Patty Mills should be Spurs backup PG.

[Bruno]

Pop should end the Neal as backup PG experiment and go with Mills for a a simple reason: Neal is horrible at defending point guards.

When Neal is playing PG, the opposite PG averaged 27.3 points per 48min with a .563 eFG% and a 22.1 PER.

For people not familiar with these kind of stats, it's awful. I haven't checked but Neal should be the worst defensive PG in the league by a significant margin. Some complementary stats to show how bad it is:
- With Parker at PG, the opposite PG, who is most of the time the starter, average 21.5 points per 48min with a .478 eFG% and a 16.4 PER.
- Parker production is 27.3 points per 48 min with a 21.3 PER. So, when Neal is playing PG, his opponent play at Parker's level. Neal turns the average backup PG into a top3 NBA PG.

Neal at PG hasn't been an all negative experiment. Spurs offense has been very well with him but it's now less needed with Ginobili back. In the playoffs, Neal could do fine in some matchups but he will be killed in other ones. Pop should grow Mills as backup PG for defensive purposes. Mills isn't known as a defensive specialist but his numbers were good when he was Blazers backup PG last year. His opponent scored 18.6 points per 48min with a .441 eFG% and a 12.2 PER.

[jrodriguez.Nb.Tx]

somebody said it before i could.
this is the thread i wuz goin to put


Patty Mills should be Spurs backup PG.

check it out.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

But neal fits pops chunker back up PG mentality perfectly. And neal has been hitting shots.

If neal were slumping I'd agree.
And mills is not known for being a defender

[jrodriguez.Nb.Tx]

i just put the same frkin thread up..

Neal sucks at PG hes so concentrated on not gettin the ball stolen frm the other teams PG
and so concentrated on doing a good job that he cant concentrate on that pretty ass
shot he has.
put him at the 2 where all he has to do is shoot it.
so patty mills can get some minutes and does what he does.

[Mugen]

I like Neal as the backup point for this season. He's bad defensively but i don't think Mills would be a huge upgrade.

Plus i don't see any backup PGs that can give us much trouble in the playoffs. Neal is a big time shooter and should have a permanent spot in the playoff rotation. I'd much rather Green or Mills be used for matchup purposes than Gary, tbh.

[Mel_13]

Those backup PG minutes are Neal's best claim to a spot in the playoff rotation. He'd have to be terrible as a PG to lose those minutes and he's not.

[urunobili]

Bruno delivering and me agreeing with this :tu

[chazley]

Take away Neal minutes as backup PG and you drop either Danny Green or Neal almost completely out of the rotation. Gotta pick your poison. I'd have to look further into advanced stats to have a firm opinion on the matter.

[Mugen]

I reserve the right to change my opinion based on chazley's inevitably horrible basketball take on the matter.

[temujin]

Popovich has had a problem with back-up point guards essentially since Parker has taken over.

And when he stopped having this problem -TJ Ford- this lasted for about two weeks.

It's highly unlikely that Mills will have time to be incorporated as the back-up PG before the Playoffs.

Among other things, he's missed training camp.
Popovich is a military.
Militaries don't change the stategy of a winning campaign.

Oh, and stats don't win championships.

[chazley]

I reserve the right to change my opinion based on chazley's inevitably horrible basketball take on the matter.

That's funny, because looking at my track record I am rarely wrong on these forums.

[Mugen]

That's funny, because looking at my track record I am rarely wrong on these forums.

:lol

[chazley]

:lol

Solid, yet not unexpected, rebuttal.

[timvp]

Pop should end the Neal as backup PG experiment and go with Mills for a a simple reason: Neal is horrible at defending point guards.

When Neal is playing PG, the opposite PG averaged 27.3 points per 48min with a .563 eFG% and a 22.1 PER.

For people not familiar with these kind of stats, it's awful. I haven't checked but Neal should be the worst defensive PG in the league by a significant margin. Some complementary stats to show how bad it is:
- With Parker at PG, the opposite PG, who is most of the time the starter, average 21.5 points per 48min with a .478 eFG% and a 16.4 PER.
- Parker production is 27.3 points per 48 min with a 21.3 PER. So, when Neal is playing PG, his opponent play at Parker's level. Neal turns the average backup PG into a top3 NBA PG.

