Even Without Tim Duncan, Small Ball Still Doesn't Appeal to San Antonio Spurs

SAN ANTONIO — In an NBA that seems obsessed with the long ball, the San Antonio Spurs stick out as a throwback to a bygone era.

Tim Duncan may have retired, but his replacement, Pau Gasol, is both taller (7'0") and longer. With LaMarcus Aldridge joining Gasol in the low post, the Spurs are the closest thing the NBA has to an old-school, inside-out offensive attack.

Last season’s leading scorer, small forward Kawhi Leonard, says, "I'm going to have to get to the lane more to make plays for my team this year, more than trying to stay out at the three-point line."

If Aldridge, Gasol and Leonard aren’t the Spurs’ top three scorers, it will mean at least one of them suffered a serious injury.

This is not to suggest head coach Gregg Popovich is mired in the past, though one could hardly blame him if he were. After all, his run to the third-best winning percentage among those who have coached at least 500 NBA games (68.5 percent, trailing only Phil Jackson and Billy Cunningham) began because he was able to pair David Robinson and Tim Duncan in the low post. But he also learned the small-ball concept from its originator, Don Nelson, and adapted early to strategic use of the long ball, including tactical use of stretch 4s such as Robert Horry and Matt Bonner.

Popovich knows his reconstructed Spurs lineup won’t thrive without giving his post players the space they need to operate by maintaining a credible deep threat.

"Pretty honest, I don't think we are the only team with two big guys that can score," Popovich said. "But the three is still important. You have to make threes to win in this league. You can't win without threes. You throw it to a big guy and let him shoot twos all night long, you lose. That's the way it is."

Check Western Conference lineups, and it is evident that only the Grizzlies figure to be as post-centric as the Spurs.

The Hawks have had a Spurs look to them since hiring Mike Budenholzer away from Popovich in 2013 and may play more of an inside-out game this season after signing Dwight Howard to team with Paul Millsap on the front line. But Budenholzer believes the Spurs will be more committed to post offense than any other squad.

"I think it is possible," Budenholzer said. "Between Kawhi and LaMarcus and Pau, they've got three great post-up options. I think Pau, especially, is such a unique passer. He can leave the post and facilitate offense and get other people involved in opportunities. He's just a natural there, so I can definitely see where they could trend that way."

It’s hard to argue with the Spurs’ dedication to low-post scoring, even when the analytics that have driven the ascendancy of the long ball suggest the interior game is archaic.

"They’ve won multiple championships here being who they are," said Aldridge, the 6'11" power forward who signed the biggest free-agent contract in Spurs history to join the team in July 2015. "Why change it now? We have some guys who can play the way they want to play here, so let’s go do it."

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Playing on one of the league’s tallest and most effective front lines in 2008-09 and 2009-10, Gasol teamed with fellow 7-footer Andrew Bynum and athletic, 6'10" Lamar Odom to help the Los Angeles Lakers with back-to-back NBA championships. Of course, there was plenty of perimeter scoring and three-point shooting from Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, but the giant front line was a potent weapon, especially in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense.

Gasol smiled at the memory after the Spurs scored their first preseason win, over the Hawks. 

"You see less and less of that," Gasol said of the Lakers' triple-tower front line. "The good thing we had was we could always go small and versatile with Lamar at the 4 and me at the 5. Here, we also have some versatility to go both ways. So, yeah, we have a team with enough depth and talent to adjust to any style, but not forgetting that we want to implement and establish our own style and not get away from our weapons and strengths trying to adjust to other teams' strength. I think that’s going to be one of the keys to the season."

Entering his 15th Spurs season, Manu Ginobili also sees the possibilities (and limits) of sticking with size when teams such as the Warriors go small. 

"As always, you can punish in one way and then suffer in another," Ginobili said, "because the league has gone small with a lot of shooters. And usually bigs, old-school bigs or bigs that have been around, tend to shift toward the paint. And in this league, you can get to the paint.

