This team lacks a consistent second option

[dabom]

My expectations?

Do you read?

I said its his next step in his development. He doesnt have even average vision.

In order for the team to take that next step, he needs to work on that next step if hes going to have that high of a usage offensively.

He's already the best player in the NBA. More like the Spurs Big Money guys need to start playing like NBA players.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

He's already the best player in the NBA. More like the Spurs Big Money guys need to start playing like NBA players.

I was incredibly impressed with a certain player on the floor tonight but it wasn't Kawhi Leonard. Far from it.

[dabom]

I was incredibly impressed with a certain player on the floor tonight but it wasn't Kawhi Leonard. Far from it.

I guess you disproved yourself and started on something else. Thanks for proving me right.

[YGWHI]

I've never loved Kawhiso, but the Spurs can deal with it as a feature of their offense. Without a legit backcourt scorer like Bledsoe or Lowry, there's going to be more games like this. You balance out Kawhi with a guard who penetrates without trying to get fouled, and you get LMA's head out of his LMAss, then you have the makings of a dynamic offense. But right now, Kawhi's Rudy Gay act isn't going to work against most teams. It's just not enough.

It's funny because LMA took the most shots in the first minutes of the game, in a deliberate team effort -Kawhi included- to keep LMA involved but he missed all those shots...

Then Kawhi made 10 points in the quarter. His offense isn't enough because nobody else scores, they're missing open shots, a lot of bunnies, passing good shots...

And LMA isn't nearly the guy of last months in past season

[Kawhitstorm]

So now when it benefits Leonard, Parker in '15 and Duncan in '16, were injured? What happened to pretending as if Parker was the worst player in the history of sport and Duncan just missing layups for no reason?

I'm pretty sure anyone w/ a neuron would have put their money on the Spurs if Porker/Tiago/Tim/D-Worst/Diaw were playing like that the entire season.

I was on record saying that the Cripples are a terrible matchup for the Spurs & that the team would get murdered on the boards if Pop played D-Worst/Diaw against Kanter even when Tim was healthy during the season opener: http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...=1#post8607847

[Kawhitstorm]

It's funny because LMA took the most shots in the first minutes of the game, in a deliberate team effort -Kawhi included- to keep LMA involved but he missed all those shots...

Then Kawhi made 10 points in the quarter. His offense isn't enough because nobody else scores, they're missing open shots, a lot of bunnies, passing good shots...

And LMA isn't nearly the guy of last months in past season

Basically, it's not like Kawhi is freezing out Softridge like Harden frozen out Dwight. Softrige is out there coasting like Pau did under D'Antoni when he was on the trading blocks.

[Kawhitstorm]

His possession to assist ratio is one of the worst in the NBA for the type of offensive player he is now in regards to responsibility

I'm pretty sure that has nothing to do w/ the ISO offense Pop has been running the past two seasons.

In any case, wing players who aren't full-time point-forwards usually don't have a high assist per possession ratio b/c they don't penetrate & kick. Most of their assists are via running PnRs or passing out of double teams which usually results in hockey assists.

His assist per 100 possession is on par w/ '05-'06 Kirby & the current version of Softridge/Pau are on par w/ Odom/Mihm. Shyt, Smush Parker was better than Porker.

His assist percentage is on par w/ '12-'13 Durant who also played in an ISO system but actually had better teammates.

Carmelo supposedly played point-forward last season & had an assist rate was on par w/ Kawhi's.

Overall, Kawhi has been almost on par w/ '13-'14 MVP Durant who averaged 5 assists per 36 vs. Kawhi's 4 w/ the same usage rate. Considering how ty the supporting cast has been since the season opener I'm pretty sure Kawhi could have gotten one more assist from each game. Let's no forget that WestBrick actually played half the season & ChewBaka was a better PnP player than the current version of Softridge.

He needs to do a better job at finding others for better opportunities.

IKR, he should have given a boost to Softridge so he could tip in a point blank lay-up!

[YGWHI]

Basically, it's not like Kawhi is freezing out Softridge like Harden frozen out Dwight. Softrige is out there coasting like Pau did under D'Antoni when he was on the trading blocks.

Exactly.

Also, against Pels, Jazz in the home game, LMA took more or the same shots than Kawhi...He had his opportunities. He's looking bored or disinterested.

[TD 21]

I'm pretty sure anyone w/ a neuron would have put their money on the Spurs if Porker/Tiago/Tim/D-Worst/Diaw were playing like that the entire season.

