What the Spurs related media WON'T TELL YOU about Splitter

[DAF86]

And regarding the subject in hand. It's very possible that under any other coach, Tiago would be a 30/35 mpg guy and may even have a Marc Gasol/Anderson Varejao kind of status.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

If tiago had Gasols buttery smoove jumper he'd play 36 minutes a game.

[Splits]

WTF? "Media conspiracy", or to be more precise, "media agenda" is one of the most common things in life, is right up there with breathing and eating. I'm not saying that's what's happening in this case but I find it funny that you think that "media's conspiracies" are an "absolutely ridiculous" thing to believe.

You're right. It is so plausible that reporters from the local newspaper, TV, local sports broadcasters, 48MoH and other nameless, faceless, shady organizations are conspiring to avoid the wrath that will be wrought down on them if they ever ask a question about a 2nd year guy who plays 19+ minutes a game (a 64% increase from last year) and why he is not playing an extra 5 minutes a night. The whole idea is just preposterous. The OP did not say or infer "media bias" or "media agenda" where they frame the story a certain way to appeal to the fans that love the team they're covering, which would be a perfectly valid way to look at it. He said:

They won't tell you about just how good Tiago Splitter is. They don't want you to know.

And if he played Gasol as Splitter, would the Spurs-related media try to convince fans that the people who wanted Gasol to play more were hyper-ventilating, panic-attack suffering fools? YES, sadly.

Would the media stay silent, or even act as accomplices as Pop made bizarre, refutable claims about Gasol being struck down by injury the year before? YES, sadly.

This is black helicopter, tinfoil hat, longform birth certificate, Jews caused 9/11 garbage and should be treated as such.

[ElNono]

Matt Bonner regular season efficiency is off da charts!!!11

You have to wonder how the Spurs ever won 4 rings without such an efficient stretch 4 before...

[Old School 44]

I guess what we can hope for is the Spurs to play at full strength against the Lakers and with the same rotations of game 1 and Bynum has a 20/20 game and Gasol has a 20/15 game. Maybe...just maybe, Pop will see the value of at least attempting to play Duncan/Splitter against big lineups. I have no problem with Duncan/Splitter not being the solution, my issue is Pop not even really attempting this combo to find out.

[ElNono]

You're right. It is so plausible that reporters from the local newspaper, TV, local sports broadcasters, 48MoH and other nameless, faceless, shady organizations are conspiring to avoid the wrath that will be wrought down on them if they ever ask a question about a 2nd year guy who plays 19+ minutes a game (a 64% increase from last year) and why he is not playing an extra 5 minutes a night. The whole idea is just preposterous. The OP did not say or infer "media bias" or "media agenda" where they frame the story a certain way to appeal to the fans that love the team they're covering, which would be a perfectly valid way to look at it. He said:

This is black helicopter, tinfoil hat, longform birth certificate, Jews caused 9/11 garbage and should be treated as such.

Do you agree that Tiago Splitter not getting significant minutes last season had nothing to do with "being healthy"?

[DAF86]

You're right. It is so plausible that reporters from the local newspaper, TV, local sports broadcasters, 48MoH and other nameless, faceless, shady organizations are conspiring to avoid the wrath that will be wrought down on them if they ever ask a question about a 2nd year guy who plays 19+ minutes a game (a 64% increase from last year) and why he is not playing an extra 5 minutes a night. The whole idea is just preposterous. The OP did not say or infer "media bias" or "media agenda" where they frame the story a certain way to appeal to the fans that love the team they're covering, which would be a perfectly valid way to look at it.

Well I don't know if the OP inferred that but the thought of at least some part of the media in San Antonio beign told to not make uncomfortable questions or articles regarding the Spurs organization seems very plausible to me. Again, I'm not saying that's what is happening in this case just that it wouldn't surprise me at all, it happens everywhere.

[therealtruth]

Regarding 48MoH, they get their credentials through ESPN so they're pretty safe. And as far as I know, they're free to have any opinion they want. With them, I think it's just their opinion that Pop is playing his cards right with regards to Splitter. Can't really fault them for having an opinion, tbh.

