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there were some players who looked bigged on t v then what they measured at
No, not at all. Name one other Spur that was a statistical leader on this team last year.
If we suck defensively, don't blame the guy the Spurs brought in to hit 3's. It's not like his job is any easier because we have Tim in the middle. That ship has sailed. Bonner meets expectations. It's when you start expecting him to be something he isn't that people go overboard.
Bonner shouldn't be playing any more than 15 to 20 minutes a game off the bench. That's it.
Don't get me started on RJ. That dude is a mental midget and fragile. He was brought here to be aggressive offensively, take the ball to the whole, give rebounding from the 3 position and play solid D. He's done none of that consistently and looks lost.
The PR job Pop did with the press to say "People assume we lost in the playoffs because of Richard and I've never understood that" was comical. He was a non-factor against Memphis and has been a walking Zombie on this team. After a nice start last year, he remembered who he was and resumed sucking.
there were some players who looked bigged on t v then what they measured at
The court has both ends.20 min - 12 pt, 5 Rebounds, 50 % on 3's, 4-4 FT, 1 ST
I'll take that awful all year.
About the Bad side of Tiago Splitter, what does playing small mean?
He wasn't a statistical leader when the Spurs needed him most. He was actually pretty awful.
Heck, even in the regular season, he's a 7ppg, 4rpg guy. It doesn't matter if his percentage is great when he barely has an impact.
Don't get me wrong. I've met Matt personally and he's a great guy and you can't knock him on effort, because he tries. He's just not very good.
The Spurs play him in the PF position. If what we get on defense is a layup parade, of course I'm going to be looking at him. Basketball isn't just offense.
You're not wrong. I would actually rather have a better defensive guy in the rotation in front of him. He's not a bad player to have for set plays on offense when you need a 3. But I think over 10 mins is too much unless he's on a roll with his shot.
You don't have to talk to me about RJ. I agree 100%.
weak ass releases like blair, playin down to his man defender....
First, the whole 15-20 minutes thing has been a farce for years. He's played that much in the playoffs and was thoroughly putrid.
Second, with regards to what his job is: giving excuses to him for his defense continues to be sad.
As if it's okay that he only hits threes in the regular season, because that's not his job. Well you know what I remember? Robert Horry hit three pointers AND played defense! AND rebounded! AND blocked shots! AND made great all-around plays! AND stole inbound passes! AND hit big shots in the regular season and playoffs time and again! AND could drive and dunk for an and-1 when needed! And drew technicals!
That's why Horry deserved his minutes, and that's why Horry was a contributor to le teams.
Bonner is a contributor to humiliating defeats.
The only difference between Bonner and Jefferson is that Jefferson isn't active and doesn't achieve, while Bonner is active but also doesn't achieve.
Ever see a big dog like a pit bull back down from a smaller one like a chihuahua? That's playing small. Tiago doesn't enforce his will in the paint, he plays like he's smaller than his defender.
Ben Wallace played big. He wasn't that big compared to other centers, but he was super aggressive and got his way.
Tiago has the size, but his game is that of a smaller player, taking charges and standing around with his arms up instead of swatting the ball from above the rim.
I'm no Bonner apologist. He's a terrible defender and a mediocre rebounder. But he fills a role on this concoction of a team. It's when he's asked to do more (by a coach with a lack of options) that he comes up short. Don't you think Pop would love to have the luxury of putting Bonner in to pad a lead instead of gain one ? He doesn't have it.
As for Scola,it was Blair who got torched by him tonight. He's hopeless on defense. How many times was Scola by himself shooting a 10 foot jumper? No one was around him.
Blair's days here or at least his minutes on the floor are numbered. He even seemed to lack enthusiasm last year. Perhaps Pop has beaten it out of him.
This I agree with. Bonner cannot do more than he's doing, and he's a "get what you paid for" deal. Blair is regressing to sub-D league status.
- I was trying to think of a way to describe Steve Novak. "Not the worst basketball player in the world, but the worst basketball player in the Spurs' world." "The worst NBA player in the state of Texas." I just couldn't think of one that didn't sound like hyperbole, even while true. He was bad. Took several of the worst shots ever, didn't get a single defensive rotation correct, received the ball almost under the basket on a break and passed the ball BACK OUT to the point guard at the three point line, and had one of the worst attempts at drawing a charge in recent memory. If he even makes the team, Pop should have his rings taken away.
- Cory Joseph wasn't as aggressive as I'd hoped, but he looked surprisingly comfortable for a guy who hasn't been around the team lately. Unfortunate that he got a couple of passes at the three point line early. I'm sure he was told to shoot, but he should have disregarded that advice.
- Joseph has a chance to avoid Austin. The T in TJ Ford is for "Turrible". Ford is still fearless, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Lone bright spot: He had the best assist to Matt Bonner I've ever seen on a fast break. He posted up Mark Jackson style, drew a defender and kicked it out, buying Bonner time to actually get that slow-motion jump shot off. I think it was the only time Bonner didn't do that re ed pump fake and dribble and hold-on-to-the-ball-trying-to-score-one-on-one thing. For all his fear to shoot when open, I'd call Bonner "Bones" but it's an insult to ex-Spurs. Since I'm already digressing...
