Monroe: Splitter figures to start

[ChuckD]

I can see Splitter being a 10 and 10 guy with 2 blocks if he starts with minimum 29 mins.

Splitter will never average 10 boards. Only nine guys in the NBA did last year. He's just not aggressive enough. And how do you figure he's ever going to block 2 shots when he attacks no one's shot? He prefers to wait and try for a charge, even on guards and wings.

[Sofaking]

Splitter will never average 10 boards. Only nine guys in the NBA did last year. He's just not aggressive enough. And how do you figure he's ever going to block 2 shots when he attacks no one's shot? He prefers to wait and try for a charge, even on guards and wings.

Splitter in my honest opinion will never be better than Rasho when he was here. At best, I see him as a 9pts, 7 rbs .8blks player in this league. He's simply not strong enough to handle the bigger 5's and not fast enough to keep up with the atlethic 4's. He's also 27 yrs old....not many ppl come over at that age and expect to dominate.

A lot of Spurs fans views him as gold but outside of spurstalk, everybody views him as a bum. They want the white hype, they are desperately seeking another white player to reign. I have no problems with that, but when he makes as much Bone head plays as Blair makes and it gets swept under a rug, that's where problems comes in.

How the you expect him to average 10rbs when its well known that that's not his strong suite? His defense is overrated as well.

There's a reason he was glued to the bench. Spurs aint winning no with Splitter in the lineup

[Cane]

Anderson Varejao's best averages are something like 9.7 pts, 9 boards, and 1 block per game and that was this past LeBron-less season for the Cavs.

I think Splitter can rival that although his game is much more finesse based. Both players are better at positional defense like taking charges than blocking shots.

Spurs still need a quality PF/C kind of player though and they're still screwed against giants like Marc Gasol.

[cantthinkofanything]

They want the white hype, they are desperately seeking another white player to reign.

I don't think Spurs fans give a about what color he is at this point. He could be black with a big afro, gold teeth, sagging his pants with tats of MLK and 50 Cent. If he can make ANY contribution to the team, then I'm happy.

[BRs.Ganso]

Anderson Varejao's best averages are something like 9.7 pts, 9 boards, and 1 block per game and that was this past LeBron-less season for the Cavs.

I think Splitter can rival that although his game is much more finesse based. Both players are better at positional defense like taking charges than blocking shots.

Spurs still need a quality PF/C kind of player though and they're still screwed against giants like Marc Gasol.

I see Tiago as a 12 points and 7 rebounds player, with more than 25 minutes.

i told this last year and i keep my opinion

he's an better player than Varejao (9 and 9 this season) and worst than Nene, but his offensive game is better than the other 2 big brazilians, Nene can score because he is very athletic.

[Sofaking]

I don't think Spurs fans give a about what color he is at this point. He could be black with a big afro, gold teeth, sagging his pants with tats of MLK and 50 Cent. If he can make ANY contribution to the team, then I'm happy.

I hear a lot of racial undertones in posts made about certain spurs players. Blair gets called all kind of names. I'm not saying its wrong if you'd like more racial diversity to the game, but when average players like Splitter are treated like the 2nd coming, I wonder

[rascal]

Splitter in my honest opinion will never be better than Rasho when he was here. At best, I see him as a 9pts, 7 rbs .8blks player in this league. He's simply not strong enough to handle the bigger 5's and not fast enough to keep up with the atlethic 4's. He's also 27 yrs old....not many ppl come over at that age and expect to dominate.

A lot of Spurs fans views him as gold but outside of spurstalk, everybody views him as a bum. They want the white hype, they are desperately seeking another white player to reign. I have no problems with that, but when he makes as much Bone head plays as Blair makes and it gets swept under a rug, that's where problems comes in.

How the you expect him to average 10rbs when its well known that that's not his strong suite? His defense is overrated as well.

There's a reason he was glued to the bench. Spurs aint winning no with Splitter in the lineup

Great post. Splitter was way over hype on this board. He had a bust of a rookie year. He couldn't get off the bench because he just didn't show enough to Pop to warrant any more minutes.

[rascal]

I don't think Spurs fans give a about what color he is at this point. He could be black with a big afro, gold teeth, sagging his pants with tats of MLK and 50 Cent. If he can make ANY contribution to the team, then I'm happy.

I care. Most white bigs C/PF are unathletic and soft. Can you name more than five in the entire league that aren't.

[The Truth #6]

I can't believe people still use Pop's distribution of minutes as the end all/be all for a player's talent. Bonner plays. Doesn anyone in their right mind think he's that talented? Of course not. It's hard for fans not to hype a player because anyone seems better then Matt Bonner.

