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  1. #76
    TD since 97 ezau's Avatar
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    When your core players break down like they have here, there is not much you can do about it.

    Manu had stretches in the 2007-2008 season where he was one of the five best players in the entire league and could carry the team for long stretches - a 44 point game in Cleveland comes to mind. He was unstoppable and dominant.

    His injuries cropped up late in the year after some tough, grinding playoff series. The Spurs were toast. Manu has not been the player we saw in the 2007 season since that time.

    TP had improved statistically for seven or eight years in a row and was our best player last year. Now he has broken down and is much worse than last season.

    Duncan has been really good this year but is not getting the help he needs from his supporting cast (namely Manu and Tony) AT ALL.

    Jefferson should change his number to 11 and his name to Williams. Actually Roy Williams may have had a slightly better season than is having. That is definitely not a good thing. At least RJ is not going to be a T-MAC type of burden on the franchise since the crazy contract is up after next year. I don't think the Spurs FO did a bad job of putting the team together this year based on what the expected top four players had done in the past. Unfortunately, the expected performance has not come. There are tangible reasons Manu and Tony having surprisingly bad seasons. I'm totally puzzled by Jefferson being a big fat bust.

    This team is going nowhere. The core is broken right now. You can't make a late season trade to fix it. The tradeable assets are not there. The Spurs as a group are either unable or unwilling to defend. The formula for success here for the last 13 years has been to make it extremely difficult to score a basket or get to the free throw line. In fact, some of the best Spurs teams in the Duncan era could have terrible offensive stretches, but the team D would save the day. This year the opposing FG percentage has got to be much higher than in other years.

    Only Tony Parker out of the TD, MG, RJ, TP group has a chance to improve in the next 1-2 years because he can get well physically if he gets off his feet for three months. Gino and Duncan are not going to get better than what they are now. They are too old for that.

    I am resigned to the fact that this nucleus has hit the wall and there is nowhere to go but down. You don't lose to Utah, Houston, and Chicago (average or below average teams) at home and expect to be any kind of force in April or May. Completely unacceptable. I guess I am so used to good effort AND execution I have a hard time computing what I am seeing now.

    What a disappointing season so far. Fixing this mess is going to be a teardown, not a touching up of what's already here.

    The ownership group is not going to be in the mood next year to pay a $10-20MM luxury tax bill for a bunch of past their prime players. This is just sad to see.

    It is a distinct possibility that the Spurs get into the lottery this year so they better hang on to their #1 draft picks the next 3-4 years. Those picks could be very valuble.

    If Tiago Splitter was worried about playing time here in San Antonio, he shouldn't. From what I've seen, he can come here and get plenty of minutes.
    Very well said.

  2. #77
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    i don't know what's the saddest in this thread:

    - the fact that people are able to argue that tony isn't better than manu this year again (17.1 ppg ; 50% ; ratio assists/bad passes=4.6 for tony against 12.8 ppg/ 40% / ratio assists/bad passes= 3.5 for manu)

    - that that was Timvp himself that brought the useless tony vs manu thing in a thread about RJ.

    well, at least we should all agree that Tony, Manu and RJ need all three to play better.
    Meh, its pretty obvious the discussion isnt who is a better player this season; its about who has performed worst or better then expected.

  3. #78
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    [quote=Ice009;4029649]Manu carried the team in 2008 because Parker was injured. I just wanted to make sure you knew that.




    Your are just re-writing history man!!

    Manu was great that year, but he didn't "carried" the team ...
    And Parker wasn't injured a long time!
    Look at the stats!

  4. #79
    Veteran kace's Avatar
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    Meh, its pretty obvious the discussion isnt who is a better player this season; its about who has performed worst or better then expected.
    that's clearly not what some posters wrote. read again.

    i'm not even sure about who is underperforming the most considering what's expected from them, but still that's not what some posters meant.

