Should Finley remain the starter throughout the playoffs? [Archive]

Amuseddaysleeper

04-06-2007, 02:25 AM

timvp

04-06-2007, 02:27 AM

As of right now, I think it makes more sense with Finley starting. Barry has had the better season, but Barry is a bad matchup against Dallas and Phoenix. Finley also seems to be less of a chucker when he's playing with the starters.

Amuseddaysleeper

04-06-2007, 02:31 AM

but timvp, with our bench as sketchy as it is (though it has improved a lot since the All star break) isn't it a better idea to keep some extra firepower on the bench?

also, do you guys think manu will be starting come playoff time?

ManuTim_best of Fwiendz

04-06-2007, 02:32 AM

I think he will at some point depending on the opponent.

Though I'm not sure if Pop will do it immediately, because it'll be another adjustment and the team's been going with this approach for a bout two months now.

anakha

04-06-2007, 02:33 AM

Hmm...interesting question...

Well, I'll admit right now to liking Manu off the bench because of the team dynamic when starting the game. The initial offense seems more focused when you only have two primary weapons on the floor. And with a general rotation of two out of the big three throughout the game, each one has ample opportunities to be the main option.

Between Barry and Finley...hmm...

Who contributes more offensively to the team aside from shooting?

Who needs more time on the floor to find his shooting touch?

Who defends better?

Assuming Manu stays the sixth man, who complements Manu's style more? That person should ideally come off the bench along with him.

This is hardly an educated answer, but because the offense seems to run better with him on the floor (ball movement looks crisper), I'm gonna go with Barry.

polandprzem

04-06-2007, 02:38 AM

Barry is playing the same from the bench as he is a starter and I think Mike feels better with starters

Manu Barry combo of the bench :)

THE SIXTH MAN

04-06-2007, 02:40 AM

Free James White

whottt

04-06-2007, 03:21 AM

If starting Finley keeps him from being hte PF in smallball...you bet.

We actually do better with Barry playing that role anyway(seems funny, but we beat the Nets and Suns in 05 with Barry pulling minutes as the PF in small ball).

I don't think it matter if Barry starts or not...he plays about the same whether starting or off the bench. I still say Barry serves us best as a ball handler..it makes his game better, it makes our offense better...

I don't care if he starts...it's not like he earned the job over Manu(and neither has Finley).

ShoogarBear

04-06-2007, 03:25 AM

Yeah, I'm also thinking the more minutes Finley sees as a starter, the less minutes he may see at PF.

I don't think Barry is a bad matchup against Phoenix, though.

whottt

04-06-2007, 03:27 AM

By the way Kori...

Finley against Amare is the one small ball matchup that I do like better than anythign else. That was one of the positives of the Finley signing I thought...Finley played really well against Amare in the 05 playoffs for Dallas. Still not too crazy about closing out games with any kind of small ball lineup though...and if starting Finley somehow keeps that from happening...I say please start Finley.

Amazing how much better Finley is when he's playing against someone his size though, isn't it?

He got most of those boards tonight playing in the conventional lineup.

timvp

04-06-2007, 03:45 AM

I don't think Barry is a bad matchup against Phoenix, though.

You would be comfortable with Barry guarding Marion?

whottt

04-06-2007, 04:03 AM

Marion's not the problem and stopping Marion really isn't that hard...it's stopping Nash that's hard. Marion is not a dominant player...he's supporting character to the nth degree.

Kori Ellis

04-06-2007, 04:56 AM

Marion's not the problem and stopping Marion really isn't that hard...it's stopping Nash that's hard. Marion is not a dominant player...he's supporting character to the nth degree.

He averages 18 and 10. If it's not hard to stop him, more teams should be doing it.

aaronstampler

04-06-2007, 05:08 AM

He averages 18 and 10. If it's not hard to stop him, more teams should be doing it.

He doesn't get any of that 18 in the half court though. He gets it all on transition, three pointers, and offensive rebounds. We stopped all of those things today, but a lot of teams can't stop any.

In half court he's like their 4th option.

For the record I would like to see Fin start for many of the reasons others have said. I think Fin just sees himself that way and he's comfortable with it. And I think teams have kind of figured out the 2nd unit when it's Manu and Fin. They're trapping Manu aggressively and making Fin shoot it. When he's hot it's okay, but when he's not we struggle. Maybe with Brent instead we could burn them with threes more consistently or at least make the second pass after Manu makes the first pass.

Ronaldo McDonald

04-06-2007, 05:17 AM

He averages 18 and 10. If it's not hard to stop him, more teams should be doing it.

