Some thoughts from a fan who has only seen one Spurs game in the past month

[phxspurfan]

...because NBATV, TNT and ESPN have decided to only show Clippers, Bulls and Heat games all year.

1. Tiago Splitter is nowhere near the Wilt Chamberlain-esque pure force of dominance that I have been led to believe by reading game thoughts. They guy shows hustle and is long enough to defend passasbly and young enough to run around a bit, but he is no Kareem Abdul Malone Olajuwon Splitter that this board makes him out to be. He is at best a role player as a capable backup. If he were to be started against the best in the league in big games, i.e. Bynum, Howard, the Gasol brothers, Bosh and hell even Kendrick Perkins, he would get his *** whupped.

2. Danny Green is a decent player, kind of like an Afflalo type. Does many things ok, but nothing exceedingly well.

3. It was a mistake by the Spurs F.O. to not re-up James Anderson for that piddly sum earlier last week. He still has plenty of basketball left in him, even after the foot injury and surgery. Some other team will snatch him up and he will play well. Or we will overpay for him, relative to what we could have had him for.

4. The refs had nothing to do with this game. I came home from a family event, knowing this game was on my DVR. I first went to ST to read the comments about the game (knowing I couldn't resist knowing what the final score was before watching) and saw some stupid thread about refs. I went into watching the entire game + overtime with that in mind, and saw nothing bad done by the refs. In fact, many great calls were made, such as the Danny Green overturned "game winner." The game was physical, and Both Teams Played Hard.

5. Several times I thought Pop should have subbed his 1st unit back into the game to steady the ship and win the ballgame in the 4th quarter. A few times the 2nd unit that had played so many consecutive minutes looked winded, and I think playing the bench unit the ENTIRE time was a mistake. They got the team back into the game, that's great. But get the W, Pop. I know you want to show the starters that you will reward good, heady, hustle play by playing those who exhibit it, but for godsakes play to win the game. These are real Ws and Ls, and all these Ls will start to matter when Manu's back and we're struggling to make the playoffs.

[Hooks]

Splitter is a beast, this was one of his worst games of the season, it doesn't help that he didn't have a true PG out there to set him up for anything either, or the fact that they almost never give him the damn ball, if they consistently went to him he'd be scoring A LOT more points. He's shooting 63% from the field, 72-113 FG's, it's no fluke he's shooting such a high %.

[ElNono]

I can see where this game would give you those impressions... Tiago's offense wasn't sharp today, and he has thrived in the pick and roll (mostly with Tony), a play that Neal seems not to be familiar with.

I don't think Anderson has made a basket since last December prior to this game. Neal was also fairly average (to put it mildly) until going balls out today.

You'll love Danny Green and you'll hate Danny Green. That's who Danny Green is right now. He's still learning the ropes of becoming a pro. What's to love about Danny (especially in contrast to guys like RJ) is that he never stops trying. He rarely takes a play off on defense.

While this game certainly had some aspects that we've seen in others (like the bench sometimes being much better than the starters), it isn't generally all that representative of the season. Today Tony was fairly bad and the poor shooting even permeated the bench in the 1st half. I also think this was the first game the Spurs managed to mount a comeback after being down 10+ this season on the road.

For a bunch of these guys, it's really their first season in the league. Obviously, they're going to struggle some, especially on the road. I thought the last two games, even though they were losses, were a step in the right direction.

[jjktkk]

This game should boost the youngsters confidence, while also giving them expierence. I hoping the return of of a healthy Manu will put a end to the starter's coming out flat in games this season.

[angelbelow]

...because NBATV, TNT and ESPN have decided to only show Clippers, Bulls and Heat games all year.

1. Tiago Splitter is nowhere near the Wilt Chamberlain-esque pure force of dominance that I have been led to believe by reading game thoughts. They guy shows hustle and is long enough to defend passasbly and young enough to run around a bit, but he is no Kareem Abdul Malone Olajuwon Splitter that this board makes him out to be. He is at best a role player as a capable backup. If he were to be started against the best in the league in big games, i.e. Bynum, Howard, the Gasol brothers, Bosh and hell even Kendrick Perkins, he would get his *** whupped.


What did you think of the quality of his shots though? IMO, all his shots were high percentage and I also think that he was arguably fouled on the majority of them. He was able to get enough room to get great looks that just happened to be too hard or too short.

Those are the same types of looks that hes been receiving the past couple games - and to his credit, hes been hitting 70% of them. That's no forum myth or hype, that's just a fact. With that said, the law of averages is bound to catch up with him and hes guaranteed to have a poor shooting game. Today's was that game, and it won't time he struggles either.

