Rethinking DeJuan Blair vs. the Lakers

[timvp]

I, along with probably every other Spurs fan, thought that DeJuan Blair would never be much help against the Lakers. Blair tends to struggle against length and there is no team longer than the Lakers. Blair also doesn't do well against stretch power forwards and in Lamar Odom the Lakers have one of the best in the business. Thus, Tiago Splitter and Antonio McDyess are better suited to combat what the Lakeshow bring to the table, right?

Now, after watching Blair have so much success against the Lakers in the first matchup this season, I'm not so sure.

The Spurs beat the Lakers due to superior speed and using a scrambling defense to disrupt their offensive attack. Blair, in this type of gameplan, actually fits best.

Against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Spurs don't have much of a chance against either once they catch the ball on the post -- no matter who is defending. But Blair showed an ability to make it difficult for the Lakers to enter the ball to the post, which may ultimately be the best type of defense to use against that duo's length.

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.

This could very well have been an aberration but it's also possible to make sense of it. The Lakers are big and long. Instead of trying to match that size and playing into their hands, isn't it better to try to take the Lakers out of their comfort zone? Forcing L.A. to try to adapt to a faster, more powerful attack may be the better idea.

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?

[greyforest]

I'll be more worried about Blair defending the Lakers when Pau gets the ball.
Offense against them looks great - I don't see ANYONE around here complaining about small ball anymore.

[Danny.Zhu]

Suns did the same thing in the playoff but failed.

[Spursfanfromafar]

I think that the Spurs have a lot of options against the Lakers' length now. If this game is a precursor to what the Spurs will do, it tells us that they will use the scrambling defense option against the bigs and force Kobe to take shots by sucking the Lakers into a fast break game. But if the Lakers don't bite and go about setting their triangle offense, thats when the Spurs can counter back in a traditional sense through Duncan, Splitter/ McDyess in the low post and Parker, Ginobili, Jefferson, Hill combine in the perimeter.

And I am confident about the latter - Duncan won't have a bad game like this often and will be more effective both in defense and offense against Gasol and Splitter will learn to hang with the uber-bigs like Bynum and McDyess has the experience to do the needful.

I think the BBall IQ of the team is strong and they can react based on the situation in defense. It was always there before, but what was missing was the offensive plug, which has been nurtured this season quite well.

Am confident that the Spurs can hang well with the Lakers and even manage to overcome them, based on evidence today.

[Spurs Brazil]

I'm glad this year we have more options. Playoffs series are all about adjustments so we'll need the toughness of Dice, Tiago size and Blair speed and energy.

Yesterday I was surprised how little they went to Gasol and Bynum on the post. I think team D did a good job denying them the ball but I expect LA using their bigs more in the next matchup.

I was very happy to see Blair playing with that energy. I think he's been playing bad and forcing a lot of things this season and I hope yesterday game will be the one he'll build going foward

[Fireball]

Blair played great, team defense was great. But there will come a game against the Lakers where egomaniac Kobe Bryant looks more for his 7-Footers and the ending could be different. But if Blair struggles, we can always go back to Dice and Tiago ... I'm confident as ever.

[GrandeDavid]

Knowing Phil Jackson, I'm sure that he'll have some convincing counterpunch to small ball and Blair come February 3rd. I'd like to see the Spurs mix it up a little, i.e. use some size and also employ the swarming smaller lineup. Of course rhythm then becomes a concern. I suppose Sean Elliott said it best regarding the New Year's resolution, which is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". The Spurs and Lakers go at it three more times before the Playoffs, so I'd probably stick with the gameplan that worked yesterday. But like I said, I'm sure that the Lakers will have a counter ready.

I truly hope that come February 3rd Tiago will be more acclimated on the court. Its nice that he grabs a board and blocks a shot from time to time, but man is it painful to see that T-Rex floater he tosses up. Chip needs to work hard on his shot.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Well obviously one game is not enough to draw conclusions but one could most definitely make an observation that playing faster tempo gives the Spurs a much better chance than trying to match the front court size of the Lakers ( barring a trade ).

I'm not convinced Blair would be able to play this well consistently throughout a whole series, but I do believe he can help against the Lakers despite of his size disadvantage, especially against Gasol, who isn't known for being very tough.In a 7 game series, though, the Lakers would find a way to counter and adjust to his strengths and weaknesses. Duncan also found it hard to work inside on offence without a stretch big next him and we all know that PJ will clog the lane and let the Spurs shoot from 3 as much they want.

This leads me to the conclusion that even though we can't fully rely on any of our bigs, save for Duncan, to perform consistently, they could use each of them in specific situations to take advantage of the Lakers, so I think our best chance to neutralize their front court advantage would be to use the one thing we have over them in that department - depth. We have 5 bigs who can produce, while they only have 3 and they play them to death. We need to use that and throw fresh legs as often as possible. We don't need and can't count on Blair having 17 and 15, but if each of them contributes a little in the right situations, for example Bonner hitting a couple of 3s, Blair getting a few offensive rebounds, Dice hitting a few midrange Js, then it'd all add up to a nice team effort and would give us a good chance against them.I'd also like to see them throw double teams at them often and like timvp said, just make it difficult for them to get the ball to their bigs down low.

