How Tiago/Duncan matches up against elite West PF's

[chazley]

Tiago on offense he is strictly a 5, and on defense Duncan is strictly a 5. Since Duncan plays plenty of high post at this point in his career, I believe Tim/Tiago could work offensively. The problem is, they have not looked good on offense when they have teamed up in short bursts this season, because they've had nothing but game experience on the fly to learn how to play off each other.

Here are the main points we have to think about when we talk about pairing together Tiago/Tim:

1. How is Splitter playing against 4s relative to how Blair/Bonner could do
2. Exactly what kind of 4s hurt this team

Here are the top PF Tiago would match up with while teaming with Duncan that we can expect to face in the playoffs:

Blake Griffin: At this point, Blake has a developing midrange game, but it is not consistent. Tiago would rarely have to step out and guard him. This is a decent matchup for Tiago defensively, where he can use his quick feet and length to give Blake problems. Blake is so gifted athletically that he would still get his, but not as easily as he would against other defenders. Offensively, Blake is not yet a great defender, and Tiago relies much more on smarts than athleticism to get his buckets; the type of player that Blake should get torched by consistently at this point in his career. Considering Tiago happily gives up the ball to cutters/big men under the basket (not sure this is a great thing overall), DeAndre Jordan would constantly get caught helping over on Tiago, leading to alot of easy layups/dunks for the Spurs that are cutting/sitting under basket.

LaMarcus Aldridge: Though LA is listed as a PF, he plays alot of minutes at Center, and almost always closes games playing the position. Camby does get about 20 minutes a night, so during those minutes, Tiago would have to check LA. Lamarcus has a deadly midrange game, on the level of a David West who historically kills the Spurs. LA would undoubtedly light up the Spurs in a playoff series, as Tiago would have no chance to keep up with LA's speed while respecting his midrange game. The question is though, who on our roster would guard him? Kawhi comes to mind, but he'd just abuse him on the block. At the end of the day, the Spurs aren't the only team LA would crush - he has been torching opponents all season. Defensively, LA isn't known as an elite defender, but he is consistent on that end. Tiago would still get his, but this is a series where we wouldn't see Tiago/Tim teamed up often, and we would see alot more of Bonner/small ball.

Zach Randolph: We already have a sample size of Tiago playing against the Grizzlies last year, and I was very impressed that he came in cold and did such a solid job defensively against a big man who was playing the best ball of his life. While solid, Zach still presents some big issues for opposing 4's because he is such a powerful player. Tiago does not yet have the strength to check a Zach Randolph 1-on-1, but he is our best option. Zach is a guy who must be double teamed when he's anywhere within 12 feet of the basket immediately, regardless of who we put on him. Offensively, Zach is known to slack at times, and that is exactly what you cannot do against Tiago. Splitter is very adept at noticing the right times to use slip screens effectively, and the Spurs guards are starting to notice just how good Tiago is in these situations. When you add on that he already is one of the best pick and roll scoring big men I've seen this year, this is a matchup where I see Tiago really having some big nights to offset what Zach does offensively.

Pau Gasol: A finesse big man (which is not a knock), his opponents must be thinking a step ahead while guarding Pau. He is an incredible high post player; at any point, he can pass, shoot, and drive. The amazing thing is, he's so good at all 3 of those things, you can probably take one away and he's still just as effective. Luckily for opponents, he is under-utilized in the current Bynum/Kobe offense (which is baffling considering their lack of PG/he's the best passing big right now), but he's still a very dangerous player. We don't really have a sample size of a Tiago/Pau matchup, and to be honest I'm not sure how to analyze this matchup, despite me seeing quite a bit of both players. I give the edge to Pau, but I don't see either of these player's strengths being huge weaknesses of the other guy. Pau is just an overall better player. Pop also likely to play Bonner alot in a Lakers matchup to try and exploit their big men.

