Blair gets second shot at starting gig (Spurs Nation)

[underdawg]

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/12/23/blair-again-spurs%e2%80%99-starting-center/

[DMC]

I give it 6 weeks tops.

[Dex]

I give it 6 weeks tops.

I hope not.

Even if Blair being in the starting unit isn't ideal, and as much as I'd love to see Duncan / Splitter to start the games, I may have to hang myself if Pop starts utilizing the Blair / Bonner combo off the bench again.

[urunobili]

it all went downhill when Pop promoted Dice tot he starting lineup last year. that should avoid Bonner Blair frontcourts (hopefully)

[ElNono]

The worst part is that there's no Dice to fall back to now...

[Buddy Holly]

The worst part is that there's no Dice to fall back to now...

Switching to a Dice/Ducan starting front court is what helped kill the Spurs at the end of last season.

Having Blair and Bonner be your second unit front court is asking to be bitched slapped on the court on a daily basis.

Pop pretty much sees that and will start Blair and have Splitter come off the bench.

[mystargtr34]

I would rather see Bonner and Blair combo off the bench going up against reserves rather than one of the two starting and letting the best opposition bigman have a field day early. If you start Blair.. you run the risk of letting guys like Zach Randolph, Dirk, David West, Gasol, Griffin get 1, 2, 3, 4 baskets early. Once that happens they are rolling making it impossible to slow them down.

[AFBlue]

Blair has great chemistry with the starting unit and is an underrated passer. If he manages to stay in shape, starting alongside Duncan is the best spot for him. Splitter is a complimentary piece too, but he at least has the size to play sans Duncan and not be a defensive liability.

[Obstructed_View]

I would rather see Bonner and Blair combo off the bench going up against reserves rather than one of the two starting and letting the best opposition bigman have a field day early. If you start Blair.. you run the risk of letting guys like Zach Randolph, Dirk, David West, Gasol, Griffin get 1, 2, 3, 4 baskets early. Once that happens they are rolling making it impossible to slow them down.

Yeah, you don't hide your shitty bench by starting them.


Well, unless you're the Spurs.

[Hooks]

Blair was playing well until he got benched. I still remember that NY game when Blair outplayed Amare, dude was defending very well and scored on him a lot.

[DMC]

Blair is babysat by Tim and Manu when he's on the floor. It's painfully obvious, and Blair does some cleanup at times and has his moments, but he's too small to play center especially against teams with legit centers. That mean's Tim will have to guard the centers. Tiago should be fulfilling that role. I don't care who Pop plays with Bonner, it's a shitfest. There's a reason people don't want Blair and Bonner together, neither can defend worth a shit. So you want the shitty defender as your starting center. Got it.

The Spurs were doing well early on, and the benching of Blair just happened to coincide with the time other teams began to get healthy. The Spurs were never going to be able to compete at the next level.

By some popular logic, Blair's rookie year was his best in the league thus far. He better do something this year else he's worthless imo. He's looked D-league long enough, time to step up or sit down.

I don't understand Pop's decision to play him unless he just wants to get him out there for a few minutes early and bring Splitter in. Then again, Tiago isn't that great either, but Tim won't get many minutes and hopefully Splitter will.

Maybe Pop and RC want Blair's value to rise so they will artificially force it through minutes, prior to the trade deadline.

[ElNono]

Switching to a Dice/Ducan starting front court is what helped kill the Spurs at the end of last season.

Having Blair and Bonner be your second unit front court is asking to be bitched slapped on the court on a daily basis.

Pop pretty much sees that and will start Blair and have Splitter come off the bench.

While I completely agree with your premise, I also think pairing Blair with Duncan will only increase the workload on Tim, since he basically will have to defend for both him and Blair. Pretty much the same with a Duncan/Bonner combo. Basically, we're back to Tim getting no help while he's on the floor.

[TDMVPDPOY]

make or break season for blair, isnt he up for contract renewal?

[Obstructed_View]

Dice fucking stunk on ice and should never have been put into the starting lineup, but nobody else forced Blair to go to Whataburger three times a day.

[Xevious]

Duncan and Splitter will never see the floor together. Just stop suggesting it. Both are centers and both are too slow to guard the athletic forwards out there. So it's going to be Blair or Bonner. Pick your poison. At least the Spurs had a good run last year with Blair in the starting unit.

