Matt Bonner

[vander]

only 1-4 from 3 and looking as white as ever... :lol


yet still he was like 3rd on the team in on court/off court, he was part of the unit that built the lead to 10 in the first half, and when he left, that lead instantly fell to 3

I think a significant part of why the team is so good with him out there is that other teams think they have to attack Bonner, they think he is a matchup to exploit. and yet I saw Davis struggle against him, I saw KG struggle against him, even Pierce came away empty twice in a row when he had Bonner guarding him. teams abandon their offense and run iso's against Bonner, only to be turned away, it's like a trap that team after team keeps falling into. :lol




on an unrelated note, Manu is arguably the best player in the league right now, he's really something else, totally making me look like a fool... god what I wouldn't give for him to be able to keep this up all the way through June :(

[FeZZy]

i'm too lazy to read your article so i'm just gonna laugh ....

[FeZZy]

:lmao




^ that was it

[whottt]

Bonner played good tonight. Regardless of what the stats say. Wish he played like this against the other good teams.

[HarlemHeat37]

He hustled nicely, he played very solid D outside of 1 or 2 possessions on the p&r and boxing out Shelden Williams..he needs to make shots vs. good teams though, that's obviously going to be the key with Bonner..his 3-point % goes down by 6% vs. playoff teams, and that's something that will have to change..

I like that he's added those little hook shots to his game, it's a great addition for when teams take the 3-pointer away from him..it's ugly, but it works..he actually makes it on a consistent basis too..

It's not a good thing and it's a flaw for the Spurs, but whether people hate on him or not, Bonner is the 2nd best big man on this team..

[dastrey]

I think he is shooting 90% on his little hook shot in the lane.

[TIMMYD!]

He hustled nicely, he played very solid D outside of 1 or 2 possessions on the p&r and boxing out Shelden Williams..he needs to make shots vs. good teams though, that's obviously going to be the key with Bonner..his 3-point % goes down by 6% vs. playoff teams, and that's something that will have to change..

I like that he's added those little hook shots to his game, it's a great addition for when teams take the 3-pointer away from him..it's ugly, but it works..he actually makes it on a consistent basis too..

It's not a good thing and it's a flaw for the Spurs, but whether people hate on him or not, Bonner is the 2nd best big man on this team..

I don't really understand the Bonner hate and you're right on that last statement.

[smeagol]

on an unrelated note, Manu is arguably the best player in the league right now, he's really something else, totally making me look like a fool... god what I wouldn't give for him to be able to keep this up all the way through June :(

And you wanna keep the "best player in the league right now" for $2 - 3MM? :lol

You do look like complete a fool . . .

[DesignatedT]

bonner is fine.

[vander]

And you wanna keep the "best player in the league right now" for $2 - 3MM? :lol

You do look like complete a fool . . .

the "right now" part cannot be over-emphasized

haven't you CoM people learned anything over the last couple years?

but let's keep this thread about Bonner, if you want to argue more Manu, bring it back to your "playoff Manu" thread

[Manu-of-steel]

This is the first time i would agree with your post. Bonner did a solid job defensively. And at last, you have seen the light regarding Manu. He's as invaluable as TP and TD to the spurs. But right now, he's the man.

[whottt]

He hustled nicely, he played very solid D outside of 1 or 2 possessions on the p&r and boxing out Shelden Williams..he needs to make shots vs. good teams though, that's obviously going to be the key with Bonner..his 3-point % goes down by 6% vs. playoff teams, and that's something that will have to change..

I like that he's added those little hook shots to his game, it's a great addition for when teams take the 3-pointer away from him..it's ugly, but it works..he actually makes it on a consistent basis too..

It's not a good thing and it's a flaw for the Spurs, but whether people hate on him or not, Bonner is the 2nd best big man on this team..

Bonner is a solid 40% 3 shooter who Phil leaves open because he misses baskets, which he does promptly almost every time proving Phil right.

That is inexcusable. It's choking. It makes him deadweight that pushes his teams heads under the waves against them.

Defeding it is basically hating every one of his teamates he lets down by doing it.

And as long as Bonner does it he needs to be called out for it. He's not going to get over it by holding his hands. So he needs to be ripped until he stops doing it.

You know why guys didn't do that shit when they played with Michael Jordan? Because they feared Michael Jordan more than they did failure.

Bonner needs to be made miserable every time he chokes like a bitch against the Lakers until he realizes he's better off hitting those shots.


He does it against LA because he's afraid of failing so he needs to realize(with our help) he has nothing to fear...because he's already failing.

