timvp
04-02-2012, 08:29 PM
I don't necessarily disagree with anything you wrote.
Here are my two questions:
1) Compared to the relative disasters of 2009 and 2010, wouldn't you agree that his play in 2011 was, all things considered, a step in the right direction for Bonner considering how poorly he played in those playoffs?
2) I've never suggested that Bonner played well in the 2011 playoffs or that I would like him to see clutch-time minutes in the 2012 playoffs. I just want to know, in your opinion, how much blame Bonner deserves for losing last year's series.
My contention, which I think the numbers show clearly, is that the lion's share of the blame goes, in order, to 1) Tony 2) Tim 3) Dice 4) RJ 5) Hill.
Agree or disagree?
1) Yeah, it was a step in the right direction, but it Bonner couldn't have possibly set a lower bar :lol
He was still damn bad, especially defensively, but it wasn't as bad as 2009 and 2010. I guess we can say Bonner has sloooowly made progress in becoming adjusted to the pressure of the playoffs. In the 2009 playoffs, he suffered a 22.6-point decline from his regular season effectiveness (judged by points per 100 possessions). In the 2010 playoffs, that "improved" to an 18.4-point decline. Last year in the playoffs, his decline was 12.5 points. So if we froze Bonner's aging process, we could expect him to play at his normal regular season level in the playoffs in about 2015 :lol
Seriously though, Bonner was better even though he became virtually unplayable because the Grizzlies were taking turns abusing him defensively. Then again, he could have slept in the center circle and he wouldn't have been much worse than 2009 and 2010 . . .
2) In hindsight, it's really difficult to figure out who deserves how much blame. During the series, I thought Parker deserved most of the blame but I've softened on that a little bit because: A) His PER over the last three games was ~21 so it's not like he was failing to produce. B) 2011 Parker relied more on Ginobili than I think anyone realized. His plus/minus during the regular season was below zero when not playing next to Ginobili. So when Ginobili was less than 100% in the playoffs, it shouldn't have been too surprising that Parker struggled.
I guess my order would be:
1. TP & TD
3. RJ
4. Hill
5. Dice
6. Bonner
7. Neal
Blair and Splitter really didn't play enough to blame them too much for the loss (both played 50 minutes in 6 games). Neal gets the nod over Bonner because of that shot and because he was a rookie and shouldn't have had the expectations of Bonner.
And even though Ginobili had a perfectly valid excuse due to his broken arm, his Game 6 performance was shockingly passive for an elimination game. Two assists, two free throw attempts and 2-for-8 on three-pointers? I would have never expected Ginobili to go out with a whimper like that, tbh.
Edit: Even though it doesn't look like anyone read this thread (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177161), those numbers make it pretty obvious what happened last year. The 2011 team was built around Ginobili. When he got hurt, it was over. If the Spurs were going to do anything in the playoffs, it was going to be with Ginobili carrying them. When he broke his arm, the Spurs became a .500 team at best.
Here are my two questions:
1) Compared to the relative disasters of 2009 and 2010, wouldn't you agree that his play in 2011 was, all things considered, a step in the right direction for Bonner considering how poorly he played in those playoffs?
2) I've never suggested that Bonner played well in the 2011 playoffs or that I would like him to see clutch-time minutes in the 2012 playoffs. I just want to know, in your opinion, how much blame Bonner deserves for losing last year's series.
My contention, which I think the numbers show clearly, is that the lion's share of the blame goes, in order, to 1) Tony 2) Tim 3) Dice 4) RJ 5) Hill.
Agree or disagree?
1) Yeah, it was a step in the right direction, but it Bonner couldn't have possibly set a lower bar :lol
He was still damn bad, especially defensively, but it wasn't as bad as 2009 and 2010. I guess we can say Bonner has sloooowly made progress in becoming adjusted to the pressure of the playoffs. In the 2009 playoffs, he suffered a 22.6-point decline from his regular season effectiveness (judged by points per 100 possessions). In the 2010 playoffs, that "improved" to an 18.4-point decline. Last year in the playoffs, his decline was 12.5 points. So if we froze Bonner's aging process, we could expect him to play at his normal regular season level in the playoffs in about 2015 :lol
Seriously though, Bonner was better even though he became virtually unplayable because the Grizzlies were taking turns abusing him defensively. Then again, he could have slept in the center circle and he wouldn't have been much worse than 2009 and 2010 . . .
2) In hindsight, it's really difficult to figure out who deserves how much blame. During the series, I thought Parker deserved most of the blame but I've softened on that a little bit because: A) His PER over the last three games was ~21 so it's not like he was failing to produce. B) 2011 Parker relied more on Ginobili than I think anyone realized. His plus/minus during the regular season was below zero when not playing next to Ginobili. So when Ginobili was less than 100% in the playoffs, it shouldn't have been too surprising that Parker struggled.
I guess my order would be:
1. TP & TD
3. RJ
4. Hill
5. Dice
6. Bonner
7. Neal
Blair and Splitter really didn't play enough to blame them too much for the loss (both played 50 minutes in 6 games). Neal gets the nod over Bonner because of that shot and because he was a rookie and shouldn't have had the expectations of Bonner.
And even though Ginobili had a perfectly valid excuse due to his broken arm, his Game 6 performance was shockingly passive for an elimination game. Two assists, two free throw attempts and 2-for-8 on three-pointers? I would have never expected Ginobili to go out with a whimper like that, tbh.
Edit: Even though it doesn't look like anyone read this thread (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=177161), those numbers make it pretty obvious what happened last year. The 2011 team was built around Ginobili. When he got hurt, it was over. If the Spurs were going to do anything in the playoffs, it was going to be with Ginobili carrying them. When he broke his arm, the Spurs became a .500 team at best.