We need to bomb Argentina. First candidate who proposes that wins my vote.
Well, we have the first cliff-jumper. You're right - LMA, Gasol, Tony, Danny, and Manu won't make a bit of ing difference. The season is wrecked.
Buncha guys who are either new to the NBA, or who are used to playing backup minutes against other bench players - on the road, and playing against their starters. And in case you didn't notice, Kawhi looked pretty ing good out there. So would the rest of our starters.
Don't jump just yet. There will be better cliffs later in the season.
This is not going to not sit well with ST the further we get into the season...
By position:
PG: I'm a bigger fan of Laprovittola than Arcidiacono, but they were pretty interchangeable. I think both could hang in the league. Lapro was better able to score, which will help him, but Arci's intangibles are very evident. Murray was a mess outside that run that I missed in the first quarter. Definitely think he needs time in the d-league. Dude washed out on too many screens.
SG: Garino looks like he can defend at the NBA level, which we figured from the Olympics. I wish I had seen more of him. While he'd probably be my pick to get the last spot, he wouldn't be a big loss if cut. Simmons looked good in comparison to everyone else, but I wasn't really in love with his game. Don't want to judge him or Anderson until they play with other legit bench players. Forbes can shoot, and he needs to make sure we all know it. He passed up too many shots. He's not going to make the Spurs unless he shoots lights-out. He just doesn't have the body or skill to be an all-around player at this time. So get that Neal mentality going, Bryn.
SF: Obviously, Kawhi was great. We were wondering if he's three-pointer would hold up, but it's looking like he might go straight-Curry. Pretty sure he's going to be shatter scouters if that happens. Kyle needed to be more aggressive, and that's on Pop. Dude was clearly the best scorer out there besides Kawhi for SA. He was fine defensively, as far as I saw. I don't think the Spurs have any reason to worry about this position except that both guys need to play to their potential.
PF: LJC has work to do, but I am more certain that he can be an NBA player than I was before. He's aggressive on the boards but not selfish enough to make a bad play once he grabs a rebound. His IQ seems fine on that end. But he has to figure out how to defend at an elite level. That's his path to the NBA, not grabbing a few boards before fouling out. Bertans was a fun player to watch. His ability to block shots is an asset for a potential second unit with him as the PF. But everything else on defense was lacking. He also needs a Neal mentality. He's not good enough as a big to be a stretch-four. He has to be so good on offense that he forces the other team to play small.
C: Anthony has a chance to make the team, and that won't be a good thing for the roster, but with Dedmon struggling, the team needs another solid big. Dewayne had a bad game, but you have to hope he'd be better with better supporting guys. He barely got a chance to be a rim-protector. Most of his and the team's fouls (many of which were bad calls) were not even on real shot-contests and especially not help situations, which is where you want Dedmon on that end. Lee didn't do much when I watched him. I guess I'll have to catch him next game.
As a general comment, I absolutely hate the reach-foul to stop a fastbreak. I think the NBA needs to eliminate that foul. Manu loves it, as do many Euros, but it takes away exciting plays and is a complete move. Honestly, I think all intentional fouls should be legislated out except in the last two minutes. That would cut down on FTs as well as add in more actual scores or defensive efforts.
Was sarcasm...
I think we're good for 55 wins. Actually more excited for this season than I have been in a long time. Kawhi's going to be incredible and we're going to see a lot of dunks![]()
Last edited by John Petrucci; 10-03-2016 at 11:56 PM.
Seriously. First they give us Manu, and we only have 5 chips in the Duncan era instead of 7 or 8.
Now they're polluting our roster with names I can't spell or pronounce like Laprovittola and Garino.
ing Mexicans.
Even if it was just situational, he was fun to watch. And tonight would have been one of those situations. I feel sorry for the league if he learns how to play the PnR.
Sup!
1-0!
Preseason!
sup J.... gg
Most of the good Spurs teams have had 2-3 bench guys who could go off for 18-20 on any given night. You didn't always know which one it would be, but one of them stepped up when they needed it fairly often. It would be nice if Bertans could be one of those guys. He's got the stroke for it.
I liked seeing him chase down that fast break near the end and swat the ball from behind. It had hit the glass, and they called the goaltending, but I still liked the hustle.
yo team clown
Just talking before it all turns to !
Booker, though... He's gots me hopeful!
More like, Clown's team is ed, yo!
Clown being Sarver.
Sup!
1-0!
Preseason!!!
Spurstalk is back. Now meltdowns happen in preseason. We are back boys.
I'll make sure to remind everyone![]()
I liked that a lot, too. I think he's really got that kind of big play making "it" factor that can change game momentum and get a crowd/teammates really pumped. I hope to see some of that from him this season.
I wonder if Dudley will really start at 4...I know some fans love him so much since 2010 playoffs and they're glad he's back in Phoenix but it looks like a weird small-ball starting lineup with him.
Once again, sarcasm!
guess I need to change the color of the post or whatever. Is it green or blue? I can't remember.
Definitely happy to have Dudley, and I believe he holds value... But I honestly have no idea why this team has so many veterans. Chandler, Dudley, Barbosa, Tucker... All are well past their "get better" days, and only bring value to already solid rosters.
I'd much rather roll the ball out there and let Booker, Warren, Goodwin, Knight, Ulis, Chriss, Bender, Len develop.
They still have no idea what they have in Len and Goodwin... And Warren is almost as much a question mark, but mostly due to injury.
Thanks for the review Chinook! Much appreciated.
I appreciated reviews by others too, since I missed a lot of this game.
![]()
You're pretty much married to LJC now - sort of like SAGirl and KA. I hope you turn out to be right about him.
I said it above, but I thought Arci struggled way too much with ball pressure. And when other teams think there's a weak ball handler, it's like blood in the water around sharks. It invites even more aggressive ball pressure. That alone will lose him a roster spot, if he can't step it up.
I was watching Anthony and thinking that we're going to have to nickname him "Hoffa", because it looked like he was wearing cement shoes. I never bought into the talk of Dedmon starting, but I do think he will be better than what we saw tonight. The bigs in general looked bad in the second half because the perimeter guys were traffic pylons.
There were actually a few plays where Murray didn't take a shot. Of course, he was on the bench for those plays, but why be picky? That's a joke, sort of. But he does like to put the ball up.
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