[aamir543Participant]

San Antonio Spurs- Today we will cover the San Antonio Spurs who won 61 games this past season. Many people think that their championship window has closed, however I beg to differ. Sure they won’t win 60 games again, but with coach Pop at the hlm, I don’t expect them to drop below 50 wins. A positive for them is that they have a lot of young raw talent that looks to be on the rise. They have Blair, Splitter, James Anderson, Cory Joseph, Kawahi Leonard, Dais Bertans, Deshaun Butler, Gary Neal and Adam Hanga. With the exception of Splitter and Neal, all of the aforementioned players are 23 or younger. They have these young and developing players to go along with the established veterans they already have. Now with Duncan declining, and Jefferson’s struggles in San Antonio, it seems like their time may be up, but they are still a very good team.  With Parker still 29, I believe he can continue to preform at or close to his usual 18 and 6.5 for a good 2-3 years. Ginobili is 34, but I don’t see a big drop off in his production either. I still see him at 16.5, 4.5, and 3.5, and I also don’t see wear and tear affecting Ginobili, as he has never played more than 31 minutes a game. Now we go on to Duncan, who had 13 and 9 and people now say his time is up, which is true, but he can still impact a game. He is still a defensive presence, and one of the reasons that his stats aren’t where they used to be is because they no longer run their offense through him, otherwise I could easily see him racking up 3-4 more points per game. Timmy is just so skilled that I believe he will be able to start and help a team for at least 3 more years. He also carries leadership, plus many other intangibles.

Last season also showed that the spurs became more of offensive team, opposed to the perenial defensive powerhouse that they nomally are. They ran a bit more, and I credit Coach Pop for realizing the personel they had and adjusting their strategy accordingly. But the fact of the matter is that you must be a good offensive and defensive team to to make a legitamite run in the playoffs, and the Spurs were unfortunate that they ran into a hot team at the wrong time in the Grizzlies. Somthing they miss in my opinion is a defensive stopper, which they used to have inn Bruce Bowen. Bowen was a top notch defender even the day he retired. That was the one luxary they had, is that they had a guy that could lock down your best player.

Another reason why they weren’t able too make a postseason run is because they lack a polarizing star that could take over the game at any moment. Manu is very good an can do that at times, but he was greatly limited in the playoffs due to his elbow injury. Up until last year they had that star in Duncan, but he is now on the leg of his career. But if Dejaun Blair could slim down a bit, keep his knees healthy, and refine his offensive game, he could potentially be a 17 and 12 guy playing 34 minutes a night. And if Tiago Splitter can turn into a solid center this year, compunded with Gary Neal’s rise, they could be on to somthing.

We have all heard about the trade that sort of shook things up, trading George Hill for Kawahi Leonard. Now we all know how much Rc Buford and Pop love George Hill, and for them to trade him, for a rookie, that says aomthing about what they think about Kawahi Leonard. I will say this though, if David Kahn tells me to take Andre Drummond, and Rc Buford tells me to take Hasheem Thabeet, I take Thabeet. They have mined so many diamonds in the rough to suround Duncan with, I would put my money on Leonard becoming a star.

With a lot of promise in their young players, and continuity within their veterans, I look for San Antonio to finish 4th or 5th in the West winning 50-53 games, and I see them as a viable threat to Dallas, La, and OCK. I love how they are silently rebuilding while still staying relevant. And I think that they will be a contender for a couple more years.

 

 

 

[rileymcshea3Participant]

 Now I think the Spurs are as good as any team in this league but unless they get an athletic shot blocker down low they cant compete for a championship because there entiore defense is to valunerable because Blair is to short McDyess is to old Spilter isnt a defensive presense and Bonner i dont even need to say anything but besides Duncan who is getting old they dont have someone to stop other teams from scoring inside

[rileymcshea3Participant]

 Now I think the Spurs are as good as any team in this league but unless they get an athletic shot blocker down low they cant compete for a championship because there entiore defense is to valunerable because Blair is to short McDyess is to old Spilter isnt a defensive presense and Bonner i dont even need to say anything but besides Duncan who is getting old they dont have someone to stop other teams from scoring inside

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