After a tough win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the San Antonio Spurs finally ended a four-game losing streak. Looking back at our backs are the Clippers and Pelicans, who are missing the core of the team, and the expected Thunder and Rockets. The season is still very long, the Clippers and Pelicans' book strength and possible comeback stars give them the confidence to bounce back (think the Pelicans are choking enough), so the Thunder, the Rockets (will Green erupt?). And will spurs, as predicted by the public before the season, take advantage of the lotto from the start?
Of course, the "strong" in the East cannot be ignored, and being able to lose to me by more than 20 points is enough to prove that the Orlando Magic is a more "high" team, but the unpredictability of the Eastern Conference ranking is far greater than that of the West, especially in the second half of the season. It's too early to conclude that spurs can squeeze into the front of the lotto zone, but, as was the focus on Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley and Jonathan Cumminga last year, I dare say: There are no more assassins who can spell out the English names of Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren! So who are these two divine beings? Are they suitable for spurs? If — I mean if given the chance to choose , would spurs pick a more deterrent Italian beast, or a more elegant unicorn from the North (Homegren was born in Minnesota)?
Paul Benquero: Epee bladeless, clever, all-round beast striker
Paul Banquero is officially 6 feet 10 (208 cm) tall and ESPN is 6 feet 9 (206 cm), but after watching his game, I don't quite believe the previous number, my personal perception: his barefoot height may be 6 feet 7-8 (201-203 cm), and his shoes may be 6 feet 8-9 (203-206 cm). This height coupled with his not very good arm span (about 7 feet, 213cm), overall his size as a four position is not very outstanding, it is difficult to swing to the fifth position, coupled with his slightly more floor flow style, people can't help but think of his two Duke predecessors Elton Brand and Carlos Boozer, and Spurs veteran David West. These floor-flowing big forwards all have solid basic skills: stable mid-range shots, solid cuts, fierce physical confrontation, good passing and reliable defense. However, Ban kairo's style of play is not exactly the same as that of these predecessors, which is also due to the trend of modern basketball: he has more possession of the ball, the offensive launch position is more outside, the frequency of cutting is higher, and the number of mid-range shots is less. So, there have always been scouts who don't think that Banchero is a complete "Big", more like a two-player, or even a big wing, so another Duke senior, Jabari Parker, has become another template for Bankairo.
Can Ban Kairo bring coach's career to a successful conclusion?
This year is the last season of coach K's coaching career, and after encountering Waterloo last season, the Blue Devils are determined to make a mistake. In addition to Ban Kairo, their lineup includes another lotto hit of the year, AJ Griffin (6'6 in the wing) and trevor Keels in five-star quantiles (6'4), two five-star high school students last year, center Mark Williams and point guard Jeremy Roach, and five-star winger Wendell Moore Jr. in 19 years. However, these veterans may only act as green leaves, and the team lacks excellent shooters, the space is not ideal, and the key to success lies in Ban Kairo. Last season's Jaylen Johnson stunned the Blue Devils' die-hard loyalists, not only technically difficult to support the team, but also mentally simply chose to be a deserter. Unlike JJ, who rose first and then suppressed in high school, Ban Kairo was still a basketball and rugby double in high school, not so conspicuous, first Kuminga, then Homegren, Ban Kairo did not match Homegren until the end, throughout high school he showed excellent learning ability and continuous evolution potential.
As a former four-pointer on the rugby pitch, Banquello has a wide vision, excellent decision-making skills and solid passing skills, and some draft experts even think he is expected to become a Chris-Webb-like organizational big forward. Since his height only soared after high school, his previous height could only play outside, so Ban Kairo practiced good ball control skills (is there a bit similar to thick eyebrows?). ）。 Of course, Ban Kairo did not reach the outstanding height of the thick eyebrows, and did not have the physical coordination of the alphabet brother, and did not have Durant's magical feel, if he was fantasized about becoming a winger, then he would fall into the mediocrity of omnipotent or all-inability. So while mastering a certain wing technique, focusing on polishing his interior skills may be the key to his success (like this year's champion Cade Cunningham switched from wing to point guard). Of course, as an interior lineman, although there is no long arm like the predecessors Brand and West, fortunately, there are not too many interior monsters like Duncan, Garnett and Gasol in this era, and the position is also very vague, 70% of the interior line + 30% of the flanking technology, Ban Kairo is enough to become a popular candidate for the title.