The important thing to take away is that he was able to give him self great looks and hes capable of drawing fouls (even though there were some non-calls.) His rebounding and defense also didn't tilt when he wasn't making his shots, that another positive.

And no one is claiming that hes the next big NBA superstar (unless you take the trolls seriously.) But right now hes an extremely effective player who deserves the chance to prove his consistency. One bad game in the shadow of a string of solid performances doesn't change my opinion of him yet.

[phxspurfan]

What did you think of the quality of his shots though? IMO, all his shots were high percentage and I also think that he was arguably fouled on the majority of them. He was able to get enough room to get great looks that just happened to be too hard or too short.

Those are the same types of looks that hes been receiving the past couple games - and to his credit, hes been hitting 70% of them. That's no forum myth or hype, that's just a fact. With that said, the law of averages is bound to catch up with him and hes guaranteed to have a poor shooting game. Today's was that game, and it won't time he struggles either.

The important thing to take away is that he was able to give him self great looks and hes capable of drawing fouls (even though there were some non-calls.) His rebounding and defense also didn't tilt when he wasn't making his shots, that another positive.

And no one is claiming that hes the next big NBA superstar (unless you take the trolls seriously.) But right now hes an extremely effective player who deserves the chance to prove his consistency. One bad game in the shadow of a string of solid performances doesn't change my opinion of him yet.

I think he was fouled on a couple and got some calls. He flails so much (a la Paul Gasol and many other Euro players) when fouled that the refs may be de-sensitized to fouls committed against him (Ever heard of the story of the Boy who Cried Wolf?). There was one foul where, I think, Mahinmi pushed off on Splitter under the basket for a rebound and Splitter threw himself to the ground to get the call. That happens all the time in the fight for rebounds and it's hard to believe anyone can throw a 7 foot center down with one hand. And Splitter got the foul call on that play.

I do believe he has some good post moves, like that up-and-under move he performed in this game from the right block. He missed it but wow, that was a nice move. So yes, I believe the draft profile and scouting reports that say he should shoot at a high percentage given his abilities in the post. But I hardly think he's dominant.

An example of other players who seem to be finishing a high percentage of shots but aren't dominant:

Marcus Camby
DeAndre Jordan
Actually, anyone who plays with CP3...

[cheguevara]

...because NBATV, TNT and ESPN have decided to only show Clippers, Bulls and Heat games all year.

1. Tiago Splitter is nowhere near the Wilt Chamberlain-esque pure force of dominance that I have been led to believe by reading game thoughts. They guy shows hustle and is long enough to defend passasbly and young enough to run around a bit, but he is no Kareem Abdul Malone Olajuwon Splitter that this board makes him out to be. He is at best a role player as a capable backup. If he were to be started against the best in the league in big games, i.e. Bynum, Howard, the Gasol brothers, Bosh and hell even Kendrick Perkins, he would get his *** whupped.

2. Danny Green is a decent player, kind of like an Afflalo type. Does many things ok, but nothing exceedingly well.

3. It was a mistake by the Spurs F.O. to not re-up James Anderson for that piddly sum earlier last week. He still has plenty of basketball left in him, even after the foot injury and surgery. Some other team will snatch him up and he will play well. Or we will overpay for him, relative to what we could have had him for.

4. The refs had nothing to do with this game. I came home from a family event, knowing this game was on my DVR. I first went to ST to read the comments about the game (knowing I couldn't resist knowing what the final score was before watching) and saw some stupid thread about refs. I went into watching the entire game + overtime with that in mind, and saw nothing bad done by the refs. In fact, many great calls were made, such as the Danny Green overturned "game winner." The game was physical, and Both Teams Played Hard.

5. Several times I thought Pop should have subbed his 1st unit back into the game to steady the ship and win the ballgame in the 4th quarter. A few times the 2nd unit that had played so many consecutive minutes looked winded, and I think playing the bench unit the ENTIRE time was a mistake. They got the team back into the game, that's great. But get the W, Pop. I know you want to show the starters that you will reward good, heady, hustle play by playing those who exhibit it, but for godsakes play to win the game. These are real Ws and Ls, and all these Ls will start to matter when Manu's back and we're struggling to make the playoffs.

it shows that you haven't watched Spurs in the past month.

[DesignatedT]

Love Splitter and I agree this game was his worst offensively this year but this goes back to what I was saying the other day.

