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Oh and I don't hate these guys, I know that there are situations wherein they are a good fit, but I just don't like the amount of minutes they are playing right now.
Hey guys, maybe we can all put in our thoughts on Matt and Finley here. I think it's fair to say that they won't be going anywhere anytime soon so I think we should have a thread dedicated to sharing our thoughts and opinions on them throughout the season.
I wanna say that I'm quite disappointed that these two guys are still starting and playing significant minutes. I know I know, I'm not panicking or anything, I just really wish that as the season progresses their minutes decline and they should only be used on situations where they thrive.
Just wanna ask, what do you think the reasons are why Pop keeps playing them? I presume it's cos they know the system and what not, I guess I just don't share the same enthusiasm as Pop. I wish he'd eventually increase the minutes of the younger and better players.
Last year I was feeling really frustrated with these guys getting so many minutes, summer came with all these new additions I thought it's gonna change. Preseason came, Matt Bonner played the most minutes. It gets frustrating but I still believe that Pop will find the right combination of players and I do hope that it won't be too much of these two guys.
Oh and I don't hate these guys, I know that there are situations wherein they are a good fit, but I just don't like the amount of minutes they are playing right now.
current coach-4 championships
you-0 championships
I trust Pop isn't playing Finley and Bonner for any other reason besides wanting to win games, and I trust that he knows a WHOLE lot more about winning games than anyone watching from the stands or their couch
To be honest, I don't mind Bonner starting. I hated it at first, but it fits our style of play. Having Bonner start and then McDyess and Blair come in later to keep the pressure. That's good. I just wish the Spurs would post McDyess up more, rather than just always taking jump shots. That's what we have Bonner for.
As for Finley, I don't understand why he is starting. Is it for Defense or something? We should start Roger Mason. Yeah, I know Roger brings good energy off the Bench, but I think Ginobili, Blair and Hill bring enough of that already. We want a strong Bench, but we can't be taking away too much from our Starting Lineup.
This is how things should be.
C: Matt Bonner/Antonio McDyess/Theo Ratliff
PF: Tim Duncan/Dejuan Blair
SF: Richard Jefferson/Michael Finley
SG: Roger Mason/Manu Ginobili/Keith Bogans
PG: Tony Parker/George Hill
Besides, isn't this Finley's last year? Shouldn't we be slowly easing him out of the rotation rather than starting him? Still though, he should get minutes. I love all the different combinations we have on the floor and how we bring different things to the table.
No matter what the lineup may be though, I trust Pop, and I know whatever decision he makes is probably the right one, because he is the NBA Coach, not me. Lol.
Why don't you relax a bit? I didn't say I want Pop to be fired or anything. This is a thread where we can share our opinions on what they do. It's not like I'm saying he sucks ass I should be the coach so please just chill.
Instead of spewing crap like that why don't you just explain why you think Pop is doing what he's doing right now? That would contribute more to this thread.
or when the Spurs go small:
C: Jefferson
PF: Duncan
SF: Ginobili
SG: Hill
PG: Parker
I put Jefferson at Center because people get offended when we call Timmy a Center.
At first I was actually okay with Bonner starting. He does spread the floor for Timmy but then I realized that on defense, Timmy would be on his own. Having Bonner and Finley starting at the same time doesn't make sense. Them being lights out shooters gets negated by the points they give up on the other end. I feel that both of them shouldn't be on the floor at the same time.
I just wish Pop would go back to defense first and we might not get there with both these guys on the starting line up. I like Mason on the starting line up better than Finley. As for Bonner, there are some games where it's okay to start him but also other games where it's better to start Dyess or even Blair depending on the match up.
I don't like the feeling of playing against the other teams' starters (starters usually being the best players on the team) with these two guys as our starters. Knowing Pop though, I know the starting line up would be quite wonky so maybe one of them will be out of it by March. But I guess we should trust Pop. He knows what to do. I just hope it's not like last year but to be fair to him we didn't have the pieces we have now.
Haha I'd rather have Blair than Hill on the starting line up though. Or maybe Mcdyess. Manu should be fine coming off the bench. There's only one ball to share.or when the Spurs go small:
C: Jefferson
PF: Duncan
SF: Ginobili
SG: Hill
PG: Parker
I put Jefferson at Center because people get offended when we call Timmy a Center.
+1
except trade keith for hairston, and put haislip behind blair
Well, my list wasn't the starting lineup...just one of Pop's in-game lineups he used during pre-season that looked real good.
Oh sorry I missed that. It's actually a good line-up. Wish he'd do it IN the season. It's good to mix and match.
no idea whats up with that strategy (finley/ bonner starting) but i have a feeling it will be changed up soon .... i think the bulls game was an eye opener for POP ( i hope) .... better to start losing this early (not a lot tho) so the earlier they can sort out things for the better
Sure hope that'll be the case this season. I'll give Pop some time. Last year was really frustrating but as I said earlier, we didn't have the pieces we have now. Let's see how he responds this season. I agree it's good to lose early so they can sort things out a lot earlier.