Finally, is his body as prepared for college or even the NBA as this year's Champion Cunningham? Can his mid-range instalment inherit the glory of his predecessors, Brand and Boozer? Can his skills and basketball IQ be cashed in college? Can his frame-guarding abilities and unstable three-point ability, which he is regarded as a short board, improve? Whether Ban kairo can help coach K the elder to a successful end to his coaching career will determine whether he can become a real favourite next summer.
What does the Peltel + Banchereau + Murray framework make you think of?
For the Spurs, Ban Kairo's position and style of play are a perfect fit for the team. After Luka Shamanic finally proved to be a losing gamble, the Nerazzurri had only four positions with no potential newcomers – despite being a long one, Kelden Johnson was still too short as a number four, Thaddis Young could leave at any time, and how much power Collins would have to do after injury was still difficult to predict (even if he could recover to the previous one, it was just a make-up rotation) – so much so that Bates Diop seemed a bit useful, and the team needed a full-time number four. Peltel has made great strides on the offensive end this season, but apart from a small throw from the basket, he still lacks enough self-directed offensive skills, and his scoring means are limited to blocking and dismantling, and once the opponent adapts to the two-man rotation between him and Murray, Peltel will fall into a scoring drought. In fact, after Ade's departure, the team has no internal line that can attack autonomously at a low level, which is undoubtedly worse for the Spurs, which lacks outside ball-holding attackers, and the constipation of the position attack can be imagined. On the defensive end, due to the lack of second height, once Peltel was transferred to the outside line, not only was it difficult to guarantee defensive rebounds, but also lacked effective protective frames. If Bencairo came to the team, the Peltel + Banchero + Murray framework reminded me of the Los Angeles Clippers a few years ago - Jordan Jr. + Griffin + Paul. Of course, Murray may never reach Paul's height, but the Spurs also have growing Kelden Johnson, Devon Vassell, and the potential josh Primo, and the Silver and Blacks may be on the road to revival.
Chet Holmgren: White horse spear, invincible, new generation of unicorns
If Bencaro is like a fierce beast, then Chet Homegren is a brisk and agile unicorn. HolmGren, who is 7 feet (213 cm) tall and has an arm span of 7 feet 6 (229 cm), weighs only 195 pounds (88 kg), far less than Ben Kairo, who has a strong physique of 250 pounds (113 kg), and is similar to Derek White, who is nearly 20 cm shorter. Even the previous unicorns – Porzingis, Jaylen Jackson Jr., and this year's Evan Mobley – weighed more than 95kg at the same age, and only the Thunder's Pokushevsky (190 pounds, 86kg) can "match that", so Homegren's thinness is undoubtedly historical. And Homegren's shoulder width is also bad among the unicorns, both weight gain and card slots in the box are quite a loss, although he has no serious injury history, but at least about 20 pounds (more than 10 kg) of muscle, the risk of injury after weight gain is present for all unicorns (see Porzingis), Homegren is no exception.
Of course, high risk brings high returns, and at this summer's U19 World Cup, Homegren responded to many questions with actions. He has the protective frame and assisted defense sweeping ability that modern basketball dreams of, not only has the coordination and movement skills necessary for unicorns, but also has a tough style and is not afraid of physical confrontation. On the offensive end, Homegren's shooting is quite smooth, enough to meet the needs of modern basketball for court space, not only as a space-type long man, but also with the ball to initiate a blocking demolition, with the help of cover to hold the ball three separate fire. Through the U19 game, we can judge that Homegren is not a seven-foot defender who has been touted by some media as "swinging over Curry", and it is difficult to become the second alphabet brother and Durant - he does not have the top explosiveness and physical coordination, but as a space-type interior line, his athleticism and outside skills are still more than enough, as long as he is not allowed to serve as a full-time operation controller (I believe That Coach Feu of Gonzaga will not), he will become a modern elder who can adapt to a variety of systems.
