Rethinking DeJuan Blair vs. the Lakers

[EVAY]

IMO, we negated the length of the Lakers w/ superior help-defense & ....wait for it....spreading the floor offensively (not just talkin' 3's, people). If DB is hitting jumpers, the defense has to play honest & that opens up the paint. Spurs seem to have very active hands this year, allowing for a lot of fast breaks.
This is not your "old & slow" Spurs team.

This is true. The 'quick hands' defense threw a curve ball at the Lakers that they didn't get over in this game. They will adjust in the future, but they were unprepared for it last night.

[lefty]

Splitter: he may not be ready to face the Lakers during the playoffs, but the coaches are working with him; you never know
But even if he doesnt play well vs L.A, we can always use him to hack-a-Bynum
Bynum himself was kinda useful in that department on Dwight Howard during the 2009 Finalls

Blair: on the defensive end, I think he can be as efficient vs L.A in the playoffs; on the offensive end, it will be interesting to see if Phil Jackson will take Blair out of his comfort zome by double-teaming him, something Blair is not used to face on a regular basis

Dice: we will need him; I remember last season, he did a fairly good defensive job on Odom

[Spursfanfromafar]

Splitter: he may not be ready to face the Lakers during the playoffs, but the coaches are working with him; you never know
But even if he doesnt play well vs L.A, we can always use him to hack-a-Bynum
Bynum himself was kinda useful in that department on Dwight Howard during the 2009 Finalls

Trust me, Splitter will be ready by the time the Rodeo Trip ends.

[Mark in Austin]

The best Blair will be able to do consistently in a series against LA is beat the LA bigs down the floor and keep them from establishing position where they want to. Eventually LA will adjust and start shooting over Blair. But at that point SA's frontcourt depth will help. In games where LA is effectively countering Blair, McDyess and Splitter can be brought in to provide different looks. So I would still feel more comfortable if Splitter started getting more meaningful minutes to help prepare him.

I think it still boils down to a chess game between Phil & Pop, and how well the players execute the different strategic moves made by each coach.

(Maybe Pop has figured out that the only way small ball can work is if you have 5 offensive threats on the floor when you play it.)

I do think that SA might have hit on a better strategy - Duncan no longer needs to carry the offesive load against LA. If you adjust Duncan's primary role to neutralize Gasol defensively - and hit the occasional bank shot or put back to keep Gasol honest on the other end - then it really puts pressure on Bryant to do too much.

[EVAY]

The best Blair will be able to do consistently in a series against LA is beat the LA bigs down the floor and keep them from establishing position where they want to. Eventually LA will adjust and start shooting over Blair. But at that point SA's frontcourt depth will help. In games where LA is effectively countering Blair, McDyess and Splitter can be brought in to provide different looks. So I would still feel more comfortable if Splitter started getting more meaningful minutes to help prepare him.

I think it still boils down to a chess game between Phil & Pop, and how well the players execute the different strategic moves made by each coach.

(Maybe Pop has figured out that the only way small ball can work is if you have 5 offensive threats on the floor when you play it.)

I do think that SA might have hit on a better strategy - Duncan no longer needs to carry the offesive load against LA. If you adjust Duncan's primary role to neutralize Gasol defensively - and hit the occasional bank shot or put back to keep Gasol honest on the other end - then it really puts pressure on Bryant to do too much.

Well said.

[slayermin]

I think it depends on the bounces of the ball off missed shots. Some games, Blair can use his size and quickness to hustle for rebounds like he did last night. Other nights, the balls are going to bounce high off the rim and the Lakers will have a huge advantage on the boards, negating Blair's effectiveness. I don't think he will be able to consistently contribute like he did last night. I hope he does, but I don't think he will.

Splitter needs to be developed as quickly as possible. A combination of Blair/Splitter will do the job, I think. It will give Pop an option when the Lakers length is absolutely killing us.

But I do hope I'm wrong about Blair. I would love to see double-doubles from him every night.

[TDMVPDPOY]

if blair was 7ft.... he pwned the nba and universe

[The Truth #6]

For comparison, I think the OKC series is more relevant than the Phoenix matchup. OKC did well with a quick attacking point guard and a swarming defense, which is basically what we did last night. However, OKC didn't have the experience or poise to complete the job. Nonetheless, attacking their weakness is obviously the way to go.

Who knows if Blair will do that well against them again. But for the short term, the more important issue is that hopefully this game gives Blair a lesson on the energy and approach he needs to take to be successful as a player in this leage. Hopefully this game is a turning point for Blair to have a consistently solid season. He put in work in the offseason. Hopefully it starts to pay off.

