Reply With Quote
The 05-06 Spurs had a dominant offensive or defensive center?
By looking at this year's roster it seems the team is weaker in every position. It has no dominant center (either on offense or defense), Tim and Manu are a year older, Tony is unlikely to have a better year (let's hope he does at least as well as last season), Bruce is not getting any younger (and still we haven't found a long athletic SF) and the rest of the team is just the same, but older. Not only do we not have improved, but I think this 2006/7 Spurs are worst than the former team, while other teams have improved (Phoenix, Chicago) or at least stayed the same (Dallas, Miami). What do you guys think?
The 05-06 Spurs had a dominant offensive or defensive center?
We have no rasho or nazr thats a big plus.And im sure spurs will make a big move mid-season. our stars will be hungrier than last year. Bowen is pissed off... I think they have as good a chance as the last couple of years.
plus Dallas is beatable as it was shown in the finals. and Miami, come on , they are very beatable. who else is there to challenge?
Actually, I think the Spurs will be fortunate to win 50 games and will likely finish 4th in the Southwest and will go out in the first round as a 7-8 seed.
Let's see your points :
- no dominant center (either on offense or defense) : sure but centers like Nazr or Rasho are useless against Mavs and Suns. We are weaker in the paint but we are more versatile and we match up better against top teams.
- Tim and Manu are a year older : but they aren't really old. both were injured last season and both can be better this year.
- Bruce is not getting any younger : last season was maybe his best season, he is old but he can still play.
This offseason has been quite bad but I wouldn't say that we are a weaker team than last year against teams like Mavs and Suns. I don't think too that Spurs are favorites to win it all. To me, Suns have the better team.
My only concern is the long SF but the situation isn't hopeless :
- Eric Williams is a great fit if he has something left in the tank.
- Melzer or Smith can be good surprises.
- Spurs can still do a trade (likely with barry) before the deadline.
BTW, we are fovourite for Vegas that you can consider as the most unbiased source :
2006/2007 NBA Championship Outright :
San Antonio Spurs 5.50
Miami Heat 6.00
Dallas Mavericks 6.50
Detroit Pistons 7.50
Phoenix Suns 8.00
Chicago Bulls 13.00
New Jersey Nets 15.00
Cleveland Cavaliers 21.00
...
book it ..manu is gonna have the best season and tim its going back to big numbers again ..the spurs will win 61 games ..and a ring.
I have to say I'm a little worry about the off season we had.
On the front court, I think that Alson / Butler for Mohammed (that's what's happened...the $ numbers are quite like the same) could have been worth a risk.
But I don't see the Rasho for williams/bonner deal as an improvement...no more big center in situations that need it (shaq, ming...).
I don't see the real deal in Bonner or an Oberto...with more plaiyng time next season.
Also the back court could have been "rejuvaneted" or, at least, worth the risk of been ...improved (B. Wells anyone?)
Instead, I see a little improvement in point guard, with J. Vough like a decent option...he can control and move well the ball and in last years he's improved on offense.
We'll see...time is not over and I have a great confidence in the spurs management...
I think Tim will be Tim again and have an awesome season just like he played in the playoffs and Manu will have a better year this year. He was injured the whole year and had an awful year and we still got close to winning. Tony's just going to continue to get better so I'm not worried.
I know that I'm in the minority here, but I actually don't think this offseason has been "quite bad." I think the Spurs have actually been rather productive, given the constraints that they faced and the limited market of available players.
At the end of last season, we knew that a 7-man Spurs rotation with a beat up backcourt was essentially on the same footing as the Mavericks in a playoff setting. What the Spurs lacked was some useful depth and long players who are athletic. They managed to find guys who at least might be those things without: (1) burdening themselves with long-term contracts for project-type players; (2) settling to overpay guys who can't provide the things the Spurs need; and (3) trading away anything they were really going to need come playoff time in 07. They've collected some useful assets now and will have a few months to see how the pieces fit and what else needs to be done to fill whatever holes still exist. They've got expiring contracts to deal and have actually managed to get a bit younger. If one or more of the projects work out, the Spurs will be set. If none of them do, the Spurs aren't really any worse off than they were in the middle of the Dallas series.
Right now, I'm gonna say 3 or 4 seed in the West.
Sad but true...
You're right, Spurs moves have been good : the Rasho trade is a steal, the draft day trade is good and Spurs haven't overpaid FAs.
I've just had higher expectation : Duncan, Manu, Parker, Bruce and Finley is such a great core to win a championship and I've hope that Spurs get better players around them.
Disapointing sum up maybe more my feeeling than "quite bad". Maybe too that my expectations were too high given what you called "the constraints that they faced and the limited market of available players".
with a Duncan somewhat near 100%????
Very, very good.
If Duncan, Ginobili and Parker stay healthy, the Spurs will be fine and contending for a Championship. I don't have a lot of confidence in the Elson/Butler combination, but , the Spurs won a le with Nazr/Rasho in 2005.
Well I'm excited with what Elson and Butler can do, I hope Butler's improved his defense and Elson's improved his rebounding. I'm not so sure about Bonner though. But I do agree we will have one of the top 3 playoff spots next year
I like the Spurs chances just about as much as I did last year. A couple teams got stronger, a couple teams got weaker, the Spurs are still right in the mix, and nobody is gauranteed to win a thing.
The Spurs can't hit a jackpot every offseason. The majority of the moves made this summer were financial, clearing up space in the books for the future. For those of you who seem to have forgotten, basketball WILL extend beyond the 2006-2007 season.
They dropped deadweight in Nazr and Rasho. So even if all we got back is more deadweight in Elson and Butler, at least it's deadweight that's a of a lot cheaper. If ONE of those guys can manage to surprise us, then we're better off at the center position than we were last year.
In his third year, Udrih should be able to provide more stability than the Van Exel Experiment ever did. We've got A third string point gaurd, I think the previous years have come to show that it doesn't particularly matter who that is. (Unless, of course, your name is Steve Kerr).
Other than that...we've still got the same core that could've gone all the way last year, a few new pawns to play with, and a new chip on our shoulder.
I know I'd take the Spurs' odds over anyone elses in the league. But I may be a little biased.
no, the only thing that is "sad but true" is the fact that you are posting on here
if dallas and miami r beatable...then the spurs are VERY beatable...both those teams have numerous advantages over the spurs...pheonix is a big question mark...but if amare is healthy then u can add them to that group
miami has big advantages over the Spurs??? how so?
Spurs were so close to beating Dallas last playoffs that I don't see big advantages for Dallas either. it could have gone either way
please enlighten me on the BIG Advantages?
well....for miami it would have to be shaq...maimi holds the advantage at center over every team...
dallas has a quickness advantage
and the dallas young players are far better than the spurs young players
and yes i do agree that the spurs almost took the seris from the mavs...but mostly becuse of the mavs lack of experience, KVH, and the depth they lost when they had to start harris because griffen wasnt athletic enough to guard the spurs guards....but look now...van horn is gone...we have learned a valuable lesson from the defeat by miami...and griffen is replaced by buckner and george
What did Dallas learn from the Miami defeat? How would we be able to tell? Training camp hasn't even started.
And Dallas doesn't have a single young player that's anywhere close to Parker. How are the Mavs young players far better?
And the Spurs didn't almost take the series from the Mavs because of KVH. He played much better than anyone expected. Remember those huge shots in Game 7?
Fairly typical of Mav fan to construe a by the skin of their teeth series win as a ringing statement of superiority. The Mavs were better -- barely -- in the 2006 playoffs. We'll see about 2006-07.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
