Blair just lost his starting spot

[TD 21]

To which I say, good riddance!

It's unfair for him to completely bear the burden for the developing trend that is this team constantly starting slow, but someone has to take the fall for this and that someone is him.

Splitter should be starting, so as to keep McDyess' minutes down, but let's face it, that isn't going to happen. So they might as well get on with it and start McDyess now. He was always eventually going to start anyway, might as well do it now. His minutes can still be limited and the occasional game he's given off, Blair can start those, since it's so imperative to keep Splitter off the court when Duncan's on it. Wouldn't want to not be undersized on the front line.

[spursfan1000]

Blair deserves to be in the dog house.

[timvp]

This thread has literally been started after every game this season.

[Refocus]

He'll probably keep the spot until the Spurs start losing.

[honestfool84]

This thread has literally been started after every game this season.

really? man.. that's pathetic.

[itzsoweezee]

Blair deserves to be in the dog house.

No he doesn't. Blair's played well when given the chance. If he had half the leeway that Bonner does, he'd have played the whole game.

The Spurs need Blair. He's the toughest player on the team and the best rebounder. Those are two things every team needs for success in the playoffs. Small ball, Bonner, ie, the alternatives, are not going to get it done.

[DesignatedT]

Blair is definitely playing the poorest out of all the bigs but I don't exactly know if you change anything right now at 14-2.

[biziofromdowntown]

I'l like to see Timmy and Tiago at same time, that shold be pretty scary for who attaks the rim

[SequSpur]

Lmao...yeah its blairs fault he has to guard guys a foot taller...how about POP and his stupid ass game plan with bonner and Blair...

[DesignatedT]

Lmao...yeah its blairs fault he has to guard guys a foot taller...how about POP and his stupid ass game plan with bonner and Blair...

He is always going to have to guard a guy a foot taller???... Not sure what you're getting at here.

There has also been very little if any at all Bonner/Blair lineups this season. Do you even watch the games?

[xtremesteven33]

Its obvoius the gameplan for every team is to attack Blair from the start. Its unfair to Blair and im sure its a matter of time till Mcyess starts.

Pop im sure is just getting Blair used to playing the big boys and wants to see what he can do. Hes not doing so well but im sure he will be fantastic off the bench.

[Nathan89]

No he doesn't. Blair's played well when given the chance. If he had half the leeway that Bonner does, he'd have played the whole game.

The Spurs need Blair. He's the toughest player on the team and the best rebounder. Those are two things every team needs for success in the playoffs. Small ball, Bonner, ie, the alternatives, are not going to get it done.

Blair hasn't played well all year.

Manu is the toughest.

Tim Duncan is the best and I like dice on the boards as well.

Bone head mistakes and poor defense are two things that will keep every team from success. Blair does both.

Start splitter.

[Cessation]

blair is obviously a fail, only the blair appologists have yet to realize

i also say start dice, maybe play him limited minutes to save him, but we cant be falling behind every first quarter, good teams will make us pay

pops starting to get it right, though, 15 minutes for blair and ginger combined, nice1!!

[DesignatedT]

Splitter should get Blairs minutes eventually. Splitter is clearly the superior talent IMO. Saying that, I am not exactly sure you make that change now, especially when sitting at 14-2

[Nathan89]

Its obvoius the gameplan for every team is to attack Blair from the start. Its unfair to Blair and im sure its a matter of time till Mcyess starts.

Pop im sure is just getting Blair used to playing the big boys and wants to see what he can do. Hes not doing so well but im sure he will be fantastic off the bench.

Re-wrote first paragraph

Its obvious the gameplan for every team is to attack the weak part of the defense from the start. Its unfair that that happens to be blair and I am sure it a matter of tim till dice starts.

[angelbelow]

Blair hasn't played well all year.

Manu is the toughest.

Tim Duncan is the best and I like dice on the boards as well.

Bone head mistakes and poor defense are two things that will keep every team from success. Blair does both.

Start splitter.

