Blaming Bonner

[LnGrrrR]

Honestly Spurfans, BONNER is the reason why you're down 3-1? Way to put everything on a backup player. That'd be like me saying the reason the Celtics lost in the Finals last year was because Tony Allen didn't defend well enough.

Role players are role players. If they're the reason you're losing games, then your main players aren't good enough, especially in the playoffs where the bench shrinks.

Bonner does what he does. Heck, Bonner made two of the most clutch shots for the Spurs in this series with his B2B triples. Everyone, even Bonner, knows by now that his defense sucks. If you thought you'd be champions before the series started, you didn't think it would be because Bonner was going to turn into KG, did you?

[Chomag]

You can have him.

[Fpoonsie]

Spurs Needed Cardinal

[nkdlunch]

Honestly Spurfans, BONNER is the reason why you're down 3-1? Way to put everything on a backup player. That'd be like me saying the reason the Celtics lost in the Finals last year was because Tony Allen didn't defend well enough.

Role players are role players. If they're the reason you're losing games, then your main players aren't good enough, especially in the playoffs where the bench shrinks.

Bonner does what he does. Heck, Bonner made two of the most clutch shots for the Spurs in this series with his B2B triples. Everyone, even Bonner, knows by now that his defense sucks. If you thought you'd be champions before the series started, you didn't think it would be because Bonner was going to turn into KG, did you?

putting Bonner to defend your opponents best player is pretty bad idea. It's like picking up a guy at the YMCA and having him guard Rajon Rondo. Bonner plain and simple gets eaten alive by almost everyone in the league.

that in combination with the fact he is missing his 3s makes him a pretty valuable weapon, for your opponent.

[pad300]

When he's on the floor 118.3 pts/100 possessions against.
When he's off the floor 102 pts/100 possessions against.

And he's not helping offensively either

on court 104.63 pts/100 possessions for
off court 109.98 pts/100 possession for

Might be a clue in there somewhere...I'll admit he's not responsible for the coach playing him, and the GM resigning him this past summer.

[mingus]

Would you blame Scalabrine if he had played 25 mins a game in '08?

Spurs aren't contenders, that's another issue though. I still think they're better than they've shown against the Grizz however.

[Cane]

There needs to be more blame Parker threads than any other player imo. His game has regressed and he simply hasn't been able to carry the team like you'd expect the healthiest and youngest member of the Big 3 to do.

Parker's amount of turnovers, missed field goals, lack of confidence, and tunnel vision has sparked huge momentum plays for the Grizz. Parker's jumper is worse than Rondo's and they're both being dared to shoot wide open shots.

He's made way too many bad plays especially in games 1 and 3 that were decided by just a possession or two. :bang If he's not on his game then he can't create for the shooters and he's just about useless if his jumper, decision-making and ball-handling sucks too.

[LnGrrrR]

Note: I'm not saying Bonner isn't a sieve defensively, or that he has been hitting 3's. Has he been a liabilitity overall? Yes, probably.

But Bonner isn't the reason you're down 3-1. If your team is so fragile that it can't withstand bad games from one person, you deserve to lose. The team as a whole has functioned poorly, and to blame it on the black sheep is pretty poor form.

[crc21209]

It's not just Bonner. It's Bonner + everyone else outside of Tim and Manu. Tony didnt show up until last night. Neal hasnt had enough consistent minutes throughout the series to contribute. Hill, RJ, and Bonner have contributed next to nothing. And Tiago got his first minutes of the series last night. And Dice has looked just about done....

[4>0rings]

What role did Bonner actually fullfill?

[LnGrrrR]

Would you blame Scalabrine if he had played 25 mins a game in '08?

Scalabrine did play roughly 20 MPG in the 2009 Playoffs when we didn't have KG, and he's still a Celtics fan favorite. We recognize that he played hard, and did the best he could with his limited athleticism.

http://sportsofboston.com/2009/06/17/celtics-player-review-brian-scalabrine-2/

[4>0rings]

Scalabrine did play roughly 20 MPG in the 2009 Playoffs when we didn't have KG, and he's still a Celtics fan favorite. We recognize that he played hard, and did the best he could with his limited athleticism.

http://sportsofboston.com/2009/06/17/celtics-player-review-brian-scalabrine-2/
He played because of injury due to KG. Bonner plays because Pop actually thinks he's a legit NBA player.

