Tiago Splitter to make his long awaited debut tonight!!! 3 years in the making.

[ThaBigFundamental21]

Let the Splitter era begin

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – It’s official. The Tiago Splitter era begins tonight for the Spurs.

Forty months after the Spurs made Splitter the 28th overall pick in the 2007 draft, and after he spent his entire first NBA preseason on the shelf with a strained calf muscle, the 6-foot-11 Brazilian player has been cleared play in tonight’s game against the L.A. Clippers at the Staples Center.

Splitter will come off the bench, and his playing time will be limited, but for now, any minutes are good minutes for Splitter.

“Being off the court all this time, nobody likes it,” Splitter said after shootaround this morning at Santa Monica High School. “It’s passed, and that’s it. I’m going to get better every day, get in shape and be part of the team.”

Splitter’s teammates are just as eager to see to see him on the court as he is to be on it. He was regarded as the best center in Europe last season, spent playing in Spain, but few of the Spurs have ever seen him in extensive action before.

His big body could come in handy tonight against a large Clippers front line that features 7-footer Chris Kaman and Blake Griffin, a 6-foot-10 Rookie of the Year candidate.

“Looking at the way he moves and how agile he is, I feel like he’s going to be pretty good,” Antonio McDyess said of Splitter. “He’s always been a guy who learns the plays fast. We’ll see how fast he can put it together on the court. It’s going to be interesting to see.”

Nobody in the Spurs camp expects Splitter to dominate in his NBA debut.

“I don’t look for him to come out and have a 20-20 game his first game back,” McDyess said. “Missing the preseason is tough, but he’ll be OK.”

Tonight, simply having Splitter on the court — no matter what he does or how long he plays — will feel like a win three years in the making for the Spurs.

[PM5K]

Wow, that's news to me.

[AlleyOopNazi]

theres like 5 threads about this

[Dex]

Did you guys hear that the Spurs traded Luis Scola? :wow

[AlleyOopNazi]

Did you guys hear that the Spurs traded Luis Scola? :wow
no i didnt! they wont miss him at all tho, no regrets probably

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Scola thread!

[Bruno]

Zach Randolph thread!

[024]

quick, what was scola's debut stats so i can make the inevitable comparison?

[anonoftheinternets]

three years in the making, i dont mind hte extra posts .... :)

[jestersmash]

Let's not give up on splitter after he goes 2-7 from the field with 4 rebounds. This is his first NBA game.

Let's face it he's not going 20 - 10 tonight. And yet I feel like many spurstalk posters expect this level of performance right out of the gate.

[dastrey]

I can already see the "Scola>Splitter" threads after the game.

[024]

quick, what was scola's debut stats so i can make the inevitable comparison?
actually, i just did the research and his stats were 0pts, 3 rebounds in his debut. rough start. also, while doing the research, i noticed scola is averaging 27pts, 14 rebs, so far this season, which made me :depressed

[Mr.Bottomtooth]

Also,

Link?

[nkdlunch]

:lmao

overhype much?

[Nathan89]

Can't wait to see tiago dominating in his first game.:corn:

GoTiaGo...GoTiaGO...

[The Franchise]

Can't wait to see tiago dominating in his first game.:corn:

GoTiaGo...GoTiaGO...

I doubt Pop will play him enough tonight for him to dominate anything except for pine time.

[HarlemHeat37]

If he has a bad game, it's going to be funnnnnyyyyyyy on ST tonight..

[Nathan89]

There is going to be some serious problems on this site if "The One" does not play well for the spurs. I can see the process of spurs fans jumping off the tiago bandwagon now.

Tonight- We will get a few early jumpers.

[BoricuaCJA]

There is going to be some serious problems on this site if "The One" does not play well for the spurs. I can see the process of spurs fans jumping off the tiago bandwagon now.

Tonight- We will get a few early jumpers.
Also all the Lakers fans talking shit too.

[kuato]

I don't know why Splitter is overrated here and Manu/Scola so underrated, somebody needs to explain me this.

