Upsetting Quote From McDyess

“Some of the guys are not in sync with each other,” McDyess said. “I don’t think we’ve seen Matt and DeJuan playing a lot with each other this year. We’re trying to get them used to playing together.”

From JMC's article here: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...ve-breakdowns/

I guess this means they're going to try and make that frontcourt combination work, which is dubious. Maybe when the playoffs start though they'll make sure either TD or Dice are always on the court, like LA does with Gasol and Bynum? I sure hope so.

Blair should stay a starter and let Dice finish games...


wtf is pop doing

Seriously... we get crushed when those two are out there together. I can't believe we're going to waste this amazing season with Pop's boneheaded rotations and benching of one of our only big men in Splitter. Ugh.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VI_Massive

“Some of the guys are not in sync with each other,” McDyess said. “I don’t think we’ve seen Matt and DeJuan playing a lot with each other this year. We’re trying to get them used to playing together.”

---

Who is this upsetting to? You as a fan? The team?

?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VI_Massive

We’re trying to get them used to playing together.

---

so basically we're trying to get bounced in the 1st round???

:pctoss

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Agloco

Who is this upsetting to? You as a fan? The team?

?

---

"We’re trying to get them used to playing together"

that should be very upsetting. Basically it means Pop MEANT to put Blair + Bonner on the floor at the same time

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hater

so basically we're trying to get bounced in the 1st round???

:pctoss

---

yes, i'm positive as a fan that that is exactly Pop's goal this year. :tu for astute observations.

I don't see how it's upsetting.

Blair and Bonner have barely been on the floor this year. I don't think that combo will ever work. Bonner still counts as small ball in my eyes, and the one "big" you have is shorter than Rashard Lewis.

I'd rather force feed splitter minutes than have Bonner see more than 10 MPG.

wtf ?

it makes sence to try to get them used to playing together incase they have to if another player gets in foul trouble and they have to play together at the same time

Is this much of surprise to anyone? Steadily over the years Pop has turned into Don Nelson the reject version.

I'm sure Pop will be paying extra attention to how the Beast and the Red Rocket play together. They are in our top 4 bigs, so it's inevitable they play together. We'll see in the next several weeks if Splitter gets some minutes. I think he will indeed. Friday will be telling in many ways. I care as much about the way we play as the result. Should be a barnburner.

Bonner + Blair = defensive suicide. Well, it's been a fun season watching the Spurs win by big margins as Bonner go 6-7 and 7-7 in meaningless games.

I think I'd rather have lost 16 more games (good for #7 seed & not in LA's bracket) and have Splitter fully integrated so that the Spurs would have more options in the playoffs. God help us if TD gets in foul trouble for even one game.

Please Pop..don't do it.

Stop panicking, the only reason he is doing this is because in the playoffs he may be forced to play them together, and if they don't learn to now then we get ripped apart in the playoffs. I doubt he does it in the playoffs unless he absolutely has to.

Maybe (hopefully) Pop is just tinkering and experimenting with the line-ups right now that he can. I absolutely love the TD-Dice line-up but hate the Bonner-Blair line-up. Hopefully Pop figures this shit out by the time the Playoffs roll around....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by crc21209

Maybe (hopefully) Pop is just tinkering and experimenting with the line-ups right now that he can. I absolutely love the TD-Dice line-up but hate the Bonner-Blair line-up. Hopefully Pop figures this shit out by the time the Playoffs roll around....

---

This, although you would think Pop would of gotten the lineup expiermenting out of the way by now.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Crazymaddopeyo

Stop panicking, the only reason he is doing this is because in the playoffs he may be forced to play them together, and if they don't learn to now then we get ripped apart in the playoffs. I doubt he does it in the playoffs unless he absolutely has to.

---

If he puts both Bonner + Blair in the playoffs its because:
A) We have an injury
B) We are blowing someone out
c) We are getting blown out

Popovich is a stubborn little bitch. guess he'll have to get knocked out in the second round to find that shit out.

What I gather from this thread is:

Spurstalk is smarter than the entire Spurs organization, mainly Pop.

News flash: you're all dumbasses. The Spurs organization is one of the leaders when it comes to using advanced metrics to find out the best combinations on the court. Obviously, this Blair/Bonner combo is effective or Pop wouldn't be using it.

So for all of you just blindly calling Pop/Spurs organization dumbasses, give me some facts first.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chazley

I don't watch any of the games

---

fify

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mugen

I'm one of the dumbasses that thinks I'm smarter than R.C. Buford/Pop when it comes to basketball decisions

---

Yup

A buddy's cousin said her travel agent told Pop has a trip booked in late May and doesn't want the Finals to screw it up.

Obviously, all he is doing is protecting his deposit on the trip.


Seriously.

This time last season we didn't know if we had the team or the stones to even make the playoffs. Every game in March was a must win just to make the playoffs.

Now we are the lead dog and have the luxury to try different combinations and see what we might have as playoff situations arise. Some nights that makes us look bad compared everyone else we play.

Most teams we are playing hit the court fighting for playoff position or just to get in. Their motivation and intensity right now is greater than ours.

The "morons" in the FO quietly assembled this team together when most thought this was definitely our year to be down. Personally, I've been impressed with what they do most nights without any of the ESPN Superstars.

It's amazing how many geniuses show up when there is a small lag in the season and we don't win every game by double digits or compile our 13th lost.

Some Spurs fans think they have more basketball knowledge and ability than Pop, his staff, and his players.

Let the man do his job.

He's the same genius that out coached everyone else four times and was a few lucky shots away from doing it more.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chazley

Yup

---

:lol if you think Bonner/Blair make a great pairing then i can do nothing more for you regarding your basketball IQ.

Tim's minutes are going up above 35 for the playoffs and maybe they will actually go to him in the post twice in a row when they have a disgusting mismatch again.

I have seen Tim dominate in the paint recently but more importantly there was a stretch of four possession where he demanded the ball and ran the offense through him. We scored three times.

We are not seeing playoff basketball and that is just not from a intensity standpoint. We have not played our cards or rather have not pressed them.

Against the kings the other night when their tallest player was 6'9" we could have ridden Timmy to 60% shooting through those slumps.

We never did. Is Pop stupid?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mugen

:lol if you think Bonner/Blair make a great pairing then i can do nothing more for you regarding your basketball IQ.

---

If you're gonna hate on it, provide statistical proof that it doesn't work.

The only way they can keep one of Duncan or McDyess on the court at all times in the playoffs, is if they rarely play them together. Neither is a 40 mpg player at this point in their careers. McDyess isn't even a 30 mpg player. I expect Duncan to average mid thirties and McDyess high twenties minutes, in the playoffs. Many of which to be played simultaneously.

Lest we forget, Blair-Bonner played plenty together last season. Even if they hadn't, it's not about "learning to play together" or even getting re-acquainted with one another. The reality of the situation is, they're far too small and defenseless to be an effective duo in the playoffs against the vast majority of teams.

This team keeps stressing defense, but it's all talk. If they were really serious about defense, they wouldn't be not playing one of the best defenders on the team. Three of the five players on the second unit are severely undersized and sub par defenders. You can get away with one, maybe two of those guys playing together, but three? With no anchor on the floor to make up for some of their shortcomings? Not a chance. They can play as hard as they want and make timely rotations, but it's still not going to make much of a difference. They're not capable of playing quality defense.

But, but, but the stat work ups show that Pop is a genius. Who you gonna believe, Pop, or your own lying eyes?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PopRocks

A buddy's cousin said her travel agent told Pop has a trip booked in late May and doesn't want the Finals to screw it up.

Obviously, all he is doing is protecting his deposit on the trip.


Seriously.

This time last season we didn't know if we had the team or the stones to even make the playoffs. Every game in March was a must win just to make the playoffs.

Now we are the lead dog and have the luxury to try different combinations and see what we might have as playoff situations arise. Some nights that makes us look bad compared everyone else we play.

Most teams we are playing hit the court fighting for playoff position or just to get in. Their motivation and intensity right now is greater than ours.

The "morons" in the FO quietly assembled this team together when most thought this was definitely our year to be down. Personally, I've been impressed with what they do most nights without any of the ESPN Superstars.

It's amazing how many geniuses show up when there is a small lag in the season and we don't win every game by double digits or compile our 13th lost.

Some Spurs fans think they have more basketball knowledge and ability than Pop, his staff, and his players.

Let the man do his job.

He's the same genius that out coached everyone else four times and was a few lucky shots away from doing it more.

---

You made some good points....

but just to play devil's advocate here...

let me throw this out;

Pop is also the same genius that did NOT lead the spurs to the title in 2008,2009 & 2010...DESPITE having THREE of the top NBA players on it's roster.

This is seriuosly NOT GOOD!!!!!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chazley

If you're gonna hate on it, provide statistical proof that it doesn't work.

---

:rollinyou don't need stats to tell you that playing your two worst defensive/rebounding bigs at the same time is a bad idea.

Both Bonner/Blair are horrible help defenders and below average individual defenders. Bonner might be the worst rebounding big in the league and Blair is still painfully undersized. Absolute recipe for disaster as evidenced by the spurs' play after the switch to Dice in the starting lineup.

+/- of Bonner/Blair together = Shit. There ya go.

God, i hope you're a BUMP troll.

lol that #1 poster claim must be sarcasm, since he trying to defend the bonner/blair duo

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VI_Massive

“Some of the guys are not in sync with each other,” McDyess said. “I don’t think we’ve seen Matt and DeJuan playing a lot with each other this year. We’re trying to get them used to playing together.”

From JMC's article here: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...ve-breakdowns/

I guess this means they're going to try and make that frontcourt combination work, which is dubious. Maybe when the playoffs start though they'll make sure either TD or Dice are always on the court, like LA does with Gasol and Bynum? I sure hope so.

---

You understand that if Tim and Dice start, Matt and DB WILL play together, and a lot, since Tim and Dice cannot play heavy minutes. You people wanted Dice starting. Don't cry about it now because you didn't think it all the way through.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hater

If he puts both Bonner + Blair in the playoffs its because:
A) We have an injury
B) We are blowing someone out
c) We are getting blown out

---

D) we're starting Tim and Dice who play 29 and 17 minutes, respectively.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ChuckD

You understand that if Tim and Dice start, Matt and DB WILL play together, and a lot, since Tim and Dice cannot play heavy minutes. You people wanted Dice starting. Don't cry about it now because you didn't think it all the way through.

---

This is one of the things I really wonder about. We've been conserving minutes all season long and quotes like this from Pop in that same JMC article: "We’ve been saving McDyess’ minutes all year for the stretch run and the playoffs." Make me think that they're planning on ramping up Dice and Timmy's minutes.

And that makes me wonder, will they begin to ramp up their minutes in the last 15 games to get them used to playing heavy minutes? You can't just flip a switch from 29 and 18 MPG to 37 and 30, right? They'll need some time to adjust to the extra workload? Or maybe vets like that can flip a switch? I really don't know and would be interested to hear thoughts on the issue.

And if they ramp up the minutes, does that mean they'll play one or both of TD and Dice on the floor almost always during the playoffs? I think that would be the plan, assuming at this point that they've written off Splitter's ability to contribute in the playoffs. I think that's a fair assumption given the minutes Splitter has (not) played this year. And let's not turn this into a Splitter thread because we certainly have enough of those on which to express our Tiago frustrations.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by silverblk mystix

[/B]

You made some good points....

but just to play devil's advocate here...

let me throw this out;

Pop is also the same genius that did NOT lead the spurs to the title in 2008,2009 & 2010...DESPITE having THREE of the top NBA players on it's roster.

---

True but at how often were all THREE healthy and right together?