I think on occasion Blair HAS played well. Its just arguable whether his good play outweighs his bad. Especially in recent games, Blairs struggles are really apparent. At this point I would prefer if he came off the bench as well. Much less pressure on his shoulders and he can go back to owning 2nd string players.

I think starting Splitter (maybe Dice) is a really good idea. Potentially sets the defensive intensity and we still have plenty of time to make in game adjustments.

[Obstructed_View]

Blair hasn't played to his potential a single time this season in sixteen starts. I don't think he's a incapable of contributing, but it's pretty clear that he shouldn't be starting. The problem is, Splitter isn't going to get his spot if he goes to the bench, Bonner will.

[Borosai]

Blair would be great against opposing second-string bigs. Splitter starting next to Duncan would be ideal.

[Cane]

Other then the James Anderson injury and the Tony Parker sexting fiasco, Blair has been the biggest disappointment of 2010-2011 for the Spurs. The Spurs are trying to involve him early on in the game which often leads to turnovers since he's too undersized and predictable. He did lose weight and seemed to have worked on his free throw shot but still has no midrange game at all which he desperately needs if he wants to be a NBA rotation player.

I remember rebounding used to be a problem for the Spurs so its good to have Blair as an option but he seems like a starter in title only which is no surprise for Spurs fans since they often close the games out with a different lineup in the past few years, but that was because Manu was coming off the bench....

[The Truth #6]

Until he finds a way to score against taller players his problems will continue. He doesn't know how to score from the outside either. He can rebound and pass well on occasion but not much else at this point. However, teammates had more confidence in him last year. He and Manu ran the pick and roll amazingly well and they've gone away from that. Not sure if Manu lost confidence in Blair, or Pop is choosing to call other plays.

Either way - he needs to focus on being a rebounding machine and hopefully his confidence will return.

[weebo]

To be fair, Blair has no business going up against the opposing team's starter. He would be better suited to come off the bench as the Spurs energy guy (something he excelled at last year). I think Pop is just looking at how well the second year player can do against starting bigs. So far its been a failed experiment. It doesn't change anything because Blair is still an important part of this team. It will only be a matter of time before he becomes a top contributor for this team.

[Cessation]

To be fair, Blair has no business going up against the opposing team's starter. He would be better suited to come off the bench as the Spurs energy guy (something he excelled at last year). I think Pop is just looking at how well the second year player can do against starting bigs. So far its been a failed experiment. It doesn't change anything because Blair is still an important part of this team. It will only be a matter of time before he becomes a top contributor for this team.

He hasn't shown anything this year, how is he going to be a top contributor? Hes the fifth big right now.

Only so many minutes to go around, even sucka ass ginger playing better than him and with splitter improving. Hows blair gonna be an important part if hes not on the court?

lol at blair appologists :downspin:

once blair hits the pine, replaced by splitter or most likely dice, its basically garbage minutes for him

[cd98]

Blair will start all games to rest McDyess and b/c Splitter is a rookie. Blair will continue to lose minutes overall if his play does not improve.

[weebo]

He hasn't shown anything this year, how is he going to be a top contributor? Hes the fifth big right now.

Only so many minutes to go around, even sucka ass ginger playing better than him and with splitter improving. Hows blair gonna be an important part if hes not on the court?

lol at blair appologists :downspin:

once blair hits the pine, replaced by splitter or most likely dice, its basically garbage minutes for him

Well, you better hope your assessment is wrong because if that's the case the Spurs don't have a snowball chance in hell to win anything.

Blair is best suited to come off the bench where he can contribute because it is painfully obvious that if Bonner isn't draining threes he is totally useless.

Blair has at least shown a willingness to board and has proven he can be better suited to go up against opposing teams' second unit.

You start McD at the start of the season and he'll fade down the stretch. And this talk about starting Splitter is complete shit. It is apparent that Pop doesn't think this guy is ready to start or get any significant playing time.

[jjktkk]

Well, you better hope your assessment is wrong because if that's the case the Spurs don't have a snowball chance in hell to win anything.

