How much better is this years team than last year???

[Brazil]

Last year's Spurs are much better than this year's Spurs. You've been lucky to play a lot weak teams early in the season this year. When your schedule gets tougher you'll be in for some heartache.

Aren't you tired to repeat the same old song again and again and again ?

[xtremesteven33]

Alonzo Mourning
Brad Miller
Dikeme Mutombo

are some guys i could see either being signed or traded for.

[Mavs<Spurs]

1 more big who can defend and rebound.

Mahinmi


Oberto needs to play better and be more productive.


That's it.


If we can add a big who can defend and rebound and when Mahinmi returns he plays 30 min and plays well and Oberto improves his play and plays the other 30 min (and Bonner and KT fill the remaining time), Spurs can compete with anyone.


Not necessarily favored to beat Lakers, but not major underdogs either.
Tony, Tim, Manu with Mason and Hill playing this well + Finley playing well + Mahinmi playing well + Bonner and Oberto is enough to be close to even terms with the Lakers.

We still must improve our defense and our rebounding. That means Mahinmi and another big coming in and helping Tim guard the paint and grabbing boards, especially defensive boards.


After our poor start without Manu, followed by our loss of Tony, I really didn't know if we would make the playoffs.

However, Mason and Hill have played so well that things look much brighter now than before the season began.

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Alonzo Mourning
Brad Miller
Dikeme Mutombo

are some guys i could see either being signed or traded for.

Brad Miller actually fits perfectly for them.....who they give idk maybe once Finley becomes trade eligible they can trade him with the agreement he gets bought out and resigned a month later. Finley Udoka Vaughn Bonner works under the salary cap.

[Anti.Hero]

We'd be pretty sick at full strength if ing Splitter wouldn't have pussed out.

[lefty]

What a difference a year makes. The Spurs are a *gasp* young team right now. The Mason and Hill pickups were on the money.

Nobody wanted to see Manu or Tony injured but in a way, they were a blessing in disguise. They gave Pop no choice but to play the young guys and this helps the team in the long run.

Good point.

However, would Hill and Mason would have developed/adjusted so quickly if Manu and Tony didn't get injured ??????????

[Darkwaters]

We'd be pretty sick at full strength if ing Splitter wouldn't have pussed out.

My gripe exactly. Tiago would be starting right about now and anything Ian could offer would be icing on the cake.

[colargol]

Better cause
TP is getting better as he always did ...
Hill and Mason are filling exactely Spurs's needs
Duncan is Duncan...
Manu is coming of from some "days off" and will be in shape for the PO
Pop is.

[mrspurs]

threads like this crack me up.

It was barely a week and a half ago when there were nothing but doom threads everywhere.

Wait til the Spurs hit a 4 game losing streak and we see threads that say "how much better was last year's team than this current roster of garbage players"

And its drama your looking for. Sounds like you cant wait for a 4 game losing streak. Great Spurs fan you are.

[mrspurs]

My gripe exactly. Tiago would be starting right about now and anything Ian could offer would be icing on the cake.

Thats the Spurs fault for signing him. They didnt learn anything from signing Scolla then being to cheap to bring him in. Then lost him for nada. Cant blame noone but the FO for those goof ups. Hopefully they'll learn there lesson and stop trusting guys from overseas. And yes even Manu pulled a fast one on Pop. Of course Manu knew he would get hurt and we would get Roger and play him alot so he would become a better player for us no matter what. yeah right. Roger is not only playing great basketball, imo he's also making Manu not look so stupid for his selfish move after last season ended.

[Spurtacus]

Too early to say. I'll wait until we play the Lakers.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I think quite a bit better. I mean really we all can agree no one thought mason would be quite as good as he's been....and NO one saw ghill doing some of the things hes done already. Those two guys alone have changed my negative thoughts towards the team before the year started to hugely positive thinking if healthy going into the playoffs we can really beat any team. I guess like most have said how much better now depends on if Ian can come up as a force-if he does, wow, a great team for sure-maybe one of the best of all the spurs teams

Not true.

I clearly remember both LJ and myself saying Mason'd be good for at least 12ppg.

And I remember a bunch of posters who maintained that Hill would be very good, even after his shooting woes in Vegas.

Might want to attenuate your statements a little.

[ShoogarBear]

1 more big who can defend and rebound.

Bingo. Without that, the Spurs don't even get as far in the playoffs as they did last year.

[timvp]

The Spurs of a year ago would wipe the floor with this team currently. Spurs fans forget how good they were during that 17-3 start.

But this team will obviously get better once everyone is healthy. Considering that the team last year depended on Finley to be the team's fourth scorer, this team can't help but be better. But they do need to figure out the rebounding issue and a couple more blocks per game would be nice . . .

[picnroll]

I'm dumbfounded with Bonner's defensive play. Did he get a brain transplant?

[Frenchise player]

The great thing about this year is that not only Hill and Mason have arrived, Bonner is playing better and Tim, Manu and Tony seem poised for another year of greatness.

Really, the big news from this game for me is Manu doing what Manu does.
That was great to see.

[ducks]

tp would own hill

[Whisky Dog]

Right now at this time last year the 2007 Spurs would beat the 2008 Spurs.

If the Spurs roll into the playoffs with these guys improved, Parker back, either Ian or another big stepping up big next to Duncan, and everyone healthy and relatively rested then there's no doubt the 2009 Spurs playoff team would be much deeper and quite a bit better than 2008 Spurs playoff team, especially WCF Spurs team.

[GSH]

The Spurs of a year ago would wipe the floor with this team currently. Spurs fans forget how good they were during that 17-3 start.

The problem was that the team was out of gas by the end of the season. There were just too many tired legs by the time we played the Lakers. The only real difference between that team and this one is that Barry and Horry are gone, and Mason and Hill have arrived.

Look at the last WCF game against the Lakers - the rotation was: Bowen, Duncan, Oberto, Finley, Parker, Ginobili, Thomas, and Barry. We could almost field the same team today. Mason gives up a couple of inches to Barry, but so far he is a more consistent scorer, and he's a lot younger.

It looks like Hill will be a better backup PG than Vaughn was last year, and I'll take Mason over Barry. I think that already makes this a better team. If any one of Udoka/Tolliver/Mahinmi can play well enough to get some decent minutes in Pop's playoff rotation, this team could be a lot better.

[SpursDynasty]

The Lakers can't beat the Spurs in a 7 game series.

[ducks]

the problem the spurs had was the schedule against lakers last year

also bad luck with the plane

[holcs50]

threads like this crack me up.

It was barely a week and a half ago when there were nothing but doom threads everywhere.

Wait til the Spurs hit a 4 game losing streak and we see threads that say "how much better was last year's team than this current roster of garbage players"

wow- i guess u cant read. i said lets keep this positive. or at the least productive