The New Starting 5

[Spurtacular]

But, Mills is an undersized SG. He never played PG on offense, Manu did.

Mills and Manu played like combo guards together; but I don't think you were paying attention if you're calling into question Mills ability to play point. The debate is how many minutes he can reasonably be expected to do so.

[Big Empty]

Danny Greens dribbling and driving ability is the teams weakness.

[SpursforSix]

Danny Greens dribbling and driving ability is the teams weakness.

Is there any starting SG in the league that is worse? It's hard to fathom that he hasn't developed a passable floater or any kind of ability to lay it up in traffic.

[PublicOption]

Josh Maggette....we need this guy..fast.

[DAF86]

Well, you followed up your hyperbole-laced post with an assertion that 15 million a year is "all-star money" (Parker 40th highest salary last year) and that Tony Parker is a "below average player" (16.2 PER last year). Then you later said that the Spurs need a "big time scorer" rather than people to play defense and distribute the ball. Frankly, when you say something that isn't either completely provably incorrect or outright re ed then I might be ready to analyze it.

If your agenda is just to bag on Tony Parker, start with something true, like that he's been a huge disappointment in the playoffs the last three years, and you might get some agreement. I'm fully on board the, "Parker needs to transform to a pass-first guard" train. Plenty of room.

Nah, we need an explosive guard that scores in bunches to keep up with GS.

[lilbthebasedgod]

Our starting 5 probably improved. Our bench declined if duncan chooses to go. With how much better the warriors got its certainly gonna be tough if not impossible

[bklynspursfan]

Spurs had the best record in franchise history last season with a brand new focal point on offense. We'll be fine this year. We don't need to worry about Golden State until we meet them in the playoffs. By then a lot of things can happen.

+1

[BillMc]

Spurs had the best record in franchise history last season with a brand new focal point on offense. We'll be fine this year. We don't need to worry about Golden State until we meet them in the playoffs. By then a lot of things can happen.

Truth.

[RD2191]

The SL looks solid but it's tough to see how good they'll be with a 300lb anchor starting at PG tbh.

[lmbebo]

can see kyle getting much more burn next year. More of a ball handler, point forward.

[Taking it to the Hole]

I can see Pop giving more minutes to Anderson and trying to mold him into a point-forward when really I don't think that is a good idea. I wish he would allow Kawhi to bring the ball up and get people into the right offense but it might be too much to ask of Pop to do. If Manu comes back, then he may just have him assume more PG duties but unfortunately Parker is still our starter. I would like to remain optimistic and hope that he can rediscover a semblance of his former self but now with Boris, his best friend gone, I fear he is going to play a lot worse.

[ElNono]

Well, you followed up your hyperbole-laced post with an assertion that 15 million a year is "all-star money" (Parker 40th highest salary last year) and that Tony Parker is a "below average player" (16.2 PER last year). Then you later said that the Spurs need a "big time scorer" rather than people to play defense and distribute the ball. Frankly, when you say something that isn't either completely provably incorrect or outright re ed then I might be ready to analyze it.

If your agenda is just to bag on Tony Parker, start with something true, like that he's been a huge disappointment in the playoffs the last three years, and you might get some agreement. I'm fully on board the, "Parker needs to transform to a pass-first guard" train. Plenty of room.

To be fair, he posted a 14.3 PER in last season's playoffs and a dismal 6.5 PER in the previous season's playoffs. That puts hims squarely into the "below average player" category, at least when the compe ion is challenging.

That doesn't mean he can't change his role and be back to being more productive. But it has to happen.

[Obstructed_View]

To be fair, he posted a 14.3 PER in last season's playoffs and a dismal 6.5 PER in the previous season's playoffs. That puts hims squarely into the "below average player" category, at least when the compe ion is challenging.

That doesn't mean he can't change his role and be back to being more productive. But it has to happen.

To be fair, if you'd read my entire post that you quoted, it falls more squarely into the "huge disappointment in the playoffs" category. He was above average for the season, then the bed in the playoffs. Unfortunately he wasn't the only Spur to do that.

[ElNono]

To be fair, if you'd read my entire post that you quoted, it falls more squarely into the "huge disappointment in the playoffs" category. He was above average for the season, then the bed in the playoffs. Unfortunately he wasn't the only Spur to do that.

He's actually been s in November and progressively gotten worse as the season rolls on. That's basically the modus operandi in the last couple of seasons. Let's hope Pop and him have something figured out to combat that this season.

[Obstructed_View]

He's actually been s in November and progressively gotten worse as the season rolls on. That's basically the modus operandi in the last couple of seasons. Let's hope Pop and him have something figured out to combat that this season.

Yeah, I agree. He was amazing on both ends for a time, took a turn, and then crashed and burned late. The hot start is all that buoyed him. I've expected him to focus more on passing when he starts to wear down, as he's done in the past, and it hasn't happened.

