Spurs of the Moment

Thus far, we have looked at the Spurs personnel and what they may or may not need to get to that fifth title. Now we’ll look at their defense overall.

DEFENSE – Since the 1989-90 season the Spurs have always received a high defensive rating (per 100 possesions). There have only been three seasons the Spurs ranked 10th or worse defensively since David Robinson’s rookie debut. The first was in 1992-93 (ranked 10th), a season in which they went through three coaches. 1996-97(ranked 29th), a season full of injuries and a significant coaching change which enabled the Spurs to get “Timmy” the following season. And finally, last season 2010-11 (ranked 11th), although despite the low rank in defense per 100 possesions, they had the 2nd best record in the league, but then were beaten significantly in the first round.

Since the drafting of Tim Duncan the Spurs philosophy on defense was pretty simple, run perimeter players baseline to Duncan or the second big (Robinson/Mohammed/Oberto) and force them into a difficult pass or shot attempt or best-case scenario, block the attempt and start the break. That philosophy got even better as the Spurs upgraded perimeter defenders like Mario Elie and Sean Elliott for quicker, younger players like Bowen and Ginobili.

Today things have changed drastically. Bowen is retired, Ginobili is older and carries a heavy load on the offensive end. As for Duncan, he is still effective on the court. However, he must do much more on the defensive end than ever. Why? Because the Spurs have done away with that 2nd big that would help Duncan defend the paint and get the boards. That’s really where the Spurs have declined. In years past, Robinson or Mohammed would have grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked  two shots all while Duncan got his usual 20 and 10. Even Oberto would grab his share of rebounds, and while he didn’t block shots he drew just as many offensive fouls.

Players at both the 4/5 positions are shorter, quicker and more athletic  these days. The Spurs have  changed with the times to try to match and still keep their defensive identity, and that hasn’t worked well at all. However, take a look at the Lakers who haven’t changed their sizable frontcourt tandem in 3 years. Whats the result? Two finals appearances and 2 championships. Note that the team that knocked them off had two 7-footers of their own.

Quick trivia…we all remember the twin towers, but does anybody remember the triple towers? In the 1997-98 season the Spurs had many injuries at the small forward position so Coach Pop enlisted the Triple Towers: Will Perdue at Center, David Robinson at Power Forward, and a mobile rookie named Tim Duncan at Small Forward. The result? Spurs went 17-5 when they played that lineup and held most of their opponents to under 40% fg and outrebounded them significantly.

The point? Yes, size matters, but more importantly size and mobility matter. Andrew Bynum, like Duncan, has no chance of guarding many of today’s power forwards, while Gasol (his defensive partner) does. Granted, he is tall and will get burned sometimes by some of the smaller, quicker forwards, but on those occasions that’s where help defense comes into play. They also have the luxury of bringing Lamar Odom (a hybrid 3/4 player himself) off the bench.

For the Spurs, Duncan has the mobility of a Center, PERIOD. Finding a tall or decent sized Power forward ( at least 6’9″) that can play 30 minutes a game and grab his share of rebounds (say 7 or 8), keep his man in front of him, and give them something significant on offense will do the trick. While Tiago Splitter might be that guy for good portions of a game (when they wanna role out the twin tower look), some of his weaknesses on offense might hurt the Spurs overall if he plays too many minutes with Duncan.

On the Perimeter the Spurs could use a defensive stopper. Kawhi Leonard has been said to be a promising defensive player and a solid rebounder, but the Spurs could use someone that is a little smaller and a little more mobile out on the floor.

For the Spurs defense to return to where it was a few years ago, they’re going to need two players. 1 – a mobile 4 that can rebound, defend, and and hold his own on offense. 2 – a perimeter defender who is young and athletic and has the lateral quickness (something Leonard may not have) needed to defend the 2′s and 3′s in the leauge. Next week we’ll look at their offense.

