Game Blog: Spurs @ Raptors - Feb. 15

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

He doesn't need to score 25, and he doesn't need to score with his left. He's a distributor point guard who makes plays for his teammates and is capable of scoring when needed. He'll be a great compliment to Anthony.

BTW, how do you know that he has no left hand? Is it because you have yet to see him use his left hand, or because he often misses with his left? Did you mean he can't shoot with his left, or dribble, or both? I think his ball handling is good enough to set up a right-hand shot even when a left might be more appropriate.

He doesn't go left, and I've seen him shoot layups on the left side with his right hand (admittedly many players do this but shouldn't).

I'd guess the reason Morey let him go was his lack of a left hand, and I'm surprised teams aren't over-guarding his right. He loves to crossover left-to-right, and he's still fooling people with it.

[jag]

Someone tonight was complaining that Splitter doesn't get his hands high enough when he shoots, or something ridiculous like that. Splitter is so good about protecting the ball with his body and the rim, selling his moves, etc. that he makes it look easy. Yeah he takes most of his shots around the rim, but he's shooting 62% and most other bigs in the league would be shooting 50% (or less) with the same opportunities.

He's not bringing a lot of thunderous dunks, but he gets himself a lot of easy-looking shots. He's actually padding some other players' assist stats at times.

Yeah, that was me.

I'll explain what I meant in case it wasn't all that clear. He is definitely good at finishing around the rim (72.7% on his lay-ups this season), but he sometimes rushes his shots for fear of being blocked and misses some easy looks. The game against Detroit is a good example. He should have had 21 points. He missed 4 easy layups that he normally makes because he was either rushing his shots and/or releasing his shots from too low resulting in him playing it off the glass at bad angles. At times he does a good job of using his body to shield his shots, but he often releases the ball from right in front of his face while he's doing it. It leads to a lot of missed "gimmes" after he's done work to get in great position.

Don't get me wrong, he good at finishing around the rim, but his game is still adapting to the NBA game and it's just something I think he could improve. He did it once or twice today, but overall he did well taking his time and not rushing his shots.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Great to see 9 wins a row, but the road trip is going to get much more tough especially at L.A.

[TDMVPDPOY]

tonights match only proves one thing for the raptors leading up to their next match which is against the bobcats....TANK

U CANT STOP THE TANK

[GSH]

Yeah, that was me.

I'll explain what I meant in case it wasn't all that clear. He is definitely good at finishing around the rim (72.7% on his lay-ups this season), but he sometimes rushes his shots for fear of being blocked and misses some easy looks. The game against Detroit is a good example. He should have had 21 points. He missed 4 easy layups that he normally makes because he was either rushing his shots and/or releasing his shots from too low resulting in him playing it off the glass at bad angles. At times he does a good job of using his body to shield his shots, but he often releases the ball from right in front of his face while he's doing it. It leads to a lot of missed "gimmes" after he's done work to get in great position.

Don't get me wrong, he good at finishing around the rim, but his game is still adapting to the NBA game and it's just something I think he could improve. He did it once or twice today, but overall he did well taking his time and not rushing his shots.

It always impresses me when somebody just explains what they mean and, like, has a discussion and stuff. Whenever it happens, I tend to think maybe they have something to say. I'm funny that way.

My first thought is that you're splitting hairs, and I think that he's shooting such a high percentage because of the way he handles the ball when he's surrounded by the big trees. I know a lot of guys show the ball too much and get it swatted away. But I'll watch to see if I can see what you're talking about.

[jag]

My first thought is that you're splitting hairs, and I think that he's shooting such a high percentage because of the way he handles the ball when he's surrounded by the big trees. I know a lot of guys show the ball too much and get it swatted away. But I'll watch to see if I can see what you're talking about.

I guess it probably is just "splitting hairs". But the majority of his missed shots from around the rim seem like a result of him rushing and not keeping his composure. It's a small thing, but in the Pistons game it resulted in him going 4-9 with 13 pts as opposed to 8-9 with 21 points.

