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I've never seen a SF shoot from his belly button but Shawn Marion put together a decent NBA career.
If Splitter can make it work in the NBA then so be it. But that doesn't mean it's easy to watch...at least not right now.
If they were going in, I would say whatever works.
But they aren't going in.
They are getting slapped back in his face too often.
I've never seen a SF shoot from his belly button but Shawn Marion put together a decent NBA career.
If Splitter can make it work in the NBA then so be it. But that doesn't mean it's easy to watch...at least not right now.
The problem for Splitter is that he doesn't have an outside game to complement that. A guy like Scola (Scola thread!) basically lives off footwork and up and under moves when near the paint. You'll rarely see him dunk or use a hook out there. But he has a decent jumper to keep you honest. So he can pump fake and you have to respect the shot.
Tiago just doesn't have that midrange game to complement his post play. I'm afraid he's going to need to develop that kind of shot to eventually be successful long term in this league.
If he's not close to rim then they're fine. They allow him to catch the defense off-guard, but if he's right at the rim he has no business putting up such attempts.
You have to finish those shots.
I'm with the "If it's going in, then it's fine" crowd.
It's unorthodox and it's kind of tricky. Unlike Spain, they really do emphasize DEFENSE here so he's going to have become proficient at other moves so that way, he can mix it in when he has the advantage. He has a good drop-step and if his feet are right, he can rise up and dunk it. He needs to perfect his footwork so that he's in control. He's not there yet :/
However, he's a live body and he's giving the Spurs meaningful minutes. Not so much that he's often a key contributor, but just by being active, Tim get's EXTRA minutes of rest on the bench. That used to never happen.
Dear Tiago,
You're having a tough time right now adjusting to the speed, length and strength of NBA big men on offense and the boards. You're also struggling with the Spurs' system a bit, and on the flip-side you're being tagged with an inordinate number of "rookie fouls". Please, don't worry about it. You have great basketball instincts, and if you just concentrate on playing hard nosed-D, hitting the boards, passing to cutters and making your layups, the rest will come. Your countryman Anderson Varejao had similar problems when he first arrived in the NBA and he has become a very useful big man. You will be too. Just stick at it and keep the energy coming.
Yours sincerely,
Ruff
At the moment, they are horrific.
Few big men have used those little soft floaters to their advantage, Antawn Jamison and Pau Gasol come to mind.
Thing is, Gasol is ridiculously long and is releasing the soft little floaters at his peak, the ball is basically going down into the hoop. Antawn uses them to beat help defense after using his agility and speed to beat his defender - completely different situations.
Tiago is using them right in his defenders face after making simple moves and it will never ever work if he isn't extending fully and releasing. He obviously isn't used to playing against guys his size, or slightly smaller, who can leave the ground quickly.
He needs to eradicate them straight away.
My comment was general, but as far as specifics you can't do much better than that explanation.
Tiago had a bad game last night and tried to do too much on O which didn't work but let's not forget he had some good ones earlier. But his finishes close to the basket are too soft and he needs to adjust his game quite a bit.
Coming into this league, we knew Tiago Splitter's style of play around the basket relied on finesse and was unorthodox. I was one of the people who said that it would be an asset for him in the long run, and I stand by that.
At the moment, he's still trying to feel his way around the league and his role on the Spurs. Give him more time and his confidence will grow, his game will flow better, and those shots will start going in. Should he take the time to add a little more aggressiveness and strength to his game on both ends of the court? Absolutely. But to eliminate Tiago's crafty moves from his repertoire completely would be to take away part of what has made his career so successful.
At this point, I don't want any plays run for Splitter outside of pick and rolls. Deconstruct and rebuild his post game next summer.
I don't think Tiago's game needs a wrecking ball, what it really needs is some TLC from Pop in the form of actual game minutes.
Of course you think that.
Sean Elliott thinks that too. He wants Tiago to get more consistent playing time.
TBH I'd be more inclined to say Matt Bonner's shooting mechanics are much more worthy of a wrecking ball than Splitter's post moves.
Of course you would think that.
I do too.
With pick and rolls.
weak as timmays layups
Tiago's defense > Scola. I think he could stick in the league even without that midrange jumper. But your right that would open things up bigtime if he had that.
Tiago is a bust... he can't score, he can't block shots, he can't rebound...what use is he? Pick & roll? Lol... toss him into the Ian Mahinmi pile.....
+1
More authority is needed.
What games have you been watching, G-dawwg? He defends the paint and blocks/alters a ton of shots. While I wouldn't call him "fluid" around the rim offensively, he's going through an adjustment period that many players from Europe go through as well. I think he just needs steady sprinkles of water and he'll be like the Chia Pet on 'roids by the end of the year.
What do you think Pop is doing with him then? Do you think he has told him anything specific offensively or is he throwing him out there like DeJuan Blair and telling him to figure it out. See what he can and can't get against NBA defenders?
If he is doing that then maybe Pop needs to define his role and tell him to concentrate on defense and rebounds and then run the pick and roll on offense and not post up one on one.
Or at least get him to do something other than the flip shot when he does post up. PnR can get a defender out of his way and keep him from resorting to the flip. That's why I bring it up. The weird seems to happen more often when he posts up.
That's the thing it doesn't seem to work much when he posts up. I'm wondering what Pop is telling him in regards to this. You think he's telling him to play his game and see what happens?
I was quite mad at him today though. He went up soft. Kori obviously thought the same thing. He needs to go up way stronger if he's open.
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