You know it's funny, because I was thinking about the fact that Marion has pretty much been a no-show when the Spurs play the Suns when i was watching the suns/spurs game. The reason why is because the Spurs don't get out and run, therefore he becomes less productive on the glass and doesn't get any fast break lay ups, which is how he earns most of his points. To top that off the Spurs three most dominant players-manu, tony, and tim-aren't really ever guarded by him, so he is stuck with guarding a lot of the second-tier and thrid tier options, which includes Barry, Oberto, Elson, Finley, Bonner, which means neither steals nor blocks.

Most teams just really suck, that's why they can't stop him. I think he is one of the most overrated players in the league. Their style and point guard make his numbers deceitful.

Bruno

04-06-2007, 05:32 AM

I've voted for Barry.

I really like Manu from the bench, the main reason is that it allows to have always at least 2 players from the big 3 on the court at the same time.

I rather have Barry starting than Finley because Barry brings some balhandling/playmaking skills. These skills are more needed when Manu isn't on the court. As long as Barry isn't a defensive liability because of a bad matchup, I like him as a starter.

yavozerb

04-06-2007, 05:55 AM

[QUOTE=Bruno]I've voted for Barry.

I really like Manu from the bench, the main reason is that it allows to have always at least 2 players from the big 3 on the court at the same time.

I rather have Barry starting than Finley because Barry brings some balhandling/playmaking skills. These skills are more needed when Manu isn't on the court. As long as Barry isn't a defensive liability because of a bad matchup, I like him as a starter.[/QUO
He is always a defensive liability..Against the top teams in the west you name a good defensive matchup with barry?

powerpower

04-06-2007, 06:16 AM

Finley deserves it but I kinda like having him and Manu off the bench as that spark.

Does Barry tend to play better as a starter as oppose to a bench player?

hey, if it ain't broke, why fix it :)

(amazing what a win over the Suns will do for everyone's attitude towards the team :lol)

Please don't write about who deserves it or not!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because manu is the one who DESERVES IT THE MOST....so if finley and barry have gotten their confidence BACK ...they shoud be on the bench and manu should be starting damn it...
i mean he is shooting the same amount of shots just his minutes and rotation are skrewed up like in the suns' game he played the first couple of minutes of the 4th and then sat out and then came in the 5 mark he should be playing the last 9 minutes of the 4th ALWAYS!!!!

Manu has earned his STARTING spot and the other two have not..............if they want to help the team they should practice their shooting abilities...i mean why should manu take their responsibilities....i know for the team............but why should only ONE PERSON SUFFER for the TEAM???

whottt

04-06-2007, 06:16 AM

He averages 18 and 10. If it's not hard to stop him, more teams should be doing it.

Not really...he plays for one of the most talented teams in the league.

I mean he's a talented guy...but he's not dominant, he doesn't take over the game..if you focus your team to stop him he can be stopped easily for a guy that puts up the quality of numbers he has over his career.

I mean I'd take the guy on my team...but he'd be SARs if he didn't have a habit of playing with HOF level PGs every year.

He's not the killer on that team...Nash and Stoudamire are the killers.

Marion is a lot like Sean Elliott in the way he impacts a agame...not much directly.

He's not a bad player don't get me wrong, he an extremely valuable type of player, and his value goes up the better the team he plays on. He's just not a dominant player to me.

AFBlue

04-06-2007, 06:48 AM

Not really...he plays for one of the most talented teams in the league.

I mean he's a talented guy...but he's not dominant, he doesn't take over the game..if you focus your team to stop him he can be stopped easily for a guy that puts up the quality of numbers he has over his career.

I mean I'd take the guy on my team...but he'd be SARs if he didn't have a habit of playing with HOF level PGs every year.

He's not the killer on that team...Nash and Stoudamire are the killers.

Marion is a lot like Sean Elliott in the way he impacts a agame...not much directly.

He's not a bad player don't get me wrong, he an extremely valuable type of player, and his value goes up the better the team he plays on. He's just not a dominant player to me.

Marion takes over PLENTY of games. He's gone over 30 points plenty of times and is a double-double machine. Yes, he's at his best in transition, but he's a very good slasher and is good at drawing fouls in the half-court game....it's just that the Spurs focus in on him because he's their best wing player. Marion doesn't play well against the Spurs because the Spurs MAKE SURE he doesn't...

On the topic of this thread, go with the hot hand in Finley.

Bruno

04-06-2007, 06:49 AM

He is always a defensive liability..Against the top teams in the west you name a good defensive matchup with barry?

