CP3 gets them over the dubs this series but curry and klay were not their usual selves injury wise and iggy was out. A healthy dub team still wins in 5. The problem is with Durant joining them, they can get pass most teams with ease without Curry or klay.
Being a again, I see.He actually did. Ryan Anderson played 8 minutes in the third and was a huge reason Curry went off and their lead was gone. Now he’s due 40M over 2 years
Anderson was out of the rotation but with the Paul injury D'antoni had to play somebody. It was either Anderson or the corpse of Joe Johnson (who also saw minutes) or the offensive challenged Mbah Moute. Decided for Anderson, got exposed as expected and D'antoni quickly pulled him off.
If you think Pau/Mills are tough to deal, why would someone trade for a player WORSE than them making more money? What type of assets does HOU have to incentivize a team to take Anderson and his 40M?
Not before the damage was done and if they had such good foresight why pay Ryan Anderson the way they did? It was a colossal mistake at cost them both in a game 7 and in the future.Being a again, I see.
Anderson was out of the rotation but with the Paul injury D'antoni had to play somebody. It was either Anderson or the corpse of Joe Johnson (who also saw minutes) or the offensive challenged Mbah Moute. Decided for Anderson, got exposed as experted and D'antoni quickly pulled him off.
I agree, HOU did a very good job, but the point was they are in a tough spot for improvement (even though with no improvement they are still damn good).
And who the is saying they had a great foresight back then? I'm just talking about how this series should be taken as the blueprint for playing GS going forward. Stop being a got trying to semen shield for PATFO.
That might be your point, but it isn't mine. I don't give a what Houston does going forward. I'm interested in talking about what the Spurs should do going forward to matchup with GS.I agree, HOU did a very good job, but the point was they are in a tough spot for improvement (even though with no improvement they are still damn good).
I don't think Mills is tough to deal. I just don't this clown of a FO will has the stones to deal him. The Pau signing was hideous but he's 38. Ryan Anderson is 30 and Morey is the king of exploiting bad GMs into thinking his rotten coal is worth rubies and diamonds.
I’m saying the blueprint is not that straight-forward. Do I think wings that are good on defense help? Sure. Do I think that means you should morph into what HOU was entirely? No.
I think there is an in-between of doing away with guys like Mills/Manu/TP in favor of wings that can play defense and hopefully hit 3’s too, but also not doing what HOU does to their extreme not to mention it hinges on having a Harden which SA doesn’t.
The bigger point was people slurping Morey/HOU while knocking SA and pretending SA is the only team with Mills/Pau contracts or playing players that should not be playing (Kerr playing Swaggy/Liv together, HOU playing Ryan Anderson for 8 minutes in a game 7 2nd half, etc..).
Other teams have defensive and offensive liabilities; difference is they have Curry/KD and Harden/CP.
If Ariza, Gordon, Tucker were even above average shooters, not even elite, they would've won. They got so many open looks, particularly from the corners whilst the Warriors were still playing like .
Golden State played so bad this series, I couldn't believe it. Just so careless & they got exposed a bit through missing Iguodala. Their Margin for error is off the charts.
The Spurs have a problem. They don't have two way players. You can bring in guys like Bertans and Forbes to shoot three's and then you get destroyed on the defensive end. You bring in a guy like Anderson for defense and you're playing 4 vs 5 on offense. And then there's Danny Green who doesn't movethe needle on either side of the ball anymore. Kawhi leonard (assuming healthy) and LMA are the only two way players on the court and they clash with each other.
The Spurs got to the WCF last season even with their Mills/Pau on the roster. HOU got just as far despite being viewed as so superior.
Did they have more success than SA in that WCF? Sure, but they were fully healthy until game 6/7. But SA gets killed for “blueprint” and “Mills/Pau” while HOU gets lauded for their team. SA is in a better more flexible spot than HOU assuming they keep Kawhi and had the same level of success.
Could that change over the next 3 years? Sure, but people acting like their is a massvie gap so far are wrong results wise and have been basing everything off this just one year with HOU (which I agree is a fine strategy).
But if Kawhi doesn’t get hurt, even against a BETTER GS team, and they go to 6 or 7 (which is entirely possible) does that mean they had the blueprint?
Please show me who slurped Morey or Houston here? In fact, I even listed their flaws on the OP. Who's fault do you think it was that Houston only had 6 reliable rotation players?
Paul, Green, Ariza, Tucker, Gordon, Capela and an engaged Harden. Not a single defensive liability.Other teams have defensive and offensive liabilities; difference is they have Curry/KD and Harden/CP.
Curry, Thompson, Durant, Green, Looney, Iguodala, Livingston, Bell. Again, not a single liability. Curry was, smartly, targeted by the Rockets to tire him out and because he is probably the less impactful defensive player of all the GS ones, but he is still far from a liability, and he obviously more than makes up for it on the offensive end.
Having defensive liabilities who also aren't really all that impactful on offense either? Well, you just can't have that.
Well sure, having Ariza instead of Mills is better. But the blueprint part? That is what I am questioning. Like I said, SA without the blueprint got to the WCF as well and if Kawhi was healthy? They probably win 2 or 3 games (and that was a better GS team than this year).
And also, HOU has Harden, MVP level creator on offense to make those role players who have been somewhat liabilities, not so much.
Its not just as simple as plug and play is what I’m getting at.
The blueprint is not playing guys like Gasol, Mills, Tony or Forbes.
Also, get some more shooters (that don't get killed on D, obviously).
How many of those games did Kawhi play in the 4th quarter?