[LnGrrrR]

He played because of injury due to KG. Bonner plays because Pop actually thinks he's a legit NBA player.

That's Pop's fault then. You can't blame Bonner for playing when his number gets called, and you can't put the series on him when he's been playing about as well as can be expected (considering the rest of the team has underperformed as well.)

[LongtimeSpursFan]

What role did Bonner actually fullfill?

He hit two big three's that should have sealed the win in game one. We get that win and Manu back in the second game and this would have been a sweep.

[Dex]

I've actually seen relatively few people lay all the blame on Bonner's shoulders. If anything, most people saw this coming with him.

Bonner isn't the reason the Spurs are losing. But he sure isn't doing much to help them, either.

[Kuestmaster]

Scalabrine was thoughest that Bonner will ever be...

Bonner is useful in 15 min maximum. If you play him 20+ minutes plus pairing him with Blair... well, you're screwed. Even more if you play them against a frontcourt of Marc Gasol and Z-Bo.

[Strike]

Bonner isn't the only problem, but he's a huge problem. The fact that he shoots 46% from three in the season only to drop off the cliff come playoff time is a huge problem. The fact that he's a turnstile is a huge problem. The fact that he repeatedly looks lost on the court is a huge problem. But he's not completely to blame. Popovich trusting him to deliver after repeatdly proving his lack of playoff performance is a big part of the Bonner problem.

I've been trashing Bonner for the last couple of years but I've also been trashing Pop's man-love for him as well.

[HarlemHeat37]

Bonner never deserves blame, he obviously doesn't give himself playing time..

If you asked Bonner if he should have been the 2nd big for the last 3 years or so, he would probably laugh his ass off..

[Thomas82]

Bonner never deserves blame, he obviously doesn't give himself playing time..

If you asked Bonner if he should have been the 2nd big for the last 3 years or so, he would probably laugh his ass off..

That's it in a nutshell. Bonner is doing the best he can with what he has, it's just that Pop constantly puts him in a position to fail.

[Proxy]

That's Pop's fault then. You can't blame Bonner for playing when his number gets called, and you can't put the series on him when he's been playing about as well as can be expected (considering the rest of the team has underperformed as well.)

I agree with this. I think Bonner has played to the best of his abilities this series. It's not like he's had a ton of open opportunities for 3's like he did during the regular season, and he hasn't forced anything. He's rotated better than Dice... he just lacks athleticism and size to defend one on one.

I look at the way the series has gone and if I had to focus the blame on anyone, I would blame RC for assembling a small team without a defensive focus in mind.

[jag]

Bonner never deserves blame, he obviously doesn't give himself playing time..

If you asked Bonner if he should have been the 2nd big for the last 3 years or so, he would probably laugh his ass off..

[ElNono]

Role players are role players.

He's a key component of how this team has been built. At least that's the message coming from the FO when he was re-upped this summer.

Blair, Neal, Splitter... up to an extent Hill... those guys are our role players.

That said, there's more than one person to blame for this piss poor series so far. All players share certain amount of responsibility, but as Harlem stated, the guy sending out the ineffective lineups out there (who also happen to be involved in the decision-making for putting together this roster) should have the bulk of the blame, IMO.

[timtonymanu]

I don't blame only Bonner. Pop put him in that position. It's proven he can never deliver yet Pop still keeps hoping he will turn into Robert Horry some day.

Also we didn't expect George Hill and DeJuan Blair to regress from the players that they were last year. They're to blame as well.

Richard Jefferson never was a fit. Tony Parker played like shit this whole series.

Like crc said, everyone is to blame but Tim and Manu. Neal and Splitter shouldn't be blamed either.

[carina_gino20]

It's not so much about blaming Bonner but blaming Pop for overplaying Bonner.

[lefty]

I don't blame Bonner



I blame Pop






For playing Bonner





Not Bonner'S fault if he sucks

[Isitjustme?]

When he's on the floor 118.3 pts/100 possessions against.
When he's off the floor 102 pts/100 possessions against.

