game grades for Spurs?

[Gladney to see you]

As far as Ray goes...he came in at the end of the game. That is hard on anyone to go out and produce. It isn't easy looking impressive for the garbage time players. That is why some decent players never make the team.

[Chinook]

Aldridge – It makes much more sense for LMA to be the beneficiary of the Spurs’ offense rather than the creator of it. He was crazy-good in the PnP, and the high-low with him and Duncan was a joy to see. If this is how he gets 20+ppg, then it will be more than okay for the team.
Defensively, he looked overmatch against Bosh. That’s not surprising, as Chris is the superior player. No excuse for getting in that foul trouble, though. If he’s going to consistently close out games, he’s going to have to be able to defend without fouling. - B+

Duncan – He had a pretty easy matchup in Haslem, but Tim totally took advantage. It’s going to be pretty common for him to have the weaker defender on him, and going 100 percent on offense is great no matter what.
Defensively, he didn’t really stand out. Made good rotations, but no one on Miami really challenged him. - A-

Green – Danny looked much better in this game. Defensively, he locked down Wade and should have been credited with more steals than just the two he had. He was also very good on the boards boxing out bigger guys to let his teammates get the ball. That’s an underrated part of his defensive game.

Offensively, he did everything but shoot at an at least adequate level. He didn’t make his circus shot this game, but he also didn’t turn the ball over. He and Aldridge lack chemistry right now. When that develops, he’ll probably get two or three assists a game on PnP. - B+

Leonard – I’ll never be a fan of Kawhi’s Melo-lite offense. He shot 30 percent on two-pointers, and that’s a function of his shot-selection. I feel like the team won’t be able to deal with both LMA and Kawhi playing the offense they want to play. Both will have to adapt their games to fit the movement better.

Defensively, he made sure Deng was a non-factor for the most part. He also played passing lanes very well. He was great on the boards. In short, he was regular Kawhi. That’s a better result than last game. - B-

Parker – I don’t know how to grade this. On one hand, Parker was no able to score inside. He lacked elevation. So he should get a poor offensive score for being far from his 2013 form. On the other hand, he was still mildly effective scoring, and he passed really well. By the standard of his recent play, last night was a success. I guess it depends on how far Tony has fallen. I think the second one is most true, though, so I’ll give him a good grade. He looks to be a decent fit in this new Spurs’ offense.

I didn’t see anything out of him that was that bad defensively. Dragic had a poor game, and Tony got a steal. This was an interesting matchup for him, because Dragic is a bigger PG, and Tony’s probably going to spend a lot his time guarding twos. - B+

Anderson – Missed a few makeable shots, didn’t assist well and was really tentative with Ginobili next to him. Kyle is the best of the three guys vying for the backup SF spot. But he’s not a good fit with Manu at all.

Defensively, Kyle was impressive after his first stint. He lapsed a bit at the beginning, but he showed really quick hands in passing lanes and with the ball in the air around him. He’ll get even better as he gets more experience. If Splitter were on the bench next to him, I’d have no concerns. - C+

Ginobili – He played well individually on offense. Some of his passes were gorgeous. He also made a nice three-pointer and took it inside. This is about the best we could have hoped for.
He had a tough match-up defensively against Gerald Green. He didn’t do much to stop him even considering. The lack of a consistently average perimeter defender in the second unit is a concern, though the Spurs haven’t had good bench defenders during this whole renaissance, so I guess they’ll manage. - B

Marjanovic – The big Serb wasn’t very effective in this game. He got stuffed by Andersen on a move so soft that even Splitter would blush. He ran the floor well, but his screen game needs work. I guess he should get more looks in the post just to see how good he is there. His three-second call highlights like lack of offensive awareness in the NBA, but at the same time, he was expecting a shot to go up.