I'd say the same thing about our perimeter players as well - use the depth, use the fresh legs and run at them as much as possible, we've seen it work against the Lakers, as they're one of the slower teams and their transition D is not impressive at all.

[TDMVPDPOY]

quick help defense and playin physical down low...pau gasol will just let you through no questions ask

[polandprzem]

whatever

We need them all. And IMO we need the size of Splitter.
McD is fast enough and his footwork is great.

So as long as Blair can give some energy even off the bench I'm in. LA gonna play big anyway. If it's 1stQ or 2nd or 3rd or 4th does not matter.

[ohmwrecker]

On defense Blair has to use his body (low center) and quickness to keep Gasol and Bynum out of deep post position. If he lets them get too low, there is nothing he can do. He matches up really well with Odom and Artest (if the Lakers play small). The best thing that I saw last night was that Bynum is to slow laterally to defend Blair. I don't know if that is due to him not being in shape or still injured, but it is clear that Blair is too quick for Bynum.
Hopefully, Blair's game last night is an indicator of things to come. I would like to think DeJuan had a big boost to his confidence (I saw his post-game interview on NBATV and he was beaming) and he has a statement game he can build on.
I want to be careful not to be too excited because Bynum is just coming back and is not 100% and Gasol hasn't been playing well lately, but at the very least, Blair will not be the non-factor against the Lakers that some had thought he would be.

[ohmwrecker]

Suns did the same thing in the playoff but failed.

The Spurs aren't the Suns. They can play a two-way game.

[Cry Havoc]

I, along with probably every other Spurs fan, thought that DeJuan Blair would never be much help against the Lakers. Blair tends to struggle against length and there is no team longer than the Lakers. Blair also doesn't do well against stretch power forwards and in Lamar Odom the Lakers have one of the best in the business. Thus, Tiago Splitter and Antonio McDyess are better suited to combat what the Lakeshow bring to the table, right?

Now, after watching Blair have so much success against the Lakers in the first matchup this season, I'm not so sure.

The Spurs beat the Lakers due to superior speed and using a scrambling defense to disrupt their offensive attack. Blair, in this type of gameplan, actually fits best.

Against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Spurs don't have much of a chance against either once they catch the ball on the post -- no matter who is defending. But Blair showed an ability to make it difficult for the Lakers to enter the ball to the post, which may ultimately be the best type of defense to use against that duo's length.

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.

This could very well have been an aberration but it's also possible to make sense of it. The Lakers are big and long. Instead of trying to match that size and playing into their hands, isn't it better to try to take the Lakers out of their comfort zone? Forcing L.A. to try to adapt to a faster, more powerful attack may be the better idea.

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?


Something I noticed last night about the Lakers: They were looking for easy buckets. That's great, but when your shot isn't falling you need to alter your gameplan.

Gasol and Bynum did not set one repost near the lane all night that I can recall. It was a pass into the post, and either a shot, or a pass back out to the 3 point line if the Spurs ran a double at them. They usually rotated the ball around and ended up taking a tough shot from 17 feet out or farther. They should have reset the post-player and tried to work the ball in, especially when Kobe was clanking everything.

Now, this could be key, because we could have Blair continue to force them out of the post, and make LA force tough passes that are interceptible at their bigs. If Gasol or Bynum does get a good position inside, run a quick double team at them, force them to pass out of the post. As soon as that happens, either have Blair push them back out of the post, or switch and have him front the post player if the ball is rotating slowly or stagnating.

One of the Lakers biggest weaknesses is that they don't have ANY great passers, and only a couple of decent ones in Kobe and Gasol. If we can continue to force them to make tough passes in the post, we can live with the points they get from Blair's size because it's going to lead to turnovers as well.

[Whisky Dog]

The key to the interior defense last night was the very active perimeter defense. When you can take the guards and Kobe off their game and pressure their dribble and passing angles you can limit what they can do getting the ball in the post. George Hill was key, as was Manu and Parker.

[Thompson]

If the Lakers hadn't turned into the Kobe show I'm not sure how effective DeJuan would have actually been against Pau/Bynum. I hope we'll always get this type of game, but eventually the Lakers have to adjust, and we'll know then if DeJuan can handle it. Whether he can handle it or not, it still makes sense to have Tiago ready to play a lot more minutes just in case.

[dbestpro]

I think you also have to look at what did the Lakers not do.

Odom was still wide open from the three point line, but no one on the Lakers got him the ball. Gasol played uninspired and flat footed and did a horrible job boxing out. Bynum was unstoppable when he got the ball down low, but they just did not give him the ball enough. Finally, the team lost its composure with Fish trying to be an inforcer and Kobe shooting like he is on the playground. If the Lakers get back to sharing the ball the question would be, can Blair still have an impact on the game?

[Ocotillo]

A lot of folks have compared Blair to Malik Rose.

Malik used to play Shaq way better than made sense on paper.

[Old School 44]

Yes, Blair's quickness can be a factor, but he needs to back off if their bigs get it too deep in the post, especially Gasol. I don't know what Bynum's career numbers are, but if he continues to shoot free throws like he did last night, come playoff time hack-a-bynum will be in full effect.

