Blair's resurrection... does Matty being out has anything to do with it?

[ElNono]

Dejuan normally would get pulled out around 5 mins in for Matt then play in other 5 mins spurts, regardless of the opponent.

Since Matty has been out, and Pop reluctance to play Splitter, he has produced very well when he was handed 25+ minutes.

Is it merely a matchup issue, or does Dejuan need more minutes to get in some kind of rhythm?

Thoughts?

[Mel_13]

Dejuan normally would get pulled out around 5 mins in for Matt then play in other 5 mins spurts, regardless of the opponent.

Since Matty has been out, and Pop reluctance to play Splitter, he has produced very well when he was handed 25+ minutes.

Is it merely a matchup issue, or does Dejuan need more minutes to get in some kind of rhythm?

Thoughts?

While the bolded part is an overstatement, Bonner's absence has certainly been a good thing for Blair. Credit to him for taking advantage of extra PT.

[ElNono]

Sorry Mel... I actually seen that happen a lot, and to be more specific most times it has to do with Dejuan leaking like a sieve on defense than any other reason. Now, is he getting pulled too soon?

Also, he only played 13 mins against Denver (Matt was already out) and he again didn't produce much at all (Obviously Denver has a larger frontcourt, even though they were missing the Birdman). Thus my question about matchups.

[Mel_13]

Sorry Mel... I actually seen that happen a lot, and to be more specific most times it has to do with Dejuan leaking like a sieve on defense than any other reason. Now, is he getting pulled too soon?

Also, he only played 13 mins against Denver (Matt was already out) and he again didn't produce much at all (Obviously Denver has a larger frontcourt, even though they were missing the Birdman). Thus my question about matchups.

We've all seen it. Blair has been subject to the quick hook all year. His minutes were limited against Denver and Splitter got a long look. That didn't go all that well for Tiago.

So while I don't doubt that Pop is still capable of yanking Blair early, the combination of the Bonner/Hill injuries and Tiago's performance level, make it much less likely. Especially when Blair justifies the extra minutes with results.

[ElNono]

Then my question to you is: Does the quick hook has to stop when Matty comes back?

[Mel_13]

Then my question to you is: Does the quick hook has to stop when Matty comes back?

:lol

Ask Pop.

Seriously though, Blair's recent performances will increase Pop's trust in him, but Bonner's gonna get his 20 minutes. I've given up any hope that Matt becomes a "situational shooter". That's not happening. Those 20 minutes, however, don't have to all come from DeJuan's PT. TD and Dice have played a few extra minutes lately. They can give those back.

One last thing. It will be interesting to see how well Blair plays tonight on the second night of a B2B after playing 42 minutes last night.

[ElNono]

:toast

[MannyIsGod]

He's had good games when Bonner has been in before so I don't really think you can draw that conclusion after a couple of great games against bad defensive teams. Its good that he's stepping up and he's looking great out there but Bonner hasn't exactly sucked this year either.

Great situation the Spurs are in.

[K-State Spur]

He got pulled after 5-6 minutes last night for Dice.

He's been playing much stronger and more confident lately - but let's not ignore that the last 2 games were also really good match-ups for him.

[howbouthemspurs]

hes been playin like a machine the last few games! Lookin forward to his next one!

[Cessation]

Blair has been playing great, I'm real impressed with how well he's improved from beginning of the season. He did get some extra minutes due to ginger being out and the competition has something to do with blair play as well. Knicks have one of the worst defences in the nba and their frontcourt is somewhat weak. Amare is far from a defensive jaugernaut, tbh.

[Cane]

Blair's been having more opportunities and taking advantage of them so far. And even though Blair had a great game last night he kind of ended it on a stinker by fucking up the inbounds play in the 4th and that was after a timeout too IIRC but w/e.

I'm not sure how many minutes the Spurs would want Blair to play in the long term though considering he doesn't have ACL's and he plays with a ton of energy and hustle.

[Sofaking]

I thought he sucks tho :lol

[TDMVPDPOY]

his playing better then some starting bigs in the league

i think his better then omeka atm

[DMC]

Dejuan normally would get pulled out around 5 mins in for Matt then play in other 5 mins spurts, regardless of the opponent.

Since Matty has been out, and Pop reluctance to play Splitter, he has produced very well when he was handed 25+ minutes.

Is it merely a matchup issue, or does Dejuan need more minutes to get in some kind of rhythm?

Thoughts?

I think Blair being more of a foward than a center has a lot to do with it. Blair has played more of a hybrid game lately, playing closer to the perimeter than just hugging the paint. Subsequently his uncanny quickness and some of the best hands in the game (imo) allows him to get steals and disrupt plays out there. This is true while Duncan or Dice is on the floor. If it's Splitter, all bets are off. Notice how shitty they all play when Splitter hits the floor (not literally, but that too).

[DMC]

Blair's been having more opportunities and taking advantage of them so far. And even though Blair had a great game last night he kind of ended it on a stinker by fucking up the inbounds play in the 4th and that was after a timeout too IIRC but w/e.

I'm not sure how many minutes the Spurs would want Blair to play in the long term though considering he doesn't have ACL's and he plays with a ton of energy and hustle.
It wasn't Blair's fault that the 4 people couldn't get open. I know Owens was open but they don't even know him. Why would Blair be taking it out anyhow, is it because he's the worst FT shooter on the floor?

The Spurs trash time play has been, well, trash. They have turned the ball over for easy points several times this season in garbage time. It almost looks like a sandbagging job for the spread.

[TDMVPDPOY]

seems like blair is learnin alot from mcdyness swatting the ball defense since u cant beat them on size and vertical

[angelbelow]

This team is just playing well in general. All of our players are contributing at a high level and that really contributes to our record. I think whether its James, Hill, or Bonner being hurt, our team is deep enough to compensate and thats the beauty. In terms of their respective roles, no one player stands out to be because theyre all playing so well within the roles theyve been given.