How were the Spurs able to win the same number of games this year as last year without the incredible Derek Anderson? Hmmmmm. Apparently SA did not get worse over the off-season.
That's gotta go down as one of the stupidest moves a player has ever made. Why in the world would he not stay with the Spurs? He's gone from being an important player on a top-of-the-line franchise to a mediocre nobody. A player that stupid definitely fits in with the Blazers.
How were the Spurs able to win the same number of games this year as last year They added Jesus Parker. Duh.
Yeah, what was all that about? David Robinson and Derek Anderson wanted more money and the Spurs didn't have enough $$$ to pay them both??? Oh well, enjoy your stay with Portland. On a side note............am I the only one that laughs whenever people say that he would have made a difference during last year's playoffs against the Lakers?
Do you think losing Fox and Fisher would've made a difference for the Lakers in that series? Take away Fox and Fisher, and add back Anderson (SA's best perimeter player that year), and see if the outcome is different.
DA's a nice player. He just seems to have a big head at times. The Spurs weren't sure that they wanted to commit long term money to him. They initially pursued Christie and McKie last summer. An offer may have been extended to DA at one point, but it was definitely at least a year shorter than what Portland was offering. The emergence of Charles Smith gave the Spurs another athletic perimeter player in the rotation, so the 'loss' of DA was ameliorated somewhat. At this point I would definitely take cap space in 2003 over DA.
As for last year's team versus LA...a healthy DA from the get-go may have helped somewhat, but LA was simply ON in those playoffs and the lack of a point who could penetrate really hurt the Spurs. DA is more of a slasher than a penetrator. In the open court I'd say he is one of the better finishers in the league. But in the half court he tends to struggle at times in taking the ball inside. Overall the team has gotten more athletic and better defensively on the perimeter. Bowen has been a significant boon in that area, giving the Spurs what they used to get from Elliott. This year's team is certainly better than last year's team. And definitely an upgrade over what took the court in the WCF last season. If Parker can continue to play as he has under pressure, then the Spurs will be in good shape.
MrSpur - this is off-topic but I 100% agree about the Lakers being "on". IMHO, there is one subtle (and very overlooked) reason why the Spurs couldn't penetrate the Lakers D. Jackson switched Kobe over to guarding the point and Bryant ate Porter's lunch with his height and quickness advantage. I couldn't believe Popovich never adjusted in the entire series. If Parker can handle GP , LA may not be able to use Kobe on Parker.
The Spurs had the best record in the league last year, they are tied for the 2nd best this year, effectively the 3rd best record because of tiebreakers. They lost ground to the other elites in the league, that is what most of us have said all year long and it is true. It never was about whether DA would make Portland better or what he would do there, it was about the Spurs losing their 2nd or 3rd most well rounded and most athletic player they had. The Spurs should be happy to make it to the 2nd round and make the Lakers play an extra couple games in route to the Lakers playing in the real (determining) NBA championship series with Sac the next round.
Yeah, tied with LA, a few games back of Sacto....they've really "slipped". Anderson was nice but I would take this team as it is now over last year's team with Porter and Ferry starting and a healthy Anderson. Anderson's athleticism is not as important as Bowen's D and Parker's ability to penetrate. What this season has shown is that you overestimated Anderson's value last summer. LA lost Ho Grant in turn for Samaki Walker, yet somehow what is not a downgrade. Go figure.
I actually think the Spurs biggest loss wasn't Anderson it was Avery Johnson. Granted Tony Parker is playing well, but Avery still has some game left and he is a solid veteran player who knows how to win and run the show. Other then that I actually think the Spurs are deeper and more versatile then last year. Saying they slipped because they aren't the #1 seed is ridiculous, when you're #1 there is no place to go but down. And didn't Kobe light Anderson up in the regular season last year to the ridiculous tune of 37 ppg? Yeah, they really missed that against LA. I said it before, I think that getting Bruce Bowens will prove to be valuable in the playoffs, especially if he can knock down the open shot like he did in Miami. a defensive stopper is key against guys like Kobe, and Christie and Desmond Mason, and that's something Derek Anderson really wasn't. He played good D, but not on-the-ball defense like Bowens.
The thing about AJ is that, for whatever reason, he became a lockerroom pariah in last year's playoffs. He's a competitor, no doubt about that, but the Spurs had to get younger at some point. As for his game, his inability to get off a jumper with someone in his face hurt the Spurs in the WCF last year. Experience does matter and rolling with a 19 year old into the playoffs at point is interesting and a little unnerving, to say the least. Parker's done well in some pressure situations this season. In regards to Bowen, Bryant will still get his, but in the two games Bowen in which Bowen has defended him, Bryant hasn't been able to create for his teammates, and that is the key as far as the Spurs are concerned. They need someone who can harass Bryant and prevent him from being a creator.
Last year they were the #1 in terms of seeing, this year they are effectively #3. IMO SA has a better chance of losing in the 1st round than making it to the NBA championship, or perhaps even the WCF. Last year they were probably even favorites with the Lakers going in for the whole enchalada. What is not slipping about that???? You can go up (rising), down (slipping), or stay the same. Not slipping would be 1) holding ground (equal distance from the #2 seed as last year) or 2) putting greater distance between them from the rest of the league. As Sac has a significantly better record and the Lakers have homecourt, how is that not slipping from last year? Besides ya'll can talk about how the Spurs help it together and such with their additions, but what are you going to say when they are out of the playoff in the 1st or 2nd round? Do you think the Spurs will be satisfied that they were in 3rd place in the regular season, throwing out the fact the Lakers and now Kings are better? I would say save your talk until the Spurs do something in the real season.
Dude shot less than 40% from the field last year for Miami and like 30% fromt he field in the playoffs. Counting on guys like Bowen, Ferry, Jesus and even Smith to execute on both ends of the court just isn't going to cut it when the opponents have proven role players like Bryant, Fox, Horry and Fisher OR Peja, Christie, Bibby, and Vlade. Granted the Sac players aren't that playoff proven, but they are veterans with immensly more talent/skill/savvy than the Spurs counterparts. Duncan could play like Hakeem did in 95 (even if he is the best in the league right now I don't think Tim could play that incredible anyway) and the rest of the Spurs aren't good enough to get them to the NBA finals this year. There was no rival team remotely as good as the Kings or Lakers when the Spurs did make their run in 1999 and they had a thicker more balanced team that year anyway.
The Spurs obviously stayed the same (same # of wins), while Sac and LA went up. The Spurs did not do worse than last year, as was predicted by everyone here when they lost Derek Anderson.
Yeah man, you have to have a star at every spot on the floor. GET REAL. I guess the Spurs don't have any "proven role players". Silly me. It's a team game. Portland is full of "well-rounded" vets and where have they gone.
Maybe the excuse will be.... JESUS REFUSES TO COME BACK TO EARTH, SPURS SWEPT BY LAKERS. If the spurs get that far, that is.
