Editor’s note: Jeje Gomez here. This is a candid conversation between PtR’s Editor in Chief, J.R. Wilco, and me after the loss to the Pelicans. It has been lightly edited for clarity. Enjoy! J.R. Wilco: My take on the Pels game and the season so far: The first game bringing a guy ba ck into the rotation can be trying, and it just so happened to be the same game when Wemby had poor timing on his help defense and when the entire team largely forgot how to make free throws. (And the game where Vic wasn’t learning from his mistakes but continued to try to stop jumpers as well as protect the rim. I wonder whether he’ll ever start compromising the way Duncan learned to.) I think Mitch is committed to treating this season like he’s playing with house money. If I could put words in his mouth to describe what I imagine his mindset is, I’d say, “We’re the #2 seed despite our many injuries and our extreme youth, winning games largely through raw talent, elite defense, and sporadically streaky shooting. If I just get playing time for everyone who I will probably be relying on in 2-3 years, they’ll get comfortable enough with each other to reap the benefits of me not coaching for win maximization right now.” What do you think? Jesus Gomez: I agree with all of it. But I’ll also add that it’s not the first time they get out-hustled by a less talented team or come out flat in the third quarter. And if it keeps happening, they won’t be the second seed for long Wilco: Sure. But the more a team works together, the less physical talent matters. 2014 made that obvious time and again Gomez: My thing is, why are we so sure things will work themselves out? I’m not saying it’s time to panic, but I just can’t brush away every flaw by saying they are young and Mitch will figure things out. Not everything is concerning, thinking long-term. But some things might be. Wilco: I guess we just expect it to eventually become what mature offenses grow into. Motion Weak and Motion Strong didn’t start as fully realized offensive schemes with options to take advantage of every defensive response. They grew into those over the years. I find myself sure because I trust the minds involved. I mean, Maxey is 25 and look what Philly can do now: View this post on Instagram Gomez: Fun stuff from Philly. And it’s good to see that Barlow found a home. But those contending Spurs teams had Tim freaking Duncan, so they didn’t need to have a million options. I’m all for being patient, but Mitch hasn’t earned my trust, basically. And Wemby is not Tim Duncan on offense. He might end up being a better player, but throwing the ball to Duncan in the post as much as possible was a viable option while just giving the ball to Victor isn’t, at least with the current spacing. My frustration with the offense is that even with how raw the talent is, there has to be a better way to balance the strengths and weaknesses of the best players. Granted, it might just be a personnel problem. If Harrison Barnes forgets how to shoot, not even the best coach can manufacture enough spacing for Wemby to catch and finish near the paint against single coverage Wilco: I agree with you. But even as you say, there are better ways to utilize the skills on the team to torture defenses, or at least make life less easy for them. Take pick-and-rolls, for instance. Early in the first quarter last night, Castle and Wemby ran one that commanded three defenders and ended in a wide-open (made) three. By my count, the next time they ran another pick-and-roll with Wemby was early in the second. Why not go back to it when the defense seemed utterly unprepared to deal? Then there are plays like this: Vic has his man sealed and just needs to be led toward the rim with a pass that’s relatively closer to him than his man. But Harper ignores him and goes to Champagnie. Not a bad option, but why isn’t everyone on the team told to cash these two points every time they see this? There are SO many options for easy points that the Spurs ignore. Great teams can win while ignoring some early offense opportunities, but it’s unusual. And I’m getting tired of being frustrated by illogical decisions not being addressed game after game. Gomez: I think it’s because the guards are making the simple play, since none of them are next-level passers. Harper has probably been told that if the big gets three guys in the paint, someone will be open and they should look for them. But I’m more bothered by the macro aspect of the offense than the micro, and I think that’s the crux of our disagreement. I don’t care that they leave points on the table because they don’t throw a lob pass that they never learned to throw. I want a system. If this is a developmental season, experiment and forget about wins. But I feel like the Spurs say it’s a developmental season to avoid scrutiny. Do you want to win? Stop playing Carter Bryant, move Castle to the bench, put the ball in Fox’s hands, and space the floor properly. Do you want to develop the young players? Then why is Fox here? Why is Barnes starting? Why are you not running everything through Vic and Harper? Why aren’t you playing Castle off the ball so he can clank a million threes until he develops a shot? Wilco: Yeah, they’re trying to have it both ways, that’s clear enough to see. Gomez: Right, and what I’m scared of is that by trying to do both, they’ll end up doing neither. Wilco: Back in the old days, I was able to make myself believe that there wasn’t anything I could think of that the team hadn’t already considered and rejected to pursue a better path than I could see. But this is a new regime that hasn’t earned that kind of goodwill. Pop is at the top still, but what does that really mean? And can they build a successful attack while ignoring the very real issues that we’re discussing? Gomez: I still believe that they are infinitely smarter than I am when it comes to basketball. But there are other incentives at play. Attendance. Playoff revenue. Job security, which was not an issue at all when Pop was the coach and R.C. Buford was the GM. That’s what scares me. The Spurs were not a normal team with normal team concerns back in the day. Now they kind of are. And while I trust the people in charge to be smarter than me, I’m not confident they are smarter than other coaches and GMs anymore. Not yet, at least. ...read more read less