State of the Spurs: A real Spur fan's take

[nkdlunch]

First of all I can't beleive most "fans" here are calling last nite loss a bad loss and ing. Not a bad loss at all. We played the best team in the league in the Celtics and they were at full strength and definitely in "ON" mode, AND Spurs still made it compe ive. Our guys fought hard and our D was pretty good.


Why state of the Spurs now? I think right now it's a turning point in the season for Spurs. All new pieces have played together a good amount and we have a bunch of games piled up in the next few weeks.

This season I been watching pretty much all Spurs games for the first time ever so I think I got a pretty good idea. I think so far, things are going good. when you take overall picture, so far for Spurs... everything is going as expected.

Now on to the individual evaluation: (the order matters)

Overachieving and surprising:

Duncan - what can I say, this season he's as good as he's been for the last 5 years. No slowdown here. One guarantee, if there is a big game, Duncan will be there. No concerns here. Still best PF in the league when you count defense.


Blair - He's a ing beast. All it takes is one or 2 good plays from Blair any given night and the Beast is awoken and there is no stopping it. Fans expectations were high on Blair but unbeleivably he is exceeding them.


Hill - Best backup PG in the NBA? Could be. By season end, yes he will be. And it's his 2nd year!

Finley - Shooting well, defending decently at times, even driving to the basket? Finley is having a damn good season so far.

Bonner - Eventhough defensively he is below average for a big, he makes very little mistakes when he is on the floor. Must be a reason why he got such high +/- He is having a way better season than last year and he is shooting almost 50% from 3. Should he start? no , but deserves the minutes he is getting.

Doing ok, mas o menos:

Parker - Parker had an active summer and Pop rested him on pre-season. This is why he is starting slow. I expect him to get into his real season form in this december stretch, I have no worries he will get to top form soon. No worries here either.

McDyess - Not playing well but not playing horrible either. Good thing is he seems to be in shape and good health. He is still getting into the system. He will be fine.


Ginobili - coming back from almost a year off. Was not in shape at all to start the season. Probably his worst season start of his career but he has shown some flashes that he still might have it. He's probably the main concern for me. Will he get to top form? Will he stay healthy? My crystal ball is silent on this one.

Bogans - Good defender close to Bowen caliber and way more athletic so he can keep up with young faster or bigger guys. Pop will use the Bogans card when necessary and it will pay dividends.

Underachieving and concerning:
Mason - Horrible start of season for Money Mason. He ain't even Penny Mason at this point. I'm not even gonna list all that's going wrong with Mason cause I don't have the time. BUT 2 things: he seems to be getting over the hump in the last couple of games and he still seems to have the confidence and is not hanging his head yet. Keep your head up Mason and for God's sakes pray God/Allah/Buddah that you will get over this curse you got this season.


Jefferson - Plain and simple he just does not fit this team so far. It's like a puzzle piece that everyone is trying to force into the wrong place so far. He's another of my huge concerns, and sadly with Jefferson it's worse because it seems he does not have the mental focus yet. He is not even mentally in the team, which is the worst part. I am no expert on contracts/salaries, but if I was the Spurs I would consider moving Jefferson for another piece. Probably not even possible and for sure Spurs won't give up yet on him. But again, it's the "all in season", everything is possible.

Mahinmi - Naming him here because boy, he could have helped us. Not all his fault, he had bad luck but also has low, low bball IQ. Bye bye Ian.

Theo, Hairston - played to little to get any idea. But they are insurance.

All in all so far it's all going as planned. Us fans(the few smart ones) knew there were gona be bumps on the road and the team was not gonna be beasting from day 1. But the best news is big 3 seem healthy. The team's improvement is clearly going forward rather than backwards. Pop is going for the marathon, not the race and that was obvious last night vs. Celts.

Short term goal for next couple of months? Improve defense, get within striking distance of SW division top and don't pay attention to the legions of re ed spurs fans.

My prediction? If big 3 stay healthy and either Mason or RJ turn the corner, watch out. If both RJ and Mason turn the corner, this team is gonna up. And I would not be surprised to see a big trade/pickup either. Why not? It's the "all in" season.

Mason, RJ, are you guys gonna show up for the team? Manu keep fighting.

Regardless props to the Spurs franchise for going all out for Duncan. Win or lose this season, Spurs and Duncan have nothing to be ashamed of.

[Leetonidas]

Finally, a thread with some perspective. It IS only December, and our team has had some tough breaks. The good news is that the defense is coming along, unlike last year. It is much better for us to be strong on D and struggling on O than vice versa, because you know our team with this much talent will get their offense together eventually.

I agree on Jefferson. It's very clear that he doesn't have a clue what to do out there as the 4th option, and I'm guessing it's because he's always been the #2 or #1 guy. When Parker and Duncan were out he played really good but with them back out there he is seriously struggling with his iden y out there. Honestly, I think it would be better for him to come off the bench and start Manu instead, however, we don't really have anyone to start in Jefferson's place. We can get away with Finley or Bogans or Mason out there against a team's 2nd unit, but against their starters, we'll get owned.

Nice post though. I fully expect the Spurs to turn it around. Didn't they start 9-10 a few seasons back and still manage to get those 50+ wins?

[Rebounds]

In agreement here NL. We can know better too after the Denver game if others on the team can step up and contribute more.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Well said, that's pretty much how I see it, and I'm sure most other rational Spurs fans do too.

