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It simply exists as fact. I was more concerned about the fatigue when he's healthy.
I really think the main issue is that Splitter is effective, devastatingly effective, at one play and practically an offensive nonfactor otherwise. He started off the year having traditional back to the basket plays run for him. The result was awkward dribbling and special ed flip shots. Splitter is practically unstoppable in the pick and roll against second units, but apparently the price is rather quick fatigue.
The question seems to be whether it is worth keeping Tiago from what he far and away does best in an attempt to preserve his wind so he can play a few minutes alongside Tim. And, if he wasn't used on offense so he could defend Gasol or Randolph, how much longer would his motor last? Would it all be worth it?
It simply exists as fact. I was more concerned about the fatigue when he's healthy.
Typically you see a couple of media members that have been able to develop a rapport with their teams front office like Archer in Dallas or Edes in Boston. San Antonio's media has not produced a single guy like that.I agree with most of this.
Defensively it's been looking decent since the Pistons game I think. The high-low pass against (Minnesota was it?) is what has convinced me this pairing could work offensively as well. Well, at least long enough that the team could maximize the two of them.
Dumb isn't the word for it because outside of this situation Pop has done a great job. I'd say that it's more of a blind spot than anything else. He's like a Byronic hero.
Splitter has some match-ups I thought he struggled with (Kevin Love) but he's also done some good work against perimeter-oriented bigs in the past (Aldridge). SJax/Leonard is another option for some of these players as well.
Journalism in general is going downhill these days, but what's wrong in particular with the San Antonio media?
We get to guess on everything.
I've lived in major media markets and the situation with sports reporting here in San Antonio is completely different. In major markets you are likely to have multiple newspapers, television stations, and news and sports radio stations. You're also likely to have several personalities, whether print or on air, that have national followings and sources within the franchises of very long standing. You also have multiple sports franchises, so the teams have to be sure to keep good relations with the local press.
In a town like San Antonio, you have one daily newspaper and a few television stations. There are two sports radio stations, but there's not much local programming. The Spurs are the only game in town and Pop has become a giant figure here because of the Spurs' success. (I know someone who lives in Salt Lake City and it was the same with Sloan).
Pop has so much more power than any member of the local press that it would be career suicide for any one of them to challenge him. He just won't answer questions that he doesn't want to, and there's no demand from the community at large to put the screws to Pop. At Bowen's jersey retirement, Pop got a huge ovation when he was introduced. The general community and the ticket buying public are very happy with Pop.
The only people who really want to get real answers from Pop are people like us, and we account for a very, very small minority of the Spurs fanbase. So we only get what the Spurs want us to get.
I thought Griffin and McDonald were pretty close to the action judging by a few of their game logs.
Do they self-censor or something?
Seriously? How intense. Those are the type of characters you write about in fiction. How does that work with out of town press members?
Does he just not talk to them either?
In any case, what happens to people who do ask questions? After all, it's not like anybody's asking him to retire...
McDonald is the beat writer for the Express-New, so he has a courtside seat on Press Row for all home games. That's not the same as access. Sean has access, but he isn't dishing any dirt on Pop or the team.
Have you seen Pop answer questions from the press during past playoff runs? He can be charming and amusing in his own way, but he doesn't suffer fools gladly. If someone asks about coaching decisions and he doesn't feel like giving a thoughtful answer, he'll just say something vanilla like "we thought that gave us the best chance to win the game".
He's just untouchable at this point. The owner has his back and he'll coach the team until he's ready to retire to his vineyard.
The easiest way to get him more minutes would be to start him. As an added benefit the team would stop trading baskets for the first few minutes. Trading baskets is a dangerous game since it's get's the other team in rhythm. If you can prevent a team from getting any rhythm early it can make it a long game for them.
Also starting him and giving him shorter stints might prevent those nagging injuries since it's obvious the other approach doesn't make a difference.
It would be, but I wouldn't be concerned at this point. I didn't see a single status report on him between the Celtics and Hornets games and obviously he played last night, despite the fact that it more than likely would have been a blowout whether he played or not. So health wise, I think he's fine. Probably not 100%, but then who is at this point in the season?
As far as vintage performances, because they're not needed at the moment, he's taken his foot off the gas. Which makes sense. No point in running himself into the ground when he doesn't have to for them to win. Ginobili's done the same thing virtually the entire season. When they really need it, especially in the playoffs, he'll have the pedal to the metal.
Sorry Chump I'm a little late with this one.
I would've agreed with this initially except I think Splitter's post-up game has improved dramatically from just the start of the season to today.
If having his back to the basket is what he's used to on the International scene that would also explain the fatigue and the injuries because that would indicate that he's playing significantly more than he did in Europe in a significantly more taxing style. Assuming MMLH is correct, then he's actually not nearly as injury prone as he seems at first glance.
