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It's not just because of injuries. Obviously bench/role players aren't meant to carry teams, but at the same time they're not supposedto be this bad. It's not a matter of Manu being out, it's a matter of everyone outside of "the Big 3" being a either a D-Leaguer or a vetwho's nearing the end of his playing days. The problem isn't "2nd stringers having to carry a team," it's that the 2nd stringers areterrible, regardless of what they're being asked to do.Originally Posted by I3
They'll bounce back. Its just because of the injuries. I doubt management picked their 2nd stringers on their ability to carry a team without the Manu or Parker, let alone Duncan. Their purpose was to play dispersed minutes and add impact, not completely fill the roles.
Its the same for LA or whatever team, take away Kobe, Odom.. or Gasol. Whats going to happen?
They're not a solid team playing badly without a big player. They're simply a bad team with 2 (now 1) good players who just can't carry the wholeload. There's a difference... if you watch them, you'll see that they're not the same Spurs, so we can't expect them to bounce back with whatthey have. Finley can't hit open jumpers, Bowen/Kurt Thomas have no impact, and so on...
Clearly every team would be some kind of bad without their biggest contributors - LA, San Antonio, Boston, Houston. But that's beside the point. If youtake away the best players from every team and look at what's left... what the Spurs have now would be amongst the worst. THAT'S the problem.
I do believe they'll bounce back because they're the Spurs and I can't imagine them missing the playoffs... but not just because Manu and TP willget healthy because they'll still be a terrible team. I think they'll end up signing some vet who gets cut (McDyess) or find a few rough gems throughtrades. They always do, and it's not that hard considering they're only reinforcing the bench, not revamping the roster.