Those guys lost all credibility when they suggested that Bonner is the secret weapon against LA.

[therealtruth]

I guess what we can hope for is the Spurs to play at full strength against the Lakers and with the same rotations of game 1 and Bynum has a 20/20 game and Gasol has a 20/15 game. Maybe...just maybe, Pop will see the value of at least attempting to play Duncan/Splitter against big lineups. I have no problem with Duncan/Splitter not being the solution, my issue is Pop not even really attempting this combo to find out.

It's the best solution defensively. They just need to make the offense work.

[Splits]

Do you agree that Tiago Splitter not getting significant minutes last season had nothing to do with "being healthy"?

What does this have to do with the original post? The OP barely mentioned anything about injuries until the tail end. He brought it up after the fact, most likely because he was looking for a way out or to deflect away from his claim of a coordinated media campaign to protect the organization and misinform their audience.

Look, reporters suck, don't challenge authority, and let half-truths slip without challenge all the time. That's true not just at a local level or in sports, but at a national level on all kinds of topics. They should be regarded as a despised ins ution in the form they currently take and if someone wants to present a litany of evidence, then another media organization can act as a check on others. But I haven't seen a lick of evidence for that, and to infer there is some conspiracy, that they are actively concealing information from their readers in a coordinated fashion to make sure a 2nd year player doesn't play more than 20 minutes a game is ridiculous. And that was the thrust of the original post.

To answer your question, I have no idea what extent injuries played. I'm not a Spurs trainer, on their medical staff, or interacting with the players on a daily basis. All we can go on is what is known, which is that he was injured at the beginning of the season and missed camp. I have no idea what his conditioning is like, what his body can take, and whether he himself has a say in how much he plays. However at least I'm willing to admit I don't know, whereas everyone else on this board knows they know more than everyone else! and creates dozens of threads per week to complain about it.

[therealtruth]

Who said anything about a conspiracy? Smearing people as being conspiracy crazies is laughable.

So the question remains, why are you hearing about these Splitter numbers here and not elsewhere? There's a Bonner stats thread, why are you getting those numbers here and not elsewhere?

Here's a glaring example of the media travesty, this one by Mike Monroe of the Express News.

My browser isn't working with the interface, so forgive my manual ubb codes.

Monroe, 04-09-12

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2012/04/09/splitter’s-health-key-to-duncan-getting-rest/



That is pure garbage from Monroe, acting as an accomplice to Pop's narrative. But maybe that's too harsh. At the very least though, it is not giving the reader context of the reality of the situation for them to make up their own minds.

Here's why (copying most from a post of mine from December when McDonald was also misleading the readers):

Splitter was not injured most of the time, not enough to miss 22 games. Nothing that would have kept him on the bench most of the year. He had a tough year because Pop made it a tough year.

He didn't dress for 9 games if Yahoo's boxes are correct. He was only injured for 9 games. He played 60 and had another 13 non-appearances credited as DNP-CDs, which rings true to my memory. AND in the playoffs he spent the first 3 games with DNP-CDs on the bench.

In addition, of the 60 games he did play, 18 of them were for less than 5:00. If I spent 5-10 minutes going through the play-by-plays, I have no doubt that those minutes would largely be straight garbage time minutes. Even the game in February where he got hurt he had played double digit minutes.

Splitter WAS NOT too injured to play last year. But Pop has said it so many times unchallenged that people on this site believe it. He was even featured saying it on the Spurs segment of that NBA Action show or whatever it was that was on NBAtv this week.

, even Splitter's own words tell that he wasn't injured. Because when he talks about getting more minutes this year, he doesn't reference his own health, but the absence of McDyess:



There was also this gem in the piece from Monroe:



Forgotten how to play? I wonder why.

Splitter was NOT too hurt to play last year.

Pop even admitted last season that he wasn't too hurt to play, but wasn't getting time because it "wouldn't be fair to the team".

Yet this season the media is quick to forget all that and spin you all a canard about how Splitter had Ebola and was too weak from blood loss to help the Spurs at all.

Knowing now how the media won't even give you the context of the whole picture about his minutes last season, is it a surprise they won't tell you just how good he is this year or ponder why he doesn't play more?