Neal at PG hasn't been an all negative experiment. Spurs offense has been very well with him but it's now less needed with Ginobili back. In the playoffs, Neal could do fine in some matchups but he will be killed in other ones. Pop should grow Mills as backup PG for defensive purposes. Mills isn't known as a defensive specialist but his numbers were good when he was Blazers backup PG last year. His opponent scored 18.6 points per 48min with a .441 eFG% and a 12.2 PER.

I disagree for a variety of reasons:

1. Mills isn't a good defender. He's probably as bad of a defender as Neal.

2011 Blazers Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions
Aldridge: 105.52
Fernandez: 105.64
Wallace: 106.17
Miller: 106.39
Roy: 106.48
Matthews: 106.52
Camby: 107.08
Batum: 108.11
Mills: 109.07

Mills is quicker but he's smaller, weaker and his fundamentals are just as shaky. Benching Neal for bad defense makes some sense. But there's no way you can play Mills for defensive reasons.

2. As bad as Neal is at individual defense, the team defense isn't totally destroyed. Per 100 possessions, the Spurs allow 106.80 points per 100 possessions that Neal is on the court. That's below the team's rate (103.50) but not horribly out of line.

Let's do the math: The Spurs allow 3.3 more points per 100 possessions with Neal on the court. In the playoffs, the Spurs will probably play at a pace of about 93 possessions per game, so Neal would allow about 3.1 more points per 48 minutes. Considering that Neal will probably play about 12 minutes per game at point guard per game in the playoffs at most, that means that having Neal on the court will cause the Spurs to allow 0.77 points more points per playoff game.

So is it worth removing Neal to save one point per game on the defensive end? I don't believe so. I believe he an make it up on the offensive end.

3. The Spurs have been ridiculously good on offense with Neal at point guard, averaging 114.3 points per 100 possessions. Since this team relies so much on offense to win nowadays, it'd be risky to remove such an offensive weapon.

4. Neal and Ginobili already have good chemistry. Neal knows how to help Ginobili (mostly by handling the ball) but also realizes that Ginobili is the main playmaker in the halfcourt setting. There's no guarantee that Mills will understand that unique dynamic.

5. If you take away Neal's minutes at backup point guard, you are basically removing him from the playoff rotation. The shooting guard spot is just too deep now to expect Neal to crack the rotation via the 2. And since Neal has flashed the ability to be a game-changer on the offensive end, especially in clutch situations, I'm against removing Neal from the equation.

6. The teams as I view as the three biggest obstacles in the playoffs -- the Heat, Thunder and Lakers -- all have horrible backup point guard. As poorly as Neal defense, even he should be able to guard Norris Cole, Derek Fisher and Steve Blake.

[Old School 44]

With so many facilitators on this team, and a lot of guys capable of bringing the ball up the court, the backup point guard really is just in name only.

In the playoffs, Manu will be the lead facilitator, when Tony's not in the game. I doubt if Mills will see much time. He's just insurance.

[MaNu4Tres]

I disagree for a variety of reasons:

1. Mills isn't a good defender. He's probably as bad of a defender as Neal.

2011 Blazers Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions
Aldridge: 105.52
Fernandez: 105.64
Wallace: 106.17
Miller: 106.39
Roy: 106.48
Matthews: 106.52
Camby: 107.08
Batum: 108.11
Mills: 109.07

Mills is quicker but he's smaller, weaker and his fundamentals are just as shaky. Benching Neal for bad defense makes some sense. But there's no way you can play Mills for defensive reasons.

2. As bad as Neal is at individual defense, the team defense isn't totally destroyed. Per 100 possessions, the Spurs allow 106.80 points per 100 possessions that Neal is on the court. That's below the team's rate (103.50) but not horribly out of line.

Let's do the math: The Spurs allow 3.3 more points per 100 possessions with Neal on the court. In the playoffs, the Spurs will probably play at a pace of about 93 possessions per game, so Neal would allow about 3.1 more points per 48 minutes. Considering that Neal will probably play about 12 minutes per game at point guard per game in the playoffs at most, that means that having Neal on the court will cause the Spurs to allow 0.77 points more points per playoff game.

So is it worth removing Neal to save one point per game on the defensive end? I don't believe so. I believe he an make it up on the offensive end.