[GSH]

I guess it probably is just "splitting hairs". But the majority of his missed shots from around the rim seem like a result of him rushing and not keeping his composure. It's a small thing, but in the Pistons game it resulted in him going 4-9 with 13 pts as opposed to 8-9 with 21 points.

I'm curious now - I'm going to watch. It's one thing if a guy misses some shots, but if there's a tendency there it really can be improved. Especially if he starts spending more time against starting bigs. I don't know - but I know I don't know.

You realize how good you're suggesting he could be? It sort of boggles the mind.

[jag]

crofl

didn't know i had to hit refresh on spurtalk every 5 seconds to back up the obvious

here's a list of spurs playas, percentage of times they are assisted on their 'inside' shots:

blair 77 ford 67 leonard 66 splitter 64 anderson 62 bonner 60 jefferson 50 duncan 46 green 42 neal 40 ginobili 31 parker 25

We weren't specifically referring to "inside" shots. We were both referring to his overall offense and how well he does/doesn't create his own shots and how much he relies on his teammates for offense.

His shot attempts on post-up plays are not assisted. Not to mention, the majority (44 of 63) of his post shots come from outside of 4 feet.

So again (not counting tonight's game):

36% of his offense comes from post-up plays

13.7% of his offense comes from putbacks from offensive rebounds. - also not assisted.

[FkLA]

Splitter does have a really low release point on his hook shots. Seems like he prefers to pull his arm way back away from his body like at a 45 degree angle to avoid shot blockers instead of going straight up and using his length. Looks kind of gay sometimes but you cant really complain too much about the results.

[TDMVPDPOY]

lol the clowns in here going hard on splitters offensive game, who gives a as long he gets his production and defensively beasting....watch the minutes his in and when his replace, you see how quick he can build you a lead, only to see the starters blow it

[jag]

If you can't go hard on a Wednesday night after a win over the Raptors then when can you go hard?

[Manufan909]

Hes not coming back.

Besides, he probably wouldn't understand that even when Splitter gets assisted on the pick and roll, hes slick enough to make something happen and produce. The way he gets open and the way he gets into a favorable position is the reason why hes special.

If what he did was really so easy we'd see more players do this:

Where did timvp put his "tim and tiago are so well rounded" post exactly?

[jag]

splitter's offensive game is finishing around the rim, not shaking and baking in the mid range or high post:

Close to 40% of all his attempts are within the 4-10ft range. Maybe you just doing understand the dimensions of a basketball court, but 4-10 ft away from the rim is not considered "around the rim". His assisted layups and dunks aren't coming from 4-10 ft away from the rim.

You keep referring to the majority of his shots "around the rim" or "inside" being assisted. This may come as a shock to you, but the majority of post players' inside shots come from assisted plays. Splitter is no different.

But this discussion had nothing to do with his inside shooting. It had to do with whether or not he's capable of generating his own offense. You said he cant. Then I showed you that he creates 36% of his offense on post-up plays, where he has a 44.4% FG%.

reserve me a pew in the church of splitter when he creates his own shot

[angelbelow]

Where did timvp put his "tim and tiago are so well rounded" post exactly?

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191353

[Manufan909]

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191353

Why thank you my good man.

[angelbelow]

Why thank you my good man.

Np, its a good read. GSH also brings the goods in that thread.

[TDMVPDPOY]

the only problem with splitters shake and baking, sometimes the refs call it a travel, sometime he gets so deep downlow he misjudges his releases...but if he hits like 70% of the given opportunities then its fair game you cant be negative about his points scored...

[Russ]

the only problem with splitters shake and baking, sometimes the refs call it a travel,...

Refs aren't used to seeing footwork at that level in NBA big men. Their little minds short-circuit their eyes.

[TampaDude]

Another RRT victory...Spurs just keep on marching toward the playoffs.

GO SPURS GO!!!!!