Before ever stepping onto an NBA court, Brazilian bigman Tiago Splitter is already a man, myth and legend. For many, the San Antonio Spurs will sink or swim this summer based on whether the franchise is able to get his autograph on a contract.
On the NBA radar for nearly a decade, Splitter likely would have been a top five pick in the 2004 draft. However, due to contractual issues with his Spanish club, he decided to stay out of the draft. It was the same song and dance the next few years as Splitter was unable to get a lottery promise due to his ironclad deal in Spain.
By 2007, Splitter's age made him automatically eligible for the draft. The Spurs drafted him with the 28th overall selection in the first round. Originally, San Antonio hoped to bring Splitter to town for the 2008-09 season. Unfortunately, the Spurs weren't able to compete financially with what Splitter could get overseas and the Brazilian decided to sign a two-year extension in Spain.
This summer, things are different. The Spurs are now able to pay Splitter up to approximately $6 million per season. Additionally, Splitter has been quoted numerous times saying he's ready to make the jump to the NBA. Now it appears as if it's simply a matter of the two sides reaching an agreement.
For Splitter, the negotiations couldn't come at a better time. A few weeks ago, his Caja Laboral team stunned heavily favored FC Barcelona to win the championship of the Spanish league. Splitter was named the MVP of the regular season and the MVP of the finals. Most scouts agree that Splitter is the best bigman outside of the NBA. In fact, some scouts say he's the best overall player in Europe.
What will the Spurs be getting if they are able to sign Splitter? Recently, I've been watching complete games Splitter has played in spanning the last five years to get a better idea.
Physically, Splitter is a bigman with a good amount of length. In 2004, he measured out as 7-feet and 233 pounds with a wingspan of 7-foot-2. Today, Splitter is listed at 245 pounds.
Offensively, Splitter's two best attributes are his hands and his passing ability. Off of pick-and-rolls, Splitter is great at diving to the hoop and catching any type of pass -- whether it be a bounce pass, a hard pass in close quarters or a lob over the defense.
His passing is an area where he has really improved over the last two seasons. When he catches the ball at the high post, Splitter can hit cutters in the lane with ease. When he's double-teamed on the block, he quickly finds the open man -- even if it requires a pinpoint cross-court pass. Most impressive is Splitter's interior passing. His ability to make short, quick passes around the rim is elite.
Due to his hands and passing being his biggest strengths on offense, it's no surprise that Splitter's bread and butter is the pick-and-roll. Caja Laboral ran countless pick-and-rolls on the way to their championship. When Splitter catches the ball off the roll, he's a threat to finish at the rim, shoot a floater or make the smart pass to the open man.
The other go-to offensive play for Caja Laboral was posting Splitter up on the low block. Splitter's game on the low block is quite unique. If he doesn't have good position, he likes to deliberately back his man down (a la Charles Barkley) to get closer to the rim. Once he's within about five or six feet of the rim, Splitter almost always utilizes one of two maneuvers: a hook shot or an up-and-under move.
Statistically, Splitter is coming off of a successful offensive season in Europe. In the Spanish league, he averaged 15.7 points in 28 minutes per game on 58.3% shooting from the field. In 16 Euroleague games in which he played 26.6 minutes per contest, Splitter averaged 13 points with a shooting percentage of 53.5%.
Despite those numbers, there are a number of areas on the offensive end where I question Splitter's ability to translate that success to the NBA. His jump hook is releaed with almost no lift and he doesn't get good extension, which makes it much more defendable than a traditional hook shot. Physical post defense has also given Splitter trouble. Not only because his post moves depend on backing his opponent closer to the rim but also because his up-and-under move requires a bit of space to unleash.
The fact that he even attempts floaters on the offensive end is odd for a seven-footer. When he's driving to the bucket, he's not opposed to utilizing a Tony Parker-esque tear drop. Honestly, I'm not sure what to make out of this habit. While it's almost always preferable for a bigman to finish strong near the rim, Splitter has good touch and may avoid offensive fouls by being able to pull up from five feet rather than going all the way. That said, the Spurs could very well urge him to take the floater out of his repertoire so that he can draw more fouls and improve his conversion rate in the paint.
While Splitter is fully capable of authoring thunderous dunks, he does tend to use softer shots whenever possible. He's good at moving the ball around in the air to get good angles on layups. He also likes to shoot quick flip shots to catch the defense flatfooted. Though those softer tactics in the NBA can work, it usually comes with a transitional period to adjust to the superior athletes.