And look at the rosters of the 2008, 2009, 2010 Champs. Those teams had a few stars too. (Built by free agency and miracle trades from Memphis)

Not saying Pop is beyond reproach, but it gets a little old when we gripe because he keeps sticking to a rotation and he gets criticized for playing with rotations.

so this is whats in the mind of a genius???? wow something tells me were not getting rings gentlemen. our brilliant coach wants to start playing 2 guys that are atrocious when together not to mention haven't played together all freaking season!.

pop you are a fool, look i would never wish anything bad on our own players but this is an emergency spurs fans!! and i'm doing it for their own good dammit!! ok fellas :toast heres to THE RED ROCKSHIT (just made that up btw) OK HERES TO BONNER PLAYING A $HIT LOAD OF MINUTES AND HERES TO MATT NOT GETTING HURT and BEING THE HEALTHIEST SPUR BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS!!:toast:lol
:flag:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Leonard Curse

so this is whats in the mind of a genius???? wow something tells me were not getting rings gentlemen. our brilliant coach wants to start playing 2 guys that are atrocious when together not to mention haven't played together all freaking season!.

pop you are a fool, look i would never wish anything bad on our own players but this is an emergency spurs fans!! and i'm doing it for their own good dammit!! ok fellas :toast heres to THE RED ROCKSHIT (just made that up btw) OK HERES TO BONNER PLAYING A $HIT LOAD OF MINUTES AND HERES TO MATT NOT GETTING HURT and BEING THE HEALTHIEST SPUR BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS!!:toast:lol
:flag:

---

and to not break a leg

It's unrealistic to expect TD and Dice to jump from 28 and 18 mins to 35+ and 28+ mins. These will be a 35 year old and an almost 37 year old - both with bad knees. If Spurs were to make the Finals, that's almost 2 months of playoff-intensity basketball.

It's either small ball or the other bigs must play. The mistake was in not at least trying to integrate Splitter. Playing TD/Blair and Dice/Bonner all season masked the deficiency of Blair/Bonner which pretty much must occur (if Splitter doesn't play) if TD/Dice start. I can see the reasoning behind starting TD/Dice together against playoff teams' starting 5 so that Spurs don't get into too big a hole.

I'm hoping that Spurs can save Dice for the WCF (if seedings hold up) against Dirk or Gasol. Maybe they can get by the first 2 rounds without playing Dice too much. I'm hoping for MEM to either move up to #7 or drop out of the playoffs because Dice would be needed against MEM (Gasol & Randolph) but maybe not against UTA (Bonner can chase Okur out to the 3pt line).

It would be fitting that we get bounced early after the best regular season in recent memory because of Pop's mancrush on Bonehead Bonner. WTF, another year of Tim's career wasted by Pop's stupidity.

:td

Pop gambled on bonner and blair, and ignored splitter. Well, now spurs got exposed, even though it was clear from start of season, that blair is too short to start in the playoffs and bonner is too much of a pussy to contribute. Championship? I think not. WCF loss to lakers, and pop will say, "well we never were a championship contender, tbh, but at least we made it to wcf" as he always says something to that effect, after season's end.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rmt

It's unrealistic to expect TD and Dice to jump from 28 and 18 mins to 35+ and 28+ mins. These will be a 35 year old and an almost 37 year old - both with bad knees. If Spurs were to make the Finals, that's almost 2 months of playoff-intensity basketball.

It's either small ball or the other bigs must play. The mistake was in not at least trying to integrate Splitter. Playing TD/Blair and Dice/Bonner all season masked the deficiency of Blair/Bonner which pretty much must occur (if Splitter doesn't play) if TD/Dice start. I can see the reasoning behind starting TD/Dice together against playoff teams' starting 5 so that Spurs don't get into too big a hole.

I'm hoping that Spurs can save Dice for the WCF (if seedings hold up) against Dirk or Gasol. Maybe they can get by the first 2 rounds without playing Dice too much. I'm hoping for MEM to either move up to #7 or drop out of the playoffs because Dice would be needed against MEM (Gasol & Randolph) but maybe not against UTA (Bonner can chase Okur out to the 3pt line).

---

How is it unrealistic? They've played roughly 28 and 18 mpg so that they could be as fresh as possible for the playoffs, in order to play significantly more minutes when they get there. 35 and 28 mpg is right around what I'm expecting from them. They'll be the odd blowout, though, where they don't play much. Also, keep in mind, the playoffs (particularly first round), the games are spread out. Not only are there no back-to-backs, but there's plenty of two and three day breaks. Within' reason, you can't worry about them wearing down. This is probably McDyess' last season and it might be Duncan's last legit chance at a championship. If it takes playing them more than what's ideal, so be it.

It's not ideal at this point, but there's still time to integrate Splitter. Speaking of the initial starting lineup masking the backup big deficiency (with Splitter not playing). What was overlooked in Blair's move to the bench was the positional change involved. He went from guarding four's to guarding five's. He already had his hands full with four's, but he's completely over matched against most five's.

No chance the Spurs can save McDyess for the WCF. It's looking like it's going to be the Grizzlies or the Hornets (I'm guessing Hornets), both of which McDyess would have to play a big part against. Especially against the Grizzlies. The Jazz aren't going to make the playoffs and even if they did, Okur is done for the season.

1. Sheer arrogance that his system works as long as everybody is where they're supposed to be. That's not going to stop anyone from shooting/rebounding over Blair/Bonner.

2. Over-reliance on veterans - you'd have thought he'd learned his lesson from GHill (09 playoffs).

Here's hoping that Splitter's confidence (when he hopefully sees court time next year) isn't messed up by Pop's lack of confidence in him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aggie Hoopsfan

It would be fitting that we get bounced early after the best regular season in recent memory because of Pop's mancrush on Bonehead Bonner. WTF, another year of Tim's career wasted by Pop's stupidity.

:td

---

The problem with this --is that this is like the 3rd year in a row that some kind of Pop stubborness will cost this franchise another chance...

(see Finley mancrush, Mahinmi/Ratliff, Bogans/Mason, Bonner mancrush, Hairston, etc...)

Gotta be grateful for having a great coach...but if we are really gonna be honest...Pop has made as many bad moves as good moves...who knows if the spurs wouldn't have had 3 or 4 more rings with a little bit of checks and balances---instead of the Pop dictatorship???)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TD 21

How is it unrealistic? They've played roughly 28 and 18 mpg so that they could be as fresh as possible for the playoffs, in order to play significantly more minutes when they get there. 35 and 28 mpg is right around what I'm expecting from them. They'll be the odd blowout, though, where they don't play much. Also, keep in mind, the playoffs (particularly first round), the games are spread out. Not only are there no back-to-backs, but there's plenty of two and three day breaks. Within' reason, you can't worry about them wearing down. This is probably McDyess' last season and it might be Duncan's last legit chance at a championship. If it takes playing them more than what's ideal, so be it.

It's not ideal at this point, but there's still time to integrate Splitter. Speaking of the initial starting lineup masking the backup big deficiency (with Splitter not playing). What was overlooked in Blair's move to the bench was the positional change involved. He went from guarding four's to guarding five's. He already had his hands full with four's, but he's completely over matched against most five's.

No chance the Spurs can save McDyess for the WCF. It's looking like it's going to be the Grizzlies or the Hornets (I'm guessing Hornets), both of which McDyess would have to play a big part against. Especially against the Grizzlies. The Jazz aren't going to make the playoffs and even if they did, Okur is done for the season.

---

When you say "odd blowout," do you mean that the Spurs are doing the blowout or that they are being blown out? I'm not seeing any team that the Spurs are going to blow out - even in the first round.

I'm not holding my breath that Pop's going to integrate Splitter. I was at the Heat game last Monday night and Anderson and Novak both got more PT than Splitter in a 30 pt blowout. It's a disgrace that a real rookie (one who's spent the vast majority of this season injured) and a player I'd never even heard of before he came to the Spurs is getting PT over Splitter.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mugen

:rollinyou don't need stats to tell you that playing your two worst defensive/rebounding bigs at the same time is a bad idea.

Both Bonner/Blair are horrible help defenders and below average individual defenders. Bonner might be the worst rebounding big in the league and Blair is still painfully undersized. Absolute recipe for disaster as evidenced by the spurs' play after the switch to Dice in the starting lineup.

+/- of Bonner/Blair together = Shit. There ya go.

God, i hope you're a BUMP troll.

---

Blair is a bad rebounder? Both are below-average defenders? WTF are you smoking. Just because Bonner is white doesn't mean he isn't a good defender. Is he a bad help defender? Yes. Is he good at holding his own man 1 on 1? He's at the very least average. Blair is at least an average defender when you take in all aspects of defense, including steals, where he is above average. I would say Blair's main weakness is his help defense, not his one on one defense.

Keep in mind, this is our second unit. To be able to trot out the best 3-pt shooter in the league and one of the best rebounding bigs when given minutes is not bad at all. I'm not claiming either Blair or Bonner are more than average on defense, but if you trot them out there with a lineup of Hill/Manu/RJ (who isn't being given enough credit for his defense), the need for either Blair or Bonner to be good help defenders is irrelevant.

Also, good job just throwing out useless facts with no evidence to back up your argument.

Random thought: McDyess might be the most overrated Spur in recent history.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rmt

When you say "odd blowout," do you mean that the Spurs are doing the blowout or that they are being blown out? I'm not seeing any team that the Spurs are going to blow out - even in the first round.

I'm not holding my breath that Pop's going to integrate Splitter. I was at the Heat game last Monday night and Anderson and Novak both got more PT than Splitter in a 30 pt blowout. It's a disgrace that a real rookie (one who's spent the vast majority of this season injured) and a player I'd never even heard of before he came to the Spurs is getting PT over Splitter.

---

Either. You don't think the Spurs are capable of blowing out the Grizzlies, Hornets, etc. in the first round? They're capable of blowing anyone out and capable of getting blown out. And if one occurs, the chances of the other occurring increases. It's not literally going to be 35 and 28 minutes every single game for Duncan and McDyess.

I'm not either. But there is still time. Yeah, it's bad enough that Splitter isn't in the rotation to begin with, but now he's apparently been passed by the immortal Novak as the fifth big.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by silverblk mystix

The problem with this --is that this is like the 3rd year in a row that some kind of Pop stubborness will cost this franchise another chance...

(see Finley mancrush, Mahinmi/Ratliff, Bogans/Mason, Bonner mancrush, Hairston, etc...)

Gotta be grateful for having a great coach, but if we are really gonna be honest, Pop has made as many bad moves as good moves...who knows if the spurs wouldn't have had 3 or 4 more rings with a little bit of checks and balances---instead of the Pop dictatorship???)

---

In those previous three or so years I don't think the Spurs had a realistic championship shot because at any given time one or more of the big three were hurt. However, given the health of the big three this year, I am fearful that Pop wasted one of the last prime years of Duncan and Ginobili and one of the prime years of Parker in not having a full commitment from the beginning of the season to developing Splitter.

I know this has been said many times on this website, but I want to reiterate my feeling that he should have been considered a member of the rotation from the start. Injured? Fine. Rehab him and get him back. There's no way to get him ready to play without, well, playing him.

Pop seemed to have that sense in one of the early LA games when he put him in and seemed to be saying "these are the big boys, learn how to play against them". That's how it should have been all year. And again, when he got injured, heal him up and put him right back where he was.

It's a failure of player development in my opinion, and normally it wouldn't be an urgent issue except for the expiring core teammates named Duncan and Ginobili. If Pop thought he could win a title with only Duncan and Dice as his defensive big men, well, that's very dubious judgment.

Maybe not a failure of player development so much as a failure to realize the importance of developing a specific player in a specific time frame.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VI_Massive

In those previous three or so years I don't think the Spurs had a realistic championship shot because at any given time one or more of the big three were hurt. However, given the health of the big three this year, I am fearful that Pop wasted one of the last prime years of Duncan and Ginobili and one of the prime years of Parker in not having a full commitment from the beginning of the season to developing Splitter.

I know this has been said many times on this website, but I want to reiterate my feeling that he should have been considered a member of the rotation from the start. Injured? Fine. Rehab him and get him back. There's no way to get him ready to play without, well, playing him.

Pop seemed to have that sense in one of the early LA games when he put him in and seemed to be saying "these are the big boys, learn how to play against them". That's how it should have been all year. And again, when he got injured, heal him up and put him right back where he was.

It's a failure of player development in my opinion, and normally it wouldn't be an urgent issue except for the expiring core teammates named Duncan and Ginobili. If Pop thought he could win a title with only Duncan and Dice as his defensive big men, well, that's very dubious judgment.

Maybe not a failure of player development so much as a failure to realize the importance of developing a specific player in a specific time frame.

---

very truehe acts like theres no time i then catch myself saying "its barely the middle of the season and pops already saying he cant find minutes for tiago??" i think pop has something against him, something strange is going on maybe pop got bought out, shoot even phil jackson really liked tiago splitter this is probably pop becoming a stuck up SOB !

i know everyone had high hopes for splitter going into the season, but obviously he has not been ready this year. in the court time we have seen from him the bright spots have been few and far between. instead we usually get to watch him get pushed around, miss assignments, and take horrible hook shots

and thats just what we are able to see. obviously pop and his staff are able to watch him in practice and must see more that makes them believe the players they are using instead are more capable of helping the team win now.

the fact is this team is now in a rebuild mode. we all know the window is closing and the best chance we have to win is to put the guys on the floor who are going to put us in that position. I'm sure we'd all like to see splitter doing what we thought he would, but the fact is that he hasn't so you go with what you have.

