Thank you Dallas Mavericks. Thank you for blowing us out so severely that Pop was compelled to use a lineup composed of James Anderson, Matt Bonner, Danny Green, Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter. The rest was history. I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank you Mark Cuban. You made this possible.
Since the infamous Dallas game, the Spurs have been playing at an elite level and I couldn't be enjoying myself any more. After impressive victories over the Memphis Grizzlies (2x), Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers and a 15-7 record during LWM (he's coming back!), I'm now fully on board with the Spurs as title contenders meme. I've always believed in our untapped potential, but now? I'm fully on board. Let's do this.
Did you hear that, Timmy? LWMS believes in us!
Since then, the Spurs have posted a 103.6 offensive rating and a 93.5 defensive rating. Their differential is 10.1, which would be better than the Miami Heat.
Tony Parker has stepped up his game completely and suddenly looks like the perfect point guard we've always wanted him to be (although he has always been great, we just asked him to do much). It's been a joy to watch him run the pick-and-roll with startling proficiency whether that be knocking down the open jumper, getting to the hoop or creating havoc for the defense, freeing up DeJuan Blair, Tim Duncan and Splitter for uncontested forays to the rim.
Speaking of Timmy, did you know he can still play basketball at this level? 17.6 PTS, 10.8 TRB, 2.2 BLK, 5.2 FTA. Awesome.
As for Kawhi Leonard? Nothing much besides the fact that he played a big role in limiting Kevin Durant and Rudy Gay to 13.7 points-per-game and a .346 eFG%.
Bonner, who will never be accused of playing good defense, is shooting over .425 from the three-point line. Initially struggling because of injuries and too many minutes manning the point, Neal looked pretty comfortable in pick-and-rolls and spot up three's last night.
The only player not playing at a half-decent rate is Green who is mired in an extended slump (.302 eFG%). Still he's averaging 29.8 minutes so Pop (whose basketball expertise is considerably higher than mine) must believe in him. That's good enough for me.
Looking back at the entire roster, can you believe the immense strides our bench has made? Who could have expected this level of production -- this early in the year? No Spur is averaging more than 35 minutes per game. That's a testament to Pop's brilliant minute management and the depth we have.
Without any top 20 picks in the last decade, PATFO have managed to develop another solid supporting cast for Manu, TP and Timmy. Completely internally.
That's pretty impressive.
Now ... let's go get that title.
0 recs | 55 comments
Green will keep getting minutes because he is a big plus for the team even when his shot isn’t falling. He is manu-lite, making contributions everywhere. I like his energy a lot, and I think that he rubs it on the other bench players.
Chilai - February 10, 2012
Yeah, sometimes you can’t quantify a player’s actual value. There are abstract concepts (such as defense, hustle etc) that I’ll never be able to support empirically. I know one thing for sure: he is fun to watch.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
Well his game should improve with more scorers on the floor, even if it’s just Manu at the moment.
grego21 - February 10, 2012
Green=HUSTLE;
HUSTLE=Minutes;
if(Anderson==HUSTLE)
Anderson!=BENCH;
That is all there is to it really. I mean, have you guys seen who finished the game for the Spurs?!?! Jefferson,Neal &….BONNER! And you know what? they ran at the 76s like crazy. closed their shooters and collapsed inside when needed.
ironm8 - February 10, 2012
Bonner = sandwich right?
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
If Anderson’s SO doesn’t shut up on Twitter, he’s never going to play regardless of what he does.
grego21 - February 10, 2012
I used Anderson’s name just as an example. Replace it with whatever , Pop let has let everybody know that hustle counts.
ironm8 - February 10, 2012
Hustle always has mattered. If it didn’t, Vince Carter would be regarded more highly.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012 via mobile
Wow.
Trey Felder - February 10, 2012
Is that ‘Wow’ a good thing? I hope so, but I get the ‘Wow that made no sense’ comment all the time so no harm, no foul.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
Oh no, that “Wow” was definitely a good thing!!! Just amazed at how great Pop is at managing minutes on the go (always thought that was one of the hardest parts of head coaching), and at how fluidly the Spurs’ organization consistently reloads without breaking stride. Truly a model of how to keep a franchise successful.
Trey Felder - February 10, 2012
Best bench in the NBA.. Gary Neal is a starter for most teams. Splitter is playing amazing and Manu coming back tomorrow? I just ordered my champions shirt
RobertHorryRobertHorry - February 10, 2012
What color did you order? I really liked the black ones, but I opted for the gray shirt.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
I got the ‘JUST HAPPY TO MAKE A DEEP PLAYOFF RUN’ shirt in fiesta colors!
transgojobot - February 10, 2012
Rational thinking is not allowed on this thread! (Just kidding).
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
Neal, isn’t a start on most teams. He’s a good player, but he’s still got somethings here and there that would stop him from being a starter at the moment.
grego21 - February 10, 2012
His PER of 9.50 is way too low to warrant a starters job. That’ll rise because he is much better that, but not enough to warrant starting over Manu (unless we try a wacky lineup with Manu on the bench … which I kind of like by the way).