Exactly this. You build your team around your star. Harden is an offensive juggernaut both in scoring and passing. His weakness is his one and one and team defense. You build defenders around and shooters around him. They lucked out with Capela having goods hands to put them in this position. Plus CP3 choosing to join them by opting in.
Leonard is a different player and his weakness is playmaking. Spurs riding Parker and Manu and betting on Mills and Murray taking the playmaking step is a risky move. Probably the reason why Spurs went with Gasol so they could play horns like with Diaw.
1. You very clearly said chucking 3’s in the only way. That is what I was questioning in addition to setting up my other point
2. SA even playing Mills, Pau, TP and even Manu got to the same WCF that HOU did. Did HOU go to game 7 vs getting swept? Sure, but if Harden goes down in the first half of game 1, HOU gets swept too and are you saying these things?
That’s my point. Sure, we know without speculation that healthy, HOU as they were built did a great job (even though this GS team played like trash and was worse than the GS team SA faced last year). However, that doesn’t mean chucking 3’s in the only way. And , even though I hate it, we aren’t even sure that playing Gasol/Mills is a death blow considering SA got to the same WCF as HOU did with those players and a wildly different system as well.
People on here trash everything SA (players, system, contacts) while ignoring these things. If you believe that GS would not have swept HOU had Harden been injured in game one, then fine. But is that what you think? Because if not, then what does that say about your theory that SA with the exact opposite of what you said was/would be in the same spot as this HOU model?
I'm not saying just chuck threes Houston Rockets' style. Move the ball, attack the basket first, and then shot threes. What can't happen anymore is to be among the bottom of the league in both attempted and made threes. You are not winning a tle like that in today's NBA.
Nah, son. I'm not trashing, you are just too defensive. In fact, I'm still hopeful that the Spurs can be the team to beat the Warriors, despite coming off the worst season in almost 2 decades and having a lot of uncertainties going forward.SA even playing Mills, Pau, TP and even Manu got to the same WCF that HOU did. Did HOU go to game 7 vs getting swept? Sure, but if Harden goes down in the first half of game 1, HOU gets swept too and are you saying these things?
That’s my point. Sure, we know without speculation that healthy, HOU as they were built did a great job (even though this GS team played like trash and was worse than the GS team SA faced last year). However, that doesn’t mean chucking 3’s in the only way. And , even though I hate it, we aren’t even sure that playing Gasol/Mills is a death blow considering SA got to the same WCF as HOU did with those players and a wildly different system as well.
People on here trash everything SA (players, system, contacts) while ignoring these things. If you believe that GS would not have swept HOU had Harden been injured in game one, then fine. But is that what you think? Because if not, then what does that say about your theory that SA with the exact opposite of what you said was/would be in the same spot as this HOU model?
But the Spurs need some changes and the FO made some questionable moves this past offseason. I don't know why ultra homers have to come and dispute such obvious points.
P/S: you are not trolling anyone with your addition of Manu on that list of unplayable players vs GS, tbh.
So I’m a homer because I said Mills/Pau were bad moves but that Ryan Anderson was worse? Ok. Sure SA needs some changes, but if Kawhi doesn’t get hurt, none of this is being discussed.
Because like Harden/CP masked Ryan Anderson and got to a WCF, Kawhi/LMA masked Pau/Mills and got to a WCF. We know HOU made it more compe ive so there is more evidence, but Kawhi got hurt and I”m not so willing to say one thing is the blueprint vs the other despite me preferring one way vs the other.
Just answer the questions:
1. If Harden got hurt like Kawhi did, does HOU get swept?
2. If Kawhi doesn’t get hurt in the WCF, do you think SA goes to 6 or 7? Or wouldn’t have mattered much and SA still gets swept or wins maybe 1 game?
This is like having a discussion about what Stone Cold needs to do different next Wrestlemania to beat The Rock. This isn't for real dudes, it's just entertainment.
Spurs would have beaten the Rockets this year, and it would not have been hard. Relying on Paul, hoping role-players light it up from three not having any inside game. All a blueprint. OP even pointed out how ty most of their wings were. I ain't copying them for nothing.
Yes, you are a defensive homer, because you brought Anderson to the discussion just to say "look they handed bad contracts too", when that wasn't the point of the argument.
Spurs were never really going to challenge GS last season, imho. The homer in me wants to say they probably would have lost in 6 (win game 1 and then one more at home), but it wouldn't have shocked me if they would have lost in 5 either. Like I said, I don't think they had enough pieces to stay with GS in a 7 game series. Not even with Kawhi going Michael Jordan.Because like Harden/CP masked Ryan Anderson and got to a WCF, Kawhi/LMA masked Pau/Mills and got to a WCF. We know HOU made it more compe ive so there is more evidence, but Kawhi got hurt and I”m not so willing to say one thing is the blueprint vs the other despite me preferring one way vs the other.
Also, there's a huge difference between losing in 6 and winning a series (which is probably what would have happened with Houston and a healthy CP3).
Anyway, this is all speculation. The only reality is that this Houston team that almost beat GS played this way. Nobody else has even come close to that.
If you want you can even go back and see how the Cavs, that did beat them in 2016, played, which it was pretty similar to how the Rockets did. Sure, no KD but it still something that you need to look at.
Last edited by DAF86; 05-29-2018 at 01:04 AM.
Under the exact same cir stances? No, because a 20+ pts lead with just a quarter to go and Chris Paul in your team is enough to get by that game.
I already answered that.2. If Kawhi doesn’t get hurt in the WCF, do you think SA goes to 6 or 7? Or wouldn’t have mattered much and SA still gets swept or wins maybe 1 game?
No offense son, but you are one of the less capacitated people to argue current ball with, tbh.
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