not enough blair.

[greyforest]

spurs got destroyed on boards. blair didn't play enough. coincidence?

[ezau]

He was actually being outboxed and outsmarted by Miller. He'll learn the tricks of the trade as the season progresses.

[sabar]

McDyess looked rusty/lost and Blair got abused defensively.

These chemistry problems and rookie mistakes should be gone in a few months. I'd be ready for more Blair being pulled in the short term as he learns.

[Mel_13]

spurs got destroyed on boards. blair didn't play enough. coincidence?

So you didn't actually watch the game?

[greyforest]

So you didn't actually watch the game?

so spurs didn't get destroyed on rebounds?

or blair played too much?

[Mel_13]

so spurs didn't get destroyed on rebounds?

or blair played too much?

Since you didn't watch the game, go to any of the play-by-play logs available online. Check Blair's stint during the first half. Note how many points and rebounds were recorded by the players and teams during that time.

I'll summarize. Blair was abused. He got into foul trouble. The team was badly outscored and badly outrebounded. His man clearly outplayed him. Blair was part of the problem last night. He's a rookie, it will happen.

[SpurNation]

There bigs were abusing anybody not named Duncan last night. Chicago played better and fresher. I was impressed with their crash the boards scheme. They definately have the post personnel to make that succesfully happen. But it made it look even easier for them to implement since the Spurs offensive and defensive scheme regarding the use of our post players allows for other teams to take advantage of those types of situations. Especially in a B2B when our team is not as fresh.

Blair wasn't going to change that. At least not last night as he proved.

[Mel_13]

There bigs were abusing anybody not named Duncan last night. Chicago played better and fresher. I was impressed with their crash the boards scheme. They definately have the post personnel to make that succesfully happen. But it made it look even easier for them to implement since the Spurs offensive and defensive scheme regarding the use of our post players allows for other teams to take advantage of those types of situations. Especially in a B2B when our team is not as fresh.

Blair wasn't going to change that. At least not last night as he proved.

Noah had 6 offensive rebounds, at least 5 came against Timmy. Noah, Deng, and Gibson did most of the damage. Noah on Duncan, Deng on Finley and RJ, and Gibson on Blair.

[benefactor]

How about not enough of anyone....

[ceperez]

Not only were they out rebounded, open shots were pretty rare.

The Bulls really learned a lot from the gruelling series with the Celtics (that was really a great series to watch).

Don't think not playing Blair was the problem.

The biggest disappointment though was RJ. I would expect that he out of everyone else would be the player most in shape. His shots were off and he didn't get much lift in his drives.

[admiralsnackbar]

How about not enough of anyone....

I'd say this covers it. We were out-hustled at every position, period. Hard to be worried about it at this stage of the season, and on the wrong end of a b2b.

[SpurNation]

Noah had 6 offensive rebounds, at least 5 came against Timmy. Noah, Deng, and Gibson did most of the damage. Noah on Duncan, Deng on Finley and RJ, and Gibson on Blair.

In watching the game...I noticed an interesting scheme used by the Bulls when the Spurs were on offense. They double teamed any Spur player positioned in the post which effectively shut down any driving lanes as well as allowed for the boxing out of (insert post player's name) allowing the other to have better position for a rebound.

This scheme is especially effective against the Spurs since our offensive scheme lends itself to spreading the floor and not placing more than one player in position to establish themselves in the post. All I was eluding to is that it would be difficult for any of our post players to be effective down low given that scenerio. And as you pointed out...even Duncan was victom to what the Bulls were doing in that regard. But at least he had a good game considering the circumstances.

[Dice]

I didn't get to see any of the preseaon games so everthing I knew about Blair was from what I read. So far, he hasn't shown me anything that makes me think this guy is Duncan's replacement. He hustles hard but most of the game he's just parked under the glass. His offense hasn't shown me anything other than he benefits from other players penetration and gets an offensive rebound now and again. None of that is all that bad until he gets on the defensive end of the floor where he's almost a non factor. Both the Hornets and the Bulls bigs just shot right over him.I guess I'm just a little dissapointed in Blair after all the Blair talk I've read over the last few weeks.

Overall I thought last night's game ended the way it did because the Spurs couldn't hit a perimeter jumper and struggled at the three point line. I also think Bonner being on the floor softens our front line and puts too much of a defensive and rebounding load on Tim who I think we can all agree is not fully back physically yet. Last night betwen the combo of him and Bonner and Dice and Blair, it seemed like the Bulls were playing 2 on 1 under the glass.

[Agloco]

How about not enough of anyone....