[Hooks]

Duncan and Splitter will never see the floor together. Just stop suggesting it. Both are centers and both are too slow to guard the athletic forwards out there. So it's going to be Blair or Bonner. Pick your poison. At least the Spurs had a good run last year with Blair in the starting unit.


Tiago isn't slow at all, he can easily guard PF's, he's got really quick feet for a guy his size, he can also run the floor quite well, his only problem is not keeping his damn hands up. I remember last year when TD was out for a while and Tiago got to start, dude was great during that time. In one of the Blazers games G. Wallace tried to beat Splitter off the dribble from like the 3pt line, Wallace tried crossing him up and driving it in but nothing worked, Splitter matched him move for move he stayed in front of him the entire time and forced him to pass the ball. No help defense or anything it was all 1 on 1.

Putting Splitter at PF would give him a huge advantage as well. Splitter has A LOT of trouble getting his shot off against big tall C's, BUT he has great success against shorter guys. He's not very strong either, he has trouble backing down C's, but with most PF's he's got no problem.

[Obstructed_View]

Duncan and Splitter will never see the floor together. Just stop suggesting it. Both are centers and both are too slow to guard the athletic forwards out there. So it's going to be Blair or Bonner. Pick your poison. At least the Spurs had a good run last year with Blair in the starting unit.

Except that Splitter and Duncan did see the floor together in the playoffs.

[dbestpro]

This is not a testament to how good Blair is, but rather how bad as his game is more easily covered by the starters and is woefully exposed when he plays with the bench, and in particular Bonner.

[The Truth #6]

While I completely agree with your premise, I also think pairing Blair with Duncan will only increase the workload on Tim, since he basically will have to defend for both him and Blair. Pretty much the same with a Duncan/Bonner combo. Basically, we're back to Tim getting no help while he's on the floor.

I agree overall, but I think Blair will at least help in rebounding, but so far that's about it.

[SenorSpur]

One thing Blair has shown a penchant for is rebounding - and getting into foul trouble.

[Old School 44]

While I completely agree with your premise, I also think pairing Blair with Duncan will only increase the workload on Tim, since he basically will have to defend for both him and Blair. Pretty much the same with a Duncan/Bonner combo. Basically, we're back to Tim getting no help while he's on the floor.

This has been the issue for the Spurs the last few years. Pop always talks about conserving Duncan minute-wise, when the problem really is how hard Tim has to work when he's on the floor. Get him some help already!

[Hooks]

omg here the timvp ball garglers go again .... timvp blames blair for last season (throwing out the fact dice was the worst defender on the team when spurs switched to dice team went downhill) so the lames worship what he says and blame blair

People like Blair, but he just isn't a starter due to his height. We want a legit big man or at least someone that can guard other bigs to help duncan, we have been waiting on one for years. Everybody is just frustrated. Blair also getting just absolutely raped against Mem. also left everybody disappointed in him. Just look at Parkers popularity on these boards after being outplayed by Conley.

[dbestpro]

omg here the timvp ball garglers go again .... timvp blames blair for last season (throwing out the fact dice was the worst defender on the team when spurs switched to dice team went downhill) so the lames worship what he says and blame blair

I don't blame Blair for being short and lazy, I blame Pop for playing a short man at center whose motor is all too often stuck in neutral.

[DMC]

Duncan and Splitter will never see the floor together. Just stop suggesting it. Both are centers and both are too slow to guard the athletic forwards out there. So it's going to be Blair or Bonner. Pick your poison. At least the Spurs had a good run last year with Blair in the starting unit.
So Blair and Bonner can guard athletic forwards better than Tim and Tiago?

That's news.

[dbestpro]

There is only one reason why so many people slam Blair. We want him to play up to his potential. It is obvious that he just does not spend the time needed om his game. You can teach a kid in junior high on how to shoot a jump shot, but here we are with Blair whose flat footed toss rivals or is worse than the Splitter flip. At least Splitter plays with enrgy every play and does not try to be something he is not.

Blair should be called Elmer Fudd for all the bunny shots he misses.