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
I sure as hell wouldn’t trade him. But I’d play the shit out of him.
Titletown99030507d - February 12, 2012
It seemed like if Kawhi’s eFG% were only .346 that it would be the team’s worst. Per Basketball-reference.com it is listed as .480 which is 7th best (.346 would be the worst except for Ike’s and Malcolm’s .000).
Kawhi seems to have a drop off at about midpoint. After the first ten games off the bench and the first 4 as a starter he was 51-103. In the 13 games since he is 28-73. His 3 point shooting has improved slightly from 7-22 in the first 14 games to 4-11 since. If I’m calculating correctly that put his eFG% at .529 after 14 games and .410 in the last 13 games. My guess would be that his shots were mainly around the rim in the first 14 games and he has stretched out his shot attempts since. The .410 % in the past 13 games puts him ahead of only Cory Joseph for eFG% for those that have made at least one shot.
Alamo - February 10, 2012
He limited Durant and Gay to that eFG%. I think that was what LWMS was saying.
Edg5 - February 10, 2012
Ok, I see. That’s good defense, really bad if it had been his offense.
Alamo - February 10, 2012
Yes, for clarification’s sake, I was indeed talking about Durant’s and Gay’s numbers vs. Kawhi 5-0.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
Actually, if you look at just the last 13 games Danny Green’s eFG% is only .359. Anderson hasn’t played in all of the past 13 games nor as many minutes or shot attempts, but his eFG% during that time frame is .471. Neal’s looks to have improved a bit from a season eFG% average of .484 to .495 over the last 13 games.
Alamo - February 10, 2012
Neal not playing PG as much is a good thing. That and Neal looks like he has legs under him a tad more. that’s definitely helped his shot.
grego21 - February 10, 2012
Agreed. The only reason we are seriously considering Neal at point because TP can’t play the entire game, Manu and TJ are out and Cory Joseph isn’t ready for the NBA at this current moment in time. If you tell me prior to the season that say Neal will play as much point as he has so far, I would assume we’d have an awful record.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
Neal looked good as a PG against Philly. He may just started to learn the position (throw ball to Tiago and watch the big kid working sounds straightforward enough, isn’t it?)
Kondor - February 10, 2012
I came away with the same thing after the Philly game. It was his best all around game this season.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012 via mobile
He had some games when he contributed some badly needed shooting. But it was probably the first time when his playmaking was a major asset for the team instead of a liability.
Kondor - February 11, 2012
Giving to Tiago can make anyone look good if you pass it right. That worked well. I still wouldn’t trust him in the next 10 games, but Manu is coming back!
grego21 - February 11, 2012
Tiago does make it easier, but that shouldn’t completely detract from his solid game. Tiago didn’t shoot his three’s for him.
Pertaining to Manu: Right?! Hopefully that’ll end the Neal point guard experiment.
The Big Fundamental - February 11, 2012 via mobile
Yes, Neal still earned those assists, but that doesn’t make him a PG. That’s my main point.
Tiago made his life easier, just like Manu makes everyone’s life a lot easier. Neal is a 2 guard who’s passing is getting better, but I’m never going to confuse the two.
And yes, with Manu back, everyone gets to focus a little bit more on their real roles.
grego21 - February 13, 2012
May be throwing the rock to Tiago is easy, but it seems that Neal is doing it better than anyone else on the team, including the all-star PG Parker. Nailgun just looks good with Tiago. I don’t see why it should be a bad thing if he continues to play with Tiago so well.
Kondor - February 12, 2012
Good post. And I’m afraid frikin Pop is going back to the Blair witch project now that Manu’s back. BAD MISTAKE! For regular season wonders that may seem genius but for the real deal come playoff time well you know what’s going to happen when they meet up with good playoff teams that have a front court presence. Personally I like what has been going on when Manu had been out.
His injury was a blessing in disguise and now our rotation will evolve once again and I’m not sure if that’s a great thing thing to be excited about. Wait for the playoffs the undersized liabilities of Blair will be exposed again. but he’ll be on the court because of Manu. I just wish Pop would stop already with Blair. It’s going to come back to haunt him again.
Titletown99030507d - February 12, 2012
In Blair’s defense (ironic considering he doesn’t play any), he’s still rebounding the ball (second bast rebound rate on the entire team, ahead of Splitter) and has posted an above average PER. That’s not too shabby. We should cut him some slack and hope Manu helps Blair out in pick-and-rolls.
The Big Fundamental - February 12, 2012
That’s 129 RB’s for Blair and 126 RB’s for Splitter during the 24 games Manu has been gone. You make it sound like he as 50% more rebounds than Splitter. Not quite. and by the way Blair has played 509 minutes vs Splitter’s 482 minutes. That’s 27 minutes of playing time Blair has on Splitter to get those extra 3 rebounds during those 24 games Manu has been out. Splitter has shot 64.5% from the field vs Blair’s 49.6 from the field. Yeah I would say he desperately needs Manu. And there goes Splitter’s minutes. Thanks Manu.
