The Spurs show we should run it back

[LarBrd33]

Duncan is still pretty much Duncan at age 37.  I think he had the highest defensive rating in the entire league this year.  As always, dominant bigs win you titles in this league.

KG has unfortunately slipped a bit more than Duncan.  He was always a poor-man's Duncan to begin with, but at 37 Duncan clearly is his superior.  KG is still the most crucial part of our team when he's on the floor, though.

The SPurs are just a masterclass franchise... they have remained a 60 win team pretty much every year.  Boston the last couple years has been rather mediocre (only barely over .500 this season).  Spurs have a lot more size and depth than Boston.   We couldn't simply "run it back" and mimick one of the finest teams in the league... we'd need to make significant additions.

It would be nice to have another legit big.  I'm in favor of giving Greg Oden a shot.  As insane as it might sound, if Greg can remain healthy, I can see him equaling the impact of Splitter.

[scaryjerry]

Duncan is still pretty much Duncan at age 37.  I think he had the highest defensive rating in the entire league this year.

KG has unfortunately slipped a bit more than Duncan.  He's still the most crucial part of our team when he's on the floor, though.

The SPurs are just a masterclass franchise... they have remained a 60 win team pretty much every year.  Boston the last couple years has been rather mediocre (only barely over .500 this season).  Spurs have a lot more size and depth than Boston.   We couldn't simply "run it back" and mimick one of the finest teams in the league... we'd need to make significant additions.

I see you continue to make this point...Duncan has had his best year in 5 plus seasons and looked washed up the year the Celtics won the title and the first round exit to Memphis year and previous seasons

[LarBrd33]

Duncan is still pretty much Duncan at age 37.  I think he had the highest defensive rating in the entire league this year.  As always, dominant bigs win you titles in this league.

KG has unfortunately slipped a bit more than Duncan.  He was always a poor-man's Duncan to begin with, but at 37 Duncan clearly is his superior.  KG is still the most crucial part of our team when he's on the floor, though.

The SPurs are just a masterclass franchise... they have remained a 60 win team pretty much every year.  Boston the last couple years has been rather mediocre (only barely over .500 this season).  Spurs have a lot more size and depth than Boston.   We couldn't simply "run it back" and mimick one of the finest teams in the league... we'd need to make significant additions.

It would be nice to have another legit big.  I'm in favor of giving Greg Oden a shot.  As insane as it might sound, if Greg can remain healthy, I can see him equaling the impact of Splitter.

I see you continue to make this point...Duncan has had his best year in 5 plus seasons and looked washed up the year the Celtics won the title and the first round exit to Memphis year and previous seasons

What are you talkin about Jerry?  Duncan's per-36 stats have been pretty consistent.  He's doing more on offense this year.  The Spurs have been consistently elite.  The year we won a title they still won 56 games and lost in the WCF.  They have remained one of the strongest teams in the league.   

KG's Celtics were contenders for 3.5 years.  Duncan's Spurs have been contenders since 1997.

At this point, Boston is an also-ran stuck in perpetual mediocrity unless they make significant additions.  They haven't been a real threat since 2011... although last year they did manage to fluke into the ECF thanks to some lucky draws in the first two rounds (Horford-less Hawks and 8th seed Philly).   KG has slipped a lot more than Duncan at this point, but he's still the MVP of our team... and I think if we did manage to keep him and PIerce, would could theoretically contend again if we managed to make significant additions (specifically a quality center).  Not sure how we can miraculously pull that off, though.   

[pearljammer10]

Duncan is still pretty much Duncan at age 37.  I think he had the highest defensive rating in the entire league this year.  As always, dominant bigs win you titles in this league.

KG has unfortunately slipped a bit more than Duncan.  He was always a poor-man's Duncan to begin with, but at 37 Duncan clearly is his superior.  KG is still the most crucial part of our team when he's on the floor, though.

