NBA2K Remix: Retro Stars in the Modern Era

[kibaxx7]

Oh, shame to see Aldridge go next season... but he's 33, 34 right? I'm confused with Larry around

[trekfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by spiderxx7

Oh, shame to see Aldridge go next season... but he's 33, 34 right? I'm confused with Larry around

Yeah, he's about 34-35, on the decline -- he can score plenty, but he simply doesn't grab boards like he used to. I'm looking at potential guys to come in and feast next year and I feel like Drummond might be a good fit -- he's stuck on Cleveland, so he ain't going back there, and I don't see a lot of teams out there that would want him, so I feel like I have a good shot.


Especially because the Spurs are like the last bastion of the mid-range and post game in the NBA.

[glenzariczny]

Larry is loving this era of the three ball! What a perfect pick up for the Spurs

[trekfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by glenzariczny

Larry is loving this era of the three ball! What a perfect pick up for the Spurs

It's taken some getting used to -- he's not nearly as athletic a wing as I've played before, his foot speed is just average, but he's so skilled at every era of the floor -- and the dude is so damn smart, his off-ball cuts on offense and the way he jumps passing lanes on defense is a joy to watch.


Just got done playing the first game of the season against Magic -- it was fun. Recap to come in the morning.

[RMJH4]

Slow of foot, but speed of thought and basketball IQ is off the chart, typical Larry! Good to see he isn't holding back early on, just taking over!

[trekfan]

The High Post: Spurs Bury Suns in Second-Half

By Sam Gray



Bird v Magic, round 1, went to Larry Bird as he led the Spurs back from a first-half deficit to overtake the Phoenix Suns.







The Suns and Spurs both had their full compliment of starters as Phoenix rolled in at 10-4, while San Antonio — losers of two straight — came in at 8-5. Publicly, the team wasn’t making excuses or complaining about the two recent losses, but since Bird dropped 47 on the Wizards the Spurs couldn’t catch a win.



The big storyline here was Magic Johnson — averaging 21-10-13 in his rookie year, leading the Suns to a 10-4 record (third in the West), and he looked like a better player and a better draft pick to many. Magic had beaten Bird in college and, at least early in their careers, he was winning the war of narratives as well.



But Bird’s only concern was winning games.



“They can say whatever they want to say, he’s a great player, I’m a great player, and we’re both going to decide things on the court,” said Bird.



Bird let his play do the talking and boy, he was playing hard. The Spurs outside of Bird had struggles in the first half as the Suns — with Magic at PG — had a size advantage on the floor and certainly the depth to throw out some funky lineups. Magic was a chameleon, sliding from point guard to small forward to power forward with ease, while the Spurs subbed in and subbed out players to try to keep him in check.



But the only player who consistently got the better of Magic was Bird, whom — despite not being very fast of foot — was still able to chase down a Magic that blew by him for an iconic block.







Not only was Bird chasing down blocks, he was hitting end of half buzzers to close the gap, putting the Spurs down only one going into the break.







Bird and the Spurs ran up the score in the third quarter as San Antonio thoroughly outplayed the Suns — Phoenix played Magic almost the entirety of the first-half and sat him for a large chunk of the third quarter to rest, which allowed the Spurs to feast. Without Magic on the floor, Phoenix ran through Booker — an elite scorer — but not nearly the passer Magic is and Phoenix’s overall play suffered.



The Spurs blasted the Suns with a third quarter score of 32-22, taking the lead with gusto and Bird helped close out the Suns in the fourth with more of his defense, anticipating a Magic pass to Bridges to get the steal, the bucket, and the foul.







That was the final nail in the coffin as Phoenix, down by quite a bit, couldn’t get a shot to fall to save their lives as their passing was timid; Bird prowled the lanes and with a second-half scoring burst from Murray (who ate while Magic was on the bench in the third), the Spurs walked away with a big win.








After the game, Magic Johnson accepted blame for the loss.



“I really didn’t play my game, play the right way for my teammates,” said Johnson. “Too many shots from me, not enough good basketball … Larry got me this time, but he won’t always get me.”



Bird agreed with Magic’s assessment.



“Yeah, we took him out of his game … OG played great defense on him, Justice too, we didn’t let him get going and he’s the engine that drives that team — I told them what we didn’t do when I saw him in college and he wrecked us there. I’ve had a lot of time to think about how to approach defending him when I got the chance again … it worked this time, he’ll adjust, we’ll adjust. That’s the game,” said Bird.






Around the NBA:



Round 1 of “The Battle of LA” goes to the Clippers, as LAC beat the Lakers 127-118 behind Kawhi’s 27-8-9 night. LAL was led by Boogie Cousins, who had 29-6-5 in just 30 minutes of play and looks more like his old (not injured) self every game.



The Jazz may regret trading away Conley as Ricky Rubio has a foot fracture, sidelining him 4-6 weeks and putting the Jazz’s starting backcourt on IR for at least the next two weeks — Mitchell is still 1-2 weeks out from his recovery and Utah is just barely hanging around at .500.

