“Why can’t __________ find itself a Gary Neal?”
by Jesse Blanchard
48 Minutes of
Stepping into the starting lineup tonight for the Indiana Pacers, former college player of the year and lottery pick Tyler Hansbrough will likely face off with the similarly credentialed and comparatively productive (per 36 minutes) DeJuan Blair.
Both role players, one was heralded as a potential steal of the draft, the other as a probable reach.
And that’s the way perception skews in the favor of the San Antonio Spurs. While Pacers general manager Larry Bird has drawn ho-hum reviews for connecting on singles and doubles finding solid role players in the mid-to-late first round, the combination of Popovich and Buford have hit homeruns with similar players, seemingly from out of nowhere (otherwise known as IUPUI).
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Yeah, it's when Pop inserts players we already know, like Ime, that things to awry.
DeJuan Blair SHOULD be able to have his way with Tyler Hansbrough, but we'll see if it pans out like that.
Great Article!!!!!!!!
If he does, I hope they don't show it on TV. I have to eat sometime tonight.
Agreed. But things also go awry when Neal inserts things.
That's true, especially if you have to look in Wiki to find out what it was.
Very well done piece.
The executive summary: Put most of these Spurs role players on other teams and they wouldn't be nearly as effective as they are here. The number one example of that was Bruce Bowen. I don't think he would have shined nearly as well on any other team as he did in San Antonio, and that's primarily due to Pop and Buford knowing that what they need to do is properly compliment the core talent of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker with the right role players.
It might be a bit of the homer in me, but I honestly believe that the way the Spurs evaluate players reaches a deeper level than most teams.
It's the, "Yeah, but how fast can he run the 40?" method of analysis that so many teams employ. Athletic prowess trumps everything else, because that's what's thought of as necessary to compete at the highest level these days. Guys that can jump out of the gym. Guys that are a specific size or body type.
The Spurs seem to be one of few teams in the NBA that ask, "How would this guy fit on our team?" Anyone can look at a team's depth chart and say, "Well, we have 1 center, 2 forwards, and 7 guards, we need more big men." The Spurs take it past that. They look for character guys that are going to bring work ethic to go with athletic ability. They would rather have a guy like Bruce Bowen who isn't going to shock you by the stats they put up, but how they influence the way the game is played on the court when they aren't near the ball.
Malik Rose is the best example I can think of this. Undersized, not supremely talented, didn't have a ton of athleticism -- yet he was essential to our system because he worked harder than anyone else did on the floor.
Nice take.
C'mon, c'mon!!!!!!!! WTF do you think you're foolin' here. You found Neal because he raped & pillaged. You stooped where you swore up & down you'd never stoop. If he hadn't raped that girl he'd a entered the draft and you'd a never seen hide nor hair of him.
And you all f'in know it.
- "Suck on that, Sport."
- "Travis Bickle" - "Taxi Driver"
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