All Spurs starters in double figures, 0 bench players

[freetiago]

this became a trend a while ago
something will need to be done for the bench
Popovich has started playing Jack less minutes and riding out Leonard like he should but they wont call plays for him
he also looks like hes going with a turd lineup in the first half then riding out the Diaw/Splitter/Duncan in the second half
the turd lineup in the first half has consistently been getting in double figure - while the other teams bench is in double digit +'s
im part of the free Baynes crew but the only other solution could be playing Bonner at this point
the defense with the lineup is horrible no matter what and no one is hitting any shots
might as well get a guy who fits that mold in Bonner who will at least shoot when hes wide open

[spurraider21]

depth matters less in the playoffs. we learned that the hard way last year. a healthy Neal and Manu will crack double digits in playoff games imo

[letmk]

If you have to fill minutes for 3-bigman rotation in the first half, I prefer Bonner to Blair.

[freetiago]

Spurs best players are old
they wont magically play 40 minutes every night after not doing it at all during the reg season
they didnt do it last season

Spurs bench was outscored 59-18 tonight

[Malice]

We've proved we have depth over and over this year. One game out of 70 plus isnt bad dude.

[ElNono]

I wouldn't mind Pop starting to give Khawi and Tiago more minutes as the season reaches the end and get them ready for the playoffs. Tonight was a case where Diaw was awful, which is not always the case.

[RD2191]

what if we sent kawhi to the bench for some offense? is that completely retarded?

[freetiago]

lol at one game
ever since the all star break its been a trend
since Tony first got injured theyve been a liability
starters get a double digit lead in the first and the bench craps it away

Kawhi played 38 minutes tonight
he was with the bench but he gets 0 plays called

Diaw has been awful ever since he got demoted to the bench
Diaw starting or playing SF is when hes at his best
Splitter had a PER near 21 in the top 25 overall when he was coming off the bench
now hes down in the 18s and freefalling
playing Splitter with the bench again but having him close out quarters/half/games with Duncan is an option
and Pop has no excuse not to go to it since it has elite defensive numbers

[DMC]

It's almost "overachieved" time.

[Malice]

what if we sent kawhi to the bench for some offense? is that completely retarded?

Slightly. But, thats some CIA Pop shit.

[Russ]

Gary Neal.

[RD2191]

Slightly. But, thats some CIA Pop shit.
:lol

[racm]

You need your bench less in the playoffs. Your top 6 account for most of your wins in the playoffs.

Considering the top 6 this season are the starters + Manu before the Portland game, that's a better proposition.

[TheGoldStandard]

Everyone on the bench is uneasy shooting the ball or creating there own shot except for Blair/Neal who like to chuck up shots.

[Brunodf]

Kawhi played 38 minutes tonight
he was with the bench but he gets 0 plays called

Diaw has been awful ever since he got demoted to the bench
Diaw starting or playing SF is when hes at his best
Splitter had a PER near 21 in the top 25 overall when he was coming off the bench
now hes down in the 18s and freefalling
playing Splitter with the bench again but having him close out quarters/half/games with Duncan is an option
and Pop has no excuse not to go to it since it has elite defensive numbers

I like this, Splitter played just 11 minutes in the 1st half, he should have played with the second unit(Blair minutes)...

[Darkwaters]

Everyone on the bench is uneasy shooting the ball or creating there own shot except for Blair/Neal who like to chuck up shots.

Blair takes his own shot, but it doesn't often create anything except defensive rebounds for the bad guys. No, most of his points come from people feeding him the rock in position to score.

Neal on the other hand can definitely create his own shot, and often does. Although we're all aware of his specific struggles this season.

[TheGoldStandard]

We all know Blair likes to take that mid range 3 inch jumper which is a usual fail.

[TD 21]

Unfortunately, I don't see a solution for the bench. Sure, in the playoffs, Splitter playing the minutes Bonner/Blair are in the 1st half will help, but it's at the point now where even Ginobili turning back into his old self probably isn't enough. They need a healthy Neal too, which isn't going to be happen for the rest of the season.

Speaking of Ginobili, not to give him an excuse, but are we sure that he's healthy? I noticed on the 2nd to last Nuggets possession, he was guarding Gallinari at the top and when Gallinari slowly started to go right, he didn't even move laterally. He's also not getting to the line at all lately. I realize it was a relatively small sample size, but when you look at how he was rounding into form before his hamstring injury, I don't buy that a few weeks later he suddenly significantly declined. Even though he claims he's healthy, there's got to be something else at work here.

[Pop]

Yeah I dont think anyone think we really have a shot this year, the team just has too many flaws, Pop needs to go.

