Chuck Norris couldnt have stopped the Red Rocket tonight....

[Mel_13]

I didn't think we necessarily had the personnel until I saw Bogans and Ratliff. Hill I heard he was a good defender, and he did well against the rook last night, but he's not a seasoned NBA player, meaning he will get little to no respect from the officials when it comes to guarding the Kobe and Melo's of the NBA. Bogans plays with a lot of energy and he seems to thrive in his defensive pitbull role. I'll reserve judgement on how good he really is after we played some of the better teams out there, but I think his energy and hustle on the defensive end are exciting. Ratliff, I wanted to see if he had something left in the tank. He does. He's not a great rebounder, but he can help Tim protect the paint. And Dice gives you a guy that seems to do ok guarding the more mobile bigs like Dirk out there.

I think there's no reason why we shouldn't be a top 3 defensive team. But you kind of need to primarily stick to the guys that give you that iden y.

I agree with most of that, especially about the potential for a very good perimeter defense. I'd only take issue with Theo's role. I believe we'll see a greatly increased role for Theo in the playoffs,. His health history tells me that he will not play 15-20 minutes a night over the course of the regular season. So I believe we'll see him play major minutes in only a small percentage of regular season games. So while we may have the personnel to play on the level of a top-3 defensive team on a given night, I'm not sure that it will be possible to do so over the long haul of the regular season.

[all_heart]

I'll admit it, I was a Bonner hater and wanted his ass outta SA, however now that he's coming off the bench and making a few shots, I appreciate him 10x more than I ever did. He seems more confident and hustles a bit more, perhaps he has more incentive to play better to earn more minutes.. fine with me. We shouldn't expect this from him every night but if he has a good game every few outings it's a plus. Big question is how will he do in the playoffs? Will he fade like he did last year or can he actually be a clutch player when it counts the most?

A few words about Hill, I can see why he's Pop favorite player, he has a nice jumpshot, hustles on D, and just looks comfortable out there. He actually looks a little more spry than Tony out there... imagine that!

[ElNono]

No argument there. You don't want Bonner matched against the elite big men of the NBA. That's pretty obvious. That's also the perfect case against using him as a starter. It's also a good case for a very limited role in a playoff series against the Lakers. I can't see him playing a useful role if he has to guard Bynum, Gasol, or Odom. Against the Lakers, you have to cover as many of the 96 minutes at PF/C as possible with Duncan, Dice, and Theo. I'm not sure whether Bonner, Blair, or small ball would be the best option for the remaining minutes. Let's hope those minutes are very limited.

Against some other possible playoff opponents he could work when matched against second line bigs.

I agree with most of that, especially about the potential for a very good perimeter defense. I'd only take issue with Theo's role. I believe we'll see a greatly increased role for Theo in the playoffs,. His health history tells me that he will not play 15-20 minutes a night over the course of the regular season. So I believe we'll see him play major minutes in only a small percentage of regular season games. So while we may have the personnel to play on the level of a top-3 defensive team on a given night, I'm not sure that it will be possible to do so over the long haul of the regular season.

Nothing to add really.

[NFGIII]

Great game from Matt! Props to him. Having said that he will at times turn into that guy many love to kick around and immediately trade. He hasn't been consistent and until he becomes dependable off the bench night in and night out we will keep seeing and up and down Bonner. Tonight was definitely up and I hope this is his niche and he becomes comfortable with it. If I can see Bonner producing 10 - 15 pt/4-7 rebounds with adequate D - I really don't think he will be a consistenly good defender but if he can just be OK /adequate I would take that - I'm happy with hm. And when he is scoring the spacing improves giving the low post players room to operate.

[UnWantedTheory]

but if it was Bogans with 23 points and an on/offcourt of +26, you'd be raving uncontrollably like a teenager about twilight

try, just try, a couple hours a week, to be objective. it can be freeing

What is this to be ob-jec-tive mean? Damnit man! Speak to us in English.

[superjames1992]

http://www.nba.com/playoffs2009/seriesWest3/

My opinion is that he works for certain matchups. For others, he's really not useful. Some people think that it's "hate" to say that. It's not. If he had to guard Bogut last night, maybe we would have been looking at something else. And for all his great shooting, his defensive assignment scored 20 points.

I love how Bonner gets one playoff series and he doesn't do great, so now he sucks at the postseason.

Wow, seriously? You all do know that Robert Horry was horrible in his first playoff series appearance. How did that work out?

[ElNono]

I love how Bonner gets one playoff series and he doesn't do great, so now he sucks at the postseason.

Mel wanted evidence of Bonner hurting the team, and I provided it.
Will that change or not? I don't know. I sure feel better now that he has a limited role, because one thing is for sure: He's not turning into Robert Horry anytime soon.

[portnoy1]

Plus-minus is not a defensive stat. Look at defensive stats, like rebounding, and you'll notice he's a career subpar rebounder. If you actually watch the games, you will know he can't handle big, long guys. And in some cases, his defense is ridiculous. Where were you when Okur was driving right around him and straight into the paint?. You're just mesmerized by his offense, and basically ignore everything else. You also have very short selective memory. Matt Bonner is what it is. When he's on offensively, he'll give you a boost and relieve pressure on scoring the ball. When he's not on, he needs to sit down ASAP.

Remember that Okur also drove past Antonio Mcdyess as well. Thats not all on Matt Bonner. When Mehmet Okur thinks its a good idea to drive than to shoot an open 3, thats when you have to re-analyze your defensive scheme. The spurs thus far have been playing better defense.

[portnoy1]

I love how Bonner gets one playoff series and he doesn't do great, so now he sucks at the postseason.

Wow, seriously? You all do know that Robert Horry was horrible in his first playoff series appearance. How did that work out?

Robert Horry had several skills to begin with. He was tall and agile. He could shoot, play D and some other intangibles. Matt Bonner can shoot and hustle and aaaahhhhhhh thats about it.

[Jose Ole]

Chuck Norris could easily have stopped Matt Bonner last night... end of thread?