Defensively, he moved pretty well, and I liked the effort on that end. He also had a block on a nice contest. However, he’s way too soft of a rebounder. It completely erases his good defensive qualities. - C-

Mills – I want to say that Patty was just unremarkable on both sides. He shot poorly, but I don’t think he took bad shots. He passed about as well as he normally does. He did all right against Dragic defensively but got wrecked by Johnson. - C

West – I loved the ideas he had about passes. Some of them worked out and some didn’t. But I think he’ll fit in well on the bench. And him being money from the short corner adds a new dimension to the PnR offense. Defensively, he competed, but he’s not in Bosh’s league. That’s another reason why it’s good that he’ll be with the second unit. - C+

Butler – Need to see him play with the regular rotation. On paper, he’s the best fit with the second unit. Hopefully, he’ll get the chance tomorrow. - INC

McCallum – Felt like Pop made a curious decision putting him in for the end of the game. The downside to having used a regular rotation is that the last unit was full of scrubs who had almost no chemistry. Sykes would have been a better play. Still, he wasn’t able to perform under those cir stances. - INC/D

Ndoye – He would have looked great had he played as the second-string center. His energy would have helped the second unit, but on the third, it was just frantic. Was really close to making several good plays, but ultimately did nothing positive. Those two missed FTs were heart-breakers. That he missed them wasn’t all that shocking. But it certainly didn’t help. - C

Simmons – He was supposed to be the guy who led the deep-bench to victory, and he just wasn’t. He was terrible dribbling the ball, and though he made nice assists, he wasn’t a plus as the PG. He defended Dragic well on a switch one possession, and that gives some hope that he’ll be able to develop into the aforementioned needed second-unit defender. But all in all, it wasn’t a good performance. - C

Sykes – He was +4 in four minutes of play, and it made sense to me. I loved his energy defensively. He was getting up on his made and playing passing lanes. Should have been credited with at least one steal. Would have preferred him closing out the game over a cold McCallum. - INC

Thomas – I mean, offensively, he just wasn’t good. Took a bad shot, missed a free throw. I think he was pressing trying to get some good tape in. He was making crisp passes when he first came in, but as his stint went on, he starting holding the ball more. Maybe he was trying to make stuff happen. Thought he rotated well defensively. Made a very good block. He did a good job on working to fix his fatal flaws, but the stuff he was supposed to be good at are not NBA caliber. - INC -- and that’s being generous.

Williams – Played better, but at his age, there’s no reason to care. Another guy who should have been benched for Sykes. He knows he’s fighting for his NBA life, and he has no chance of making the Spurs. But he can get a decent gig overseas. - B

Pop – The starting five were obvious from the moment LMA signed his deal. But Pop did a great job working LMA into the offense. He’s still lacking when it comes to fitting Kawhi in, but he had the first unit rocking. The second unit was also pretty predictable, but I wish he had rotated Anderson and Simmons more with the bench and for him to have gone with Sykes as the third PG after put him in the first time. Also, would have been nice to see Ndoye over Boban for the second second-unit stint. Though, I guess it doesn’t matter, as Boban is safely on the roster while Youssou is safely off. - A-

Fredette – Loved his performance in this game. Dude knew his role and played it to perfection. If this keeps going, I’ll be willing to admit I was wrong about Pop figuring out how to use Jimmer correctly. - A+

[Brazil]

^Thanks Chinook I did not see the game your grades and comments are really appreciated... great read

[HarlemHeat37]

Parker played a very solid game after some ugly turnovers, tbh..if he accepts the role he played last night, he should be able to have a nice resurgence..Parker the role player can still be a very valuable player to this team, he's still the only real PG on the roster..the team doesn't need him to be 2013 Parker anymore, fortunately, and he made some really nice passes off the drive, even without having to blow by the defender(drew enough attention to get Alridge open in the PnPs, and had a really nice set up for a Tim floater from under the basket)..

Diaw's absence from the 2nd unit was very evident IMO..West should never have to create a shot for himself(all 3 of his misses, last night, were post-ups or off the dribble), and the lack of fluidity in the unit was pretty bad IMO..the defense is going to struggle with the short frontcourt + Manu's age + Mills being a poor defender, but the offense should be able to overwhelm opposing benches..

Anderson was bad offensively for the reasons Chinook stated(Cojo 2.0 with Manu), but his defense was a lot better than I expected, had some nice strips, and he completely pick-pocketed one of the Heat's PGs off the dribble IIRC, which stood out..

I can't see a scenario where Boban gets minutes in serious games..he's more mobile than I expected, but he's such a disaster offensively..part of that is lack of chemistry and rhythm, but he's very uncoordinated with the ball in his hands, even when it's just a simple catch and finish..takes too long to gather the ball after the catch, his moves are very slow..playing a legit C in 2015 requires them to overwhelm the smaller defenders, not necessarily in posting up, but in catching and finishing, and I don't think he's going to be able to do that, at least not in year 1..