  5. #80
    real fans go bald mountainballer's Avatar
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    sometimes it's best to accept a mistake and immediately focus on a damage control strategy rather than wait/hope for a miracle. (miracle would be that RJ suddenly starts to deliver at least half of what people expected/wished he will).
    yes, even a desperation move will be better than going thru the season with RJ.
    (sometimes it seems as if along with his poor performance he also brought in a culture of loosing to this team.)

    some people will argue that RJ is untradeable at this point. I disagree to this. yes, currently he might be the most overpayed player in the whole league, but his contract would still fit several teams long term plans. especially if they have a 2011 plan.
    and don't forget, half of this years salary has already been payed by the Spurs. his contract could be rated "almost expiring"
    Pistons? team is for sale and it's no secrete they will want to get rid of the long term contracts, Hamilton's in the 1st place. they won't care much about records etc. in the next 2 seasons.
    to focus on 2011 might be the best strategy for them.
    they will get high lottery picks 2010 and 2011, know what Daye, Summer, Jerebko can bring and the core of Stuckey, Gordon and Villanueva will still be young (if they keep them) and they could become a major player in the 2011 free agency. IMO RJ would fit their plans, as long as Spurs take back contracts beyond 2011.

    similar situation in Oakland. some weeks ago the Warriors would have loved to swap RJ for Maggette. maybe no longer, considering that the last weeks Maggette is playing like an all-star and RJ like Ron Mercer. but asking is still an option.

    other teams that might focus on 2011, but still need moves to become a major FA player then: Sixers, Raptors, Hawks, Bobcats, Wizards.

  6. #81
    I'm poplovin' it! TJastal's Avatar
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    I'm just through watching the 1st quarter and the spurs have looked really sharp, Parker is playing brilliantly and looks like he's hardly bothered by his PF (either that or he's really good at hiding it), and the team is passing well (Dice even caught a Ginobili cross-court zinger and converted it!). So if nothing else this proves they CAN play at a high level.

    And you know what? The bulls are just relentlessly clawing back at the spurs lead. They just can't miss a shot. Heinrich especially. If you look at how they are playing as of late I wouldn't take this loss too hard. Spurs just ran into a very hot team that is going through a phase. Heck, just last month they were talking about firing Del Negro, now they have strung together a bunch of victories and are almost back a .500.

    The spurs obviously won't keep up the good vibes from the 1st quarter, and that's something they have had problems doing, and that's something they are going to have to fix. But at least we know they are able to play at a high level, sustaining that seems to be their downfall, which is fixable.

  7. #82
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    [QUOTE=Pauleta14;4029785]
    Manu carried the team in 2008 because Parker was injured. I just wanted to make sure you knew that.




    Your are just re-writing history man!!

    Manu was great that year, but he didn't "carried" the team ...
    And Parker wasn't injured a long time!
    Look at the stats!
    Well he carried the Spurs when TP was out and was the best player on the team during that whole regular season.

    Is that not true?

  8. #83
    Chunky Brazil's Avatar
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    Everybody has been a big disappointment.

    For me the biggest one is not RJ, TP, Manu, Dice etc... the biggest one is POP, I don't like the way he is coaching the young guys, I don't like the minutes management, the ing experiment, the "I don't know what to expect when I give minutes to Blair", the "Hill is my favorite player, wth ?", the "I don't want to see that TP needs to be rested", the "I let 2 of my big 3 concerned by their future", the "no no no I don't want to give a chance to Ian and Hairston..." stuborn. I can give 10000 examples.


    My personnal list:
    1- Pop

    2- Dice. I really expected much more, I expected him to be the second big capable to help Tim and to give him a rest. Tim is the most important piece of the team and he has to carry the load due to the lack of back up.
    3- RJ for sure
    4- TP and Manu for me it's a tie. Manu shooting is awful, he helps the team by his passing, his energy but he is hurting with his shooting. TP is way below expectation but at least he is improving.

    the rest is at expected level or above expectation: Blair / Mase / Hill mainly

  9. #84
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    Great post Brazil. I agree with most of it.

  10. #85
    NBAChamp..to be Continued SpurNation's Avatar
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    I kept hoping to see a change. A deliverance. A team that eventually bonds together and plays cohesively strong into the playoffs.

    That hope is deminishing with each passing game. It seems that instead of at least two steps forward and one step back...this team takes a step forward and two steps back.

    Unfortunately this team's hope lies in the rodeo schedule to generate some sembalence of continuity and development to be at the least a playoff team much less championship caliber.

    A true definition of "WASTE" if that were the case regarding RJ's contract.