Homegren shouldered the unfinished business of teammate Sagas – leading Gonzaga to the championship
Holmgren eventually chose to join high school teammate Jaylen Sagas' team, the nation's number one superpower, Gonzaga University. As the class bully of the NCAA in recent seasons, the first championship in the history of the Pit Bulldogs has always been a failure, and in the new season, as the number one seed in the United States, Gonzaga's goal is only to win the championship. Although the main players Sargas, Keyspert and Ayayi have left the team, but the main center Drew Timme (junior), defender Andrew Nembhard (senior), and substitute striker Anton Watson (junior) have stayed, they have been working together for two years, with a considerable tacit understanding, plus the team's first enrollment in history, Homegren, Gonzaga's main framework still has absolute strength. In addition, Two-Way Defender Rasir Bolton (who scored 15.5 points last season), five-star rookie Defender Hunter Sallis, and rookies Dominick Harris and Julian Strawther, who underwent madness last season, have upgraded the team's backcourt depth, but the key to determining whether the team can fulfill its dream may lie in the twin towers of Homegren and Timmy. Timmy is a traditional white interior, limited by his stature and athleticism, and his rim and defensive ability are seriously insufficient, which is exactly what Homegren is good at; while Timmy's limited range and more accustomed to the end of the basket and mid-range also gives Homegren the opportunity to show off his outside skills - in a sense, Homegren needs to take on part of The Keyspert's work last season - on the defensive end, he may be able to do better, but on the offensive end, Keyspert's 18.6 points per game, a whopping 62.8 percent of two-pointers and 44 percent of three-pointers, is not so easy to replace.
As a minnesota soldier, Holmgren led Minnehaha College to be invincible, won the state championship for four consecutive years, swept the major awards in the United States in the senior year, and successfully reached the top as the core of the U19 American team in the summer, winning the MVP trophy, it can be said that Homegren in high school is a well-deserved winner. So, can Homegren bring his championship aura to Spokane City and complete what his friend Sagas has not done?
The Twin Towers, ending the pain of the Silver and Black Legion's small squad
Apparently, Popovich doesn't like a small lineup, stepping on the tail of Aldridge's peak, and the Spurs played seven games against the Nuggets in 2018-19, using the twin tower lineup of Peltel + Ade. As Ard ages, the twin towers are dismantled, after which the Spurs have to enter a painful era of using small lineups. Even with the introduction of top scorers like McDermott, even if the team signed back to Forbes at the expense of defense, and even if Vasell and Walker have improved compared to before, the team's space problem is still serious - instead of showing the advantages of a small lineup, it fully exposes the disadvantages of the small lineup. In an existing lineup without a big core of balls on the outside, the lack of three-point projection relative to core players and inside players is probably the most important reason, which is why there is a growing call for Jock Randall to replace Drew Ubanks. The reason the team signed Collins — a lottery ticket that almost already revealed the word "thank you" — was largely unable to find a usable space-type interior.
The opposite of the Spurs' small lineup is the Cleveland Cavaliers' big lineup: Jarrett Allen + Evan Mobley + Markkanen's three-high lineup seems to go against the trend of the modern NBA, however, they have achieved unexpected results at the beginning of the season. In addition to the stable Allen and the undulating Markkanen, the tandem unicorn Mobley is an important factor in the team's success. Although Mobley's three-point shots are not much, but the mobley, who has both a protective frame and a co-defense sweep, has given the Cavaliers the capital to line up the three-high lineup, and as of 10-30, he ranks first in the league with 72 shots, plus 15.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.67 blocks, 1.17 steals, and a new generation of unicorns is born. Can Homegren, who has a stronger shooting ability on the outside, enter the league like the equally skinny Mobly and cash in on his defensive talents? Peltel + Homegren + White + Murray, the defensive end is picturesque, and the offensive end seems to be worth looking forward to. Moreover, when the game was played to the final glue, Popovich did not have to worry that his opponent might cut Peltel, and the 7-foot-tall Homegren could also stand up to the inside line alone. Spurs with a glorious tradition of two towers are reluctant to use a small lineup from the bone, and if there is HomeGren, the days when the Spurs' small lineup was bullied can be gone.
Back to reality, the NBA2K22 manager model is over
Of course, all of the above is just my personal wishful thinking of Nanke's dream, like playing the manager mode of NBA2K. Spurs are likely to score or will miss the play-offs again and get another late-mid-game pick, and I'll shift my focus to Jabari Smith, Caleb Hustan, Nikola Jovic and even an unknown 17-year-old in some corner. Of course, the NCAA is about to start, and everyone is welcome to pay more attention to college basketball and pay attention to these geniuses. At the same time, I still have to shout "GO SPURS GO!" Finally, I'd rather believe that by the end of the season, fans of the Thunder, Rockets or Magic (if any) will follow similar posts.