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I'm hoping Dice actually spoke to Blair rather then how the article states that he was just thinking of Blair on the bench. The Kid needs that kind of guidance
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...ge=dime-091029Blair's Learning Curve
By Graydon Gordian
TrueHoop Network
The hype surrounding DeJuan Blair reached a fever pitch after the rookie scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his pro debut against the Hornets on Wednesday. After Thursday's loss to the Bulls, fans' expectations for Blair may have come back down to Earth.
Before we collectively overreact in the opposite direction, let's be clear: six points and four rebounds in 12 minutes is a respectable line for a guy who has played a grand total of two NBA games. But the exuberance Spurs' fans felt after his line on opening night masked some of the weaknesses that were more easily identifiable this evening. And by weaknesses, I am primarily referring to his defense.
Before the game, Gregg Popovich said every aspect of Blair's game except rebounding needs improvement. And, like nearly every aspect of his game except rebounding, he is far from his ceiling as a defender. He has a preternatural sense of spacing that lends itself to the complicated rotation defenses Popovich require. And he has the core body strength to be physical without being foul prone.
But as things currently stand, he is both physical and foul prone. He plays far too much defense with his hands, and far too little with his feet and chest. His unbelievably long reach only exacerbates the problem. Once he commits himself to the necessity of lateral movement, his length will be an asset. Currently, his 7' 3" wingspan serves as a crutch.
Certainly Blair's defensive struggles aren't for lack of effort. If anything, a more tempered approach might do the rookie some good.
After the game I spoke with Antonio McDyess about his tutelage of Blair. McDyess mentioned that after Popovich pulled Blair from the game because of one too many unnecessary fouls, Blair was hard on himself as he returned to the bench.
"He was frustrated because he went in the game and things didn't go the way they normally do for him," said McDyess. "For me, on the bench, I'm sitting there like, 'man, this is your second game, and you got a second half. You gotta put that behind you. We got a second half and 80 more games to go.'"
I'm hoping Dice actually spoke to Blair rather then how the article states that he was just thinking of Blair on the bench. The Kid needs that kind of guidance
And lose an ARM because Beast was still in a bad mood? Not likely. Best to wait until he cools down and send a memo...
Good article and right on point. People are expecting a double double out of him every night. That's simply not realistic. He's gonna put up good numbers, he's shown that consistently now. The X-Factor for Blair is the fouls and defensive matchups which are going dictate how long Pop stays with him.
Chomag: ++
Or maybe Dice knew Blair would read it in the paper in the morning.
"For me, on the bench, I'm sitting there like, 'man, this is your second game, and you got a second half. You gotta put that behind you. We got a second half and 80 more games to go.'"
Where does it say Dice was just thinking of Blair?
Blair is in the PERFECT situation to grow as a player. Hes not in a pressure situation where he HAS to produce right away for his team to win. He has alot of time and oppurtuinity to learn and grow from some of the best players in the NBA.
Blair will be a great player at his age he acts more mature and plays better than some players that have been in the league longer than him
blair will be just fine dnt wry bout him
I think there is more overreaction to the bulls game, than to what blair did in the hornets game.
He'll be fine.
Was his D good in Pittsburgh?
1st NBA game:
- Robinson: (34m) 23pts, 17rbds, 3blks, 1ast
- Duncan: (35m) 15pts, 10rbds, 2blks, 2 asts
- Blair: (22m) 14pts, 11rbds, 3 asts
2nd NBA game:
- Robinson: (40m) 19pts, 18rbds, 8blks (!!!), 2 asts (and 4 steals!)
- Duncan: (23m) 9pts, 5rbds, 2 blks, 4 asts
- Blair: (12m) 6pts, 4rbds
Everything still going as planned...
robinson the ORIGINAL BEAST lol1st NBA game:
- Robinson: (34m) 23pts, 17rbds, 3blks, 1ast
- Duncan: (35m) 15pts, 10rbds, 2blks, 2 asts
- Blair: (22m) 14pts, 11rbds, 3 asts
2nd NBA game:
- Robinson: (40m) 19pts, 18rbds, 8blks (!!!), 2 asts (and 4 steals!)
