Monroe: In order to save season, Pop should start Ginobili

[DAF86]

Remember that sequence vs the Lakers when they got 4 or 5 offensive rebounds before Odom made the and1? Our "bigs" looked so helpless against Gasol and Odom.
small ball.

Yep, that play keeps repeating itself on my mind, our guys played great defense with a lot of hustle (things that Spurs fans are ing about) and they got nothing to show for because of the length problem.

[DBMethos]

The problem isn't Manu off the bench or Manu as a starter, it's ing small ball. How about more Ratliff/Mahinmi and less Bonner/Finley? And Hairston for Bogans while we're at it...

[polandprzem]

not gonna change jack in overall outcome

[all_heart]

The only problem with starting Manu is that he and Blair play pretty well together, however I think Mason and Blair could do a nice pick and roll, so long as Mason doesn't turn it over. I agree that RJ coming off the bench may better since he won't feel the need to defer. Besides, he's playing like , he should expect that to happen, anybody would. Yea, and Blair could rebound his misses. No more Bonner, he can't guard anybody and when he tries he usually picks up a foul. All he does is shoot 3's and makes 1/4 of them... no thanks. Besides he plays like crap on the road. Finley?! his time has passed, we don't have time for him to work himself back. We need W's!!!!!!

BTW.. what about RJ and Blair running pick and rolls? It would allow RJ to be more aggressive and the D would respect Blair allowing RJ the chance to score.. who knows.

[BlackSilver]

I'm curious whom would be that special playmaker coming off the bench if Manu starts. Outside of TP and Manu of the Gs/SFs, no one else has that ability to do it effectively in my opinion. This is where Brent Barry is fairly missed.

Screw the whole bench playmaker thing for now...it's not happening anyway. Time to get all 3 together to see if they can make up for each others' shortcomings. Also, I agree with whoever said that RJ coming off the bench could make it his team. Let him jack up any shot he wants and let Blair clean up after him.

[BlackSilver]

Parker, Hill, Ginobili, McDyess and Duncan should be given a look if the tailspin continues. Maybe RJ feels less pressure off the bench and begins to play better.

Actually, I'd rather see Parker, Mason, Ginobili, McDyess, TD. Maybe this unit can get a big lead that the bench can't piss away.

[The Truth #6]

Starting Manu/benching Manu is always overrated. As if this one move fixes everything. It's always been a gimmick. At this point mad scientist rotations clearly mean "I have no idea what I'm doing."

[SpurNation]

Bench? Hill, RMJ, RJ, Blair and Ratliff or Mahinmi.

I've never seen this line up on the floor. But regarding a second unit this could provide a decent balance of perimeter and interior D along with spot up shooting, penetration and points in the paint.

This of course if a trade isn't made by the deadline.

[I. Hustle]

I read the article, disected it, picked it clean put it back together and then took it all apart again and the thing I found most interesting was...




Doug Collins was a number 1 pick?!

[temujin]

Never been interested who are the starting five.
Always in the finishing five.

Games are rarely decided in the first 6' of the first quarter.
Maybe the Denver game will, though.

At any rate, Blair should be played with Ginobili: their connection is one of the few bright spots on this team this year.

[Pauleta14]

At that point, we have nothing to loose to try different options...
As we've seen at the beginning of the season, when TP was hurt and Manu had less mins, RJ is far more productive when he is the first offensive option...

I don't know what impact Manu starting will have, but I'm definetely fine with RJ NOT STARTING!!!!

[Brazil]

at this point pop can try what he wants

[dbestpro]

I don't see this as a problem or a solution. I continue to point the finger at small ball and poor time out management (when they are called).

[ohmwrecker]

Keith Bogans shouldn't be a starter for anybody..I wouldn't pick him on my team on the streets..

Really? Keith Bogans would run circles around you in any venue. He is a PROFESSIONAL basketball player. Your hardcore streetballer persona is suspect and tiresome. Give it a rest.

[rascal]

Whats the difference on who starts? Is he going to log more minutes starting?

[temujin]

Whats the difference on who starts? Is he going to log more minutes starting?

Exactly.

[PDXSpursFan]

I always like the idea of starting Ginobili. I think he will become more consistent. Also, RJ seems to play better when Ginobili is on the court - so perhaps RJ can get to good start early in the game to get in rhythm.

[Bruno]

Spurs have two games to played before the trade deadline. It doesn't really matter who will start for this two games because there is a good chance that Spurs makes at least a minor trade that will change the rotation.

Saying that, Pop has played way too much with lineups this year. The day after the trade deadline, he had to fix a rotation and stick with it. Pop changing his mind on players every week is one of the reason why Spurs are so bad this year.

[Obstructed_View]

So bad the last two or three years.

[wildbill2u]

Parker, Hill, Ginobili, McDyess and Duncan should be given a look if the tailspin continues. Maybe RJ feels less pressure off the bench and begins to play better.

Monroe missed something that fit right into the article: The one time Manu started this year he got hurt. It was that game against the Mavs and Manu missed the next five games.

I've been arguing that Manu should never have been relegated to 6th man. Name any team in any sport that puts one of its top key players on the bench for 'reserve strength." That's Pop's conceit.

As far as the fact that Manu got hurt a couple of times while starting, that's pure voodoo bull . Should we also take Duncan and Parker out of the starting lineup because their injuries came while starting?

It's like those bull 'facts' that influence games like "The Lakers have lost their last nine games in Portland." It makes as much sense to cite something like that as to bet on a coin coming up 'heads' because it came up 'heads' the previous nine time.

Games, like coin tosses, stand on their own every time.

[DesignatedT]

Finley Bonner Mason for Salmons Ty Thomas.

[Oh, Gee!!]

spurs will have to trade manu to save the season. manu has a ton of value this year because of his expiring contract. phx would probably give us amare for manu at this point, even if they knew manu wouldn't re-sign with them, because they are looking to cut ties with amare. i think amare could be the difference

[duhoh]

Really? Keith Bogans would run circles around you in any venue. He is a PROFESSIONAL basketball player. Your hardcore streetballer persona is suspect and tiresome. Give it a rest.

easy there buddy.

y so srs?

in all seriousness, i think it wouldn't hurt. it's not working with rj in the starting lineup, and with him off the bench, he could definitely dominate the ball more, which is what he's always done.

[alchemist]

In order to save the Season:
Stop guarding 7' players with 6'6" players

[Killakobe81]

Don't know too much about what's going on with the Spurs these days but isn't one of your problems playing too much small ball?

I think starting 2 PG's and a SG at SF would not help the cause.

But hey if RJ comes off the bench maybe he would be more effective. I think you guys want him to be a Bruce Bowen type of guy (great defender and can hit the big jumper even if he rarely touches the ball throughout the game.)

But RJ's game is more of a scoring type where he needs to get in a rythm. This is probably more likely if he comes off the bench, where he can be a go to guy for 5-8 minutes to get in that crucial rythm.

Wouldn't hurt to try at these point I guess. How much worse can it get?

Sound analysis of RJ ...