An interesting aspect of this situation is that after the relatively soft early schedule might give Pop a chance to just let Simmons get some run in games and see if he can piece it together in cir stances that are even more structured than a preseason game would be. Let him play a bit with a fairly settled group in games that the Spurs aren't likely to lose if one of the role guys plays poorly and see what happens.
He's sort of the flip side of Darius Washington a few years ago -- a kid who played so fantastically in the preseason that he bullied his way on to the roster and Pop gave him some time for about a week to see if the preseason was a blip or the truth; Pop might give Simmons some time to see if his dreadful preseason is just the blip.
Still, if he's shook in preseason games, I'm concerned about how he'd fare in the late 3rd or early 4th quarter of a tight April/May playoff game at Staples or Toyota Center or FedEx or Oracle.
Folks should stop comparing him with Cojo..Joseph came here as 20yo with plenty time or room to grow, Simmons is already 26..6 year age difference is nothing to sniff at..he might be "he is who is right now"..heck even Gray Neal a late bloomer was more NBA-ready at similar juncture, from whom we could only wring out a year or two of seconday role-fulfilling duties while straining to cover all his flaws..
He might still be thinking he could get cut. Once he sees a sea of games in front of him he may settle down.
Of note is that the limited space for error quote comes from him, not anybody else.
Agree that the cir stance is different. Cory was also a First Round pick, which meant that he was guaranteed for several years and didn't have to worry about whether he'd actually make the team; he could just focus on improving, knowing he had time for that growth and he did a good job of making good use of that time. Simmons has guaranteed money, but he's not guaranteed a spot in the same sense.
Neal is the much more viable comparison.
He's trash. Euro asket bound
Hater hates him so I'm convinced he'll at least turn out to be a decent player for us.
Major difference in psychology from someone who was a star at UCLA as compared to someone who didn't even get drafted, played in some unknown league before even lucking out and getting into a walk on trial with the D-League Toros.
Most players at least make it into the D-league. Otherwise they are playing in some professional league else where in the world. So, are we surprised that he's under pressure while playing with hall of famers??? He'll eventually get used to it. There's still a whole regular season to play.
I agree entirely that Simmons is necessary because of his defense.
This is the Spurs, rookies never are expected to play in a playoff game unless it is a blowout. Cojo was a 3rd year player and I didn't see him play in the playoff last year.
No. Neal isn't even comparable. Neal played several years in Europe and he was the man over there.
Simmons was extremely lucky to be even noticed by the Toros. The guy was probably working in gas stations after he went undrafted. I also beginning to suspect that he's the guy that can't read as mentioned by Pop or someone in the coaching staff.
Setting aside the fact that Pop has never shied away from playing rookies like Kawhi in the playoffs, even the spirit of your point is invalid. You give me Cory Joseph, I'll give you Gary Neal playing 19 minutes a night and putting up game winners against the Grizzlies in 2011 (when he was a rookie) and Beno Udrih getting ripped to shreds by the Pistons in the early stages of Games 3 and 4 of the 2005 Finals (when he was a rookie).
There's an interview with either Pop or one of the coaches this preseason that mentioned helping out a player to read. Of course they never did say who it was.
I doubt that seriously. You'll have to link it.
You can already notice Simmons' frustration whenever he wants to drive and can't find the wide open lines he used to find in Summer League. So, he needs to work around that. Hopefully, once he starts to feel the game better, to work with his teammates better, he should get his confidence back which should improve his game as a result.
Those wide open lanes are going to be there for the Spurs. He's just forcing the situation so the drive is anticipated.
Manu is less athletic but he does find a lot of layups. He's going to learn a lot of tricks from Manu.
Manu and JSimms are an interesting pair to compare and contrast. I think most of us notice JSimms' athleticism and automatically compare him to Manu. Indeed, JSimms does things that few other Spurs his size have done other than Manu. But at the start of his career, Manu's errors, fouls, turnovers were a result of his OVERconficence. I do not ever recall Manu's confidence being shaken! So, there is that contrast with JSimms at this point. As a consequence, maybe Manu could be an even better mental mentor than mentor for his on-court basketball a en.
I know that I have heard interviews with both Pop and Manu in which each said that when Manu first arrived in SA, he drove Pop crazy with his "undisciplined" play and that their ability to co-exist was very much in doubt. Of course we know how that played out. But it is a good precedent to demonstrate how patient Pop can be when he sees good potential in a prospect. Perhaps he sees enough in JSimms to exercise similar patience, and Manu can restore some confidence as well as basketball skill before Pop's patience runs out.
I think stints in Austin could definitely restore his confidence to at least his SL level where, on return engagements in SA he could begin to apply whatever skill he has at the NBA-level unhampered by a confidence issue.
I think he means this interview, but it's a little ambiguous as to whether Pop was talking about a player:
http://hoopshype.com/2015/10/13/forc...regg-popovich/
"When it comes to dealing with the kinds of players who may become a problem, those kids as you mentioned who may have come from tough backgrounds, do you ever try to impart life lessons or lessons on character through basketball?
GP: Sure. I think it’s really important because it’s the right thing to do. We spend a good deal of time discussing politics, race, food and wine, international events, and other things just to impart the notion that a life of satisfaction cannot be based on sports alone.
We work with our players on things as small as how they talk to the media. Things as easy as saying, “I’m doing well” instead of “I’m doing good” when someone greets them. It seems like a little thing but it’s important. My daughter still gets on me about that all the time when I say, “Oh, I’m good,” and she says, “No, dad, you’re well.” It sounds better, like you really went to school and paid attention.
I think working on some guys’ speech and how they react to the media really helps them have a more productive life. We do things on our team board like vocabulary and state capitals to see who gets them quickest before we start practice, just to get the guys thinking. Through those kinds of exercises you may find out that somebody’s not included over and over.
When you finally figure out why – maybe a kid can’t read very well – you get him in the room and you get him lessons. You have a little bit of a tough day because he’s embarrassed as , but then the kid starts to learn how to read and feels pretty great about himself.
That kind of off-the-court stuff is so important.
GP: I’ll go to dinner with a guy and it’ll be the first time he’s ever eaten an oyster or the first time he’s ever had a glass of wine. Whatever it might be, you’re spending time away from the court.
Building those relationships is crucial, especially if you want to have an impact on someone’s life. Several people I’ve interviewed for Forces of Character have brought up the importance of coaching the individual, meaning, you have to know a person before you can truly influence them and get them to buy into your team’s goals.
GP: I’ve been doing this a long time, and one of my biggest joys is when somebody comes back to town with their kids, or one of my players becomes one of my coaches, and you have that relationship that you’ve had for the last ten years, fifteen years. It might be only three years in some guys’ cases, but the lessons they learned from you paid off – even if you traded them or you cut them. Years later they come back and say that you were right, that now they know what you were telling them.
I think all of that relationship building helps them want to play for you, for the program, for their teammates. Beyond that, from a totally selfish point of view, I think I get most of my satisfaction from that. Sure, winning the championship is great, but it fades quickly. It’s always there and nobody can take it away. The satisfaction I get from Tony Parker bringing his child into the office, or some other player who came through the program and now I hired him as a coach and he’s back. That’s satisfying.
You can’t just get your satisfaction out of teaching somebody how to shoot or how to box out on a rebound. That’s not very important in the big picture of things. If you can have both I think you’ve got some satisfaction. It’s one of the motivations. That’s the selfish one I guess, but it’s real."
Thanks for digging it up! It definitely is about a player, but of course it doesn't say who.
Last edited by ceperez; 10-22-2015 at 04:01 PM.
That's the kind of reading way too far into articles that ST is famous for.
I'm not comparing... obviously when Manu arrived in the NBA, he was a multi-champion in Europe already...
What I'm saying is that Manu could be a good mentor, especially on the mental aspect of the game, which I think it's where Simms is struggling the most. How to handle the bright lights, relax, let the game come to him.
Also on other aspects within the system, as Manu was the SG of the Spurs for a long time. Both Pop and Manu spoke fairly highly of Simms' talent. I think they see something there.
Jimmer is gone now.
There is only so much patience you have with someone who can't put his together. One thing is Manu's errors of overconfidence, and then his frustration with himself because his idea didn't turn out in practice like he thought it would, and another is what we are seeing from Simms.
The TO are really getting to me and starting to piss me off. It's getting to the point where one more TO from him, repulses me like another TO from Ayers... He's seriously starting to throw a bad vibe. They are too frequent and surrounded by too much of a scrubby play.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