3. The Spurs have been ridiculously good on offense with Neal at point guard, averaging 114.3 points per 100 possessions. Since this team relies so much on offense to win nowadays, it'd be risky to remove such an offensive weapon.

4. Neal and Ginobili already have good chemistry. Neal knows how to help Ginobili (mostly by handling the ball) but also realizes that Ginobili is the main playmaker in the halfcourt setting. There's no guarantee that Mills will understand that unique dynamic.

5. If you take away Neal's minutes at backup point guard, you are basically removing him from the playoff rotation. The shooting guard spot is just too deep now to expect Neal to crack the rotation via the 2. And since Neal has flashed the ability to be a game-changer on the offensive end, especially in clutch situations, I'm against removing Neal from the equation.

6. The teams as I view as the three biggest obstacles in the playoffs -- the Heat, Thunder and Lakers -- all have horrible backup point guard. As poorly as Neal defense, even he should be able to guard Norris Cole, Derek Fisher and Steve Blake.

Goods here :tu

[TD 21]

Good work, timvp.

If you're saying you want Mills to be the backup PG, then what you're simultaneously saying is, you either want Neal to be the backup SG or dropped from the rotation entirely. If you're saying the former, then you're looking at Neal and Mills playing together, which would make the team far worse off defensively than just one being in the rotation. Unless you want Pop to manipulate the rotation so as to split them up. But then that further limits the amount of time Parker and Ginobili play together.

Also, keep in mind that PG is the least important position defensively. timvp has already alluded to the likely 2nd, 3rd and 4th round opponents. Looking at potential 1st round ones, Miller, Dragic, Watson and Telfair, aren't exactly known for their athleticism and explosiveness. Telfair is the only one who's got above average speed/quickness, but he's also the worst player of the bunch.

[elemento]

Yeah I agree with timvp here

i don't think we would be better defensively with Mills as our primary PG. If we had a guy like Armon Johson as our backup yeah, but not with Mills.

Plus, i think Neal can be our backup PG, as long as we have Manu in the 2nd unit controlling the ball and calling the plays. His crap ball-handling skills don't allow him to be our primary PG without Manu. Neal should be on the floor only worried about what he does best, shooting.

[jjktkk]

I disagree for a variety of reasons:

1. Mills isn't a good defender. He's probably as bad of a defender as Neal.

2011 Blazers Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions
Aldridge: 105.52
Fernandez: 105.64
Wallace: 106.17
Miller: 106.39
Roy: 106.48
Matthews: 106.52
Camby: 107.08
Batum: 108.11
Mills: 109.07

Mills is quicker but he's smaller, weaker and his fundamentals are just as shaky. Benching Neal for bad defense makes some sense. But there's no way you can play Mills for defensive reasons.

2. As bad as Neal is at individual defense, the team defense isn't totally destroyed. Per 100 possessions, the Spurs allow 106.80 points per 100 possessions that Neal is on the court. That's below the team's rate (103.50) but not horribly out of line.

Let's do the math: The Spurs allow 3.3 more points per 100 possessions with Neal on the court. In the playoffs, the Spurs will probably play at a pace of about 93 possessions per game, so Neal would allow about 3.1 more points per 48 minutes. Considering that Neal will probably play about 12 minutes per game at point guard per game in the playoffs at most, that means that having Neal on the court will cause the Spurs to allow 0.77 points more points per playoff game.

So is it worth removing Neal to save one point per game on the defensive end? I don't believe so. I believe he an make it up on the offensive end.

3. The Spurs have been ridiculously good on offense with Neal at point guard, averaging 114.3 points per 100 possessions. Since this team relies so much on offense to win nowadays, it'd be risky to remove such an offensive weapon.

4. Neal and Ginobili already have good chemistry. Neal knows how to help Ginobili (mostly by handling the ball) but also realizes that Ginobili is the main playmaker in the halfcourt setting. There's no guarantee that Mills will understand that unique dynamic.

5. If you take away Neal's minutes at backup point guard, you are basically removing him from the playoff rotation. The shooting guard spot is just too deep now to expect Neal to crack the rotation via the 2. And since Neal has flashed the ability to be a game-changer on the offensive end, especially in clutch situations, I'm against removing Neal from the equation.

