Great post, OV.
Well said.
That's actually a pretty damn good comparison for Kawhi. But, yeah not Spurs era Rodman when he was strictly a power forward ... it'd be early Pistons Rodman when he was actually a small forward.
Like Rodman, Kawhi isn't a high flying athlete but he covers a lot of ground with his long strides and has really good timing. Early Rodman minus some rebounding and plus an outside shot could be about Kawhi's ceiling ... but that's a damn high ceiling.
In recent years, Bonner hasn't been as bad as the average ST poster makes him out to be. But this year, he's been way worse.
If Blair keeps up this level of play, he definitely should keep that starting spot. And Pop will deserve credit for making Blair a starter again instead of moving Splitter to the starting lineup.
I wouldn't say he's a good shooter or excellent defender but so far I'm happy with Ford. That said, he's going to have to show an ability to score soon or else teams are going to stop helping on his drives ... which would take away his passing lanes.
Yes, you're probably right. However, given the previous comparison, which is Speedy, he's a far better shooter, and given my expectations, he's an excellent defender. He was getting steals, he stopped a highlight dunk from Griffin, he doesn't get out of position. He's not Sleepy Floyd, but he's looking like he could be the best backup point guard since Antonio Daniels. Wow, am I listening to myself here? Maybe I have a man-crush due to my own low expectations.
I have no problem calling Splitter solid on both ends of the floor. He runs well in transition, he can finish with either hand, he's a very good passer and smart pick and roll player. Due to his awkward post up skills and lack of a jumper, I wouldn't call him a scorer at this point, but there's far more to offense than scoring.
Completely agree about the defense. It seems so far to be everything we've hoped about the young players since the Spurs drafted Hill, Gist and Hairston.
Great writeup OV! I agree with you that RJ playing good might be a fluke come playoffs time! Who do you think we should trade for?
What trading options do we really have considering RJ salary?
With the young players (Kawi & JA) playing good so far, is Neal the odd man out? Should we package RJ+Neal for another SF?
I reay like Neal though...
I cringe with Tiago's hook too. solid post thanks OV.
Nice thoughts man. Pretty much agree with everything.
Thanks for the writeup... pretty much spot on. Not as high on Ford here, but we've had worse running the backup point (RMJ comes to mind).
One thing that I've been noticing about Leonard is that he goes for the offensive board pretty aggressively. He's very rough around the edges, but I like the kid.
He's got a good base game...he just needs polishing. That's a much better situation than trying to take a "run, jump, think like deer" player and trying to create a base that isn't there.
I think teams know TJ Ford's game well enough by now to know how to play him.
As I completely suck at all things money-related, I'm not sure who to trade RJ for, just that he should probably be traded if there's anyone who's willing to take on his contract. I don't want to have to rely on him in the postseason. If he stays and plays this well in a postseason run, the Spurs will go far and I'll happily eat my words. It's more realistic that if he stays past the deadline he'll be an amnesty candidate yet again next season. In an ideal world the Spurs could trade RJ and Bonner for someone whose contract would expire sooner and have some ability to contribute.
Agree. Just guessing, but I'm believe Pop and RC feel the same way regarding RJ.
Solid posts.
TJ Ford has been playing smart Defense, but I wouldn't call it excellent. He is fast, and helps well, while having the quickness to recover to at least SOMEWHAT contest the shot.
But I don't want him taking charges anymore, he's just asking for another stinger....but you have to credit his hustle and energy. He looks like he actually wants to play, which is a good sign.
Leonard was also making good rotations for a rookie fresh in Pop's system.
Anderson has become a black hole only 2 games into the season...I'd like to see him shoot less at this point.
WTF, blackhole? Anderson is doing exactly what the coaches want him to do. His shooting is off, but hes providing much needed energy on both ends of the court and playing with confidence.
Seconded. I also got confused reading that Splitter on O was solid.
Also, I'd like to question OVs priorities. Manu needs a paragraph. and Bonner a sentence, no matter how they do. Otherwise, great game thoughts.
If you want a paragraph on Manu, you're welcome to do it yourself. He's the best player on the floor most nights when he's healthy. What more is there to say?
Manu is underrated
I haven't seen any holes in Ford's game on the defensive end. It's been a pleasant surprise, in fact. The only problems I've seen are on offense, and they're pretty minor. I agree that he should work on being a bit less reckless for the same reason as you. He's got a lot of hustle. He's solid enough as a backup that I'd be perfectly happy seeing Joseph get some of his minutes to make sure everyone's in shape and able to contribute.
I'm unsure where you see Anderson being a black hole. I assume it's because he's not actually hitting his shots. You likely would be saying the same about Manu if his shots weren't going in.
What I should have said is I wanted a good paragraph about Manu, so you or timvp need to write it.
James Anderson is 8/17 in the first two games for 47 %. Pretty damn good for a guard who plays some 3. He's only 1/7 from three but that part of his game will come soon.
Pretty impressive for a black hole or someone who is seen as not hitting shots.
Ah, well since you put it that way...What I should have said is I wanted a good paragraph about Manu, so you or timvp need to write it.
OP edited with a paragraph for Manu. I hadn't planned to write anything about him so I didn't make notes about his performance. I'll do a better one for the Rockets game.
Last edited by Obstructed_View; 12-29-2011 at 05:08 PM.
Agreed. I haven't seen him going out of his way to force shots, and he readily gives up the ball within the flow of the offense. If you want to see black holes, watch the Knicks play.
Good post OV.
- about Kawhi's comparison to Rodman, I was thinking about that in the context of people suggesting the Kawhi is a liability on offense, teams are tending to sag of Kawhi and play zone. I actually don't mind that all and think he will be even more effective if you don't put a body on him on the weakside. the guy is going to wreck havoc with cuts and offensive rebounds if teams want to play him that way. So really I'm not concerned at all of him supposedly being a liability on offense, and BTW his outside shot is decent.
-TJ Ford, - the perfect regular season back-up pass 1st point guard. But I'm not sure about using him in the playoffs, I would like to see Manu and Neal in the second unit in the playoffs. Which brings me to Anderson , I think he should start , he's offense and defense is adequate as a starter.
BTW if you could do the Butler mid level for RJ amnesty clause again would you? I'm just thinking of what to make with RJ's shooting streak, I've always had doubts that if any of the FA we we're chasing would do better than RJ , given RJ corporate knowledge. This could go down as one of the better deals that din't happen. having said that I'm still all for trading or amenesting RJ away. The difficult thing is assuming he continues with his good regular season play, how do use him in the playoffs? continue with hie 27 or so minutes a game? You do know that means Kawhi and Anderson will be left with bench minutes (15 min) then.
I'm still not convinced Blair with his lack of length can be as effective in the playoffs. din't he do something similar last year, and we know where that ended up.
I'm still hoping TD still maintains being a threat in the low post, while our offense is becoming more perimeter oriented , we can't lose that inside threat
Blair was out of the picture by the time the playoffs rolled around. He shouldn't have been replaced by Dice.
In a way I'm starting to believe that RJ also feels the same way about himself, and that it's one of the reasons why he's playing decently well right now. His future is not in SA, and I think he understands that being amnestied would be good for his checkbook, but not for his career. It's also in his interest to generate some trade value through his play.
I think RJ will continue with his play if he continues to be involved in the offense. He's second in scoring. The problems happen when you don't keep him involved enough. TP seems to be playing like a real point guard for now and Ford is looking to pass first.
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