Is Diaw really a better option then Blair at this point?

[freetiago]

Blairs play as of late has been impressive
overall i think he fits the needs of the bench better then Diaw does

Blairs pros:
good pop option and finisher
suprisingly good passer
rebounding
hustle
Blair cons:
low iq overall (gambling, 3 second calls, bad fouls etc)
bad post defender and rim protector

Diaw pros:
assisting
post defense
3 point range
IQ
Diaw cons:
rim protection
passiveness to the point it kills the offense
extremely poor rebounding

our bench's defensive ceiling is extremely low as it is
the perimeter defense with Neal/Ginobili isnt good and there is no elite rim protector in the mold of Duncan
Splitter can do a solid job but it doesnt change much
so we basically depend on our bench to score enough to keep us afloat
Diaws presence doesnt affect the outcome of the game on the defensive end since he cant protect the rim and he rarely matches up with a good post option on someones 2nd unit
his pass up shot offense also kills the flow and rhythm
hes so inconsistent between games and even between quaters
one possession he can shoot a 3 curling off a screen and the next he stands at the top of the key with no one within 10 feet searching for a guarded teammate to pass to
his lack of floor spacing really kills Manu offensively

Blair on the other end has good chemistry with Manu on the pick and roll
and his added jumpshot and floater have really made him a solid roll man
enough though his defense is horrible the whole bench in general is
his offense outweighs Boris defense at this point i think and he should be playing the 4 instead of Diaw

im not sure if Pop is actually gonna roll with Bonner in future rounds but if he doesnt I imagine his lineup will be
Joseph
Neal
Manu
Diaw
Splitter? or blair
in this lineup Blair would replace Diaw

Joseph has played well enough to earn him the backup job but if the matchup doesnt require him then i would like to see this lineup
Neal
Manu
Diaw
Blair
Splitter?

Diaw is best at SF with his aggression and his lack of rebounds is negated in this lineup
hes still able to space the floor also

[playblair]

nooooooooooooooooooooooooo............ blair >>>>>>>>> diaw .............

blair = better defender ..............

[Brunodf]

3/10

[Uriel]

tl;dr

[davidbowie]

blair is beasting out there. perfected that little floater. hustling every play. LET THAT BOY COOK!!!!!

[freetiago]

i forgot the golden rule of Spurstalk

no actual basketball discussion
if im not insulting a player or speaking in cliches no one cares

[spurraider21]

lets have everybody healthy for depth purposes and so we can go with certain guys based on matchups. always good to have options. also gives Pop more buttons to push if things are stagnant

[SpurPadre]

i forgot the golden rule of Spurstalk

no actual basketball discussion
if im not insulting a player or speaking in cliches no one cares

I stopped reading when you mentioned Manu being a bad defender. Poor take, man.

[superjames1992]

I'm usually a Blair hater, but if he can keep playing as well as he has in this series, he deserves playing time, tbh.

Same with Bonner.

The question is whether they can keep it up. We'll see. It is looking more and more likely we'll be facing Golden State next, FWIW.

[ace3g]

Still not sure about Bonner being able to sustain his level of play, but in Blair's situation he has noticeably slowed down when he has the ball, in a good way. He is taking his time making smart decisions.

[spurs1990]

DeJaun is literally playing for his NBA life. I agree his impact will reflect that. Keep playing him.

[DesignatedT]

Diaw needs to get in shape quick. Bonner's play has already started to decline and yes, he's miles better than Blair.

[DPG21920]

This is a great problem to have tbh..

[therealtruth]

I'm usually a Blair hater, but if he can keep playing as well as he has in this series, he deserves playing time, tbh.

Same with Bonner.

The question is whether they can keep it up. We'll see. It is looking more and more likely we'll be facing Golden State next, FWIW.

I'm a firm believer in playing your best players and at this point Diaw is better than Bonner/Blair. It's great to know they can step in if we have injuries of foul trouble. I think our defense could have been much better against the Lakers. They were missing their best players on offense. We really should have held them to fewer points. We're going to need better defense to win against the Nuggets/Warriors.