CENTER: Probably the most vital position on the floor as it concerns defense. Whether a team is good defensively or horrible, the Center is always important. For good defensive teams that rotate well on the perimeter, a center is needed to clog the middle, secure rebounds and deny second shot opportunities (offensive rebounds). On a bad defensive team that either gambles for steals a lot on the perimeter or simply isn’t interested in staying in front of their man, a Center is essential for not only rebounding and taking up space in the paint, but for blocking or altering any shot attempt that comes his way, thus stopping a guaranteed basket for the opposing team.

Tim Duncan ht 6-11 | Last season 13.4 pts 8.9 rbs 1.9 blk in 28 mins a game PLAYOFFS 12.7 pts 10.5 rbs 2.5 blk in 35 mins a game

The Tim Duncan everyone tries to remember is the Duncan that had a solid back to the basket game, a face up game as well, which included some of the best footwork of that time, and when it was all said and done a jumper with range out to about 16-18 ft. Last season the Spurs went away from Duncan on offense. They also overworked him on defense by having guys who either don’t rebound or play defense next to him at the Power Forward slot. Duncan did well for most of the season, trying to use his older slower body to grab most of the rebounds and attempt to clean up all the defensive mistakes that the other Spurs made. Thats a lot to ask an aging Center in a youth-filled league. In the playoffs it took its toll. Duncan had to guard Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, and try to protect the paint all by himself. It didn’t work!!!!! Duncan has limited mobility, but his I.Q. on defense  and offense are enough to help the Spurs go far, provided he gets legit help at the Power Forward position.

Tiago Splitter ht 6-11 | Last season 4.6 pts 3.4 rbs in 12 mins a game PLAYOFFS 6.7 pts 4.7 rbs in 17 mins a game

Tiago Splitter definitely got the 08-09 George Hill treatment. Yeah sure, they raved about him before he got here and then the guy barely played. Sure he got a few injuries; but come on, seriously??? Splitter, like Hill in his rookie season, showed signs of being able to contribute on a nightly basis. In Hill’s case, Pop wouldn’t let him get past Jacque Vaughn, and for Splitter he couldn’t get past Blair, Bonner, or McDyess. In the 08-09 playoffs the Spurs were eaten alive by the smallest guy on the court (maybe the smallest guy in the building), JJ Barea, and after going down in the series Pop put in Hill who did well. Not to mention what he did to the Mavs the next year in the playoffs. Splitter was put in the same situation. Tim Duncan can’t stop two good big men(much less one) and protect the paint at the same time. Splitter came in and did a better job than all the Spurs bigs except Duncan (obviously), and maybe Dice gets a slight nod. Splitter, despite not having a jumpshot, is mobile on both ends, is an Oberto-like rebounder (thats a good thing), and has some solid post moves.

ANALYSIS: The Spurs have decent size, good rebounding, and available low-post scoring. The Spurs, as mentioned, went away from the low-post game while allowing Parker and Ginobili to run around and do the scoring and distributing. However, if you look at the last six teams to win the Championship, they all have something in common – low-post threats on offense and equally defensive minded big-men*. With Duncan being the only big guy to get consistent touches on offense and at the same time the only legitimate big to protect the paint, the Spurs would have never made it far even if they had somehow managed to beat the Grizzlies. To get back to championship level basketball, the Spurs must once again establish a post game. This does not mean they force feed Duncan, but simply get him more consistent touches on the block, mixed in with Splitter and Jefferson getting post-up opportunities a few times a game as well. You can also never have enough big men. So if the Spurs would like to add an extra guy, free agent Aaron Gray, formerly of the Hornets, may be the answer. He’s not much statistically, but he can bang with the Bynums and Howards of the league. Next week we’ll look at the Guards.

*Lowpost threats and defensive bigmen of the last six championship teams

2011 (Nowitzki/Chandler)

2009 and 2010(Gasol/Bynum)

2008(Garnett/Perkins)

1999,2003,2005,2007 (Duncan/Robinson 99′ an 03′ – Duncan/Mohammed 05′ – Duncan/Oberto 07′)

2004(Rasheed Wallace/Ben Wallace)

2000-2002 (Shaq)

It’s been weird these past few weeks. I have been meaning to post some thoughts on James Anderson and the draft as well as my thoughts on the LeBron James madness. Also, I’m not ignoring comments posted, they just aren’t working at the moment. But anyway, I figured at the very least I could do a quick update about a few signings that are Spurs related.