Now that he's somewhat more used to playing against NBA players it looks like his game from elsewhere is starting to translate. While I definitely wouldn't expect him to have a post-up game a la Tim Duncan I think it'd be good if he was at least comfortable with it heading into the playoffs. (not going to happen this year I know)
All things considered, his percentages from the post didn't look too bad either so that leads me to believe that it's a matter of reps with him.
...This is selfish, but I really hope Sean writes a book someday.
True. It seemed like he was becoming less crusty more recently, however.
So short of an expose or crime we have no choice but to speculate it seems.
That's an idea. My biggest contention with starting Blair is definitely the fact that we'd be spotting the other team points. There's so many dangerous teams in the West right now that I don't want to risk that.
I think it's worth a try. Given the nature of his injuries and his history as a player, I think the shorter stints would be better for him as well. Exactly. Might as well try something different at this stage.
Pop is like this with everyone including the national media. Some one should look up Peter Vescey's tirade against Pop back in 03 after Pop gave him a solid tongue lashing.
I think once Manu made that spectacular pass to Mills the Hornets just gave up. The look on thier faces was classic.
You don't go away from something that's devastatingly effective. If the price is rather quick fatigue, so be it. Let's face it, in most match-ups, he won't be utilized alongside Duncan anyway. So does it matter if he's gassed by the end of a 7-8 minute 1st half stint, if he's not going to play for the remainder of the half? And he'll most likely only get a 5-6 minute stint in the 2nd half. I'm talking playoffs, of course.
For the match-ups where they need him to play alongside Duncan, there's a simple solution: Give him the Ginobili treatment. Which is to say, play him in spurts. He can still play 25-30 minutes, only it can be accomplished in 6-8 minute bursts.
I get that 100%. You are not going to be able to browbeat Pop into being more open but that does not mean that you cannot appeal to him in other ways.
Its about building trust and respect and no one in the local media has been able to garner that.
I think your take on these rotations is right, and that's something I'm probably going to disagree with. I just think that you need to play your best players in the post-season. The dropoff between TD/Tiago/Boris and Bonner/Blair is too much for me to get over.
I get what you're saying. But I think that making 6-8 stints the norm could go a long way towards curbing some of those injuries. Just saying.
I think tp is hurt. hopefully playing 16 minutes only on friday will help him.
I agree inasmuch as he's not dribbling and throwing up flip shots anymore. Basically he fights for position until he's two feet from the basket, receives the pass and lays it in or dunks. That's great, but it probably takes as much energy as the pick and roll does. So the problem is the same.
Please? I can't find anything.
The labels are simply an attempt to justify how Pop uses him. It's the slightly less ugly cousin of "there must be something he sees in practice" and "how many rings do you have, coach?"
I see a bit of a problem with using tim/tiago lineups as being that yes Tiago has the speed to cover the PF position for a short while but he quickly wears out and looses that spring to his step. Against some larger or slower PF's this isn't a problem (and also holds true to blair) however I don't really understand the logic of keeping blair in if you are holding Tiago out for the same reason.
Are you saying he never had a problem with nagging injuries?
Sorry man, sometimes the name fits because the name fits.
Your trolling here, or your really ignorant, stupid, etc....
Why is this crazy? Are head coaches not allowed to make mistakes? Bogans being the so called "centerpiece" failed because of Bogans not being talented enough to carry it out. Leonard can now be called the "centerpiece". Pop's "centerpiece" is sound in theory if he has the right player personnel to pull it off.
Pop is no longer the defensive coach because of the loss of key defenders in Bowen, Horry, DROB, etc..., as well as the gradual decline of Duncan. I didn't think you had to be an Einstein clone to figure it out.
Coaches can make mistakes. But at least they should own up to them.
Well yeah. His post game is still a work in progress but it's been somewhat effective although not something I'd want him to rely on at this point. I think it'll be better next season.
I see what you're saying here and it does make some sense. That said, I'm going with Sean's opinion that backing down is less draining than running across the court and setting screens for all your teammates.
Another idea though would be to play him more with better defenders? Jax I think is a start but guys like Bonner and Neal...
Who says they'd have to be playing strictly man to man?
Personally, I think that when you have 2 bigs like this you should play more of a match-up zone style defense.
That allows you some flexibility I think. Send your faster big (Tiago) to deal with the pick and roll whenever it comes up and then crash the defensive boards.
Play Tiago in shorter periods (none of this 7+ shift business) like say the first 5 minutes and I think he'll hold up fine since he'll have help on D and won't have to be the focal point of the offense until the bench comes in.
This is exactly right, imo.
didn't see the game against Utah. Do you consider the 28 pts performance of tonite was a vintage perf ?
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