Why shouldn't Patty Mills be the backup point guard?

[Boomersgold]

We all know that Patty's the best offensive player out of the three point guards contending for that backup spot, but even as a HUGE Patty fan, I recognized that it was his poor passing abilities, his poor court vision and his below average defense that kept him from winning the backup point guard spot over the other two. However, from what I've seen of him in the preseason, it seems that he's improved tremedously in all of the aforementioned facets of his game. He now plays the pick and roll very well with Baynes and Ayres, as demonstrated by his 6 assists tonight (most of which were to Baynes), and the fact that he's leaner, and hence quicker, means that he's now able to stay in front of his man on the defensive end, as evidenced by his 5 steals against the Magic. What impresses me the most is that he does all this whilst also maintaining his offensive identity on the court!

Just from Nando, Cojo and Patty's performances in extended minutes in the pre-season, why shouldn't Patty START the season off as TP's back up? What have the other guys shown in the preseason that is more impressive than what Patty's shown?

[benstanfield]

:pop::pop:the systerm:pop::pop:

[ElNono]

:cry Not fair to Cojo :cry

[spurs10]

At the game tonight I was thinking the same thing Boomersgold. I was also thinking the same thing as ElNono about Nando, as I see he mentioned a couple of times in the Game Thread. I believe my thoughts were, "well we're not making a comeback now..." I'm not sure Nando could have had a worse game. As for Joseph, he didn't have much impact on either side of the court. Mills looks better....

[Hoops Czar]

It's also not fair for the people who pay money and then have to watch CoJo play. Pop is just too thick skulled to outright give Patty the job so I fully expect all three guards will see substantial playig time.

April will come around and the Question will be "Who will be the backup pg in the playoff?" And like last year, the answer will be Ginobili.

[rastaspur]

Mills did run the pnr well tonight. Cojos pnr sets were atrocious. Patty. Actually threw an alley oop. I agree he has shown flashes of actual point guard skills this preseason and d has been better. I like patty and im rooting for him.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I thought he was ready to be backup PG before last season then he seemingly regressed. I hope the steps forward you mention are true improvements and that he lands the backup job this year.

[Raven]

he's not a point guard, simple.

[Fireball]

Pre season showed us nothing ... the process will continue in the regular season.

[jermaine]

Its funny cuz I was thinking about the pg race an Reggie Miller said "I am not impressed with Nado De colo or Cory Joseph". I was like Woooow. Is it that obvious that they'll say it on live tv.

[Boomersgold]

Pre season showed us nothing ... the process will continue in the regular season.
Really? Did you really watch the games?

[Fireball]

Really? Did you really watch the games?

Yes I watched the games and Patty looked good offensively. But I am not sold on his Neal like approach regarding shot selection and might prefer a more conservative approach for a backup point guard. Patty on the floor with Belli and Manu showed some potential though ...

[TJastal]

Yes I watched the games and Patty looked good offensively. But I am not sold on his Neal like approach regarding shot selection and might prefer a more conservative approach for a backup point guard. Patty on the floor with Belli and Manu showed some potential though ...

I'm not completely sold yet either. Despite working last year and now this year I think we still need another few years of data to really make solid confirmations.

[TJastal]

Pre season showed us nothing ... the process will continue in the regular season.

I like the popsensical way you think. :tu

[Fireball]

I like the popsensical way you think. :tu

Well, I also totally agree with him that John Stockton should be our back-up PG ...

[Dex]

Mills looks good, but he still has the same limitations and those aren't going to change. He's a shooting guard in a point guards body. He can probably run the point better than Neal did, but he is always going to look to score first, pass second.

That being said, right now it's not as much as Mills playing himself into the job, as it is Nando and CoJo playing themselves out of it. They have both looked pretty mediocre during the preseason, whereas Patty has had some good games and been a steady force with the bench.

Mills seems like the obvious choice to start the season, but...Pop's mind works in weird ways.

[Leetonidas]

If only TJ Ford wasn't forced to retire :depressed

[xmas1997]

Kabongos learning curve needs a quick boost. Hopefully he gets this with the Toros because I have little confidence in Cojo or Nando.

[spurraider21]

with Belinelli, Ginobili, and Leonard (as of recently :tu) being able to run the offense and create off the dribble, I think we can afford to have Patty out there as a pseudo PG. CoJo hasn't been able to turn the corner at the top level.

[spurraider21]

Mills looks good, but he still has the same limitations and those aren't going to change. He's a shooting guard in a point guards body. He can probably run the point better than Neal did, but he is always going to look to score first, pass second.

That being said, right now it's not as much as Mills playing himself into the job, as it is Nando and CoJo playing themselves out of it. They have both looked pretty mediocre during the preseason, whereas Patty has had some good games and been a steady force with the bench.

Mills seems like the obvious choice to start the season, but...Pop's mind works in weird ways.
Nando just isn't quick enough to be a pg. He'd be best served working overtime with Chip. He needs to pretty much play like a better ball handling version of Belinelli, but it all has to start with his shot. If he knocks a couple of shots down, and they start closing out on him hard, he can use his handling, vision, passing to be an asset. He's just too turnover prone as the initiator of the offense, and can't hang with point guards on defense.

[Baam]

He has a real shot this season somehow...

