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They had Timmy stop playing that role because it reduced how beat up he was getting. It makes more sense to have Aldridge doing it, as he can dominate on offense if he's going toward the basket instead of passively waiting to take long jumpers.
Baynes was really underrated as a bench big because of the comparison to Splitter, but one thing that I noticed about Baynes is that he did all the blue collar stuff. He boxed out every time and hard, there was no big getting by him if he put a body on him. West doesn't do that. West has better rebounding numbers than Diaw but that is deceptive unless you watch the games. Bobo boxes out every time, he's not grabbing boards but he's boxing out allowing others to grab them. West tends to ball watch a whole lot and fails to box out bigs often. Its quite frankly a noticeable deficiency, bc he can't do anything much about his lack of lateral quickness and such, but he can box out and doesn't. I have accepted players are not perfect and he does bring a whole lot to our bench, and has frankly turned up his effort after the Chicago game, but defensive rebounding is a team effort and if your bigs don't box out the other big, we are not getting that board.
They had Timmy stop playing that role because it reduced how beat up he was getting. It makes more sense to have Aldridge doing it, as he can dominate on offense if he's going toward the basket instead of passively waiting to take long jumpers.
Missing shots that are out of their range doesn't spread the court. I guess I understand why so many people blindly chase that extra point regardless of the drop in percentage, but I'm glad Pop isn't one of those.
Good point on aldridge, he needs to start mixing up his game, roll to the basket a bit more. Plus him and west need to do a better job setting screens
Great post, thanks. I agree with everything, just wanted to add how impressed I've been with Anderson's progression on defense. He was supposed to be a terrible defender, but eye test says something different. He's been very good on that end IMO. It does seem like he's Pop's whipping boy this season, but this is actually a good sign, it shows Pop sees a lot in him.
He's also got a few good moves offensively and despite him not being all that great at anything yet, apart from rebounding from his position, he's got the basics of a few very good NBA skills. He also plays with the sort of confidence that I've see in Cory Joseph in his early seasons - he also couldn't do anything too well back then, but you could see he plays the right way and was developing, so I think and hope Anderson follows CoJo's career path, so far I think they're very similar.
Who knew SlowMo was such a good shot-blocker. As far as offense I think he should shoot more when he's open. He like a lot of others are passing up really good looks.
Thanks for the write up OP. I really enjoyed reading it.
I was big on the idea of benching Duncan for Diaw/West only to avoid a Diaw West lineup. But seeing the defense getting better and better, i don't know if i would want to mess with it. Hopefully Pop figures out a way to limit their time together on the floor. I hated seeing Noah grabbing rebound after rebound over diaw and west. Really annoying game.
Though I know you didn't talk about the big 3, I am interested in what you think about how Parker has adjusted to his role. He's shooting 56% from the field but only averaging 9 attempts per game which his lowest since his rookie year. This tells me he's looking more to pass the ball and taking his shots when he sees there is a good opportunity to do so. What do you think?
Thanks! Nice write-up!
Designing a play to involve both can help to develop chemistry.
We never saw the 1-3 PnR with Parker and Kawhi often, hopefully Pop doesn't do the same with Kawhi/Aldridge and we can see more two-man game between them in the next games.
The Spurs' fortunes have been tied to the production of Tony Parker since he first suited up for the team. That hasn't changed. This Tony Parker is the one I expected to see late last season. Better late than never.
TP's increased production this year is a function of:
1. Health - first and foremost
2. No longer being the focal point of every other team's defense. This is attributable, imo, to a combination of Kawhi's emergence as a superstar and the addition of Aldridge.
I think this is spot-on. I'd say the development of the offense that looked so good in the finals is also a factor. Parker kind of got left behind by the pick and roll. He seems to be catching up, and he can slash or shoot or pass when there's an opportunity. His ability to do that should also limit the wear and tear on him because he isn't having to go in among the trees 40 times a game.
Solid Post OV!