The SPurs are just a masterclass franchise... they have remained a 60 win team pretty much every year.  Boston the last couple years has been rather mediocre (only barely over .500 this season).  Spurs have a lot more size and depth than Boston.   We couldn't simply "run it back" and mimick one of the finest teams in the league... we'd need to make significant additions.

It would be nice to have another legit big.  I'm in favor of giving Greg Oden a shot.  As insane as it might sound, if Greg can remain healthy, I can see him equaling the impact of Splitter.

I see you continue to make this point...Duncan has had his best year in 5 plus seasons and looked washed up the year the Celtics won the title and the first round exit to Memphis year and previous seasons

What are you talkin about Jerry?  Duncan's per-36 stats have been pretty consistent.  He's doing more on offense this year.  The Spurs have been consistently elite.  The year we won a title they still won 56 games and lost in the WCF.  They have remained one of the strongest teams in the league.   

KG's Celtics were contenders for 3.5 years.  Duncan's Spurs have been contenders since 1997.

At this point, Boston is an also-ran stuck in perpetual mediocrity unless they make significant additions.  They haven't been a real threat since 2011... although last year they did manage to fluke into the ECF thanks to some lucky draws in the first two rounds (Horford-less Hawks and 8th seed Philly).   KG has slipped a lot more than Duncan at this point, but he's still the MVP of our team... and I think if we did manage to keep him and PIerce, would could theoretically contend again if we managed to make significant additions (specifically a quality center).  Not sure how we can miraculously pull that off, though.

Yeah Duncan has been able to provide a consistent high rate of play even at his age. KG has slipped a bit and can't do what Duncan continually does for the spurs. Pops system has allowed for mediocre role players to shine an for youngster to play roles like veterans can. Parker has only gotten better and manu has been consistent as well despite injuries and age himself.

[LarBrd33]

Duncan is still pretty much Duncan at age 37.  I think he had the highest defensive rating in the entire league this year.  As always, dominant bigs win you titles in this league.

KG has unfortunately slipped a bit more than Duncan.  He was always a poor-man's Duncan to begin with, but at 37 Duncan clearly is his superior.  KG is still the most crucial part of our team when he's on the floor, though.

The SPurs are just a masterclass franchise... they have remained a 60 win team pretty much every year.  Boston the last couple years has been rather mediocre (only barely over .500 this season).  Spurs have a lot more size and depth than Boston.   We couldn't simply "run it back" and mimick one of the finest teams in the league... we'd need to make significant additions.

It would be nice to have another legit big.  I'm in favor of giving Greg Oden a shot.  As insane as it might sound, if Greg can remain healthy, I can see him equaling the impact of Splitter.

I see you continue to make this point...Duncan has had his best year in 5 plus seasons and looked washed up the year the Celtics won the title and the first round exit to Memphis year and previous seasons

What are you talkin about Jerry?  Duncan's per-36 stats have been pretty consistent.  He's doing more on offense this year.  The Spurs have been consistently elite.  The year we won a title they still won 56 games and lost in the WCF.  They have remained one of the strongest teams in the league.   

KG's Celtics were contenders for 3.5 years.  Duncan's Spurs have been contenders since 1997.

At this point, Boston is an also-ran stuck in perpetual mediocrity unless they make significant additions.  They haven't been a real threat since 2011... although last year they did manage to fluke into the ECF thanks to some lucky draws in the first two rounds (Horford-less Hawks and 8th seed Philly).   KG has slipped a lot more than Duncan at this point, but he's still the MVP of our team... and I think if we did manage to keep him and PIerce, would could theoretically contend again if we managed to make significant additions (specifically a quality center).  Not sure how we can miraculously pull that off, though.

Yeah Duncan has been able to provide a consistent high rate of play even at his age. KG has slipped a bit and can't do what Duncan continually does for the spurs. Pops system has allowed for mediocre role players to shine an for youngster to play roles like veterans can. Parker has only gotten better and manu has been consistent as well despite injuries and age himself.

