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if Pop plays them together in the playoffs for any extended period of time, then the spurs will be in A LOT of trouble.
thought it was a knee-jerk by Pop after the Laker game and i still don't agree with it.
Really shows how thin the Spurs frontline is, complete joke pairing those two together.
Sucks, because the McDyess/Duncan combo is an absolute beast.
if Pop plays them together in the playoffs for any extended period of time, then the spurs will be in A LOT of trouble.
thought it was a knee-jerk by Pop after the Laker game and i still don't agree with it.
Bonner resigned.
epic
Bonner is a fine situational back-up big, and Blair is good as an energy guy , and even a serviceable starter depending on match-ups, the problem is you can't have a short match-up limited guy in with a slow limited jump-shooting big. Either guy paired with an athletic average defender with some inside game is fine. Their games just don't compliment each other especially against a driving team.
Unfortunately, Dice starting buys you about 20 minutes of primetime Blair/Bonner paint "protection".
It's a joke...and get ready Spur fan...we are going to see it in the playoffs too.
Let's do some math here.
There are 96 (48 X 2) minutes available at the C + PF spots. Assume that Pop will play Timmy 36 mpg and Dice 30 mpg in the playoffs. That's 66 minutes, which leaves 96 - 66 = 30 minutes for the other bigs.
If Timmy and Dice start (which IMO is the right thing to do) and finish games together, they definitely play together for:
- The first 6 minutes of the game
- The first 6 minutes of the 2nd half
- The last 6 minutes of the game
That's about 18 minutes when they play together. Of the remaining 30 minutes, Duncan will play w/o Dice for 36-18 = 18 minutes, and Dice will play w/o Duncan for 30-18 = 12 minutes. Therefore either one of Dice and Duncan will be on the floor for 18 + 12 = 30 mins.
Basically, with the above distribution, either Duncan or Dice can stay on the floor at all times:
- Both together for 18 minutes
- Duncan, but no Dice for 18 minutes
- Dice, but no Duncan for 12 minutes
That is what Pop should aim for IMO. No more Bonner/Blair combo except for spot minutes.
Damn you, Splitter for getting hurt.
Dice climbing from 17 in the regular season to 30 in the playoffs is not a realistic projection.
Unfortunately, you're probably right. And if you are, then this team is throwing away a good chance at a championship, all because their coach is ignorant and stubborn.
Splitter should have utilized to guard elite face-up four's from the moment he got healthy earlier this season. It's not ideal to be working him in at this late date, but it's not too late either. I don't care about hurting anyone's feelings, this is about what's best for the team. You can't play a team with three guys who get to the line as consistently as the Heat and play a Blair-Bonner duo for a long stretch. Those guys were licking their chops from the moment they saw that. Bosh repeatedly attacked Bonner for profit.
You wonder why elite teams clearly don't respect this team to the level they should based on their record? It's because they couldn't be any less imposing. Two undersized, defenseless power forwards and three shooting guards, two of which are undersized, comprise the second unit.
I get that if Splitter plays with Blair, there's a lack of shooting and if he plays with Bonner, there's a lack of rebounding. But they need someone who's a defensive presence and can at least somewhat protect the rim. My inclination is the same as my initial one when it comes to the bigs and that is that Blair should ultimately be dropped from the rotation.
make no mistake, this game has been mostly garbage.
It was a sad day when Bonner first slipped on a Spurs uniform.
And our championship ambitions may have been killed when he re-signed.
There's no way to dodge the doubt, he is a colossal failure.
A gimmicky regular-season trick shot artist that becomes a tremendous liability when it counts.
I'm hoping that he's saving up minutes to spend in the playoffs, and that Pop would rather play him 30 mins a night and try to shorten the first 2 playoff series by a game apiece than give him fewer minutes but have the series go more games.
I want to puke whenever I see this frontcourt. I don't get why Pop is so stubborn and keep using it.
PS: Free Tiago.