[HarlemHeat37]

Saying Manu is underrated on SpursTalk is one of the strangest comments I've heard in my few years here, TBH..it's arguable that he has the most fans of any of the Spurs players, including Duncan, and that he gets the most praise here(he deserves it, but calling him underrated is false)..

[Blackjack]

Looks to me we've got some "hot" intellectual property here.

The links have been removed and everything . . .

[MaNu4Tres]

Looks to me we've got some "hot" intellectual property here.

The links have been removed and everything . . .

Couldn't have said it better myself, great take as always Blackjack :tu

[jestersmash]

I don't know why Splitter is overrated here and Manu/Scola so underrated, somebody needs to explain me this.

Ginobili underrated on spurstalk.....

:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol :rollin:rollin:rollin :lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao


No seriously, Ginobili is probably my favorite player on the spurs. He's not underrated on spurstalk. Have you gone insane?

[kuato]

Ginobili underrated on spurstalk.....

:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol :rollin:rollin:rollin :lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao:lmao


No seriously, Ginobili is probably my favorite player on the spurs. He's not underrated on spurstalk. Have you gone insane?

I have read many posts/comments here against Ginobili, "trade him" "hi is injury prone" etc, since i joined spurstalk, the same about Scola. Splitter is not on the same level as Manu and Luifa and he is treated by many like "the new Robinson".

[rayray2k8]

A work in progress at the moment..

[jestersmash]

I have read many posts/comments here against Ginobili, "trade him" "hi is injury prone" etc, since i joined spurstalk, the same about Scola. Splitter is not on the same level as Manu and Luifa and he is treated by many like "the new Robinson".

Then you unfortunately have come to the wrong impression about spurstalk.

Of the big 3, it is blatantly obvious that tony parker gets the most heat from spurs talk. Blatantly obvious.

Many of the criticisms about parker often might be accurate, but I think they are far too often harshly overstated while his redeeming qualities are far too often underrated.

I'm no parker fanboy either, I'll openly admit that of the big three Ginobili is my favorite.

[DespЏrado]

Yeah Parker has taken more crap than anyone of the big three, but I think this year that might change. Parker is going to be there every night, Manu is going to drive people crazy with his shot selection sometimes (taking too many 3s.) Duncan just seems like he can't get it into gear every nigh any more.

[duncan228]

Much intrigue has surrounded the arrival of Brazilian 7-footer Tiago Splitter, who gave Team USA a fit in the World Championships and was known as the best big man in Europe when he played in Spain. Splitter's foot problems kept him out of the first two games.

Popovich is always glad to have a skillful 7-footer. He is also glad to puncture a hype-filled balloon.

"This isn't the next Tim Duncan." Popovich said. "This is a good blue-collar player, good defender, good rebounder, high-quality worker. This isn't a case where you throw him the ball and he'll score 24 every night."

Steady Spurs contrast with stumbling Clippers (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/clippers-273930-spurs-davis.html)
By Mark Whicker
The Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/clippers-273930-spurs-davis.html

[cheguevara]

A work in progress at the moment..

on the contrary. he looks ready to contribute.

between him and McDyess we have 2 very solid bigmen to play next to Duncan.

SPurs officially have their best big lineup since 2003

[yavozerb]

on the contrary. he looks ready to contribute.

between him and McDyess we have 2 very solid bigmen to play next to Duncan.

SPurs officially have their best big lineup since 2003

Splitter looks like a player where even if he is off at one end of the court he can still contribute on the other. For his 1st NBA game he looked pretty effecient out there and did look at all in awe..

[cheguevara]

Splitter looks like a player where even if he is off at one end of the court he can still contribute on the other. For his 1st NBA game he looked pretty effecient out there and did look at all in awe..

I liked pretty much everything I saw. He's got the length, he is very mobile, he did not force anything, he did not commit many fouls.

[Lackluster]

^^

completely agree. imagine that kinda effort on the floor for 30-35 minutes a night, while showing steady improvement. :wow

he may not go 20/10 for us, but he's certainly a game changer defensively.