The spurs beat the Jazz tonight in Utah. Not too surprising, given their records, but SA is a mystery to me. I know they have Duncan and Parker. But they round out that starting line up with Matt Bonner at center, Finley at guard and Mason at forward. Then off the bench they really only have Manu and I guess Bowen, although he only played 9 minutes tonight. IMO, the Spurs roster looks old and very thin . . . but they keep getting it done night in and night out.
Good team, great coach. Almost all of their players (including Manu) are just excellent role players.
Nobody really seems to like to hear it around here, but veterans win on the road for a reason; they don't rely on the crowd's energy to get them up, they have the knowledge that they've been there done that and they execute more off of muscle memory. Of course it doesn't hurt the Spur's chances that Utah is like the walking wounded and definitely not playing the best ball of the season.
Let's hope it stays that way. Nothing would be more sweet than the Jazz missing the playoffs. Well the Lakers missing the playoffs would be better, but it's not going to happen
Bittersweet? That would be candy-coated, sugar sprinkled, whip cream topped, caramel gooey, icky, sticky butterscotch sweet.
Listening to the Game this morning, they played a clip from the Oklahomo City game. The announcer called Durant ( or his shot, didn't catch it all) cotton candy . . . because his shot is so sweet.
the spurs have duncan, parker, and manu and surrounded them with shooters so the floor is always spaced. just look at the 3 point shooting percentages. mason is at 45%, finley 38%, bonner 45%, george hill 39%, and bowen 45%. those are the top 8 players in the rotation and after that they have kurt thomas who has a reputation of being a good midrange shooter and post defender and another veteran big in oberto. they are successful because everyone plays defense and then on offense they just let their big 3 go to work while everyone else just spots up.
Yep, at the end of the day, how many young and up and coming teams have gone to the finals? Really, I can't think of any recently. Experience pays. But if we were to miss the playoffs this year it would be a travesty, heads should roll, everyone should jump off the bandwagon. KP and Nate should be fired. Greg should be traded for one (or maybe 2!!!) 2nd round picks. Travis should be waived, and we should start from scratch because, hell, if our young guys can't win now, they never will, and nothing short of the playoffs is acceptable this year.
Three excellent players. A cadre of role-players who make open shots and play good defense. A strict coach who seems to get the most out of players with limited talents or upside (using guys like Bonner or Francisco Elson effectively). A good front-office who grabs opportunities especially with intentional players. That's how they do it. We aren't there yet but we certainly are on the right track with a GM from the system, a coach known for defense and improving young players, and a load of talent and future picks. We're not a lock to be the next SA (multiple titles in the next decade) but outside of any team that has LBJ, we are about as close as it comes. Just have to lock up Roy/LMA/Oden to long term deals. Which I don't think will be a problem.
SA has been allowed 8 players (3 refs) on the court in every game for many years now. That is their key to success. No team has ever gotten away with as much as they continually have.
guys know/play their roles and they can spread the court for their go guys to operate on one end and they play solid team D anchored by Timmy on the other end. Duncan is an all time talent and he's healthy. Both Manu and Parker are healthy and in their primes. It's pretty obvious why they are so successful... they're good. STOMP
Just remember, the Spurs have pretty much won the finals every other year, for a really long time now. It is that every other year, this year.
The Spurs' success is exactly what we're trying to build here. Be championship contenders for a decade or so -- and NOT rush into making trades to get into the playoffs for only this season or else this year would be a failure like some poster continues to advocate.
