![]() Not every fan base will get to enjoy 10-plus years of prolonged success. ![]() Spurs fans have been blessed with almost limitless success. So, when we watch tonight's game, just bear in mind how lucky we are to be rooting for a winning team. He was just a guy that wanted to fit in with a team and he attempted to do so, admirably. I didn't like RJ the player but RJ, the person, I sympathized with. He isn't apart of the same culture as the Spurs - the Warriors have gone 4-14 with an average margin of loss of 11.1 points - and that is actually quite sad. RJ, too, has performed adequately with his new team. Jack has been able to accomplish this because of his aggressiveness and capable midrange game. His 50.6 TS%, while not as high as Jefferson, represents a much-needed increase in his efficiency. In 10 games with the Spurs, Jackson has corralled 17.7 percent of defensive rebounds (per Basketball Reference) which puts him among the elite rebounding 3s in the league. Jackson, specifically, has increased his efficiency and rebounding numbers in lieu of volume. If I said that the Spurs are now much more prepared for a legitimate title run, no one would flinch. Aside from a couple of noteworthy bumps along the way, Gregg Popovich has seamlessly integrated Captain Jack, Mills and Diaw into the rotation. Their average margin of victory since the trading deadline was 12.6 points. They have won 13 out of 16 games, including a season-high 11 game winning streak. The Spurs have since added Boris Diaw and Patrick Mills to the rotation. Defensive wizard and plus/minus anomaly Ekpe Udoh was gone much to the chagrin of the five Warriors fans who care about defense. The criminally inefficient, but exciting scorer Monta Ellis was out. In addition to the RJ deal, the Warriors acquired Andrew Bogut (fractured left ankle), whose inability to stay on the court is actually beneficial to a Warriors team that is openly tanking so they can earn another top 10 pick. Since then the tides of both franchises have changed. A deal of this nature - the Spurs swapped monotonous, unfulfilling production for the potential of something more and, conversely, the potential of failure - was unprecedented for a franchise that tends to be risk adverse. ![]() It has been approximately a month since the San Antonio Spurs have completed the deadline deal that sent the perpetually underachieving Richard Jefferson for the compelling Stephen Jackson who happens to not only embrace pressure but he, on his own account, also "make(s) love to pressure". ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |