The Spurs Latest Big Two

[Spurtacular]

In 2014, The Big Two of Manu and Timmy led the Spurs to a ring.

In 2016, The Big Two of Kawhi and Aldridge were on the verge of ringing before GS put the hit on Kawhi.

In 2018, The Big Two of Aldridge and DeRozan are keeping the ship afloat if not living up the standards of yesteryear. But they don't have as good of a supporting cast, and injuries have ravaged the team. I think they deserve credit.

Just seeing everyone's thoughts on how you'd grade them, or how you see their prospects going forward, or how you'd stack them vs. yesteryear, etc.....

[Kobe'sAchilles]

If LMA can age gracefully then I think we have a shot to win a le in the next 4 years. If not then we have to move him now bc having an albatross contract almost guarentees that you won't win a championship. Spurs have been very fortunate that the people they pay big money to have all panned out and have lived up to the contract. I have been really impressed with LMA this year and last year. He has stepped up for us and been a consummate soldier. The diva days (back when we had Kiwi) are hopefully behind us and his maturity has a calming affect on us. Demar has been nothing but impressive this year. He is way better than I thought he would be. As a teammate and a leader on the floor. He takes command of the offense when he has to and shares the ball to get others involved too. He also has no problem letting Aldrige start the game off shooting bc Demar has absolute confidence in himself where he knows he can get it going anytime he wants (even though that's not always the case). But overall I would grade them both high and I hope DeRozan will improve as the year goes on and he gets more comfortable

[offset formation]

In 2014, The Big Two of Manu and Timmy led the Spurs to a ring.

In 2016, The Big Two of Kawhi and Aldridge were on the verge of ringing before GS put the hit on Kawhi.

In 2018, The Big Two of Aldridge and DeRozan are keeping the ship afloat if not living up the standards of yesteryear. But they don't have as good of a supporting cast, and injuries have ravaged the team. I think they deserve credit.

Just seeing everyone's thoughts on how you'd grade them, or how you see their prospects going forward, or how you'd stack them vs. yesteryear, etc.....

Agreed, though I wouldn't just say the supporting cast is not as good -- just far more inexperienced due to the absence of some key players. First, I think the new defensive rules really hit us harder than most due to having so many new players having to learn Pop's harder than average defensive schemes. Secondly, generally speaking, It's going to take time to build cohesion and trust, and to learn tendencies, spacing, etc. Especially when you only have two tenured vets from the previous championship run and 10 new players. I think this exact team could ring within the next two years given increases in quality in those items, along with continued development from Poeltl, Murray, Bertans, White, Walker, and Metu.

It's somewhat shocking to believe that we could possibly already have a championship capable level team now. I think we do, given time and some luck.

[SpursDynasty85]

Demar was surprisingly good in the beginning of the season while coming back downtown to earth. Really unfortunate he could not be a better shooter but he has a clutch gene for sure competes like a top 10 player with a top 20 level talent. LaMarcus has also done a fairly good job of transitioning on the Spurs in all aspects. He had a down year as Kawhi's sidekick too bad they couldn't work on it together. Fortunately Demar is a great distributor and pick and roll player. These two are legit but imperfect all stars. I dont see them as HOF though imo.

I give them both solid B + so far.

[spurs10]

i.
I think they deserve credit.

I agree. It's hard to say how far they can go, but these last 10 games have been great to see.

[offset formation]

Demar was surprisingly good in the beginning of the season while coming back downtown to earth. Really unfortunate he could not be a better shooter but he has a clutch gene for sure competes like a top 10 player with a top 20 level talent. LaMarcus has also done a fairly good job of transitioning on the Spurs in all aspects. He had a down year as Kawhi's sidekick too bad they couldn't work on it together. Fortunately Demar is a great distributor and pick and roll player. These two are legit but imperfect all stars. I dont see them as HOF though imo.

I give them both solid B + so far.

LMA will finish with more than 20K career points. So too, probably, will Demar. They could feasibly ring together too. And of the 44 players that have accomplished that feat, only 2 (Tom Chambers and Antawn Jamison) haven't been or likely won't be inducted into the HOF. I think odds are likely that they will be inducted.

[SpursDynasty85]

LMA will finish with more than 20K career points. So too, probably, will Demar. They could feasibly ring together too. And of the 44 players that have accomplished that feat, only 2 (Tom Chambers and Antawn Jamison) haven't been or likely won't be inducted into the HOF. I think odds are likely that they will be inducted.

Agree with you to an extent. Me not seeing them as hofers had nothing to do with them making it or not but more how I see view them among the greats. They dont hold that HOF level mystique. Hard to explain.

[daslicer]

At best they will probably end up like David Robinson/Sean Elliot which is a WCF appearance.

[tbdog]

DD game should last as he doesn't really use his athleticism. He plays grounded to the floor. Just be interesting if the lack of range will hurt his game the older he gets and the harder he finds himself getting to his spots.

[John B]

LMA needs to bullyball first if I would rate him up there, none of those settling for fadeaways. Likewise, Demar needs a consistent 3 and he would be a beast. Those combined with the 2nd unit fast high octane scoring, the latest attention to defense, could get us the ring. It’s very doable, TP learned to shoot the 3. Demar has the better lift and mechanics to shoot over defenders, a variety of moves to keep his defender off guard. He needs that 3 pt shot. His demeanor is also questionable lately. I’ve never seen the big 3 lost their cool. It’s just not Spurs way. Spurs just keep digging, not getting frustrated, just trusting the system. We have good pieces but needs sharpening. And of course Spurs need a hard nose defensive stopper, a 3 and D, an Elliott, a Bowen, a Kawhi that stops a Nash, Allen, Kobe, LeBron. It’s the blueprint of Spurs championship. I would argue that when Elliott got his kidney surgery, when Bowen slowed down, is when Kobe/Shaq, Kobe/Pau won. It’s when Kawhi went down Dubs got back-to-back. It’s not just 2 dominant scorers, but a catalyst ball-stopper that got us the rings.

[SpursDynasty85]

Ultimately this duo is missing a 3rd piece. Rudy because of age and injury probably can't cut it as the 3rd guy but would be the perfect 4th.

[John B]

Header should be big two and a defensive catalyst tbh

[Mr. Body]

If GSW is done, the chip it's wide open. But ing Kawhi.

[SPURt]

The Murray injury was big. I wish I could’ve seen this team with him healthy.

[Arcadian]

it, let's throw Gay in there and call it a Big 3.

[timtonymanu]

Lol from the big 3 to this “Big Two” smh

[timtonymanu]

it, let's throw Gay in there and call it a Big 3.

Nope

[John B]

It will be big two plus Murray as the defensive catalyst.

[Spurtacular]

it, let's throw Gay in there and call it a Big 3.

Sort of like they did with Parker back in the day.