That's probably the one holdover trait that Pop acquired from Larry Brown and it hasn't fared him very well. No one claims that Pop has to field a roster as young as the Blazers, but his lack of patience with young players and his disdain for developing them on the fly, has left holes in the roster that both he and R.C. continually feel should be plugged via free agency. It never hurts to sprinkle some freshly-drafted youth into an aging roster. Look at how both Hill and Blair have revitalized the talent level.
I agree that this Ian situation has been totally mishandled. Despite their incredible track record of success, I just don't trust their assessment that Ian cannot play. At the very least, there's no reason that he couldn't suit up for spot minutes against opponents. After all, Ratliff is on ice and McDyess' minutes are monitored.
But then again, maybe the fact that some young guys -- Blair and Hill -- are getting significant time means that Pop is giving time to those who deserve it due to strong practice performance, etc. while those who aren't getting game time aren't getting it for a reason.
Of course, Pop did have to be dragged kicking and screaming in to playing Hill in important situations last year, but maybe he's, dare I say, changed a little bit with regards to young guys who show they deserve some time?
Pop changes in small ways. I'm still not convinced he's not trying to make RJ into another Bruce Bowen. The Kings game was the first time he made a point to make him a focus of the offense, which should have been a priority if we're trying to save Tim and Manu, and I suppose Tony as well considering he's playing beneath optimal health. Instead we've been hiding RJ in the corner hoping he'll hit corner 3s. Last game, he runs some two man game with Tim for the first time all season. Yeah, Pop can change but it takes way too long for it to happen.
We'll never know for sure what happened with Scola, but I get the sense things soured between he and RC because of some emails...emails!?
So I'll agree with SenorSpur that, no, I don't trust their opinion of Ian. From what I've seen, he still needs work, but that doesn't mean he's a stiff. It's clear the guy has been dying to see NBA action. During his stellar season in the D league I didn't know why he didn't get called up, especially when we were dying for athleticism. He put in hard work, got labelled soft (perhaps his fault to a degree, though he clearly didn't receive the best medical care for his "upper ankle sprain") and basically got put on the shelf for reasons we'll never know until Harvey writes a random article 5 years from now explaining what the actually happened behind the scenes.
He's not going to play but it's a waste of Holt's money. Think about it - we developed this guy for the last three years, and now he's finally healthy, and we're not even going to let him play a little just to know for sure. He's young. People change, even if Pop doesn't very much.
Pop's stability has been the best thing for the team when we were in our prime, but now that the situation has changed, Pop needs to find a way to adapt as well.
Amen! I'm not convinced either. And if Pop was or is still trying to turn RJ into a defensive stopper first, he's stubbornly making a grave mistake. If Pop wanted a true Bowen replacement, he should've aggressively drafted and developed such a player, in-house years ago, rather than wait until the man was gone. It's always been my worst fear that Bowen would leave the building without an heir apparent in place.
Back to RJ, it puzzles me as to why it took so long to unwrap and unleash him in a manner in which he's been successful during his career. The Sacto game was quite a revelation - especially for those who've been calling this guy a fake or a bust.
True. What is even worse is that with every opponent the Spurs play, there are instances during each game where the Spurs athletic deficiencies are badly exposed, by lesser-experienced, superbly-talented, younger, quicker, players. All this, despite a major offseason makeover. For a team that is still lacking in frontline size and post defense, the Ian situation will remain a head-scratcher. Another is the Haslip acquisition. Meanwhile, Duncan is forced to continue carrying a disproportionate load and the absence of a young, long, talented SF, waiting in the wings, is still just a dream.
re: Ian possibly not getting time because of practice and the possibility that he's doing poorly and that is why he's not playing and Hill and Blair are.
2 main thoughts in response besides the 'Hill wasn't ready to play Dallas!' theme
1. If Ian was a player who never showed any improvement, like a Stromile Swift, I'd believe the poor practicing narrative. If Ian was a player who never was in great shape, like Jackie Butler, I'd believe the poor practicing/lack of dedication narrative.
However, because of how Ian's skills have progressed ever since before he was drafted when his U-18 french team game was online, to french league games, to the d-league and summer league, the end result makes it hard for me to easily subscribe to him being poor in practice. Combine with the work he's put into bulking up, limited as he might be due to body type, also leads me to believe that his work ethic probably isn't the problem.