And he's not helping offensively either

on court 104.63 pts/100 possessions for
off court 109.98 pts/100 possession for

Might be a clue in there somewhere...I'll admit he's not responsible for the coach playing him, and the GM resigning him this past summer.
:wow

[Avitus1]

Didn't we lose the game he shot back to back 3's in?

[rmt]

I agree with this. I think Bonner has played to the best of his abilities this series. It's not like he's had a ton of open opportunities for 3's like he did during the regular season, and he hasn't forced anything. He's rotated better than Dice... he just lacks athleticism and size to defend one on one.

I look at the way the series has gone and if I had to focus the blame on anyone, I would blame RC for assembling a small team without a defensive focus in mind.

I blame RC for re-signing Bonner and RJ to 4 year contracts, but Pop was the one who had Splitter on the bench collecting dust. He would help make the team bigger and more defensive, but the choice not to integrate him was Pop's.

Finally playing Splitter after 3 games is an admission that he should have been integrated. Throwing him out there with the starters to start the 2nd half was panicking. Splitter should play with the 2nd unit and Manu.

[stealthjbravo]

I blame Matt's mom for shitting out that pathetic ginger headed loser.

[Trill Clinton]

Man you know people blame Bonner for everything! The real reason for our meltdown is the FRONT OFFICE, Pop included. They get credit for the draft picks but the last big draft pick was Parker in 01'. Since then its been hit or miss. There is the whole Scola fiasco, a servicable back up in Hill and the jury is still out on Tiago:rolleyes, Blair and Anderson.

Other teams are getting younger, longer and more athletic while the Spurs FO would rather stash picks overseas till the players here apply for the AARP cards. Shits disgusting!

[stealthjbravo]

Its all on Bonner. He had been the reason we are not repeating this year IMO

[DirkDoesWork]

He hit two big three's that should have sealed the win in game one. We get that win and Manu back in the second game and this would have been a sweep.

Cool! I like playing pretend basketball too.

If Rudy Gay was playing in this series, it would have been a sweep.

[stealthjbravo]

Cool! I like playing pretend basketball too.

If Rudy Gay was playing in this series, it would have been a sweep.

lol mavfan

[DirkDoesWork]

lol Spurs

[stealthjbravo]

lol Spurs

:sleep

[DirkDoesWork]

Yeah, because "lol mavsfan" was brilliantly fucking hilarious

Are you trying to say that this series wouldn't be any different if Rudy Gay were participating in it?

[DMC]

Honestly Spurfans, BONNER is the reason why you're down 3-1? Way to put everything on a backup player. That'd be like me saying the reason the Celtics lost in the Finals last year was because Tony Allen didn't defend well enough.

Role players are role players. If they're the reason you're losing games, then your main players aren't good enough, especially in the playoffs where the bench shrinks.

Bonner does what he does. Heck, Bonner made two of the most clutch shots for the Spurs in this series with his B2B triples. Everyone, even Bonner, knows by now that his defense sucks. If you thought you'd be champions before the series started, you didn't think it would be because Bonner was going to turn into KG, did you?

No one has blamed Bonner. Everyone has blamed Pop for playing him so much.

Just saying... pay closer attention. You are creating a strawman.

[DMC]

Note: I'm not saying Bonner isn't a sieve defensively, or that he has been hitting 3's. Has he been a liabilitity overall? Yes, probably.

But Bonner isn't the reason you're down 3-1. If your team is so fragile that it can't withstand bad games from one person, you deserve to lose. The team as a whole has functioned poorly, and to blame it on the black sheep is pretty poor form.

You are using the term "bad game" very loosely. When KG has a bad game, he goes 4-10 or 4-12 and gets in early foul trouble. When Bonner has a normal game, he doesn't hit a shot and gets scored on repeatedly. He misses rotations and is late on every defensive move. If KG was doing that you could put in another big to compensate, but Pop has sat Splitter all year and Dice isn't effective because he cannot do both jobs at once.

Honesly, you are sweeping it under a rug and calling it a bump. It's a huge pile of shit and we've been dealing with it for years.

Maybe we can aqcuire Howard and Durant like you did Allen and Garnett, then Bonner won't be an issue.