Somebody should call Pop out on his contradiction. He says last year it wasn't fair to the team to play Splitter then this year he says he was injured all last year. Which one is it?

[TD 21]

I've been on the Splitter bandwagon for a while now so I agree with most of the OP. I'm surprised Splitter hasn't gotten more pub due to his impressive stats. Even Hollinger, the ultimate PER lover, hasn't been very vocal about what Splitter is doing. BTW, since Splitter's return from the back spams, his PER is ~27

For the record, I do think both Gasols are another level above Splitter. He could probably get there eventually but right now he's not there yet. He doesn't yet have the all-around feel for the game and is more of a niche player. But that said, as long as he eventually gets minutes and can avoid injuries, Splitter has a decent chance of being an All-Star before all is said and done.

As for the media, it's a combination of things. The E-N gets to be close to the team as long as they don't rock the boat very much, so they wouldn't dare to go out of their way to critique a coaching decision. As far as the local news guys, they don't care enough (or know enough) to do anything other than fluff ... especially since the average Spurs fan probably doesn't even know who Splitter is. The smaller media outlets have a difficult enough time getting press credentials as it is so they aren't going to go out of their way to cause any commotion.

Regarding 48MoH, they get their credentials through ESPN so they're pretty safe. And as far as I know, they're free to have any opinion they want. With them, I think it's just their opinion that Pop is playing his cards right with regards to Splitter. Can't really fault them for having an opinion, tbh.

I know. Funny how no one ignored Pekovic, when he was surging. Granted, he was starting and playing significantly more minutes, so his per game averages stood out more, but still. Splitter is the most underrated player in the league and arguably the biggest potential X-factor in the playoffs. As you alluded to, not even amongst stats geeks are his praises constantly sung.

Pau definitely is, though he's either having a down year or is in decline. I would give Marc a slight edge, only because he can do more things, like shoot from mid range, pass from the high post and block shots at a high rate. But unlike Pau, he's not elite at any one thing, so I wouldn't say there's a big gap between them.

Splitter has zero chance of being an All-Star, unless he becomes a near 35 mpg player and a clear cut top two player on a 50 win type team. I don't see any of that happening, let alone all of it. And even if it did, I still think he'd be an extreme long shot.

[ploto]

Splitter is still paying the price for not signing with the Spurs the first time.

[Brazil]

All the story about Tiago not being healthy enough last year was BS. Pop didn't even try to develop him. This year... sooooo frustrating..... I'm sssooooo frustrating...

But I'm already in the acceptance level, OP is in the anger phase, some are in denial (Pop has a master plan to play Tiago 20 mn during the PO)

Tiago will play at best between 10 and 15 mn unless pop pushes the panic bottom.

[ElNono]

What does this have to do with the original post? The OP barely mentioned anything about injuries until the tail end. He brought it up after the fact, most likely because he was looking for a way out or to deflect away from his claim of a coordinated media campaign to protect the organization and misinform their audience.

Look, reporters suck, don't challenge authority, and let half-truths slip without challenge all the time. That's true not just at a local level or in sports, but at a national level on all kinds of topics. They should be regarded as a despised ins ution in the form they currently take and if someone wants to present a litany of evidence, then another media organization can act as a check on others. But I haven't seen a lick of evidence for that, and to infer there is some conspiracy, that they are actively concealing information from their readers in a coordinated fashion to make sure a 2nd year player doesn't play more than 20 minutes a game is ridiculous. And that was the thrust of the original post.

To answer your question, I have no idea what extent injuries played. I'm not a Spurs trainer, on their medical staff, or interacting with the players on a daily basis. All we can go on is what is known, which is that he was injured at the beginning of the season and missed camp. I have no idea what his conditioning is like, what his body can take, and whether he himself has a say in how much he plays. However at least I'm willing to admit I don't know, whereas everyone else on this board knows they know more than everyone else! and creates dozens of threads per week to complain about it.

It's part of his argument. And the OP certainly expanded on it on a followup post.

I respect your opinion. I just don't agree with it.

[pgardn]

The media does not want us to know how good Splitter really is...


