Been a Spurs fan all my life and I have to say in my 19 years of existence I have not enjoyed watching them as much as I do now.

I too enjoy watching paint dry

good post followed by a terrible uninformed (troll?) post. welcome to 2010. the spurs are 25-3, fast breaking, scoring lots of points, and occasionally locking down on D.

gary neal is a monster

I too have been a lifelong Spurs fan and I've never seen this type of ridiculously good play from them right off the bat. This team, though, is probably the most fun to watch since the 2005 team (though that'll probably change should these current Spurs bring back Larry #5).

That '05 team was just such a joy to watch--they'd beat you slow, they'd beat you fast, they'd blow you out, or they'd grind you out. This 2010 Spurs team doesn't have that amoeba-like ability the '05 team had, but the scary thing is at the rate they fill up a highlight reel (ESPN be damned), they might not have to.

Keep it rolling, San Antonio!

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occasionally locking down on D

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What was it, something like 2 baskets in the final 5 minutes for Denver last night? Granted, they didn't have 'Melo, but that's still pretty good.

The Spurs really aren't playing all that great of ball right now, just enough to get by. Their defense is extremely shaky. I don't know how many points in the paint they gave up last night. Hopefully Hill and Anderson's return can shore that up. And Parker looked horrendous last night.

Gary Neal's production is very encouraging though. Sean Elliott keeps comparing him to a small Vinny Johnson.

Oh, and It was nice to see Splitter getting some minutes and making the most of them.

The Spurs are #9 in defensive efficiency right now. Thats far more than enough to get by when you are #1 in offensive efficiency. It is also why they are currently #1 in the NBA.

I don't neccissarily buy into the defensive/offensive efficiency stuff. The fact is, they are 15th in opponent's points per game and 16th in opponent's field goal percentage. That isn't going to cut it against the elite.

I agree. And the Spurs have been aided by a very forgiving early-season schedule. The fact that they have taken advantage of it is very promising, as they have tended to play down to their opponents in years past. That said, their 25-3 record must be prefaced with the fact that their opponent's SOS is 22nd in the league, and they've played more games at home than any other team.

There are only three teams doing better than hovering around .500 against teams with winning records...

Boston 11-2
San Antonio 10-2
Dallas 12-3

I'm amazed at the offensive production. They're up over 106 pts per game and they're not doing it by letting the other team score and running back at them. Pts per game is not a very telling stat. It's too dependent on the style of play.

To me the most important stat for this team is health. They've been able to withstand Anderson going down and the recent injury to Hill. All the while, Manu and Parker lead the team in minutes but they only average about 31 or 32 per game. Duncan is under 30. That tells me they're not selling out to win these games early. Pop is using everyone and they're still pulling out wins. That's VERY encouraging.

For comparison's sake, LaBron is averaging 37 mins, Wade 36, Dirk 36, Pierce 35, Bryant 33, Gasol 38.5 and Garnet 32.

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The Spurs really aren't playing all that great of ball right now, just enough to get by. Their defense is extremely shaky. I don't know how many points in the paint they gave up last night. Hopefully Hill and Anderson's return can shore that up. And Parker looked horrendous last night.

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What's the Spurs record again?

Don't get me wrong. I'm ecstatic with their record. But if they keep playing the kind of inconsistent defense we've seen over this 10 game streak for the next two weeks, we will see that league/conference/division leading record fall pretty quickly.

Three of the Spurs last four games have been against two teams in the top three of the NBA for offense.

Team | Avg Off | Off Against Spurs | Difference
Minnesota|102.5|101|-1.5
New Orleans|94.4|84|-10.4
Golden State|101.5|94|-7.5
Atlanta|96.8|92|-4.8
Portland|95|78|-17
Milwaukee|91.4|90|-1.4
Denver|107.2|112|4.8
Memphis|99.7|100*|0.3 (OT Game, 100 in regulation)
Phoenix|108.5|110|1.5
Denver|107.2|103|-4.2

Overall|100.42|96.4|-4.02

The Spurs have given up more than the opposing team typically scores three times in the past ten games.

For reference the Mavs have held their opponents to 2.91 points under their offensive average over the past ten games.

By what standard has the Spurs defensive been "inconsistent...over this 10 game streak"

[This message has been edited by Tennerman (edited 12/23/2010 4:10p).]

By inconsistent I mean not playing good defense from quarter to quarter. They give up large leads, then play great lock down defense for a quarter, maybe two, to eventually pull it out. But their average opponent's ppg this win streak is lower than their season average which I didn't realize. I just know that they were ranked better in opponent ppg and fg% earlier in the year. I'm wrong. I'm still not happy with their defense though...They can be much better.

[This message has been edited by ItalAggie (edited 12/23/2010 4:41p).]

I do agree with you about the defense. For example last night they were lucky to overcome their TERRIBLE 3rd quarter where JR Smith had his way with them as they pleased. However, kudos to Pop for switching to the zone which shut them down. But yes, I would like to see their defense perform at a higher level.

Even Sean Elliot, who calls the games for FSN, has often commented that the Spurs still aren't playing their highest level of basketball.

they look terrible tonight. but then again, orlando can't miss tonight.

To go back to the original thread title, I'd say the most fun offensive Spurs team since the days of Gervin/Kenon/Silas. Many on this board are too young to remember those Doug Moe teams where the defense was something other teams played, but the O could score at will. Miss the old Hemisfair arena!

I was at a few games in the Gervin days, but Silas and Kenon were before my time. Back when I was little it was Gervin/Mitchell/Moore, who were pretty good in their own right. Also had the A-train cleaning up the breaks.

great game to watch. incredible team effort by the spurs and I think it was an incredible display of defense. the lakers shot only 35% from the field, which is the lowest of any opponent they've played at home this year. Also a solid game from blair, guy surely has his moments where he looks like he's only still a 2nd year player but other times he just pulls out some amazing moves.