What's happened to Nazr's game?

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

He's like Malik Rose plus five inches and minus shooting ability, rebounding ability

Rebounding ability, LJ? His numbers are better than Rose's at their peak.

[timvp]

I spoke too soon.

[Bruno]

Even if Nazr isn't the better center in the league, he is not playing at his level against Sacramento.
I don't know exactly why but I think that his low BBIQ is a reason why he sucks so. Sacramento is a strange team : swingmen are post-players, big men are jumpshooters and the better rebounder is a SG. My guess is that Nazr is lost because it didn't use to play against that kind of teams and his lack of feelings for BB makes that he can't adapt well to this new scheme.

[Kori Ellis]

Wow, you guys sure are quick to run him down. Two months ago when he took the starting job from Rasho you were all pimping his aggressiveness.

If we're going to stand any chance of beating Detroit he's going to have to be a workhorse for us on the glass. He was one of the few Spurs to show up for the two games with Detroit this year.

As much as some folks bag on me about criticizing Pop, there's a few posters in this thread that are equally as bad about Nazr.

The Sacramento series is a bad match up for him, but we'll need him when we run into some more physical squads down the line.

Even when he was aggressive, I was still vomiting at his defense. He doesn't seem to be stupid, but I don't get why he still can't catch on to the basics defensively. He's constantly being yelled at on D from everyone from Horry to Duncan to Manu to Pop. And on offensive, he stands in everyone's way. Manu and Tony exert a lot of energy just waving him out of the lane.

Since Rasho is not mobile, they'll use Nazr more in other series and I'm sure that he'll do an adequate job. I understand his shortcomings and can live with the fact that there's some things he's just not good at it. But the fact that he doesn't appear to care to get any better on D, kind of makes me sick. You'd think that since he wants a contract in the summer, he'd at least learn how to rotate by now.

[picnroll]

NY would trade Malik for Nazr in a NY minute, but then so would any team in the league. Malik has one thing nobody wants, his contract.

[timvp]

Rebounding ability, LJ? His numbers are better than Rose's at their peak.

Nope. Rose's first year in SA he rebounded at the same rate as Nazr this year. And I'd like to see Nazr average 8 boards a game over the course of a playoffs like Rose did.

[2centsworth]

Nazr was very good against Denver in last year playoffs, ok against Seattle, and good against Phoenix. But none of that matters right now, he's way off his game in this series. Hopefully that spurs can get it done without him.

[Trifecta]

Even when he was aggressive, I was still vomiting at his defense. He doesn't seem to be stupid, but I don't get why he still can't catch on to the basics defensively. He's constantly being yelled at on D from everyone from Horry to Duncan to Manu to Pop. And on offensive, he stands in everyone's way. Manu and Tony exert a lot of energy just waving him out of the lane.

Since Rasho is not mobile, they'll use Nazr more in other series and I'm sure that he'll do an adequate job. I understand his shortcomings and can live with the fact that there's some things he's just not good at it. But the fact that he doesn't appear to care to get any better on D, kind of makes me sick. You'd think that since he wants a contract in the summer, he'd at least learn how to rotate by now.

Its definitely his defense -- a big liability.

His footwork is terrible -- someone needs to book him a gig on "Dancing with the Stars" to work on his footwork. He just doesn't look confortable on the court.

Does not play good pick and roll defense or set screens well for his teammates.

Need I say anything about those hands -- the way he catches the ball sometimes, youy would think he is catching a "wet bar of soap"!

I'll leave hjm with a positive (as a previous poster mentioned) -- his free throws are good!

[wildbill2u]

I remember early in the season when many of us were defending his matador defense with the argument that he was still learning the defense.

I live at Clear Lake without cable so I don't get to see many games on TV but when I have been able to see him play recently it has been disheartening. Watching Duncan try to point him to a spot or say something after another layup where Nazr's man went right by him has been a revelation. Not much upside to his game.

At one time I thought he had potential and was a keeper in FA. But now I don't think he'd be worth the money he'll probably draw in FA. Might as well keep Rasho and back him up with Horry and Marks and maybe one of the Euros next year.

[NCaliSpurs]

I really don't see what Nazr gives us over what Rose gave us (before the Spurs organization decided they couldn't keep his contract).

Rose at least was in place defensively, and had the body to push guys off the block.