Duncan's pretty remarkable, actually.  In his prime he was averaging 22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.5 blocks with 50% shooting per 36 minutes....   Check out his year-by-year stats per 36 minutes and you'll see that he's consistently every year managed to average 20+ points, 11+ boards, 3+ assists, and roughly 2 blocks per 36 minutes.  This year:  21.3 points, 12 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.2 blocks per 36 minutes.   He's a machine.  The guy doesn't age.  Aside from the last couple years where his scoring dipped 17 in 2011 and 19 last year, he's really been pretty even.    http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/duncati01.html#all_per_minute

KG's prime (2004) he was averaging 22 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 1.3 steals on 50% shooting per 36 minutes.   In his first year in Boston he was close to that... 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.4 blocks 54% shooting per 36 minutes.   Since then, he's dipped a bit.   This year, he put up 17.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.1 block.. 49% shooting per 36 minutes.   Like Duncan, he's held to roughly 30 minutes in the regular season and then lifted to 35+ in the playoffs.  KG still remains our most important player ... but he's unfortunately slipped a bit more from his prime than Duncan has.  And Duncan has a superior supporting cast. 

Duncan Per-36
                                         

Code: [Select]

Season     FG%  FT%  TRB AST STL BLK  PTS
1997-98   .549 .662 11.0 2.5 0.6 2.3 19.4
1998-99   .495 .690 10.5 2.2 0.8 2.3 19.9
1999-00   .490 .761 11.5 2.9 0.8 2.1 21.5
2000-01   .499 .618 11.3 2.8 0.8 2.2 20.6
2001-02   .508 .799 11.3 3.3 0.7 2.2 22.6
2002-03   .513 .710 11.8 3.6 0.6 2.7 21.3
2003-04   .501 .599 12.2 3.0 0.9 2.6 21.9
2004-05   .496 .670 12.0 2.9 0.7 2.8 21.9
2005-06   .484 .629 11.4 3.3 0.9 2.1 19.2
2006-07   .546 .637 11.2 3.6 0.9 2.5 21.1
2007-08   .497 .730 12.0 3.0 0.8 2.1 20.5
2008-09   .504 .692 11.4 3.8 0.5 1.8 20.7
2009-10   .518 .725 11.6 3.6 0.7 1.7 20.6
2010-11   .500 .716 11.3 3.4 0.8 2.4 17.1
2011-12   .492 .695 11.5 2.9 0.8 1.9 19.7
2012-13   .502 .817 11.9 3.2 0.9 3.2 21.3
Career    .507 .693 11.5 3.1 0.8 2.3 20.7


Kevin Garnett Per-36

Code: [Select]

Season     FG%  FT%  TRB AST STL BLK  PTS
1995-96   .491 .705  7.9 2.3 1.4 2.1 13.1
1996-97   .499 .754  7.4 2.8 1.3 2.0 15.7
1997-98   .491 .738  8.8 3.9 1.6 1.7 17.0
1998-99   .460 .704  9.9 4.1 1.6 1.7 19.8
1999-00   .497 .765 10.6 4.5 1.3 1.4 20.6
2000-01   .477 .764 10.4 4.5 1.2 1.6 20.1
2001-02   .470 .801 11.1 4.8 1.1 1.4 19.4
2002-03   .502 .751 11.9 5.4 1.2 1.4 20.4
2003-04   .499 .791 12.7 4.6 1.3 2.0 22.1
2004-05   .502 .811 12.8 5.4 1.4 1.3 21.0
2005-06   .526 .810 11.8 3.7 1.3 1.3 20.2
2006-07   .476 .835 11.7 3.8 1.1 1.5 20.5
2007-08   .539 .801 10.1 3.8 1.5 1.4 20.7
2008-09   .531 .841  9.9 2.9 1.3 1.4 18.3
2009-10   .521 .837  8.8 3.2 1.2 1.0 17.3
2010-11   .528 .862 10.2 2.8 1.5 0.9 17.1
2011-12   .503 .857  9.5 3.4 1.1 1.2 18.3
2012-13   .496 .786  9.4 2.8 1.4 1.1 17.9
Career    .498 .790 10.4 3.9 1.3 1.5 19.0

[BballTim]

I believe that a healthy Tony Parker is a better player than a healthy Rondo.  The difference isn't about stats or shooting percentages but in the way the opposing team must adjust to stop Parker vs. how teams play off Rondo and don't care if he shoots.

  Evaluating players in terms of how their scoring affects defenses would be more meaningful if both players were scorers. Rondo isn't. His priority on offense is to get his teammates open shots. The defenses play off of him because they're trying to stop his penetration and passing, and they're generally unable to stop either.

  Look at how much less of an offensive weapon KG was in the playoffs without Rondo compared to last year with Rondo. In the 2012 playoffs KG was feasting on open 20 footers that Rondo was getting him. Those easy shots were few and far between against the Knicks. The teams we played last year weren't trying to stop Rondo from taking 20 footers, as you noticed. They were trying to stop him from getting KG wide open jumpers, they just weren't able to stop that. Rondo led the postseason in assists by a whopping 4 assists per game.

  Likewise, opponents were unable to keep Rondo from penetrating. Rondo made 4 shots a game within 3 feet of the basket in the 2012 playoffs, the only players to average more were LeBron (5.5), Bynum (4.4) and Griffin (4.2). So I agree that teams play off of Rondo in the hopes that he'll take a jumper because the Celts score much more efficiently when he passes the ball or penetrates. I just think that it's silly to knock him for the way he's defended when defenses are unable to stop him from doing what he wants to do in spite of how he's guarded.

[scaryjerry]

Duncan is still pretty much Duncan at age 37.  I think he had the highest defensive rating in the entire league this year.  As always, dominant bigs win you titles in this league.

KG has unfortunately slipped a bit more than Duncan.  He was always a poor-man's Duncan to begin with, but at 37 Duncan clearly is his superior.  KG is still the most crucial part of our team when he's on the floor, though.

The SPurs are just a masterclass franchise... they have remained a 60 win team pretty much every year.  Boston the last couple years has been rather mediocre (only barely over .500 this season).  Spurs have a lot more size and depth than Boston.   We couldn't simply "run it back" and mimick one of the finest teams in the league... we'd need to make significant additions.

It would be nice to have another legit big.  I'm in favor of giving Greg Oden a shot.  As insane as it might sound, if Greg can remain healthy, I can see him equaling the impact of Splitter.

I see you continue to make this point...Duncan has had his best year in 5 plus seasons and looked washed up the year the Celtics won the title and the first round exit to Memphis year and previous seasons

What are you talkin about Jerry?  Duncan's per-36 stats have been pretty consistent.  He's doing more on offense this year.  The Spurs have been consistently elite.  The year we won a title they still won 56 games and lost in the WCF.  They have remained one of the strongest teams in the league.   

KG's Celtics were contenders for 3.5 years.  Duncan's Spurs have been contenders since 1997.

At this point, Boston is an also-ran stuck in perpetual mediocrity unless they make significant additions.  They haven't been a real threat since 2011... although last year they did manage to fluke into the ECF thanks to some lucky draws in the first two rounds (Horford-less Hawks and 8th seed Philly).   KG has slipped a lot more than Duncan at this point, but he's still the MVP of our team... and I think if we did manage to keep him and PIerce, would could theoretically contend again if we managed to make significant additions (specifically a quality center).  Not sure how we can miraculously pull that off, though.

I agree, kg can't hold Duncans Jock career wise...but in the last 5 plus years they have fluctuated and Duncan looked slow and done while kg was flourishing in Boston

[CelticsFan9]

I disagree.

