I don't watch much college basketball. So when my friends who do told me Blair was a steal at 37th, I was instantly excited. After watching various youtube highlights (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxxqEKssvgI), him displaying such intensity on the court and him saying things like "Spurs believed in me so I'm going to give them 1000%" made me a big fan of his. Ofcousre, longevity, size, and basketball IQ were always a concern.
After two seasons, his basketball IQ proved to be suspect at times and his maturity was a big question mark after last season. Truthfully, I wasn't very optimistic going into the season. After watching some of his training camp interviews, I realized that there was a good reason to be optimistic. He said all the right things.. be more mature, play more like the way he did at Pitt, play smarter defense etc.
While preseason showed that Blair may not have changed, the 2 regular season games showed us something entirely different. Two games in and hes showing confidence and more importantly patience on both ends of the floor. I know he picked up some cheap fouls but in the scenarios where he played smart defense, he was patient. Hes also doing a great job of establishing position both offensively and defensively. Something that was rare for him the past 2 years.. especially on defense. Maybe its his improved physique?
Do you guys expect him to keep this up? In this condensed season.. I certainly hope so. Especially defensively.. continue to rebound, not let players establish position so easily, putting a body on guys, not going for cheap fouls etc. On offense, I think if hes out there with Manu, he'll always have nice opportunities to score.
Seeing him play well against those athletic freaks from Clipperdom, I am happy. He did as well as he could against Griffin defensively. I was worried that he would play too much with his hands and forget to move his body. The offense was a complete surprise. He was spacing his man really well to make room for the entry passes to him. When he had the ball, he was quick with his decisions. I guess he really was overthinking.
He doesn't need to be ZBo. He needs to be Blair.
he said he watches a lot of Barkley...v
His style of play, hectic and unorganized as it seems at times (maybe because it is) sometimes leads to good results. It also leads to bad results when he gets into foul trouble early on.
I know he's a ball of energy but when he gets a steal, he needs to recognize when he has an advantage and when he doesn't. He had Manu on the wing last night who could have finished but Blair went 1 on 3 to the rim. Maybe that takes time to gain court vision, and to know how to stay in rhythm during those almost unexpected moments.
I like that Pop wants him to just defend, and to accept that it's more important to remain on the floor than to get every stop or every rebound. Blair tries to do it all, but he's learning.
When the Spurs got to steal DJB in the draft I couldn't help but laugh. They did it again...
He was projected as a top 10 pick, but everyone passed due to his knee concerns.
Heh.
Seeing as how he's started a large portion of his career for a playoff-contending team, I'd say he was a good pick.
I was at the game very close to the action and saw how well Blair uses his body now. He was moving guys around with his body creating space to get a shot up.
I am not a big fan of small centers. I've been critical of Blair's footspeed, shot, and maturity/dedication.
However, I want to be proved wrong.
Matt Bonner is 4 inches taller than Blair and is probably still the smallest center on the team.
If you go by their listings, he's actually three inches taller. Which seems about right.
Why are Blair and to a lesser extent, Bonner, still referred to by many as centers? I realize Blair is listed as the center in the box score, but so is everyone who's ever started next to Duncan. Even Jeremy Richardson, who started on Martin Luther King day in in '08 against the Bobcats, was listed as the center, despite the fact that he's a wing. The reality is, Duncan has been a full time center since '08.
This. Sad to see people nail Blair for his shortcomings due to height. Most should look at matt boners uselessness at his height. Flat out pathetic. That tall and can only shoot 3s. How did he make the NBA?
The point I was attempting to make is that the measurement to the top of a player's head doesn't mean much. Blair has a taller standing reach than Bonner does, despite being 3 1/4"* shorter.
*since you decided to split hairs, I figured I'd actually post the correct difference in height. You seem to think it's important.
Anyone would take ZBo talent. Blair got into the NBA by playing like Blair, NOT Zbo. I would imagine the best thing for Blair would be to improve on his current skills and capabilities rather than force him to learn something new and watch him be mediocre in multiple areas. Develop his strengths, then address his weaknesses.
Matt has never played a center's role.
I remember this one when DB was still a rookie:
No TP and Duncan on that game I think.
2nd stellar game from Blair, against Scola and Dalembert to boot. Hope he only improves during the rest of the season.
I'm just hoping his production just isn't because other guys really aren't in shape. He did show he was capable of playing this well last year when he was starting, he definitely seems like he's under more control and is using his body extremely well to score. His biceps/triceps look considerably bigger, when he shed all that weight last year it looked like it actually hurt him a bit, he wasnt able to really back guys down and it definitely looked like guys were backing him down with ease compared to his first season where he was a brick wall and wouldn't budge.
When he grows 6 inches let me know.
I'll be downstairs polishing the Trademark Kori bestowed upon me.
Chupa la verga maricon.
Agreed, this year he has shown some improvement, but the fact, remains that he is still 6-7 inches too small.
I've been a big fan since his days at Pitt, and was shocked when we were lucky enough to pick him up in the draft. So during him improve this season is promising, but without another solid big (bearing in mind we lost Antonio due to retirement) he will continue to be critisized and scrutinized...
The only thing preventing Blair from being a lottery pick was his knees. Since his knees aren't an issue, it's time to realize that he's a legitimate NBA big.
To me he looks the same. We could say he had a small improvement, but nothing has changed.
Great guy to come off the bench as an energy guy with a nice touch to score around the basket. Still, he lacks post moves or a face-up game and his defense is still horrible.
Last edited by elemento; 12-30-2011 at 12:20 PM.
I wanted Blair to come off the bench before the season began but I'm more than satisfied with his play as a starter. And with Splitter dominating off the bench, there's really no reason to make a change now.
Blair and Splitter are both thriving in their spot in the rotation. The problem areas are elsewhere. Unless something drastic changes, there's no reason to Pop to shakeup the top three spots of the bigman rotation.
I really don't get how people think a player can change just because a new season started. I can see if they improved their shot over the summer, worked with coaches and trainers, but that really didn't happen this summer. Blair did work on his shot, sure, but there was a lock out, so it's basically like taking a nap and expecting to be smarter when you wake up.
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