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It doesn't help that every time he shoots or passes the ball, the gravitational pull of his head curves the path of the ball so it will repeatedly go out of bounds.
Some guys ignore this bc they are in "vendingmachinehead" mode. Which right now is a description for themselves and their own hate, rather than for this Spur TBH.
I will put it succinctly. I think he could have done more, but Pop determines who gets the ball when, in what spots, and what shots they can take. Kyle had one weakness shooting all season: he wasn't a good 3 pt shooter. (Ppl can vendinemachinehead hate all they want and that is true, with respect to 3 pt shooting). He shot 50% on the midrange and had hot areas on the court and other shots he could have taken (in fact shot 2/4 in game 6), but for those critical games, Pop chose to just spot him up at the 3 and go to other guys. Basically ignored him. Durant also never left him open bc he didn't have to help off him, the other 4 guys on the court could be covered singlehandedly by their bigs. They all had an epic collapse and couldn't get anything going.
If anything, Pop picked his poison as far as I am concerned. When you play as a 5th option off the bench, you take what's there and not the shots you like and can make. Presumably others make you better as a roleplayer, but in Kyle's case they didn't. There were many times down the court, he didn't even touch the ball. He was lucky if he sat down having taken even 1-2 shots overall. He could have maybe done more, but he wasn't very involved so I can't condemn him any more than I would condemn others. Then you look around him and the other 4 dudes that were with him on the court were on an epic collapse and he was 22. What was he supposed to do, start a fisticuff fight on the court with mills or Dwest to get the ball? (Obviously I am getting cute and funny here hopefully making you smile). But you get the point. He wasn't a strong 3 pt shooter and you can condemn him for that when Pop knew it. There were other shots he could have taken at a good percentage, but they were not available for him bc they didn't call plays for him, and the rest was Pop and a bench collapse I guess.
Now 3 pt shooting was a big emphasis and he's improved. He's also young and getting better. At similar ages Danny was going icy on playoffs, Tony had the ocassional benching for poor shooting and Kawhi was missing key FT (maybe not the exact same age but within the range of a year and in terms of experience, similar or Kyle even less experience TBH). That is what we are talking about here. Now if the vendingmachinehead crew thinks a 22 year old (then) is doomed to not improve ever be my guest, I guess.
It doesn't help that every time he shoots or passes the ball, the gravitational pull of his head curves the path of the ball so it will repeatedly go out of bounds.
This is turning into another George Lucas, Lloyd Daniels situation.
Sweetpea!
I don't know them, but knowing you I think I don't want to know.
Lucas was the coach of the Spurs before that goober that Pop fired and took over. He had a fascination for a fringe player Lloyd Daniels, who had a unique skillset, much like Kyle, and just HAD to find minutes for him.
"Sweetpea" Daniels didn't last very long on the team, in the end. Long story short...
Hah knew Czar was negative. Dude always is.
If that is Kyle's fate, the Spurs are doomed. Believe you me, unfortunately they will be worse than last season's crappy playoff bench if Pop doesn't figure Kyle out.
KA has a unique opportunity and skillset to help the team, no doubt about it. But I also think it's a bit of a stretch to say the Spurs are doomed if Pop doesn't figure him out. That's not a knock at him at all either, I just think there's sort of an in between in there. The Spurs have had guys were talented go either due to FA or via trade, but they usually do fine and figure it out. They don't always make the right move every time, but more times than not they do.
Again, not a knock on your guy, and I know you get a lot of trolls on here, but I'm just basing off the the last 20 years or so how this team has operated.
Thanks for sharing and I appreciate it.KA has a unique opportunity and skillset to help the team, no doubt about it. But I also think it's a bit of a stretch to say the Spurs are doomed if Pop doesn't figure him out. That's not a knock at him at all either, I just think there's sort of an in between in there. The Spurs have had guys were talented go either due to FA or via trade, but they usually do fine and figure it out. They don't always make the right move every time, but more times than not they do.
Again, not a knock on your guy, and I know you get a lot of trolls on here, but I'm just basing off the the last 20 years or so how this team has operated.
But looking at the situation and obviously my opinion... (bc now everyone has to specify everything we share are our opinions bc that's not obvious apparently lol) Kyle raises the team's ceiling considerably. That is why he's getting minutes. This is not a charity act. Coach is not stating that it's obvious that they need to play him more out of the goodness of his heart, which is what ppl assume. He's reached a level where he makes the team better if he plays than if he doesn't. PPl can hate on that and dislike it, and prognosticate they aren't going anywhere with Kyle that way, but it is what it is.
Go get 'em boy. I hope you rip the doors off. That means the team I'm emotionally invested in succeeds. You don't? GTFO and I mean quick.
And the same can be said of a couple of contract year boys too. lol It's only surprising that he generates this division, when it's on a few guys realistically too. Hopefully the x-factor swings on the positive and not the other way lol
He warrants more attention than Simmons, or Mills to me. He actually could be somebody. He could be a contendah. Or he could be Lloyd Daniels.
