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I would pay for that game, and I am in Seattle.
This would be a sweeter scenario:
If before the game that this feat was likely to transpire, Robinson was signed to a 10 day contract, and subbed in just before Duncan was about to topple his mark... let them have fun at the expense of the opposition... gnomes wkould be on order, of course.
I would pay for that game, and I am in Seattle.
Player.......PPG RPG
Duncan........18.0 9.0
Splitter........10.0 7.0
Blair.............9.0 8.0
McDyess...... 7.0 5.0
Bonner.........6.0 2.0
I think it'll be more of a reflection of how much less Tim plays and how effective the regular season front court can be. It's not so much a decline for Tim but an understanding that with a much improved front court, that Tim needn't do as much until the playoffs.
The front court play should be more balanced now. Tiago has a great understanding of the game and will get chances to create with his back to the basket game. Since it's an experienced Tiago as opposed to a less experienced DeJuan or a less physical Bonner, the Spurs could actually slow the pace and just run multiple set attack pick and rolls. That requires patience and fundamental understanding. I can't help but think that Manu's knowledge of the Flex-Cut Offense as taught to him by 04 Gold Coach, Ruben Magnano, some of which Pop had implemented in the past when Fabricio Oberto was here, can be of great benefit for Tiago because of what he's learning now with current Brazil coach, the same Ruben Magnano. Oh the possibilities of ball movement are a beautiful thing if it results in an easy made basket.
I think they will be decent but not great.. slightly above average. You have a rookie that you aren't sure how he will translate to the nba and will hit a wall at some point.. and Dice's best (well more productive years) were two years behind him. Duncan is great of course.. I don't think he is going to slip as much as the numbers I see on here are.. Blair is a very good backup.. as another person mentioned he is a 20-25 min player.
The backup PF duo of Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair allows for two distinctively different pairs of backup bigs (Splitter, due to his superior height, will most likely play Center whenever not paired with Tim Duncan).
Matt Bonner, while not mine, or anyones, favorite signing of the offseason, may be a comfortable pairing with Splitter because perimeter shooting big men are a more common fixture in European basketball, and Splitter will need plenty of space to operate both in the 4down set, and working the pick and roll. DeJuan Blair has spent the summer working on his midrange jumpshot, and for the Spurs' sake hopefully significant progress was made. Without a respectable jumpshot the pairing of Blair with Splitter may clog the lane with defenders.
This would be an unfortunate scenario because Blair's rebounding offsets one of Splitter's alleged weaknesses (defensive rebounding), and the two would also create an unstoppable offensive rebounding unit (where both accell). The PF spot was a bit crowded last season with fans arguing over whether or not Blair deserved more minutes, and if so, at who's expense?
Here's my (useless) numbers predictions:
TD- 18/9
McD-4/4
Splitter-11/5
DeJuan-7/9
Bonner-6/3
Total: 45/30
Last season's totals: 41.4/26.8
Your stats there look realistic but I would be really dissapointed if Splitter averaged only 6 points a game or less. He should be capable of averaging at least 8 points considering he's 25 and has a lot of experience playing basketball at a high level. I don't expect him to average 10 but 8 points should be more like it. I agree with you of him averaging 5 rebounds though.
Duncan: 16.6ppg, 9.7rpg
Blair: 8.9ppg, 8.1rpg
Splitter: 8.0ppg, 5.2rpg
McDyess: 4.2ppg, 3.2rpg
Bonner: 5.4ppg, 2.9rpg
Last edited by 007nites; 09-07-2010 at 03:46 AM.
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