Pop Culture, Vol. 8

by

Aldridge (Forms)

We’ve shied away from the traditional recaps you can find all over the interwebs, but we still have a few thoughts after each game. For more as they happen, be sure to follow 48MoH on Twitter. You’ll find our post-game grades in emoji form there.

Trevor Zickgraf

I’m not sure what the Spurs’ ceiling is, but it’s clear they’re not near it and they’re still really good right now. It’s clear the first unit offense is still figuring things out. How could they not be. Everyone but Danny Green is basically shifting to a new role. Tony Parker can pick his spots and Tim Duncan can REALLY pick his spots. LaMarcus Aldridge is still figuring out when to take over and when to work in the flow of the offense and Kawhi Leonard is trying to understand carrying a larger load. However, the defense looks really sharp already. 48 Minutes of Hell friend Zach Lowe likes to point out how menacing Oklahoma City can be on defense because of their length, especially on the front line. I think you can say the same for San Antonio when Kawhi, LaMarcus and Duncan are on the court.

Doug Collins made a point of mentioning this on the ESPN broadcast, but the style of play is so different when the bulk of the bench is in. That starts with Manu Ginobili. He looks better right now than any time last season and it results in chaos on the court. He’s been a disruptive force on offense, setting up teammates at will and getting his own shot when the opportunity presents itself. He’s a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate. He’s second on the team in PER at 24.31, which is insanely good. David West and lately, Rasual Butler, have slid into that frenetic system very nicely and it’s clear when the starters exit, the bench keeps up the pressure. The Spurs are good, they’re going to get better and it’s not totally clear how much better they can be.

Caleb Saenz

“Loyalty to any one sports team is pretty hard to justify,” Jerry Seinfeld once said . “You’re actually rooting for the clothes, when you get right down to it.”

For a franchise known for hiring and developing “good guys,” the Spurs are no strangers to the sound of fervent boos. Everyone who was in a Suns jersey on the night Steve Nash had his hip rocked has gone to another team or left the league altogether, but that hasn’t stopped fans in Phoenix from letting the old guys in silver and black have it when their names are read before a game. Kawhi Leonard was still going through puberty when Robert Horry squared up and leaned in, but to people cheering for the Suns, this is immaterial. Any player in San Antonio’s funeral shades is the enemy, a threat to a fan’s investment – financial, emotional, imaginary. There is little logic behind the emotions of fandom, but the feelings inspired are sincere.

LaMarcus Aldridge returned to what had been his home for nearly a decade Wednesday night and got a taste of how quickly the world can move with a simple change of clothes. The booing wasn’t overwhelming – certainly not the loudest a Spur in a number 12 jersey has ever heard – but it was definitely there, mixed with the cheers, an emotional reminder of the fault lines NBA summers often establish.

Spurs fans, having retained all of their franchise centerpieces, are lucky enough to have never experienced such complex and conflicting emotions. But it isn’t just Blazers fans who had a difficult time dealing with this summer. Aldridge, too, wrestled with his decision. Yesterday, Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski gave readers a peek behind the scenes – very much worth your time if you haven’t read it yet – and revealed how for Aldridge, no concern trumped what would actually transpire on the court. Unlike other teams, the Spurs pitched Aldridge without formality or pretense. There were no championship rings to display, no slide presentations to walk through, no cell phones to distract. There was just basketball.

So in an emotional return on Wednesday night, Aldridge didn’t do much to address the crowd. There were no taunts given to fire back at the booing, no tearful acknowledgment of his record-setting body of work to respond to the cheers. All Aldridge did was play. Just like he used to in Portland. Just like he does now in San Antonio. In a profession where loyalty became a meme, the only thing left to pledge to is the game.

  • brunostrange

    Not sure I’d agree that the Spurs are really good right now, but we’re starting to see glimpses of how good they can be. The defensive intensity has been a welcome development, and the bench play - particularly in terms of offense and energy - has been tremendous, but the starters are not playing well offensively. I understand that it takes time for the new pieces to fit together, and I also get that Green will eventually snap out of his slump, but I also think there is a distinct possibility that having two big men share the floor is going to be a problem in terms of clogging up lanes and spacing. Incidentally, the second unit’s Achilles heel is the lack of a rim protector, which makes one wonder if the best way to address the two issues I just described is by moving TD or Aldridge to the second unit? I imagine such a suggestion borders on blasphemy, but I bet by season’s end, either Timmy or LaMarcus will be logging more minutes playing alongside the bench than anyone anticipated.