Well, it's been discussed in dozens of threads already, but it spaces the floor for Timmy and also for Parker's drives. It's a hub and spoke approach. It works for screen/rolls and also with the 4-out, 1-in motion offense they run. Since Fin and Bonner are good three point shooters, thus drawing some of the lane protection away from the inside, Pop goes with them. It worked well during the pre-season or whenever they are hitting their shots, but when they aren't hitting (Bulls game), the topic becomes a hot one, again.
This team has been averaging 20 3-point attempts per game since 2006-07 because their defense hasn't been that great. Pop feels the need for more 3s and offensive spacing for ease of scoring.
Hopefully the defense will improve with the new additions and Pop won't feel compelled to give major minutes to Bonner and Fin.
"Hopefully the defense will improve with the new additions and Pop won't feel compelled to give major minutes to Bonner and Fin.
The defense would improve immediately if Popovich simply chose not to play either one, much less give them starting jobs.
That would be a good start.
Finley couldn't keep up with Deng or anyone to save his life the other day, and Bonner offers ZERO help defense and ZERO interior presence.
Combine that with the fact that Duncan can barely jump anymore and its easy to see how an athletic young team like the bulls can beat the spurs all day long on hustle and athleticism alone. Popovich needs to stop relying on all the old goats and start using his younger players, not only because they are more effective against teams like the bulls, but they represent the future and the present. All they lack is the experience to get better.
Its time to put Finley to pasture and Bonner on a seriously short leash. Guys like Blair and Hill need to get WAY more minutes than 17 and 13. Haislip, Mahinmi, and Hairston were recruited and given spots on the team to match up with athletic teams.. what's the point of having them on IR or getting DNP's against those kind of teams.
This is getting old, and tiring fast.
Your constant droning certainly is.
Shucks. I was waiting for one one of your famous "Finley and Bonner should start because nobody else is better" rebuttal speeches
Find where I've ever said that. If you ever got off your blind hate and read any other POV, you would understand.
So far, judging form the preseason games and the last two games that:
(1) Bonner shooting percentages are up and he's become better at driving to the basket.
(2) Finley is as good in shape as last season and his 3point shot that he displayed last season is still there.
So these two guys are playing beyond expectations.
I would rather have Bonner or Finley take an open 3 point shot than Parker or Manu. The percentages are just so much higher.
The Spurs play the percentages and will always look for that open 3 point shot. The only two guys however who can make a contested 3 point shot with a high percentage are Mason and RJ. However, rarely should this be attempted unless you need to at the end of the game.
I'm okay with Bonner starting. But Finley? No. Not okay.
I think certain players play well together. Finley and RJ on the court at the same time is one of them.
ceperez, dude, wtf you used to make sense. Matt Bonner is becoming better at driving to the basket? What games are you watching? Every time he's dribbled the ball towards the basket so far this year with an exception of a running hook shot that needed god's help to go in has resulted in him doing a 180 and looking to pass the ball back out to the perimeter, after getting swarmed with defenders.
I stand by my assessment. He was horrible last season, he's a bit better now. Good enough, well we will have to see.
I do understand what Pop is doing with Bonner and Fin, to basically put more spacing on offense but has he forgotten about defense? Last year, there wasn't much he can do but this year we have younger players who can actually play better defense than these two guys. Even without Bowen, this team can play great team defense, we now have these young cats who can defend better than Bonner and Fin. I guess that's what's kinda frustrating about this thing. It's okay for these two guys to play but not at the same time and certainly not with the minutes they are getting.
I honestly feel that the Spurs still need to focus more on D now. Last year, with our awful pieces we were still in the top 10 in terms of D. Now, with all these new additions, we can go back to playing elite defense.
Well true... no great defense... no championship.
I've never been too thrilled with the Spurs changes ever since we lost to the Mavs in 2006. That's when we benched both Nazr and Rasho. That's when we decided on the small ball game.
Now teams know that to get an easy point against the spurs, you alley hoop it to the rim when Duncan plays help defense on you. Nobody on the other side is going to be tall enough to stop you big from an easy layup.
You also know you can post the Spurs PF, because he's likely to be undersized or is a SF.
Just too many holes that's not going to be compensated by superior 3 point shooting.
And speaking about 3 point shooting, we can only make them well if we aren't covered. Athletic quick teams that aggressively pursue our shooters tend to shut them down. That's the recipe for shutting the spurs down, just get a whole bunch of 6'7" athletic type guys to shut down 3 point shooting. Manu and Parker's penetrations our not going to compensate for the lack of defense on the other end.
It's a pathetic situation and we've had it for the last couple of seasons.
When Horry was around, teams couldn't shut down the 3point because he was long enough to get if off even with a guy rushing him. That's why the Magic were in the finals and not the Cavs. The Magic shut down the Cavs smaller guards at the same time took 3 point shots uncontested.
An uncontested open 3 point shot is always better than a contested mid range jumper. The only way to get it uncontested with playoff calibre defense is to have a much taller player (i.e. Dirk, Turkulu, Wallace, Lewis, etc.) take it on top of a smaller opponent. That's why guys like Mason are going to disappear in the playoffs.
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