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It seems worth noting that Splitter has been getting the rookie treatment from the refs pretty bad, especially on D.
So, from reading the game threads and some of these threads, it's pretty evident that a lot of people here are either being too critical of Splitter, or just have unrealistic expectations for him..
Here are some of the numbers and plays that Splitter has been involved in:
Clearly, creating his own offense has been a weakness so far..
He is 2-11 in the post, with the Spurs only scoring on 25% of the plays with a Splitter post-up..while getting more work will help, it's pretty clear that he can't create his own offense so far..the quality of the opposing defender hasn't made a difference, he has struggled against all of them..he brings the ball up from too low, he hasn't had any touch on his shots, he's rushing it..
In every other offensive aspect, he has been good..
He is 7-11 on the pick&roll, he has drawn fouls on 27% of the attempts, the Spurs score on 67% of their p&r attempts when Splitter is involved, which is obviously a very high success rate..the Cavs game being the main example of the kind of damage Splitter can do..the Spurs ran 4 p&rs for Splitter in that game, he converted all of them, and they were all assisted by Tony Parker..
The Spurs have scored on 53% of plays where Splitter is a cutter, he draws fouls on 20% of them..a good success rate..he has shown a good ability to play off the ball and to know where to be when his perimeter players have it..
The Spurs score on 75% of attempts where Splitter is involved in an offensive rebound situation..while his rebounding has struggled, he has shown a good awareness of where to be for offensive rebounds and box-outs..he has been in great position for multiple tip-ins, he has drawn fouls on multiple plays of this nature, he shows good energy and awareness in this regard..
To summarize, offensively, it's pretty clear that Splitter's weakness is creating his own offense, which isn't really a significant problem for this team, since they have 3 players that can create for themselves + their teammates, along with 2 others that can do it on a semi-consistent basis(RJ+Hill)..you would be hard-pressed to find a team with more options than that(the Lakers are probably the only other team that can match)..
It's obvious from these numbers and from anybody watching games, that Splitter does very well in p&r and slashing situations..
When he's being put on the floor with scrubs that can't pass, he will obviously look bad, since he's being forced to create his own offense, it's simple basketball..maybe he will eventually figure out his 1 on 1 offense, but right now, this is obviously a guy that shouldn't be relied on, and shouldn't be judged, on his ability to create his own offense..
Defensively, Splitter has clearly been good..
His main weakness has been defending post-ups, where he has been getting pushed around for position at times..opponents have shot 10-18 against him in the post and have scored on 56% of the attempts against him in post-ups..this might turn out to be a problem, but I don't think it will be..Duncan is the primary defender of post-up players, since he struggles against face-up bigs..if Splitter and Duncan aren't playing together, then Splitter will be going up against bench bigs, and it's rare that you will find a bench big man with a serious post-up game..
Everywhere else, he has been good, especially in 2 facets where the Spurs have struggled for a few years now..
Face-up defense has been his main strength..for those that have watched the Spurs the last few years, this has been the main weakness of the Spurs' D IMO..the Spurs have lacked a mobile big man for years now, and tend to struggle against quick PFs and hybrids that are more common in today's NBA..
Opponents have shot 2 for 12 against Splitter in 1 on 1 face-up situations, which is obviously an elite %..opponents have only scored on 14% of their opportunities in 1 on 1 situations against him..
The other strength being p&r D, where opponents have only scored on 25% of the attempts against Splitter, albeit on limited attempts..everybody knows that the Spurs have had trouble in pick and roll situations the last few years, so this is a good sign, so far..
Overall, of all the Spurs big men, only Duncan has been rated ahead of Splitter as a defender..obviously you must account for the fact that some of these stats include Splitter playing against a 1 or 2 scrub big men(although most of them aren't), which isn't the case for Bonner/McDyess/Blair..
Another thing to note is that Splitter has already drawn 5 charges this season, which is 3rd on the Spurs, only behind Manu and George Hill..he has obviously played significantly less minutes than both, so it's impressive..last season, the leading Spurs big man in charges taken was Matt Bonner with 10, so Splitter is already halfway there, despite playing only 16 games and obviously much less than Bonner did in his 65 games last year..
