Do you think Marco can recover from his late-season/playoff slump tbh

[freetiago]

There was really no reason why he looked so bad to end the regular season and playoffs
it was after a Thunder game where he just looked shook and never recovered
he killed it vs Portland though and before people go on about how bad defensively they are they actually do have good defenders on the wings in Matthews/Batum who he was mostly matched against

Im hoping he can look like the Marco we saw for the majority of the reg season who shot over 50 from the field and 45 from 3 but even if his numbers come down to earth at about 45/40/80 its still really good for what hes being paid

[emanueldavidginobili]

Im not worried, second year in the system and will be much more comfortable. he will be fine

[dabom]

Reminds me of Richard Jefferson. Negative impact player.
I like how people say he hit some clutch shots. WTF Odds says he's going to hit a wide open shot sooner or later.

[freetiago]

"system" had nothing to do with Marco
he was one of the most effective guards in the league and fit instantly with Manu on the bench
his only struggles were being inserted into the starting lineup when Green couldnt hit anything and late season slump

maybe his Spur career trajectory can go like his 3 point contest tbh
complete airballs his first few shots then knocks down everything to win

[Chinook]

He'll be fine. So long as Pop keeps him on the bench, he should even improve.

I'd consider trading him in the right deal, though. He'd have a market, and his contract is just big enough to combine with the more-expendable players to bring back an impact player like Ilyasova or Thad Young.

[objective]

He was terrible in the playoffs, incredibly terrible, he put the spurs at severe risk and probably cost them at least a couple of games.

Vince Carter destroyed him. Spurs won the Dallas series when he was benched. And he wasn't that good against Portland, pop had to bench him in the second half of one of those wins because Marco was ruining everything.

I don't think he can be counted on for anything better. He is who he is. He can be a decent regular season player, especially against teams that are lotto or unmotivated. He will still be a liability against well coached teams, but he can eat minutes in the regular season.

[Dverde]

I hope he works with staff/bowen on defense. Unlike Neal, he has the size to guard his position

[Baam]

Even when he was shooting 60% from 3 his advance metric were barely in the green... He's just a negative impact player who should be traded at the first opportunity :wakeup...

[ElNono]

He's the next Bonner, tbh...

[KaiRMD1]

He needs to learn how to defend, ol' sport almost pulled some Ayres type shit

[100%duncan]

He will be fine, Pop's gonna rest Manu so he's gonna get lots of minutes.

[Johnny RIngo]

Marco's a worthless player. Pure definition of empty stats. His only value, at this point, is getting Manu rest. As soon as a good deal shows up for him, SA needs to trade his ass immediately.

[manu2timdynasty]

There was really no reason why he looked so bad to end the regular season and playoffs
it was after a Thunder game where he just looked shook and never recovered
he killed it vs Portland though and before people go on about how bad defensively they are they actually do have good defenders on the wings in Matthews/Batum who he was mostly matched against

Im hoping he can look like the Marco we saw for the majority of the reg season who shot over 50 from the field and 45 from 3 but even if his numbers come down to earth at about 45/40/80 its still really good for what hes being paid


This so called slump was due to him winning the 3 point contest all-star weekend and becoming more of an emphasis in other teams scouting reports. Marco hit a few big shots during our run to title but his lack of defense made it difficult for him to find court time; especially with Patty digging his nose in.

[elemento]

He will be fine !

[dg7md]

Say what you will about Marco, but he hit many, many big shots in the playoffs. I recall momentum-changing threes against Miami and OKC. Sure, he didn't show up very much, but if he didn't hit those shots we probably would have lost those games...

He will be fine. He did well enough in his first year in what we had asked of him.

[exstatic]

Marco's a worthless player. Pure definition of empty stats. His only value, at this point, is getting Manu rest. As soon as a good deal shows up for him, SA needs to trade his ass immediately.

You think Manu won't need rest this year...of ALL years?

[Blizzardwizard]

He still hit some big-ass shots in the Miami series when he was supposedly playing at his worst so I'm not worried.

[dabom]

Say what you will about Marco, but he hit many, many big shots in the playoffs. I recall momentum-changing threes against Miami and OKC. Sure, he didn't show up very much, but if he didn't hit those shots we probably would have lost those games...

He will be fine. He did well enough in his first year in what we had asked of him.

I think we have different definitions of big shots. He didn't make any(maybe one shot but it wasn't a big shot. We were up 7 fucking points). He averaged 5 points per game in 15mpg. His per was 11 and his WS/48 was .107.
Better yet, If he doesn't play, our team plays better. Everyone saw how shitty a player he was, and no one wanted him to play any more fucking minutes. I can dig out other threads in here crucifying him.
More minutes isn't going to help him. That's like saying give Matt Bonner more minutes and he'll get out of his slump. That's just how he'll always play.

