Nobody talks about San Antonio probably going for yet another 50+ win season

[Andrei89]

Amazing to me to be honest.Cant believe these guys and Popovich of course are going to probably put yet another 50+ this season.

Props to San Antonio Spurs :cheers:

[Brook(lyn)Lopez]

Nobody talks about it because they do it every season...

[Andrei89]

Nobody talks about it because they do it every season...

Indeed.

Shame really. I am very impressed over their consistency over the years. I think they have had a 50+ season since 1999.

Amazing feat.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

They look like the best team in the west so far.

[poido123]

They look like the best team in the west so far.


So far, but long ways to go.

San Antonio will be right there, but at some point age is gonna catch up big time with them. Especially Parker who carries so much of the load, he is 31 and on the end of his peak.

[Pacquiao]

Age? San Antonio were already considered an OLD team for the last 4 years and still have great year.

[dr.hee]

Overrated, can't even beat the Knicks by 40 points...

[Legends66NBA7]

Same thing every year, they beat up on 50 win teams and fold against elite teams in the playoffs like they did in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2006, 2004, etc. That's why they never repeated.

^Literally was expecting this.

:oldlol:

[Young X]

It's true though, they always fold against teams that actually challenge them. The years they won are the years where they were facing 07 Jazz type teams every round.

[ihatetimthomas]

Its not surprising at all. They were a game away from winning it all last year. There team makeup hasn't changed much and Kawhi is a year wiser. I've stopped under estimating what the Spurs are capable of and what Duncan is capable of years ago.

[BasedTom]

It is the expectation. We all know how good and consistent they are.

Nobody doubts their chances at getting a good seed or making a good playoff run. People have doubted their ability to win a championship. And we saw how close they came last year.

[HomieWeMajor]

If it ain't a 60 win season then I don't wanna hear about it.

[rmt]

It's true though, they always fold against teams that actually challenge them. The years they won are the years where they were facing 07 Jazz type teams every round.

I guess the 3-peat Shaq-Kobe Lakers, 05 Pistons, 07 Suns, Mavs (2000s) teams were chopped liver and didn't challenge them. They've come out of the much tougher West 5 times - winning 4. Name the other teams that won more than 70.3% over a 16 year (going on 17 year) period - NONE - in the history of the NBA.

[SacJB Shady]

Age? San Antonio were already considered an OLD team for the last 4 years and still have great year.


Yes. But at some point Duncan and Ginobili will be too old. They can't sustain forever. In fact Ginobili is already showing signs of regression.

[guy]

Indeed.

Shame really. I am very impressed over their consistency over the years. I think they have had a 50+ season since 1999.

Amazing feat.

99 should pretty much count since it was a lockout. They had the best record in the league. So basically since 1998. This would be there 17th straight season :wtf:

[Andrei89]

99 should pretty much count since it was a lockout. They had the best record in the league. So basically since 1998. This would be there 17th straight season :wtf:

:eek: :eek:

[Meticode]

Every single season for the last 5+ years I always year "The Spurs aren't going far, they're a year older."

You know what? Until these mother****ers have dust coursing through their veins they're always in contention.

[TMT]

Yes. But at some point Duncan and Ginobili will be too old. They can't sustain forever. In fact Ginobili is already showing signs of regression.

Said everyone 4 or 5 years ago.

[Droid101]

Said everyone 4 or 5 years ago.
So you're saying Ginobili is playing at the same level as in 2008 or 2009?

[mugiwara]

Gino's decline makes me unhappy.

[SacJB Shady]

Said everyone 4 or 5 years ago.


but what about 4 or 5 years from now?

[OmniStrife]

I've watched all their games so far and the closest team to beat them was the Suns, that is until G. Green's brain farted.

[Micku]

Every single season for the last 5+ years I always year "The Spurs aren't going far, they're a year older."

You know what? Until these mother****ers have dust coursing through their veins they're always in contention.

