Bench looks included Rudy Gay at power forward. “They are putting constant pressure on your defense, and it starts with transition.”Īs recently as last season, the Spurs still relied heavily on playing bigger, and sometimes older, lineups.Įarly in the 2020-21 campaign, 34-year-old LaMarcus Aldridge still was the starting center. On : Hindsight in 2020? Spurs’ Vassell one of many NBA sophomores eyeing next step They’ve got some long, athletic wings and a point guard (Murray) who can get to the front of the rim. “He knows his team and what’s going to give them the best chance to succeed. “Coach Pop is one of the all-time great coaches,” Sacramento’s Luke Walton said before Spurs blasted his Kings 136-117 earlier this week. Opposing coaches are taking note of the Spurs’ shift in philosophy. With the year’s roster featuring only one player over the age of 30 - backup forward Thad Young - these Spurs have made it a point to be the runners. Once upon a time, young teams made it a part of their game plan to try to run on the older Spurs. “That’s one of the things we wanted to do, have better pace, so it’s satisfying to see that happening.” “I’m pleased that we have good pace,” Popovich said. Popovich does not expect the Spurs to finish the season as the league’s best transition team, but he likes what he is seeing from the Spurs’ speed so far.
As recently as last week, the Spurs were leading the NBA in that category. They are tied for fifth in fast-break points at 15.2 per game. The Spurs rank sixth in the league in pace, averaging 101.9 possessions per game entering Friday’s contest against Dallas. In a turn of events that would made the “older than dirt” Spurs of yesteryear spin, the modern iteration of Popovich’s club has been one of the most fast-paced in the NBA so far this season. “We’re a younger group,” said 21-year-old guard Devin Vassell. There are easy baskets to be had for the new-look Spurs, if they allow their youth and athleticism to take over.
These aren’t the plodding-but-well-oiled Spurs of the Tim Duncan era, who lived to out-execute teams in the halfcourt. On : Spurs hire company to help them find a new name for the AT&T Centerįrom the start of training camp, Popovich has stressed the importance of the fast break for his youthful team. “We want to go up and down,” point guard Dejounte Murray said. They want to play fast this season, and they are. The episode from Sunday’s 99-94 loss at Oklahoma City underscored the push and pull of the run-and-gun Spurs. The Spurs cycled through their offense and eventually got a Drew Eubanks layup off a successful pick-and-roll. Popovich wanted them to take their time with this one. The Spurs had just turned in four consecutive fruitless possessions.
“Whoa, Lonnie!” Popovich called to guard Lonnie Walker, the player leading the charge.
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