Duncan and Ginobili look like they're in phenomenal shape(age considering)..usually they work their way into it to start the season(especially the latter), but it appears like they're both entering the RS immediately ready..

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

[T_L_P]

Parker played a very solid game after some ugly turnovers, tbh..if he accepts the role he played last night, he should be able to have a nice resurgence..Parker the role player can still be a very valuable player to this team, he's still the only real PG on the roster..the team doesn't need him to be 2013 Parker anymore, fortunately, and he made some really nice passes off the drive, even without having to blow by the defender(drew enough attention to get Alridge open in the PnPs, and had a really nice set up for a Tim floater from under the basket)..

Diaw's absence from the 2nd unit was very evident IMO..West should never have to create a shot for himself(all 3 of his misses, last night, were post-ups or off the dribble), and the lack of fluidity in the unit was pretty bad IMO..the defense is going to struggle with the short frontcourt + Manu's age + Mills being a poor defender, but the offense should be able to overwhelm opposing benches..

Anderson was bad offensively for the reasons Chinook stated(Cojo 2.0 with Manu), but his defense was a lot better than I expected, had some nice strips, and he completely pick-pocketed one of the Heat's PGs off the dribble IIRC, which stood out..

I can't see a scenario where Boban gets minutes in serious games..he's more mobile than I expected, but he's such a disaster offensively..part of that is lack of chemistry and rhythm, but he's very uncoordinated with the ball in his hands, even when it's just a simple catch and finish..takes too long to gather the ball after the catch, his moves are very slow..playing a legit C in 2015 requires them to overwhelm the smaller defenders, not necessarily in posting up, but in catching and finishing, and I don't think he's going to be able to do that, at least not in year 1..

Duncan and Ginobili look like they're in phenomenal shape(age considering)..usually they work their way into it to start the season(especially the latter), but it appears like they're both entering the RS immediately ready..

Duncan has one of the strictest off-season routines/diets in the league. He's come into camp in phenomenal shape in all of the past three seasons.

Before that? Yeah, he worked his way into shape. But not recently. The main reason for his late-career resurgence is how well he takes care of his body, year round.

[jjktkk]

Aldridge – It makes much more sense for LMA to be the beneficiary of the Spurs’ offense rather than the creator of it. He was crazy-good in the PnP, and the high-low with him and Duncan was a joy to see. If this is how he gets 20+ppg, then it will be more than okay for the team.
Defensively, he looked overmatch against Bosh. That’s not surprising, as Chris is the superior player. No excuse for getting in that foul trouble, though. If he’s going to consistently close out games, he’s going to have to be able to defend without fouling. - B+

Duncan – He had a pretty easy matchup in Haslem, but Tim totally took advantage. It’s going to be pretty common for him to have the weaker defender on him, and going 100 percent on offense is great no matter what.
Defensively, he didn’t really stand out. Made good rotations, but no one on Miami really challenged him. - A-

Green – Danny looked much better in this game. Defensively, he locked down Wade and should have been credited with more steals than just the two he had. He was also very good on the boards boxing out bigger guys to let his teammates get the ball. That’s an underrated part of his defensive game.

Offensively, he did everything but shoot at an at least adequate level. He didn’t make his circus shot this game, but he also didn’t turn the ball over. He and Aldridge lack chemistry right now. When that develops, he’ll probably get two or three assists a game on PnP. - B+

Leonard – I’ll never be a fan of Kawhi’s Melo-lite offense. He shot 30 percent on two-pointers, and that’s a function of his shot-selection. I feel like the team won’t be able to deal with both LMA and Kawhi playing the offense they want to play. Both will have to adapt their games to fit the movement better.

Defensively, he made sure Deng was a non-factor for the most part. He also played passing lanes very well. He was great on the boards. In short, he was regular Kawhi. That’s a better result than last game. - B-

Parker – I don’t know how to grade this. On one hand, Parker was no able to score inside. He lacked elevation. So he should get a poor offensive score for being far from his 2013 form. On the other hand, he was still mildly effective scoring, and he passed really well. By the standard of his recent play, last night was a success. I guess it depends on how far Tony has fallen. I think the second one is most true, though, so I’ll give him a good grade. He looks to be a decent fit in this new Spurs’ offense.

