Congrats to Danny Green and other statistical ponderings

[Budkin]

I am so damn psyched for this series... it's going to be awesome.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm calling bull here.

In the 4 games I saw vs the clippers Bonner was left open for the most part. He was passing up opportunities for open 3's in favor of passing off or dribbling in for mid range shots which isn't really playing to his real strength.

My theory here is that this is just standard playoff Bonner. And I think the difference between this year and year's past is he's finally becoming self-aware of his lack of sphincter control at this time of year. The telling sign is his shot mechanics haven't looked the same since the playoffs started. Seems he's back to his shot put form, pushing the basketball rather than shooting it, usually resulting in a brick.

Considering all your other basketball takes, I'll stick with mine.

[_jin]

Team Points Allowed Per 48 vs. Clippers
Boris Diaw 79.9
Tim Duncan 81.2
against Griffin/Jordan

Tiago Splitter 111.6
Matt Bonner 118.4
against Evans/Martin (lol)

[TJastal]

Considering all your other basketball takes, I'll stick with mine.

That he's still shooting 44% from downtown with all his hesitation and poor shot mechanics should tell you just how wide open he's been most of the playoffs so far.

Now can you imagine what's going to happen if the spurs are to get into a hotly contested series with oodles of pressure like say, the WCF?

I hope I'm wrong here, but history does have a way of repeating..

Pop should just keep Bonner on a short leash against the thunder. I'd even roll the dice on Blair given his historical success against that team.

[ChumpDumper]

That he's still shooting 44% from downtown with all his hesitation and poor shot mechanics should tell you just how wide open he's been most of the playoffs so far.

Or it could say his shot selection is good.

I hope I'm wrong here, but history does have a way of repeating.

Your being wrong has a way of repeating.

[Blake]

-Speaking of liabilities, it's amazing how Matt Bonner is the regular season king of plus/minus but gets exposed in the postseason like clockwork. It was obvious that Gary Neal sucked on defense versus the Clippers but the numbers say that Bonner was even worse. Much worse.

Seeing as how Bonner had a better +/- per 48 than Tim against the Jazz, I think you are being a bit disingenuous here.

Bonner sucked all year long against the Clippers. Just not a good match up for him.

His numbers in this series really should have been no surprise. it definitely wasn't to me.

[T Park]

Bonner exceeded my expectations against a bad matchup in the Clippers.

I'm confused by the "frustrated he won't shoot, hate when he's in the game cause he can't make a shot" crowd

[Blake]

I'm calling bull here.

In the 4 games I saw vs the clippers Bonner was left open for the most part. He was passing up opportunities for open 3's in favor of passing off or dribbling in for mid range shots which isn't really playing to his real strength.

My theory here is that this is just standard playoff Bonner. And I think the difference between this year and year's past is he's finally becoming self-aware of his lack of sphincter control at this time of year. The telling sign is his shot mechanics haven't looked the same since the playoffs started. Seems he's back to his shot put form, pushing the basketball rather than shooting it, usually resulting in a brick.

My theory here is that you are talking out of your sphincter.

[mookie2001]

To me this just shows how bad Manu has been. Should be his farewell season

[freetiago]

the bench was bad because of ginobili
they rely on him to create for them
he either bricked bad shots or turned the ball over
hasnt really had one good game this playoffs
he ended up defering to neal/jackson to be the ballhandlers a lot
if ginobili can play the way we know he can and did in the reg season our bench will still be outplaying every other bench in the nba

i think the only reason bonner was in the game in the 4th was because they started hacking jordan
but they stopped after the 1st hack and then bonner kept getting dunked on

[vander]

I thought the spurs had a bench, 5 players obviously carrying this team

2012 playoffs:




that's a 22 point drop from 5th to 6th best player

[timvp]

If the Clippers are a bad matchup for Bonner, WTH is a good matchup? Against the Clippers, he was defended by players who often sagged all the way into the paint. The Clippers were also really bad at rotating and they are particularly bad at defending three-pointers. The Spurs aren't going to face another team as bad at defending the three-point line as the Clippers. On the other end, Evans and Martin are tough guys but the Clippers rarely if ever give them the ball.

