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How is losing Nick the Brick make us weaker?
9/30/2006
Columnist Tim Chisholm is looking at one NBA team each day for the month of September.
Season Preview
San Antonio Spurs
It's funny how much weight a track record can carry when it comes to feeling out a team.
For instance, the San Antonio Spurs, by most accounts, have had a substandard off-season. By that I meant that they came up short in the Playoffs last spring, and since then they seemed to have gotten weaker, not stronger. They let go of their two centres, saw Nick Van Exel retire, and have an aging supporting cast that's been barely supplemented.
The only moves that this team made in an attempt to reload for this coming season was bringing in forwards Matt Bonner and Eric Williams from Toronto, both of whom were seen as disposable parts from one of the leagues worst teams last year, and they signed Denver's third-string centre to presumably start alongside Tim Duncan, and he'll be backed-up by Jackie Butler, a Larry Brown favorite from last year's sad-sack Knicks.
Had most teams finished their summer with that sort of maneuvering fans and the media alike would be calling for their heads. In San Antonio, however, people are expecting an even better year than last. It must be nice to have a positive track record.
The positive outlook comes, first of all, from the fact that Tim Duncan is supposedly fully recovered from his foot issues that plagued him all of last year. While he didn't miss much time as a result, the quality of his game clearly suffered. This year Duncan is expected to return to MVP form and regain his status as unquestionably the finest forward in the NBA as he leads his fundamental Spurs the way only he can.
Tony Parker, after sitting out this summer's World Championships because of a broken finger, is supposed to be ready to go without any of the fatigue that can come from leading a national team deep into the tournament.
And while Many Ginobili did take part with Argentina's national team, he was afforded lots of rest due to the team's depth as well as several blow-out games early in the tournament, so fatigue shouldn't pose much of a problem for him, either.
Lastly, few coaches know how to maximize their role players as well as Gregg Popovich does in Texas. While the off-season acquisitions may have been tame by the Spurs standards, one has to assume that Pop was heavily involved in bringing them on board and has a very specific game plan in mind when it comes to utilizing them. And while no one should doubt the Spurs abilities to once again coast to the top of the Western Conference this year, for the first time in a long time the cracks are beginning to show in the San Antonio amour.
It may seem like a small point, but this summer the Spurs traded Rasho Nesterovic and let Nazr Mohammed walk to Detroit because they felt that they would have no trouble signing Portland free agent Joel Przybilla simply because they were the Spurs and they were asking for him. In years gone by San Antonio has often been able to lure any free agent they've wanted to their team, be it Van Exel, Michael Finley, Brent Barry or Robert Horry. It could be that they got a bit y this summer when they let two legit seven footers leave the team because they figured grabbing Przybilla would be a non-issue. He would've made a lot of sense in their system, and would have made them a bit younger without sacrificing their fundamental style of basketball. Instead, they have two players who may be okay talents, but they are far from being sure-bets like Przybilla in their infrastructure.
Francisco Elson and Butler may turn out to be two diamonds in the rough, the kind that only San Antonio seems to be able to unearth with such regularity, but to my eyes it just doesn't feel the same as when they landed Ginobili, Parker, or even Mohammed in years past.
Another potential roadblock for this team is their age. While their core three are still years away from having to worry about slowing down, Finley, Barry, Horry and Bruce Bowen especially are key role players who aren't getting any younger. Sacramento forwards Ron Artest and Bonzi Wells exposed Bowen last year in the playoffs as having lost a step defensively and having trouble adjusting to the rules about no hand checking on the perimeter.
These guys still have a year or two left in them before they have to be put out to pasture, but San Antonio hasn't really been experimenting with youth development very much, outside of Slovenian guard Beno Udrih. While one or two of their rookies might turn out to be more San Antonio gems, for the first time in a long time San Antonio looks a touch vulnerable going forward in their quest for more les.
Of course, a lot of these issues are directed at years beyond 2007. For now, they are a lock to be among the best of the best once again and will exist in any conversation that goes down about le contenders. For now, this team can continue to supplement slowly around their 'big three' while they vie to reclaim their spot as NBA Champions, but going forward it couldn't hurt to find a way to get some of those old bodies some young help before gaping holes start appearing on the roster.
PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP
PG - Tony Parker
There was a time last year when Parker's name was never left out of a conversation about MVP candidates. While Duncan struggled last year, it was Parker who took charge of the team, perfecting his killer penetration moves that left almost every team in the NBA defenseless as he walked into the lane and knocked down a tear-drop runner. His sky-high field goal percentage coupled with his career high points per game to keep San Antonio at the top of the West despite heavy challenges from Dallas and Phoenix. Despite being 24 years old, it's easy to forget that Parker is still four years away from reaching what is generally considered a player's prime, and it's scary to think going forward what new wrinkles he can add to his game as he matures as a player on the court and as a leader off of it. With all of the talk about Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul being the point guards of the future, don't sleep on the guy who got two les under his belt a month after turning 23 years old.
