Why Devin Brown

[Nikos]

I say just go with Brent. I think there is more to gain if Barry pans out like he should. More experience, more reliable jump shot, and a well rounded game.

Devin proved he can give quality play in the playoffs in spot minutes if the perimeter guys are not getting it done. Why not ride with Barry until the end, and if he REALLY sucks in the playoffs just throw DB in like he did against LA last playoffs.

[whottt]

You better re-watch it. Barry was horrible on D and he got his ass ripped for his passing.

I don't see how you can say that, Barry lead all bench players in minutes...we held the Raptors to 86 points on 36% shooting tonight...on top of that he picked up some tough defensive rebounds and he actually was agressive on help D.

That was our best defensive performance in a month.

It just seems like there's a different standard for Barry's D or something, and there has been all season.

Earlier in the season when he was logging 25 minutes a game we were on pace to win 70 games, and set single season records in PPG allowed, FG%, and opp assists per game...we were also blowing opponents out by a near record margin.

Then when he started getting pulled, our d was not as effective and then we started blowing leads and struggling on offense.

Then we again started trusting him and he's played big minutes in our two best comebacks of the season, against Phoenix and NJ...and he played Power Forward against NJ.

It just seems like everyone is determined to hate Barry if he doesn't play a perfect game and because he isn't shooting 40% from 3.


Perfect example...he had two TO's tonight...and everyone acts like he had the worst game in NBA history...well that's a good game for Devin...who has seemed to average about 3 TO's per night for the last two months.

And who has had costly turnovers in at least two of our losses. I cringe when he is on the floor in crunchtime.

Brent and Devin both suck right now. Funny thing is that I thought that it would be a dog fight for the backup swingman minutes because I thought both of them would bring invaluable stuff to the court. Now Pop is just begging one of them to step up and they both continually suck.

PLEASE one of them step up .. it's key.

The difference is....when Barry sucks it doesn't seem to effect the teams overall performance...Barry seems to be able to suck and play big minutes and it'll still be a 20 point blowout.

On top of that...he has hit big shots all season long. Big ones when we needed them.


Devin has had some good games but they are usually when the entire team is playing well, and there is something about him being on the court that makes our offense struggle...this is statistically verifiable in many ways.

Out of Bruce, Barry, and Bowen, Devin has the potential to be the best...he's got the most athleticism and he's the best scorer...so for that reason I have been in favor of giving him heavy minutes(including being in favor of starting him early in the season)...

But if push comes to shove and they both suck, and Pop has to choose...there's no argument on which guy the team performs better with getting big minutes...and that's Barry. The starts bear it out, as does our W-L record. And he's hit a lot more big shots this season than Devin as well.

[Kori Ellis]

No matter what the Raptors shot for the game, this wasn't an outstanding defensive performance by the Spurs -- particularly in the fourth quarter. The Raptors scored 50 points in the second half -- the Spurs can't be giving up 50 in a half to anyone. In the 4th quarter Toronto had 30 points on 60% shooting from the field, while outrebounding the Spurs 11-6.

I can tell you that Pop and most of the Spurs were very disappointed in their game tonight ... even defensively. The Spurs played good perimeter D for long stretches of the game, but this wasn't one of their best defensive performances, no matter how low the Raptors shot overall.

[whottt]

Just to make the Devin/Barry thing even more complicated

I've noticed something about Barry...

He absolutely sucks as a spot up shooter. He sucks at it. There's no question about it. He is very much a transition 3 shooter. He has not hit a ing wide open spot up 3 off a pass this entire season it seems.

When Barry gets time to set himself up for a three and no one is pressuring him...he over shoots that freaking shot every single time. It is strong every time. That's why he's been good under pressure when he rushes it and has sucked the rest of the time IMO.

While Devin....

Devin actually is a pretty good spot up shooter if he gets an open look...He doesn't hit threes with guys in his face or under defensive pressure very well...but when he gets that wide open shot and gets time to set his feet...he usually hits that shot, it's eerrily reminiscent of Jack.

And we know Devin's shot tends to be pretty good in the playoffs...while Barry may Hedo us..he's been good in the regular season under pressure...but who knows about the playoffs?

But I have no doubt the team performs better right now with Barry getting more minutes.

I just thought I'd muck up the controversy even more

[whottt]

No matter what the Raptors shot for the game, this wasn't an outstanding defensive performance by the Spurs -- particularly in the fourth quarter.
.

Barry didn't get 1 second of PT in the 4th quarter did he? Devin was in for most of the 4th. The last time Barry was in the game we had a 14 point lead.

That's what I mean...the team performs better with Barry in there...you look at most our big blown leads and the common guy on the floor for all of them is Devin Brown.

[Kori Ellis]

Barry didn't get 1 second of PT in the 4th quarter did he? Last time he was in the game we had a 14 point lead.

No. I wasn't blaming the 4th quarter on Barry.

[whottt]

FWIW I think tonights game is the perfect example of how Devin should get his big minutes...when we are blowing a team out.

But it's just weird, I don't know why it happens...it just seem like our offense is nervous when Devin is out there...it seems like we turn the ball over more...not just Devin but everyone, and that does hurt our D. While with Barry the offense seems smooth even if he isn't playing particularly well. His bad D or not we seem to not struggle as a team on D.

If we have to choose to tighten up the rotation..it's gotta be Barry....except for the fact that he could be the biggest playoff choker in NBA history for all we know

[Kori Ellis]

Just a snippet from Ludden's recap...

