Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Lakers should probably be the favorites. Luckily you still have to play the games.

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If they stay perfectly healthy I think they will be a top 4 team in the west. Assuming they manage the minutes of their stars (which they should given their injury history) I have a hard time seeing how that team is going to generate offense (and play good defense for that matter) when they aren't on the floor. Pretty bold statement from a team who hasn't made the playoffs in years and with two star players, who IMO, have big question marks regarding their health.

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Both Davis and James can carry a team by themselves. I think it's safe to assume they'll win plenty of games unless both guys get hurt. History has shown that teams with two stars like this typically win big. I wish it wasnt true.

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LeBron, yes. Davis proved the opposite of that in NOLA with a better supporting cast (assuming Bron is out of course).

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You serious? He had NOLA in the playoffs and winning a series. Prior to him quitting on the team he had them in playoff contention last season. And we saw what they looked like without him. He's a legit MVP candidate.

Ag Natural said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Lakers should probably be the favorites. Luckily you still have to play the games.

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If they stay perfectly healthy I think they will be a top 4 team in the west. Assuming they manage the minutes of their stars (which they should given their injury history) I have a hard time seeing how that team is going to generate offense (and play good defense for that matter) when they aren't on the floor. Pretty bold statement from a team who hasn't made the playoffs in years and with two star players, who IMO, have big question marks regarding their health.

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Both Davis and James can carry a team by themselves. I think it's safe to assume they'll win plenty of games unless both guys get hurt. History has shown that teams with two stars like this typically win big. I wish it wasnt true.

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LeBron, yes. Davis proved the opposite of that in NOLA with a better supporting cast (assuming Bron is out of course).

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You serious? He had NOLA in the playoffs and winning a series. Prior to him quitting on the team he had them in playoff contention last season. And we saw what they looked like without him. He's a legit MVP candidate.

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That's precisely my point. He took the Pelicans to the playoffs only twice while he was there, never finishing better than 6th. Once to the second round. Once to the first round only to get swept (albeit it was to the Warriors on both occasions). He's a great talent. But he hasn't done anything to show he can lead or carry a team to anything.

With that being said, I think with LeBron as his Robin, the MVP is AD's to lose this season.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Lakers should probably be the favorites. Luckily you still have to play the games.

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If they stay perfectly healthy I think they will be a top 4 team in the west. Assuming they manage the minutes of their stars (which they should given their injury history) I have a hard time seeing how that team is going to generate offense (and play good defense for that matter) when they aren't on the floor. Pretty bold statement from a team who hasn't made the playoffs in years and with two star players, who IMO, have big question marks regarding their health.

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Both Davis and James can carry a team by themselves. I think it's safe to assume they'll win plenty of games unless both guys get hurt. History has shown that teams with two stars like this typically win big. I wish it wasnt true.

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LeBron, yes. Davis proved the opposite of that in NOLA with a better supporting cast (assuming Bron is out of course).

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You serious? He had NOLA in the playoffs and winning a series. Prior to him quitting on the team he had them in playoff contention last season. And we saw what they looked like without him. He's a legit MVP candidate.

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That's precisely my point. He took the Pelicans to the playoffs only twice while he was there, never finishing better than 6th. Once to the second round. Once to the first round only to get swept (albeit it was to the Warriors on both occasions). He's a great talent. But he hasn't done anything to show he can lead or carry a team to anything.

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Yeah well there are only 2 or 3 guys in the history of the league who can lead a team to championships single handedly. But we're talking about winning enough regular season games to be in position to win the west. Labron can rest 20 games and AD will be able to win games still. In the playoffs obviously they will need both.

Marcus Morris already ejected from a game for being a dickweed.

Another poor preseason showing by White. I'd imagine he's deflated by having to come off the bench. Unless there's something else going on. Dude is just stinking it up.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Another poor preseason showing by White. I'd imagine he's deflated by having to come off the bench. Unless there's something else going on. Dude is just stinking it up.

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Yeah he looks like he's afraid to score. Very strange.

Ag Natural said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Another poor preseason showing by White. I'd imagine he's deflated by having to come off the bench. Unless there's something else going on. Dude is just stinking it up.

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Yeah he looks like he's afraid to score. Very strange.