Blair is best suited to come off the bench where he can contribute because it is painfully obvious that if Bonner isn't draining threes he is totally useless.

Blair has at least shown a willingness to board and has proven he can be better suited to go up against opposing teams' second unit.

You start McD at the start of the season and he'll fade down the stretch. And this talk about starting Splitter is complete shit. It is apparent that Pop doesn't think this guy is ready to start or get any significant playing time.

My hope is that Splitter can show enough to be a starting option sometime this season.

[Mikesatx]

He played 7 min. today and the team was minus 3 with him on the floor. The four games before that 13 min with a minus 6, 6 min with a minus 4, 10 min with a 0, 25 min with a +6 and 28 min with a +21. The last 3 games he hasn't played enough to be the reason we lose.

The team is 14-2, if you want to point to a reason we aren't 15-1 Tony had an off night against a team he usually lights up and the Mavs had a great game. Trust in Pop they have the best record in the league. When Blair comes around, and he will, the Spurs will have a legit chance at the top seed in the playoffs.

[Sofaking]

Typical hater thread. I'm starting to think all these Blair threads are coming from Splitter fans that are longing to see him start. From day one everybody was expecting Splitter to come in and start but since he hasnt(and has been but in a bit of a dog house picking up DNP) all I see is bitching. I don't have a problem with Splitter starting, I just wanna see the Spurs win. Splitter hasn't really showed me much outside of one game against a garbage team. We've seen Blair take it to Garnett and the Celtics, OK Thunder having great games against but blah whatever. Blair potential>>>Splitter. Splitter right now is the better player but one is 25 with Euro and Olympic experience to a player thats 21 with a full season under him...Its gonna be a long season and when Splitter starts fouling and missing chippies(instead of dunking) and Pop puts him in the Dog house, I hope y'all will be fair and give him the same treatment DeJuan is receiving now.

[Big P]

He's been getting himself in trouble due to the bad match up of playing a 6'7 pf at center.

[Vito Corleone]

I will never understand why anyone worries about who is starting. Starters don't mean a thing, all that matters is who the finisher is. Clearly the top two big men on this team that need to finish every close game are Duncan and McDyess. Blair and Splitter are great guys to take up minutes and bring a little something to the post, but everything for us rest on the shoulders of Tim and Antonio. So long as we are winning we keep giving minutes to Splitter and Blair.

[Cessation]

Well, you better hope your assessment is wrong because if that's the case the Spurs don't have a snowball chance in hell to win anything.

Blair is best suited to come off the bench where he can contribute because it is painfully obvious that if Bonner isn't draining threes he is totally useless.

Blair has at least shown a willingness to board and has proven he can be better suited to go up against opposing teams' second unit.

You start McD at the start of the season and he'll fade down the stretch. And this talk about starting Splitter is complete shit. It is apparent that Pop doesn't think this guy is ready to start or get any significant playing time.


last 3 games averages

splitter 13 min
blair 7 min

you sure splitter is the one pop thinks shouldnt be getting any significant playing time?

you saying our playoff chances depend more on a 6-7 center with no offence or defence, as opposed to a 6-11 defensive big, with an inside game and far superior bbiq?

lol

[Cessation]

Typical hater thread. I'm starting to think all these Blair threads are coming from Splitter fans that are longing to see him start. From day one everybody was expecting Splitter to come in and start but since he hasnt(and has been but in a bit of a dog house picking up DNP) all I see is bitching. I don't have a problem with Splitter starting, I just wanna see the Spurs win. Splitter hasn't really showed me much outside of one game against a garbage team. We've seen Blair take it to Garnett and the Celtics, OK Thunder having great games against but blah whatever. Blair potential>>>Splitter. Splitter right now is the better player but one is 25 with Euro and Olympic experience to a player thats 21 with a full season under him...Its gonna be a long season and when Splitter starts fouling and missing chippies(instead of dunking) and Pop puts him in the Dog house, I hope y'all will be fair and give him the same treatment DeJuan is receiving now.

lol typical blair homer, cant handle the truth

6-11 center +10 years of pro experience, with post game and defensive presence will always be >>> than a 6-7 no d, no o, garbage man center

cant teach height

[weebo]

last 3 games averages

splitter 13 min
blair 7 min

you sure splitter is the one pop thinks shouldnt be getting any significant playing time?

you saying our playoff chances depend more on a 6-7 center with no offence or defence, as opposed to a 6-11 defensive big, with an inside game and far superior bbiq?

lol


Yes because 13 min is significant:rolleyes.