6. The teams as I view as the three biggest obstacles in the playoffs -- the Heat, Thunder and Lakers -- all have horrible backup point guard. As poorly as Neal defense, even he should be able to guard Norris Cole, Derek Fisher and Steve Blake.

Agree 100%. For this particular roster spot, I like the old adage: "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

[HeroSquad]

I see Mills as an exclusively regular season player. He'll be another guy to spell Parker and Ginobili when the schedule gets really hectic around mid April. As far as playoffs are concerned, if Mills is playing, then we're not in good shape.

[Spursfan092120]

Take away Neal minutes as backup PG and you drop either Danny Green or Neal almost completely out of the rotation. Gotta pick your poison. I'd have to look further into advanced stats to have a firm opinion on the matter.

I actually agree with this.

:tu

[tlongII]

LOL at the notion of playing Patty Mills to improve your defense. :lol

[kaji157]

I do agree that Neal has earned the right to suck on defense if he does. He has played well at a position it´s not his and earned the minutes.
But the truth is that both his shooting and PG abilities fit a different second unit, a second unit without Ginobili. If Manu is to be the sixth man of the Spurs then Mills is an option that will make the most sense, as his only dutty would be to defend the other teams backup PG and take the occasionally spot up 3.

[BackHome]

You can count come playoff time that if Neal is bringing the ball up he is going to get pressure. It will take away from his game and after a couple of turnovers there goes his confidence and shooting......Play Mills at PG>

[Bartleby]

I'm kind of surprised that Batum is so ineffective defensively since that was supposed to be his strength coming into the league.

[100%duncan]

Mills is a PG. Neal ain't.

[Vic Petro]

Don't rock the boat.

[timvp]

I'm kind of surprised that Batum is so ineffective defensively since that was supposed to be his strength coming into the league.

Batum's defensive numbers are even worse this year ... he's now by far the worst defender on the Blazers. I'm not exactly sure what happened to him but he was a good defender early in his career but he's fallen off a cliff. His impact defensively on the Blazers is even worse than Blair's impact on the Spurs, surprisingly enough.

[DPG21920]

You all missed his point

[DesignatedT]

I've been saying something similar for awhile now but not with the notion of benching Neal. I would rather let Neal slide over and take most of Greens minutes while letting a true PG run the 2nd unit. Of course with the way Danny has continued to play it's hard to make a case against him. Just not sure how all our Guards are going to rotate come playoff time.

[Redshadows]

Mills should be the backup point guard and Diaw should take the place of Blair. We all want those to happen. But the sad truth is that it hardly happen at the end of season unless somebody get hurt or the Spurs start losing games. Last season until the loss to the Lakers Pop kept Blair at starting center.

[Spurtacus]

Manu seems to be running the offense when Tony isn't in the game. But if both are out then Mills should be the PG.

[100%duncan]

LOL at the notion of playing Patty Mills to improve your defense. :lol

:lmao Trailblazers

[Redshadows]

TBH, now I hope that some teams could destroy Blair so that Pop would start Diaw like he did to Dice last season.

[TheSkeptic]

TBH, now I hope that some teams could destroy Blair so that Pop would start Diaw like he did to Dice last season.

I don't know. The team would have to be losing quite a bit because teams are already destroying him. I'm just hoping for a shorter leash in the playoffs tbh.

[goPaTTY!]

Yeh I dont no why Pop doesnt give patty more minutes.
Patty has been doing fine. especially considering he played just his first 2 games as a spur and in the NBA this YEAR. He got 7 points in 6 minutes at his 2nd game..
Give him some more respect to let him be comfortable with the team and he'll prove to you why he can be backup PG...

[TheSkeptic]

Yeh I dont no why Pop doesnt give patty more minutes.
Patty has been doing fine. especially considering he played just his first 2 games as a spur and in the NBA this YEAR. He got 7 points in 6 minutes at his 2nd game..
Give him some more respect to let him be comfortable with the team and he'll prove to you why he can be backup PG...

Yeah he was pretty solid in Portland if I recall correctly and even the times he's played for the Spurs. I think it's just that the Spurs have a lot of smalls who have shown they can contribute.

