Dear Mr. Mason...

[Spurtacus]

You wanted playing time, right?

31 minutes
2 points (1-6 fg)
0 rebounds
2 assists

What the fuck is this shit? Are you playing for a contract or not? You got outplayed by Keith Bogans on both sides of the ball. What say you?

[AFBlue]

And yet he was in at crunch time, playing the position of a guy the Spurs are currently paying $14M....and even THAT guy played better.

Terrible.

[objective]

:pop: That's on me guys. I shouldn't have had him at 2-guard, we all know he's better at power forward.

[Obstructed_View]

You wanted playing time, right?

31 minutes
2 points (1-6 fg)
0 rebounds
2 assists

What the fuck is this shit? Are you playing for a contract or not? You got outplayed by Keith Bogans on both sides of the ball. What say you?

I say I want to let him start for a couple of games to actually get accustomed to a routine. No minutes one night, starting the next. Seriously, what the fuck do you guys expect? Pop told the media three days ago that he'd settled on his starting lineup for the rest of the season because the team needed continuity.

[benefactor]

So much for that new contract. It's the vet minimum or Europe for him next season.

[murpjf88]

Know matter whose on the court, Spurs fans will bitch. I suppose if Mason had 16 points and five assists, you would him starting permanently.

[rayray2k8]

Broke-Mase

[z0sa]

Is there anyone out there who thinks Hairston can't compete for minutes with Mason and Bogans? Or that Hairston doesn't have the potential to be better than both?

[objective]

Is there anyone out there who thinks Hairston can't compete for minutes with Mason and Bogans?

:pop:

[Spurtacus]

Know matter whose on the court, Spurs fans will bitch. I suppose if Mason had 16 points and five assists, you would him starting permanently.

Fail post.

Mason bitched about playing time and wanted a trade. Now he's played four games in a row with 17+ minutes in each game and has shot 10-31. I wouldn't mind the poor shooting if he did something else on the floor. He doesn't.

[TD 21]

So much for that new contract. It's the vet minimum or Europe for him next season.

I doubt it. Even with reduction in players salaries up-coming, he should still be able to get $2-2.5 million. He's seemingly built a decent reputation around the league off the back of his playing well for roughly 3/4 of last regular season.

I like Mason and haven't gotten on him much before, but the reality is he's just mediocre. Don't get me wrong, I never had this illusion that he was some big time talent or anything, I knew what he was, I just thought he was better at it than he apparently is. I don't have the numbers at my disposal, but I'd like to know his shooting percentage from, say last February to this February. It's got to be terrible for a supposed shooter. Remember, he was up around 45% from 3 for much of the first half of last season and yet he finished at 42%. This year he's at 38% and getting worse by the game.

Even if he wanted to, at this point, it's unlikely he or Bonner will return. The Spurs are paying roughly $7 million for mediocre shooting out of both. With the Spurs clearly desperate to slash payroll, look for them to find cheaper alternatives (my guess: Cook and Almond).

[8FOR!3]

Yeah, he has sucked the past few games. But to be fair, Keith Bogans has stepped up since he got the starting job. I'm not saying he's good, I'm just saying he's played a little better this week than he was playing.

[Spursmania]

The Spurs should have done everything they could to get rid of you.

[Obstructed_View]

Fail post.

Mason bitched about playing time and wanted a trade. Now he's played four games in a row with 17+ minutes in each game and has shot 10-31. I wouldn't mind the poor shooting if he did something else on the floor. He doesn't.

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q228/GeneralPurpose/Spurstalk/Uhhhdurrrdurrrdurr.jpg

How long has Bogans been getting major rotation minutes and starts but hasn't been able to put up even that kind of production? The only thing that changed about Mason from last year and Mason from this year is the opportunities he's been given.

[HarlemHeat37]

Mason is a below average player, he's not used properly on the Spurs..he's a great shooter that should be used the way the Celtics used Eddie House when he was on their team..he should only play depending on whom the other players are on the floor at the same time..he should play when the Spurs need shooting..when he's hot, he should stay on the floor, when he isn't, he should be on the bench..

He doesn't do anything else at a decent level and he's constantly exploited by other teams defensively, which we're all used to..

