Reply With Quote
What i'm more curious about besides Opponent PPG, is what is the Opponent FG% for the spurs and what rank is that?
I agree with Pop 100%. I'd love to get on the Spurs' current "great defense" hype train, but I can't. While the numbers indicate they are playing solid D, they aren't passing the eye test. Don't get me wrong, its been very good but I believe the Spurs' weak schedule and new, slower offensive approach has more to do with the numbers looking so good. Less possessions = less points.
On more than one occasion, the Spurs have failed to get Defensive stops when they've needed it, or failed to get an important defensive rebound. I'm looking forward to the Spurs playing a tougher schedule and improving their offense. They haven't done anything yet.
Similarly, the 20-0 Golden State Warriors are chomping up the league but it's more about Steph Curry playing at an unbelievable level. Props to them but Curry can't & won't keep up this pace. Once he comes down to earth, the l's will start coming more frequently. They aren't anywhere near as good as the 72-10 Bulls. I fully expect the Spurs to bounce them out of the playoffs if some other team doesn't do it first. The playoffs are a different animal. Once Curry gets choked with double and triple teams, the rest of the roster will have to step up.
What i'm more curious about besides Opponent PPG, is what is the Opponent FG% for the spurs and what rank is that?
Making a lot of defensive mistakes doesn't mean they can't get defensive stops.
Against Wizards slow switching the screen gave Beal the space to shoot, vs Bulls Manu losing rotation and fouling, vs Thunder Waiters hitting consecutive js over Parker...
The Spurs can easily fix it...just clean up mistakes and not allow easy baskets.
Opponents FG % is 41.8%, good for 3rd in the league.
I don't undestand when you say they aren't passing the "eye test"....
What would you like to see??? 88.8ppg is great for the first 19 games regardless of who we are playing. Pop is playing possum if you asked him did you expect the defense to be this good this early the answer is no.. But he's a coach and he loves him some humble pie
Agree about our defense ... disagree about Warriors/Curry ... they are willing passers ... everybody can shoot ... as long as they are healthy double-teaming of Curry will not lead to success IMO
Holding NBA TEAMS to less than 90 a game is a remarkable feat regardless of what our schedule has been.
The SL is very good, but the bench defensively is weak. It's not a problem for the 4th wing. It's systematic. Pop has played all of our wings, Kawhi, Danny, Kyle, Rasual at the 4th wing, and the problems are the same. Lack of rim protection, poor defensive rebounding, and sad to say, for me its the Patty PnR defense being exposed when the big defending it is West. He's just not agile or with sufficient length to make plays and rotate on the nightmare that is Patty on PnR defense. It's making me go crazy with Patty at times. I used to love him, but I am developing avoidance to Patty bc he is getting chewed on the defensive end.
The fact Pop had Cojo in the past covered up for Patty so much. When Patty was getting chewed Cojo would come in and stop that right off the bat. Right now there is nothing we can do but watch and cringe as all sorts of bigs get to the rim against Diaw/West courtesy of the PnR against Patty.
Barely one month into the season I'm not too impressed by good defensive numbers. Most of the league plays like early on.
My eyes disagree.
Even the Spurs are allowed to screw up "on more than one occasion" every 20 games or so. Cut them some slack.
He could play McCallum. But that might come later on, once Danny regains his shooting touch.
I think the defense has been terrific. Especially after watching pretty much all the teams in the league. It's true that most teams start slow, but it's been really, really slow this season for some reason.
That said, Pop isn't wrong. Our offense still looks very disjointed. When you look at the amount of talent on this roster, and then look at the meager offensive output, along with the continually sloppy execution, there's zero doubt we have a ton of room to improve.
I'm with you, for the most part. Something about what I'm seeing doesn't feel right. Maybe it's the weak schedule or that it looks to easy.
I'm not so sure about the Curry part. One reason he is averaging so many less assist this year is because he IS getting double and triple teamed. He is passing out of them with Draymond being the best beneficiary with those high assist games.
Our bench has gotten too pass happy. There are times that no one literally no one wants to take a shot.
West is a terrific passer, but sometimes he has a good look and passes up to a contested Manu 3. Seen it happen.
Patty is a willing shooter, and will chuck any ball you feed him, but he's not always the best option.
Boris has been wanting to dish into traffic and turns the ball over right under the basket bc he's looking for West or for a cutter. Kyle's fit is awkward. I love his potential and me criticizing his game doesn't mean I like him any less as a player, but I want what is best for the team and he needs to take at least 1 three a game... 1 three Kyle, come on! He's becoming Diaw 1.0... that is maddeningly passive.
The other thing, how many times our pass happy bench doesn't end up with a forced up shot by Kyle with like 2 secs left to go. Kyle has a bad shooting percentage, but just look at his shots. Almost all of them are contested end of the shot clock bail-outs. I am surprised he's at almost 40% with the kind of jumpshots he's taking and forcing. With better shot selection he could be better, so I see what Pop means about his shot selection and he's probably driving Pop crazy with his passiveness, when he can shoot. You would think he could not shoot at all the way he's passing up good shots. He's passing up the easy ones and then being all brave and taking all the uber hard. Thank God he draws fouls.