[MaNu4Tres]

This is from a thread back in February. And I still stand by it. Sorry rascal, but I do not agree with your assessment.

In 12 games of seeing 16 minutes or more this season, Splitter is averaging 9.7 points and 5.4 rebounds in 21.3 mpg.

In 4 games of seeing 24 minutes or more this season, Splitter is averaging 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in 25.8 mpg.

In 17 games of seeing 8 minutes or less this season, Splitter is averaging 1 point and .8 rebounds in 4.8 mpg. (Not including his 11 DNP's this season)

The guy simply needs time.

I don't understand how critical some of you all have been, especially after the games where he gets garbage minutes at best. It's not fair and it's stupid to analyze a players performance based on such very limited outings.


Unfortunately, it just so happened Splitter was set back due to injury out of the gate this year, where he missed the entire training camp. And while trying to get back in the mix of things, his main compe ion for minutes (Bonner and Blair) progressively improved their production and have played their best ball of their careers the past several months.

All in all, the reason for lack of minutes is not because he sucks. It's because his compe ion for minutes has performed damn well and on top of that, they had already earned the minutes by gaining Pop's trust even before Splitter signed with the Spurs. Add these facts to the fact that Splitter missed the entire training camp and you get Splitter fighting a hard uphill battle for minutes so far this season.

I repeat-- the guy does not suck-- He just needs the time. /rant

[rascal]

This is from a thread back in February. And I still stand by it. Sorry rascal, but I do not agree with your assessment.

Your extrapolating Splitter's minutes not considering his limited minutes were against weak garbage time play. If he had to go up against frontline starters expect numbers to come down in every category across the board.

[MaNu4Tres]

Your extrapolating Splitter's minutes not considering his limited minutes were against weak garbage time play. If he had to go up against frontline starters expect numbers to come down in every category across the board.

What about the other garbage I posted, regarding why Splitter didn't get minutes?

Any expertise from the great rascal on that issue?

[rascal]

What about the other garbage I posted, regarding why Splitter didn't get minutes?

Any expertise from the great rascal on that issue?

I have already answered that but you don't want to accept it.

[rascal]

Splitter is really a backup quality big. The spurs could get away with him as a stater if Duncan was in his prime. Not the case anymore.

[MaNu4Tres]

Your extrapolating Splitter's minutes not considering his limited minutes were against weak garbage time play. If he had to go up against frontline starters expect numbers to come down in every category across the board.

That is why I included the games in the statistics where Splitter got 24 plus minutes (the games Splitter played against quality starters and quality 2/3rd rotational bigs).

The games where he played garbage minutes (against end of the bench type players; 8 minutes or less) is also included in the statistics.

You really don't have a clue though, it's okay.

[rascal]

That is why I included the games in the statistics where Splitter got 24 plus minutes (the games Splitter played against quality starters and quality 2/3rd rotational bigs).

The games where he played garbage minutes (against end of the bench type players; 8 minutes or less) is also included in the statistics.

You really don't have a clue though, it's okay.

Starters get more than 24 minutes a game. Who were the teams he got the 24 minutes a game against? Sac, Toronto and Cleveland?

Also that sample size was so small (4 games) you can't make any conclusions from it.

I am making conclusions from what I saw on the floor and the reluctance of Pop to put him in when it was clear the Spurs needed help on the frontline.

You along with most of Spur nation will be disappointed with Splitter if you are expecting anything more than a backup quality big.

[MaNu4Tres]

From February:

He is nothing more than a deep end of bench role player.

Yes he is more. With more time next year, you will see that. Will he be an All-Star? No. Is he a starting caliber big in this league? We will find out soon enough.

One thing I know for sure though, he is definitely more than the "deep end of the bench type player" you described back in February.

[Tyrone Jenkins]

From February:



Yes he is more. With more time next year, you will see that. Will he be an All-Star? No. Is he a starting caliber big in this league? We will find out soon enough.

One thing I know for sure though, he is definitely more than the "deep end of the bench type player" you described back in February.

It seems obvious from the back and forth here that nobody can realistically say what Splitter is or is not. There's just not a big enough sample size...

Which is the reason for the thread - Splitter needs to start so we (and Pop) can see what he is. I think he's a borderline starting C w/ some PF skills (in a pinch).

[mountainballer]

it's totally irrelevant whether he starts or not. he should and IMO will be a major part of the big rotation, likely playing 25-28 MPG. Spurs desperately need a type of big he won't ever be anyhow, no matter where you play him and when you play him.

[Fireball]

Your extrapolating Splitter's minutes not considering his limited minutes were against weak garbage time play. If he had to go up against frontline starters expect numbers to come down in every category across the board.

