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Yeah, a 35 year old center.
Good idea!
Imagine if they signed PJ Brown instead of Rasho Nesterovic. As you can see in this article, they were close to signing him. Brown is an awesome defender and has a good mid-range game. He's also 90% at the line.
The Spurs' defense would be impossible to score on if they had Brown guarding the other team's best post player.
Oh well.
Go Rasho.
Yeah, a 35 year old center.
Good idea!
PJ >>>>>>>> Rasho
Even at 40.
Because you said so? Ok, we'll go with that.
Uh, PJ is actually a better player. We did alright with one ex Miami Heat rugged defensive player. To bad his wife is from La. That turned the tables.
If Rasho had half his fire, he would average 15 and 10.
Instead of ruining this thread, how about trying to add something?
So would the great TheWriter rather have PJ Brown for 4 years, $34M or Rasho at 6 years, $42M.
Pick one, player.
I'd rather have the younger Rasho who is on a team that is currently 19-5 than not knowing what the Spurs would be or how well they'd be playing with Brown.
Bottomline.
I choose Rasho, now goof on me even after asking my opinion.
I think we would have beaten LA if we had PJ last year.
How would we have beaten LA with PJ? Our bigmen weren't the problems. Unless PJ could of knock down the three in place of Bowen and Hedo, we still would of lost.
We lost that series because after LA put more attention on Manu, they mad eit to were they had our ourside shooters kill them. They couldn't. Because of that, because Bowen, Hedo, Horry, and even Manu (from the three) couldn't hit the three point shot, we lost. It's that simple.
Naive.
Everyone likes to say that the Spurs just "missed shots" and explain it that way when they lose in the playoffs. It isn't that simple.
PJ is a better defender, better on offense, better from the line, better shooter and better at pretty much everything.
But the TheWriter goes with Rasho using his ol' "how are we to know?" logic that he always uses.
If I have to choose, I would pick Brad Miller. There is only ~1.7M in salary difference this year between Brad and Rasho. That would probably have meant back-to-back championships. Even at the risk of not getting Brent Barry in the FA this summer, Brad in this team would have been scary.
Parker/Beno/Wilks
Manu/Brown
Bowen/LJIII
Duncan/Malik
Miller/Horry/TMass
IL: Marks, Sato
Next year replace Horry or TMass with Scola, and the Spurs would have had a dynasty in the making (not that we don't have it now anyway).
Like whottt mentioned, the Spurs didn't go for Brad because they were trying to get Kidd at the time, and Rasho was cheap (and he was signed first). So essentially Kidd prevented us for going hard after Brad Miller
Bingo. Rasho (arguably) has more natural talent than PJ Brown, but PJ Brown has much more hustle and heart on a basketball court - he isn't afraid to get his mitts dirty and thus does the right things on the court.
If we could somehow ignite the fire in Rasho's belly.....
Sorry, I still think if you gave Rasho 5-10 touches on offense per game, he'd have all the fire in the world for you guys.
Last year with Tim out he was balling, averaging 18 and 10. Now he's a scrub who people think Marks should be playing ahead of.
Sorry, call him selfish if you want, but I think it's hard to expect anyone, especially someone with a history of drifting mentally in the past, to stay involved/focus/whatever you want to call it when their sole responsibilities on offense are to stay out of Tim's way, try to grab the Orebound if possible and kick it back out immediately, and oh - stay out of Tim's way.
10.3 points on 43% FG, 8.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 36 minutes a game on a 2-20 team doesn't really look that impressive to me. Rasho of last year would average 11.2 points and 10 rebounds in those kind of minutes, not to mention 2.6 blocks. Even the periodically absent Rasho of this year would average 8.7 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks, and the Spurs are not a below .100 team.
Good point!
Or not stupid.Naive.
Spurs shooting percentage from last years playoffs:Everyone likes to say that the Spurs just "missed shots" and explain it that way when they lose in the playoffs. It isn't that simple.
