Spurs Rotation next season (2018/19) and other thoughts.

[MaNu4Tres]

The only staples in the starting lineup are LaMarcus, DeRozan, and Murray. The rest will change a lot until Pop finds a rotation thats performing well.

Im personally hoping for:

LMA - Bertans -- DeRozan - White - Murray

Pau or Poeltl - Gay - Cunningham - Manu or Belinelli - Mills

Forbes - Lonnie - Blossomgame

[TrainOfThought5]

This year is not looking so hot. Hopefully some young guys have breakout years.

[picnroll]

Kawhitter 0 minutes.

So a few less than last year.

[YGWHI]

DeMar DeRosan; Last year he played over 2700 minutes, and that was the lowest in the past five years, I believe. No wonder he gassed during playoffs. Pop will make sure he is healthy and ready to go for the playoffs. I expect him to be around 2300 minutes and put more energy on D. Interestingly enough his Defensive Win Share last season was 2.8, compared to Danny's 2.9. Not bad if you ask me. I think people will be surprised by his defense.

Not sure if we'll be surprised by his defense but Spurs' system will help him a lot on that end. It's funny when people said "who player will guard wings without KL and DG?" Kawhi didn't play last season, Danny played poorly...The Spurs were still #2-3 defense in the whole league.

• Dejounte Murray; Last year he was 6th in minutes played, and now tied for 3rd, but I expect him to play pretty much the same amount of minutes; from 1743 to 1800. His defense will be better but he will get more time on the floor only if he starts making 3 point shots or somehow finds a way to be effective without the ball in his hands.

• Didn't realize he was only 6th in minutes...I expected more. I doubt his playing time will depend on his 3's, if he improves it would be great but he'll have plenty of minutes this season since Parker isn't on the team this season.

I'd love to see White having 20mpg this season and Manu getting less and less minutes, just in a mentor role.

[TD 21]

I think this is a good time to ask if you're describing or prescribing. I don't think it makes sense to project Gay as a starter, especially with Gasol. The roster just doesn't seem set up for that, with the lack of bigs, Pop's desire to make Gay the sixth man and the coach's general desire to run Mills/Murray. If he didn't think DeRozan could be an SF, I don't think he would have gone with Forbes and Walker. If you're prescribing, I get it, even though I disagree. Pop should have targeted a forward or two instead of Beli. I see little upside in running Mills instead of an SF who can shoot. However, I think that moment's gone, and SA needs to do what's best for them now, and that's not starting Gay with DeRozan, hurting the offense of both units. White/Ginobili/Beli/Gay/Poeltl has the potential to be the best bench the team has had in years. It's even better if they can slip Bertans in when Manu takes nights off. White Poeltl could be a great PnR team for years, and getting him shooters would be amazing. Then obviously Gay can be the fulcrum, especially when the team needs a bucket. He can also cut and finish, so it's not like having him off the ball would be a wasted possession.

Describing.

The roster has 6 bigs (Aldridge, Gasol, Poeltl, Gay, Bertans, Cunningham).

Pop's desire to make Gay the 6th man was in the context of last season's roster. This one has no size or defense on the wing, 2 attributes he's long prioritized in the starting lineup.

There was no rumors of Leonard to the Raptors until after the Walker/Forbes decisions were made and even if they were before, they were independent. Walker was a value pick and they're irrationally high on Forbes. DeRozan will probably play more SF than SG, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has to start at it to do so (look no further than Aldridge).

If Gay starts, the hope would be that he can masquerade as a 3 and D wing and in general, individual shot creation, defense and rebounding wins out over the lack of shooting and mobility. It's not all that different from how they've operated for years, only this iteration would have even less shooting than previous ones.

Mills in place of Gay isn't enough to solve the spacing issues of the starters, but Gay being the fulcrum of the bench could gum up what should be a free flowing style, that basically out IQ's teams (one of Gasol/Poeltl, Bertans, Belinelli, Ginobili, Mills and occasionally White, should carve up opposing benches).

[E20]

good post presentaiton OP. 4 out of 5 stars.

you got a good greeting in the beginning makes everyone feel welcome. good grammar punctuation and spelling, no long or bulk paragraphs, sentences seperated by lines you use bullet points and you have a summarizing sentence at the end.

[Chinook]

Describing.

The roster has 6 bigs (Aldridge, Gasol, Poeltl, Gay, Bertans, Cunningham).

Pop's desire to make Gay the 6th man was in the context of last season's roster. This one has no size or defense on the wing, 2 attributes he's long prioritized in the starting lineup.

There was no rumors of Leonard to the Raptors until after the Walker/Forbes decisions were made and even if they were before, they were independent. Walker was a value pick and they're irrationally high on Forbes. DeRozan will probably play more SF than SG, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has to start at it to do so (look no further than Aldridge).

If Gay starts, the hope would be that he can masquerade as a 3 and D wing and in general, individual shot creation, defense and rebounding wins out over the lack of shooting and mobility. It's not all that different from how they've operated for years, only this iteration would have even less shooting than previous ones.

