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what an awful thread...
watch the damn game instead!
He is a 7 guy who can run and who has solid Defensive foundation. In 15 mn he did just that. The only thing that bothers me is his lack of rebounds, for the rest he is what we could expect.
ok, I told
buts it's just a example, we can't wait much by him.
what an awful thread...
watch the damn game instead!
He is a 7 guy who can run and who has solid Defensive foundation. In 15 mn he did just that. The only thing that bothers me is his lack of rebounds, for the rest he is what we could expect.
Maybe, Marions shot is uglier but he hits it alot more.
BTW his FT's are the ugliest maybe? They are just flat out ugly.
I don't have extraordinary expectation for Tiago so I'm not sure why you're reminding me he's a role player. The fact of the matter is that role players who play mainly with the big three would do a of a lot better in the garbage time minutes than Tiago did. He's the fifth big on this team and at this time he does absolutely nothing better than one of the other bigs available thereby removing any reason to play him with the big 3.
He's not better than Blair, He's not better than Bonner, and He's not better than Antonio so there is absolutely no need for a role player who can't pay better than your other role players at the same position.
The defense he had early in the season has now joined his offense in the tank. If I see him go for another steal at the free throw line or higher I will probably break my TV by throwing something at it and I'm going to assume that Pop feels much the same.
I wasn't expecting a reincarnation of David Robinson, but right now he's not even CLOSE to being the steady productive that was Oberto. He's at the same level of an Ian Mahimni and while he may turn that around in the future there is absolutely no reason to play him with the big three at this point in time.
all Blair has on defense is to cheat and go after the strip/steal
Too bad you adopted his name prematurely eh?
Plus he's from Brazil...
But no agenda in your game, amirite?
I actually kind of used your post to speak to the broader audience/topic, so I wasn't really reminding you or trying to tell you -- specifically -- who and what he is.
Bottom line, the Spurs know who their top-2 bigs are (Duncan and 'Dyess). After that, Blair's there most talented, Bonner's their shooting 4 and Splitter's their best hope to combat the bigger frontlines come the playoffs. They've gotta get the guy some reps and exhaust their options. Passing judgment on what we've seen from Splitter recently in sporadic minutes is futile -- are we to look at what we've seen as of late after he's been made an afterthought or look to all of what we've seen from him overseas and in International play against NBA talent?
Honestly, Splitter's given me the impression on more than one occasion that he sees his minutes as pretty much meaningless. Like he's certain he'll be riding the bench on account of a more talented and ingrained Blair and a player in Bonner that brings something to the table he just can't better him at. I don't like it and I'd love to think I may be off base, but it's been pretty obvious to me. And even if it's a pretty mentality (if I'm correct), I couldn't care less if the guy could turn it around with minutes to help the team win. But I expect we'll continue to see spotty play for as long as he keeps being utilized in this manner.
But if he got time with the Big 3, I'm confident you'd see much more of the player we've known him to be and the one he's shown glimpses of this year. And again, you're not going to see what he brings to the table for a contender playing with and against third-string players. Between the star mentality he has (and that's a positive most of the time -- not so much in garbage time) and the skillset he has to offer (screening, passing, rolling, defending), I just don't see where he's going to impress anyone playing mop-up duty.
Pop's made it pretty clear to me that this year isn't for Tiago. I'm simply not buying it; not for the team's long-term objective (championship).
Last edited by Blackjack; 01-16-2011 at 03:18 AM.
If Pop intends Tiago to be a long term replacement for someone like Dyess (He wants to retire after this year, and next year's player option is only for half, right?), then bringing him up slowly makes sense.
The problem is that the Spurs' championship window is tiny. Practically speaking, this season is it. Lockout will most likely waste next year, and then you're back with an even older Duncan, Manu, and Parker? Tiago won't be able to plug enough holes 2 years from now even if he does pan out.
This is the part that puzzles me about Pop. I think this is really the last contending year for the Spurs--so to dismiss Tiago for the year seems premature at best on Pop's part.
It's evident that Tiago will require a complete re-work of his post game, IMO. Those weak ass oddball semi-layups are not going to cut it in the NBA. That's not going to happen overnight, and most likely will also not happen during the season.
His defense will improve over time because he has good awareness and footwork. His rebounding will also need work though.
That said, I also think he's a good extra body to throw out there against the more rugged bigs during the regular season. It'll just save some extra wear and tear on Dice or Tim.
