Looking forward and projecting the future

I know, I know, the playoffs are still in view. The Spurs won an exciting first game against the 2nd seeded Cinderella story of the Denver Nuggets. However, I think barring some miraculous sort of Finals run this year, there are some very real questions that the Spurs have to answer about their roster. It's probably not too early to start looking forward, though there is a lot of time in the offseason, I also do want to give a proper look at Pop and his stint these next two years with USA basketball. While I don't think that I have any concrete answers, I think it does help a little to air out some of the issues that we have. Personally, I don't think it's a chemistry issue as much as a roster construction issue. I don't think the issues in this iteration of the Spurs is intentional, but the way the season has played out, we find that there are indeed a number of question marks that we have going into the next season. And honestly, I'd much rather write about this than how the national media hates the Spurs (maybe I'm crazy, but it sure sounds like they're always rooting for the other team on national calls, I'm looking at you, Hubie).

The Modern Era is Catching up with the Spurs

Wrote a post at Pounding the Rock. Find it here.

Panicking at the Process

Normally, when I post here, it's all about unfettered optimism, looking at the silver lining and bright spots in regards to the Spurs. However, given their 1-7 Rodeo Road Trip there seems to be little to look forward to in regards to the Spurs' prospect. As The Starters' analyst Trey Kerby asked, "Are you telling me that both LeBron and the Spurs will miss the playoffs in the same season?" While it seems unlikely, it is still entirely within the realm of possibility given the difficulty of the West and the tightness between the 7-10 seeds. As it stands, Spurs are 8th, one game behind the Clippers in both the win and loss columns (3 games behind the Jazz in the loss column for 6th seed), only 2 games ahead of Sacramento in the win column and a decent 5 games ahead of both the Timberwolves and the Lakers (4 in the win, 2 in the loss).  The season certainly is not lost, Derrick White is back as is DeMar DeRozan's shooting, and LaMarcus Aldridge has maintained his aggression, so let's take a back and forth look at how things are panning out for the Spurs right now.

Unfettered Optimism: Truly the Start of a new Era

It's hard to look last season's drama with Kawhi Leonard subsequently concluding with his being traded with Danny Green to Toronto for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, and  a protected 2019 pick as having any sort of positive. I mean, you just lost a legitimate two-way star that was a two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and finals MVP, not to mention close runner up for MVP when he was healthy and playing. The loss of arguably one of the premier perimeter defenders in Danny Green as well is a tough pill to swallow, but given the situation, changes were necessary. Despite being one of the premier defensive squads in the league (1st in opponents points allowed per game at 99.8 and 3rd in overall defensive rating of 104.8) they were dismal on the other end (27th in points per game at 102.7, 17th overall offensive rating at 107.9). While the common belief was that the return of Kawhi Leonard as our number 1 option would solve much of our offensive woes, it became painfully clear that outside of LaMarcus Aldridge we had no effective go-to third option, no way of generating offense when we needed it. We got open shots, but we can't hit them, and frankly, we had trouble creating offense.

This is Why We Signed Rudy Gay

Last night in a win over the Miami Heat, Rudy Gay scored 22 points in 26 minutes on 6-8 shooting (with a 9-11 outing at the charity stripe) as the San Antonio Spurs went on a 32-13 run to close out what was a high-octane shootout with what both coaches (Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra) would consider sub-par (read: abysmal) defense. I'd like to note that 15 of Gay's 22 points came during that 32 point Spurs run at the end of the game.

Unfettered Optimism: Spurs Start Strong

The 2017-2018 season has begun, and the Spurs are 3-0. Of course they are, they're the Spurs. Did I mention that they are playing without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker? Who cares? There's always a bit of excitement to start out a new season and this season is no different, in fact, there may be more buzz, despite the prediction of an inevitable fourth Golden State Warriors/Cleveland Cavaliers showdown in the NBA Finals. But the season is young and anything can happen, and I certainly like what I'm seeing so far from the other guys and the hope is that we'll get better when Kawhi and Tony come back. Here are three things I'm super excited about.

The Big Question for the Spurs in 2017

With the summer winding down and the start of the NBA 2017-2018 regular season fast approaching, we find the Spurs in something of an interesting holding pattern. Fairly or unfairly so, LaMarcus Aldridge in a Spurs uniform has been considered a general disappointment, especially after his general disappearance in the playoffs following the season ending ankle injury to Kawhi Leonard. As summer progressed it became rumored that Aldridge and the Spurs were unhappy with one another, even going as far as having the Spurs reportedly offering Aldridge for a 1st round draft pick. Since the draft, nothing really league shaking has happened. The Spurs made two savvy draft picks with the 29th and 59th picks in the 2017 NBA Draft in Derrick White and Jaron Blossomgame.  The Spurs quietly signed Rudy Gay and re-signed Patty Mills, Manu Ginobili, and Pau Gasol. With the injury to Tony Parker leaving him out until 2018, one of the big questions for the Spurs is the development of 2nd year point guard Dejounte Murray, who performed admirably during the playoffs after Parker ruptured his quadriceps tendon in the 2nd round against the Rockets.