i dont think splitter himself would say that....
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the point of Splitter having been or not been one of the best centers is irrelevent. who cares. the bottom line is he can play when given the opportunity because he's showed that and he has a skillset that can be used. and by "opportunity" i don't mean inserting him in the lineup with the second unit or in trash time with the scrubs, or playing him in scattered minutes and seeing whether he sinks or swims. that is ludicrous. that is not how you measure all players' worth, particularly role players. by "opportunity" i mean playing with the best players. when he has been given these opportunities--which are few and far between-- he has actually done a good job considering how much limited time he has played with them. the games against Sacramento, Golden State, and Denver are the ones that stick out.
the media needs to bust his balls about this, but they're pussies.
I've been posting about the Spurs being frauds for months now, and Splitter is the biggest part of that.
This is not a title contending team with worn out McDyess, undersized (and 2nd year slump imo) Blair, and playoff choking Matt Bonner all in the big rotation over Splitter. Hell, 10-Day Turnover Steve Novak is ahead of Splitter.
It's a joke, and the punchline is so great because of all the posters who continually pooh-poohed any concern over Splitter's lack of time all season. First it was "Bonner is the 5th big!" then came the "He missed camp, he's being worked in slowly", then the "Why mess up a good thing?" nonsense.
The Spurs are frauds who win games based on good health and the individual efforts of the big three with some regular season help from Gary Neal. That won't be good enough to win a title. They still have choke artists and disappearing acts like Bonner and Jefferson getting ready for playoff mode, they still don't have enough size without an established Splitter, and have unproven playoff commodities like Neal who could pull a Roger Mason, though I feel Neal's game is more well-rounded and can avoid a complete disaster.
Pop messing things up with his stubborness and his grudges has been posted about forever, but it seems more people are waking up to it. It's not a 'fire Pop!' declaration, it's just a frank admitting of his weaknesses; remember, nobody's perfect.
Splitter was the damn MVP of the second greatest league in the world and is getting bench-stomped by Steve Novak.
It's a disgrace, on par with some 10-day scrub getting Bowen's number.
Hope this isn't true. Bowen's number should have been retired already. It's a disgrace that they've retired Avery's number and not Bruce's.
I'd never even heard of Steve Novak before he joined the Spurs.
It's a sad day in Spurs history when Pop went away from 7 footers such as Rasho and Nazr (around Dal 06 series) in favor of Bonner. No amount of practice or rotation on defense is going to matter when opponents' 7 footers are just going to shoot/rebound right over the plethora of 6' 6" players that Pop/FO are in love with & who get PT over Splitter.
The saddest thing is that the young, mobile 7 footer who might be the missing piece has been sitting on the bench in what has been otherwise a dream season where everything (health, team chemistry, rested TP and Manu) has fallen into place. Seems like a missed opportunity as it's too late now to integrate him.
And what a disservice to Duncan (in what probably is his last realistic chance of #5) instead of giving him help, he's got to wear himself out covering for Bonner/Blair. It's pathetic how bad the defense is when an almost 35 year old sits.
That is a disgrace. Bowen belongs in the Pantheon of Spurs greats. One of the best to ever wear the black & silver, a vital cog in our championship era.
Avery? Not so much.
Couldn't help but notice Nazr being a serviceable big for OKC in tonight's win against the Heat.
That is what we're talking about here: one serviceable big. I agree something changed in the Dallas 06 series, but perhaps it's too fine a point because folks can always point to the '07 championship as validation.
But favoring 3-point specialists over serviceable bigs seems like a bad deal right now for sure...
exactly remember this is the same pop who had ginobii 3years before actaully letting him play with us while he was winning titles in europe and we had smitty as our immobile sg !! people pop is dead wrong admit it. dont bullshit yourself history tells us were screwed playing bonner, ive seen tiago play bad games but even on those occasions people shy away from the paint thats obvious.
