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Welcome back, LJ.
No, it wasn't a bad dream. The top-seeded San Antonio Spurs lost to the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the 2011 playoffs. Not only did the Grizzlies win, they did so in convincing (and shockingly easy) fashion. And, yes, that was former Spurs enigma Ian Mahinmi tallying a couple notable hoops in Game 6 of the NBA Finals as the Dallas Mavericks took home basketball's ultimate prize.
For Spurs fans, to say last year's postseason was one to forget is stating it rather nicely. A championship window? Following April's meltdown, it's difficult to argue against using the stonecutter's hammer to install hurricane shutters.
Where did it all go so wrong? How did a 61-win team dissolve so thoroughly when the bright lights arrived? Truthfully, the problems began with those 61 wins. Those weren't 61 championship Spurs wins. No, those were 61 wins from a team a championship Spurs squad would squash on their way to a le.
Rather than rely on stout defense, a precise yet predictable offense and superior chemistry, the 2010-11 team racked up victories thanks to an equation that leaned on a relatively fast pace in addition to accurate (and active) three-point shooting. Defensively, the Spurs pressured the basketball more than usual, which would occasionally cause havoc in regular season games, but finished the year outside of the top ten in defensive efficiency.
When push came to shove -- and the Grizzlies weren't afraid to do either during the playoffs -- San Antonio was outed as a fraud. The pace slowed. The spacing that allowed the threes to rain during the regular season was replaced by the congestion of best-of-seven familiarity. The already porous defense saw the smoke clear and the mirrors shatter.
Digging even deeper, last season's team uncharacteristically began the campaign in a sprinter's stance. With players, most outspoken of which being Manu Ginobili, wanting the Spurs to avoid their typical guarded stroll out of the gates, the overall strategy of how to attack the regular season was altered.
Typically, coach Gregg Popovich has preached the importance of unraveling a season in a step-by-step manner. First, his teams would run only basic offensive sets while concentrating their in-game and practice time perfecting the defensive execution. Come the Rodeo Road Trip, Pop's teams would open the playbook -- but only after the defense had become second nature. The result of this strategy was oftentimes a somewhat slow start followed by a sprint to the finish line.
Truth be told, the changes to how the Spurs usually do businesses weren't made with malicious intent. Without a legitimate stopper on the perimeter and an interior that no longer frightens opponents, San Antonio went into the season knowing their defense wasn't going to be elite. To compensate, the plan was to allow the offense to carry a greater share of the load by running more while utilizing a penetrate-and-kick European style that would accentuate the abundant catch-and-shoot specialists on the roster. And perhaps just as importantly, this new offensively philosophy -- not the defense -- was the main focus from Day 1.
For a while, the results were better than anyone could have hoped. A team that was coming off of a 50-win campaign was 29-4 heading into the new year. A few weeks later, the Spurs were 37-6 and far ahead of the compe ion in the race for the league's best record. However, slowly but surely, they faded … with the first round becoming an unsightly exclamation point.
Hindsight allows us to see that the Spurs, almost certainly due to their change in philosophy, had peaked early. November saw the team average 108.1 points per game. December (103.3) was still strong but the team would really never reclaim the burst witnessed early on last season. Add late season injuries to Duncan and Ginobili and the recipe for disaster was complete.
With pride still mending, the Spurs head into a new season. To begin with, a crossroads: Where does the franchise go from here? Do they stubbornly trudge along straight ahead with visions of reclaiming their past glory? Does San Antonio tip their hats, accept the probable end to their run of excellence and begin the rebuilding process? Or do the Spurs split the difference and attempt to rebuild on the fly while keeping their core intact?
Although the chosen road won't be known until at least a week from now when free agency is in full swing, it appears as if a sneak preview was offered on draft night back in June. The Spurs, for the first time under Pop, traded up in the first round of the draft. In doing so, the team obtained Kawhi Leonard with the 15th overall selection in a swap that landed George Hill in Indianapolis.
Trading away arguably the team's best player outside of the Big Three in each of the last two seasons for a 20-year-old prospect screams rebuild. There's really no other way to digest that transaction. Yes, Hill, at 6-foot-2, would often end up miscast as a small forward due to the makeup of the roster and his lackluster playmaking abilities. Yes, Leonard -- on paper, at least -- has the ability to play small forward and supply the team with the size, strength and athleticism that has been lacking at that position for eons. However, a team with the sole focus of winning a le today doesn't trade away such a key cog for a mid first round prospect.
That said, a complete rebuild doesn't appear to be in the works; the free agency rumblings heard thus far involve complementary veteran players and the trade chatter is minimal. Of course predicting what the San Antonio front office is conjuring up at any moment is risky business, but everything points to the Big Three headlining the show come the day after Christmas.
No matter the road, the Spurs must first decide what to do with Richard Jefferson. An amnesty provision in the new CBA allows the front office to erase the $30 million owed to him from the salary cap numbers. Doing so would allow the Spurs to spend more in free agency and be more active when it comes to trades. Unfortunately, jettisoning Jefferson's contract isn't a simple decision. Not only would the Spurs still be on the hook for the total amount remaining on the contract, they'd face a quick turnaround when indoctrinating his replacement -- who could very well also be overpaid in what promises to be a brisk market. Making the situation even murkier is the fact that the CBA doesn't put a time limit on the amnesty provision.