Marco fell off a cliff after winning the 3point contest. Hopefully he doesn't play like that this upcoming season.

[montgod]

You think Manu won't need rest this year...of ALL years? bingo!

[playbonner15]

Pop calls him 'Big Shot'. So I think Pop knows Belinelli needs confidence to perform. Or he must be referring to his jizz

[Mugen]

He's the next Bonner, tbh...

He was clutch with the Bulls the year before, tbh. I'll give him another year before I dub him March Marco....

[kobyz]

Weak mentality need to be changed first, right now you can't trust on him in any real moments...

[KL2]

I thought his offense was fine, everyone just looked waaaaay too athletic for him to guard.

[bklynspursfan]

Say what you will about Marco, but he hit many, many big shots in the playoffs. I recall momentum-changing threes against Miami and OKC. Sure, he didn't show up very much, but if he didn't hit those shots we probably would have lost those games...

He will be fine. He did well enough in his first year in what we had asked of him.

Yup. He definitely hit shots to kill the other teams momentum in the playoffs. Struggled overall, but hit timely shots on the biggest stages. I love how people can call him worthless or say he should stay on the bench. That guy was big during the regular season and was a big reason we were able to rest our guys so much and get the overall #1 seed. I am sure next post season he will be much better.

[Ice009]

Marco's a worthless player. Pure definition of empty stats. His only value, at this point, is getting Manu rest. As soon as a good deal shows up for him, SA needs to trade his ass immediately.

Do you guys actually think Pop would trade him if the right deal came along? I'm not sure they'd do that to him. Personally, I'm not sure if they should or shouldn't. He was atrocious in the playoffs defensively, that I will say. He really needs to get much better on the defensive end and try and at least be serviceable on that end of the court. Teams went on runs when he came onto the court. At times, when the Spurs were playing well, I did not want him on the court at all to mess with the Spurs' game. When he played in the Dallas series, he almost made Vince Carter look like a prime young Vince Carter again.

[Dex]

Marco played more minutes than anybody not named Tim Duncan during the regular season en route to 62 wins. He started 25 games when Green was slumping and others were injured and was key to the Spurs maintaining their momentum.

He shot .430 from three over the course of the season, and .421 during the playoffs. He played great against Portland, including pouring in 19 points in Game 1.

He hit one of the biggest shots of the playoffs during the third quarter of Game 3 when the Heat were making a charging comeback and had whittled the Spurs 21-point halftime lead to 7. The Spurs were spiraling at that point and his shot put the ship back on an even keel.

So yes, I think Marco can recover from the perfectly acceptable season he turned in last year. I know he's never going to be a great defender, but one more year in the system should help cover that up. Otherwise, I'm really not sure what else Spurs fans are hoping for out of det dude Beli. I guess they need a scapegoat even when we win the championship.

[littlecoyotecoin]

Marco's a worthless player. Pure definition of empty stats. His only value, at this point, is getting Manu rest. As soon as a good deal shows up for him, SA needs to trade his ass immediately.

That's not worthless... It's a necessary role, and not so easily filled with a quality guy for the right price. He makes about 2.5 million, maybe. Whoever you speculate on trading for him needs to be in the same price range, willing to accept that role, be willing to live in SA, and be reasonably effective in fulfilling that role. Not such an easy task. What do you see out there for 2.5 million that is considerably better? Neal, who many had their issues with, ended up getting almost 3 million per season. I doubt you are going to find anyone for that price that is without some flaws that a group on ST will have issues with. Marco is what he is. If they can upgrade him, I am sure they will, but other teams probably aren't lining up to make lopsided trades with us. Others have already complained about what dregs remain in FA, and you can't give the position to a rookie or euro completely because he'll be getting too many minutes during a title defense year. What are your suggestions?

[EP Money Man]

Marco played more minutes than anybody not named Tim Duncan during the regular season en route to 62 wins. He started 25 games when Green was slumping and others were injured and was key to the Spurs maintaining their momentum.

He shot .430 from three over the course of the season, and .421 during the playoffs. He played great against Portland, including pouring in 19 points in Game 1.

He hit one of the biggest shots of the playoffs during the third quarter of Game 3 when the Heat were making a charging comeback and had whittled the Spurs 21-point halftime lead to 7. The Spurs were spiraling at that point and his shot put the ship back on an even keel.

