Tiago will be the #2 or #3 big by the end of next season. With a full summer worth of workouts and training camp, he'll improve next year as much as RJ has this year.
And LOL @ PER arguments: weren't Mahinmi and Jackie Butler beasts in PER also?
Splitter won't overtake Blair or Dyess this year. The hope here is for Splitter to continue getting minutes to at least allow Pop to mix and match his bigs, depending on matchups, or going with the hot hand. Agree on wanting to see Splitter after a Summer of lifting and having a full year of the Spurs system under his belt.
If we have any plans on winning in the playoffs. Or we could just "develop Splitter" and say the rest of the season.
Even while having his best game and going for 16/9 against a crappy Kings team, where we led by as many as 24, he was still a -5 on the night (cue the "+/- don't mean " crowd)
Splitter is a good player. I'm not sure how much better he can get in the future, but right now he's able to play 15 to 20 quality minutes for a lot of teams. In this league it's all about chances, and you gotta say that Spurs are not your "usual" team. Since Duncan is in San Antonio they're an elite team, so they cannot lose games just to make experiments with young players. But here is the bright side for Tiago: playing at the highest level, practicing with such a great player and great guy like Duncan, he can learn a lot. Sooner or later, this year or (likely) the next Tiago will play: it's just a matter of where and when. Playing for the Spurs, it means he has to earn every single minute, and the compe ion is pretty strong. In the future there should be much more space available for him, even in San Antonio. But right now, it's all about waiting, learning all the possible and being ready when needed.
Splitter's season is basically lost. Blame it on missing training camp, Dice still playing well, or whatever. But he isn't going to get any minutes come playoff time. None. The most we can expect out of him is minor relief to limit Mydyess and Duncan's minutes the rest of the regular season. With McDyess retiring after this season, a year with the system, and a full summer/training camp under his belt, he'll be productive next year. But there's no point in getting excited over one game against one of the worst teams in the league.
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