Worries about RJs heart

[SCdac]

I'm actually not worried about Jefferson's "heart" or abilitly to "give it all he's got", as much as I'm worried about the little amount of touches on offense he's gotten thus far. It feels like we're not respecting his scoring talent, and we're turning him to a spot up jump shooter ala Michael Finley.

The two biggest positives I saw from last game were, Jefferson getting the opportunity to create in a post up situation early in the last game (that lead to an easy easy slashing bucket for Tim Duncan) and Jefferson coming up with a key block on help defense in the end of last game (I want to say the last or second to last defensive sequence for us - not in front of my DVR). Finley or Mason would not have had the athleticism, or power, to block that shot and secure the rebound. Those two plays alone provided something we haven't gotten alot of from our swingmen in the past 5 years.

Jefferson is getting a bad rap right now, but it's felt more like he's lost and uncertain at times than lacking heart or drive. When he catches the ball, it feels like RJ wants to score two or three baskets at once, he just needs to take in the system, calm down, and I really believe Pop should be giving him the ball at the top of the key or in post up situations routinely at this point - Jefferson is too talented not to give him a large hand in the development of the offense.

[UnWantedTheory]

Not quite ready to call him a failure. Give him some more time.

He'll crow. He'll fight. He'll fly. And then... they will all die!

[Spursmania]

The organization is supposed to do their homework before they acquire somebody..you would think that they would have looked into this..it doesn't appear that they have, since this was the 1st game all season where they actually got him a few plays, and he actually produced..hopefully it continues..

Harlemheat, I completely agree with you on that. It's on Pop and the organization. But at the same time, I am rather disappointed in TP's lack of court vision or ability to get RJ more involved as well. It's a learning process, hopefully, the guys and Pop figure it out sooner rather than later.

[SpurCharger]

Jefferson does Not Fit the Spurs system... the Only Way Jefferson improves Is if Pop Changes The offense, and The spurs get Out and run more.... In A Half Court He doesnt Fit what we do...

[duncan228]

First-Quarter Report: Teams’ Iden ies Have Developed, for Better or Worse

Offseason bust: Richard Jefferson, Spurs. The slow start by San Antonio is not all Richard Jefferson’s fault, of course, but he has not been nearly as useful in the lineup as the Spurs had hoped. He was supposed to provide some insurance in case Manu Ginobili was injured, but he has struggled both when Ginobili was healthy and when he was out. His shooting has been terrible (43.4 percent), especially his 3-point shooting (33.3 percent). Even his free-throw shooting is off—he’s at a career-low 68.3 percent.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141534

[Johnny RIngo]

First-Quarter Report: Teams’ Iden ies Have Developed, for Better or Worse

Offseason bust: Richard Jefferson, Spurs. The slow start by San Antonio is not all Richard Jefferson’s fault, of course, but he has not been nearly as useful in the lineup as the Spurs had hoped. He was supposed to provide some insurance in case Manu Ginobili was injured, but he has struggled both when Ginobili was healthy and when he was out. His shooting has been terrible (43.4 percent), especially his 3-point shooting (33.3 percent). Even his free-throw shooting is off—he’s at a career-low 68.3 percent.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141534

To quote another part of that article:

Offseason payoff:Vince Carter, Orlando. The Magic are still working Carter into the offense, trying to find the right balance between getting him to be aggressive and dominate, and getting him to be one of the cogs on a very talented team. But so far, things have gone well, as Orlando sits tied for the best record in the East.

And a lot of the ' s here said Jefferson would be a better fit for our team.

[lennyalderette]

man all this complaining about your own team is just sad

[#2!]

To quote another part of that article:

Offseason payoff:Vince Carter, Orlando. The Magic are still working Carter into the offense, trying to find the right balance between getting him to be aggressive and dominate, and getting him to be one of the cogs on a very talented team. But so far, things have gone well, as Orlando sits tied for the best record in the East.

And a lot of the ' s here said Jefferson would be a better fit for our team.

The s are the people like you who won't shut up about Vince Carter. No, he's not a Spur, and yes, Jefferson is. Thats how things are, and they aren't going to change for a while. So please, shut the up.

[Russ]

And a lot of the ' s here said Jefferson would be a better fit for our team.

Jefferson is a better fit for the Spurs than Carter. Orlando ain't winnin' nothin' with Howard and Carter, book it.

Jefferson wasn't what the Spurs needed this summer, they needed an athletic wing defender and, more importantly, a lock-down defensive big under the hoop

But Jefferson was the best athletic basketball player that the Spurs could get at no cost to their roster.

He was the right, and likely the only realistic, choice.

As far as RJ' s "heart," he is not a leader but he will be a uva a contributer once the Spurs gel this season. That's all they need from him. That's all the Lakers get from Odom and they seem to be doing fine. Come to think of it, fellow Arizona Wildcat Sean E. wasn't exactly perceived as lionhearted either (and, like RJ, wasn't much of a Pop disciple) but he helped the Spurs quite a bit in '99, didn't he?

[CGD]

Goodness some in here need to think out their reasoning before they post. Tighten it up!