I really want Bonner to succeed because he can make the game so much easier for everyone else but since the first game of the playoffs, he's done nothing to shed his playoff choker label, tbh. Last night, he wasn't spreading the court at all because the Clippers were able to make him pump-fake simply by running at him.

[roycrikside]

The bench was awful for the first three games, but I felt they redeemed themselves somewhat in this final game (just as they did in Game 4 at Utah). Hopefully they'll be up to the challenge sooner against OKC. The Thunder only go about 7 deep, and Durant and Westbrook typically play the entire second half, so hopefully we'll wear them down.

[Blake]

If the Clippers are a bad matchup for Bonner, WTH is a good matchup? Against the Clippers, he was defended by players who often sagged all the way into the paint. The Clippers were also really bad at rotating and they are particularly bad at defending three-pointers. The Spurs aren't going to face another team as bad at defending the three-point line as the Clippers. On the other end, Evans and Martin are tough guys but the Clippers rarely if ever give them the ball.

I really want Bonner to succeed because he can make the game so much easier for everyone else but since the first game of the playoffs, he's done nothing to shed his playoff choker label, tbh. Last night, he wasn't spreading the court at all because the Clippers were able to make him pump-fake simply by running at him.

Why are you ignoring his moderately successful play against the Jazz? Did they not count as a playoff opponent?

I have no good answer why he has sucked against the Clips, but he has sucked against them all year.

If he sucks against the Thunder and then on into the finals, then I won't disagree he's still an under achiever in the playoffs. I think it's a little early and little unfair to slap it on him at this point.

[Spursmania]

Aside from Bonner playing the way I suspected he would, my main concern here is Manu. Where the heck is his rhythm? Damn, did you see his 3 point shots, I mean way off. And, the turnovers have got to stop.

Aside from the obvious of wanting Manu to handle the ball over Neal, I find myself wondering when Parker's going to come back in, because I'm getting nervous about Manu handling the ball and his to's. Wow- those thoughts have never occured much in previous playoffs. I would have never been worried in the past about Manu.

I still believe in Manu and his will to win and I'm happy with his ability to still get to the rim when we need him and create in other ways. But, I'm officially worried. Where is the great Manu, the creator, the dribbler, the three point killah?

[timvp]

Why are you ignoring his moderately successful play against the Jazz?

I've repeatedly given Bonner credit for a really good first game of the playoffs. But should really ignore the fact that he was 2-for-7 in the other three games that series? And then should we ignore the fact that he was arguably the worst player on the team against the Clippers?

I have no good answer why he has sucked against the Clips, but he has sucked against them all year.

No he hasn't. He was pretty damn good in this game:

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=320218012

13 points, six rebounds and a clutch three-pointer in overtime. But of course that was the regular season.

If he sucks against the Thunder and then on into the finals, then I won't disagree he's still an under achiever in the playoffs. I think it's a little early and little unfair to slap it on him at this point.

The small sample size for Bonner argument yet again. The last five years of playoff failure isn't enough proof that Bonner will shrink when it's money time. Of course it's not.

Seriously, I've never seen a player given a longer rope than Matt Bonner ... by fans and the team.

[freetiago]

i was saying we should have had novak over bonner
novak at least looks for his shot and doesnt shrink
at least if teams take him out it means the floor is open
teams can sag off bonner and as soon as he sees any resistance he goes in the fetal position
are there any other decent stretch 4s available
the dream would be ryan anderson but i dont see it happening
maybe if we gave up green+another young talent and took back a bad contract but that would be too much

[Spursmania]

I'll never understand the constant Bonner homerism by some fans.

