Clearly, we are doomed...
If "we" continue to play the same foolish rotation, "we" probably will not retain the top seed in the conference, let alone the league and "we" will decrease "our" chances of beating the Mavs in a series and eliminate any chances "we" have of beating the Lakers in a series.Clearly, we are doomed...
I've got confidence in this team though and think they'd have a legit shot at beating anyone in a series, so long as they're healthy and the rotational changes I've been suggesting are made.
If "we" actually play defense, "we" will be just fine.
Foolish? I don't think there's a magic answer. I'd call it a balancing act. There isn't a perfect candidate to start next to Duncan at the moment. Dice? He clearly doesn't want to start. He's happy off the bench and doesn't want or need to play more minutes if we want him at 100% for the playoffs. Bonner? He's doing well off the bench. Why change that? He has no potential to be a real starter whereas Blair still does. Splitter? He isn't ready yet.
I agree that his minutes should go up, but that's been the trend recently. I don't see why he should be thrust into big minutes all of a sudden. It's not like he's been playing like an All Star and Pop is idiotically holding him back. He's been up and down like all the bigs. But his minutes have gone up. If they go back down and he's in a doghouse then there's a reason for concern but that's not the case right now.
I think this is one of Pop's best coaching seasons because he's adapted. He changed the offense to fix the strengths of the team. He's played rookies and young players. Pop usually does something idiotic every year but I don't see anything major to complain about this year.
There isn't a perfect candidate per se, but there are two better ones than Blair. It doesn't matter what McDyess prefers to do, it's about what's best for the team. But if it's so imperative to avoid starting him, then Splitter should start. He's not ready based on what? Up and down? Has he played a meaningful minute yet this season? He plays against bottom feeders/garbage time.
Who said big minutes? I said about 20 mpg for McDyess and either less or none at all in certain match-ups. This is not about drastically altering minutes, but rather who get's the allotted minutes. 18-22 mpg makes sense for bigs 2-4. But bigs 2-4 shouldn't be Bonner, Blair, McDyess, in order of mpg. And if that's going to continue to be the case, then Pop needs to stop harping on the defense. He should consider it a minor miracle that they're top ten in efficiency with the rotation he's using.
This is major. This is the difference between having a legit shot at beating the Lakers or possibly not even getting to the Lakers.
Great Article. Exactly what i wanted to read.
Dice is our best player to go with Duncan in the post but since Pop wants to rest him, Dice doesn't want to start, and Dice loafs through the regular season as a way to save himself for the playoffs, I don't see the reason to put more of an emphasis on him right now. I have no idea what Pop will ultimately do, but my guess is Pop will play Dice more minutes in the playoffs and Dice will play much better, just as he did last year.
Splitter hasn't gotten a lot of minutes. Yes, he's played against garbage feeders. But he hasn't been incredible. It's not like he's played out of this world against crappy compe ion. He has problems rebounding and finishing. He still needs work. As does Blair. Blair has proven himself through some solid play last year and working on his game in the offseason. To me, that's one reason why Pop is starting Blair, but it's not like Blair is playing huge minutes. A lot of people are writing Blair off already, with the implied assumption that Splitter is going to be awesome. For us to do well they both need to play well.
Splitter has been steadily getting more minutes. Who knows what Pop is going to do, or how the players will respond. I don't see what there is to be up in arms about at this point. Obviously the defense needs to improve, but the issue starts with Duncan and is an issue with all the players. I think the whole team needs to step it up more than I expect Splitter to save the team.
I wonder if TPark told Pop we're 26-4 and just stop worrying about the defense...
I'm sorry...did you say something? I was too busy polishing my second team medal and admiring my near 10k post count to notice. Perhaps you should repeat it now that I'm listening.
lol starting blair so he needs confidence? wtf
then how come splitter doesnt get the same treatment in that same regards, his the only one that we need come playoff time...not just another stiff 6fouls
blair we know what he brings to the table, we need him to dominate against the other teams bench when td is gettin a breather...
LoL...Ass.
Our best defensive 5 is:
Hill/Manu/Anderson/Dice/Duncan
Blair is at best an energy bench player. If it's a matter of sacrificing Splitter's minutes so that Blair can imagine himself an NBA starter, then we're making a huge mistake. He should be improving and gaining more confident in the role that he's best suited for - and not at the expense of a more promising player.
Splitter may or not be the answer, but we have no other choice to double down on his development. What have we got to lose?
Blair/Bonner/Dice ain't good enough in the playoffs.
David Aldridge is one of the very best NBA writers and announcers - a professional without all of the rubbish and drama of so many others.
It's not much more of an emphasis, minute-wise.
Whether you think he's been incredible, terrible or somewhere in between, he's too key a player to not be in the rotation at this point. I'm not writing Blair off, it's about what this team needs to have the best shot to retain the first seed and win long term this season.
He's not getting meaningful minutes, though. I've already went over why this is a big issue, I'm not regurgitating it all. The issues start with Duncan? He's been one of the best defensive anchors in the league, as always. It's not about Splitter saving the team. It's about him giving them their best shot at being as good as they can be.
benefactor, I like it.
So after one year your saying Blair has hit his ceiling as far as his talent level. If you quit slobbering over Splitter for a minute, remember that Blair is still in the develpment stage as well. Both Splitter and Blair need developing. If you and your counterpart worry wart TD21 would show some ing patience, you might realize that Pop is trying to integrate both of these guys as well as Neal, and Anderson, and have every body knowing their roles and hopefully Pop will have a consistant rotation be the start of the regular season.
I thought you might.
benefactor, I like it.
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