Garbage minutes also mean that Splitter played with the end of the Spurs bench. Of course it would have been more difficult for him to play against starters of the opponent, but then his production might benefit from playing with Manu instead of Quinn. Stats do not tell the whole story ...

[TD 21]

It seems obvious from the back and forth here that nobody can realistically say what Splitter is or is not. There's just not a big enough sample size...

Which is the reason for the thread - Splitter needs to start so we (and Pop) can see what he is. I think he's a borderline starting C w/ some PF skills (in a pinch).

Actually, it's very easy to project what Splitter can be and I'm not talking three years down the road either. He had a 16.0 PER last season, was a good face up/pick-and-roll defender and his rebounding consistently improved as the season wore on. Given that, his length and mobility, as well as his lack of range and touch, it's clear he's in the mold of Noah/Bedrins/Varejao. All are starters and second bigs, which is exactly what Splitter will be.

Like those players, Splitter would be best next to a scoring PF and one with enough strength to occasionally cross-match defensively. A young Duncan would have been perfect. Unfortunately, at this point in his career, Duncan is no longer a PF; thus the Spurs conundrum. There's a very good chance they won't be able to acquire a big better than Splitter, yet if they trade for a PF, that PF will more than likely start over Splitter. That's the main problem with this team; the pieces just don't fit all that great together, which makes it difficult for them to play their best five together.

[Tyrone Jenkins]

Actually, it's very easy to project what Splitter can be and I'm not talking three years down the road either. He had a 16.0 PER last season, was a good face up/pick-and-roll defender and his rebounding consistently improved as the season wore on. Given that, his length and mobility, as well as his lack of range and touch, it's clear he's in the mold of Noah/Bedrins/Varejao. All are starters and second bigs, which is exactly what Splitter will be.

Like those players, Splitter would be best next to a scoring PF and one with enough strength to occasionally cross-match defensively. A young Duncan would have been perfect. Unfortunately, at this point in his career, Duncan is no longer a PF; thus the Spurs conundrum. There's a very good chance they won't be able to acquire a big better than Splitter, yet if they trade for a PF, that PF will more than likely start over Splitter. That's the main problem with this team; the pieces just don't fit all that great together, which makes it difficult for them to play their best five together.

Agreed - but keep in mind that Noah/Varejao all started and played against top notch talent where Splitter didn't. Splitter reminds me of a slower Oberto.

That's why I'm kind of an advocate of trading TP for a PF. Josh Smith, David West, Al Horford, LeMarcus Aldridge or Al Jefferson. Anyone else, just keep TP.

[The Truth #6]

I think I like the trio of TD, Tiago, and Parker better than TD, one of Coach Jenkins PFs, and our rookie PG. Getting a better PF is cool but I can't see it being worth it if we end up possibly starting an unknown young PG. That seems like a step back in the short term, but if you're all about rebuilding then it makes some sense...but if rebuilding is the goal then there are lots of other nuclear options available as well.

[rascal]

Garbage minutes also mean that Splitter played with the end of the Spurs bench. Of course it would have been more difficult for him to play against starters of the opponent, but then his production might benefit from playing with Manu instead of Quinn. Stats do not tell the whole story ...

Garbage time also means very little defense is played and both teams are just playing out the remainder of the game. Many more open looks and lanes to the basket in garbage time.

[Tyrone Jenkins]

I think I like the trio of TD, Tiago, and Parker better than TD, one of Coach Jenkins PFs, and our rookie PG. Getting a better PF is cool but I can't see it being worth it if we end up possibly starting an unknown young PG. That seems like a step back in the short term, but if you're all about rebuilding then it makes some sense...but if rebuilding is the goal then there are lots of other nuclear options available as well.

To me, the only reason to rebuild is when your nucleus of talent is old and have little chance to compete for a le. Which, pretty much describes the Spurs. If the Spurs played in LA, Miami or NY, then it would be easier to just RELOAD w/ top notch talent but there are few top 5 in the league talent that really want to play in SA.

SA's formula for success in 1999 and since has been to DRAFT well. TD, Parker, Ginobili were all drafted and became elite. The role players were all trades or FAs. This past draft was a weak one. The Spurs should just bite the bullet, play the younger players (Anderson, Splitter, Leonard) and see where the chips lie. If they're lucky (YES, LUCKY), they'll become a lottery team NEXT year when the draft is strong. Maybe they'll be even luckier and get a top 5 pick and draft the next PF of their future.

That my friend, is REBUILDING. I know lots of fans don't want to hear it, but at the current rate of success (make playoffs and lose), they will never get a draft pick good enough to get anyone of value (they had to trade Hill to get a pick just outside the lottery in one of the weakest drafts in history).