Dirk Nowitzki: This season's Spurs/Mavs matchups have been a fluke regarding Dirk. He was clearly not himself, and he can't drive effectively right now. When we saw Tiago guarding him, it was easy for Tiago because Dirk was simply a jumpshooter with tired legs/a bad knee - a terrible combination for even one of the best shooters of all time. So while we don't have a great sample to look at it, and we assume Dirk goes back to being Dirk eventually, the matchup becomes alot more difficult to judge. Dirk is deceptively quick, but so is Tiago. Tiago also has the length to bother Dirk. You can never stop Nowitzki, but the question is what bothers him? Our best sample is the Warriors-Mavericks series, where Don Nelson used Stephen Jackson to guard Dirk, and it worked to perfection. So, knowing the 6-8/6-10 athletic, long forwards who are very good defenders to begin with (ahem Kawhi) are the best matchup, the question becomes is the Juice worth the squeeze offensively for Tiago to stay on the court with Duncan when Dirk is playing the 4. The answer in my opinion is yes. Dirk proved himself to be a good defender during the Finals, checking Chris Bosh/Haslem alot of the time. The question is, with Tiago playing the 5 offensively, does he guard Duncan or Splitter? I think he would probably guard Duncan, and that's great. One thing we know Dirk is not good at is playing defense in pick and roll situations. When Dirk shows, Tiago is just going to slip screens, and when he does pick and roll, he's going to win foot races against Dirk going to the basket every time. That's why he'd have to guard Duncan, who would constantly put Dirk in the torture chamber.

[angelbelow]

Blake Griffin

Griffin probably will get his.. but he works the hardest and is the most inefficient against tall and mobile defenders. For example, against Pau Gasol he still gets his 21 points but does so shooting 46% when he normally shoots 54%. I envision Blake relying on his off-balance fade away against Splitter in half court sets.

LaMarcus Aldridge

Could be a problem but I cant imagine Bonner or Blair doing a better job. (Although Blair did an excellent job on Dirk the last time they played, small size sample, I know.) LA likes his post up into fadeaway around 12ft, Splitter should be able to bother him with his length.

Zach Randolph

Before Splitter's PnR impressed us, before he showed unleashed his dominance in the paint, before his passing ability went from theory to substance, he impressed us with his most consistent quality: defense. In the very first game of the season, Splitter dominated Randolph. The most memorable play for me was Randolph's aggressive drop step around the baseline and Splitter reading the move perfectly by slapping the ball cleanly out of Zach's hands.

Pau Gasol

Gasol's damn good because hes skilled, hes long, and hes mobile. Rarely does he run into situation where the defender is just as long and just as mobile. Splitter is pretty close in terms of size and mobility.. definitely a match up to keep an eye on.

Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk is just too complete of a scorer when hes on. There was a time when stronger defenders, quicker defenders, pesky defenders would bother him. But nothing seemed to work last season. The Sjax/Barnes/Don Nelson strategy is no longer viable. Gerald Wallace, Ron Artest, Durant, and the "final boss" Lebron (all similar to Sjax) couldn't get it done. I thought Dirk was able to get off his shot pretty comfortably against Splitter this season

In conclusion, I think its clear that defensively, Splitter would be the superior choice against the 5 players listed. The concern is definitely how the Splitter and Duncan tandem would look offensively. But I also believe that Duncan and Splitter will work. Both high IQ guys and both would benefit from playing with Manu Ginobili. Tiago has also show a symbiotic relationship with Tony Parker, would love to see more of the on court together.

[TDMVPDPOY]

those fkn scrubs you mention have nothing on splitter when his down low backin them up

those guys aint stoping splitters shots, more like splitters weak ass attempts is killin him...

other then that splitter defensively can contain them below season avgs as shown fromo previous assignments....his doing a very good job even though sometimes he gets abuse down low, you never see the mental breakdown from him...

[Latarian Milton]

tired old bag still the only player you can count on come big times, and he's 36 already

[chazley]

tired old bag still the only player you can count on come big times, and he's 36 already

Duncan been ballin lately, dunno how you can refer to him as a bag at this point.

[chazley]

those fkn scrubs you mention have nothing on splitter when his down low backin them up

those guys aint stoping splitters shots, more like splitters weak ass attempts is killin him...

other then that splitter defensively can contain them below season avgs as shown fromo previous assignments....his doing a very good job even though sometimes he gets abuse down low, you never see the mental breakdown from him...

I think you may be SLIGHTLY overrating Tiago :P

[TD 21]

Griffin: I think they'd try the most variety of defenders on him. Leonard might be able to hold his own (I saw Gay do just that earlier this season), because of his lack of a polished back to the basket game. I don't think we'd see much Splitter in this match-up and potentially none in tandem with Duncan.

Aldridge: Splitter is one of the best Aldridge defenders in the league. He's got the length and the mobility to contest his shot and he's just strong enough to not be completely overwhelmed in the post. I think we'd see plenty of Splitter in this match-up, though probably not a whole lot in tandem with Duncan.

Randolph: Splitter is also a good match-up for Randolph, mainly because of his length. Randolph can overpower him, but he's long enough to get knocked back and still bother his shot. Again, I think we'd see plenty of Splitter in this match-up and in tandem with Duncan, because of Gasol.

