<font face="Georgia">undefined</font>First off, notice it says the REGULAR SEASON in review. This season is obviously not over yet, as a matter of fact it's just getting started, but the regular season is finished, and we can look back and review the things we liked, didn't like, etc. First off, the overall team performance was great. There's not much to complain about when you finish with the 2nd best record in the Western Conference, so I'm very pleased with the record, and very pleased with the overall performance. I still didn't enjoy the inconsistency we showed for chunks of the season, but once we got a lineup and rotation settled on, we started playing our best basketball. Bringing Ginobili off the bench turned out to be brilliant for Popovich, so kudos for that. Parker had a so-so year IMO, and only so-so because I expected a noticeable improvement, that he didn't seem to make over the course of the regular season. Hopefully the Spurs offense doesn't prevent Parker from being to fully develop, but he is still an awesome player for his age. Parker and Duncan missed a few games at the beginning of the season, and obviously Duncan missed even more later in the season, and there is no telling what our record would have looked like if Duncan was healthy for the whole season. Injuries are part of the game, so "If's" don't matter one bit. Now, on to the individual performances: Surprises - Devin Brown - Wow, not a bad player actually. I wasn't even expecting the guy to play at all this season with the additions of Hedo and Mercer, but obviously Brown was more productive than the veteran Mercer, who made about 7 times the money Devin did. I'm just surprised with Brown's improvement over the course of the season, as he didn't really have too much of an impact on the team, mostly because of his limited playing time. Maybe he's on track to be another Stephen Jackson for us. Hedo Turkoglu - I was one of the first to say I didn't like him, and I desperately wanted him on the bench at the beginning of the season. His problem was confidence, which was helped once he became a starter. His shooting was very nice for us, and he's a pretty solid role player. Hopefully we keep him around at a reasonable price. Dissapointments - Malik Rose - Blah. There's not enough room for me to talk about Malik. Yes, Robert Horry has eaten his playing time, but Horry just out-played Malik all season long. He's paid like a starter, and plays like an 8th man. I love his hustle and energy, but the mental aspects held him back IMO. Only 4 years, 25 million left on his deal. Charlie Ward - He wasn't on the team to start the season off, but when we got him I thought we weren't going to have trouble finding a backup PG to add productive minutes. Ward doesn't fit in our offense it seems, and he seems rather lead-footed. He has a good shot still, but he's not athletic, and he is limited to playing a foot behind the arc on both sides. If Jason Hart gets a job over a veteran PG with experience, you know something's wrong. I'll grade our players just for the hell of it, on a 1-10 scale. Tony Parker - (7) It didn't seem like he improved, but he was still productive. Hedo Turkoglu - (7) Nice shooter. He's not a SG, but he shoots like one. Bruce Bowen - (8) To know the effect that Bowen has on this team, just read and listen to all of the so called "Superstars" of the league cry about his defense. They spend more time wetting their diapers then trying to score in Bowen's face, and that's his job. Bowen actually took the ball to the rack this season, resulting in some easy looks for him. He is more important to this team than we know IMO. Tim Duncan - (10) room for improvement, injurys took away anpther possible MVP trophy Rasho Nesterovic - (6) Great when Duncan was out, average when Duncan was in. He's a better shot blocker than I expected, and he's a pretty good body to have in the paint. He dissapears and re-appears every 2-3 weeks, so I gave him a 6. Manu Ginobili - (8) I was down on him for awhile, but he came on strong at the end of this season, just like last season. He's gotten a little too much hype from non-Spurs fans, but he's the difference from this team being a 1-and-done, or a championship team. Robert Horry - (7) If it wasn't for Rose's fat contract, Horry would have gotten a lot more minutes. He's such a smart player on the court, and he can do a little bit of everything. Malik Rose - (5) Not given much of a chance, but I'm not sure he's earned one. Devin Brown - (7) I gave him a 7 just because he showed noticeable improvement over the course of the season. Jason Hart - (6) Scrappy player who plays his heart out, but his limited offensively. Charlie Ward - (5) Lead-footed; Too slow to penetrate, too slow to guard anyone other than the opposing team's backup PG. Hopefully we'll get you a title, but you're gone after that. Anthony Carter - (-1) That's right, a -1, as in a negative one. Terrible shooter, terrible. I seriously, dead seriously think I can out-shoot Carter any day of the week. He had some sort of injury before we signed him, but I'm glad we got rid of him anyway. I'll take the no-offense Jason Hart and the lead-footed Charlie Ward over Carter any day of the week. What are your thoughts on the regular season?