I'd say this covers it. We were out-hustled at every position, period. Hard to be worried about it at this stage of the season, and on the wrong end of a b2b.

While its true that the Spurs were outplayed and got hammered on the boards, it essentially came down to shooting in the second half. Shooting a decent percentage (even 40%) wins the game.

Yeah the boards were a problem, but the reality is that the game was still winnable had the Spurs not shot themselves out of it in the third. Most all of the threes were short; not something that's entirely unexpected at this stage of the season.

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

he was such a liability on defense last night, he was 100 steps slow on pick and roll defense

[SpurCharger]

I personally Would of liked to of saw A Lil More Ratliff, and even Some Bogans..... We Played Bad defense, and couldnt Rebound to save our Lives..... Besides Duncan, Nobody Else really Showed up....

[Solid D]

It seemed as though Taj Gibson was saying to DeJuan, "you're the 2nd rounder and I'm the 1st rounder". The gauntlet has been thrown....it's up to Blair to accept the challenge.

[z0sa]

Not enough rebounding.

[SamoanTD]

the beast wuz in foul trouble and getting out played he wuz still tryin ta hustle though bt we get caught up in his BEASTLYNESS that we forget hes a rookie.

[Solid D]

the beast wuz in foul trouble and getting out played he wuz still tryin ta hustle though bt we get caught up in his BEASTLYNESS that we forget hes a rookie.

I agree he was getting out-played but he wasn't really in foul trouble. He didn't get his third foul until the Spurs were down by 12 late in the game.

[Flux451]

Fatigue? Duncan the lone shark attempting boards when paired with Bonner? Not wanting it? Bad game? Outhustled?

[SamoanTD]

I agree he was getting out-played but he wasn't really in foul trouble. He didn't get his third foul until the Spurs were down by 12 late in the game.
my mistake it jus seemed that way though lol

[dbestpro]

Blair had no energy just like the rest of the Spurs. They looked like they were playing with a hangover.

[Yogurt210]

for some reason, Blair looks like he always has no energy. Well atleats in the past two games. His interior defense is bad, and he is late on help defense. He also does not challenge shots alot.

I dunno, something about Blair makes him look SLOW.

[Solid D]

my mistake it jus seemed that way though lol

Hey, no problem. Maybe you were thinking about when Pop replaced him in the first half after making an unnecessary foul.

[SamoanTD]

Hey, no problem. Maybe you were thinking about when Pop replaced him in the first half after making an unnecessary foul.
proabably lol he wuz in and before i knew it *whistle *whistle and hes goin bacc to da bench lol

[spurspokesman]

We got killed by there athleticism. That combined with the fact our guards couldn't keep a scarecrow in front of them and chicagos shots were finding there mark. They outworked us and teams that are athletic will consistently be a problem for us at times.

[HarlemHeat37]

His rotations were beyond horrible last night, but that was something we saw in both SL and pre-season, so it's going to take some time..I'm sure we can all accept that..

[EmptyMan]

Blair played plenty. Blair played like a rookie.

[spurspokesman]

His rotations were beyond horrible last night, but that was something we saw in both SL and pre-season, so it's going to take some time..I'm sure we can all accept that..

Even with his mistakes he still tries and gives an effort and by far outdoes just about every big in there not named duncan. This kid is a steal and not one finger should be pointed at him cause we were getting the breaks beat off us before he stepped foot on the court. So I agree heat.

[Sobe_Kucks]

Effort was there and as much as we love the guy, let's not forget he's a rookie. He played like a rookie last night. He's been late on rotations but was still hustling. Many times he was the only one around the basket fighting for a board, tipping a ball and getting it taken away by a Bull. The only other guy on the court trying to grab boards was Duncan. It's a long season and only his second ever professional game. Let's give him some time.

[Mel_13]

Even with his mistakes he still tries and gives an effort and by far outdoes just about every big in there not named duncan. This kid is a steal and not one finger should be pointed at him cause we were getting the breaks beat off us before he stepped foot on the court. So I agree heat.


I'm not entirely sure what "getting the breaks beat off us" means. I do know that the Spurs were leading 15-10 when Blair entered the game. He played 4:07, committed two fouls, one turnover, collected zero rebounds, and scored one basket off a nice feed from Dice. The Spurs were outrebounded 7-1, and Blair's man had 4 rebounds (2 offensive) and scored 4 points. Spurs were outscored 14-8 during that time.

Duncan had a great game. Everyone else was subpar, including Blair.

[angelbelow]

Like some have mentioned, his defense is pretty horrible right now. He still has a lot to learn but the potential is there.