forcing and continue with the gary neal expirement hoping that it prove us all wrong that it works....is like that midget roster basketball his been trying to work out for 6 years like he has a point to prove that he can win with midget basketball b4 he decides to change the playstyle of the spurs.....
so what would it take for him to change or bring in someone?
You guys (and Pop) are over thinking this ;
Play your best players and keep playing them until they are comfortable to be who they have always been: players.
Mills is a in' player and just give him the backup pg position now and live with his mistakes until he gets comfortable. DeColo should be 3rd string pg and Neal (who is also a player - should only play the 2 guard spot - and should play as much or more than Green)
Mills will pay dividends in the playoffs if he is given full confidence to play a regular rotation.
Same thing as when Tiago was a rookie. It was so simple to see that he was a player and needed court time to get comfortable and be a player in this league but genius Pop over-analyzed the and the bed the way he will the bed in this pg scenario.
Play your players and minimize the playing time of bench/scrubs/not ready for prime time/chokers (such as Bonner).
Well said!!
Before the season I thought it a fait accompli that Pop was going to give Mills the backup PG position and 30 games to prove whether he can handle it. He hasn't, and now he's in the guts of the season. Mistake.
Mills is not a bad player. He's actually pretty solid and I don't have a problem with him being on the roster. In fact, I wish he could get more minutes. But he's not a good point guard. That much was really clear in the chances he's had to play as one for us. He doesn't pass very well and he's just not much of a playmaker as far as distributing the ball goes. What he is, is a change of pace kind of guard who can bring energy and provide a boost with his shooting.
What the Spurs are looking for right now is a guy who can distribute the ball, get the team into its sets, and by extension relieve Manu of some of the playmaking responsibilities of the second unit. Minus Neal, out of the 3 guards we have left (Joseph, De Colo, and Mills) De Colo and Joseph are pretty much the only 2 true points. Unless Mills suddenly learns how to balance his own scoring versus setting up his team, having him run the point would just be more of the same problems we're all complaining about now with Neal. Albeit with better ball-handling.
It would backfire spectacularly in the playoffs unless he was hot the whole time. Kind of like what's going to happen if Neal keeps backing up TP.
I've seen him balance his scoring instincts with setting up teammates, but you are right that he doesn't do it instinctively, only in patches. I was hoping that 20-30 games of constant minutes would help him find that balance, but maybe it's a case of tiger can't change its stripes.
Thought Patty did a good job tonight. yeas his shot was off, but I was impressed with his ball handling under some pressure. He looked to pass the ball and really competed on the defence. He dosent seem to be totally out of control, which he seemed to be early in the season. Seems to be cool under pressure.
It also allows Gary to be free of the pressure of running the team. See what happens when Gary is free!
I thought Patty took a huge stride foward in becoming the backup PG for the team
He's pretty good in the fast break, either leading it or launching himself out of a cannon in anticipation for an outlet pass. Definitely making himself known as a energy/instant offence/defensive pest kind of player.
Hopefully he can improve when it's a halfcourt grindfest, that's where he struggles unless he's getting good looks from coming around off ball screens.
Well I like him as a player (and he's on my favourite team) so I honestly do hope he figures it out. My feeling though is that he'd have to beat out Neal to get minutes since the two of them are essentially best in the same role. With Manu out I think we'll see him play more though for obvious reasons.
de Colo has next to zero scoring ability. Doesn't penetrate. Shoots some 3s reluctantly in garbage time. If he can't make teams respect his offense who gives a crap about his two nice passes a game. Why aren't people howling to trade him? He turns it over quite a bit, as does Neal, but at least Neal scores.
i was assuming that with the 158 point guards we had on the roster to start the season that Pop wouldve picked one and let them develop. instead hes chosen Neal.
smdh.
cant wait for the spurs to waste more draft picks looking for a backup pg in the future....
Who do you guys want Pop to play as the backup point guard against the Grizzlies tonight? Patty, Neal, De Colo or Joseph (who has since been recalled)?
Patty in the 4th. I think his energy is an excellent strategy against teams that are getting tired. Some of CoJo in the 1st half just to see how he handles the defense and set plays. Sprinkle in some De Colo minutes and keep Neal at SG.
Joseph. Against Memphis and everyone else for a good ten games.
We've already seen the flaws in employing the other three at PG. Let's get a good look at Joseph and see if he can handle the job, or at least exhibits fewer flaws.
Hopefully Neal only gets back up SG minutes tonight, with Cojo (defense) and Patty (energy) at PG. The key for Joseph is to play good defense and run the offense. An issue lately is that our "back up" only role is to bring the ball up court and then hand off to someone else. I would like for him to get around 15-20 min tonight.
dan mccarney @danmccarneysaen Media isn't the only victim of CIA Pop. Gary Neal says the coach has given no indication how minutes will be distributed in Manu's absence.
P. Mills #8 Mins
05:59Fg M-A
0-23P M-A
0-1FTM-A
0-0+/-
-3OFF
0DEF
0TOT
0AST
1PF
0ST
0TO
1BS
0BA
0PTS
0
N. De Colo #25 MINS
04:21FG M-A
0-03PM-A
0-0FTM-A
0-0+/-
-3OFF
1DEF
1TOT
2AST
0PF
0ST
1TO
0BS
0BA
0PTS
0
Jesus thats a horrible statline from Mills.
De Colo wasn't that spectacular either.
My expectations for Mills are much higher than De Colo's, tbh.De Colo wasn't that spectacular either.
de colo gave up the lead tonight when he came on...didnt help when u have that other hero alongside bricking houses out of the rhythm of the game
Well, at least Neal's bricking shots as a shooting guard. If he were to regain the backup pg spot, there'd be zero ball movement when he's on the floor.
Surprisingly enough, that's not a terrible trade for any team. It really should be (because the Spurs make off like bandits), but it's not. The Wolves a pretty desperate for players right now, and the Bucks are desperate to make a playoff push and may think Kirilenko helps them get there. The there were some way to switch out Dalembert for Gooden, I think it would be a go from Milwaukee's end. The Wolves would have to be crazy but ... Khan. And the Spurs would have to feel comfortable that someone could play the three behind Kawhi. Too bad Gelabale's no longer available.
Damn straight. All he does is jack up shots like he's going out of style. Meanwhile, the dude is shooting career lows from the field and from the arc, yet he keeps on jacking up heroes like it's the last shot of his life.
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