So yes, I think Marco can recover from the perfectly acceptable season he turned in last year. I know he's never going to be a great defender, but one more year in the system should help cover that up. Otherwise, I'm really not sure what else Spurs fans are hoping for out of det dude Beli. I guess they need a scapegoat even when we win the championship.

This.

[Raven]

what do you mean recover, he's been horrible his whole career..

[Raven]

That's not worthless... It's a necessary role, and not so easily filled with a quality guy for the right price. He makes about 2.5 million, maybe. Whoever you speculate on trading for him needs to be in the same price range, willing to accept that role, be willing to live in SA, and be reasonably effective in fulfilling that role. Not such an easy task. What do you see out there for 2.5 million that is considerably better? Neal, who many had their issues with, ended up getting almost 3 million per season. I doubt you are going to find anyone for that price that is without some flaws that a group on ST will have issues with. Marco is what he is. If they can upgrade him, I am sure they will, but other teams probably aren't lining up to make lopsided trades with us. Others have already complained about what dregs remain in FA, and you can't give the position to a rookie or euro completely because he'll be getting too many minutes during a title defense year. What are your suggestions?

how about playing green the minutes he deserves instead?

[littlecoyotecoin]

how about playing green the minutes he deserves instead?

I don't have a problem with Green getting some of those minutes. But, as Dex mentioned, Marco played a LOT of minutes. Green can't take them all, and in certain situations, Belli has to be more of a facilitator. Green has many talents, but that isn't one of them. Belli has flaws, but I would rather have Belli handling the ball more than Green, when we are forced into that corner. The preference would be neither, of course, but it's a long season, shit happens.

[Raven]

I don't have a problem with Green getting some of those minutes. But, as Dex mentioned, Marco played a LOT of minutes. Green can't take them all, and in certain situations, Belli has to be more of a facilitator. Green has many talents, but that isn't one of them. Belli has flaws, but I would rather have Belli handling the ball more than Green, when we are forced into that corner. The preference would be neither, of course, but it's a long season, shit happens.

beli is a terrible passer, a terrible playmaker and a stupid player. Play Joseph and green more and the minutes are gone.

[Rebounds]

:tu:tu:tu:tu:tu:tu:tu
He shot .430 from three over the course of the season, and .421 during the playoffs. He played great against Portland, including pouring in 19 points in Game 1.

He hit one of the biggest shots of the playoffs during the third quarter of Game 3 when the Heat were making a charging comeback and had whittled the Spurs 21-point halftime lead to 7. The Spurs were spiraling at that point and his shot put the ship back on an even keel.

So yes, I think Marco can recover from the perfectly acceptable season he turned in last year. I know he's never going to be a great defender, but one more year in the system should help cover that up. Otherwise, I'm really not sure what else Spurs fans are hoping for out of det dude Beli. I guess they need a scapegoat even when we win the championship.
:tu

[PublicOption]

he is not stupid it just takes a year to learn the system and cut off the neck beard.

[littlecoyotecoin]

beli is a terrible passer, a terrible playmaker and a stupid player. Play Joseph and green more and the minutes are gone.

I am getting the feeling you dislike Belli.

[dabom]

I am getting the feeling you dislike Belli.

:huh

[FireMicoHalili]

Re: Green, I love his defense and stuff but wasn't he dubbed IcyHot by most of the Spurs bloggers/reporters/commentweeters? They also had a feature on him in Grantland. He goes through some rough patches during the season though defense is always there. Solid starter, sure, but I remember the Spurs showing interest in a handful of SGs over the past two seasons. I remember Woj tweeting the Spurs failed to trade for Redick, Turner, and Afflalo. Just wondering what trade package the Spurs had teed up for those players, and why the Spurs were so keen on acquiring another SG despite Green and Belinelli on the roster.

[dabom]

Re: Green, I love his defense and stuff but wasn't he dubbed IcyHot by most of the Spurs bloggers/reporters/commentweeters? They also had a feature on him in Grantland. He goes through some rough patches during the season though defense is always there. Solid starter, sure, but I remember the Spurs showing interest in a handful of SGs over the past two seasons. I remember Woj tweeting the Spurs failed to trade for Redick, Turner, and Afflalo. Just wondering what trade package the Spurs had teed up for those players, and why the Spurs were so keen on acquiring another SG despite Green and Belinelli on the roster.

I don't put a lot of stock in the regular season. The Spurs can win 60games a year pretty easy. Danny green can defend the steph currys and wades of the world in the playoffs. Green is just like Kawhi. Great defenders.
They brought our team defense back to championship material.