^ i meant pop wiped his hands of responsibility midseason . stated "theres not enough minutes" well no shit you drunk you have a ymca geek as our defensive center????!!!

im sorry i respect this organization a great deal, however pop also needs to have some sort of accountability or else its human nature to want less resistance and more power. he used to feel some sort of respect for fans it seems he lost that too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

i know everyone had high hopes for splitter going into the season, but obviously he has not been ready this year. in the court time we have seen from him the bright spots have been few and far between. instead we usually get to watch him get pushed around, miss assignments, and take horrible hook shots

and thats just what we are able to see. obviously pop and his staff are able to watch him in practice and must see more that makes them believe the players they are using instead are more capable of helping the team win now.

the fact is this team is now in a rebuild mode. we all know the window is closing and the best chance we have to win is to put the guys on the floor who are going to put us in that position. I'm sure we'd all like to see splitter doing what we thought he would, but the fact is that he hasn't so you go with what you have.

---

I think Bynum missed training camp and the first couple of months of the season for the lakers...but guess what...when he was ready---Phil just threw him in there and now he is paying dividends...

Pop could have thrown Splitter in there and let him learn on the fly...but Pop's system is too fuckin' precious to try an acclimate someone on the fly...

This hopefully does NOT bite the spurs in the ass...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rmt

Here's hoping that Splitter's confidence (when he hopefully sees court time next year) isn't messed up by Pop's lack of confidence in him.

---

Rather than playing those two together, the bigger crime is entering this season with probably the shortest frontline of any of the top contenders in the West. Sure Splitter has been injured, but he hasn't been injured all year. Pop's hesitance on integrating him is flat-out irresponsible coaching, in my eyes. That should've been priority #1. Still, if he were worried about the challenge of integrating him this season, he should've brought in another big of size.

It's unforgiveable because Pop should be doing everything possible to give the team its best chance to win a title, in Duncan's waning years. Instead of Tim's load getting lighter, it seems that he's still relied upon to do the bulk of the heavy lifting on both ends of the court. It's absolute madness. It's simply not fair to him and I'm surprised that Pop is so cavalier about it.

You're not going to matchup or even overtake the Fakers with a Bonner/Blair combination as a second unit. For that matter, you're probably not going to be successful with Dice as a 28-32 minute per game running mate in the playoffs. Dice is very good, but he's not that guy anymore. Therefore, it's apparent that Pop entered the season with an inferior frontline.

It seems that everyone knows the Spurs size deficiency on the frontline - except Pop.

it's aaaaaaight, we know that once the Lakers meet the Spurs in the playoffs Kobe will be back to ballhoggin' and we won't need to worry about Bynum and Gasol getting more than 5 low post touches per game.

Have business school number crunchers taken over basketball? Just imagining some high-falutin' stats that would "prove" that Bonner & Blair are our best option.

Bonner & Blair = simulator crew move.

Honestly I don't understand why the people are complaining Spurs fron-court too much.

Let's think Dallas, other western conference contender. They've Haywood, Nowitzki and Chandler in front-court. Duncan-McDyess-Blair trio is not worse then that.

Let's think Boston, Eastern conference contender. They've 38 years old O'neal, another O'neal which will not play again this year, Glen Davis who is undersized like Blair and Kevin Garnett. This team's front-court is not better then Spurs.

Let's think Miami. They've Bosh and the garbages like Juwan Howard, Dampier, Ilgauskas, Joel Anthony etc. Our front-court is not worse then them.

There are only 2 other contenders who has better front-court then us, Chicago and Lakers. It's very doubtful that we will face against Bulls in play-offs and Lakers is ver vulnerable with injury prone Bynum.

We don't have too bad front-court as the people repeat without stopping.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chazley

News flash: you're all dumbasses. The Spurs organization is one of the leaders when it comes to using advanced metrics to find out the best combinations on the court. Obviously, this Blair/Bonner combo is effective or Pop wouldn't be using it.

---

:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

Dice is a moron. Bonner and Blair have spent a ton of time together. The problem with the Spurs is the lack of time Splitter and Duncan have had on the floor together.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

Dice is a moron. Bonner and Blair have spent a ton of time together. The problem with the Spurs is the lack of time Splitter and Duncan have had on the floor together.

---

^ This

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jay_shs

it's aaaaaaight, we know that once the Lakers meet the Spurs in the playoffs Kobe will be back to ballhoggin' and we won't need to worry about Bynum and Gasol getting more than 5 low post touches per game.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tuncaboylu

Honestly I don't understand why the people are complaining Spurs fron-court too much.

Let's think Dallas, other western conference contender. They've Haywood, Nowitzki and Chandler in front-court. Duncan-McDyess-Blair trio is not worse then that.

Let's think Boston, Eastern conference contender. They've 38 years old O'neal, another O'neal which will not play again this year, Glen Davis who is undersized like Blair and Kevin Garnett. This team's front-court is not better then Spurs.

Let's think Miami. They've Bosh and the garbages like Juwan Howard, Dampier, Ilgauskas, Joel Anthony etc. Our front-court is not worse then them.

There are only 2 other contenders who has better front-court then us, Chicago and Lakers. It's very doubtful that we will face against Bulls in play-offs and Lakers is ver vulnerable with injury prone Bynum.

We don't have too bad front-court as the people repeat without stopping.

---

Naaw, Kobe'll only ball-hog in the Finals if he feels that there's a chance Gasol might get Finals MVP instead of him. Kobe's getting smart in his old age. If the most of us can see the weakness in the frontline, you can be sure that Kobe and Phil Jackson see it too. He's fine as long as Bynum's healthy - Bynum is the difference maker.

Gasol's kinda soft and would be okay for TD to handle alone but Bynum is who sets the Lakers apart from every other team in the league. We only have to remember what TD/DRob were like - that's what the combination of Gasol/Bynum/Odom is now for the Spurs. Plus they have Ratliff in case of foul trouble - he filled in nicely last year on the Bobcats.

