Pau/LMA are most likely going to be closing games so Dedmon/Lee would be getting a good chunk of their minutes in the first 3 quarters of the game which is fine as long as Pop doesn't roll out the LMA/Lee frontline.
WTF is your point besides making an ass out of yourself?
Your dumb ass just proved me RIGHT. Kanter is a ty defender & is rated APPROPRIATELY as the worst defender on OKC by DBPM.
Pau/LMA are most likely going to be closing games so Dedmon/Lee would be getting a good chunk of their minutes in the first 3 quarters of the game which is fine as long as Pop doesn't roll out the LMA/Lee frontline.
Reading comprehension, I said against GSW. He really only has two players that he can conceivably guard, one is Curry and the other is 6'7 PG who posts up opposing guards. Cutting Lee and Mills out of the rotation might be something the Spurs have to do.
As much as you think we can go with this big lineup, it rarely works. You never see Pop do this because it messes up all assignments for both pg and sg. It rarely happens and you expect a whole series? Come on guy. You can do better.
Lee can play when Curry is off the floor b/c Livingston doesn't run PnRs & their backup bigs suck:
Now there is an actual real take in this post, the issue with having Manu playing the backup 1 is that it creates about 20 minutes that has to be filled.
If Manu were to play the final four minutes of the 1st and 3rd quarter, and 1st four minutes of the 2nd and 4th quarter, along with the final four minutes of the each half that is still only 24 minutes with 8 of them at 2 guard (playing alongside Parker, instead of backing him up)
Ginobili normally plays in the 24-28 minute range in the playoffs at SG so that would leave 16-20 minutes unfilled. One way would be to tie Greens minutes to Curry's (if Curry plays 37 mpg then Green does too) since Green will be guarding him pretty much every second he is on the floor anyway with KL on Durant. Not a fan of this because if Green is cold from the floor (especially on the road) then his only positive on offense is spacing (teams aren't going to sag off him regardless of whether he is hitting from 3 or not)
To fill the remaining 12 minutes the Spurs could play either Simmons (for defense and his ability to attack the rim) or Bertans (shooting to help replace the 3pt spacing Mills gave).
It would be easier from a rotation stand point to simply play Mills but he has struggled against bigger guards in the past and Livingston is one of the taller PGs in the NBA with a tendency to post other guards. Spurs will probably have to play him anyways.
I consider Lee as the 10th big, which he seems to be good for that role but I think the Spurs would be better suited going with Anderson at the four ,especially if he takes a step forward in his offense, particularly hitting 3's. Spurs are eventually going to have to go small in that series and I think that pairing Anderson with Gasol would be a better against their second unit.
I think that their bigs are fine but there isn't much depth there. I am curious to see how Kerr handles the bench rotation, I think he might go Livingston, Thompson, Iggy, Dray, and West or West and Varejao either way I think Anderson makes more sense against that rotation.
Fat Head would be useful against Draymond if Pau/LMA are getting torched on PnRs.
Still, it leads to an awkward rotation, which was probably somewhat responsible for him refusing to go away from the Diaw/West front line, even against the best rebounding team in the league.
Unfortunately, we'll probably see a Lee/Dedmon front line, but eventually, even if it takes until the playoffs, expect only one to be in the rotation.
Pop will definitely play an Aldridge/Lee front line. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Lee is the first big off the bench.
It would be terrible if that's the case.
Sean Lee is the best defender on our team, what are you talking about?
Just needs to stay healthy this year.
two seasons ago LMA was actually 7th, i believe, in rim protection for the Blazers at about 46% FG% allowed at the rim. He was actually ranked higher than Duncan and M. Gasol. He isn't going to be an achor but he is a solid defender at the rim, in the post and is mobile enough to defend a bit on the perimeter. Gasol is apparently a solid rim protector as well and based on everything that I've heard and read about Dedmon, he is definitely an above average rim protector too and may be able to be a good p&r defender on top of that.
I think LMA/Gasol would be a great paring offensively in the SL but the LMA/ Dedmon pairing could be equally as good together on defense in the SL.
Dedmon and Lee together create spacing issues that are worse than Duncan and Splitter toward the end. Anderson doesn't hardly shoot 3's but is an elite mid range shooter that would mean that the front court really only has one guy who could consistently shoot from outside the paint. Mills is streaky and Manu is hot and cold from 3 so I don't love that unit. Pairing Lee and Gasol is a better fit because Lee can be the roll man, Gasol can pick and pop or post the spacing would be less of an issue on a team that really doesn't have much shooting among its actual rotation.
It wouldn't surprised me either. It might not even be the worst thing, just need to see how it all pans out. I like the idea of Pau off the bench and Dedmon starting w/LMA but that won't be the case from the jump. I think Lee adds a little of what Boris did, a guy who can handle the ball, rebounds well, and a solid passer.
No. 1: I expect Kyle to be shooting and spotting up at the 3 point line same as Boris did and possibly shooting more frequently than Boris, since Boris was passing up shots and had not hit even a single one for like 6 weeks prior to the playoffs. He was that bad last season passing up the 3.