- Several years of Pop's treatment of Matt Bonner has turned Bonner into the spoiled son of a rich man that can do whatever he wants. Bonner bulled into teammates to knock away sure rebounds and would just leave his man to chase the ball around on defense like a group of first graders playing soccer. Things that used to at least get him yelled at are just tolerated. If his minutes don't go down when Duncan plays regularly, I'm going to begin hoping for a non-painful yet career-ending injury to Matt Bonner in the interest of the remainder of Tim Duncan's career. But in case he doesn't get injured: Hey, Matty! Guard the ugly ing white guy with the long hair. Yes, the one hitting all the jumpshots. Don't leave him for any ing reason! Seriously, if the Rockets don't ask you to leave their huddle during timeouts you ain't doing your job!
- Leonard looked a bit timid, but had a couple of blocks that you just couldn't believe he was going to get to. Like LJ, I was also impressed with his dribbling, and of course he's a total glass-eater even being out of rhythm. He probably had three rebounds taken away by teammates running into him. They'll learn. I really enjoyed his one basket. I'm excited to see how he develops.
- Anderson was the second best Spur tonight despite his lack of stats to back it up. He's aggressive, he's a very good defender and he's explosive on both ends of the floor. I expect him to hit free throws at some point. He'll be on the short rotation.
- Daniel Green looked pretty bad. Other than his nice and-1, he doesn't look like he belongs on an NBA court. Honestly I thought Antoine Hood looked less lost.
- I propose a new law for the Spurs: Nobody without both a two AND a zero on their uniform is allowed to shoot three pointers unless it's at the buzzer. I thought Manu looked like the only real pro basketball player for the Spurs tonight, and with all the youngsters, I'm not that far off.
- Tiago Splitter looked pretty bad to start the game. Playing the Rockets, I was reminded of how un-Hakeemish he is, insofar as he seems to have decided what move he's going to do regardless of what his defender gives him. That said, he got Scola into foul trouble almost immediately, which was the single best defensive performance on the team, and the only thing that kept them in it early. But you can count on him to just work until he hits his stride, which he did coming out of halftime. He was good on both ends as he really started to challenge shots and go for blocks. He likely would have gotten the Spurs the lead, but fortunately Pop pulled his ass just in time. Whew. Get over yourself, Tiago. Damn, he'd be great alongside Duncan, but it'll never happen.
- DeJuan Blair looks just as lost as he did last year. None of his shots are falling, even from close in, he can't time his jumps, he never even leaves his feet on defense and he's got no chemistry with anyone. When I saw he was the starter, the word "showcase" flashed in my mind. That thought didn't last long.
- RJ got amnesty from amnesty? Did anyone tell him that?
Bonner's 'role' of terrible defender and rebounder who only shoots threes can be filled by Novak at 1/3rd the price. And Novak would probably be used properly the way Bonner should be used: as a situational shooter. End of halves, down 3, etc. There should be a lot of DNP-CDs in there unless there's blowouts. The more he plays the harder it is for the Spurs to win when it matters (the playoffs).
And yes, Scola tooled on Bonner tonight just as easily as he tooled on Blair.
C'mon now, that isn't even fair. Horry was one of the best clutch players that ever wore a Spurs uniform or any uniform for that matter. He had at ude and was an extremely smart player. I seriously doubt the F.O. thought they could replace Horry with Bonner.
Pop deserved recognition for squeezing 61 wins out of this team last year. We led the league with the best record for the majority of the season. That's unbelievable and far exceeded anyone's expectations in this forum. Unfortunately, most of the people in this forum were privy to seeing what a Championship team is supposed to look like and few were surprised when we were tossed aside.
I actually wonder if the team will ever recover from the humiliation and thorough beat down at the hands of Memphis. Without making any major moves, how can you believe that your team will do any better ? Tim's bad ankle and Manu's broken elbow were factors but I'm not sure we would've won anyways.
CHILLIN'
Memphis was a matchup issue, they knew it and tanked to get us.
That's what was humiliating, that a team would tank to get the 1st seed in the 1st round and they win.
But no way we get past Dallas or OKC last year and I doubt we get past the Lakers, so it's a moot point.
I don't think they're that humiliated tbh. They've had tough losses before, and surely the vets know that the regular season record was propped by fortunate cir stances regarding injuries on other teams. As soon as those teams came to strength, the loses started rolling in.
The point is that the FO did get their well deserved credit when they surrounded the big 4 with capable, winning talent like Horry, Bones, etc.
Conversely, they should get some slack for sticking with guys like Bonner, RJ... If you told me they tried, didn't pan out, and let them walk, then you won't hear any criticism. But those guys received extensions from the team after fairly well known shortcomings.
TJ Ford: Everything looks a little wild, but he knows how to distribute the ball on offense. I was not able to look closely at his defense, but the reason was either the small frame of the online stream or because it just was not there ...
CJoseph: Impressed with his ballhandling - already looked more secure than George Hill when bringing the ball up front. I think he can be a pest on defense and if he has more such outings early in the season I could see him playing Tonys back-up.
