DeJuan Blair vs. Paul Millsap

[timvp]

As all of SpursTalk knows, DeJuan Blair isn't the world's perfect basketball player -- especially as a starter. But if there's one big-name bigman who Blair has had success against over the years, it's Paul Millsap. Perhaps it's because they have similar body types or perhaps Millsap isn't accustomed to playing against an opposing bigman who has an even lower center of gravity, but Blair has always done good work against Millsap.

This season, when the two players were on the court at the same time, Blair more than held his own.

In the 57 minutes the two players shared the court, here's what Blair and Millsap did:

DeJuan Blair
35 points
21 rebounds
63.6% (14-for-22) from the field
7 fouls

Paul Millsap
30 points
20 rebounds
46.4% (13-for-28) from the field
10 fouls

And it wasn't just this season; the numbers last year, in 55 minutes, were even more in Blair's favor:

DeJuan Blair
21 points
20 rebounds
58.8% (10-for-17) from the field
5 fouls

Paul Millsap
19 points
8 rebounds
50% (9-for-18) from the field
11 fouls

Considering that Millsap is a borderline All-Star player who averaged about 17 points and eight and a half rebounds over the last two seasons, Blair's head-to-head work is more than commendable.

Subjectively, I've noticed Blair's ability to out-Millsap Paul Millsap. When those two behemoths collide midair, Blair isn't usually the one bouncing backwards. He also, as the numbers show, has played a part in Millsap getting in foul trouble a few times against the Spurs.

Going into the playoffs, Blair appears to be the fifth bigman in Pop's rotation. He's gone from starter to likely being outside of the rotation.

Now here are my questions to the denizens of SpursTalk:

Going by these past performances, should Pop give Blair regular minutes in this series? If so, what type of role should Pop give Blair? If not, are you confident in Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner being able to have similar success against Millsap?



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[Mugen]

No. The Spurs should be able to win this series in 4 or 5 games with DeJuan eating popcorn at the end of the bench.

[honestfool84]

i say give him some time, see what he can do.

i always felt Blair would fare well against a team like the Jazz.

[TE]

No. Regardless of what the head to head stats suggest, playing Blair any significant minutes should only occur in D league level games. Blair's confidence, athleticism, and overall playing ability has fallen so much as the season has progressed.

[therealtruth]

Blair, the Millsap-stopper. Maybe if Milsap is going nuts on us and TD, Splitter, Diaw, and Bonner can't stop him we can give Blair a turn. However with Diaw starting I wonder if we will have enough scoring in our first unit. Diaw looks to pass while Blair looks to score.

[The Great Fantastic]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsjazznotes/54008952-62/game-games-played-bell.html.csp

"Corbin said he would not consider moving Paul Millsap from power forward to small forward and starting Derrick Favors, even though the Jazz's big lineup has been effective down the stretch."

I would not mind seeing Blair start against the Jazz. I would like to see him active in the first quarter and to start the second half. Additional minutes will depend on performance. I don't want Blair playing big minutes in the later rounds but if you see a match up that works in your favor, you take advantage of it.

[SpursRock20]

This proves it. Both Blair and Bonner destroy the Jazz, start 'em Pop.

[tesseractive]

I don't think starting him over Diaw and giving up the offensive spacing is the right move, but I definitely think he can be a useful part of the rotation in this series. Then we can put him back in cold storage for the Memphis series.

[Keepin' it real]

Going by these past performances, should Pop give Blair regular minutes in this series? .

Yes, Blair should get meaningful playing time against Utah. In spite of the Blair hate on Spurstalk, we know he is a good matchup against certain teams and players. And when he is, we must take advantage of that matchup.

[Dr. John R. Brinkley]

I think it's a choice of establishing a rotation with post players who will be needed later versus the possible temporary advantage of going to Blair now. I would not start Blair again but consider him as option if Diaw fails the challenge. The team is doing well without Blair so I wouldn't change yet unless it's proven to be needed.

[Bruno]

Pop should go with what looks like his regular playoffs rotation : Diaw/Duncan starting with Bonner/Splitter coming from the bench.

However, if Diaw or Bonner struggles, Blair should get a shot. And it shouldn't be limited only to the Utah series. I've especially a very limited trust in Bonner for the playoffs. Blair has a lot of flaws but he is still better than a choking Bonner.

[Keepin' it real]

Blair has a lot of flaws but he is still better than a choking Bonner.