[toki9]

I think the Lakers bigs looked slow yesterday...which gave advantage to Blair's quickness...but not sure if that'll hold up in the playoffs if the Lakers are fully alert and primed...one of the big differences between the teams last night was that everyone on the Spurs were ready to go and alert...not so with the Lakers...some of them looked like they took a nap at the half time...

[Bruno]

Spurs "scrambling" defense mainly worked because Lakers were awfully slow and didn't execute well their offense. Gasol, Odom or Bryant are great passer who can destroy this kind of defense but Lakers need to play quicker to do that.

So, Blair usefulness will mainly depend on Lakers. If they have another gear, he will have an hard time. If Lakers can't play faster that that, and they haven't really been able to do it this year, Blair's energy will be a factor.

[GSH]

Blair is learning to use his body a lot more effectively. He's getting better leverage, and his lower center of gravity has some advantages in that department. Last night, when they tossed the lob pass over Blair, he got a lot of good, quick help from the back side. The refs weren't calling it unreasonably tight, and the Spurs did a good job of spreading out their fouls. But if the help is just a fraction slower, the outcome won't be as good.

On any given night, Blair could get tagged with three fouls early, doing the exact same things, and be out of the picture of most of the game. I'm not one to discount Antonio McDyess, and it's important to remember that Pop left him on the bench last night intentionally. I think that shows Pop's thinking pretty clearly. If Splitter can get fully up to speed, his extra length could be enough to let us steal a game in LA that we might otherwise lose. And that could make or break a 7 game series.

The other thing is that the Lakers are going to adjust. No matter how good Blair is playing, we will have to throw some different looks at Gasol and Bynum. (Gasol in particular.) If Splitter was our starting C, and we didn't have Blair, it would be the same story. We would need somebody else available to come in and give them some different looks. Splitter is the obvious choice, if he's up to it by then.

I saw one thing in particular out of Splitter last night that I was really happy about. He's strong enough to body up down low, and not give a lot of ground. Several times the Lakers bigs dropped that lead shoulder into him, and he took it and didn't budge. That takes away one of their biggest weapons, and forces them to turn around or toss up hooks - or just to kick it out to someone else. The final outcome of the plays were less important right now than knowing that he is strong enough to body up to them. Come playoff time, that is going to be their bread and butter. I've read some comments by people who don't think Splitter is strong enough. Get a copy of last night's game and watch it again.

I have no doubts that the Spurs could beat LA in a series without Splitter. But i like our chances a lot better if he's playing well enough to have Pop's trust by then.

[jjktkk]

I, along with probably every other Spurs fan, thought that DeJuan Blair would never be much help against the Lakers. Blair tends to struggle against length and there is no team longer than the Lakers. Blair also doesn't do well against stretch power forwards and in Lamar Odom the Lakers have one of the best in the business. Thus, Tiago Splitter and Antonio McDyess are better suited to combat what the Lakeshow bring to the table, right?

Now, after watching Blair have so much success against the Lakers in the first matchup this season, I'm not so sure.

The Spurs beat the Lakers due to superior speed and using a scrambling defense to disrupt their offensive attack. Blair, in this type of gameplan, actually fits best.

Against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Spurs don't have much of a chance against either once they catch the ball on the post -- no matter who is defending. But Blair showed an ability to make it difficult for the Lakers to enter the ball to the post, which may ultimately be the best type of defense to use against that duo's length.

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.

This could very well have been an aberration but it's also possible to make sense of it. The Lakers are big and long. Instead of trying to match that size and playing into their hands, isn't it better to try to take the Lakers out of their comfort zone? Forcing L.A. to try to adapt to a faster, more powerful attack may be the better idea.

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?

IMO, we Spurs fans are basing this belief that the Spurs needed to matchup with the Lakers size, which is true to some degree, but with this new offense Pop put in, maybe Pop is telling the Lakers that you need to adapt to us as well. Did Pop realize that the old offense which was pretty simple, just throw the ball into Duncan, and have Duncan initiate the offense, doesn't work against big front lines like the Lakers?

[spurs50_]

i was always critical of blair, i think what he really needs are more minutes. Pop was always yanking him out for whatever reason, he impressed me against the lakers. H0pe he can keep it up and splitter can stop getting those early fouls. Go spurs!

[ShoogarBear]

Aberration.

Unless Phil completely abdicates control of the team to Kobe, no way do Bynum and Gasol get a combined 12 FGA/game in a series. Yes, the Spurs swarmed well last night, but the Lakers weren't seriously trying to establish any kind of low-post presence except when Kobe was on the bench in the second quarter (and we saw what happened then).

The positive that can be taken out of this is that maybe Blair has been jump-started to have more consistent value for the rest of the year. He definitely can be a significant contributor against the Lakers. He's just not going to be the best big man on the floor again.