I didn’t see anything out of him that was that bad defensively. Dragic had a poor game, and Tony got a steal. This was an interesting matchup for him, because Dragic is a bigger PG, and Tony’s probably going to spend a lot his time guarding twos. - B+

Anderson – Missed a few makeable shots, didn’t assist well and was really tentative with Ginobili next to him. Kyle is the best of the three guys vying for the backup SF spot. But he’s not a good fit with Manu at all.

Defensively, Kyle was impressive after his first stint. He lapsed a bit at the beginning, but he showed really quick hands in passing lanes and with the ball in the air around him. He’ll get even better as he gets more experience. If Splitter were on the bench next to him, I’d have no concerns. - C+

Ginobili – He played well individually on offense. Some of his passes were gorgeous. He also made a nice three-pointer and took it inside. This is about the best we could have hoped for.
He had a tough match-up defensively against Gerald Green. He didn’t do much to stop him even considering. The lack of a consistently average perimeter defender in the second unit is a concern, though the Spurs haven’t had good bench defenders during this whole renaissance, so I guess they’ll manage. - B

Marjanovic – The big Serb wasn’t very effective in this game. He got stuffed by Andersen on a move so soft that even Splitter would blush. He ran the floor well, but his screen game needs work. I guess he should get more looks in the post just to see how good he is there. His three-second call highlights like lack of offensive awareness in the NBA, but at the same time, he was expecting a shot to go up.

Defensively, he moved pretty well, and I liked the effort on that end. He also had a block on a nice contest. However, he’s way too soft of a rebounder. It completely erases his good defensive qualities. - C-

Mills – I want to say that Patty was just unremarkable on both sides. He shot poorly, but I don’t think he took bad shots. He passed about as well as he normally does. He did all right against Dragic defensively but got wrecked by Johnson. - C

West – I loved the ideas he had about passes. Some of them worked out and some didn’t. But I think he’ll fit in well on the bench. And him being money from the short corner adds a new dimension to the PnR offense. Defensively, he competed, but he’s not in Bosh’s league. That’s another reason why it’s good that he’ll be with the second unit. - C+

Butler – Need to see him play with the regular rotation. On paper, he’s the best fit with the second unit. Hopefully, he’ll get the chance tomorrow. - INC

McCallum – Felt like Pop made a curious decision putting him in for the end of the game. The downside to having used a regular rotation is that the last unit was full of scrubs who had almost no chemistry. Sykes would have been a better play. Still, he wasn’t able to perform under those cir stances. - INC/D

Ndoye – He would have looked great had he played as the second-string center. His energy would have helped the second unit, but on the third, it was just frantic. Was really close to making several good plays, but ultimately did nothing positive. Those two missed FTs were heart-breakers. That he missed them wasn’t all that shocking. But it certainly didn’t help. - C

Simmons – He was supposed to be the guy who led the deep-bench to victory, and he just wasn’t. He was terrible dribbling the ball, and though he made nice assists, he wasn’t a plus as the PG. He defended Dragic well on a switch one possession, and that gives some hope that he’ll be able to develop into the aforementioned needed second-unit defender. But all in all, it wasn’t a good performance. - C

Sykes – He was +4 in four minutes of play, and it made sense to me. I loved his energy defensively. He was getting up on his made and playing passing lanes. Should have been credited with at least one steal. Would have preferred him closing out the game over a cold McCallum. - INC

Thomas – I mean, offensively, he just wasn’t good. Took a bad shot, missed a free throw. I think he was pressing trying to get some good tape in. He was making crisp passes when he first came in, but as his stint went on, he starting holding the ball more. Maybe he was trying to make stuff happen. Thought he rotated well defensively. Made a very good block. He did a good job on working to fix his fatal flaws, but the stuff he was supposed to be good at are not NBA caliber. - INC -- and that’s being generous.

Williams – Played better, but at his age, there’s no reason to care. Another guy who should have been benched for Sykes. He knows he’s fighting for his NBA life, and he has no chance of making the Spurs. But he can get a decent gig overseas. - B

Pop – The starting five were obvious from the moment LMA signed his deal. But Pop did a great job working LMA into the offense. He’s still lacking when it comes to fitting Kawhi in, but he had the first unit rocking. The second unit was also pretty predictable, but I wish he had rotated Anderson and Simmons more with the bench and for him to have gone with Sykes as the third PG after put him in the first time. Also, would have been nice to see Ndoye over Boban for the second second-unit stint. Though, I guess it doesn’t matter, as Boban is safely on the roster while Youssou is safely off. - A-

Fredette – Loved his performance in this game. Dude knew his role and played it to perfection. If this keeps going, I’ll be willing to admit I was wrong about Pop figuring out how to use Jimmer correctly. - A+

Thanks Chinook.

