Monroe: A scout's take on the Spurs

[wildbill2u]

Absence of Hasilp and Ian profiles tells you that the scout doesn't expect them to get many minutes

[galvatron3000]

Did RJ end someone's season? Sounds awfully bitter.

you caught that too

[Hemotivo]

if I was a coach against spurs
I would make manu drive right

sure

[spursfan09]

I'm really excited about George Hill!!!

Richard Jefferson was an expectation, but G Hill can be a surprise!

[ceperez]

This scouting report on Manu is simplistic. I have seen him go right and finish on the right side, when they absolutely take away the left. You can't just guard the left, he will go right and score. That's why defenders have to play him straight up, and why they get beat to the left.

I'm tired of hearing announcers say "He's always going to go left!" It's just not that simple.

Read somewhere that Manu is a statistical anomaly. He may obviously favor the left, but the actual numbers shows that he's equally effective from everywhere. Allmost all players do have favorite spots, but Manu apparently doesn't. That's why it's not that simple guarding Manu.

In general, a pretty poor scouting report.

[ShoogarBear]

Like you said, it's not like it's a completely ridiculous statement. He jumped higher and threw the ball down harder than Shawn Kemp did, harder than anyone I've ever seen. He was an absolute monster. I have absolutely no issue with someone making that statement. Another reason they might do so is to illustrate the extent to which Dice has modified his game. He really seemed early on like a guy who was going to rely on his athletecism to stay in the league, and to his credit he managed to reinvent himself.

I said before Dice was essentially Amare 1.0, but for some reason, they left the brain out of the update.

[whottt]

That scouting report on Duncan gives me some optimism...because I don't recall seeing Duncan draw a single double team in the postseason last year, and it's a problem because when he doesn't that totally changes the formula for the Spurs winning a le from inside out to outside(penetration) in.

Shooting no longer is the deciding factor...



I'm not sold on this teams shooting anyway, but it's been a long long time since the Spurs won from the outside(pretty much forever).

[lurker23]

As Darkwaters said, this scout is spot-on about Bonner. You can't close out on him too much or he'll make you pay with the pump fake. No, he's not usually going to drive all the way to the basket and slam it down (or even lay it up), but often he'll use that pump fake, dribble a time or two, and knock down the open 19-footer.

----

Manu prefers to go left and is better at going left. Everyone knows this. If you play him straight up, he'll go left 8 out of 10 times. If you play him slightly to go left, he'll still go left 6 out of 10 times and blow by you. If you play him to go left the whole way, he'll go right 9 out of 10 times and make you pay for it. He may be left-handed, but he's better than most right-handed players at driving to the right. He's Manu Ginobili.

[ducks]

Unsurprisingly, mostly spot-on takes by that scout.





I call total bull . Manu can and does regularly drive right. Go watch some Manu highlight reels on youtube and you'll see.



He does indeed, just as Tony often finishes with his right when going left. It's something I hate to see as a guy that can use both hands equally (it's not hard finishing off-handed if you practice it enough, depending on where your feet are, which is usually why people finish with the wrong hand), but they are both so good at it that I give them a pass...

announcers always say you have to make him drive right
he does some but not most
his weakness is right

[Mel_13]

announcers always say you have to make him drive right
he does some but not most
his weakness is right

league has known this for years and teams prepare
defenders try to force him right
Manu wins anyway

[ducks]

yes my post gave him props being able to still go left so much