Blair named starter

[2Cleva]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/popovich_sets_blair_as_starter_in_spurs_opener_105 408343.html

Interesting fantasy ramifications if he can hold onto the job.

[Fabbs]

:toast

oh, so is Dick. :depressed

[FalleNxWiZarDx]

I was hoping he would be part of the second unit along with MANU and Splitter.... oh well

Hill and Blair should be fun to watch

[rjv]

lol at manu and his indifference to starting.

[slick'81]

great for dejuan sky is the limit buddy

[hater]

this guy is gonna take the NBA by the balls this year.

If he keeps it up and is healthy, I have a feeling he will make the allstar team.

[Dex]

Kind of expected with Tiago's injury, but still good for Blair. Hopefully he can take advantage of the opportunity.

And at least it isn't Bonner.

[hater]

Please get to 77,777 posts and make more than one prediction this time. It worked for last season, raise the bar and make it work this year!

:flag:

[DAF86]

That starting 5 has an alarming lack of shooting.

[8FOR!3]

Ehh not really, theoretically, everybody can hit the mid range jumper, even Blair now. Ginobili's a solid three point shooter, and Jefferson and Parker are if anything right at the average line, but not terrible.

[Rummpd]

More Blair and (hopefully) less Bonner. What not to like?

[Ditty]

if only blair was 7 feet :( really suprise mcdyess wasn't starting

[Samr]

Sounds like Ginobili takes him being a starter almost as a joke. I have the feeling he could play 10 minutes a night, and so long as it helps the team, he'd be happy as hell with it.

Hopefully Blair learns from that attitude. It's nice for an energy player like that to just not care at all, and focus on just beasting it whenever the coach puts him in.

[DesignatedT]

Manu is a great 3 pt shooter and Tony is one of the best mid range shooters in the NBA. Duncan can obviously hit the mid range and if RJ can improve his shooting it's actually a pretty good shooting lineup. Unless of course your strictly talking about from behind the arc.

[Brazil]

Manu is priceless and 100% right

“I have no idea whatsoever what he's going to do and how long it's going to take him to go back and forward and back and forward again,” he said. “So it's not a big deal. Whatever he thinks is better for the team is what I've always said.
“Probably I'm going to start at the beginning of the season, but as soon as we need something to change, I know what is going to happen. I don't mind. It's fine.”


First bad stretch, manu will be back at 6th man savior role

[DesignatedT]

I've always preferred manu off the bench but i don't think it really matters. Hopefully George can bring what Manu brought for the 2nd unit.

[tdunk21]

good for dejuan .... good luck big guy...hope u keep it up....

[sananspursfan21]

12 pts. 12 rbs. a game :)

[Spurs Brazil]

I'd rather see Hill starting at 2 and Manu off the bench

[silk]

At the end of the season, Blair and Manu will come off the bench, Hill and Splitter will begin games, our defense and balance will be much better

[nkdlunch]

That starting 5 has an alarming lack of shooting.

is this your way of asking for Bonner in the lineup?

remind me the last great shooter that has started for Spurs besides that redhead garbage?

[Solid D]

This is not a surprise. Blair has started all 6 pre-season games and he has performed very well.

He just needs to get that FG% up above .500 and that will come as he learns little tricks against much taller post starters.

[Libri]

Interesting fantasy ramifications if he can hold onto the job.

Good news for me. :D

[Halberto]

Good to see Manu and Blair will have more playing time together.

[SenorSpur]

:tu to Blair. The Beast has worked hard and had definitely earned this promotion. He could very well be there for a while.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Blair/Manu combination for prolonged periods of time. These two seemed to find some instant chemistry last year and I'm glad they'll be starting together.

At some point, if Splitter emerges to become the eventual starter, I can see Pop bringing both Manu and Blair off the bench, to keep them together.

Some honest self-reflection from Manu. How many players have the wisdom and honesty to look back on their early career and basically proclaim they "didn't have a clue" and were basically playing selfish. Manu is the best - on and off the court.

[Cane]

Remember the days that the Spurs really struggled getting rebounds especially offensive ones? Thank the basketball gods for Blair and for all the other NBA organizations for passing him up!