Simmons can score for sure. He will be able to get a lot of easy baskets in transition, and can get to the rim out of cuts and passing from Diaw or West, so all that remains is whether he can shoot the 3. He also needs to be better defensively bc the bench already has defensive weaknesses, so if he's going to play he can't add to their troubles. However, he's a jolt of energy and I think he will carve out play for himself at times, particularly when everyone else is lethargic. For sure he fits in well when Manu rests. I see him eventually divvying up whatever playing time is there to be spared with Kyle depending on the size of the matchups and how either one is doing. Kyle still has a niche for himself as a stretch 4, and Pop has been willing to go to him when Diaw is on his lack of defense and coasting mode.
The starting lineup the opposite. At first lack of ball movement and guys were lost. Lamarcus and Danny passing up open shots .. wide open shots... Danny lacking rhythm and driving into traffic. It was offensive nightmare central, but they have improved and are probably still very far from what they would like to be.
I agree with the op. A lot of the good numbers is due simply to the fact that the Spurs have played a really easy schedule.
The most disturbing aspect of the Spurs play has been their lack of improvement over the course of the season. This team does not look any better today than it did a month ago. In some ways, it's been playing much worse. In other words, it's trending in the wrong direction.
I'm not saying San Antonio is a bad team, but it's definitely not championship caliber at this point.
Truth bomb tb
If it's the same for everyone. . .
Pass happy bench? Did you watch the last championship?Our bench has gotten too pass happy. There are times that no one literally no one wants to take a shot.
West is a terrific passer, but sometimes he has a good look and passes up to a contested Manu 3. Seen it happen.
Patty is a willing shooter, and will chuck any ball you feed him, but he's not always the best option.
Boris has been wanting to dish into traffic and turns the ball over right under the basket bc he's looking for West or for a cutter. Kyle's fit is awkward. I love his potential and me criticizing his game doesn't mean I like him any less as a player, but I want what is best for the team and he needs to take at least 1 three a game... 1 three Kyle, come on! He's becoming Diaw 1.0
The other thing, how many times our pass happy bench doesn't end up with a forced up shot by Kyle with like 2 secs left to go. Kyle has a bad shooting percentage, but just look at his shots. Almost all of them are contested end of the shot clock bail-outs. I am surprised he's at almost 40% with the kind of jumpshots he's taking and forcing. With better shot selection he could be better, so I see what Pop means about his shot selection and he's probably driving Pop crazy with his passiveness, when he can shoot. You would think he could not shoot at all the way he's passing up good shots. He's passing up the easy ones and then being all brave and taking all the uber hard. Thank God he draws fouls.
Simmons can score for sure. He will be able to get a lot of easy baskets in transition, and can get to the rim out of cuts and passing from Diaw or West, so all that remains is whether he can shoot the 3. He also needs to be better defensively bc the bench already has defensive weaknesses, so if he's going to play he can't add to their troubles. However, he's a jolt of energy and I think he will carve out play for himself at times, particularly when everyone else is lethargic. For sure he fits in well when Manu rests. I see him eventually divvying up whatever playing time is there to be spared with Kyle depending on the size of the matchups and how either one is doing. Kyle still has a niche for himself as a stretch 4, and Pop has been willing to go to him when Diaw is on his lack of defense and coasting mode.
The starting lineup the opposite. At first lack of ball movement and guys were lost. Lamarcus and Danny passing up open shots .. wide open shots... Danny lacking rhythm and driving into traffic. It was offensive nightmare central, but they have improved and are probably still very far from what they would like to be.
ing lol
It's amazing that people still doubt the dubs even after they won 67 games last year and won the chip. I think it's because they didn't make any flashy moves like landing LeBron or KD in free agency, but they took a playoff team and added a former lottery pick in Livingston, a former number 1 option in Andre to come off the bench, a playoff get in Barbosa, etc etc And for all the talk of them being fortunate health wise, they had their fair share of bad health in the playoffs the last few years(curry, bogut, Lee), so wouldn't you say they were due?
Not good when the pass happy ends up in contested shots at the end of the shot clock bc everyone refused to take the shots that were open and it ended in a desperation heave. Not quite the same right this moment.
Biggest asterisk le since 99 tbh. Most top teams were decimated with injuries.
My eyes disagree.
Mine too. Can you name more than maybe the Spurs cavs and warriors as serious contenders? That means no one has had a real hard schedule.
Even the Spurs are allowed to screw up "on more than one occasion" every 20 games or so. Cut them some slack.
It's crazy how the rest of the League see us as a great team and yet here we are complaining doing our usual share of cliff jumping
How did you like that funky lineup with Butler, Simmons, Anderson, Bobo and Patty?
Popovich is doing the same thing he has done on several of his championship years as he figures out how to put together this roster. The 2015 team took two years to really reach their pinnacle.
Nonetheless, this is not new territory. He did it with guys like Berry, Belli, Finley, Elson, Willis, Kersey, et al over the years. This is precisely where Popovich's program pays off over time. Simmons is getting the same shot as two Jacksons, Neal, and Green. Bobo when he got here was much like Aldridge now: hesitant to take shots and unsure of where to go. West and Bobo are fun to watch already. They screw up their spacing a lot. So does Simmons, Anderson, West, and all the other new guys.
I do like how you write a bit like KBP it makes me nostalgic.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