He ought to be used to it by now and wanting to try not failing against them for a little variety.

He gets no excuse for not hitting the open shots Phil gives him...and he makes every guys job on the team harder.

[ohmwrecker]

Were Bonner and Scalabrine on the court at the same time? It would be really funny if they did the mirror gag.

[Johnny RIngo]

I don't really understand the Bonner hate and you're right on that last statement.

Because he shrivels up against the good teams and bricks wide-open threes.

[my2sons]

And you wanna keep the "best player in the league right now" for $2 - 3MM? :lol

You do look like complete a fool . . .

I think some allas maverick local radio talk show host does as well

[Warlord23]

Bonner has had better games than this before, the question is what will he do vs LA or Dallas in the playoffs? So far he's been a career playoff underachiever/choker.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

I'm glad you posted this thread because I was thinking the same thing. Despite being 1-4 or 1-5 or whatever he was from three-point land, he had a solid game. He had several nice drives and kicks, and even a drive and baby hook. More importantly, he rebounded strong and had a couple of blocks on help defense. Just a nice outing, and proves he's not just a distance shooter.

[HarlemHeat37]

Bonner is a solid 40% 3 shooter who Phil leaves open because he misses baskets, which he does promptly almost every time proving Phil right.

That is inexcusable. It's choking. It makes him deadweight that pushes his teams heads under the waves against them.

Defeding it is basically hating every one of his teamates he lets down by doing it.

And as long as Bonner does it he needs to be called out for it. He's not going to get over it by holding his hands. So he needs to be ripped until he stops doing it.

You know why guys didn't do that shit when they played with Michael Jordan? Because they feared Michael Jordan more than they did failure.

Bonner needs to be made miserable every time he chokes like a bitch against the Lakers until he realizes he's better off hitting those shots.


He does it against LA because he's afraid of failing so he needs to realize(with our help) he has nothing to fear...because he's already failing.

He ought to be used to it by now and wanting to try not failing against them for a little variety.

He gets no excuse for not hitting the open shots Phil gives him...and he makes every guys job on the team harder.

I agree, I pointed that out in my post, it's obviously his main flaw..I like everything he does except for the obvious fact that he chokes against the good teams..I don't know if that can be changed, it's probably something that players just have, but we'll have to hope for it..Bonner is a better player than McDyess and Blair, and Pop is going to play him either way, so we can only hope he makes when it matters..

It was painful watching him miss wide open shot after wide open shot vs. the Lakers..same thing vs. Dallas last year..if he can somehow get over that, the guy is a good player..unfortunately, I don't know if that's something that can be reversed..

[jestersmash]

Even if you consider ginobili's first half of the season (obviously doesn't even hold a candle to his spectacular second half), cumulatively he's the rank 3 shooting guard in the league, only behind kobe and wade (hollinger PER)

Ginobili is legendary for our team but not the best player in the league when you have the likes of lebron james, kobe bryant. He's top 5 though, somewhere in the rank 3-5 spot.

[vander]

Bonner is a solid 40% 3 shooter who Phil leaves open because he misses baskets, which he does promptly almost every time proving Phil right.

That is inexcusable. It's choking. It makes him deadweight that pushes his teams heads under the waves against them.

Defeding it is basically hating every one of his teamates he lets down by doing it.

And as long as Bonner does it he needs to be called out for it. He's not going to get over it by holding his hands. So he needs to be ripped until he stops doing it.

You know why guys didn't do that shit when they played with Michael Jordan? Because they feared Michael Jordan more than they did failure.

Bonner needs to be made miserable every time he chokes like a bitch against the Lakers until he realizes he's better off hitting those shots.


He does it against LA because he's afraid of failing so he needs to realize(with our help) he has nothing to fear...because he's already failing.

He ought to be used to it by now and wanting to try not failing against them for a little variety.

He gets no excuse for not hitting the open shots Phil gives him...and he makes every guys job on the team harder.

yeah, it's because of how he shoots, he aims those things man, that ain't a rhythm shot, or a muscle memory shot, that's a shot that he thinks about as he's shooting, and nerves can really fuck that up. he just needs to do something before the game that will calm his nerves :eyebrows:eyebrows and then he'll be totally clutch :lol

but my main point with this thread was that Bonner brings more to the team than just 3 point shooting

[whottt]

I agree, I pointed that out in my post, it's obviously his main flaw..I like everything he does except for the obvious fact that he chokes against the good teams..I don't know if that can be changed, it's probably something that players just have, but we'll have to hope for it..Bonner is a better player than McDyess and Blair, and Pop is going to play him either way, so we can only hope he makes when it matters..

