Reply With Quote
And if Rondo could shoot...
The way he's shooting FTs doesn't make me optimistic that he can just develop a jumper just because he decided to.
Not saying his game would be the same, it isn't obviously, but as impact in the NBA , i.e. a solid starter, something like 15 and 7 for a few seasons, a level or two below all-star.
And if Rondo could shoot...
The way he's shooting FTs doesn't make me optimistic that he can just develop a jumper just because he decided to.
He's extremely talented and I believe he can be VERY good. Not an All Star, but a solid starter and contributor.
He's got to stay healthy to realize his full potential. He was fantastic in the Euro league but he's now competing with others whose talent is on a whole different level.
He hits the floor way too often and doesn't finish at the rim with enough authority. I would think that more time in the gym will help him get to the next level. Other than that, he's pretty darn good already. Unfortunately, you never know when mysterious injuries will sideline him.
Jump shot.
Dude is 27, he's about as good as he's gonna get.
All Star.
No doubt in my mind.
if he works on his rebounding and jump shot, his ceiling could be a prime luis scola, if not then just a glorified varejao
Somebody go find Hakeem and have Tiago spend the summer with him.
Tiago doesn't have that shot, but at least he can have a blueprint for his post moves.
Yeah, let's find Hakeem. It's a shame the Spurs don't have a Hall of Famer of their own with strong fundamentals and some good post moves hanging around with the team.
Last edited by tesseractive; 05-08-2012 at 01:28 PM.
Does anyone think that Pop has kept Tiago shackled a bit (low minutes, extended injury rest) to drive down the value of his next FA contract?
I don't.
i was really impressed with his ball hand handling when he got the steal against kanter (i think) and took it the distance. even though he missed the shot, i thought it was a great effort. i haven't seen him dribble that long/fast before. anyone have a gif of it? i can't find it on youtube.
I said it before he played a game with Spurs.
After watching his quickness, hear the players and coaches
Speak of his great work ethic and understanding of the game
I saw 18/10/4/2. Still do.
I watched a video the other day of Hakeem highlights and for some reason I see Tiago better able to pull of those sorts of moves... more so than emulating Duncan's game.
The one thing I wish he'd learn from Timmy is how to use his length/height to his advantage. Timmy rarely has the ball below his shoulders/head, but Tiago routinely does. Whether it's after grabbing a board, or going up for a lay-up/scoop/hook/whatever, Tiago needs to hold the ball high and be strong with it.
If I had a young post player, I'd just show them tape of Timmy doing this. Never bring the ball down when you don't have to. I think Blair does a good job of this b/c he had to learn it due to only being 6'5.
Splitter's potential is difficult to assess right now. I think we'll know a lot more by the end of the playoffs. If he can continue to rise his game as the compe ion improves, his ceiling could be pretty damn high. Right now, I think it's fair to say he has borderline All-Star potential.
As it stands, his per-minute production is already pretty damn elite. The bench unit that has four shooters surrounding him is so great largely due to his ability shred virtually all pick-and-roll coverages.
Scola > Splitter
Scola thread!
I don't think he's capable of playing enough minutes to be an All Star. I do, however, think he has the ability to be an All Star, especially considering how weak the center position is right now.
Marc Gasol type production is a decent comparison. Splitter is surprisingly better offensively than Gasol. Tiago doesn't have as good of a touch as Marc, but his quickness allows him to get higher percentage shots off around the basket. Tiago has been working on his jump shot and if it ever comes around he would probably end up being in the top 5 in the league in post-up situations. During the last game against the Suns he had an impressive post-up, turnaround jumpshot from about 8-9 ft on Marcin Gortat. He was on fire that game and it's a pretty good example of how potent his post-up game would be with a consistent jump shot.
Not sure how much more he can improve. For one, he's already 27. It's not like he's 23. For two, I don't see the physical stamina to play 35 mpg for 75+ games a year. Finally, he depends on pick-and-roll guards for much of his offense and there aren't many out there who can do it as well as Manu and Tony. I guess as long as Parker is around he's got a chance to be a 15-8 center, but I don't think he'll ever be an All-Star.
I think his numbers will probably look close to TD's numbers now.
I guess I'll give a more serious answer. Just looking at how he's improved from last year. He seems to be stronger and he's adjusted to athletic players so that he can get a shot off in the paint instead of flipping up a shot that gets blocked every time. Per 36 minutes he's putting up 18/10/2/1.5. That's pretty damn good. If you started him this year and gave him 35 mpg on this spurs team w/no duncan I'd imagine he puts up 14/8/2/1.5, however the spurs would be the absolute best case scenario for his skills offensively, most teams he would be much less efficient getting 12 ppg.
What is tiago now? I think he's a starting role playing big on a championship contending team. Is he going to get significantly better? It's doubtful. It's not like he's a 20 yr old freak athlete who can jump out of the gym. He's a guy thats a terrific defender/rebounder who's pretty good getting a decent shot around the rim when it's created for him. Defensively he reminds me most of noah in chi except tiago is imo a better in the post defender while noah might be better at help and pnr d.
He's never going to be a 20/10 monster post player. What you see is pretty much what ur gonna get. I for one would have liked to see tons more of splitter and less, much less of blair this season.
Too injury prone as it is to justify ever playing starting caliber minutes tbh
If Tiago continues his current contributions throughout the playoffs and the Spurs go deep and/or win the le-Tiago will be very good in his career.
If Tiago gets re-injured during this playoff run and is a major cause of the Spurs not going deep and/or being eliminated prematurely- then Tiago will probably end up being an often- injured player and a disappointment.
This is kind of what I'm thinking since we're looking at potential as opposed to what he is at the moment. I'd say though that Splitter should keep working with TD on his post game as his top priority. He's shown flashes of being able to work from there and if he can build on that some that'll significantly raise his ceiling imo.
I don't really agree with the injury prone/can't play too many minutes train of thought but that's something time will tell. I suspect that the big difference as of late is that Pop trusts him more. We'll have a much better idea of Splitter's abilities by about half-way through next season but my hunch is that he's capable of playing better.
The GOAT from Brazil...yes, even better than Nene.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions