The Finals

[Papalrep]

Bleed- I was watching the Spurs play last night and was wondering how Kevin Love would fit on that team. Maybe I am tainted, but I think they would be worse. He would stop the flow of the offense and complain about calls and throw them off their game.

Right On - and let the Heat have Mello.

[northernhoops [enjin:9491634]]

We've broken down the Spurs' consistent excellence over the past 15 years so many times (just look at their record over those years, for crying out loud), it's hard to say anything more about them without the risk of exaggerating.

But what they've been doing this postseason, really starting in the Portland series, has been phenomenal. It's appropriate that the World Cup is just starting, because this team plays team basketball, moving the ball so well, that they're like a soccer team. They're so much more than the sum of their parts. They're an absolute machine. Hats off to them.

That said, the series isn't over yet. But if any of you want a chance to see some of the most beautiful team basketball since the Jordan era ushered in superstar "hero ball," check out the next game and the Spurs just might show it to you.

Pop is their superstar. Would've led the Wolves to 55 wins this year

[northernhoops [enjin:9491634]]

Bleed- I was watching the Spurs play last night and was wondering how Kevin Love would fit on that team. Maybe I am tainted, but I think they would be worse. He would stop the flow of the offense and complain about calls and throw them off their game.

Right On - and let the Heat have Mello.

Exactly. Heat have given up 110+ points in all 3 losses in the playoffs. That's not getting better adding Melo

[Monster]

Diaw started as more of a SF and has adjusted his game as his body has changed (sometimes getting too fat) into a PF. He is a very good player and its fun to see his talent fit into the Spurs.

I don't see Love as a ball stopper at all. Love is much more of a guy that scores within an offense than most guys that score 25ppg. I don't think Love would ruin the Spurs. Duncan has been a pretty big whiner to officials throughout his career so I think the Spurs could survive that also. Lol I'll say this Duncan is a better ALL-AROUND player than Love right now no doubt in my mind.

I was thinking last night history may not see how valuable tony Parker is because he won't have big assist numbers and his scoring won't be amazing enough for a scoring PG type. He doesn't dunk on anyone have super flashy passes or typically nail 3's in someone's face as much so he may not stand out in people's memory. Instead he is dealy in the paint able to finish at an incredable rate with those wrong-footed shots and that puts trememdous pressure on the defense. I think people tend to underrate his impact on the offensive end and now his jumper is a very effective weapon as well.

Pop and the Spurs are amazing and you can't praise them enough but I also think some people discount Duncan Manu and Parker and they still got it. Leonard the last 2 games was one of the best players on the floor. One critizism I have of Spolstra is who has he developed? Chalmers? Norris Cole? Yeah he hasn't done much there he has taken a bunch of talent and gotten a lot out of them. If it was the spurs they would have like 4-5 young players out of no-where contributing to that team. The heat got Norris Cole. That's the only young player I can think of.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

We've broken down the Spurs' consistent excellence over the past 15 years so many times (just look at their record over those years, for crying out loud), it's hard to say anything more about them without the risk of exaggerating.

But what they've been doing this postseason, really starting in the Portland series, has been phenomenal. It's appropriate that the World Cup is just starting, because this team plays team basketball, moving the ball so well, that they're like a soccer team. They're so much more than the sum of their parts. They're an absolute machine. Hats off to them.

That said, the series isn't over yet. But if any of you want a chance to see some of the most beautiful team basketball since the Jordan era ushered in superstar "hero ball," check out the next game and the Spurs just might show it to you.

What's interesting is that one of the common held views in the NBA is that one must have a superstar - perhaps two - in order to be a contender. Duncan at one time was a superstar, but now he and his sidekicks Parker and Manu are merely very good players that have teamed up with other very good players and a very good coach to create a juggernaut.

The other thing is that Pop squeezes every ounce of potential out of every player. I'm convinced that Diaw, Mills, Green, and Leonard would be nothing more than average-ish players on other teams.