The Raptors spread the floor, forcing the Spurs to stay out on their shooters.

"Our defense," Ginobili said, "is a little unbalanced against them at times."
Toronto made 29 free throws, matching the most by a Spurs' opponent. They picked up 19 points off Spurs' turnovers.

Popovich wants to make sure the sloppiness doesn't become too much of a trend. The Spurs lost to Memphis on Saturday because of 24 turnovers. Even after beating Cleveland on Monday on Duncan's buzzer-beater, they paused before running onto the court to congratulate him — almost as if they were surprised to have won.

"We were looking at each other tonight after the game," Ginobili said, "and it looked like we had lost by 15."

[210born]

HAHAHA 95% of these post are ignorant and without merit. Sure DB had some bad games, who doesn't. When Tony started the season off playing like a bi#ch, were you saying he didnt belong in the nba no....Manu when he was turning the ball over every play... come on. DB is a legit nba player, if he wasn't popovich of all people wouldn't be playing him. Devin is a 2nd or 3rd yr player with some talent, but needs some work and thats it. Get off the guys back.

[samikeyp]

you just know he's not an NBA player. He's here because he's from San Antonio and that's it.

Which explains why Denver signed him two years ago.

[pjjrfan]

Devin wasn't in when TP turned it over 3 times in a row, but TP only got credit for two because the middle one didn't count cause it bounced back to him. And although the team went on a run, they keep blowing fast break opportunities, it wasn't Devin's fault when Beno made two costly to's to close out the 3rd which led to Raptor pts and a shift in momentum. What Devin has been doing is playing monster Defense, he didn't play that well last night, but his job on TMac and James the last week or so were outstanding. But yeah, it hurts to see him shoot up those bricks. I wish he would just pass it on, but the truth is the other guys will just pass it back to him and eventually he will have to shoot it.

[BigVee]

Having played and coached I just have a fundamental problem with guys being afrain to screw up. It is the surest way to get a team to under perform. Pick Barry or pick Brown and let them play!! They can't be looking over their shoulder all the time for the hook every time the make a mistake. Contrary to what others might think I do not think you can come in for 5 minutes and play your normal game. It just doesn't work like that. It is time in the season to pick the players and rotation and get them ready. This team is sliding backwards. All the other teams know the Spur offense...know if they play zone the Spurs have problems. These areas need to be staightened out pronto.

[Ishta]

HAHAHA 95% of these post are ignorant and without merit. Sure DB had some bad games, who doesn't. When Tony started the season off playing like a bi#ch, were you saying he didnt belong in the nba no....Manu when he was turning the ball over every play... come on. DB is a legit nba player, if he wasn't popovich of all people wouldn't be playing him. Devin is a 2nd or 3rd yr player with some talent, but needs some work and thats it. Get off the guys back.

I think this says it all...

[bigzak25]

^^^^^

ditto.

[Kori Ellis]

So, if you have to pick one guy -- Devin or Brent -- who will get the bulk of the backup swingman minutes and the other guy will only get spot minutes throughout the playoffs, who would you pick? Why?

[bigzak25]

i don't think even Pop knows the answer to that question yet kori.....

but with bruce and horry on D at the sf position, i think the outside shot is more important to our playoff success....who can/will hit them in the playoffs is anyones guess at this point....

[ChumpDumper]

I'd roll with Barry for the ball movement. He'll get into foul trouble enough that Brown will get several chances anyway, and Devin has proven to have a better overall microwave factor.

[boutons]

One of my continuous concerns, going back to Lakers collapser, is team jump-shooting (NOT having/needing a single "jump shooter").

Spurs shot 37 - 73 FGA-M, 5% above their avg, excellent!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/shotch...meId=250302024

... shows only 10 FGs outside of the paint. And they shot, it appears, 10 - 18 jumpers, also excellent.

A great shooting night for the Spurs, in spite of Brent+Devin going 2 for 10.

[BigVee]

So, if you have to pick one guy -- Devin or Brent -- who will get the bulk of the backup swingman minutes and the other guy will only get spot minutes throughout the playoffs, who would you pick? Why?

Tough question and why Pop can't seem to settle on one. DB gives you more defense, but Barry gives the offense a better flow. Since the Spurs are already strong defensively, for this year, I would stick with Barry and try to get the offense in high gear the last 25 games. It's a tough because I believe Brown will be a very good player in this league, but for now.....I mean the plan was to sign Barry and shore up the outside during the playoffs. Shouldn't we see if that plan works? Why abandon what everyone was excitied about in November?

[spurster]

Given a choice, I think you have to give the major portion of minutes to Barry. Even if his shot still sucks by the playoffs, no team is going to give him open shots, so Barry will help spread the floor no matter what.

[Que Gee]

So, if you have to pick one guy -- Devin or Brent -- who will get the bulk of the backup swingman minutes and the other guy will only get spot minutes throughout the playoffs, who would you pick? Why?

\
You have to go with Barry because you know what....You look at his 10 years in the league and you go with his stats...over 40% from the 3pt line and the field...Now, if you want to dismiss that FINE!!! But for goddsakes no one in here can tell the TEAM plays better with Devin in the game. I for one can say that with Barry in the game...The ball moves better, people get better shots because his passing is 100% better than DB's...It makes the most sense for the TEAM.

[ALVAREZ6]

Devin > Manu

Oh really, that's explains why Devin starts over Manu then...huh