what Richard Jefferson shoulda been. But now you want him to take over Green's role and park him at the corner 3?? And then you gon want him to get paid big time. Pop knows that wont fly anymore. We already got an RJ 2.0 and thats LMA
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what Richard Jefferson shoulda been. But now you want him to take over Green's role and park him at the corner 3?? And then you gon want him to get paid big time. Pop knows that wont fly anymore. We already got an RJ 2.0 and thats LMA
Simmons has been fantastic. 6pts on 50% shooting for quite an old rookie and bringing the energy. He could be the wingman we've been missing and replace the irreplaceable Mr Ginobili off the bench when he hangs em up. I like what I've seen from him.
LMA isn't RJ 2.0. RJ fucken sucked. He is already far and away the best big Duncan has paired with since the Admiral set sail. And just like Simmons is only 22 games into his Spurs career. Hopefully they are both on the up n up for SA. LMA is averaging 16pts, 9reb, 2blk in just 29 minutes. And it seems every time LMA is on the way to a monster night the Spurs are blowing the other team away and he sits the whole 4th quarter so can't pad his stats. Both great pieces to the puzzle and hopefully only going to get better.
Even if someone does think Simmons is a starting-caliber player in the NBA at this point (a bit of kneejerking), I have a hard time believing he'd be a good fit in the starting lineup. Just don't see him getting the chance to utilize his best strengths while playing alongside Parker/Kawhi/LMA (guys who will be getting the vast majority of touches).
I'd probably rather start KA and leave Simmons coming off the bench, even though I think Simmons is the better player at this point.
Posted this in another thread so I will be brief:
He's really athletic which will net him easy baskets and he can pass well.
His style is best suited for the bench, which likes to run in transition.
His defense will be exposed in the SL because he doesn't negotiate screens well and he looses track of his assignment.
He has other minor issues. He's still prone to fouling and turning the ball over, an issue if he were to start and get more minutes. He also cramps the space up if he's not hitting the 3 pt shot.
He has improved however, and hopefully he can get better at his deficiencies.
Overall though, we need Danny to get his groove or mojo back.
Simmons is the Kawhi of the 2nd unit, put him with Boban and we have Spurs unit A and Spurs unit A-2
Im all for JSimms playing with the bench. But hes not fit for the starting unit. KA might work but hes streaky so i dunno who Pop will use. Rasual Butler maybe? Havent heard from my sauces inside the locker room.
So which faggot dusted off this alt? :lol
I mean ideally we're all rooting for Danny to return to form AND for Simmons to turn out to be a starting caliber player.
But if DG is going to shoot 30% from three and get torched by Lou Williams on D for the rest of the season, you pretty much have to make a change soon. Either Simmons needs to get up to speed which will probably take all season or you have to figure out whether Anderson can hit a corner three and defend the starting guards of the league.
I'm actually of a mind that Simmons makes more sense with the starters than KA so long as Kawhi is shooting >40% from three. Neither is a great shooter, but having someone who can get to the rim at will opens things up for Kawhi and Lamarcus on the outside and vice versa. Part of our problem right now is that when we get into our 2nd and 3rd actions, we're asking Danny Green to initiate something from the wing. Having a guy that can slice through the lane while the defense is still moving side to side will draw a ton of fouls and get a ton of good looks for whoever is under the basket.
LOL at mods changing the title of the thread :lol. That wasnt intentional I apologize..............
The final answer maybe then is Manu back in the SL. (playoffs of course)
Takes care of the 3 point shooting, secondary and tertiary movements, playmaking, driving and guts.
Anderson/Simmons do their best to be Manu in two people on the bench, add Boris with his vision and passing... means Mills and Green can just catch and shoot all day.
Second unit would really be a Summertime unit.
Simmons Green Mills with all that speed and quickness, Boris and Anderson with the playmaking and pacing... Mills and Simmons with the cuts, Mills and Green and Anderson sometimes Boris with the 3 ball, Anderson and Boris in the post even...