It was painful watching him miss wide open shot after wide open shot vs. the Lakers..same thing vs. Dallas last year..if he can somehow get over that, the guy is a good player..unfortunately, I don't know if that's something that can be reversed..

Oh I agree he's a good player, that's why when he sucks against good teams being left wide open he is a choking bitch.

Being a good player who is a choker is worse than being a bad player who isn't, especially when it comes to LA....see Jaren Jackson for an example of this.

[jestersmash]

McDyess is awful I'm sorry. I can't stand watching him anymore. He has spurts of excellence with his outside shot, but it seems like he fumbles the ball so god damned much and has little to no chemistry with anybody on the team.

[whottt]

but my main point with this thread was that Bonner brings more to the team than just 3 point shooting

Yeah but he doesn't bring that other stuff against LA either. He doesn't fight for tough rebounds like he did tonight(his rebounds total sucks but all of them were big ones)..he doesn't get physical and take on the challenge with other stars like he does with Garnett.

Just sayin'....he needs to figure out what the hell he does against Boston that he doesn't do against LA, and then do it against LA.

And Boston was defending him a hell of a tougher than LA did...he's an after thought against LA as far as they are concerned.


Maybe we need to fly his entire family to every LA game or something.


Spurs have shooters that don't get Lakeritis when Phil doubles, they win titles. If the shooters do get Lakeritis they don't.

[vander]

Yeah but he doesn't bring that other stuff against LA either. He doesn't fight for tough rebounds like he did tonight(his rebounds total sucks but all of them were big ones)..he doesn't get physical and take on the challenge with other stars like he does with Garnett.

Just sayin'....he needs to figure out what the hell he does against Boston that he doesn't do against LA, and then do it against LA.

And Boston was defending him a hell of a tougher than LA did...he's an after thought against LA as far as they are concerned.


Maybe we need to fly his entire family to every LA game or something.


Spurs have shooters that don't get Lakeritis when Phil doubles, they win titles. If the shooters do get Lakeritis they don't.

or if we could get him to genuinely hate Lamar Odom or something :lol

but yeah, Phil Jackson is a great coach, very psychological, it's no surprise that he is able to neutralize a guy like Bonner who, unlike your average NBA player, isn't overflowing with delusional self-confidence. Bonner knows he is a role player, and knows his role, and that can be exploited.

[Manu-of-steel]

I like that hook shot against Garnett. He schooled Garnett on that play. But aside from that, he played his role on the defensive end. Good job, Matt!

[Cane]

Bonner was having a career season until that hand injury but it looks like he's around that level now. HarlemHeat37 made great points and I agree that he's the second best Spurs big outside of Duncan. As for his choking, didn't he have a great night against Boston when he had his fans there? ;)

I also think having him coming off the bench helps somehow.

[superjames1992]

Bonner has had better games than this before, the question is what will he do vs LA or Dallas in the playoffs? So far he's been a career playoff underachiever/choker.

He's only played considerable minutes in one playoff series for us, so I have no idea how he gets this label.

Robert Horry was an epic fail in his first career playoff series and look how that turned out.

Bonner may be a playoff-choker, but let's see how he does this year first before we evaluate him.

[ElNono]

I thought he did a great job tonight crowding people inside the paint. We're getting so little from Dice, and Blair seems stuck on stupid sometimes (excusable, he's a rook after all), that anything we can get from Matt is great right about now.

[Dr. Gonzo]

Ian Mahinmi >>> Matt Bonner

[jestersmash]

Blair is playing just fine I don't understand the recent Blair hate here. He still leads the rookies in FG% and rebounds. He hustles his ass off to get boards which is sorely needed because McDyess is a god damned corpse out there with no emotion, no drive to get the ball.

[vander]

yeah, at the very least, Blair is working hard in the paint, drawing fouls and making teams play D etc. you need at least someone doing that. I thought it was supposed to be TD but...

[ElNono]

Blair is playing just fine I don't understand the recent Blair hate here. He still leads the rookies in FG% and rebounds. He hustles his ass off to get boards which is sorely needed because McDyess is a god damned corpse out there with no emotion, no drive to get the ball.

Don't get me wrong, it's not hate. But he's obviously struggling at times out there with some of his decisions, like silly fouls when the team is in the penalty, or that bad passes when we need to cool down the game. They're rookie mistakes, and pretty normal stuff, but against good teams you really want to minimize those.

