Putting Blair to starter PF is the better choice

[Rapper]

Don't you guys think so? and Timmy at C

[Spursfan092120]

It would probably be a good option, but then who would we have to spread out the floor? We have to consider that. Blair is not a shooter. I like him coming off the bench, and McDyess starting.

[TinTin]

Then I guess when Blair has a bad game and looks completely lost. You will suggest putting Dice again in the rotation? Then when Dice has a bad game we can go to ratliff.

Everyone has a shot at starting this year

[Rapper]

It would probably be a good option, but then who would we have to spread out the floor? We have to consider that. Blair is not a shooter. I like him coming off the bench, and McDyess starting.

Man ,McDyess is not a shooter too

[TJastal]

Man ,McDyess is not a shooter too

:lol

This is why I love coming here, just to laugh at the ignorant comments.

[Rapper]

Then I guess when Blair has a bad game and looks completely lost. You will suggest putting Dice again in the rotation? Then when Dice has a bad game we can go to ratliff.

Everyone has a shot at starting this year

But you can see that Blair really can play although he is not a shooter , during the game against Celtics, he obviously stole the thunder

[PaulGreco]

I spoke with Blair last night for an interview which will air on NBA tv next Wednesday night at 6:30, and Blair told me that even though he's coming off the bench, eventually he'd like to start. He also said that he likes being the HIGH-ENERGY guy. I think we saw a small-sample of what Blair can bring to the Spurs last night.

But, like Spursfan said up above, who is going to spread the floor? There were several times last night when Blair was in at the same time Tim was and Blair was clogging up space down below. Also, Blair looked lost on a few plays called because he was actually running what Tim was suppose to.

It'll take a little time for him to adjust, and let's not forget that Pop like to have his lineup set come the end Feb., so Blair still has time to continue to impress.

Sidenote : Because of Pops tapped mic feed, he was clowing Blair pretty good about scoring on himself. Telling him to talk to the vets to try and figure out which basket he was suppose to shoot.

--PG

[TJastal]

Pop tried Blair in the starting lineup already earlier in the year, and it didn't work out too well. Not to say it couldn't with time, but I think he's better suited to the 2nd unit which suits his self proclaimed label of "Energy Guy" better.

[PaulGreco]

TJastal...

The label of HIGH-ENERGY guy actual came from Richard Jefferson and Tony Parker who I spoke to pre-game about Blair for the piece. I brought that fact to Blair who said he liked being the HIGH-ENERGY guy for the team.

Sorry for not wording it correctly pal.

--PG

[duncan228]

I spoke with Blair last night for an interview which will air on NBA tv next Wednesday night at 6:30...

Nice. Looking forward to seeing it.

[EricB]

Leave the starting five alone.

[urunobili]

Leave the starting five alone.

one of those rare opportunities when i agree with EricB :tu

[Höfner]

That's starter C, bitch.


- Tim

[Spur|n|Austin]

Man ,McDyess is not a shooter too


NOT a shooter? What league have you been watching the past 10 years?

[bless1187]

i don't think its a valid point to say that D. Blair cannot play with T. Duncan because he could not spread the floor... We played started F. Oberto alongside T. Duncan, and he's not a particularly a spread the floor type player.

[angelbelow]

It would be interesting to see - but Blair is probably better off the bench as an energy guy like Manu.

[dbestpro]

Blair is right where he needs to be, bringing energy off the bench. The starting unit needs a little more offense which can readily be provdied by Manu. Start Manu and let the big 5 learn how to play with one another. It is the only formula that can provide success in the playoffs. Blair as a starter on a playoff team will get no respect from the officials and would spend most of his time in foul trouble.

[Chomag]

I like where Blair is right now no need to put him in the starting line up yet. However Pop trusting him and not giving him the rookie treatment to give him some good minutes with meaning. Thats what I'm uncertain about.

[Quiet Strength]

Blair would bring alot of energy to the starters which they need.. if not him then start manu. The spurs need energy to start games.

[Dice]

I feel like the more playing time Dice gets, the more games you'll see like he had in Houston. He looks lost out there in his short stints.

[Chomag]

Blair would bring alot of energy to the starters which they need.. if not him then start manu. The spurs need energy to start games.

I do tend agree with you here though. Our starters tend to look half asleep and uninspired at the start of the game. Now that we have an energy type of player to come of the bench in Blair, having Manu back in the starting line up sounds like a really good idea.

[hater]

I don't know. Then we wouldn't be able to unleash the beast. I vote for keeping him on the bench but putting a collar and chain on him. Then pop can really unleash the beast.

[Chomag]

I don't know. Then we wouldn't be able to unleash the beast. I vote for keeping him on the bench but putting a collar and chain on him. Then pop can really unleash the beast.

Doesn't Pop already have a short enough leash on him?

[spursfan1000]

I like Mcdyess starting more because he has better defense for the other starting big men around the league, Blair would not spread the floor with Duncan...it would be better to start Mcdyess and Duncan so Mcdyess could spread the floor and bring Bonner and Blair off the bench so Bonner can spread the floor, so keep it at what it is.

[Ibanezsr]

I am not advocating Blair to start but I see alot of people talking about spacing... Duncan is taking more and more shots outside.... Why can't Duncn be the one that is used at spacing the floor for Blair for short stints if they are going to play together? It's not like Ducan is under the hoop every play... He is usually shooting from the top of the key after rolling from a pick and roll... or banking it of the glass from 10-15 ft out...

