Rest of the articleBlair played mostly backup center to Spurs superstar Tim Duncan. Will he play behind Duncan again next season?
“No I’m going to be a starter next season,” Blair said. “I’m going to move to power forward..."
(Forgive me if this was posted already, but I searched and didn't see it.)
Interesting. A little hard to believe considering Splitter being brought into the fold, but interesting nonetheless.
The one thing I definitely cannot see happening is this:
"...And starting at center, standing at 6'11" from Wake Forest, Tim Duncan!"
Maybe the Spurs will be like some college teams, where they list 3 guards and 2 forwards as starting.
Keep shooting those jumpers.
For some reason... it just sounds like Blair is joking and the interviewer didn't catch it. Who knows... the starting lineup will always be influx with Pop at the helm.
don't worry, bonner will start again.
That's what I thought it could be too. I wish we could have heard the interview.
thats not a bad idea though.....timmy and dejuan starting, with dice and splitter coming off the bench and bonner getting some minutes looks fine i guess....dejuan hustles for rebounds let it be offensive rebounds or defensive rebounds...so starting blair along side timmy could take some pressure off of timmy ....
In some small way, this could make some sense if true. In the past, Pop has used the starting lineup to manage the minutes of particular players one way or the other.
Part of the reason Pop likes to bring Manu off the bench is that it helps decrease his minutes, keeping him more fresh both for the 4th quarter of individual games and for later in the season.
Part of the reason George Hill has started at SG is to guarantee him some minutes beyond the 7-15 he gets backing up Tony. He had become too good and too much of a minutes eater durability-wise to keep his minutes that low.
Similarly, moving Blair into the starting lineup could make some sense if Pop wants to find a way to guarantee him more minutes. He's a very talented player, but matchups could easily find him buried behind Splitter, Bonner, and McDyess.
Or maybe DeJuan was just joking around. But the idea seems more plausible to me than it did at first glance.
at leasts its not bonner starting
Wouldn't surprise me. It seems a little unrealistic since we hardly saw a Blair/Duncan lineup last season from Pop but I wouldn't object. I love Blair and think he will continue to grow as a player.
I'd like it.
1) Blair has the highest ceiling of any bigman on the team outside of TD. Yes, Splitter should be good but Blair's ceiling is higher. He's not too likely to reach his ceiling due to his knees and his height ... but the Spurs might as well begin the season with him in the starting lineup to gauge his progress.
2) It guarantees Blair a healthy amount of minutes. With Splitter, Bonner and McDyess splitting minutes next to Duncan, Blair could hypothetically get lost in the shuffle if he's coming off the bench. Starting Blair forces Pop to keep him involved.
3) McDyess doesn't begin trying until the All-Star break ... so there's no reason to waste starts on him early on. Bonner shouldn't start, period.
4) It keeps the pressure off of Splitter. Early in his Euroleague career, the pressure would get to him and he had a tendency to meltdown late in games. In this transition to the NBA, there's no guarantee that he'll react well to pressure in the NBA. Building up his confidence slowly is the way to go.
5) Splitter could fit better off the bench anyways. With his Spanish team, they ran pick-and-rolls with him a ton. They also posted him up a ton. With Duncan on the court, Splitter wouldn't get those opportunities. Off the bench, he could anchor the reserve unit. Plus, having one of Duncan or Splitter on the court at all times gives the team a bigman who can defend centers on one end and key the offense with passing on the other end.
@ Blair in the starting lineup to begin the season.
For what it's worth, the idea that Pop wouldn't play Blair next to Duncan is a false one. In terms of minutes played, Parker-Bogans-Jefferson-Blair-Duncan was the 3rd most played 5-man combo for the Spurs last regular season.
1. Hill-Ginobili-Jefferson-McDyess-Duncan- 230.5 minutes, +46 on plus/minus
2. Parker-Bogans-Jefferson-McDyess-Duncan, 191.3 minutes, +45
3. Parker-Bogans-Jefferson-Blair-Duncan, 123.6 minutes, +0
4. Hill-Ginobili-Bogans-McDyess-Duncan, 75.3 minutes, -15
5. Hill-Ginobili-Jefferson-Bonner-Duncan, 70.9 minutes, +21
http://www.82games.com/0910/0910SAS2.HTM
Pop loves to play new/different lineups during the regular season. Looking at the games that count (the playoffs) would be the measure we should look at, seeing as that's the only games that really matter.
lurker23 just whipped out 3 lineups that had Keith Bogans on it on the top 5 with his plus and minus being a net positive. , he is in for it.