I hope he brings the goods. If not, cut the cord. Simmons too. Mills maybe.
got you!
boy you are succint lol
Of course, Pop recognizes his talents and need to play him more. He adds a unique diversity. But like, if KA has an injury and misses 60 games, are the Spurs gonna miss the playoffs and crash? When you say they're doomed if he doesn't play/get figored out thats how I took it lol
I think the collective play of our 2nd unit will be huge to our success, but KA, Mills, Lee etc... will all need to perform to make this work. I don't see 1 guy on the bench being like Manu was for many years where the 2nd unit relied on him, yet at least. I think the biggest thing will be 3 point shooting that most of these guys need to be efficient/respectable.
You have a good point definitely bc the Spurs system is designed for the next man up. Technically only absences by Kawhi and LMA place the team in peril and I think I exaggerated.
But, I am hopeful he will be better than last season based on confidence from teammates and coach, being pushed, and his shooting improvements. He's young and one of the few guys I really expect to be better (J.Simms might be better too). That's why I think he raises the bench's ceiling considerably. It's possible quite honestly that he makes a leap his 3rd season and starts being noticeably better than other options the Spurs have in their bench and a guy they could go often to make things happen.
But again, you have a good point. Only absences from LMA and Kawhi should be noticeable. Usually the rest of the teammates can pick up what's lacking. I don't think Manu or Mills are irreplaceable either, but part of the reason Manu's production is no longer as key is Anderson's emergence as a playmaker and creator when Manu isn't playing.
Agreed... Patty's 3 point shooting will need to be where it was a couple years ago, that's def needed.. If he can get to that level his contract becomes a bargain.
Biggest things I'm hoping to see from KA is more confidence/quicker decisions with the ball, and improved 3 point shooting. He'll have the ball more, but there will be times when he'll have to be ready to catch/shoot too, depending on the unit he is playing with.
Manu will be Manu. Every now and again he'll have some flash back games. His per 36 numbers were quite good last year, and he shot the 3 ball at a near 40% clip. I'm just looking for him to hopefully continue to hit the 3 ball, and every now and again perform some Manu magic. He and KA will likely handle the rock the most I assume.
If the Spurs come to grips with the fact that Kyle isn't a point-forward and never will be, it will help. For all the we give KA, he became a decent 3P shooter. He only needed a bit of improvement to be what I would consider a good 3P shooter. That would be another step in the right direction.
The real drop dead issue for me is whether he has been hitting the weights. If he doesn't get stronger, he will always be a Gardner. If he does, he could be an adequate stretch 4. No matter what good qualities he has, he's not a point-anything. He was rebounding well by the end of last season. But if he's going to be inside where the rebounding happens, he's going to have to be able to mix it up with guys his height.
He needs to go to the same "nutritionist" as Draymond and put on about 20 pounds of muscle.
All good points.
Patty is actually kind of crucial bc of the lack of backcourt depth. I think Murray is realistically a year away from helping and maybe even 2. I saw that video from LMA mentioning how some of the guys are coming in fresh from college and were used to taking tough shots and how that gets away from Pop's system. Although LMA doesn't mention anyone by name, immediately I thought of Murray. He's the one guy that was doing that consistently in summer league. He's going to have a lot of growing pains. He's not nearly good enough to be chucking as he's prone to do and has to learn to defer and look for shots within the offense. I actually think Spurs are picking Laprovittola or Arci, they need a guard. I can't see them picking Garino when they need guard depth this badly, and that is not a knock on Garino. Garino's agent already outed out that he's dleague bound anyways, so I am looking more at the guards.
You will have to take that up with Coach. Pop was saying he could run the point, and wasn't joking. Anyways, I respect your take. Takes time to put on muscle naturally, but seeing pictures from his rookie season, he does look heavier, problem is that is not nearly heavy enough.
Player to Watch
Jordan Johnson/Getty Images
Anderson has two pairs of shoes to fill as he enters his third year. The Spurs will depend on him to supplant much of Diaw's end-to-end versatility while also expecting him to treat any defensive warts created by the mass exodus of frontcourt contributors.
Improving his jumper is now a must. Anderson has to be an average shooter for San Antonio to capitalize on his minutes at power forward. His three-point rate jumped by 5.1 points and more of his looks came outside 10 feet as a sop re.
Anderson's defensive adaptability will take care of the rest. His length allows him to shoot gaps on spot-up snipers, and he was solid as a stand-in rim protector. He also saved more points than Aldridge, per NBAMath.com, despite logging 1,016 fewer minutes and guarding mostly wings.
San Antonio needs another body that can shimmy between multiple assignments and take over a variety of responsibilities on offense and defense. And only one other qualified non-center has ever matched Anderson's defensive rebounding (19.4), assist (13), steal (2.4) and block percentages (1.7) through his sop re season: Charles Barkley.
It's time for the Spurs to take off the training wheels.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...season-preview
Last edited by SAGirl; 10-05-2016 at 04:27 PM.
His defense isn't the problem, he was one of the best defenders on the team during last year's RS..it's the offense, which was expected, as his niche is going to be difficult to develop(the "mismatch" type that is generally hit or miss in the NBA)..
Kyle gathering a lot of momentum. I hope the guy steps up this season. Now there is too much hype about him lol
some people never learn
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