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Trust me, you'll get used to this from Chumpdumper.
You're both right but nothing is said about how that will come about. Like he could come out and say where his reason behind that is. Like Dallas is just deeper or whatever, but he didn't. He just merely threw something out without anything to back it up so I mistook it for what i thought it was.
Anyhow
Like I mentioned earlier, they'll give Temple a shot. not in the first half but maybe in the second quarter if mason and bogans look like out there.
Trust me, you'll get used to this from Chumpdumper.
Is he? He sure seemed to have pulled Blair rather quickly.
OR I can counter with baseless fictional opinions.
Dallas will get torched by Parker getting a triple double because he ate some Wheaties with Timmy-D on the cover from one of our previous championships before game time.
Will be questionable for Game 3 though due to food poisoning.
I like it. Blackjeezy ... I might be requesting another username tweak (for street cred purposes -- street cred for the interwebs).
Shaken, as in scared? Yeah, that would surprise me. But I could see him getting into his head a bit and getting overwhelmed with the injury, the point guard responsibilities and the fact that he was being asked to start over Parker. I could see a combination of those factors getting to him.
George performed quite well last year against the Mavs and has always seemed to have some nice showings against teams like the Lakers (even if he didn't have as much responsibility and he wasn't the starting point guard), so I don't think there's some fragile psyche that's plaguing him against elite players and teams. I'm sure there's definitely an element of him being overwhelmed with all that he's having to deal with, I'm just hoping it's nothing that can't be overcome.
The fact that he was defiant with regards to being injured after the game and openly admits to not being healthy now, leads me to believe one of two things:
1.) His pride wouldn't allow an an excuse and/or he didn't want to cop to any kind of weakness that could be exploited.
2.) He flaked, freaked the out, and he and the Spurs are doing a bit of damage control when it comes to the media. (i.e: Yeah, he's hurt. Game-time decision.)
I think Pop views Temple as the poor man's Hill. He's long, relatively athletic and quick, can handle some, score in transition and he's been (surprisingly) shooting the corner three well. If the Spurs have a healthy Hill, there's really not a need for Temple, as they can just go to a three guard rotation. Without Hill they need someone who can provide at least some of what he does. Mason, Bogans and Hairston can't do that; they're different players.
Bogans I think should be in the rotation because he should be able to do a respectable job on Butler in stretches. He has the strength to guard him and Butler isn't overly explosive or creative off the dribble. Plus, someone has to be playing backup minutes on the perimeter and right now I'd take Bogans over...
Mason. I still think he can be a useful off the bench shooter/scorer in the league, but not for the remainder of this season. It's painfully obvious that between the torn ligaments in his pinky, the contraption he's wearing on his shooting hand and his shot confidence, that he's not going to be able to shoot anywhere near a high enough percentage from three to justify his playing time for the remainder of this season. Since he offers absolutely nothing else, I have no idea why he's still playing.
I get the sense that Pop isn't going to play Hill in game two. This is where the Spurs lack of depth becomes glaring. Not just in terms of quality players, but positionally. Save for Parker and Mahinmi, the entire bench is either an SG or a PF. Sure, they play Bogans at SF, Blair at C and Temple at PG, but that's not their natural positions.
Agree. If Temple can do that, I'd feel way more comfortable with him over the combo of Mason & Bogans.
This is the result of Pop's "crack-addict" addiction to small-ball going viral. It started back in 2006 and he's still on it.
the 3 point ball or lack there of is half of what is wrong with this team. the other being rebounding. if Temple can prove to be a threat from three the Spurs will be hard to beat. Parker/Manu/Temple is small, and i'm not sure if Temple can play the 3, but if he can, and RJ isn't doing anything (which is expected) i'd like to see it.
i think temple can be great for this team long run. if he had the practice with the time that RMJ and Bogans have had, he'd be more effective and know where his shots will come from. it's too bad he wasn't "discovered" earlier on. it'd be unfair to ask him to fill a big void that he's being asked to fill when he obivously isn't very acclimated to the system, but i look forward to his progress and having him back next year. hopefully he can pull through and be a sort of hero for us this series, but i doubt it. i know the guy isn't scared of the big lights though. if he sucks for us he's go out with a fight and not tuck his balls b/w his legs ala RMJ. gotta respect that.
Even with Hill in the rotation, Pop still tends to go to the Bogans/Mason combo for stints in the duration of the game. IMO Temple has been the biggest threat against the opposition than any of the 3 ( Bogans, Mason, Temple) on both ends of the floor.
IMO Temple has the skills of all the players you mentioned and he can play the 1,2 or 3. Yeah Mason has a better form and he's "suppose" to have the better shot. But Mason has been shooting below 25 percent since the All-Star break, and there's been no indication that it's improving. Temple on the other hand hasn't had the amount of sample size to accurately analyze, but he's been very impressive and has shot better percentages than both Mason and Bogans in the quality amount of time he's been given.