This.

The Spurs are just an amazing organization.

[Magic 32]

I'm starting to be convinced that all about Pop (and not so much Duncan).

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/imported_assets/967568/popbefore.jpg

[Haymaker]

Green and Leonard are getting the biggest bulk of the offensive load apart from Parker, which lets Timmy and Turnobili rest their senile legs. We're still championship contenders. People forget we were a Ray Allen 3 away from winning last summer and we have the same team. The only threats to the Spurs are the Warriors. Clippers and Rockets lack the discipline to beat us in a 7 game series and the Grizzlies are not the same since those horrible trades last season.

[TheReturn]

I think compared to other teams their system is a bigger factor in their overall record, rather than talent.

Say for most teams it's 70% talent and 30% system, for the Spurs it could be 60 and 40. The consistency from their best players is also a pretty important factor I think.

[SHABBA]

They're the team in the West that has the fewest question marks about them so barring injury are the favourites (for now) IMO.

[TMT]

So you're saying Ginobili is playing at the same level as in 2008 or 2009?

Said no such thing. But with much more capable offensive weapons on the perimeter alongside Manu such as Bellinelli, Leonard, Green it makes his decline more expendable. The point of my post was that despite the criticism of age year in and year out we are still capable of success. The last two seasons can attest to that, and so can a 6-1 start this year.


but what about 4 or 5 years from now?

:facepalm

[guy]

I still think they ****ed up this year in their offseason. Paid way too much to Splitter and Ginobili IMO. $9M for Splitter and $7M for Manu. Splitter is not worth that much and they probably could've easily paid Manu less then that (don't see how he's worth that much more then someone like Ray Allen who only got $3M). I'm thinking they probably could've gotten someone like Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, or Andre Iguodala plus either another decent role player or Ginobili for cheaper with that $16M.

[Rito3d30]

I think this year Spurs is much scarier than last few years
The acquire of Belinelli has released Mills and share the load with Manu
Diaw has been awesome
The whole roster is much balanced

The only thing they have given up is Neal's scoring ability(well replaced by Mills and Belinelli)

[Nero Tulip]

The team is potentially better than last year:
- Leonard is looking much better, and more active on offense
- Diaw learned this summer than he doesn't have to pass on every possession
- Bellinelli is an upgrade over Neal (although so far he isn't that great)
- The offense seems overall much less "Parker-centric"

Things that still suck:
- Splitter is still a subpar starting center
- Bench bigs are still bad. Aryes and Baynes are looking awful so far.
- Ginobili is still not shooting well
- ... and of course, the biggest thing is that they have to be healthy. They were lucky to stay that healthy last year, they'll need to get lucky again.

[ak47buffalo]

I think Bellinelli is a significant upgrade over Neal. He's not as explosive offensively as Neal was but has a more diverse game. More importantly though, he is a pretty scrappy defensive player while Neal was a sieve.

Also think you underrate Splitter like many people do because he is not an all-american chest thumper. He is fantastic defensively and isn't nearly as bad offensively as people make him out to be. He shot 57% from the field last season and has great touch around the rim. He's just not athletic and doesn't finish strong which leads to a few face palm inducing moments a game.

All in all I think the spurs are again likely to come out of the west. Ginobili looks a bit better again now that he's had the summer to recover from injuries and Parker looks surprisingly dominant despite his summer ball. Kawhi looks to be taking steps to take on a bigger role offensively. It will take a while to integrate this change into the team play but I'm confident it will pay dividends eventually. The role players mostly look solid except for Ayers and Baynes who need to improve. Really, the only question that needs to be answered to some degree is how good is Tim Duncan this season. He's looked spry enough when he's played but his jumpers have all been short thus far and his offense has struggled some. He's played so little thus far that its hard to say. Defensively though he has looked strong and I think that is probably the best benchmark to see if Duncan has declined any this season. Barring injury I think the spurs have another legitimate shot at the title.