Start Diaw?

[Malik Hairston]

Should Pop stick with the same starting unit following the W and a 3-2 series lead, or try to get off to a quicker start with Boris in the starting lineup?

Obviously Diaw fits really well with the bench unit, but Splitter can barely move, at the moment..more importantly, the lack of spacing is killing the starting unit IMO..

I was watching the Clippers feed, and their announcers kept mentioning that Doc reiterated that it's a priority to run Danny Green off the line and not give him looks, which is evident since he hasn't had many clean looks since game 1..last night, he only had 2 open 3s(the final shot of the game off Kawhi's pass + the 3 he made with the bench unit), the spacing is awful with Splitter on the floor and Parker's inability to penetrate effectively..

Boris isn't making open 3s, Clippers are begging him to shoot, but it's probably still worth it..

The Parker/Green/Leonard/Diaw/Duncan unit has been noticeably better than the starting lineup, overall, should Pop make the switch, or stick with the regular lineup and keep hoping Tiago can tough it out?

[in2deep]

if splitter is hurting badly we will probably start bonner. Diaw plays well with patty and manu

[Malik Hairston]

Ya, Bonner is an alternative, too, he even made some shots last night..

[benstanfield]

No lineup we put out there is gonna beat their starting 5 out of the gate tbh... Best you can hope to do is stay relatively even and have a good counterpunch from the bench. Starting Boris would mean more minutes for Baynes/Bonner, and that's more time where Doc can rest Griffin and stick Big Baby out there. I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to starting Diaw, but our bench scoring has been the reason Doc has overplayed his starters and they've run out of gas twice in this series.

[Robz4000]

Keep Diaw on the bench unit and start Bonner if anything.

[Malik Hairston]

I've enjoyed the lineups with Kawhi at the 4, although they have resulted in poor outcomes, unfortunately, when Jordan leaves the floor:lol..

[SpursFan86]

Saw a stat yesterday...Parker/Green/Kawhi/Diaw/Duncan lineup has had a net rating of like +23 this series. It's definitely been more effective than the normal starting lineup with Splitter.

I wouldn't mind it.

[benstanfield]

I've enjoyed the lineups with Kawhi at the 4, although they have resulted in poor outcomes, unfortunately, when Jordan leaves the floor:lol..

I honestly don't understand why we haven't even tried Kawhi on Griffin. He's exactly the same weight as Lebron, does most of his damage in transition or off the dribble, and arguably has a worse jumpshot/postup combo.

[ElNono]

The main concern is early foul trouble for Boris, kinda like yesterday. With Tiago, Bonner and Baynes being flat out horrible on offense, the Spurs can't really afford Boris to sit for long stretches.

[Arcadian]

Yes Diaw should start, I've been saying that. That's been our best lineup since 2013. Twin tower offense doesn't work anymore. We've known this. And anyway, Boris is simply a better player than Tiago. Play your best players.

[apalisoc_9]

Pop is just hoping for a confidence game from splitter at this point. He should have started Diaw starting game 4...

[#2!]

if splitter is hurting badly we will probably start bonner. Diaw plays well with patty and manu

The Clippers have been playing Bonner the right way, aka not giving a fuck about him on either end of the floor. He's getting wide open shots, because Rivers (unlike Brooks last season) realizes that he can't make anything. If you started Bonner, you'd have to hope he catches fire, which is a risky way to start a playoff game. I'd rather stick with Splitter. If I'm going to hope a player has a break out game, then I go with the guy that has played well sometime in the last 2 years.

[DAF86]

Stay the course, on this series I like the change of pace we provide bringing our bench against their shitty bench or tired starters.

[Spur-Addict]

My main problem with Splitter is transition defense. He's laboring up the court, and Blake is just getting the ball and going to coast to coast. The Duncan/Diaw lineup is far more effective against this, but I would rather have Diaw for the bench as it is an advantage that is too overwhelming to adjust at this point. Also, I don't want Diaw in early on taking, Hack-A-Jordan fouls as he will be needed to close the game. The last thing anyone wants is Splitter/Baynes in a late game situation in an elimination game(s). Not only will they get killed, they will not get any respect from the referees.

