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He could've continued his streak with Spurs tbh and played a vital role when Spurs were forced to play without a real PG. Manu and TP could've played Dante and QPon's minutes and would've been way effective..
Yes, I'm sure the history will books will say nothing about the Warriors three-to-five All-Stars and MVP-duo.
All of that success on the back of mastermind Kerr.
How quickly people forget that since getting Durant, the Warriors have lost exactly 6 playoff games...3 to Houston, 1 to the Cavs in the Finals, 1 to the Pelicans, and 1 to a Spurs team that was missing Kawhi. We've actually fared better than most against them in the postseason.
Last edited by Dex; 03-12-2019 at 09:36 AM.
He could've continued his streak with Spurs tbh and played a vital role when Spurs were forced to play without a real PG. Manu and TP could've played Dante and QPon's minutes and would've been way effective..
True. Also true that TP would have been the third guard with sporadic minutes. In Charlotte he has had games where he looked like the old TP. He had/has in the tank much more than the Spurs were giving him credit for. I am not saying he is now better than Dejunte end Derrick (although in situations, I am sure he still is), but I understand him wanting to still play at the level he can, and that wouldn't have been possible with the Spurs.
I don't think so. Bryn has fared as well as could be expected in the starting lineup, but that was most certainly out of necessity.
I'd bet dollars to donuts that if Tony were still here, he would've been starting at least up until the point where White was able to return...and would probably still be starting now.
Murray's injury would have opened tons of minutes for him, but of course there was no way he could see that coming when he signed with Charlotte.
That said, TP wouldn't have wanted to play Dante/QPon minutes...and I doubt Manu would either. They are both too compe ive to be bench riders.
TP and Manu wouldn't have played Pon and 'Hams minutes, they would have played Forbes and Whites.
And I guess it was too much to ask to be waived to come running back to Spurs. We could still use his leadership in situations
Hornets are not totally out yet knocking at Heat for the last spot. Heat's next few games would be away against plus .500 teams
I don't think there's any doubt that Tony would have gotten a lot of starts. He doesn't have the 3-ball like Bryn, but he would be a stabilizing factor, and keep the offense moving. The truth is, his Per36 numbers are the best they have been in years. He's even gotten to the line more frequently than he had in about 5 years. I think he'd start getting diminishing returns above about 20 minutes, but it would have been nice to have him on the floor to start games.
I actually feel sorry for Bryn because of the amount of ball pressure he gets, even just bringing the ball up the court. And they do it because they know he's prone to coughing it up. The sharks smell blood in the water, and the weaker your handles the more attention you get. But it really limits when and how he can be useful.
Forbes is not playing PG, so there wouldn't have been any compe ion with TP for minutes. If Murray was healthy, TP would have played at most 12-15 minutes, after White and possibly Mills. The way he is playing, it is obvious that wasn't acceptable for him. Considering the White huge improvement, abd Murray's reported stellar summer, I can't blame Pop though.
Yeah, I see it differently. DDR has had to take over too much PG duty, because Forbes isn't up to it. I think the whole team would have benefitted from having a real point on the floor. We'll never know, but I think Tony would have seen a lot of starts. Those first 6 minutes are important, and after that it's more situational. Most of all, his experience and stability would have been VERY important on the road, which is where the Spurs have lost most of their games. People here loved to bash Tony's defense, but compared to some of the matadors on this roster he was a defensive juggernaut.
The problem with all that is that I don't think we'd have seen the development of White to the extent we have.
I wouldn't buy "tough" schedule late in the season.
We rank schedule .500/seeding but looking at this and last week games...It's easy to realize is better to face a top team in the last games of the season who will rest key players or at least won't give it all, than a #6-7-8 team who will play hard to make playoffs/improve seeding.
Big win for the good guys in Dallas. With the tiebreaker now secured, the Mavericks are basically on life support along with the Pelicans and Grizzlies as far as Magic Numbers are concerned.
Spurs also got some help from the Pelicans, Timberwolves, and Clippers to temporarily take sole possession of 6th place.
On the slate tonight, the Thunder face the up-and-coming Nets, the Grizzlies face the low-and-falling Hawks, the Warriors battle with the flopping Rockets, and the Jazz will do something that slightly resembles a basketball game in Phoenix. Hopefully the Spurs will shave a few more numbers off while they rest.
Eh, I think teams are still jostling for position too much to start taking games off, especially in the West. The Nuggets could still catch the Warriors for the #1 spot, and everyone else is right on their heels.
Dex, you really have done great work with this thread. I was in favor of the Spurs missing the playoffs and getting a better draft pick. But since it's obvious they aren't going to do that, it's been nice to have your updates to look at. The format is excellent, and your commentary is professional quality. It helps us make the most out of whatever is left of this season.
And giving up their pick this year makes it slightly easier to secure that second max slot.