2. Even if Ian doesn't look to good in practice . . . practice isn't live action. He wouldn't be the first player who wasn't a 'practice player' and was much better in actual games. Chris Douglas-Roberts fell out of the first round last year because he was an awful workout player. He cost himself money because he had the workouts from . But this year, now that he's healthy for the Nets, is having a quality season, starting and getting almost 17 and 5, albeit for a bad team. But CDR is just one of those guys who doesn't have a spark in practice, and you'd never know if he could play . . . without playing him.
this is a good point.
Keep in mind the recent article, if I read it right . . . it took 20 games for Parker and RJ to get together to work in a lob for RJ. 20 games without the coaching staff forcing the issue, and so it falls to TP and RJ?
And last year I was posting my disappointment that still holds is how backdoor lobs for George Hill were nowhere to be found. Hill had plenty of alley-oops in college, it seemed like half of the IUPUI game recaps had at least one. He had the athleticism, but where were these kinds of plays to take advantage of that athleticism?
Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree, but it fits in with not giving Ian a chance to play. If the staff can't figure out to get lobs to RJ in 20 games, why would they think of using Ian's athleticism and skills?
Some of you are giving Pop credit for finally figuring out how to run RJ with TP, but when you read about what happened in practice it sounds like TP and RJ had to figure things out on their own without any direction from Pop.
Pop has said several times when the RJ trade was made that he remembers him as a defensive stopper against the Spurs WHEN RJ FIRST CAME INTO THE LEAGUE.
I think he is trying to remold RJ into that player of some years ago. Maybe it can be done, but I've seen RJ stumble around like he's looking for his man too many times this season to be optimistic. I think he can be a good defensive player in our system because of his athleticism--but not a stopper like Bowen.
On the contrary. I think you're barking up the right tree. If this story is true, I would ask, "what the took so long?" If this is true, I'm very disappointed that TP, as much as he ed about the Spurs age and lack of athleticism (and he was correct in doing so), he couldn't find the time to have worked directly with RJ in practice to perfect such a play. He should have been the loudest proponent of getting RJ up to speed and, as PG of the team, he should've been the first one to sacrifice part of his offensive game to get this guy off and instill some confidence in him. I may be harsh on TP, but I see this as more his responsibility, especially since apparently Pop has allowed him more free reign over the offense this year.
Another point you brought up is also a salient one. If the Pop and crew couldn't figure out how to utilize an athletic, veteran, SF like RJ, I don't have confidence in their ability to incorporate the skills of Ian.
FREE IAN MAHINMI !
Give us all a break, Pop.
McDyess couldn't even do the one thing he was counted on to do, hit open mid-range shots. Once again the Spurs had to resort to smallball.
Now is the perfect time to play Ian.
8 more games this month. 5 against sub-.500 teams, one .500 team, one team that's 12-11 in Miami, and one good winning team in Portland. The first 3 games of January before playing the Mavs are also sub-.500 teams. That's 11 games against only 2 legit teams.
The Spurs will have a good record against those teams whether or not McDyess disappears again or Bonner has a poor game or if Blair gets foul trouble, it doesn't matter.
FREE IAN. Salvage something. Swallow the same pride that very well could have cost the Spurs at least one more le by flushing Luis Scola down the toilet.
You're getting pathetic games from too many people? Shake it up a little and play your wildcard. It may be a brittle, foul prone rusty wildcard, but it's better than nothing.
FREE IAN MAHINMI !
And if he sucks the next 11 games, shut him down like you were going to do anyway.
Well, looks like he was freed. But probably only to be dumped after a showcase. And that is a shame, but not unexpected from the team that probably cost itself at least one ring with how it handled Scola.
Even if Ian isn't dumped before the deadline, even with tonight's performance I find it hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Pop wasted all the opportunities to play him the other 34 games of the season to see what he had.
There's just no room for him. Even with his performance tonight. All that time was wasted while Bonner sat and Pop did his Pop routine of games where he'd announce that he wasn't going to play Theo even though he was active, sitting Duncan in the first only to play him hard for near normal minutes, the usual Pop stuff.