[SenorSpur]

Remember the days that the Spurs really struggled getting rebounds especially offensive ones? Thank the basketball gods for Blair and for all the other NBA organizations for passing him up!

Amen brother. :toast

Between Blair on the offensive glass and TD on the defensive glass, the Spurs should see an uptick in their overall rebounding numbers. Of course, the increase in offensive rebounds means extra possessions.

[Muser]

The sky is the limit tbh, if he really has a consistent jumper now then health permitting he is gonna have a monster season.

[TDMVPDPOY]

if he could get like 20/20 20 games b4 the ASG, he could be a lock for selection

[Interrohater]

if he could get like 20/20 20 games b4 the ASG, he could be a lock for selection

Are you suggesting that he needs to get 20 20/20 games 20 games before the all-star break to make the all-star team? lol, I think I confused myself.

[Obstructed_View]

The bigger news: Manu named starter! The weak bench is going to require that Manu go back to pad the stats before long, though. You're much less likely to be questioned about developing talent if you hold back a starter.

[tdunk21]

The bigger news: Manu named starter! The weak bench is going to require that Manu go back to pad the stats before long, though. You're much less likely to be questioned about developing talent if you hold back a starter.

yeah would rather see hill at the starting SG spot but imo if hill and blair are starting prolly its too much inexperience....

[z0sa]

Blair Named Starter


:tu:tu:tu:tu

[blkroadrunners]

The bigger news: Manu named starter!


:tu

[blkroadrunners]

Congrats to Blair. The hard work from the summer has paid off so far.

[Baseline]

The bigger news: Manu named starter! The weak bench is going to require that Manu go back to pad the stats before long, though. You're much less likely to be questioned about developing talent if you hold back a starter.

This means more shots for Anderson in the early going, and also that Pop thinks Hill can carry the load offensively on the second team.

[Obstructed_View]

This means more shots for Anderson in the early going, and also that Pop thinks Hill can carry the load offensively on the second team.

Not likely that they won't have one or two starters on the floor. Lineups are pretty easy to stagger. There's little more important in an NBA game than the start, so getting your best players on the floor together to start the game is critical.

[crc21209]

Gotta give props to Blair for working his ass off over the Summer and now earning a spot in the starting lineup. Only thing is, with Blair and Manu both starting, can Hill bring enough energy off the bench or will it take some changes here and there to get the right mix after awhile...

[timtonymanu]

Glad to hear that Blair's starting. I was worried Pop was gonna underuse him this year in favor of Bonner but it's good that Pop is letting him reach his full potential. So this must mean that McDyess or Splitter will be the 5th big because with Bonner's minutes it looks like he's the 3rd big.

Like others have said, I prefer Hill starting than Manu. I think Hill is more effective when he starts cause so far he looks horrible leading the 2nd unit.

[AussieFanKurt]

Blair vs Yao. That'll end well for us. Seriously.

[Brazil]

Good news for me. :D

sure if you don't care about FT% :lol

[ajh18]

Not likely that they won't have one or two starters on the floor. Lineups are pretty easy to stagger. There's little more important in an NBA game than the start, so getting your best players on the floor together to start the game is critical.

This is what I don't get either. People act like coaches sub the entire second unit in at one time.

Just stagger the lineups, something like this each half:

Duncan - Blair - Jefferson - Manu - Parker: First 6 minutes

Splitter - 'Dysse - Jefferson - Hill - Parker: 4 minutes

Splitter - Bonner - Anderson - Hill - Manu: 4 minutes

Duncan - 'Dysse - Anderson - Neal/Temple - Hill: 4 minutes

Duncan - Blair - Jefferson - Manu - Parker: Last 6 minutes

Rinse and repeat.

Just my two cents (PS, play with the numbers/people however. But I think all of these teams are pretty solid).

[DPG21920]

This will be one of the best, if not the best rebounding starting 5 units in the league. The defense will be a problem though along with 3 point shooting. Lets hope RJ can sink some shots because that would help out a ton.

[The Truth #6]

Manu is a great 3 pt shooter and Tony is one of the best mid range shooters in the NBA. Duncan can obviously hit the mid range and if RJ can improve his shooting it's actually a pretty good shooting lineup. Unless of course your strictly talking about from behind the arc.

