Bertans was surprisingly stout defending in the paint last year.
This would allow the Spurs to play both Mills and Murray, or give Davis Bertans more minutes.
If the Spurs want to get really crazy, Gay can even play the five at times: Better yet, let Murray hang on Iguodala and let Green or Leonard challenge Steph. If Murray isn’t ready, Patty Mills will at least scrap on defense and is an offensive upgrade. We’ll see if Murray can stick with Steph Curry, but that would allow Green, Leonard and Gay to rotate on Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala. Aldridge’s defense has been solid for the Spurs, and he can hang with Draymond Green, knowing their are four long defenders who can help at the rim. But Rudy Gay unleashes a potential lineup of Murray-Green-Leonard-Gay-Aldridge that will be as good as it gets against the Warriors. There’s too many flashy storylines elsewhere, too many All-Stars who switched teams that will get first billing. Rudy Gay will be the biggest experiment nobody is talking about this NBA season. It’s probably not enough, but the Spurs positional size will force the Warriors go to plan C. It’s annoying to go up against players who can both pressure up on the ball and have the length and quickness to stay with the play and prevent straight line drives to the rim. The Oklahoma City Thunder went up 3-1 playing this style two postseasons ago and the Spurs have shown it to work themselves, until Leonard’s injury in last year’s semifinals. If the Warriors have shown any weakness it’s to long, athletic teams that can also pound the offensive glass. You know Popovich will somehow turn Joffrey Lauvergne into a competent defender as well, much like he did with David Lee last season. He’s a liability out in space, but the Spurs have the perimeter defense to fight over, under and through screens and allow the Gasol to hang out by the basket. But Pau Gasol was key to stopping the Rockets in last year’s playoffs. Add LaMarcus Aldridge, who is a huge body at the four, and who is still big at the five against the Warriors lineup of death, and the Spurs have big bodies that make it difficult for opponents to move through their offense. Rudy Gay presents a third long perimeter defender, albeit nowhere near Leonard or Green, who could shine at the four. Both can guard positions one through four, and their ability to take turns on opposing stars is a rarity in the NBA. The Spurs have the best defensive wing combo in the league in Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. His shooting mechanics leave a lot to be desired, but his ability to penetrate and finish at difficult angles should offset the loss of Simmons. He was unafraid in the playoffs last year, and should breakout in year two as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich trusts him more. Dejounte Murray is a 6-foot-5 point guard with the length to disrupt opposing lead guards and some wings: But the Spurs have size throughout their roster, starting in the backcourt. When people talk about size, they mistakenly think about big men clanking post-ups and an inefficient style of play in the modern NBA. The Spurs won 67 games in 2015-2016 and 61 games in 2016-2017, and may be even better equipped to defend the Warriors this year: Although criticism off the offseason has some merit, you can’t win games in the summer. Put it all together, and many feel like the Thunder and Rockets moved ahead of San Antonio with their respective additions of Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and several good role players. Unlike other teams in the West that added superstars, the Spurs’ offseason was ridiculed as they overpaid Pau Gasol, added injury-prone Rudy Gay and lost Jonathon Simmons, who played a significant role in the playoffs last year. But after an enthralling offseason that saw the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder add future hall of famers in an effort to compete with the Warriors, it’s easy to forget how close the Spurs were to going up 1-0 in the Western Conference Finals, with a chance to put pressure on Golden State. Today’s feature is from Eli Horowitz, assistant men’s basketball coach at Caltech & NBA/WNBA analyst):īarring injury, the Warriors should repeat as NBA champions in 2017-2018. Starting today, we will be including a weekly feature from our rotation of outstanding NBA analysts. (Note: We are expanding our original content at Basketball Intelligence.