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Plus the high turnovers. A lot of personal fouls and terrible +/- . From what I've read his defense has been atrocious. To me that's a sulky/lack of confidence thing.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Another poor preseason showing by White. I'd imagine he's deflated by having to come off the bench. Unless there's something else going on. Dude is just stinking it up.

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Yeah he looks like he's afraid to score. Very strange.

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Plus the high turnovers. A lot of personal fouls and terrible +/- . From what I've read his defense has been atrocious. To me that's a sulky/lack of confidence thing.

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This sounds bad, but he had to know this was likely going to happen..

It's not like the franchise's investment in DJM goes out the window with an ACL tear last year. Not saying that money has something to do with this, but DJM was the starting PG for a reason before he got hurt. Derrick was always going to be relegated to run the second unit unless his 3 point shooting had a massive turnaround and he could play well off-ball next to DJ and DD.

I understand athletes have a different level of confidence and competitiveness, but I would hope there is some self-awareness too. Derrick is really, really good. But he's not as gifted of an athlete as DJM, he isn't as big as DD, and he doesn't shoot as well as Bryn. That doesn't make him an invaluable NBA player, in fact he's incredibly valuable to this team and its success depends greatly on him playing up to the same level as last year. That just means he doesn't fit with the starting group as well as Bryn right now.

I guess the other option would be for DJ to come off the bench and run all over other teams with that group. Could take a page out of his mentor Crawford's book.

To me I think the major problem is that DeMar and LA are just not a good fit with each other. It causes a lot of awkwardness for others. I think one of them has to go for the others to flourish.

The second unit for years has been successful due to ball movement. DJ is good, but White reads the game better than DJ has shown thus far is his career, which makes me think he's more valuable to the second unit than Murray would be.

I would love to package DeRozen and Poeltl for an upgrade at PF/C and an elite shooter. It's hard to construct a great rotation when you're paying 27 million to a guard who can't shoot, doesn't defend, and becomes completely ineffective in close games.

The lineups and the floor both open up with more shooting and versatility.

Who would even want a slash-only SG for near Max money?

I watched the whole game last night. Now everyone played so it's hard to make real assessments. However, I will say that not many looked totally comfortable. LMA looks good. Forbes looks very confident as a shooter. Poeltl looks very solid. DD looks the same.

Murray and White look out of sync. I think we will be last in the league on 3 pts attempted again. Defensively we should be quite a bit better once everyone figures it out.

Ag Natural said:

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I watched the whole game last night. Now everyone played so it's hard to make real assessments. However, I will say that not many looked totally comfortable. LMA looks good. Forbes looks very confident as a shooter. Poeltl looks very solid. DD looks the same.

Murray and White look out of sync. I think we will be last in the league on 3 pts attempted again. Defensively we should be quite a bit better once everyone figures it out.

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How did you watch the game out of curiosity? Stream?

Enzo The Baker said:

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Ag Natural said:

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I watched the whole game last night. Now everyone played so it's hard to make real assessments. However, I will say that not many looked totally comfortable. LMA looks good. Forbes looks very confident as a shooter. Poeltl looks very solid. DD looks the same.

Murray and White look out of sync. I think we will be last in the league on 3 pts attempted again. Defensively we should be quite a bit better once everyone figures it out.

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How did you watch the game out of curiosity? Stream?

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Yes I have NBA League Pass.

Not me. Presumably someone with a lot of young shooters. His deal runs through the 2020-2021 season. I don't have well-formed thoughts on this, I just know that nothing has happened to change my initial take when he was signed: talented, seems like a good guy, but I'm not sure he gets us any closer to a championship. He's an early 2000s player in a league that has moved on.

Ag Natural said:

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I watched the whole game last night. Now everyone played so it's hard to make real assessments. However, I will say that not many looked totally comfortable. LMA looks good. Forbes looks very confident as a shooter. Poeltl looks very solid. DD looks the same.

Murray and White look out of sync. I think we will be last in the league on 3 pts attempted again. Defensively we should be quite a bit better once everyone figures it out.

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I forgot to mention that Walker looked pretty good to me as well. I could him early a lot of minutes this season.

Nice to see the Spurs play a good game in the preseason. I didn't see it, but LMA and DJ appeared to be highly efficient and White looked like he finally put together a good game.