Excellent points, Q. My only disagreement is that I think Leonard would be a terrific player (much better than average) playing for just about any coach. I'd also say that Parker is an allstar caliber PG and would be on just about ant team.

I love Leonard's game (he may end up being the finals' MVP despite a crappy start), but I wonder if your assertion about him is true, lip. Or is it Pop's system that has led to his success? He wasn't much of an offensive player in college, and only shot 25% on threes, and was never considered a potential lottery pick. And now he is a reliable offensive player and 38% 3-point shooter. The question is this: how good would he be now if he hadn't ended up with the Spurs?

[SameOldNudityDrew]

I never saw Leonard in college, but it's clear even in his third year that his talent is still a little raw. He has flashes where he handles the ball or finishes at the rim that are REALLY impressive for a forward. He hasn't really proven yet that he can do that consistently though. As it is, he's a great defender, great hustle guy, and a really good rebounder, like Kenneth Faried with handles.

Most players like that are relatively easy to fit into a system and develop because they don't demand a lot of offensive touches. Where I think you've got to give Pop credit for his development is how he's able to fit within the offense. He's not only not a ball-stopper, but his court vision looks good, he's a quick and willing passer, and some of his passes are really impressive. There was one last night where he got the ball in the paint, and brought the ball to his side as if he was going to dribble and instead passed it to Diaw, who quickly found Duncan for the easy dunk. It was just enough of a fake to freeze Bosh and allow the passing to happen. That's Pop and the Spurs right there. And he seems to be a great fit for the Spurs too because he's such a quiet, unassuming guy.

There's no way to know for sure how good Leonard would have been after three years on other teams, probably still pretty good, but you can't do much better with player development than the Spurs.

[foye2smith [enjin:6593248]]

I was talking with a friend last night about the Spurs consistency. You'll always hear about the diamonds in the rough they find, but go the other way once. They rarely, if ever, cut bait on a player that later comes back to bite them in the ass or has continued success elsewhere. We came up with Stephen Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu, and George Hill depending on how the rest of his career goes (which will still wind up a win for the Spurs with Leonard and the emergence of Patty Mills). Seriously just look through their franchise index on basketball reference and see their player turnover, they barely have anyone continue on to play well in the NBA. Spurs cut ties with you, you might want to file your retirement papers or play ball over seas.

In the same span Minnesota goes through notables/semi-notables; Bobby Jackson (6thMotY), Stephon Marbury (2x All-Star), Chauncey Billups (5x All-Star, NBA Champion, Finals MVP, All-NBA accolades, and All-Defense accolades), Brandon Roy (ROY, 3x All-Star, All-NBA accolades), Al Jefferson (All-NBA accolades). and soon to be Kevin Love.

Then there's role players like Gerald Green, Mike Miller, Martell Webster, and Kosta Koufos.

Their organization is amazing. They know exactly when to "buy and sell" when it comes to players.

[Monster]

Spurs traded away Scola because they didn't have the money to sign him or something like that. Leonard his rookie year might have been around as valuable as George Hill and Leonard is 22 that was an unusual trade in that really it worked out well for both teams but the Spurs won bigger by far. Beno Udrich got moved to save money and turned out to be a nice enough player but the Spurs really had no problem replacing him as I remember it.

[foye2smith [enjin:6593248]]

Spurs traded away Scola because they didn't have the money to sign him or something like that. Leonard his rookie year might have been around as valuable as George Hill and Leonard is 22 that was an unusual trade in that really it worked out well for both teams but the Spurs won bigger by far. Beno Udrich got moved to save money and turned out to be a nice enough player but the Spurs really had no problem replacing him as I remember it.

Ah, you're right Scola slipped my mind. And Beno has been ok. Still very little for San Antonio to regret.

[The Rage Monster [enjin:8010341]]

He never played for them but technically the Spurs did trade away Goran Dragic.