What concerns me is the dreaded 2nd year slump with being a Spur. Hope he doesn't lose his shooting groove this year when Pop finally relieves him of PG duties and concentrate on spot up elbow and corner 3s.
I see 21mpg, 9ppg, .440 3p% this season for my favorite Spur.
He will be fine. He now know the system and what is expected in the playoffs. This guy is learning from his mistakes and motivated to improve. If he stays at the starting 2, we are going to very dangerous for kick outs from tony or RJ on second pass.
Good to hear. Sounds like everyone is hungry for the new season.
The ? I expect him to be the spurs starting SG. What the is he so worried about? If anybody should be
worried, it's Finley.
I like Mason, but I don't like his self assessment of the playoffs. Playing average for 2 games is not good enough. It's playoff time. You got to bring it to get the ring.
Not surprised to see a UVa man VP of the NBAPA
but good to hear he's workin' hard, wouldn't expect anything else
Want to see a leaner meaner quicker version of the Spurs this year. And it looks like the players do as well.
The season always looks great from the viewpoint of the Summer doldrums, but I swear I can hardly wait for camp to open
That is exactly what I thought when I read this. Very smart by him to make improvements that will help him the most on the court as a basketball player. Not just as a numbers guy.
The guys are all trying to lose weight now.
Off-topic: Yesterday, my country had a national day rally speech by the Prime Minister. He said being obese is a problem and he used USA as an example stating that 3 out of 4 guys are overweight, causing a laugh from his ministers.
I'm pretty sure the Spurs coaching staff prescribed a special stamina program to Mason.
he ran out of gas in the middle of last season (IMO it was this fact that caused Pop to try to play him at backup PG, it was a try to reduce the workload).
he never played as many minutes as last season and he has never been an outstanding athlete to begin with. the mix of reduced weight, better shape and minutes in the 20-25 MPG area should (hopefully) help him to survive the regular season and be effective in the PO.
the question will be, who can defend the strong SGs. (even a heavier Mason wasn't able to do this well last year). this is one of the remaining holes of this roster. RJ will be needed to guard the athletic SFs. maybe Hairston helps in this department, but I don't think he is ready yet.
I think if Mason loses a few pounds it should help his defense, so that should help out. I think Manu can also fill this void if he focuses on defense instead of offense (spurs shouldn't need his offense as badly his year w/ Jefferson).
The young guns: George Hill will also be used against the smaller, quicker SG's. Hairston is there for the bigger ones that are adept at posting up. I expect both of these guys to get PT this year.
I think as a whole the spurs philosophy this year will remain defense first, but they defenitely have the offensive firepower now to not have to rely on shutting teams down completely in order to win.
all true. I would still feel better if I knew who will defend Kobe, JR Smith, Josh Howard, Roy etc. and I don't think it's a good idea to increase Manu's workload on defense. we will still need his creativity and explosiveness on offense much more than what RJ adds. a defensive workhorse for the wing will be needed.
(to replace Fin, he will be the weakest spot of our wing rotation)
Leaner, Quicker, Stronger
by Timothy Varner
Mike Monroe reports that Roger Mason Jr. dropped his body fat percentage this summer in an effort to become “more active.” (I know, I’m late to the Monroe article.)
Johnny Ludden tells us that Tim Duncan is down to 240.
The arrival of skinny Timmy and a slim Mase raises my curiosity, but in a way you might not expect. I’m not thinking about either of them zipping to the hoop on a back cut.
The Spurs offseason transformation produced a more athletic roster, albeit one full of ambitious outsiders such as Marcus Haislip, Marcus Williams, Ian Mahinmi and Malik Hairston–guys who still must prove they belong in the NBA. But all things considered, team speed is on the come up. Even the Spurs’ newest late career reclamation project, Antonio McDyess, is capable of getting up and down the floor with a reasonably swift foot.
Offseason acquisitions Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess improve team scoring. In terms of career averages, they bring 30 points a night. We know, however, that the Spurs won’t average 127 points per game. Nevertheless, the Spurs hope to edge their per game average up from 97. But they’re not going to touch the Lakers gaudy 106.9 points per game. I’ll be happy if they creep into triple digits.
Their task is to keep the Lakers from scoring 107 on them. Enter the Spurs’ new gazelles.
This takes us back to leaner, quicker, stronger. The stronger in this case is a stronger defense. The players are leaner and quicker.
The prospect of Parker pushing an honest three man break (as opposed to his one man whirling dervish routine) is exciting to me, but not as much as the possibility of the team’s defense returning to form. A lighter Duncan, a quicker Mason Jr., athletic options in Richard Jefferson, George Hill, and Marcus Haislip, could signal a livelier, pestering team defense. Quintessentially disciplined, but swarmingly so.
The Spurs were one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA at the start of last season. Uncharacteristically dreadful. They crawled back to respectability by season’s end, but never to a place of dominance. Let’s hope the new personnel helps the Spurs return to their familiar spot atop the defensive efficiency rankings.
Last edited by Blackjack; 08-18-2009 at 01:14 AM.
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