Much is said about the Spurs matching the length of the Lakers, but what about the Lakers matching our back court? The best guard rotation in the league IMO.

[Spurminator]

I expect the Lakers to adjust and feed the hell out of Gasol and Bynum in the post next time. No reason to think the offense and rebounding were aberrations, unless the Lakers' big men were taking their defensive possessions off out of frustration.

I'm interested to see how they do now that they've been embarrassed and have something to prove.

[pookenstein]

I hope that Blair can play like this consistantly and Splitter to get more comfortable with his game so we have various options to throw at their bigs.
Best case scenario: they have to react to our big lineups instead of us having to react on Pau, Drew and Lamar.

[ElNono]

He certainly got their attention now. That said, I think his gambling on the entry pass (effective this game), can be easily countered with some attention to detail by the passer, and can quickly turn into silly fouls. His rebounding can be an asset, on both ends.

[Agloco]

I, along with probably every other Spurs fan, thought that DeJuan Blair would never be much help against the Lakers. Blair tends to struggle against length and there is no team longer than the Lakers. Blair also doesn't do well against stretch power forwards and in Lamar Odom the Lakers have one of the best in the business. Thus, Tiago Splitter and Antonio McDyess are better suited to combat what the Lakeshow bring to the table, right?

Now, after watching Blair have so much success against the Lakers in the first matchup this season, I'm not so sure.

The Spurs beat the Lakers due to superior speed and using a scrambling defense to disrupt their offensive attack. Blair, in this type of gameplan, actually fits best.

Against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Spurs don't have much of a chance against either once they catch the ball on the post -- no matter who is defending. But Blair showed an ability to make it difficult for the Lakers to enter the ball to the post, which may ultimately be the best type of defense to use against that duo's length.

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.

This could very well have been an aberration but it's also possible to make sense of it. The Lakers are big and long. Instead of trying to match that size and playing into their hands, isn't it better to try to take the Lakers out of their comfort zone? Forcing L.A. to try to adapt to a faster, more powerful attack may be the better idea.

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?

Meh. He's gotta duplicate this performance more than a few times consistently in order to make me a true believer. Seems to me that Blair is a double edged sword really. When he's focused, there's not much that can stop him. Problem is, he's easily distracted from the ultimate goal.

Add to this that Odom seemed very passive last night and Gasol was just having an off night, and you'll understand why I'm reserving judgement for now. I do agree that his performance is very encouraging though.

[Agloco]

Suns did the same thing in the playoff but failed.

I guess its a good thing that Spurs>Suns then.

[EVAY]

Blair's effectiveness later in the game goes back to Timvp's comments applauding Pop's changes after the game started. During the first quarter, everybody was watching DeJuan Blair get killed on rebounding and generally look terrible. Duncan was missing virtually every shot he took, and Blair was unable to rebound any of his misses, so L.A. just kept increasing the score with Kobe taking all of the L.A. offense for himself.

One of the good things that resulted from Pop's taking the scoring onus off of Duncan (since he wasn't making them and L.A. just kept getting the ball) was that Duncan could set picks for other offensive threats and get in position for rebounds if they missed. He (Duncan) didn't do such a good job on the rebounding until much later in the game, but giving the offensive onus to Blair in the post and letting Tim play support really, really confused L.A., and it was a credit to Pop to have seen the need for it, to Tim to go along with it, and to Blair to understand what was needed and make it happen.

I was thrilled to see Blair go outin the first quarter and dreaded seeing him come in in the third, but the adjustments had been made and they worked. Let's face it, folks, Parker's game last night opened up a lot for any big of ours who could score. Duncan couldn't and Splitter looked too tentative, but he passed well a couple of times and ended up with numbers not too far off of Duncan's in many fewer minutes.

Is McDyess' back hurting him? I saw him with a heat pad early in the game.

[E-RockWill]

IMO, we negated the length of the Lakers w/ superior help-defense & ....wait for it....spreading the floor offensively (not just talkin' 3's, people). If DB is hitting jumpers, the defense has to play honest & that opens up the paint. Spurs seem to have very active hands this year, allowing for a lot of fast breaks.
This is not your "old & slow" Spurs team.

[EVAY]

IMO, we negated the length of the Lakers w/ superior help-defense & ....wait for it....spreading the floor offensively (not just talkin' 3's, people). If DB is hitting jumpers, the defense has to play honest & that opens up the paint. Spurs seem to have very active hands this year, allowing for a lot of fast breaks.
This is not your "old & slow" Spurs team.

This is true. The 'quick hands' defense threw a curve ball at the Lakers that they didn't get over in this game. They will adjust in the future, but they were unprepared for it last night.