I think Pop is trying to find out of all 3 at the moment which is the best:
1. Whether Danny will get it together
2. Whether Simmons can be adequate to play in a postseason in his rookie year
3. Whether he trusts Anderson with anything at this point or not.
For me Anderson is being developed for the future. This year is not about him. He's working on stuff, his defense, his passing, probably his 3 pt shot and other stuff behind doors... and Pop is being super strict with him. I have seen him conduct the offense for short stretches, not very well, but also not terribly bad. He's growing at his own pace. If he were to start, it would not even be for his benefit, but for the team. He's a low usage player, who is ideal for half court offense with the SL. My problem is that the SG spot is assigned to defend quickie guards.
Simmons is probably the best in that regard, although far from ideal.
I still stand our best chance rests with Danny... but obviously like you said, if he's going to continue this trend of low % shooting and bad defense then yes, Pop has to try a different guy. In that case, I would give the nod to Simmons first.
Sure, let's follow BB advices of someone who want make Bonner plays.
We'll see.
Let me know what you find.
:flag:
Pop has said even though he's not a fan of the 3 pt shot... you can't win a championship without 3 pt shooting.
As much as Pop gave a chance to Tony last year to get it together, I believe he will do the same with Danny, so long as Danny keeps up his defensive focus. He failed at D last night and thus we got the outcome we got.
Ugh. Simmons isn't better than Jefferson. They play him and he gets his numbers against scrub teams like the Lakers. He won't see the light of day vs top tier teams. Please stop overrating him.
I don't think anyone's overrating him, but he's been a pleasant surprise considering how Dg has been in his slump so far. He's making the best of his opportunities and getting a bit of praise for it. But he's barely starter material right now and is really only getting any minutes right now because green is struggling. But as a fan you have to atleast be pleased that's he's been able to step up a bit.
And just like football, this kind of game relies on strong D and playing with the lead. I credit Pop with being smart enough to not want to try to beat the Warriors at their own game. Forcing them to match up with our big line-up is a much better strategy than trying to match their undeniably excellent small ball line-up with our personnel.
Some of us have been following Simmons since summer league, and we have seen him make very good progress. I don't think many of us believe he is a starting caliber player against every team in the league at this point. But based on BOTH Danny's struggles AND Simmons' progress, many of us are hoping that his development will continue in the same trajectory and might even accelerate if he were to start - especially against middle and lower tier teams. I, for one, am not rooting for Simmons more than I am rooting for Danny. Ideally Danny will return to form and Simmons will continue to develop into a starting caliber player in his own right. Two weapons are better than one.
In addition, a few of us hope (dream?) that Simmons will be able to step into the Manu role when he retires. (Do not misunderstand: I do not expect Simmons to fill Manu's legendary sneakers, but provide a similar multi-dimensional athletic spark when he enters a game.) So with that in mind, I hope that he becomes a starting caliber leader of the second unit - but that is probably not gonna happen this year.
One thing that has been said in other threads is that pairing Simmons with Kawhi seems to work very well for both players at present. So whether Simmons starts or not, I hope that pairing is maximized.
Comparing LMA to Jefferson is just plain silly. He's teaming with Tim & Kawhi to form the best defense in the league, he's leading the team in rebounds, & the team is 19-5. And that's after only one quarter of a season.
I would like to see him start for the reasons that Tim / LA can hide his defensive lapses and it takes the pressure off Danny and allows him to concentrate on his defense which is the sore spot of the 2nd team rotation.
OP compared Simmons to RJ and Simmons is not near as good. He's not even better than RJ's Spur years. Hence overrating. He's as best a low minute guy that can give rotation players rest against scrub teams and in blow outs. And LMA is no where near RJ2. That's so retarded that I don't even know how to respond. LMA is part of the reason we have the 2nd best record while resting vets. Would OP prefer injured Splitter and dunked on Baynes to a proven lo post scorer, a 2nd shot blocker/rebounder, and improving midrange shooter?
Simmons is turnover prone.Not Manu-turnover, where most of his are trying to create, but just dumb turnover, like last night when he gave the ball up in the middle of the court for a fast break dunk. More minutes mean more turnover.Green played less minutes because Pop was resting his starters for the back to back against Atlanta, where he will need Green’s defense (and at some point, hopefully he’ll start knocking down those threes again).
ns is
What did Danny Green bring to the starting unit last night that Simmons cant?