  • jon walters

    The second unit could make the playoffs, but I guess that is stating the obvious. Kawhi is clearl the team’s best player but I think the next best three players so far have been Manu, Patty, and Boris. I agree but it is just incredible that Manu could be a 6th man candidate. Luke Walton recently said that GS has the best bench in the league, but that is SO wrong. The Spurs have the best bench, and by miles. And kudos to David West and Rasual Butler, who also have been very good and have seamlessly fit in with the three other bench studs.

  • Phasteddie

    I agree that the starting five are having problems scoring, but when Timmy, Tony and Danny are subbed out for Boris, Manu and Patty, suddenly the ball starts moving as well as using the spot ups when there is a mismatch. I don’t know why this happens, but it is clearly happening. I think it is just a matter of time for the starting five to start clicking.
    Just keep in mind that the bench includes Kawhi and LaMarcus, surprisingly.

  • jon walters

    Well I have my opinion as to why. Parker, for all his gifts, has always been a ball stopper. Making the next pass is not exactly his forte. When Pop said the second unit “moves the ball better”, believe me, he has Parker in mind. And Green is SO limited offensively. He’s strictly a catch and shoot player, and if he isn’t shooting it well, he’s a liability offensively. But that ends the criticism. Duncan remains incredible and he’s just stuck right now playing with the 3rd and 4th best guards on the team.

  • Tyler

    The second unit could make the playoffs in the West???

    Hmmmmmmm…..I’d take the other side of that bet. I agree - SA probably has the best bench in the league, but extrapolating SA’s bench minutes (against other teams’ benches primarily) over the course of 82 games is a little ambitious.

    And just to clarify, I mean the bench as in bench only players, not LA or Kawhi, which have been playing a lot of minutes with the bench lately, as noted by others.

  • Tyler

    Re: rim protector on the 2nd unit - isn’t this really just a regular season problem? In the playoffs, TD and LA’s minutes are going up. There’s not going to be as many minutes with one of them off the court compared to the regular season. And really, how many teams truly have 3 rim protectors capable of playing in the playoffs? GS, LA, Memphis, Houston, and OK really don’t have more than 2. If anything, I think SA is just as good at the rim when you factor in Kawhi and Green.

    Do you mean Pop would have TD or LA come off the bench, as in not start the game? IMO, Pop would never do that to LA or TD (or TP for that matter). Coming off the bench is a different mindset, and it involves egos and confidence, something despite his persona, Pop really cares about. I think having any of the three come off the bench would be detrimental to the player’s confidence, and also needlessly jumble rotations and individual roles.

  • Ryan McShane

    You’re right about the bench not being able to make it on their own… but do you think a Mills/Ginobili/Diaw/Leonard/Aldridge starting unit could make the playoffs? Let’s assume Ginobili still only logs 20 min a night.

  • Ryan McShane

    You’re right, but I could definitely see Duncan taking a bench role. He’s playing bench minutes right now, and it could really help team chemistry if he took that role. And at this stage in his career, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see him do that. I actually think he’s STILL a better power forward than Aldridge, but Aldridge is part of the future of this franchise (on the floor), and Duncan will be, at best, part of the team’s front office/coaching staff’s future.

    But the Spurs have real spacing issues and I think that Danny Green’s shooting percentage is really suffering because of the lack of spacing with Duncan, Kawhi, and Aldridge on the floor. I’m not even sure what spacing Parker provides, but he can at least spot up in the corner if he has to. If the line-ups don’t change, I would like to see Leonard and Aldridge spot up for three more often. Aldridge became a solid three point shooter last season, and he could surely replicate that this season. It’s not too late to teach an old dog new tricks, and if he wants to fit in on the Spurs, he’s going to have to shoot from the three point line more often like Chris Bosh did in Miami during the LeBron era.

    The Spurs are amazing on defense with Green, Leonard, Duncan, and Aldridge - probably better than with Splitter. And if it wasn’t clear, Green is a huge part of that. He can take on a second wing or a point guard if needed while Leonard takes on the other wing. I think the only offensive counter to their defense in the league would be a Golden State line-up of Curry, Iguodala, and Draymond.

  • jon walters

    I know Green has a good reputation as a defender, but I disagree. He does make plays such as stripping the ball and blocking shots, but he can’t keep anyone in front of him. He is woefully slow laterally, and is the worst wing on the team in fighting thru picks. Watch carefully the next few games and see how many times he gets beaten off the dribble and also how often he is lagging behind fighting thru a off ball screen. In the Sac game the announcer said the Spurs had no answer to the play where Belinelli was coming off of a weak side screen and hitting a jumper. Sure there is, I thought, take Green out. And that played never worked when Manu was guarding Belinelli.