[lefty]

Splitter: he may not be ready to face the Lakers during the playoffs, but the coaches are working with him; you never know
But even if he doesnt play well vs L.A, we can always use him to hack-a-Bynum
Bynum himself was kinda useful in that department on Dwight Howard during the 2009 Finalls

Blair: on the defensive end, I think he can be as efficient vs L.A in the playoffs; on the offensive end, it will be interesting to see if Phil Jackson will take Blair out of his comfort zome by double-teaming him, something Blair is not used to face on a regular basis

Dice: we will need him; I remember last season, he did a fairly good defensive job on Odom

[Spursfanfromafar]

Splitter: he may not be ready to face the Lakers during the playoffs, but the coaches are working with him; you never know
But even if he doesnt play well vs L.A, we can always use him to hack-a-Bynum
Bynum himself was kinda useful in that department on Dwight Howard during the 2009 Finalls

Trust me, Splitter will be ready by the time the Rodeo Trip ends.

[Mark in Austin]

The best Blair will be able to do consistently in a series against LA is beat the LA bigs down the floor and keep them from establishing position where they want to. Eventually LA will adjust and start shooting over Blair. But at that point SA's frontcourt depth will help. In games where LA is effectively countering Blair, McDyess and Splitter can be brought in to provide different looks. So I would still feel more comfortable if Splitter started getting more meaningful minutes to help prepare him.

I think it still boils down to a chess game between Phil & Pop, and how well the players execute the different strategic moves made by each coach.

(Maybe Pop has figured out that the only way small ball can work is if you have 5 offensive threats on the floor when you play it.)

I do think that SA might have hit on a better strategy - Duncan no longer needs to carry the offesive load against LA. If you adjust Duncan's primary role to neutralize Gasol defensively - and hit the occasional bank shot or put back to keep Gasol honest on the other end - then it really puts pressure on Bryant to do too much.

[EVAY]

The best Blair will be able to do consistently in a series against LA is beat the LA bigs down the floor and keep them from establishing position where they want to. Eventually LA will adjust and start shooting over Blair. But at that point SA's frontcourt depth will help. In games where LA is effectively countering Blair, McDyess and Splitter can be brought in to provide different looks. So I would still feel more comfortable if Splitter started getting more meaningful minutes to help prepare him.

I think it still boils down to a chess game between Phil & Pop, and how well the players execute the different strategic moves made by each coach.

(Maybe Pop has figured out that the only way small ball can work is if you have 5 offensive threats on the floor when you play it.)

I do think that SA might have hit on a better strategy - Duncan no longer needs to carry the offesive load against LA. If you adjust Duncan's primary role to neutralize Gasol defensively - and hit the occasional bank shot or put back to keep Gasol honest on the other end - then it really puts pressure on Bryant to do too much.

Well said.

[slayermin]

I think it depends on the bounces of the ball off missed shots. Some games, Blair can use his size and quickness to hustle for rebounds like he did last night. Other nights, the balls are going to bounce high off the rim and the Lakers will have a huge advantage on the boards, negating Blair's effectiveness. I don't think he will be able to consistently contribute like he did last night. I hope he does, but I don't think he will.

Splitter needs to be developed as quickly as possible. A combination of Blair/Splitter will do the job, I think. It will give Pop an option when the Lakers length is absolutely killing us.

But I do hope I'm wrong about Blair. I would love to see double-doubles from him every night.

[TDMVPDPOY]

if blair was 7ft.... he pwned the nba and universe

[The Truth #6]

For comparison, I think the OKC series is more relevant than the Phoenix matchup. OKC did well with a quick attacking point guard and a swarming defense, which is basically what we did last night. However, OKC didn't have the experience or poise to complete the job. Nonetheless, attacking their weakness is obviously the way to go.

Who knows if Blair will do that well against them again. But for the short term, the more important issue is that hopefully this game gives Blair a lesson on the energy and approach he needs to take to be successful as a player in this leage. Hopefully this game is a turning point for Blair to have a consistently solid season. He put in work in the offseason. Hopefully it starts to pay off.

[toki9]

I think the Lakers bigs looked slow yesterday...which gave advantage to Blair's quickness...but not sure if that'll hold up in the playoffs if the Lakers are fully alert and primed...one of the big differences between the teams last night was that everyone on the Spurs were ready to go and alert...not so with the Lakers...some of them looked like they took a nap at the half time...

[Bruno]

Spurs "scrambling" defense mainly worked because Lakers were awfully slow and didn't execute well their offense. Gasol, Odom or Bryant are great passer who can destroy this kind of defense but Lakers need to play quicker to do that.

So, Blair usefulness will mainly depend on Lakers. If they have another gear, he will have an hard time. If Lakers can't play faster that that, and they haven't really been able to do it this year, Blair's energy will be a factor.

[GSH]

Blair is learning to use his body a lot more effectively. He's getting better leverage, and his lower center of gravity has some advantages in that department. Last night, when they tossed the lob pass over Blair, he got a lot of good, quick help from the back side. The refs weren't calling it unreasonably tight, and the Spurs did a good job of spreading out their fouls. But if the help is just a fraction slower, the outcome won't be as good.

On any given night, Blair could get tagged with three fouls early, doing the exact same things, and be out of the picture of most of the game. I'm not one to discount Antonio McDyess, and it's important to remember that Pop left him on the bench last night intentionally. I think that shows Pop's thinking pretty clearly. If Splitter can get fully up to speed, his extra length could be enough to let us steal a game in LA that we might otherwise lose. And that could make or break a 7 game series.

