By Shawn Kirsch | May 6, 2008 | Print Print

As we have watched the first 7 games of the playoffs, we have seen some thrilling play by Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan. We have seen Barry do his thing, come off the bench to make 3s. We have watched Vaugn, in backup duty, hold down the fort against two of the best point guards a gainst the league. We have seen buzzer beating shots, a blowout in Phoenix, stellar defense, amazing offense, and a young team from New Orleans shred us. Twice.

As I watched two games against those Hornets, I asked myself, are we too deep? We have the obvious, Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan. They do their thing, but like any great players in the NBA, they do have a bad night on occassion. Bowen is there for defense, and he does it well. Every great team has a guy who made his name off of playing D, and the Spurs have Bowen, and to a lesser extent, Udoka. Mark Cuban has been gracious enough to pay Finley to occupy the 2 slot for a few minutes each game, until Popovich says Manu can play. Vaughn has played in the system long enough, that he isn’t going to mess it all up when ‘The French Flash’ needs a breather. Now, for the rest of the team.

Let’s start with Bonner, who is inactive for the playoffs. Every time I see David West doing his thing, I can’t help but wonder why Bonner isn’t playing. He’s had a moderate amount of success against that type of player. He’s not stellar, he’s not going to completely shut them down, but he doesn’t let them get out of control either. Bonner can also shoot outside. He’s like a poor man’s Robert Horry, from his younger years, but without all of those rings. But whose spot should Bonner have on the roster?

Stoudamire. Mighty Mouse is doing an excellent job of playing cheerleader this year. He basically keeps the seats warm, until somebody has a huge lead, and then he’ll play the last 4 minutes of the game.

This brings me to Oberto and Thomas. Thomas was brought in to help out on defense in the post, which he has done when he isn’t in foul trouble. Oberto seems to have forgotten what it is he’s supposed to be doing out there, as he’ll make a basket here and there, but disappears most of the night. Perhaps he’s already thinking about this summer’s Olympics.

Horry is still here as well, Mr. Intangible. Well, I’ve said it before, intangibles are well and good, and brains count for a lot in basketball, but so does production. This is one Big Shot who hasn’t done much offensively so far. A 3 here, a 3 there, a nice pass there, and 11 defensive lapses down there. Face it, he’ll probably hit a buzzer beater to win the game before the year is done, but he can’t move fast enough against West or Chandler, or Amare, or Gasol, or Garnett, he’s just being used when he’s playing D.

So what am I getting at here? Well, we need SOMETHING different. I still like the idea of young legs coming in here, but in San Antonio, you do need something resting atop your neck if you want to get playing time. This offseason, there will be options. The Hornets have shown us, very obviously, that aside from the Big 3, nobody can create anything. J.R. Smith will be available. So will Corey Maggette. These guys can still create. Mr. Clipper is a pretty decent defender, and Smith improved his defense this year, and the Spurs coaching staff will only help him progress. Stoudamire and Oberto haven’t brought that much to the table so far in these playoffs, so we can let them leave. Either of those perimeter guys should be able to fill in nicely.

Barry isn’t getting any younger, and his defense has become suspect, so adding a guy who can shoot the 3 makes him expendable. We’ll let him leave with Horry, and somewhere out there, is a young big guy, who is a ferocious rebounder, particularly on the offensive side, who is also an athlete that can really get up and down the court in a hurry. This is who we need on the other side of the Big Fundamental. He’ll get points off of putbacks, and Duncan won’t have to shoulder the rebounding the way he did against Phoenix. Who knows, maybe the Spurs brass can pull a Lakers and get Dwight Howard or Al Jefferson for some spare parts.

Is this post a bit far fetched? Absolutely. Will we see a lot change before next season starts? Probably not. Does something need to change? Most definitely. The Olympics are coming, Manu and Tony will be a bit worn out next year. We need some younger legs to help carry the burden. We aren’t going to get anyone who can challenge the Big 3’s dominance, but someone else who can create their own shot would be nice. A young guy who can rebound, run, and defend would be great too.

San Antonio will continue to look for players who fit the system, won’t disrupt the culture, and are smart. Maybe T.J. Ford will become available cheaply. He may be banged up, but he passes, creates, and will only play 15 minutes a game, at best, behind Parker. Maybe another unknown from Europe will be drafted, to blossom into more than anyone ever imagined. Whatever happens, we need someone on the depth chart who puts numbers on the stat sheet, in addition to the intangibles.

Comments

6 Comments so far

john on May 6, 2008 10:03 pm
Spurs have depended too much on the Big 3 but that doesn’t mean the others should not step up their game.

They have too.

Of course age is also a factor and it’s high time they look for some younger legs.

Any thought from you about Game 3?

http://mundoalbiceleste.blogspot.com/2008/05/playoffs-news-manu-spurs-in-big-trouble.html
Jordan on May 7, 2008 6:00 pm
That is funny! The spurs average age of 67 has finally caught up to them! They can’t even win when David West has one of the worst games of his career. Better luck next year Spurs!!!!!!
willy on May 8, 2008 1:31 am
What the spurs really need are two things, a solid back up point guard which they haven’t had since having speedy claxton and a solid center. The spurs may need to look at the players they have in Europe such as the center they drafted last year or some of the SF/SG they drafted the past couple years. It is time to bring some of them and get them used play defence from now!!…
Tish on May 8, 2008 10:01 am
I definitely agree with this post. The most important thing the spurs can do is get a nice center to compliment duncan. Parker can hold off for a year or two for a great backup; but we need someone to take some post pressure off of duncan. It goes unsaid that Oberto is not as effective as we would have hoped.
Tully on May 9, 2008 12:44 am
I think the best player available for the mid level exception will be Ryan Gomes of the Timberwolves. There was a lot of talk that the Spurs would take him in the draft three years ago, so they are probably familiar with him. He has overachieved since being picked in the 2nd round, and is only 25 years old. His averages this year were 12.6 ppg & 5.8 rpg. He can play both forward positions, which would give the Spurs the flexibility to play him at SF alongside Duncan and Thomas/Oberto/Splitter or, against smaller teams he could play PF with Duncan as center. He’s 6′8″, 245, similar in size to Ron Artest. He had a strong second half of the season, averaging 14 ppg, 6,8 rpg, & 3,3 apg, emerging as the second best player on the t-wolves, after Al Jefferson. He’s considered a glue-type player with a high hoops IQ– think Shane Battier, but with more points and rebounds. If the Wolves land Beasley in the draft, there’s a good chance they might not match contract offers they deem too high (he’s a restricted free agent). The combination of Gomes and Splitter would considerably lower the teams’ average age. I think it would be a great move.
Shawn Kirsch on May 9, 2008 12:48 am
@Tully good call on Gomes. He would be an excellent addition to this team, perhaps enabling them to move Bonner.