It might make more sense to play point guard by committee like George Hill and Manu used to do.
Neal has to stop playing PG. The dude has as many shot attempts as he does passes to initiate the offense. He will never be an NBA PG, dunno why Pop pulls this . I'd rather see Cory sink or swim, and look for a third PG off the street in the mean time if he sucks.
If I were the Spurs I'd have a look at Patty Mills for backup minutes. Played alright for Portland last season, is aggressive and can shoot a little. Not a world beater, but you can do worse.
Has the Australian connection with Australian head coach Brett Brown being a Spurs senior assistant. Wouldn't be surprised to see that happen.
I don't think people should be so quick to judge Neal and write-off his PG skills. T.J. Ford was doing terrible in his preseason play and into the first few games. It took him a while to figure out the system and find where everyone was supposed to be before he became more effective. And then we all remember the step back he took at OKC (oh wait, that was the whole team), and then the injury unfortunately. Give Neal a few games to get his fingers wet in the role and see what he can produce, he's a baller, he'll figure it out. It's not like he or any other members of this team are getting in any practice on their lone off day.
Same issue with Tony Parker. He deferred to Manu to start the season, Manu goes down and then everyone wants Tony to light up immediately - which also may have lead to his own injury. Instead, Tony paced himself and seems to be pretty hot right now having played his best game of the season yesterday.
Give Neal a few games to figure it out, if he doesn't, nothing wasted. Even if the Spurs picked up another PG all these upcoming games will probably be too close for them to get any playing time in anyway. Some of the next opponents include Portland, Miami, Orlando, Houston again, New Orleans and Atlanta. Heck, even in the mess we just had our second defensive big Tiago isn't averaging 20 mpg for the month. I'll be surprised if our other new player Malcolm Thomas gets 6 minutes of playing time in any of those games unless they are blowouts for the wrong team.
Last edited by dylankerouac; 01-12-2012 at 01:29 PM.
It takes a lot of energy to play the point, both physical and mental. While I think he can do it in very short stints, I think it takes away from the best thing Gary Neal provides which is his "catch and shoot" jumper. Like others have mentioned, I'd rather have Joseph or another pickup to run the point while TJ and Manu are out.
In the fourth quarter, Pop actually switched Danny Green to point guard. On one possession when Neal brought it up, Pop yelled at Neal and pointed at Green saying: "He brings it up, not you!" From then on out, Green was the point guard.
It'll be interesting to see if Pop sticks with Neal, switches to Green or uses Joseph.
Seems like when Pop tries to make a natural shooter into a point guard, the shooting touch leaves (along with everything else). Pop turned RMJ into a basket case (although Neal is much better shooter than RMJ). Hill suffered as well.
There's so much to like about Neal. Maybe Pop hhas learned his lesson and won't mess him up by trying to make him a point guard.
Green may be a better candidate because he's a more active player than Neal. The less active pure shooters seem to suffer the most in trying to make the transition. They get tired trying to play the point, their confidence ebbs and their shooting touch vanishes.
Cory Joseph may be the best candidate because he can't shoot at all. Nothing to lose there, folks. Plus he can add to the Spurs' emerging defensive prowess.
Watching Neal bring the ball up with pressure is nexium time.
^ I know, I cringe when that is happening...
Neal at the the point won't work.
Neal with it.
Gary Neal Backup PG Experiment = Failed
He's got terrible handles
Bring on Corey Joseph - it's worth a shot
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/p...ht-howard-land
All-Showcase Team
After 16 games in four days featuring 160-plus NBA aspirants in Reno, Nev., it's time for ESPN.com's annual All-Showcase Team from the D-League Showcase, selected by yours truly based overwhelmingly on what happened on the floor ... but also with a dash of subjective whim thrown in:
Guard: Justin Dentmon (Austin Toros)
Dentmon probably ranks as the front-runner in the D-League MVP race after leading Austin to a 14-3 start and had two more big scoring games (26 and 27 points) in the presence of all the scouts at the Reno Events Center.
An undersized shooting guard for most of his career, Dentmon is trying to convince NBA folks that he can play point guard at the highest level after going to training camp with the New Orleans Hornets but failing to stick.
Dentmon also played a significant role for the bronze medal-winning squad USA Basketball sent to the Pan American Games over the summer and, based on the rumbles I'm hearing, will eventually break through this season for no less than a 10-day contract. He didn't shoot the ball well with the Hornets but is back to blazing with the Toros.
The challenge, though, for all the top D-League point guards is not letting themselves get discouraged by the fact experience won out when the Chicago Bulls needed an extra point guard this week. Mike James got the NBA recall from the Bulls over Dentmon and Co. after just two games in the D, which is the sort of disappointment D-League youngsters have to grind through ... especially when they're still waiting for their NBA break.
It's not a matter of figuring anything out. It's a matter of ball handling skills.
When they bring a trap, Neal coughs the ball up a lot. And when he's dribbling, it's just far too easy for NBA-level defenders to reach out and take the ball from him. It reminds me of youth basketball, where the kids develop at such different rates, and the poor kids who aren't advanced ball-handlers just get their pockets picked time after time. And that's not an insult to Neal - it's just not his thing. He's damned good at what he does - and that's what he should be doing.
It's setting him up for failure, expecting him to go at the best defenders like that.
Sorry, but there's a good example in the D-League. Blake Ahearn is absolutely kicking ass at that level. He's a good point guard. Throw him in with the sharks in the NBA, and he's got troubles. Why would anyone expect Neal, who isn't a point guard, to be able to do it? At the top level, if you have to think about what you're doing, even a little bit, they're going to exploit that little bit of hesitation. It takes years to get to that level. Neal doesn't have years. And, besides, he already has a nitche he's good at.
Ahhhh....memories of Beno.
I completely agree with this, I saw a lot of this last night against Portland especially. The Spurs did have the first practice of the season today and hopefully Neal can get some tips on how to avoid such situations in gametime.
At the same time, we don't have very many options at point right now and since I don't think Joseph is going to be the 13th man (Thomas or other needed big hopefully will be) it doesn't hurt for Neal to get experience and playing time in right now. Sure give Joseph some playing time for the next month or so until the 13 man roster deadline but since Neal should be here for the remaining portion of the year the experience should help him, especially if he finds playing time at the position after Manu and Ford are back, or if one gets injured again : (. He may not be completely efficient but with a thirteen man roster he's simply filling in when needed.
So, by now it should be evident that he is not a PG, as expected since he is a SG.
Pop needs to "get over himself" and halt this failed experiment.
I would go with Mills or Ahearns (already knows the system). Dentmon will not provide better PG skills than Neal. Ahearns showed a PG and pass first mentality when he was her before, plus providing the occasional deep three.
Bit of backpatting of myself, called the Patty Mills signing before it happened. I was wrong about him not being a world beater though - outplaying Dwyane Wade in 2 consecutive NBA Finals games
Patty
Bit of backpatting of myself, called the Patty Mills signing before it happened. I was wrong about him not being a world beater though - outplaying Dwyane Wade in 2 consecutive NBA Finals games
Patty
he is now a coach & social studies teacher at the high school he went to.
Thanks for the info. Looked it up and here's a story on it that's a good read
https://pressboxonline.com/2021/12/2...-calvert-hall/
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