Electing the Backup Point Guard

[analyzed]

Here is another angle to consider since we're deep at PG, Neal, Mills or De Colo could be attractive trade bait. Loosing one or even two of them won't hurt the Spurs , but what we can get in return for other positions could help us.

So it begs another question to be asked ? Who is more likely to be traided by trade deadline?

[swaggerjackson]

Neal no doubt. CJ and Nando still have potential to develop into key players so you don't want to trade them unless we are getting something proven in a position we need. If Mills proves he can play decent defense and bring the ball up the court, he makes Neal expendable. Neal is still a good player but his contract is low so whoever trades for him gets a cheap half year rental and can decide to keep him or let him go at the end of the season. I like Neal but his lack of defensive abilities makes him expendable if one of the other three guys mentioned steps up

[Bruno]

timvp, you should read that great anlysis on the backup PG spot:
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...p-point-guard/

These articles are too great:
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...antonio-spurs/
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...manu-ginobili/

[DPG21920]

timvp, you should read that great anlysis on the backup PG spot:
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...p-point-guard/

These articles are too great:
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...antonio-spurs/
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...manu-ginobili/

Wow.

[justinandimcool]

seriously?

[DPG21920]

It's likely that is Timvp writing for another site.

[99 Problems]

Interesting couple of angles put previously. Neal, Millsy at this very moment would both attract some attention. Although unproven Joseph might even because of that summer league display. De Colo too early to call what the ceiling is so I think he's not going anywhere yet. Then one needs to consider who needs backup PGs. I think the Lakers do.

[lurker23]

It's likely that is Timvp writing for another site.

Under an assumed name, with less detail than he puts into his write-ups here, while bothering to change the structure of sentences? Seems unlikely to me.

[ElNono]

timvp, you should read that great anlysis on the backup PG spot:
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...p-point-guard/

These articles are too great:
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...antonio-spurs/
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...manu-ginobili/

, even stole the Diario Ole nugget...

[ElNono]

http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...manu-ginobili/

"Julian Mozo is the sports journalist in charge of NBA coverage for Diario Ole, one of the most important sports publications in Argentina."

Julian Mozo is the sport journalist in charge of NBA coverage for Diario Ole, one of the most important sports publications in Argentina.

Damn, he could've edited it a bit...

[Bruno]

Yeah, these articles are 100% ripoff of timvp posts. There are few sentences that comes from my posts too.

[siraulo23]

smh

[ace3g]

Spurs’ shot doctor earns Joseph’s attention

“Man, I worked on my shot a lot this summer, countless hours,” Joseph said after scoring 10 points in the Spurs’ 106-77 victory Saturday night. “Chip and I spent a whole lot of time together, and I can’t tell you how much he helped my shot. Wherever I went, Chip found me or sent somebody to work with me. Here in San Antonio, in Austin, in Las Vegas. It didn’t matter, he was there, one way or the other.”
Joseph said Engelland’s message was simple: Find a way to get properly balanced before you attempt your shot and repeat that several thousand times.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...99s-attention/

[Trill Clinton]

I prefer mills with joseph giving him a push for the backup spot.

don't really care for gary neal anymore. his defense is that bad, just a shorter, darker version of matt bonner.

besides kawhi, i'm really looking forward to watching joseph this year.

[DPG21920]

Under an assumed name, with less detail than he puts into his write-ups here, while bothering to change the structure of sentences? Seems unlikely to me.

Should have used the blue font

[Ice009]

Spurs’ shot doctor earns Joseph’s attention

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...99s-attention/

Thanks for posting this Ace3g. I just read this and thought about posting it myself, but I should have known you've probably already posted it .

I prefer mills with joseph giving him a push for the backup spot.

don't really care for gary neal anymore. his defense is that bad, just a shorter, darker version of matt bonner.

besides kawhi, i'm really looking forward to watching joseph this year.

The thing is, I like defense a lot more than offense. Cory Joseph has the potential to be a lot better than those other two players defensively. I am really surprised by his performance so far and turn around this summer going back to the Summer League games. Hopefully he keeps it up as he is starting to look really good. If he doesn't play hunched over, plays tough defense and runs the point well, I'd be all for him getting a chance to get minutes out there this season.

We'll have to see how Mills and Neal do out there defensively, I think that is the key for them and also for the team this season. If they are both horrible and get torched out there on D consistently, then I would be willing to give Joseph a shot.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Mills - better handles than Neal, better passer, similar shooter, better defender

Neal is not a PG, we all ed about that all last season.
DeColo needs to acclimate to the NBA.
Joseph could do with more seasoning.

[timvp]

timvp, you should read that great anlysis on the backup PG spot:
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...p-point-guard/

These articles are too great:
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...antonio-spurs/
http://www.rantsports.com/nba/2012/1...manu-ginobili/

Here we go again . . .

[mountainballer]

Mills is still very young (turned 24 this summer), so its not impossible that he can refine some of his PG skills. (maybe already has during the off season)
if he did slightly better in P&R last season, we wouldn't discuss this issue at all, b/c Mills would be the undisputed choice.

[lurker23]

Should have used the blue font

Figured that might be a blue font post, but sometimes it's hard to tell.

[Axegrinder]

Patty should be the new #2

[Spurs Brazil]

It looks Neal is the backup to start the season:

http://www.nba.com/spurs/video/121009_pop

[elemento]

I don't even know why you guys act surprised with Neal starting the season as the backup PG. Knowing Pop for years, it was almost a lock.

And if Manu comes off the bench, I am ok with Neal as the backup PG as he won't bring the ball anyway. Neal's defense is bad, but Mills is not great either. Both are great shooters and to me Neal has a better shot selection. Mills looks like a chucker out of control sometimes.

[Seventyniner]

One problem with the Spurs' depth chart is redundancy. Neal and Mills have very similar roles on offense and defense, so I don't see the point in keeping both. Neal is obviously the easier one to trade (even if the Spurs wanted to trade Mills, they'd have to wait until December IIRC). Also, while I haven't seen him play, De Colo seems like a Ginobili extra lite. Same type of build and game, at least.

The problem with the bench unit is that it is short on good defenders. Manu is good, Jax is good, and Splitter is decent, but Bonner isn't (even though Synergy said his post defense was great last year, you have to finish a stop with a rebound) and CJ is the only good defensive backup PG on the team.

CJ is the best fit skill-wise as the backup PG if he can become a solid defender. Then again, with all the trashing of Neal's defense, how many contending teams have a backup PG that can absolutely go off? The Clippers (Bledsoe) are the only ones that come to mind, and maybe the Heat with Norris Cole, though if the Spurs get to the Finals something will have gone right with the lineup.

I still wonder why the Spurs brought De Colo over this year. Waiting one more year seemed to be optimal, but maybe De Colo was threatening to sign a 2 or 3-year contract with a big buyout.

[racm]

There's still trades on the table, really. Once Pop figures out the optimal minutes in the backcourt Neal could be sent in a trade to a team that needs a shooter badly.