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I'm curious to see if more practice will help Nazr. I think he has a lot of potential.
Granted this free agent season is far from over and there's about a dozen proposed trades flying around this board, but assuming the Spurs bring back all the guys from last year's team (including current FA's Devin Brown and Big Dog), which Spur will be the most improved? There's a number of candidates to consider:
Beno-All but disapeared during the playoffs, and was up and down during the regular season, but the guy was only a rookie, and there were times when he looked downright great. He's got a more reliable perimeter game than Parker, and if he can just eliminate most of those rookie mistakes he could earn some more minutes.
Brent Barry-He struggled out of the gate with the Spurs, losing minutes due to defensive problems and couldn't find his shot, leading to a lot of heat on this board. He managed to figure things out just in time and looked worth every penny during the playoffs. Can he do it for 82 games with a healthy Devin Brown competing for minutes?
Nazr-He brought a lot of hustle and intensity but he also brought a propensity for missing defensive rotations and turning the ball over in the paint. Will a full training camp solve that?
Tim Duncan-It might sound laugable to that a reigning finals MVP could improve much, but he was slowed down a step or down for so much of the season by ankle troubles. With a full summer off with no international ball his ankles should be back in proper game shape. Could that spell a return to the dominant form of MVP seasons past?
That's just a few that came off the top of my head. Obviously there's a lot of guys to consider. For my money, I'm expecting the most growth out of Beno. What are your thoughts?
I'm curious to see if more practice will help Nazr. I think he has a lot of potential.
Nazr "has a lot of potential."
At his age and number of years in the NBA, I don't expect that his individual skills, fundamentals, basketball IQ will increase noticeably just by being a Spur, and/or next season being his mid-career "contract season". What you see is what you're gonna get.
His team play, esp defense, should improve noticeably.
If he does miraculously be "most improved" next season (or even doesn't), the Spurs probably won't be able to afford him next summer.
Beno could have a great sop re year, but Tony is the one I'd really like to improve, in his playmaking and shooting, to near All-star level.
I had great hope for Rasho's 2nd year as a Spur, hoping he'd get close to a double-double, but he was worse than his first year.
It's Tony's year to make the All-Star team.
Beno or Barry. Considering how bad their seasons were, and how good I think they both have the potential to be, either of them could post a huge turnaround next season.
TP might be a good bet, too. I predict much shooting this summer. Then again, if I could spend a summer with Eva, I wouldn't think about work for a second.
Timothy Theodore Duncan.
A summer off and two healthy ankles.
I really hope it's Nazr 'where would you like it next time' Mohammed
Next year is Parker's time to shine.
Beno
Barry
will both jump up a level. I like Beno a lot and see Barry performing well with comfort.
Parker
will be an All-Star this year. He makes a jump up a level, though not quite on par with Ginobili.
Nazr
improves, but not on a personal talent level, which is stable, rather comfort in the system.
Brent Barry.
Cant get any worse.
Nazr Mohammed, this guy is gonna blow people away next year.
Tony Parker
with Engeland in the fold, this kid by the end of the year will average 20 a game and have an all star game in his pocket.
will improve=
1 tony: he has every year find a way to improve and he will once again
2 Beno: respond well to coaching, flashes of brilliance. this PG pairs is going to be mean!!!
3 Barry: one year in the system, will understand his role and can not do as bad with shooting. i really think the le will be a revelation to him and his confidence. it is like having a baby it changes a men
4 Duncan: ready to fight with full strenghts , it is going to hurt
5 nazr: he has to improve or leave
their usual self
1 bowen: he had kind of a peak last season. dont look for him to improve but he is not just ready yet to decrease his level of game, if you want to see him get old come back next year
2 ginobili: he came with a gold medal and kept an incredible level of play and confidence all year. you cannot do better than what he did but you canm not wait less from EL MANU
3 Nesterovic: he is what he is. a solid role player that know his role. he might be gone before the end but with rasho life is not like a chocolate box
prime year behind:
Horry: more than ever with possibly both rasho and nazr and new oberto, horry will not be there for the begining of the season. count on him for mentor program until all star and then once nazr or rasho is out he will staart getting in shape for the usual horry christmas time in june
It needs to be reevaluated when roster completed but the 05/06 spurs will certainly be an upgrade from the one we saw this year.
tony and tim kept saying they feel they have room to improve and never played their best last season. that tells a lot.
The thought of Tony having a shooting coach of that calibur should strike terror into the rest of the league. Imagine a Tony that you can neither crowd, nor back off of. Damn. If he really "gets it", the Spurs could win the next 5 les.
Barry didnt play as play as some would think. His shot was not there but he brought some other intangibles to the plate. He was a decent backup option at bringing up the ball when he had to. He drove to the basket and made layups at times. Played decent defense. He and Horry brought alot of hustle off the bench. His shot will improve, sometimes those open 3's are the hardest ones to make.
Hopefully it's Parker. He made strides last season, but there is no doubt he can get better to some degree. Any improvements he makes can make this team even better than the championship calibur it already is.
Parker knows he has room to grow and refine his consistency in taking over games and being efficient over the long run. Manu has been unleashed this past season, now it's Tony Parker's turn.
Pretty scary for the rest of the league to think that the players with the most room for improvement on the Spurs are 2 of the top 3 players on the team.
I fully expect Duncan to be back to his 23/12/3/3 and with more mobility on defense. If Tony can improve his shooting to the degree that Manu did last season, the Spurs will be unbeatable.
I think everyone will improve which will make us repeat.
I'm looking forward to seeing Barry and his shooting improve...looking forward to seeing Parker on the allstar team, and I'm looking forward to seeing Duncan's stats back.
I think I will be seeing all of those.
Scary to think that a healthy Timmy and a (hopefully) shot dr. cured Tony could be our most improved players.
I'm pulling for Tony Parker.
"Beno .... Considering how bad their seasons were"
Beno didn't have bad season. Just because he got mugged a couple times in his first playoffs doesn't negate an entire rookie season of decent contribution.
I'd expect TP to continue his slow, but steady improvement.
Brent should be most improved considering how he stank it up most of last season.
Beno had some big nights in the Post season, he was huge in game five against Phoenix, you guys rememeber that? He also scored 25 points with tony, tim, and manu out against New Orleans
It's amazing how people forget how good Beno Udrih was as a rookie point guard out of Slovenia with little expectations, in a position it often takes three or more years to start showing flashes of getting it.
Beno is a great backup point guard. Remember he didn't got too many minutes. He had very few TO during the regular season and had a great 3pointer. He also averaged a lot of assists considering he was a rookie. I think parker should get less minutes so to give Beno a chance to improve. YOu can't improve if you only play like 10 minutes at most per game.
Players to improve:
Slovenes (Beno and Rasho):
Rasho would get a load of confidence even by just a great summer Eurobasket tournament. Beno has great confidence without it. So you can expect a giant leapse for those two guys. They should bloom next year, whole year.
Barry
Seattle was a huge thing for him. Winning the le was even greater one. He should become a beast.
People with crisis:
Parker (if he does not improve his shot)
Manu (Body has boundries. Summer will be great, but he will wake up in playoffs)
We will repeat. Now it is not even going to be close.
Timmy and Tony should improve upon last season. I hope Beno, Nazr and Rasho do too.
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