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I don't hate Tiago, as some here might think, but I do hate the way he's playing, and that is why is isn't playing more, I can assure you. I've argued sematics about whether he's soft or he's passive, but I assure you that Pop sees those as one and the same. He's pretty passive on both ends, and Pop won't abide that. It's not like it's unfixable, but he needs to take steps to up his game.
1) Attack the rim on offense. Don't stop one step short and throw up a runner. Finish strong, with a dunk or a point blank can't miss layup.
2) Attack the penetrators when you're defending, especially guards. You're bigger than them. Show them why that matters.
The good news for fans is that he's going to play rotation minutes instead of garbage time against Milwaukee on the B2B. Pop will need to manage Tim and Dice, and MIL is a much better front line matchup than Denver/Nene/KMart.
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Call him Triage-O
He doesn't seem passive at all, he actually seems pretty aggressive with the ball whenever he touches it. His post moves aren't as great as he thinks they are but he definitely isn't scared to let it fly. His defense has been the brightest spot but it isn't anywhere near perfect.
Fact is he needs more court time if he is ever going to improve these things though, but the way everyone is playing right now, it's hard to come by.
He can pass better than dice....
He needs to be developed. We will struggle mightily against LA if Bynum returns, alongside Gasol if we do not have a couple bigs on the floor.
Run, DMC. Run away from this thread.
Then they should have signed one in the offseason. They need more than bigs who flop with the first onset of danger. He takes Ginobili's school of flopping to an all new level. He doesn't rebound, block shots or score consistently. What good is he going to do against the Lakers?
This forum has the worst average reading comprehension skills of any I have ever visited.
Research the word "develop". Get back to me. Actually don't, just research it.
Actually DMC are my initials, although I have nothing against Run DMC. I was born before they became a group. There's also DeLorean Motor Corporation.
I didn't even make the connection, tbh.
He'd better "develop" on the fly. He's been around the block at 25 years old. He doesn't need to develop, he needs to adjust. He's not going to all of a sudden learn how to block shots, and rebound. It's not his game. First impressions are that Tiago is nothing more than Mahimni in a costume.
Look at how RJ's defense developed in the off season. He's never been a good defensive presence. He plays much better this year. Leave it to the Spurs trainers to get him into game shape.
You guys always shoot from the hip then disappear when you are proven wrong.
I figured you were just padding your post count. 10K posts a year is pretty active.
What's really going to suck is when the Spurs play LA and they throw size at us and kick our ass. Then we'll get to see how stupid it was of Pop to not prepare Tiago for that moment. Pop, over the last couple of years, has hurt this team with his rotations. And you can't argue that it's a fact. He ed up in '09 when he neglected to play Hill for the 2nd half of the season and threw him into the fire in the playoffs. He also handled Bowen poorly that year.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but RJ was a pretty good defender when he played for New Jersey. He lost his way at Milluakee and was offensively and defensively challenged as a first year Spur. Splitter was never known as a shot blocker or rebounder in Europe. I don't see how thats going to change now.
lakers lost when not playing anyone with size
almost lost to the wizzards to
I don't think he's doing that bad considering his rather lengthy Euro season, then World Championshi Tourney and then his really short off-season, his injury, and because of it, him missing the bulk of training camp. Antonio McDyess didn't have an awesome 1st season and at 1 time, he was the template of the Prototypical PF for the NBA. Not everyone is a Tim Duncan or even a Kwame Brown when they get to the L. Many of them are somewhere in the middle with flashes of brilliance and that's what I've seen from Splitter.
Just wait until after All-Star break, that's when we'll see him be a contributor.
Step yo game up. Bring something to the table & lets see what you've got.
As far as memory serves, when he's drawn charges, it's been because he's been one of maybe two Spurs defenders fast enough to get back to their key on the wrong end of a 3 on 2 fastbreak. Maybe you'd prefer a heroic block, but causing an offensive foul is the smarter play, IMO.
He doesn't know what he can get away with in the NBA, he seems somewhat lost in anything but PnR situations which seem to be one of the few familiar situations he can get out there, and when he does get a possession, you can literally see him consciously vascillating between his instincts and the system he's unsure of.
It would suck if it takes him a full season to become integrated into the system, but I just don't see it taking him that long. If it does take until next season, we still can't really say we could have as skilled a big in his price range to round out the third string.
But even when he seems lost out there and freeballin' his way through the system, he still displays a much greater affinity for the sport than Ian does. Mahinmi, for example, will ALWAYS go for the block, not realizing that there's a higher statistical likelihood of creating an and-one situation by doing so than by planting his feet and, at worst, getting whistled for a blocking foul.
We don't have a choice but to wait for him to figure it out, so we may as well crack a beer and enjoy our record instead of crying about what a better-than-average, high-ceiling third-stringer we got for a pittance.
In the playoffs?
Tiago should be shooting at lot less floaters..cmon man u ain't parker.
maybe next year
I would like to invite some of you to visit my planet. Or maybe I can visit yours. Either way, just for once I'd like to be seeing the same things some of you are.
When I watch Splitter play, the word "soft" doesn't even come to mind. If Splitter had landed in Memphis, like Pao Gasol did, he would be playing 25 minutes per night, and putting up respectable numbers.
, if the Spurs hadn't signed DeJuan Blair, Splitter would be playing 25 minutes per night here, and putting up respectable numbers. And people would be talking about how wonderful he is. And a lot of his learning process would have to have taken place next offseason.
Even with a 20-3 record, I think a lot of people still don't accept just how good, and how deep this team is. Blair took a while to adjust to a starting role, so a lot of people still don't accept that he's good enough to deserve that starting job.
Splitter is solid. He's going to be good in this league, and he's going to make a huge difference to this team. And people are going to be falling all over themselves saying that they worshipped him all along. The Spurs are trying to teach him how to play the game smart. How to draw charges. How to defend without drawing a bunch of rookie whistles. I still think Pop is nursing that plantaris injury, and from what I learned about it, I think that he's very smart to do it.
But soft? That's pretty harsh. And I think it's pretty unfair. Just because he hasn't come charging out like a bull? He wasn't soft before he came here, and I don't think he suddenly got scared. It's a different style of play, and Pop has the luxury of bringing him along at a slower pace. Next year, McDyess will probably retire, and Tiago will take all of those minutes. Maybe he'll get a lot of them this year, I don't know. But as long as we have a 20-3 record, I'm having a hard time finding stuff like this to about.
RJ's previous track record as a solid defensive player is part of the reason the Spurs traded for him.
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