So overall, he has been impressive IMO, especially when you consider the fact that he still has to make the adjustment to the NBA game, which won't come without experience and playing time..a lot of this criticism is probably due to unrealistic expectations from the hype he has received on SpursTalk and the fact that it took so long for him to get here..a lot of it is also due to people not understanding his strengths and weaknesses IMO..
Last edited by HarlemHeat37; 12-06-2010 at 09:45 PM.
It seems worth noting that Splitter has been getting the rookie treatment from the refs pretty bad, especially on D.
Nice breakdown of the player. I didn't know what to expect, but a 7' tall player. I like his energy and awareness on the court. He will only improve with more playing time and familiarity with the system.
Sure I am impatient for him to take over a game, but again he is probably more Oberto or Malik than Robinson. Which would be just fine, him being a 7 footer...
+1. Spurs fans who were expecting Splitter to come in and instantly get major minutes and put up monster numbers, need to lower their expectations a bit, realizing that Splitter, not only needed to prove hes healthy, but to also slowly get integrated into the Spurs system. It will take time, but theres no reason, IMO, that Splitter will not be a factor and a regular in the Spurs rotation, by seasons end.
He also took a charge against Aaron Gray that was called a blocking foul in error last night.
Major major props. That was a great profile of how Tiago is actually doing. I really wish the Spurs would run more plays for him. He still gets ignored on offense too much.
When do you think he will start playing around 25-30 mpg?
I actually think he will be a decent back to the basket scorer in the NBA. He's shown as much both in Europe and when playing for Brazil internationally. Not the same level as the NBA obviously, but still high levels, nonetheless. I've got to think, at some point, that will translate.
Other than that, none of these stats surprise me. He's been about what I expected and I'm not the least bit surprised with his role, either.
I'm not really looking for much statistically (since his true value will come in the intangibles he brings), I just want to see more of him period, but especially paired with Duncan and I want to see him guard Gasol, Odom and Nowitzki, specifically.
Amuseddaysleeper, don't count on him getting 25-30 mpg until at least next season, but potentially not until Duncan retires (at least as far as around 30 mpg goes). Let's just hope he starts getting a consistent 15-20 mpg soon.
Next year.
I have watched him a lot in euro and i would say that his post up game is much better than what he has shown now.
And for what i´ve seen on Spurs games, the reasons of his poor post up percentage seems to be.
1) He often forces a shot here and there because the guards never pass him the ball.
2) When they do, the entry pass is eaither weak or when he has yet to attain a good post up position.
It´s no surprise to me, because when Splitter is on court Hill seems to be the primary ballhandler and his main weakness is passing.
Hill struggled to play the pick n roll with Blair last year, a player that succeeded with both Tony and Manu.
Good stuff, Harlem.
Splitter's been everything I expected and more, relative to the amount of time and cir stance. The Fab comparisons are pretty favorable in his court savvy and ability to play out on the floor to aid as a pick setter or as a defensive big, but he's clearly a more talented player.
He's clearly pressing, and it's hard to blame him. The guy had to believe he'd be a big part of what the Spurs do once he decided to make the jump from overseas. But the amount of time he's played, the injuries that hampered before and during camp and the fact that he's had a history of being somewhat prone to nagging injuries, it's just put him behind the 8-ball on two fronts: the obvious physical and mental adjustment/recouping; and the fact that he's playing for a coach that errs on the side of caution's caution.
I have liked that he's played with a bit of swagger and confidence about him when he's in the game. The results haven't looked all that great, and even downright ugly at times, but he believes he's a pretty damn good player and that he should be getting the ball and thriving against some of the players he's gone at. Almost like they were bums -- the look he gave Gadzuric after being fouled was priceless. Like, "Are you serious? LOL."