First round- 4-0
54% Shooting - Won
42% Shooting - Won
47% Shooting - Won
58% Shooting - Won
Second round- 2-4
47% Shooting - Won
52% Shooting - Won
31% Shooting - Wo... Lost
40% Shooting - Lost
38% Shooting - Lost
30% SHooting - Lost
It is that simple.
So is Kobe compared to Manu. So is Lebron compared to Manu. Wouldn't it be awesome if we had those guys. We wouldn't of lost to LA last year!PJ is a better defender, better on offense, better from the line, better shooter and better at pretty much everything.
Yeah, because we so know you know how things would of played out. You don't. So quit pretending you do with your "opinion."But the TheWriter goes with Rasho using his ol' "how are we to know?" logic that he always uses.
And next time you tell another poster to shut it for their blind hatred towards a player. Look in the mirror and repeat.
But hey, what do I know. I'm only BuddyHolly/2Fast2Furious/SpursWin/X/WriterNum934/TheWriter....
The special ed bus has pulled up to the corner. Nice.
If you think I'm stupid, I'll take that as a compliment.
Stick to road construction. If you think poor shooting can only be attributed to players missing shots without any other factors in the equation, you are indeed naive. That is a clueless point of view.
Uh yeah ... give the Spurs Kobe or LeBron last year and they win the championship.
It's not my fault you think that the fifteen best players in the NBA are on the Spurs.
Yes I do. It isn't that hard to think of what could have happened. You somehow have no imagination or foresight regarding basketball, but then you can go out and tell us how San Antonio can turn 281 and 1604 into a 12-lane super highway with a river running between the lanes for speed boat travel.
If you can't hang, then leave. No one is forcing you to stay here. If projecting and thinking is foriegn to you, again, I suggest that you take up math.
Who do I hate? Rasho?And next time you tell another poster to shut it for their blind hatred towards a player. Look in the mirror and repeat.
I don't hate Rasho. Me saying another player is better doesn't mean that I hate him.
I actually think Rasho is a good guy. He's struggled some as of late and hasn't shown any fire in a few weeks, but if you looked at my grades early in the season ... he was one of the top three players.
Try again.
Don't forget your helmet.
The special ed bus has pulled up to the corner. Nice.
Oh, but your: "If we had PJ Brown and not Rasho we'd of won." is so much more... better? Ok, dawg, whatever you and your chin goatee want to believe.Stick to road construction. If you think poor shooting can only be attributed to players missing shots without any other factors in the equation, you are indeed naive. That is a clueless point of view.
Oh course. With MJ on the Jazz, they'd of been 6 time le winners. Damnit, they somehow should of signed him!Uh yeah ... give the Spurs Kobe or LeBron last year and they win the championship.
I don't. I just don't hate them for not being the 15 best.It's not my fault you think that the fifteen best players in the NBA are on the Spurs.
And yet your petty arugment always comes back to my interest in the city. Why? Oh, because I have a future?Yes I do. It isn't that hard to think of what could have happened. You somehow have no imagination or foresight regarding basketball, but then you can go out and tell us how San Antonio can turn 281 and 1604 into a 12-lane super highway with a river running between the lanes for speed boat travel.
Anyhow, I'm sure you have the same NBA savvy foresight as Houston Rocket fans who went: "Gee, TMac and Ming on the same team. 2005 NBA Finals here we come!!" Because it's that easy for you guys and that 8th sense.
So it love or just good sportsmenship to call Rasho out and say "What if we had this guy, we'd be better." Huh? Wonder why you didn't do that with Tony when he was struggleing in last years playoffs and the begining of this season. Where was the "With Kidd, how many think..." post?I actually think Rasho is a good guy. He's struggled some as of late and hasn't shown any fire in a few weeks, but if you looked at my grades early in the season ... he was one of the top three players.
Try again.
Exactly.
Nice job, mang. You're my hero.
Good night.
P.S.
I'd trade Parker for Nash and Rose for Al Jefferson if I could. , throw in Devin Brown for Eddie Griffin.
P.P.S.
When you're the mayor one day, please do something about the traffic on 10 near the 410 exit. It is a b!tch when trying to get to Spurs games.
Thanks bro.
See you on top.
Oh no MB will reply!
Actually, the frontcourt was a significant problem for the Spurs on the offensive end. The rotation in the 2004 postseason had changed rather markedly from 2003. Rasho replaced DRob. Horry replaced Rose. Willis sat. The Spurs' frontcourt in 2004 was much less physical than in the postseason prior.
On the Laker side of things, in 2003 they probably had the weakest frontcourt out of the five times the Spurs and Lakers have faced off in the postseason in the Duncan era. Horry was starting alongside O'Neal. Who were the reserves? Madsen, Medvedenko, and Samaki Walker. Rick Fox was out with a bruised jheri curl. Contrast that with the Spurs who had Duncan and DRob starting, with Rose and Willis as the reserves. Move ahead to 2004 and now the Lakers have Karl Malone starting at the 4 and a Karl Malone who was able to give 44 minutes or more in 4 of the series' 6 games.
Now why does this matter when it comes to the Spurs' offense? The one thing that LA was able to do starting with the second half of game 2 in the 2004 series which it wasn't able to do in the 2003 series was control the defensive paint. Parker ripped up LA's defense from the start of the series to halftime of game 2. With good penetration of a defense that forces the D to collapse from the perimeter and opens up some quality looks from outside for your offense.
What LA did at halftime in game 2 was decide to focus on shutting down the paint. Karl Malone was rather significant in this regard, as his individual D on Duncan freed up Shaq to patrol the paint. The main focus of the Laker D was to prevent penetration. No penetration and the Spurs' offense stagnates.
Now, if the Spurs had a much more physical frontcourt, they could have forced the Laker D back to concerning itself with the Spurs' bigs and in particular the big playing alongside TD. In 2003 that guy was DRob or Malik. In 2004 it was Rasho or Horry. There is a difference.
Unfortunately the Spurs' frontcourt did not rise up to the physical challenge it faced in 2004. With Malone and Shaq controlling the defensive paint, that freed up the 3 Laker perimeter players to focus on the Spurs' shooters instead of concerning themselves as much about help defense in the paint.
In many respects the Laker defensive strategy in 2004 became that of the Spurs. Prevent penetration by owning the paint and then limit your opponent's offense to one tough perimeter shot per possession.
I have looked at the 3 point FG shooting percentages for the Spurs before for the 2003 and 2004 series versus the Lakers. Perhaps the best barometer was the performance of Bowen and Ginobili. Both shot significantly better from beyond the arc in 2003 than in 2004. I think that's an indication that the Spurs did face a much better perimeter defense in 2004 than in 2003 and again, that was definitely related to the improvement in the Laker interior defense in the 2004 series, which perhaps a much more physical Spurs frontcourt could have dealt with.
The only thing I'll add is that there's a reason Pop made it quite clear that he wanted Rasho to improve upon his "aggressiveness" after the 2004 series. I'd say that reason is borne out by the effect Rasho's lack of physicality had on the offensive end of things in the series.
-MB
Don't be scared.
I'm not scared man! I'm just your hata!
Writer is right...I don't like admitting it...it's not just that guys miss open shots with those double teams, and LA did double a man on to Duncan and especially Parker after the first two games, there's a reason Parker went into the tank...in addition to guys choking, Duncan and Parker TO'ed the ball like crazy because of those doubles.
You can say if we had more inside presence they wouldn't have been able to double...but they could've IMO, they did it when Drob was on the team. They just clog the middle and swipe at the ball. Plenty of shooters room when they do that. The only thing that might have helped us inside was better offensive rebounding...something Malik could have helped us with.
As for Rasho...Rasho wants to be here which is more than we can say for anyone else...PJ made his bed and now he can lie in it. I'll stick with Rasho until someone comes along that's better, that actually wants to be here and is willing to take less...like Rasho did. He's not that bad compared to most of the other centers in the NBA. There are only about 3 or 4 that are consistent.
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