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I really don't think this is an experiment. And I think if these questions are so disturbing it's probably an issue for the person asking, not the players or coaches.
The best way to get answers might be to pretend you are asking Popovich to his face. Or imagine what Timmy is thinking. Do we think TD is as disgusted with Finley and Bonner's playing time as we are? Do we think he is disgusted, period? Or is Timmy trusting that Pop is balancing playing time, rotations, compe ive play, role defining.....?
Do you think Finley's minutes will gradually and consistently be cut back as Manu gets back into shape, Mason gets some more confidence(and a hot streak), and Hill finds a way to play next to Parker? It seems very possible because all three scenarios seem likely to happen. I bet that once we get to game 10 you'll see a steady diet of Finley starting and playing 1st/3rd quarter runs with spot 4th quarter appearances when Pop wants to spread the floor for Duncan to post up. He'll use Finley then for 3pt shooting, passing, and free throws. You won't see him logging heavy minutes.
And you HAVEN'T seen it yet this year either. All THREE games have been lopsided so the minutes don't reflect 'serious' playing time. If we're gonna use them to gauge the rotations then we might as well look at them from the other angles-Finley is shooting 50% from 3pt range. I don't give that figure much weight but simply stating it helps remind ourselves that there are 79 games left.
So would any of us walk up to Pop and say, "dude you gotta let go of Finley, he's worthless. Bonner is ok, but just experiment and throw HHM into the mix big time." and think you can be taken seriously?
And what does Christmas and ABC have to do with basketball?
I'm sure we all want the same thing-a great season that leads to a fantastic run at the le- so let's take it easy on the over-analyzing/under-analyzing/overreacting and let Pop and the Spurs do their job. I think Popovich realizes he made a big mistake not letting George Hill develop more last season. Pop knows there were aspects to the game that he needs to pay more attention to and the roster he came up with to address those issues needs a lot of care to be on a championship level of function. Let's trust the Spurs a little more and keep all this stressing over the lineups in check for a bit. Remember, 2007 le was won with Finley starting at 2guard, playing 22.2mpg, and sitting while Ginobili took over the 2nd and 4th quarters.
And if Finley plays 20mpg, shoots 40%+ from both 2pt and 3pt and shows strong leadership on and off the court for all 6 BRAND NEW Spurs
and Bonner plays 20mpg, shoots 45%+ from 3pt, hustles on both ends, spreads the floor for TD, McDyess, and Blair to get good inside position
----and we have a great season and chance at the championship----
THAT'S A GOOD THING.
not watching so i'm counting on spurstalk to give me updates.