[Waps1980]

Mills has looked to be pushing hard on defense maybe to hard leading towards him being out of position against someone like Nash who lets player movements control just how he is going to make the next play.
Mills just needs to settle in, he's probably just trying to let Pop know he is putting the effort in.
Mills knows the spurs system Spurs assistant coach Brett Brown runs a similar style for the Australian national Team that Mills runs Starting PG for.
Whats he has 2-3 games in spot minutes, least now he's had a chance to train with the team lets not judge too soon.

[benfti]

Going by the article on the NBA website, it seems Neal shares the sentiment.


Gary Neal commented, "Patty brings a lot of energy, especially on the defensive end. In the Phoenix game he was able to come in and pick up Steve Nash full court and kind of disrupt their offense. That was huge and a key to us winning that game, and he can also make shots as he did in Sacramento." Against the Kings, Mills hit a corner 3 pointer and scored seven points in his second game in a Spurs uniform.

[goPaTTY!]

yeh and neal followed patty on twitter i saw. it takes a lot of pressure from patty knowing that there's not much rivalry between the two to get minutes, they are friends.

[Sense]

Mills is only a better defender against small and quick PG's, and there aren't many of them... against everyone else he gets killed... so no, I'd rather have Neal at this point.

[angelbelow]

Overall, I agree with Bruno.

If you look at some of the more successful 5 man units, Neal is slotted as a shooting guard. No surprises there because his skill set is most effective when hes playing the role of a shooting guard.

But the situation is a lot more complicated than replacing Neal with Mills.

I didn't like what I saw out of Neal when he was forced to be our secondary play handler (although he did improve each week.) But with the return of Manu, the addition of Stephen and Boris, Neal should be more effective/efficient on offense. Hopefully that translates to his defense as well.

I think with the right combination, Neal's poor defense at the PG position can be masked. For example, a Neal, Manu, Leonard/Jack, Bonner and Splitter 5 would be deadly. You have a balance of offensive potency and you're able to have a few above average defenders at there at the same time.

However, anything resembling a Neal + Green + Leonard backcourt would spell trouble.

[Bruno]

1. Mills isn't a good defender. He's probably as bad of a defender as Neal.

I don't hope Mills to be a good defender. I just hope he won't be the worst defensive NBA PG like Neal.



2. As bad as Neal is at individual defense, the team defense isn't totally destroyed. Per 100 possessions, the Spurs allow 106.80 points per 100 possessions that Neal is on the court.

It's Neal as a PG the problem, not Neal.
Spurs allowed 95.7 points per 48min.
When Neal plays SG, it's 95.6 points per 48 min.
When Neal plays PG, it's 104.1 points per 48 min.

With Neal as PG, Spurs team defense is totally destroyed.



3. The Spurs have been ridiculously good on offense with Neal at point guard, averaging 114.3 points per 100 possessions.

True and I gave him credit for.



4. Neal and Ginobili already have good chemistry. Neal knows how to help Ginobili (mostly by handling the ball) but also realizes that Ginobili is the main playmaker in the halfcourt setting. There's no guarantee that Mills will understand that unique dynamic.

Well, it's worth a try. If Mills doesn't fit well alongside Ginobili after a handfull of game, it will be time to go back at Neal.



5. If you take away Neal's minutes at backup point guard, you are basically removing him from the playoff rotation. The shooting guard spot is just too deep now to expect Neal to crack the rotation via the 2.

Well, one of Neal or Green would be out of the rotation if Mills is the backup PG. If you want to keep Neal in the rotation,j just put Green out of it. Personally, I'm not sure Neal should be given minutes over Green.



6. The teams as I view as the three biggest obstacles in the playoffs -- the Heat, Thunder and Lakers -- all have horrible backup point guard. As poorly as Neal defense, even he should be able to guard Norris Cole, Derek Fisher and Steve Blake.

After what happened against Memphis last year, Spurs can't take a single playoff opponent lightly. Neal will be destroyed by players like Mo Williams, Beaubois or Dragic.

And if the matchup is right and Mills isn't that good as backup PG, going back to Neal as backup PG for a series would be fine. Saying that, Mills should be the primary backup PG because Neal total inability to defend quick PGs is just a too big drawback.

[timvp]

After Lester freakin' Hudson scored six straight points with Gary Neal defending him, Pop pulled Neal and put in Patty Mills.

Bruno with the goods, timing-wise at least.

[Mel_13]

:lol

Patty making Bruno look like a prophet.