The Bucks are getting another MVP year from Giannis it looks like as they’re an astounding 10-3 at this point, holding opponents to just 101.3 PAPG. Milwaukee boasts the best defense in the NBA, with only the Spurs and Heat really competing for the title.

[trekfan]

The High Post: Spurs Finish November Strong

By Sam Gray

The Spurs are 11-5 at the end of November, winning 3 straight and looking like at least playoff contenders in the wild West.

San Antonio got a major win over the Suns (now 11-7, losers of two straight) and have won against the Warriors and Bulls since that time. Though Larry Bird was denied Rookie of the Month honors (it went to — you guessed it, Magic Johnson) the Spurs star rookie is taking it to teams night after night. The roster, as a whole, is thriving in many respects.

Bird leads the team in PPG and is, like many of the Spurs starting five, a stat-sheet stuffer — rebounding and assist numbers are good, both on the rise. Murray is right behind him, looking like the second star the Spurs bet on when they drafted him at end of of the first round in 2016; he’s raised his level of play with Bird flanking him.

Anunoby is also thriving, seeing his PPG go from a measly 10.2 last year with Toronto to 14.3 with San Antonio. Chriss is putting up similar numbers as he did last season with Golden State (who should be credited with saving his career, as he’s been a much more efficient and smarter player since his stop there) and seem to enjoy being back with Murray (his teammate on the Washington squad back in 2016).

The biggest concern in the starting five is Aldridge; LMA is struggling to score the same amount or get rebounds (he’s being outrebounded by Bird, a rookie). LMA’s decline officially began last season (only putting up 20 and 7) and this year it looks like he’ll be lucky to get to those numbers.

MVP: Bird, no contest. Bird is leading the roster despite his relative youth and inexperience in the NBA — players are taking cues from him on offense and defense, the effort he exudes on even the most basic play has served to inspire his teammates.

MIP: Most improved could be a toss up between Anunoby and Murray; Murray only put up 11.9 PPG last year in comparable minutes, but with Bird drawing more defensive attention on the floor, his scoring output has risen significantly. Anunoby is experiencing a similar rise in scoring, but this award probably is Murray’s.

X-Factor (The Manu Award): The Spurs have a long history of having great bench play (MANU) and this award is pretty much the embodiment of Manu Ginobili. As such, there are certain conditions that should be met namely that the player in question could be a starter somewhere else (logging bigger minutes and money) but is happy coming off the bench in SA. The award for this month has to go to Normal Powell, the former Raptor starter who’s adapted well to life off the bench. Powell is putting up 9.7 PPG off the bench, shooting an absurd 59-59-92 from the field; he’s nearly an automatic bucket off the bench and strikes fear into opposing teams when he enters the game.

LVP: This isn’t a fun award, but the most disappointing Spur this year has to be Aldridge. The big man looks slower than last year, his shot isn’t falling as well, and his stats bear out that, out of everyone on the team, he’s the only guy who doesn’t seem to thrive with Bird — longterm, he’s probably not the solution at the five. At 35, a free agent this upcoming summer, LMA’s time in SA is probably up despite his public declaration that he wants back in. The Spurs have wisely held off on any extension talks till after the season and it’s probably because they’re looking to end the relationship on amicable terms.

Rumors:

No monthly recap is complete without team rumors and the biggest one going through the Spurs organization (though in no way confirmed in any manner) is that SA is looking to grab a big man in free agency or through trade to play beside Bird. Two names have cropped up — Andre Drummond and Mitchell Robinson. Drummond is currently marooned in Cleveland (he took his giant player option and is banking that money while putting up 14 points, 12 boards, nearly 2 steals and blocks a night) and will be looking for a new home this summer. Robinson has asked for a trade and has been “injured” the last week with back spasms (there is doubt in the Knicks organization that he’s actually injured, they believe he may be faking it to force their hand).

Both players would have baggage; Drummond (27) is exactly what he is — teaching him to shoot threes at this stage of his career is unlikely — and most teams don’t want to employ a big who can’t at least hit a mid-range shot. Drummond thrives in the post, eating glass, and demoralizing opponents with his defense.

Robinson is only 22, but hasn’t exactly proved to be durable or a star — he’s raw in a lot of areas still and his contract status is also a concern, as he’s slated to be an UFA in two summers. Trading for him would present considerable risk, but the Spurs have an extra draft pick (that 2022 1st from Memphis, top-3 protected) that could prove useful here. Memphis isn’t likely to avoid conveying that in 2022 (they’ll be, at worst, a near-playoff team at the end of the lottery) and the Knicks would get a first out of the deal. San Antonio isn’t known for trading draft picks (the Spurs have traded the fewest 1st rounders in the last 20 years), so to invest in Robinson like that would signify they believe he’s a longterm piece in Texas.

[kibaxx7]

Great job so far, trek. That was a tough loss to Memphis, but the team is looking good!