Pop will realize it when it's too late. See George Hill in his rookie season.
lol i've been sayin that all year but the Pop Apologists kept pointing at our record.
it'd be nice to see TPark spin the Blair/Bonner front court
btw that's a bull excuse for Pop.
he's had plenty of time to develop Splitter into a rotational player this season but his stubborness has kept him from doing so.
You can argue that Splitter was never that good to begin with but he never got a fair shot. To say Pop is blameless in his lack of development is pure bull from the Pop homers.
54-13 Panic!!!! Oh noes!!!!lol i've been sayin that all year but the Pop Apologists kept pointing at our record.
it'd be nice to see TPark spin the Blair/Bonner front court
Not panic, but concerned.
Concerned that the things that are most important to win in the playoffs are the things that these Spurs struggle with...Rebounding, Defense, Half-court execution against physical defenses...
But if you want to keep sounding like MavFan and be happy with your regular season championship, go ahead. 0-0 when the playoffs start and it only takes one game to lose HC advantage.
I was quoting EricB there. I wasn't serious.
Agree with Benefactor and TD 21..
Pop may be the best X's and O's coach in the league, but when it comes to rotations/playing the right combination's of players, Pop doesn't give his team the best chance to win games. Yes I said it.
Splitter needs to play, just like Hill needed to in 08-09' over Vaughn; Just like Stephen Jackson in 02' when he sat the whole year; Just like Kurt Thomas needed to play against LA in Conference Finals in 08' when Pop elected to go small with Finley/Udoka on Odom and Spurs wounded up being dominated on the offensive glass giving Lakers 2-3-4 shots per possession; Same goes for 06' series with Dallas when Pop sat Nazr for no damn reason and Spurs ended up giving away possessions by Josh Howard going Rodman on the offensive glass ( Duncan was being taken out on the perimeter in pick and rolls on the defensive end).
But most importantly, the past 3-4 years this team has been in dire need of quality length inside to compliment Duncan on the defensive end. And once Pop finally gets it (Splitter), he refuses to actually give it a ing try because he has a hard on for any player that can spread the floor. Who cares if they can't defend when it matters. Who cares if they are undersized in the interior. bring back Greg Sutton or Dale Ellis to come play the five might as well Pop.
I just want our defensive minded coach back. You know the one who used to prioritize interior defense.
Is that too much to ask?
/End rant
Last edited by MaNu4Tres; 03-14-2011 at 09:49 PM.
Seriously Brent Barry must be laughing his ass off. A player like Novak would have been in the doghouse in the defensive years. I knew the Novak signing would mean Pop is more obsessed with soft 3 point shooters.Agree with Benefactor and TD 21..
Pop may be the best X's and O's coach in the league, but when it comes to rotations/playing the right combination's of players, Pop doesn't give his team the best chance to win games. Yes I said it.
Splitter needs to play, just like Hill needed to in 08-09' over Vaughn; Just like Stephen Jackson in 02' when he sat the whole year, Just like Kurt Thomas needed to play against LA in Conference Finals in 08' when Pop elected to go small with Finley/Udoka on Odom.
But most importantly, the past 3-4 years this team has been in dire need of quality length inside to compliment Duncan on the defensive end. And once Pop finally gets it (Splitter), he refuses to actually give it a ing try because he has a hard on for any player that can spread the floor. Who cares if they can't defend when it matters. Who cares if they are undersized in the interior. bring back Greg Sutton or Dale Ellis to come play the five might as well Pop.
I just want our defensive minded coach back. You know the one who used to prioritize interior defense.
Is that too much to ask?
Here's to living and dieing by the 3 come playoff time (meaning here's to going out in 6 games in the WCSF or WCF)
/End rant
Almost lost my breakfast, thanks for the memory
Exactly.
Well, there's a month left, that's a lot of basketball..
If the Spurs get blown out by the Mavs, maybe Pop finally makes a change..doubtful, but it's possible, I suppose..
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