[sventhedog]

Blairs play as of late has been impressive
overall i think he fits the needs of the bench better then Diaw does

Blairs pros:
good pop option and finisher
suprisingly good passer
rebounding
hustle
Blair cons:
low iq overall (gambling, 3 second calls, bad fouls etc)
bad post defender and rim protector

Diaw pros:
assisting
post defense
3 point range
IQ
Diaw cons:
rim protection
passiveness to the point it kills the offense
extremely poor rebounding

our bench's defensive ceiling is extremely low as it is
the perimeter defense with Neal/Ginobili isnt good and there is no elite rim protector in the mold of Duncan
Splitter can do a solid job but it doesnt change much
so we basically depend on our bench to score enough to keep us afloat
Diaws presence doesnt affect the outcome of the game on the defensive end since he cant protect the rim and he rarely matches up with a good post option on someones 2nd unit
his pass up shot offense also kills the flow and rhythm
hes so inconsistent between games and even between quaters
one possession he can shoot a 3 curling off a screen and the next he stands at the top of the key with no one within 10 feet searching for a guarded teammate to pass to
his lack of floor spacing really kills Manu offensively

Blair on the other end has good chemistry with Manu on the pick and roll
and his added jumpshot and floater have really made him a solid roll man
enough though his defense is horrible the whole bench in general is
his offense outweighs Boris defense at this point i think and he should be playing the 4 instead of Diaw

im not sure if Pop is actually gonna roll with Bonner in future rounds but if he doesnt I imagine his lineup will be
Joseph
Neal
Manu
Diaw
Splitter? or blair
in this lineup Blair would replace Diaw

Joseph has played well enough to earn him the backup job but if the matchup doesnt require him then i would like to see this lineup
Neal
Manu
Diaw
Blair
Splitter?

Diaw is best at SF with his aggression and his lack of rebounds is negated in this lineup
hes still able to space the floor also

blair is not a good pop option. he hasn't developed his jumpshot but his teardrop has improved.
diaw is not a rim protector. and he doesn't have 3pt range. he even hesitates to shoot 2's.
diaw is the best at sf since he is too slow to guard opposing sf's. he doesn't really space the floor since he doesn't have a good jumpshot.

i'd prefer blair at the moment but he is way too short to have playoff success. plus diaw will need a few games to get his rhythm back.

[freetiago]

Diaw has a way higher ceiling then Blair as a player
but it all depends on him being aggressive on offense
actually not really aggressive but within the flow of the offense
if an open shot comes to him he has to shoot it
this is a problem that has effected him his whole career though
you cant change Boris personaility
that would be like telling Neal to stop heroing everytime he touched the ball

because of that i actually think Blair fits the needs of the bench better
Diaw is a good player for the starters and I think Pop should sub him in for Splitter around the 5-6 minute mark to get Splitter some burn with the bench

and to the post above
a free throw line teardrop is a pop option
Boris is a 42% 3 point shooter as a Spur on about 100 attempts
hes a jumpshooter but a hesitant one
and he is pretty mobile
he guarded Lebron well this season

[letmk]

Blair's defense is C by default, so unless his offense is B+, he is not contributing positively.

[Obstructed_View]

I'm pretty happy with everyone's contribution. Props to Blair for not getting his head down and being ready to play when called upon. He maximized his strengths and minimized his weaknesses. Can't really ask more than that.

[therealtruth]

Blair's defense is C by default, so unless his offense is B+, he is not contributing positively.

Blair's best defense is his offense so you can only really play him when he's not a sieve on defense. It's better to have better defense than to trade baskets with a team.

[HarlemHeat37]

Blair played really well for half the series, but he was horrible for the other half..

He's still the same player as he was before, tbh..good offensive player with skills, but makes bad decisions at times..horrible defensive player that gets exploited when the opposing team is moving the ball around..

I don't trust him at all, tbh..

[exstatic]

Diaw is an all around better basketball player.

[Obstructed_View]

Diaw is an all around better basketball player.