I was on record saying that the Cripples are a terrible matchup for the Spurs & that the team would get murdered on the boards if Pop played D-Worst/Diaw against Kanter even when Tim was healthy during the season opener: http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...=1#post8607847

As usual, moving the goal posts. This is about you pretending Parker's and Duncan's struggles weren't injured related and now conceding they were because it benefits Leonard.

They were playing like that going in and rightly or wrongly the Spurs were still favored. Despite that, given the way '15 played out, they could have advanced had Leonard lived up to the hype.

Yeah, Leonard's 2 runs as the best player are a limited sample size, but you and your ilk base a lot of your opinions off of that and are often prisoners of the moment.

[Kawhitstorm]

Yeah, Leonard's 2 runs as the best player are a limited sample size, but you and your ilk base a lot of your opinions off of that and are often prisoners of the moment.

Yeah he didn't win back-to-back DPOYs & lead the team to a franchise record 67 wins while finishing second in MVP. He's universally regarded as the best 2-way player even by his peers by what he put in by a season long sample size but he had a couple of sub-par games LIKE EVERYONE does in the postseason & he's all of a sudden not a superstar.

I guess Tim wasn't a superstar in '04 when the Lakers "UPSET" the Spurs b/c Phil shut him down by sending double teams after Gm 3.

Kawhi against the Clippers played as well as Pippen did in '94 against the Knicks but I don't hear anyone ripping Pippen (actually the opposite) even though Bulls would have won if Pippen shot the ball as well as he did in the regular season (Horace Grant/BJ Armstrong balled out in that series). That's supposed to be Pippen's best season meanwhile Kawhi was learning to be the #1 option on the fly.

Besides, Jordan in the '96 Finals didn't play better than Kawhi did against OKC but unanimously won Finals MVP. That was Jordan's last season at his peak while it was Kawhi first MVP level season.

Let's no even talk about the 2010 Finals MVP, the so called "Best player of his generation":

[Chinook]

Not that this addresses the second-option issue, but what about Tyler Johnson? The dude is on a heavy contract, which would be a minus. But the plus is that he's actually pretty easy to acquire given his depressed salary over the next two seasons. To me, he seems like an actualized Jonathon Simmons. He moves the ball, gets his points, helps out on the boards and makes splash plays on D. He would have been the ideal companion to Manu back when that was a concern. Now I could see him coming in as that fifth player to set up a strong defensive perimeter with Green and Leonard while also being able to penetrate and space the floor.

Down side besides the contract is that he star but would likely take a good offer to get since the Heat likely want to keep him. He's their Danny Green, and they matched the offer sheet because they realize what that means. And he's not a PG even if he could guard the one and do some PG by committee with Simmons, Manu and/or Anderson on the bench and Kawhi in the SL. Even after this trade, acquiring a guard would be the top priority in the off-season.

But on the plus side, his deal is smaller than Patty's hold, so the Spurs would have some cap space to make moves. And he's pretty much a cross between Patty and Cory in terms of skill-set and on-court at ude. He's the perfect third guard, which the team needs even if it needs a first guard more.

[SAGirl]

I have liked Tyler Johnson. How do you suggest he be acquired?

[TD 21]

Yeah he didn't win back-to-back DPOYs & lead the team to a franchise record 67 wins while finishing second in MVP. He's universally regarded as the best 2-way player even by his peers by what he put in by a season long sample size but he had a couple of sub-par games LIKE EVERYONE does in the postseason & he's all of a sudden not a superstar.

I guess Tim wasn't a superstar in '04 when the Lakers "UPSET" the Spurs b/c Phil shut him down by sending double teams after Gm 3.

Kawhi against the Clippers played as well as Pippen did in '94 against the Knicks but I don't hear anyone ripping Pippen (actually the opposite) even though Bulls would have won if Pippen shot the ball as well as he did in the regular season (Horace Grant/BJ Armstrong balled out in that series). That's supposed to be Pippen's best season meanwhile Kawhi was learning to be the #1 option on the fly.

Besides, Jordan in the '96 Finals didn't play better than Kawhi did against OKC but unanimously won Finals MVP. That was Jordan's last season at his peak while it was Kawhi first MVP level season.

Let's no even talk about the 2010 Finals MVP, the so called "Best player of his generation":

Again, I was speaking strictly about Leonard, as the clear best player on the team, in the playoffs and versus the elite, because those are really the only two things that truly matter when it comes to teams with legit championship aspirations.