Duncan, for whatever reason, continues to bang out incredibly consistent seasons year after year.  Look at him now; he dominating his way to a fifth NBA Finals appearance in what has been an outstanding career.  KG, on the other hand, remains dominant on only one side of the floor.  He is defense is incredible, even at age 37, but unfortunately, the energy he exerts there takes away from his offense.

When healthy, Rondo is better than Parker.  Both are great guards who I think often times get forgotten in the best PG discussion (for me, Rondo is third when healthy, and Parker was breaking the top five this season; if not for injuries, he would've been a legit MVP candidate).

Ginobili and Pierce are very similar in that they are big-game players that make big shots and are incredibly crafty.  Both have regressed on the defensive end, but their smarts on the other end are what make they so dangerous on offense.  I'd take Pierce just because I think he's better than Ginobili defensively right now.  Plus, he's a Celtic!

Kawhi Leonard is one of my favorite players in the league, and the thing that's scary about him is that he's really just a defensive specialist for the Spurs right now.  He brings a lot else to the table in rebounding, shooting, and passing, so I think he's got a great future ahead of him.  Right now, though, I'd say Green is a little bit better, if only because his offensive game is much more polished, and he's an animal in the open court.  His perimeter defense is solid as well.

Those are the core guys.  When I look at the role players for both teams, I think SAS's are far better.

I'd take Green over Bradley because even though his defense isn't as good as Bradley's, he's bigger and can shoot really well.  Plus, I haven't seen a full season of Bradley starting.  I consider Lee to be a worse version of Green.

Terry and Neal are very similar in that they are microwave scorers who are terrible on defense.  I'd take Terry because of the experience.  Crawford is also like Neal, except that Crawford sucks.

I compare Sullinger to Dejuan Blair.  They're both undersized big guys who have health issue, and are really good rebounders.  I like Sullinger because he has a post game, even if Blair is more athletic.

I guess Bass and Diaw are similar in that they are faceup, undersized PFs, except that Diaw is a better passer, and has a little bit of a post game.  I like Diaw because he moves the ball well.

I don't think there's anyone on our roster who is similar to Splitter.

Overall, I don't think we can be like the Spurs and continue to contend because our supporting cast isn't as good as theirs'.

Their stars are also more consistent than ours.

[LarBrd33]

Duncan is still pretty much Duncan at age 37.  I think he had the highest defensive rating in the entire league this year.  As always, dominant bigs win you titles in this league.

KG has unfortunately slipped a bit more than Duncan.  He was always a poor-man's Duncan to begin with, but at 37 Duncan clearly is his superior.  KG is still the most crucial part of our team when he's on the floor, though.

The SPurs are just a masterclass franchise... they have remained a 60 win team pretty much every year.  Boston the last couple years has been rather mediocre (only barely over .500 this season).  Spurs have a lot more size and depth than Boston.   We couldn't simply "run it back" and mimick one of the finest teams in the league... we'd need to make significant additions.

It would be nice to have another legit big.  I'm in favor of giving Greg Oden a shot.  As insane as it might sound, if Greg can remain healthy, I can see him equaling the impact of Splitter.

I see you continue to make this point...Duncan has had his best year in 5 plus seasons and looked washed up the year the Celtics won the title and the first round exit to Memphis year and previous seasons

What are you talkin about Jerry?  Duncan's per-36 stats have been pretty consistent.  He's doing more on offense this year.  The Spurs have been consistently elite.  The year we won a title they still won 56 games and lost in the WCF.  They have remained one of the strongest teams in the league.   

KG's Celtics were contenders for 3.5 years.  Duncan's Spurs have been contenders since 1997.

At this point, Boston is an also-ran stuck in perpetual mediocrity unless they make significant additions.  They haven't been a real threat since 2011... although last year they did manage to fluke into the ECF thanks to some lucky draws in the first two rounds (Horford-less Hawks and 8th seed Philly).   KG has slipped a lot more than Duncan at this point, but he's still the MVP of our team... and I think if we did manage to keep him and PIerce, would could theoretically contend again if we managed to make significant additions (specifically a quality center).  Not sure how we can miraculously pull that off, though.

