Why Tiago Splitter is worth every penny to the Spurs (48 Minutes of )

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Speed kills. Splitter is quick enough to stay with most PGs in this league, not saying he should do this fulltime. But its no surprise to me. There is a reason the Spurs went from around 12-15th defensive efficient team to the 2-3 defensive efficient team once Leonard and Splitter were inserted into the starting lineup.

Just look at last night. Green was schooling Bonner, so Pop was force to put Splitter back in the game late. Green didn't hit another shot with Splitter on him.

[HI-FI]

props to the author. Tiago continuing to be one of the most underrated Spurs.

[rascal]

didn't some folks explain us for weeks during the off season what mistake it was to overpay for him?
can't remember who the moron was, who used several posts to claim that compared to the Splitter contract the Sanders deal was great business from the Bucks FO. oh well.

I'll say it like I said it last year. Relying on big impacts from Splitter and manu will result in failure, those guys will disappoint.

[Baam]

I will say one thing : I think Pop challenged Tiago to work on his post game...

Tiago can't be taken out of a game/series the second a team wants to go small, not with that kind of contract.

And in the last game he put Zbo on his ass, something very unSplitter-like.

Splitter has to develop either a jumper or his post game, that's the bottom line.

[Skull-1]

That's a spurs fan's typical standard for bigs, just see his ability in restricting the opponents regardless of his own stats. No wonder they let Blair walk for free. Splitter is a decent role player but I think his good "defensive efficiency" is owed to the team's defense more than his own defensive ability imho.

Yep. But he is smart enough to get the system which helps and he is getting better. One can hope he won't get blocked by James again and go into a s like last year...

[will_spurs]

The reality is that Splitter has improved a lot, both in terms of skills and at ude. He's definitely more aggressive on the defensive rebounds and more assertive on the offensive end. His post game in particular seems a lot more potent than in previous years, shakes and fakes on O, drawing offensive fouls on D. I wouldn't say Spurs fans were missing something before: it just wasn't there.

Through the first 12 games it feels like it could very well be Tiago's breakout year.

[Skull-1]

I'll say it like I said it last year. Relying on big impacts from Splitter and manu will result in failure, those guys will disappoint.

And one!

[sananspursfan21]

So far, while the Spurs haven't had a major offseason (as usual) this still feels like a different team from last year with so many players stepping up. Diaw, Splitter, Mills, Kawhi (although not as much as I expected) have all really brought their game up from last year. Splitter is definitely justifying that big contract

[wildbill2u]

Tiago really seems to be stepping up his game this year, similar to Diaw. I wonder if Pop went to these guys and told them it was necessary for them to step up and not defer so much to the Big 3 anymore.

At any rate, both players are really playing well thus far. If it continues Pop can rest Timmy and Manu more during the regular season.

[PingPong]

The reality is that Splitter has improved a lot, both in terms of skills and at ude. He's definitely more aggressive on the defensive rebounds and more assertive on the offensive end. His post game in particular seems a lot more potent than in previous years, shakes and fakes on O, drawing offensive fouls on D. I wouldn't say Spurs fans were missing something before: it just wasn't there.

Through the first 12 games it feels like it could very well be Tiago's breakout year.

Splitter didn't improved, he's being more 'protagonist' because of Tim's slump. When Duncan get back to his usual form, probably, Splitter will be back to his habitual role.

[Obstructed_View]

That's a spurs fan's typical standard for bigs, just see his ability in restricting the opponents regardless of his own stats. No wonder they let Blair walk for free. Splitter is a decent role player but I think his good "defensive efficiency" is owed to the team's defense more than his own defensive ability imho.

If that were the case, then Blair would have had defensive efficiency when he was with the Spurs. His defensive efficiency sucked in San Antonio, and it's equally bad in Dallas.