  11. #86
    🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 ElNono's Avatar
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    I can't believe the Spurs didn't go after Ariza for the mid-level exception, who is a fantastic defender, and would fit perfectly on this team as the 4 or 5 option on offense!
    Ariza wanted touches... that's why he left LA... I'm not sure he would have had the role he wanted with us...

  12. #87
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    I think in order to fix the RJ situation, he should be coming off the bench, and here's why:

    -He doesn't play well with TD. RJ is not a consistent 3 pt threat...not even a good mid range shooter..so that means he can't benefit from TD's kick outs, which usually turns into an open outside shot opportunity.

    -He doesn't play well with TP. On fast breaks Parker's usually looks to score himself...I can't remember once this season where RJ finished a Parker lead fast break.

    -RJ needs a defined and expanded role. He can be a leader on the 2nd unit...have more touches, more responsibilities. RJ is an energy type player...hopefully his defensively intensity will pick up if he's more involved in the game. Also, if he's not able to provide as much as we'd like on the defensive end, then we better maximize his offensive contribution, which I think he can when he's not on the court with TD and TP.

  13. #88
    Veteran kace's Avatar
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    Everybody has been a big disappointment.

    For me the biggest one is not RJ, TP, Manu, Dice etc... the biggest one is POP, I don't like the way he is coaching the young guys, I don't like the minutes management, the ing experiment, the "I don't know what to expect when I give minutes to Blair", the "Hill is my favorite player, wth ?", the "I don't want to see that TP needs to be rested", the "I let 2 of my big 3 concerned by their future", the "no no no I don't want to give a chance to Ian and Hairston..." stuborn. I can give 10000 examples.


    My personnal list:
    1- Pop

    2- Dice. I really expected much more, I expected him to be the second big capable to help Tim and to give him a rest. Tim is the most important piece of the team and he has to carry the load due to the lack of back up.
    3- RJ for sure
    4- TP and Manu for me it's a tie. Manu shooting is awful, he helps the team by his passing, his energy but he is hurting with his shooting. TP is way below expectation but at least he is improving.

    the rest is at expected level or above expectation: Blair / Mase / Hill mainly
    good list.

    We used to be only worried by health these last years. Now, we have basically all our players healthy (only TP is hampered, and i'm not sure how bad it is or if it will still be here for PO) and still, that doesn't work. Strange, new and unpleasant feeling.

  14. #89
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    And there is the bigger picture. Tony has carry the team the whole last year. It's not crazy to think that he will face some rough moments. OTOH, Manu has been injured for 18 month. Even if it is not his fault, he let Spurs down 2 years in a row. It's not crazy to think that he could come back strong with a revenge.
    tony carry the whole team? that bum tim duncan too?
    if that was "carry the whole team", then manu did the same in 07-08, and he "face some rough moments" after.
    manu was injured for 18 months? Because on NBA.com he is listed for 44 games in 08-09.

    this is re ed. both are having bad seasons and there isnt anything else to say about it. the spurs problem is defense. rj and dyess are making us yearn for finley and bonner and pop has lost the reins.


    big 3 07-08
    tim
    19.3 ppg, 11.3 reb, 2.8 ast, 2 blk, 2.3 to, %50/0/73

    manu
    19.5 ppg, 4.5 ast, 4.8 reb, 1.5 stl, 2.7 to, %46/40/86

    tony
    18.8 ppg, 6 ast, 3.2 reb, 2.4 to, %50/26/71


    big 3 08-09
    tim
    19.3 ppg, 10.7 reb, 3.5 ast, 1.7 blk, 2.2 to, %50/0/69

    manu
    15.5 ppg, 3.6 ast, 4.5 reb, 1.5 stl, 2 to, %45/33/88

    tony
    22ppg, 6.9 ast, 3.1 reb, 2.6 to, %50/29/78

    note: in the seasons manu and tony "carried the whole team", they each played less games than tim.

  15. #90
    Veteran jermaine's Avatar
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    Jefferson is good at what he does! Now what he don't do is create for himself, play great defense, spot up shooting! Now also you have to look at Pop cuz he wants everyone to be Finely. He calls a back door screen for Jefferson onces every gm an Jefferson makes good on it everytime.The Spurs front office signed Jefferson watching J.Kidd highlights. Asking him to do what their asking is like asking a ice skater to roller skate. Yea he can do it but that's not his strengths. Tell Pop dumb ass he is a SF & run plays to set him up more often an I'll bet he shines. Bruce is gone people, so quit wishing Jefferson, Bogans, or Hill is him. Let's quit the Jefferson bashing cuz he's not goin anywhere for awhile. If we gone play smallball then hire a smallball coach an we'll be better. Pop wanna play big boy plays with small players!(I hope yal get what I'm saying). Pop is our biggest weakness! 2 shotblockers on the bench goin to waste!