This season, he has by far the best-shooting lineup around him that he's ever had. Most point guards only dream of having shooters like this around him. If his assist numbers don't go up a lot, then I'm going to stop defending him to the wolves who think he's useless.

[ElNono]

Yeah, I agree. He was amazing on both ends for a time, took a turn, and then crashed and burned late. The hot start is all that buoyed him. I've expected him to focus more on passing when he starts to wear down, as he's done in the past, and it hasn't happened.

This season, he has by far the best-shooting lineup around him that he's ever had. Most point guards only dream of having shooters like this around him. If his assist numbers don't go up a lot, then I'm going to stop defending him to the wolves who think he's useless.

Danny Green needs to have a of a season too, tbh... need more from him on offense

[Obstructed_View]

Danny Green needs to have a of a season too, tbh... need more from him on offense

Agreed. I think the spacing of having Aldridge really screwed him up. Seemed like he started to figure it out during the playoffs. A combination of two good bigs that can score inside and a Tony Parker that doesn't completely ignore his open teammates should get Danny some looks.

[Tully365]

PG by committee seems like the best plan... One hope is Kawhi can continue to improve as a ball-handler and take some minutes as a point forward a la Scottie Pippen. If he can do that even 5 MPG it could be an interesting difference. Parker's MPG average has gone down 4 seasons in a row and I expect that to continue. Mills's MPG last year was his highest as a Spur and I also expect that to continue. If anyone else-- Murray and/or Arcidiacono-- can provide 8-10 mpg at PG in addition to Manu, that'll be the best the Spurs can hope for... Ironically Kyle Anderson's best performances statistically came as a Diaw-style C (http://www.82games.com/1516/15SAS8.HTM), and his weakest performance came at PG, so that idea seems like it might be finished...

[spurtech09]

Starters look good but the back ups? Not so much.......

[hombre]

PG by committee seems like the best plan... One hope is Kawhi can continue to improve as a ball-handler and take some minutes as a point forward a la Scottie Pippen. If he can do that even 5 MPG it could be an interesting difference.

This.

Last season we saw Pop easing him into it by running more and more isos for Kawhi. Cleveland/Lebron used it effectively to control the tempo against the Warriors. Sort of a no brainer.

Best thread I've seen in this forum in a while. So many great posts.

[YGWHI]

One hope is Kawhi can continue to improve as a ball-handler and take some minutes as a point forward a la Scottie Pippen.

He has already improved, obviously not at Pippen/LeBron levels but we saw a significant progress in that area last season.

The real issue is he plays more minutes with Parker than other guards and Pop isn't ready to take the ball out of Parker's hands yet.

[YGWHI]

Why PATFO hasn't done that in the last few years probably tells you they believe Parker still has a couple more good years in him...

Because RC/Pop never made a mistake...

Like it or not, Parker's last two playoffs were bad, really bad. Can't remember a good playoffs series from him since the series against Blazers in 2014.

And remaining two years more on his contract.

[DMC]

Except, it's not good when you are briskly moving along and then get blown out of the water and made to look like a second rate team.

They are a second rate team if you consider the Cavs and Warriors 1st rate. What do you expect, a ring every season?

[cutewizard]

Over the course of the whole season, Golden State was not a great half-court team. They were good, but not great. Their real hammer came in the first 8-9 seconds of the shot clock. That was where their shooting percentages got jacked up so high, and it was where their biggest advantage could be seen. Part of the way to deal with that is obviously to play good transition defense. But my observation was that they fed off of other teams' bad shots. If Pau can still be a consistent low-post scorer, it's a HUGE plus when playing the Dubs.

I don't care how good a shooter is from distance, they still make a lower percentage of their attempts than good shooters in the paint. A 40% 3-point shooter is considered good, and they score 1.2 points per attempt over time. But that means that 60% of their attempts potentially provide opportunities for GS to jam it back down the court. A guy making 60% from close range still only scores 1.2 points per attempt. But only 40% of his attempts have a chance of leading to a fast break.

The point being that Pau's offensive game (which Tim was totally lacking at the end of the season) will lead to more points for the Spurs. But against teams like Golden State, it will lead to better defense for the Spurs, because they will have the opportunity to get back into their defense instead of constantly playing transition D.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the perfect statement of the offseason.

That is why the Warriors are still beatable.

Cheer up guys, the offseason is not over for us.

Starting line-up is ok, not lets have a of a bench!

[SAGirl]

This is my thinking. I would be surprised if we don't reach the Finals at least once in the next 3 years and (probably get a ring when we do). Though there will be some lumps in years we don't.

People criticizing the Pau signing should realize how much we'd fall if we didn't get him AND Duncan retired. Sometimes a good offseason is minimizing your losses. Ask OKC.

^^^Such a smart statement right here. kudos.