The rest of January they have 11 games, only two against sub-.500 teams. It took a home game versus the worst in the league for Ian to finally get some burn. Furthermore, it's only about one week or maybe two before Matt Bonner, the Prince of +/-, comes back. Pop won't sit him. He won't sit Blair. He probably won't sit McDyess (who led the team in +/- against the Mavs, if it was Bonner there would have been threads singing songs of legend about him).
Then the RRT, and no time to mess around.
Even if somehow a miracle happens and Ian plays the rest of the year . . . they can't re-sign him. Not with Splitter going to be eligible for full MLE (though I doubt he signs). Not with McDyess still under a near MLE deal. Not with Blair. And definately not with Bonner up for a new contract. That's about as close to a lock as there is.
But just to rehash what we saw tonight. Largely going up against one of the best young bigs in the league, Ian shined. 10 weeks of rust and he showed most of what had people excited about him in the first place, even with some small improvements.
His rebounding effort was better than I had him pegged at, he was aggressive on the defensive glass and assertive. He showed how he can run the floor and finish. He showed the shotblocking, the shot altering. He showed the mid-range jumper he displayed in Austin. He was marginally better now setting screens than he was before. He went up to finish strong.
He was very good out there without even showing the post play that he excelled at in D-League and showed some in SL while getting back in shape. And that might have been the best part of his entire set of skills, and he was good without even relying on it.
Was he perfect? Of course not. Several times on offense he looked out of place and confused as to where he was supposed to be. He had some bad fouls, though some of them were just ref whipping-boy fouls. He looked gassed. But after 10 weeks off, none of those things were shocking. Especially considering the career trajectory of many young bigs like I've laid out, such as Bynum and J. O'Neal.
I'm not saying Ian is a future all-star, or over-reacting to him like people did with PMB or Flight White or any other little used Spur of the past.
But any team that gets Ian will be getting good value, a no-risk high-reward player.
Good luck, Ian.
Ian did show a lot, and like you, I've wanted to see him for a while now..his SL and training camp performances weren't even nearly bad enough for him not to have gotten a chance until now, especially since Haislip has been activated before him in games..
I tend to think that this is a showcase, but hopefully not..he still fits a glaring need for this team..
I don't think he's comparable to a guy like PMB at all, since Ian has much better physical tools, much better skills and didn't do this in garbage time tonight..
I hate the argument that he has too many bigs in front of him though..while that may be true and that's probably how Pop views it, none of those big men are valuable enough that they can't be benched for certain minutes when they struggle, which seems to happen a lot..
Ian being showcased a bit...trade incoming.
Did you come up with that all by yourself?
Great post with irrefutable info.
agree. i have been hoping the day will come that ian mahinmi will get some playing time. i always hate when people think what popovich does is always right, but that is stubborn. mahinmi showed something tonite that popovich obviously never expected ...
There's two B2b coming and pop need duncan to rest...it's the right time to activate Ian
I remember when us old-skoolers used to think of Amal McCaskill as a defensive presence. We'd tell Pop to put in The Predator feeling that there were times he could affect a game.
But I see objective's point. An infusion of taller youth isn't a bad option in limited minutes. An unlike Haislip, Ian's been in the system for a few years now.
lol, I never wanted Amal in a game, on ST or SR or even ranting on random internet boards.
I did however want Jackie Butler to get in a game, even though I was confident he was a fat bum who wasn't very good and let people know how little I thought of him. I still thought that during stretches when both Elson and Oberto were invisible that it was worth seeing what they had.
And unlike Jackie, Ian hasn't been a lardass or been accused of stealing some woman's coat. He's kept on working.
alright Pop we all know you don't want to play Ian and he won't be a Spur next year.
We get it. He's the french 6-11 Hank Egan. You don't want nothing to do with him. Fine.
But if you're going to have Ratliff active and still play RJ and Finley at Power Forward while a 6-7 guy is manning the center spot . . .
Could you just activate Ian to give the fans something to watch during blowouts? You know, at least to make it worth watching?
Please?
i didnt believe he existed until earlier this season now i say why the not?!?!
But, but, but ...
I got nothing, you win.
What do we have to lose?
With the way things are, this group hasn't been successful the past 52 games.
It's time to make a little tweak and inject the roster with an athletic young big man for 15-20 minutes a night at the expense of the Red Rocket.
One can hope.
No such luck.
Give all od Bonner's min to Ian NOW!!!
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