I would have agreed with you prior to this season, but I think you can make a strong argument that Parker has been the best point guard in the NBA this season. They have similar numbers and are similar defensively. However, Parker has stayed healthy.... I think it is very close. I have no problem with an argument that Paul is the best. I dont think Westbrook is as good as Paul or Parker. I could see Parker dominating in the playoffs this season, he has been very, very, very good and has to be a top 4-5 in the MVP voting.
The Spurs are good enough to beat the Thunder and the Clippers. If there is a team that can beat Miami it will be the Spurs. Just depends if Lebron is in GOAT mode when we face him. I seriously think this will be the Spurs last run, and to the future I'm not sure where that is going to go. Depending how the Spurs do in the post season will depend on if the Spurs decide to pay Splitter, but I think this will be Manu's last year. Leonard is going to be a all star in this league, but isn't going to be the player that will take the Spurs to the finals. Were going to have to be horrible for a season or two to get back to the top, but I have confidence in Buford and Holt to dish out the money.
You think Spurs make any trades to get better, or are they going to build through the draft? The Spurs have a lot of nice pieces, and obviously none of them will take them over the top.
I believe it will be the draft. The Spurs only have a few players that have any value and that is Parker,Leonard,Green,De Colo and Joseph that will be under contract for sure by next season. I hope Spurs go all out when they tank, because even if the Spurs will have a crap load of cap room, they're not going to attract any quality free agents with no one to build the team around.
Last five games before the Allstar break (no Chicago game) TP 26.8 ppg 9.2 ast 4 rbs in 35 min 56%FG 7 attempts to the line Again he is a very good scoring PG, but he does not attempt 3 pointers what is still his weakness Agree he is playing like the best PG out there mainly because CP3, Rondo had an injury but his game is still not complete
I pray for the Spurs to suck again every night. The man in the big house will answer. I know he will. I've been praying since 1999.
Name one star player that San Antonio signed in free agency ever. No one wants to play there unless they were drafted. It's a great city and I like spending time there, but history shows it's not a destination. No clue why, but there are zero. Elliot, Admiral, Duncan, Parker, Girnobli, Leonard, etc... all draftees. My prayers will be answered! (then i will feel like a d**k)
You forget Pop sent those 3 home and then took it to the Heat; without them, they're still a good team.
If you took the Big 3 out, with the big chunk of salary cap, there will be other good players step in. And Pop is still Pop.
At the same time, they've never really needed to sign a max free agent. They've always looked for under the radar pieces to compliment what they've had.
Need to give credit to Tony parker. An MVP candidate, one of the top 3 pgs in the league and probably the most lethal scorer, but has been unheard of since he stopped dating that actress. Just a product of pops ' system' ...
Yeah I don't think the Spurs will ever get a franchise player through free agency, but have got some solid players in free agency like Robert Horry and Michael Finley. If Spurs are going to get back to the top they're going to have to suck for a year or two to hopefully land a franchise player.
Of course SAS are still contenders this year. Parker is having arguably his best year ever, and there is a good deal of youth around the aging Tim and Manu. They could use another scorer who can get his own shot, a la Jamal Crawford for LAC or KMart for OKC. Stack Jack was awesome for them in '03, but too old to fill the role this time around. Agreed that the Pop/Buford tandem will find a way to keep them in the mix even with the impending retirements.
Just looked at the pic thread in the GARM about favorite Rockets moments. In there I found the gif of Hakeem owning D Rob. Then I thought "Man, Spurs got so much publicity for D Rob back then, he even won the MVP over Hakeem!" Which made me think of how little attention San Antonio gets now even though they are the #1 team in the West. WTF happened to the media coverage of San Antonio? Was D Rob really that big of a star? or was his Navy background really that much of a attention grabber? Thoughts?
Spurs got Boris Diaw and Stephen Jackson, even though they aren't superstars, they fit in with Pop's role player friendly system. And most players on the free agent market are just role players.