Simmons has "I need to stay in the NBA" energy, but it remains to be seen where his peak is. I do like his energy though. That 1st unit was fucking lethargic. When is that going to be addressed? It's not LMA. I think it could be a combination of Leonard trying to assert himself on then offensive end and the rest of the team trying to involve LMA.
Not sure why you revisited LMA. I didn't mention him. I don't really discuss him with posters who don't/refuse to acknowledge his talent and/or contribution to the team. Sounds like you and I are in substantial agreement about LaMarcus.
As for Simmons, I didn't really address the RJ comparison. I don't disagree that Simmns is not currently better than RJ. But he is currently much more aggressive than RJ ever was as a Spur, and that gives me ultimately higher hopes for Simmons. Basically you describe the player he is, while I am speaking in terms of his "improvement" and "trajectory". Perhaps you disagree with my assessment of his potential, but I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment of his current play.
Agree with this. We have to remember Danny affects the game with gravity even if he doesn't have the ball.
Overall, I am rooting for both guys, but its obvious we are not a championship team if we are starting J.Simms or Anderson. At this point, even if either guy were to start, it would be to get Danny's head in the right spot, and I don't think Pop would do that, at least not yet.
I am reminded last year when ppl were claiming for Pop to bench Tony and Tony went through a very cold stretch when he shot and played poorly and Pop famously said:
"If Tony Parker is not the Tony Parker of past years, we are not winning the championship."
Whether the old man was stubborn or not, he knew Tony still had a vital role in the team and if he could not do it, no one else could do it at the level that he had done it in the past. We had guys who could step in and give you other things, but not give you what Tony was supposed to give last season's team.
I see the same with Danny. While we have other guys we can try at starting SG, none of the other wings can perform DG's role and give the same things he's capable of giving us when he's playing well... and if he's not playing well we might be doomed, bc no one else is going to give us exactly those things.
We dont need the starting SG to be slashing, as much as we need him to be taking all the quickie perimeter threats, playing solid D without fouling and hitting 3s at a good rate. If Danny can't give us this things, we might be doomed in the end.
Jonathan Simmons reminds me of Alonzo Gee. Crazy athletic, not a great shooter but can drive and pass.
Alonzo gee..... This guy has done more as a spur in the first 3rd of season than gee ever did.
A bigger Smush Parker
This is far too dogmatic. I agree with you that Simmons is not RJ quality, but to suggest more minutes equals more turnovers is silly, really. With young, new, raw, rookie, etc guys like him, hell even vets, it should be almost expected, a given, that they are going to have higher turnover rates than their future experienced selves. More minutes, if they've got good coaching and some talent, might actually lead to the exact opposite. Fewer turnovers. Case in point Ray McCallum. Third string, minimally experienced, noob Spur. He was having some turnover issues in his first few games in spot minutes. Last night: most minutes he's logged as a Spur, zero turnovers.
The other night Cojo made an ugly Danny Green sort of turnover in Toronto vs us, and he's on his 5th year and four under Pop, and ST loves the stiff.
Simmons' turnover at midcourt was out of control and not smart, but he was trying to push the pace, which is his skillset, and he made a mistake. Not the end of the world, nor deserving to be written off. It's a process. He'll come through or not, but let's be patient. I think he has shown some improvement. If he can improve on D and hit the corner 3 in the next year or two, he's going to be a freakin' find.
He's nothing like Jefferson or Gee. Even in his prime, Jefferson was never a creator and Gee never has been either.
Simmons, if he's to make it long term, will have to be along the lines of Evans, Burks or Stephenson (a few years back, when he was credible, if overrated).
The problem with Anderson and Simmons, is both are unlikely to ever be above average, high volume three-point shooters. So even if/when they both look like rotation players, the only way they can work together, is if Anderson is turned into a PF and they find another wing who is (Bertans?). But Diaw probably isn't going anywhere in the near future, so it'll probably remain an either/or situation.
lol reading this thread right now, and then Simmons is being interviewed on tv in the background....
Man that was an endearing short interview, from his open tryout to the burgeoning chemistry with KL, and the dunk from last night. I especially dug him saying how if he didn't go the Austin route he would have "gone over seas and got lost in the shuffle, but probably would have liked it and stayed there" and his mom story made me grin. Seems like a good character dude giving everything he has.