[FireMicoHalili]

I don't put a lot of stock in the regular season. The Spurs can win 60games a year pretty easy. Danny green can defend the steph currys and wades of the world in the playoffs. Green is just like Kawhi. Great defenders.
They brought our team defense back to championship material.
Ok thanks for your valuable insight

[dabom]

Ok thanks for your valuable insight

I don't know if you're being sarcastic.

[littlecoyotecoin]

Re: Green, I love his defense and stuff but wasn't he dubbed IcyHot by most of the Spurs bloggers/reporters/commentweeters? They also had a feature on him in Grantland. He goes through some rough patches during the season though defense is always there. Solid starter, sure, but I remember the Spurs showing interest in a handful of SGs over the past two seasons. I remember Woj tweeting the Spurs failed to trade for Redick, Turner, and Afflalo. Just wondering what trade package the Spurs had teed up for those players, and why the Spurs were so keen on acquiring another SG despite Green and Belinelli on the roster.

He was notorious missing 18 shots in a row, once, but in my eyes, Green's shooting has become very consistent, and he's added more wrinkles to it, pull ups in transition, midrange, etc. Still reach for something to hold on to when he starts dribbling...but I'll be ok.

[FireMicoHalili]

He was notorious missing 18 shots in a row, once, but in my eyes, Green's shooting has become very consistent, and he's added more wrinkles to it, pull ups in transition, midrange, etc. Still reach for something to hold on to when he starts dribbling...but I'll be ok.
V true, especially with the PU3ITs. He has a higher trade value more than ever. Not surprised if Spurs trade him at the deadline. Just a gut feel, nothing based on fact or whatever.

[Raven]

I am getting the feeling you dislike Belli.

of course i do, i mean who doesn't...

[Mr. Body]

Even if he just eats up minutes en route to wins next year and fails to deliver in the playoffs, he's worth every cent. As a second year guy in the system he may learn how to be more effective in the postseason and anything he does there is gravy.

[Arc]

manu didn't suck ass in the playoffs this year.

THANKS BELLI. WORTH EVERY PENNY!

[Spur|n|Austin]

Reminds me of Richard Jefferson. Negative impact player.
I like how people say he hit some clutch shots. WTF Odds says he's going to hit a wide open shot sooner or later.

As much as RJ would like to, he couldn't carry those Italian nuts in 4 hands.

[dabom]

As much as RJ would like to, he couldn't carry those Italian nuts in 4 hands.

RJ must have tiny hands.

[dabom]

manu didn't suck ass in the playoffs this year.

THANKS BELLI. WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Thanks Manu for not playing international ball LAST YEAR!!

[benefactor]

Marco played more minutes than anybody not named Tim Duncan during the regular season en route to 62 wins. He started 25 games when Green was slumping and others were injured and was key to the Spurs maintaining their momentum.

He shot .430 from three over the course of the season, and .421 during the playoffs. He played great against Portland, including pouring in 19 points in Game 1.

He hit one of the biggest shots of the playoffs during the third quarter of Game 3 when the Heat were making a charging comeback and had whittled the Spurs 21-point halftime lead to 7. The Spurs were spiraling at that point and his shot put the ship back on an even keel.

So yes, I think Marco can recover from the perfectly acceptable season he turned in last year. I know he's never going to be a great defender, but one more year in the system should help cover that up. Otherwise, I'm really not sure what else Spurs fans are hoping for out of det dude Beli. I guess they need a scapegoat even when we win the championship.
The goods. Grande Beli will be fine tbh. Like last season, he will play a big role in the Spurs getting the top seed yet again.

[Jimcs50]

He hit a huge shot in game 3 of Miami series when Spurs blew that huge lead.

That buys him another year.

[Chinook]

I think Marco's safe regardless. He took such a huge pay cut to come to San Antonio, that the Spurs wouldn't do him dirty by trading him to a bad team. I almost wish the team gave him the full MLE last year so they could move him with a clean conscience.

[littlecoyotecoin]

of course i do, i mean who doesn't...

I dunno, like 75% of the respondents.

[Raven]

I dunno, like 75% of the respondents.

not spurs fans tbh

[BranderC]

Belli needs to become the new Robert Horry, bouncing from contender to contender, picking up rings. And he has to get another huge, ugly-ass LOB trophy tattoo every time. Big Shot Belli!

[ducks]

everyone year a player on the spurs fails to play well all playoffs marco was it last year
spurs are deep for a reason
they can win with one not playing well for the hole playoffs

[kobyz]

He hit a huge shot in game 3 of Miami series when Spurs blew that huge lead.

