Thoughts on Gary Neal

[SenorSpur]

I've been thinking a lot about Gary Neal. He was the surprise find of last year and I'm definitely glad he's on the squad. For that matter, his success, along with Danny Green, in large part, is why Anderson is on the end of the bench.

However, I really don't know what to make of him. I didn't have to actually see the backup PG experiment to know that it would be and most certainly was a collosal failure.

Neal is simply a shooter - and a cold-blooded one, at that. He's got the type of stones that Matt Bonner only wishes he had.

Aside from that, Neal is somewhat similar to Bonner in that he is also a one-trick pony. At his size, he's a shooting guard in a PG's body, yet he can't defend, can't run the offense and doesn't make others better. Unless he's stroking his shots, it doesn't appear to me that he has much more value than that.

Do you guys see him being a featured reserve for the 2nd unit going forward? Do you see him as part of the Spurs long-term future? Thoughts?

[Amuseddaysleeper]

You nailed it on the head when you said he's a one tricky pony. If his shot isn't falling, he's pretty much useless, as he's not a superb passer or even an average defender.

The only other issue with Neal, unlike Bonner (for better or worse), is that Neal chucks a lot of shots. He could easily get up 7-8 shots while only playing 15 minutes. However, I was stunned when he only played 8 minutes against the Hawks, he went 0-0.

Having said all this, I think he's still a big part of the team moving forward. He's got a lot of Mario Elie in him when it comes to clutch shots and not letting the previous misses affect him.

He's not a guy you can win a ring with if he's your fifth best player or anything, but I think he can round out a solid 8-9 man rotation. He's streaky, but he's got balls, and I hope to see him in a Spurs uniform for years to come.

[rold50]

I think the difference is that Bonner is a big and he's primarily defending the opposing bigs. When you have Bonner in there, you lose out more on rebounds/blocks (since that's what most bigs do).

[TJastal]

You nailed it on the head when you said he's a one tricky pony. If his shot isn't falling, he's pretty much useless, as he's not a superb passer or even an average defender.

The only other issue with Neal, unlike Bonner (for better or worse), is that Neal chucks a lot of shots. He could easily get up 7-8 shots while only playing 15 minutes. However, I was stunned when he only played 8 minutes against the Hawks, he went 0-0.

Having said all this, I think he's still a big part of the team moving forward. He's got a lot of Mario Elie in him when it comes to clutch shots and not letting the previous misses affect him.

He's not a guy you can win a ring with if he's your fifth best player or anything, but I think he can round out a solid 8-9 man rotation. He's streaky, but he's got balls, and I hope to see him in a Spurs uniform for years to come.

Let's not go overboard with the haranguing of the guy. Neal's defense last year was passable and the guy can also create his offense off the dribble. And I think only Ray Allen has a smoother stroke.

[elemento]

Neal is a nice guy to have off the bench, he isn't a starting material SG and even Neal knows it. I see him in the future in SA playing the same role that Daequan Cook plays in OKC.

Usually he doesn't need time to get hot and he is not affected mentally if he misses his first shots. He is a pure shooter. He can shoot 3s, mid-range shots and you forgot to mention his floater (not as good as Parker's, but still solid ones).

The most important thing about him is that he is cold-blooded. He has balls to shoot in important moments and you cannot find it easily in the NBA.

Personally, i'd love love to keep him if the price is right.

[jjktkk]

IMO, every team needs a gunner like Neal. one trick ponies, like Neal, are useful, when used properly.

[timtonymanu]

He can play the role that Eddie House played for the Celtics. He's not a starter by any means. I would put him in the 8th man role.

[Bruno]

Do you guys see him being a featured reserve for the 2nd unit going forward? Do you see him as part of the Spurs long-term future? Thoughts?

Last year version of Gary Neal is a player who will have a long and successful NBA career as an offensive spark-plug from the bench.

This year version of Gary Neal is a player who should be at the deep end of the bench.

You can find some excuses to Neal like the appendectomy and having to play some PG but the truth is that he has been bad this year. If he doesn't get back to last year level, his NBA future looks bleak and I wouldn't be surprised to see Spurs looking more and more closely at De Colo.

[BanditHiro]

[Paranoid Pop]

Last year version of Gary Neal is a player who will have a long and successful NBA career as an offensive spark-plug from the bench.

This year version of Gary Neal is a player who should be at the deep end of the bench.

You can find some excuses to Neal like the appendectomy and having to play some PG but the truth is that he has been bad this year. If he doesn't get back to last year level, his NBA future looks bleak and I wouldn't be surprised to see Spurs looking more and more closely at De Colo.

You mean this month. It was hard for a lot of players at the beginning of the season, Neal started even later and was rushed into playing as a PG. That was just a recipe for disaster. He's getting there imo, no worries.

[Bruno]

You mean this month. It was hard for a lot of players at the beginning of the season, Neal started even later and was rushed into playing as a PG. That was just a recipe for disaster. He'd getting there imo, no worries.

I'm not that worried but he just has to play better. Wait and see.

[dbestpro]

Neal is the modern day mircrowave for instant offense.

[wildbill2u]

Questions and criticism of Neal's performances after coming back from surgery and no practices at a new position aren't very kind, especially when he was great in his role last year.

Spurs Talk folks don't cut players any slack. Have a bad night or two and the long knives come out. The comments are always "what has the bum done in the last few games to keep his spot in the rotation. Trade (insert player name here) for LeBron or Kobe."

