Wow.... I just now read this article and listening to STSA today on my drive home, its almost word for word Mike Taylor's assesment of Blair.Originally Posted by Timothy Varner
October 7th, 2009
DeJuan Blair as the San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are a glorious mess, but a mess nevertheless.
Their first preseason game hinted at the team’s potential greatness, but also showcased all the work that lies ahead before they can achieve that greatness. DeJuan Blair is the obvious story from last night, and he’s a good representative of all the good and bad which Gregg Popovich must mold into a contender.
DeJuan Blair put up 16 points and 19 rebounds in 22 minutes in the loss to Houston. The San Antonio Spurs may have lost by 14, but the only numbers that anyone will remember are Blair’s. Statistically speaking, Blair put up numbers that pace themselves alongside Andris Biedrins, David Lee and Emeka Okafor. Those three players are slated to earn 9, 8, and 10.6 million this season. Blair will earn $850,000. And sure....
Hmmmmm.. makes me wonder if his (taylor's) opinions are 100% original
Clarification: I was not comparing Reggie Evans to Blair.
I thought Bruno was eluding to the fact you cannot be just a rebounder and last in the league. I posted Reggie Evans as an example that you can. That is not what Bruno was referring to however.
Blair is already much better around the basket offensively than Evans and his jump shot looks smoother although he has to prove he can hit it consistently.
Ok.....
Contrary to what you might think, he's gonna be fine.
t varner predicted the Cowboys would win it all for the last 2 seasons and that Romo was an elite QB. The simple facts of the matter are that, after 22 minutes of play, Blair looks like a heavyweight rebounder a la Rodman. If that's all he does he will be an asset. Rodman had no offensive moves. He had an unmatched nose for the ball. If Blair is 75% of Rodman then the Spurs are blessed. He also seems a lot more normal than Rodman.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hinting
I'll point you to #3 in particular.
I'm certain T Varner does not have the first clue about the Cowboys...
Couldn't pick Romo out of a line up...
And ? I don't think where the suggestion is.
No matter, I won't argue semantics with you any longer. You made a suggestion and my perception of it was what it was.
Having said that, I do think Blair can be a great asset even if he's an offensive liability. I think his big body will serve him well near the basket on post up situations as well.
I hardly think he's going to be one dimensional.
You cannot compare Blair to Barkley or Rodman.
I made a reference to Evans when talking about Blair in the Game Blog, but it was a comparison only in a similar-sized rebounding-fiend.
Blair is truly a talented basketball player. He's got great hands and touch, he's a pretty solid passer, and he's got more skill offensively than he's been given credit for.
DeJuan has the motor and grit of a lesser player that has to carve out a niche, a la Evans, but he's not devoid of an NBA-level skill set; at least he's not going to have to resort to the type of tactics that would make a veteran of an NFL dogpile blush. -- See: Evans, Reggie. --
Dejuan has a ways to go defensively and a lot of room to improve his game overall, but the guy does have 'game.'
He'll contribute right away and have some nights like the one versus Houston during the season, but he's going to definitely have his ups and downs.
He's got to prove to Pop and the staff that his truly great skill, and some of his not-as-great-skills, outweighs the deficiencies in his game enough to benefit the team.
The minutes will have to be earned and however consistent they'll be, solely depends on how Blair can effect the bottom line; winning.
Not out of the gate, I'd agree. Who knows what his eventual ceiling will be. A large part of that will have to do with how many minutes Pop gives him in his first few years. Will he be allowed to develop quickly, or will it have to come slowly......
I agree with that. His passing is something that has stood out to me. That is why I was a little surprised to see him force up some shots yesterday. I thought he could have made a pass.
But I would rather someone be overly aggressive than passive. His game around the rim is really underrated. He is not a great post player, but he has some effective spin moves and a good up and under move. Nice touch as well. I would like to see him work on a few "go-to" post moves/touch shots and to continue to work on his mid-range jump shot.
His defense is the biggest question by far. He will not be able to use his strength to compensate for a lack of quickness and fundamentals like he did in college. He seems like a very hard worker, so I bet that can be worked on somewhat.
just for some comparisons I've seen..
