Is Blair...

[tvdij]

If splitter picks up his rebounding, I don't see any reason why DeJuan isn't a 5th big.

Dejuan hasn't shown he can guard mobile bigs (he only played 5 minutes because he didn't look good against Kevin Love) and got pulled quickly in the Orlando game because of the matchup with Rashard Lewis. Who can he guard? Paul Milsap? Because he stuggles with 7 footers, which Tiago looks solid against. He will struggle with a 4 with a good face up game (or post game for that matter since he's small, although his lower body positioning helps with that).

I'm rooting for Blair, but he seems to have lost his mojo a little bit.

[doobs]

Blair is a great player in certain situations. His energy and nose for the ball are things that simply can't be coached. He's talented enough to crack the rotation of a legitimate contender, but not as a starter/finisher. Give the man 15-20 minutes and let him beast.

Bonner is great in certain situations, too.

In all honesty, the Spurs need Splitter to develop into a very good all-around big if they hope to contend for a le. Blair and Bonner and McDyess are great luxuries to have depending on the opponent, but Splitter and Duncan need to be the meat and potatoes.

[jjktkk]

Enough with the Duncan-Splitter nonsense. It will never happen. It's not by accident that Popovich never plays them together.

Its only a month into the season. I wouldn't rule out starting Splitter and Duncan together, once Splitter acclaimates himself with the Spurs system.

[TD 21]

As for Blair, I expect McDyess to start next game, just like I expect him to against the Lakers. Other than that, pre All-Star break at least, Blair will probably remain the starter. But long term, I can't see him being in the playoff rotation.

If it's not going to eventually be Duncan-Splitter for a good amount of time against bigger front lines, then this team can't be taken seriously as a contender. It's that simple. The best team in the league is that because they have the biggest and best (when healthy) front line in the game. Playing Blair (at all) and Bonner for long stretches next to Duncan isn't going to cut it.

If he had his hands full with Milicic, wouldn't it stand to reason that Bynum would be even more of a challenge? And he'll have to guard Gasol in stretches. Both are taller and longer and in the case of Bynum, he's also 20-25 pounds heavier.

If it comes to that (Lakers-Spurs), Duncan is going to need every bit of energy he can summon and every bit of help he can get in the paint.

[Obstructed_View]

I love the current offense. lots of movement and pick and rolls finding open shooters. If the defense gives you open 3s you have to take them the Wolves weren't even running at our shooters. Ginobli is the only one that I remember even taking contested 3s. I want Splitter for the defense and the rare easy shot near the rim. The lakers average much more attempts than us since they lead us in assists I'm sure there taking open 3s as well.

The Lakers have two guys that can dominate on the inside and command a double team. I'd imagine that they aren't settling for jumpers. They attempted 29 and 23 in their two losses, so they aren't having any more success than anyone else when they do.

[Obstructed_View]

There really is a lot of potential in this front line. The Spurs should be able to have a solid foundation and a lot of adaptability with so many versatile guys. Nice to get out of this performance with a win and see how they go from here.

Have a good night, guys.

[EricB]

Again, I think theres been way too much weight put into a game vs Minnesota the night before Thanksgiving.

Now the games against Dallas and New Orleans, I'll agree then things should be reevaluated after them.

[elbamba]

Blair needs to come off the bench. He is more of an energy guy and he would fill in great in that role.

[Obstructed_View]

Again, I think theres been way too much weight put into a game vs Minnesota the night before Thanksgiving.

Now the games against Dallas and New Orleans, I'll agree then things should be reevaluated after them.

Probably a fluke game where you just burn the tape and be glad to get out of Dodge with a win. Might be a blessing in disguise for Manu to look at the box score and say, "Holy cow, I shot that many threes?" Honestly, if he penetrates or creates a play on half of those attempts, the game probably goes way different. I don't like to put it all on him, though.

[jiggy_55]

I just can't believe how bad he's turned. Can we safely blame this on his loss of weight taking away from his size and strength? Or is he just ice cold? This baffles me every night, he should be avging 12 and 8 easily while shooting extremely high fg%.

Where is that jumper he worked on? He was great in pre-season but that's disappeared. He was way better last year when he had no jumper and had all that fat!

1. He needs to go back to the bench
2. Pop needs to play him some damn minutes (6 minutes tonight?) and call some plays for him, pick and rolls etc.

[TwelveGs210]

I agree with a previous poster as far as Pop's goal being not to play Splitter and Duncan together, it makes sense to have the second legit, back to the basket big come in to spell Duncan so we always have a true center on the floor.

[xellos88330]

The way I see it, Blair is actually pretty important as a starter. It does make the other team pretty darn predictable when he is on the court.