"You’ve got to guard smalls sometimes because you’ve got to switch. So it takes a little time depending on the team you are playing. Some teams, you can get an advantage because of that. Others, you are going to end up having to change to four smalls, too. We will see how it goes."

Would Budenholzer, the 2014 NBA Coach of the Year, advise his old boss to punish the Warriors with his potent big lineup?

"I'm not in the West, so I'm not going to give anybody any advice," Budenholzer said, unable to suppress a wide smile. "Good luck to however you decide to try it. Good luck."

The New Boban?

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On Tuesday, Ginobili posted a photo on his Twitter account that tugged at the heart strings of Spurs fans everywhere: a scene around a table somewhere in Birmingham, Michigan, with Ginobili, teammates Patty Mills and David Lee, and former Spurs big man Boban Marjanovic. "With Bobi in Birmingham," the Twitter feed read. "We’ll miss you, too!"

Boban-mania overtook San Antonio last season because of Marjanovic’s size—7'3", with some of the longest arms and biggest hands in league history—energetic play, monster dunks and a warm, outgoing personality that matched his physical gifts.

There probably isn’t a player on the roster capable of filling Marjanovic’s fan-favorite role, but another 7-footer, DeWayne Dedmon, probably has the best chance.

One of the more athletic 7-footers in the league, Dedmon will be asked to rebound, block shots and run the floor on the fast break. The potential is there for plenty of lob dunks. He also has a winning smile and plays with the sort of energy that fans appreciate.

James Borrego, who returned to Popovich’s coaching staff this season, knew plenty about Dedmon’s game from his time as an assistant under Jacque Vaughn in Orlando and interim head coach after the Magic fired Vaughn with 30 games left in the 2014-15 season. He advocated Dedmon’s free-agent signing after the Spurs opted not to match the three-year, $21 million offer sheet Detroit gave restricted free agent Marjanovic in July.

He thinks the 26-year-old center from Southern Cal has a chance to generate some fan excitement of his own.

"If he stays in his lane and does what we ask him to, he’s going to find minutes on the floor. And if he gets minutes, I see him energizing our group, our team and our crowd. He can do that if he sticks to that role. His [role] is very small for us right now. He’s going to put pressure on the rim and both ends. He’s going to play with energy.

"We saw when Boban came in the game last year, there was energy. Dedmon’s going to do it in a different way than Boban did. He can guard both positions, which is unique for us. He could guard on the wing. You could switch pick-and-rolls with him, and he could stay in front. He has the length and athleticism to do that."

Aldridge All D?

When the Spurs signed Aldridge to the three-year, $64 million contract that made him their highest-paid player, it was primarily for the offensive prowess that had made him an All-NBA selection as a Portland Trail Blazer.

It was surprising when Popovich expressed admiration for his quick adaptation to the Spurs' defensive scheme and his defensive work in general. With Duncan—an All-Defense pick just two seasons ago—gone, Aldridge’s low-post defensive work is even more important this season.

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Spurs guard Patty Mills spent one season with Aldridge in Portland. He saw improved defensive work from him last year and believes he can be even better this time around.

"I think so, [for] a number of reasons," Mills said. "The amount of rest he was able to get, so he could play at a high-quality level throughout the season, understanding his defensive role and not being asked to do more than that. To see him locking down defensively was obviously huge for us and will be huge for us this season."

Ginobili experienced Aldridge’s defensive skills when they were opponents.

"I noticed during the years playing so many times against Portland," he said. "Down the stretch, they were switching, and I had him on me many times, and trying to beat him with his length and quick feet. And he's athletic; it's hard to go by him. I think he's a very good defensive player. I don't know what's his reputation. I really don't care. I know he's a reliable defender."

Most importantly for Aldridge, Popovich already is satisfied with his defensive work for the Spurs.

"If he plays the defense he played last year, we'll be happy," Popovich said. "He did a good job."

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.