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I can see it happening.
Okay, its summer, so I'm just sort of thinking aloud here.
But if we started Blair instead of McDyess, that would be an interesting combination. I'm not saying Blair is anywhere close to as good as McDyess, but if we did start Blair, here would be some interesting combinations:
1. Teaming Blair with Duncan, allows each to do what they do best: Tim to score in the paint on post-up moves and (recently) jump shots. Blair to get rebounds. If Blair does struggle as a rookie, it will likely be on the defensive end and he'll have an All-Universe defender manning the paint with him. Tim is also our tallest guy, so it will help on D to balance out DeJuan's height disadvantage. Yes, McDyess is better on offense than Blair but will it be needed in our starting lineup??? What will be needed is rebounding.
2. McDyess on the second team would pair him up with Manu for an unbelievably high BB IQ bench that should just destroy most teams subs. We could also use McDyess as a real scoring option on the second team. Hill and a still decent Finley would give us a simply brutal bench with a lot of experience.
Obviously, at crunch time McDyess would be in instead of Blair, but starting might be a different story.
Yes, yes, I know Blair hasn't proven a thing yet, but I'm just throwing this out there.
I can see it happening.
Then Tim would have a chance of winning the 6th man award.
I could see Pop toying with that at some point in the season.
But I'm liking the idea of Blair's energy mixing with Ginobli and Hills in the 2nd unit.
Trust me, I have thought about it, I would love nothing more than for Blair to start and have McDyess come off the Bench with Ginobili and dominate.
But it won't happen. It always takes our young guys forever to get decent minutes and Pop always chooses the old and experience over the young and athletic. Trust me, I would love for this to happen, but I doubt Pop would do it. In the end, Blair is still just a rookie.
Be interesting to see how we do against orlando when we go small blair vs howard, if maxiell can guard howard then blair can to.
Doesn't matter who starts, just who finishes.
NBA needs to expand the rules to allow for six men on the court so Spurs can finish with Parker, Ginobili, Jefferson, McDyess, Blair, and Duncan.
We definitely want Dyess starting next to Duncan. Better defender, money with that 15-18 footer so that he can be on the other side of the court pulling defenders away from Duncan and just a vet who understands the NBA game better, i.e. he'll know how to stay out of Duncan's way.
I think the best way to use Blair is to have him out there with Hill, Manu, Jefferson and Bonner when Duncan and Parker are getting their rest. That way you can spread the floor and let Blair be the vacuum who sucks up offensive rebounds. While Blair is a stud, I dont' think you want him crowded by a bunch of taller players. He'll be a more effective player if the paint area is less congested.
It will probably be experimented with, I still prefer Mcdyess starting though.
Blair would start only if one of the two bigs are injured, which I don`t want to happen, so better be our star sub.
Blair's energy off the bench would be lethal. Plus he is a rookie. Come on. I am sure he is gonna pile up fouls like crazy
Blair will be more of a scorer than TD. TD will struggle to create shots for himself now.
It's not out of the question, but it will be more "telling" to see who is finishing the games.
The combination of Tim Duncan and Malik Rose was very effective up until Robert Horry arrived and started out-performing Malik. Duncan and Blair would have some similarities to the Duncan/Rose frontline.
Defense will count double, so McDyess is more likely going to be the other Big getting the majority of the minutes...particularly at the end of games unless or until Blair learns the defense and can execute.
I'm assuming, of course, that it doesn't take an experienced pro like McDyess very long to become effective in the Spurs' defense.
our defense will really blow if it's Blair and anyone but Duncan and McDyess on the floor. I see this being a real problem.
Its happened before. Even though Tony started his rookie season as a backup to Antonio Daniels, Pop made him a starter after a few games. If the coaching staff feel the same way about Blair, he could get some starter minutes during the early part of the season to see how he responds.
it's all about mintues, though. Blair comes in around the 6 minute mark in the first quarter, and plays with Duncan for another three. Blair only plays the last few minues with Bonner. And then he closes out the quarter and McDyess starts the second with Blair.
Ian is obviously the x-factor..if he can out-play Bonner for the bench spot, then our bench will be in really good shape..I worry about a Blair-Bonner frontcourt, it would be horrible defensively, like we saw with Gooden-Bonner last year..Ian's size and athleticism alone would be an upgrade to anything we've had in a while defensively(outside of Duncan), so hopefully he pans out..
Blair-Bonner would never work..we would HAVE to have Hill/Manu/Hairston or Jefferson on the perimeter with them at all times to limit penetration, and it would be impossible for them to defend if any starting-caliber post big men are on the floor against them..
I'm just old school at heart I guess. I'm a believer in consistency from your starters, X-factors on the bench. As Solid D brought up the learning curve for the defense is probably going to be steeper for Blair than it will be for a vet like Dice. It's worth experimenting a little, but at this point I'm not wild about the idea of a rookie Blair lining up against NBA starters.
this is why we need an veteran big man who can play D for 15 a game.
You know, I could see it either way. There are big advantages to starting Blair or McDyess. That just comes with playing next to a hall of famer.
man, you certainly think you know a lot about Spurs basketball.
there's a better chance of Bonner taking minutes from McDyess than Ian taking minutes from Bonner. Bonner's D is solid, better than anything Ian could amount to this year yet.
A delicious thought that I, and apparently many others, have thought about.
Knowing the complexity of the Spurs offense and Pop's conversative approach toward most rookies, I wouldn't count on seeing it happen this year. Probably next year.
Eventually I see Dice headed to the bench and Ian starting at center. PLayoffs roster may change to
Duncan
McDyess
Jefferson
Ginobili
Parker
Mason
McDyess
Hill
Blair
scrubs
Bonner has lost the spot to Ian already. TRUST!
We're talking bench minutes here. Is a Blair-Bonner frontcourt going to be that much worse defensively than a Bonner-Thomas one was last year? Yes, the Spurs would have to have Manu and Jefferson out there with them, but so what? You've got a big 4. You're going to want at least 2 of them out there together at all times anyways.
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