Grades: Spurs @ Cavaliers - Apr. 3

[will_spurs]

The Parker-Ginobili thing is both more and less of a concern. More in that they're more likely to be on the floor together finishing close games, but as Skeptic said, they also have much more experience playing together.

One issue with the Tony-Manu is that as soon as Manu enters the game, Tony starts deferring to him, which is the main reason why Tony's production declines. Not sure if it's mostly to get Manu back into a rhythm, or whether Tony's expectations are stuck in 2005, but Tony will have to understand he's the alpha dog now, for good or bad.

[TJastal]

Manu is obviously superior to any of our other SGs. Why not start him?

One issue with the Tony-Manu is that as soon as Manu enters the game, Tony starts deferring to him, which is the main reason why Tony's production declines. Not sure if it's mostly to get Manu back into a rhythm, or whether Tony's expectations are stuck in 2005, but Tony will have to understand he's the alpha dog now, for good or bad.

The reason(s) Manu shouldn't start are many-fold.

1) You have chemistry concerns that have been do ented and discussed, including a comment by will_spurs above.

2) Manu is needed in the 2nd unit for playmaking capabilities while Parker sits. He is the team's "6th man" which is a role many players who are better than their starting counterparts play such as James Harden.

3) Manu should be on a strict diet of minutes for his own health and safety, plus to keep him at peak form for closing out games, quarters, etc.

Diaw otoh has none of these concerns or limitations.

[100%duncan]

Once again a great write-up from LJ.

[tmtcsc]

I'm excited to see if San Antonio's high-octane offense can thrive against a defensive squad like the Celtics.

Who would have ever thought ?

[DPG21920]

So Tim plays 23 minutes and Tiago gets.......17? I guess the theory that Tiago's minutes mirror Tim's minutes is out. Leaving only the bleak, but logical conclusion: Pop is not aware of Tiagos production and is not as high on him as many of us are (as evidenced by his many head scratching comments on Tiagos abilities as a player and minutes).

[Solid D]

There were times last night I thought I was watching the 2004 National Team of Argentina in Athens...except with better 3-point shooting.

[100%duncan]

Pop really needs to Free Tiago now. Build around him in the second unit perhaps. And close the game with TD and him in our FL

[CubanMustGo]

Impressive win ...

but don't forget the Cadavers lost at home to both Chicago by 39 earlier this year, and to Milwaukee by 37 just two games ago. They not only suck, but they don't care that they suck. Happy to see the big W but it's kind of like beating an NBADL team with Varajao out and the rest of them not giving any effort on the defensive end.

It would be dangerous to read as much into this game as some here are doing.

[100%duncan]

^ +1

[jiggy_55]

How could you tell that from watching highlights?

I have international league pass, I replayed the game and watched different highlights.. There is a timeline that shows all the points, rebs, assists, etc. This one was called Diaw assist, Neal layup.. I clicked on it to see the play and then noticed he had no part of the play, so then went to play-by-play and noticed he recorded an assist on the play and he hadn't even touched the ball on that play.

[Paranoid Pop]

So Tim plays 23 minutes and Tiago gets.......17? I guess the theory that Tiago's minutes mirror Tim's minutes is out.

No it's not, Pop just went with a non-playoff rotation of 5 bigs because of the schedule.

[sandman]

Too bad he technically had 8. Read my above post.

The official NBA scorer had 9, so technically it was 9. You can't quote your own stats because you don't agree with the official scorer. That's like saying you won an internet argument.

[Mugen]

A bigman rotation of Tim/Tiago/Diaw, with some small ball sprinkled in, would beast in the playoffs.

Too bad, Pop won't do it.

[jjktkk]

The reason(s) Manu shouldn't start are many-fold.

1) You have chemistry concerns that have been do ented and discussed, including a comment by will_spurs above.

2) Manu is needed in the 2nd unit for playmaking capabilities while Parker sits. He is the team's "6th man" which is a role many players who are better than their starting counterparts play such as James Harden.

3) Manu should be on a strict diet of minutes for his own health and safety, plus to keep him at peak form for closing out games, quarters, etc.

Diaw otoh has none of these concerns or limitations.

So now you like the signing of Diaw? Just a few days ago you were whining about the Spurs signing Diaw over Turiaf. smh.

[Darkwaters]

A bigman rotation of Tim/Tiago/Diaw, with some small ball sprinkled in, would beast in the playoffs.

Too bad, Pop won't do it.

I've been advocating for this for a while.

But it's hard to see Pop going away from Bonner completely - much less Bonner AND Blair. Especially considering his apparent ignorance of Tiago's abilities and Diaw's general newness to the team.

Still, with those three (plus small ball four played by Kawhi/Jax) we'd be pretty solid.

