bigbabyjesus

You can't compare us to the Spurs right now due to the facts that:

1. Tim Duncan is one of if not the best defensive anchor in the league. Put him on any team and they instantly become SO much better defensively.

2. We don't have anyone on the wing in the same universe in comparison to Ginobili.

3. Though Delfino and Parker are fine defenders, those two as well as Moon and Kapono do not even compare to the rotation of Ginobili, Bowen, Udoka, and Finley defensively.

I do see where your coming from. But as far as comparing these two teams.. It's hard to do because one is elite defensively, and one definetly is not even close.

southeasy

of course we lack the spurs experience & defensive stance.

we are a much younger team, a relatively new team in regards to the influx of players in the past two years.

i like the comparison as far as team philosophy & stratagy.

__________________
Primero Veinte Con La Enfermedad
1AJosh Howard/1BGerald Wallace/2Amare Stoudemire/3Chris Bosh/4Rajon Rondo/5Sean Williams/6Travis Outlaw/7Al Thornton/8Caron Butler/9TJ Ford/10Dwight Howard/11Antawn Jamison/12Dorell Wright/13Leandro Barbosa/14Samuel Dalembert/15Thabo Sefolosha/16Stromile Swift/17Jose Calderon/18Trevor Ariza/19Jamario Moon/20JR Smith

Cierre pero ningún Puro: Julian Wright, Renaldo Balkman, Ronnie Price, Jeff Green, Amir Johnson, Louis Williams


RIP to the Career & The Man, Jonathan "Best Practice Player In NBA History" Bender & Eddie "Most Known Unknown" Griffin

SkywalkerAC

and that's why we need to continue adding tough, athletic, defensive minded players, IMO. though our defense is improved this season, it's hard when you've got Bosh and AB anchoring your defense. As good as Andrea's defense is for a second year big man, he has to get a LOT better.

the point is that it's not about having stars at every position, it's about playing great team defense and hitting shots. hey, we're not there yet. i know that. we're a lot better off than plenty of teams out there though, even ones that have a star player on the wing.

__________________
AC

bigbabyjesus

I agree.

Bosh must get a lot better as well. At this point I'd say Bargnani is a better man defender, although Bosh is a much better help/team defender.

Agree 100%.. Spurs are actually a great example of that.

No doubt.

We have a lot of building to do still.

Sure, some of it will come internally.

But it's really hard to find an ELITE team, and I don't use that term lightly.. whose two best players are as bad defensively as ours are (Bosh and Calderon)

SkywalkerAC

which is exactly why you'd probably not want to trade away a player with Jamario Moon's defensive potential. when Bruce Bowen was 28 years old, he was also an nba rookie and shot only 40% from the floor. the next he shot 29%.

Carlos turned 25 last summer. Manu turned 25 the summer before his rookie season in 2002; he averaged 7.6 ppg over 69 games.

and Bosh and Calderon are going to be perfectly fine defender through their prime years. they need to be in the right system, most definitely, where again the Raps have a few more steps to take.

Manu is one of the best players in the world. his ball skills are incredible. We all know we're a little lacking in this regard but, as I see Carlos cross over to his left and stretch out for the layup, we've got some upside here too. we've got upside as a slashing team. we even have upside when it comes to shooting - Delf and Moon are only just finding their jumpers!

Kapono is going to be a gritty shooter for the next half decade. He's one of the best shooters EVER! You've got to keep this guy around and see if it can pay off huge in the playoffs.

Give em some time, that's all I'm asking.

__________________
AC

SkywalkerAC

again we get torched by an opposing shooting guard while ours don't really answer back. but we came back against one of the best teams in the league...

our perimeter defense does need to get better. maybe TJ can help in this regard, maybe delfino should start, i don't know.

__________________
AC

billfindlay10

Maybe it is just me, but I don't think that Jose is a bad defender. He gets down in a stance and keeps his man in front of him. He has decent size as well. He may not gamble and fly around getting steals, but he does what he needs to do. He would also be much better if he a had a decent shot blocker behind him.....and Bosh or Bargs are not going to be that guy!