All of these comparisons are irrelevant and desperate attempts to spin.

[Kawhitstorm]

Again, I was speaking strictly about Leonard, as the clear best player on the team, in the playoffs and versus the elite, because those are really the only two things that truly matter when it comes to teams with legit championship aspirations.

I gave you comparisons of HIGHLY revered superstars wing-players in the same situation as Kawhi who are supposed to be playoff performers but somehow those are irrelevant b/c they don't fit your narrative.

All of these comparisons are irrelevant and desperate attempts to spin

Yeah let's compare Kawhi to a video game b/c he's a robot.

[TD 21]

I gave you comparisons of HIGHLY revered superstars wing-players in the same situation as Kawhi who are supposed to be playoff performers but somehow those are irrelevant b/c they don't fit your narrative.

You can pick holes in every player in the history of sport, but Pippen had 1 playoff run as the clear cut best player on the roster (and narrowly missed the Finals, on a questionable call, without a legit 2nd option), while Jordan has 6, James 3 and Bryant 1 or 2, championships in said role.

In 2 years, Leonard has lost 2 series while favored and has seen his team lose the majority of close games to the elite and struggle in them in general.

No matter their level of play in those situations, anyone else and people like you would be tearing them down, not making excuses.

[Kawhitstorm]

You can pick holes in every player in the history of sport, but Pippen had 1 playoff run as the clear cut best player on the roster (and narrowly missed the Finals, on a questionable call, without a legit 2nd option)

Pippen lost in the 2nd rd, it was Reggie's Pacers that narrowly missed the Finals. Besides, Pippen got outplayed by none other than Horace Grant in '95 when the Bulls lost to the Magic w/ JORDAN as his 2nd option.

while Jordan has 6, James 3 and Bryant 1 or 2, championships in said role.

In 2 years, Leonard has lost 2 series while favored and has seen his team lose the majority of close games to the elite and struggle in them in general.

No matter their level of play in those situations, anyone else and people like you would be tearing them down, not making excuses.

I guess if Jordan's two postseason series of his career had been '95 vs. Magic & '96 vs. Sonics, you would have claimed he wasn't a postseason performer b/c look at the sample size:

Spurs lost two series against two teams that MAXED out their potential for a series: '15 Clippers who were firing on all cylinders until Choke-P3 got injured & '16 OKC who Iggy said were the best team in the postseason.

[MaNu4Tres]

What does Aldridge do at an All-Star level besides mid-range shooting?

[dabom]

What does Aldridge do at an All-Star level besides mid-range shooting?

Minutes.

[Robz4000]

, they don't even have a consistent first option. If Kawhi keeps playing like Rudy Gay Jr. this team isn't winning a playoff series.

[MaNu4Tres]

, they don't even have a consistent first option. If Kawhi keeps playing like Rudy Gay Jr. this team isn't winning a playoff series.

My problem with Kawhi is he can't create enough separation to turn corner on PnRs and when he barely does, he doesn't look for others well. He puts himself in tough spots more often than not in those scenarios.

It's his next step in his development. But he may not be able to ever create significant space off the dribble because he's not quick enough -- he's just so long.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

[MaNu4Tres]

People will point at Aldridge's All-Star game appearances but the real fans know how overrated he truly is.

Sell high while you can, Spurs.

[spursistan]

Lamarcus Aldridge:

December 2015 averages: 16 GP/28.8 MPG/16 PPG/8.4 RPG/52 FG %

December 2016 averages: 9 GP/29.2 MPG/14.2 PPG/6.4 RPG/45.2 FG %


Quite troubling that at this time last year he looked much better, and that's few weeks before his late January surge....His regression is inexcusable..

[duncan2k5]

Kawhi didn't wet the bed in the playoffs...u guys weren't paying attention... I was SREAMING at them to run the offense thru kawhi...but he barely shot the ball...he never was able to get a rhythm...there were multiple possessions he didn't even tough the ball because diva was on the court..it isn't a coincidence we destroyed the warriors without tony this year

[Robz4000]

Kawhi didn't wet the bed in the playoffs...u guys weren't paying attention... I was SREAMING at them to run the offense thru kawhi...but he barely shot the ball...he never was able to get a rhythm...there were multiple possessions he didn't even tough the ball because diva was on the court..it isn't a coincidence we destroyed the warriors without tony this year

Tony played in the first game and played decently well. Green was missing, however.