[Seventyniner]

If Diaw starts in place of Blair, that pushes Blair right out of the rotation IMO. Blair sulked last year after being pulled from the starting lineup and there's no reason to think it wouldn't happen again. I can't see how that would hurt in the playoffs, though, because Diaw is better in most departments and is just plain better overall. It also keeps the Splitter/Bonner tandem intact.

[TJastal]

So now you like the signing of Diaw? Just a few days ago you were whining about the Spurs signing Diaw over Turiaf. smh.

I'll explain.

Rather than keep ing I'm simply looking at the options and trying to decipher the best course action heading forward. I've been wrong about alot of stuff lately so I'm defenitely keeping an open mind about things now.

But I'll be honest here. I'm starting to like it. A little. I concluded today that you can never have too many good passers on the team. And I especially like him in the starting lineup for a few reasons:

1) It's really starting to look like Tim Duncan will be spending more time in the post. He's got a ton more energy and strength this year. With Blair in the paint all the time it's just going to jam up with defenders. This also benefits Parker's penetration having less defenders stationed there.

2) Blair's offensive contributions are fools gold (for lack of a better term, I know the most overused phrase on ST). Most of his points come on chippies from terrific feeds. I'll give him that he's got great hands around the basket, which is an asset. But if Diaw can replicate some of that plus give the spurs his highly skilled passing it makes up for it. The caveat here (and I love looking for those) is that Green and especially Leonard will become more involved in the offense, and they have a lot of room to grow (and should). Whereas Blair has reached his peak offensively. He is a black hole who is not going to get better at creating offense in the post up.

[gambit1990]

on a slightly unrelated note... i feel kinda bad for byron scott.

the clippers should fire del negro and hire him.

[wildbill2u]

Patty Mills style of play reminded me of someone--a fast bench player who comes off the bench with lots of energy and can score. Then it hit me. Jason Terry.

I'm not as worried as some by the fact that Pop isn't using a 'locked' rotation. He has an embarassment of riches on his hands with a deep bench that he can use to get good matchups or to replace a player who is having a bad night.

[DBMethos]

Patty Mills style of play reminded me of someone--a fast bench player who comes off the bench with lots of energy and can score. Then it hit me. Jason Terry.

I was thinking more along the lines of Eddie House, but the Terry comparison isn't far off. That said, at least Patty isn't a turtle-headed .

[TJastal]

House and Terry are near SG size. Mills is much smaller and quicker. More like JJ Barea tbh imo.

[jjktkk]

I'll explain.

Rather than keep ing I'm simply looking at the options and trying to decipher the best course action heading forward. I've been wrong about alot of stuff lately so I'm defenitely keeping an open mind about things now.

But I'll be honest here. I'm starting to like it. A little. I concluded today that you can never have too many good passers on the team. And I especially like him in the starting lineup for a few reasons:

1) It's really starting to look like Tim Duncan will be spending more time in the post. He's got a ton more energy and strength this year. With Blair in the paint all the time it's just going to jam up with defenders. This also benefits Parker's penetration having less defenders stationed there.

2) Blair's offensive contributions are fools gold (for lack of a better term, I know the most overused phrase on ST). Most of his points come on chippies from terrific feeds. I'll give him that he's got great hands around the basket, which is an asset. But if Diaw can replicate some of that plus give the spurs his highly skilled passing it makes up for it. The caveat here (and I love looking for those) is that Green and especially Leonard will become more involved in the offense, and they have a lot of room to grow (and should). Whereas Blair has reached his peak offensively. He is a black hole who is not going to get better at creating offense in the post up.

Bottom line is Diaw is a better player. Turiaf is a one demsional player. I wouldn't of griped if the Spurs would of signed him, but having a motivated Diaw is 10 times the better signing. Diaw's bbiq has made it seem like hes been with the Spurs for years. He should start of over Blair, but given Blairs penchant for disappearing act when hes benched, I don't know if Pop will bench him in favor of Diaw.

[TJastal]

Bottom line is Diaw is a better player. Turiaf is a one demsional player. I wouldn't of griped if the Spurs would of signed him, but having a motivated Diaw is 10 times the better signing. Diaw's bbiq has made it seem like hes been with the Spurs for years. He should start of over Blair, but given Blairs penchant for disappearing act when hes benched, I don't know if Pop will bench him in favor of Diaw.

Blair can dissappear to the south pole and the team wouldn't miss a beat. His offensive contributions can be easily replaced by the newest additions to the team plus other guys like Green and Leonard getting the opportunity to expand their games.

[Blake]

D is pretty harsh for Neal considering his stat line looks rather solid.

[Keepin' it real]

So now you like the signing of Diaw? Just a few days ago you were whining about the Spurs signing Diaw over Turiaf. smh.

Why smh? It's refreshing to see someone:

• have an opinion on a subject
• see that they may have been wrong about it, and then
• change their opinion based on what they have seen/learned.

I wish more people would do this, instead of sticking with their original "positions" out of stubbornness, denial, embarrassment, etc.