Okay, if you want to base it off the playoffs, here are the top 5 units involving DeJuan Blair, in terms of minutes played:
Parker-Hill-Ginobili-Bonner-Blair, 22 minutes
Hill-Ginobili-Jefferson-Bonner-Blair, 18 minutes
Temple-Bogans-Mason-Blair-Mahinmi, 9 minutes
Parker-Hill-Ginobili-Jefferson-Blair, 7 minutes
Parker-Hill-Mason-Bonner-Blair, 6 minutes
http://basketballvalue.com/teamunits...yoffs&team=SAS
Frankly, I'm not looking forward to seeing any of those lineups this year.
Please don't kill the messenger.
its going to be great seeing these kinda stats next year with splitter's +/- 's cant wait to see when/if they pair him up w/duncan.Okay, if you want to base it off the playoffs, here are the top 5 units involving DeJuan Blair, in terms of minutes played:
Parker-Hill-Ginobili-Bonner-Blair, 22 minutes
Hill-Ginobili-Jefferson-Bonner-Blair, 18 minutes
Temple-Bogans-Mason-Blair-Mahinmi, 9 minutes
Parker-Hill-Ginobili-Jefferson-Blair, 7 minutes
Parker-Hill-Mason-Bonner-Blair, 6 minutes
http://basketballvalue.com/teamunits...yoffs&team=SAS
Frankly, I'm not looking forward to seeing any of those lineups this year.
WOHOOOOO!!!
Blair starting could be the right choice at the start of the season.
McDyess should be put in the freezer until the ASG. Bonner should be matched against 2nd stringer. Not starting Splitter will allow to ease his transition to the NBA.
The success of Blair starting will mainly depend on his man to man defense. He will need to be significantly better than his rookie season to be a legit starter. If he can also hit some midrange J, it would also be great.
Just as long as we don't see a Blair/Bonner pairing i'll be okay.
Interesting to see Pop guarantee minutes. But he pretty much does it every year.
I reckon number 3 is really important for both Dice and TD - get them as much rest as possible in the first three months of the season. It'll help them at the end of the season when they need their legs, and it gives Pop an opportunity to play as much of Blair and Splitter as he wants. Bonner can play in spots.I'd like it.
1) Blair has the highest ceiling of any bigman on the team outside of TD. Yes, Splitter should be good but Blair's ceiling is higher. He's not too likely to reach his ceiling due to his knees and his height ... but the Spurs might as well begin the season with him in the starting lineup to gauge his progress.
2) It guarantees Blair a healthy amount of minutes. With Splitter, Bonner and McDyess splitting minutes next to Duncan, Blair could hypothetically get lost in the shuffle if he's coming off the bench. Starting Blair forces Pop to keep him involved.
3) McDyess doesn't begin trying until the All-Star break ... so there's no reason to waste starts on him early on. Bonner shouldn't start, period.
4) It keeps the pressure off of Splitter. Early in his Euroleague career, the pressure would get to him and he had a tendency to meltdown late in games. In this transition to the NBA, there's no guarantee that he'll react well to pressure in the NBA. Building up his confidence slowly is the way to go.
5) Splitter could fit better off the bench anyways. With his Spanish team, they ran pick-and-rolls with him a ton. They also posted him up a ton. With Duncan on the court, Splitter wouldn't get those opportunities. Off the bench, he could anchor the reserve unit. Plus, having one of Duncan or Splitter on the court at all times gives the team a bigman who can defend centers on one end and key the offense with passing on the other end.
I think we should become the first team in the NBA to truly utilise the 15-man depth of the squad over the breadth of the season to spare the older players the full wear and tear of the 82-game schedule. No team has yet truly adopted this idea, and I'd like to see us be the first. I've written about this before but never really got much comment on it.
BTW, any idea who the 6th big might be this year?
If he has improved his post defense, and shows a respectable jumper from around 14ft, then I am on board with it!
Let the little big man play!
As long as we don't see RJ at center I'll be happy.
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