The other thing is that the Lakers are going to adjust. No matter how good Blair is playing, we will have to throw some different looks at Gasol and Bynum. (Gasol in particular.) If Splitter was our starting C, and we didn't have Blair, it would be the same story. We would need somebody else available to come in and give them some different looks. Splitter is the obvious choice, if he's up to it by then.

I saw one thing in particular out of Splitter last night that I was really happy about. He's strong enough to body up down low, and not give a lot of ground. Several times the Lakers bigs dropped that lead shoulder into him, and he took it and didn't budge. That takes away one of their biggest weapons, and forces them to turn around or toss up hooks - or just to kick it out to someone else. The final outcome of the plays were less important right now than knowing that he is strong enough to body up to them. Come playoff time, that is going to be their bread and butter. I've read some comments by people who don't think Splitter is strong enough. Get a copy of last night's game and watch it again.

I have no doubts that the Spurs could beat LA in a series without Splitter. But i like our chances a lot better if he's playing well enough to have Pop's trust by then.

[jjktkk]

I, along with probably every other Spurs fan, thought that DeJuan Blair would never be much help against the Lakers. Blair tends to struggle against length and there is no team longer than the Lakers. Blair also doesn't do well against stretch power forwards and in Lamar Odom the Lakers have one of the best in the business. Thus, Tiago Splitter and Antonio McDyess are better suited to combat what the Lakeshow bring to the table, right?

Now, after watching Blair have so much success against the Lakers in the first matchup this season, I'm not so sure.

The Spurs beat the Lakers due to superior speed and using a scrambling defense to disrupt their offensive attack. Blair, in this type of gameplan, actually fits best.

Against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Spurs don't have much of a chance against either once they catch the ball on the post -- no matter who is defending. But Blair showed an ability to make it difficult for the Lakers to enter the ball to the post, which may ultimately be the best type of defense to use against that duo's length.

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.

This could very well have been an aberration but it's also possible to make sense of it. The Lakers are big and long. Instead of trying to match that size and playing into their hands, isn't it better to try to take the Lakers out of their comfort zone? Forcing L.A. to try to adapt to a faster, more powerful attack may be the better idea.

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?

IMO, we Spurs fans are basing this belief that the Spurs needed to matchup with the Lakers size, which is true to some degree, but with this new offense Pop put in, maybe Pop is telling the Lakers that you need to adapt to us as well. Did Pop realize that the old offense which was pretty simple, just throw the ball into Duncan, and have Duncan initiate the offense, doesn't work against big front lines like the Lakers?

[spurs50_]

i was always critical of blair, i think what he really needs are more minutes. Pop was always yanking him out for whatever reason, he impressed me against the lakers. H0pe he can keep it up and splitter can stop getting those early fouls. Go spurs!

[ShoogarBear]

Aberration.

Unless Phil completely abdicates control of the team to Kobe, no way do Bynum and Gasol get a combined 12 FGA/game in a series. Yes, the Spurs swarmed well last night, but the Lakers weren't seriously trying to establish any kind of low-post presence except when Kobe was on the bench in the second quarter (and we saw what happened then).

The positive that can be taken out of this is that maybe Blair has been jump-started to have more consistent value for the rest of the year. He definitely can be a significant contributor against the Lakers. He's just not going to be the best big man on the floor again.

The other interesting thing will be to see if Pop can pull a reverse-2006 on Phil: convince him that he needs to go small and quick to match up with the Spurs. I doubt Phil will fall for that, though.

[in2deep]

Suns did the same thing in the playoff but failed.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I don't think there is any way blair can be at a level like what we saw in a series. He has yet to show me a level of consistency that warrants high expectations in a lakers series.

[Agloco]

I do think that SA might have hit on a better strategy - Duncan no longer needs to carry the offesive load against LA. If you adjust Duncan's primary role to neutralize Gasol defensively - and hit the occasional bank shot or put back to keep Gasol honest on the other end - then it really puts pressure on Bryant to do too much.

+1

I'd actually extend this thinking to other teams (BOS, MIA, DAL) as well. A multifaceted attack based on your assets is best. Find what works best and use that strategy, no matter the opponent.

[SenorSpur]

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?

This is a marvelous question to ponder. I would also say the same question could be posed for the Mavs, at least to a lesser degree. Since they made the decision to try and match size with the Fakers, they now boast a very tall frontline, and also have a considerable size advantage over the Spurs.

At any rate, my position on this is the strategy Pop employed for this last game was fantastic. It may work very well in upcoming regular season games versus the Fakers. However, I'm a bit skeptical that the Spurs will be able to continue to have success with it in the playoffs. The reason being is playoff basketball, as we all know, is played at a much more deliberate "grind-it-out". kind of pace. While there are occasional opportunities for beating teams in transition and with speed, the fact is it's virtually impossible to have long-term success with that style in the playoffs. If it were that easy, the Suns, Warriors and pre-2010 Mavs would have had success with it by now. History shows the game is still played and won from the inside out, not the other way around.

