Padrino
All-Star
these seem in conflict with each other. you can't have it both ways. if their lack of athleticism was a detriment to their defense, then why did it power their offense? here's the facts of the case: 2nd in points scored, 16th in points allowed. the spurs played fast, and it hurt their defensive intensity. i'm a huge fan of gregg popovich and the manner in which he's adapted as a coach over the years. i think last season's experiment was a great success, as well. but make no mistake, they didn't get stomped by OKC because they were at a loss for talent. not even close. you don't post a .758 win percentage if you're at a loss for talent. but their offense occasionally sputtered in the face of OKC's steady defense, and their lack of discipline on the defensive end kept them from competing down the stretch of those tight games. though they were no longer a sharp team, defensively, the change in culture was necessary, in my estimation. they can't play back-to-the-basket with tim duncan anymore. they just can't. and he's not the defensive anchor he used to be. so pop did the right thing. he altered the gameplan, and it kept them very competitive, and earned them a tie for the best record in the nba...
my point was that you have to look at both sides of the ball to determine how a team will find success on the defensive end. uptempo offensive styles simply do not lend themselves to stalwart transition or half court defenses. name a single uptempo team in the history of the nba that dominated the major defensive categories (outside of rebounds). you'll find none. pop gambled and made the sacrifice, because the talent on his roster rendered it so. but because it was veteran talent, the spurs only fell off to the middle of the pack, defensively, rather than, say, last place, where the kings reside in most defensive categories. the kings are far too young to be gambled with in the way that keith smart insists. there's not veteran presence enough on this team to keep them in the middle of the pack, defensively, when they're playing in an offense that demands the majority of their effort. they are young players learning bad habits in an undisciplined system. pop's system is controlled. it is fluid. you can see it in every play. its like watching the vintage kings of 1999-2002. but, in both instances, those are veteran players holding each other accountable within a disciplined system. smart does not have the acumen to coach at the level of gregg popovich or rick adelman, and he doesn't have the kind of veteran talent necessary to succeed where those coaches have succeeded, either. i maintain that smart would be better off coaching a disciplined half court offense that focuses on both the pick and roll and cuts to the rim, so that his players might develop greater defensive discipline in transition...
