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On the other hand, Forbes is a damn good shooter (although many of the less quick here don't seem to realize that).
You're acting like Bertans didn't get benched for the entire seires cause he couldn't stay on the floor. Or that the Nuggets always made a run when the Mills/Belinelli back court got subbed in. Or the spacing was bad with Poeltl and DeRozan out there. This line up is the same one, it won't do . Spurs gotta add 3-and-D wings and at least one of them has to be a starter
On the other hand, Forbes is a damn good shooter (although many of the less quick here don't seem to realize that).
Spurs were so easy to defend in the playoffs because they can't shoot. This front office is just ignoring the obvious. Holy at the 3 or 4 years straight of complete mismanagement. What a show
Taking more threes is not a viable option when the three guys that are going to take the most shots, DDR, LMA, and DJM, cannot shoot worth
Taking more 3s is literally a viable option, it starts with Pop going to Murray, DDR and LMA and telling them that they have to actually space when they don't have the ball and then shooting when they do.
Aldridge actually started doing that when he was playing with Poeltl. Standing in the left corner when DDR or White was running pick and roll with Jakob.
When Aldridge sets screens at the top of the 3pt line, he normally stands out past the line and then takes a dribble inside and shoots a 22 footer when he gets the ball back. If feel like that is partly on coaching. Telling him to stop doing that is a start.
Murray has to be aggressive taking them, when he doesn't have the ball, same with DDR, regardless of results.
This they are unproven 3point shooters plus you're taking away your bread and butter in LA down low.
Like who? Multiple 3 and D wings? How many do you think are available and obtainable? I count 3, Ariza, Carrol and Aminu. Are you willing to over pay for a player by adding extra years to fix a potiential short term issue?
The defense is certain to be much better, anyways, with two above average guards and two good rim protectors playing significant roles. Could see this team being in the top 12 defensively if Murray and White stay healthy.
Someone like Carroll makes sense but he's 32, probably wants multiple years. His defense has slipped, and is it worth benching Bertans- who is certainly a better offensive player than Carroll is a defensive one?
Bertans played poorly and got over matched against Denver, that doesn't invalidated how good he was this past season.
It can also be argued (actually it's pretty much agreed that it was) that Gay's struggles were the reason why the bench got smacked in game 3 and Game 4. Pop shortened the bench and they underperformed against a team that was better. That doesn't change the fact that the bench was a huge part of why this team made the playoffs.
Pop may have Jakob come off the bench and play with 4 shooters (Mills, White, Beli and Bertans) so the spacing should be much better and give White a chance to consistently run offense in those lineups. Also wouldn't hurt to have Aldridge take more 3s to improve team spacing.
Spurs could find a future 3 and D in the draft and Walker could usurp believe as the backup 3 if he shows that he can defend on an NBA level. That being said, this team should be very good whether they use the MLE or not -on a wing.
Last edited by cd021; 05-27-2019 at 08:52 AM.
I missed game 6 as I could not stomach a snake being rewarded. How bad is Milwaukee though? That EC Championship effort against a flawed one man show was really disturbing. The Bucks best player literally cannot shoot a basketball well. The most important skill in that line of work.
Wait... are you saying that a lack of shooting can hurt your chances at winning?
First of all they should try to draft at least one SF who can play bench minutes right away
And no it's not just Carrol, Ariza and Aminu. The list for wings is long: MGK, the Morris twins, Bogdanovic, Sefolosha, Danny Green, Jeff Green, Kelly Oubre, Stanley Johnson (RFA), Wilson Chandler, KCP, Burks, Shump, Ross, Hezonja, Hood, Ellington, Matthews as well as small ball PFs like Millsap, Thad Young, Jabari Parker, JaMychael Green, Mirotic. Of course some of them are only ok shooters, some of them not really elite defenders, but almost everybody I mentioned is better than what the Spurs currently have at the SF position, which is basically a bunch of non-defense playing SGs
So if you ask me you go after Marcus Morris, Thad Young, Jabari Parker tier players with the MLE. Then try to add another one for vet minimum like Jeff Green, Chandler, Sefolosha tier. They are all better players than Dante in Cunningham. Besides that Spurs could try to swing a sign and trade Stanley Johnson deal with NOLA or maybe he becomes unrestricted.
When your top 9 players include Davis Bertans, Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli and Bryn Forbes while players 10-11 are Dante Cuningham and Quincy Pondexter it's not that hard to find players who are better than them
Last edited by RC_Drunkford; 05-27-2019 at 09:29 AM.
