The Mason PG experiment has failed, Plan B?

[PDXSpursFan]

THE MASON PG EXPERIMENT HAS FAILED. He just can't handle on-the-ball pressure. He always turn it over or simply end up forcing a shot. That's now -imagine in the playoffs.
So what's the Plan B?

1) Hill = inexperience
2) Get Vaugh back into the rotation
3) Ginobili - not a good idea since he'll have enough challenge just to get back into rythm
4) Bring back NVE or Stoudemire? :lol

[xtremesteven33]

I dont see a problem with giving both a chance to handle the ball during games.

[GodFamilySPURS]

Are you kidding me? Vaugh sucks. The order should be Parker, Hill, then Mason for PG. Hill is a great PG player for a backup of 14-20 mins a night.

[Dex]

Go big with Duncan, Bonner, Oberto, Gooden, Thomas.

Put Oberto at the point.

:monkey

[SenorSpur]

I think most of us have seen this as a failed experiment or at least one with diminishing returns - kind of like playing Finley 30+ minutes a game. Mason has a terrible handle against pressure and hasn't shown an adeptness at setting up other guys for shots.

I'm not sure what brought on this change, but if this is a trust issue, I would trust Hill to handle the ball and run the offense, moreso than Mason. The time he filled in for TP was enough for me, as he ran the team beautifully.

I love Mason as a shooter - not as a backup PG. That said, I believe Pop has seen enough of the Mason experiment to believe it can still work.

[easy7]

Go back in time and get Starbury...

[EJK5032]

yeah, for some reason it seems like Mason playing PG is ruining his game, plus the team's offensive flow as a whole. Mason is much better off the ball, on the wing. And he's a much better scorer on the perimeter.......he cannot finish in the lane.....his shot release is too low and he doesn't handle contact well.

on the other hand, Hill is flourishing off the ball, on both offense and defense.....seems like the less thinking he has to do, the more his instincts take over, and the better he plays overall. he's been back at the point for short spurts the last couple games, and he seems more comfortable.........I'd like to see him back there for good.

The team had much better rhythm earlier in the season with Hill at the point and Mason on the wing, inexperience or not.

[024]

the backup pg position on the spurs seems to be the cancer spot of the team.

[fyatuk]

Hill should be handling most of the backup duties at pg. Mason does need sporadic possessions where he's the primary ballhandler, but he shouldn't be running the point for that long.

Problem with that is that when Hill is bad, he is horrendously bad, so Mason needs to be prepared anyway.

[urunobili]

Hill is the Answer... He'll just have to bring up the ball and let Manu do the play making...

[EricB]

?

When did said person become the final judger of something being a "failure"

That being said, Hill should've never lost the job.

[PDXSpursFan]

Hill is the Answer... He'll just have to bring up the ball and let Manu do the play making...

That's an interesting idea that might work.

[crc21209]

?

When did said person become the final judger of something being a "failure"

That being said, Hill should've never lost the job.

Agreed. Hill was doing just fine, and never did anything to wrong to lose his job. So that being said I want Hill backing up TP....and Mason and Manu at the 2-guard spot.

[crc21209]

?

When did said person become the final judger of something being a "failure"

That being said, Hill should've never lost the job.

Agreed. Hill was doing just fine, and never did anything that wrong to lose his job. So that being said I want Hill backing up TP....and Mason and Manu at the 2-guard spot.

[MaNu4Tres]

Who cares ...


Having someone bring the ball up the court 10 minutes a game isn't going to make us win or lose come playoff time.

There's a lot more concerns in my eyes.

Some of y'all fans are looking at the backup pg postion as a life or death situation. It's quite amusing.

[DPG21920]

I could be wrong, but I do not believe that Hill losing the job had anything to do with him. He did have some ups and downs, but he was doing pretty well. I think it had more to do with Pop trying to see how Mason could do in the Ginobili role of handling the rock in a pinch along with trying to maximize what you get from Roger offensively (he gets more shots, lets him get the looks he likes off screen and shoot...).

[BigVee]

The longer Pop stays with this, the more I think Manu is not coming back this season.

[SenorSpur]

I wonder if Pop knows what and more importantly who he wants as a backup PG for this team.

He drafted and tried to develop Beno Udrih. Beno was a very good and talented shooter and passer, but was a poor ball handler against pressure. More importantly, he was mentally fragile and couldn't withstand Pop's military-style mind games. No matter what he tried, he simply couldn't inspire him. As a result, Beno was yanked back and forth from primary backup to 3rd PG, based upon what and when Pop saw fit.

He overrated and heavily courted both Nick Van Exel and Damon Stoudamire. NVE was a good of a scoring PG as there has been. He was just 2-3 years past his prime. Stoudamire seemed to do well as a pass-first PG in their system. It was when Pop ordered him to look for his offense first, that his problems began. Turned out Damon was also at the end of his line too.

He feel in love with Jacque Vaughn. Pop loves JV's defense, hustle, smarts and professionalism. He just doesn't score the ball well enough. At times, Pop has overrated and depended upon him as a primary backup PG - especially last season, after Beno was cut.

Now he has the perfect package in George Hill. A young, energetic, tough, defensive-minded PG, who was a scoring guard in college. Pop seemed to take a different approach with this rookie than he did with Beno. He seemed to trust him immediately and gave him the reins when TP was injured. Just as Hill was getting comfortable, Pop decides to strip his primary ball-handling duties as backup PG. We forget Hill is still making the convversion to PG, having played SG in college. He needs all the reps he can get in order to fast track his development.

I know Pop is smarter than all of us. After all, he develop TP into the star PG he is today. It just seems to me that Hill's value to this team is at the backup PG spot, not camping out beyond the corner 3-pt line or in an exclusive 4th quarter role as Bruce Bowen Jr.

No disrespect to Mason, but the backup PG role is not his strong suit.

[sonic21]

just play tony 48 mins