Jeffersons quote in ESPN the magazine

[210Max]

is that don't suck thing legit

[DMX7]

$15 mill to not suck? Oh brother.

[hitmanyr2k]

Jefferson needs to drop about 5-10 pounds and come in lighter. He looked heavy and slow last season. And I think the extra weight gave Popovich the dumb idea that he could play PF.

[baseline bum]

Wow, so wait. Last year was RJ trying not to suck? Yikes.

No . I wonder if he tells Bonner not to his warmups on the bench.

[Solid D]

On top of that, Jefferson was asked to play in a technique/position that he wasn't acclimated to, for a portion of the season. It changes your mentality when you know you are going to handle the ball often and have plays drawn for you to having to relegate your feelings to play a position that you aren't familiar with. All of a sudden, you have to be more accurate and you have to be accurate while, oftentimes, not being "warmed up". It is unfair to ask a player to be the same when you place him/her in a different environment. In the position that Jefferson plays and the kind of player he was used to being, thats a big change. You can tell Jefferson knows the game and is a thinking basketball player; just give him time and patience and I have a feeling he will fit in.

Richard actually played PF in small lineups often throughout the season, moreso during the first 2/3 of the year. His rebounding was pretty good but he wasn't very effective offensively. By the end of the season, Richard was out running the wings most of time and he looked more fluid offensively.

I have no doubt that Richard will play a lot of minutes again. He may even lead the team in minutes played like he did last year. The doubts I have about RJ are with his lack of ability to keep focus on his defensive assignment. There were numerous times last year where Richard simply lost track of his man, especially in ball reversals.

[rjv]

There were times near the end of the season and during the playoffs where RJ would literally just stand 20 feet from the basket during an entire play. It was VERY frustrating to watch. This guy has 3-pt shooting ability, but played a role last year he was completely uncomfortable with. RJ needs to shoot 3s and shoot within 10 feet of the basket, nothing in between.

I have high hopes for RJ this season. I expect him to have barely better numbers, but be much more efficient in how he gets those numbers. If we get an efficient 13-15 PPG from the SF spot and solid defense, we will cause alot of problems this year. We have to have RJ playing well to have a shot at a le because that SF spot is huge in this system. especially on the defensive end where we need his size and rebounding.

was that him or the offense? we really did not run many isolations or high screens for him.

[clambake]

what makes everyone think timmy was referring to basketball?

[anonoftheinternets]

what makes everyone think timmy was referring to basketball?

never been done before

[Fabbs]

Richard actually played PF in small lineups often throughout the season, moreso during the first 2/3 of the year. His rebounding was pretty good....

For qualifying forwards (and if anyone can tell us where NBA.com states what is "qualifying" but I'm assuming it's something like 25 min per game)....
Amoung 76 qualifying forwards, Jeffersons 5.6 boards per 48 is
73rd of 76

Amoung all forwards irregardless of minutes played, is
154th of 169

http://www.nba.com/statistics/player...ager.offset=50

[Leonard Curse]

i think jefferwson will do great his second year and begin to take his own shape as a spur. a new iden y is hard to acquire after 9yrs of playing a certain way i think what the spurs are doing for him is great and will make him more of a durable/more explosive threat. he wont be running around trying to score all game and when called upon (hopefully pop worked on incorperating into the system) he will have that explosiveness

[clambake]

the fact is, he should be a better player......considering his love for balls.

[ohmwrecker]

the fact is, he should be a better player......considering his love for balls.

So, you boycott the NBA forum only to fail at trolling here?

[clambake]

So, you boycott the NBA forum only to fail at trolling here?

boycott? not involved.

the trolling was just a joke. i should have considered your sensitive nature.

[Solid D]

For qualifying forwards (and if anyone can tell us where NBA.com states what is "qualifying" but I'm assuming it's something like 25 min per game)....
Amoung 76 qualifying forwards, Jeffersons 5.6 boards per 48 is
73rd of 76

Amoung all forwards irregardless of minutes played, is
154th of 169

http://www.nba.com/statistics/player...ager.offset=50

Those rankings are thrown in there with all forwards, including Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, Tim Duncan, Carlos Boozer, etc.

Besides, RJ didn't play PF the majority of the time...but he did play there frequently against certain teams.

Jefferson was still the 4th leading rebounder behind Duncan, Blair and Dice, even out-rebounding PF Matt Bonner (the 2008-09 4th leading rebounder behind Duncan, Thomas, & Gooden).

