What's scary is in the Spurs offense LMA won't have to work as hard to get his favorite shots. His efficiency should increase. He won't average more than 30 mins/game over the season and should be primed for the playoffs.
We all know the Rockets will not get any love the national media so it will be interesting to hear who the media is all up on next, the warriors or the spurs?
Yeah, no kidding. Not that he didn't look good in those highlights, but complete scrubs can look good in the preseason. Let's not forget that the Spurs are old as dirt and for all of Aldridge's individual greatness, he didn't exactly lead the Blazers to any real success the decade he played there. Not saying the Spurs can't win it all. But just keep in mind that along with Aldridge and Leonard, they're relying on a nearly 40 year-old Duncan(who now has to play more at center), a 33 year-old Parker who's starting to break down from all those long seasons, and a 38 year-old Manu who looked way past his prime last year.
I'd say the two favorites to win it all from the West are GSW and the Spurs. If they can keep healthy, SA has the edge. In the next tier are the Clips, Houston and maybe OKC. In the East, ther's just the Cavs. The Rockets' road to the finals isn't impossible, but it's going to be pretty tough.
And a couple of years it has been true when the Spurs really did look too old and got embarrassed. Hell last year wasn't a rousing succcess - they sleepwalked through the first half of the season, couldn't make up the deficit, had to start on the road in LA and lost in the first round. Owing to goodwill accrued from the prior season, nobody considers that season a spurs failure. most other teams would consider that result a failure.
Man Tim Duncan initiating post action is going to be very tough. KLeonard is going to be a beast on defense. This is a very scary and deep San Antonio team. Hoping this is the year that Duncan finally breaks down.
spurs and embarrassed don't really go together if we're talking about the success they've had over the last decade. they may have looked "old" but they've been right amongst the top in the west consistently for years and if you have to worry about them like all the teams do, there's nothing "done" about them.
i think ginobli, duncan, and parker are done. not only are they old but they have played a million games in the playoffs. there is a very high probability they have injuries this year and that means other guys will have to play more minutes. i can completely understand how people do not want to count them out because they proved everyone wrong 3 and 2 seasons ago by going to the finals twice, winning once (almost winning both) they were old then and they are ancient now. aldrich,leanord, and greene are not good enough to carry them either. i could be wrong but ill try my best to check back and bump this thread later in the season.
It's time to accept to that the Spurs will remain contenders for at least 3 more years. They are only a little more than a year removed from dumpstering a Lebron-led Miami Heat in the Finals. Yeah, Alridge may not have had much success in Portland, but he never had a team around like him like this or a coach like Pop. They were one CP3 flop away from facing the Rockets in the conference semis this past summer, and may have won that series, too. The Rockets have put together a great team this year, and it's realistic to have championship aspirations for those guys. But it wouldn't surprise me at all if this Spurs team ends their season in the play-offs. They are spoiled over there.
i guess you're definition of "done" is different from mine. As long as the Spurs are considered to be a top contender which they are, that's not done to me. They have as good of a chance as any other of the top contenders out there. I'll consider them done when they sit at the bottom of the playoff race or fail to even make it.
Spurs had the same record as the Rockets last year, but they added LMA, and West. Rockets added Lawson, OKC gets Durant back. With the GS, those are top four teams in the West. Any team can win it all.
Considering the responses on this board over the past 2 seasons, half of ClutchFans would love that^ "They play the right way" Spoiler
i understand what you mean. what i mean is there "big 3" are done. and they will not finish higher then the 5th or 6th seed this year. nor any season in the near future unless they acquire a top 10 player somehow. aldrich was never more than a top 30 player or so and he is on the downward slope of his career stating next season also.