  16. #91
    Out with the old... Obstructed_View's Avatar
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    Everybody has been a big disappointment.

    For me the biggest one is not RJ, TP, Manu, Dice etc... the biggest one is POP, I don't like the way he is coaching the young guys, I don't like the minutes management, the ing experiment, the "I don't know what to expect when I give minutes to Blair", the "Hill is my favorite player, wth ?", the "I don't want to see that TP needs to be rested", the "I let 2 of my big 3 concerned by their future", the "no no no I don't want to give a chance to Ian and Hairston..." stuborn. I can give 10000 examples.


    My personnal list:
    1- Pop

    2- Dice. I really expected much more, I expected him to be the second big capable to help Tim and to give him a rest. Tim is the most important piece of the team and he has to carry the load due to the lack of back up.
    3- RJ for sure
    4- TP and Manu for me it's a tie. Manu shooting is awful, he helps the team by his passing, his energy but he is hurting with his shooting. TP is way below expectation but at least he is improving.

    the rest is at expected level or above expectation: Blair / Mase / Hill mainly
    I agree 100 percent.

  17. #92
    real fans go bald mountainballer's Avatar
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    Jefferson is good at what he does! Now what he don't do is create for himself, play great defense, spot up shooting! Now also you have to look at Pop cuz he wants everyone to be Finely. He calls a back door screen for Jefferson onces every gm an Jefferson makes good on it everytime.The Spurs front office signed Jefferson watching J.Kidd highlights. Asking him to do what their asking is like asking a ice skater to roller skate. Yea he can do it but that's not his strengths. Tell Pop dumb ass he is a SF & run plays to set him up more often an I'll bet he shines. Bruce is gone people, so quit wishing Jefferson, Bogans, or Hill is him. Let's quit the Jefferson bashing cuz he's not goin anywhere for awhile. If we gone play smallball then hire a smallball coach an we'll be better. Pop wanna play big boy plays with small players!(I hope yal get what I'm saying). Pop is our biggest weakness! 2 shotblockers on the bench goin to waste!
    so it's outrageous to ask RJ to play defense? at least try? to leave his blood out there, especially if for whatever reason the other parts of the game don't click?
    weird post. the coach is blame because he dares to ask more than one trick from a pony that pockets 15 million per year.

  18. #93
    Veteran jermaine's Avatar
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    so it's outrageous to ask RJ to play defense? at least try? to leave his blood out there, especially if for whatever reason the other parts of the game don't click?
    weird post. the coach is blame because he dares to ask more than one trick from a pony that pockets 15 million per year.
    No I'm nit saying that. I'm talking about his offense. Has he ever been know for his defense? I didn't watch him like that so I don't know! I'm just saying our "Bruce" days are over.

  19. #94
    🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 ElNono's Avatar
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    so it's outrageous to ask RJ to play defense? at least try? to leave his blood out there, especially if for whatever reason the other parts of the game don't click?
    weird post. the coach is blame because he dares to ask more than one trick from a pony that pockets 15 million per year.
    There's nothing weird about that post. When Tony, Manu or Timmy are not doing well on defense, they try to make up for it on the other end, and most of the time they do. It's a lot harder for a guy like RJ that simply doesn't have the ball in his hands. We're halfway into the season, and we're still not calling plays for Richard. The team basically developed two plays for him: A jumper off a screen (a la Finley) or that Alley-Oop play that they run twice a game and they only execute properly once every 5 games. It doesn't matter what are you paying. RJ has never been a spot up shooter nor a great defender. I don't know why the FO thought they could change his game now.

