Blair Starting Next Season?

[quentin_compson]

As long as we don't see RJ at center I'll be happy.

I think there'll be a surprise signing bringing a backup C on the team ...

*cough* Finley *cough*

[SenorSpur]

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.

Agree.

Recall, that Blair made several starts for the Spurs during the first half of last season. This came during a time where Dice was still "on ice" and well into his annual, prolonged, offseason hibernation.

If Pop does decide to start Blair, it would do two things:

1. Reward him for his offseason dedication and skills improvements
2. Allow Splitter to adjust and learn without pressure

Blair could do as a starter for against most opponents - except...the Fakers. Even with an improved outside shot and increased offensive arsenal, Blair will always be outmatched against the Fakers frontline because he's just too small.

If there was ever a flashpoint game of the season to watch for Pop making a lineup change, it would be against the defending champs. If Splitter does become the eventual starter next to Tim, I'd be willing to bet it would come in a regular season game versus the Fakers.

[Brazil]

I think blair was joking around with the tim is a center

[Samr]

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.

This.

With a guard rotation of parker/ hill/ anderson/RJ-or-FA-signee/ manu, and a big man rotation of duncan/ blair/ splitter/ mcd/ bonner, Spurs have a legitimate second squad. As in, there's another five guys after the starters who you can put into the game and not immediately break out into nervous sweats.

During back-to-backs or rough stretches against physical teams, even if you get another combined 15-20 minutes per game out of the extras (like Hairston, Gee, et al), it could make a huge difference in the long run. When the Spurs hit the playoffs and the main guys have, essentially, played in 5-6 games less because the extended rotation managed their minutes, that could provide a major advantage in a series.

Which could make a difference in June.



I like Blair starting, if for no other reason than for what timvp said: it'd force Pop to play him. And if he finds his ceiling as a Paul Millsap or even Chuck Hayes? Never mind Parker's return -- "How Blair Got His Groove Back" could be the biggest "addition" of the off-season.

[spursfaninla]

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 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?

The reason no-one uses an 15 man rotation, as opposed to the traditional 8 man rotation, is because:

1) if you propose everyone gets like 15 minutes or whatever, that is not enough minutes from our best players to win, simply.

2) also, in that case, players need a a sense of each other, and need lots of repe ions with each other; mixing and matching all the time harms that.

3) If you propose switching the rotation 8 back and forth, so that the "second team" gets minutes during the beginning of the season, we will be out of the playoffs for sure. Our deep bench will not be good enough to win games as starters.


With that said, I like the idea of keeping Duncan's minutes in the 20's by playing blair and splitter extensive minutes, and Manu too by letting hill eat 35 mpg between pg and sg. Parker can play lots of minutes too, since he is not coming back anyway, and wants to pad his stats for his payday.

Rather than make our rotation too big, just lean on the secondary players more during the regular season. You don't win as many games, but they improve and you don't completely miss the playoffs like the 15 man rotation.

[smrattler]

I bet even if they DID start Blair, he'd be announced as a center.

The reason I think this was tongue in cheek is because outside of Tim and Parker, I don't think Pop tells anyone they are penciled in as the starter. And he changes lineups so often, looking for mixes, that outside of those two, you don't know who else is usually starting.

In other words, Pop doesn't usually guarantee starting spots to anyone.

But Blair might just be very confident he's going to leave Pop with no choice. Maybe he knows Pop wants to keep Dice fresh... he knows what Bonner has... and he's seen enough Splitter video to not be impressed.

I think this was all good fun from a very confident 20 year old kid.

[bigzak25]

In Pop I trust.

Spurs are le bound.

[dbestpro]

1)He's not too likely to reach his ceiling due to his knees and his height ...

Irony.

[ducks]

pop did not guarantee blair minutes
i bet he told blair if he improves his jumper the starting job is his to lose

[Bruno]

Blair could do as a starter for against most opponents - except...the Fakers. Even with an improved outside shot and increased offensive arsenal, Blair will always be outmatched against the Fakers frontline because he's just too small.

If there was ever a flashpoint game of the season to watch for Pop making a lineup change, it would be against the defending champs. If Splitter does become the eventual starter next to Tim, I'd be willing to bet it would come in a regular season game versus the Fakers.

Yep, Lakers are a really bad matchup for Blair. Duncan, Splitter and Dice will play most of the minutes against them. Blair could only play short stints against Bynum and Bonner some minutes against Odom.

[Spurs Brazil]

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.