All that said, the Spurs MUST get sustained production from their frontline, be it Blair, Splitter, Dice or presumably Duncan. Points in the paint are critical to playoff basketball and usually the team that does that best, along with winning the rebounding battle, usually has the most success. Blair's success was wonderful and encouraging. However, they can win without him, so long as their HOF PF, Duncan, can recapture his playoff magic.

Overall, the Spurs success against the Fakers will be primarily determined by their ability to defend, which they did last night, along with getting the standard, run-of-the-mill production from the Big Three of Manu, Tim and Tony. Of course, consistent contributions for their bit players and their deep bench is also a must.

The Fakers are obviously long and talented from players 1 thru 6. However, the Spurs have the deeper bench and they must utilize that advantage, attack and defend them in waves, along with mixing in both inside and outside scoring. as they did last night.

[biskvito]

Blair was very comfortable out there, but I think the Lakers are capable of playing better than this. So it's wait and see how it goes.

[duncan228]

Buck Harvey: The measuring of Blair won’t stop until spring (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/29/buck-harvey-the-measuring-of-blair-won%e2%80%99t-stop-until-spring/)
Buck Harvey

Phil Jackson said the game would be a measuring stick, and that should have worked against DeJuan Blair.

He’s never stood up well when feet and inches are the criteria.

Blair is the shortest starting center in the NBA. Blair is shorter than most shooting guards. Blair is shorter than, maybe, Andrew Bynum’s coffee table.

So when he ended with 17 and 15? When he defended and banged and sometimes scored with his odd, quick flip of a jumper?

“I’m still not sure what it means,” said one Spurs staffer.

Keep Reading... (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/29/buck-harvey-the-measuring-of-blair-won%e2%80%99t-stop-until-spring/)

[GSH]

Buck Harvey: The measuring of Blair won’t stop until spring (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/29/buck-harvey-the-measuring-of-blair-won%e2%80%99t-stop-until-spring/)
Buck Harvey

Phil Jackson said the game would be a measuring stick, and that should have worked against DeJuan Blair.

He’s never stood up well when feet and inches are the criteria.

Blair is the shortest starting center in the NBA. Blair is shorter than most shooting guards. Blair is shorter than, maybe, Andrew Bynum’s coffee table.

So when he ended with 17 and 15? When he defended and banged and sometimes scored with his odd, quick flip of a jumper?

“I’m still not sure what it means,” said one Spurs staffer.

Keep Reading... (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2010/12/29/buck-harvey-the-measuring-of-blair-won%e2%80%99t-stop-until-spring/)


They say understanding the problem is half the battle. I think Blair gets it. He's a good student, and a hard worker. If anyone can find a way, it would have to be someone like Blair. He's not going to dominate like a 7-footer, but I'm hopeful that he can become a consistent solid player. Paul Millsap has done a pretty good job, with similar height issues. Blair's career has started out uncannily similar to Millsap's.

[quentin_compson]

It was a joy to watch Blair yesterday. He used energy, hustle and cleverness to be effective against LA (on both ends of the floor).
That being said, I doubt very much that this would work over a playoff series. The Spurs played the passing lanes very well, but it's always a fine line between that and gambling too much. If the Lakers move and pass the ball better than they did yesterday, this strategy becomes a lot less effective.
Let's hope that last night was a sign that Blair and Bonner could contribute in a series against the Lakers. But once Kobe isn't in "shoot now, think later" mode and LA starts getting the ball into the low post regularly, the Spurs will need Dice and Splitter to counter that.
It would still be nice to be able to throw in a healthy dose of Blair to give them something different to work on, so hopefully, DeJuan's great game was more than just a one-hit wonder.

[DMC]

I, along with probably every other Spurs fan, thought that DeJuan Blair would never be much help against the Lakers. Blair tends to struggle against length and there is no team longer than the Lakers. Blair also doesn't do well against stretch power forwards and in Lamar Odom the Lakers have one of the best in the business. Thus, Tiago Splitter and Antonio McDyess are better suited to combat what the Lakeshow bring to the table, right?

Now, after watching Blair have so much success against the Lakers in the first matchup this season, I'm not so sure.

The Spurs beat the Lakers due to superior speed and using a scrambling defense to disrupt their offensive attack. Blair, in this type of gameplan, actually fits best.

Against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Spurs don't have much of a chance against either once they catch the ball on the post -- no matter who is defending. But Blair showed an ability to make it difficult for the Lakers to enter the ball to the post, which may ultimately be the best type of defense to use against that duo's length.

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.

This could very well have been an aberration but it's also possible to make sense of it. The Lakers are big and long. Instead of trying to match that size and playing into their hands, isn't it better to try to take the Lakers out of their comfort zone? Forcing L.A. to try to adapt to a faster, more powerful attack may be the better idea.

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?

You make some excellent points. Consider, however, that a struggling Lakers team isn't the same beast it could have been, or even might become later this season. Blair of today might not fare well against a playoff ready Lakers team. If Pau or Artest blocks out, Blair probably gets called for over the back, but it was the PG Fisher going for the rebound on one play, and almost no one on a few other plays.