I like Mason btw, I'd like to see him continue to get minutes, he can be an asset to this team..my problem is that he should only be a situational player because he's too much of a liability elsewhere..

If you're going to play Mason, you need your other SG/SF to be able to play defense or you're going to need 2 legit big men in the paint to protect him once he gets beat..unfortunately for the Spurs, Jefferson/Finley/Bogans don't play any kind of defense and our 2nd bigs aren't consistently good defensively(it also doesn't help that Pop doesn't even play a 2nd big a lot of the time)..

[Spurtacus]

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q228/GeneralPurpose/Spurstalk/Uhhhdurrrdurrrdurr.jpg

How long has Bogans been getting major rotation minutes and starts but hasn't been able to put up even that kind of production? The only thing that changed about Mason from last year and Mason from this year is the opportunities he's been given.

He got outplayed by Bogans tonight. Never said he was outplayed by Bogans season long. I'd rather have Mason starting then Bogans. Was Bogans the one asking for a trade? No. Mason was because he's in a contract year. He's getting playing time and isn't producing.

[z0sa]

It's really sad thinking about Mason's situation. Though he faded last Spring, his clutch shooting throughout last season and simply managing to play the roles Pop asked of him should have been enough for consistent PT this season.

Pop has screwed over multiple players this season in some way or another. Whether it's been the lack of a set rotation throwing guys out of a rhythm; or giving the wrong guys big minutes; or putting players and lineups in positions where neither individual nor team success is possible; or most often, a combination of them, Pop has made some very controversial decisions. Some are against obvious "common sense", if you ask me.

[TD 21]

Mason is a below average player, he's not used properly on the Spurs..he's a great shooter that should be used the way the Celtics used Eddie House when he was on their team..he should only play depending on whom the other players are on the floor at the same time..he should play when the Spurs need shooting..when he's hot, he should stay on the floor, when he isn't, he should be on the bench..

He doesn't do anything else at a decent level and he's constantly exploited by other teams defensively, which we're all used to..

I like Mason btw, I'd like to see him continue to get minutes, he can be an asset to this team..my problem is that he should only be a situational player because he's too much of a liability elsewhere..

If you're going to play Mason, you need your other SG/SF to be able to play defense or you're going to need 2 legit big men in the paint to protect him once he gets beat..unfortunately for the Spurs, Jefferson/Finley/Bogans don't play any kind of defense and our 2nd bigs aren't consistently good defensively(it also doesn't help that Pop doesn't even play a 2nd big a lot of the time)..

Mason: Forward-guard my ass. This guy is strictly a two, even though he's always been used as a two/one. Either way, he's definitely not a three.

This has been a problem on this team for years: undersized wings. It's not just the bigs, which get all the focus, it's the wings too. This team has one true SF (Jefferson) and only one other player who's SF-sized (Finley). The rest of these guys are either undersized two's (Mason, Bogans, Hill) or guys who lack the strength to play the three (Mason, Ginobili), yet the senile coach acts like if someone can play the two, then they can automatically play the three. That's not the case, which is why you see teams repeatedly post the Spurs wings for profit.

[Obstructed_View]

He got outplayed by Bogans tonight. Never said he was outplayed by Bogans season long. I'd rather have Mason starting then Bogans. Was Bogans the one asking for a trade? No. Mason was because he's in a contract year. He's getting playing time and isn't producing.

It was Mason's third start of the year. I'd like to see him get some consistent playing time before I deem him as useless as the guy who he's still out-producing who gets to start every night.

And why the fuck would Bogans ask for a trade? Most people dream their whole lives of a job where you get paid a lot of money, get endless praise from your boss even though you stink, and don't get any blame for the stuff you fuck up.

[Obstructed_View]

Mason: Forward-guard my ass. This guy is strictly a two, even though he's always been used as a two/one. Either way, he's definitely not a three.

This has been a problem on this team for years: undersized wings. It's not just the bigs, which get all the focus, it's the wings too. This team has one true SF (Jefferson) and only one other player who's SF-sized (Finley). The rest of these guys are either undersized two's (Mason, Bogans, Hill) or guys who lack the strength to play the three (Mason, Ginobili), yet the senile coach acts like if someone can play the two, then they can automatically play the three. That's not the case, which is why you see teams repeatedly post the Spurs wings for profit.