Did they put some mask on that 7 foot Brazilian I saw this year? Have they distracted us at home during moments of brilliance with puppy breath?

Jesus, I too would like to see more playing time. But I think the OP does not want us to know Splitter's limitations. Therefore I call a board conspiracy to quell a conspiracy that does not exist.

1. Tiago has a very tough time around the basket in the post up position. He relies on a hook that is bad to awful unless he gets that up and under move going. Horribly inconsistent down low while posted. One area that requires a more physical nature which I must say has improved from last year.

2. He has zero range. ZERO. As in NIL.

3. He is by far the best while already moving towards the basket, like on a pick and roll. This limits options with him in a huge way.

4. He is not good at picking up junk baskets off offensive rebounds. And his kick outs after an offensive rebound often end up out of bounds or stolen. He is still learning how to set himself properly after coming down with the ball. Elbows out, ball up, take a pivot if there is no available outlet. He rushes or his put back is so slow he gets packed.

5. If Tim really, really thought Splitter was Gasol-level when they pair off in practice I would think Tim would have killed Pop by now for not playing him side by side. Tim will let Pop know what he thinks this year.

I too would still like more minutes from him primarily for defensive rebounding purposes and his defensive play on more mobile big men. I like his ability to help, but he is not going to block many shots, he does bother and get in the way. Imo he does need more minutes, but he has limitations and needs to improve some very basic parts of his game.

So I guess I have seen an imposter as he is supposed to be as good as Gasol.

[jestersmash]

I've been on the Splitter bandwagon for a while now so I agree with most of the OP. I'm surprised Splitter hasn't gotten more pub due to his impressive stats. Even Hollinger, the ultimate PER lover, hasn't been very vocal about what Splitter is doing. BTW, since Splitter's return from the back spams, his PER is ~27

He commented on Splitter's lack of minutes and a Splitter-Duncan pairing in his daily chat a couple of days ago -

Mark (texas)
Isn't it inevitable that Pop will enventually need to use Duncan and Splitter against the lakers if they meet in the playoffs?

John Hollinger
I have been baffled all year at how little burn Spitter is getting because he's played extremely well in his chances, and while the Spurs have rebounded well on the season they were brutalized by the Lakers the other night. Will be very interested to see if they counter Gasol-Bynum with Splitter- Duncan, because Blair and Bonner just don't have the size.

[DrSteffo]

Splitman4evah why did you choose that user name? Why do you hate Splitter so much? He didn't sign an autograph for you or something like that?

[Dr. John R. Brinkley]

The media does not want us to know how good Splitter really is...


Did they put some mask on that 7 foot Brazilian I saw this year? Have they distracted us at home during moments of brilliance with puppy breath?

Jesus, I too would like to see more playing time. But I think the OP does not want us to know Splitter's limitations. Therefore I call a board conspiracy to quell a conspiracy that does not exist.

1. Tiago has a very tough time around the basket in the post up position. He relies on a hook that is bad to awful unless he gets that up and under move going. Horribly inconsistent down low while posted. One area that requires a more physical nature which I must say has improved from last year.

2. He has zero range. ZERO. As in NIL.

3. He is by far the best while already moving towards the basket, like on a pick and roll. This limits options with him in a huge way.

4. He is not good at picking up junk baskets off offensive rebounds. And his kick outs after an offensive rebound often end up out of bounds or stolen. He is still learning how to set himself properly after coming down with the ball. Elbows out, ball up, take a pivot if there is no available outlet. He rushes or his put back is so slow he gets packed.

5. If Tim really, really thought Splitter was Gasol-level when they pair off in practice I would think Tim would have killed Pop by now for not playing him side by side. Tim will let Pop know what he thinks this year.

I too would still like more minutes from him primarily for defensive rebounding purposes and his defensive play on more mobile big men. I like his ability to help, but he is not going to block many shots, he does bother and get in the way. Imo he does need more minutes, but he has limitations and needs to improve some very basic parts of his game.

So I guess I have seen an imposter as he is supposed to be as good as Gasol.