IMO, Dirk/Chandler/Haywood is currently a better frontline than TD/Dice/Blair (because of age/height). Dirk is a legit MVP candidate with scoring ability than an opponent must account for. They are 32/28/31 years old and can play heavy minutes. Our soon to be 35 year old and almost 37 year old cannot. They are also 7-0/7-1/7-0. Spurs are 6-11/6-9/6-7. Saying all that I prefer Spurs' chances against DAL than against LA.

The road to the Finals leads through LA (unless DAL beats them for us). LA already established the blue print to beat the Spurs in the last game - chase the 3pt shooters off the arc, don't help when Parker/Manu penetrate but force them to shoot over Bynum/Gasol/Odom.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by silverblk mystix

I think Bynum missed training camp and the first couple of months of the season for the lakers...but guess what...when he was ready---Phil just threw him in there and now he is paying dividends...

Pop could have thrown Splitter in there and let him learn on the fly...but Pop's system is too fuckin' precious to try an acclimate someone on the fly...

This hopefully does NOT bite the spurs in the ass...

---

are you trying to compare Bynum who has been in the league for 6 seasons (i think) and proven he can play in the league to a guy who had never stepped on an NBA court before this season?

Apples to oranges.

I really wanted Splitter to step up and show he can play, but I have not been impressed with Splitter in the action he has seen this year. Being that I do not evaluate NBA talent for a living, I'm sure if I can tell that he isn't ready for the bright lights, that our staff has even more insight into the reason he is not on the court getting abused night in and night out.

I don't think anyone wants to see Bonner and Blair playing at the same time, but the fact is that both of them are the best options of the Spurs have right now in the front court.

Everyone keeps saying the Spurs should have gone and picked up another big then... please enlighten us on who they should have picked up that can play minutes and is better than the current bigs in the rotation?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chazley

Blair is a bad rebounder? Both are below-average defenders? WTF are you smoking. Just because Bonner is white doesn't mean he isn't a good defender. Is he a bad help defender? Yes. Is he good at holding his own man 1 on 1? He's at the very least average. Blair is at least an average defender when you take in all aspects of defense, including steals, where he is above average. I would say Blair's main weakness is his help defense, not his one on one defense.

Keep in mind, this is our second unit. To be able to trot out the best 3-pt shooter in the league and one of the best rebounding bigs when given minutes is not bad at all. I'm not claiming either Blair or Bonner are more than average on defense, but if you trot them out there with a lineup of Hill/Manu/RJ (who isn't being given enough credit for his defense), the need for either Blair or Bonner to be good help defenders is irrelevant.

Also, good job just throwing out useless facts with no evidence to back up your argument.

---

-Blair is an average rebounder when you match him up against legit 7footers. You really thing hes going to rebound at the same clip when hes matched up against the Gasols/Randolph/Bynum?
-:lol @ Bonner being an average defender. He might give above-average effort on the defensive end but that doesnt prevent the other team from consistently attacking him and his man scoring at will. There's a reason why guys like Darrell Arthur light him up.
-Blair immediately becomes a poor defender when his man receives the entry pass. His best chance is to steal the entry pass but teams will adjust and he wont be able to gamble as much especially if Matt fuckin bonner his the help defender.
-Hill/Manu/RJ are not shutdown defenders. The closest one is Hill and he has regressed this season. RJ has improved but nowhere near a shutdown defender. Their weaknesses are amplified when they got two of the worst help defenders in the league playing behind them. Our defense suffers immensely when TD or Dice is not in their so yeah i wouldnt say the Blair/Bonner D is "irrelevant"

:[email protected] "useless facts". Why do I need stats to back up what you already consider them "useless facts"?

it's okay if you dont watch any of the games or dont know much about basketball, but don't pretend otherwise.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chazley

Random thought: McDyess might be the most overrated Spur in recent history.

---

:lmao Any stats to back this up?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

are you trying to compare Bynum who has been in the league for 6 seasons (i think) and proven he can play in the league to a guy who had never stepped on an NBA court before this season?

---

The only difference so far is that one guy got playing time when he was young, the other doesn't. Everything else is unknown.

Criticisms of Bynum over his career:

He's injury prone.

He fouls too much.

He missed training camp.

If he had gotten the Pop treatment, people would still be saying all these things as reasons Bynum had yet to crack the rotation for the Lakers, despite their inability to get out of the west the last four years. There would be "Free Bynum" threads in the NBA forum while Jackson's defenders argue that he shouldn't be in there ahead of Gasol and Odom because he's been hurt too much to contribute anyway, citing Jackson's nine championship rings as evidence that nobody should question him.

So far Splitter is Schrodinger's cat. Let's open the fucking box already.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

The only difference so far is that one guy got playing time when he was young, the other doesn't. Everything else is unknown.

Criticisms of Bynum over his career:

He's injury prone.

He fouls too much.

He missed training camp.

If he had gotten the Pop treatment, people would still be saying all these things as reasons Bynum had yet to crack the rotation for the Lakers, despite their inability to get out of the west the last four years. There would be "Free Bynum" threads in the NBA forum while Jackson's defenders argue that he shouldn't be in there ahead of Gasol and Odom because he's been hurt too much to contribute anyway, citing Jackson's nine championship rings as evidence that nobody should question him.

So far Splitter is Schrodinger's cat. Let's open the fucking box already.

---

Imagine if Tiago went to sign with LAL.

I feel sick from that already.

Anyway, if I see Kobe in June hoisting up his 6th title partly because of a short and easy WCF against the smallish and Splitter-less Spurs with Duncan ultimately breaking down from his overload of carrying the frontline because of Pop's arrogance and stubborness, well I would be watching the LOB trophy to LAL ceremony heartbroken and constantly think of the words "Damn you, Pop!" :depressed:bang:depressed

If the Spurs do not get past the 2nd round, Pop should simply be fired.

Poor Timmy.

Meh, that's probably overstated a bit, but the bottom line remains: Any and every attempt at justification for not playing Splitter disappeared the second Pop put Steve Novak ahead of him in the rotation. The Spurs aspire to be like Phoenix and Golden State teams that never won anything instead of the Spurs teams that won titles.

SenorSpur nailed it. Comparison to sitting Bynum is apt. Although Splitter doesn't have the NBA experience he has played professionally and held his own well against NBA players.

