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we're not good.
dunno how good are we,
but with gino and ford back into the rotation, our offense is more smoother....
splitter and KL are the only ones who actually are forced to play defense, while everyone is sleep walking on defense...
we're not good.
Best scenario barring getting top seed in the lottery would be to sneak into the playoffs as an 8th seed with the worst won/loss record of all the playoff contenders and with Manu and TJ back at full force, provided no one else gets injured of course. That way we still get a high draft pick plus be very very dangerous though out the playoffs.
Ginobili's return will not fix what everyone knows is the achilles heel with this team - defense - or the lack thereof. The sheer inability to defend the post, protect the rim, and get key stops when necessary.
On the offensive end, this team have evolved into one that is too reliant on 3-pt shooting. This a situation that doesn't bode well when the playoffs start, when defenses adjust and a team's strengths are taken away. With Duncan's decline, this team can no longer manufacture as many points in the paint, and the "and-1" situations.
Anyone who doesn't understand that, has not been watching the past two playoff series.
I agree with all of that, however, the rest of the teams in the West are severely flawed, as well..
Only OKC and maybe Portland don't have glaring flaws, although you could consider Westbrook as a flaw, and Portland does not have a go-to guy in clutch time..
Let's not forget the effects of no training camp and the compacted scheduele. I mean really who the knows right now, especially with Manu out. This team almost always finishes stronger than we start so let's relax and wait and see.
Right now, without Ginobili or a reliable defense, the Spurs are a .500 team at best. Any win at all is a good win at this point.
Addition by subtraction.
Can Bean put up 40 every night? Are the Clips really that good? The Mavs look a step slow. Portland and Denver are doing it with balance. So the Spurs are in the mix.
There really isn't a dominant team out there. When the Spurs are relatively healthy, I feel that they can compete for a top 4 spot. Defensively, this ain't like the Dynasty days. But Offensively, it's almost Doug Moe like.
We're average. We lack the personnel (read: big men) to be a great defensive team. That's what it takes to be elite.
agree with all of this West is open... OKC is the favorite but they will miss Maynor ...
I think OKC is overrated, they're athletic, but I feel like they're too green to go to the finals this year.
When Scott Brooks can only draw up 40 foot jumpers for Durant in crunch time, I just don't have a lot of faith.
This is one of the most talented teams I have seen in many years. The only recent team that comes to mind is the 2003 Championship team. We are two deep in every position. We are stacked at the 1 and 2 position. The 3 position has been further solidified with Leonards development. Duncan, Blair and Splitter could be one of the best three man big rotation in the NBA, and dont forget about Bonner who has great range and smarts. If we can get one more solid big then we should be favored to come out of the West.
Exactly.
Killakobe81, good call with the Maynor injury. That's a bigger loss than many probably realize. They no longer have a true point guard or a safety net for the games in which Westbrook's erratic play is killing them.
Because of the nature of the schedule more than anything, I'd still consider them the favorites too. But they're not the Heat or Bulls; they're vulnerable. A healthy Spurs team, with none of the big three completely wiped out, could absolutely beat them in a series and they're not the only ones.
How good are the Spurs? The truth is, nobody really knows. Because by the time the playoffs start, it'll have been 5 years since Ginobili was fully healthy in the playoffs. And if he is healthy this time, that Ginobili changes everything.
Damn, some people in this thread have really lowered expectations for this team.
I'd say 6-8 seed right now, on the higher end if Leonard continues to develop nicely, Parker returns as close to his All Star form as he can, and RJ doesn't dramatically drop off like last season.
As for the rest of the West, OKC does seem to be the stand out to me (if Westbrook ever learns to just pass the ball to KD in crunch time, that is). I was at that game and even on the end of a back-to-back their energy was outstanding. Harden is their X-factor, the Spurs had NO answer for him.
People are suddenly rating the Lakers higher because of two 40 point games from Kobe. I don't think they're much better than the Spurs, losing Odom was big, and their free agent signings weren't exactly marquee guys. Bynum's having a fine season so far but we'll see if his knee holds up. Outside of Kobe, Bynum, and Pau, there isn't much help.
I agree with Denver and Portland using balance to early success, we'll see if Portland doesn't get another freak injury.
"Lob City" finally broke through with a good win vs. the Heat last night, but the verdict's still out on that team.
Grizz aren't a factor without Z-Bo.
As for the Mavs, they're starting to come around, and I would not have expected Delonte West to be performing the best out of their three big signings, but that's the case. Vince Carter and Lamar Odom have been disappointments as Mavs so far!
This team isn't as good as the past championship teams on defense obviously, but it has it's spurts.
If they can get through this Manu/TJ-less stretch with their head above water, there's no reason to think that they can't contend and get to the WCF against OKC and see what happens from there.
...not sure if this is an optimistic or a pessimistic sign, but when was the last time we had a healthy big 3 for an entire playoff run? A 100% healthy 2012 SA Spurs team is good.
All depends on defensive improvement. We're a really good/elite offensive team, and we have pretty good perimeter depth. But bigs are lacking, and we can't protect the rim.
Defensive improvement can come through either a trade, or Using the MMLE on trade deadline salary dumps. We just lack the personal inside to be good.
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