[Sean Cagney]

Yeah I dont think anyone think we really have a shot this year, the team just has too many flaws, Pop needs to go.

Pop is one of the best out there, is it his fault some got older? I mean how many teams have been this GOOD from 98 to now? NONE, stop it. All teams had their little runs, the SPURS A LONG RUN, accept it and love it.
Unfortunately, I don't see a solution for the bench. Sure, in the playoffs, Splitter playing the minutes Bonner/Blair are in the 1st half will help, but it's at the point now where even Ginobili turning back into his old self probably isn't enough. They need a healthy Neal too, which isn't going to be happen for the rest of the season.

Speaking of Ginobili, not to give him an excuse, but are we sure that he's healthy? I noticed on the 2nd to last Nuggets possession, he was guarding Gallinari at the top and when Gallinari slowly started to go right, he didn't even move laterally. He's also not getting to the line at all lately. I realize it was a relatively small sample size, but when you look at how he was rounding into form before his hamstring injury, I don't buy that a few weeks later he suddenly significantly declined. Even though he claims he's healthy, there's got to be something else at work here.

I agree and good post, but honestly man it's a shame in 013 we are still talking about Bonner or Blair for some mins, good lord just go away already turd towers.

[Bruno]

Cost of the starting lineup: $31.5M
Cost of the bench: $38.5M

:downspin:

While it look not so pretty right now, I think it can be fixed for the playoffs.

At PF/C, the obvious move would be to go with a 3 men rotation of Duncan/Splitter/Diaw. It really looks Pop will do that but he still give some minutes to Bonner or Blair to keep Duncan and Splitter fresh for the playoffs.

On the perimeter, it's a little more nebulous. Ginobili will be obviously the main guy from the bench and hopefully he will raise his level. Aside of Manu, Pop will need another player able to play some solid 10/12mpg and it should be enough. I'm not sure who this player will be (Jackson, De Colo, Jospeh, Neal) but if one of them is able to do that, Spurs should be fine depth wise.

[Poolboy5623]

what if we sent kawhi to the bench for some offense? is that completely retarded?

Yes, completely.

[mrjap2x]

I'd rather have kawhi play longer than the big 3. Specifically for example, in the 1Q after duncan and parker sit, let Leonard be the primary option.

[ChumpDumper]

Free Tiago to the bench?

lol

[racm]

Cost of the starting lineup: $31.5M
Cost of the bench: $38.5M

:downspin:

While it look not so pretty right now, I think it can be fixed for the playoffs.

At PF/C, the obvious move would be to go with a 3 men rotation of Duncan/Splitter/Diaw. It really looks Pop will do that but he still give some minutes to Bonner or Blair to keep Duncan and Splitter fresh for the playoffs.

On the perimeter, it's a little more nebulous. Ginobili will be obviously the main guy from the bench and hopefully he will raise his level. Aside of Manu, Pop will need another player able to play some solid 10/12mpg and it should be enough. I'm not sure who this player will be (Jackson, De Colo, Jospeh, Neal) but if one of them is able to do that, Spurs should be fine depth wise.

Don't Ginobili and Jackson take up most of that figure?

[Fireball]

Either Tim or Tiago (or both of course) have to be on the court the whole game if we do not lead by 20+. Kawhi needs to play 40+ minutes ... this should give us a chance to go far in these playoffs.

[benefactor]

The only bench players that are of any real concern are Diaw and Manu. Splitter will need to be playing over 30mpg and Duncan will need to play around 37mpg for the Spurs to be successful. I still have faith that Jackson can rise from the ashes and be this year's Horry when the lights come on.

[Bruno]

Don't Ginobili and Jackson take up most of that figure?

Yep. Spurs have 3 way overpaid players: Ginobili, Jackson and Bonner. The good news is that all 3 are expirings (Bonner's contract is only $1M guaranteed next season).

[100%duncan]

Yeah man depth is the shit. Remember last year?

[gsmith78]

Isn't this something of a good sign though? In the past few years SA has been making it through the regular season in large part due to the depth of the team. Come playoffs though, depth is not nearly as important as there will be regular breaks between games and most teams cut back to around an 8 man rotation. I miss watching our bench crush every other 2nd unit in the league and it is of course not a good thing to see some of the guys regress, but it seems to be a good sign that our top players are able to win without having to get much help from the deep bench guys. It is those top guys that really need to be clicking in a few weeks.

[polandprzem]

It's not a good sign.

Spurs had the best bench in the NBA or top 3. Depends how yo slice it.