[VBM]

I just hope Pop doesn't "George Hill" DeJuan Blair when we get to playoff time...if this guy is as good as we think he is, he better be getting some PT in the postseason...

[EP Money Man]

It wouldn't be that bad of an idea just to play Manu at the 3. I think he can match up w/most small forwards in the league.

A starting lineup of: Tim, Dice, Manu, Bogus, TP

Then Hill HAS TO BE THE FIRST off the bench (i've said this all season): Hill for Bogans @ the 6 min mark, then Mase for Tony (w/Hill sliding from SG to PG) then Manu out and RJ in.

As far as the Bigs, Blair should still come off the bench, but I think Tim should come out first that way he can go all out at beginning of game. Also, in that case if Dice hasn't gotten burn, then when Blair comes in for Tim, we can run plays for Dice.

Fin and Bonner should be played when needed.

[VBM]

And as for the On Mode/Off Mode, tinker and experiment stage for the Spurs...if they want to run that way, that's fine. It's worked in the past, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. But having Duncan carry the load seems counterintuitive (we're worried about him wearing down, right?). Jefferson is the big new piece...let's showcase him and let him be a focal point on offense...build his confidence. Tony, Tim and Manu are secure in their spots, so why not use the early part of the season to get RJ going, and then scale him back as we increase the minutes for the other guys. We did that with Hill last year (sometimes out of necessity with Parker hurt), and it seemed to work wonders for him...

[VBM]

Fin and Bonner should be played when needed.

And whoa, nice avatar man...

[Leetonidas]

It wouldn't be that bad of an idea just to play Manu at the 3. I think he can match up w/most small forwards in the league.

No, he can't. He's way to small and nearly a good enough defender to guard guys like Melo, Durant, James, Marion, Deng, Turkoglu, Gay, Granger, Butler, Pierce, etc. All those guys will tear Manu up.

Plus, he's not a SF.

[EP Money Man]

And whoa, nice avatar man...

Haha, nice sig. Sopranos is the . Didn't like the ending though.

[EP Money Man]

No, he can't. He's way to small and nearly a good enough defender to guard guys like Melo, Durant, James, Marion, Deng, Turkoglu, Gay, Granger, Butler, Pierce, etc. All those guys will tear Manu up.

Plus, he's not a SF.

I see nothing wrong w/Manu playing against those guys. Finley did it last year and RJ coming off the bench would give him more freedom. Besides Manu isn't playing that good on offense right now so a focus on defense and deferring to Tim/TP would suit him better.

[SamoanTD]

I see it the exact same way the spurs are coming along nicely we have all seen the flashes of how good the team can be when everyone is going but we just have to make it consistent.

[duhoh]

[washingtonwizard]

I wish my team had your team's problems

[all_heart]

Agree with OP. IMO Dice is doing fine. He can knock down the J most nights and is adjusting to the system just like everybody else. I'm most concerned with Mason and RJ too. Even though it's Mason's second year, it's almost like his first again with all the new players. It seems the biggest thing is that his shot is way off right now, once he get comfortable his shot will come back.

RJ... hmm I realize it's all new for him but he really seems lost out there. I think Pop needs to create some plays for him or just allow him to score freely out there, like Manu does sometimes. As a team we just need to pick up the intensity and focus a little better and we'll be fine.

[jaffies]

A refreshing, well thought out opinion, from a good ST member.
And they said this forum is in a slump??

Nice, nkdlunch!

[hater]

you wrote this ????

this should go on spurs.com cover page

[urunobili]

This thread is full of win

[peskypesky]

awesome analysis. i agree with you on almost every point.

and as for Jefferson, as stoked as i was to get him, i'm really starting to think we need to think about trading him for a part that will fit better.

[SpursWench21]

A refreshing, well thought out opinion, from a good ST member.
And they said this forum is in a slump??

Nice, nkdlunch!

+1 nice analysis...Well be ok.

[Leetonidas]

Oh yeah, I wouldn't say Timmy is overachieving or surprising me at all. He's Tim-mother- ing-Duncan. The only people who expected him to decline or become just a role player are other teams fan's who don't know. We got this .

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

Good job, nice read

[Cry Havoc]

Love this thread. Was going to write something similar to it myself but just haven't had the time lately.

Great to see a thread that isn't completely bashing this team and leaving them for dead.

The scary part is just how UNBELIEVABLE the Beast is. He could be a dominant threat by the post-season. Seriously one of the 3 most complete rookies from the last draft. In fact, I'd say 1. Jennings, 2. Griffin (pre-injury) 3. Blair.

Amazing. Player. We have such a bright future in this guy.

[raspsa]

Pop's in experiment mode.. it seems he intends to try every possible player combination to see what works and what doesn't... you can be sure the coaching staff is taking notes.

Too early yet to come to any conclusions, unlike Spurs fans who seem to know the answers after each game. Sample size of players performances and games played is way too small at this point in the season.

The point will come in the season, probably later rather than sooner, when Pop will settle on his starters and rotation. Let's be grateful that the defense seems to becoming more consistent. That's the foundation the Spurs must have to compete night in, night out.

The inconsistencies in FTs, the turnovers, unfamiliarity of certain players with the systen, etc.. these are being addressed and should improve. But the defense is headed in the right direction.

[in2deep]

yeah, I don't know whether Jefferson is that kinda player with not much motivation or he is just not motivated at the moment for some reason. Hopefully he will realize he needs to give 200% focus and effort to help this team.