Manu: Struggled with his shot early, but his determination even in a preseason game is admirable.
James Anderson: In the second half there was a nice defensive sequence of him (with the help of Splitter) that led to 24 second violation for the Rockets. More of that please. He is in shape and once his shots start to fall, it will open up the game for the rest of the Spurs as well.
RJ: Well, his play was all of last season condensed in one game. He made his first jump shot and then completely disappeared.
Kawhi: Rebounds, Blocks, Steals ... vocal on defense. LIKE. Ballhandling looked good as well. His shots did not look good, but he had as much attempts and makes as RJ. So I already take him over Jefferson.
Blair: He looked so good ... on the photos of media day. But seeing him move on the court ... whew, no progress on offense or defense. He filled the stat sheet, but the -19 really stand out. As soon as he came in for Splitter in the 4th quarter, the game was over for the Spurs.
Bonner: Looked like a pro out there ... he knew what he was doing and you can see he is working on his dribble penetration. As always he got burned on defense. Sadly with only four big men on the team you cannot cut his minutes to 10-15 per game. On a side not: Bonner has to play against starters of the opponent, because Spurs starters under Pop do not play starters minutes. Easy calculation ...
Splitter: In the first half he looked like the Splitter of last year. But he drew 3 early fouls, two of them on Scola. I guess he should have guarded Scola at the beginning - not Blair. In the second half Tiago began to show his repertoire on offense - his hook shot still looks odd, but he made some of them and one was very far away from the basket. I was not able to drew conclusions on his defensive game ...
DGreen: Looked more solid last season. Another two or three such games and the Spurs will waive him.
Overall: Shooting in the first half was so bad, it was ugly to watch. Gary Neal was missed. Rockets played their starters and it showed, especially Scola seemed unstoppable. But the Spurs kept themselves in the game, especially because of the foul disparity. I want to see more of Anderson, Leonard and Joseph to draw more conclusions on their game. The overall effeciency will rise again with TD and TP on the court. Open scrimmage ist next !
back to the game:
Pop is still having me worried with Splitter. With the added bonus of McDonald's bleary-eyed unfunny water-carrying:
From the EN:
Splitter was not injured most of the time. Nothing that would have kept him on the bench most of the year. He had a tough year because Pop made it a tough year.Of course, given Splitter’s star-crossed rookie season, the fact he made it to the team plane after the game without pulling something was notable.
“He had such a tough year last year, injured most of the time,” Popovich said. “It was great to see him whole.”
He didn't dress for 9 games if Yahoo's boxes are correct. He played 60 and had another 13 non-appearances credited as DNP-CDs, which rings true to my memory. AND in the playoffs he spent the first 3 games with DNP-CDs on the bench.
RJ had a uva year, Splitter was hurt all season . . . the hits keep coming.
I wonder with all that crap on Sportscenter about Kawhi's improved range of motion on his shot, then months of him spending hours and hours practicing this, how his shot now looks just as flat as at SDU?
4 rings...don't you dare question the greatest coach in the world....
It was his first game. You get nervous on offense, you rush your shot and fall back into bad habits ... let him play 10 games to see what his shot really looks like ...
Only one jumper looked good in silver and black last night, so I forgive Kawhi for not looking smooth.
good point
Anderson was moving really fast and pested his attacker a few times when in the game. The thing that impressed me the most was his lateral quickness. thanks for the write up LJ!
I'm not going to be too hard on any of the youngsters or new additions yet. With virtually no camp there is going to be lots of confusion and rust.
As others have said, Blair was just awful. Being slimmer obviously hasn't helped him defensively. Someone earlier said he looks like he has ADD out there...and that is a pretty damn good description. So many times he looks like he is just not engaged in what is going on.
RJ didn't seem to care the the Spurs saved him from the amnesty pool. For someone who was just granted mercy he didn't show much appreciation. Leonard looked like a guy who was playing for a starting spot...and supplanting RJ shouldn't be that difficult if he progresses forward from here. Oh...and a big lol to all of you that said Parker was RJ's problem. What was the excuse last night? Anyone?
Splitter had some nice moments but as LJ pointed out he just plays to damn small. I think his offense is fine but he needs to work harder on making his presence felt on the defensive end. It doesn't matter to me if he becomes an elite shot blocker but he at the very least needs to become a more intimidating presence down low. He has the size and athleticism to do it. No excuses.
Why do any of you waste keystrokes on Bonner? He is what he is and that's not going to change. Moving on.
Of the young guys Leonard and Anderson stood out the most. Anderson missed some shots but that's to be expected when the window between camp and the preseason is so short. Overall his game looks NBA level on both ends and I expect he will be a solid rotation player for the Spurs this season. Leonard looked ahead of the curve even if he did blend in a little too much. I think the blending in is just part of being a rookie and being unsure of what your role is. That will pass as he gets integrated. He really shined a on defense and showed his potential...as he had a couple of possessions where he was one on one with Budinger and did a good job of moving his feet and contesting the shot which led to misses.
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