Blair could be a starter on a team like the Raptors or Bobcats, where he could pad his stats and go up against good teams that underestimate him, tbh..
He has no business starting for a playoff team..his physical limitations are obvious, but it's evident that he plays low-IQ basketball on both ends, you can't fix that..
Another flaw of Blair's is that he hasn't accepted a niche as a Reggie Evans type player, which is the role he is suited for IMO..he's trying to be Charles Barkley, which is a mentality that would be better suited for the bench..
Spurs need another shot alterer in the paint and a healthy and versatile guard. Having to rely on a tandem of both Blair and Bonner coming off the bench will just kill whatever momentum the twin towers of Splitter and Duncan can get, imo. And the Spurs are too predictable and easily stopped when Tony Parker is the only versatile ball handler and playmaker, just check out how crappy the Knicks are doing for an extreme example of a team with poor PG depth at the moment
He should stop smiling every time he s up with his over-and-back fouls. Remember when we were enamored a couple of years ago because he played with a chip on his shoulder? That extra level of toughness is long gone. Kind of reminds me when Malik Rose lost what made him special and started to shoot jumpers in the latter stages of his duration with the Spurs. Stop being something you're not.
What you guys are saying is Splitter taking the role of DRob and Blair the role of Malik, from Spur's yesteryear championship winning team.
The problem is that apparently we no longer have the same coach.
I pointed this out a few games ago. When you get in foul trouble for stupid fouls you're hurting the team. Drop the smirk and start playing like a pro.
Given the stats for the guy he's covering, it's pretty clear that the damage done is mitigated if the people he's guarding aren't starters.
You went on and on about how Pop ed the Spurs out of a 70 win season by benching Blair last year, but Blair did the same things he's doing now, which is to up on both ends.
Like I said, you have some of the tiest takes on this forum, and that's saying a lot.
Stand behind your assertions.
Blair has too much mental going on. Dude tweets nonstop, it's insane. It's almost always depressing stuff too. It's a daily emotional roller coaster with him putting it on full public display.
That's an interesting point, and I was thinking that I'd like to see Grizz come off the bench to see how his improved offensive post game goes against 2nd stringers.
I can't see how experimenting with starting Splitter and going to Grizz more in the second team against good matchups isn't worth trying.
It killed us last year. That's the point. We were on a 70 game tear and bam, like that, Blair is benched and we lose in the 1st round.
Actually, the quote you attribute to me was from a thread a month ago when Blair was playing well, and it was in response to several other posts. The first of which being:
lol tiest takes. lol standing behind assertions. lol research.
Yeah, Ruff, I think it's worth it. Though it doesn't seem as drastic to watch him, clearly the numbers show alarming deficiencies in his defense. At some point you have to try to make his numbers matter. It's odd because he seems to just lose interest, as he's clearly not playing the same way he did at the beginning of either this season or last. We saw what moving him to the bench did before. Has he grown up?
So Blair was benched for Splitter? Um, no. He wasn't. But that is what is being proposed. This is a different season. Splitter has improved vastly, while Grizz is erratic and frustrating, but might thrive against bench guys. So how about we try it?
Just took a look at his Twitter, and I do worry about his maturity a little. We can hope that benching might be good for him, wake him up to the fact that consistency of effort is crucial, but it's a gamble. Looks like he has a very fragile ego.
The best possible result would be for him to go to the bench and become a solid post option and rebounder for the second team. We can hope.
I wish he'd learn to use his fragile ego to take it out on the other team once in a while. He's certainly gotten over the insult of sliding in the draft, which is probably a bigger contributing factor to his rebounding numbers plummetting than his knees.
Jordan used to manufacture insults in his mind so he could get himself fired up to punish people. Maybe Blair should figure out how to do that. He plays well when he has something to prove for himself. That he doesn't play well to prove something for his teammates shows his maturity level as well.
The biggest blame should be put in the front office.
Last year against Memphis: Blair got a DNP-CD in the last 2 games because he sucks. RJ didn't play the 2nd half of the most important game last season because he's soft. Bonner is a chocker.
Instead of trying to trade those guys 2 of them were rewarded with starting spots this season. Now we see in the regular season what we already knew from last season playoffs. Those 3 guys can't play. What Spurs FO did: NOTHING
tellin blair to fkc off on twitter is like him tellin us to stop posting nonsense on here about him lmao...
The thing for me is, I don't love the idea of trading Blair away either. For what the Spurs are paying him, he is a nice piece. I actually think he can be a very valuable asset.
There is a history of undersized PF guys being valuable pieces. Nearly all of them come from the bench though. Think Paul Millsap, Corliss Williamson, Malik Rose, Chuck Hayes etc... That's where Blair belongs. Most 2nd units would struggle to contain him and his defensive liablities (that Scola drop step today was the most basic post move I've ever seen to embarass an NBA player) are hidden more.
It just makes sense.
Blair is no where near the defender Malik was. He's got a much better touch but Malik was serviceable as a center against guys like Shaq at times.
Blair only plays well against his friends in the league, like Blake Griffin. And even then he's hurting us.
I agree, but that's why I said roles. Tiago would also take on the role Tim had back then, and I'm pretty sure we all agree that Tiago is nowhere near what Tim was back then. I'm not comparing skillsets, just the style of ball the team played.
from an outside look Blair seems to be a decent player on a very attractive contract.
pretty good PER, decent per 40 minutes numbers, improved efficiency, proven durability. (as opposed to what was suspected before the draft)
from that point of view he might look more intriguing for some teams, than we imagine.
I would try to trade him at this point, b/c from this point his trade value will only go down. (I know, the contract thing is tricky, b/c of the low numbers on Blair's contract)
This is what I've been saying for a while. Spurs fans criticize him to no end, but the reason he comes off as a disaster is because of the role he plays and the team he plays it on. Put him on some team not hoping to contend and have him come off the bench and he'd be a valuable player.
They could work around his small contract. By packaging him with Anderson and Thomas, they could get themselves a player who makes in the $3 million range, such as Thompson. Or, they could do something radical like, I don't know, get creative. Offer Jefferson/Thomas for Okur (in addition to this, I'd ask for the Nets to either throw in their 2nd or swap 2nds), then add him to Blair, Anderson, their 1st and if need be, the Nets 2nd and all of a sudden, they could afford a player making in the $12-13 million range. Mainly because of the length of his contract, I don't think they'd trade for Thomas. But just for example, they could probably acquire him and White for Okur, Blair, Anderson and their 1st.
Why would you want Okur?
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