Who wins: 2014 Spurs VS 2017 Warriors

[Kuestmaster]

Spurs. Parker and Manu weren't washed up, Kawhi was good (not as good as now of course), Green was still good and hadn't regressed as much, and we had Tim.

[tbdog]

After watching that video, it is clear we don't have the personnel to play it this way anymore.

1. Diaw is so much bigger and stronger than Kyle Anderson. Plus Diaw is a better passer, more experience. This allows him to get into position much better.

2. TD's positioning is uncanny. Cannot be taught. This makes him a goat. He can seal off anyone.

3. Although LMA is leagues better offensively than Splitter, Splitter is a much much better passer.

4. Manu played more and at a higher quality then than now. Same as Parker.

5. For all the hate we gave Beli, he is better than than most of our guards off our bench now. White, Paul, Murray.

7. We don't mention 6. Mills and Green a much better shooters then than now.

What is required for us to get there now?

Well, Anderson needs to get stronger. Gasol and LMA really need to get their act together. There is no reason why they cannot seal a man and get a pass to each other. Gasol is an extremely good passer, and LMA can seal his man off. LMA needs to finish at the rim and actually score.

Green and Mills really need to shoot better.

Someone on the bench needs to be relied upon.

Leonard needs to keep getting better.

[SAGirl]

After watching that video, it is clear we don't have the personnel to play it this way anymore.

1. Diaw is so much bigger and stronger than Kyle Anderson. Plus Diaw is a better passer, more experience. This allows him to get into position much better.

2. TD's positioning is uncanny. Cannot be taught. This makes him a goat. He can seal off anyone.

3. Although LMA is leagues better offensively than Splitter, Splitter is a much much better passer.

4. Manu played more and at a higher quality then than now. Same as Parker.

5. For all the hate we have Beli, he is better than than most of our guards off our bench now. White, Paul, Murray.

7. We don't mention 6. Mills and Green a much better shooters then than now.

What is required for us to get there now?

Well, Anderson needs to get stronger. Gasol and LMA really need to get their act together. There is no reason why they cannot seal a man and get a pass to each other. Gasol is an extremely good passer, and LMA can seal his man off. LMA needs to finish at the rim and actually score.

Green and Mills really need to shoot better.

Someone on the bench needs to be relied upon.

Leonard needs to keep getting better.

What do you think of Anderson's workouts in Los Angeles. He's focusing on improving his shooting and being more aggressive with his shot in scrimmages I saw. He does a bit of ballhandling in PnR with the bigs and is taking his jumpshots if the big is covered. I imagine, if Anderson really were to play in a rotation he has to get more of a green light from Pop. To a degree he's been a limited system player but as seen in the playoffs he could do more than corner 3 pt shooting and cuts, which is what Pop had him do all season. In the playoffs he was a very different player. Anyways, he's different from Diaw. In the only respect that I compared him from the very beginning is that they came into the league as legit point forwards that were pass first, and prefered to pass the ball sometimes in a maddening fashion than take their own shots probably by preference and by their nature. Diaw was able to take his game to the next level when he was pushed by Pop to be more aggressive. He's a smart player and would still pass well, but as he improved offensively more passing lanes opened up for him. Anyways, Anderson needs to be more aggressive so his passing opens up. Spotting up in a corner and cutting is all fine and dandy but is a misuse of his skills. I always thought Pop had miscast him in roles, basically trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. I am hoping his career flourishes somewhere else at the rate he's going, but it's also possible he gets more freedom this next season. However, Kyle is a very different kind of forward, he likes to slash (slowly but effectively), while Diaw preferred to post up. Anyways, they just have different games.

What Pop ends up doing with him, Rudy Gay and Bertans is going to have to be very different than the teams that featured Diaw.

I noticed RC mentioned Bertans was in summer league because they wanted to see him do more than just shoot. Frankly Bertans if you let him, 80% - 90% of his shots will be from 3 and is the complete opposite... He could enter a bit of chucking mode... which happens to all shooters from time to time specially when they are cold. If one doesn't go in, then the next one for sure, right? But in the SL they wanted him to focus on other things. They played him at the 3 and wanted to see him put the ball on the floor and create for others. I'd say the workout focus for him was more on that aspect (+ defense and rebounding) than shooting, since shooting is the one thing they know he can do.