Barry is a defensive liability compared to Finley when he ahs to defend on strong/big players.
If Spurs face Lakers in the first round, Barry will have a lot of difficulties against Walton. If Spurs face Clippers or Nuggets in the first round, Barry will be fine against Blake or Mobley.

Texas_Ranger

04-06-2007, 06:53 AM

I hope he'll start. I like Manu from the bench.

Taco

04-06-2007, 07:32 AM

Let Barry Go Back To Starting

I Like Fin And Manu In Together

SpursFanInAustin

04-06-2007, 07:51 AM

I was thinking about making a post like this last night. I see Kori beat me to the punch :hat

Good question though. I think a lot of Finley's confidence has come from playing next to Manu off the bench, but lately he's been on his game as a starter. And Barry has been a little off an on lately. i think it all depends on matchups. As someone said earlier, if we face LA, Finley is a better matchup against the 6'8 Luke Walton than Barry is. Finley is just a little bit stronger than Barry, and I think Walton would exploit Barry in the post a lot easier than Finley. But as of now, I'd say stick with the hot hand. I think against Phoenix and Dallas, Barry is a better matchup. Barry usually plays well against Phoenix because I think he likes their style of play and plays better against teams who run and gun. But that's just my opinion.

TMTTRIO

04-06-2007, 08:15 AM

powerpower

04-06-2007, 08:31 AM

Manu's has been sucking lately and hasn't been doing anything recently from the bench so I think it's time to start increasing his minutes for the playoffs. Brent and Michael are really doing well and I think they can continue to bring it off the bench. All I'm concerned with now is that Manu gains some kind of confidence and rhythm back by playoff time :depressed :depressed .

Totally agree with you!!
Now it's their time to sacrifice for the TEAM!
Manu needs to get his confidence b/c we ain't gonna win w/o him....u know who comes to play come playoff time...

spursintpe

04-06-2007, 08:34 AM

It seems the last several games that Manu's minutes have been between 20 and 25. Is that about average for him? Does the team need more than 7 pts. from him during playoffs? If not, then keep Barry or Finley in the start. If they do, it seems something needs to happen to jumpstart Manu again. Rhythm or confidence or something.

MoSpur

04-06-2007, 08:49 AM

I like when Barry and Manu play together off the bench. They play a great transition game together. They are excellent passers in the open court. If Beno were to actually give a crap, all three of them would be even better coming off the bench.

my2sons

04-06-2007, 09:02 AM

i will say this, I like Fin and am glad that he's come so far from where most of thes posters and i'd dare say even kori were mid season and back on their opinions of this guy. Seems like a spurs guy to the nth degree....slow starter strong finisher...plus now its nice to have a problem of finding minutes for brent, fin, bruce and manu since they are playing well. I kinda like fin and manu together and brent starting for some of the reasons given, ball handling and spotting up for timmy. Fin can spot up for manu and still get his shots. I think barry doesn't need as many shots to get into a rithym as fin does and thats a good thing with tony and timmy in the starting line up taking the majority of the shots.

T-Pain

04-06-2007, 12:59 PM

findog has won back my heart for the starting job

ShoogarBear

04-06-2007, 01:12 PM

You would be comfortable with Barry guarding Marion?I don't think you really design game plans to stop Marion. I agree with the concept that Marion has good games when his teammates are having good games, and when they're not, he's not going to be a guy who can take over and beat you.

Can Barry really guard Marion? No. But If Bruce can do what he did last night to Nash consistently, you can probably get away with it.

They got away with playing Barry a lot in 05.

Cry Havoc

04-06-2007, 01:20 PM

I don't think you really design game plans to stop Marion. I agree with the concept that Marion has good games when his teammates are having good games, and when they're not, he's not going to be a guy who can take over and beat you.

Can Barry really guard Marion? No. But If Bruce can do what he did last night to Nash consistently, you can probably get away with it.

They got away with playing Barry a lot in 05.

Yep. I hate dubbing players as "system" stars, but Marion really really utilizes the Suns running offense to boost his stats. He isn't comfortable in a half-court offense and against a good defender needs really open looks to get points.

The main difference between the Spurs and every other team in the league when playing the Suns is simple. We contest shots and don't leave their shooters open. That's it.

Pugglekicker_21

04-06-2007, 03:37 PM

i like how we handled Phx last night. I say the same concept would have worked had Barry been healthy, and from the bench. Against the Lakers I'd rather have finley than ABrry simply because Finley is a bit stronger, and I like him more on D. with Manu and Barry coming off the bench, we'd have Barry's 3 and Manu's slash. And we could rotate the big three around.