It's going to be hard for West to find his niche, and come playoff time he'll most likely be the odd man out in terms of minutes. If somehow he ends up earning quality minutes come PO time, then awesome - but I think he's fine watching from the outside in.
Damn fine post! And, yeah, I think the two man game between those two could become something other teams fear. We know what they are both capable of. It just takes some time to develop the timing and recognition.
There's no reason to think that won't happen. None. But there's also no reason to expect it this soon.
I think you're also right that a signature play for them could go a long way. Much as I hate the storm that will probably follow for saying this - I think the two if them will play together more/better when Tim finally does retire. No mistake, I'm glad Tim is in there right now, and I'm enjoying all the time we have left to watch him. But I'm feeling a lot better about the future now, when he finally does retire. I think those two will be an awesome tandem, and we aren't going to see the full extent until they are the actual headliners.
The penetration doesn't have to come from the roll man. Taking Aldridge's big out of the lane allows cutters all day long. Ostensibly they could use it in the corner or up high exactly like they used to run with Tony/Bonner 2006-2011 except Aldridge is far more dynamic in what he can do out of that as opposed to the Bonner. Nevermind the defense.
The team hasn't even acclimated to what they already did. This notion that they will just stop there in what they try to do or complaining because it's not happening faster just seems obtuse to me.
yeah, basketball take!!! I'm determined that enough of that could eventually just squeeze out most of the bull , and make this a safe place to talk hoops again.
What did you mean by "never mind the defense"? (Not trying to pick a fight - just didn't understand what you were saying with that attached to the first part.)
I have had several in this thread. #READING
When I say nevermind <thing> it usually means that I don't think I need to talk about it because it's obvious. Your context clues in this case are Bonner and Aldridge as the nouns.
This is basically it.
You could say Kawhi/Aldridge's lack of chemistry at this point is one reason we struggled in close games, with the Big 3 coming to the rescue most of the time. The old Big 3 has a lot of chemistry and experience among them in tight game situations, so despite their age and reduced roles, they can still tap on their experience together to come through. When the Big 3 have struggled, (Chicago game for example) Kawhi/Aldridge are too inexperienced as a tandem (Kawhi being new as the main option, Aldridge being too new to the system) to have all this chemistry to close out games playing off each other. You are right the team is still tilted toward the other 3 particularly in close games and tight situations and it affects the dynamic for these two.
What kind of 2 man game can they develop I am not sure, because they are both iso players, although Aldridge spotting up more like you say, leaves others open for backcuts, but he's not yet able to hit cutters with passers, etc.
Look at that back-cut Manu made last game. And look at the incredible timing that play took. Tim had to turn that like a second baseman turning a double play. There was no margin for error, and if they didn't totally know each other that play would have looked like... well, like a lot of the ugly plays we've seen so far this year. Those things happen seamlessly because the FO has kept this core together for so long. Not that other teams can't/don't run plays like that. But a lot of the time those plays get busted.
They're both iso players right now. Hide and watch. That's just my opinion, and only time will tell.
LOL... I'll overlook the mild case of the red-ass.
I couldn't tell if you were saying something about the opposing defenses, or Bonner's defense, or the Spurs' defense with those two on the floor. I thought you might have been getting at something more than just "Aldridge is a better defender than Bonner". Since that's what you were saying, then yes I agree - Aldridge is, in fact, a better defender than Bonner.
So what exactly is the grade everyone is giving for the Spurs so far?
without reading the op, I'm thinking A- / A territory
Pop tries to build chemistry between Aldridge and Parker as the priority, that makes sense since both excel at PnR and pick and pop situations.
But at some point of the season, Pop should involve Aldridge-Kawhi as a tandem because our Big 3 will have tough matchups in playoffs and we'll need more of the other two guys.
We saw Kawhi running some nice pick and rolls with Tim, he won't be Nash...but he's improving.
Spurs taking a wet shart all over the league. Great times to be a fan.
This is going to be key in the playoffs if Pop is adamant about playing a Diaw/West bench pairing. Theyre already undersized and rebounding needs to be an all hand on deck affair. Good insight.
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