If you read my post correctly, you would see that I stated Blair should come off the bench. He may very well be the energy guy we need with Hill coming off the bench now that Manu starts.

He showed last year that he could come off the bench and contribute immediately. Besides, I am not making this a Blair vs Splitter debate. I'm for both succeeding. I'm just saying that the Spurs would best be served giving Blair minutes where he can be most effective, much like what they have done with Splitter.

But please keep spewing your hate for a guy a year ago you were probably hyping as the next big savior...its all too typical for a place like this to hate on your teams' own players.

[Nathan89]

I will never understand why anyone worries about who is starting. Starters don't mean a thing, all that matters is who the finisher is. Clearly the top two big men on this team that need to finish every close game are Duncan and McDyess. Blair and Splitter are great guys to take up minutes and bring a little something to the post, but everything for us rest on the shoulders of Tim and Antonio. So long as we are winning we keep giving minutes to Splitter and Blair.

I guess starting off with a deficit doesn't mean a thing.


He played 7 min. today and the team was minus 3 with him on the floor. The four games before that 13 min with a minus 6, 6 min with a minus 4, 10 min with a 0, 25 min with a +6 and 28 min with a +21. The last 3 games he hasn't played enough to be the reason we lose.

The team is 14-2, if you want to point to a reason we aren't 15-1 Tony had an off night against a team he usually lights up and the Mavs had a great game. Trust in Pop they have the best record in the league. When Blair comes around, and he will, the Spurs will have a legit chance at the top seed in the playoffs.

14-2, with no help from Blair. Splitter or Dice starting will make us better.


lol typical blair homer, cant handle the truth

6-11 center +10 years of pro experience, with post game and defensive presence will always be >>> than a 6-7 no d, no o, garbage man center

cant teach height

6-7 more like 6-5. I'm getting tired of all this Blair love. Can't stand when the guy is on the court. He's the big man equivalent of Udoka, just can't really do anything.

[Cessation]

Yes because 13 min is significant:rolleyes.

If you read my post correctly, you would see that I stated Blair should come off the bench. He may very well be the energy guy we need with Hill coming off the bench now that Manu starts.

He showed last year that he could come off the bench and contribute immediately. Besides, I am not making this a Blair vs Splitter debate. I'm for both succeeding. I'm just saying that the Spurs would best be served giving Blair minutes where he can be most effective, much like what they have done with Splitter.

But please keep spewing your hate for a guy a year ago you were probably hyping as the next big savior...its all too typical for a place like this to hate on your teams' own players.

What hate? Telling it like it is? Blair is the 5th big right now, despite being a starter. You tried to say otherwise.

Bonner has been playing much better than him, other than a couple of bad shooting games, and splitter is better defensivelly and offensivelly and only gonna get better.

Blairs minutes have been shrinking at alarming rate, they both outplaying him. Am I lying?

I agree he should be riding pine and playing vs 2nd stringers.

Personally i think the minute breakdown should be , duncan and dice, then splitter, and lastly bonner and blair, whichever of the two is playing well at the time, should get the bulk of the remaining minutes.

[weebo]

What hate? Telling it like it is? Blair is the 5th big right now, despite being a starter. You tried to say otherwise.

Bonner has been playing much better than him, other than a couple of bad shooting games, and splitter is better defensivelly and offensivelly and only gonna get better.

Blairs minutes have been shrinking at alarming rate, they both outplaying him. Am I lying?

I agree he should be riding pine and playing vs 2nd stringers.