I have noticed that Blair plays much better once he's gotten a few baskets to fall and feels hes not a kid out there playing with adults. Before that he just appears to be in a different world on both ends of the floor, cheating off of shooters too far to allow him to recover on one end, and catching the ball 5' from the basket at the other end and either traveling or freezing with the ball.

Those things take time, but one good game against a struggling team (champs or not) isn't a mark of improvement, or at least it's not incredibly noteworthy. One could just as easily conclude that the Bucks are a beast, because they crushed the Lakers at home. We know that's not the case. Like the Bucks, let's keep Blair's performance in perspective and average it with his season. Also, like the Bucks, let's see how he does against other teams like the Mavs. He's a high energy player, so he might be on an emotional high and that could work for or against us in Dallas.

I wouldn't bet the farm on Blair because of this one game, but it's enough to not discount his potential, especially knowing his rookie season work.

I don't think Blair is end of bench material, but I do think he needs a lot of maturing before he's going to be able to consistently tap into that seemingly endless well of talent that this kid has.

Meanwhile, it would be prudent to have Splitter as ready as possible as we go into the second half of the season. Blair is very important, but so are the other two bigs (I don't consider Bonner a big).

[DMC]

Splitter: he may not be ready to face the Lakers during the playoffs, but the coaches are working with him; you never know
But even if he doesnt play well vs L.A, we can always use him to hack-a-Bynum
Bynum himself was kinda useful in that department on Dwight Howard during the 2009 Finalls

Blair: on the defensive end, I think he can be as efficient vs L.A in the playoffs; on the offensive end, it will be interesting to see if Phil Jackson will take Blair out of his comfort zome by double-teaming him, something Blair is not used to face on a regular basis

Dice: we will need him; I remember last season, he did a fairly good defensive job on Odom

Jackson will not double team Blair. If Blair was an All Star and put up those numbers every game like Love or Randolph, maybe, but Blair does not deserve a double team. The Spurs would LOVE it if Blair could command a double team. Imagine what red head would be wide open.

[Man In Black]

I've posted before that Bynum has said that he prefers playing against players his size because the "Small" Bigs, get into his legs. As long as DeJuan starts his positioning early, he can still disrupt. If that post player gets position, that's an easy 2. I did notice that Splitter displays physicality when it comes to standing up tall against Bynum. He took an elbow to the jaw against him and that clothesline which should have been called a flagrant 1. He took 1 shot to the nuts which made him miss a game but he took another shot against Andersen in Orlando that he shook off a few minutes later. He's not Shaq tough, but he's got the instinct to be both physical and practical. He just needs to figure out when it's best to stand tall or take the charge. I would prefer he just stand tall but he's very adept at taking the charge.

[mingus]

LA was playing low iq ball. Pau, Bynum, Odom will be established more next time, and the Spurs will get burned by going small.

[mystargtr34]

While I'm exstatic with the victory... I thought the Lakers didn't play like the real Lakers at all... Not the playoff Lakers of the past two seasons anyway. They went away from Pau for long stretches and when Kobe is in 2005 chucking mode they pretty much become a slightly better version of those Lakers. When the playoffs come around I don't think you will see that Kobe.. If PJ has managed to reel him in the past two seasons and play thr team game ... He will do it again. Both he and Kobe know what's won the rings .. And that's feeding and running the majorityk the offense through Pau.

Having said that .. Blair did an excellent job of fronting and using his speed to deflect entry passes .. But it seemed as though when Splitter came in (also when Kobe went out)... The Lakersmade a more concerted effort to feed he post and they had a little by of success.

Once the playoffs come around .. And the Lakers and especially Kobe go back to doing what won the two ships ... The Gasol and Bynum combo will go back to being a big matchup advantage for the Lakers .. And I think the Spurs will need the length of Splitter since they will obviosily adjust to what Blair was doing.

[Capt Bringdown]

LA was playing low iq ball. Pau, Bynum, Odom will be established more next time, and the Spurs will get burned by going small.

Agreed. On a night when someone named Shannon Brown took 11 shots in addition to Kobe's ejaculations, you know the Lakers were not playing their strongest hand.

Looking at the Lakers 1st half against the Hornets tonight, it looks like they've settled down and are getting the ball to their bigs.

No, I don't think a 6/5 "center" is the solution against the Lakers imposing front line. That's not to slight Blair's wonderful performance last night. Don't you wish he could do that on a more consistent basis? It'd be nice, but there's not really a history of effective 6/5 centers in modern basketball. Can't think of any, save for the 6/7 Wes Unseld who belonged to a different era.

Gimmicks can work during the regular season, but they inevitably get exposed and exploited in the playoffs.

[remingtonbo2001]

Blair must work on being patient and staying out of foul trouble.

[Capt Bringdown]

Vs the Hornets: Odom with 24, Bynum 18 and Gasol 11 and 12 boards.
21 for 32 collectively. Looks like the Lakers got the message tonight.
That's how you get away with having a stiff like Derek Fisher as your starting PG.

If Bynum stays healthy, jeez.

