Mason and Manu - Who should start when December comes?

[dougp]

Mason has looked great off the bench the first two games - if he continues to be the spark off the bench, should we start Manu and keep letting Mason come in? Or do we keep Manu in the reserves like last year?

[hater]

Manu will be coming off the bench when he comes back. Finley will keep on starting.

[exstatic]

The Big Three seem to balance out in terms of shots and points best when Manu comes off the bench. Manu can dominate and lead the second unit, and finish games, as usual. OTOH, I definitely think Mason should start, and Finley should be relegated to the "Barry" role of very limited minutes.

[exstatic]

Manu will be coming off the bench when he comes back. Finley will keep on starting.

F that. There was a reason to start Finley in years past, but he's the third best SG on the team. Start Mase.

[tp2021]

The Big Three seem to balance out in terms of shots and points best when Manu comes off the bench. Manu can dominate and lead the second unit, and finish games, as usual. OTOH, I definitely think Mason should start, and Finley should be relegated to the "Barry" role of very limited minutes.

+1
My sentiments exactly.

[timtonymanu]

as long as Manu stays the 6th man and Mason gets a chance to start. then ill be fine.

[ICE3000]

Maybe im jumping the gun but Mason is sure starting to look like our new version of.......... Naw i dont want to jinx it

[The Truth #6]

Finley will continue to start. His two year contract pretty much guarantees it in my opinion. However, hopefully his minutes will be equal only to what he is able to contribute.

[TMTTRIO]

I think it's time that Manu finally gets to start since Mason can bring the same spark of energy off the bench that they've had to use Manu for all these years and I think he can be very successful. Besides at this point I think it would be good for Manu to share a lot of court time with Tim and Tony and stop putting so much pressure on him having to carry the bench. I can see Manu start becoming more of a shooter this year. Finley should only get a few minutes.

[wisnub]

This is a retarded discussion....Manu didnt deserve to be compared with Mason, but since Spurs didnt have anyone else to be compared with...well, the only time Manu is coming from the bench is to add punch from the bench or to avoid the situation where too many options in 1st squad and no go to guy in 2nd squad. Currently Spurs bench is just a bunch of cheerleaders...just look at the scoreboard. I dont even want to go there. Bring Mahinmi in...

[exstatic]

Finley will continue to start. His two year contract pretty much guarantees it in my opinion. However, hopefully his minutes will be equal only to what he is able to contribute.

Barry's contract was bigger than Finley's every year they were Spurs, and he was stuck at the end of the rotation, if not buried on the bench. Contracts never dictate what Pop does. Even if they did, Mase makes more now than Finley.

[ginobilized]

Maybe im jumping the gun but Mason is sure starting to look like our new version of.......... Naw i dont want to jinx it

Jaren Jackson? James Silas? Antonio Daniels? Larry Kenon? Vinny Del Negro? Mario Elie?

Please tell

[nfg3]

Manu should continue to come off the bench and as of now I think Pop will continue to start Finley. Hopefully as the season wears on Mason will get a chance to start and Finley will be the third SG option. At that point Finely will probably completely disappear since he needs minutes to warm up and get his stroke. I really don't believe that he can come off the bench and start hitting shots right away.

I hope I'm wrong since we need all of the players to contribute in some fashion. When Finley can't get his stroke going he just seems to vanish out there on the court. When this happens it seems that he fails to rebound and his overall hustle drops off and besides even on good days his D is suspect. It seems his O fuels everything he does.
No O = nothing from Finley.

[timvp]

I like Mason starting and Manu coming off the bench. Manu needs his minutes limited and coming off the bench is the best way to do that. We saw what happened last year when Manu was forced into big minutes in the middle of the season. He was physically drained by April.

This year, I like the idea of Pop slowly working Manu back into the mix. Capping his regular season minutes per game around 25 would be optimal. Then once the playoffs begin, he can bump it up to 30-32 minutes and hopefully have him 100%.

Mason as a starter makes sense because he already is playing very well off of Duncan. He and Parker also seem to have pretty good chemistry. Then with Manu off the bench, he can pair with Hill to offset any of Hill's inexperience. A Hill and Mason backcourt off the bench would likely be too green. Hill's a rookie and Mason is basically a second year player.

But mainly, Manu needs to come off the bench because I don't trust Pop being able to limit his minutes in the starting lineup.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Mason's developing a nice two man game with Duncan.

I suspect we'll see Mason starting with Manu coming off the bench. Finley's minutes go to under 10 a game in a limited role for end of quarters, garbage time, etc.