Personally i think the minute breakdown should be , duncan and dice, then splitter, and lastly bonner and blair, whichever of the two is playing well at the time, should get the bulk of the remaining minutes.

You play Duncan and McD big minutes during the regular season you lose them for the playoff run. Splitter is in his first season as a Spur after playing the summer with the national team and coming off an injury (where he missed the preseason).

Someone has to play those minutes. And as I mentioned in some other post, unless Bonner is hitting threes he is pretty useless (we have seen this in previous years),imo. That leaves only Blair who showed us last year that when given minutes he can be valuable by bringing energy and rebounding. So why not play him where he can be most effective?

[Cessation]

I guess starting off with a deficit doesn't mean a thing.



14-2, with no help from Blair. Splitter or Dice starting will make us better.



6-7 more like 6-5. I'm getting tired of all this Blair love. Can't stand when the guy is on the court. He's the big man equivalent of Udoka, just can't really do anything.


Exactly, he hardly get any playing time in big games, and people still claim hes still good SOMEHOW.

10 min vs orlando 3 pts 1 rbs
6 min vs minesota 3pts 1rbs
13 min vs dallas 0 pts 4 rbs
7 min vs no 4pts 2 rbs

thats 9 min 2pts 2rb last 4 games, lol
hes beasting!!

Pop finally got the measure of him and pulls him out accordingly, it appears he wants to win games and go deep in the playoffs.

[Obstructed_View]

Splitter is 25, not 36. Let's not compare him to McDyess, folks. He's more than capable of playing 20 minutes a night for the rest of the season and not be worn down. If there's any chance that moving Blair to the bench allows him to get out of this funk he's in, it's a good move anyway.

[Cessation]

You play Duncan and McD big minutes during the regular season you lose them for the playoff run. Splitter is in his first season as a Spur after playing the summer with the national team and coming off an injury (where he missed the preseason).

Someone has to play those minutes. And as I mentioned in some other post, unless Bonner is hitting threes he is pretty useless (we have seen this in previous years),imo. That leaves only Blair who showed us last year that when given minutes he can be valuable by bringing energy and rebounding. So why not play him where he can be most effective?

I've been saying this all along, have blair come of the bench, he has better chance against less skilled 2nd stringers, he showed us he can do it last year.

Blair is still 5th big, pop knows he needs to develop splitter to offset the size of the lakers front line in the playoffs, and he loves the booner floor stretching, to facilitate better floor spacing for driving (while blair clogs the lanes with his lack of outside shot), hell get minutes, regardless.

Dice is getting same minutes as blair so far this year if he starts at least we wont fall behind in the beginning of the game vs good teams.

[Sofaking]

I guess starting off with a deficit doesn't mean a thing.



14-2, with no help from Blair. Splitter or Dice starting will make us better.



6-7 more like 6-5. I'm getting tired of all this Blair love. Can't stand when the guy is on the court. He's the big man equivalent of Udoka, just can't really do anything.
I think he's a pretty good rebounder

[Sofaking]

I've been saying this all along, have blair come of the bench, he has better chance against less skilled 2nd stringers, he showed us he can do it last year.

Blair is still 5th big, pop knows he needs to develop splitter to offset the size of the lakers front line in the playoffs, and he loves the booner floor stretching, to facilitate better floor spacing for driving (while blair clogs the lanes with his lack of outside shot), hell get minutes, regardless.

Dice is getting same minutes as blair so far this year if he starts at least we wont fall behind in the beginning of the game vs good teams.
Splitter is wayyy too light against that frontline. Regardless the typical Blair hater gone hate, I could careless who starts :lmao I'm all about :lobt2:

[Dice]

I think Blair can do the job as a starter but does not need to get starter minutes. He needs to concentrate on D and rebounding while he's out there and let the pick and rolls happen when they happen instead of forcing them.

Splitter should start. But one thing Blair has going for him that Splitter doesn't is the he's got a full year of the defensive rotations under his belt.

Spurs are only 15 games into the 82 game season. Splitters minutes will continue to rise as the season progresses.

