My impression of Dedmon's first game:
He has terrible hands. Couldn't catch anything. Hopefully it was because of nerves with a new team and the first game.
Otherwise, looked very athletic and energetic. I like his potential. But we have got to stop trying to feed him inside. He's not catching any of those nifty passes from Parker or Ginobili. No way in .
I don't think folks realize that bigs by and large don't have good hands. The Spurs have been spoiled with skilled bigs for years, but that has made their guards too comfortable with their passes. Dedmon is fine if you throw it above the rim and let him get it. What he's not comfortable with is what bigs traditionally not comfortable which, and that's catching bounce-passes or quick big-to-big tosses.
It's going to take adjustment by every one to get him to play his best.
He's our new "His Ayresness" but taller and with much better defensive attributesHe even fumbled a 4ft LMA pass.
Dedmon is basically a poor man's Ben Wallace. Terrible hands in the paint, can only score around the rim, but an excellent defensive big overall including the pick and roll.
I liked what I saw from him. I'm not concerned about his scoring. I want to see the defensive effort and rebounding. He is an active body - which is good.
overreaction is almost synonymous with Spurstalk. I am guilty of it myself, though I try not to. I wait for several games to react, guys here call shots with just one game.
Having said that, he's definitely looked improved bc he's sticking to his strengths and not trying to do too much offensively. He's not going to be that good on offense, thus Pop with the Bowen comment, he has to stick to what he does well. Defense is what will get him playing time and he showed how he can affect a game with defense.
It was a fluke game against the warriors, he's too raw without good feel for the game to keep it up, don't look for a to become biyombo anytime soon...
I also liked what I saw but there were a couple "new guy" mistakes. Give him some time to get used to everything.
Side note: I really miss Boris and Tiago.
Yea.. It's easy to be caught in the moment, but it's best to give these guys at least a couple months. Especially new guys.
I was impressed with his rebounding, and ability to defend on the perimeter. He doesn't need to be an offensive threat, but if he could add a little like what DeAndre Jordan has with his ability to pick and roll to the basket, it'd be a big plus IMO
He was my #1 off-season target for the Spurs, but the expectations have to be realistic..he's never going to be effective in a role that asks for more than 15-20 MPG, tbh..15 MPG as a defender/rebounder is ideal..limiting his minutes will maximize his contributions, as his tendency to foul and his complete lack of offensive ability would be exposed in an extended role..
Ideally, he'll carve out as a role as a legit backup C on a friendly contract..
2 year deal is nice but we've seen spurs backup bigs get priced out once they hit the market... look at baynes and boban
Two things: 1. they will need space in the paint for the PnR to really work... I know we disagree, but I think in time they will need a shooter at the 4 in the bench to work optimally. I suspect Bertans will start to get time through the season. He has really been impressive and as Manu already said: he will play. It's just unknown right now, but I think they will need space for the PnR to work optimally and will need someone who can hit a jumpshot at the 4. 2. this goes right with what you are saying, they need chemistry too. Eventually I think they will get a feel for how to play with him and vice-versa. Him not being that skilled means it's not necessary that they get him involved all the time. He probably will be better scoring on put backs and stuff like that. He may get the occasional lob but you can't safely throw lobs when there are others in the paint (2 non space providing bigs create that problem).
Although I said two things, here's me saving myself from my own early predictions: it's really too soon to tell in reality. It will take at least a month per coach to see how the rotations even come together and who plays better with who and the Danny injury has thrown an early wrench. Though J.Simms had a great game, he won't always have games like that, and I suspect Anderson will not be banished for all eternity either. Others will be rotated in.
After game 1 I see what Pop means, the guy puts all his effort on the defensive side of the ball and he is extremely effective as well. He made GS life a living driving to the paint and guarding on the perimeter off the pick and roll. If he continues to play defense like this and actually gets better, I wouldn't care if his offense was crap like another bigman, who won 4 straight DPOY awards.' He's like Bruce Bowen'
http://news4sanantonio.com/sports/sp...to-bruce-bowen
LMAO Pop trying to bait ST
He has a player option after this season... and Spurs have FA like Mills and Simmons. The next offseason in 2017 is a mystery. He is one of several guys playing for a contract right now and we can speculate whether Spurs at this point want to prioritize retaining their guys or go after some big fish (from what I have seen it's not possible if Gasol opts in etc. and it's really not my forte to talk about that, but just retaining their guys may be what they do specially if all 3 play well, and if the team wins a championship, then you need no more...) Still game 1 of 82, it's a long season though.