I agree, kg can't hold Duncans Jock career wise...but in the last 5 plus years they have fluctuated and Duncan looked slow and done while kg was flourishing in Boston

Really?


Duncan Per-36
                                         

Code: [Select]

Season     FG%  FT%  TRB AST STL BLK  PTS
1997-98   .549 .662 11.0 2.5 0.6 2.3 19.4
1998-99   .495 .690 10.5 2.2 0.8 2.3 19.9
1999-00   .490 .761 11.5 2.9 0.8 2.1 21.5
2000-01   .499 .618 11.3 2.8 0.8 2.2 20.6
2001-02   .508 .799 11.3 3.3 0.7 2.2 22.6
2002-03   .513 .710 11.8 3.6 0.6 2.7 21.3
2003-04   .501 .599 12.2 3.0 0.9 2.6 21.9
2004-05   .496 .670 12.0 2.9 0.7 2.8 21.9
2005-06   .484 .629 11.4 3.3 0.9 2.1 19.2
2006-07   .546 .637 11.2 3.6 0.9 2.5 21.1
2007-08   .497 .730 12.0 3.0 0.8 2.1 20.5
2008-09   .504 .692 11.4 3.8 0.5 1.8 20.7
2009-10   .518 .725 11.6 3.6 0.7 1.7 20.6
2010-11   .500 .716 11.3 3.4 0.8 2.4 17.1
2011-12   .492 .695 11.5 2.9 0.8 1.9 19.7
2012-13   .502 .817 11.9 3.2 0.9 3.2 21.3
Career    .507 .693 11.5 3.1 0.8 2.3 20.7


Kevin Garnett Per-36

Code: [Select]

Season     FG%  FT%  TRB AST STL BLK  PTS
1995-96   .491 .705  7.9 2.3 1.4 2.1 13.1
1996-97   .499 .754  7.4 2.8 1.3 2.0 15.7
1997-98   .491 .738  8.8 3.9 1.6 1.7 17.0
1998-99   .460 .704  9.9 4.1 1.6 1.7 19.8
1999-00   .497 .765 10.6 4.5 1.3 1.4 20.6
2000-01   .477 .764 10.4 4.5 1.2 1.6 20.1
2001-02   .470 .801 11.1 4.8 1.1 1.4 19.4
2002-03   .502 .751 11.9 5.4 1.2 1.4 20.4
2003-04   .499 .791 12.7 4.6 1.3 2.0 22.1
2004-05   .502 .811 12.8 5.4 1.4 1.3 21.0
2005-06   .526 .810 11.8 3.7 1.3 1.3 20.2
2006-07   .476 .835 11.7 3.8 1.1 1.5 20.5
2007-08   .539 .801 10.1 3.8 1.5 1.4 20.7
2008-09   .531 .841  9.9 2.9 1.3 1.4 18.3
2009-10   .521 .837  8.8 3.2 1.2 1.0 17.3
2010-11   .528 .862 10.2 2.8 1.5 0.9 17.1
2011-12   .503 .857  9.5 3.4 1.1 1.2 18.3
2012-13   .496 .786  9.4 2.8 1.4 1.1 17.9
Career    .498 .790 10.4 3.9 1.3 1.5 19.0

Also FYI about defense...