Lol at Pop saying that Cojo had a head start a few days ago, exactly like he said De Colo had the job just before the POs, put his foot in his mouth once again...

That said the Spurs don't need the less mediocre of the 3, they need a competent backup PG bar none. But a good version of Gino would be great for Mills' chances since he's the best spot up shooter of the 3... And having a good relation on court with Baynes is a plus as well seeing as he's the clear back up center... The conditions are there for him but I'm not holding my breath, I didn't watch much preseason but last year he had big problems with his handles that prevented him from using his speed and showed some poor passing...

[Johnny RIngo]

Same shit, different year. Spurs continue to hand out contracts to talentless scrubs(DeColo, Ayers, Josh Howard) while ignoring the fact that we don't have a legit backup point. Once again, we're gonna roll with Ginobili come playoff time and he's going to disappoint everyone like last year.

[DJR210]

Same shit, different year. Spurs continue to hand out contracts to talentless scrubs(DeColo, Ayers, Josh Howard) while ignoring the fact that we don't have a legit backup point. Once again, we're gonna roll with Ginobili come playoff time and he's going to disappoint everyone like last year.

My exact fears.

[Boomersgold]

To the only person that voted Nando in the poll, why do you think he should be backup pg? :wow

[Captivus]

The fact that we have Beli now may change the way the second unit works.
He can handle the ball, and with Manu you have another guy that can handle the ball in that 2nd unit.
So MAYBE, Mills is a better fit, since he is more of a shooter.
So, Mills, Manu and Beli sound a little better to me. But what do I know!!

[xmas1997]

Pop looks like he is still experimenting. He probably feels the way most of us do.

[Baseline]

The fact that we have Beli now may change the way the second unit works.
He can handle the ball, and with Manu you have another guy that can handle the ball in that 2nd unit.
So MAYBE, Mills is a better fit, since he is more of a shooter.
So, Mills, Manu and Beli sound a little better to me. But what do I know!! This is the best option - a three-headed PG. Let's face it - CoJo is terrible, and so is Nando. At least all three of those guys can handle the ball a bit, and all three can shoot. If either CoJo or Nando get stuck with the clock going down, we're going to have a missed jumper. Period.

[Baseline]

Pop looks like he is still experimenting. He probably feels the way most of us do. I can assure you that Pop rarely feels the way I do. He certainly didn't feel the way I do when he took Duncan out - twice - at the end of Game 6. Since when have the Spurs operated well with Duncan off the court? At crunch time no less.

[TJastal]

Mills looks good, but he still has the same limitations and those aren't going to change. He's a shooting guard in a point guards body. He can probably run the point better than Neal did, but he is always going to look to score first, pass second.

That being said, right now it's not as much as Mills playing himself into the job, as it is Nando and CoJo playing themselves out of it. They have both looked pretty mediocre during the preseason, whereas Patty has had some good games and been a steady force with the bench.

Mills seems like the obvious choice to start the season, but...Pop's mind works in weird ways.

I seem to recall a French 19 year old kid that used to play the same way, he turned out pretty good in his later years...

[TJastal]

The fact that we have Beli now may change the way the second unit works.
He can handle the ball, and with Manu you have another guy that can handle the ball in that 2nd unit.
So MAYBE, Mills is a better fit, since he is more of a shooter.
So, Mills, Manu and Beli sound a little better to me. But what do I know!!

:tu

I think you're on to something, personally.

Regardless of whether Mills is a "true point guard", right now he is the best fit in the 2nd unit. If he can become a serious threat to score 15-20 points on any given night he will undoubtedly take huge loads of pressure of Ginobili to create most of the offense which as we saw in last year's finals he is no longer able to do consistently. Now you throw in Bellinelli and make it a 3 headed hydra and teams will not be able to focus their defense against Ginobili or any one or even two guys. This lineup has the makings of a nearly unstoppable offensive force which would vastly improve the 2nd unit by leaps and bounds from last season.

[TJastal]

Woohoo! Just made vote #40 for Patty. Winning this thing in landslide. LMAO @ that other lame thread.

[anakha]

nearly unstoppable offensive force

Easy there, Seabiscuit.

[TJastal]

Easy there, Seabiscuit.

Okay, call it 'formidable' then. I think its 100% clear from what we've seen last year and now this year that Patty and Manu have chemistry all day long with each other, and Bellinelli is an upgrade over Neal in just about everything... not only scoring but ball handling, execution and decision making. Neal was an unmitigated disaster in last year's playoffs trying to handle the rock.

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

We need scoring off the bench. With Mills out there, it's almost as if Neal never left... with the addition of Bel. I like Mills to take the spot.

[cd021]

with Belinelli, Ginobili, and Leonard (as of recently :tu) being able to run the offense and create off the dribble, I think we can afford to have Patty out there as a pseudo PG. CoJo hasn't been able to turn the corner at the top level.

I haven't watched the preseason. Has Leonard really looked like he can create of the dribble? Last season he looked uncomfortable dribbling in traffic.

[spurraider21]

I haven't watched the preseason. Has Leonard really looked like he can create of the dribble? Last season he looked uncomfortable dribbling in traffic.
They've allowed him to run the offense here and there. Not for long stretches necessarily, but he's been handling the ball and being a creator (mostly for himself). Playmaking is something that will only come with experience