Mills in place of Gay isn't enough to solve the spacing issues of the starters, but Gay being the fulcrum of the bench could gum up what should be a free flowing style, that basically out IQ's teams (one of Gasol/Poeltl, Bertans, Belinelli, Ginobili, Mills and occasionally White, should carve up opposing benches).

I don't think you can say Gay is a big when you have him as a small-forward. I agree that he's a PF more than anything, and I think Pop agrees with us. I also don't think Pop prioritizes wings with size, or else he would have gone for such players in the off-season. Obviously, the same goes for D.

I don't think Pop saw anything last year that would encourage him to not keep rolling with Mills and Murray as the back court. They are a good fit together, and the plan for that pairing probably came into being as soon as CP3 went to Houston last year. Despite what you've suggested, Pop has totally played defensive liabilities way too many minutes over the years. Mills being a better shooter is only part of his appeal over Gay. He's also significantly more dynamic on the perimeter. Sure, he's not a creator inside the arc, but outside it, he's a guy you can run plays for and who can pop off threes if he gets a screen. You need that guy a lot more in the SL, especially because Marco is on the bench already. I totally expect this to be an offense with DeRozan being the primary creator with Murray as the secondary and LMA cutting off like 35 percent of the possessions for his touches. They definitely don't need Gay also doing that, but on the bench where the primary creators are an old Manu and a green White, having a go-to option works much better.

I think we both expect to see a fluid rotation for quite some time and for the results to hopefully bear out a solution that works. In that regard, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gay starting at the three, especially against GS and LAL. Maybe he even starts the season like that if it's against Minny, OKC or Toronto. But unless the team acquires another legit SF, I don't think the team will settle on Gay at the three, unless Murray is no longer the starting PG.

[cutewizard]

Describing.

The roster has 6 bigs (Aldridge, Gasol, Poeltl, Gay, Bertans, Cunningham).

Pop's desire to make Gay the 6th man was in the context of last season's roster. This one has no size or defense on the wing, 2 attributes he's long prioritized in the starting lineup.

There was no rumors of Leonard to the Raptors until after the Walker/Forbes decisions were made and even if they were before, they were independent. Walker was a value pick and they're irrationally high on Forbes. DeRozan will probably play more SF than SG, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has to start at it to do so (look no further than Aldridge).

If Gay starts, the hope would be that he can masquerade as a 3 and D wing and in general, individual shot creation, defense and rebounding wins out over the lack of shooting and mobility. It's not all that different from how they've operated for years, only this iteration would have even less shooting than previous ones.

Mills in place of Gay isn't enough to solve the spacing issues of the starters, but Gay being the fulcrum of the bench could gum up what should be a free flowing style, that basically out IQ's teams (one of Gasol/Poeltl, Bertans, Belinelli, Ginobili, Mills and occasionally White, should carve up opposing benches).

In other words, starting five just holds the court, holds the fort

And then our bench beats the out of opposing benches.....

Hmmmm, Mission Possible.........

[ceperez]

Regular season lineup:

Starters - Mills, Murray, DeRozan, Aldridge, Poetl
Subs - White, Belinelli, Bertans, Gay, Gasol

Backups - Walker, Forbes, Cunningham

It's a decent team. I suspect Manu is needed to get the Subs organized!!

[TD 21]

I don't think you can say Gay is a big when you have him as a small-forward. I agree that he's a PF more than anything, and I think Pop agrees with us. I also don't think Pop prioritizes wings with size, or else he would have gone for such players in the off-season. Obviously, the same goes for D.

I don't think Pop saw anything last year that would encourage him to not keep rolling with Mills and Murray as the back court. They are a good fit together, and the plan for that pairing probably came into being as soon as CP3 went to Houston last year. Despite what you've suggested, Pop has totally played defensive liabilities way too many minutes over the years. Mills being a better shooter is only part of his appeal over Gay. He's also significantly more dynamic on the perimeter. Sure, he's not a creator inside the arc, but outside it, he's a guy you can run plays for and who can pop off threes if he gets a screen. You need that guy a lot more in the SL, especially because Marco is on the bench already. I totally expect this to be an offense with DeRozan being the primary creator with Murray as the secondary and LMA cutting off like 35 percent of the possessions for his touches. They definitely don't need Gay also doing that, but on the bench where the primary creators are an old Manu and a green White, having a go-to option works much better.

I think we both expect to see a fluid rotation for quite some time and for the results to hopefully bear out a solution that works. In that regard, I wouldn't be surprised to see Gay starting at the three, especially against GS and LAL. Maybe he even starts the season like that if it's against Minny, OKC or Toronto. But unless the team acquires another legit SF, I don't think the team will settle on Gay at the three, unless Murray is no longer the starting PG.

Aldridge is now a C, yet he'll start at PF. Duncan and Gasol were C's who started at PF for a significant portion of their respective careers. It happens. It's difficult to build a well balanced roster, especially nowadays, with the overload of C's and lack of wings. Also, this roster was not planned. They didn't build it with the mindset of DeRozan being one of the centerpieces.

