Spurs looking good.

[coachmac87]

That bench leaves something to be desired...

well i put bench minutes......not bench players


Manu did win the 6th man award

[Taking it to the Hole]

People really need to stop getting so worked up over Roger Mason. The guy has decent talent, a quick release on his shot, and the Spurs obviously see something in him. If RC and Pop didn't think he could contribute, they wouldn't have signed him. And don't tell me they signed him out of being desperate, because that is just a crock. The Spurs are not desperate for anyone. People need to stop downing the guy before he has even played one minute in a Spurs uniform.

[200 miles]

Spurs biggest need after the Mason signing is a long SF/mobile PF.
It has been Spurs biggest need for years and it still hasn't been addressed.

give gist a chance, bruno

[SCdac]

Spurs need another "scorer", which by definition does not rely on one facet of his game (i.e. 3pt shot) to put the ball in the hole. Maggette was heavily coveted because he can score in multiple ways and that's something the Spurs were missing when Manu lost some of his speed because of the injury.

Phil Jackson made it a point to close out on the three point shooters and gave the Spurs no space to operate on the perimeter. If the Spurs had one or two guys that were adept at putting the ball on the floor and pulling up inside the arc, they'd have faired much better.

Hopefully Hill and Hairston (if he makes the team) will be able to bring a "scorer" mentality and look to penetrate if given the opportunity.

I'm not sure Mason brings that "scorer" aspect, but then again I don't know enough about him to say he can't be that "scorer". Guess we'll find out...

Exactly.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

My biggest fear is that the Spurs are slowly settling with a jumpshooting team, relying too much on three's, and 4-Down essentially... We don't need more stand-still shooters. We need guys who can take it strong to the rim, and ultimately get to the free-throw line (so the big 3 don't have to draw literally every foul and wear themselves out). Outside the big-three, Jacque Vaughn lead the Spurs in FTA last season (1.1)!!!... In the past, we had Malik Rose, Stephen Jackson, Devin Brown, and other wildcards who were pretty athletic on offense, if not active in other ways. Even Nazr Mohammed and Horry would get their couple of FT's per game - we're not necassarilly getting that from anyone right now. We need a player who is not only going to excell in hitting jumpshots but also LOOK to get putbacks/layups/dunks/etc.

The older Duncan gets, the less he's going to be doubleteamed (we're already seeing it), and that means less open shots on the perimeter, but I'm not worried about Duncan by any means. His skill as fundamental and masterful as it's ever been, though his scoring has dipped a bit with age, which is understandable. But, even when 4-Down is creating open looks, if Finley, Barry, or whoever it may be at the time gets cold, we're ed, because they sure aren't taking it to the basket. Manu is our best slasher, but is arguably past his prime (04 and 05 were huge years for him), but he still has periods of awesomeness (right before the AS break last season). Parker won't ever dunk the ball, and obviously he's not expected to, but his penetration is invaluable to the Spurs at this point IMO. Outside of them, we don't have many penetrators or dunkers. No Lamar Odom, no Jason Maxiell, no Tony Allen, etc.

As far as Mason Jr, Gist, and Hairston... I have no idea who they are really... but I'm just glad they're A) Young, and B) Pop/Spurs FO is interested in them. I've seen some youtubes of Gist's dunks - if he could bring any of that for even 5 minutes on court I would be happy (assuming he can defend for those 5 minutes too). If Ian Mahinmi, who looks decent IMO, can get some action around the rim, that would be helpful too.