48MoH: Standing still, Richard Jefferson struggles

[Blackjack]

Standing still, Richard Jefferson struggles
by Jesse Blanchard

http://www.nba.com/spurs/photos/100306_11.jpg

With apologies to Manu Ginobili, when the Spurs acquired Richard Jefferson fans were expecting more than a (sometimes solid) bench player. Starting alongside Duncan and Parker, Jefferson was suppose to help move the Spurs to the top of the standings.

The only movement Jefferson has seen so far this season, however, is his name up and down the lineup card. For much of this season Jefferson has been stationary in the corner, as if he were Bruce Bowen or Sean Elliott before him.

And there are still questions why Jefferson has struggled?

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/2010/03/10/standing-still-richard-jefferson-struggles/#more-6859)

[Big P]

He's never taken the ball out of bounds?? wtf?? is that causing him to go 0 for 8 form the field?

Sad to say that the trade that was supposed to keep us in contention turned out to blow up in our face..the FO needs to start looking at moving rj as soon as summer starts, he will be an ending contract.

[santymrc]

He's never taken the ball out of bounds?? wtf?? is that causing him to go 0 for 8 form the field?

Sad to say that the trade that was supposed to keep us in contention turned out to blow up in our face..the FO needs to start looking at moving rj as soon as summer starts, he will be an ending contract.

Bad article. Worst in a long time. Never thougt i was gonna say that from 48, but that really sucks.

[spursfaninla]

Sounds like a very logical explanation for why RJ has floundered. Because being a jump shooter is not a strength, forcing that to be his dominant role makes him an average offensive player at best.

He is not a guy who is going to create offense.

People trashing it should take the time to explain why they dislike it. RAISING THE BAR demands more than "the article sucks, etc. etc."

We have 3 guys that can get to the rim today; Manu, Hill, and Parker. That is plenty of penetration that should generate what the article indicates is what RJ needs.

Why RJ was not incorporated in such a way into the offense appears to me to be an issue of putting the wrong shaped peg into a pre-existing scheme.

[mingus]

i think RJ could be integrated, just not by Popovich. RJ isn't an iso type of player, or at least not primarily. he should be moving without the ball more, slashing to the basket, coming off of picks around 15 feet out (seems to be his sweet spot). giving him the ball in the post where he can face up or or back down defenders. remember how Pop talked about giving RJ the ball in the post in the offseason? why did that never happen? maybe once or twice, but never on a consistent basis.

he's never been in any type of offensive flow all season, and that's because the team (Pop and TP) have failed to utilize his strengths and call plays for him on the basis of those strengths. he's never felt comfortable and i don't blame him. his confidence has been low all season.

Pop's been preaching defense all season, and that's fine, but he's ignored the offensive potential that this team has. put this team under the offensive direction of Rick Adelman and i think we see better results.

[Blackjack]

Bad article. Worst in a long time. Never thougt i was gonna say that from 48, but that really sucks.

Really?

[murpjf88]

Everybody has their own take on Rj's chronic year long struggle. The guy flat out SUCKS! I don't give a shit what kind of numbers he put in New Jersey, or his inflated averages from a year ago in Milluakee, mostly due to the absence of Redd. He has come in here and laid an egg.
The Spurs are not putting Jeffy in a position to fail, he is putting himself in a position to fail. Rj is opting to shoot jump shots rather than attacking the basket. He plants himself like a stick in the mud behind the arc and waits for the pass. His post up game is a complete atrocity. I can count on one hand, this year's points he scored on posting up a defender. When he manages to get to the foul line, if he doesn't lose the ball on the drive, he's an automatic 1/2.
His offense is so bad that his defense makes him a liability to have on the court. He seems to be getting worse as the days get long. I guess he's finally feeling the pressure.

[ElNono]

I'm merely surprised it took them this long to point that out. And they forgot to add the other part of the equation: RJ's defensive intensity increases exponentially when he's getting involved offensively. It's like he needs his adrenaline pumping from a dunk or a couple of made shots before he actually starts raising the effort on the other end.

[NFGIII]

I'm merely surprised it took them this long to point that out. And they forgot to add the other part of the equation: RJ's defensive intensity increases exponentially when he's getting involved offensively. It's like he needs his adrenaline pumping from a dunk or a couple of made shots before he actually starts raising the effort on the other end.

That's what I've noticed, too. Just like Finley used to do - score and he would play much better but if he wasn't hitting his shots then he would just disappear.

Too bad many players are like that and not like Manu. At tleast when Manu isn't hitting his shots he is hustling in the other aspects of the game - assists, steals, D, ...etc.

[SCdac]

In short, handing the ball to Jefferson at a standstill against a set defense was never going to work.

Unfortunately, this is truth. He can slash, but not a creative slasher. He can take the ball to the rim, but against a set defense it works maybe 1/4 times.

Alot of it is on RJ for sure, though.

I think almost once a game, I've seen opportunities where Jefferson runs straight to the corner and stops, yet there was a clear opportunity to run the base-line fast / back cut to the rim for a pretty wide open alley-oop or layup. He's just not making those cuts to the basket like he should (in other situations as well), for whatever reason.