With the game tied and on the line I still throw the ball into Tim Duncan in the post before I throw it to Tiago. I strongly oppose to those saying Tiago is now the more reliable option on the low block and that "4 down belongs to him now". He has his games where he might be on and where Tim might be off and at that time it might be the better option to go to him but he was horrendous offensively down the stretch against Dallas when put in 1 on 1 situations.

Duncan would score on Dirk with the game on the line. I don't care if he's 40.

[timvp]

If you hadn't watched Splitter for a month and then watched this game, I don't blame you for wondering what Spurs fans have been smoking.

[Yuixafun]

James Anderson too, maybe he found his game again. It's been a while since I cheered for him lol. I was happy to do it last night!

That time in there and making little tight passes and hitting shots, it's invaluable.

[acoelho1]

...because NBATV, TNT and ESPN have decided to only show Clippers, Bulls and Heat games all year.

1. Tiago Splitter is nowhere near the Wilt Chamberlain-esque pure force of dominance that I have been led to believe by reading game thoughts. They guy shows hustle and is long enough to defend passasbly and young enough to run around a bit, but he is no Kareem Abdul Malone Olajuwon Splitter that this board makes him out to be. He is at best a role player as a capable backup. If he were to be started against the best in the league in big games, i.e. Bynum, Howard, the Gasol brothers, Bosh and hell even Kendrick Perkins, he would get his *** whupped. .

Who was comparing Splitter to Kareem and Hakeem? I'm not even sure if he would ever be good enough to be an allstar. However, I think he could be a very solid big man that could average 15pts and 8 or 9 rebounds. That's not bad but a far cry from the greatest centers to play the game. As far as today's center, he is probably in the middle of the pack. He is not more talented than any of the centers/Pfs you mentioned with the exception of Perkins but it's all relative. Parker is not a top 5 point guard but he can still hold is own against the best of the best and there is no reason to think that Tiago couldn't do the same.


...
2. Danny Green is a decent player, kind of like an Afflalo type. Does many things ok, but nothing exceedingly well.

Well, what if he only did one thing well. Would that be better? No one said that Green is the 2nd coming of Kobe Bryant. If he ended up to be an Afflalo type, I would be very happy. I bet if you ask 2 guards around the league, he would be at the top of the list as one of the toughest defenders.



3. It was a mistake by the Spurs F.O. to not re-up James Anderson for that piddly sum earlier last week. He still has plenty of basketball left in him, even after the foot injury and surgery. Some other team will snatch him up and he will play well. Or we will overpay for him, relative to what we could have had him for.

Unless you can read the future, how do you know. Also, lets say you gave Anderson more minutes. Who would you bench between Ginobili, Neal and Green? Also, I don't see any team throwing a lot money at Anderson. They tried to trade him prior to the deadline but had no takers. Why.. because he hasn't been playing a lot of minutes and I don't see that changing. With Manu and TJ ford coming back, those minutes will be further curtailed.



4. The refs had nothing to do with this game. I came home from a family event, knowing this game was on my DVR. I first went to ST to read the comments about the game (knowing I couldn't resist knowing what the final score was before watching) and saw some stupid thread about refs. I went into watching the entire game + overtime with that in mind, and saw nothing bad done by the refs. In fact, many great calls were made, such as the Danny Green overturned "game winner." The game was physical, and Both Teams Played Hard.

I agree that the refs were not the issue. I think we need to become more physical and ratchet up the intensity. This will be difficult with some of our starters since it doesn't fit their personality. Manu has always took the lead in intensity the other players followed suit. With the injury, we need to look to our young guys..i.e. Green.



5. Several times I thought Pop should have subbed his 1st unit back into the game to steady the ship and win the ballgame in the 4th quarter. A few times the 2nd unit that had played so many consecutive minutes looked winded, and I think playing the bench unit the ENTIRE time was a mistake. They got the team back into the game, that's great. But get the W, Pop. I know you want to show the starters that you will reward good, heady, hustle play by playing those who exhibit it, but for godsakes play to win the game. These are real Ws and Ls, and all these Ls will start to matter when Manu's back and we're struggling to make the playoffs.

Pop loves his minds games so I'm sure it was a message to the starters. Play hard or these guys can take your place. The bench brought them back so he decided to ride with them for good or bad. I don't have an issue with it since we were a millisecond away from a game winning shot for Green so the gamble almost paid off. Also, this team even with Manu has a ways to go before we are competing for a championship and if we are not good enough then I would rather miss the playoffs and retool in the off season.

[jimbo]

it shows that you haven't watched Spurs in the past month.

This

Get league pass or use some of the plentiful streams on the internet. No real point in doing analysis like this on a single game