Pop's already giving Mason a lot of burn and has him in at the end of games. That confidence will continue to grow as Mason continues to learn the offense and how to work with his teammates.

We all know what Manu can do coming off the bench. And LJ brings up a good point about having Manu and Hill in there together, that'd be a good combination.

[JamStone]

If Bowen is really on his decline, it's possible it could be Mason and Finley starting.

Manu should remain coming off the bench for the reasons already stated. His minutes need to be monitored closely. Plus, the dynamic on offense is a pretty good one in terms of balance. Manu can play off the ball, but he's also very good with the ball in his hands and so it helps coming off the bench to make him the primary scorer in the second unit. It gives the team great balance offensively.

In fact, I don't know why more teams don't do this. It may be ego or money or whatever. But, if a team has three potent scorers, why not bring one off the bench, especially when that player could viably play starter minutes anyway. I think it's an approach Phil Jackson is using with Odom. I think more teams would be better served doing that if they have the personnel.

[m33p0]

i don't care so long as spurs can field them.

[Manufan909]

As long as there are two playmakers in each unit it's all good. Tim and Tony obviously for the starters, but the 2nd unit only has Manu, so maybe having Mason play alongside Manu, with Hill, Thomas/Mahinmi, and Ime/Bowen would be solid as the second wave.

As long as Finley's minutes correlate perfectly with his production, I'm happy. So far Pop been great about that when possible, but I'd like Farmer to be given a longer leash tomorrow so see how he does against real competition.

I just want Farmer, Hill, and Tolliver to get 10+ minutes each next game, to help work the rotation out.

[#2!]

I would put Mason starting w/ manu off the bench, but I believe that no matter who the starters are Pop is going to be throwing several different looks throughout games once we have the full line up back. But a potential "2nd" unit I'm looking forward to seeing:

Hill
Mason
Manu
Mahinmi
Fabricio

This would be a great set of guys. Manu and Fab already have great chemistry, and I imagine these new players will have plenty of time together by the time Manu gets back to be acclimated w/ each other's games. It would have great opportunistic defense with the way Manu and Hill love to play the passing lanes, and the atheleticism (at least in Spurs terms) will be ready to run the fast break when those steals, or rebounds/tipouts from fab come along. 3pt/jumpshot/ball handling from 1-3spots would make for one of the strongest second units in the legue.

[m33p0]

Hill
Mason
Manu
Mahinmi
Fabricio

fab looks out of place in that lineup. he'll be running down court while the others are already running up.

[#2!]

fab looks out of place in that lineup. he'll be running down court while the others are already running up.I think Fab, although no track star, isn't overly slow for a 5. He hustles well in all aspects of his game, its how he gets his rebounds, his points, his defensive plays. so no not athletic, but certainly capable.

Besides if Tim was in there it wouldn't really be a 2nd string at all, and then the only other center option is KT...I'll take Oberto:rollin

[Obstructed_View]

I love the potential versatility of a Parker/Hill/Manu/Mason backcourt, particularly if Mason's defense improves.

[m33p0]

I think Fab, although no track star, isn't overly slow for a 5. He hustles well in all aspects of his game, its how he gets his rebounds, his points, his defensive plays. so no not athletic, but certainly capable.

Besides if Tim was in there it wouldn't really be a 2nd string at all, and then the only other center option is KT...I'll take Oberto:rollin
how 'bout Tiago Splitter?

[the cat's balls]

It will be Fin Dawg starting sadly. Sure he may be as useless as the cat's tits but Pop seems to love him regardless.

In a perfect world Mason would start, Manu would lead the bench brigade, Desmon Darmer would be lighting it up in the spot minutes he received and ol' Mike Fin would be snuggled up in a retirement home somewhere.

[spursthechamps]

def. mason

[mrspurs]

The Big Three seem to balance out in terms of shots and points best when Manu comes off the bench. Manu can dominate and lead the second unit, and finish games, as usual. OTOH, I definitely think Mason should start, and Finley should be relegated to the "Barry" role of very limited minutes.

Yeah right give the starting line to Roger. hahahaha. The job belongs to Manu whenever he gets back. Its that simple. If Roger starts and Manu comes off the bench its just another way to show the other NBA teams we have a weak bench and we have to come up with schemes to beat ya. We just cant beat ya like we used to. Get real........:wow

[mrspurs]

F that. There was a reason to start Finley in years past, but he's the third best SG on the team. Start Mase.

You dont know much about basketball do ya? You can easily call people names for their opinions, but you have no knowledge of how to stay cool. You wouldnt last long in a world of mixed people. I could easily see ya fetching coffee.