Come playoff time, McDyess will get starter minutes. Until then, he's best serving this team as is. Tonight was a perfect example of that.

[Cry Havoc]

Blair will be okay. He just needs to find his rhythm.

[ohmwrecker]

I've changed my opinion on the matter. I am fine with Blair starting. He gets an early look to see if he is going to produce. If not, Pop can pull him out and determine what is needed @ the position. I do know that I don't like the Bonner/McDyess combo and I am OK with Splitter coming off the bench. If anyone should start instead of Blair, it's McDyess.

[mingus]

Blair is best suited to come off the bench. When he does I think that people will see him for what he is and not what they want him to be. And what he is is a capable back up PF. The problem with that is MCdyess is a back up pf as well. This is why I was in favor of grabbing Dampier.

[Cessation]

Splitter is wayyy too light against that frontline. Regardless the typical Blair hater gone hate, I could careless who starts :lmao I'm all about :lobt2:

So you're saying, blair playing heavy minutes in the playoffs against the elite front lines of the west will bring us a championship?

If blair is so good why is pop playing bonner and rookie splitter over him?

Is pop a blair hater?

[Das Texan]

Splitter will be the starting center on this team by the time April rolls around, so its really a moot point.


Pop seems to be easing Splitter into the NBA game, and him missing all of camp didnt speed up that process any.

Blair will continue to start as long as the Spurs are winning. Blair's playing time will be dependent on a number of things, not the least being how he plays each game in those first 5-8 minutes of the game.


Blair isnt why this team has 2 losses anyway.

[crc21209]

Nah, wont happen. If it aint broke, dont fix it. Blair will continue to start, and most likely ride pine after the 1st quarter like we've been seeing lately...

[Sofaking]

So you're saying, blair playing heavy minutes in the playoffs against the elite front lines of the west will bring us a championship?

If blair is so good why is pop playing bonner and rookie splitter over him?

Is pop a blair hater?
I remember Pop playing Speedy Claxton over Tony in the finals, when Parker was the same age as Blair, that I do remember. I never said anything about heavy minutes, stop that crystal ball shit you're doing. Pop can choose to pick and choose Blair's minutes when suitable. Bynum has been quoted saying that midget forwards are the kind of players that bothers his game the most. We split the series last year with the Lakers with Blair doing a decent job, especially when Pop decided to put Blair on Artest.

Pop plays matchups. Pop is a mastermind at that. This year we are 14-2 and I've never been happier. I could give a fuck who starts, its just when ppl start talking about Blair only dominates against 2nd lineup is where I call silly. I've seen Blair perform on just about every premier big man there is.

[Cessation]

I remember Pop playing Speedy Claxton over Tony in the finals, when Parker was the same age as Blair, that I do remember. I never said anything about heavy minutes, stop that crystal ball shit you're doing. Pop can choose to pick and choose Blair's minutes when suitable. Bynum has been quoted saying that midget forwards are the kind of players that bothers his game the most. We split the series last year with the Lakers with Blair doing a decent job, especially when Pop decided to put Blair on Artest.

Pop plays matchups. Pop is a mastermind at that. This year we are 14-2 and I've never been happier. I could give a fuck who starts, its just when ppl start talking about Blair only dominates against 2nd lineup is where I call silly. I've seen Blair perform on just about every premier big man there is.

lol I agree if it aint broke dont fix it, its still rather funny he starts and gets 5-10 minutes of playing time, though.

If he was performing so well on these premier big men you'd think hed get a bit more burn, but whatever gets the win is also fine with me.

[Vito Corleone]

I guess starting off with a deficit doesn't mean a thing.



14-2, with no help from Blair. Splitter or Dice starting will make us better.



6-7 more like 6-5. I'm getting tired of all this Blair love. Can't stand when the guy is on the court. He's the big man equivalent of Udoka, just can't really do anything.


As long as we are winning does it really matter if we start off with a deficit? Again, Blair isn't getting many minutes but he is getting enough to keep Duncan and Antonio's minutes down.