Whose minutes will Finley take?

So if Finley is soon to return . . . do we all agree that he will be playing?

So who loses out?

Hill, Mason and Manu of course are largely playing well now. I sure don't want to see Hill lose any minutes, if anything he should play more.

Jefferson gets paid too much to lose minutes.

Bogans gets minutes because Jefferson can't defend anyone. Can't see Finley taking any minutes from the guy who gets them because of his defense.

Do the minutes come from McDyess or Blair/Bonner? Will there be small-ball mania from Pop?

Have to wait and see if Pop's man-crush on Finley has been replaced by the case that the Spurs are playing better without him. With that said, If Finley goes back to getting major minutes, I'll be pissed. Especially if it becomes detrimental to the Spurs performance on the court.

I think it'll depend on the situation.

If we don't need a stopper out there and Bogans is on another 1-7 shooting night I can see Finley getting some of his minutes.

If Pop is wanting to get Ginobli some rest on b2b nights I can see Finley getting those minutes.

I don't see Finley getting any of Hill's minutes simply because of Parkers PF.

Mason's been playing pretty good lately so I can't tell there.

I don't see him getting major minutes anymore. 15 tops, unless injury, someone resting on a b2b, or foul trouble.

If anybody, it would have to be Mason..... but the way Mason has played, I would rather see finley on the bench....

Mason for tall ball, Blair/Dice for small ball... I see him playing circa 15 minutes a night

Hopefully he takes the minutes of Hairston and Haislip..

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Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37

Hopefully he takes the minutes of Hairston and Haislip..

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:lmao:lmao:lmao

I think we will see a continuation of Pop's (new?) pragmatic approach to minutes. If someone isn't hitting Pop will give someone else a shot. Similar to the reduction of RMJ and increase of Hill against OKC.

If Finley comes in and hits shots, Spurs fans don't have grounds to bitch. Same goes for Bonners return.

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Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37

Hopefully he takes the minutes of Hairston and Haislip..

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Man, I'd love to see alot more of Haislip especially during gametime & not just trash time!

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Originally Posted by objective

So if Finley is soon to return . . . do we all agree that he will be playing?

So who loses out?

Hill, Mason and Manu of course are largely playing well now. I sure don't want to see Hill lose any minutes, if anything he should play more.

Jefferson gets paid too much to lose minutes.

Bogans gets minutes because Jefferson can't defend anyone. Can't see Finley taking any minutes from the guy who gets them because of his defense.

Do the minutes come from McDyess or Blair/Bonner? Will there be small-ball mania from Pop?

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:toast
This is a good topic. I wanted to start a thread like this but figured there'd be too much Fuck Finley talk and then would transform into Fuck Bonner and be really annoying. Thanks for bringing this up and encouraging a look at the inevitable reality of a rotation adjustment.

First off, I have to address this. At no point in time will/should "Jefferson gets paid too much to lose minutes" ever be a legitimate factor when it comes to rotation. Whoever is playing well or whoever matches up well will play. I don't even think that Finley's skill set will ever be more valuable than Jefferson's, or more accurately that Finley's skill set will replace Jefferson's, but we just can't pretend that Gregg Popovich would ever create a rotation influenced by salary. ...and we really shouldn't ever discuss Jefferson's contract until the season is over and it's time to evaluate the roster. Seriously, his contract is a moot point when discussing rotations and how Michael Finley fits.
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Moving on...I actually thought Finley was going to eventually get a few inactives while Hairston or maybe Ian was the 12th man.

First of all, Pop will slowly allow him to get his legs back so it will be a few weeks before we see how Finley fits in the rotation. And if Finley comes back before Bonner you might see Finley playing 10-15 mpg probably at small forward when Jefferson plays power forward. I'm not convinced it will work but if Pop deems it necessary to play Jefferson at 4 instead of bringing Ratliff, Haislip, or Ian in then I'd like to see what Finley can do instead of Bogans or Mason playing small forward. I think I saw a few stretches where instead of Manu playing the 3 we had Bogans and Mason(actually I know it was happening last night, but think I saw it previously as well). Unless we're playing the Knicks or the Warriors that lineup is way too vulnerable on defense.

I don't actually think we'll see that small of a small-ball lineup again, especially because I believe Bonner will get thrown at the 4 with Blair or McDyess at 5 when Duncan's resting.

I definitely see Pop throwing Finley in during situations where there's one play left in the quarter. For example:

0:17 left in 2nd quarter, Spurs call time out and inbound at half court; lineup is Finley on the in-bounds, Hill, Mason, Manu, and Bonner on the perimeter. Manu gets the ball and sets up and isolation, he drives and either takes it strong or kicks it out to any one of our high percentage 3 point shooters. After the play Finley goes back to bench.

Again, my guess is that we won't be able to immediately tell what Finley's role is. I imagine Pop will go easy on him until he gets back in shape. And now that the team has fit more into certain roles it will be a few weeks before Pop decides how long and with whom he likes Finley on the court.