[HarlemHeat37]

I disagree, Blair has fallen off hard..it's expected though, he's a rookie that has to adjust more than your typical rookie due to his physical shortcomings..he'll be fine in the future and might give us some good efforts in the playoffs, but rookie bigs aren't usually relied on in the playoffs, at least not in a significant role and not for teams that want to go far..

His defense and finishing have taken huge hits..

We're gonna have to hope Duncan kicks it into another gear for the playoffs(obviously..it's a realistic goal though, he usually does this), Bonner doesn't shrivel up against good opponents, and McDyess gives us SOMETHING/ANYTHING..

[ElNono]

Don't forget also that Blair has never played an 82 games season before...

[Cane]

Blair does look like he hit his rookie wall but he's still playing his game. I think the biggest reason for his drop in production is due to Ginobili starting. Manu was really the only Spurs to develop chemistry right off the bat and throughout the season with him imo.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

McDyess actually played pretty well over the last few games. If anything, I felt he was getting shafted when it came to minutes, but I suppose Pop is trying to keep him fresh for the stretch run.

Tonight, however, he was atrocious. He definitely took the night off.

I also agree with Harlem, when it comes to Blair. Blair has been making more idiot mistakes than ever lately. Obviously, he's a rookie and it's bound to happen, but he's been taking some terrible fouls. It was nice to see him have a solid 4th quarter tonight, though.

[vander]

Ian Mahinmi >>> Matt Bonner

and the last 3 people that took you seriously see the light... :lol:lol:lol

but seriously, GTFO my thread you joke of a poster :ihit

[jestersmash]

I hate McDyess. I loathe seeing him out on the floor, I loathe seeing him fumble the ball with passes that are almost always on point to him, thereby giving the opposing team time to close the gap and forcing him to reset the entire god damned play over again by passing the ball back to ginobili or hill up top.

Seriously it's not even the fact that he's not rebounding as much as he did before he came to the spurs (that's partly to be expected anyway when you get on a team with the likes of tim duncan), it's the constant fumbling of the ball.

It's like he's never ready out there and doesn't seem to care.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I hate McDyess. I loathe seeing him out on the floor, I loathe seeing him fumble the ball with passes that are almost always on point to him, thereby giving the opposing team time to close the gap and forcing him to reset the entire god damned play over again by passing the ball back to ginobili or hill up top.

Seriously it's not even the fact that he's not rebounding as much as he did before he came to the spurs (that's partly to be expected anyway when you get on a team with the likes of tim duncan), it's the constant fumbling of the ball.

It's like he's never ready out there and doesn't seem to care.

In that case I'd hate to see what you'd think of Matt Bonner

[superjames1992]

Ian Mahinmi >>> Matt Bonner

http://www.cleverthink.com/lolcat.jpg

[whottt]

Blair was awesome tonight. He hasn't hit the rookie wall, he hasn't been given enough minutes to hit it IMO. This kid was a man among boys tonight. Pulling down the tough boards. Pretty much nixed the Celts combacks by himself after Manu and Duncan were out.

And he's got a j evidentally.

[Manufan909]

Blair was awesome tonight. He hasn't hit the rookie wall, he hasn't been given enough minutes to hit it IMO. This kid was a man among boys tonight. Pulling down the tough boards. Pretty much nixed the Celts combacks by himself after Manu and Duncan were out.

And he's got a j evidentally.

Idk if you could call his performance awesome, what with getting a foul every 4 minutes. He pulled down some monster boards though, one of them was a steal too.

[Sisk]

I like that he's added those little hook shots to his game, it's a great addition for when teams take the 3-pointer away from him..it's ugly, but it works..he actually makes it on a consistent basis too..
.

yes. this.

I love how he drives every once in a while now.. because his pump fake WILL work, and if he can drive and finish (dunk/hook shot) that would add another level to his game and another threat as a team

[Borosai]

Matty will lead the Spurs to the promised land this year and hoist Larry while receiving a champagne facial.

[mingus]

McDyess is rebounding, though his team defense is suspect. Bonner is pretty much the exact opposite. he sucks ass at rebounding but his team defense, and even individual defense when he's matched up with someone who isn't that much more phsycally gifted than him, is probably the 2nd best for bigs in that area.

if McDyess can knock down shots he's supposed to it'll just make the Spurs that much more dangerous. the Spurs could have won this game by 8 more points if McDyess had his shit falling. scary to think about that.

what's been an unexpected surprise - and it really gives the opportunity to keep Bonner on the floor despite his lack of size and rebounding - is that RJ has taken more of a responsibility to rebound recently. if he continues doing that, there isn't as much of a price to pay in terms of bonner lack of rebounding.