I just think it's necessary for Temple to see time over Mason and Bogans, because not only has he been the more productive player and not only is he the better all-around player, but also because teams wouldn't have the speed or athleticism advantage over us during any part of the game with Tony, Manu, RJ, Hill, and Temple ( over Mason and Bogans). I know people might not think of it as that big of a deal, but it is in many ways throughout the course of the game.
Whether it's by having quicker rotations out on the perimeter, quicker close outs, more effective transition defense ( on both initial transition d and post transition d when teams like to create mismatches out of transition offense when they set the offense back up). Offensively as well, we would be a more threatening team in transition, and we would be a more threatening team in the half-court offense because of his ability to break down the defense from a triple threat position when the ball is kicked out to him off of a Manu or Tony penetration. It would also help from the hustling stand point as he would be more productive in being quicker to long rebounds and quicker to get to loose balls. Being an overall better athlete is an instant advantage over the opposition. I know that may sound crazy, but I'm sure you have played a game of basketball where a more athletic/ more all around player was guarding you. You felt intimidated, you were skeptical, you weren't as confident on the offensive side of the floor. Same on the defensive end. The same scenario can relate whenever Mason is on the floor against Butler, Terry, Kidd, and yes even Barea. Bogans on the other hand, I can somewhat understand him being on the floor specifically to guard Butler, but to me Bogans has been favoring his ankle to an extent, his lateral quickness isn't where it usually is. Same with his overall speed and quickness, it's been slower than Masons and it's effected his ability to defend without having to foul.
Don't get me wrong, if Mason was shooting lights out, or if Bogans was Bowen like in his man to man defense, I wouldn't think Temple should play. But that's not the case. Mason has continued to shoot below 25% since the damn all-star break, and Bogans' defense has been inconsistent and suspect at best, in this case I rather go with the more athletic, all around player in Temple.
Injecting the rotation with Temple would make our team more versatile and active on both sides of the floor for the full 48 minutes oppose to when Mason and Bogans combine to see the floor for 25 minutes total like they did in Game 1. IMO
Example of Temple in initial transition D:
Example of Temple in transition offense:
Last edited by MaNu4Tres; 04-20-2010 at 08:55 PM.
We know Pop favors veteran players, particularly in the playoffs. But I also think he goes with those two over Temple because he thinks he'll get defense out of one and three point shooting out of the other. Never mind the fact that the former isn't all that good defensively and the latter can't make a shot to save his life. Whereas with Temple what specific skill does he provide, outside of ball handling? Which isn't as big of a need with Parker healthy and he and Ginobili playing extended minutes. I'm not saying I agree with this, just playing devil's advocate.
Mason's shooting isn't going to improve (at least not substantially) for the remainder of the season. This isn't the typical shooting slump that virtually everyone goes into, it's injury related and it's more than likely sapped him of his confidence as well. Pop keeps going to him, probably thinking "maybe tonight's the night he get's hot". It's not going to happen. Pop needs to accept this.
Good point about Temple offering more speed, quickness, athleticism and length than Bogans and Mason. I agree, that is important in the areas you alluded to that go beyond the box score. Being an all around better athlete is an instant advantage if you can play and have a high IQ for the game on top of that. But athleticism alone isn't enough.
parker looks fine to me.....just needs to get in a rhythm
let temple run wild in game 2 he has alot of energy
I'm all for it.
Unfortunately, starting a no-name rookie in the playoffs against the freakin mavericks at home means crystal nowitzki et al are going to foul the poor kid out in like five seconds
Well everyone knows that.
My point is Temple has been the better all around player than both Mason and Bogans since he's been here. The guy played 4 years of college, it's not like he came straight from high school and runs around like a chicken with his head cut off. This is evident for that fact that Temple came in here as an undrafted free agent in March and not only did he earn himself a multi-year contract, but he has started for a veteran team that has championship aspirations during a stretch of must win games. That itself should speak volumes about his basketball IQ for him to earn the trust from Popovich.
I meant that more as a general comment as opposed to a commentary on the Spurs situation.
A multi-year contract? Not really. It was the typical guarantee for the remainder of this season and a partial guarantee for next season. Technically, it's multi-year. In most of those cases that just means training camp fodder.
He started, but like I said, it was more about Pop looking to replace some of the things Hill did, having a scorer off the bench (Parker) and the Spurs overall lack of depth at the point. He didn't start because he's of starting quality.
If Hill doesn't play, I agree, Temple should play. But if Hill does play, he's not needed. The Spurs can go with three guards and use Bogans as the final member of the perimeter rotation. At least he has the strength to avoid being abused in the post.
Temple should start if Hill isn't 100%.
Temple showed great signs in every games he's played since Hill went down.
He even plays a similar style to Hill which will work nice to keep the starting lineup settled.
TP in the starting line up won't work to much fire power and too many people that need the ball. He can control the second unit and have as much ball as he wants there.
TP will still get his minutes and be there at the end though.
That's what I said. Forgive me for not getting into the specifics ( even though I was aware of his non-gauranteed multi-year deal). Pretty sure you're aware of what I meant.
