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Could be part of the offensive problem with that lineup.
Splitter always played pick and rolls with Huertas in europe
Could be part of the offensive problem with that lineup.
I don't think its relevant. (unless he really is a soft china doll.) Hes in the NBA, he understands that he needs to condition himself for 82 games a season. And hes not the first player to come from playing 30-60 games a year to a full time NBA schedule.
Ricky Rubio went from playing 40-60 games a year averaging roughly 23 minutes a game to 34.8mpg this season. (38 mpg as a starter, 15 games.)
Blake Griffin went from 33~35 games a year in college to missing an entire year due to knee problems then proceeding to storm out 82 games at 38mpg.
Greg Monroe, 34 games in college with concerns of mental and physical weakness. He ended up playing 80 games at 28 mpg.
Jason Thompson who was also known as a physically weak player was able to muster 82 games at 28mpg.
I'm not trying to compare the players role or their situation to Tiago's, my point is that Tiago's been with the team for a full year. His cardio shouldn't be that bad unless hes just an unprofessional, selfish, china doll of a player. I'm not calling for 40 minutes of Tiago either but the cardio argument is a weak one IMO.
Glad to know I'm not the only one sick of that jackass. He makes about as much sense as ducks.
Also, I don't feel like doing the math, but I know Splitter averaged over 30pts per 40min tonight. How insane is that !?!
splitter didnt look tired or tired for any game this season, yet still get that stupid rookie treatment, unless pop playin his cards safe since he cant rely anything from his other small bigs on the team.....
splitter>duncan this season....
Were they all actually frequently injured as Tiago was?
Some players are just injury prone, you don't have to make it a character judgment.
hmm.. I'm not sure what his injury history pre-NBA looks like tbh. Depending on that resume you could definitely make an argument for him being injury prone. But its not too late to change.. hopefully he remains healthy for the rest of his career.
If he ends up being injury prone then the Spurs are seemingly suffering from 5 years of bad luck.
I will defer to the Spanish/Euro posters, but I remember his being out almost every time I got a chance to see his team play on NBAtv when I was following him.
Pop does seem to be biased against giving big minutes to players with that kind of reputation/history and that can be disappointing, but it looks like Splitter's contributions can't be ignored. It may have to come down to Pop's turning Tim into DRob/Malik/Rasho to get out of Splitter's way if we're going to see them play together -- it could take a lot of convincing for Pop to go for that.
When did TDMVPDPOY turn into a Splitter spam bot?
pop can throw his mind games in the bin, splitters NBA numbers are superior to his euro numbers...just look at it
Pop will come to his senses in game 3 or 4 in the playoffs after being pounded down low.
Agreed. Splitter looks to be a special player and I definitely want us to milk the situation. Tim has looked comfortable playing from the high post this season so it could work.
I also don't think this is a Blair/Duncan situation where our offense becomes stagnant (which leads to duncan or parker trying to do too much). Splitter is arguably the best decision making post player right now and going to him usually leads to good results. He can finish consistently (unlike Blair) and he capable of making necessary passes. Hes also way more effective on the PnR (compared to Blair and Duncan) with Parker and that should only improve with Manu back. That makes me optimistic for a Duncan, Splitter, X, Manu and Parker end game.
So when do we officially start calling them the "Big Four"?
Splitter does have a solid history of muscle injuries throughout his career, of the types he had last year with the Spurs.
Muscle injuries are a because they tend to relapse. The fact he has gained some weight, apparently, this year could only make things more dangerous.
If you have to risk playing Splitter for 35', it'd better be in key playoffs games, rather than regular season games that could be won by playing Bonner.
I am totally with Popovich on this one.
That's a dangerous game because it's hard to change the way you play in the playoffs too much. We saw how disruptive starting Dice was last season.
I could be reading it wrong but Blair has a higher PER than all four players I listed in my comment... and a higher Win-Share%/48 minutes than all but the Red Rocket...Good point.
Though, obviously, I think it's worth finding out due to the long term potential. But yeah, in the short term, more Duncan and Splitter together would hurt more than help.
Out of curiosity, which of the advanced metrics are you using to judge Blair in that link?
I figure the second could be slightly biased if it depends of those he plays with the most (and since he's been a starter that would include Tony and Tim). But isn't the PER simply based on his production alone?
After yesterday's game, Blair continues to have the 5th highest PER on the team...
Disagree. Dice was the last of Spurs problems in last year's playoffs.
At any rate, it is now a given that Bonner will eclipse in the POs, so you want an healthy Splitter in those games.
No unnecessary risks, unless Spurs are starting to lose games steadily, which doesn't seem to be the case at the moment.
Splitter's injuries are all from contact, and yes I suppose you could say that injuries from contact tend to relapse in a contact sport. I'm unsure how risk of a sprained ankle is justification for keeping him on the bench last season.
So you're thinking Pop's plan is to throw Splitter either into the starting lineup once the playoffs start or increase his minutes two-fold?
Bad idea all around.
How about the "big 3 and a half"
Since Splitter is getting < 20 minutes a game
Last edited by TJastal; 02-09-2012 at 03:59 PM.
I think he will not come out of the gates in PO, but he will be on the court at the end of close games, which, in my opinion, is the best measure of how much Pop thinks of him.
Right now the machine is turning, no need to change.
And this include the marvel boy soon to come back.
Slow him down
A strain to the plantaris muscle, which caused him to miss the TC last year, is not from contact.
I agree, last season he should have played more in those irrelevant games at the end of the RS, and way more in PO.
If Pop doesn't want to play them together, then reduce Duncan's minutes and give some of them to Splitter. The way Splitter is playing I see no obvious downside: Duncan gets rest, Splitter gets more experience. Duncan (and Tony) have been on a good roll, but it's crazy to think they can keep this up for the whole season.
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