Now it seems like the spurs have nobody on the bench who can take over games. and in the playoffs we will need few games with bench performer to win a game.

Not good. Hopefully Neal can recover and get going in the playoffs

[FrenchSpur]

It's not a good sign.

Spurs had the best bench in the NBA or top 3. Depends how yo slice it.

Now it seems like the spurs have nobody on the bench who can take over games. and in the playoffs we will need few games with bench performer to win a game.

Not good. Hopefully Neal can recover and get going in the playoffs

Yeah I think it's not a good sign... Last year, only five guys played well against OKC (Duncan, Parker, Manu, Jack and Kawhi), and it clearly wasn't enough...

[Brunodf]

It's not a good sign.

Spurs had the best bench in the NBA or top 3. Depends how yo slice it.

Now it seems like the spurs have nobody on the bench who can take over games. and in the playoffs we will need few games with bench performer to win a game.

Not good. Hopefully Neal can recover and get going in the playoffs
:lolJust no

[Obstructed_View]

Spurs best players are old
they wont magically play 40 minutes every night after not doing it at all during the reg season
they didnt do it last season

Spurs bench was outscored 59-18 tonight

Duncan's minutes are creeping up. He's played 30 minutes per game this season, 33 minutes per game in the last ten, and 35 per game in the last five. Perhaps it's due to Parker's injuries and Manu's struggles, but it's a good sign for the postseason. Duncan played 36 minutes last night, and looked good doing it.

[TD 21]

While it look not so pretty right now, I think it can be fixed for the playoffs.

How so? Neal won't be physically right until he get's most or all of the off season to heal, De Colo and Joseph are too green to be trusted and other than the WCF, Jackson has been terrible since he returned.


Aside of Manu, Pop will need another player able to play some solid 10/12mpg and it should be enough.

They need two, because Ginobili can't play PG full time and because they need Jackson to be the secondary Durant/James defender.

Obviously, the top seven are more important, but this isn't '05 or even '07 and they're not the Heat or Thunder; they can't just go down to 7 and 1/2 half if need be.

[therealtruth]

Yeah I think it's not a good sign... Last year, only five guys played well against OKC (Duncan, Parker, Manu, Jack and Kawhi), and it clearly wasn't enough...

Yeah I think you need at least 8 playing well otherwise those 5 guys will get drained.

[HarlemHeat37]

It doesn't look promising, but I'm hoping that:

- Leonard and maybe even Splitter play more minutes with the bench while Parker/Duncan sit..Kawhi has begun playing more with the bench, but he still doesn't touch the ball..Leonard with the bench unit should have the ball as much as Ginobili does, tbh..

- Neal needs to produce..De Colo and Joseph aren't ready..Neal has his flaws, but he's a proven scorer that can score in bunches, tbh..

- If Pop is going to play a 4th big, it should be Bonner..

- Ginobili, obviously..everything has already been said about Manu..

[therealtruth]

Duncan's minutes are creeping up. He's played 30 minutes per game this season, 33 minutes per game in the last ten, and 35 per game in the last five. Perhaps it's due to Parker's injuries and Manu's struggles, but it's a good sign for the postseason. Duncan played 36 minutes last night, and looked good doing it.

There's a difference from playing 36 every few nights and doing it every other night in the playoffs. Playoff minutes are much more intense.

[freetiago]

one thing i think could help the bench
Splitter isnt a true anchor
an anchor to me can contest shots and rebound the ball
guys like Duncan, Howard, Chandler, Noah and M.Gasol are guys i would consider anchors
Splitter can only do 1 or the other
hes just not good enough to contest shots and rebound the ball
the big problem with the bench defensively seems to be Splitter contesting shots and no one stepping up to box out his guy and they get the putback after he forces the miss
maybe going with a Splitter/Blair frontcourt could work
Blair can get the rebounds Splitter contests because Diaw just isnt cutting it
Diaw would be moved to SF where he seems to play more aggressive and at his best (See games when Jack/Kawhi were injured and the Miami game)
Manu at SG
and a back up PG preferably Neal

Neal
Manu
Diaw
Blair
Splitter

or they could go
Manu
Jack
Diaw
Blair
Splitter

the defense suddenly gets better and if Diaw becomes aggressive at the SF spot then the offense becomes better and he can handle it also to take pressure of Manu
only thing i dont like is Manu or Jack having to guard perimeter guys because theyll blow by everytime and Manu/Jack are foul prone when guarding backcourt guys
but its not like every bench guy on the team isnt a defensive liabiltiy anyway