I don't have any real great expectations for his post game. I think Pop and the Spurs view the league as becoming less dominant on paint scores in the traditional sense (post-play from the pivot) and are continuing to gear themselves into that Euro direction -- keeping the middle open with shooting and mobility to compliment the drive-and-kick game.
I view Tiago's offense as being pretty dependent on the playmaking of others, now and moving forward. He'll probably develop a shot at some point -- or rediscover the little bit of one he used to have -- but I view him as essentially a finisher: pick-and-roll game, duck-ins, flash cuts, etc.
Yeah. I've given up on him becoming part of this year's team in any real meaningful fashion. If he does, great. I'd love to see it. But Pop doesn't seem to take my advice as much as he used to.
I think I may have said something a little out of line -- and loud enough to where he could here me say it from the comfort of my home all the way down to the AT&T.
When Tiago was picked 3 years ago, he probably was picked up more for his defensive abilities (P&R especially) than for his offensive abilities (virtually non-existent then, almost non-existent now).Yeah. I've given up on him becoming part of this year's team in any real meaningful fashion. If he does, great. I'd love to see it. But Pop doesn't seem to take my advice as much as he used to.
I think I may have said something a little out of line -- and loud enough to where he could here me say it from the comfort of my home all the way down to the AT&T.
The irony of his situation is that the year he finally comes over, the Spurs decide to focus on offense and become Suns Lite (Sun-Lite?). Oy.
Well, he was more of a value-pick. The Spurs took advantage of the opportunity to get a player that had lottery talent but contract issues prevented those teams from risking such an important pick on him.
I don't think the Spurs were ever under the illusion Tiago was anything more than a solid rotation big at the NBA level -- which isn't something there are a whole lot of these days. Every time I've heard a member of the coaching staff speak to Tiago's ability or game, the two names that always come up are Oberto and Varejao. And while the comparisons have merit and those two players would be quality additions to the team, neither of which would have been confused for a Duncan successor or someone to be Duncan's understudy the way Tim had been for Dave.
It may have been different for Tiago had he come into camp healthy and ready to play from Day 1, but once the Spurs got off to such a hot start and the combination of their long-term approach with Blair (starting him to both develop him and manage minutes for Duncan and 'Dyess) and Bonner's good play, it was just a confluence of events that left Splitter on the outside looking in.
For Pop to go to Splitter now would force him to tell Blair and/or Bonner they're just not going to be good enough no matter what they do. It'd be saying we're going to let this rookie take minutes you could do better with here in the short term because we need him to figure it out long term, basically.
I can't see Pop doing that. He's much more likely to go with what he knows and what's been working, not banking on a rookie being a championship difference maker.
Thats the part that is baffling to me. Splitter was considered a lottery talent,
which means to be that he would be much more talented than just a roatation guy. I wasn't expecting Splitter to get major minutes this year, but I was expecting him to be in the rotation by now. From what little I've seen of Splitter play this year, the only positives I can take away are his footwork. Splitter needs to get stronger and his post game needs to be completely overhauled.
The success rate of big men "lottery talent" over the years isn't overwhelming, so saying that Splitter belongs in that group is still a correct statement.
What a cheerful bunch of posters.
Basically saying the Spurs have ZERO possibilities to come out of the West.
Because Bonner cannot guard Gasol/Bynum/Odom, will start missing those 3s in the PO, as he has ALWAYS done, and Blair is 6.5, and no team has won a le with a 6.5 center, with the exception of Unseld's Bullets.
So no Splitter, no Finals.
Now, of course the Mavs could eliminate the Lakers.........
I'm french, I have no agenda, look at the flag. I'm just living in Brazil, if not for the spurs I wouldn't give a damn about if Splitter is good or not.
Antonio McDyess says o.
Correct.
Sarcasm says o.
I just hope not acclimating Splitter doesn't come back and bite the Spurs in the playoffs. If it's Blair and Bonner as our contributors for the playoffs then so be it. It will be what it will be.
I just hope it turns out for the best.
Exactly. Teams in the Lottery are usually looking for a player they can hit it out of the ballpark with but rarely does that wind up being the case. So if you can get a big that's about as close to a "sure thing" as you'll find -- a legit rotation player that can fill a need to be a piece of the big picture puzzle -- it's a much safer and smarter bet to select him than gamble on some upside that may or may not be there.
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