48MoH: Why DeJuan Blair might not work for the Spurs

[yavozerb]

Stop dreaming...

Is that true? Did Batum really get benched?

Pick up the phone and give them a call. That would be a wonderful get. I love Blair, but I love Batum more and besides he's a much better fit for what the Spurs need. I'd gladly ante up Blair for him.

Even if it takes ing the Blazer GM's coffee, make it happen.

i would do a blair and batum swap in a heart beat

doubt the blazers would do it though

I think the spurs are trying to make blair into a dennis rodman kind of role player that's why he is in the starting lineup,with his rebounding. The only thing is that the teams game plan is to go after blair when he's playing defense cuz his defense is so bad. He will keep starting I think until they start losing, but I do want blair to be successfull, and hope his minutes can get up there when they face the more weaker oppenents and medicore bench players.

Take a look at this boxscore: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametra...101130_POR@PHI...Believe he only played 13 minutes as well.

Batum's value is about as low as it ever has been. Just a thought

[tuncaboylu]

Ana a solid game by Blair, 16 pts and 10 rebs, against a front-court Lee-Biedrins. Moreover Duncan is also played well and completed triple double.

It's very early to say that Blair is not a good fit. He will learn and he will be.

[Cessation]

Blair certainly proving the critics wrong, dominating the defensive jaugernat that is lee, lol

[ShoogarBear]

Tim Duncan’s natural position is center. Everyone on earth knows this, with the possible exception of Tim Duncan.

[itzsoweezee]

The author of this article also thinks that Bonner should be starting. Nuff said.

[Whisky Dog]

I'd say for a second round pick in his 2nd season Blair is doing well. There were reasons he wasn't a top 15 pick or even a 1st round pick and those are the very reasons he struggles at times. He still has upside IMO, and for a second rounder is definitely value.

[Supergirl]

Blair would be better used of the bench to sub in for Duncan. Dice should start at C. Splitter and Blair should come off the bench. But eventually, Duncan will retire, and Blair will be a decent PF in his stead, as long as he's paired with a good C (like Splitter).

[portnoy1]

IMHO, Spurs should have a solid 8man rotation that plays at least 10-15minutes regardless. And then the other guys can play according to matchups and team needs.

F - Duncan
F - RJ
C - Dice
G - Parker
G - Manu
Splitter/Anderson/Hill are the subs that play 10-15mins every night regardless.
Blair - can play Center when Pop goes small, which is quite often. He can be the double double guy we love and not lose to many minutes.
Neal/Bonner - can both fill the need of instant scoring whether its need from a guard(Neal) or Big(Bonner). That way Neal's lack of size and Bonner's lack of testicles can do damage for a quick run.

[admiralsnackbar]

Ana a solid game by Blair, 16 pts and 10 rebs, against a front-court Lee-Biedrins. Moreover Duncan is also played well and completed triple double.

It's very early to say that Blair is not a good fit. He will learn and he will be.

Agreed. While his points are well-reasoned and perfectly valid, the OP seems convinced only of what Blair can do at the 5. History bears his analysis out, but clearly Pop thinks Blair is capable of developing into more of a rebounding 4 with an inside/outside game, and to be fair, there is only room on him in this roster if he can make strides in that direction. While it may be that Blair is almost redundant at the 5 in anything but smallball sets, but he's still a remarkably talented kid with a lot of motor who hasn't hit his ceiling.

We can't really trade Blair for somebody of comparable talent at his price point, and if we can continue to win while he develops his game, I think keeping him is an easy choice -- especially since we may not have a dominant rebounding presence in Duncan much longer.

[ceperez]

My prediction is that Blair will play well against teams with short front lines, however with teams with 7 footers he will struggle.

I don't expect him to do well against Dallas, LA, Boston and Orlando.

I think he'll match up well against the Heat, Utah, NO and OKC.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

He always does great against OKC. Or at least he did last year. I don't know how good he did in the 13 point Spurs win at OKC.

[admiralsnackbar]

My prediction is that Blair will play well against teams with short front lines, however with teams with 7 footers he will struggle.

I don't expect him to do well against Dallas, LA, Boston and Orlando.

I think he'll match up well against the Heat, Utah, NO and OKC.

I think it may end up having more to do with the skill (and perhaps weight) of the opposing front line than just height alone. Thabeet comes to mind as a giant who was squarely outplayed by Blair.

Blair also played pretty well against last year's Celtics, who I think were probably more intimidating defensively in the paint with Rasheed than they are with Shaq -- not to mention that Pop will almost certainly expose Shaq's D by using Blair to receive pack-door passes from Tim the way he used to with Malik Rose.

All to say that I still have no feel for what types of situations/players he capitalizes on, really. So many of his shortcomings seem to be internal at this stage in his game that I have trouble differentiating between his mistakes and his opponents' dominance of him. So I guess for myself, I'm just gonna let the sample size grow over the course of the season before calling how and against whom he will beat or be beaten by.

[jjktkk]

I'd say for a second round pick in his 2nd season Blair is doing well. There were reasons he wasn't a top 15 pick or even a 1st round pick and those are the very reasons he struggles at times. He still has upside IMO, and for a second rounder is definitely value.

Blair's knees were the biggest reason he dropped in the draft.

[Cessation]

blair played well against 3 opponents this year

utah: 11pts 8rbs
philadelphia: 13pts 12rbs
golden state: 16pts 10rbs

I guess, 3 games, is better than nothing.