Gasol: Splitter, in theory, should be one of the best Gasol defenders in the league, mainly for the same reasons he's one of the best Aldridge defenders. Pop is stubborn enough to resist the urge to start him in this series (even though it's a no brainer) and would definitely play Bonner a ton, so as to get Gasol out of the paint and thereby take away some of their length inside. But we'd definitely see a lot of Splitter in this match-up and in tandem with Duncan, because of Bynum.

Nowitzki: This is a tough one for Splitter. He doesn't appear to be quite comfortable with guarding bigs who do the majority of their damage from the pinch post. I don't think we'd see a lot of Splitter in this match-up and very little in tandem with Duncan.

[DesignatedT]

Is Randolph going to be back in time for playoffs? jw

[DesignatedT]

That LAC front line would give us fits as well as LAL. We have noone to defend Bynum.

Not really worried about anybody else first round besides Portland because I hate playing up there and the distance would not benefit us.

I'll take Dirk and Dallas. Not scared of them one bit without Chandler.

[I Heart Ginobili]

The real question is if Tiago can't guard them, then how can we expect Blair to?

[DesignatedT]

The real question is if Tiago can't guard them, then how can we expect Blair to?

He can't. If the Spurs roll in the playoffs with this front line then they better be planning to shoot 70% from long range to win. This team has to make a move for another big man and unload a wing to do it.

[therealtruth]

That LAC front line would give us fits as well as LAL. We have noone to defend Bynum.

Not really worried about anybody else first round besides Portland because I hate playing up there and the distance would not benefit us.

I'll take Dirk and Dallas. Not scared of them one bit without Chandler.

I think the only chance of defending Bynum/Gasol is TD/Splitter.

[TJastal]

He can't. If the Spurs roll in the playoffs with this front line then they better be planning to shoot 70% from long range to win. This team has to make a move for another big man and unload a wing to do it.

+1

Rolling into the playoffs with Blair still logging 20+ a game as the team's starting "center" will be like tying one arm behind the spurs back. Sooner or later the spurs will run into a matchup nightmare that they cannot solve with the current configuration.

Look at how much trouble a young grizzly squad gave the spurs last season (when they even had McDyess).

Something needs to be done, because it would be an absolute shame and dissappointment to have all the pieces to win a championship... except that last one.

[chazley]

Is Randolph going to be back in time for playoffs? jw

Yes, well before. Said to return on time/ahead of schedule.

[chazley]

+1

Rolling into the playoffs with Blair still logging 20+ a game as the team's starting "center" will be like tying one arm behind the spurs back. Sooner or later the spurs will run into a matchup nightmare that they cannot solve with the current configuration.

Look at how much trouble a young grizzly squad gave the spurs last season (when they even had McDyess).

Something needs to be done, because it would be an absolute shame and dissappointment to have all the pieces to win a championship... except that last one.

Pop will end up starting Tiago or Dejuan solely dependant on if we are playing against a twin-tower lineup. Otherwise, it just doesn't make sense. Tim and Tiago, currently, play their best when matched up with Bonner in the lineup, and the Tim/Tiago combo has been bad relative to other big man combos so far this season. This isn't because it won't work, because it will eventually, but they've had very little practice time and their games have to be adjusted when on the court together.

It's the same reason we will end up seeing RJ/Manu/DG/Neal/Kawhi rotating in and out of starting spots in the future. People put way too much stock into who is starting. Instead, we should focus on the matchup and who fits best together.

[TJastal]

Pop will end up starting Tiago or Dejuan solely dependant on if we are playing against a twin-tower lineup. Otherwise, it just doesn't make sense. Tim and Tiago, currently, play their best when matched up with Bonner in the lineup, and the Tim/Tiago combo has been bad relative to other big man combos so far this season. This isn't because it won't work, because it will eventually, but they've had very little practice time and their games have to be adjusted when on the court together.

It's the same reason we will end up seeing RJ/Manu/DG/Neal/Kawhi rotating in and out of starting spots in the future. People put way too much stock into who is starting. Instead, we should focus on the matchup and who fits best together.

Seems to me that Pop's way of thinking has rubbed off on his fans even. You all have been duped into thinking it's always necessary to matchup to the other team, no matter what. I don't see other top nba teams shuffling their lineups every other game trying to "match" other teams. That's insane.

It's just plain stupid IMO to never take advantage of obvious favorable matchups that you create and instead do the opposite.