Defensive Rating Leaders This season:

1.    Tim Duncan-95.0
2.     Roy Hibbert-96.9
3.    Paul George-97.1
4.    Tony Allen-98.4
5.    Marc Gasol-98.5
6.    Larry Sanders-98.5
7.    Joakim Noah-98.6
8.    David West-98.6
9.    Kevin Garnett-98.9
10.    Lamar Odom-99.0

Defensive Rating Career Active Leaders:

1.    Tim Duncan    95.37
2.    Ben Wallace    95.76
3.    Dwight Howard    98.30
4.    Marcus Camby    98.53
5.    Kevin Garnett    98.95
6.    Manu Ginobili    99.69
7.    Jermaine O'Neal 100.01
8.    Rasheed Wallace 100.96
9.    Shawn Marion    100.96
10.    Rajon Rondo    101.00

[ManUp]

The only thing that the C's and Spurs have in common is being percieved old. After the Rondo, Pierce, Garnett vs Parker, Ginobli, Duncan comparison the Spurs blow us out the water. They are simply the better managed organization.

[winsomme]

Duncan is still pretty much Duncan at age 37.  I think he had the highest defensive rating in the entire league this year.  As always, dominant bigs win you titles in this league.

KG has unfortunately slipped a bit more than Duncan.  He was always a poor-man's Duncan to begin with, but at 37 Duncan clearly is his superior.  KG is still the most crucial part of our team when he's on the floor, though.

The SPurs are just a masterclass franchise... they have remained a 60 win team pretty much every year.  Boston the last couple years has been rather mediocre (only barely over .500 this season).  Spurs have a lot more size and depth than Boston.   We couldn't simply "run it back" and mimick one of the finest teams in the league... we'd need to make significant additions.

It would be nice to have another legit big.  I'm in favor of giving Greg Oden a shot.  As insane as it might sound, if Greg can remain healthy, I can see him equaling the impact of Splitter.

You call the Spurs a master class franchise (which I don't wholly disagree with), yet the Cs in the KG era have been as effective if not more effective than the Spurs. The Spurs have had two first round playoff exists which if that team would was playing in this market people would have been calling for a major overhaul.

Plus, who is the franchise player/talent that the Spurs have developed in this time. It seems to me that they are doing nothing more than the Cs in terms of how they are assembling their team year to year. Certainly they have developed key role players, but so have the Cs.

I just think that the Spurs are the fly in the ointment for those who think that blowing this thing up is the only sensible option. Danny has made more moves that have not worked out than the Spurs, but there is a very clear opportunity for him to redirect the ship this off season to put us on a similar path to the Spurs. I hope he chooses this route instead of trying to reboot.

[winsomme]

The only thing that the C's and Spurs have in common is being percieved old. After the Rondo, Pierce, Garnett vs Parker, Ginobli, Duncan comparison the Spurs blow us out the water. They are simply the better managed organization.

I just disagree, ManUp. Our role players match up fairly well. I think Danny made some mistakes this past off season and those, along with the Rondo and Sullinger injuries, are the major differences between the two franchises. I mean Jeff Green, Avery Bradley, and Jared Sullinger are very talented role players to add to the core of Rondo, PP, and KG.

Courtney Lee was a disappointment and really a surprise. I thought he was going to be a nice addition. But Danny did not shore up the bigs they way I was hoping and he stacked the roster with too many undersized SGs. It just ended up being an unbalanced roster.

The good news IMO is if he sticks with the core, I think he can rework the role players to better suit the system. He's done it before and he does draft well....

[Celtics4ever]

We have had trouble closing out games several years, the Spurs do not.   How many 4th quarter leads have we blown?   

Things always look great on paper but the Spurs have won several titles to our one.   Their strengths are things that you can't see on paper because they are intangible.   They also have an inside out game which we do not possess.   

Again, blatant homerism blinds many should be the headline at Celtics Blog.

[angryguy77]

Spurs are there because of westbrook going down. They will get smoked in the finals.
I'm already looking forward to another year of them being overrated again.

[timobusa]

The Spurs have Pop, we don't.

Pop is not afraid to yell at his stars for making dumb plays or bench them in the final minutes of the game for that matter.

Doc on the other hand tries to always please his star players, he will never yell at KG or Paul ever. Never calls them out in front of the whole team.
Poppovic, does.

This is why their rookies and young guys play so well, because they know that Pop, won't take their "crap".