If Blair is able to hold his own, it is a huge plus. If he doesn't, the Spurs still have a whole lot of game left to counter with a different player. It is better than finding out he isn't going to be effective when he comes off the bench and the Spurs lose a lead, or get into a bigger hole. It also helps Pop to solidify the rotations and manage the minutes of the bigs better. With Blair starting, he will be getting minutes, and Pop can get a good pulse check on the other team. Regardless, they will both be somewhat happy.

[mingus]

As for Blair, I expect McDyess to start next game, just like I expect him to against the Lakers. Other than that, pre All-Star break at least, Blair will probably remain the starter. But long term, I can't see him being in the playoff rotation.

If it's not going to eventually be Duncan-Splitter for a good amount of time against bigger front lines, then this team can't be taken seriously as a contender. It's that simple. The best team in the league is that because they have the biggest and best (when healthy) front line in the game. Playing Blair (at all) and Bonner for long stretches next to Duncan isn't going to cut it.

If he had his hands full with Milicic, wouldn't it stand to reason that Bynum would be even more of a challenge? And he'll have to guard Gasol in stretches. Both are taller and longer and in the case of Bynum, he's also 20-25 pounds heavier.

If it comes to that (Lakers-Spurs), Duncan is going to need every bit of energy he can summon and every bit of help he can get in the paint.

for sure. i'm really impressed with Splitters defense in every way. his P&R defense and post defense have been excellent. he's actually very unique in that regard. with more experience he will get even better.

with his foot speed, he should be able to guard the likes of Dirk, David West, Boozer. with his height he should be able to guard a guy like Gasol or Bynum. Spurs haven't had a guy with that kind of defensive flexability since Duncan was young and in his prime.

from what i can see, Splitter is basically what the Spurs have been looking for to pair with Duncan for the last 3 years. there's no way he isn't paired with Duncan down the road. i think what Pop is doing is he taking into account that Splitter played this summer and is easing him in. i just can't fathom that Pop won't pair these two together.

[Bruno]

Spurs are too deep at PF/C.

While it's sure that being too deep is nowhere near problematic as a lack of depth, it's a drawback. I find that Pop is doing a bad job at managing all these players. Bonner and Dice plays too much minutes, Blair and Splitter not enough. Losing some games is a price Pop should be ready to accept to develop the young players.

The line between being deep and being too deep is thin and Pop should be able to put back Spurs on the other side of the line. If he isn't able to do it, a trade should be considered even if I doubt Spurs will do it since this excess of depth will be only a one year problem with Dice retiring at the end of the season.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Spurs are too deep at PF/C.

While it's sure that being too deep is nowhere near problematic as a lack of depth, it's a drawback. I find that Pop is doing a bad job at managing all these players. Bonner and Dice plays too much minutes, Blair and Splitter not enough. Losing some games is a price Pop should be ready to accept to develop the young players.

The line between being deep and being too deep is thin and Pop should be able to put back Spurs on the other side of the line. If he isn't able to do it, a trade should be considered even if I doubt Spurs will do it since this excess of depth will be only a one year problem with Dice retiring at the end of the season.

I think Pop is doing the best job considering Blair's play, which has been erratic, out of place and mostly unsuitable against certain types of bigs. I suspect Blair's play has taken a major beating this season and all the talk about him adding a jumpshot has only meant that his post play has come down a notch, while his jumpshot is mostly all about bricklaying. His rebound rate is also off and on and not as consistent as it was in the previous season.

Having said that, we have two bigs who are 34+, one big who is mostly perimeter bound in the offense and one big who is a rookie. Blair is good insurance even if he is not good enough now as a center. I think Pop will persist with Blair till he gets some consistency going or replace him with Splitter gradually at the center position.

If however by Febraury, there is not much improvement, I think Blair can be a good trade chip to snag someone like a Brandon Rush or Wilson Chandler, maybe. I mostly don't think that is going to happen though. Blair seems to want to improve and seems a good learner and a project that can be persisted with.

[Bruno]

Blair is good insurance even if he is not good enough now as a center. I think Pop will persist with Blair till he gets some consistency going or replace him with Splitter gradually at the center position.

If however by Febraury, there is not much improvement, I think Blair can be a good trade chip to snag someone like a Brandon Rush or Wilson Chandler, maybe. I mostly don't think that is going to happen though. Blair seems to want to improve and seems a good learner and a project that can be persisted with.

There are some kind of misunderstanding. The player I think Spurs should consider to trade is Bonner, not Blair.

[mystargtr34]

Im interested to see how many minutes Blair will play against the Mavs. They have a very tall and athletic front line with Chandler and Dirk and i really dont see a good matchup there for Blair. Assigning him to Dirk to begin the game would be suicide on the Spurs behalf... and you dont want Duncan away from the basket in isolations against Dirk.