[wildbill2u]

Remember how Nasr had that annoying little habit of a pump fake every time he got the ball under the baske that was so transparent that it was a waste of time? He couldn't NOT do it.

Bonner's got something similar. Every time he catches the ball on the perimeter and isn't going to shoot, he gives a little fake that is so pathetic that no one would go for it--again a waste of time when he could be making a crisp pass to an open man. NOt an earthshaking problem, but just annoying to watch.

On the whole I like the effort he gives. Sometimes he will fool you like he did last night by running down a rebound by just outhustling Garnett.

I had to laugh the other night when Manu had his big game with lots of points, rebounds, assists, couple of steals, sold popcorn in the stands when out of the game, etc, and had a +12 rating.

Bonner had about a 1-3, 1 rebound or something stat line and also had a +12 rating. :downspin:

[TJastal]

only 1-4 from 3 and looking as white as ever... :lol


yet still he was like 3rd on the team in on court/off court, he was part of the unit that built the lead to 10 in the first half, and when he left, that lead instantly fell to 3

I think a significant part of why the team is so good with him out there is that other teams think they have to attack Bonner, they think he is a matchup to exploit. and yet I saw Davis struggle against him, I saw KG struggle against him, even Pierce came away empty twice in a row when he had Bonner guarding him. teams abandon their offense and run iso's against Bonner, only to be turned away, it's like a trap that team after team keeps falling into. :lol

on an unrelated note, Manu is arguably the best player in the league right now, he's really something else, totally making me look like a fool... god what I wouldn't give for him to be able to keep this up all the way through June :(

Bonner deserves props for his 1 vs 1 post defense, which isn't too bad and has gotten better this year. He isn't as easy to back down as he used to be and he's stays in front of his man and can contest (and bother) shots. He has a hard time with some of the officials in this league however who really crap on him no matter what he does. This is always a potential problem that must linger in the back of his mind, and especially in a big playoff game the results can be magnified. Hopefully this won't be an issue.

[TJastal]

Remember how Nasr had that annoying little habit of a pump fake every time he got the ball under the baske that was so transparent that it was a waste of time? He couldn't NOT do it.

Bonner's got something similar. Every time he catches the ball on the perimeter and isn't going to shoot, he gives a little fake that is so pathetic that no one would go for it--again a waste of time when he could be making a crisp pass to an open man. NOt an earthshaking problem, but just annoying to watch.

On the whole I like the effort he gives. Sometimes he will fool you like he did last night by running down a rebound by just outhustling Garnett.

I had to laugh the other night when Manu had his big game with lots of points, rebounds, assists, couple of steals, sold popcorn in the stands when out of the game, etc, and had a +12 rating.

Bonner had about a 1-3, 1 rebound or something stat line and also had a +12 rating. :downspin:

That little fake actually fools alot of players, if its the same one I'm thinking of. Opposing players will come charging at him like "oh, shit its Bonner" and Matt sidesteps them and drives to the hoop with the opposing team basically down a defender which makes it a little easier for Bonner to make an assist or create a shot off the dribble. He doesn't always make the right pass or hit the shot, but he has been getting better it seems.

[raspsa]

Give Bonner credit. He's making an effort to transition from a one-dimensional player into a more versatile one. Opponents have to respect his outside shot and he's shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and challenge the interior defense. He's also improved defensively and will always bring energy.

[iManu]

He usually plays his heart out at the Garden...

(just like most white boys do.)

[Ice009]

Matt Bonner played a pretty good game last night. Keep doing this and shoot the ball with confidence against the good teams and it will go in.

[Dex]

Despite the poor shooting, Matt played a very solid game against the Cs. Solid defense, lots of hustle and work on the boards. Nice to see him contributing somewhere else than planted behind the three point stripe. He's also getting more comfortable with that pump-fake, dribble, and dish move (even though it scares me every time he does it). :lol

There were a few occasions where Sheed, Garnett, or even Pierce tried to punk Bonner on D, and he either forced them into tough fadeaways (which they missed, from recollection) or they would force contact and not get the calls under the rim.

[HarlemHeat37]

Another quality outing for Bonner..the additions to his game in the paint have worked very well so far..

Let's just hope he steps up in the playoffs..