[ElNono]

omg here the timvp ball garglers go again .... timvp blames blair for last season (throwing out the fact dice was the worst defender on the team when spurs switched to dice team went downhill) so the lames worship what he says and blame blair

Dice sucked because much like Tim, father time caught up to him. The worst defender wasn't Blair either (who got fat, lazy, and collected DNP during the playoffs). IMO, Darrell Arthur absolutely destroying Ginger was hard to watch (although not unexpected). Bonner is literally the guy that has the size and should have the quickness, he's just a terrible defender.

lol can't start threads

[ElNono]

The other issue I have with Blair is that teams will try to make the Spurs run offense through him. He has no post game, no in-between game, and his "floaters" are a toss of the coin.

Frankly, outside of Duncan, what we're going to miss the most with Dice retiring, is a big that can hit that 10ft-15ft jumper to keep defenders honest.

[jjktkk]

Dice sucked because much like Tim, father time caught up to him. The worst defender wasn't Blair either (who got fat, lazy, and collected DNP during the playoffs). IMO, Darrell Arthur absolutely destroying Ginger was hard to watch (although not unexpected). Bonner is literally the guy that has the size and should have the quickness, he's just a terrible defender.

lol can't start threads

Why should? I never have seen any inkling of Bonner having potential quickness.

[jjktkk]

The other issue I have with Blair is that teams will try to make the Spurs run offense through him. He has no post game, no in-between game, and his "floaters" are a toss of the coin.

Frankly, outside of Duncan, what we're going to miss the most with Dice retiring, is a big that can hit that 10ft-15ft jumper to keep defenders honest.

Most teams usually have just one starting big that can consistantly hit the midrange jumper, so the Spurs are pretty much similar to other teams in that aspect. Somehow Blair is going to have to find a way to score other than putbacks and garbage points, at least be average in that department, so Tim doesn't get suffocated by double teams. Its asking a whole lot out of Blair, but it is what it is.

[ElNono]

Why should? I never have seen any inkling of Bonner having potential quickness.

He sure runs backwards with his hands up fast whenever he's giving up those and1. He's obviously has no problem getting and staying in front of players. He just doesn't know how to take a charge or at the very least not foul.

[superbigtime]

Ok so Blair sucks with Bonner but I attribute that to Bonner's 1-dimensional play. Bonner not known for making his teammates better.:lol

I think we are going to be very pleased w Blair's play. he's gonna bring it.

[jjktkk]

He sure runs backwards with his hands up fast whenever he's giving up those and1. He's obviously has no problem getting and staying in front of players. He just doesn't know how to take a charge or at the very least not foul.

Whats always bugged me about Bonner, is just looking at him, he looks pretty stout, but as we know, he conistantly gets pwned in the paint by whoever hes guarding.

[ElNono]

Most teams usually have just one starting big that can consistantly hit the midrange jumper, so the Spurs are pretty much similar to other teams in that aspect. Somehow Blair is going to have to find a way to score other than putbacks and garbage points, at least be average in that department, so Tim doesn't get suffocated by double teams. Its asking a whole lot out of Blair, but it is what it is.

Agree. Remember Blair talking about working on his jumper? That was the previous offseason, right? Never panned out.

[jjktkk]

Agree. Remember Blair talking about working on his jumper? That was the previous offseason, right? Never panned out.

Spot on, but remember El, that it tis the season for hope. :lol

[ElNono]

Whats always bugged me about Bonner, is just looking at him, he looks pretty stout, but as we know, he conistantly gets pwned in the paint by whoever hes guarding.

Bonner has all the tools to be at least as good as Oberto on defense. He has the size, he's younger with fresher legs, quicker feet. He just needs a better understanding of how to defend (take a charge, flop, etc), and to grow a pair.

[ElNono]

Spot on, but remember El, that it tis the season for hope. :lol

IMO, if he doesn't celebrate Christmas in Whataburger, I'll call it a success. :wakeup

[jjktkk]

Bonner has all the tools to be at least as good as Oberto on defense. He has the size, he's younger with fresher legs, quicker feet. He just needs a better understanding of how to defend (take a charge, flop, etc), and to grow a pair.

Had to share.

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/710/31206610100472223262624.jpg

[ElNono]

Had to share.

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/710/31206610100472223262624.jpg

:lol

[spurs10]

So Blair and Bonner can guard athletic forwards better than Tim and Tiago?