Titletown99030507d - February 12, 2012
I prefer total rebound rate (including defensive rebound rate and offensive rebound rate) because it gives a better measure of a rebounders effectiveness. In those metrics, Blair barely nudges Splitter in TRR, 14.9 to 14.8. Didn’t say it was a huge differential, but its something. He also posts the best offensive rebound rate on the entire team.
Splitter is a more effective player (I was just merely defending Blair) and deserves more minutes, but Blair still can carve a nice role on the Spurs if he continues to rebound at the rate he is currently.
The Big Fundamental - February 12, 2012
I look less at the stats and more what i see on the D boards when he’s out there. Even if Duncan gobbles up more, the lack of boxing out is going to keep biting him in the butt on defensive boards. He shouldn’t approach a defensive board the same way you would an offensive board. But then this is a broken record and he should know this by now.
grego21 - February 13, 2012
Everyone plays with Tiago well. He is a pick-and-roll machine. That being said, I’m still going to stick with my belief that TP, Manu and TJ Ford are much better options. Not taking away anything from Neal’s solid two game stretch.
The Big Fundamental - February 12, 2012
Wow, I completely disagree. Neal has made some good passes, but overall TP is way ahead in assists to Tiago.
doggydogworld - February 12, 2012
Thank you. It’s really easy to overreact to two impressive games. But in reality, it’s just two games. Gary Neal isn’t suddenly a prototypical point guard. He’s a shooting guard that can handle the ball occasionally, but if we’re relying on him too much, that’s probably not a good thing.
The Big Fundamental - February 12, 2012
Neal has made some good passes. Tiago makes himself an easy target, but Neal has made some good passes. That said, it’s consistency where it counts. I’m happy that Neal has improved his passing since he became a Spur. I’m not going to complain about that.
grego21 - February 13, 2012
I agree to disagree. Parker has been balling out of his mind. His passing has been the best of his career.
Neal has made some good passes, but as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I still think it’s a much smaller sample size with Neal. We’ve seen him get tripped up enough when he’s got the ball too much.
grego21 - February 13, 2012
Really? You wouldn’t trust him? His PG duties are evolving for the better and he’s the best shooter the Spurs have. And you wouldn’t trust him? I’m glad your not the Coach.
Titletown99030507d - February 12, 2012
I’m glad I’m not the coach either, but a small sample size of two games isn’t enough to anoint Gary Neal a legitimate point guard. He’s been good yes, and I acknowledge that, but I’d much rather have TP, Manu, Ford and possibly Danny Green handling the ball more often. I feel his niche is three-point shooting and creating shots when necessary. If he develops into a nice combo guard that can handle the ball, that’d be nice too. But it’s not important in the context of the Spurs.
The Big Fundamental - February 12, 2012
Another side note: It’s not that I don’t trust Gary Neal. It’s that I trust Ford, Manu and TP more with the BALL in their hands. With a wide open shot, I definitely trust Gary Neal.
The Big Fundamental - February 12, 2012
Put it this way I’m optimistic with Neal. But I’d rather have him play the 2 guard when TJ is healthy.
Titletown99030507d - February 12, 2012
Isn’t that what I said earlier?
The Big Fundamental - February 12, 2012
Not over the long haul. In a game or two, a guy can look good, but once scouting comes into play and teams with solid defense come around, then little pieces get knocked away slowly but surely. Neal has earned those assists just as much as Tiago, but Tiago does make it easier for others.
That said, good passing is not always equal to a good PG.
grego21 - February 13, 2012
Yes. But I only included the six-game winning streak in my sample size. That’s where I got .302 for Green’s eFG%.
I need to start using larger sample sizes. I need to work on that.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
I was looking at Kawhi’s game log to see if there was much of a change after he became a starter. His first 4 games it seems he shot well enough through the Miami game. Since that meant 14 games vs. 13 after that I stuck to that point. Kawhi had 3 games after that where he shot pretty well, but a number of 1-4 games otherwise.
Alamo - February 10, 2012
nice read! i’m on board too.
blackhawkconvoy - February 10, 2012
Welcome! We can always use more people on board.
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
I’ve been on board since last year.
Reylan - February 10, 2012
Well said. (By the way, I never mentioned I wasn’t ever on board, though. I’ve always have been to an extent. Now I’m fully on board.)
The Big Fundamental - February 10, 2012
I’ve always felt that we can contend with this team. As long as our younger guys – specifically Green and Leonard continue to develop their offensive skills and Anderson gets out of the dog house. Splitter needs more consistent minutes, and Neal just needs to keep shooting. Even with Manu and T.J (and quite a young, in-experienced roster) being injured, we’ve competed against some tough top-tier teams and won, quite convincingly. The season is far from over, and I’m betting there’s a lot more fun to come…
Afterglow - February 10, 2012
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