Jefferson plays better with the young guys

[ploto]

It's also easier to play when you have nothing to lose.

[8FOR!3]

So, move Manu into the starting lineup and let RJ lead the young guns from off the bench.

I agree to an exent.

George Hill
Manu Ginobili
Malik Hairston
Antonio McDyess
Tim Duncan

Bench:
Richard Jefferson
DeJuan Blair
Ian Mahinmi
Roger Mason

When TP is healthy he can start and Hill can play first off the bench.

[silverblackfan]

If Pop used RJ off the bench with Manu, Blair, Mahinmi, and Mason while the starters would be TP, Hill, Hairston, Duncan, and Dice, this team would be a BEAST.

Yeah, that is the line ups I would I like to see. , we have seen 20 others, why not one more. Use Bonner and Bogans if the youngs get in foul trouble. (and they will.)

[Obstructed_View]

I think keeping Manu and Blair together is a ideal by now.

I agree, and I think Duncan and Blair play well together, which is why I'd take a chance putting Blair at the 3 if there's someone bigger than he is playing center.

[Obstructed_View]

It's also easier to play when you have nothing to lose.

The Spurs were a popular pick to challenge the Lakers in the west and now they're struggling to maintain a playoff position. I assure you that they have a lot to lose at this point.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Ex- ing-actly.

You don't go from a rim-attacking decent jump shooting focal point of an offense to a total scrub that licks taint for nothing.

Say what you will about RJ but he always plays well when he's surrounded by scrubs and he's the focal point of the offense.


Jeeeeezus I'm tired of agreeing with AHF so much this season

LOL, thanks... really, it's not that bad to agree with me...


In all seriousness though, I said this back in December when he was slumping then. If you want to fix RJ, you need to get him like 20 touches a game. Whether that's with the starters or as part of the second unit, doesn't matter.

But it was idiotic (of course, that's the trend for Pop this year) to go grab a guy like him, stick him in the corner to shoot threes as some sort of Bowen replacement, and expecting him to be anything better than marginal for us.

Between that and asking him to get the crap kicked out of him playing PF against real power forwards, Pop has certainly done his best to set the guy up to fail all year.

Unfortunately, my guess is Pop is too stubborn to continue this rotation.

If I were him, this would be the rotation:

Parker
Hill
Hairston
Duncan
Dice

with a second unit of

Hill
Manu
RJ
Blair
Ian

with Mason, Finley, and Bonner playing spot minutes if we just can't hit a shot to save our lives.

[The Truth #6]

I posted it in the game thread.

RJ is a good player and tonight showed yet again that his game doesn't fit with Tim and Tony.

He also showed that he doesn't need Manu either to get going. He played a lot better with the young athletic players on the team.

I agree. I would add that because only our slow jumpshooters play well with Tim and Tony, the team is doomed to be inconsistent. Basically we have no iden y as a whole. I'm not sure if our pieces can fit. Given that Tim is the focus Id trade Parker as soon as we can in the offseason before his value drops with injuries and NT commitment. Also he's the only player with any value. Otherwise we continue as dysfunctional split personality mess.

[oh crap]

Jefferson plays better with young guys

I lol'd

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

definitely agree

[angelbelow]

definitely obvious. he has the ball more, hes practically the main option when this happens. I say play him more in these types of situations.

[ohmwrecker]

I agree on some points, I just don't think I would go with both Hairston and Mahinmi as starters. Hairston would get eaten alive by most NBA starters. He should definitely get PT over Bogans & Finley and I think he could do well against 2nd unit guys.
I would be willing to give Ian a shot as a starter just for the psychological advantage of having two seven footers in the paint. Even if he only played 15 minutes before he fouled out, I would be happy with 6 points, 6 boards, & 6 fouls from him.
The problem with Jefferson is how he is being used and not who he is playing with. He just needs more touches & plays that are specifically designed for him to either score or get someone else a score. The offense in general just needs more movement.
I think that the Spurs should just start their best players from now until the end of the season and see how that works. This team cannot recover from bad starts, no matter how well the bench plays. I would go with:
Tony
Manu
RJ
Tim
Ian
Hill
RMJ
Malik
Blair
Dice

Use Bonner & Bogans sparingly and put Finley out to pasture.

[PDXSpursFan]

so, move manu into the starting lineup and let rj lead the young guns from off the bench.

+1

[ploto]

The Spurs were a popular pick to challenge the Lakers in the west and now they're struggling to maintain a playoff position. I assure you that they have a lot to lose at this point.

I was talking about the game with Houston, and Jefferson's play. In the second half, those guys had nothing to lose, so it was easier to play loose.