That's news.
That is the 64,000 dollar question. Much has been said about the 5 and 4 being interchangeable in our system, but at the end of the day who is guarding Randolph and who is guarding Gasol? Though Blair is being called the center I'm wonder if Tim and Tiago aren't our true centers and Blair and Bonner are the PF by default. I get the idea of Duncan/Blair and Tiago/Bonner but wonder if Tiago and Tim aren't better suited to guarding formidable front lines like we will be facing on opening day. Even then who is going to guard Zac? At the end of the day we are missing a power forward with Tim now being better suited at the 5. I truly am baffled by what our rotations are going to look like....
:flag::flag::flag::flag:

[DMC]

Ok so Blair sucks with Bonner but I attribute that to Bonner's 1-dimensional play. Bonner not known for making his teammates better.:lol

I think we are going to be very pleased w Blair's play. he's gonna bring it.
You think that, or you hope that? I ask because I haven't seen anything to make me think Blair is going to be any better than he was in the post season. It's been a few months only, and he's not gone through a time machine.

[dunkman]

I have the impression both Blair and Bonner should be reserves and play depending on matchups in the case of Blair and depending on how Bonner shots. Outside of that, the Spurs should play with Splitter-Duncan and somebody like Dice in the standard rotation. Too bad Dice retired, because he knew the system and replacing him will be complicated.

[Bill_Brasky]

Why are people expecting a second round pick to perform like an all star?

[ElNono]

Why are people expecting a second round pick to perform like an all star?

Who's expecting that?

[therealtruth]

I think the Lakers game where they got blown out showed Pop that Blair might not work against the bigger frontlines. Blair was basically useless in that and Duncan was left defending Gasol/Bynum. Splitter can defend power forwards better than Blair. Also players can't just shoot over him like they can with Blair. That's why Blair reaches so much he doesn't want players shooting over him. However, Splitter and Duncan really don't have the bulk to defend centers like Bynum or Gasol. We saw that when Gasol basically pushed Duncan around.

[Ice009]

I think the Lakers game where they got blown out showed Pop that Blair might not work against the bigger frontlines. Blair was basically useless in that and Duncan was left defending Gasol/Bynum. Splitter can defend power forwards better than Blair. Also players can't just shoot over him like they can with Blair. That's why Blair reaches so much he doesn't want players shooting over him. However, Splitter and Duncan really don't have the bulk to defend centers like Bynum or Gasol. We saw that when Gasol basically pushed Duncan around.

Did Blair start that Lakers game when we were blown out at home or was Dice starting?

[timtonymanu]

Did Blair start that Lakers game when we were blown out at home or was Dice starting?

IIRC, that was Blair's last game as a starter. After that Laker game, Pop started McDyess.

[Obstructed_View]

I think the Lakers game where they got blown out showed Pop that Blair might not work against the bigger frontlines. Blair was basically useless in that and Duncan was left defending Gasol/Bynum. Splitter can defend power forwards better than Blair. Also players can't just shoot over him like they can with Blair. That's why Blair reaches so much he doesn't want players shooting over him. However, Splitter and Duncan really don't have the bulk to defend centers like Bynum or Gasol. We saw that when Gasol basically pushed Duncan around.

Truly you shouldn't bother posting if you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. The Spurs were down by six in the Lakers game until Matt Bonner came in for Blair. When Blair came back in the next time the Spurs were down by 24. Go look at the +/- numbers for that game and then come back and apologize for the above post. If that's not enough for you, look at the first Lakers game where Blair dominated the Lakers' front line. I think he had 15 and 15 for that game. He's the reason the Lakers treated that second game like it was the NBA finals. What Pop thinks he saw after that game is anyone's guess, but it's not that Blair played badly. If he were going to react after that game he'd have been smarter to bench Duncan.

[DMC]

I wish sometimes that people would stop talking about the stats and focus more on the play.

[Bill_Brasky]

Who's expecting that?

I'm being facetious of course, but really just reminding everyone that hes a second rounder with no knees. If he can manage to come out and grab some boards and play average defense, everything else is just gravy.

[DMC]

I'm being facetious of course, but really just reminding everyone that hes a second rounder with no knees. If he can manage to come out and grab some boards and play average defense, everything else is just gravy.
Until he's your starting center then that gravy is actually runny shit.

