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not to be nitpicky, BUT he's arguably THE top player in the league....there is no arguing his top 5 status....good article for those that slept through the offseason though....Duncan is still, arguably, one of the top five players in the league,
By Warren Blatt, Sports Network NBA Editor
PHILADELPHIA (Sports Network) - San Antonio entered the 2004 NBA playoffs as the defending champions, as it had defeated the New Jersey Nets in six games in the 2003 finals. The Spurs reign as champions ended in the conference semifinals when Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal and the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated them in six contests.
The loss to the Lakers, who may have shifted the power of the Western Conference back to San Antonio when they traded O'Neal to the Miami Heat, gave the Spurs a lot to think about in the offseason.
Did this team need some new blood on its roster? San Antonio's front office had some big decisions to make, as defensive stopper Bruce Bowen, guard Manu Ginobili and forwards Robert Horry and Hedo Turkoglu were all free agents.
Bowen, Horry and Ginobili all re-signed with the Spurs, while Turkoglu decided to take his game to Orlando. San Antonio went out on the open market and signed free agents Brent Barry, who can play both guard positions, and forwards Linton Johnson and Tony Massenburg. Barry gives San Antonio a veteran who plays smart basketball, while Massenburg and Johnson add depth to the frontcourt.
Two-time MVP Tim Duncan is still the go-to guy, while 22-year-old point guard Tony Parker continues to improve and could be on the cusp of becoming an All- Star. Duncan had another outstanding season for the Spurs in 2003-04, as he led the team in scoring (22.4 ppg) and rebounding (12.4 rpg) over 69 games. Parker led the team in assists (5.5 apg) and was second on the club in scoring (14.7 ppg)
Re-signing Bowen, Ginobili and Horry was huge for San Antonio. Bowen can knock down the jumper from beyond the arc as he made 36.3 percent of his attempts, and finished the regular season with averages of 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.02 steals. The 27-year-old Ginobili, who was one of the leagues best sixth men in 2003-04, was third on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) 2003-04 and played a little more then 29 minutes per game, while Horry, who is the only active player with five NBA Championships on his resume gives San Antonio a veteran forward who rises to the challenge in the postseason.
Twenty-eight-year-old Radoslav Nesterovic will be patrolling the middle once again for the Spurs. The 7-0 center started all 82 contests for San Antonio last season and averaged 8.7 points and 7.7 boards per game.
The addition of the 6-6 Barry was the key to San Antonio's offseason. Head coach Gregg Popovich, who has guided the Spurs to a pair of NBA championships during his tenure in San Antonio, will be able to shuffle his lineup in ways that will certainly cause matchup problems for the opposition. Popovich will be able to use Barry, Parker and Ginobili at the same time which will cause teams to have to guard the perimeter a lot more closely, opening up the low post for Duncan.
There was a lot of player movement in the Western Conference during the offseason. Houston acquired Tracy McGrady from the Magic in a blockbuster trade, Shaq was dealt to Miami, the Suns signed Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson, Utah inked Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur to big deals, and Dallas traded Antoine Walker and Antawn Jamison but it added Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier.
Even with all of the major changes around the league, the Spurs stayed the course and kept their main core of players together. Duncan is still, arguably, one of the top five players in the league, while Bowen, Ginobili, Horry, Nesterovic, Parker and Malik Rose are a solid supporting cast. Add Barry to the mix, and one would have to think that the Spurs are going to be a very difficult team to beat in 2004-05.
The Spurs, who have won two les in the past six seasons, lost four straight games to the Lakers in the semis after winning the first two contests of the best-of-seven series. The taste of that defeat is still fresh. With O'Neal residing in the East, the Spurs have to be the favorite in the West and they will be out to prove to the rest of the league that last year's playoff loss was just a bump in the road.
Look out NBA, the Spurs are back!
not to be nitpicky, BUT he's arguably THE top player in the league....there is no arguing his top 5 status....good article for those that slept through the offseason though....Duncan is still, arguably, one of the top five players in the league,
'tis quite appropriate that the le of this article is "The Spurs Have Something to Prove".Twenty-eight-year-old Radoslav Nesterovic will be patrolling the middle once again for the Spurs. The 7-0 center started all 82 contests for San Antonio last season and averaged 8.7 points and 7.7 boards per game
Sure you can easily argue. You have Kobe . . . and you have KG . . . and you have Shaq when the mood strikes . . . and you have, uh T-Mac and J. O'Neal. . .
. . . and CWebb . . . .
. . . .
Sorry, couldn't keep that up.
Did SAS write this about the SAS?
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