[Brazil]

Parker played a very solid game after some ugly turnovers, tbh..if he accepts the role he played last night, he should be able to have a nice resurgence..Parker the role player can still be a very valuable player to this team, he's still the only real PG on the roster..the team doesn't need him to be 2013 Parker anymore, fortunately, and he made some really nice passes off the drive, even without having to blow by the defender(drew enough attention to get Alridge open in the PnPs, and had a really nice set up for a Tim floater from under the basket)..

Diaw's absence from the 2nd unit was very evident IMO..West should never have to create a shot for himself(all 3 of his misses, last night, were post-ups or off the dribble), and the lack of fluidity in the unit was pretty bad IMO..the defense is going to struggle with the short frontcourt + Manu's age + Mills being a poor defender, but the offense should be able to overwhelm opposing benches..

Anderson was bad offensively for the reasons Chinook stated(Cojo 2.0 with Manu), but his defense was a lot better than I expected, had some nice strips, and he completely pick-pocketed one of the Heat's PGs off the dribble IIRC, which stood out..

I can't see a scenario where Boban gets minutes in serious games..he's more mobile than I expected, but he's such a disaster offensively..part of that is lack of chemistry and rhythm, but he's very uncoordinated with the ball in his hands, even when it's just a simple catch and finish..takes too long to gather the ball after the catch, his moves are very slow..playing a legit C in 2015 requires them to overwhelm the smaller defenders, not necessarily in posting up, but in catching and finishing, and I don't think he's going to be able to do that, at least not in year 1..

Duncan and Ginobili look like they're in phenomenal shape(age considering)..usually they work their way into it to start the season(especially the latter), but it appears like they're both entering the RS immediately ready..

I can see Duncan Spurs MVP of the season tbh which would be pretty funny after the offseason we had

[jyra]

West is obviously a known commodity but I'm still impressed how seamlessly he has fit in already. He displayed a good balance between taking that mid range J and passing/attacking off the dribble. He also doesn't seem to mind getting physical on the defense end. I can't wait to see him team up with Boris and really stretch out the floor (Bobo and Bobi has to be the best nickname combo in the league).

[SAGirl]

Thanks Chinook for a detailed impression, and Harlem for good basketball feedback. I have to agree with you both.

The most interesting comment was Chinook' s on Kawhi's Melo light offense. I am not a fan of it either. It's not bound to create many good looks for anyone and he often just takes contested shots when something else might be available. Last year he was forcefully fed the ball and the whole thing was so mechanical and he wasn't very good to start. If was probably part of the process of getting him into a different mentality of less deferral to others. I felt like Pop went away from the forceful feeds and strict play calls, to let it grow more organically the second part of the season. Kawhi now takes the post ups he wants, when there is nothing else available on offense, and keeps playing off the ball and off the dribble. It's better that way, I guess.

On Anderson next to Manu. He will not be optimally utilized in lineups that have other guys dominate the ball to create open 3 point shots like Manu does bc he not a pure shooter. It seems like Manu always drives to pass to a shooter these days since he can't consistently get to the rim and finish himself. It made playing Cojo a bad fit next to him, since Manu wasn't really setting Cojo up for anything and yet Cojo was not a talented enough passer or player that would make you give him the ball instead of Manu. Marco was perfect next to him bc not only was he a fearless shooter, but he also moved extremely well without the ball making him a terrific target for passes. Kyle is something else. What he is at this level is still developing before our very eyes and he's got potential that Cojo did not show this early. Him going into a s is likely the fact that he's a reluctant shooter from 3. He's going to take the shot if he's wide open, but he is not going to let it fly fearlessly like a Butler, Marco, or Mills. It is conundrum for Pop bc Anderson is clearly the better all-around player of the current backup options, he is just not the best shooter. I think these two (Manu and Kyle) will figure it out bc Manu is in a diminished role at this stage of his career, he here to help not necessarily be the epicenter of what's going on and w are bound to see Kyle more aggressive in the future particularly if he is making his shots. Last night to close out a quarter they gave the ball to Mills in the last possession. He botched it, but it give you an idea good what Pop is doing.