When they brought up the dunk he sort gave a cheshire cat smile, and said coyly "yea I grew up in Texas, I know they don't have a lot of dunking going on over here in San Antonio. I just know that dunks makes the crowd hype and their energy helps us out. I think it helped with our win last night"
And the Mom story, just when he gave her the call "she said... loorrd... are you lyiiiing (in a mom imitating voice), she's just so happy for me" etc... but the demeanor he had when he spoke about it, makes you feel like you want to go make your mom proud now lol.
With the KL chemistry, he just said it comes from playing basketball... I think they're kindred spirits and it will continue to blossom
Simmons kinda reminds me of a bull in a china shop. Sometimes he takes that energy and determines he's gonna drive or go through a screen no matter what other players are in his way. Then he ends up with a foul or a TO. Or sometimes he can't finish at the rim, but gets bailed out by a shooting foul. If you notice, he's scoring more points on foul shots than made FGs/ He's a wild man on the floor at times.
I think he is just trying too hard to impress Pop and needs to use a little more good BB IQ and he'll be even more valuable. He's getting more minutes as it is than I thought he'd get.
Wiggins
Ya'll are right, Gee wasn't a good comparison the more I think about it (maybe athletically though.) How about Shabazz Muhammad? More green and not as good, but similar game?
He's got better handles and mobility than Green. Green is a defensive specialist. Simmons doesn't have same uncanny defensive ability. Simmons has superior passing and driving skills over Green.
Maybe Dwayne Wade is a better comparison. Not the same ability of course, but the same kind of game.
Very promising to know that he's got good chemistry with KL. KL doesn't really have a peer/buddy with the Spurs. Everyone is just much older. So it makes sense that KL is getting along with someone his age and possibly similar background.
Leonard and McCallum are both 24 (both June 1991). Simmons is 26, Anderson 22.
Mills is 27, but seems to hang out with Boris and Manu. I guess Foreign Legion guys.
Simmonds has the athleticism to be the next SJax. That's the best compliment I can provide him. He can hit a corner three, and plays athletically. The same type of player that Jackson was when he was brought up in 2003.
Such a quality post. I agree. Teams are closing out on Danny hard this year, no excuse for his poor shooting, but when they do it's painful seeing him get into the lane. Not to mention he's not a great passer. I think pop has given him such a long leesh because of the off season deal Danny signed. Pop needs to tighten it up a bit and light a fire like he has done to help Green. Green needs that. If Danny keeps underachieving then he should be placed on the bench. He would get better looks with a better ball movement group and is what he is accustomed to. There's too many flaws in Simmons game to keep the starting spot as it stands but they could both benefit from the switch. Eventually teams will start sagging off Simmons and daring him to shoot and if he can hit that consistently then we'll know more what this guy can be. Very dangerous and watching Spurs games just got a bit more interesting.
Malik Hairston with a jumper, tbh
... or for an older example, James White with better defense
... or for an even older example, Melvin Sanders with better defense
Don't get the comparisons to Jefferson or Jackson. He's shorter than both and much less physical than Jackson.
As for the LMA vs RJ argument, yes we're doing well (20–5) with LMA, but let's not forget that we were 46–9 thru 55 games in 2011 with RJ. So let's try not to prematurely blow our loads here.
LMA and RJ aren't even comparable. LMA is basically exactly what we expected him to be and more. He had a little bit of a shooting slump to start the season but I think it's pretty clear that he's working his way out of it and at the same time becoming more comfortable in our system. Defensively and on the glass he's succeeded expectations. "Let's not forget" that Richard Jefferson not only didn't fit on offense, defense and rebounding didn't exist in his game. Aldridge despite some offensive struggles if you want to call it that at least fits and makes sense to what the team is trying to do.
I fucked around and fell asleep when you compared my nigga to Malik Harrison . Yeah he didn't have a strong finish tonigh.... But he is raw.... That is expected at this point. Talent is still evident.
I've never seen a player slip more per 36 min than Simmons. Looks like bowling shoes on sawdust
Derek Anderson 2001