Does Pop go through the motions for the first 3-4 minutes and wait till Blair gets two quick fouls or Dirk scores 6 quick points and then make the obvious change? Sounds pretty stupid but its pretty likely tbh. The other solution ... and it seems as good a time as any...would be to finally make the inevitable change and move Blair to the bench where his game is more suited and start Dice on Dirk who has a good track record on him.

Im also really interested to see how Splitter will defend Dirk.... he has the size and length.... and more importantly the quick feet to stay with him out on the perimeter. It should be a really good test for him.

[Obstructed_View]

There are some kind of misunderstanding. The player I think Spurs should consider to trade is Bonner, not Blair.

Bonner has started too many games for the Spurs to have any trade value. Every other team in the NBA knows that he's a defensive weakness to exploit and he's way overpaid for a guy that hits threes sometimes.

[TJastal]

for sure. i'm really impressed with Splitters defense in every way. his P&R defense and post defense have been excellent. he's actually very unique in that regard. with more experience he will get even better.

with his foot speed, he should be able to guard the likes of Dirk, David West, Boozer. with his height he should be able to guard a guy like Gasol or Bynum. Spurs haven't had a guy with that kind of defensive flexability since Duncan was young and in his prime.

from what i can see, Splitter is basically what the Spurs have been looking for to pair with Duncan for the last 3 years. there's no way he isn't paired with Duncan down the road. i think what Pop is doing is he taking into account that Splitter played this summer and is easing him in. i just can't fathom that Pop won't pair these two together.

Spurs need a more established player to pair with Duncan. They need the mophead!!!

[arakkus]

I agree with a previous poster as far as Pop's goal being not to play Splitter and Duncan together, it makes sense to have the second legit, back to the basket big come in to spell Duncan so we always have a true center on the floor.

I disagree if Splitter can handle the minutes then I think you rotate him and Duncan out so you always have one of them on the floor for defense. Much like we do with Ginobili and Parker for running plays. They start and end game together. Mcdyess, Bonner, and Blair are brought in for matchup/ foul trouble. This is of course if Splitter can handle being a starter, however, Blair has been given 14 games I think Splitter should have near the same opportunity before deciding.

[Mel_13]

Im interested to see how many minutes Blair will play against the Mavs. They have a very tall and athletic front line with Chandler and Dirk and i really dont see a good matchup there for Blair. Assigning him to Dirk to begin the game would be suicide on the Spurs behalf... and you dont want Duncan away from the basket in isolations against Dirk.

Does Pop go through the motions for the first 3-4 minutes and wait till Blair gets two quick fouls or Dirk scores 6 quick points and then make the obvious change? Sounds pretty stupid but its pretty likely tbh. The other solution ... and it seems as good a time as any...would be to finally make the inevitable change and move Blair to the bench where his game is more suited and start Dice on Dirk who has a good track record on him.

Im also really interested to see how Splitter will defend Dirk.... he has the size and length.... and more importantly the quick feet to stay with him out on the perimeter. It should be a really good test for him.

Recent history says yes. Two fouls in the first 71 seconds:

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=300108024

[TJastal]

I would deal him in a second. He has nothing between his ears. He did nothing to improve this summer and it shows. I would love to see him get delt for a vet big. Spurs need a bigger more mobile player up front. Anderson V would be a great pick up....dont know how we could make the Money work but he would fit nice.

We could pretend he makes the rookie salary.. then pretend the cavs would actually trade him for Blair. Pretend is fun, huh?

[TD 21]

There are some kind of misunderstanding. The player I think Spurs should consider to trade is Bonner, not Blair.

I won't say I wouldn't trade Bonner, but I wouldn't be shopping him. He'll have to be a bigger part of their success in the playoffs than Blair if they're going to go far. Blair is just not ready for the level of compe ion from the second round on. He makes too many mistakes, which you can't have when every possession matters.

I wouldn't shop anyone on this team (not counting Udoka and Quinn, who have no trade value), but if I had a to pick a player I'd be open to moving in the right deal (meaning, getting a better fit in return), it would be Blair. It has little to do with his struggles this season.

I just think he's not a great fit on this front line. They can bury him this playoffs, but next season, when McDyess is gone, he'll have to be in the playoff rotation. Even if he does becomes more well rounded and make better decisions, his size (or lack thereof) will always be an issue. He can't guard the Nowitzki types, nor the Gasol types.

Out of the top 6-7 teams in the West, who could he succeed against? Maybe the Jazz, but other than that, I don't like the match-ups. His greatest strengths (per minute scoring and rebounding) will also be minimized, because the key players will be playing more minutes.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

I'd rather have Blair take Bonner's minutes at least.

[kaji157]

I don´t think Splitter deserves a lot of minutes yet. I like the approch Pop is taking towards the bigs, Duncan is the only one that get´s his minutes by default, and all the others have to play hard to earn minutes.
As of know, McDyess and Bonner are outplaying Splitter and Blair. It´s on these two to outplay the formers.