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HCA is big. It's why the Spurs had the pedal to the medal from the start.
Spurs would beat the Warriors in a playoff series, Thunder would give us a very hard time, and the Warriors would cuck the Thunder, its a dangerous game for all 3 of these teams and whoever can draw Clippers for the WCSF will go all the way imo, each team needs another team to help make their road easier.
HCA is big. It's why the Spurs had the pedal to the medal from the start.
It's way too early for any of this. The Spurs suffered through a series of injuries in a year when Houston, Los Angeles, and Golden State all had breakout seasons. Nobody in the league is really running what the Spurs run, save for Atlanta and maybe the Dubs a little. We're 4 games into the Aldridge era. The Spurs haven't been this across-the-board healthy since 2014. Many looks resurgent. Give it time.
Haven't you heard we are all running like Chicken Little here, because our championship aspirations rest on Kyle Anderson
I want to see Boban center, Timmy PF, LMA SF, Kawhi SG, Kyle PG.
See if teams want to go small against that.
No, only the Warriors have reached the Spurs level and that is because of Curry. Other than that, teams (Wizards, Hawks, Kings, etc) are mimicking the Spurs, but they have a long ways to go in actually executing on a nightly basis like the Spurs.
You have to have the players to do it. And only GS has the depth to sustain this type of play for 48 minutes.
And just to think of all the threads trashing this guy over the past couple of years.
In retrospect, the veolcity of the teams ascension is in direct correlation to the aforementioned derogatory reformation of the leagues anticipatory regurgitation. It is my belief that the Warriors of Golden State will pacify the NBAs need to quantify basic inconsequential floccinaucinihilipilification of the "Spurs way". In layman's terms, the league has adopted a fartlek style of play.
Or that was just complete gibberish and we have only played 4 games. The world is not ending.
Yeah. What is the old saying? You don't know what you've got until you lose it?
No. The Spurs have back to the pack. Getting rid of Splitter took away a defensive asset, whereas Parker getting slower has disabled their engine. The 2013 or 2014 Spurs would still run roughshod on the league.
It's true that so far this season, it looks like the Spurs are going away from their ball-movement driven and three-point heavy offense to a more iso/midrange-centered style of play. But I'm sure Pop will try to blend these two philosophies together more as the season goes on. We'll see how successful that will turn out.
Ironic that Parker being the focal point of the offense coincided with the best ball movement and the "beautiful game" while now that Parker has taken a step back (he had to, he's not good enough to be the engine anymore) the Spurs are using more post-ups and isolations.Ya, we discussed this in the game thread the other night, the Spurs going from the team that changed the way the game is played to today's conventional, ISO-heavy team that relies on mid-range jump shots and points in the paint..
It was just a matter of time, though..most NBA franchises are still stuck in the past, hiring old men with antiquated views on the game, all it took was a progressive team like the Warriors to take the Spurs philosophy and put their own spin on it..a big difference being that the Warriors have a superstar in his prime, too, which the Spurs didn't have from 2012 to 2014..
The Spurs winning with this style of play would be pretty fitting, though..I don't see it, right now, the team is playing really ugly basketball, they'll need to find a balance between the ball-movement and individual-centric ball..
true.. tbh...
So Boban clogging the paint and defenses slacking off Kyle because he has a 2x as long release as any other player? The lineup would rebound, but that's about it.
If you weren't so caught up in being defensive and actually comprehended what was written, you'd realize that I posed a question; I never gave an opinion.
Essentially, what I'm asking is, do you think they can win a championship with the offense looking like it did as last season progressed and has looked like to start this season?
It's possible this is the base of it going forward. The vast majority presume otherwise, but their two featured offensive players are not play makers or even ball movers.
A ton of teams run a semblance of the Spurs offense, particularly motion weak.
At this point, the Hawks and Warriors definitely have better ball/player movement than the Spurs.
I realize the '14 approach wouldn't work; I said as much.
Who, besides Leonard, was playing at or near peak standards?
If he was here, he would still be trashed...
Parker shooting 0/15 in the fifth game of the finals. So beautiful. Lmao.lol
Manu's decline in 2015 and Tony being a negative player in 2015 was the reason we did bad.
j
Now I understand your question better and it is a good one. Pop believes the team can win with this style, but we will just have to see. I also think the way they are looking right now is not all they can be yet. There is room for improvement and some guys have started off slow (Danny and LMA, in particular--LMA is starting to take off, but not yet all that he can be for us.)
