He thought Nando could take the backup spot. And he didn't. Meanwhile CoJo tore it up in the D-League.I totally agree that CoJo looked really solid out there tonight.
I wonder why Pop waited until so late in the season to bring him in for a real run?
Cojo is not for these playoffs. A step tonight, but not fair to put too much on one performance.
2nd best pt guard on team is still Manu
Probably still a reach, or at least a gamble.
Looks like it's starting to pay off though.
It was one game and some very limited time earlier in the season, this is intriguing and a good thing it also makes things look good long term. I still think he came out of college a year to early. All that said its rounding out to be a good thing for the team, I hope this play continues out of him and he is on the play-off roster. Mills is just Neal light slightly better on defense and slightly worse of a shooter. Diaw, Duncan, Splitter, Jackson, Leonard, Neal, Green, Manu, Parker, Cory, Baynes, and Bonner should be the play-off 12. Neal hasn't lost his shot just been slightly hurt, and this semi forced back-uppoint role has has shown that while not exactly ideal its not a horrid thing. In the long run it will make him more valuable either as a spur or for another team as a Back-up combo guard and should help his passing and ballhandling as a 2. I really see this more as a case of the spurs perhaps getting this a year to soon, unless his progression is more steady and continous than is likely he can't really be counted on for much play time in the play-offs. As likely the primary back-up next year he will be looked at in that offseason as a likely canidate to leave for a place where he could start that's not happening with the spurs. At that point it will be two straight years of good progression so someone will likely be willing to outspend the spurs even though they had spent all that time and resources developing him. The spurs are getting even more stacked up at guard and the bigs in development still aren't looking strong (baynes has potential to become a solid rotation player but isn't going to become a star and there isn't much else that the spurs have rights to.)
Last edited by Gagnrath; 03-03-2013 at 11:06 PM.
The Spurs traded their backup point guard for an SF when they had RJ on the roster.
They signed a swingman cut by the Cavs and eventually turned him into their starting SG.
Hill is doing a good job for the pacers and is quality as a starter there. It is/was a good trade for both teams. I think the spurs came out slightly ahead but the pacers wouldn't have taken leonard so who knows how that would have turned out.
The cavs are playing gee a lot as is green both of those players are rotation quality swingmen that weren't quite fitting in the others team for what ever reason call it an offseason waiver trade more than anything.
My point was that the Spurs took a risk by trading established players and scooping up prospects from under the radar.
Neal hasn't been playing PG because of the injuries IMO - not because Pop doesn't want him too. Despite how many times a guy like De Colo or Mills steps up and has a good game, Neal almost instantly gets the nod when he's assumed to be near full health.
tbh Corey is hanging out with Blair and Diaw too much. He's looking chubby.
You would have to agree that if he performed as least as good as tonight, he is definitely the best point guard. I know it was Detroit, but the defense was very good tonight. Cojo was key in that defense. Very quick and lively out there. Calm and good movement of the ball. He got at least a few highlight worthy "hockey" assists tonight.
I hope Pop gives him a few more starts to see if this is the real deal or just the a good night. I am betting we are seeing the Spurs new back up PG.
Baby fat tbh
Who hates CoJo? I've never read a post that was speaking ill of Joseph. Joseph is good, I've thought he should be back PG and also, I've seen multiple ST readers give Joseph credit as "our best back up PG when it comes to defense", when he was with us early. Now he is getting credit as the overall best back up PG. I hope he stays to. He has worked so hard in the D-league.
I guess he'll be staying for the next month. If he continues to play like this he will never go back to the D league.
Especially at this point of the year and next month many NBA players are exceedingly light for their frames, between practicing and playing 2 and 3 games per week you have fairly muscular men well over 6' tall weighing under 200 lbs. Cory hasn't had quite the scheduale or travel as the rest of the team.
Why didn't you step up and call for him to get a chance earlier in the season?
Bruno and myself have asked for Cory to get a shot since early December. There might be a few other posters that have been calling for him too, I just don't recall many people saying he should get a chance that early though. Bruno has been consistently saying that Cory should get a shot at it, so good to see that he got one tonight.
When I saw him starting tonight, I was really excited, especially about the defensive energy that he could bring. He didn't disappoint me, and he was good on offense too. I guess the time in Austin helped him out as far as running the point, but yeah, I always wanted him to get a legit shot this season because of his defensive potential.
I want him to stay in the rotation if he keeps running the point like he did. He is just so much better on defense than the other point guards, I don't see how you could not include him in the rotation. Defense will be crucial in the playoffs.
joseph's got everything spurs need for a backup pg, only glaring issue is his jumpshot. If he can hit his mid range and 3 pointers at a reasonable rate, he's gotta be the spurs backup pg
Toros investment paying off
"Hater" is a strong word, but there were plenty of folks who saw a player last year that was clearly not ready for the NBA. And the criticism was legitimate...he had no perimeter game and lacked real experience "running the show" because he came out so early. He was a "projection" pick.
Fortuntely for the Spurs (and in no small part, due to them) that "projection" has a decent chance of turning into solid production.
He'll always do that if Ginobili is out (it's a no brainer). The real test is whether he'll do it when Ginobili's in and there's been very few instances this season where he has.
They're 3rd in defensive efficiency. I know it's like shooting, in that you can't have too much, but I doubt that role comes down to defense. A PG can only have so much of an impact on defense, particularly a backup one who's only going to get roughly 10 mpg in the playoffs. I realize to come out of the West, they've got to go through Westbrook and potentially Paul, but the backup isn't going to play more than spot minutes against them anyway.1. If Pop is going to really stress D, CJ has to have a big advantage -- especially over Neal.
This role is more about offense than anything -- specifically, being an offensive fit next to Ginobili.
He probably has to shoot at least league average (36%), with a reasonable amount of volume, for Pop to even think about making him the permanent primary backup for the remainder of the season.2. He can shoot. CJ hit damn near 50% of his threes with the Toros. If he keeps knocking 'em down, it makes less sense to go with Neal (or Mills) for scoring purposes.
Speaking of which, Pop had this to say: “He’s gotten his opportunity, and he seems to be taking advantage of it.”
Oh yeah no doubt, Joseph was not NBA ready last season. I still believed in him, but it was obvious he needed some time in the D-league. As a back up PG for a while, he could really turn into a good player.
Got to disagree. Your point guard is your first line of defense. You need a good defender at that spot.
I'll add...10 minutes in a playoff game makes a huge difference. Having a solid defender on the opponent's lead guard and facilitator for 48 minutes would be HUGE in the playoffs.
It's nice to have, but you don't need it like you need a good defender on the interior to anchor your defense. A PG can't come close to having the same level of impact defensively.
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