Can mason grow a pair and contribute in the playoffs?

[TwelveGs210]

Last year he had a decent year, hit some clutch shots and filled in well for ginobili. Totally vanished in the playoffs. He is actually turned into this teams biggest weak link. He plays minimal d..he is convinced he is a focal point of the offense with the amount of pointless threes he decides to launch..other than a few games early in the season when he seemed to be on the same page with Blair, he creates nothing for anyone else either. What do you all think the chances of Mason stepping his game up for the playoffs are?

[Obstructed_View]

I think Mason is going to step up and do an excellent job of wearing a suit and cheering for the Spurs from behind the bench.

[admiralsnackbar]

Is he for certain on the PO roster?

[TDMVPDPOY]

he shoot blanks like all season

[slick'81]

if everyone is healthy i doubt he makes a difference

[boutons_deux]

he'll make a difference, negative diff

[AnthonyM]

No.

/thread

[silverblk mystix]

he is filling in admirably for Finley---by helping the other team---and by seducing Pop to give him undeserved minutes...

[timtonymanu]

No.

His confidence is totally down the shitter. And it seems like all Mason does now is jack up shots. It's like he gave up on this team a while ago. We should have traded him for a draft pick instead of Ratliff.

[taps]

http://i40.tinypic.com/34y3gcn.jpg

[DesignatedT]

mason sucks..... unless he he contributes :lol

[alchemist]

I don't have high hopes for Mason and Bonner, hopefully that's a good thing and they make everyone eat crow.

[LoneStarState'sPride]

Like others have stated, it's a confidence thing with him. If he's got a few more daggers left in him, Spurs'll take what they can get.

[DPG21920]

If Hill is not healthy mason will play. Not expecting much but if he can just have one good shooting game that could be enough

[ohmwrecker]

There is nothing Roger Mason has ever done (aside from hitting a couple of game winners LAST year) to instill one iota of confidence that he will perform well in the playoffs this year. I hope Temple gets his spot, but I don't have faith in Pop taking a chance on a rookie in the playoffs. Hopefully, he won't see much time, but with Hill out for game 1, he might have to fill in.

[SenorSpur]

Of course Mason needs to grow a playoff pair - but so does Bonner. They both have a lot to prove this spring.

Mason has a better chance of being successful so long as Pop doesn't saddle him with backup playmaking and ball-handling responsibilities. Just let him do what he does - be a spot-up shooter.

Bonner, on the other hand, needs only to do what he does against the dregs of the NBA - hit wide-open threes, take his man off the dribble (can't believe I just said that) and continue using the lil' running hook of his.

[cd98]

Vote of no confidence in Mason. Shorten the rotation, stick with the players that perform. And if you need to go deeper in the bench than Ginobili, Hill, Parker for the backcourt, then give Temple a try first. If he responds with bad turnovers, then maybe go deeper.

Unless Mason has Bizzaro season where he sucks all year and then plays well in the playoffs (as opposed to last year where he played well and then totally sucked in the playoffs). Under no circumstances should he be on the floor for an extended period of time if we have any hope of winning this series.

[nkdlunch]

http://i40.tinypic.com/34y3gcn.jpg

very good post.

that's right after mason missed his 2nd consecutive wide open game tying shot.

and to answer the OP. Probability is slim

[bigfan]

Mason is going to have to man up now that the playoffs are with us. We need everybody, including Mr Mason.

[lefty]

Mason has 8 balls

[jimo2305]

see... i've seriously lost faith in mason..

and to think i used to rock a mason sig on here

[Amuseddaysleeper]

On top of Mason's shooting woes, that terrible splint on his hand isn't helping much either.

[tmtcsc]

Mason's chances of hitting a shot go up exponentially if he is on the court with Manu. But....I don't see him doing anything. Bonner has a better shot of contributing. Mason is a missed shot and turnover waiting to happen and his defense is awful.

Hairston has a better chance of contributing than Mason. I really, really hope Mason proves me wrong.

[easy7]

I just hope he dosen't mail it in, and if he mails it in, I hope is not a dear John letter.

[AFBlue]

It's illogical to expect Mason to perform any different than how he has for the last 90 games or so (dating back to last playoffs). And I actually don't think he'd get that many minutes if everyone else was healthy...which is the problem.

I do expect Mason to get plenty of minutes regardless of performance, because of Hill's ankle and Tony still rounding back into shape. I'd like to see Pop give more of the PT to Temple, but I fully expect he'll get the "not a veteran, not ready for the playoffs" treatment.

I hope I'm wrong on either or both...but given past performance and PT decision, I don't expect to be.

[tmtcsc]

It's illogical to expect Mason to perform any different than how he has for the last 90 games or so (dating back to last playoffs). And I actually don't think he'd get that many minutes if everyone else was healthy...which is the problem.