The other interesting thing will be to see if Pop can pull a reverse-2006 on Phil: convince him that he needs to go small and quick to match up with the Spurs. I doubt Phil will fall for that, though.

[in2deep]

Suns did the same thing in the playoff but failed.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I don't think there is any way blair can be at a level like what we saw in a series. He has yet to show me a level of consistency that warrants high expectations in a lakers series.

[Agloco]

I do think that SA might have hit on a better strategy - Duncan no longer needs to carry the offesive load against LA. If you adjust Duncan's primary role to neutralize Gasol defensively - and hit the occasional bank shot or put back to keep Gasol honest on the other end - then it really puts pressure on Bryant to do too much.

+1

I'd actually extend this thinking to other teams (BOS, MIA, DAL) as well. A multifaceted attack based on your assets is best. Find what works best and use that strategy, no matter the opponent.

[SenorSpur]

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?

This is a marvelous question to ponder. I would also say the same question could be posed for the Mavs, at least to a lesser degree. Since they made the decision to try and match size with the Fakers, they now boast a very tall frontline, and also have a considerable size advantage over the Spurs.

At any rate, my position on this is the strategy Pop employed for this last game was fantastic. It may work very well in upcoming regular season games versus the Fakers. However, I'm a bit skeptical that the Spurs will be able to continue to have success with it in the playoffs. The reason being is playoff basketball, as we all know, is played at a much more deliberate "grind-it-out". kind of pace. While there are occasional opportunities for beating teams in transition and with speed, the fact is it's virtually impossible to have long-term success with that style in the playoffs. If it were that easy, the Suns, Warriors and pre-2010 Mavs would have had success with it by now. History shows the game is still played and won from the inside out, not the other way around.

All that said, the Spurs MUST get sustained production from their frontline, be it Blair, Splitter, Dice or presumably Duncan. Points in the paint are critical to playoff basketball and usually the team that does that best, along with winning the rebounding battle, usually has the most success. Blair's success was wonderful and encouraging. However, they can win without him, so long as their HOF PF, Duncan, can recapture his playoff magic.

Overall, the Spurs success against the Fakers will be primarily determined by their ability to defend, which they did last night, along with getting the standard, run-of-the-mill production from the Big Three of Manu, Tim and Tony. Of course, consistent contributions for their bit players and their deep bench is also a must.

The Fakers are obviously long and talented from players 1 thru 6. However, the Spurs have the deeper bench and they must utilize that advantage, attack and defend them in waves, along with mixing in both inside and outside scoring. as they did last night.

[biskvito]

Blair was very comfortable out there, but I think the Lakers are capable of playing better than this. So it's wait and see how it goes.

[duncan228]

Buck Harvey: The measuring of Blair won’t stop until spring
Buck Harvey

Phil Jackson said the game would be a measuring stick, and that should have worked against DeJuan Blair.

He’s never stood up well when feet and inches are the criteria.

Blair is the shortest starting center in the NBA. Blair is shorter than most shooting guards. Blair is shorter than, maybe, Andrew Bynum’s coffee table.

So when he ended with 17 and 15? When he defended and banged and sometimes scored with his odd, quick flip of a jumper?

“I’m still not sure what it means,” said one Spurs staffer.

Keep Reading...

[GSH]

Buck Harvey: The measuring of Blair won’t stop until spring
Buck Harvey

Phil Jackson said the game would be a measuring stick, and that should have worked against DeJuan Blair.

He’s never stood up well when feet and inches are the criteria.

Blair is the shortest starting center in the NBA. Blair is shorter than most shooting guards. Blair is shorter than, maybe, Andrew Bynum’s coffee table.

So when he ended with 17 and 15? When he defended and banged and sometimes scored with his odd, quick flip of a jumper?

“I’m still not sure what it means,” said one Spurs staffer.

Keep Reading...

They say understanding the problem is half the battle. I think Blair gets it. He's a good student, and a hard worker. If anyone can find a way, it would have to be someone like Blair. He's not going to dominate like a 7-footer, but I'm hopeful that he can become a consistent solid player. Paul Millsap has done a pretty good job, with similar height issues. Blair's career has started out uncannily similar to Millsap's.

[quentin_compson]

It was a joy to watch Blair yesterday. He used energy, hustle and cleverness to be effective against LA (on both ends of the floor).
That being said, I doubt very much that this would work over a playoff series. The Spurs played the passing lanes very well, but it's always a fine line between that and gambling too much. If the Lakers move and pass the ball better than they did yesterday, this strategy becomes a lot less effective.
Let's hope that last night was a sign that Blair and Bonner could contribute in a series against the Lakers. But once Kobe isn't in "shoot now, think later" mode and LA starts getting the ball into the low post regularly, the Spurs will need Dice and Splitter to counter that.
It would still be nice to be able to throw in a healthy dose of Blair to give them something different to work on, so hopefully, DeJuan's great game was more than just a one-hit wonder.