This plays right into the hands of the opposing coaches who can easily manipulate the game in this manner. It's why the spurs despite all the regular season successes of the past 5 years have consistently laid nothing but eggs in the playoffs when the game becomes more about matchups and X's and O's. It was never more evident than last year when grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins ran circles around Pop.

[chazley]

Seems to me that Pop's way of thinking has rubbed off on his fans even. You all have been duped into thinking it's always necessary to matchup to the other team, no matter what. I don't see other top nba teams shuffling their lineups every other game trying to "match" other teams. That's insane.

It's just plain stupid IMO to never take advantage of obvious favorable matchups that you create and instead do the opposite.

This plays right into the hands of the opposing coaches who can easily manipulate the game in this manner. It's why the spurs despite all the regular season successes of the past 5 years have consistently laid nothing but eggs in the playoffs when the game becomes more about matchups and X's and O's. It was never more evident than last year when grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins ran circles around Pop.

The problem is, Tiago/Tim has NOT been a good match so far. The stats back that up. Another problem is Blair/Bonner CAN NOT play together. That is why Blair must start. Bonner is the best match for Tiago/Tim, but he absolutely cannot be paired with Blair. When you start Tim/Tiago, the Blair/Bonner combo cannot be avoided. When Blair starts, it can be.

Also, starting two of Manu/DG/Neal/Kawhi/RJ isn't going to give us a favorable matchup against whoever we match up with. Instead, plugging one of these guys in depending on the matchup allows us to do the best job possible matching up against other teams.

Zach Randolph/Marc Gasol/Mike Conley/Darrell Arthur ran circles around the Spurs, not Lionel Hollins. Only thing he could've done was play Tiago with Tim, but they just hadn't done it all year. We were up 4 with a minute to go in Game 1, without our best player. That series was one bounce of the ball away from being completely different. Gotta remember to put things in perspective.

[TJastal]

The problem is, Tiago/Tim has NOT been a good match so far. The stats back that up. Another problem is Blair/Bonner CAN NOT play together. That is why Blair must start. Bonner is the best match for Tiago/Tim, but he absolutely cannot be paired with Blair. When you start Tim/Tiago, the Blair/Bonner combo cannot be avoided. When Blair starts, it can be.

Blair does not have to start. Even if the spurs cannot find a suitable trading partner for a starting quality big, Pop could still eliminate Blair from the equation totally and divvy up his minutes to Bonner & Tiago. Last time I checked, there's 80 minutes to divvy up between PF & C. That's roughly 27 minutes a piece between 3 guys. That is totally an option at his disposal but Pop has elected not to explore it.

Also, starting two of Manu/DG/Neal/Kawhi/RJ isn't going to give us a favorable matchup against whoever we match up with. Instead, plugging one of these guys in depending on the matchup allows us to do the best job possible matching up against other teams.

Whatever you say, Pop jr.

Zach Randolph/Marc Gasol/Mike Conley/Darrell Arthur ran circles around the Spurs, not Lionel Hollins. Only thing he could've done was play Tiago with Tim, but they just hadn't done it all year. We were up 4 with a minute to go in Game 1, without our best player. That series was one bounce of the ball away from being completely different. Gotta remember to put things in perspective.

So whose fault is it that Tim and Tiago didn't play together all year? You gonna tell us that was the players fault too? Pop basically admitted his own stupidity with his last ditch effort to throw a very cold, hardly used for most of the year Tiago Splitter into the fire halfway through the series after the spurs were in a deep hole and expecting him to dig them out.

Here's my take on it: Had Splitter been used the right way and incorporated into the starting lineup from day one, they Duncan/Splitter starting lineup would have been revving up by playoff time. With McDyess in his preferred role as a backup, the paint as a whole would have been alot harder to navigate and many of those backdoor cuts and easy lay ins the grizzlies got all series long would have been more difficult. Like you said, with a few bounces here or there (or as I would say, "better coaching moves") that series was winnable.

[Brazil]

nice thread Chazley

[portnoy1]

In Truth the Spurs bigman problem started in 2008-09 and never got corrected properly. The Spurs had two options 1) Get Timmy legit help on defense which is kinda complicated (I'll explain in a bit what I mean) or 2) Get Parker (The Spurs most consistent scorer) some legit help on offense. The Spurs went all in on option 2 and put whatever filler available for option 1. Thats where the Spurs went wrong, getting RJ and over the next few years a plethora of shooters to Support TP; While getting filler to support Duncan.