In Spain, Splitter rarely shot jumpers. When he did, he was usually off the mark. His jumpers don't have much arc and come with a relatively long windup. Having a non-shooter next to Tim Duncan hasn't worked out well in recent years, so Splitter's lack of a jumper is a concern. However, oddly enough, Splitter shoots jumpers with much more frequency and accuracy when playing for the Brazil national team. With his Spanish team, he rarely shoots outside of 15 feet. When in the Brazilian uniform, he connects rather consistently from 18-to-20 feet. Obviously, the Spurs will hope that the jumper he shows in international play is the one he'd bring to the NBA.
Off the ball on the offensive end, Splitter is constantly setting screens. Technically, those screens he sets in Europe would be called moving screens in the NBA -- so that's another area of adjustment he'll have to make. Since he doesn't have a wide body, Splitter's screens are only average. But what he lacks in quality he can make up with quan y. His back picks and weakside screens are very useful in halfcourt situations.
Though I would rank his end-to-end speed as only slightly above average, his willingness to run both ways is an asset. He won't make a living on the fast break but he'll run enough to get some fullcourt buckets from time to time.
His running of the court is more obvious on the defensive end. Splitter is a conscientious defender who picks up his man early. He bodies his man and rarely lets the opponent get good post position on him. When his man does get the ball on the post, Splitter does a good job of being physical without fouling -- he keeps his arms up and only contests shots outside of the paint after the shooter has committed to his shot.
Where Splitter shines on the defensive end is defending the pick-and-roll. He hedges very well and is able to pester point guards and then quickly return to his man. While I said he's not fast, Splitter is quick on his feet. That quickness is most apparent when he's switched onto a smaller defender on the perimeter. He wouldn't be able to defend small forwards on a full-time basis but he can do the necessary job when rotating out of the paint. Since Europe has a lot of bigmen who can shoot, Splitter has experience defending bigmen who like to hang out around the arc. He's not great at doing so but he's certainly far above average for a seven-footer.
Flopping is another strength for Splitter. Although not quite the master of flopping like his countryman Anderson Varejao, he's not too far away. When either setting a pick or trying to get through a pick, Splitter is good at flailing and drawing fouls. He is willing and able to sacrifice his body under the rim to draw offensive fouls. To the future chagrin of NBA fans, Splitter is also good at taking a World Cup quality dive and fooling referees after pretending to get hit with an arrant elbow or forearm.
Rebounding-wise, I think he'll crash the boards at a respectable rate on the NBA level. He's good at getting rebounds in his area due to his length, timing and good hands. However, Splitter doesn't have much a natural instinct to hunt down rebounds. If the ball doesn't come toward him, Splitter rarely is the one to come down with the carom. In other words, he doesn't have that innate rebounding ability that someone like DeJuan Blair possesses.
When playing for Caja Laboral, Splitter didn't block too many shots (0.8 blocks per game in the Spanish league this season, 0.5 blocks in Euroleague). The shots that he did block were usually when opponents attacked his body in an attempt to draw fouls. Splitter doesn't show much of a desire for blocking shots from the weakside. That said, Splitter won't have to worry as much about foul trouble when playing for the Spurs so he may become more aggressive in this regard. He definitely has all the necessary tools to be at least a decent shot blocker.
Overall, Splitter has good fundamentals on the defensive end but, again, there are concerns. His team defense needs work. When he's not involved in a play, he has a tendency of becoming a spectator. Splitter rarely hustles to protect the rim or help teammates who have lost their man. To put it bluntly, he needs to bust his ass a lot more on the defensive end if he's going to earn consistent minutes under Popovich. As is, Splitter only gives maximum effort when he's in the mix.
The inability to hold his ground hurts him on the defensive end of the court as well. Splitter can get pushed around when facing stronger opponents, which could lead to foul trouble and a sub par defensive rebounding rate. To play center in the NBA, he probably has to gain another 20 pounds or so to balance out his body. Right now, I'd classify him as top heavy with a skinny lower half. The good news is that Splitter doesn't back down from physical play and routinely returns the punishment when he can. And since he'll be joining Duncan and the Spurs, his inability to play center isn't a huge worry because Duncan is the team's center -- despite what you may hear from the PA announcer. Splitter should have no problem playing power forward … and that may actually end up being a better long-term fit for him.
Since the Spurs drafted Splitter in 2007, the biggest difference between then and now is his basketball IQ. He's gone from making bonehead plays in clutch situations to becoming a steely-eyed winner. He understands the game on both ends and is great at knowing when he needs to impose his will and when he needs to give his teammates the needed space to produce. Will his basketball IQ translate successfully to the NBA? Spurs fans should hope.
One thing that should be noted is Splitter's injury history. He has had a number of injuries through the years. Though most of the injuries were minor, the fact that Splitter is at least somewhat injury prone should factor into his projections to the NBA level.
Speaking of his NBA projection, part two will take a statistical look at what we can expect from Splitter next season if he signs with the Spurs.
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