:hungry:CHANT SPURS FANS TIAGO TIAGO TIAGO TIAGO!!!!! AT THE GAME, i believe pop thinks were (spurs fans) just everyday people who dont really pay attention to everything spurs ...we need our voice to be heard!!TAKE A SIGN OF ANYKIND IMPLYING TIAGO MUST BE PLAYED
:flag:
as usual mingus with the goods, the media are worthless in san antonio, not ONE MEDIA source has a pair of balls to question pop. who the hell does pop think he is acting like a complete asshole when asked about a very strange choice MAYBE POP"S BEING PAYED TO LOSE WHO KNOWS ..
i mean theres no logical explanation for leaving a defensive 7fter who could help this team win immediately, only to be benched. while his puppy dog bonner can get away with game stats of 2 points 1 rebound 0 assists playing 28mintes and being a massive liability. fuck you pop sorry guys
and for those of you about to give me our record i mean "win" in the playoffs when it matters where the real player are born!! bonner is exposed in these times he claims to be really intelligent, however the playoffs are made for cerebral players, players who outsmart and out hustle their opponent. its sad to say our playoffs are in jeopardy b/c M.B
yup right on, and thanks
i still believe its going to come to that pops bride is really big and he is super super super stubborn and while yes hes a really awesome coach some decisions are bazarr and to me he can be an arrogant son of a bitch to us fans.
this is how it plays out : bonner in duncan in losing boards against L.A bad and its about to cost us the game IN THIS VERY MOMENT SPURS FANS WILL know if pop rather sink the whole ship than to admit hes wrong and play splitter.
i personally question pop yes he has rings but i think any really good nba coach of TIM duncans would have rings!!! remember who puts the ball in the hoop
much props if i can hear a chant on tv to anyone who goes
Dudes are fools
guy sucks
^^^^ so tiago sucks in the 20 minutes hes played all season,?? lol i mean if tiago sucks what word do you use to describe matt bonner!!!?????? nevermind the matt bonner supporters will be pleased to know bonner will carry our team to the promise land.
i want matt bonner benched! in fact who the hell is he the spurs act like hes the next freaking tim duncan with his commercials/videos/spurs.com/blog i mean shit this guy is garbage . if you think otherwise please ..hang in there denial is a s.o.b
Pop built a team around getting past Phoenix. We're stuck in the past.
He's never come to terms with the Gasol trade, but of course, neither has the rest of the league.
He had a card to play this year with Splitter, but for whatever reason he chose not to even try.
That's what bugs me the most - he didn't even try. I don't see how anyone can make the case he gave Splitter an honest & thorough evaluation. Perhaps he was surprised as everyone else regarding our record and didn't want to change things.
Avery and the rest of the team saved Pop's ass after the bad start to the 98-99 season(?) when his position wasn't too secure.
Now, of course, Pop's got tenure like no other coach so much so that no reporter dares to ask why Splitter wasn't integrated this season. Sometimes, accountability and a little insecurity is a good thing.
i agree rmt,
i wish there was somebody we can go to, who had a pair to ask real questions. i am disgusted with our reporters here. brain dead cowards
After years of having big men to guard Shaq, why does he think that he can get by with a 35 year old Duncan guarding one of either Gasol and Bynum? Is he hoping that Bynum is going to get injured yet again? That's wishful thinking - Bynum's only going to get better as he gains more experience.
The only other decent big he can use is Dice who is only 6'9" and almost 37 years old. How many minutes can he play - especially if Spurs make it to the WCF when there's only 1 day in between games.
Popovich of all people should know that regular season record is fool's gold after the failure of Cavs, Sun, and Mavs. What did all those teams lack - interior defense.
Yep, that's what bugs me most is that he had some one (a young, mobile 7fter) and didn't even try. In recent years, at least I could console myself that they didn't have anyone or had no means in which to get a 7fter. No, I take that back because last year he traded away Ratliff, who went on to help the Bobcats. This year the Lakers picked up Ratliff even though they already have three starting quality 7fters (Gasol, Bynum and Odom).
This thread is depressing me.
The Spurs are still better than every team in the league except the Lakers. I'd expect them to win a 7 game series against any team but them. Are the Spurs really doomed against Dallas or OKC because Splitter isn't playing? Really?
If Andrew Bynum is playing like this, there isn't a team in the league that can approach the Lakers. Tiago Splitter would help marginally, but a healthy and motivated Bynum puts the Lakers a level above everybody else.