Why is option 1 complicated? Just Like Tony Parker needs a bunch of spot up shooters to be effective, Duncan needs a variety (two to be exact) of Big men to play with. First he since he is not very mobile he needs a sizable and mobile big to play next to since most PF's are 6-9/10 and score off the dribble. The Spurs have that in Tiago Splitter. The other big man Duncan/Spurs need is not some dream athletic shotblock guy that everyone says. What they need is 7ft 300lb Center who takes up space in the paint and can lean on traditional back to the basket Centers(Bynum) Since Duncan doesn't have the size to battle those type Centers all night.

If the Spurs can acquire that big guy (no not Kaman) Diop or Gray I am thinking. Then they can start Splitter with Duncan and have Bonner play with the huge Center in the middle off the bench. The Defense would automatically improve.

As for the offensive issues with Duncan/Splitter ?????? I don't get it. In 2005 Duncan and Nazr played HEAVY minutes together and barely knew each others game. But the Defense was solid and on offense the ball kept moving from side to side instead of a spread floor with TP dribbling around. While Duncan is not as good as he was in 2005, Splitter is Certainly better offensively than Nazr. If you start the game by going at whoever the opposing PF is in the low-block (Which will obviously be a size advantage for the Spurs) then you can negate whatever these "stretch 4's" can do. Basically doing the same thing teams do to us with Bonner. Their is only one player i know who could hit 3's and play good post defense (Rasheed Wallace) and I dont see him on any NBA rosters.

[therealtruth]

Here's my take on it: Had Splitter been used the right way and incorporated into the starting lineup from day one, they Duncan/Splitter starting lineup would have been revving up by playoff time. With McDyess in his preferred role as a backup, the paint as a whole would have been alot harder to navigate and many of those backdoor cuts and easy lay ins the grizzlies got all series long would have been more difficult. Like you said, with a few bounces here or there (or as I would say, "better coaching moves") that series was winnable.

I could not agree more. Dice thrived in the backup role. Even in training camp he was basically calling for Splitter to start before he got injured. Pop used Splitter's training camp injury as a way to derail last year. Pop was so concerned with immediate wins he didn't consider the big picture.

They might have struggled early a little bit trying to integrate Splitter and work out spacing issues but in the long term the defense would have been much improved. TD and TS would have been able to handle Randolph/Gasol without double teaming and Dice would have matched up with D. Arthur of the bench. The perimeter players would have retained their advantage without having to worry about doubling and giving a poor outside shooting Grizzlies team open looks.

[therealtruth]

In Truth the Spurs bigman problem started in 2008-09 and never got corrected properly. The Spurs had two options 1) Get Timmy legit help on defense which is kinda complicated (I'll explain in a bit what I mean) or 2) Get Parker (The Spurs most consistent scorer) some legit help on offense. The Spurs went all in on option 2 and put whatever filler available for option 1. Thats where the Spurs went wrong, getting RJ and over the next few years a plethora of shooters to Support TP; While getting filler to support Duncan.

Why is option 1 complicated? Just Like Tony Parker needs a bunch of spot up shooters to be effective, Duncan needs a variety (two to be exact) of Big men to play with. First he since he is not very mobile he needs a sizable and mobile big to play next to since most PF's are 6-9/10 and score off the dribble. The Spurs have that in Tiago Splitter. The other big man Duncan/Spurs need is not some dream athletic shotblock guy that everyone says. What they need is 7ft 300lb Center who takes up space in the paint and can lean on traditional back to the basket Centers(Bynum) Since Duncan doesn't have the size to battle those type Centers all night.

If the Spurs can acquire that big guy (no not Kaman) Diop or Gray I am thinking. Then they can start Splitter with Duncan and have Bonner play with the huge Center in the middle off the bench. The Defense would automatically improve.

As for the offensive issues with Duncan/Splitter ?????? I don't get it. In 2005 Duncan and Nazr played HEAVY minutes together and barely knew each others game. But the Defense was solid and on offense the ball kept moving from side to side instead of a spread floor with TP dribbling around. While Duncan is not as good as he was in 2005, Splitter is Certainly better offensively than Nazr. If you start the game by going at whoever the opposing PF is in the low-block (Which will obviously be a size advantage for the Spurs) then you can negate whatever these "stretch 4's" can do. Basically doing the same thing teams do to us with Bonner. Their is only one player i know who could hit 3's and play good post defense (Rasheed Wallace) and I dont see him on any NBA rosters.