You need cold blooded shooters in the PO’s. This why regular season success will not translate. All those care free pull up threes have different meaning with 40 sec left in an elimination game in conference finals. Defense still wins games at the end.
Several of the players you mentioned are either 3 or D players and saying that several of the players you mentioned are "only ok" isn't accurate, many are bad shooters or at least below average.
Stanley Johnson is a pretty good defender but a train wreck offensively and is a bit of surprise that he's still in the NBA. Oubre is an RFA and probably not an option. Hood is a bad defender, Parker will certainly make more than $9 million, is a bad defender, a below average 3pt shooter, and probably wants to be on a team that will feature him more offensively.
Jeff Green is also a meh defender, poor 3pt shooter and notoriously inconsistent. Milsap, and Thad Young is likely out of the MLE range. Danny Green seems like he might re-sign should be over the MLE. Mirotic is an ok defender but actually a deceptively mediocre as a 3pt shooter. Sef could be had but is a low volume 3pt shooter average 3pt shooter, and limited offensively overall. Is Hezonia good at either?
Ross is a good shooter but bad defender. MKG is a really bad offensive player but good defender, poor fit. J. Green is interesting but he is more of a PF in my opinion. Shump is a below average 3pt shooter for his career. Seriously doubt PATFO goes for the Morris twins.
Aminu, Ariza and Carroll are the best of the crop. Ariza may re-sign in Washington and probably out of the MLE range unless multiple years. Aminu may require the entire MLE over 4 years and Carroll may require most of it, probably over multiple years too.
The Spurs SF rotation is DeRozan and Beli or Walker if he usurps him, frankly, many of the players you mentioned aren't nearly as good as they are. Not sure why you mentioned Dante Cuningham and Quincy Pondexter, they aren't going to be on this team next season.
Mills, Bertans, Beli were all constant parts of one of the best benches in the league, Forbes was one of the best 3pt shooters in the NBA. The Spurs can do a lot worse, tbh.
you don't have to tell me that, I know all those things. I'm just not in the mood to write a review of 30 available players specific skillset. I just mentioned them to make the point that there are plenty of wings available. And if Dante and Pondexter ain't on the team, who do you replace them with? Probably 2 of the players I just mentioned.
The best out of the whole crop are Marcus Morris and Thad Young, just gotta see if the MLE is enough. Parker doesn't play defense but might be a good reclamation project, cause he keeps bouncing around from team to team and is still young. If there's 1 coach who can make a player play defense it's Pop. Spurs would only get after MKG or Johnson if they think Chip can fix their shot. Point is, there are a lot of nice role playing wings available and Spurs should go after 1-2 of them. Weather you're looking for vets or young players to develop, 3s or small ball 4s, they are all free agents and would fill a need. This team was a solid 3-and-D wing away from beating the #2 seed Nuggets, so they have to add at least 1 who can potentially start. The market for those type of players this offseason is great and with all these superstars moving and a lot of Western Conference teams being in the luxury tax you should be able to aquire some of them on very good deals.
That with a returning Dejounte would really elevate the team and make it significantly better. Rolling out the same rotation + Dejounte won't do much
'Kieff is a big, J. Green is a big wing, Chandler is perilously close and there's no way those 2 are going to a non contender for the veteran's minimum. S. Johnson might not be qualified ($5.31M).
If they can't get Gay re-signed, I could see them turning to Parker. Yeah, he's made some stupid comments over the years, but he's also a Mormon and essentially a 9 year younger version of Gay.
He's not as good now and probably won't ever be, but if they're just looking for a one year stopgap, he's about the best bet. Plus still young enough to where he could conceivably be a piece going forward.
If not for Van fleet's shooting, spurs fans wouldn't be haunted by Kawhi still. Its amazing what actually hiiting those threes does for your teams confidence.
"More times" lately translates into "from farther"...In today's NBA no volume 3s, no wins.
If DDR was half a decent shooter from 3, Forbes would kill it each and every game. Sadly, DDR is a crybaby loser who refuses to learn how to shoot a 3.
I am probably mistaken, but wasn'it you who disagreed when I claimed we need more threes, and then more threes, and then again more threes, and after that to take one more three as a good measure...?
Lack of shooting can eliminate your chances at the finals... if you’re in the Eastern Conference.
In Western Conference lack of shooting can eliminate your chances for the second round
Good point. Sigh.
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