Gary at the half...

[ElNono]

Gary Neal of course. We're halfway through the season already and who would have thought he would be such a good addition? The guy had his up and downs defensively (understandable being a rook) but his offense has been great.
Good handles, great shooting and steady play have earned him a spot in the rotation. The few interviews I've seen show a very level headed guy too.
Let's hope he can continue to contribute to the Spurs success in the second half of the season and the playoffs. Right now, the Spurs seem to have snagged another gem.

[EricB]

Ya know Pop loves him cause he chews his ass out every time theres a stoppage :)

[Cant_Be_Faded]

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[Frenzy]

He froze in the bright lights of NY. Lets hope the playoff lights are not as bright on him.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Honestly, at the start of the season I thought at best, he could be a starter for the Toros.

Did not expect any of this amazing shooting from him. Best of all he plays solid defense to boot. Barring any Mason JR-like catastrophe's, here's to hoping Neal dons the silver and black for a while.

[DesignatedT]

Guy is legit. I hope he can continue this play all season and throughout the playoffs (unlike RMJ)

[phyzik]

I just hope he doesnt turn into the second coming of RMJ. If it gets us a 'ship, cool.... but hopefully he can stick around next year.

[Dex]

Guy is just a dynamite shooter. His jump shot mechanics are beautiful; if he gets squared up and gets a clean shot then I expect it's going in. Even his misses are usually either short or long, but still on line, and sometimes that's the most you can hope for as a shooter.

More importantly, I love his mentality. He knows he is out there to score, and he just keeps firing. Unless he goes Mason on us, that is exactly what he needs to be doing out there.

[Dex]

I just hope he doesnt turn into the second coming of RMJ. If it gets us a 'ship, cool.... but hopefully he can stick around next year.

He's already run some point without self-destructing, so hopefully that's a good sign.

[Cry Havoc]

I just hope he doesnt turn into the second coming of RMJ. If it gets us a 'ship, cool....

Doubt it. He has excellent shooting technique. I think he's going to continue hitting throughout the playoffs. He's not scared to shoot, either, and seems to have much more confidence than RMJ ever did.

[timtonymanu]

He was pretty shitty in preseason so I thought he would be another Haislip signing.

But he's been our best rookie so far. He's proven me wrong so far but I want to see how he does in the playoffs before I start being a big time fan. Hopefully he keeps it up.

[024]

lets wait until the spurs are battling in the playoffs before declaring any victory. everyone was on the mason bandwagon as well and we all know how that turned out.

[ChumpDumper]

At least Haislip wasn't Greek.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

At least Haislip wasn't Greek.

He sure played like a Greek, though.

[Manu-of-steel]

I don't expect Gary to hit a wall like Mason. If Gary's shot from three is not falling, he's got other weapons such as a running tear drop.

[ChumpDumper]

He lasted about 1 week in the Greek club Panathinaikos before he was cut for poor play. So actually, he played like an American scrub.I bet Houston wished they could have done the same with Spamopolis.

[boutons_deux]

Guy is just a dynamite shooter. His jump shot mechanics are beautiful; if he gets squared up and gets a clean shot then I expect it's going in. Even his misses are usually either short or long, but still on line, and sometimes that's the most you can hope for as a shooter.

More importantly, I love his mentality. He knows he is out there to score, and he just keeps firing. Unless he goes Mason on us, that is exactly what he needs to be doing out there.

You did list his no-windup FAST RELEASE

BOOM!

before defender knows what him him

[greyforest]

I just hope he doesnt turn into the second coming of RMJ.

RMJ was great for a year or so, and overall probably helped the team more than he hurt after he went south.

[ChuckD]

Gary's already shown more in 1/2 season than RMJ ever did. He's shown that he can put the ball on the floor and not have it always be a disaster. He can go to his mid-range game, and he's shown an ability to kick out, particularly to Dice recently.

[mingus]

i don't get the Neal RMJ comparison. Neal is a lot better and if you were paying attention you could see this 10 games or so into the year. he's a better shooter, slasher, rebounder, and defender.

in RMJ's first couple of months with SA and playing well, i never bought into the hype. one of the reasons was because his shots were always REALLY hard shots. it seemed like half of his shots were either a foot behind the line or well-guarded or off balance. he was obviously playing well, but his confidence was what was carrying him, not his actual skill. once he started to bad we saw it was a fraud, so to speak, because we got to see what his skill level was. Gary Neal, though, actually has skill. his stroke is consistant every time and he's always balanced. he has a textbook jumper. and he's had a lot of bounce back games this year, which is imporant. During the season, that;s when you know you have a good player.

[Warlord23]

I'm glad that Neal is showing enough confidence to drive the lane and use that floater from time to time. You know he's going to get run off that 3 point line in the playoffs, that floater and a mid range jumper might be the difference between him and RMJ.