I never said that, my point that I was trying to make was that he obviously has some BBIQ to pick up the Spurs system as quickly as he did. And he did a great job starting even with the details needed to run a team during the stretch that he did. ( That was my response to you saying " Athleticism isn't enough".) Because obviously that isn't the case with Temple as you implicated.
Last edited by MaNu4Tres; 04-20-2010 at 10:30 PM.
It is semantics. Technically, you're right and yes, I did know what you meant.
I know you never said that, but you painted this picture like he's better than he actually is. I understand why you want him to play and don't necessarily disagree with it.
My intentions were not to rant and rave about him like he's the next Scottie Pippen by any means. My intentions were to provide different necessary notions for you to understand why I believe he's the better option than Mason and Bogans. Which he's proved game after game for the past month.
(BTW This doesn't mean I'd give him an All-NBA vote in case you misunderstood).
Roddy Beaubois, DeShawn Stevenson, Tim Thomas, Matt Carroll and Greg Buckner.
Why do I mention these name? Glad you asked.
These are players picking up a check from the Mavs whom didn't see one-minute, not one-minute of court time. The Mavs used an 8-man rotation while the Spurs used 10.
Now ask yourself: Of the 5 mentioned players, how many would be less useful to a team than Mason and Bogans are now and have proven to be for the last half of the season?
The fact that this is a legitimate question just goes to show how the thought of Temple isn't so far fetched. I mean, you first think, "The kid's a rookie straight out of the D-League. The playoffs just aren't a time for him." (Sorry, if it sounds familiar) But when you look at who's seeing minutes in front of him and the recent track record of the two, it's hard to rationalize not playing him.
Is Temple a better offensive player than Bogans? Looks to be.
Is Temple a better defensive player than Bogans? Probably not, but it's closer than you'd think. (For all the jokes of Bogans and all the he takes, I actually like the guy. When he's right and the matchup's right, he can have a real positive impact on the defensive end. And if he didn't play so uneven on the defensive end and if he could shoot the 3 at a 40% clip, he'd be a really nice asset. But if my uncle wasn't to be confused for my aunt, you wouldn't think he was gay. He hasn't looked to be right since the ankle injury; his physicality might be the best option available for a guy like Butler -- given Malik won't be playing -- but it's not a good matchup because Caron has no problem abusing shorter players and shooting contested shots; and the guy has proven time-and-time-again that his offense just isn't credible enough to be an asset if his defense isn't stellar -- which it's not.)
Is Temple a better offensive player than Mason? This year's Mason? Yes, at least he has been in his time here. He's shooting 44% (28-64) from the floor to Mason's 39% (193-496). He's shooting 43.5 from the 3 (10-24), while Mason's shooting 33% (88-264). The sample size is small but the recent play shows that Temple has been more of an asset to the team. (If Mason isn't knocking down the 3, what exactly does he bring to the table that is appreciably better than what Temple's shown?)
Is Temple a better defender than Mason? Sorry, I felt it necessary to at least ask. Temple hasn't played the type of defense that made him a name at LSU or even what I saw from him during preseason with the Rockets, that could explain the significant offensive strides (his focus may have shifted to improving that facet), but he's still a more active, uesful and versatile defender than Mason.
So, should Temple see the court at this time of year and against this caliber of opponent? Absolutely not; but that hasn't prevented Mason and Bogans from playing.
It's actually a pretty sad commentary that a team who started with championship aspirations, and probably still clings to them, is having to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find help. But it is what it is ... and Temple's the best they've got. It's time to play all (*cough* Blair *cough*) of the best they've got . . .
Lol. Has anything Popovich done this season suggest that he doles out playing based on productivity? Anyone with half a brain can see that Temple is a better basketball player than either Mason or Bogans. On top of that, the stats also show that Mason and Bogans have been terrible this year.
You think any of that matters to Popovich? The guy is in love with himself. His ego is so big, in his mind, the stats and past performance must be wrong. Mason and Bogans are better because he has deemed them worthy.
Temple has been impressive, but is he really experienced enough to deal with Kidd? Especially after Dallas has some game film on him to note his tendancies, moves, limitations, etc. In the regular season, when he was an unknown, no one had time to prepare for him. In the playoffs, they will. I'm not saying Temple isn't an option, I'm just saying its not the obvious "slam dunk" many on this board see it as.
It's time for a Call Speedy Claxton for game 2 thread.
Not to pick on semantics, but Thomas has been out dealing with a family issue for more than half the season, Carroll only plays in garbage time and Buckner wasn't on the roster this season. Roddy will play in certain situations (that I don't know if Rick has figured out yet) and Stevenson will more than likely get some burn, mainly as a defender. But I guess to accompany your discussion, that makes the Mavs rotation even smaller than the 8 you mentioned.Roddy Beaubois, DeShawn Stevenson, Tim Thomas, Matt Carroll and Greg Buckner.
Why do I mention these name? Glad you asked.
These are players picking up a check from the Mavs whom didn't see one-minute, not one-minute of court time. The Mavs used an 8-man rotation while the Spurs used 10.
Now ask yourself: Of the 5 mentioned players, how many would be less useful to a team than Mason and Bogans are now and have proven to be for the last half of the season?
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