Are you being serious? He's great in the paint but his effective jumpshooting has historically been average to below average.

[Muser]

This will be one of the best, if not the best rebounding starting 5 units in the league. The defense will be a problem though along with 3 point shooting. Lets hope RJ can sink some shots because that would help out a ton.

If RJ can bring 5 boards a night then I agree, when he's at the top of game he can be a great rebounder at the 3 as we saw in flashes last season.

[Nathan89]

Are you being serious? He's great in the paint but his effective jumpshooting has historically been average to below average.

^The Truth

[phxspurfan]

If this is true, the Spurs will have to change the lineup to face the best teams not named Heat (i.e. L.A., Orlando, Boston). Those opponents would be better at our strength (rebounding) and would dominate in most other areas like shooting and defense. Spurs would lose in a rout with that lineup versus a team like Orlando, which has a deep bench to match or overtake the Spurs bench. But that would of course depend on Howard not fouling out by Q3.

[Muser]

Are you being serious? He's great in the paint but his effective jumpshooting has historically been average to below average.

He's better than Average. His 3 point shooting is bad but mid range he can knock them down at a decent rate.

[Obstructed_View]

Are you being serious? He's great in the paint but his effective jumpshooting has historically been average to below average.

The last four or five years, he's probably been as good a midrange shooter as anyone in the league.

[DAF86]

is this your way of asking for Bonner in the lineup?

remind me the last great shooter that has started for Spurs besides that redhead garbage?

No, I don't like when Bonner plays more than 15 minutes. Just stating a fact. If anything, I may try with Anderson instead of RJ, but that doesn't convince me either. Let's just hope that RJ hits the three at a respectable rate this season. It would also be good for Tony to work on his corner three.

[GSH]

I'm glad that Blair is getting some recognition, and I love what he brings to the court. But I'm trying to figure out why anyone would get excited over Pop naming him as a starter - especially at the beginning of the season. Since when has that ever meant anything? I just hope that Blair plays so well that he'll be starting in March.

The good news is that this will be the first time since 2006 that Michael Finley won't be in the starting lineup on opening night. That has to be a good omen.

[Obstructed_View]

I'm glad that Blair is getting some recognition, and I love what he brings to the court. But I'm trying to figure out why anyone would get excited over Pop naming him as a starter - especially at the beginning of the season. Since when has that ever meant anything? I just hope that Blair plays so well that he'll be starting in March.

The good news is that this will be the first time since 2006 that Michael Finley won't be in the starting lineup on opening night. That has to be a good omen.

Since I'm probably not the only person who thinks this move is a year too late, there are probably others that are equally excited that it's happened at all.

[duncan228]

Video: Blair on his offseason, being in the starting lineup and more (http://projectspurs.com/)
by Jeff Garcia
Project Spurs

Recently, San Antonio Spurs forward DeJuan Blair stated (http://twitter.com/DeJuan45) in his mind he is always the best. Well nothing could be further from the truth.

This offseason he worked hard to improve his conditioning and his game and it paid off. After his stellar performance in the preseason he is now part of the Spurs starting five once the regular season kicks off next week.

While I was in Pittsburgh for the preseason game between the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers, Blair spoke on his offseason training, being in the starting lineup, the Spurs preseason game in Mexico City and much more.

TAP9VXWBrZg

[Leonard Curse]

if only blair was 7 feet :( really suprise mcdyess wasn't starting


we wouldnt have blair if that was the case, yeahsize matters but he sure is making great adjustments. i think hes going to get better defensively as this season goes on

[Leonard Curse]

Blair vs Yao. That'll end well for us. Seriously.


all i know is if he posts up blair yao aint moving inside so so far ive seen blair play great against him! didnt we play them once already in preseason?

[peskypesky]

Pop must have cut down on his drinking. He's finally starting to think straight!

[MI21]

Parker
Ginobili
Jefferson
Blair
Duncan

... should be able to get to the line a lot. I've noticed over the last few years during the Spurs decline that the games they attempt more FT's than 3PA, they win. I hope to see that become a more common occurence. Blistering 3PT shooting is often fools good.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Blair's an f'in beast. Unfortunately, this was a great call on Pop's part.

[Cessation]

Beast Unleashed!!! :downspin: