The fast break is also a way to rest Duncan without taking him out of the game. Duncan is rarely involved in the break, so on those possessions that end in a fast break it is likely that Duncan never passes half court.
Splitter is going to come in handy on the defense end. I noticed in the Suns game that when Tim and Splitter where in the game together, the Suns were not as confident in taking the ball to the hole. With time, the Spurs will probably bring a degree of fear to players brining it in the lane. Its always frustrating to beat a seven footer only to find another right behind.
I actually think the quicker pace was the only way to go once Jefferson was signed last season. With that much talent, you gotta speed up the pace to create more opportunities for the talent at your disposal on the offensive end.
The defense could be a lot better. Then again, as long as the Spurs can get the stops when they need them at the end of close games, or to go on a comeback/closing run, I wouldn't mind so much.
Running does not necessary mean playing poor defense neither does slowing down the pace mean your a good defensive team. Obviously by slowing down the pace your chances of limiting the score of the opposing team is greater, ( less possesions equals less points) however this does not necessary mean your playing good defense, I remember Mike frotalo's cleveland team really shortened the game by limiting possesions. and was always tops in defensive statstistics but to say his team was a better defensive team done the Jordan's bulls inpite of the better defensive stats is false. My point in all of this is by the Spurs pushing the pace will naturally result in our defensive stats going down, this however does not necessary mean our defense is worse. And I think we can still be a great defensive team just like the MJ bulls with a fast pace offense.
Hmmm. No?
The fact is that we can't really play the slow down defensive game any more because we don't have the personnel.
The Spurs used to be able to play lock-down defense whenever they wanted to and could win most games where they only scored aroun 90-95 points. Other teams and sports writers hated it, but it was effective.
But with the loss of their premier defender, Bowen, and the slowing down of Duncan and McDyess and maybe Manu and Jefferson to age and Bonner to terminal white-boyism, there simply isn't a way for us to play that good defense any more.
This team has changed and it is to Pop's credit as a coach that he has recognized it and adapted his style to his personnel. That doesn't mean they still won't try to play good defense and emphasize it a lot--but they are going to have to do a bit more on the offensive end in the balance.
I agree. Pop's willingness to adapt this year has been great to see. Also, letting loose on the reins a bit might make the adjustment to the newcomers a little easier. Hard to say if that's the reason, but the results so far have been good.
I think another thing that helps us with the running game is that Tim is a very good outlet passer. Im not sure Blair is yet, but he and Splitter are also very good passers in general. I think having guys who can rebound and start a break going the other way is key to ultimately mixing defense and a running game.
the turnovers come from forcing the ball to duncan......
I haven't been up here in A while heat but good info and epic kobe pic. lol for real.
Not true. At least in the first 5 games, Duncan averaged 31 minutes without these OT minutes.
I worry about our defense. And the pace does not help us on that end I don't think. I like the pace, its just going to take longer to get back to SPURS defense. If we can get a good team defense to go along with this offense.. we can compete...wait...BEAT anyone.
Spurs are maintaining the same pace they did to start the season..they are now #3 in the NBA in fast break points..the defense has even gotten better, they're now #6 defensively, despite the pace..
It looks like it might work, although it's obviously still really early..
2nd in Offensive Efficiency
6th in Defensive Efficiency
3rd in Rebounding Rate
The numbers are starting to back up and justify the Spurs W/L record. The offense is nice and all.... but the defense and rebounding are both real positives... theoretically they should be more sustainable than the offense especially once playoff time comes around and opposition defenses can key in on the offense a lot more. Also the easy schedule argument can no longer be made since the Spurs have a SOS of .500 which is 13th in the league. Obviously they havent had a rough start in terms of opposition by any stretch ... but the statistics have held up against some quality opposition (Utah Thunder Orlando Chicago Phoenix).
Im interested to see if the defense can continue to get better. Its kind of surprising to see it at 6th best in the league without Splitter being fully integrated yet... he should easily be the Spurs second best overall defender by the time he is in the rotation and i expect the Spurs defense to be among the better defenses in the league when that happens... it wont be elite.. but it definately wont be a weakness like it was last season.
The rebounding was always going to be around the best in the league with Tim, Blair and Dyess as the three main rotation guys (since Bonner and Tiago havent played much yet)... hopefully that can stay elite once Blair is replaced in the starting line up by Tiago and Bonner continues to see his regular 20-25 minutes a night.. that aint changing lets face it.
Anyway... still really early as Harlem pointed out... but the statistics are really backing up the W/L record... which can often be fools gold. Things look good.
Hit the link for the whole piece.
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...reaking-spurs/Points coming in 100s for fast-breaking Spurs
Jeff McDonald
...“Pop has been pushing the pace since preseason,” said small forward Richard Jefferson, who has benefited most from the Spurs’ transformation into a scoring juggernaut. “It opens things up for everybody.”
This season, Popovich wants everything done on fast forward.
Outlet passes need to go further up the court. Wings and guards need to fill lanes quickly. If there’s an opportunity to run, take it.
...And when that initial fastbreak doesn’t work? Popovich wants to get into halfcourt sets sooner, too.
“All those things help initiate pace,” said Popovich, whose team is also shooting an NBA-best 44.4 percent on 3-pointers. “Our guys have been pretty disciplined about it most of the time.”
Popovich would prefer the newfangled focus on offense not replace the dedication to the defensive principles that have served the franchise well in the championship era. Here, he really does not want to follow the Phoenix model.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean your defense is going to go downhill,” Popovich said. “I don’t look at it like if you do one, we’re going to lose at the other end.”
Just look at the Suns pace on offense......no wonder they lose all their games by 20.
Popovich would prefer the newfangled focus on offense not replace the dedication to the defensive principles that have served the franchise well in the championship era. Here, he really does not want to follow the Phoenix model.
“It doesn’t necessarily mean your defense is going to go downhill,” Popovich said. “I don’t look at it like if you do one, we’re going to lose at the other end.”
I admit I was worried watching the new fast paced look of the Spurs the first few games of this season, but they seem to be doing much better at mixing defence with offence now. Defence is still no where near as good as it needs to be, but you can definitely see it's improving.
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