Spurs of the Moment

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)

So the NBA draft lottery was held last night before the tip-off of the Celtics-Magic game, and the Wizards won the first overall pick. So now the Wizards are faced with several different decisions: A) Draft Evan Turner instead of the projected and consensus #1 pick, John Wall, B) Draft Wall and send Arenas packing, or C) Draft Wall and keep Arenas and see how that pans out. They could even trade the pick, although I think that it’s unlikely. I find it funny since Arenas is the one who basically derailed the Wizards last season with his firearm shenanigans, yet the team chose to keep him and move damn near everyone else. Perhaps it’s because they still believe in him, but I think they just know that they won’t get near the value they want by dumping him, assuming anyone would trade for his ginormous contract and questionable judgement. At any rate, now they are faced with the prospect of having two point guards and trying to make it work, trading the pick, trading Arenas (good luck with that), or drafting Turner. It’ sounds messed up, but then again, that’s not really a very bad problem to have.

So after the draft lottery we got to watch Orlando squander home-court advantage by losing again to the Celtics. Let me just say this: I stand corrected. Boston is legit and Rondo is THE reason I am watching this series. Rondo looks like he is 12, but that’s a bad man and he should be counted among the NBA’s top point guards more often than he is. Nash, Deron, CP3, Kidd, Rose… those guys always get the love, but Rondo has the ring and is well on his way to another one. The Celtics are primed to get back to the top and duel the Lakers, showing that the only reason LA won last year was thanks to KG’s injury derailing Boston’s season. I’d buy that. Orlando meanwhile… what can I say? It’s hard to win it all when your best player shoots free throws like a drunken Shaq, Rashard Lewis is giving you like five points a game, and Vince Carter looks like he is preparing excuses like when he slipped and then laid there for ten minutes writhing as if he’d been shot.

I don’t care who wins tho, just so long as it isn’t the Lakers, and right now I think that Boston is the team to beat them.

We’re all busy people, and it sucks when we finally have time to sit down and watch a basketball game only to find out it’s the Clippers or Bucks tonight. Who needs that kind of aggravation? I know I don’t, so I have compiled the following list of the Top 15 Must-See Games for Spurs fans this season. So mark your calendars, get your tickets, set your Tivo, book your flights, save up your sick days, or whatever you have to do, but do not miss these match-ups.

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