That buys him another year.

And because of who we blew that lead?

[Seventyniner]

I think Marco's safe regardless. He took such a huge pay cut to come to San Antonio, that the Spurs wouldn't do him dirty by trading him to a bad team. I almost wish the team gave him the full MLE last year so they could move him with a clean conscience.

That would also have saved the FO an unforced Errors.

[Chinook]

That would also have saved the FO an unforced Errors.


Indeed, there wouldn't be this Ayres of discontent hanging over Spurstalk.

[Baseline]

Marco played more minutes than anybody not named Tim Duncan during the regular season en route to 62 wins. He started 25 games when Green was slumping and others were injured and was key to the Spurs maintaining their momentum.

He shot .430 from three over the course of the season, and .421 during the playoffs. He played great against Portland, including pouring in 19 points in Game 1.

He hit one of the biggest shots of the playoffs during the third quarter of Game 3 when the Heat were making a charging comeback and had whittled the Spurs 21-point halftime lead to 7. The Spurs were spiraling at that point and his shot put the ship back on an even keel.

So yes, I think Marco can recover from the perfectly acceptable season he turned in last year. I know he's never going to be a great defender, but one more year in the system should help cover that up. Otherwise, I'm really not sure what else Spurs fans are hoping for out of det dude Beli. I guess they need a scapegoat even when we win the championship. Great post. The fact that Marco can get hot at any second was huge for us, and he definitely had asome big moments in the playoffs this year. Let's not forget that this was his first year as a Spur - and we've learned to expect very little from a first year guy. Brent Barry took way longer than that to click in the Spurs' system - so did Steve Smith. So in my opinion, especially considering how many minutes Pop gave him, Marco greatly exceeded expectations in his first year.

[sandman]

He was terrible in the playoffs, incredibly terrible, he put the spurs at severe risk and probably cost them at least a couple of games.

Vince Carter destroyed him. Spurs won the Dallas series when he was benched. And he wasn't that good against Portland, pop had to bench him in the second half of one of those wins because Marco was ruining everything.

I don't think he can be counted on for anything better. He is who he is. He can be a decent regular season player, especially against teams that are lotto or unmotivated. He will still be a liability against well coached teams, but he can eat minutes in the regular season.

Not a Beli apologist, but let's play with real numbers. After that Dallas series, the Spurs went 12-4 with an average margin of victory at almost 20 points. They knew they were probably going to lose the Portland Game 5 because the Blazers were playing not to get swept, and they came within one shot of sweeping the Heat in the Finals. So which couple of games did he cost them? Where were they at severe risk?

Was it the Dallas series when everyone played like crap? Maybe the Game 2 loss to Dallas where he played 29 minutes? Fair enough. But you think his 15 minutes in Game 3 or his FIVE WHOLE MINUTES in Game 6 were the reason the Spurs lost those other two games? Game 2 was the only game in the entire series where he played more than 15 minutes. He only played 54 total minutes in the other 6 games.

And the Portland series? The one where the Spurs average margin of victory was over 21 points per game? Where he went 13-19 in the first three blowout games, including 6-11 from behind the arc? Yeah, that is some horrible play that really put a 35 and 28 point win at severe risk.

C'mon, we all know he is not the best player on this team. But outside of Game 2 against Dallas, you can't point to a single loss or an almost not-win that was heavily influenced by his play.

[BatManu20]

Marco is still my niqqa tbh. People saying he sucks need to kick rocks. Yes, he's a poor defender due mostly to his lack of athleticism, but he played well for us most of the regular season while eating up valuable minutes for Manu. He also came up huge against Portland in the playoffs and hit some big shots against both OKC and Miami. He's got value, especially with the payout he took to come to SA. Give him his due IMO.

[ironman2886]

Belinelli is a skilled player with a year's experience in the Spurs system. I didn't think he was really in a slump anyway. Was this thread warrented?

[timtonymanu]

I'm not a Marco fan. Thankfully the Spurs have enough guys ahead of him in the rotation.

He'll be fine in the regular season though.

[BatManu20]

Belinelli is a skilled player with a year's experience in the Spurs system. I didn't think he was really in a slump anyway. Was this thread warrented?

http://www.footlocker.eu/ns/kdi/resources/images/grid/marco.gif

[littlecoyotecoin]

Indeed, there wouldn't be this Ayres of discontent hanging over Spurstalk.

Bahaha, I thought we had exhausted all the Ayres jokes. Let's keep 'em coming I guess. Poor guy.