Best Case Realistic Scenario:
1.GSW
2.DEN
3.POR
4.OKC
5.HOU
6.SAS
7.UTA
8.LAC
One other race to watch ... what happens with the Raptors’ pick.
Currently the second best record in the league at 20 losses, so would be 29th pick:
Milwaukee 17
Toronto 20
Golden St 21
Denver 22
Houston, Philly, Indy 25 (no realistic chance of catching Toronto)
OKC, Portland 26
That’s only nine teams, so Spurs will keep pick. But should be pulling for Toronto to start losing games to at least push the pick up to 27th. Once Milwaukee is close to clinching ... they have tiebreaker, they may start resting players a bit more. Meanwhile Denver and GS could keep fighting it out for the 1 seed.
If Toronto picks up an injury, or Harden goes supernova and the Rockets rip off a huge win streak, the Spurs could pick inside of 27. But really doubtful.
Spurs’ own pick will likely be in the 18-20 range unless they falter or one of the teams above them does.
Great work, Dex. Best thread going, tbh.
So in 02-03, the Spurs were 4-5 games back of the Mavs in early March, and the deficit looked like too much. The Mavs didn't collapse, but didn't finish quite as strong as their record up till then. The Spurs finished something like 18-4, and pulled into a tie - and since they owned the tiebreaker they wound up with home court in the playoffs.
This run is starting to remind me of that finish. If OKC loses tonight, the Spurs are within 2 games and own the tiebreaker - well within reach of the 4-5 slot in the playoffs. And they could definitely survive a first round series with Portland. These aren't the 03 Spurs, and they aren't going to contend for the LOB this year, but getting out of the first round seemed like too much to ask for not that long ago.
But every time I think about it, I cringe at dropping farther down the draft board. I can't help it.
Meh... I should have known the Nets couldn't hold a lead.
Last edited by ZeusWillJudge; 03-13-2019 at 08:17 PM.
Balla thread, like the DJ Murray of threads
2003 was such a magical season. Mavs were like 10 games ahead in first place at one point, and like you said, never really hit a drought.
But that season is what taught me the value of pounding the rock. Those Spurs were undermanned and fought hard for every game.
By the end of the season, they had tied the Mavericks in the standings and taken the tiebreaker for the #1 seed and were rolling going into the playoffs.
Every series went to 6 games...but the Spurs never stopped pounding.
They came back against the Suns after Marbury stole Game 1. They upset the threepeat Lakers. They showed the Mavericks who was boss in the WCF. And they gutted out another Game 6 victory after being down on their home floor so that confetti could rain on Robinson one last time.
I know being a couple spots higher in the draft would be nice. But these guys deserve a good playoff run, and it's not hard to imagine. If 2003 showed us anything...it's that there is always a reason to believe.
Well, the Spurs will be hard pressed to stay in the 6 spot over the next 5 games. The Spurs next 5 games look like this:
Knicks @ Spurs
Blazers @ Spurs
Warriors @ Spurs
Miami @ Spurs
Spurs @ Rockets
Other than the Knicks game, that's a tough 5 game stretch. 3-2 would be a pretty acceptable result over the next 5 games. At least 4 are at home.
As for the Jazz and Clippers, they could realistically both go 5-0 over their next 5 games:
Jazz:
T'Wolves @ Jazz
Nets @ Jazz
Jazz @ Wizards
Jazz @ Knicks
Jazz @ Hawks
The Jazz should be favored in all of those games. Less than 5-0 would be disappointing if I'm a Jazz fan. The Wizards game on the road and the Nets should provide at least a mild challenge.
Clippers:
Bulls @ Clips
Nets @ Clips
Pacers @ Clips
Clips @ Cavs
Clips @ Knicks
For the Clippers, the Nets and Pacers games are the only non-lottery team games in the next 5, and the only two challenging games are both home games. Realistically the Clippers should be 5-0 as well.
At least the Kings shouldn't gain much ground on the Spurs over the next 5:
Kings @ Celtics
Kings @ Sixers
Bulls @ Kings
Nets @ Kings
Mavs @ Kings
You could say they'll be favored in 3 of those 5 games, so 3-2 would be a reasonable result. 5-0 is not impossible, but their schedule is definitely a notch harder than the Jazz and Clippers over the next 5. The Celtics and Sixers games are both road games, so I'd expect them to drop at least one, if not both, of those. So, hopefully we'll pick up 5 magic numbers against the Kings in the next 5.
Last edited by Ed Helicopter Jones; 03-14-2019 at 01:50 PM.
I think you just sold me a 10 year old Volvo station wagon. But I'm feeling really good about my purchase.
The Kangs play the Celtics tonight. They may already be tanking, but if the Celtics beat them legitimately that may be of huge help adding some distance between them and a spot
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