This. We need to have TD or Tiago on the court all the time. Last season combo of Blair/Bonner was a nightmare on defense.
Start Blair is a good idea

[Man In Black]

Let me think back to a time where a small BIG PF played alongside a HOF on the downside.
I give you Charles Barkley and Moses Malone. Okay, we all know Blair ain't Barkley, but...if we take Barkley's 14 and 8 and scale back a bit, to get 12 & 7 would that be good? I'd take it. Incidentally, Malone went 24 & 11 that year. I think Tim gets 18 & 10.

[dbestpro]

Let me think back to a time where a small BIG PF played alongside a HOF on the downside.
I give you Charles Barkley and Moses Malone. Okay, we all know Blair ain't Barkley, but...if we take Barkley's 14 and 8 and scale back a bit, to get 12 & 7 would that be good? I'd take it. Incidentally, Malone went 24 & 11 that year. I think Tim gets 18 & 10.

I know we can't expect Blair to match Barkley's play on offense, but what about defense?

[smrattler]

I know we can't expect Blair to match Barkley's play on offense, but what about defense?

That's my biggest question about Blair's upside.

His offense is mostly the dirty work for now, hopefully he develops a jumper, but that's not my concern.

When shots goes up, his size is not an issue either, the guy can go get the boards. So, rebounding is fine.

On the ball defense, can he use his strength to become a good defender on the ball? Make guys take shots away from their preferred spots? Not let them establish themselves in good position? Or will the more talented bigs with height always get good quality shots over him?

And what about off the ball? Will he be a non-factor protecting the rim from the weak side due to a lack of height?

[BlairForceDejuan]

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.

This. Blair starting is basically process of elimination. Dice needs to chill for 2/3 of the season; he proved last season he can be a beast come playoff time. Splitter is a noob. Bonner is Bonner. Blair it is.

[20beastie45]

Blair and Timmy Starting....hmmmm.....It could work.....But who will finish the games?
Timmy and ?

[doobs]

Duncan and Blair do not play well together. Maybe if Blair develops a midrange jumper they can coexist . . . but even then his height is such a liability on both ends that I can't see giving him starter minutes.

I love Blair, but realistically (on a good team) he will never be anything more than a solid rotational player.

[ohmwrecker]

I'm pretty sure Blair was making a joke at Duncan's expense. He has inherited Timmy's dry sense of humor. Hopefully, he will inherit his jumpshot too.

[barbacoataco]

Yep, Lakers are a really bad matchup for Blair. Duncan, Splitter and Dice will play most of the minutes against them. Blair could only play short stints against Bynum and Bonner some minutes against Odom.

Sometimes I wonder why, since the Lakers are the team to beat, the Spurs aren't building a team that is suited to beat them. Maybe they are doing what they can. Splitter will hopefully contend with Gasol. And Parker/Hill could be a nightmare for Derek. I'm hoping for the best.

[mingus]

I'm for it. I think Blair is getting overshadowed by Splitter a little bit. Blair could end up being the nicest surprise next season. I created a thread questioning his role for next year a while back. some people said it would b the same as last year but I disagree.

[mingus]

I think if Blair can utilize his lower body strength and positioning better he can do better against bigger players defensively. See chuck hayes. offensively he can b a force if he better his jumper. he can take bigs out and beat them to the basket. he's got deceptively quick first step.

[SCdac]

Blair started over 20 games last season (largely in part to Bonner breaking a bone in his shooting hand), and his production generally increased all around in those games. Eventually McDyess with his reliable jump shot and savvy defense came to be the starter, and rightly so I thought (his man-to-man defense on Dirk Nowitzki in the post season has gone criminally under appreciated, imo). But, if Blair can continue to improve his shooting range, and defensive a en, he'll become a solid fit alongside 34 year old Duncan. I don't mind it, would allow Splitter to provide a post presence off the bench, which has been hard to come by.

[Sigz]

I like Blair... but he's so damn short. He's as tall as Manu, and every other SG in the league.

[silverblk mystix]

What about starting all three...

TD
Splitter
Blair

with

TP
RJ or Anderson

keep the twin towers and let RJ/Blair defend forwards????

would Pop experiment?

Blair has quick feet and could probably defend combo forwards, IMO

[Obstructed_View]

I like Blair... but he's so damn short. He's as tall as Manu, and every other SG in the league.

And it's incredibly important how long a guy is from his shoulders to the top of his head. Don't pay any attention to his reach, his rebounds or his production.