__________________
The best free online basketball gamewww.cyberdunk.com?ref=248057

Jose Manuel Calderon Fan Club: Pm me to join!
Divine Spammer(founder) adhir1 madman Benis007 shookem Budweiser_Boy CrookedJ tmlblue Chris Bosh #4 alexander vigilante RaptorsCB4 speedythief MjM2xtreMe Juzt_SicK03 MonkeyBallZJr. AirJordan pmac34 Team Mao BaLLiStiX17 McFurious Zuca iNdIaNa31PaCeRs

Dee-Zy

I concur ^ Jose is not a bad defender anymore, he is decent. Bosh on the other hand is.

and TJ? Defense? Are you kidding me? HE is horrible, he gets lost all the time on picks. He always ****s up the rotation and that's how a man often gets open. He always gambles way too much. It isn't because he gets more steals that he is a better defender. Watching him on Defense is very frustrating.

__________________

The "I'm still bitter about the CV-TJ Trade" Club

ballocks

i think this thread is key right now. what do we need? we need to... answer that question. this season has, for me, probably been the most frustrating of the 13. and not just by a smidgen, but by a lot.

i like being competitive. i like having a team that is almost assured of qualifying for the postseason for the next 5-7 years. don't get me wrong. but if we plateau here, that will be a massive disappointment. i'm still wondering how the team, considering its youth, can possibly be anywhere near content with this season- in many ways a replica of last. imo, we're not being as patient as we want to believe- rather, we're simply failing to improve very much. there's a difference.

now, what do we need? don't know. but i want to shelve the excuses for underachievement as soon as possible. i'm not saying that with an emotional breath either. i'm just stating it as fact. excuses do not befit champions. the sooner we look in the mirror and acknowledge that we need to (and can) get better now, the sooner we can give improvement a chance.

peace

Dee-Zy

Call me crazy but I would be content reaching the plateau of the Suns and Mavs, they are consistently at the top of the league even if they don't win a title. If we could be a team like Mavs or Suns for 5 seasons, I would be happy. I would be content in being an elite team and being respected around the league. Think Pistons minus the championship.

__________________

The "I'm still bitter about the CV-TJ Trade" Club

billfindlay10

That is a nice start....but I want a championship baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:ya y::yay :: clap2:

__________________
The best free online basketball gamewww.cyberdunk.com?ref=248057

Jose Manuel Calderon Fan Club: Pm me to join!
Divine Spammer(founder) adhir1 madman Benis007 shookem Budweiser_Boy CrookedJ tmlblue Chris Bosh #4 alexander vigilante RaptorsCB4 speedythief MjM2xtreMe Juzt_SicK03 MonkeyBallZJr. AirJordan pmac34 Team Mao BaLLiStiX17 McFurious Zuca iNdIaNa31PaCeRs

ballocks

hey, getting to the top level without a title is absolutely fine with me too. to be sure, not everyone can win a championship. not every great team can win a championship. to wit, there are so many teams in the league now... and still only one title. let's for a moment assume there are 10 with title aspirations today and a basketball generation lasts for about 5-7 years. right there you get at least three teams that won't win the big salami (& cheese). and that's an "at least" that assumes none of the ones who do can manage to win more than one. that sort of even distribution at the top is not common.

i can live with not finishing the job. we could have the most talent in the nba, still not finish the job and i could find a way to live with it. no problem. it's not easy to win a title in the age of overexpansion. but sitting in mediocrity and talking about "how great we can be" can only last for so long before the results begin to speak for themselves.

now is the time where you ascend to that level, imo. you don't wait for it like the raps are wont to do; you go there. a basketball generation is short enough. mediocre teams wait, plateau and talk; champions go, go and go. this is where true leadership comes in. do we have it? i don't know. but i can't say i've seen many signs of it... yet.

you could call me a pessimist but i don't think i've ever been one. neither have i been an optimist. quite frankly, i think it's a waste of time to be either. but i can't justify watching this team through rose-coloured glasses anymore. the results are starting to speak for themselves. the time is now.

peace

southeasy