I think the whole experiment with Ray at the end was to gauge his leadership. Kyle has shown incredible leadership for a guy of his experience and his age. In that first game he clearly took control of things when he needed to, set others up and gave them structure and cohesion. Guys were running simple sets but they looked like a team. It should be no surprise since he did it in SL. Anyways, I think Pop just wants to see if Ray could exhibit the Sam leadership in getting guys into sets and stuff like that. Since Ray is new for Pop, it's a good idea to know what he does, so they can help him develop.

[dabom]

Thanks Chinook for a detailed impression, and Harlem for good basketball feedback. I have to agree with you both.

The most interesting comment was Chinook' s on Kawhi's Melo light offense. I am not a fan of it either. It's not bound to create many good looks for anyone and he often just takes contested shots when something else might be available. Last year he was forcefully fed the ball and the whole thing was so mechanical and he wasn't very good to start. If was probably part of the process of getting him into a different mentality of less deferral to others. I felt like Pop went away from the forceful feeds and strict play calls, to let it grow more organically the second part of the season. Kawhi now takes the post ups he wants, when there is nothing else available on offense, and keeps playing off the ball and off the dribble. It's better that way, I guess.

On Anderson next to Manu. He will not be optimally utilized in lineups that have other guys dominate the ball to create open 3 point shots like Manu does bc he not a pure shooter. It seems like Manu always drives to pass to a shooter these days since he can't consistently get to the rim and finish himself. It made playing Cojo a bad fit next to him, since Manu wasn't really setting Cojo up for anything and yet Cojo was not a talented enough passer or player that would make you give him the ball instead of Manu. Marco was perfect next to him bc not only was he a fearless shooter, but he also moved extremely well without the ball making him a terrific target for passes. Kyle is something else. What he is at this level is still developing before our very eyes and he's got potential that Cojo did not show this early. Him going into a s is likely the fact that he's a reluctant shooter from 3. He's going to take the shot if he's wide open, but he is not going to let it fly fearlessly like a Butler, Marco, or Mills. It is conundrum for Pop bc Anderson is clearly the better all-around player of the current backup options, he is just not the best shooter. I think these two (Manu and Kyle) will figure it out bc Manu is in a diminished role at this stage of his career, he here to help not necessarily be the epicenter of what's going on and w are bound to see Kyle more aggressive in the future particularly if he is making his shots. Last night to close out a quarter they gave the ball to Mills in the last possession. He botched it, but it give you an idea good what Pop is doing.

I think the whole experiment with Ray at the end was to gauge his leadership. Kyle has shown incredible leadership for a guy of his experience and his age. In that first game he clearly took control of things when he needed to, set others up and gave them structure and cohesion. Guys were running simple sets but they looked like a team. It should be no surprise since he did it in SL. Anyways, I think Pop just wants to see if Ray could exhibit the Sam leadership in getting guys into sets and stuff like that. Since Ray is new for Pop, it's a good idea to know what he does, so they can help him develop.

Kawhi had pink eye and the team wasn't giving Kawhi any spacing or feeding him correctly last season. I thought everyone knew that was why Kawhi was struggling last year.

[HarlemHeat37]

Ya, as much as I love Kawhi and his all-around game, I've been vocal here about being against having a SF run your offense, it's a tough position to build around, only exceptions being point-forward types like Lebron/Bird..even a historical talent like Durant has trouble getting the proper amount of shots and looks(you can blame Westbrook, but a lot of is the difficulty of the position IMO)..Carmelo's history is known, Paul Pierce never anchored a good offense until Garnett/Allen had equal footing with the Celtics, Pacers offense sucked with Paul George, etc..

He could be the best player on a le team(which he would be if the Spurs win, now, he's better than Aldridge), but I don't think he should be the #1 scorer on a le team..

I'm not a huge Aldridge fan, as I've said many times, although I was very happy that the Spurs got him, of course..his style of play is not conducive to winning IMO, but I'm not worried about that, I think he'll accept his role and fit in well with the high-lows and the pick and pops..hopefully more 3-pointers, too..

However, I think there will be some transition pains for the Spurs, early this season..although they will still be playing team-oriented, intelligent basketball, they're building an offensive system around 2 mid-range shooting forwards, which is quite the change from previous years, and against the trend of the current NBA..

