Wednesday, March 4th, 2009...11:04 am
The 2009 Offense
Is the current Spurs squad the best offensive team of the Popovich era? Many fans like to think so, and I’m inclined to agree with them. Having said this, it’s not the sort of claim that is immediately apparent to NBA followers. What follows is a short explanation of the Spurs improved offense.
The Spurs upgraded their offense in the offseason by replacing Jacque Vaughn with George Hill and Michael Finley with Roger Mason Jr. I won’t soapbox on the positives here; they’re already obvious to most of you. Michael Finley then replaced Bruce Bowen in the starting lineup. Even though Finley is old and streaky, this amounts to a clear offense for defense swap. In addition to this, the Spurs lucked into a breakout season from Matt Bonner. All of these are subtle changes, but the accumulative effect is more scoring.
These subtle yet significant changes have been mitigated, and in some sense hidden from view, by one key factor: injury, and especially injury to Manu Ginobili. But even with injuries, the Spurs offensive rating is 108.2, the second highest mark of a Popovich-coached team. Pop’s highest mark was set during the ’07 championship run-the Spurs ORtg charted at 109.2 that year.
The Spurs will soon add Ginobili and Drew Gooden to the rotation, both of whom will only strengthen the offense. The simple addition of Ginobili, without consideration to Gooden, will transform the Spurs offense into a potent machine.
| 08/09 Season |
With Ginobili | Without Ginobili |
| Record | 29-9 | 11-10 |
| PPG | 99.4 | 93.6 |
| FG% | 46.7 | 45.8 |
The Spurs averaged 95.4 PPG last season. In other words, without Ginobili the Spurs are not far removed from last year’s Western Conference Finals team.
Earlier this season, I published a piece that suggested the current Spurs team was the worst defensive team of the Popovich era. Things have changed. Since then, the team defense has picked up considerably. They’re not yet where they’ve been in past seasons, but they’re within reach of past performance. If their defense continues to improve, the 2009 Spurs could enter the playoffs all reared and ready for another run.
13 Comments
March 4th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Tim,
Great post, great number crunching…
Hopefully, Drew Gooden won’t screw the team’s defensive scheme too much…who knows, maybe in an odd year, we can get our fifth O’brien
GSG
Martin
March 4th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Good article… and a question… do you think Pop will start Bowen in the playoffs instead of going for Finley’s scoring?
March 4th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Hard to say. I actually prefer Pop going to the bench for D. Let Finley start, use Bowen as a cooler.
March 4th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Hey guys, a great article on the Spurs as a team.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/03/04/spurs/index.html
Go Spurs Go!
March 4th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Roland…
Thanks that was a great read!
-C
March 4th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Roland,
Great article…I check SI.com constantly and I have probably missed this article
M
March 4th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Any word on Manu? Without him we go nowhere.
March 4th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
I think you may be underestimating the impact that Brent Berry had. Mason is not the shooter (too streaky) or passer that he was. Definitely better on D, though. Maybe he’s the right compromise between Bowen and Berry.
March 4th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Pops gone!!
http://www.nba.com/spurs/mensah_bonsu_released_090304.html
Will he go back to Austin?
March 4th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I’m not sure we’d want Barry this season, anyway, ruth. Have you seen him play for the Rockets lately? Yeah… me neither. And last season he only played in 31 games for us. I don’t see how Tim could underestimate him.
Love the upbeat tone, Tim.
March 4th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Your San Antonio Stonecutters!
I like the sound of that. Anyway, I am of the few here that keep saying that the offense is the best we have had in years and if (when) the defense reaches its highest point…odd year baby!
March 6th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Roland, thanks for the link. It was a good article.
The only rub would be that silliness where he compared Duncan Tony and Manu as tenured profesors and the others adjunct faculty. It a game with a rubber ball, dude. I expect more from SI writers.
Mark Jackson likes to call Tim Duncan, “A Scientist!” WTF? Just because Jackson never learned to shoot a bank shot doesn’t make it nanophysics.
March 9th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
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