Another quick decision will be need to be regarding Antonio McDyess. According to reports, McDyess' contract for next season becomes fully guaranteed if he isn't waived on the first day of free agency. If the Spurs do waive him, they would only owe him half of his $5.2 million salary. Another option is to use his partially unguaranteed contract as trade bait.
Father time, being the unforgiving bas that he is, has probably already put the championship era to bed. But if San Antonio decides to give it another go and delay rebuilding, the Spurs will fittingly tip off the 2011-12 season versus Grizzlies looking to prove that last playoff's downfall was a part of the final chapter and not the period at the end of the last sentence.
Welcome back, LJ.
Good to dust off the keyboard
I'm going to try to tackle at least one topic daily going forward. Let me know the preferred topics. I'll also attempt to get questions answered if you SpursTalkers got any of those.
Thanks bros and lady bros.
I am working on an exhaustive season preview to post on this site that would be the most incredible, jaw dropping preview ever done. I was working on it with the assumption that you were gone. I think I'll still finish it though.
btw, was that really you at PacersDigest?
Seriously? My sarcasm meter is rusty. It'd be cool to see a preview from my favorite poster of the post Grizzlies collapse.
I heard that a couple times this summer.
Perhaps. PM me details
Oh yes. I'm doing research on my past stunningly accurate posts right now, having to go back years to lay the groundwork.
Also will include original artwork.
Might take quite a few posts to start the thread because of it's size.
Thanks, timvp.
Now people can stop asking me if you are ever going to post again.
The comeback was almost thwarted by my password. On my final available attempt to guess it, I came through.
(I know there's a Bonner or RJ joke to be had here but not sure how to word it.)
Don't forget a Pop joke.
Your password finally got over itself.
Good morning, LJ. Great to see you back, and glad to read your writing again.
I have one massively important question that I want you to answer first and foremost:
How are you and the family doing? I hope everything is going very well.
+1I hope everything is going very well.
Good to have you posting again.
Looking forward to read your predictions/analyses on the Team/trades and any other Spur-related topics.
Tim Duncan. Have the wheels truly come off or do you think he could be able to handle another deep playoff run, physically.
I'll be your guest, then.Good to dust off the keyboard
I'm going to try to tackle at least one topic daily going forward. Let me know the preferred topics. I'll also attempt to get questions answered if you SpursTalkers got any of those.
Thanks bros and lady bros.
Given the fact that Pop conceded towards the end of last season that the team needed to shore up its interior defense, and assuming that the rumor mill is accurate and the Spurs have not been on the hunt to address that need through free agency, do you believe that the Spurs are actively looking to address that need by trading RJ? If so, who do you think are they targeting, and would the addition of this player (and whoever of Caron Butler / Josh Howard / Vince Carter, or whichever wing player the Spurs are targeting through free agency) be enough to get the team back in contention, lockout-shortened season and all?
Welcome back, friend. Hope life with little ones has been treating you well. Oh, how I miss those days.
Tim,
Q: Is Pop playing with a full deck...mentally?
In your opinion.
Hey timvp! so awesome to read your lines!
Do you think Kaman would be a good fit if we're to stay with this core?
Welcome back.
First, welcome back. Hope you'll be sharing your extended thoughts on a regular basis.
This is a point that hasn't generated much discussion. There are several factors, in addition to to the compressed time frame, that point to an overpriced FA market.
1. There are a number of teams that are well under the cap or can get well under the cap by using the amnesty provision.
2. There are several teams that are not only under the cap, but are under the minimum payroll provision.
3. There are many teams that are several players short of the minimum 13 required to be under contract.
4. Nearly all the other teams can use the full MLE, or can get there by using the amnesty provision.
5. Borderline American players who would prefer the NBA to Europe (Marcus Haislip and Gary Neal, for example) that normally would try to catch on with an NBA team through summer league and even training camp, have already signed with teams in Europe and China for the duration of this season.
6. Many foreign players that would have considered the NBA this season have also committed to their overseas clubs for the 2011-12 season.
All in all, lots of dollars chasing fewer players in a very limited period of time could lead to a sort of feeding frenzy. Getting value in this market promises to be a challenge. Next summer will offer better value and the Spurs will have much more spending flexibility as well.
So while I believe that the Spurs will aggressively pursue all possible trades for RJ, using the amnesty clause on him this year seems extremely unlikely to me.
Excellent post and better than any article I have read on any NBA team in the last 6 months. Thanks, and welcome back!
Well said & welcome back, sir.
Welcome back timvp. Definitely good to read your thoughts again, and I look forward to your future posts.
Yikes
We were the 2005 Suns
This is shaping up to be a curious season. So many different issues.
Who is this "timvp" and how did he ac ulate 45,000 posts? h4x!!!
Wel,, if you combine Lakaluva and Kool's posts.....
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