Once he's getting looks with the first unit and is allowed to settle in as someone who can thrive off the playmaking of the Big 3 + 1, then we'll really start to see him shine. He'll be able to catch the ball in his spots, make one post dribble or go straight into a post move, then you'll see how efficient he is.
But right now, he's Jonesing for some PT and has felt the need to take the ball from the wing to a post-up all on his own. That's not who he is, just what he's been forced to do to get a look because of who he's been playing with.
Kid's going to be solid.
eh, the numbers dont diverge much from what i've seen, but they don't show what worries me. for all the instinct he's shown, he also looks uncomfortable, between pop, the refs, teammates, opponents, to some extent language.. its a lot to learn and he seems to be struggling with it. i would say he's been effective despite looking both spastic and spacey; on the other hand, that's where the potential lies for him to settle in and maximize his talent. All I really expect from him is picks, rolls, pick and roll defense, and intangibles, provided pop can get him to settle in.
Great post! Send this to Pop!
I agree that Splitter will be a much better post-up player than he has shown so far..his footwork has been pretty good, it's mostly his shot that has been the problem..I'm assuming the Spurs' coaches will work on that a little..
My point is that I can understand why Pop would be reluctant to run plays for him in the post, or why fans would think poorly of Splitter(in that regard), but the p&r/screen/cutting plays should be his main playcalling, which is why I would like to see him play more with the big 3..
I agree to an extent..it's definitely going to be an adjustment period and he has shown discomfort on the court, especially when it comes to banging inside..however, he does show confidence, he asks for the ball in the post all the time(which is something you wouldn't see if he didn't have a good amount of confidence)..
The main problem I have with his game is that he's too soft on the boards..a lot of the time, he's in good position and makes a good box-out, but goes up for the rebound very softly..his hands have been very poor in rebound situations, which is something he's gonna have to get more comfortable with..
Yeah, I commented that Tiago was bringing the ball up from too low. It is very noticeable. Just being cognizant of that will help him out.
One thing I have noticed with his post game is he really hasn't been getting great position, or been set up well in the post. One example is back in the Dallas game with Mahinmi on him. He passed out of the post, reset, had great position but the entry pass didn't come back to him.
That and I still think his shot is easily disrupted by NBA-level defenders.
I have seen Splitter coming off the p&r ready to get that pass, only to get shrugged off many times. I don't get it.....
Well done, HH37. Cheers.
The only fans that would think poorly of Splitter are those that are either unknowledgeable, attention s or both.
Makes too much sense to play him with the big three. What if he fits like a glove, then how can the coach justify having him out of the rotation? He can't have that possibility arise.
The only way he plays next to Duncan with any semblance of regularity this season (other than the other bigs being injured) is if Duncan tells Pop "I'd like to play next to a big again who can run, jump and is eye level with me, before my career is over".
Good read.....I laugh at all these people who are ready to throw Tiago under the bus after less than 20 games.
nice post
Nice thread Harlem!
His soft little hooks and runners regularly get sent back to the kitchen. He needs to learn how to bump the defender to keep him on the ground, or dunk those HARD.
Oh, it can't be that Duncan would like to save wear and tear on his body or make life easier for himself. Why would he want someone who could help him instead of someone he's always having to cover for?
Didn't Duncan once say that Bonner's hit him several times and never once apologized? Can't think that Bonner's one of Duncan's favorite team mates.
But Pop's in love with the stretch 4. Will Smith's double must somehow morph into the Red Rocket in Pop's dreams.
I'm not ready to throw him under the bus, he's just not got an NBA big man's game to warrant big minutes yet.
Few players put that efficient offensive numbers playing only in garbage time, so I would say he's very talented offensively. He goes often to the FT line too. And off course, he looks good on defense too.
But for some reason, Pop don't want to play Duncan and Splitter at the same time and Splitter plays only in limited minutes. Also he should get some touches.
I think that Pop will make some tweaks in the playoffs rotation, once the actual rotation stops working well.
In one of the championship runs, Pop sent Manu to the bench come as sixth man, I think it was against Denver. It was very difficult up to that point, after that, the Spurs started winning their games much easier.
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