[spursfan1000]

I am not advocating Blair to start but I see alot of people talking about spacing... Duncan is taking more and more shots outside.... Why can't Duncn be the one that is used at spacing the floor for Blair for short stints if they are going to play together? It's not like Ducan is under the hoop every play... He is usually shooting from the top of the key after rolling from a pick and roll... or banking it of the glass from 10-15 ft out...

Now that I think of that it's true but I don't think that Mcdyess will bring as much as energy off the bench as Blair would.

[Chomag]

I like Mcdyess starting more because he has better defense for the other starting big men around the league, Blair would not spread the floor with Duncan...it would be better to start Mcdyess and Duncan so Mcdyess could spread the floor and bring Bonner and Blair off the bench so Bonner can spread the floor, so keep it at what it is.

I realy don't like the Blair, Bonner on the floor together for our bench frontline.it just doesnt seem like enough size and strength up front. I think someone like Theo is needed with Blair. that is if we want any kind of defence out there.

[UnWantedTheory]

Blair would bring alot of energy to the starters which they need.. if not him then start manu. The spurs need energy to start games.

We need cohesion more. Dice can spread the floor, since he is a shooter, despite whoever claimed otherwise. Manu and Blair in the second unit makes more sense "energy" wise than either of them starting. The problems with the starting five, as I stated above, are cohesion and adjustments.

[UnWantedTheory]

Well IMO.

[UnWantedTheory]

I realy don't like the Blair, Bonner on the floor together for our bench frontline.it just doesnt seem like enough size and strength up front. I think someone like Theo is needed with Blair. that is if we want any kind of defence out there.

Bonner can still spread the floor and the hope I would assume, is that Blair plays bigger. Although, I dont necessarily like it either in some cases. Again, just my opinion.

[greyforest]

blair should play ~30 minutes but still come off the bench. he usually plays with the second unit and meshes well with them, especially manu

[HarlemHeat37]

Our spacing would be horrible..

Bogans is too inconsistent from outside, Parker is too inconsistent from outside, RJ isn't shooting well, and Blair doesn't have range..

[The Red Hood]

I guess it depends on who's playing better but you don't award Blair by starting him you award Blair by giving him more minutes than Bonner.

[SpurNation]

And in the next game he could foul out in 10 minutes. Blair is like the whole Spurs team right now...moments of greatness with consistent minutes of inconsistency.

[objective]

people obsess over 'spreading the floor' way too much. That kind of nonsense led people to believe that Scola sucked and Bonner was sooooooo much better.

in 03 they won with Robinson and Rose next to Duncan, and at that point neither of those guys were superstars from mid-range, especially Robinson. In 05 Nazr was the starter, he rarely took shots from outside 10 feet. In 07 there was Oberto and Elson, and those guys had minimal impact spreading the floor, between them it seemed they'd get about 1 open shot in the midrange a game.

Yes, he had problems next to Duncan like going to set a screen at the same time and place as Duncan. But that won't happen regularly as he plays more. It's like expecting him to score a tip in for the other team every game.

[Allanon]

Replacing Dice with Blair will make the Tony/Jefferson problem even more glaring.

[HarlemHeat37]

The problem isn't just spreading the floor in the frontcourt..

The problem is that Bogans can't shoot on a consistent basis, Parker can't, RJ is struggling and isn't a great shooter anyways..

When you have NO reliable shooters from anywhere on the floor, teams will make you pay..

[JustinJDW]

Blair works better coming off the Bench with energy. He fits the role perfectly.

[taps]

timmy and dice as starters w/ a steady diet of minutes works. i feel like pop has a certain amount of minutes to go around for two backup bigs once dice has the playbook pat and can fill the big # 2 role (w/ his bbiq and strength he can hopefully give us some heads up oberto plays-buckets when the j isn't falling.)

The nice thing about having three backups is that it gives coach an opportunity to see who can earn their minutes in a given game/series. If/when pop feels good about giving ratliff 10-20 mpg consistently we could offset a night where bonner lays an egg or blair gets lost in the set by cooling him on the bench and letting big theo anchor the paint for a bit.

[jag]

Rapper/Kill Bill Pana

[ezau]

Man ,McDyess is not a shooter too

Dice has a very dependable jump shot. He plays a lot like Kurt Thomas although he's quicker and he's a better defender

[Agloco]

Leave the starting five alone.

Agreed, Blair is at his mos effective when he's out there with Manu. Maximize the time those two have together. Come to think of it, Mason does a decent job of getting him the ball too.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I like what the bench brings in this current rotation. But our starters were definitely out of synch last night. I'm interested to see how this team gels in the next 4 months. As Blair learns to play in this league I certainly wouldn't object to an increase in his minutes.

[#2!]

As noted previously, everyone plays better when they play alongside Manu. And since Manu's minutes are probably going to be increased to a 25/game limit, and that number will probably hold for a while.

There simply isn't enough Manu to go around. But actually I wouldn't mind having Ginobili start, and allowing Hill, Blair, and, sometimes, RMJr to play the bench sparkplug role. The talent level top to bottom demands at least considering moving back to a more traditional roation. The only question would be concerning Keith Bogans's role on the team, b/c it might be more difficult for him to be effective if he doesn't have star players on the offensive end.

Although, with four players at least capable of being the main option on an offensive unit, that it seems like it wouldn't be difficult to make sure one of them is on the court at all times.