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For Blair's first season I think it will be better having him come off the bench because in this way he will be more hungry. If we start Blair right off the bat he may get to comfortable and he may lose his hungriness right away.
He needs to do whatever Finley did last season...
For Blair's first season I think it will be better having him come off the bench because in this way he will be more hungry. If we start Blair right off the bat he may get to comfortable and he may lose his hungriness right away.
hungriness?
Have you ever watched Blair play at Pitt? He started there...he frickin demolished teams...
Gift Pop a bottle of 1787 Chateau Lafite.. should do the trick.
Pop's eyes, mind and heart belong to Finley
i think we should try the same strategy with Duncan.
From what I've seen thus far...he's close to doing that already.
But I agree with your point.
And to elude to the OP...It's quite possible that in the progression of things...Blair could start in certain situations depending on match ups and schedule.
Last edited by SpurNation; 10-22-2009 at 12:06 AM.
He needs to suck Pop's d, never mind, Finley and Bonner obviously already got that covered.
Hope Manu Ginobili gets hurt?He needs to do whatever Finley did last season...
break bonners knees
or blair growing 30cm
What's with the obsession about starting? Is it more important to start and get 5mpg, or not to start and play 30mpg? Seriously, who gives a about that?
I hope Blair gets 15-20mpg regularly at first to see what he can do and develop. Regular season is a 82-game long training camp, let's see if he's ready for the postseason at the end of the grind.
As was the case last year, when Bonner would miss his first 2-3 shots 90% of the time Pop would leave him in there. Occasionally it paid off but most of the time if Bonner starts cold he stays cold. I think Pop is reluctant to pull a starter, is the reason he doesn't get pulled.
This would all too often put the spurs in a hole early, and with Bonner taking (and missing) a bulk of the shots left them almost always with an early defecit and nobody else in any kind of offensive rhthym to boot.
Because Bonner's 3pt shooting is unreliable, and by learning to depend on it, the spurs are depending on fool's gold. When his shooting touch dissappears suddenly at critical times (like it did last year) the whole team is ed.
As far as Blair's minutes, I don't see why Pop should hold him back, he's done nothing but produce big numbers. If his knees are destined to give out at some point in his career the spurs might as well get the most out of him now.
Of course, since Popovich loves relying on Bonner's gimmick 3pt shooting all ing game long we'll probably have to watch Grizzly Blair warm the bench for much of the season.
Defense is where he's going to show the coaching staff whether or not he's deserving of minutes, let alone a starting job. If he exhibits any "defensive mastery" against NBA opposition at this point in his development he's going to be in the rotation.
He wont start, its as simple as that
Blair competes for minutes against Bonner, not Finley. Thus, he'll have to replicate Bonner's defense, rebounding and clutch shooting when the pressure mounts.He needs to do whatever Finley did last season...
I call BS.
Bonner started 67 games last year.
The play-by-play game logs are available at espn.com and other sites.
Prove there is any validity to your recollections. Go ahead and find all these games with first quarter deficits that can be tied to a Bonner cold spell and a Pop reluctance to pull him. Given Bonner's +/- numbers, I think you will find you can't do it.
You want to spew your Bonner hate or your Pop hate, feel free. I won't be the one challenging you. When you attempt to prove your hate is valid by reference to the supposed facts, you'll to need provide some kind of proof beyond your memory.
Otherwise, it's BS.
could be hard on 3 point shooting
I have to agree that the Rookie wall, rookie mistakes, lack of height, and just learning the team are all major reasons to keep Blair coming off the bench. Never mind the fact that Dice is the better player.
One thing you can count on is that Pop recognizes how much energy he brings off the bench, which other than Manu, as been a problem in past years. Now with Manu, Hill, Blair, Theo and (insert high % shooter here) as the second unit you will put a serious ego-shattering hurt on other teams benches.
I am looking forward to more opponent coaches having to leave their stars on the floor longer just to try and keep it close. THAT will pay huge dividends in the 4th.
I recall many occasions last year wishing Pop would put one of Thomas, Oberto, or Gooden into the game for Bonner. Especially so in the playoffs. I'm not going to sift through the entire season's logs, instead I'll look at the most important 5 games of the post season and evaluate Matt Bonner's performance.
Spurs vs Mavs game 1 LOSS 105-97: 18 minutes, 0-1, ZERO point, ONE rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 4 PF's. Interesting footnote: Michael Finley nailed 5-5 from long range and had the worst (+/-) by far (-20). Evaluation: Bonner provided absolutely zilch in this game, everyone else showed up and posted good numbers except Bonner in this game. You could almost say Bonner singlehandedly lost this game for the spurs, a disgraceful opening game home crushing defeat that set the tone for the rest of the series.
Spurs vs Mavs, game 2 WIN 105-84: 29 mins, 3-9 11 pts, 7 reb (4 offensive), 1 block, 2 turnovers. Evaluation: Bonner had a decent game, shot 3-4 from long range and the contributed to this victory, however everyone else that played posted good to great numbers in this game.
Spurs vs Mavs, game 3 LOSS 88-67: 20 mins: 1-5, 2pts, 0-4 from long range, 4 rebs, 2 steals, 1 block. Another game for Bonner, although everyone played like in this game.
Spurs vs Mavs, game 4 LOSS 99-90: 22 mins, 0-4, 0pts, 0-3 from long range, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 4 fouls. Another game for Bonner. Other starters did well but bench players sucked too, including Gooden.
Spurs vs Mavs, game 5 LOSS 106-93: 11 mins, 1-4, 2pts, 0-2 from long range, 3 rebounds. Another game for Bonner. Only logged 11 minutes in this contest.
So this is what we get from Matt Bonner and Michael Finley in the starting lineup in the playoffs. A 1st round playoff curbstomping to the Mavs.
And now even after spending all that MONEY on free agents and getting a steal in the draft here we are yet again setting sail with Bonner and Finley starting and playing pivotal roles.
You proved Matt Bonner sucked in the Dallas series. Great job.
Your original post is still BS without factual support.
Blair's a hard worker. It's not impossible for him to achieve Bonner's shooting percentage in the playoffs.
could be hard on 3 point shooting
+1 to both of these.
Be smart with Blair, give him enough minutes to learn the system and improve his game but limit them enough so that he doesn't increase the risk of injury and/or burn out before the real season begins.
As much as I'd like to see him start, I think Pop's approach to him is the right one. Take it slow and make sure you work Blair into NBA shape. You don't wanna wreck your Ferrari going 100, you wanna show it off going 20.
Dude has got a chip the size of Texas on his shoulder. He's straight hating on teams who passed him up. His motor never quits and according to McDyess, he's never seen anyone play as hard as Blair does on each and every play. Hunger is not an issue here nor would it be if he started or signed a max contract.
The real danger is burnout. Pop has got to make sure Blair plays with tempered enthusiasm until the playoffs start.
to start at the 4?
play defense and for s sake, block a shot or two
he hasnt blocked a shot yet
Well, if those are your criteria he's not going to start, period. This might be a newsflash for you, but Blair isn't going to be a big shotblocker in this league. We didn't exactly draft him because he showed upside in that regard.
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