First and foremost, Tiago Splitter could be a Spur today. He is supposed to take a physical and then the buyout will commence. I, for one, am excited. This is the exact type of player that the Spurs have been desperate for over the past couple of years. We’ve had to endure several players from Antonio McDyess and Kurt Thomas to Fabricio Oberto and Matt Bonner trying to man the middle for the Spurs, and none of them were quite the answer. I think we have reason to be optimistic on this one.

That reminds me, the Spurs also re-signed Matt Bonner. I know it will be hard to contain the joy you are feeling at that statement, but please try to settle down.

On another note, the Dallas Mavericks are accepting some of the scraps off the Spurs table and are close to signing Ian Mahinmi. Good luck with that. We shall dub him Erick Dampier 2.0

Aaron Brooks wins Most Improved Player, George Hill and Kevin Durant finish tied for second.

Brooks earned 403 of a possible 615 points, including 62 first-place votes, from a panel of 123 sports writers and broadcasters. Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City and George Hill of San Antonio tied for second with 101 total points.

So for those of you who still don’t know who this George Hill guy is, well you should know after Game 4. Still, he was creating a stir around the league before now and this is just further evidence that the Spurs know how to draft talent and will not fade into obscurity as the Big Three get older.

Spurs’ edge over Mavs: Fear not

Blair celebrated his 21st birthday just three days earlier. Hill will turn 24 in another week. The Spurs don’t usually win with players so young and with their stars contributing so little. Still, all of their championship teams owned the same trait: From Mario Elie to Stephen Jackson, from Steve Kerr to Bruce Bowen, from Malik Rose to Fabricio Oberto, the Spurs’ supporting casts were cut from the same sturdy fiber that Hill and Blair now share. There’s a reason why Jaren Jackson left the Spurs with a championship ring and Hedo Turkoglu didn’t. To survive in San Antonio, one must not only withstand the heat of the playoffs, but also Popovich’s personal fire.

More props given to Hill and Blair. It seems that finally more people are noticing that the Spurs have not just stood around and waited for their stars to get old while adding on a vet here and there (McDyess, Jefferson). In fact, the Spurs have been developing other talented players too like Malik Hairston and maybe even Ian Mahinmi, not to mention other players they picked up during the season such as point guard Garrett Temple.

Spurs’ Blair keeps his head in game

Knowing that the slightest hint of bravado might have given referees an excuse to call a double technical — the better to clean up some of the chippiness that characterized the second half of the Spurs’ 92-89 victory — Blair beat a hasty retreat toward the Spurs’ bench.

One more reason we have come to like Blair so much. Not only is he a maniac on the glass, prone to ripping off the arms of future-draft busts, and a beacon of hope to ACL-less people the world over, but he has a rare trait known as “common sense” that keeps him from getting into trouble with the refs during big games.

Dallas Morning News columnist: Spurs know how to win, Mavs don’t

This isn’t about effort or desire or any other intangible. This is about the Spurs, a franchise with championship pedigree, finding ways to win, while the Mavs, a franchise with a history of choking in the playoffs, finds ways to lose.

Uh oh, don’t look now but it sounds like trouble in paradise. The home team is getting berated by their own newspaper, but it’s not like they don’t deserve it. You can only rip out a city’s heart with uninspired play for so long before they show up with pitchforks and torches.

Ginobili will sit out World Championships

“My body kind of needs it, and I want to play the (2012) Olympics, so I decided to pass on this one.

“Besides, there’s another little factor here: My wife is going to have twins in a month. Those are the times you don’t want to miss. Both, one next to the other, makes me take this tough decision.”

 Thank goodness. I figured his better sense would prevail over his competitive side this summer. Plus it looks like the Spurs have a chance of going deep in the playoffs this year so he will need the rest.