You make some good points, but basically you're taking the Pop "blue collar, lunch bucket" argument towards Splitter. You claim he has a tough time posting up? Seriously? For about two weeks he was absolutely unguardable down on the block. You just fed him the ball on the post and he went to work and got two points pretty much every time. He's more versatile than just pick and rolls. But you know what? Even if he only excelled at pick and roll, then so what? It's the most useful play in basketball. That's sort of an important part of basketball to be good at.

[ViceCity84]

Does 48 minutes of and SpursNation read what's talk about on Spurstalk?

[SA210]

You make some good points, but basically you're taking the Pop "blue collar, lunch bucket" argument towards Splitter. You claim he has a tough time posting up? Seriously? For about two weeks he was absolutely unarguable down on the block. You just fed him the ball on the post and he went to work and got two points pretty much every time. He's more versatile than just pick and rolls. But you know what? Even if he only excelled at pick and roll, then so what? It's the most useful play in basketball. That's sort of an important part of basketball to be good at.

[Blackjack]

This ain't that hard for me, even if it's frustratin to not see the team play its best.

Pop doesn't believe this team can win the way they used to. He doesn't believe his personnel has what it takes to do what it once did, winning w/ defense and efficiency - maximizing possessions, limiting turnovers and controlling tempo.

To Pop, it's about findin a way to get it done, goin against the grain to find a way. And to me, he's out-thinkin himself.

If you ain't good enough, you ain't good enough.

Tiago ain't great, but he's one of the best they have. And if you don't play your best, you can't be your best.

Pop's playin craps, hopin for a Hail Mary - hopin the shooters get hot at the right time to carry the team - and it's misguided, at best.

But it is what it is.

It's better to be lucky than good, and as a Spurs' fan, just hopin Pop's one lucky son this year - but I ain't holdin my breath.

[pgardn]

You make some good points, but basically you're taking the Pop "blue collar, lunch bucket" argument towards Splitter. You claim he has a tough time posting up? Seriously? For about two weeks he was absolutely unguardable down on the block. You just fed him the ball on the post and he went to work and got two points pretty much every time. He's more versatile than just pick and rolls. But you know what? Even if he only excelled at pick and roll, then so what? It's the most useful play in basketball. That's sort of an important part of basketball to be good at.

He has had some very good moments in the post. I really like his footwork on the ball fake while fading and pivot back towards the bucket. But honest to God he is inconsistent with it. And against guys as strong as he is, it just does not seem to work. I saw him step around some big guys early on and reverse using the rim beautifully to prevent being blocked. But its not there consistently, especially if he feels pressured from elsewhere.

I would have to go back and look but I think most of his beasting occurred when it was not as crowded by the rim and against weaker opposition.

Anyways I would still like to see him paired with Duncan as long as we have a quick set of guys in the 3 other positions. And yes, especially against the Lakers. He is tall, and he does come up with rebounds in crowds even though sometimes he does not maintain control. His size does matter late. Asking Tim to do all the work against a pair like Bynum and Gasol is a huge chore.

[pgardn]

This ain't that hard for me, even if it's frustratin to not see the team play its best.

Pop doesn't believe this team can win the way they used to. He doesn't believe his personnel has what it takes to do what it once did, winning w/ defense and efficiency - maximizing possessions, limiting turnovers and controlling tempo.

To Pop, it's about findin a way to get it done, goin against the grain to find a way. And to me, he's out-thinkin himself.

If you ain't good enough, you ain't good enough.

Tiago ain't great, but he's one of the best they have. And if you don't play your best, you can't be your best.

Pop's playin craps, hopin for a Hail Mary - hopin the shooters get hot at the right time to carry the team - and it's misguided, at best.

But it is what it is.

It's better to be lucky than good, and as a Spurs' fan, just hopin Pop's one lucky son this year - but I ain't holdin my breath.

The bolded is basically how I feel now against the bigger front lines. But Tiago is not even close to either Gasol, its just silly the OP even mentions them in the same sentence. But we all have seen how much Marc has improved as a player. Maybe Tiago can do the same eventually. His hook is better than the absolute crap he would throw up in Europe and what he threw up last year.

[thOOdee]

to be honest the spurs got a great deal on bonner over the years and if the spurs get the first spot in the west that just proves pop is making the right decision.