Dice is just parroting what Pop must be saying in team meetings/practice.

Hoping Kobe shoots LA out of it has worked great the past 3 years... oh wait.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

The only difference so far is that one guy got playing time when he was young, the other doesn't. Everything else is unknown.

Criticisms of Bynum over his career:

He's injury prone.

He fouls too much.

He missed training camp.

If he had gotten the Pop treatment, people would still be saying all these things as reasons Bynum had yet to crack the rotation for the Lakers, despite their inability to get out of the west the last four years. There would be "Free Bynum" threads in the NBA forum while Jackson's defenders argue that he shouldn't be in there ahead of Gasol and Odom because he's been hurt too much to contribute anyway, citing Jackson's nine championship rings as evidence that nobody should question him.

So far Splitter is Schrodinger's cat. Let's open the fucking box already.

---

wrong

You are taking a player who is in his 6th season and trying to compare him to a player in his first season in the NBA

If you look at Bynum in his first season in the league he averaged 7.3 minutes per game. His second season that jumped up to 21 and has steadily increased for the most part from there.

I expect the same from Tiago next year. Fact is when he is in the game he gets straight bullied right now. I don't think he was/is ready for the NBA game right now. Should he have gotten a little more burn in the regular season? Probably. Should he have started and played over 20 minutes a game? At this juncture I'd say no.

Fact is no matter what Pop does people will complain. If Splitter was getting 30 minutes a game and getting pushed around all over the court people would say he's Matt Bonner and Pop is just in love with him. In the current situation people say Pop never gave him a chance.

I'd say he had opportunities, albeit limited, but has proven he is not ready yet.

The size situation isn't ideal right now when looking at the Lakers, but seriously, who has the size to match up with them in the league?

I'll take Duncan, Dice, Blair, Bonner vs the Mavs/Thunder/Celts/Heat/Bulls/Magic.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

wrong

You are taking a player who is in his 6th season and trying to compare him to a player in his first season in the NBA

If you look at Bynum in his first season in the league he averaged 7.3 minutes per game. His second season that jumped up to 21 and has steadily increased for the most part from there.

I expect the same from Tiago next year. Fact is when he is in the game he gets straight bullied right now. I don't think he was/is ready for the NBA game right now. Should he have gotten a little more burn in the regular season? Probably. Should he have started and played over 20 minutes a game? At this juncture I'd say no.

Fact is no matter what Pop does people will complain. If Splitter was getting 30 minutes a game and getting pushed around all over the court people would say he's Matt Bonner and Pop is just in love with him. In the current situation people say Pop never gave him a chance.

I'd say he had opportunities, albeit limited, but has proven he is not ready yet.

The size situation isn't ideal right now when looking at the Lakers, but seriously, who has the size to match up with them in the league?

I'll take Duncan, Dice, Blair, Bonner vs the Mavs/Thunder/Celts/Heat/Bulls/Magic.

---

First of all, the suggestion that Splitter gets pushed around is fucking retarded. Splitter played against Bynum in the second game and was very physical with him, drawing at least one and maybe two fouls on him.

Second, the one with the incorrect comparison is you, not me. Bynum came out of high school and was the youngest person ever to play in an NBA game. Splitter is 26 and has been a professional basketball player for 12 years.

The reason people say Pop never gave him a chance is simple: Pop never gave him a chance. For proof, see Steve Novak.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

The only difference so far is that one guy got playing time when he was young, the other doesn't. Everything else is unknown.

Criticisms of Bynum over his career:

He's injury prone.

He fouls too much.

He missed training camp.

If he had gotten the Pop treatment, people would still be saying all these things as reasons Bynum had yet to crack the rotation for the Lakers, despite their inability to get out of the west the last four years. There would be "Free Bynum" threads in the NBA forum while Jackson's defenders argue that he shouldn't be in there ahead of Gasol and Odom because he's been hurt too much to contribute anyway, citing Jackson's nine championship rings as evidence that nobody should question him.

So far Splitter is Schrodinger's cat. Let's open the fucking box already.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

First of all, the suggestion that Splitter gets pushed around is fucking retarded. Splitter played against Bynum in the second game and was very physical with him, drawing at least one and maybe two fouls on him.

Second, the one with the incorrect comparison is you, not me. Bynum came out of high school and was the youngest person ever to play in an NBA game. Splitter is 26 and has been a professional basketball player for 12 years.

The reason people say Pop never gave him a chance is simple: Pop never gave him a chance. For proof, see Steve Novak.

---

so drawing a foul or two on a player is the criteria for weather a player is physical or not?

laughable

You can't compare a 6 year NBA vet to a player making his first appearance in the NBA. I don't care if Splitter played 10 years in Spain, it's a different game than the NBA, and Splitter has not proven he can play with the best basketball players in the world.

I wish there was a stat for the number of rebounds that were in a players hand that they didn't pull down, or the number of missed assignments a player makes. Splitter would lead the league in both.

Dude has a great potential and I believe will be a solid player in the years to come, but he is NOT ready for the NBA right now and Pop was smart enough to see that.

let me know when you are running a NBA team and evaluating talent for a living.. i may take a little more credence in your posts then...

just sayin

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

so drawing a foul or two on a player is the criteria for weather a player is physical or not?

laughable

---

That would be laughable if that were what I said. In fact, my post was a response to the completely stupid charge that he gets pushed around. He doesn't. He draws fouls on both ends of the floor and plays excellent defense.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

You can't compare a 6 year NBA vet to a player making his first appearance in the NBA.

---

Not sure where you think someone did. People made a comparison to Splitter as a rookie vs Bynum early in his career when he had the exact same question marks. Bynum was thrown into the pool to see if he could swim. Splitter sits on the bench watching.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

I don't care if Splitter played 10 years in Spain, it's a different game than the NBA, and Splitter has not proven he can play with the best basketball players in the world.

---

It's clear that you don't care about facts, but the fact remains that it is the EXACT SAME GAME. Splitter can't 'prove' shit from the bench.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

I wish there was a stat for the number of rebounds that were in a players hand that they didn't pull down, or the number of missed assignments a player makes. Splitter would lead the league in both.