[DAF86]

Mills looked impressive tonight but no way I leave Neal out of the playoffs rotation. I would rather leave Green out.

[T Park]

First Bruno prophecies Diaw coming.
Now this?

No worries :)

[T Park]

First Bruno prophecies Diaw coming.
Now this?

No worries :)

[shyne]

Yeah I trust Neal, patty looked good but cavs are horrible.

[ViceCity84]

If anything.Parker should rest a couple of games down the stretch.Start Mills and have Neal as backup.

[goPaTTY!]

lol patty making neal his btch wahahah

[DAF86]

Patty/Neal the new Tony/Manu?

[Yuixafun]

There was on play where I watched Mills going full speed sidestepping, see a pick out of the corner of his eye, and then his man stopped and sort of cut back laterally... and Mills fluidly stayed with him shifting without losing momentum and keeping balance.

It reminded me of Barry Sanders.

[Obstructed_View]

lol patty making neal his btch wahahah

If you're going to start doing that as a fan of the player over the team, you will find your welcome worn out very quickly.

[GSH]

Neal at PG hasn't been an all negative experiment. Spurs offense has been very well with him but it's now less needed with Ginobili back. In the playoffs, Neal could do fine in some matchups but he will be killed in other ones. Pop should grow Mills as backup PG for defensive purposes. Mills isn't known as a defensive specialist but his numbers were good when he was Blazers backup PG last year. His opponent scored 18.6 points per 48min with a .441 eFG% and a 12.2 PER.


Well the offense shouldn't stagnate with Mills at the point. My biggest concern has been that he won't keep the other guys involved enough. But he seems like a smart guy. Maybe when he's playing with guys who he knows can knock 'em down, he'll be more inclinded to pass the ball.

He's obviously got good speed, and it seems he moves well laterally, so he's got the tools. If he's just adequate on defense, his offense should make him a big positive overall.

The biggest thing, I think, is that Gary Neal can go back to being Gary Neal. He may do okay at the point, but I think he's a much bigger weapon when he's not saddled with running the offense.

[jjktkk]

I stand corrected. :lol Maybe Pop will use both Neal and Mills, and go with the hot hand, or particular matchups.

[timvp]

For the record, I still want Neal as the backup point guard. But it was definitely great to see Pop bench Neal for bad defense. When Neal came back in, he gave much better effort on D. Let's hope Pop remains tough on Neal to force him to at least not be the worst point guard defender in the NBA.

[slick'81]

mills>neal for backup pg, easy choice

[MaNu4Tres]

I guess most people think he's a prototype PG for shooting well tonight.

Nice shooting Patty :tu

[roycrikside]

After Lester freakin' Hudson scored six straight points with Gary Neal defending him, Pop pulled Neal and put in Patty Mills.

Bruno with the goods, timing-wise at least.

My personal opinion is that the answer is C) None of the above.

I think if the Spurs want to play defense in the playoffs, you go with Leonard and Jackson as the starters and Manu and Green on the second unit, with Manu running point on offense and Green defending the point on defense.

If y'all insist on having one or the other in the rotation, it depends on the match-up and who's playing better, tbh.

[pad300]

My personal opinion is that the answer is C) None of the above.

I think if the Spurs want to play defense in the playoffs, you go with Leonard and Jackson as the starters and Manu and Green on the second unit, with Manu running point on offense and Green defending the point on defense.

If y'all insist on having one or the other in the rotation, it depends on the match-up and who's playing better, tbh.

How is this supposed to work?

Starters: PG: Tony, SG: Jackson, SF: Leonard
Backups: PG Manu, SG: Green, SF: Who? Neal?

[stxspurs]

One game against a bad team.. nuff said. l

[Mel_13]

How is this supposed to work?

Starters: PG: Tony, SG: Jackson, SF: Leonard
Backups: PG Manu, SG: Green, SF: Who? Neal?

You don't need, and likely won't see, six players covering the three perimeter positions. The Spurs did it with 4 players in 2010 (TP, Manu, Hill, RJ) and 5 players last year (those 4 plus Neal). There's only 144 minutes available.

[MaNu4Tres]

How is this supposed to work?

Starters: PG: Tony, SG: Jackson, SF: Leonard
Backups: PG Manu, SG: Green, SF: Who? Neal?

Jackson.

