmons to handle him. Heck, we saw he did whatever the heck he wanted against Hollis Jefferson. On the other end, I could see KA giving a Simmons trouble, grabbing rebounds, knocking balls out w his length from Simmons notoriously iffy handle, etc. Both guys will be situational, but there is no doubt in my mind, KA is the better player in the long run. But, Simmons being the better athlete can possibly handle your Austin Rivers, Norris Cole types out there.
He's the 5th guard, tbh... we're not sure yet he'll do well in the majors... it's a low risk, high reward move from the Spurs. I see if more as having Manu groom him into that backup two role. If he embraces it, I think he has enough talent to stick in the league.
I agree. I'm thinking big picture (playoffs, big games). The times when the rotation has to be optimally confined. Pop will probably go 9 deep then.
In regular season, going through east coast swings ( Philly, Det, Boston, ect), I'm sure Pop will utilize as much of the roster as he can as he always does.
Draft-express says about Hollis-Jefferson:
"Hollis-Jefferson was one of the best defenders in college basketball, and will need to make his mark on this end of the court at the next level as well. While he guarded multiple positions in college, he was best matched up against wings, where he can match their quickness and bother them with his strength and wingspan. He is locked in on this end of the court, taking pride in shutting down the opponent's best scorer. He moves his feet well to stay in front of dribble penetration and can finish the play with a strong contest of the shot, blocking 1.1 shots per 40 minutes pace adjusted. "
So a guy who takes pride with his defense couldn't shutdown Mr. Anderson. Nice!!!
Some would say that last season he experimented for too long. What's real is that both Kyle and Simmons will have ample opportunity to show what they have, especially early on.
That's the big question, will Anderson or Simmons have enough playing time?
The rotation still needs to become comfortable with playing with Aldridge and West. So a lot of time is going to be spent just getting familiar with these two.
The playoff rotation will involve the following:
Parker, Green, Leonard, Aldridge, Duncan, Ginobii, Mills, Diaw and West. 9 players.
McCallum will eat up minutes in regular season just like Joseph did. He's the only other PG other than Parker.
There will be minutes for Boban, for times that Duncan is resting.
Simmons may get some burn if they rest Ginobili a lot.
So it looks like KA is odd man out... unless he is KL's backup.
I just wonder how Pop will figure out the best combination... there's just too much talent in the team.
His strengths will lead to a bunch of inefficient shots and his offense doesn't get his teammates open shots. That's the benefit of Simmons play. He'll he's a piece of the bench puzzle who can attack quickly and dish to West, Diaw, Manu, or Patty. The team is centered around ball movement not isolation. If Spurs want a player from the bench to isolate that player will be Diaw. As you said KA is a below average shooter so when he's not ball stopping the offense with a mediocre isolation he won't be as valuable to other players penetrating and passing.
It's a good problem to have. I'm just hoping one of the two makes it in the NBA as a rotation player. That's far from guaranteed but these Vegas games have increased that hope.
I think the challenge with grading either is that we've seen so little of them against real NBA compe ion. I hate to say Simmons because literally less than a week ago I had no idea who he was. But in the limited minutes I've seen, he has flashed enough of a well-rounded skill set, athleticism, and tenacity to make me think he's going to be the better pro. I think Kyle can also be great in the right role, but I don't know how much his lack of athleticism and a reliable jump shot will limit his potential.
Hopefully they grow into equally badass, but different role players for the Spurs in the future. I really enjoy watching them play off each other.
Paul Pierce might give Manu trouble, even though he's old too and strictly a perimeter player at this stage in his career. As for Anderson, his lack of speed concerns me more on the defensive end.
Simmons. The dude is 6'6 of course he can play the 3.
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