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bleh
Trade goes through, and it’s Mason’s turn
Buck Harvey
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — They are saying six weeks, and that doesn’t count the time it takes to regain touch.
That floater in the lane doesn’t work as well with a brace or a bruise.
So do the math, and Tony Parker becomes this season’s Manu Ginobili. Nearly every Spur used the same word to describe a night when they won a game and lost a teammate.
“Devastating,” they said.
They were finally feeling better about their chances, and now they feel worse than ever. But of all of them, no one was more confused than Roger Mason Jr.
After all, no one stands to gain more now.
The box score stated that Saturday night. Mason played three minutes in the first half, and he was lucky to get that. He didn’t play a second in the previous game against New Orleans.
But then Parker went down in Memphis, on the last play of the first half. Parker shook his right hand as he left the floor.
The pain usually goes away. But just as this franchise has a way of finding charter jet trouble, they also do with fractured fourth metacarpals on the right hand. Matt Bonner and Parker should never high-five each other.
Some Spurs, such as George Hill, didn’t know the damage until after the game. Until then, he filled in for Parker, and the same Mason who barely sweated in the first half played nearly 19 minutes in the second while adding two fourth-quarter jumpers.
He never saw this coming. That’s why his agent asked the Spurs last month if they would consider a trade.
“It’s not a trade demand,” Mark Bartelstein said then. “It’s simply, if there’s an answer to the problem of not enough minutes, and everybody can come out good, they should look at that. That’s all that’s going on.”
The Spurs tried to accommodate Mason, as they later did Michael Finley. They also had motivation. Trading Mason would have saved the franchise money.
They had thought about this earlier in the season, too. Then, they considered sending Mason to Golden State for Raja Bell, a more defensive-minded veteran, until an injury shelved Bell for the season.
There’s a reason Mason’s minutes had fallen: Gregg Popovich had lost faith in Mason in last year’s playoffs.
So the Spurs looked around, and Miami was ready to package a second-round draft pick to the Spurs for Mason until the Heat let a trade exception expire.
With that, it appeared Mason was stuck with a career problem. His contract expires this season.
But things change in sports as quickly as a muscle tears or a bone breaks. Now Mason moves up on a roster suddenly without Finley or Parker; he will have every opportunity to win back Popovich’s trust.
Even better for him is the cir stance. With Hill a year older and with Ginobili healthy, Mason doesn’t have to do what he did a year ago.
Given that, is it possible the Spurs can absorb the loss of Parker better than they did Ginobili a year ago?
Mason nodded, and he reminded the Spurs had some success last season without Parker.
But he said this without much enthusiasm. He also wanted to make it clear he thinks the best the Spurs can do is hold on and hope Parker comes back.
“We’re not winning the championship without Tony, I’ll tell you that,” Mason stated.
That isn’t a startling prediction for an outsider to make. The seventh-seeded Spurs weren’t likely to win the le with Parker, either.
Still, athletes are always optimists, and here was Mason, caught in an uncomfortable position. He had gotten what he wanted, after all.
And he hadn’t at the same time.
bleh
Mason is going to get his opportunity, but I think it ultimately falls to the guy they brought in this off-season to hedge against this kind of thing...i.e. Richard Jefferson.
Mason just needs to hit jumpers and not screw up initiating the offense. RJ on the other hand needs to step up his game to a whole other level for the Spurs to have any shot at making the playoffs and going far.
Isn't this the second time Buck's had a column about a trade going through that didn't, but because of some cir stance internally ... it was going to be like they made one?
That Buck's clever and stuff . . .
so did i.There’s a reason Mason’s minutes had fallen: Gregg Popovich had lost faith in Mason in last year’s playoffs.
Some interesting trade tidbits in there. We already knew about the potential trade to Miami for a trade exception, but I hadn't heard specifics about a Mason for Raja Bell swap; if I just missed it, I apologize.
Anyway, here's a chance for everyone who advocates trading Parker to see what the team does without him. Granted, you're not getting another uber-talented player in return, but it's an opportunity to see what a post-Parker team would look like with Hill at the point. (I'm not saying this is necessarily a good thing; just a chance for a reality check, for better or for worse.)
Strange because Bonner was ing awful in the playoffs last year and Pop still gives him ample minutes.There’s a reason Mason’s minutes had fallen: Gregg Popovich had lost faith in Mason in last year’s playoffs.