I do expect Mason to get plenty of minutes regardless of performance, because of Hill's ankle and Tony still rounding back into shape. I'd like to see Pop give more of the PT to Temple, but I fully expect he'll get the "not a veteran, not ready for the playoffs" treatment.

I hope I'm wrong on either or both...but given past performance and PT decision, I don't expect to be.


Garrett does more for the team than Mason. Damn, that's just sad. Mason showed so much potential early on last year but he's become a waste of time on the court. He should spend less time tweeting and more time practicing.

[Avitus1]

I think Mason is going to step up and do an excellent job of wearing a suit and cheering for the Spurs from behind the bench.

Agreed.

[TimDunkem]

Garrett does more for the team than Mason. Damn, that's just sad. Mason showed so much potential early on last year but he's become a waste of time on the court. He should spend less time tweeting and more time practicing.
I've seen his Twitter. The guy averages one post about every two days I'm guessing...Lack of practice isn't the problem. He just sucks!

[bigfan]

Actually, if he doesnt grow a pair he'd better buy a pair of suitcases.

[TwelveGs210]

This was actually a rhetorical question..no way he grows a pair, the guy is certified trash, he is this years "Udoka" and should spare us and take the playoffs off for "personal reasons"..he has been so awful this year i couldnt see him contributing in pick up games at golds gym..Meng Bateer was a bigger factor in 03´ than this guy..waste of a roster spot, and his hair sucks too.

[ElNono]

He's done. Stick a spork in him...

[Spurs Brazil]

Best thing Mason can do for us is put a suit and stay behind the bench.

I'd rather see him in his home in Washington so I'd be 100% sure he has no chance of enter the game

[tlongII]

Nope.

[sa_butta]

He has been missing open 3's in the regular season, I really can't see him knocking em down in the playoffs. Maybe he should try to get closer and go to the basket...

[Stringer_Bell]

If Mason wants to step up and be a man, he'll wear a suit and stay on the bench. As far as I'm concerned, he checked out when he asked for a trade...we don't need his turnovers turning into fast breaks, not in the playoffs!

[Höfner]

If you haven't grown a pair by age 30, you never will.

[TwelveGs210]

Best thing Mason can do for us is put a suit and stay behind the bench.

I'd rather see him in his home in Washington so I'd be 100% sure he has no chance of enter the game

I'd rather see him in a shallow grave off culebra.

[Capt Bringdown]

Both Mason and Bonner should sit down and watch the Spurs '99 championship run. If a stiff like Jared Jackson (was that his name?) can come alive and completely change a playoff series, certainly they can.

[Obstructed_View]

Jaren.

[Biggems]

based on what I have seen from Mason, it appears to me that he is forcing 3s. Has anyone else noticed that when he is a step inside the arc, he is almost always money, while all his 3s have been hitting the front of the iron.. I believe that if he would stop camping behind the arc, but instead, set himself just inside it, he would be more successful.

If he can realize this, and the coaches can too, maybe they will find a way to exploit it, and he can be a double digit points contributor in the playoffs.

[timvp]

I expect nothing from RMJ against the Mavs. I'd be pleasantly surprised by anything but complete suckage.

[cd98]

The best we can hope for is Mason morphing into Jaren Jackson for two months. Except we don't give him a big contract at the end of the season.

[NewJerSpur]

Hopefully he takes the shots available to him (passed a lot up against Dalls Wednesday) and makes them when we need them.

[Obstructed_View]

based on what I have seen from Mason, it appears to me that he is forcing 3s. Has anyone else noticed that when he is a step inside the arc, he is almost always money, while all his 3s have been hitting the front of the iron.. I believe that if he would stop camping behind the arc, but instead, set himself just inside it, he would be more successful.

If he can realize this, and the coaches can too, maybe they will find a way to exploit it, and he can be a double digit points contributor in the playoffs.

I've noticed that most of the season. Coming in for the Spurs he was hoped and believed to be a guy who could stretch the offense by hitting long two point shots, and that's really all his function is. You don't want him having to hit threes to help the team win, you want him to be able to keep teams from being able to double team or sag with impunity, and he can do that just as easily from 20 feet as he can from 23 feet.

[superbigtime]

No. Mason is awful and is easily the worst Spur by a mile. Last game of the season goes 1 for 9 in 35 minutes in what should be a low pressure low expectation game. Sucks ass.

[baseline bum]

Even if Mason could start hitting shots, he's just way too big of a defensive liability against a team like Dallas to ever see anything but garbage or desperation time. He's seriously one of the worst defensive guards I have ever seen on the Spurs. Mason's turnstile D brings back bad memories of Derek Anderson getting torched for 25 every night.