[SpurNation]

Any player that needs to be coddled into performing by having to give them what they need to perform better is not much of a "professional player"...worse yet...not much of a competitior.

This guy from day one in the league has needed some type of motivation to play at a top level other than self motivation.

Which sucks...because he's proven he can be good. It's apparent he lets the little things prevent him from doing so on a consistent basis.

[Mark in Austin]

The article makes some good points, and it mentions one reson why I think Pop has made a mistake starting Manu. There was starting to be some offensive flow between Manu, RJ and Blair.

I would start Mason at the 2 and Hill at the 1 - much like they did at the first part of last year to some success. Even if it didn't work out as well, it would be worth preserving the only chemistry that seemed to be building this year - on the bench.

And I agree that the Spurs clearly haven't figured out a way to adapt to RJ's biggest strengths.

But that doesn't excuse a lack of effort. That is on RJ.

Hey RJ, you're a grown ass man getting paid a lot of money to play a game. Even if you can't play it very well for whatever reason, PLAY IT HARD.

[santymrc]

Really?

Yes. I'm tired of reading all thouse over-analysis that tend to come when RJ's the subject.
He's struggling since day fucking 1. Cut the bullshit with all that jump-shoot-stand-still-shit. He made tons of jump shots before, he's not getting it done in SA, so cut the crap about it.
He has to MAN-UP, GROW SOME BALLS, and thats about it. He needs the ball? ASK FOR IT, DONT FUCKING STAND STILL LIKE A DUMB-ASS.
It's his fault.
That's why i've said this article SUCKS. I can't believe all you saying Manu has to come from the bench couse Blair, RJ, all the fucking bench, plays better with him, THE WHOLE FUCKING TEAM PLAYS BETTER BB WITH HIM.
I'm tired of all this crappy fake analysis.

[SCdac]

If there's anything that I've been "pleased" with lately is Jefferson's rebounding. At least 6 boards in five of the last seven games is pretty good, and I'd like him to keep it up. Outside of that, having 3 point games is like a slap in the face to everybody involved with the Spurs franchise.

[The Truth #6]

Yes. I'm tired of reading all thouse over-analysis that tend to come when RJ's the subject.
He's struggling since day fucking 1. Cut the bullshit with all that jump-shoot-stand-still-shit. He made tons of jump shots before, he's not getting it done in SA, so cut the crap about it.
He has to MAN-UP, GROW SOME BALLS, and thats about it. He needs the ball? ASK FOR IT, DONT FUCKING STAND STILL LIKE A DUMB-ASS.
It's his fault.
That's why i've said this article SUCKS. I can't believe all you saying Manu has to come from the bench couse Blair, RJ, all the fucking bench, plays better with him, THE WHOLE FUCKING TEAM PLAYS BETTER BB WITH HIM.
I'm tired of all this crappy fake analysis.

It sounds like your problem is with analysis in general and Jefferson in specific. The article was well written. I wouldn't blame the article for your anger.

[sabar]

Yes. I'm tired of reading all thouse over-analysis that tend to come when RJ's the subject.
He's struggling since day fucking 1. Cut the bullshit with all that jump-shoot-stand-still-shit. He made tons of jump shots before, he's not getting it done in SA, so cut the crap about it.
He has to MAN-UP, GROW SOME BALLS, and thats about it. He needs the ball? ASK FOR IT, DONT FUCKING STAND STILL LIKE A DUMB-ASS.
It's his fault.
That's why i've said this article SUCKS. I can't believe all you saying Manu has to come from the bench couse Blair, RJ, all the fucking bench, plays better with him, THE WHOLE FUCKING TEAM PLAYS BETTER BB WITH HIM.
I'm tired of all this crappy fake analysis.

:rollin

Article is fine, take a chill-pill dude.

[santymrc]

Hahaha yeah, I was mad at the time (just a bit haha). The article is fine allright.

[ShoogarBear]

One of my complaints for years about the Spurs is that when Tony or Manu penetrated, if there was a pass it was either going to be to Tim or (more and more frequently) to a stationary jumpshooter. There was almost never a secondary cutter coming down the lane for a dishoff (now think of how many times you've seen Nash, Paul, or Kidd do that). There is the moneyball philosophy that a open three is always the next best option to a layup, and there probably is a solid statistical logic to it, but the downside to that is that a) you have to sacrifice athleticism if you're going to have a bunch of setup shooters, b) driving the lane gets you fouls on the other team and free throws, c) live by the 3, die by the three.

I was hoping that the Spurs would have adapted their offense this year to allow RJ to slash to the basket off guard penetration, but Tony and Manu's health issues made that impossible (although it appears Pop wasn't going to be doing that anyway).

Still, like others have said, RJ could have been busting ass on the defensive end and hustle plays even if the offense wasn't flowing. The Spurs offense was still more potent than it had been in years. Scoring isn't the reason they might get bounced in round one.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

You know, even if he isn't scoring, at least his rebounding has vastly improved as has his defense overall.

It's something at this point.

[ElNono]

Actually, I have to say Richard played a fine first half... his defense and rebounding were top notch for a while there, and he was basically getting no touches on offense.
If he can contribute in those ways then he can at least be useful.