---

No, you don't wish there were a stat for that, because you'd be proven wrong. It's much easier for you to complain about things that only exist in your mind. If you'd like to look for "if" stats, look at Splitter's per 36 minute stats here.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

Dude has a great potential and I believe will be a solid player in the years to come, but he is NOT ready for the NBA right now and Pop was smart enough to see that.

---

No, you don't believe he has great potential if you can look at the job he's done in the small amount of time he's gotten and determine that not only is he not the best defensive big on the roster, but that he deserves to be behind Steve Novak in the rotation. What little credibility you might have had disintegrates when you fail to take that fact into account.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ernest787

let me know when you are running a NBA team and evaluating talent for a living.. i may take a little more credence in your posts then...

just sayin

---

Just sayin "FOUR RINGS FAGGOT" is pretty much proof you're getting the shit kicked out of you in the discussion at hand. :lol

actually i'm not

i've posted the facts. apples to apples

Bymun averaged 7 minutes a game in his first season. Splitter has averaged 11 minutes in his first season. I'm sure next season Splitter's minutes will increase to around the same amount as Bynum's in his second season. Remember I wasn't the one who brought Bynum into this conversation; instead, I pointed out that you can not compare Bynum being injured at the beginning of this season and then being placed back into the rotation with Splitter. If you want to more accurately compare the two then look at Bynum's first season in the league and you'll see he was handled much the same as Splitter.

Ok... yes, the game played in the Spanish league is the same game played in the NBA. Is it at the same level... NO. Night in and night out Splitter is expected to guard the most physical, talented basektball players in the world. He definitely has the skill set to do it, which is evident by what he has done in the Spanish league. Thus far, in his limited minutes he has not proven he can do it in the NBA. I'm not an NBA Scout. You are not an NBA Scout. I can only go by my knowledge of the game, which immediately, pales in comparison to individuals who are literally paid MILLIONS to do this. What I also know is that the people who are paid MILLIONS have spent countless hours watching the tapes of his limited minutes and watched him practice and concluded he is not ready.

In my opinion, he is constantly out of position on the offensive end, is not physical enough, and more times then not is beat to lose balls or clearly whiffs on balls he should have rebounded.


If you read my previous post in their entirety you'd see that I clearly said I think he deserves some more burn, but that on the flip side I don't think he is ready for 20-30 minutes a game at this point in his career. I understand this is the internet and reading comprehension is tough for a lot of people, but it's really not difficult to understand my point.

Splitter has a lot of potential. Splitter should probably get a little more time then he does on a more consistent basis. Splitter is however not ready for the 20-30 minutes a night everyone wants him to play. And finally, none of us are NBA talent evaluators.

Regardless of what the Spurs do in the playoffs this year it's hard to argue with the best record in the league.

AGAIN...

JUST SAYIN

I do think it's unrealistic to bump up the minutes of Dice and Tim by about 10+ suddenly. There's a fitness aspect that needs to be progressive. I thought that actually backfired with Manu last season. He was used to playing 28 mpg, then all of a sudden he was bumped to 35+ mpg and I really think he looked extremely gassed at the end of games during the playoffs.

It's not that he can't play 35 mpg. It's that his body is used to the pacing of 28 mpg for a full season and it takes some time to regain the extra fitness that the extra minutes require. This season he's averaging closer to 31 mpg, so hopefully the transition won't be as taxing.

On the same vein, I'd like to see Tim and Dice minutes progressively increase in these last dozen games or so, so they can get that extra wind they're going to need for the playoffs.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mugen

-Blair is an average rebounder when you match him up against legit 7footers. You really thing hes going to rebound at the same clip when hes matched up against the Gasols/Randolph/Bynum?
-:lol @ Bonner being an average defender. He might give above-average effort on the defensive end but that doesnt prevent the other team from consistently attacking him and his man scoring at will. There's a reason why guys like Darrell Arthur light him up.
-Blair immediately becomes a poor defender when his man receives the entry pass. His best chance is to steal the entry pass but teams will adjust and he wont be able to gamble as much especially if Matt fuckin bonner his the help defender.
-Hill/Manu/RJ are not shutdown defenders. The closest one is Hill and he has regressed this season. RJ has improved but nowhere near a shutdown defender. Their weaknesses are amplified when they got two of the worst help defenders in the league playing behind them. Our defense suffers immensely when TD or Dice is not in their so yeah i wouldnt say the Blair/Bonner D is "irrelevant"

:[email protected] "useless facts". Why do I need stats to back up what you already consider them "useless facts"?

it's okay if you dont watch any of the games or dont know much about basketball, but don't pretend otherwise.

---

lol, you can't be serious. I'm going to constantly crush you if you honestly believe what you wrote.

Funny thing is, Blair already did crush the Lakers earlier this season, as a STARTER going up against BOTH 7 footers of the Lakers. Now, he gets to come in as a reserve when it's highly likely he only has to contend with one of them.

No clue where to look this up, but if you look at Bonner's adjusted defensive plus/minus numbers, I think you'd be in for a big surprise.

Again, I'm not saying Blair is an above-average defender. I'm saying he's average. His defense is just highlighted because he plays next to one of the best defensive big men in history, Tim Duncan.

You underestimate our defensive capabilities in the 1-3 positions with Hill/Manu/RJ. There is plenty of statistical proof that Manu is indeed a shutdown defender. Hill proved earlier this season that he is capable of matching up against Kobe defensively, and also showed last season he can shut down Kidd. Again, RJ's defense is at least respectable now, and he was the only Spur that impressed me against the Heat when we got blown out. His defense on Lebron was very good in the first half when he was matched up with him consistently.

Again, if you want to provide some statistical proof to back yourself up, I'm all for it. Until then, put up or shut up.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cheguevara

:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

---

You hiding facts from the rest of us or what?

Do you think elite teams will have trouble with the blair/bonner lineup in the playoffs?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

Meh, that's probably overstated a bit, but the bottom line remains: Any and every attempt at justification for not playing Splitter disappeared the second Pop put Steve Novak ahead of him in the rotation. The Spurs aspire to be like Phoenix and Golden State teams that never won anything instead of the Spurs teams that won titles.

---

Agreed. Novak is the tell.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PopRocks

A buddy's cousin said her travel agent told Pop has a trip booked in late May and doesn't want the Finals to screw it up.

Obviously, all he is doing is protecting his deposit on the trip.

---

WOW. *facepalm*

This thread fails...