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Right now I think Blair should be the Odd Man Out..... He Isnt doin anything special, He has actually played kinda ty if ya ask me.... Duncan, Dice, Splitter, Bonner, Then Blair....
The problem with Bonner long term is that he has proven to be ineffective in the playoffs and pressure situations. His defense is sub-par and he can't get his shot off when the defenses step up the pressure. Even though he is playing well now, I don't think he can be the starting center on a NBA championship team. But I think he could be a 10-15 mpg guy, especially with certain defensive matchups.
Right now I think Blair should be the Odd Man Out..... He Isnt doin anything special, He has actually played kinda ty if ya ask me.... Duncan, Dice, Splitter, Bonner, Then Blair....
Blair chokes in the regular season, can't imagine what he would do in the playoffs.
I am enjoying the win thank you. Now can you ever talk to someone without talking like a thirteen year old? Ever try to disagree without snide remarks at the end?
But Blair is in his 2nd NBA season and is still getting better. Playing young players is an investment in the future. Bonner has had his chances in the playoffs and is not particularly young or getting any better. He is what he is, a guy who can hit a lot of 3 ptrs when he is open.
Ya, I hate seeing how far Blair has regressed this season. Right now he should be the 5th big.
DAMN RIGHT.. what he does in the season, his 7 for 7 3 point shooting, ALL that .. he needs to do the same in the playoffs or GTFO of here. Don't get me wrong I'm happy as to see him playing well, but thats Dallas Maverick thinking to get excited about what he's doing 10 games in. And now if Splitter is going to be non-existent because of this, it's only making things worse..we need Splitter in rythym come rodeo road trip time..we cant shove him in against the Lakers and expect good results..it will not end well for us.
I'm not surprised. The day Bonner was re-signed, I was this coming. I knew there would be a stretch in the season (most likely early) where he was out of the rotation. Predictable.
Pop has got to get him acclimated, though and that's not going to happen by playing him in short stretches (I don't want to hear about conditioning, he's looked fine recently and even if he wasn't, it's not hard to get him a quick rest and then get him back in there, so that he begins to become accustomed to playing more minutes). Also, he's got to play him next to Duncan more.
Ultimately, if this team is going to get back to the Finals, we all know they'll have to go through the Lakers at some point and against the Lakers, they're going to have to lean heavily on Duncan, McDyess and Splitter. If he hardly ever plays with Duncan and plays sporadic minutes all season, how can he be expected to be a big part of that series when he's suddenly thrust into having to play extended minutes, many or at least some of which next to Duncan? The time to get him used to playing those minutes and playing next to Duncan is now.
In a related note, it's obvious (barring a Mason like plunge) that Bonner is going to be in the playoff rotation. He's sewn up the third big spot.
Awesome! It's not like Splitter has a higher ceiling as an actual real post player in the NBA.
It's not like Splitter needs play to be ready for playoffs. A 7 footer with actual 7 foot game? that. It's 3 ball time! Ol' faithful 3's will win us #5!
Just greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat.
This.
It is difficult to state this without sounding like a fan who can't enjoy the win. but the big picture is what matters and Bonner over Splitter is a grave mistake.
Yall are tripping big time. Why do yall think you know better than Pop? Pop is one of the greatest coaches of all time, and you feel it's only necessary to question his judgement? Bonner has been getting minutes, and has been playing great, and maybe his history haunts him, but that doesn't stop the development for a player. Pop wants Splitter to develop at a pace, and not just throw him in, especially since he's barely coming off the injury. He has shown promise, and he will get minutes, so stop tripping. Spurs are 9-1, mimicking the best start in franchise history, why aren't you celebrating?
My exact thoughts
You're probably rightI just want some mini twin towers again before the window is closed.
Doesn't look like he's getting better to me. We need to develop Tiago for any chance and we need Bonner to spread the floor. Blair is a nice player to eat minutes.
If Splitter doesn't become a big part of the Spurs system this season then we will not be getting past the second round or the Lakers for that matter. Story of end.