Duncan McDyess Mahinmi Ratliff
Bonner Blair Haislip
Jefferson Manu Finley
Bogans Mason Hairston
Parker Hill

Bold on the I/R, rotate out when we rest Duncan/Ginobili. Hairston with the Toros. I put Bonner starting (when he returns) because supposedly that works well with Duncan, and I just like seeing Blair and Manu play together.

Should we rest Parker at all to try to get rid of his plantar fasciitus? There's a brief stretch after the All-Star break where the opposition isn't so bad; I wonder if Parker could heal with two weeks off? He could miss @Indiana, @Philadelphia, @Detroit and vs. Oklahoma. That would give him two weeks, if it would do any good (most treatments I've read include a boot for 3 weeks or more).

Hill, Manu and Mason could play point for a week. I just hate the thought of going into the playoffs with a hobbled Parker, especially when it looks like we could actually do some damage this year if we're healthy.

i hope finley gets the ratliff treatment. it's too late in the season for finley to be part of the rotation. he should only be getting minutes when the game is a blowout. maybe like a 5-7 minute man.

I just hope Finley takes over the old Steve Kerr role. Situational shooter and the like.

whoa i just saw lebron get injured!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perhaps Finley will take Mike Miller's or Nick Young's minutes.
Gotta keep the dream alive.

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Originally Posted by lennyalderette

whoa i just saw lebron get injured!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Looked like he hurt his left ankle but hobbled off his right!
After the timout the hop was gone, he missed his 2nd free throw got his own board & hit a three!!

He'll be the Steve Smith of this team.

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Originally Posted by HarlemHeat37

Hopefully he takes the minutes of Hairston and Haislip..

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I hope pop just brings him in to shoot which he apparently cant do as well either. He's borderline useless. His minutes should be in practice offering veteran knowledge to the young guns.

the 2 oxymorons better go out there earn their minutes...

He can have Ian's or Hairston's minutes.

He should get Hairston and Haislips minutes.

He'll get traded for a backup point guard who can play center and block shots.

He'll play less than 10 mins a game from now on. Pops can't be that idiotic. The team is playing great right now.

honestly, I hope he doesn't even take anyone's minutes during practice!

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Originally Posted by L.I.T

I just hope Finley takes over the old Steve Kerr role. Situational shooter and the like.

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:tu

I do not see him replacing anyone right now. The Spurs have played their best basketball since Finley and then Bonner went down. I know Bonner was shooting and playing well at one point, but we were not winning the games. The Lineup pop has now can bring everything that they need. There is no need to change.

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Originally Posted by loveforthegame

I think it'll depend on the situation.

If we don't need a stopper out there and Bogans is on another 1-7 shooting night I can see Finley getting some of his minutes.

If Pop is wanting to get Ginobli some rest on b2b nights I can see Finley getting those minutes.

I don't see him getting major minutes anymore. 15 tops, unless injury, someone resting on a b2b, or foul trouble.

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This.

I see him as strictly a Manu and Mason backup coming in for 10-18 per night depending on the situation. I don't think he replaces Bogans unless our offense is lacking down the stretch of some games (like against Toronto or Dallas for example).

The real quandry, with Blair coming into his own is how Pop will re-integrate Bonner.

Bonner is much more valuable than Finley at this point, Bonner off the bench for 5-10 minutes a night is instant offense.

The Spurs have employed a nine-man rotation since Bonner's injury. At this point in the season, I can see them going back to a ten-man rotation, but not eleven. So who falls out of the rotation?

At the time of Finley's injury he had been reduced from starting SG to backup SF and was playing around 12mpg. His injury moved Manu into the backup SF role and opened minutes at SG for Mason and Hill.

Bonner was averaging around 20mpg as the 3rd or 4th big in the rotation. His minutes have largely been filled by an increase in minutes for Blair and a marked increase in smallball from the early part of the season. The increase in smallball further increased Mason's minutes as he played SF in smallball sets in addition to his minutes at SG.

So Mason has the most to lose when Bonner and Finley are ready to play. Bonner will, IMO, almost certainly get back a spot in the rotation, perhaps at the 15mpg level rather than at 20mpg. Most of Bonner's minutes will come from a return to early season smallball levels. This will negatively impact Mason's minutes.

The impact of Finley's return is more difficult to predict. He could go back to a role as backup SF playing about 12mpg. At least 4 of those minutes could come from reducing Manu from the 29mpg he has averaged in January back down to about 25mpg. The other 8 minutes would hit Mason the hardest.

The other possible option is for Finley to be reduced to Hairston's role plus a few minutes as designated shooter. Since I believe that the Spurs will not employ an eleven-man rotation at this point in the season, it seems inevitable to me that it will come down to Finley and Mason for the role of Human Victory Cigar/Designated Shooter.

Unless Spurs play a lot of small ball, there isn't minutes available for all Spurs' perimeter player. One of Mason or Finley will be in the doghouse and with Mason playing well lately, it could be Finley.

With Finley being quite expendable, his expiring contract is also a nice trading asset.