No. 2: Bertans is an elite sniper.
No. 3: comparing TD/Splitter to Lee/Dedmon is not the same thing. Neither is that good of a passer as the guys you are comparing them to. In the playoffs they still had to be split up too.
No. 4: Mills will continue to be streaky, but Manu overall had a very good 3 pt shooting season. The old man can't be taken for granted though so Bertans joining the team is a plus.
No. 5: The team still can pick up Forbes for Manu rest days/Mills possible injuries. Dude is an elite 3 pt shooter. Shooting is not going to be an issue for the Spurs like it was last season in the bench at least (Danny is on his own with his chemistry issues and Tony is not a volume 3 pt shooter).
No. 6: Concerning point No. 3, If Pop is foreseeing the possibility in the playoffs the paint clogging duo of Lee/Dedmon can't be paired up, he can just bench Lee entirely, but if he wants the stretch forwards to play, they need to play in the RS. They are too young and need the playing time to develop. This is not a Bonner situation where you can dust off the old vet without him having played regularly that spot through the season. The Spurs need to develop their young players if they expect to count on them in the playoffs and I think Spurs want to push the young players along.
Speights is a better player than Lee, tbh..
Powerful take from a powerful poster
If Pop went the Diaw/D-Worst route then it would be Lee/Dedmon playing the majority of their minutes together which won't be as horrific considering Lee can set screens & be a facilitator from the high post like Bogut while Dedmon rim runs or cleans up the offensive board. Patty would have to be the main catalyst just like on the Boomers when he played w/ Bogut/Baynes while Manu plays the Delly role.
Bertans would have to be the wing w/ that lineup b/c Fat Head would screw up the spacing. (Kyle might have to be promoted to a Boban role)
If Lee is Diaw, he's not going to be faring any better than the real Diaw, who was benched in the last game of the season and traded thereafter for an upgrade.
...as long he isn't playing center, Lee is an upgrade over Diaw 1.0
Center is what he will play in a small lineup. I am going to let this one fall on your lap.
Diaw would go through stretches of seeming to play bored/lazy. It was frustrating... Lee could be a guy trying to make a name for himself again and be a bit more motivated, so we'll see. Heck when Diaw got here, he was cut by the worst team in the league and not getting any real burn, and turned out to be a different player when he signed.
All we can do is just hope Lee performs well. We will need as much depth and firepower as possible
Gasol off the bench won't be the case period and Diaw is a pathetic rebounder.
I'm not concerned with who the first big off the bench is, so much as how the rotation works. Does he play Lee and Dedmon together? Is he open to not having Lee in the rotation? If so, is Lee aware of and okay with this?
Unfortunately, an Anderson-Lee-Dedmon front line is probably the plan, at least going in.
Whether worthy or not, Anderson will probably not only be handed a rotation spot throughout, but battle Mills for the most total minutes off the bench.
If only West would have re-signed, this could have been mostly cleared up. He'd have been a much better fit next season than last and then he'll be on the Warriors. Incidentally, Lee would have been a much better fit for them.
Diaw/West was bad because neither was a center. Lee/Dedmon will be bad because neither is a PF.
I agree that having West instead of Lee would be ideal. West/Dedmon would have been pretty good, especially with Manu to hit Dedmon on the PnR to open up even more space for West's shooting.
If the Spurs really do plan to use Anderson (and even Bertans) as a 4, though, West would just inhibit their growth. I hope that Lee ends up being the 5th big.
The entire thread was spawned out of Kawhitstorm hate on Kyle Anderson. He keeps devising all these plans and lineups to keep Anderson glued to the deep bench... In fact suggesting Anderson remain a strict deep bench player padding stats in garbage time like Boban at the beginning of this thread. It's obviously an agenda motivated thread and very ridiculous bc Anderson was already a rotation player last season. Given his youth and shooting improvements he is in fact poised to trend up, not down, and the Spurs are likely expecting him to be able to play more minutes than he did last season.
The subject of how Lee can contribute to the team is in itself an interesting discussion, but it's been tainted by KStorm's agenda.
At this point, I agree with Seventyniner who said:
I am sure Pop will play with lineups regardless and find minutes for everyone through the season, because he did that for all his players last season and everyone had opportunities to fill in roles."Diaw/West was bad because neither was a center. Lee/Dedmon will be bad because neither is a PF."
As for TD 21, I always find your posts insightful and spot on, even though I may have a different view. I like that your posts are not agenda driven and you usually tells it like it is.
bklynspursfan I know you are a team fan and so am I. Though my favorite is Anderson, I still want what is best for the team and stated that already. Lee is a gimmicky player though, needing specific guys to both cover for him and space the floor for him. He's not easily fit in with anybody and I expect Pop to push the young forwards anyways bc the team needs to rebuild the depth they have hemorrhaged the past couple of seasons with younger players. I expect Lee to provide support minutes when LMA/Pau/Dedmon face foul trouble, rest or injuries, and maybe times when Bertans and/or Anderson are benched to get a tongue lashing from Pop, but ultimately it is in the team's interest to push the last two along to develop and do well and they will get chances to do that.
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