[DMC]

I, along with probably every other Spurs fan, thought that DeJuan Blair would never be much help against the Lakers. Blair tends to struggle against length and there is no team longer than the Lakers. Blair also doesn't do well against stretch power forwards and in Lamar Odom the Lakers have one of the best in the business. Thus, Tiago Splitter and Antonio McDyess are better suited to combat what the Lakeshow bring to the table, right?

Now, after watching Blair have so much success against the Lakers in the first matchup this season, I'm not so sure.

The Spurs beat the Lakers due to superior speed and using a scrambling defense to disrupt their offensive attack. Blair, in this type of gameplan, actually fits best.

Against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the Spurs don't have much of a chance against either once they catch the ball on the post -- no matter who is defending. But Blair showed an ability to make it difficult for the Lakers to enter the ball to the post, which may ultimately be the best type of defense to use against that duo's length.

Last year, the Lakers gobbled up Blair's shot attempts around the basket. This year, he's better able to score from a few feet away from the rim, which seems to have made a big difference. The Lakers length isn't as intimidating for Blair if he can consistently hit floaters and other touch shots in the lane.

This could very well have been an aberration but it's also possible to make sense of it. The Lakers are big and long. Instead of trying to match that size and playing into their hands, isn't it better to try to take the Lakers out of their comfort zone? Forcing L.A. to try to adapt to a faster, more powerful attack may be the better idea.

What does SpursTalk think? To beat the Lakers when it counts, will the Spurs ultimately need Splitter and/or McDyess to match their size? Or does Blair, despite the questionable fit, give the Spurs the better chance of winning?

You make some excellent points. Consider, however, that a struggling Lakers team isn't the same beast it could have been, or even might become later this season. Blair of today might not fare well against a playoff ready Lakers team. If Pau or Artest blocks out, Blair probably gets called for over the back, but it was the PG Fisher going for the rebound on one play, and almost no one on a few other plays.

I have noticed that Blair plays much better once he's gotten a few baskets to fall and feels hes not a kid out there playing with adults. Before that he just appears to be in a different world on both ends of the floor, cheating off of shooters too far to allow him to recover on one end, and catching the ball 5' from the basket at the other end and either traveling or freezing with the ball.

Those things take time, but one good game against a struggling team (champs or not) isn't a mark of improvement, or at least it's not incredibly noteworthy. One could just as easily conclude that the Bucks are a beast, because they crushed the Lakers at home. We know that's not the case. Like the Bucks, let's keep Blair's performance in perspective and average it with his season. Also, like the Bucks, let's see how he does against other teams like the Mavs. He's a high energy player, so he might be on an emotional high and that could work for or against us in Dallas.

I wouldn't bet the farm on Blair because of this one game, but it's enough to not discount his potential, especially knowing his rookie season work.

I don't think Blair is end of bench material, but I do think he needs a lot of maturing before he's going to be able to consistently tap into that seemingly endless well of talent that this kid has.

Meanwhile, it would be prudent to have Splitter as ready as possible as we go into the second half of the season. Blair is very important, but so are the other two bigs (I don't consider Bonner a big).

[DMC]

Splitter: he may not be ready to face the Lakers during the playoffs, but the coaches are working with him; you never know
But even if he doesnt play well vs L.A, we can always use him to hack-a-Bynum
Bynum himself was kinda useful in that department on Dwight Howard during the 2009 Finalls

Blair: on the defensive end, I think he can be as efficient vs L.A in the playoffs; on the offensive end, it will be interesting to see if Phil Jackson will take Blair out of his comfort zome by double-teaming him, something Blair is not used to face on a regular basis

Dice: we will need him; I remember last season, he did a fairly good defensive job on Odom

Jackson will not double team Blair. If Blair was an All Star and put up those numbers every game like Love or Randolph, maybe, but Blair does not deserve a double team. The Spurs would LOVE it if Blair could command a double team. Imagine what red head would be wide open.

[Man In Black]

I've posted before that Bynum has said that he prefers playing against players his size because the "Small" Bigs, get into his legs. As long as DeJuan starts his positioning early, he can still disrupt. If that post player gets position, that's an easy 2. I did notice that Splitter displays physicality when it comes to standing up tall against Bynum. He took an elbow to the jaw against him and that clothesline which should have been called a flagrant 1. He took 1 shot to the nuts which made him miss a game but he took another shot against Andersen in Orlando that he shook off a few minutes later. He's not Shaq tough, but he's got the instinct to be both physical and practical. He just needs to figure out when it's best to stand tall or take the charge. I would prefer he just stand tall but he's very adept at taking the charge.