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His role will be the same as this year. Energy guy off the bench, get boards and garbage points.
2nd PF.
His role will be the same as this year. Energy guy off the bench, get boards and garbage points.
He's a great player about 3 inches too short for his NBA position.
I hope he can work on his defense and post moves
Chip working with this guy with his jump shoot to something that has to be defended by opponents would do a lot with stretching the floor on offense.
His post moves are a bit wild, but definitely show a of a lot of promise. If he can get a soft more controlled touch with his post game, he could be devastating inside and out especially if a jump shot from him develops over the off season.
His defensive lapses this season are acceptable. It was his first year in a confusing ever switching lineup with this team all season. One could expect the Spurs grading his off season development with his offense and getting him setup more at the PF side on D. Come training camp for the spurs with him you should see him a lot more comfortable with the defense strategies and rotation with the spurs. He's a guy I feel high on coming out stronger next season so long as Pop doesn't play him at the 5 whenever he jumps on the court.
he needs to finish better around the rim. the fact that, unlike milsap, blair's not a good leaper really hurts him.
maybe he should develop a jumper, didnt malik rose develop a jumper in his final season with the spurs
The Spurs bought low and now I think they should sell high. If Blair is packaged with Jefferson's expiring contract before next year's trade deadline, it could very plausibly bring a great piece or two very good pieces to a San Antonio team that has obvious needs, one of which unfortunately is not a 6'5" center. I love his at ude and wish him the best-- I really do-- but this is one time I hope the Spurs go with their heads and not their hearts.
and who will be the bigs on our team besides duncan and mcdyness (splitter)? you want to go through another season with bonner
Him & Chip better find some tapes of the following players: Malik Rose-Should be readily accessible, Larry Johnson-not as accessible but should be able to be found, and Hall of Fame Legend, Wes Unseld-Might have to crack open the NBA Vault. All of these guys are shorter than 6'7" and in their own way, dominated the opposition. For Malik, it was key games. For Larry, it was a few seasons. For Wes, the only player to ever win ROY and MVP the same year. Look at his rebound number's and FG% for his career. IF DeJuan gives the Spurs 70% of that...we're baaaaaccccckkkkkk!
To get more playing time from Pop he must develop a mid-range shot.
I beg to differ on that mid-range shot. He needs to learn hook shot with either hand, he needs to learn how to gather himself. He needs to use the sniper motto, Quick is slow, slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. He needs to be selective on the amount of shots. For him, 10-12 shots max. And for offensive rebound put-backs, again...gather and look. If not, throw it out and reset the offense.
He's 6'7" actually (maybe 6'6" but he doesnt play barefoot), and he plays like 6'10", whereas Bonner is 6'10" and plays like he's 6'5". You can't always go by actual measurements.
Plus, Blair is a smart choice to keep on, he's cheap as for the next 3 years. This being his rookie year, I think he was fantastic. If Chip and Dice add a 10-15 ft jumper to his arsenal, he'll be deadly on O.
It does worry me that I've heard no mention of Blair improving his D over the offseason though. He wasn't offensively a liability, because he scored of broken plays, putbacks, and pick and rolls. He was defensively a liabilty because he didn't use his immense mass and strength to their full potential. No one really ever backed him down, but then he never fought for position against guys like Pau who can easily shoot over him.
The only people you really want to trade are players who don't hold their weight, like Bonner/Mason/RJ, and you shouldn't trade a player who does hold their weight (Blair) if it possibly forces you to keep a guy like Bonner, who becomes worthless in the POs except for the last two games.
Last edited by Manufan909; 05-12-2010 at 08:38 AM.
Your frustration is understandable, but your take is unfounded.
Our FT shooting as a team was a problem of psychology more than anything; evidence of that was the ft% during the long regular season.
Duncan is too old to re-tread his BAD technique at the line.
Parker usually shoots them ok; I think that was psych-issues too.
He helped lots of people on the Spurs as other posters have said, and currently our George Hill's excellent 3pt shot was built from the ground up by Chip.
I believe he helped tony work on his jumpshot, which appeared out of nowhere; until that point, he only had a drive-layup and a floater.
I get the frustration about the ft shooting; it was pretty sad. But Chip has done good work with the mechanics of players shot, that is undeniable.
as for Blair, he has a lot he can work on; defense, go-to moves in the post, and a mid-range jumper. I think all 3 would be important improvements, but if I were going to pick one, it would be the go-to post move. That would allow Duncan to shoot the jumper and save him the grind on the season.
Last edited by spursfaninla; 05-12-2010 at 09:42 AM.
Maybe by trade....... I see a rotation of Duncan/Okafor/Splitter/Blair/McDyess with McDyess sitting most of the regular season while Splitter gets incorporated into the system.
He's 6' 5.25" in bare feet and 6' 6.5" in sneakers.
i think amidst all the trade and FA talk we'll hear over the summer and the implications those potential pick-ups would have on the roster, Blair is a guy that will come in and be a much better player and have an impact that maybe would be considered a surprise, kind of like how George Hill had this year, but maybe even moreso.
No, he started taking a lot of jumpers, which was a big mistake.
DeJuan can't grow 6 inches but he can work on his outside shot and his lateral quickness. His size will always limit his minutes in the post. If he can some how find a way to play some small forward from time to time he could stay on the floor when the opposing team tries run good post bigs agianst him. He is still young so there is time to develop his outside shot.
I think he should , first of all;
Play TWICE as many minutes as Duncan in the regular season...
this would be the best thing for the spurs---saving wear and tear on TD
and this would also improve Blairs game---he just needs TONS of minutes so he can dominate the pros the way he dominated college---
the height/size thing---just let him play.
I agree, same role for Blair, but his minutes, if his game improves as expected, should jump from 18 to 20-22.
If those four make up the big rotation, then expect the fifth big to be a stretch four, but not Bonner. Bonner, at the peak of his career isn't going to settle for a drastic pay cut (which, given the Spurs financial limitations, I can't see them offering more than the minimum to fill this role) or a reduced role (which he'd almost certainly have to take, because Splitter will be ahead of him and Blair, so long as he improves, figures to be as well).
Assuming Splitter signs and McDyess isn't traded to facilitate re-signing Bonner, the guy I see filling Bonner's role is Cook. He's a similar player, will cost the minimum and can't gripe about being a fifth big, seeing as how he's been out of the league the majority of this past season and probably would have been even longer if not for his bloated contract. In fact, he'd probably be ecstatic not only to have a job in the league again, but to be on an organization and team the caliber of the Spurs.
Assuming Splitter signs, the only way Bonner is back is if McDyess is traded. Unless the Spurs carry a sixth big (which I don't see given their already bloated payroll), there will be no athletic big, unless you count Splitter. He's athletic and mobile, but not as athletic as a guy like Mahinmi.
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