For instance:

1st quarter:
Tony-PG: plays first 10 minutes
Jackson- SG: Plays first 6 minutes
Leonard-SF: Plays first 10 minutes

Manu-SG: Subs in for Jackson at 6 minute mark
Green-SG: Subs for Parker at 2 minute mark (Manu slides to PG offensively;Green guards PG on defensive end)
Jackson-SF: Subs for Leonard at 2 minute mark

2nd quarter:
Manu- PG: Plays first 4 minutes of 2nd quarter
Green-SG: Plays first 8 minutes of 2nd quarter (guards PG first 4 minutes)
Jackson-SF: Plays first 4 minutes of 2nd quarter

Parker- PG: Subs for Manu at 8 minute mark
Leonard-SF:Subs for Jackson at 8 minute mark

Manu- SG: Subs for Green at 4 minute mark

Depending on how Leonard is doing-- Decide on whether to sub in Jackson for him from 4 minute mark and on.

Total minute distribution:
MPH(minutes per half)
Parker-18
Manu-14
Leonard-18
Green-10
Jackson-12

MPG
Parker- 36
Manu-28
Leonard-36
Green-20
Jackson-24

In all honesty, I actually like this scenario opposed to figuring out how to squeeze minutes for Neal, who is terrible on D and has the worst shot selection on the team (even if it goes in)-- this trigger-happy decision making can hurt the team's overall efficiency when the defense gets better come playoff time.

This scenario maximizes minutes for the most effective and efficient, all around wings on the roster.

[MaNu4Tres]

and 5 players last year (those 4 plus Neal). There's only 144 minutes available.

You mean 4 with Jefferson going MIA: Parker, Neal, Hill, and Manu-- talk about being physically disabled on the perimeter.

This year's team is entirely different.

[chazley]

Let's not forget that Gary has also had some 20 point games. One 20 point game from Patty Mills shouldn't make us forget that.

Gary's problem is this team has WAY too much depth at the 2-guard spot. Pop's way of keeping Danny Green in the rotation was to turn Neal into a PG so that he wouldn't steal Green's minutes at the 2. This sucks for Gary, because he gets murdered defensively playing the 1 and in turn negates alot of what he brings to this team offensively. If Patty Mills ends up being a good defensive player, which he has shown flashes of while here, Gary Neal will most likely be dropped completely from the rotation, seeing only spot minutes ala James Anderson. Personally, I'd rather see Manu start and Neal back him up at the 2, especially with the playoffs around the corner, but I think Pop likes Green too much to do that.

[Mel_13]

You mean 4 with Jefferson going MIA: Parker, Neal, Hill, and Manu-- talk about being physically disabled on the perimeter.

This year's team is entirely different.

Subtract RJ and Hill.

Add Jack, Leonard, and Green.

Folks need to stop saying this is the same team as last year.

[MaNu4Tres]

Subtract RJ and Hill.

Add Jack, Leonard, and Green.

Folks need to stop saying this is the same team as last year.

Which was why the trade for Leonard was a move for not only the future but the present as well.

The trade not only brought in the best SF in the draft but opened up minutes for the Green/Anderson competition.

Winner winner chicken dinner.

Go Spurs Go.:toast

[roycrikside]

How is this supposed to work?

Starters: PG: Tony, SG: Jackson, SF: Leonard
Backups: PG Manu, SG: Green, SF: Who? Neal?

Take out Tony's 34 minutes and you have 110 minutes for the two wing spots and the 14 minutes of backup PG you need to fill. That's 110 minutes between four guys: Manu, Green, Leonard and Jackson. That's 27.5 mpg per guy.

With a 9-man playoff rotation (4 bigs), I don't think it's all that crazy or unusual, tbh.

Manu and Leonard would be like 30 mpg each and the other two would be 25 mpg each. Maybe you use Neal or Mills for two or three minutes per half as a spot player, but not a true "rotation" guy you're counting on.

[MaNu4Tres]

Take out Tony's 34 minutes and you have 110 minutes for the two wing spots and the 14 minutes of backup PG you need to fill. That's 110 minutes between four guys: Manu, Green, Leonard and Jackson. That's 27.5 mpg per guy.

With a 9-man playoff rotation (4 bigs), I don't think it's all that crazy or unusual, tbh.

Manu and Leonard would be like 30 mpg each and the other two would be 25 mpg each. Maybe you use Neal or Mills for two or three minutes per half as a spot player, but not a true "rotation" guy you're counting on.

Post #65

[TD 21]

In all honesty, I actually like this scenario opposed to figuring out how to squeeze minutes for Neal, who is terrible on D and has the worst shot selection on the team (even if it goes in)-- this trigger-happy decision making can hurt the team's overall efficiency when the defense gets better come playoff time.

This scenario maximizes minutes for the most effective and efficient, all around wings on the roster.

I agree. Green or Neal should play based on the match-up and how they're playing at the time. By eliminating Blair and Neal from the rotation, this team would instantly become better defensively, while still being explosive and highly efficient offensively.

That's not saying Neal, Blair and Mills, would never be needed. When you're attempting to go through four rounds, you need virtually everybody. The Mavs last season were proof of that, when they needed Cardinal and Mahinmi, in Finals games.

[DAF86]

That shot at the end is why you don't leave Neal out of the playoffs rotation, he could play like an ass all game long but at the end of the game there's nobody else I would trust more to hit a clutch shot. Not Manu, not Tony, not Tim, not Jackson, not anybody.

[Obstructed_View]

That shot at the end is why you don't leave Neal out of the playoffs rotation, he could play like an ass all game long but at the end of the game there's nobody else I would trust more to hit a clutch shot. Not Manu, not Tony, not Tim, not Jackson, not anybody.

I suppose that's like letting a doctor hit your kid with his car. At least he can perform CPR.

[DAF86]

I suppose that's like letting a doctor hit your kid with his car. At least he can perform CPR.

Yeah, 'cause he has been so shitty all year :rolleyes

[Obstructed_View]

Yeah, 'cause he has been so shitty all year :rolleyes

:lol What's that have to do with anything? From the second quarter on, he was terrible. You're giving him credit for hitting a three when it was maybe the only time in the entire second half that he didn't fumble the ball.

[DAF86]

:lol What's that have to do with anything? From the second quarter on, he was terrible. You're giving him credit for hitting a three when it was maybe the only time in the entire second half that he didn't fumble the ball.

This was one game (In the first half he was a beast tbh). The way he played all year plus him beign without a doubt the best shooter (and not a choker) make him indispensable for the playoffs.

[Mel_13]

The signs now point to 9-10 rotation players for the POs with Anderson, Mills, and Blair outside of the rotation.

[Spurs da champs]

Mills decision making is even worse than Neals & that's saying something, but at least Neal can make big time shots.

[TDMVPDPOY]

this guy is a nve clone chucker

[Cow Eye]

Mills decision making is even worse than Neals & that's saying something, but at least Neal can make big time shots.

Agreed. When Mills was making his shots, he seemed like a hero, but when they're not dropping you really just notice that his shot selection is horrible. Running down the floor and jacking up a shot 4 - 6 seconds into the shot clock. :nope

[NickiRasgo]

:toast

Where's Bruno though?

[Big Empty]

I don't hope Mills to be a good defender. I just hope he won't be the worst defensive NBA PG like Neal.



It's Neal as a PG the problem, not Neal.
Spurs allowed 95.7 points per 48min.
When Neal plays SG, it's 95.6 points per 48 min.
When Neal plays PG, it's 104.1 points per 48 min.

With Neal as PG, Spurs team defense is totally destroyed.



True and I gave him credit for.



Well, it's worth a try. If Mills doesn't fit well alongside Ginobili after a handfull of game, it will be time to go back at Neal.



Well, one of Neal or Green would be out of the rotation if Mills is the backup PG. If you want to keep Neal in the rotation,j just put Green out of it. Personally, I'm not sure Neal should be given minutes over Green.



After what happened against Memphis last year, Spurs can't take a single playoff opponent lightly. Neal will be destroyed by players like Mo Williams, Beaubois or Dragic.

And if the matchup is right and Mills isn't that good as backup PG, going back to Neal as backup PG for a series would be fine. Saying that, Mills should be the primary backup PG because Neal total inability to defend quick PGs is just a too big drawback.
damn Brunodamous

[ElNono]

tbf, this is a thread from 2012, when Mills was still a chunky dude... 2012 Mills and 2013 Mills are two completely different players. Much props to the Aussie for putting in work over last summer...