I said, in the starting lineup.

Yeah, but off the bench. Sure, Bonner, Mills, etc. have had stretches where they started, but never for long. Spurs almost always start big and defensive. Mills starting some last season was more so about getting another ball handler in the lineup than a shooter (which is why he often started in place of Green). They now have that in DeRozan.

Whether starting or not, Gay is going to play some with Aldridge and DeRozan and when he does, he's going to have to function as a spot up 3-point shooter on offense. If he plays backup PF though, then that leaves 1 rotation spot for a guy set to make $7.5M, an elite backup (Poeltl) and a long time rotation player (Cunningham).

Definitely. I'm not going to pretend to be overly confident in this. Mere days ago, I was thinking what you were.

[TimmyBuckets]

Regular season lineup:

Starters - Mills, Murray, DeRozan, Aldridge, Poetl
Subs - White, Belinelli, Bertans, Gay, Gasol

Backups - Walker, Forbes, Cunningham

It's a decent team. I suspect Manu is needed to get the Subs organized!!

How do you think Derozan will perform if he starts at the 3? I think he's a bit undersized and weak defensively, though I'm starting to get why people aren't putting Gay in the starting lineup.

[John B]

Kamute and DeRozan are both 6’7” just Kamute has freakish hands. I think DeRozan will be fine depending 3.

[cutewizard]

Kamute and DeRozan are both 6’7” just Kamute has freakish hands. I think DeRozan will be fine depending 3.

[keithington1]

I think Livio deserves a camp invite. He looked good in Austin and he fits the roster perfectly. I feel like the Spurs never gave him a real chance to succeed. Of course he had injuries but so did Bertans.

[keithington1]

I think Livio deserves a camp invite. He looked good in Austin and he fits the roster perfectly. I feel like the Spurs never gave him a real chance to succeed. Of course he had injuries but so did Bertans.

Well nevermind that thought http://spursonsixth.com/2018/07/06/j...al-with-asvel/

[alpha_HaZE]

Not sure if we'll be surprised by his defense but Spurs' system will help him a lot on that end. It's funny when people said "who player will guard wings without KL and DG?" Kawhi didn't play last season, Danny played poorly...The Spurs were still #2-3 defense in the whole league.


I'd love to see White having 20mpg this season and Manu getting less and less minutes, just in a mentor role.

That's a good point! I agree about White getting minutes and Manu on the bench. And I am with you regarding the defense, but it wasn't just Danny Green it was Kyle Anderson as well. Kyle was a big reason we were so good on Defense. Let's hope that Rudy and Davis play decent defense. In which case we still should be top10 or top5 defensively.

[BSfromTX]

The only staples in the starting lineup are LaMarcus, DeRozan, and Murray. The rest will change a lot until Pop finds a rotation thats performing well.

Im personally hoping for:

LMA - Bertans -- DeRozan - White - Murray

Pau or Poeltl - Gay - Cunningham - Manu or Belinelli - Mills

Forbes - Lonnie - Blossomgame

I can see this, just not sure about Bertans being that high ... however he spreads the floor with that group which would really be needed.

[BackHome]

Well nevermind that thought http://spursonsixth.com/2018/07/06/j...al-with-asvel/

Wonder what his buy out is??

[superbigtime]

I have very low expectations of White and Forbes.

[TimDunkem]

Morons here still talking about Livio? That bum literally does nothing well. Accept that it was a wasted pick people. Jesus...It's like James Gist! 2.0.

[SpursDynasty85]

Just thought about this line up.

Murray, DeRozan, Bertans, Gay, Aldridge. Would only work if Dejounte's shot makes a significant leap to (serviceable). This would be a deadly line up. Question is if Pop would ever try it.

[TimmyBuckets]

Just thought about this line up.

Murray, DeRozan, Bertans, Gay, Aldridge. Would only work if Dejounte's shot makes a significant leap to (serviceable). This would be a deadly line up. Question is if Pop would ever try it.

Bertans too slow for the 3 and not good enough defensively to guard the wings.

[sasaint]

Bertans too slow for the 3 and not good enough defensively to guard the wings.

Yep. So, Pop will use it some...

[SpursDynasty85]

Bertans too slow for the 3 and not good enough defensively to guard the wings.

Agree that's why I think the bench is important. Bertans and Gay can cover ground well but it would tire them out just like the GSW series. There will be lots of rotations but for a stretch and playing 100% this line up would be a menace on defense and could do some running and damage on the offensive end.

[Truth4sale$]

Morons here still talking about Livio? That bum literally does nothing well. Accept that it was a wasted pick people. Jesus...It's like James Gist! 2.0.

I know Livio did not live up to expectations, but he was injured and some guys take a long time to recover or never quite recover(Derrick Rose). That being said, if you were to look back at the 2013 draft, it has to be one of the worst in recent history. There are absolutely nobody who has had an impact after him. He was the best available. Just unfortunate his best was not good enough for SPURS/ NBA .He might need more time in Europe to develop.