Theo Ratliff, Larry, and Pop: Burning Questions.

[poop]

pop needs to be fired, too bad everyone in SA is too afraid of him to do anything but praise his wine soaked balls off, even in the face of monumental, galacticly glaring mountain of fail.

[Obstructed_View]

Pop thought he could take a 10 man small ball rotation featuring Bogans, and Bonner deep into the playoffs.

Even though it couldn't take a 63 win regular season team past the second round of the playoffs.

[ElNono]

Well, looks like the 37 year old washed up vet with a broken back still has a few more blocks left in him... Good for Theo

[Parker2112]

Bump.

Ratliff, who turns 37 next month, hardly was playing for the veteran Spurs, but Brown quickly put him into his starting lineup. The Bobcats have won seven of his 11 starts, including the last six consecutive games.

He was especially instrumental in their 96-89 victory Sunday over the Orlando Magic -- a potential first-round playoff opponent -- and particularly down the stretch when he thwarted a potential home-team comeback.

He had 10 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes, but statistics never have been his forte. In the last six minutes: he blocked a shot by Vince Carter, who tried to drive on him. He changed two driving layups, by Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus, that became misses. He also grabbed an offensive rebound to keep another possession alive..

I Fuggin Knew This .

Pop is so ing untrusting its pathetic.

[barbacoataco]

It was real strange that the Spurs never gave Ratliff a chance to play when they so obviously lack a true center.

[poop]

It was real strange that the Spurs never gave Ratliff a chance to play when they so obviously lack a true center.

exactly barbacoataco, exactly.

what we've been saying since 2008. (great san antonio handle, btw haha)

[SequSpur]

Ratliff was the fifth or sixth best bigman on the Spurs. He didn't have a chance to pass the players ahead of him in the rotation. Trading him to save money and open a roster spot was a no-brainer.

that's interesting since the spurs only have 2 big men on the roster...

Duncan and Ian....

And No Bonner plays like a 6 foot 3 point shooter from Slovenia.

McDyess is washed up and can't rebound at all...

So 5 or 6?

Oh, Roger Mason, Power Forward and Richard Jefferson, hall of fame Center...

It was a stupid move.

[SequSpur]

pop needs to be fired, too bad everyone in SA is too afraid of him to do anything but praise his wine soaked balls off, even in the face of monumental, galacticly glaring mountain of fail.

[jjktkk]

pop needs to be fired, too bad everyone in SA is too afraid of him to do anything but praise his wine soaked balls off, even in the face of monumental, galacticly glaring mountain of fail.

LOL, 13 games over 500 is a monumental, galacticly, glaring mountain of fail? Most NBA coaches, execs, and fans actually praise Pop for winning 4championships, has taken the Spurs to the playoffs 13 consecutive times. Thats a failure to you? Sure Pop makes mistakes, you can hate em, but you can't be that ignorant to think Pop is a failure. His record is proof that hes one of the best coaches in the NBA.

[Mr Bones]

Looks to me like Ratliff can in fact play 8-10 minutes a game and still block and alter shots at a pretty good rate.

[jermaine]

As I watched the Cats against the Magic with my lady friend (who's a Laker fan), she said aint that the dude that palyed for yal you called Rat!?! The look on my face said everything & she said why didn't yal play him. Yal gone miss him in the playoffs. Every rebound, point, altered shot, block, or every foul an Howard went to the line & missed a ft I said dumdass Pop! I'm so happy for Rat. That's the kinda love he shouldve got here! POP an HIS SMALLBALL

[wildbill2u]

Maybe we could have traded McDie for someone useful and plugged Theo into his spot. Is anyone but me tired of the mantra, "McDie plays better late in the season. Just wait." Bull , it's March and I don't see any late season miracle.

Both are at the end of their careers, but Ratliff would have been a better defensive presence in the middle, given the same minutes.

[SenorSpur]

Bump.



I Fuggin Knew This .

Pop is so ing untrusting its pathetic.

Pop is undoubtedly a HOF-level coach and a very smart man. Yet, it's these kinds of decisions that make one scratch their head about his decisions and his decision-making process. In spite of what some think, the man isn't flawless and makes his share of mistakes. Ratliff is certainly one of his most obvious blunders.

...and I'm supposed to believe that Ian Mahinmi is a bust or that he can't play simply because Pop refuses to play him? No thanks.

Reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain". In other words, "don't believe your eyes, believe in me", says Pop. No thanks.

[jjktkk]

Pop is undoubtedly a HOF-level coach and a very smart man. Yet, it's these kinds of decisions that make one scratch their head about his decisions and his decision-making process. In spite of what some think, the man isn't flawless and makes his share of mistakes. Ratliff is certainly one of his most obvious blunders.

...and I'm supposed to believe that Ian Mahinmi is a bust or that he can't play simply because Pop refuses to play him? No thanks.

Reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain". In other words, "don't believe your eyes, believe in me", says Pop. No thanks.

I agree with most of what you're saying. Ratliff is playing really well for Charlotte, but when he was a Spur, he was no better than the 4th big man off the bench. Ratliff is strictly a defensive player, which is obviously important, but can be a liability as well, because oppposing teams know that they never have to worry about guarding Ratliff, which in turn can mean more double teams,etc... My guess is that Pop wanted more offense out of his big men than the defense Ratliff can provide. If this comes back to bite Pop in the ass, then fans can definitly call out Pop for his blunder. It wouldn't be the 1st blunder Pop has ever made, but don't forget that Ratliff has played for 8 other NBA teams in his career, so it seems that other NBA coaches have made the same blunder about Ratliff.

[TJastal]

I agree with most of what you're saying. Ratliff is playing really well for Charlotte, but when he was a Spur, he was no better than the 4th big man off the bench. Ratliff is strictly a defensive player, which is obviously important, but can be a liability as well, because oppposing teams know that they never have to worry about guarding Ratliff, which in turn can mean more double teams,etc... My guess is that Pop wanted more offense out of his big men than the defense Ratliff can provide. If this comes back to bite Pop in the ass, then fans can definitly call out Pop for his blunder. It wouldn't be the 1st blunder Pop has ever made, but don't forget that Ratliff has played for 8 other NBA teams in his career, so it seems that other NBA coaches have made the same blunder about Ratliff.

Ratliff actually has a pretty good inside game, he hangs around near the low block most of the time and the bobcats actually throw him the ball on cuts to the basket and guess what... he usually dunks it! Seemed like all Ratliff did in Pop's system was set picks on the top of the key, and once in awhile get a return pass for a jumpshot on the free throw line extended which isn't his game at all (Fits McDyess to a tee though). Which shows Popovich had no idea how to fit Ratliff into the offense. Apparently Larry Brown knows because Ratliff is scoring in his offense.

[ChumpDumper]

Ratliff is scoring about one more point per game if you compare his production on both teams.

He's an offensive juggernaut.

[TJastal]

Ratliff is scoring about one more point per game if you compare his production on both teams.

He's an offensive juggernaut.

I think the most telling stat is his FG% has shot way up from a paltry 44% with the spurs to a respectable 51% for the 'cats.

Still no offensive juggernaut by any means but much improved because Larry Brown knows how to use him.