[dabom]

Ya, as much as I love Kawhi and his all-around game, I've been vocal here about being against having a SF run your offense, it's a tough position to build around, only exceptions being point-forward types like Lebron/Bird..even a historical talent like Durant has trouble getting the proper amount of shots and looks(you can blame Westbrook, but a lot of is the difficulty of the position IMO)..Carmelo's history is known, Paul Pierce never anchored a good offense until Garnett/Allen had equal footing with the Celtics, Pacers offense sucked with Paul George, etc..

He could be the best player on a le team(which he would be if the Spurs win, now, he's better than Aldridge), but I don't think he should be the #1 scorer on a le team..

I'm not a huge Aldridge fan, as I've said many times, although I was very happy that the Spurs got him, of course..his style of play is not conducive to winning IMO, but I'm not worried about that, I think he'll accept his role and fit in well with the high-lows and the pick and pops..hopefully more 3-pointers, too..

However, I think there will be some transition pains for the Spurs, early this season..although they will still be playing team-oriented, intelligent basketball, they're building an offensive system around 2 mid-range shooting forwards, which is quite the change from previous years, and against the trend of the current NBA..

This team is the best team in the league by a wide margin when Kawhi is our leading scorer. This team is ready for a SF-centric team as long as Tony stays in role player mode and not chuck mode.

[HarlemHeat37]

This team is the best team in the league by a wide margin when Kawhi is our leading scorer. This team is ready for a SF-centric team as long as Tony stays in role player mode and not chuck mode.

I don't think there's a problem with Kawhi leading the team in scoring, but I think it has to be a balanced attack and distribution of shots, rather than the conventional "#1 option vs. the rest or Kobe/Shaq vs. the rest" type of hierarchy..

[dabom]

I don't think there's a problem with Kawhi leading the team in scoring, but I think it has to be a balanced attack and distribution of shots, rather than the conventional "#1 option vs. the rest or Kobe/Shaq vs. the rest" type of hierarchy..

I don't wan't Kawhi shooting 30 shots a ball game. I just feel he needs to touch the ball every possession. The teams need to go for him or duncan at the end of games. They both got them into that position and it should be them for more than just the last shot.

[Chinook]

I'd say the Spurs would be easy le favorites has Splitter been kept on instead of Diaw. Mills/Manu/Butler/West/Splitter is about as good of a bench lineup as you could hope for outside of replacing Butler with a strong three-and-D player. People forget that Tiago was an awesome bench player, especially offensively. Spurs are going to miss him on both ends.

Now that the big men of the second unit are not an ideal match, getting good production out of that backup SF spot is important. Anderson can play off the ball -- he showed that in the summer league trading off with Simmons. But he can't just be a shooter. The team has supposedly been looking for a secondary play-maker on the bench, and Kyle can do that if the team is serious about adding that element to their team. That means that Manu will have to play off the ball like he does with Parker on a large chunk of the possessions. It may not be the most efficient thing to do in games, but it will probably be better long-term anyway.

The problem with Kawhi and LMA is that they don't seem to make quick enough decisions when they're in the post. Diaw is the best post-player on the team because he doesn't waste time while he's there. He goes into his set up moves quickly and passes as soon as he forces the movement. He doesn't pass because the defense makes it too hard for him to score, which is what LMA and Leonard tend to do. He passes because he knows there's a better shot that just opened up. That's not an easy thing to teach, but it's about the only way a post game can fit the Spurs' philosophy with mucking up the works..

[Chinook]

I don't wan't Kawhi shooting 30 shots a ball game. I just feel he needs to touch the ball every possession. The teams need to go for him or duncan at the end of games. They both got them into that position and it should be them for more than just the last shot.

Well, the Spurs do need a new closer with Manu and Tony aging. But I don't know if it should be Kawhi. His offensively game isn't all that versatile. He's a good post player and adequate shooter, but he takes a ton of poor shots if he had to create. You don't want that in crunch-time unless you have no other option.

[dabom]

I'd say the Spurs would be easy le favorites has Splitter been kept on instead of Diaw. Mills/Manu/Butler/West/Splitter is about as good of a bench lineup as you could hope for outside of replacing Butler with a strong three-and-D player. People forget that Tiago was an awesome bench player, especially offensively. Spurs are going to miss him on both ends.

