Can the Spurs win a Championship playing 7-8 guys???

[gospursgojas]

Tim, Dice, Manu, Rj, and Hill are starting with only Tony, Bonner, and maybe blair (game 4) playing significant minutes.

It seems to be working now but does fatigue set in?
What do you all think?

[Mal]

Pop was trying to use Bogans and Bonner tonight, because he knows, that fatigue can kill Spurs.

With other series likely going into 7, Spurs need to close this serie asap

[HarlemHeat37]

They can't win with 6 consistent contributors, which is what the Spurs have now..they need a 7th guy, and it'll be fine if Bonner and Blair can alternate(I wouldn't count on both contributing)..the 7th guy is crucial though..

Blair finally showed up tonight, but Bonner absolutely must show up at some point in the playoffs, even though he probably won't..

If this Spurs team had a 3rd big with Duncan-Dice(Splitter), I don't know if anybody would beat us..

[DAF86]

That's usually what championship teams do, have a rotation of 7-8 guys.

[Pero]

I was wondering about this myself. I mean, all that talk in the regular season about the Spurs having the best bench and now it seems pretty irrelevant.

[Trimble87]

7-8 man rotations is the norm for playoff basketball. What we need more then anything is for Hill and Jefferson to play consistently well and for Dice to continue nailing that 16-18 footer.

[BOHOLANO#21]

i think popovich is picking some spots to get help from the bench like what he did this game. bogans and blair got some minutes...it would help if we win some blow out games maybe in game 5...

[DMX7]

Lakers used to do it.

[ace3g]

This series just doesn't fit Bogans, Mason, Bonner (unless he starts hitting shots). If the Spurs win and move on Spurs will expand the rotation in game 1 to see if Pop can use them like he did in game 1 vs Dallas.

[Cry Havoc]

Hill, Parker, Blair, and RJ aren't going to be hurt playing extensive minutes, at all.

Dice probably won't either because he doesn't do a lot besides play D and take 18 foot jumpers. Less wear and tear.

Duncan seemed tired tonight, but our boys stepped up. I expect Timmy to dominate in Game 5.

Manu will just have to digg deep.

[DespЏrado]

Yeah the lakers last year had what 4-6 consistent contributers. I'd say the Spurs are looking plenty deep. I mean how can you ask this after our role players won the game for us.

[Pero]

Hill, Parker, Blair, and RJ aren't going to be hurt playing extensive minutes, at all.


:lmao

[smrattler]

Let's win a first round series first...

[NewJerSpur]

I like what Pop is doing: He gives guys a shot to contribute to give the core players rest. IF/When things start getting out of hand, he yanks them. He's keeping them active and a part of the series so they aren't totally dispondent when they do get time (Bogues was bricking, but played some good defense during his timer).

I mentioned this in the Game Blog, but Pop just has to make sure he subs his bigs in and out the same way he does his perimeter players, gradually. When he makes wholesale changes to the lineup it throws the rhythm of the game off. If theis means resting Tim earlier in the 1st quarter than he'd like, so be it. Keep him and the others fresh down the stretch and keep the flow of the game in our favor.

[lefty]

Lakers won a title last year with 3 players

[MannyIsGod]

8 man rotations are pretty standard in the playoffs. Right now I have confidence in the starting five plus Parker and Blair off the bench but they need some contributions form Bonner as well. If they can get anything out of Mason/Hairston/ANYONE ELSE then thats gravy but I'm not counting on anyone but the 8.

[howbouthemspurs]

He'll switch it up for the next series of course.. Pop is a mastermind!

[Galileo]

The Spurs can't be beat with Parker, Hill, Ginibili, Dice, and Duncan down the stretch.

[honestfool84]

Pop was trying to use Bogans and Bonner tonight, because he knows, that fatigue can kill Spurs.

With other series likely going into 7, Spurs need to close this serie asap


precisely. oh how i wish Mason would step up... but Bonner and Bogans HAVE to produce... or at least not kill us when they in.

[z0sa]

8 man rotation with a 9th guy getting key minutes every so often is about what you expect come playoff time. Many teams only run 7/8th guy maybe getting minutes.

[100%duncan]

7-8 man rotation is the rotation teams play on playoffs I mean you would use your best guys rather than the 9th and 10th right? But I agree fatigue can beat us down in the playoffs. just like on 08 after beating hornets we got tired on the lakers

[Manufan909]

7-8 man rotation is the rotation teams play on playoffs I mean you would use your best guys rather than the 9th and 10th right? But I agree fatigue can beat us down in the playoffs. just like on 08 after beating hornets we got tired on the lakers

But this time there are more than 3 consistent contributors. It's the Big 3 plus RJ, Dice, and Hill. You really can't say anything about Blair until he's played around 20 PO games. That's if he averages close to 10 min, but if the Spurs face the Blazers/Suns, and the Lakers, he will get garbage minutes. If the Spurs make it to the Finals, I don't see one of the Top 3 East teams being a good matchup.

Hell, I take that back. Pop has to play Blair, especially if Bonner continues his streak of missing wide open shots. As long as Pop can manage to send Blair out against bigs that have no offensive game to speak of, Dejuan's D shouldn't be much of a problem.

[Flux451]

Bulls played with one player back in the day

[DesignatedT]

yes.

[NFGIII]

The Spurs can't be beat with Parker, Hill, Ginibili, Dice, and Duncan down the stretch.

Great line up going down the stretch but the problem is that this team needs at least a 7th and hopefully an 8th player contributing to round it out. With only 6 consistent contributers it will be extremely difficult to win a title. Without those other one or two players the main stays on this team will play way too many minutes and become more fatigued as each round of the POs progress.