As someone has mentioned already, having Bonner log minutes hasn't been terrible up to this point, so perhaps increasing his minutes may preferable if Splitter continues to show complete ineffectiveness. Although he had a nice post-up at one point. It just seems as if he's not pushing mind over matter. You could see Tony started to push harder last night, pushing the limits of his current situation and he did improve, however it was a small improvement. But in a situation like this, putting on your big boy pants and giving it your all may move the needle just enough, especially in a close-out game. Splitter needs to step his mental game up. You can see him thinking and doubting.

[SpursFan86]

Yes Diaw should start, I've been saying that. That's been our best lineup since 2013. Twin tower offense doesn't work anymore. We've known this. And anyway, Boris is simply a better player than Tiago. Play your best players.

It works really well when Splitter is healthy and playing well. We won 21 out of 25 games and were blowing people out with Tiago/Tim both starting. The problem right now is that Splitter doesn't look 100%, and he's playing like shit. He's averaging 2 ppg for fuck's sake :lol

I'm a bit worried about it tbh. I can't tell if he's just out of rhythm, or if the calf is really bothering him and preventing him from playing the way he usually does. It'd be really, really nice if he could start giving us quality minutes again. Duncan is playing 36 mpg this series, and if we beat LAC, we'll have to face Dwight next round. I'd prefer not to run a 39-year old Duncan into the ground before we even make the WCF.

[Brunodf]

]It works really well when Splitter is healthy and playing well[/U]. We won 21 out of 25 games and were blowing people out with Tiago/Tim both starting. The problem right now is that Splitter doesn't look 100%, and he's playing like shit. He's averaging 2 ppg for fuck's sake :lol

I'm a bit worried about it tbh. I can't tell if he's just out of rhythm, or if the calf is really bothering him and preventing him from playing the way he usually does. It'd be really, really nice if he could start giving us quality minutes again. Duncan is playing 36 mpg this series, and if we beat LAC, we'll have to face Dwight next round. I'd prefer not to run a 39-year old Duncan into the ground before we even make the WCF.
Also Parker/Green not playing well is hurting the starting lineup a lot... If it was just Splitter this series wouldve been over in 4...

[ohmwrecker]

The 2nd unit is the only thing that saved the Spurs from falling into a deeper hole than the one the starters dug in the 1st. Why would you change that? The starters need to play better.

[TD 21]

I'd imagine they do a lot of work on Splitter just before the game to get him warmed up, so they might as well stick with him to start. Plus, it keeps the usual rotation intact, get's Diaw a breather and avoids the possibility of him getting into early foul trouble.

Also, if Splitter takes none of the defensive PF minutes, then inevitably Bonner will have to (I'm fine with giving him spot minutes on Davis, but nothing more), as there's almost no small ball being played. That said, if the starting lineup continues to struggle, I'd go away from it in the 2nd half.

As for Green, every team makes it a priority to run him and any other lethal 3-point shooter off the line. The primary reason for their success at doing so, is the Spurs' inability to consistently break down their defense. This is due to Parker's injuries/decline and Ginobili's decline.

[mkurts]

No Bonner would start and his fouls used on Jordan.

We also need Baynes to be even more physical with Jordan and Griffin as well

[Darius McCrary]

Should Pop stick with the same starting unit following the W and a 3-2 series lead, or try to get off to a quicker start with Boris in the starting lineup?

Obviously Diaw fits really well with the bench unit, but Splitter can barely move, at the moment..more importantly, the lack of spacing is killing the starting unit IMO..

I was watching the Clippers feed, and their announcers kept mentioning that Doc reiterated that it's a priority to run Danny Green off the line and not give him looks, which is evident since he hasn't had many clean looks since game 1..last night, he only had 2 open 3s(the final shot of the game off Kawhi's pass + the 3 he made with the bench unit), the spacing is awful with Splitter on the floor and Parker's inability to penetrate effectively..

Boris isn't making open 3s, Clippers are begging him to shoot, but it's probably still worth it..

The Parker/Green/Leonard/Diaw/Duncan unit has been noticeably better than the starting lineup, overall, should Pop make the switch, or stick with the regular lineup and keep hoping Tiago can tough it out?

LOL you been doing your "tbh.. :lol" bit about Danny getting open looks the entire series.
Fail.