Now that the big men of the second unit are not an ideal match, getting good production out of that backup SF spot is important. Anderson can play off the ball -- he showed that in the summer league trading off with Simmons. But he can't just be a shooter. The team has supposedly been looking for a secondary play-maker on the bench, and Kyle can do that if the team is serious about adding that element to their team. That means that Manu will have to play off the ball like he does with Parker on a large chunk of the possessions. It may not be the most efficient thing to do in games, but it will probably be better long-term anyway.

The problem with Kawhi and LMA is that they don't seem to make quick enough decisions when they're in the post. Diaw is the best post-player on the team because he doesn't waste time while he's there. He goes into his set up moves quickly and passes as soon as he forces the movement. He doesn't pass because the defense makes it too hard for him to score, which is what LMA and Leonard tend to do. He passes because he knows there's a better shot that just opened up. That's not an easy thing to teach, but it's about the only way a post game can fit the Spurs' philosophy with mucking up the works..

The thing about splitter is sometimes you get 2014 and sometimes you get 2015. One solid choice is to drop him and get a more consistent player that shows up to work everyday.

[dabom]

Well, the Spurs do need a new closer with Manu and Tony aging. But I don't know if it should be Kawhi. His offensively game isn't all that versatile. He's a good post player and adequate shooter, but he takes a ton of poor shots if he had to create. You don't want that in crunch-time unless you have no other option.

People also didn't want to feed Kawhi last year because it might hurt the team. Kawhi needs experience in those situations so we don't need to ask if he can do it in the playoffs.

[TheDoctor]

Aggressive and making plays for his teammates as well. So good the pick and pop with LMA and this play...

Such a smoothly automatic play when you have OG Tim Duncan as your big man.

[Chinook]

The thing about splitter is sometimes you get 2014 and sometimes you get 2015. One solid choice is to drop him and get a more consistent player that shows up to work everyday.

Replacing Greg Oden with Andre Miller doesn't eliminate the need for Oden. The Spurs had and still don't have a replacement for Splitter on either end of the floor. Had they been able to S&T for Braden Wright or something along those lines, it would have helped their offense. But their aren't very many anchor-caliber defenders who can also suck in a defense with their rim-rolling.

[Chinook]

People also didn't want to feed Kawhi last year because it might hurt the team. Kawhi needs experience in those situations so we don't need to ask if he can do it in the playoffs.

Or they can try out a number of players instead of just appointing Leonard.

[dabom]

Replacing Greg Oden with Andre Miller doesn't eliminate the need for Oden. The Spurs had and still don't have a replacement for Splitter on either end of the floor. Had they been able to S&T for Braden Wright or something along those lines, it would have helped their offense. But their aren't very many anchor-caliber defenders who can also suck in a defense with their rim-rolling.

Except we didn't replace greg oden with andre miller. We replaced Tiago with Duncan and replaced Duncan with LMA. We don't need to replace tiago with another clone. We upgraded with the LMA acquisition. Tiago doesn't space the floor or draw defenders like LMA. And our defense is anchored by KAwhi and Duncan not 20 mins of Tiago vs the second team.

[dabom]

Or they can try out a number of players instead of just appointing Leonard.

As much as people like to believe we share the ball in crunch time, we always gave the ball to manu and/or dumped it off to duncan even these past few years. We should do the same to Kawhi while he has great teammates.

[Chinook]

Except we didn't replace greg oden with andre miller. We replaced Tiago with Duncan and replaced Duncan with LMA. We don't need to replace tiago with another clone. We upgraded with the LMA acquisition. Tiago doesn't space the floor or draw defenders like LMA. And our defense is anchored by KAwhi and Duncan not 20 mins of Tiago vs the second team.

Tim isn't Tiago. He's a better overall player, but Tiago is a more versatile defender and a more agile roll-man. And LMA is not Duncan. He's not as good and doesn't have the same skill-set. The point I was making is that the Spurs are missing a center on both sides of the ball. The fact that he was "less reliable" than West doesn't somehow eliminate the fact that the Spurs are missing that.

As much as people like to believe we share the ball in crunch time, we always gave the ball to manu and/or dumped it off to duncan even these past few years. We should do the same to Kawhi while he has great teammates.

Yes, that's mostly true. But it's not like the Spurs couldn't change that now.