So compared to what they have had the previous year with Finley playing 3 and 4, he rebounded pretty well.

[ohmwrecker]

boycott? not involved.

the trolling was just a joke. i should have considered your sensitive nature.

Next time try a Gary Neal/Toros joke. They go over here big time.

[Spursmania]

Timmy is one funny guy.

[Budkin]

I think the dude is going to come out with a vengeance.

[Baseline]

Tim's comment definitely falls under the category of "being over yourself," as Pop has said before. Kind of a Spurs mantra.

Tim leads this philosophy by example. You get over yourself and just do your job.

Certainly the opposite of most NBA players' mentality, which is the whole, "Gimme my respect, then I'll be able to do my job."

[Fabbs]

Those rankings are thrown in there with all forwards, including Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, Tim Duncan, Carlos Boozer, etc.

Besides, RJ didn't play PF the majority of the time...but he did play there frequently against certain teams.

Jefferson was still the 4th leading rebounder behind Duncan, Blair and Dice, even out-rebounding PF Matt Bonner (the 2008-09 4th leading rebounder behind Duncan, Thomas, & Gooden).

So compared to what they have had the previous year with Finley playing 3 and 4, he rebounded pretty well.

Gee, so he was 30th out of 32 when limiting it to starting SFs. Not an improvement.
Outrebounded Bonner? As in more per minute or as in more total number of rebounds because RJ played 60% more minutes?

Outrebounded Finley? So could any of our grandmas.

[Solid D]

Gee, so he was 30th out of 32 when limiting it to starting SFs. Not an improvement.
Outrebounded Bonner? As in more per minute or as in more total number of rebounds because RJ played 60% more minutes?

Outrebounded Finley? So could any of our grandmas.

Look, I'm not going to get into a fruitless, tar-ball argument over rebounds per 48 minutes against all SFs in the NBA over a simple comment that RJ rebounded pretty well (in the Spurs system). Look, Fabbs, you know as well as anyone that the Spurs send their wings back in transition at the expense of rebounds...so they don't compete with other wings in the category of rebounding.

Other than Manu, the Spurs wings don't get near 4.5 reb./game. Besides Manu, you'd have to go back to Turkoglu in '04 to find a 4.5 reb/game SF with the Spurs. I think part of the reason RJ was in the 4s on reb./game was because he played PF when they went small.

If you want me to agree with you about RJ's rebounding numbers per min. or per 48 min. versus the rest of the league, then sure...I agree with you. If you are not a Jefferson fan, join the crowd, but Richard did a pretty good job of rebounding last year.

[wunderkindepiphany]

Solid D, I'm with you on the defensive assignments. I've seen it happen, a number of times, where Jefferson would get sucked away from his assignment because of misdirection in ball reversals (especially at the 4) or get caught behind a screen he didn't see being set-up. I think Richard has a big upside offensively (when compared with his production last season) and the potential to become a solid defender. Note that I say potential, his lateral quickness and mentality leave something to be desired but I feel like he's worth keeping on. . .particularly after the agreement he made to help free up room for the Spurs, financially.

The way I looked at Tim Duncan's quote, he was telling Richard that he needed to watch and learn, rather that attempting to contribute right away. He was telling Richard that, although he may not be contributing in the manner that he was used to with other teams, right away, he was also not hurting anything, which is good for the team. It forced Richard to step back and realize that he wasn't the center of the team and it also subtly told Richard what his place in the system was. It wasn't just supposed to be, DONT SUCK, although if you look at it from that simple perspective its pretty funny. My dad used to say simple like that and it would force me to think. Its a cool way of teaching someone without having to say too much. Just because Tim seems simple with what he says doesn't mean he a simple guy.

[Dex]

If Jeffersons confidence has degraded to the point where is just out on the court trying not to suck, then we are in for a few long seasons with him. That is not the confidence befitting a professional athlete.

[jag]

I think he is being sardonic. That is his sense of humor. He is a pretty humble and self-deprecating guy. It would be cool if everyone would cut him a little slack and let him come into the season with a fresh at ude. Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to be a likely occurrence.

I'm not sure what everyone's still ing about. For all his faults his still better than any other available options. If he performs better the at udes here will change (save the 5-10 posters who were/are in love with d-leaguers), but if he continues to play poorly then i guess the hate is deserved.

New season. New mindset. I think he can find his niche.

[DPG21920]

Lol, let's hope his new mindset has changed from trying not to suck.