Until the player has a good game and all is forgotten.

[SenorSpur]

Neal is no longer playing the backup PG position, as Pop seems to have finally realized what many of us knew all along - he's not cut out for that position - even in spot minutes. So the excuse of him learning a new position does not apply here. He's back into his familiar role as a cold-blooded shooter, off the bench.

[timtonymanu]

He's slowly rounding into shape right now, but I agree with wildbill. People are too harsh on Neal. He was never a great defender to begin with and even though he's a one trick pony like Bonner or Mason, he has what these guys don't, which is the killer mentality. You know Neal is one of the guys you want taking the last shot.

If he continues to play bad like this all year, then I'll worry.

[mercos]

I'm not worried about Neal. As others have stated he is coming off a surgery in a season which had no training camp to begin with. His defense needs to improve a bit, and I think it will as the season goes on. Other than that he is doing his job, which is to hit threes. He is also hitting the floater when he is ran off the line. He will probably never be a starter, but he is a perfectly acceptable backup shooting guard.

[timvp]

Very good post, SenorSpur, and I've been thinking about Neal's future too. This season, I've been pretty down on his performances to date -- mostly because he's been horrible on defense. The failed point guard experiment didn't help matters ... plus he's been slow to round into shape since the appendectomy.

Even so, I'm really high on his future as a useful part of the bench. Not only has he shown the ability to be a great shooter, he's shown an ability to be a great scorer. Most great shooters are like Bonner in that they hit a high percentage of their shots but their scoring rates aren't much to brag about because they just take open shots.

Neal, though, is much more than a spot-up shooter. Last year, Neal averaged 2.8 made three-pointers per 36 minutes of action, which was the sixth best mark in the league. But of the 17 players who hit at least 2.5 three-pointers per 36 minutes, only two players (Ryan Anderson and Charlie Villanueva) averaged more points per 36 minutes than Neal.

Last year, Neal averaged more three-pointers per minute and more points per minute than noted marksman such as Ray Allen, JJ Re and Jason Richardson. To be not only be in that company but to be better than that company as a rookie was pretty darn impressive.

This year, we can all agree that Neal hasn't lived up to what he showed he could do last season. But even this struggling version of Neal is still in elite company: Only 16 players can match his rate of three-pointers made and rate of points.

Neal is short and unathletic for his position so he's never going to be more than a barely adequate defender. He's also not going to be a playmaking point guard. I don't think he could ever be a full time starter in the league for a championship quality team due to those shortcomings. But he's a pure shooter who scores at a high rate ... and that makes him a very good option off the bench.

I'd put his ceiling as a less well-rounded version of Jason Terry. Like Terry, Neal has the ability to score about one point for every two minutes he's on the court despite not being the optimal size for a shooting guard. And considering that there are only about 15 guards a year that average one point for every two minutes, that makes Neal a valuable commodity.

[TD 21]

Neal is a lesser version of prime Gordon. Despite his sub par physical tools, players with his shooting/scoring ability are extremely valuable to have off the bench. That's why Terry, Gordon, Crawford, Barbosa, etc., have all made in the $7-12 million range annually for years (Crawford is now at $5 million annually, though). Because of the opportunity the Spurs gave Neal, I wouldn't be surprised if he gives them a slight "hometown discount". It's difficult to pinpoint an exact number he's likely to command annually on his next contract at this point, but probably something in the $3-5 million range.

His role for this season is probably as a non rotation player once Ginobili returns. If Green can just shoot high 30's from three (he's been over 40 virtually the entire season), then he will continue to play ahead of Neal, because he's a much more well rounded player.

After this season, once Jefferson is amnestied, I expect the wing rotation to be as follows: Leonard and Ginobili as the starters, both playing roughly 28-30 mpg and Green and Neal as the backups, both playing 18-20 mpg.

[Nathan89]

I'd put his ceiling as a less well-rounded version of Jason Terry. Like Terry, Neal has the ability to score about one point for every two minutes he's on the court despite not being the optimal size for a shooting guard. And considering that there are only about 15 guards a year that average one point for every two minutes, that makes Neal a valuable commodity.

Neal is similar to Jamal Crawford and Jason Terry. Nice player to have on the bench.

[SenorSpur]

I'd put his ceiling as a less well-rounded version of Jason Terry. Like Terry, Neal has the ability to score about one point for every two minutes he's on the court despite not being the optimal size for a shooting guard. And considering that there are only about 15 guards a year that average one point for every two minutes, that makes Neal a valuable commodity.

That sounds reasonable. I agree that Neal could certainly make a fine career out of doing just what he's doing - being a cold-blooded, reserve shooting guard. However I have noticed, however, his shot volume has gone way up in his second year. He'll never be in the team top 8 in assists. This is a point that you've touched on in several of the game summaries.

Now, given the fact that he's no baby-faced rookie in his early 20's, do you think Neal has the capability of expanding his existing single skill set to become anything more than a cold-blooded shooter?

[SpurNation]

Gary Neal will be a valuable player in this league for the Spurs OR some other team. I like he plays for the Spurs. He deserves the benefit of the doubt.

[sehui]

Give him some time folks. Give him some time.

[jimo2305]

Neal is the modern day mircrowave for instant offense.

you just gave me an idea

[Proxy]

Let's not go overboard

I think only Ray Allen has a smoother stroke.

You might want to rethink that. Take the homer glasses off for one second.

[dylankerouac]

If he shows up for the playoffs his future is secure. Then again, if Bonner can do it.....