- Duncan: (23m) 9pts, 5rbds, 2 blks, 4 asts
- Blair: (12m) 6pts, 4rbds
Everything still going as planned...
God Damn, I'm so sad I missed out on D-robs First season(I became a Spurs fun that years playoffs. HEY! I was like 12 years old =P). He was a freaking beast!1st NBA game:
- Robinson: (34m) 23pts, 17rbds, 3blks, 1ast
- Duncan: (35m) 15pts, 10rbds, 2blks, 2 asts
- Blair: (22m) 14pts, 11rbds, 3 asts
2nd NBA game:
- Robinson: (40m) 19pts, 18rbds, 8blks (!!!), 2 asts (and 4 steals!)
- Duncan: (23m) 9pts, 5rbds, 2 blks, 4 asts
- Blair: (12m) 6pts, 4rbds
Everything still going as planned...
I will say this, the guy is talented. He has skills but what he needs is familiarity. I can agree that he is out of position at times but with familiarity he will get better. He will get better. So the operative word of the day is familiarity. I'm sure the Spurs Video staff will have loads of DVDs for him once they get a good library of moves and sets, he'll get that familiarity.
Apples and Oranges really. He's competing against an entirely different level of talent now. Bigs can move side to side with ease in the NBA. He needs a lot of work on his lateral quickness and reaction times to pick and roll situations.
Not at all unexpected. Most everyone figured he'd struggle on the defensive end for the better part of a year.
David Robinson was the total package.1st NBA game:
- Robinson: (34m) 23pts, 17rbds, 3blks, 1ast
- Duncan: (35m) 15pts, 10rbds, 2blks, 2 asts
- Blair: (22m) 14pts, 11rbds, 3 asts
2nd NBA game:
- Robinson: (40m) 19pts, 18rbds, 8blks (!!!), 2 asts (and 4 steals!)
- Duncan: (23m) 9pts, 5rbds, 2 blks, 4 asts
- Blair: (12m) 6pts, 4rbds
Everything still going as planned...
this microscope on blair is getting ridicolous. The guy is good but a rookie of course. Let us not dissect every game that he plays. Wait until at LEAST we get thru a 1/4 to 1/2 season to make any firm judgements.
"You are joking right?"
- EricB
Dejuan on Twitter: Good morning we gonna Bounce back we r ok it's only the second game we r fine 80 more to go lol go spurs go!!!!! 5 hours ago
I think he played pretty well considering the fact that he played ten minutes less than the first game. If you do that math his rebounding rate was exactly the same, however his point scoring rate was a little lower.
Still his biggest problems are defense and fouls. Some of the foul calls were stupid mistakes on his part, which I doubt he'll continue to do, some where phantom calls, and some were legit. The phantom calls could also be considered rookie calls, calls he won't get in his favor since he's a rookie.
I think we'll see him do better and better as far as fouls pretty quickly, the movement on defense will take more time, but if Finley can get minutes on this team with his defense, Blair can too if he can continue to score and rebound like he has.
He basically had the same issues in that article at Pittsburgh. He has very quick hands and feet. He tends to take risks and use his quick hands to go for steals (actually led Pitt in steals those two years he was on the team). He needs to learn to use his feet and chest like the article says.
Damn DRob...1st NBA game:
- Robinson: (34m) 23pts, 17rbds, 3blks, 1ast
- Duncan: (35m) 15pts, 10rbds, 2blks, 2 asts
- Blair: (22m) 14pts, 11rbds, 3 asts
2nd NBA game:
- Robinson: (40m) 19pts, 18rbds, 8blks (!!!), 2 asts (and 4 steals!)
- Duncan: (23m) 9pts, 5rbds, 2 blks, 4 asts
- Blair: (12m) 6pts, 4rbds
Everything still going as planned...
Interesting. He has the talent, he just needs more mentoring on D and game experience. He know how to use his butt, now he has to learn to use his chest.
There you go. 'Looks like Antonio verbalized to DeJuan."For me, on the bench, I'm sitting there like, 'man, this is your second game, and you got a second half. You gotta put that behind you. We got a second half and 80 more games to go.'" - Antonio McDyess
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