Lack of any sort of shot blocking inside doesn't help much.

[murpjf88]

Fail post.

Mason bitched about playing time and wanted a trade. Now he's played four games in a row with 17+ minutes in each game and has shot 10-31. I wouldn't mind the poor shooting if he did something else on the floor. He doesn't.

Mason never demanded a trade. He simply wanted more playing time. Its sad that you seem to dump on Mason for what jefferson, bogans, and bonner have done all season long, which is nothing. Mason isn't expected to be the difference maker. Players go into shooting slumps and it has nothing to do with increased playing time. It really doesn't matter whose on the floor, Nobody is producing with any sort of regularity.

[TD 21]

Lack of any sort of shot blocking inside doesn't help much.

No, I know, it doesn't. But that's obvious and get's beat to death. What doesn't get as much attention is how undersized the Spurs wings are and have always been. Just look at the perimeter players on this team. Of the eight, five are natural two's, one is a natural three, one is a natural one and one is a combo guard. That's an unbalanced team and it's a problem.

[TJastal]

Mason is defenitely capable of better as he showed last year when his minutes and role were established. What we've seen from Bogans this year is his upper limit.

[ElNono]

It's hard to perform when you're kicked around like a bitch and you don't know what your role really is. Was he the starting PG tonight? Or was it Hill? Some nights he'll play 2 minutes, some nights a lot. Sometimes PG... Sometimes 2 guard...
I have a feeling he will sign up for a team in a established backup role (like Harlem said, much like Eddie House) and probably contribute more than he had for us.
Our lineups have been a clusterfuck all season long, and it really makes it hard for players that need some kind of rhytm...

[Spurtacus]

It was Mason's third start of the year. I'd like to see him get some consistent playing time before I deem him as useless as the guy who he's still out-producing who gets to start every night.

I guess we'll wait and see what he does the next 28 games.

I agree that Pop has fucked him up a bit. He's not a PG and should never be asked to run the team.

[Obstructed_View]

I guess we'll wait and see what he does the next 28 games.

I agree that Pop has fucked him up a bit. He's not a PG and should never be asked to run the team.

When you fail to get a backup point guard for several years, this is what ends up happening when Tony Parker gets hurt. As much as George Hill might be Pop's favorite player, it doesn't make him any less an undersized shooting guard.

[hsxvvd]

Fuck all this talk about the need for bigs, we need to draft a SG this year. Good news is, if we keep going the way we have been, we'll get a chance to draft a really good one.

[TD 21]

When you fail to get a backup point guard for several years, this is what ends up happening when Tony Parker gets hurt. As much as George Hill might be Pop's favorite player, it doesn't make him any less an undersized shooting guard.

I like Hill, but I just don't see how he's a long term starter. Not big enough to be a full time SG and not a good enough play maker to be a full time PG. He's got very good third guard written all over him and if the front office sees him as a long term starter, then they're not going anywhere.

The lack of roster balance is predictably and inevitably catching up to this team. Who builds a team with one and a half point guards? Two centers, but only one of which plays? One true small forward? Between that and the mad scientist routine Pop has pulled with the rotation, they deserve what they're getting.

[Obstructed_View]

Yep. I hate to see it cost them this season, but if failing to make the playoffs this season is the only hope for them to salvage what's left of Duncan's career, I'm for it.

[Spurs Brazil]

Dear Mr. Mason... fuck you and GTFO

Mason SUCKS

[Brazil]

Dear Mr. Mason... fuck you and GTFO

Mason SUCKS

he has no alternative but sucking... he plays 0 min one game 30 the other then 10 then 5. The guy is a fucking shooter nothing else the only thing he can do is grab the pass and shoot the ball. For being efficient you have to limit his role to that and gives the guy a consistent time every game: pop has fucked what Mason is.

[GrandeDavid]

:pop: That's on me guys. I shouldn't have had him at 2-guard, we all know he's better at power forward.

:lol

Seriously, George has a large wingspan, why not start him at the 5 and move Tim to the 4 or bring him off the bench. :p