[igruex]

Is there a reason to compare him to RMJ? Gary would certainly be offended. They are not alike.

He's playing great so far, filling perfectly what the Spurs need of him.

[The_Worlds_finest]

comparing RMJ to GN? really? This guy has proven himself over and over.

[Capt Bringdown]

I think Neal has the potential to be a better-shooting version of Mario Elie. Potential being the operative word, since we've been snakebit in the past with Mason. Cautiously optimistic.

[Mel_13]

Neal has been everything we hoped RMJ would be at 20% of the price. Great job by the FO x2 for finding the guy and then locking him for 3 years at the minimum.

[ElNono]

The biggest difference between Neal and RMJ for me is that Neal tries really hard on D. He's not afraid to body up and he's a lot tougher physically. I also don't cringe when I see him start dribbling the ball. But above all, even when not scoring, he's making good decisions out there (at least for a rook) as far as who to pass to or what to do when he can't take a shot.

[bigfan]

Ill tell you one thing, not being drafted and playing in Turkey and wherever has made him hungry. Having talent and being hungry is a good thing for the Spurs. I wonder what you would have to spend normally for a free agent to get Neal's points every night? Im glad he's here.

[Agloco]

Gary's already shown more in 1/2 season than RMJ ever did. He's shown that he can put the ball on the floor and not have it always be a disaster. He can go to his mid-range game, and he's shown an ability to kick out, particularly to Dice recently.


The biggest difference between Neal and RMJ for me is that Neal tries really hard on D. He's not afraid to body up and he's a lot tougher physically. I also don't cringe when I see him start dribbling the ball. But above all, even when not scoring, he's making good decisions out there (at least for a rook) as far as who to pass to or what to do when he can't take a shot.

This. It was always 3-ball or bust so to speak. If he ever got run off of the 3 point line, it was a disaster in the making. The guy couldn't make anything from 20 feet and in and it got worse the closer he got. Couldn't pass either.

It's clear that Neal >> RMJ

I just hope Pop doesn't destroy this guys confidence as well by making him play out of position. Both Neal and RMJ were brought in to shoot. Thus far, Neal has been allowed to fulfill his role.

[Seventyniner]

in RMJ's first couple of months with SA and playing well, i never bought into the hype. one of the reasons was because his shots were always REALLY hard shots. it seemed like half of his shots were either a foot behind the line or well-guarded or off balance. he was obviously playing well, but his confidence was what was carrying him, not his actual skill. once he started to bad we saw it was a fraud, so to speak, because we got to see what his skill level was.

RMJ shot more jumpers with a foot on the 3-point line than the rest of the league combined, it seemed. You're right that many of those were drifting to his left or right (which greatly increases the difficulty of the shot) or, like you said, were off-balance. He was more a chucker than a shooter (yes, there is a difference).

[Spurs Brazil]

When I first saw Neal was in the preseason game against the Clippers and I thought he would be RMJ II.
But he has been great all season. He’s a tough kid and I’m sure he’ll help us a lot in the playoffs. He’s never afraid to shot and that’s good. His D is getting better and better.
Excellent work for the Spurs front-office.

[BlairForceDejuan]

Gary Neal has no fear.

[boutons_deux]

Gary has tons of self-confidence, but without the hubris and over-confidence. You can see he's really displeased with himself when he screws up, his own worst critic.

Another Spurs undrafted diamond in the rough.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Neal has been everything we hoped RMJ would be at 20% of the price. Great job by the FO x2 for finding the guy and then locking him for 3 years at the minimum.

That's the other thing with Neal. I remember being fairly surprised he was given a 3 year deal while being so unproven in the NBA.

But like you said, kudos to the FO, they locked up a very solid player at a bargain price.

[K-State Spur]

In addition to having a better rounded game compared to RMJ - you just have to look at RMJ's performance as an outlier.

Mason got off to a spectacular start in Spurs career, and then - just as inexplicably as he burst onto the scene - just wilted.

[ShoogarBear]

Let's wait and see what happens after Pop makes him play point guard in the playoffs. :stirpot:

[01Snake]

I bet Gary is saying WTF?

James Anderson $1,361,400
DeJuan Blair $918,000
George Hill $854,389
Gary Neal $525,000
Chris Quinn $804,131
Tiago Splitter $3,400,000

[Dex]

I bet Gary is saying WTF?

James Anderson $1,361,400
DeJuan Blair $918,000
George Hill $854,389
Gary Neal $525,000
Chris Quinn $804,131
Tiago Splitter $3,400,000

If I were Gary, I'd just be happy to be in the league and getting minutes, let alone with the league's leader.

If he keeps it up, he'll get his big paycheck.

[Sissiborgo]

Gary Neal is the deal we needed of the bench...