One possible reason Blair's defensive rebounds has gone down in the 1st few games from prior seasons, is more than ever before he has been assigned on the opponents best big man scorer, Randdolf, Griffin, Scola , this results in Blair having to focus on sticking to his man rather, than going for the boards
Another reason would be that Blair-Bonner combo was extensively used in the past, and we also didn't have a lot of good perimeter rebounders.
This season Kwahi has been really working on the boards, and the combo Blair-Bonner hasn't seen as much time.
I would disagree on this. As much as the hot shooting opened the game against Utah and LA, it also puts pressure on the other team to keep up.
Conversely, when the Spurs are not shooting well (Rockets) it really puts pressure on the defense to make up for it. And we didn't react all that well to that. All that said, that Houston game was an aberration (I think we shot 30% for the half).
What I haven't seen yet, is a game where the Spurs don't really shoot all that well and manage to win playing D. A grind it out type of game. Those games are a lot closer to what the playoffs will bring, and I thought we reacted really poorly to those games last season. I'm hoping this season is different with Thiago in there.
I'm just giving my opinion of what I see, tbh. Pop was a guy that decided to roll with RMJ as backup point in the playoffs and sitting Hill, so I just don't pretend to know what he thinks.
But right now, if Neal shows up, and he needs to take somebody's minutes, it should be TJ's. Anderson hasn't really impressed me that much to be honest, but I can't deny his aggressiveness and he seems like he could be a capable scorer.
Leonard is a true SF and Neal will not be getting his minutes since Neal will be getting minutes at the PG and SG positions. So look for Neal to steal some minutes from the PG and SG position when we need some offense.
Yup I hope you're right that Neal takes up TJ's PT rather than Anderson which results in hindering James growth to be serviceable for the playoffs. In practical terms however at least for the compressed regular season. I see some nights when one of the three (TJ' Neal or Anderson) get's zero playing time. Especially in back to backs. Some games the guard main back-ups will be TJ and Neal , another night TJ and anderson, and in others Neal and Anderson. With the latter two hopefully being the main back-ups leaving out TJ come playoff time, at least that's what I hope.
I just heard Pop's postgame comments and he seems pretty high on TJ. So we'll just see what happens.
I'm actually hoping at some point Anderson starts with Manu coming of the bench. Which brings me to the question, do you think at some point Pop will alter his starting line-up ? or is he set with it ?
Usually ill look at the Spurs DRR (defensive rebound rate) before looking at the individual players DRR. If the team as a whole is rebounding well.. then it doesnt matter if one players rebound rate has dropped.. because it just means another Spur is getting those rebounds.. obviously. On the other hand if the Spurs DRR is down a bit as is the case so far.. then you have to look at individual output. Spurs are middle of the pack atm.. but you can probly chalk that down to the Matt Bonner effect for now.
Exactly. When you're shooting well it puts less pressure on your defense but when you're shooting bad you're forced to defend better. The Spurs haven't had too many of those grind it out victories and I think it cost them against the Grizzlies who like grind it out games.
Tiago was part of the unit that tied the score in the Rockets game. If he could play with a better scoring unit like the starters they could probably have taken the lead. The good thing is that with Kawhi and Tiago, Pop has options when he wants to he needs to stop the bleeding on defense.
Pop has pretty much said he's done with Ginobili to the bench. He even second guesses himself on using it in the past. He's indoctrinated alot of people into always suggesting it. To me it never made sense to reward a guy who plays worse than the starter by starting him.
http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursna...beat-the-jazz/Quote of the game: ”We just lived on the perimeter. We did that in Houston and lost by 20. We need to have a little bit more varied game, so to speak,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on his team’s reliance on outside shooting.
The evidence supports that conclusion. The Spurs didn't play well on either end of the floor against Houston and the Rockets shot really well. We'll have to see if the Spurs can play defense on a night that their shots aren't falling.
It looks like all the working out that Tim did during the off-season hasn't slowed his fading abilities. This season with multiple b2b games and a compressed schedule is going to speed up his physical deterioration.
You'd think shooting would be the among the last things to go, but he's simply not making shots he used to make with ease and he's getting his shot blocked a lot. Unfortunately, Tim never developed the crafty footwork of a McHale that might help now in the paint. It was sad to see him emotionally pump a fist last night after he made a once routine wide-open 17 foot shot from the top of the key.
TVP may have to rethink his grading system. If it is based on what the player can actually be expected to bring to the table, then Duncan should be getting all "As". He may be playing to his current ceiling.
Not this year. Confident and talented as he is, Anderson is still super raw, inconsistent, and the team would suffer miserably if he started. If we want Manu off the bench I'd rather start Neal...but that negates the purpose since Neal is a spark off the bench anyways.
good starting lineup, good bench (what we have now) > bleh starting lineup (TP JA RJ TD DB), awesome bench (with Manu)
I have been concerned time to time with our bench scoring ability. In the past, Manu coming off the bench made a bit more sense. With him so obviously being our best player, not so much anymore. While I've really been stoked about Tiago and Kawhi defensively, scoring isn't their main role. TJ isn't that guy either, so that leaves Neal with JA, Bonner, and Green. I think we'll see Neal and JA out there together some and TJ playing more often with Manu. Seems like Blair was the go to guy when Tony and Manu were resting. Getting Neal back will make a big difference I'm sure. Good to see Kawhi, with his 'nose' for the ball, being the first guy off the bench. I think it's helped Jefferson be more aggresive about scoring as well.
I don't hate RJ just to hate RJ, and he has been knocking in 3's like they were free throws so far, but I wonder if we had amnestied him and just had a Kawhi and Danny Green rotation if we wouldn't be better off. Danny Green's supposedly shooting pretty lights out since camp too, plus he brings defensive hustle.
I really like the depth we have at the 3 now and think Green and Kawhi have been motivating to RJ. I realize the major criticism of RJ has been his playoff play, more than his regular season, but we now have two other options at that position we didn't have before. How long can we play 13 players? Don't we have to drop back to 12 at some point? That would mean losing a couple of players when we get another big. Probably Joseph and, unfortunately, Green.
Therein lies the primary reason it will be tough to expect the Spurs to have a deep playoff run. We've all witnessed this the past two postseasons. Even with the assorted contributions from the role players and having a healthy Manu and TP, it still cannot begin to mitigate the dwindling production from the former superstar power forward.
Great takes on the players. Manu definetaley did the best.
It may be that Pop's decision to give Tim fewer minutes has less to do with keeping him "fresh" for the playoffs than the fact that his dwindling skills and production make it necessary to keep him on the bench. If so, that is a very kind way to retire a superstar.
I never really understood this American fascination to start. (Internationally it doesn't matter) what matters is who finishes, or who is in when it matter most (your best 5). Which brings me to the question, the Spurs haven't been in that tight end game situation yet where Pop has had to show which 5 he will finish with, ao who we will he finish with? At SF RJ or Leonard, at PF Blair or Splitter? Seems like a offense vs defense trade off
About Bonners knee, I just remembered he hurt it in the rockets game when he ran into the back of tiagos head with his knee while tiago was down, bonner too went down when he banged his knee.
Interesting quote by Pop, but do the Spurs have the personnel to not live by the perimeter? Also it's a little worrisome how Tim looks considering how early it is and how all of the reports were that he was in phenomenal shape. His minutes have been managed by foul trouble and by Pop so I don't get why he looks like he does. Hopefully it's more of a rust thing but I was anticipating more of a sharp start from Tim.
could blair be the post guy
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