Mason Jr and RJ will have to step up big time now
The same stupid s that have been ing and whining about Mason all year will be cheering madly when Roger is once again getting regular minutes and knocking down triples at a steady clip
So, I wonder if Pop will slide RJeff back into the starting lineup and slide Bogans to SG or promote Mason to the starting lineup along side Bogans.
Either way, I think Manu is going to continue to start games on the bench to provide that favorable match-up for the Spurs. The only question is if it's worth keeping that Manu/RJeff/Blair bench mob together. They've been pretty effective in their current roles, so I wonder if Pop will want to mess with that chemistry.
My thoughts exactly.I think the initial gut reaction would be to put RJ back in the starting lineup, but I'd much rather Pop keep Manu/RJ/Blair together on the bench. Then the only other real option is Hill/Mason/Bogans. If Finley were still around, I think he'd get the start before Mason, but with him gone, there's really not much other choice, unless Pop is going to pull a 180 on Hairston (doesn't seem likely at this point).
i think mason is going to lay an egg with the given opportunity
His 36% shooting begs to differ... We all wanted to see the Mason you describe all season long. He had plenty of opportunities when the season started.
And honestly, he won't even play his position. As a PG he's a dribbling machine who's unsure how to initiate and run a play. That's not his fault though.
I'll be cheering for him to do the best he can. Unfortunately, I don't know it's going to be enough.
Mason is not a point guard...fail again.
Mason PG = Epic Fail
I swear the EN has some of the worst sports writers of any city. This article is total manure.
I think RJ will step up. I thought he played a whole lot better when Tony was injured a while back.
I wonder how does Fin feel now
It will definitely be interesting who starts games...I don't think Manu likes being in the starting lineup, though that would probably be best. Always trying to climb out of big deficit will get old fast. We'll know soon enough.
finley doesnt give a , cause his cashin in 3 checks instead of 2 from the spurs and mavsI wonder how does Fin feel now
You mean our 5 game playoff season last year ? That one ?
i think the Spurs will continue to build and get better as the season progresses. Parker and RJ couldn't coexist on the floor together. Hill and RJ's games actually complement eachother's pretty well. there'll be more spacing in the offense, something that wasn't allowed w/ RJ and TP playing together. there's a reason that offense always looked like when both of them were out there.
Mason, Hill, Manu, RJ is great bec. both Maon and Hill can hit the three, and when you've got RJ and Manu, whose games are (or should be coughRJcough) predicated on driving you have to have 2 of the 3 perimiter players at least able to spread the floor and make the defense pay for collapsing.
the Spurs will come to realize that they don't need TP after he's out bec. they'll play the best ball they've played all season, and they'll once again be championship contenders.
Great googilymoogily . . .
Yup, I agree (even on the Finley point). Looking over the Spurs game logs they have never started a Hill/Mason/Bogans/TD/Dice lineup though.My thoughts exactly.
In the games that Tony Parker has missed they've started:
Hill/Finley/Bogans/RJeff/Ratliff (vs. Raps) - W (Manu went nuts)
Hill/Bogans/RJeff/Blair/Dice (vs. Mavs) - W (RJeff went nuts)
Hill/Manu/RJeff/Dice/TD (vs. Mavs) - L (in OT, Manu played 7 min)
Hill/Bogans/RJeff/TD/Ratliff (vs. Utah) - L
Hill/Bogans/RJeff/Dice/TD (vs. Grizz) - W (Mason 17 points off bench)
Hill/Mason/RJeff/TD/Dice (vs. Nuggets) - L
Hill/Bogans/RJeff/TD/Dice (vs. Kings) - W (By 2 points, Manu 20 off the bench)
Hill/Mason/RJeff/Dice/TD (vs. Nuggets) - W (Mason/RJeff 14 pts each)
Hill/Bogans/Mason/RJeff/TD (vs. Pistons) L (OT, small ball fiasco)
Hill/Finley/Bogans/Dice/TD (vs. Rox) - L
Early in the season RJeff was particularly effective playing with Hill. Pop only started Manu once, so again I doubt he goes that route. I couldn't find any data on a Hill/Mason/Bogans lineup.
I hope he runs with that lineup to see what happens. The thinking if he installs RJeff as a starter though would be to have another slasher out on the floor.
Probably great since his team is losing to Washington right about nowI wonder how does Fin feel now, thats the contender he wanted to go to.
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