[Brunodf]

one thing i think could help the bench
Splitter isnt a true anchor
an anchor to me can contest shots and rebound the ball
guys like Duncan, Howard, Chandler, Noah and M.Gasol are guys i would consider anchors
Splitter can only do 1 or the other
hes just not good enough to contest shots and rebound the ball
the big problem with the bench defensively seems to be Splitter contesting shots and no one stepping up to box out his guy and they get the putback after he forces the miss
maybe going with a Splitter/Blair frontcourt could work
Blair can get the rebounds Splitter contests because Diaw just isnt cutting it
Diaw would be moved to SF where he seems to play more aggressive and at his best (See games when Jack/Kawhi were injured and the Miami game)
Manu at SG
and a back up PG preferably Neal

Neal
Manu
Diaw
Blair
Splitter

or they could go
Manu
Jack
Diaw
Blair
Splitter

the defense suddenly gets better and if Diaw becomes aggressive at the SF spot then the offense becomes better and he can handle it also to take pressure of Manu
only thing i dont like is Manu or Jack having to guard perimeter guys because theyll blow by everytime and Manu/Jack are foul prone when guarding backcourt guys
but its not like every bench guy on the team isnt a defensive liabiltiy anyway

Manu
Kawhi
Jack
Diaw
Splitter
Good D and rebounding...

[Obstructed_View]

There's a difference from playing 36 every few nights and doing it every other night in the playoffs. Playoff minutes are much more intense.
You won't get any argument from me about that. Duncan was asked to play those playoff minutes the last few seasons after having his minutes severely limited during the regular season, so IMO he wasn't ready. Having him light enough not to put so much wear on his knees has been a huge advantage for Pop.

Duncan already played as many games of 34 minutes or more this season as the previous two seasons combined. He's up to 33 minutes per game this month, and that's despite three of those games being massive blowouts. Playoff minutes ARE much more intense, and you've got to have the wind and the legs to be able to withstand it. I maintain that it's a great sign that Duncan's minutes are continuing to go up as the Spurs near the end of the season.

[Pop]

one thing i think could help the bench
Splitter isnt a true anchor
an anchor to me can contest shots and rebound the ball
guys like Duncan, Howard, Chandler, Noah and M.Gasol are guys i would consider anchors
Splitter can only do 1 or the other
hes just not good enough to contest shots and rebound the ball
the big problem with the bench defensively seems to be Splitter contesting shots and no one stepping up to box out his guy and they get the putback after he forces the miss
maybe going with a Splitter/Blair frontcourt could work
Blair can get the rebounds Splitter contests because Diaw just isnt cutting it
Diaw would be moved to SF where he seems to play more aggressive and at his best (See games when Jack/Kawhi were injured and the Miami game)
Manu at SG
and a back up PG preferably Neal

Neal
Manu
Diaw
Blair
Splitter

or they could go
Manu
Jack
Diaw
Blair
Splitter

the defense suddenly gets better and if Diaw becomes aggressive at the SF spot then the offense becomes better and he can handle it also to take pressure of Manu
only thing i dont like is Manu or Jack having to guard perimeter guys because theyll blow by everytime and Manu/Jack are foul prone when guarding backcourt guys
but its not like every bench guy on the team isnt a defensive liabiltiy anyway


I like the idea of playing Blair with Boris and Tiago in a 3 bigs lineup like the Jazz did/does , all of them have good passing and they could do some damage inside. That said Boris would have to shoot the 3 every time he's open to give Blair and Tiago some room to operate.

That said it's well documented that Pop is a midget lover who has no problem having Blair on the likes of Bynum and who goes small no matter what so I'm not holding my breath.

[Southwest Texas Fan]

I wouldn't mind Pop starting to give Khawi and Tiago more minutes as the season reaches the end and get them ready for the playoffs. Tonight was a case where Diaw was awful, which is not always the case.


A healthy Neal would sure come in handy.

[szkorhetz]

I know, I won't be popular with my idea, but with both the bench and Manu struggling, why don't we bring in T-Mac? I know he is old, washed and anything. But he can't be worse than Neal or Jax. Just not.
I know there are just 11 games left, we would love some corporate knowledge. But he wouldn't even need to play more then 15 minutes a game.

[letmk]

I know, I won't be popular with my idea, but with both the bench and Manu struggling, why don't we bring in T-Mac? I know he is old, washed and anything. But he can't be worse than Neal or Jax. Just not.
I know there are just 11 games left, we would love some corporate knowledge. But he wouldn't even need to play more then 15 minutes a game.

There is no way Spurs are bringing in another player at this point. But if following this hypothetical, Starbury is a much better choice. He is much more successful in CBA, and he instantly becomes the best backup PG in the whole NBA.