The Sputtering Spurs - Season Review
Feb 25, 2014 4:24:06 GMT
Post by cyrisnyte on Feb 25, 2014 4:24:06 GMT
With the #1 selection in the NAH draft the San Antonio Spurs select…Anthony Davis.
Remember that? The Spurs put their franchise in the hands of not LeBron James or Kevin Durant but that of the Unibrow.
The "Brow", he is on the right by the way.
So what did that first season look like?
THE STARTERS
Collison driving to the basket.
The role of starting point guard for the Spurs went to Darren Collison. The 6'1" point guard out of UCLA had a steady but unspectacular season for the Spurs. He was the teams 3rd leading scorer, putting up 12.5 ppg. He also managed 5.9 apg but also turned the ball over a horrible 3.8 times per game. He did not do much in the way of defense which the Spurs were hoping more of from the young player. He heads into the off-season with an expiring contract but is a player the Spurs have said they may not renounce and look to bring back.
Wesley Matthews paced the Spurs with 13.3 ppg.
You know you are in trouble from a team perspective when your leading scorer, your shooting guard, puts up just 13.3 ppg. If you are not playing defense like the old Detroit Piston Bad Boys, you are in for a long season. Wesley saw many of his statistics take a nose dive. The most frightening being his career low three point percent coming in at just 36.0% and he also matched his career low field goal percent, hitting 41.2% from the floor. He also saw a major spike in his turnovers per game, going from a career high 1.7 to 2.5 while wearing the silver & black. Matthews is under contract for another two years and was really looked at as the player to lead the Spurs in scoring, just not at 13.3 per game.
Big value on a little contract!
At the three, the Spurs ran out yet another young player in Chandler Parsons. Parsons was the second leading scorer on the Spurs this past season coming in at 12.7 ppg. He was woeful though from the field, hitting on only 37.6% of his shots. The Spurs will be looking for Parsons to up that percentage this next season after a rookie campaign that saw him hit 45.2% of his shots. Parsons is on a great deal, as he will make under a million dollars per season for the next two years. Parsons was the team leader in steals at 1.3 per game and rebounded well for a SF bringing in 5.1 per game.
Anthony Davis to all his haters.
A triple double in pre-season? This really set up AD for a year with a lot of eyes on him. This is the guy the Spurs took with the #1 overall pick? He didn't live up to the hype, but he showed flashes of what lies ahead. At just 19 years old, AD led the Spurs in Blocks with 2.8 per game and rebounds with 7.2 per game. While those numbers don't WOW you, they are from a 1st year player who played only 28.8 mpg. This is a young man that once he hits his potential, will re-write the record books on defense. Sure he's going to struggle and have some more growing pains but as the Spurs assemble the right roster around him…watch out!
Oden one and done in San Antonio?
Greg Oden put on the silver & black as the Spurs started up in the NAH. Oden led the starters with an amazing 58.3% from the floor and added in 6.0 rpg in 25.4 minutes of action. The center was on a one year deal and with the play of John Henson who will talk about in a moment, the belief in San Antonio is that AD will slide to center and Henson will start at PF next season. Oden played well and actually suited up for all 82 games in the season. Many fear his durability but he has shown he can stay on the floor for a full season now and should have many suitors come the off-season.
John Henson came close to a season similar to AD.
The first man off the bench was rookie John Henson. Henson who was the 6th man for the Spurs put up 11.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg as well as 1.5 bpg. The rookie also was great from the floor as he hit on 55.5% of his shots. The Spurs brought in David Robinson who worked with Anthony Davis and John Henson on their post up game and really tried to get them to quit taking so many jumpers. Henson looks to be the starting PF as the Spurs head into next season.
So what went right?
The young players got a lot of PT. This is important as they learn to play with each other on the court. They have to learn to trust one another as well as get use to one another's tendencies.
Smart drafting by GM Cyrisnyte means the Spurs will have massive cap space as they head into their first off-season in NAH history. The Spurs will be looking to upgrade at the 1 & 2.
So what went wrong?
Three point shooting was hard on the Spurs. They could not find a player who could knock down the three ball with a lot of consistency. The thought was Wesley Matthews would be that player but it never happened as Cyrisnyte had envisioned.
AD was raw and will need time to develop. A lot of criticism was hurled towards Cyrisnyte for passing on known superstars in Lerbron and Durant. At the end of the day though, the potential that is there with AD was just to much to pass on.
The Outlook
Depending on how things play out in the draft…Free Agency seems to be where the Spurs will make or break their 2nd season in the NAH. The Spurs need scoring and they need it badly. The only question is can they find it?