I think in the end, you have to play the style that suits your players better and the talent you have. Whether or not we can win with this style, there was no way of turning back the clock because Tony is not what he used to be and Manu's role is diminishing. Pop recruiting youngsters who can handle the basketball and pass better than they can shoot just gives you an indication of his priorities. Maybe Anderson looks redundant right now because Manu is looking fresh, but you can't take Manu for granted anymore, and if he goes down on us (God forbid), or he needs more help, a shooter was not going to help at all particularly when you already have a shooter for backup PG. But I am getting sidetracked a bit. The Spurs are changing their style, and its likely they are not yet all that they can be. I think we will get 3 pt shots, they will just be generated in a different way by a different player, and we will play a slower paced style.
There is a real experimental lineup that can play really fast, and we saw it in preseason. I will get flamed for sure by some guys I am ignoring, but what are these forums for, if not to exchange basketball opinions? LMA and Anderson played really fast in preseason. Even Boban/Anderson was a thing in preseason. I don't think Anderson is ready for that role, but that lineup with Kawhi, Danny and Ray played really, really energetic, had shooting, post up guys, sufficient defense and rebounding, and playmaking from a very unexpected spot in Anderson at the 4. Time will tell. That is probably ways off and depends on Anderson's development, but it gives you insight into Pop's exploration of different things.
It's simply a matter of personnel, since Mills is a score-first 2-guard in a PG's body ..they could run the same offense with many PGs that could play Parker's previous role, and some SGs(although that position is pretty bad, at the moment) could run Ginobili's role, too, but they're too loyal to get rid of either of them, obviously..
This might suit Leonard and Aldridge individually, but this team looks like a 4-5 seed and at best, 2nd round and out.
They're an absolute mess and it goes beyond the cliche reasons/excuses. All the disturbing trends (slow starts, zero poise down the stretch of close games, no lead play maker, a lack of three-point shooting) I saw last season have remained, only this time it can't be blamed on fatigue/injury, at least not yet.
At this point Kawhi is our best player, Lamarcus needs to be the second. He's not, and that is concerning, but he should emerge as a force for us to punish the small ball teams. If these two don't come through for us, we are not going anywhere. I suppose deep down your question then is, can we win a championship with Kawhi and Lamarcus as our two best players? Maybe not, but you have to try.
The problem with Tony, maybe even TD to a degree, is that it is a huge adjustment for them to now play a game for others. It was awkward even last season, but now it is a real thing. TD getting position on the left block all the time, I don't think that can happen. Not to on a legend, but we need Lamarcus in a groove and he's not. He's starting games without touching the ball for long times, and when he does, its not even in spots he's comfortable shooting from. Kawhi has been sensational, but his effort on offense, means defensively he's not always there. He can take guys one on one, the Durants, and Carmelos of the world he's shut down pretty much. However, the Otto Porter and Beals of the world, who will just run him off screens and stuff? They ate him alive. He got stuck on screens a whole lot, committed offensive fouls trying to get around guys, etc. Last game was very poor for him defensively. He even failed in the last defensive possession. He stayed in the paint, instead of going to Beal and contest a 3. That simply can't happen.
We are going as far as these two are taking us. TD and Manu will always be there to help, but with them as our best players we are not winning a championship. It's tough for the team to make this transition, but I believe the unselfish players that they are and the fiery compe ors that they are, they will figure it out.
It is extremely difficult to win a championship without a top 5 or even top 3 talent in the league.
Spurs 2014, Pistons 2004 were the exceptions. Heck, it took an Ibaka injury AND Tim posting up like it was 2003 in OT for Spurs to get past OKC.
If Curry is anywhere near his level right now, which makes his MVP season look weak in comparison, just hand them the rings.
This is something most Spurstalkers overlook. 2014 was great, but that team was an outlier. What do the pundits say every year in the playoffs? Stars -- not role players -- win championships. As you said, the 2014 Spurs were an exception.
That's why I'm pumped to have LMA in his prime, KL already as a top 10 player and best defender in the NBA, and Duncan still as a top 3 big man. Barring injury, regardless of how the Spurs look during the regular season, I LOVE their chances in the playoffs.
The one wildcard, which I hope we will see improved, is KL in the clutch. His shots at the end of the Washington game reminded me of his game 7 shots against LAC. Way too short. Pop will be putting the ball in KL's hands in the clutch in every close game during the regular season. I'm very eager to see him blossom as a clutch scorer. If he can blossom this season, go ahead and give the Spurs the trophy.
My apologies for the defensiveness.
To answer your question, I'm going to be honest and say no. I don't really think so, and although I believe this is gong to be the basis of our offense, I also believe it will involve more motion and fluidity as the season progresses.
After watching "The Beautiful Game" the last few seasons, this is a bit of a culture shock, so to speak, but this team has won championships playing a more star-oriented gameplan also.
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