Because, like silverblk mystix said, it's about the big picture. In the grand scheme of things, if this team doesn't have Splitter acclimated with playing more minutes, the system, at least relatively used to playing next to Duncan, etc., then they're not a serious threat to win the championship.
If he's either out of the rotation, or Pop doesn't fully have trust in him, or he looks uncomfortable come playoff time, then this team doesn't stand a chance against the Lakers.
This team doesn't have the luxury of bringing him along slowly. He's supposed to be eating up minutes now, so that Duncan and McDyess don't have to play as much. But even more importantly than that, they need him this season if they're going to win a championship, or even seriously contend. It's not going to happen by him sitting on the bench or playing sporadically.
I get that he's still adjusting to the speed of the game and isn't in the type of shape required to play 30 mpg (not that they need that out of him), but treating him like he's Ratliff and can't handle more than a few minutes at a time or in a half? He's had more than a handful of games now, he's a young guy, let the guy play. He can probably go for 8 or 9 minutes at a time now and if he can't, then get him a quick breather and put him back in. He acts like if he plays him 5 or 6 minutes, then he can't possibly play anymore in the half.
From what ive read in the past, when Splitter started playing he was still not 100% healthy from that planctar injury.
Now that booner is back Pop is not going to play him unless he is 100% healthy or needed.
Plus, our next games Utah and Cleveland, are back to backs, maybe we are going to rest Tim the second night of that B2b and give Tiago his first real tryout.
Its perplexing. Its not like the dude makes a lot of mistakes. Like everyone else I was really hoping to see him against the bulls today. I think he matches up well against the bulls front court too.. the win is nice but as echoed in this thread the big picture is important to consider.
I expect to see him out there the next game against Utah against Al Jefferson who likes to bang in the post.
Other than Noah, they dont really have a great front court when Boozer is missing. I think if Boozer had been playing we would have seen Splitter tonight...
the future, now is all the Spurs have.
DeJuan Blair and George Hill will not be leading the San Antonio Spurs to anymore than a low playoff seed and a first round exit after the big 3 are gone.
The Front office has no reason to invest in the future; the best thing for them is to win another championship. That means beating the lakers right now, and if a player doesn't look capable of either out scoring, or decently defending their LA counter part then them. Think about this season only Spurs fans!
Agreed. Its a good thing Gibson was invisible tonight.
I have no problem with Bonner, and while he's this hot, you gotta keep him on the floor. When every 3 he shoots is falling, you can't sit him. But when he cools off, you gotta start getting Splitter more integrated, I would think. Splitter is a huge key to competing with LA. Is Bonner going to guard Gasol? I think not. Gotta weave Splitter's D into the scheme of things.
I understand Bonner's minutes right now, but I've still been very disappointed to see Splitter glued to the bench lately. Hope to see him in there much more often asap.
10 in 72 to go....not 72 in and 10 to go. Relax people. Splitter will get his minutes, just be patient. There is no great rush just yet. Trying to see what Blair has atm isnt hurting too much if we continue to win. We need to get an idea of what he can contribute later, just as we need to with Splitter. Bonner is hot as of now, so there isnt any reason not to play him. Tiago is still out of shape and basically didnt have the same advantage coming into the season as the rest of the team, so slowly inserting him is not as big a problem as some are making it....not to mention he could still have lingering issues with his injury. Also, PT for TD & Dice is not at all terrible for the first 10 games. Start ing around game 30 or so if nothing has changed. Right now its a bit premature.
IF Splitter didn't miss all of training camp and pre-season due to injury that might be fine. However He is already so far behind right now and Splitter needs all the minutes he can get to get accustomed to the Spur's system if he is to be ready come play-off time. Playoff rotations are also usually set pretty early in the season unless an injury. Teams usually wont make a change late in the season unless they have to in fear of breaking up the chemistry and rhythm as teams are in battle for play-off spot mode.
Nothing is set in stone of course but developing a player earlier the better before crunch time.
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