34-48, not a horrible record but not a record that the team with the #1 selection should have had...
Remember that? The Spurs put their franchise in the hands of not LeBron James or Kevin Durant but that of the Unibrow.
The "Brow", he is on the right by the way.
So what did that first season look like?
THE STARTERS
Collison driving to the basket.
The role of starting point guard for the Spurs went to Darren Collison. The 6'1" point guard out of UCLA had a steady but unspectacular season for the Spurs. He was the teams 3rd leading scorer, putting up 12.5 ppg. He also managed 5.9 apg but also turned the ball over a horrible 3.8 times per game. He did not do much in the way of defense which the Spurs were hoping more of from the young player. He heads into the off-season with an expiring contract but is a player the Spurs have said they may not renounce and look to bring back.
Wesley Matthews paced the Spurs with 13.3 ppg.
You know you are in trouble from a team perspective when your leading scorer, your shooting guard, puts up just 13.3 ppg. If you are not playing defense like the old Detroit Piston Bad Boys, you are in for a long season. Wesley saw many of his statistics take a nose dive. The most frightening being his career low three point percent coming in at just 36.0% and he also matched his career low field goal percent, hitting 41.2% from the floor. He also saw a major spike in his turnovers per game, going from a career high 1.7 to 2.5 while wearing the silver & black. Matthews is under contract for another two years and was really looked at as the player to lead the Spurs in scoring, just not at 13.3 per game.
Big value on a little contract!
At the three, the Spurs ran out yet another young player in Chandler Parsons. Parsons was the second leading scorer on the Spurs this past season coming in at 12.7 ppg. He was woeful though from the field, hitting on only 37.6% of his shots. The Spurs will be looking for Parsons to up that percentage this next season after a rookie campaign that saw him hit 45.2% of his shots. Parsons is on a great deal, as he will make under a million dollars per season for the next two years. Parsons was the team leader in steals at 1.3 per game and rebounded well for a SF bringing in 5.1 per game.
Anthony Davis to all his haters.
A triple double in pre-season? This really set up AD for a year with a lot of eyes on him. This is the guy the Spurs took with the #1 overall pick? He didn't live up to the hype, but he showed flashes of what lies ahead. At just 19 years old, AD led the Spurs in Blocks with 2.8 per game and rebounds with 7.2 per game. While those numbers don't WOW you, they are from a 1st year player who played only 28.8 mpg. This is a young man that once he hits his potential, will re-write the record books on defense. Sure he's going to struggle and have some more growing pains but as the Spurs assemble the right roster around him…watch out!
Oden one and done in San Antonio?
Greg Oden put on the silver & black as the Spurs started up in the NAH. Oden led the starters with an amazing 58.3% from the floor and added in 6.0 rpg in 25.4 minutes of action. The center was on a one year deal and with the play of John Henson who will talk about in a moment, the belief in San Antonio is that AD will slide to center and Henson will start at PF next season. Oden played well and actually suited up for all 82 games in the season. Many fear his durability but he has shown he can stay on the floor for a full season now and should have many suitors come the off-season.
John Henson came close to a season similar to AD.
The first man off the bench was rookie John Henson. Henson who was the 6th man for the Spurs put up 11.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg as well as 1.5 bpg. The rookie also was great from the floor as he hit on 55.5% of his shots. The Spurs brought in David Robinson who worked with Anthony Davis and John Henson on their post up game and really tried to get them to quit taking so many jumpers. Henson looks to be the starting PF as the Spurs head into next season.
So what went right?
The young players got a lot of PT. This is important as they learn to play with each other on the court. They have to learn to trust one another as well as get use to one another's tendencies.
Smart drafting by GM Cyrisnyte means the Spurs will have massive cap space as they head into their first off-season in NAH history. The Spurs will be looking to upgrade at the 1 & 2.
So what went wrong?
Three point shooting was hard on the Spurs. They could not find a player who could knock down the three ball with a lot of consistency. The thought was Wesley Matthews would be that player but it never happened as Cyrisnyte had envisioned.
AD was raw and will need time to develop. A lot of criticism was hurled towards Cyrisnyte for passing on known superstars in Lerbron and Durant. At the end of the day though, the potential that is there with AD was just to much to pass on.
The Outlook
Depending on how things play out in the draft…Free Agency seems to be where the Spurs will make or break their 2nd season in the NAH. The Spurs need scoring and they need it badly. The only question is can they find it?
34-48, not a horrible record but not a record that the team with the #1 selection should have had...