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Yeah, Jack and Elliott come to mind, but they weren't shutdown guys, and you couldn't pick the most dangerous player on the other team and say "Go get him" like you could with Bruce.
The spurs have had 1 perimeter stopper since I have been following the spurs in the last 15+ yrs...You think its easy to find such players and if so don't you think more teams would have them?
Yeah, Jack and Elliott come to mind, but they weren't shutdown guys, and you couldn't pick the most dangerous player on the other team and say "Go get him" like you could with Bruce.
we need two pure perimeter stoppers!
Did Bruce guard Zach Randolph when he was in Portland? I seem to recall Bruce guarded their PF one or two games and shut him down. Was that Zach he guarded? I can't recall who the PF was that he guarded.
Possibly, but Zach in Portland was not the same player as he's been in Memphis. If we had prime Bowen for this series, we wouldn't waste him on Zbo, though he couldn't have done a worse job than Dice did. He'd probably have gotten some time on Conley, certainly would have shut Allen and Young down, and he'd have been great to have on Arthur when he was in the game.
Thats pretty damn true. I seem to have forgotten that the team gave up on defense.
I know he's not the same player, and I was going to mention that, but the point I wanted to make was that even if he wasn't as good back then it is amazing that Bruce was able to shut him down and all of our guys right now that are better suited to guard him just got abused.
TP was playing terrific defense early this year. Manu is not a bad defender, he gambles and gets caught cheating sometimes but he is not a bad defender at all. RJ has been improved this season but he still sucks and severely trailed off at the end of the season.
There is no one in the NBA on Bruce's level. I wish we could get someone with elite defense and an offensive game like Iguodala but that's not gonna happen. Battier is a free agent this offseason so he's really our best shot. Prince will be available this summer as well but his defense has tapered off, but that could be due to lack of effort and needing a change of scenery.
You need something... especially to ease the burden of defending inside. As people already stated, you're not going to get another Bowen, as he was a freak of nature. But that doesn't mean you should just abandon searching for one.
Agree. The Spurs have a great defensive coach so we don't necessarily need a prime TD and Bowen to have good defense. Look at the Bulls, they are playing elite defense while having no elite defensive players unless you consider Deng elite and they have Boozer in the lineup who is worse on defense than a one-legged Matt Bonner. I think if the Spurs got a good weakside shotblocker or someone that can hold down the paint with Tim so team's aren't running layup drills, we'll be okay. I think Dalembert is a free agent this summer and while he would command too much money, he's a decent option as he doesn't need the ball on offense but can score on putbacks and dunks, and he rebounds and blocks shots at a good rate. A little clumsy, but who cares.
If Splitter turns out to be a good center next season, all we need is one other big like Dalembert or another defensive SEVEN FOOTER and we'll have a good rotation with Duncan/Splitter/Dalembert (for example)/Bonner/Blair. That's good defense, versatility, rebounding, and three point shooting from the bigs.
If we got a decent defender like Battier on the perimeter and a solid big man down low, we'd be ready for one more run.
The difference with the Bulls is that they can afford to play a guy like Bogans because Rose is so dominant on the offensive end. It's analogous to us getting away with Bowen not giving us much of anything on offense when Timmy was so dominant. Unfortunately, we don't have that anymore, thus the reason Bogans couldn't really get minutes while he was with the Spurs.
All that said, I rather have a stopper rather than trotting a disappearing act like RJ out there, and try to get the offense from somewhere else. We're just in a tough position regardless.
Considering the way OKC just got slapped, Spurs fans should be pretty happy with the defense the Spurs managed to play against Memphis with very little preparation. There's no reason to think that they can't be a top defensive team next season with a few tweaks. This experiment into running offense should help them to stay fresh during the regular season.
Bowen was great defebsively, no doubt, but Battier is better suited for today's game which requires offense especially at the wings.
This team definitely needs some guys who can defend the perimeter but getting someone like bruce in that aspect is just a pipe dream. Also, how the team is built and aged right now we would need someone who isn't as limited and a liability on the offensive end as bruce was. I agree that Battier is a pretty ideal fit, I just wish he wasn't going to be 33 next season.
The spurs need a big man that can score inside and draw double teams and fouls. Good luck with that. Although, id like to see Splitter be the number option in the front court. I think he can be just as good as Marc Gasol is.
Maybe around the rim but Gasol has a jumper Splitter will never possess.
You definitely make a good point, but the discussion was about a pure stopper. Battier's best days as a defender are far behind him, and he was never a stopper. And very few people in the NBA are. Bowen in his prime could score. I remember him outscoring Kobe in a game against LA. He was so good that he could make a difference and didn't have to score.
When it comes right down to it, defense is more a matter of effort, system and mindset than anything else, something the Spurs used to have and could have again. If you play good team defense, you don't need all-defensive players at every position. Doc Rivers got Ray Allen to be an excellent defender. AJ got the Mavericks to be a good defensive team before they turned on him.
If spending the last two years having Duncan develop that reliable 20 foot jumper doesn't perfectly dovetail with Splitter's game then nothing in the NBA ever has. I'd be happy if Splitter started 82 games and never went more than ten feet from the rim.
Memphis has shown the value of a really big man like Gasol. He's not very athletic, but he takes up so much space and scores without jumping much. Too bad the Spurs picked both Splitter and Williams before LA picked up Gasol.
The Spurs have not been very successful after they got rid of Rasho and Nazr.
Needs:
1. Back up pg - a passer who can rebound and get people open shots.
2. Move RJ - You can't have your second highest paid player suck so bad.
3. A legit young PF - Dice is going to retire we need a tough tall PF who can play with Splitter.
4. Need another player who is tough and athletic who can create own shot and has the speed to beat people of the dribble and take it to the rack.
I think we might be able to trade RJ if we throw in Hill or Blair which I would do in a heartbeat!!
Yeah the problem is Jefferson.
2008 the year or all changed spurs destiny.
... Memphis is pretty good. They have 2 of the best perimeter stoppers in Tony Allen and Shane Battier and they have 2 of the best big men in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
These are all excellent players in the positions we need most...no wonder we got our tails kicked.
Imagine how much better this team will be next year when Rudy comes back from injury. Omg....
the best role for RJ is off the bench in a low pressure role. Bring in a defensive wing (Prince or Battier) to take the starting SF role because it's clear this team needs an infusion of defense from the perimiter and post.
that said, i hope Pop works with RJ again this summer (cuz let's face it, the dude isn't going anywhere). last summer it was on his shooting, and it improved vastly. but next year he's gotta have some kind of post game. the guy can post up the majority of SFs in the league with his size & height. it's INSANE that at this point is career he has not developed that part of his game. but i'm not giving up hope. last year he came in with virtually no jump shot. maybe next year he comes in with a back-to the basket game.
it's clear he's not fit to be the starting SF on this team though. not good enough defensively. but he can succeed off the bench if he comes in with some kind of post game.
RJ will never have a post game, it's just not his style, even though you'd think he'd enjoy that sort of thing (backing into guys).
And really, what the is Pop gonna do to help him in this area. Pop doesn't have a clue about how to teach bigs the fundamentals of the post. If you doubt this, just look at the disaster that is Dejuan Blair.
Well it wasn't his style to be a spot up shooter either before this year and he developed that. Not saying he will but I have some hope.
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