And so did Hill last year, but I think it's a bit different for rookies vs. vets in the transition from a college system to a pro system vs. a pro system to another pro system. I probably should have phrased my question to be about new vets to the Spurs.
definitely a bad game, but I don't know how fair it is to judge him on a 16 game sample as the team itself is adjusting to changes too. 13 ppg is not 19 ppg, but he's the 3rd or 4th option now and he'll score more as his role is defined. His main purpose is defense and he's at least been aggressive and that's going to help in the long run.
Horry seemed to do a decent job of fitting in when he came over in 2004...
Nothing wrong with the way Nazr played for us in the middle of 2005...
Even Mcdyess has been productive enough this year to warrant the money we gave him...
Horry still took a year to get used to the system
Nazr averaged 6 and 6 - that's not that terrific, but he filled the role that we needed at the time. His stats actually went down over time and they were much better with New York
McDyess is still far from fitting in - some might even question his progress along with RJ
I thought Horry did what was asked of him in 2004 and earned his money...
Nazr also filled the role asked of him and was definitely a key contributer against the Pistons frontline in the 2005 Finals.
Mcdyess was brought in to play post defense, rebound and hit the occasional outside jumper. This game aside, when given the minutes, I think he has done just that.
jeff is sucking right now,not to worry,hes not a moron and hes not a guy who isnt putting in effort. pop's using him wrong, and im sure pop will adjust this, but hes probably got higher priorities for the (team)and im sure hes trying to fix this. the one thing that pissed me off was mason staying in the game when he clearly was off!! or not bringing manu in when we needed him the most. what was pop thinking? brought him in at 15 sec.!!!as soon as manu came in for 15 sec. he dished a 3 to finley that of course he screwed up!! finley!! really? when our guys are off it seems they stay off. alot of our role players are mentally weak and pop needs to toughen them up. hang in there guys, its a bumpy season. we can do this
There is reason to panic a bit. He is being paid a large amount of money to be a jump shooter. He has trouble slashing to the hole and isn't good at defending or being part of a pick.
He needs a green light or something. He hesitates and I don't like his shot selection or him deferring. I think we have had enough of a slasher that settles for 3s on the team in Manu. He needs to force the issue when he can and get to the FT line.
Agree Jefferson is a solid player. Not the type that can carry a team by himself but a very good player. The spurs system is not using him to his capability.
I'm seeing a different picture than most of you guys.
For me his main problem is he is ing passive when he plays with tim and tp but not tonite, we can say what we want regarding his fg% but he took 13 shoots and this is the most important he will convert these fg soon, the problem was him not taking them.
Are you Jefferson's agent?
RJ needs to go to the bench. I don't think he's a good compliment for Parker and Duncan. They're continually in the lane/attacking the lane, clogging up the very same driving lanes that he prefers. It was obvious in the games played without those two that RJ was significantly more comfortable. He also seems to have a nice chemistry with Manu (well, who doesn't?), and possibly Hill as well. Being on the bench would allow him to come in and use his post up game against mediocre defenders on the opponents' second unit, without having to worry about Duncan and/or Parker drawing all the defense into the paint beforehand.
RJ is caught in an offensive scheme that...well... isn't really a scheme considering the level of compe ion being played against. Which...if the Spurs aren't hitting it's 3 point attempts makes it easy for even a not so defensive oriented team to defend against.
These are the 2 options the Spurs run.
1.) Guards penetrate and either attempt to score or pass out to the wing for a 3 pt. attempt.
2.) Pass into low post for shot attempt or pass out to wing for 3pt. attempt.
I don't see anything in between tried more often than those two options. Both of which does not bode well for the type of offensive player RJ is best suited to play.
He'll continue to struggle if other offensive options are not implemented that play to his strengths or if he cannnot improve in the areas of his offensive game that he struggles from the most. The latter being what we are seeing now.
For the price tag of his salary...I can understand the disappointment at not being able to do the latter with more consistancy and effectiveness. But is that his fault?
TPark kissing every player and coaches ass. Still atoning for bailing on the Spurs in the middle of the '05 playoff run.
"Pop's just not running plays for him." wtf does that mean. Isn't he getting the same screens as Mason, Parker, Hill, Finley? Isn't he getting kick outs from Parker and Duncan? Maybe Pop can run some plays where the other team all takes the bench and Jefferson has a clear lane to the basket. I'm afraid Spurs have just added another big game choker to the roster. We'll see.
Regarding Stephen Jackson. He's >>> in this system than RJ. If any trade could have been done to get Jax back to SA I would have done it. That plus the fact that RJ probably would have done better in the Warriors system than the Spurs.
And if the Spurs were willing to take on Jefferson's contract...it would have made more sense to me that they took on that kind of contract with a player better suited to the team's system in Jackson.
That didn't happen...Oh Well...Go Spurs Go. Hopefully RJ will eventually be worth the money he's getting paid.
Last edited by SpurNation; 12-04-2009 at 12:53 PM.
Just to be clear: that ESPN "rumor" was nothing more than a "cut & paste" of the opinion made by one of the 48minutesof .com bloggers.
ESPN is trying to stir the pot by repackaging a thoughtful opinion as a "rumor" to bolster interest for its premium content. Misleasing and disingenous if you ask me.
Maybe they're showcasing Mason.
So we can ship his ass out of here come trade time.
Or just trying to get his confidence up by building on the success he had in the previous games...
I say bench RJ and start Manu. I think RJ coming off the bench will enable him to actually score and showcase his skills more. Among the starters he just looks lost and super passive. A second unit with Blair, RJ, Hill, Bonner and Finley/Mason/Hairston is still better than pretty much all the other benches out there.
+1
Getting him into that 2nd unit might be the best idea however, where he will get more touches. I'm not worried about RJ, once he finds his place on the team he'll be fine.
I think this could be a move worth trying especially if the Spurs plan to feature Bogans as the defensive ace in the starting line up. The only downside is that the Spurs lose some size at the 2 and 3 at the start.
Energy off the bench may not be a big issue any more. As it stands the Spurs second unit, playing without Manu for a good chunk of games, is tops in the leauge. Anyone else catch the TNT's stats during the Bos-SA for our second unit? Impressive.
Confirmed
While I will agree that Jefferson has played subpar overall, I wouldn't blame him for the loss vs. Boston. How about the TEN missed free throws? 8 of those fall and we win by a point, even with Blair's accidental bucket for the Celtics.
RJ needs to start and so does Manu. The big 5 need to be on the court in the beginning and in the end of the game. They need to play together until they get it right. We cannot think that we will have success any other way when it comes playoff time. They need time together and the need consistent coaching so everyone knows what their role is. Play time is over Pop. It's time to build some consistency.
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