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Maybe Duncan shouldn't get hurt? that could help...
I am pretty sure that the preseason record does not reflect 'real things' i.e. the regular season and above all the playoffs.
I just think of ways to improve this season's road record as compared with the last season (an excellent home team but with average road record).
Maybe Duncan shouldn't get hurt? that could help...
last season's road record was a fluke. I think this team is capable of pulling an excellent road record this year, maybe not as great as their home record, but still way better than last year's.
Either way we'll find out soon enough they start the season with an early five game road trip.
I was told here last season that the Spurs playing down to/under weak opponents and losing to lottery teams on the road is part of the Spurs perennial inconsistency. I was ridiculed for expecting the Spurs to play with the consistency of last season's Suns. Duncan was not absent from all those Spurs ty road losses.
What's worse this year is that all teams will play to beat the defending/next Champions before their probably above-average-size home crowds.
Spurs road record in 2005 playoffs: 7-4
So maybe what they were telling you was right?
Lose less.
The Spurs won on the road when there was urgency to do so. They didn't really need the Rodeo Road Trip to gel as a team as they had done previously. It's way too early to say how they will play at any point until they have something negative to respond to. Even though the talent is there, they won't win 75 games simply because they will get complacent at times and lose games they shouldn't. It's inevitable. As long as they don't get into a position where they give away four to someone in the post season it'll be fine.
The way the Spurs do better on the road this regular season is for Michael Finley to learn how to play Spurs basketball. If Finley can have the type of season that would make him a top 5 candidate for the 6th Man of the Year award, then the Spurs will be pretty much unbeatable anywhere. He's going to have the opportunity to have all of the minutes he can handle, with Bowen and Ginobili taking up about 60 of the 96 minutes available at the swing spots.
Finley ensures that you will have at least one true perimeter scoring threat at all times on the court (between him and Manu). The greatest weakness for the Spurs was having a threat at those spots to attack the basket when Manu went out.
Finley has to be the guy who carries this team in the 2nd game of back to backs in February at Memphis, or Cleveland, or Dallas, etc...
If he blows up the championship is going to be over in December.
1. Making FTs
2. No complacency while playing average/below average teams (Spurs are notorious in losing to at least 4-5 east conf teams in their trip over the last 3-4 yrs).
3. Play Duncan/Gino/Horry/Finley/NVE more on the road.
having a healthy Tim Duncan when you go through a stretch of road games helps.
Michael Finley being fresh Michael Finley helps.
We have a winnah.
alot of sex
Obviously, better free throw percentage and less turnovers.
I think they will be better on the road this year because of more depth and more offensive punch off the bench in Van Exel and Finley.
The team did languish at times when Manu or TD went to the bench at times.
nice to see you here
and welcome
lets try and win against the jazz shall we? no more last second put backs!
I always hear about the Qty of turnovers the Spurs tend to produce, I have attributed this to their motion offense, and willingness to make the extra pass, more passes = more of a chance of a TO. So although I cringe when I look at the TO column sometimes, to me, it's a necessary evil. When the Spurs have 23 TO's and lose, you point to that as the problem, however, the Spurs also win alot of games when the have a high TO rate. Don't get me wrong, it would be great to have less turnovers, get Nazr some sticky tape for his hands, that'll cut a few off.
The FT% is the worst problem, it only gets noticed when a player misses some Ft's at the end of a game, but constantly leaving points on the board will hurt you, doesn't matter if it is in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd quarters.
Play defense in the 4th, and TP needs to step up as well as team free throughs. We obviously showed it's there, but it's not as consistant as it could be.
Not get injured.
Damn!! Travis beat me to it!Lose less.
Try harder
Despot, I agree with you regarding FT shooting % and the problem it has created for the Spurs off and on.
Your point about turnovers however needs numbers applied to it to see if it holds up. Look at the TOs over the past three seasons and the TOs have actually gone down by a factor of 1 per game each of those seasons.
2002-03 15.8 TO/game
2003-04 14.7 TO/game
2004-05 13.7 TO/game
I actually think the reduction in TOs can be attributed to ball movement with a reduction in the hub-and-spoke (4 down) offense, where Tim Duncan can occasionally be an easy target to dislodge the ball. Tim's TOs have gone down from 3.06/game in 2002-03 progressively to 2.65 in 2003-04 and a low 1.92 in 2004-05.
We still have Okur!
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