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Bonner will get plenty burn in this series
Blair, probably not because he'd get on by a real NBA caliber player like Haslem
Neal also will get burn. He played great in Miami this year
Just Neals
Just Bonners
NO HES WASHED UP!
Take both of their minutes please
I don't care
Hey what's up my fellow Spurs fans? I tried to be able to post on here months ago, and I FINALLY got my account validated today.
Something I've noticed on these boards (other than the constant emo threads about the Spurs) is that many people do not believe McGrady is ready to take up valuable minutes in the playoffs. I just wanted to direct why I believe he needs minutes for the Heat series.
1) Leonard is going to be TIRED. Although he is still very young, guarding LeBron is a tall task. Although George played very well against him, his game five and seven show that when LeBron is playing hard (and well), it is very exhausting. Due to that, he shot very poorly from the field. We need Leonard to produce in this series to be able to beat the Heat. Obviously Neal is too small to guard LeBron, and I fear that Popovich may try Bonner on James when Leonard needs a rest (Green will be stuck on Wade), which brings me to my next point.
2) Bonner and Neal SUCK on defense. Seriously, how can people validate their performances due to one hot night for Bonner (against the Grizzlies). He has played HORRIBLE. To the point where I'm wondering what the he's doing. He's literally not playing any defense. And I swear if I have to see Neal playing off on a three point shooter again (which the Heat can shoot well) I'm going to shoot myself. Neal is injured and obviously doesn't have the stroke he had earlier in the series, and Bonner "spreading the court" will be ineffective against Bosh due to Bosh primarily playing around the perimeter.
3) T-Mac can still ball. One thing I've worried about was T-Mac throwing up shots (like he used to do). But now that his knees are weaker, he has allocated to more of a point guard-type roll (as shown in his stints with the Knicks, Hawks, and Spurs). People like to bring up him being "lazy" (jogging up and down court), but to me that shows people never watched him playing in the late 2000's. That's how he is. He's shown in the Golden State series primarily that he has bursts and speed. A lot of criticism lies that he only averaged 5 points a game with the Hawks last year. But, again, his play overall was astounding and he took very minimum shots (including a couple of huge performances). T-Mac might be older, but he can still shoot. He can still pass, and even as a s of his former self, he is way better than Bonner, Neal, or anyone else on the bench for that matter (with the exception of Manu). This is a guy that has the same frame as LeBron (James was often referred to as the next McGrady when he was coming into the league), and has low-risk (because theres NO WAY HE CAN PLAY WORSE THAN NEAL/BONNER) AND he can still drop 20 points in a "on" game (do you really think he's incapable).
Seriously, consider it. It's probably not going to happen (although Pop has been known to bring anyone in a conference finals game). I simply don't understand the hate on here for him because even in "garbage minutes" he has outplayed Bonner and Neal ESPECIALLY on defense (maybe not so much offense but I'd trust him WAY more).
Thoughts?
Also, Spurs in 6!
Bonner will get plenty burn in this series
Blair, probably not because he'd get on by a real NBA caliber player like Haslem
Neal also will get burn. He played great in Miami this year
Blair will be more useful than Bonner in this series.
I mean, 0.000001 is greater than 0.0000005, right?
If he didn't play in any of the other series, why would you think Pop would play him in the most important series of all? We got him for insurance.
Tmac will get exactly zero non-garbage time minutes in this series.
I simply don't think McGrady has been integrated with this team long enough to truly play effectively with the other Spurs. The Big 3, for instance, have played as teammates for a decade or so, while Leonard, etc. have been around for over a year. McGrady would probably be the one committing lots of mistakes just due to being familiar with the Spurs system like everyone else is.
Don't get me wrong; I'd love to see McGrady score 25 points a game in the Finals and win a championship ring in emphatic fashion. But I just think that the Spurs' system takes a long, long time to truly get used to and become part of.
I am confident that if Pop thought he would help them win he would play him. There is a reason T-Mac couldn't get a single NBA gig with even a bottom dweller before the Spurs picked him up.
One can dream ...right?
Take all of Bonners minutes and have Blair get some too.
the tmac hype is really annoying. The dude is not a professional player anymore, just face it and get over with it.
He is a better ball handler and passer than Neal, and Neal's shot has been broken most of this year. I don't see how Tracy could possibly be worse than Neal .
Neal and Bonner are solely spot up three point shooters who have been shooting horribly. On defense, Bonner literally picks up five fouls in fifteen minutes of play. That is unacceptable. I'm telling you, Bonner on Bosh is going to get Bosh into rhythm, as will Neal on Allen/Cole/Chalmers. What we DON'T need is their role players getting hot.
Uh, are you serious? The guy is on the championship team and averaged 22 points in the China league. It may not be the NBA, but you have no proof he "can't play". You're just basing it off of him not getting much time.
Tracy also has the height and length to pass over Miami's BS trapping defense. Neal will be eaten alive.
Bonner 14/28 shooting 50% from distance in the playoffs
T-Mac 0-fer-the-season.
'nuf said.
I'll give you that. But add up his tally post the Lakers series and you'll see he is slowly regressing back to the old Bonner. And quite frankly, I think his defense negates his offense completely.
Any time the Spurs are holding a 20-point lead in the second half, I'd be fine with McGrady playing.
Otherwise, no.
He was a poor matchup vs. Golden State and didn't do much good, but he did fine against Memphis.
I have no problem with Pop trotting him out a little to see how he does. But there's a good chance he's going to get owned out there, and Pop will have to try to play him the absolute minimum he can get away with.
Neal may be able to get away with a few spot minutes "guarding" Chalmers or Cole without hurting us much. It can't be while TP is on the floor, and depends on Cory being able to guard one of the Heat wings on the floor at the time. But even then, his injuries have clearly limited his offensive usefulness, so you'd never want to play him more than you had to.
Cory scares me too, tbh. I mean, he's been great during this playoff run, but this is the Finals, and it's against the defending champs. He'll have to prove he belongs on the floor.
Regardless, T-Mac is a solution of absolute last resort. I mean, I'd love to send him out on the floor and discover he's solid on both ends of the court, but the odds on that are really long. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I'd rather have Bonner's defense than T-Mac's.
put idc, because we won't need him. Don't think he is washed up, but we should have played him in the easier series if we wanted him to play in this one.
These playoffs, Neal has either given the team nothing or has been terrible out there. I doubt Pop will increase T-Mac's minutes this series, but if Neal continues to play like a D-League player out there I don't see the harm in giving Neal's minutes to T-Mac. Worst case scenario T-Mac plays below average defence and becomes a chucker in which case he is no worse than Neal.
you forgot to mention that his team was last in the standings.
He's been getting bullied by every post up player. He wraps the player up, refuses to hustle or go for a rebound. He does better against "shooting" big men. Howard, Bogut, Landry and Randolph all bullied him.
I watched every single game.
Career 3PT%: .417
2012-2013 3PT%: .442
3PT% post the Lakers series: .400 (8/20)
I'm a known Bonner hater, but if shooting 40% from 3 is him "regressing", I'll take it. Especially since the lane has been noticeably more open whenever he is on the floor, and his defense has not been as bad as you describe.
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