Whaddya mean choke??? I just got a bum rap. May I direct you to my +/-?

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYjtxDXcdDe-cXNFyxZKaoJm67iWhtNXHfbL3MUrREX-LVNuYVkg

[SpursRock20]

Whaddya mean choke??? I just got a bum rap. May I direct you to my +/-?

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYjtxDXcdDe-cXNFyxZKaoJm67iWhtNXHfbL3MUrREX-LVNuYVkg

Is it just me or does it look like Bonner's facial hair is nothing more than Cheeto dust that he rubbed onto his face? I have always thought this :lol

[jag]

I think Pop should start Blair in this series and let him do his chaotic beast thing for 8 minutes and then either ride the bench or receive spot minutes throughout the games depending on his performance.

For the record: I'm not proud that I feel this way. Ideally, Blair should receive Mengke Bateer minutes this postseason.

[T Park]

The choking Bonner who shot a better 3 pt % than Gary Neal?


That being said I agree 100% with Bruno.

[Mugen]

The choking Bonner who shot a better 3 pt % than Gary Neal?


:lmao

[Bruno]

The choking Bonner who shot a better 3 pt % than Gary Neal?

I was thinking more at the playoffs Bonner with a worst 3pt% than Antoine Walker...

[T Park]

I was thinking more at the playoffs Bonner with a worst 3pt% than Antoine Walker...

Bonner 33% to Gary Neal's 26% in last year's playoffs.


Again though, I agree 100% with you in that the leash should be incredibly short.

[Bruno]

Bonner 33% to Gary Neal's 26% in last year's playoffs.

Wow, I didn't realized how bad Neal shoot the ball in last year playoffs.

[T Park]

Wow, I didn't realized how bad Neal shoot the ball in last year playoffs.

Shocked me too.

Shocked me how well Bonner shot it.

Mostly due to game 1 however. Again I wonder had they won that game 1 and Bonner is labeled pretty much the hero for bagging back to back 3s to win the game. you wonder if that makes a difference in his psyche and what not. More than likely it doesnt, he stays the same timid player.

[Spurtacus]

Pop should go with what looks like his regular playoffs rotation : Diaw/Duncan starting with Bonner/Splitter coming from the bench.

However, if Diaw or Bonner struggles, Blair should get a shot. And it shouldn't be limited only to the Utah series. I've especially a very limited trust in Bonner for the playoffs. Blair has a lot of flaws but he is still better than a choking Bonner.

This. But give minutes to Blair (take away Bonner's minutes) rather than wait for Bonner or Diaw to choke. Duncan/Diaw is my preferred starting lineup but I wouldn't be surprised if Blair stars. He's a good offensive firestarter in the first quarter.

[T Park]

So just preemptively bench Bonner/ Dont see if he can perform?

[DMC]

Blair possess 6 things that we need: fouls. We can use his fouls to prevent easy shots and make people earn them from the line. That's about it. He might get a steal or long rebound, but he's going to tragic on us when he does, and have that dumb ass grin on the way back up the court like "my bad".

[ducks]

Wow, I didn't realized how bad Neal shoot the ball in last year playoffs.

everyone was to busy blaming tp

[letmk]

Even if Blair can somehow play well against Millsap, I'd still start Diaw/Splitter to prepare for later rounds. Simply put, Blair would be total liability against Grizzlies/Lakers/Thunder.

Blair has made his contributions to the team by eating regular season minutes. Now it's time to get the real big-men rotation into work.

[TD 21]

Going by these past performances, should Pop give Blair regular minutes in this series? If so, what type of role should Pop give Blair? If not, are you confident in Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner being able to have similar success against Millsap?

No. Not to start, at least. If things aren't going according to plan and/or Diaw is playing atrocious, then re-assess things at that time. But theoretically speaking, Diaw is an idea Millsap defender. Millsap thrives on generally having a strength or quickness advantage. Unfortunately for him, Diaw possesses both of those attributes as well.

If it comes to Blair replacing him, then Blair should start. There's a comfort level and level of familiarity there and it would keep the bench/rotation intact.

I'm confident in Diaw and Bonner doing at least an adequate job on Millsap, but I don't think that matters that much in the grand scheme of things though. The Jazz are going to have to have damn near everything break just right just to have a fighting chance at pulling this off. Having one of their two best players playing well is something that should be more expected than unexpected.