Also, the bench still moves the ball better than the starters. LMA killed the Spurs ball movement. I think he has legit tried to play Pop's system and he can't they need to move on from him somehow. the young bench guys moved the ball better than LMA...

[tbdog]

I expect Anderson to avg 8/5/3 this season at 20mins a game. But at good percentages.

[99 Problems]

Spurs naturally. Last seasons Warriors even with Kevin Duran were more suspect than the media will tell. , Kawhi was 10 minutes from the Internet going into meltdown with MJ comparisons in game 1.

[pookenstein]

OK, that's it. I'm rewatching the 2014 chip. Starting now with the OKC series.

[ElNono]

Thinking rationally, Dubs... but then again, that 2014 team was on a damn mission after det '13 Finals... although I'm not sure if they play that well if it isn't against Miami...

[eric365]

The Dubs would have gotten destroyed inside and Splitter was elite switching on the pick and roll.

Splitter was a huge part of this le. No denying he helped us big time in the first 2 rounds vs the Mavs and Portland
But vs OKC and Miami he only played 16 mpg and I think it would be the same vs the 2017 Dubs. Pop wouldn't play him when Durant play PF

[cutewizard]

Obviously, our current team as constructed is at best the West number 2,

but Life is dynamic, who knows what can happen next week....

If Kyrie............well.......hmmmmm

[cutewizard]

Im amazed how strong the 2014 Spurs were, even in paper:

Tim, the last best year

Manu and Parker still playing at a high level

Danny Green with the bombs

Mills was an effective back up pg

Marco was no slouch too

We had the super point forward Diaw, totally underrated, almost like a Finals Defensive Player of the series

Tiago Splitterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Then, even the bench with Joseph, Baynes, and three point contestant Bonner,

Then you add my JON SNOW KAWHI!

Wow, that 2014 Spurs team has got to be one of the best of all time!

[cutewizard]

By the way, where is Splitter now?

Can we get him for the vet min???

[ginobilized]

Duncan would be the difference maker here. Quality screens, passing, rebounding,
defense, leadership and mental mastery of the Dubs bigs would give the Spurs a decent shot.
TD would melt Draymond's mind by game 3 or 4.

There would also be a throwback game where TD gets 20 puts in a half and Dubs might run out of options.

Spurs in 6.

[Horse]

Spurs all the way. we were pounding them before Kawhi got hurt this past season. How soon we forget all the injured teams they played and how Cleveland was never that good to begin with and the annual disappearance act of klay and curry. Also we didn't see Durant do much till Kawhi went down. Some of the biggest coward pussies we've ever seen, they're just rarely tested cause they overwhelm most teams.

[Horse]

Greatest example ever of a team being greater than the sum of its parts.

[TheDoctor]

After watching that video, it is clear we don't have the personnel to play it this way anymore.

1. Diaw is so much bigger and stronger than Kyle Anderson. Plus Diaw is a better passer, more experience. This allows him to get into position much better.

2. TD's positioning is uncanny. Cannot be taught. This makes him a goat. He can seal off anyone.

3. Although LMA is leagues better offensively than Splitter, Splitter is a much much better passer.

4. Manu played more and at a higher quality then than now. Same as Parker.

5. For all the hate we gave Beli, he is better than than most of our guards off our bench now. White, Paul, Murray.

7. We don't mention 6. Mills and Green a much better shooters then than now.

What is required for us to get there now?

Well, Anderson needs to get stronger. Gasol and LMA really need to get their act together. There is no reason why they cannot seal a man and get a pass to each other. Gasol is an extremely good passer, and LMA can seal his man off. LMA needs to finish at the rim and actually score.

Green and Mills really need to shoot better.

Someone on the bench needs to be relied upon.

Leonard needs to keep getting better.

LMA can't finish at the rim if he can't post/back-out his 5 inches smaller defender.

[TheDoctor]

Greatest example ever of a team being greater than the sum of its parts.