Very good post. Horry is the other guy who could play defense and hit 3's. I think Pop has been trying to fit Bonner into that Horry role yet Bonner isn't half the defender Horry was or as clutch. The problems started when Pop tried matching up to opponents using small ball rather than sticking with defense first and post scoring.

People forget when the Spurs played two big men Duncan easily won his matchup against undersized power forwards. Even with the decreased mobility he can still beast on 6'9" and smaller power forwards. Also Duncan's never was super athletic. Stoudemire averaged 37 against in him back in '05. Yet the team defense was able to make up for it. The Spurs basically conceded Duncan wasn't fast enough to keep up with Stoudemire but they knew they could shut everybody else down on the Suns.

However against longer and taller centers Duncan hasn't been as effective. When the Spurs and Lakers were battling in the playoffs Phil Jackson always used to put Shaq on Duncan in the fourth quarter because he knew it gave him trouble. The Pistons used Rasheed Wallace in '05. The Mavs used Diop in '06. Go back and watch some of those telecasts. The commentators always say longer taller players used to bother Duncan.

[chazley]

Blair does not have to start. Even if the spurs cannot find a suitable trading partner for a starting quality big, Pop could still eliminate Blair from the equation totally and divvy up his minutes to Bonner & Tiago. Last time I checked, there's 80 minutes to divvy up between PF & C. That's roughly 27 minutes a piece between 3 guys. That is totally an option at his disposal but Pop has elected not to explore it.



Whatever you say, Pop jr.



So whose fault is it that Tim and Tiago didn't play together all year? You gonna tell us that was the players fault too? Pop basically admitted his own stupidity with his last ditch effort to throw a very cold, hardly used for most of the year Tiago Splitter into the fire halfway through the series after the spurs were in a deep hole and expecting him to dig them out.

Here's my take on it: Had Splitter been used the right way and incorporated into the starting lineup from day one, they Duncan/Splitter starting lineup would have been revving up by playoff time. With McDyess in his preferred role as a backup, the paint as a whole would have been alot harder to navigate and many of those backdoor cuts and easy lay ins the grizzlies got all series long would have been more difficult. Like you said, with a few bounces here or there (or as I would say, "better coaching moves") that series was winnable.

-Go back and check again. It's 96 minutes they have to divvy up. You really want Matt Bonner and Tim Duncan averaging 32 minutes a piece? Me neither.

-Pop definitely deserved some blame for Tim and Tiago not being a workable combo last year, but keep in mind that Tiago had an injury-plagued rookie season that likely cut deeply into his early development. When we look at the sample size of actual court time they shared together, however, we see that playing them at the same time simply was not a great option. Offensively the Spurs just aren't very good up to this point when they share the court. In the future, I believe it can become a dynamic pairing, but people just don't know how to play in the offense compared to playing with a Bonner or Blair.

[rmt]

Injury-plagued season, my foot. That's just a bs excuse for Pop messing up (not integrating TS). Instead of matching up with other teams, put your best players out there and make them match up.

In the playoffs, eliminate Blair from the rotation, play TD and Splitter 35 minutes, have Splitter defend PF and play low post, have TD defend C and play high post, play Bonner as little as possible and against bench players. Unless, it's LA, MEM or MIN, play a little small ball with TD and Leonard at PF.

[chazley]

Injury-plagued season, my foot. That's just a bs excuse for Pop messing up (not integrating TS). Instead of matching up with other teams, put your best players out there and make them match up.

In the playoffs, eliminate Blair from the rotation, play TD and Splitter 35 minutes, have Splitter defend PF and play low post, have TD defend C and play high post, play Bonner as little as possible and against bench players. Unless, it's LA, MEM or MIN, play a little small ball with TD and Leonard at PF.

I want EXACTLY what you want. Trust me. Again, though... it isn't viable right now. At this moment in time, the Tiago/Tim pairing just doesn't work as efficiently as other big man combos. Eventually, it will probably end up being our best pairing, but to throw them out there and say 'try to defend THIS' sounds good in theory but it isn't reality. The pairing is NOT good offensively, and will get dominated defensively against any team that has a 4 with a reliable jumpshot (which isn't to say it isn't better than the option of playing either Blair or Bonner). Just because we have two viable above average 7 footers doesn't mean you automatically throw them out there and hope for the best. We play in a very tough Western conference where a 3-6 stretch could drop us out of contention for a #2 seed, and with no practice time, force feeding the team a Tim/Tiago combination will not go well for awhile.

People tend to forget this team just does not get to practice. If it did, we'd already see Tim and Tiago paired together for double digit minutes per night. Since that isn't the case, we don't get to see them share the court often.