[NewJerSpur]

His defense shows up in spurts (mainly help defense), but I will agree overall that he can be a liability on defense (particularly defending screens), but if he has the stroke going I'd stick him on Kidd.

[MavDynasty]

Mavs always have a knack for letting scrubs shit on them

I wouldn't be surprised if mason averaged 7 pts per game

[Biggems]

Mavs always have a knack for letting scrubs shit on them

I wouldn't be surprised if mason averaged 7 pts per game

as do the Spurs. I believe Brandon Bass got that contract from Orlando cause of what he did against the Spurs in the playoffs....aside from that series, he was an ok option off the bench, but against the Spurs, he looked like an all star

[MateoNeygro]

I don't think so. I haven't been able to watch much Spurs these past two months but from everything I read and highlights I see on the internet. He looks like a goner. Hopefully Bonner doesn't lose his head up his ass and performs for us. That would be a nice change of pace for the playoffs.

[Slippy]

Mase should try playing smarter before growing a pair. He doesn't know how to let the game come to him. He makes one shot gets an adrenalin rush and and then forces the next few.

Agree about shooting from 20 feet where he's seems to be most comfortable even when trashing it up with leaners and and pull-up jumpers. If only this got through to Mase. The guy just doesn't know how play with-in his limits. I cringe when i see the constant over-dribbling with Tony or Manu right next to him wondering WTF is he doing.

[NewJerSpur]

He actually gets pretty good penetration when coming off of screens because the defense is usually expecting him to pull-up for a jumper rather than drive it and he has the vision to hit guys cutting to the basket. His problem is when he makes the obvious pass to the guy on the wing to bail him out when he becomes indecisive on a dribble to the basket.

[MateoNeygro]

I just don't understand how you can go from being a solid role player and double digit clutch scorer to this shell of a b-ball player Mason has become. I hope he gets his shit together soon.

[MaNu4Tres]

I just don't understand how you can go from being a solid role player and double digit clutch scorer to this shell of a b-ball player Mason has become. I hope he gets his shit together soon.

Read this thread I brought to peoples attention back in July...

It explains why Mason's production would or has gone down.


[I]

I personally think in order for us to improve our 8-9 man rotation (or our team come playoff time) we will more than likely have to include Mason instead of Finley, due to the age and value factor in the two trading assets.

Many people seem to believe we would lose a lot by getting rid of Mason. I disagree and believe including Mason for Finley is the only way to improve our rotation ( 1-9).

Here's some reasoning :

[B]- With the addition of a healthy Manu Ginobili and prolific scorer in his own right Richard Jefferson, Mason's opportunities will be cut drastically.

Yes many fans have pointed out Mason's shooting will be missed. With Finley back it won't be missed as much as you may think. Yes Mason had a great one dribble pull up on his pick and roll opportunities early in the season, when the defense was lazy or went under the screen nonchalantly. Hate to burst your Mason bubble, but those screen and roll opportunities won't be there next year.

- Mason will be used to spot up from three when Tim/ Parker/ Manu/ RJ are creating. Finley or trading for Bell, Nocioni,Posey can do that people. Mason won't be seeing anywhere close to the 30.4 mpg he got last year with RJ and Manu taking up 60 minutes that were available last year.

Not to mention Pop stating earlier in the off-season that Hill will get more time at the 2-spot. And don't forget Michael Finley either. Finley will get some run.

All this leads me to thinking, will Mason's shooting really be missed if his minutes were to be cut by 40 % ?? Something to think about.


I don't believe giving up Mason would be as detrimental to the Spurs as some may think, not only because of the PT and opportunity factor, but also by his liability on the defensive end ( one of the worst, if not the worst perimeter defender on the team last year.) This was one of the reason's Pop chose to go with Bowen and Hill against the Mavs since Mason's shot wasn't falling and he couldn't do anything else to help the team.


All in all, Spurs might think the best time to get anything significant for Bonner/ Mason is now. Given the fact that their opportunities will be decreased, and therefore their trade value may fall. Or they simply might not have plans to resign them after this season. Since the Spurs will more than likely be giving Manu an extension next year, would we be able to pony up 6 million per year for Mason too next year? I doubt it.

And since we gave Haislip a 2 year deal and with Splitter maybe on his way in 2010, would Spurs be willing to give out another 10 million contract to Bonner? I doubt it.


Just something to think about..

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131363&highlight=Manu4tres

[blkroadrunners]

I think he'll have a hot game or 2 in this series, especially if RJ struggles and RMj's on the court w/ Manu or so for better opportunities on offense. His performance last year against Dallas was fairly poor, so I think minutes given he should produce effectively.