  • Tyler

    Probably - still two elite players and three average or above players. Defense would be an issue.

  • Tyler

    The only way TD goes to the bench is if he asks to IMO.

    And I agree - spacing is a real issue. But is it because their skill sets don’t mesh, or because LA and the rest of the group simply don’t know the spots to be and when to be there? To me it’s the latter - LA simply looks confused at times. Also, the starters are short circuiting a lot of sets when Kawhi or LA has a mismatch in the post - they simply stop everything and go after the mouse. And when teams double in reaction, many times the other 4 aren’t in great position, which leads to it looking somewhat haphazard and choatic. Those type of “basketball plays” (meaning just read and react type things) don’t always come naturally - it takes time.

    I 100% agree on more 3’s from LA - he’s absolutely capable of taking 2-3 a game and shooting in the high 30%’s. I think this will come in time. I really believe Pop when he says they aren’t coaching LA right now; they’re just letting him play.

    One thing I think you saw against Portland was a concerted effort to get easy duck-ins by LA when TD had the ball at the high post. It happened 3-4 times with positive results. That is something I think we’ll see more of from TD, LA and also Kawhi; simple, easy quick-hitters in the half court and especially in their secondary break stuff.

  • Ryan McShane

    You’re not wrong about Green in the Sacramento game. To be fair, Green was matched up with two guys have lost their jobs with the Spurs because of him (Anderson because of Green’s shooting and Beli because of Green’s D). I know Manu didn’t have as many problems with Beli, but I think part of it was motivation.

    Also, Green is probably the best fast-break defender the Spurs have. And his blocks per game average last season was the 19th highest ever by a shooting guard 6’6″ or shorter. He’s no Bruce Bowen and no Kawhi Leonard (or even a Manu Ginobili, who was also a solid defender back in the day), but he’s still the second-best wing defender on the Spurs. Aside from his three-point shooting, that’s why he got paid so much this summer.

    Green is the odd man out with this new Leonard/Aldridge post-up offense in the starting unit, as he depends spacing and ball movement. I’m guessing that’s going to lead to some confidence issues for him.

  • Ryan McShane

    Based on TD’s attitude (see Duncan’s behavior for the last eight minutes of the Blazers game sitting on the bench). I included a picture. He looked like a proud father! If Duncan decides to take a bench role, he will be lauded again for making sacrifices for his team. And if he did it early enough, he could even win 6th man of the year. (Right now Ginobili could earn that title).

    I think you’re right about the offense stopping when Aldridge or Leonard have a good opportunity in the post. I think they’re going to get better at spacing the floor and passing the ball. But to some extent, they’re a little offensively limited with those three on the floor. Somehow, the Spurs are still eighth in points scored per game. It’s probably too soon to separate the signal from the noise on why that is.

    As for the Aldridge integration, you’re right as well. I would look at Boris Diaw’s transition to the Spurs as how that integration might look. Fortunately, Aldridge will have a full 82 games to be integrated into the team before the playoffs start.

  • brunostrange

    Fair enough re: 2nd unit rim protector. However, the issue remains in my view that the starting line up as presently constituted is not optimal. It’s led to clunky offense so far, and while I expect the team’s synch to increase as the season goes on, it’s not the sort of offense that is going to generate enough points on a consistent basis to beat GS, which is really the goal here, right? A title, which is going to mean a showdown with the Warriors. And the offense from the starting unit is clunky, plain and simple. It’ll likely get somewhat better as the season goes on, but by design a unit featuring 2 bigs and 2 primarily iso players (KL and LA) is inherently a more clunky one that one based on spacing and ball movement (there’s a reason the rest of the league rushed to copy to the Spurs 2012-2014 offense - it works). If Parker were still the offensive threat he was, say, three years ago, it’d be a different story as he really was the opposing defense’s focus and the primary playmaker, but that’s no longer the case…in absence of that, I think we’d benefit from opening up the floor a little bit more. Hence my suggestion of bringing TD or LA off the bench - which, you’re 100% right, it’s not a realistic suggestion (blasphemy, I think I called it) because of confidence issues - and I think that’s completely 100% legitimate. If we were talking cold, X’s and O’s, I think such a suggestion makes more sense, though.

  • brunostrange

    “The only way TD goes to the bench is if he asks to IMO.”

    Agree. And I’ll add that I wouldn’t be shocked if that were to happen by season’s end. I wouldn’t bet on it, but it wouldn’t shock me.