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CJ hasn't been called up yet? Somehow I thought you'd mention that as a possibility.
Can he pull it off? Gary Neal spent a lot of summer working on his point guard skills after the George Hill trade. Now with TJ Ford probably out for a while, Neal will be the PG behind Tony Parker.
Personally, I'm not sure. He's an okay ballhandler but passing isn't a strength and I've never seen him display good court vision. Defensively, though, he might actually be better defending point guards than shooting guards.
In the small sample size we've witnessed, Neal at point guard has basically led to him dribbling the ball up, getting a screen from a big and then shooting the basketball. He's either done that or passed the ball right after crossing half court.
Prior to the season, I thought Neal could play point guard -- but that was assuming he had Manu Ginobili next to him. Ginobili has enough playmaking ability and court vision to makeup for Neal's shortcomings. Now, with two of the team's three playmakers out injured, the equation has changed.
Can Gary Neal play point guard well enough for the time being? If not, do you think the Spurs need to sign a replacement?
CJ hasn't been called up yet? Somehow I thought you'd mention that as a possibility.
CJ has been bad in D-League. I don't think he's much of an option right now.
Anyone know if Neal has ever played point guard in his entire career? If so, how did he do?
That's depressing. I thought for sure he would get a call back up unless he was performing terribly like you said.
Such a move could destroy his confidence a la RMJ. Pop is a heartless bas .
I think I remember reading that Neal played PG primarily back in his Euro days which wasn't too long ago. I have not seen any highlights from that though.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster. At least we all know Neal has balls of steel though.
We just gotta hope and pray this stent of playing PG won't ruin him like it did RMJ. RMJ had balls of steel for a while too...
I wouldn't compare the balls factor between Neal and Mason. Neal showed up big in a playoff game and shook it off like he swished a shot in his backyard. The best Mason ever did was hit an iffy and-1 vs the Lakers.
Cory Joseph's D-League stats: 31.8 minutes, 11.3 points, 3.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.3 turnovers, 27.8% from the field, 28.6% on threes. To put that in perspective, Blake Ahearn is averaging 25.5 points and 6.5 assists.
That said, the more I think about it, I think the Spurs should call up Joseph. At the least, they need him as injury insurance. Plus, there are some matchups where the Spurs could use his ballhandling and maybe his defense.
If not Joseph, might as well use that 15th roster spot on someone like Luther Head. Otherwise, who would be the third point guard? James Anderson?
The RMJ comparison is pretty stupid, Neal is a much better ball handler than Mason.
I mostly agree with these points, he shows like he could play the position with other talent around him but when he's alone it's like he's out of his comfort zone and tries too hard. The best word to describe his performance at PG would be mediocre, not great or terrible.
I think he's fine as a 3rd string backup but definitely wouldn't want him to play it long term, he's much better as a SG. I hope pop doesn't get any wild ideas and tries to make him into something he's not, a la RMJ.
Might as well call Joseph back up, or call up Dentmon to prove his game doesn't translate and get him out of Joseph's way for awhile.
Other than that, there's not much to look at. Luther Head? Not really a point guard, whatever. Boykins would be fun to cheer for. Ahearn is doing well in the D-League, but he's still slow. Keith McLeod and Walker Russell Jr. would be relatively safe call ups. Haven't seen him play this season but Dominique Coleman's PG stats have taken a significant jump this season. He is on a terrible team, but he was last season too.
Is Nate Robinson still available?
edit: I don't think Neal can do it, => replacement PG time...
Last edited by phxspurfan; 01-11-2012 at 05:48 PM.
I don't think he can pull it off, for many of the reasons and concerns already outlined. Besides all that, it's very tough to get a player to change his mindset. Neal has been, and still is a shooter first - and a damn good one. In fact, he's fearless. I love to see him get across half court and take the first open shot available. That works as a shooting guard, but not so much as a point guard. Besides all that, Neal is a terrible, and undersized, defender. I thought it was a bad idea last year and nothing I've seen from Neal, in his short return, has caused me to believe otherwise.
The Spurs may as well call up Joseph. He could hardly be any worse - and he's a much better on-ball defender.
Great idea. Hadn't thought of that. Calling up Dentmon kills two birds with one stone. I don't think he's any good but as a temporary insurance policy, he'd do. Plus, as you said, the Spurs can better to decide whether to keep him around by seeing if he's a legit prospect, while opening up a spot on the Toros for Joseph to sink or swim.
CD with the goods
Robinson is now with Golden State.
Neal can score... not sure about setting players up... I just hope Lowry doesn't go for a career high...
Neal has the ability to be a good playmaker. I think part of it is he needs to make opponents respect his outside shot. That should open up driving and passing lanes. When teams started focusing on running him off his spots he started driving and scoring or making plays.
This
RMJ was playing well before Pop made that re ed move
Playing the point will take his legs away, even if he can do an average job, his shot will suffer.
That is exactly what I've seen too. Neal is the opposite of TJ - the latter got the second team buzzing, Neal kills its energy.
Kepp Neal for scoring, we need a real backup PG because the bench has proven it's strong when led by a pass-first guy.
Ford was doing just that, but now he is out for a while too so that sucks. Injuries just mounting up.
Asking Neal to play at point guard is just like asking Bonner to play power forward.
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