This summer the San Antonio Spurs acquired their first marquee free agent of the Duncan era. Their team-building structure normally centers on navigating the draft to find salvageable talent that can fit into their rotation or signing mature veterans on team-friendly deals. LaMarcus Aldridge presents a new challenge for Greg Popovich, in that he’s a legitimate star whose habits were built outside of the Spurs culture. Featuring Lamarcus as a number one option while simultaneously creating a seamless role for him in the Spurs motion offense will take some time, but the offense will eventually be damn good.
Counterintuitively, ESPN analyst Amin El-Hassan thinks the Spurs will take a step back this season. He cites depth, defense and continuity as issues that will plague San Antonio throughout the season. However, the challenges Aldridge brings are good ones. Even after adjusting for his acclimation period, the Spurs should be considered a top-five team. A frontcourt consisting of Kawhi Leonard, Lamarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan is going to unleash a systematic destruction of Spurs foes on both sides of the floor. With David West and Boris Diaw providing sustenance off the bench, the Spurs frontcourt is going to be a constant buzzsaw for 48 minutes a night.
Leonard and Duncan defend their position as well as anyone in the league, which should alleviate any lapses from Aldridge on that side of the ball. Aldridge isn’t a defensive sieve by any means, but he does need good defensive talent around him to be successful. On the offensive side, Aldridge will operate with more space and receive the ball in an advantageous position much more often than he did in Portland. He won’t isolate in the post quite as often, but his baskets will be easier to come by playing in the pick and roll with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli. This should be a top-three offense this season, and once they work the kinks out, their half court sets could be unguardable.
However, one area of concern for San Antonio is their depth at the guard position. Parker enters the twilight of his career with an unfavorable injury history and this is probably Manu Ginobli’s last year as a pro. They were fortunate to bring back Danny Green on a sweetheart steal of a deal, but the Spurs lost Marco Bellineli and Cory Joseph in free agency. Both Parker and Ginobli are bound to miss games at some point in the season, which would force unknown commodities like Kyle Anderson and Jonathan Simmons into the rotation. Green and Leonard are supreme defenders, but outside of them, this team lacks perimeter defense. This can be remedied with a strategic staggering of minutes, but the Spurs can’t afford to lose Leonard or Green for any significant time.
Ultimately, talent wins out in the NBA. Whatever minor acclimation issues arise during the course of the regular season can be smeared over when you have three all-stars in your frontcourt. Yes, there are issues, but we shouldn’t overthink them. The Spurs are a top five team.
(ESPN)