[Darkwaters]

The Hornets also suck right now. Despite their winning record, this just looks like the Lakers beating up on inferior competition yet again. Even with the win against the Hornets the Lakers are still only 2-5 against teams with winning records. The sample size for them against teams of any quality is minute. I think the Spurs just overwhelmed them as they weren't used to teams with nearly that amount of potential.

[TD 21]

LA was playing low iq ball. Pau, Bynum, Odom will be established more next time, and the Spurs will get burned by going small.

I agree to an extent. The next regular season match-up, I fully expect them to play through their bigs more. But in a playoff series, it's a different story. Bryant wants to win, but only on his terms. Unfortunately for him and by extension the Lakers, he's yet to come to terms with the fact that he's past his prime and is no longer able to summon 40 point games on cue. He's refusing to age gracefully, like guys like Duncan and Garnett. Granted, they're big men and were never selfish gunners, so it was an easier transition for them, but still. They didn't fight aging and declining, they adapted to it.

The Lakers need to play through their bigs in order to beat the Spurs in a series. I'm not sure he'll allow for it, though. What happens if, after 2 games, Gasol is getting heaps of credit and being recognized as their best player in the series? He can't handle that. He proved it last year in the Finals (game 3 in particular). He risked losing it all, in a desperate and risky attempt to win it his way. They won because, in the end, the Celtics flat out ran out of gas. They may have even with Perkins, but without him, it was inevitable. It didn't hurt that the Lakers also got every call in the 4th quarter of game 7, either. If he pulls that against the Spurs this year (and based on his history, there's no reason to think he won't), they will lose the series.

But, to answer timvp's question, I don't think there is a definitive way the Spurs have to match-up with the Lakers in order to beat them when it counts. We need to see more regular season match-ups to get a better idea. I still think McDyess and Splitter have to be huge, but maybe they don't have to be quite as huge as I had previously assumed. Maybe there is a role for Blair and maybe the answer isn't a tight nine man rotation, but rather an eleven man one, where they overwhelm the Lakers with depth, young legs and energy.

[Doctor J]

When the Spurs drafted Blair, I actually thought that he would do quite well against the Lakers, because Houston's Chuck Hayes gave the Lakers big men a tough time in the 2009 playoffs. In fact, the series was extended to the 7th final game.

Since Blair's physics, height and body and play style resemble those of Chuch Hayes, I thought this would work out in some mysterious ways.

[naico]

Blair, defending the way he did and having succes in that area is mostly thanks to good team defense. The guards put a lot of pressure in and outside and a guy like Blair who is quick, strong and has good hands can benefit from that. So yes, it could work, but only if the team defends the way it did on Tuesday. If not, then Bynum, Gasol..are still no match for him and will exploit the difference in height.

[igruex]

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.


Has Blair improved his scoring range this year or it was just a game? That's what we need to know before measuring his potential against the Lakers.

[ALVAREZ6]

Too early to tell, it was only one game. I'm sure the Lakers can think of ways to get their bigs the ball in the post against Blair if they really wanted to, like in a playoff series.

[Mark in Austin]

One other thing to consider is how other players are playing around Blair. If the ball is moving around a lot on offense it helps Blair. If the offense stagnates / defenses are able to set up I think it exposes his height.

In addition, if shooters are hitting shots it opens things up for him. Specifically, I think Bonner is a key. Parker is the default Spur that I think most people would say would be helped the most by Bonner hitting his shots (Phil loves to pack the paint to counter Parker's penetration). But packing the paint also works against Blair due to his height - more shot blockers are a real problem for him. In the LA game Blair and Bonner were on the floor together for about 11 minutes. When Bonner is hitting his shots with enough frequency that defenders have to honor him (no guarantee this will happen in the playoffs) it gives Blair, like Parker, more room to operate in the paint.

Even if Bonner folds under pressure, if Neal, Anderson, Hill, and Manu are hitting from distance and the ball is moving on offense I think it gives Blair the best opportunity to be a difference maker.

[mingus]

I think it's clear though that TP, Manu, RJ, Hill, Neal, and potentially JA is deeper than anything LA can put out at those positions. That's a lot of firepower. Where LA has us beat is in the frontcourt. They're too very differently structured teams in that regard.

[mingus]

I always go with size though and that's why I think ultimately unless Splitter is able to provide a sort of Kendric Perkins precense that the Spurs will lose.

[rmt]

I always go with size though and that's why I think ultimately unless Splitter is able to provide a sort of Kendric Perkins precense that the Spurs will lose.

Size and length will control rebounding and the paint where higher percentage shots are taken. 3pters and jumpshots are going to suffer under the pressure of the playoffs. I'm skeptical that Bonner, RJ and Hill's 3pt percentage will hold up. Manu's is streaky. Only Neal seems like he's a pure/natural 3pter.

Hope Pop doesn't place too much importance on this last game and continues to play Splitter so they'll have different options come playoff time.

Seems Pop is going with speed, depth and fresh legs in hopes of wearing them down. It's sad to see TD so ineffective against the size and length of Gasol/Bynum. Hopefully, he can just concentrate on defense and try to contain Gasol. Spurs have no answer for Bynum although Splitter seemed like he held ground against him. Just try not to let him get position else foul him.

Pray that Kobe goes into his chucking mode.