2011-12 San Antonio Spurs Player Notes
Although this San Antonio Spurs squad includes a core that continues growing old every season, they are displaying tremendous resiliency as they continue to get the job done year in and year out. They ended the year as the best team in the Western conference with a 61-21 mark last season.
However that No.1 seed would be for zilch, as they were upset by the 8th seeded Memphis Grizzlies on the way to a lowly first round exit. It has become a dreadful trend in recent seasons as their incredible regular season play would only result to displeasing playoff performances.
The Spurs management have been tired in breaking up their present core and start over. The San Antonio front office can’t be blamed but since the team is churning out winning seasons (at least in the regular season) year in and year out. Nonetheless they’re risking themselves of falling down hard if they do not reconstruct shortly.
Their best player Tim Duncan is 35, all star Manu Ginobili is 34, Richard Jefferson is 31 and even former Finals MVP Tony Parker turns 30 in May. Duncan played second fiddle to Ginobili last season as he saw a major decrease in production, scoring only 13.4 points and grabbing just 8.9 boards a contest. Miles away from his career marks of 20.6 points and 11.4 boards.
Ginobili stepped up and played as their main guy down the stretch last season. It’s likely he will continue to be utilised as the go-to scorer for San Antonio as Duncan desires all of the rest he can get preparing for the postseason. Manu put up 17.4 points, 4.9 dimes and 1.5 steals last year. In the meantime Parker had a productive season scoring 17.5 points and dishing out 6.6 assists too. Jefferson has been a disappointment though, putting up just 11 points and 3.8 boards for San Antonio.
The Spurs were really active this offseason trading away talented PG George Hill to the Pacers in exchange for the 15th selection in the draft Kawhi Leonard. They also used their own draft picks on Cory Joseph (no. 29), Davis Bertans (no. 49) and Adam Hanga (no. 59). They also signed PG TJ Ford in spite of his personality issues. With the vet presence and the business-like atmosphere of this organisation, it is quite likely that they can keep TJ Ford in line.
San Antonio has done some peculiar things to complete their offseason. They resigned Steve Novak but subsequently let him go before the season even began. They also cut Antonio McDyess, which is weird considering he used to be a key contributor to the team’s success last year. At age 37 though, Mcdyess definitely don’t have too many seasons left in the tank.
Tiago Splitter and Dejuan Blair will be dividing time at the five as starter and backup respectively. The 6’11″ Brazilian put up just 4.6 points and 3.4 boards in his first season in the league. The 26 year old could be in for a breakout year though as he will be handed the reins as the starting center for the Spurs. 6’7″ Blair has shown to be a deal after being taken in the second round of the 2009 draft. He put up 8.3 points and 7 boards last season.
Western Conference Pick: 2nd Southwest Division – After spending so much effort on earning the top seed in the postseason last season only to see it backfire, the Spurs are going to take another approach this year. While seeding will still matter, coach Gregg Popovich will not put seeding over the fitness of his team.
The point of interest for the Spurs this season is to be get their players habitually healthy in time for the postseason, while also keeping their vets rested down the stretch. That is with our NBA predictions we think San Antonio is still one of the finest groups in the West, and they’re sufficiently good to hold down the No. 2 spot in this division. Expect San Antonio to have a Top 4 seed entering the playoffs and being a tough out before losing in the second round.
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