[Flux451]

HILL, TP, MANU, RJ, TD, DICE, BLAIR...TEMPLE(not likely)

[Man In Black]

Blair's been playing lights out ball for the minutes he's been in there. While he has made mistakes, his positives FAR outweigh his negatives. His per minute stats are currently the best on the team.

[MateoNeygro]

I think they'll be fine as is. However some good play from either Bonner or Bogans would be very beneficial. I wish Mason would step up but I doubt he even gets the chance. So many people here have completely turned their back on him. Not me I remember the good things he's done for us. Those days might be over but I can hope for him.

[TJastal]

I think they'll be fine as is. However some good play from either Bonner or Bogans would be very beneficial. I wish Mason would step up but I doubt he even gets the chance. So many people here have completely turned their back on him. Not me I remember the good things he's done for us. Those days might be over but I can hope for him.

I will gaurantee that Roger gets another shot in these playoffs.. Hill, Parker, and Ginobili are going to tire at some point and the spurs will need an offensive spark off the bench and that's when his number will be called.

[Waps1980]

Bogans will get his minutes when the time is right to try shut down a SG or SF, if he fails easy he just ain't get anymore minutes.
Hill is looking really good on his ankle I was worried about his lateral quickness on defense but he looks pretty good, meaning even less minutes for Bogans.

[Borosai]

A few blowout victories would be nice too.

[Warlord23]

I had the exact same thought ... only 7 dependable players (starters + TP and Blair) in a playoff run having to face 50-win teams in every round spells trouble. At this rate, Timmy and Manu may run out of gas. IMO Timmy's awful game 4 was a result of playing him 44 minutes in game 3.

I think a 9-man rotation is ideal for a deep run. The million dollar question is who the other 2 players should be. So far Pop has played Bonner in every game, and played Bogans in 2 out of 4 games. Bonner has been used and abused on defense by the Mavs and has given nothing on the scoring front either. Bogans played good D, but I have a better chance of scoring in this series than he does.

At this point I can't blame Pop. We all know that Mason must not see the floor at all costs. Pop had an opportunity to give Hairston some burn in the regular season but fucked that up. Mahinmi is also out of the question. That leaves Temple. IMO Pop should try Temple in this series, simply because a 3-guard rotation is troubling the Mavs. Temple against Terry or Barea seems a reasonable gamble. If Temple isn't effective, bring Bogans in.

On the big man front, having traded away Ratliff and chained Mahinmi to the bench, there is no other option apart from Bonner. Sucks but we just have to hope that he stops choking at some point. If he doesn't, then hello smallball with Jefferson at the 4.

Minutes distribution if Bonner can find his touch:

C/PF: Duncan 36, MyDyess 30, Blair 20, Bonner 10
SF: Jefferson 38, Manu 10
PG/SG: Manu 22, Hill 38, Parker 32, Temple/Bogans 4

Minutes distribution if Bonner continues to suck:

C/PF: Duncan 36, MyDyess 30, Blair 20, Jefferson 10
SF: Jefferson 28, Manu 20
PG/SG: Manu 12, Hill 38, Parker 32, Temple/Bogans 14

[TDMVPDPOY]

8 man rotations is good compared to our championship years where we were deep and had a solid backup for every starter, and yes those guys can contributed when relied on....

as for this years team, 8 man rotation is nice, if only mason or bogan pull something our of there asses, then we can play all out

[hsxvvd]

Different teams will require different rotations. We seem to found a nice mix against the Mavs.

If all goes well, then I imagine Bogans (even Hairston to a smaller degree) will play a larger role against the like of Lebron, Kobe etc.

Bonner would be useful to draw out players like Dwight or Shaq. If nothing else, both Bonner and Ian are good for 6 fouls against them.

Perhaps only Mason no longer serves a purpose, other than Hack-a-whoever. Hill seems to have taken him out of the equation all together, particularly now he is hitting 3's with some regularity.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Different teams will require different rotations. We seem to found a nice mix against the Mavs.

If all goes well, then I imagine Bogans (even Hairston to a smaller degree) will play a larger role against the like of Lebron, Kobe etc.

Bonner would be useful to draw out players like Dwight or Shaq. If nothing else, both Bonner and Ian are good for 6 fouls against them.

Perhaps only Mason no longer serves a purpose, other than Hack-a-whoever. Hill seems to have taken him out of the equation all together, particularly now he is hitting 3's with some regularity.

Sounds about right to me.

Hard to get through 4 series playing only 8 guys, so we'd better hope the odd men out can at least fill the gaps occasionally and not put the regular rotation in too many deep holes.

[senorglory]

Lakers used to do it.

It's what the Lakers are doing right now, too, if you look at playoff minutes (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/teams/stats?team=lal&seasonYear=2010&season=3&sort=pts&order=true&avg=pg&split=0).

[nkdlunch]

Manu
TD
Hill
RJ
Dyess
TP
Blair

spare parts to be used as needed:
Bonner
Bogans

very limited:
Mason
Temple

break in case of emergency:
Ian

I see 8-9 man rotation throughout playoffs. Probably average for playoff teams.

[spurs10]

Tim, Manu, Tony, Dice, Hill, Jefferson, Blair, Bonner is 8, plus RMJ(who has done good for our team), Bogans, Malik, and Ian.........doesn't suck.....kill the Mavs tonight!!!!!!!

[boutons_deux]

look at 05, we won basically with 7 players.

Tony, Bruce, Manu, Bones frontcourt, and Tim, BigShot, Rasho front court.

[TDMVPDPOY]

bogans n mason extra 12 fouls will come handy when we need a flagrant 2 call