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Originally Posted by Mel_13

The Spurs have employed a nine-man rotation since Bonner's injury. At this point in the season, I can see them going back to a ten-man rotation, but not eleven. So who falls out of the rotation?

At the time of Finley's injury he had been reduced from starting SG to backup SF and was playing around 12mpg. His injury moved Manu into the backup SF role and opened minutes at SG for Mason and Hill.

Bonner was averaging around 20mpg as the 3rd or 4th big in the rotation. His minutes have largely been filled by an increase in minutes for Blair and a marked increase in smallball from the early part of the season. The increase in smallball further increased Mason's minutes as he played SF in smallball sets in addition to his minutes at SG.

So Mason has the most to lose when Bonner and Finley are ready to play. Bonner will, IMO, almost certainly get back a spot in the rotation, perhaps at the 15mpg level rather than at 20mpg. Most of Bonner's minutes will come from a return to early season smallball levels. This will negatively impact Mason's minutes.

The impact of Finley's return is more difficult to predict. He could go back to a role as backup SF playing about 12mpg. At least 4 of those minutes could come from reducing Manu from the 29mpg he has averaged in January back down to about 25mpg. The other 8 minutes would hit Mason the hardest.

The other possible option is for Finley to be reduced to Hairston's role plus a few minutes as designated shooter. Since I believe that the Spurs will not employ an eleven-man rotation at this point in the season, it seems inevitable to me that it will come down to Finley and Mason for the role of Human Victory Cigar/Designated Shooter.

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Very good take.

I don't want to think about Finley's pending return. This time apart has been too enjoyable.

Sorry, Fin. Nothing personal but you aren't a rotation player on a championship team any longer ... and I doubt Pop realizes that.

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Originally Posted by timvp

Very good take.

I don't want to think about Finley's pending return. This time apart has been too enjoyable.

Sorry, Fin. Nothing personal but you aren't a rotation player on a championship team any longer ... and I doubt Pop realizes that.

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:lol ouch, but true

Unless we make a trade....

Bonner will return to the bench for Blair when he returns, and Finley will replace Mason.

Both moves I disagree with, but it's Pop, who fucking knows what he'll do.

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

the 2 oxymorons better go out there earn their minutes...

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excellent

I hope Finley takes some of Parker's minutes. Tony needs to play less with his foot injury, IMO.

If Bogans keeps shooting 1-7 and Mason has a couple more 2-6, 2-8 shooting nights, Finley will get his chance back into the rotation on that alone.

We really need a legit starting wing..

Bonner and Finley will provide some fresh legs out there at least. Some of these guys look gassed and it's not going to get any better when the RRT comes along.

If nothing else, they were shooting the ball well before injury.

Finley with fresh legs . . . ugh :depressed

From the post game recap.

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Popovich said G Michael Finley (ankle) is “within a week or a week and a half” of returning.

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It's so strange that he's out at least another week.

/rant on

Bogans is a good defensive player but there is a reason nobody was knocking at his door this past off season..until Popovich called and gave the poor guy a job.

He can't be counted on to knock down shots with any kind of accuracy when it matters. Cuz he's not just missing them slightly, his shots are barely catching iron alot of times.

It really pisses me off that we threw a good young potential rotation player in the making (Hairston) away in order to get this guy off the unemployment line.

/rant off

Oh, and to keep this thread related, if it would mean Bogans goes to the end of the bench, I would even suggest starting Finley again.

if Finley is back in one week, he would have been out for 7 weeks while the initial diagnostic was 2 to 4 weeks. That's quite strange.

If he actually missed one more week, my initial prediction would have been correct.

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Originally Posted by TJastal

/rant on

Bogans is a good defensive player but there is a reason nobody was knocking at his door this past off season..until Popovich called and gave the poor guy a job.

He can't be counted on to knock down shots with any kind of accuracy when it matters. Cuz he's not just missing them slightly, his shots are barely catching iron alot of times.

It really pisses me off that we threw a good young potential rotation player in the making (Hairston) away in order to get this guy off the unemployment line.

/rant off

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What has Hairston shown you that makes you think he's a good player in the making?

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Originally Posted by Bruno

if Finley is back in one week, he would have been out for 7 weeks while the initial diagnostic was 2 to 4 weeks. That's quite strange.

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when I went back to check when he got hurt and reports and such I found expectations of 4-6 weeks. Was it revised after an initial diagnosis?

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Originally Posted by objective

when I went back to check when he got hurt and reports and such I found expectations of 4-6 weeks. Was it revised after an initial diagnosis?

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Yep, it was. At first it was 2 to 4, then 4 to 6 and it looks like he will miss 7 weeks.

Missing 7 weeks due to ankle sprain is very strange to me, even if it was a grade 2..I've had major sprained ankles and came back to play ball in a few weeks, I see it in the NBA all the time..I realize it takes longer to heal as you get older, but 7 weeks is still a very long time for this type of injury IMO..

Hopefully the Spurs have been shopping Finley around or something..