why does every one think that the spurs are better then us. Match the teams up and I cant see any favors for them except duncan , and maybe robinson.
Maybe because they won the midwest and have the mvp. I'm not going to put Ming in the same class with Duncan yet, but i think he can have the same effect that Tim did his first yr. The Spurs tanked the season and wound up with the most polished low post player to come out since Shaq and Zo in 92. Ming has some pretty good players around him which will make his transition a easier much like Duncan had a still effective Robinson and consistent Elliot. The only to prove to be better than SA is to prove it during the season.
The Spurs success against us is history. Last year doesn't count now. I think we match up or pass the Spurs now. EG and TMo have another year experience. Rice and MT are back. Mooch and Cato are in shape and improved. KT over to the 3. Steve healthy. Yao Ming, Yao Ming, Yao Ming. A lot depends on health and chemistry. So far, so good... I'm looking for at least 52-30 Spurs lost Daniels and get - Kerr? Robinson's back is shot. Ginobilli at the three? Duncan is in a contract year, he'll get his of course. But who else? They're on a downward path. I say 47-35 tops, and if Duncan gets hurt for any significant stretch...
Role Players. Everybody on that Spurs team knows what they have to do each and every game to win, and they do it. They know that Duncan is good for 25 points and 10 rebounds every night, so they just let him do his thing while they get their jobs done... Remind you of a team...oh....back in 1994?
You are right on the money man. Potential doesnt win games. The Spurs are a proven championship team. We have alot to prove yet but I sure hope we do. Until then, we arent considered to be in their class.
A chain is only as strong as it weakest link. In my mind, Bowen and Smith are weak links. If we were going into a seven games series with the Spurs right now I would put Ming on Duncan with no help and EG/Cato on Robo with no help. There is no way we get dominated down low and if they do not look out we could put them in foul trouble. That taken care of I would take KT, MoT, Rice, Morris, Francis, Moochie and Mobley, any day, against Parker, Bowen, Smith, Kerr, Claxton, Rose and Ferry. Top 4, baby!
In terms of (potential) talent, I agree. But let's not forget we're hanging a lot on Yao and he's still just a rookie who will need to adjust moreso than your average rookie. Add to that we're still a very young, inexperienced team with a player nucleus that has never been in the playoffs (only exceptions Rice and Cato). And then on top of that, remember we're changing our offensive system after adding five mostly key (active) players to our roster over the offseason. Does it really surprise you then that people including Rockets fans aren't penciling the team over polished teams like the Kings, Lakers, and Spurs who have maintained their experienced nuclei and systems of at least a few years? But don't worry; from this vantage point, time is very much on our side. Go Rocks!
Its simply because the Spurs have the second best player in the league and we haven't proved anything yet. Until we at least split our season record with them and go into the all-star break ahead of them, we are behind them. I do think are capable, but until we prove it on the court, we are behind them.
Throw in EG, Yao Ming and even Cato and gets uglier! No, we are both 0-0. Both teams line ups have changed, ours significantly. Do we just pencil in LA because they won and we have to prove they shouldn't get the title this year. Aging, experience gained, trades, new players (through health (MT/Rice/Francis), draft and free agent) all have major effects on where a team should be year to year. If Horry and Fox go down with season ending injuries today and Kobe is out 26 games, would you still say the Kings have to prove that they are as good or better than the Lakers. I think it is logical to analyze that the Lakers would be down a notch. Equally, getting all our players back and healthy and the new additions makes it logical to say we are on their level. It doesn't surprise me. I am not either. I do think those three and the Mavs are the in the top 5. Out of the top 5 I thinkwe match the Spurs well and can pass them up, taking for granted we stay healthy and gel - granted a big one!
Lets wait till we see how we do in the two preseason games! I think all of us will be in for a surprise. If we play good defence on the supporting players and Robindson is now only in a minor role,then Duncan is their only great player! We on the otherhand have three great players in Francis, Mobley and Rice and our supporting players are potential stars like Yao Ming, Griffin,Taylor and Thomas. Morris should indeed provide us with a Mario Ellie like spark off the bench.
While it's obvious the Rockets' talent and POTENTIAL is superior to that of the Spurs,they can't be considered as better than the Spurs until they start playing good CONSISTENT basketball on the court like the Spurs do. And the biggest part of the Spurs success is their all out commitment to DEFENSE. I get to see them alot here and they pretty much are like a machine, until they get to the Lakers. I believe the Rockets will develop that consistency if they stay relatively healthy,but I'd really like to see them make a real commitment to defense. Otherwise they'll end up like the Mavs...exciting yes,but playoff success only if they shoot lights out and win a shootout.
SA Rocket, Being in this thread that name is a real oxymoron... I agree, great post. That's why I think we won't be there until mid season. But we shouldn't be far off to start. These guys do/have play together a lot in the offseason. You are right though, defense will be a big factor. They may have to make up for lack of team defense initially by outscoring teams.
Just out of curiousity, we have no one to match up with Duncan. On the other side, they have no one to match up with Francis. That being said, doesnt a good big man always beat a good little man. Great example is, in the mid 90s during our matchups with the Suns, Dream killed the suns. However, KJ killed out guys. We wont the battle though. I think if we are to overcome the Spurs, Griffin or Ming will have to keep Duncan under control and Steve will have to keep up his dominance. Tall task (no pun intended).
Codell, why would you say we have no one to match up with Duncan? Did you see his matchups with EG last year? If we put Yao on Duncan, is Duncan going to get 20points? 25 pts? And how much would Ming get? 15? If Duncan gets 23 or less and Ming get 14 or more, the Spurs will not beat us.
Come on friend. From an independent point of view, do you really think Griffin or Ming, at this point, can contain Duncan on a consistant basis? Webber hasnt, Garnett hasnt, McDyess, etc .....what makes Griff and Ming able to do so? Not that they cant. Duncan will get 25 pts, consistantly, no matther who guards him from any team.
Let Duncan get what he can. Who else is going to bring it from SA on our team that we couldn't contain and/or outscore?
Thats what other teams did to us back in the day. They let Hakeem go nuts cause they knew they couldnt stop him and we won championship in 94 with that system. Its not like we had anyone else on that team that couldnt be contained with a good defensive effort. If Duncan is absolutely unstoppable, then there is no reason to think his team doesnt have a good chance to win.
The most recent memory I have of Tim Duncan is that last seven minutes or so of their elimination game in the playoffs last year. He certainly didn't look unstoppable then. In fact, he looked scared. He's a great player, no question, but he is only human.
Thats true. But even with Hakeem, although not very often, he looked the same way in the playoffs, not necessarily scared, but there were games where he struggled and we lost. Duncan is human, but hes an MVP and he has a ring so hes proven he can do it. The Lakers are just too overpowering for anyone at this point. I actually think Duncan and Hakeem is a good comparison. Obviously, Duncan doesnt have the longevity or the defensive skills as Dream, but as far as scoring and rebounding, quite similar and also both can carry their team on their back to victory and a championship. Duncan has a long way to go to be mentioned in history with Dream.
Otis Thorpe 14pts, Vernon Maxwell 13.6 pts, Kenny Smith 11.6 pts, Robert Horry 10.0 pts, Mario Ellie 9.3 pts, Sam Cassell 6.7 pts. (17 min) On any given night we had too many other weapons that spread it out and killed them on the collapse or double team. I don't see that with SA, especially not the caliber of talent the Rocks had.