[therealtruth]

Truly you shouldn't bother posting if you don't know what the fuck you're talking about. The Spurs were down by six in the Lakers game until Matt Bonner came in for Blair. When Blair came back in the next time the Spurs were down by 24. Go look at the +/- numbers for that game and then come back and apologize for the above post. If that's not enough for you, look at the first Lakers game where Blair dominated the Lakers' front line. I think he had 15 and 15 for that game. He's the reason the Lakers treated that second game like it was the NBA finals. What Pop thinks he saw after that game is anyone's guess, but it's not that Blair played badly. If he were going to react after that game he'd have been smarter to bench Duncan.

Weren't the Spurs down like over 20 in the first quarter? I might not have watched the whole blowout but from the first quarter he wasn't keeping either Bynum or Gasol of the boards. Blair's game where he had 17 and 15 came at a time the Lakers weren't playing well and Bynum had just returned from injury.

[ElNono]

I'm being facetious of course, but really just reminding everyone that hes a second rounder with no knees. If he can manage to come out and grab some boards and play average defense, everything else is just gravy.

Well, let me state I don't expect Blair to be an All-Star anytime soon. I actually be glad if some team takes him as a sweetner to dump a guy like RJ.

[Bill_Brasky]

Well, let me state I don't expect Blair to be an All-Star anytime soon. I actually be glad if some team takes him as a sweetner to dump a guy like RJ.

If he and RJ start strong I could see us packaging them for a legit big who can play some real D.

[Obstructed_View]

Weren't the Spurs down like over 20 in the first quarter? I might not have watched the whole blowout but from the first quarter he wasn't keeping either Bynum or Gasol of the boards. Blair's game where he had 17 and 15 came at a time the Lakers weren't playing well and Bynum had just returned from injury.

Yes, the Spurs were down six when Blair went out and they were down 20 before the end of the quarter. Precisely my point. Blair was the only good starter in that game.

[dunkman]

The Spurs matched up well against the Lakers the last two seasons. The problem were the Suns and then the Grizzlies.

The Suns exposed the Spurs on the p&r and since Bowen retired they were terrible defending Nash, but he got old and they lost Amare.

The Grizzlies showed that the Spurs couldnt stop both Gasol and Z-Bo. I guess that would be addressed by integrating Splitter to the rotation.

However, the Lakers added Troy Murphy. Odom was guarded by RJ, its not clear how would that change affect the match-ups.

[wildbill2u]

With Blair and Duncan starting we have no lateral quickness on defense and the Spur defense requires players from the weakside to move and cover.

I'm afraid we are going to see other teams passing these traffic cones at full speed into the paint.

Add to that Blair's height problems against Nba quality low post players. He hasn't learned how to position himself so he can muscle out the taller players like Malik Rose did. I wasn't much of a Mailik fan as a substitute for a legitimate sized 5 but he worked as hard as anyone.

[therealtruth]

With Blair and Duncan starting we have no lateral quickness on defense and the Spur defense requires players from the weakside to move and cover.

I'm afraid we are going to see other teams passing these traffic cones at full speed into the paint.

Add to that Blair's height problems against Nba quality low post players. He hasn't learned how to position himself so he can muscle out the taller players like Malik Rose did. I wasn't much of a Mailik fan as a substitute for a legitimate sized 5 but he worked as hard as anyone.

Blair tries to make up for his lack of post defense by gambling for steals. But like your saying he needs to man up and play good post defense. Muscle for position and make them uncomfortable and take difficult shots.

[HarlemHeat37]

Blair can't do anything to make up for his deficiencies on the defensive end..he simply does not possess any defensive qualities, outside of strength..

He's short, he's slow-footed, and he has terrible defensive basketball IQ..the only player that rivals Blair in missed rotations is Richard Jefferson, tbh..

[timtonymanu]

And these two are our starters. FML.

[BackHome]

The Spurs matched up well against the Lakers the last two seasons. The problem were the Suns and then the Grizzlies.

The Suns exposed the Spurs on the p&r and since Bowen retired they were terrible defending Nash, but he got old and they lost Amare.

The Grizzlies showed that the Spurs couldnt stop both Gasol and Z-Bo. I guess that would be addressed by integrating Splitter to the rotation.

However, the Lakers added Troy Murphy. Odom was guarded by RJ, its not clear how would that change affect the match-ups.

Yep we are old slow short team and Blair at center just plain STUPID!

[Calispursfan11]

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/12/23/blair-again-spurs%e2%80%99-starting-center/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s

Nooooooo!