I think they can have the space, even with Lee. He's a capable ball handler and is comfortable with the ball at the top of the key, and orchestrating. And his mid range is respectable enough where he can't just be left. It's not like Splitter out there with the ball where teams would dare him to shoot. Bertans may get time, and it may be dependent on matchups. But I could see him playing some minutes at the 3, and keeping the 4/5 with Lee/Dedmon. They had a combined 14 rebounds between them in 11/17 minutes respectably (6 & 8) Rebounding on the 2nd unit was a glaring hole for us last season. So having 2 guys who can create extra opportunities and prevent 2nd chance opportunities for opposing teams is something that I can't see Pop going away from.
That 2nd unit in the 1st game had a very free flowing game. Lots of movement, off-ball action, etc... Spacing was not an issue at all, so I guess for me I see it's certainly possible for them to make it work, and the issue of "spacing" may be a bit exaggerated. As long as they are pushing the pace, spacing will be a minimal issue. And that unit likes to push the pace... Again, it could be matchup dependent now and diff lineups will play more/less depending on the opponent. But it's hard for me to see Pop go away from having 2 guys who are strong rebounding bigs, especially when so many teams try to play smaller. We have to play to our advantages IMO.
And no way will Anderson be banished for all eternity haha.. Idk if he'll get the minute e we thought if he continues to show similar flaws as last year, but time will tell.
I think Laprovitolla made the team precisely b/c Parker will be playing less and getting more rest games. We need 3 pgs on the team and it appears the Spurs aren't ready to use Murry as a PG (and he'll be in Austin a lot). He will see minutes this year. LJC would never see the court and his basketball IQ makes Dedmon look like a Rhodes Scholar.
Your speculation is as good as mine this early, but from what I have seen so far, Pop wants Bertans as a strict 4. I caution you to not overreact to Anderson. He was playing off LMA and Kawhi, with Tony and Pau there as well, so he's the 5th guy. He may not show much while he's there. Probably the only thing they want is what they wanted from Danny, to hit an open shot when he has it and be active defensively. We may not see much from him in that lineup, but he also needs chemistry as everyone else. That is not to say he hasn't earned his keep in practices, Pop just picked up his option so they liked what they have seen. I am not overreacting to his 1 game either.
Oh, I know it's different territory for him. The biggest thing I guess that shouldn't be an issue, regardless of who he's on the court with is his reluctance to shoot. So that's gotta improve, no matter who he's out there with. And with him starting, he's got a real opportunity to get open looks with that unit.
Re: Bertans, I don't know enough about Pop's plans for him. I just know how big he is on rebounding the ball and realizing how much OKC hurt us on the glass in the playoffs. It was 1 of our biggest weaknesses that is potentially addressed with a Lee/Dedmon combo on most nights. It just seems odd he'd give that up, but we'll have a better idea by January or so i guess
That game was an oddity. Pop is bigger on transition defense than on offensive boarding... It might be a reflection of how bad the GSW situation is on the boards than on how good this team is going to be on the O.Boards.
Bertans said himself Pop told him he'd be a 4 and that is all he's played. I think he could sub in as a 3 in injury situations or garbage time, but he's been very good as a 4. The physicality of the game and his own injury probably makes it a judicious call to bring him along like Pop does with all rookies, but he will play the 4 for sure.... Still this may not be his season, bc he's a rook. We will just have to see.
Dedmon, man he is beasting right now. Seriously, he is looking like Ben Wallace out there on defense the past two games. Hope he keeps this up.
Biggest bright spot of the first half.
He shots a better teardrop in that first half than I've seen from Tony since 2014, tbh
Sucked in the preseason but seems to turn up his regular season gear. Great pickup
if he improves his midrange will be 15m dollar player
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