SG - Manu Ginobili
He's still the only player to have ever won an NBA Championship, a Euroleague le and an Olympic gold medal, but Manu Ginobili's star seemed to dim a touch last year when his team needed him most. With Duncan hampered, Ginobili fought off his own injuries that kept him out of the lineup for seventeen games last year and saw his numbers dip in almost every category when he did make it on to the court. His disappointing finish at the World Championships this summer, where his team failed to medal after losing to USA in the bronze medal game, seemed to cap off an uninspired 2006 campaign in Ginobili's basketball career. Everyone knows at this point what to expect from Ginobili on the court, as his rag-tag approach to the game has just as many detractors as it does supporters, but with Ginobili you have to accept what he is as a player and live with it. He won't always make the smartest play and he isn't the kind of scorer you can anchor a team around, but he is a very capable pro who is just as important to the Spurs success going forward as either Duncan or Parker. It's hard to peg exactly the kind of year Ginobili will have after a disappointing '06, but the Spurs need him in top form from beginning to end if they hope to reclaim their dominance of Dallas and return to the NBA Finals.
SF - Bruce Bowen
This is a make or break year for Bowen. Last year's playoffs were not pretty for Bruce as he was unable to lock-up the opposing team's best player the way he once so frustratingly could. This year he has to demonstrate exactly what his role on this team is going to be if he can't play the kind of straightjacket defense that made him an NBA Champion. It may well turn out that, in the end, his day is done as a starter on a le contending team, but knowing Bowen, he isn't going to go down without a very serious fight. He made no apologies for his displeasure about being left off of Team USA this summer, and that coupled with last spring's performance in the post-season, Bowen is going to have a lot to prove this year, and it's never a bad thing to have a player like Bowen hungry regardless of how much of his natural ability he has left.
PF - Tim Duncan
When he's on, he's the best the game has to offer right now. Simply put, he just wins as a career. Some people play, some dominate, Duncan wins. les, MVP's, probably Scrabble and Monopoly, too. No matter what gets thrown in front of Duncan he seems to have that disciplined ability to pick it apart until he's completely absorbed every facet, and then he destroys it. Don't let his nonchalant demeanor fool you, Duncan has all the compe iveness of Michael, Larry and Magic, but he just isn't as demonstrative about it. Instead, he focuses all his energies inward and lulls you to sleep before he strikes with such ferocity that you've lost before you even know what hit you. Consider the caliber of players who have led their team's to multiple NBA les and consider those who never made it and it should give any doubters out there a pretty clear picture of where Duncan ranks among the winners in the NBA.
C - Francisco Elson
This will be interesting. It's a situation very reminiscent of when the Spurs plucked Nazr Mohammed away from the Knicks for two marbles and Double Bubble, but back then the Spurs didn't quite have the reputation they have now as an organization that spots immense talent in the most unlikely of places. Now, the pressure is on Elson to live up to the kind of expectations Spurs' acquisitions are now frequently held to. He is no longer a third-string centre on an above-average Denver club. He's now the starting centre on a team who sees any year without an NBA le as an abject failure. The expectation is that he will be able to come in and pick up where Mohammed left off, and for every game that he can't live up to that barometer, along with the pressure of winning no fewer than 55 games this season, it will be another strike in Elson's column much like it was for Rasho Nesterovic when he couldn't replace David Robinson. No one said the expectations that come with being a Spur were fair, but no one cares about fair when you're competing for a le. I'm definitely not saying he can't do it, I'm only saying that it will be interesting seeing if he can.
http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=179391&hubname=nba
How is losing Nick the Brick make us weaker?
i thought bruce did a commendable job in the playoffs last year... considering who he was going up against... and the bonzi thing was just a player ascending a few levels for a week or two.
Elson having another "Strike in his column" is pretty good if he's bowling.
That was one of the dumbest articles I've skimmed thru.
If the Spurs really wanted Przybilla, you think they would have offered him more than a four year contract.
It's written by a Canadian publication, so it's slanted in the direction of making the Raptors look wise for getting Rasho and making the Spurs look bad for their acquisitions.
Well, his credibility took a huge hit with that phrase.In years gone by San Antonio has often been able to lure any free agent they've wanted to their team
What are you talking about our starting lineup of Jason Kidd, Doug Christie, Lamond Murray, Chris Webber and Joel Przybilla is going to rule!!!!
If we got Kidd, we might have never seen Manu break out.
I knew someone would claim that-- but here is what he had to say about Rasho.