Barkley is impossible..Charles was one of the best scorers in NBA history, with range up to the 3-point line..
Rodman is very unlikely..Rodman was one of the best 1 on 1 defenders in NBA history, and was really underrated from a quickness perspective..he was able to guard any position in his prime..I don't see Blair being more than an above average defender at his peak, which would be fine, but it will take work..
Elton Brand is also unlikely..Brand was a good defender from the get go, and his mid-range J was near automatic..
Evans is a stretch, since Reggie is really bad offensively..
A sane Danny Fortson with potential to be better offensively and worse defensively is the best comparison IMO, and I would be fine with that..Fortson would have remained a good player had he kept his head on straight..Blair isn't a dirty player, so he also won't be going through what Fortson went through with the league..
Last edited by HarlemHeat37; 10-07-2009 at 07:42 PM.
Rodman ?
2 times DPOY and 7 times first defensive team so I wouldn't say that he played bad defense.
Touché.
To come back on Blair, he can rebound and he has already shown in SL and even on this pre season game that he is no liability on the O at the contrary of Rodman. For the rest I think he has all the tool to be at least a decent defender, he just needs to work.
Exactly. Why are people forgetting how good Barkley and Rodman were?
I agree with you and I also think he will be an ok offensive player. He is very young so it could takes him some times. We will have to be a little patient with him.
You're right on this point. I have to confess that first two things that come into my mind when I remember Rodman are: rebounding beast and offense disaster, I forget the rest.
Rodman was one of the most unique players to ever play the game and the only person I've ever seen remind me of Charles, was Bonzi in that '06 series versus Sacramento; and that was only for a series.
Yeah, the shot-selection doesn't bother me so much because it's of the aggressive and usually high-percentage variety. I've seen some comments that have somewhat demeaned his rebounding because of the amount he got after his own miss, but I just don't understand that logic.
He has a knack for the ball and a way of getting it in the hole that, not unlike many undersized players, is effective even if unorthodox. What looks like bad shots to most, are usually the type of shots he's grown accustomed to making over the years. It's like a hitch in a swing, a throw, or a shot; it may look like crap, but it doesn't mean it's any less effective.
He does have a bit of a fall-away shot over the shoulder from the post, pretty decent foot-work, he can really utilize the pump-fake, and with those long arms he's able to use the rim as a shield to get off his shot from some otherwise unadvantageous positions.
Definitely agree about his defense being the biggest question mark, but it's something I pretty much expected. He wasn't even a good defender back at Pitt. He's always been foul-prone and a bit of a gambler, so he's definitely got his work cut out for him.
The good news is, he's come to the right team and been lucky enough to have someone like Tim as a mentor.
There's really no excuse for him to not succeed if he's willing to listen and put in the work.
Don't hate on me... I'm the first one wishing I got it all wrong.
But I look at rookies under Pop's regime not named Tony Parker and I just can't see him changing his ways now.
Hill is a great example. He was a 1st round pick (you could argue that Blair should have been too), he started the season with a couple of great performances, then when Manu got injured he was inexplicably banished to the bench. Pop went with the Mason at PG experiment, and at the end of the season he even resurrected Vaughn. This is on a position where we didn't even have a depth at all, and Pop still refused to play him until the elimination game.
Now look at DeJuan's situation: He's got McDyess, Bonner, Ratliff, and even arguably Mahinmi in front of him, considering Ian spent 3 years learning the system. These are all NBA vets, except for Ian, that you know Pop hold in high regard.
On top of that, Pop has been playing a lot of small ball since the 2006 Dallas debacle.
I'm sorry, I just don't see where Pop is going to feel like he should play him over those other guys. He will probably give him minutes early in the season, like he did with Hill, but sooner than later I suspect we're going to see him in street clothes, much like we saw Hill in the second part of last season.
Again, I hope I end up being dead wrong about this when it's all said and done, but right now I don't see it. Nevertheless, I think we have a much improved team this season, with or without DeJuan, and even if he can't be a contributor this season, I'm sure he'll be a great Spur in seasons to come.
Yeah, but how'd ya like to see both of them on the court at the same time with their defense. Pops gonna have to really get them into perfect matchups to make use of these guys.
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