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Can't play with four men on the court.
If they finish close games without Bowen, they'll lose the majority of them.
But it matters who is starting in the sense if that person if giving you nothing on offense AND nothing on defense - which is what Finley is doing right now.
Can't play with four men on the court.
True enough, but there were a couple of guys who got no burn at all today.
When Barry gets back, sit Finley for good. He has lost whatever it was he had. We can't can't afford a guy that has to put up 20 bricks to "get going". Until then, give Udoka extended minutes. Leave Finley on the pine.
I agree the problem with Finley is on defense. Offense comes and goes. Defense can ALWAYS be there.
The starting thing is a mental stuff. I guess Finley needs it more than others.
So be it.
If he watches the game on the defensive end, let him sit for the rest of the game.
Finley has won several games with big shots in his career.
I fail to remeber Udoka, whom I like a lot, doing the same.
On top, Duncan tonight.
As much as I hate John Hollinger, he loves to point out that points in all four quarters count for the same at the end.
I did some research and it turns out that is true.
dude its not so much finleys fault though. We all forget that finley used to be a slam dunk compe or and used to be known for driving the ball in, in dallas. The spurs system has totally thrown finley off his game that he has become one dimensional being just a jump shooter. he looks so hesitant about driving in the ball and has lost total confidence in himself. but i do agree he needs to be benched. i see so much potential in udoka and hes gonna break through, these are the growing pains.
Pop is so worried about his bench having a scoring punch that he forgets that his starting five must also have a scoring punch. In today's game, the Spurs, with manu on the bench, got off to a slow start. When Manu came in at the halfway point in the first quarter, the Spurs had only scored 8 points. So, I get the theory to have some scoring come from the bench, but isn't it more important to have a scoring punch from the starters? As for Finley, why is it that he is treated like royalty. he's 35---If he can't produce from the bench, then let Udika have his minutes.
I don't think he cares about that either. He'd rather Finley shoot the ball then have someone pass up the open shot like Barry was doing before this season and what Udoka is doing now. Even with Finley struggling guys like Hill and Bell, or Howard and Stackhouse, or Melo or whoever still don't leave Finley alone. They still gotta respect his shot. They'll leave Udoka open which could be beneficial if he shoots it or it allows his player to smother Duncan or cut off Parker and Ginobli.
I'm not making excuses for Finley because he needs to get it together but part of the problem is that he's not getting the open shots on offense like he was before. Duncan would be doubled and he'd pitch out or Parker would drive and kick out. Or the ball is passed from one side to the other where Fin was open. He's being forced to dribble or come off curls/screens but a player is still there.
As for the defensive rotations I think it's in part due to him not playing with the same guys. Before if he let a guy drive baseline he'd have Duncan back there when it's now Oberto or Horry or Thomas. I'm not sure about why he's leaving some guys open for 3's but I've seen others do the same thing. Disturbing trend.
Taking a shot at 0-0 with 47' 30'' to go is NOT exactly the same as a three pointer down by three with 5''.
Anybody that has some vague experience of compe ive basketball would agree with that.
We brought Finley in to knock down open jumpers, period. We have enough guard penetration already, and someone has to make them pay when they collapse on Duncan.
If he needs layups to establish his jumper, he is of no use to us. We cannot allow Popp to show plays designed for Manu just to pamper a twelve year vet.
That's a part of his game that I have wondered where it has gone. He gets guys to committ with his head-fake then just steps in and takes a 18-15 foot jumpshot. I know he doesn't have the legs he used to in Dallas, but why not go to the rim to get his offense going?
He was killer in Dallas with his ability to attack the rim, but he's become like Vince Carter and stays away from the rim almost altogether. Also, his post-up game has vanished too, why doesn't Pop let him post-up smaller or weaker SG's when Finley's in with the second unit?
After looking at Lenovo 50 lineups, 48 of them had Barry, Finley or Ginobili in them.
The two lineups without them were one with Bonner and one with Dermarr Johnson and Horry.
Finley needs to be sent to Austin.
He hurts the offense tremendously.
The box score says differently, and Finley can't make either anyway.
Letting Finley whiff all day in hopes that he can bail us out with some drama shot in clutch is a recipe for disaster.
Except the Spurs can't F' him. Outside of our Big 3, who on this team has any offensive game? Horry, Vaughn/Stoudamire, even Oberto are not exactly offensive threats. Finley knocking down shots makes our offense a lot more versatile so it's important that he get it going.
If Finley and Udoka were avocados, Finley would be the over ripened avocado with the brown stuff on the outside. If you cut away the brown stuff, you might have some good, green flesh left. Udoka, on the other hand, is the under ripened avocado which looks better and is somewhat edible but only the outside. It's still not ripe enough to make guacamole.
Choosing between Finley and Udoda is like choosing between brown guac. or lumpy guac.
Too bad we don't have two Manus because then we would have plenty of good guacamole to go around.
Please confine yourself to analogies that don't make my mouth water.
I would say, until Barry gets back and gets his "legs under him", Udoka should start ahead of Finley. I just don't like what Finley is bringing to the table these days. Of course, that's been my compliant about him before he ever arrived - his streaky shooting lapses and his evolution into a "one-trick" pony.
Once Barry gets back up to speed, I'd like to see him starting. All this is contingent upon Manu/Fab tandem coming off the bench and KT starting the game.
The one-trick pony aspect is fine, we only really need him to help spread the floor.
The problem is he is a zero-trick pony this year on both ends.
Sorry dude. Got to correct you on your assessment of Finley. It's not the Spurs system that has totally thrown Finley off and makd him become a one-dimensional jump shooter. He was already that when he arrived!
Sure he had a couple of memorable throwdowns versus the Mavs in the 2006 WCSF series, but those were simply exceptions. He's been strictly a catch-and-shoot jump shooter for the past 4-5 years. He rarely gets to the basket, can't create his own shot or shots for others. The Mavs fans, media and management had the same concerns about Finley for the last 2-3 seasons here was there. Other than his cost-prohibitive salary, why do you think they were willing to part with him?
I watched many a Mavs game during that time (I live in BIG D) and I can tell you this, by the time he hit S.A., Finley had already morphed into this one-trick pony that you see before you now.
But, when and how did he lose his legs/lift? I remember that period of his career as well, but can't recall when he lost his ability to attack the basket. Or was it that he basically "choose" to become a stationary jump shooter?
Fin is losing his shooting confidence right now
please Popo make sure your line up & rotation soon, and give Fin consistent minutes
Just shoooooooooooot, forget the loss
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