Yeah, basically this. Diaw is a better option than both Bonner or Blair at any point. I'm really happy that both of them gave their all, but Diaw will have his spot waiting for him when he gets back.

[td4mvp21]

Yes. When the Spurs face actual playoff pressure, Blair (and Bonner) will revert back to normal.

[freetiago]

The rest of the way the other teams bigs are actually pretty bad

assuming Golden State: they play Draymond green at PF and Landry at C
Clippers: Ryan Hollins and Lamar Odom
Memphis: Arthur/Davis
Miami: ?

the only team Blair cant dominate vs in those matchups is Memphis
Diaws post defense isnt needed vs the likes of Lamar Odom but vs Memphis hes obviously a better option but those guys arent post players, more midrange shooters

[Darius McCrary]

I'm pretty happy with everyone's contribution. Props to Blair for not getting his head down and being ready to play when called upon. He maximized his strengths and minimized his weaknesses. Can't really ask more than that.

....exactly

[ducks]

diaw is a way better player then blair

[100%duncan]

He's become better than his form in the regular season. But I'd still pick Diaw over him in a heartbeat.

[Sean Cagney]

I'm usually a Blair hater, but if he can keep playing as well as he has in this series, he deserves playing time, tbh.

Same with Bonner.

The question is whether they can keep it up. We'll see. It is looking more and more likely we'll be facing Golden State next, FWIW.
LOL ever playoff underperformer played well in this series! Well all except for Green! But yeah if they play this well play them! IT MIGHT BE THERE YEAR!
diaw is a way better player then blair

I would have to agree here! I think Diaw is better.

[mute]

All of his points have come in random stretches where the Spurs are up by 20+ and he's pouring it on. Let us see him in a tight game or down the stretch when we are down or only up by a few points. LAL threw in the towel after Game 2.

[Sean Cagney]

All of his points have come in random stretches where the Spurs are up by 20+ and he's pouring it on. Let us see him in a tight game or down the stretch when we are down or only up by a few points. LAL threw in the towel after Game 2.
I agree with you fully. Bonner on the other hand played his ass off before that there, so I give him credit. You are right though, 100%.

[Stabula]

This is a great problem to have tbh.. I disagree with you often but I agree with you here. Have to give the Spurs organization massive credit for turning what would otherwise be d-league scrubs (Danny Green, anyone?) into capable role players on a championship caliber team.

[FkLA]

The Lakers suck, these were gimme games tbh. Would you really trust someone as stupid as Blair in a crucial, close game in the latter stages of these playoffs? I wouldnt. Give me Diaw and Bonner over him any time tbh.

[z0sa]

OP: absolutely. Once Diaw returns, I expect Blair plays only if the score is greatly uneven.

[mookie2001]

i forgot the golden rule of Spurstalk

no actual basketball discussion
if im not insulting a player or speaking in cliches no one cares


Haha this guy gets it

it all depends on the matchup but next series with wide open lanes in the post and lots of missed jumpers, favors Blair

[mercos]

Spurs won't win the title trying to outscore teams. They have to play top ten defense like they did all year. With Blair getting significant minutes, that won't happen. He turns the guy he's guarding into an MVP candidate. That will not suffice.

[Spur|n|Austin]

diaw is a way better player then blair

True, but it will take some time to get him back in game shape; I say keep riding Bonner and Blair (never thought I'd say that) til Boris is back to form.

[TheCerebral1]

Diaw is still better suited for man and zone defense in my opinion. He is not needed for scoring really. Blair is only used in squash minutes and in extreme cases of emergency. He's still a walrus on defense. All he does is rebound marginally well.

[therealtruth]

Spurs won't win the title trying to outscore teams. They have to play top ten defense like they did all year. With Blair getting significant minutes, that won't happen. He turns the guy he's guarding into an MVP candidate. That will not suffice.

Exactly. Our defense was pretty good but considering the competition we should have held them to less.

[Obstructed_View]

Spurs won't win the title trying to outscore teams. They have to play top ten defense like they did all year. With Blair getting significant minutes, that won't happen. He turns the guy he's guarding into an MVP candidate. That will not suffice.

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