Are some fans just a bunch of re s that can't watch tapes of his performance during the regular season and then watch his impotence during the playoffs thereby making a rational conclusion of his performance pre and post regualr season play?

Bonner has a decent game in the Playoffs and all else is forgiven? Please...

Bonner plays in the play-offs the way most of us on the board knew he would. Sub-par compared to regular season thus he becomes a defensive liability since his balls shrivel up and he can't score anymore. Surprise, surprise...

Yes, I root for Bonner to make me eat crow. Go for it Ginger, make me eat crow. , hit a game winner in a playoff game! You go Red!!


Menawhile, I won't hold my breathe.

[therealtruth]

I've repeatedly given Bonner credit for a really good first game of the playoffs. But should really ignore the fact that he was 2-for-7 in the other three games that series? And then should we ignore the fact that he was arguably the worst player on the team against the Clippers?

No he hasn't. He was pretty damn good in this game:

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=320218012

13 points, six rebounds and a clutch three-pointer in overtime. But of course that was the regular season.



The small sample size for Bonner argument yet again. The last five years of playoff failure isn't enough proof that Bonner will shrink when it's money time. Of course it's not.

Seriously, I've never seen a player given a longer rope than Matt Bonner ... by fans and the team.

It was probably close between him and Gary Neal for worst player but Neal at least contributed clutch baskets and scoring.

[coyotes_geek]

In this series especially I think you've really got to take conclusions drawn from +/-, on court/off court about individual performances with a grain of salt. I have a hard time holding Splitter, Bonner and Jackson responsible to the extent that the numbers would otherwise suggest when both the crappy offense and crappy defense can be directly attributed to Neal & Manu's struggles handling the ball and getting the team into the offense. Neal getting his pocket picked and the Clippers getting a transition bucket going the other way doesn't mean Splitter had a poor offensive and poor defensive possession.

[Blake]

I've repeatedly given Bonner credit for a really good first game of the playoffs. But should really ignore the fact that he was 2-for-7 in the other three games that series? And then should we ignore the fact that he was arguably the worst player on the team against the Clippers?

Right. All year against the Clippers.

No he hasn't. He was pretty damn good in this game:

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=320218012

13 points, six rebounds and a clutch three-pointer in overtime. But of course that was the regular season.

A +3 and 2-9 inside the arc and 6 rebounds in 36 minutes is a pretty damn good game?

WTH makes it a pretty damn good game? The OT 3 pointer?

Seriously, I've never seen a player given a longer rope than Matt Bonner ... by fans and the team.

I've never seen another player with such mediocre talent become such a scapegoat for early playoff exits.

....or such burning hate for the hall of fame coach that gives him playing time

[timvp]

Bonner Apologist suddenly changes course to argue 13 points and six rebounds to go along with one of his three clutch baskets of the season doesn't classify as a good game for Bonner.

So Bonner scoring ten points the entire series should be applauded but Bonner scoring 13 points in one game should be ignored because it doesn't fit in with the agenda at hand. Got it. Thanks.



I reaaaaaaaally want Bonner to succeed because the Spurs are basically unbeatable when he plays well. But to suggest that the first two series of the 2012 playoffs have done anything to change Bonner's reputation as a playoff choker would be disingenuous, tbh.

[Brazil]

For Bonner credit I thought he had a good serie against the Jazz by his standard, his D was ok, he hit some stuff, he hustles a bit... but against Clips he has been the Bonner I know.

Thanks God for Diaw who eat most of his minutes.

[Spurtacus]

Green gonna get paid this summer. I hope Spurs can lock him up for 5 years at around 4-5 mil each yea. Leonard, Green, hopefully Joseph. Just need a couple of young bigs to groom for the post Duncan era.

[therealtruth]

Bonner can help make the wins come easier but this deep in the playoffs I don't think teams are bad enough to allow him uncontested 3's in rhythm. Really TD, Diaw, and Splitter should absorb most of the minutes before Bonner. Even KL and SJax are pretty good as small ball power forwards.