If we're nicknaming Raptors here, then Rasho may as well be known as The Stop-Gap. This position is being kept warm for seven-foot rookie Andrea Bargnani, and no one is shy about admitting it. In constructing this team, Colangelo envisions many years to come with Bargnani and Bosh leading the charge in the frontcourt. However, that is in the years to come. This year the spot belongs to Nesterovic. Rasho has had the good and bad fortune of playing alongside the league's most elite power forwards in Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. It's been good because it has nabbed him an NBA le, but the guys he's lined up with have also vastly overshadowed him. Garnett would notoriously hound Rasho for not matching his intensity, and he lost his starting spot in San Antonio to Nazr Mohammed before being shipped to Toronto. However, none of that has anything to do with his time in Toronto, despite his critic's insistence. Right now, Nesterovic remains the first legit centre this team has had in a long time, perhaps ever. He is a fundamentally sound player who can rebound and block shots very efficiently. He does not need heavy minutes to have an impact, and even if he is rather unspectacular, he is literally light-years better than last year's option Rafael Araujo.
http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=176449&hubname=nba
She didn't bold the "who can rebound" part.
Nice work with the bolding. You managed to turn a Rasho fluff piece into less of a Rasho fluff piece.
The Raptors have had Hakeem Olajuwon, Antonio Davis and Kevin Willis. To call Rasho the franchise's first legit center before he ever steps foot on the court is crazy. Almost as crazy as the article saying that Bargnani is a future center.
This guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Not about the Raptors and especially not about the Spurs.
They must not show NBA games on TV in Canadia, much less NBA playoff games. Losing two guys who were sitting on the bench in crunch time doesn't seem like much of a loss, especially if the money is spent getting younger at the position and still having money to pay other guys.
I'm also puzzled about the age "problem". The Spurs won a championship in '99 with four 34 year olds, a 36 year old and a 37 year old contributing, and won in 2003 with two 38 year olds as major contributors and a 41 year old as a backup center. The '03 team was maddeningly inconsistent due to the guys in their 20s. The average age of the current team may be higher but it's probably because there's no 19 year old point guard to skew the numbers. I'll take the higher average age if it means that the three best players on the team are in their prime, including one who happens to be one of the best players on the planet.
The Raptors have made it VERY CLEAR that Andrea will be a center. It is you who is not up on their plans.
For the 5000th time-- Elson is OLDER than both Rasho and Nazr- and he is the projected starter.
This man should quit his job.
Poor poor ploto.
Still blinded with the Rasho stupidity.
And while Many Ginobili did take part with Argentina's national team, he was afforded lots of rest due to the team's depth as well as several blow-out games early in the tournament, so fatigue shouldn't pose much of a problem for him, either.
That is a funny typo.
Yeah, I agree. We probably offered him a salary that wouldn't have left us strapped for cash past 2007. Perhaps we never were really that interested. I also found it funny that the writer referred to Rasho as a 'legit center'.
Or Parker for that matter. Kidd is slowing down now, while Parker is entering his prime.
I am speechless, absolutely speechless ...
Andrea is a Girl's name.
I'll bet he knows a lot more about curling than you do.
, Elson is also a STOP-GAP, only he's a stop-gap at 3mil per not 7mil per. I'll take that.
Butler is the future.
Hey, I don't think that, after all, that article is totally bad...
The point are two :
1) the front office tried to take Priz like a first option to replace both Nazr and Rasho, and that did not happened;
2) we're betting on two non starters with limited nba value and experience to replace two people with proven (also if limited) skills and, expecially on Elson, we could have too many expectations...
Well, I think the first point is true...
Maybe we didn't try in all possible way, but all nba rumors were in the sense that Priz was clearly one of our first market objects (and that makes sense, looking at his strenghts and what he could have given to the team...means, a little what we were asking from two persons; he could have been a Rasho with the rebounding skills of Nazr).
After all, I think everything the real reason everything failed it's something different from mere economic considerations... however, the offer we made necessarly considered that we had to preserve the money to take another big (possibly, at that time, Javtokas).
The second point is also true...but non totally true.
I mean I think the wrong part is about the expectations.
It's true that Butler and Elson are (and also the spurs front office admits it) both something we bet on... and that, on the contrary, Mohammed and Rasho were something already proven in this league, with their goods and their bads...but still with some value (otherwise, no market...!)
But the point not considered in the article is that both Nazr and Rasho have been, last season, not so useful...and not so used to play (expecially during play off time).
So, if It's clear we made a bet, it's also clear to me that the expectations we have on both the guys are not that high... simply 'cause the gap they should fill was and is not so big (thanks to all the solutions we could have, including the third candidate for the role -"Fabricio" - ).
The Spurs politic about that is, in my mind, with a sortb of positive approach : what comes from them can be wonderful, terrible or just O.K....we'll take everything good that comes, in this two years time...and we'll see...without too many expectations...'cause we're fair enough with the chance that could be something marvellous.
And these are the kind of bets I personally like!
The Spurs dodged a bullet with Przybilla, just like they did with Kidd, Webber, etc.
His points about the aging roster are well taken, though. This team needs to get some good, young, quick role players. Not easy to do, but at least easier than trying to get good, young, quick star players.
Elson should be a major positive surprise, especially agaist teams like Dallas.
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