[jaysmith1987Participant]

 I think the spurs didn’t have as bad as an offseason as everyone is reporting.  If Rudy Gay can get to full strength I think he has the ability to play the small ball 4 with lamarcus Alrdridge at the 5 giving the spurs more lineup versatility.  Right now I think the spurs are the only real threat to Golden State right now.  With Kawhi in the game before he got hurt game one in the conference finals his team was up by 20. People are starting to say Durant is the best player in the league and dethroning Lebron but the player I think is the closest to that honestly is Kawhi the guy is a defensive terror and has even limited the king before.  If this team gets improvement from Murray and solid minutes from ginobili Parker in back up rolls this team could have one of the best benches and a versatile starting 5 to challenge the warriors. I am super excited for next season.

[Anton123Participant]

The team’s best guard is Patty Mills which is very alarming, especially when you go up against a team like GS. Danny Green is an okay player, but Parker and Ginobli are just not good anymore: even when healthy they can’t guard anyone or score efficiently. Murray had a very disappointing Summer league and is unlikely to be a big impact player next season. Right now only Kawhi and Green can effectively defend against opposing guards, so Golden State will cause them major trouble.

Right now they look a little worse than they did last year. They replaced Simmons with Gay which helps their offense but hurts them defensively; Parker, Gasol, and Ginobli are all going to be worse than they were. If they can get a good starting point guard, they can be very good (I was very disappointed they missed out on both Paul and Lowry). Right now I don’t see them challenging Golden State.

[Anton123Participant]

They also appear to have serious chemistry issues with Lamarcus Aldridge (numerous reports he wants out), which will hurt the team as well.

[roni3Participant]

 I agree with you a lot of people seem to be praising the moves of Rockets, Thunder and Wolves for good reasons. Rockets adding CP3, Tucker, Luc Mbah a Moute. While still maintaining key parts of last years team. Even the Thunder vastly improved with Paul George, Ferguson and Pat Patterson. Wolves of course adding Butler, Taj, Jamal and Teague.

However, given all of this those teams still have flaws. As for the Rockets, how will CP3 and Harden ultimately turn out. They are both great players, hopefully Harden can go back to those Thunder days where he would play off ball sometimes and playing some defense will not hurt either given that Paul will have his head if he does not. 

As for the Thunder they still lack players skilled player whom can help on both ends of the floor rather they just have specialist whom they can plug in for some points of the game but they do not have a go to, crunch time line up that they know they can turn to for both offense and defense. Westbrook, George and Patterson are the only players that can truly play both offense and defense.

As for the Wolves Butler was a great addition, but I did not understand the Teague signing. A player who is subpar on defense and is not a great three point shooter. I question the Taj signing a bit too. What I think will hurt this team is their bench (Tyus, Jamal C., Gibson/ Dieng one starts, and Aldrich at back up center since Justin Patton the rookie whom I am really high on is hurt for the season possibly. 

I liked how you mentioned that the Spurs were up 20+ on Golden State and in today’s society we quickly forget that stuff. If Parker was as washed up as people say why did he average 16 points and 3 assists in this years playoffs while only paying 26 mpg. That the genius of Pop and his system. Adding Rudy Gay was a very calculted move with little risk but possible high reward. Watch Pop turn Gay into a decent team defender which is all they need from his aside form having him create some offense here and there which he should still be able to do. In my opinion Lebron is still the best player on the planet and that is not changing for at least another year or so. Durant and Kawhi are interchangable to me because of how much Kawhi has grown as an offensive player. People keep saying it because of the system Pop has if that was the case than all the players he has drafted should have developed into stars, rather that is not the case but a more possible scenario is that becasue of the culture of the Spurs and Kawhi’s work ethic lead to him becoming a superstar. People do not forget that Kawhi was one of the more efficient face up and post players this year. Lastly, yes Aldridge could be playing a lot better offensively, however if you listen to mainstream media you will forget that he has exceeded expecations defensively as he has changed and challenged a ton of shots at the rim and has improved his one on one defense. 

If all of these teams mentioned above are healthy I would still put my chips on Spurs to finish in second place in the West (meaning they are second in the NBA behind only the Warriors)/ 

 

 

 

 

 

[cohenbc1Participant]

They do look a bit worse on paper, but what’s on paper matters less for the Spurs than for any other team. They will win a bunch of games because of their system and because they’re bringing back 12 or 13 guys from last year’s team. The Rockets are bringing back, what, six guys? That makes a huge difference in the regular season.

Right now a playoff series against the Rockets looks pretty tough, and the loss of Simmons makes beating GS in a series look a lot harder. 

Still, if just one of the following things happens everything suddenly looks much brighter for the Spurs, and if two of them happen, look out: 1) Aldridge learns how to switch onto perimeter players and not get eaten alive; 2) Rudy Gay is still the same 18-ppg-and-solid-defense Rudy Gay, with a better attitude ’cause he’s winning; 3) TP is still a dangerous scorer and reliable floor general come playoff time; 4) Murray makes a leap and can be counted on for 20 or so minutes of solid point-guard play; 5) Bryn Forbes is the lights-out shooter seen in summer league; he replaces Simmons’ contributions on offense.

One other thought: I would really, really love it if the Spurs could grab Tony Allen on a vet minimum deal. 20 minutes a night of his insane defense could really mess things up for the Warriors. Put Kawhi, Allen and Danny Green on the floor together and GS will have a really hard time playing at their preferred pace.

 

 

 

[DolanCareParticipant]

 The guard situation is dire in San Antonio. I can’t help but think that the Spurs’ loyalty to Parker and Ginobili might have hurt the team in the long term. Could they have dumped the two the same way Boston moved Pierce and Garnett? Where would they be now if they had?

 

[cohenbc1Participant]

Kawhi was basically a guard last season in the playoffs, especially after Parker went down. The Spurs’ best offense was handing Kawhi the ball at the top of the key and just letting him run pick & roll or back his man down MJ-style. 

Kyle Anderson can also play either guard position. When you look at it that way, I think the backcourt situation is ok.

I’m actually more worried about the bigs. They’ve got Aldridge, who was borderline unplayable against the Warriors because he can’t switch on defense. Then they’ve got Gasol, who’s 37 and borderline unplayable against the Warriors because he can’t switch on defense. Then they’ve got Davis Bertans and Jeffrey Lauvergne. That’s not impressive. They did not get the switching, small-ball big who can match up with Draymond Green (I was hoping for James Johnson or Mbah a Moute).

Ironically here the answer also appears to be Kawhi and Kyle Anderson playing as bigs. But they can’t be in both places at once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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