Spurs' defense without Duncan..

[UnWantedTheory]

Oberto was a much better defender than Blair or Bonner, arguably McDyess..more importantly, that was Duncan in his prime + Bowen on the perimeter + weaker compe ion, especially from a size perspective..

[ElNono]

Robert Horry was great...BUT he might have won the le in 04 if he didn't [in Game 5 vs the Lakers] a) chuck up a bad three up three points with a minute left and b) double team Kobe who was 30 feet away from the basket instead of guarding the inbounds with 0.4 to play which allowed for an easy pass to Fisher. Just my rant.

Everybody has a mental fart here and there, including Manu in '06.
Horry played better the higher the stakes. He was a guy that would come up with a timely blocked shot or a charge when it mattered. Stuff that Matty can only dream about.

[jjktkk]

WE seriously need another BIG down low to contribute, i dont think blair and bonner is the answer, even splitter isnt gettin any minutes so i count him out of the equation

I agree, but I don't see any big additions this year, so we have to hope Blair continues to develop and hopefully Splitter will somehow get into the mix.

[SenorSpur]

WE seriously need another BIG down low to contribute, i dont think blair and bonner is the answer, even splitter isnt gettin any minutes so i count him out of the equation

Isn't it ironic that the Spurs have somehow developed this need for a low-post big, when they allowed a young, athletic, low-post big to simply leave in FA over the offseason? A move that still chaps my hide.

[Cane]

Imo its always surprising to see how much of a defensive impact that the anchor named Duncan still dishes out; props to the OP . Once someone sees those numbers it no question that Duncan deserves another all star appearance in addition to other NBA honors and awards like All-NBA. His impact on the game is remarkable even though he's playing with really flawed talents in Blair and Bonner and ancient vets like McDyess.

However I'm not overly-concerned of the Spurs defense without Duncan for these reasons:

1. Spurs are winning to the point of having the best record in the NBA
   
2. Spurs still have plenty to work on and the season's still young. The Spurs defense seems to go up another level as the season progresses.
   
3. Duncan's averaging a career low in minutes and looks healthy, if he was playing more than he did last season it'd be more of a concern. The Spurs have also used him less on offense this year which should allow him to rest or focus that energy on the defensive end.
   
4. Those numbers when Duncan's off the court might be inflated since it doesn't distinguish what minutes are garbage-time, when the Spurs have gigantic leads, etc.
   
5. James Anderson and Tiago Splitter. Yes they're NBA-rookies but I expect both of these players to get more minutes in the 2nd half of the season as the Spurs schedule becomes demanding and busier. Both of these players seem to be pretty decent on defense however Anderson's rotations, quickness to stay on his man, and ability to block shots was surprising since I thought he was more offensively-minded.

[jjktkk]

Isn't it ironic that the Spurs have somehow developed this need for a low-post big, when they allowed a young, athletic, low-post big to simply leave in FA over the offseason? A move that still chaps my hide.

No its not ironic. If the Spurs would have of kept Mahimni, that would be 3 developmental bigs on the roster. Although Splitter, for whatever reasons, has not played much this year, he was, coming into this season, considered to be an upgrade over Mahimni. Throw in Blair's expected improvement in his 2nd year, and there wouldn't have been no room for a 3rd developmental big man. How could Pop find enough minutes for Blair, Mahimni, and Splitter?

[BlairForceDejuan]

Developing Splitter is the only viable option at this point.

This this this this this this this this this this this

[Agloco]

lol Noah at +11

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: The Spurs need another long, defensive minded big on the roster.

[TheSullyMonster]

Isn't it ironic that the Spurs have somehow developed this need for a low-post big, when they allowed a young, athletic, low-post big to simply leave in FA over the offseason? A move that still chaps my hide.

It isn't like Mahinmi is suddenly fantastic in Dallas and we're all kicking ourselves over him leaving.

[Blake]

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: The Spurs need another long, defensive minded big on the roster.

if only Splitter would get here. The Spurs could sure use him.

[Hoops Czar]

Hypothetically, Splitter would be the anchor to the defense when Duncan is on the bench. But if Pop is putting Splitter in the Oberto program, we might have to hope that McDyess turns back the clock even more.

Its hard to play defense when your lying on your back.

[Hoops Czar]

Ian Mahinmi sucked/still sucks. We need to get a vet big who's 7' and can play solid defense or develop Splitter quickly.

We could have had Shaq for pennies, but opted against it because we had TOO MANY big option and pop didn't want to stunt Splitter's development. Now we need a vet big? Sorry, the nba's all sold out of those. The Spurs have nothing they can afford to give up nor the cap space to attain one at the trade deadline. The spurs are plum out of luck.

[kjhip1]

your not going to find a quality big at this time unless your willing to initiate a trade, which Pop wont do..

If a trade were in the cards, I definately would want this guy:

[Agloco]

if only Splitter would get here. The Spurs could sure use him.