DeMar didn't play, which makes me wonder, would it make more sense to have him come off the bench? It would really open things up more for the starting lineup. It could give Walker confidence too as a starter. Last year, I believe LMA and DeMar had a slightly negative or break-even +/- when on the floor together (according to Lowe). They really just aren't a good fit together and put a ceiling on this team. I know DeMar (and Pop) would never go for this, but he, White, Patty, and Jakob (he came off the bench tonight) would easily be the best bench in the league.

Might not matter in the playoffs, but I think it could be an optimal move for the regular season.

I did see it. Started with LMA, Murray, Walker, Forbes and Lyles. They actually looked really good. Walker and Murray were being very aggressive and their athleticism showed at both ends. Lyles is a solid glue guy.

It is a little worrisome that they may not look as good with DD put their.

If they're going to keep DDR they really need to look at putting him into the super sub role Manu used to dominate in.

But Pop seems headed towards stupidly giving him the max and shoehorning him into the starting lineup.

It'd be really great if they can swing a trade and ship him somewhere, but I don't know where he'd fit (maybe send him back to Toronto?).

AG 2000' said:

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If they're going to keep DDR they really need to look at putting him into the super sub role Manu used to dominate in.

But Pop seems headed towards stupidly giving him the max and shoehorning him into the starting lineup.

It'd be really great if they can swing a trade and ship him somewhere, but I don't know where he'd fit (maybe send him back to Toronto?).

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Yea. It's going to be hard to justify having him come off the bench. He was the center piece in a trade for our heir apparent. Then you have the amount of money he makes. None of this should matter if we really are a team, but it would shoot DeMar's confidence, and Pop would be hesitant to even ask such a thing.

Not that it was in the cards but a move for Beal would have been ideal. Miami has also been speculated numerous times as a potential trade partner for DeRozan. Would love to get Justice Winslow. I think he's be a fantastic fit. There would also have to be other fillers though, and we would likely have to give up a 1st rounder.

Might explain why he got the start the other night. Jakob does seem to work a lot better with the bench unit anyways.

Unless our guards and wings get injured it's likely Walker gets buried on the bench, which is stupid.

DeMar went 3/3 from 3 though.

What is the outlook for this season ? No playoffs , playoffs ?

I'm ready for the opener. This team needs to get off to a good start while all of the contenders in the West are getting to know themselves. DD with 3 spot up 3s last night was shocking. He actually looked really comfortable. I watch these guys and it's very good when they play Spurs basketball. I.e. catch and move, constant passing. When they get stuck in the rut of one on one plays it really gets ugly. Defensively I think they be much better this season.

Ag Natural said:

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I'm ready for the opener. This team needs to get off to a good start while all of the contenders in the West are getting to know themselves. DD with 3 spot up 3s last night was shocking. He actually looked really comfortable. I watch these guys and it's very good when they play Spurs basketball. I.e. catch and move, constant passing. When they get stuck in the rut of one on one plays it really gets ugly. Defensively I think they be much better this season.

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Yea defense is where they really need to improve. Marco and Patty getting major minutes sure doesn't help that cause, but if we can be in the top half of the league in defense, that could be the difference between a first and second round exit.

4y64mm extension for Dejonte

Guitarsoup said:

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4y64mm extension for Dejonte

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Wow. I actually think that's a great deal for the Spurs. $16 million a year for an all defensive starting point guard who hasn't even sniffed his potential? Assuming he stays healthy that's a freaking steal. Patty makes $12.5 million in comparison. Lol

Unless he can actually make threes now, that's too much.

The Spurs are paying for potential.

If he keeps up an all-NBA defensive level and keep the offense running, $16 million is going to be a steal.

The Spurs don't really have a choice. We aren't getting big name free agents. You draft players, develop them, And hope you can afford them come contract time. If you can sign them early before another team offers an absurd amount of money, you win.

Based on what I've seen from DJ in the preseason, this is a phenomenal deal for the Spurs. They are locking him up the moment before he blows up. DJ clearly is smart to get paid now and not risking another injury.

I expect a huge year from him. That jumper looks much improved and his handle is tightened up.

This is a good deal for the team. I'm a little surprised Murray took it. With how poor the FA class is next year, if he had a good showing this year, he probably could have gotten more.