  20. #95
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    There's nothing weird about that post. When Tony, Manu or Timmy are not doing well on defense, they try to make up for it on the other end, and most of the time they do. It's a lot harder for a guy like RJ that simply doesn't have the ball in his hands. We're halfway into the season, and we're still not calling plays for Richard. The team basically developed two plays for him: A jumper off a screen (a la Finley) or that Alley-Oop play that they run twice a game and they only execute properly once every 5 games. It doesn't matter what are you paying. RJ has never been a spot up shooter nor a great defender. I don't know why the FO thought they could change his game now.
    so let's have him come off the bench so he can be more of the focal point

  21. #96
    Thank you, Tim Duncan! peskypesky's Avatar
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    hes terrible. i would rather roger mason play than him. and im not even joking. the guy is complete garbage.

    he has spent his whole career in the open court, and he can do that. but, thats not what we do here.

    all he is, is a spot up shooter that plays no defense whatsoever, and we have a better version of that on the bench in rmj
    i hate to say it, cause i was ecstatic when we signed him, but this.

  22. #97
    🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 ElNono's Avatar
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    so let's have him come off the bench so he can be more of the focal point
    I'm not sure that would work either... I think we would need to tweak our offense to get him involved more, but I don't think Pop wants to do any of that...

  23. #98
    NBAChamp..to be Continued SpurNation's Avatar
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    There's nothing weird about that post. When Tony, Manu or Timmy are not doing well on defense, they try to make up for it on the other end, and most of the time they do. It's a lot harder for a guy like RJ that simply doesn't have the ball in his hands. We're halfway into the season, and we're still not calling plays for Richard. The team basically developed two plays for him: A jumper off a screen (a la Finley) or that Alley-Oop play that they run twice a game and they only execute properly once every 5 games. It doesn't matter what are you paying. RJ has never been a spot up shooter nor a great defender. I don't know why the FO thought they could change his game now.
    My thought (when I first heard that Jefferson was coming to the Spurs) was that they were going to implement a different offensive strategy utelizing RJ's strengths.

    Not knowing how Manu would return? Having someone that could run with Tony on fast breaks? Having someone that could help in the rebounding department from the SF position? Changing the offense to suit the strengths of the players on the team?

    That hasn't happened. And I don't think it's entirely RJ's fault given what his strengths and more importantly (weaknesses are). But it's been a huge waste of money up to this point and that's what's so discouraging.

  24. #99
    Shutty.. Bukefal's Avatar
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    Everybody has been a big disappointment.

    For me the biggest one is not RJ, TP, Manu, Dice etc... the biggest one is POP, I don't like the way he is coaching the young guys, I don't like the minutes management, the ing experiment, the "I don't know what to expect when I give minutes to Blair", the "Hill is my favorite player, wth ?", the "I don't want to see that TP needs to be rested", the "I let 2 of my big 3 concerned by their future", the "no no no I don't want to give a chance to Ian and Hairston..." stuborn. I can give 10000 examples.


    My personnal list:
    1- Pop

    2- Dice. I really expected much more, I expected him to be the second big capable to help Tim and to give him a rest. Tim is the most important piece of the team and he has to carry the load due to the lack of back up.
    3- RJ for sure
    4- TP and Manu for me it's a tie. Manu shooting is awful, he helps the team by his passing, his energy but he is hurting with his shooting. TP is way below expectation but at least he is improving.

    the rest is at expected level or above expectation: Blair / Mase / Hill mainly
    Yeah, TP is improving over the last games, I mean he was much worse at the beginning of the season. He isnt doing so bad you know, by looking at his numbers. I couldnt see the game so I dont know exactly how he played, but he shouldnt get so much blame, especially when he is working is ass off and is still doing quite better.

    And as for RJ, I dont know what to say, I find it a shame, he was the guy we had so much hopes from when he got signed and now, it isn't working out. That sucks big time.

  25. #100
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    Jefferson is the NEGATION of what a Spur should be.

    I wrote this the first minute I watched him play.
    A born loser.

    He is simply incomparable to any other Spur, including the underachieving McDyess.
    Any discussion on that is simply irrelevant.

    I haven't seen the Chicago game yet, but it looks like this has been the lowest point in a season that had no highs.

    However, it is not HIS fault if he is still playing.
    Defense is just a matter of legs, character, at ude and good will.
    He seems to have legs, none of the other features.

    This is on Pop: while waiting to trade him ASAP, at ANY cost, Pop should just bench him for good.

    Or this team is NOT going to make the playoffs.
    As simple as that.

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