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Question away. I thought Hill's thumb was sprained, not broken? As for Bowen, it's clear to me that he can't guard anybody any more.
I'm beginning to question your thought process.
Question away. I thought Hill's thumb was sprained, not broken? As for Bowen, it's clear to me that he can't guard anybody any more.
Being medically cleared and Pop cleared is two entirely different things. Pop obviously doesn't want him playing with the splint on his thumb and would rather wait until he can just wear a wrap.
And I personally will wait more than 40 minuets of action before declaring Bowen can no long guard most small forwards
Batum looks like he's going to be pretty damn good down the line. He looks like the French Scottie Pippen right now.
That said, to win a championship this year, I trust Udoka more than a 19-year-old Batum. Obviously in two or three years Batum will be much better than Udoka.
So you believe that a PROVEN top defensive NBA player is unable to guard at a high level based on two games?
Do you also believe the skill, potential, and reality of an NBA rookie is anything but unproven since he hasn't played an NBA game due to an injury?
It's not as though he has already played an NBA game and is accustomed to playing with minor ailments, or is he?
I believe Bowen is 37 years old. Do you?
See, I used to write out fact-based responses like yours that make real sense. But then I realized that noone here pays attention to reason and this is ST.
So i'm gonna disagree with you. Luck of the draft and the fact that Blazers picked Batum ahead of the spurs has nothing to do with the reason we didn't get Batum. The reason we didn't get Batum is because the Spurs FO doesn't care enough to surround Tim Duncan with quality players. RC Buford should be fired for not keeping Splitter and failing to draft Batum. The Lakers got Pau Gasol last year and all we get is Kurt Thomas? Cmon, what is the Spurs FO doing?
Boston was able to bring in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to help Paul Pierce and they won the championship. Unless, the FO is able to bring in some talent to help out our BIG 3 there is no way that we will win the championship this year. I've read that Allen Iverson might get traded from Denver and I read a post about how we should get Michael Redd. I think that if we could pick both of them up we might have a shot but our FO doesn't care enough to surround Ginobili, Parker, and Duncan with talent.
I believe you didn't answer the question.
Also, I don't care how old someone is as long as the do their job. Furthermore, I will not judge the capacity of someone to perform their job based on two games.
So, my questions still stand.
Bowen can't do the job anymore. It's probably because he's too old.
And he can't do the job anymore because of, two games?
He did, but he didn't answer it directly. It's just two games so it's too early to tell how far he's dropped up but even before the season started it should be accepted that Bowen is going to lose a step. The real question is how much of a step that is. Once you hit the upper 30's every year hits your harder and harder.
Bowen is a smart, if not "cheap" defender so i'm sure he'll be able to still play defense on a high-level but his defense isn't going to be any better this year than it was last year, and it sure as won't be better than it was two years ago.
blazers stole another one in da draft
dude thats like sayin
oden is really an old dude posing as a teenager because he got injured...again
See, in order for you to base your claim that he cannot do it anymore, you must have some type of visual confirmation. You are rushing to judgement. Who's denying that he's going to lose a step? All i'm saying is, how can you make this judgement on two games? So, to make any confirmation on a player all we need is two games? Are we serious here?
The only thing I differ with you is that it's an either/or with Udoka and Batum.
My point was that, the only wings on the Spurs above 6'5" are Bowen and Ginobili.
Batum might not be ready for primetime come playoffs, but he could have helped a lot during the regular season and possibly have a moment or two if given the chance during the playoffs.
I remember seeing a story about Batum being disappointed about not landing with the Spurs, so maybe there's a chance he wears the silver and black someday.
I'm not holding my breath, or going to cry about what could have been, I'll just say it looks like the Blazers got themselves a gem.
It is part of the deal. You cannot be mad at anyone. I like these stories to a certain degree because it shows all of the Spurs FO haters that they are trying to do things. Sometimes things just do not work out. You learn from it, and grow as a franchise.
How many games do you need to see? Defense isn't a skill where you're hot one night and not another night. Defense is about effort and quickness primarily. It doesn't take more than a couple of games to see that Bowen doesn't have the quickness he use to.
Are there games when good defenders get lit up?
Or do NBA defenders who are good show up every single night, night after night?
Um, he judged Hill based on zero games. What are you expecting here?
Maybe a change in judging criteria? Is that too much to ask?
Probably, but I can try, can I not?
Hill, who is nursing a sprained left thumb, practiced Monday and has been medically cleared to play against Phoenix. All that is stopping him is his head coach's own trepidation.
“We're just not sure how confident he'll be, and how confident I'll be that he won't get hurt again,” Popovich said. “He's had a really good preseason and I don't want to put that in jeopardy.”
Hill, a backup point guard taken 26th overall in the June draft, has been forced to wear a plastic splint on his left (non-shooting) hand. Of utmost concern is how the splint prevents Hill from cleanly catching a ball passed to him.
“It's a problem,” Popovich said. “Rather than catch it, he stops it. Stop and control, rather than catch.”
For now, Hill's availability will be a game-time decision. He hasn't played since spraining the thumb in an Oct. 14 preseason game against Detroit.
Popovich had planned to play Hill in Friday's 96-93 loss to Miami in the preseason finale, under instructions that he not gamble for steals or drive to the basket or do anything else to unnecessarily put his bum thumb at risk. The game was so compe ive, however, Popovich thought better of playing Hill at all.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s..._in_doubt.html
Why not try? I did earlier in the thread. As you can see from the above post and the facts refuting it, the attempt wasn't successful.Maybe a change in judging criteria? Is that too much to ask?
Probably, but I can try, can I not?
For the most part good defenders show up every night. Of course you can't always stop your man when he is shooting lights out, but you can consistently stay in good position. I saw Bowen out of position a lot the other night.
I disagree. At the rapid rate in which Bowen has declined, Udoka is going to get more crunch time minutes anyway. Besides, it is Udoka whom Pop is now using at the 4 in a small-ball lineup. Having Batum on board, Pop could have easily used him at the 2,3, or 4 positions. Besides, he's already shown that he can guard each one of those positions too. Who wouldn't want that type of versatility on their roster? Having a player of Batum's size and skill would have given Pop greater roster flexibility.
As for George Hill, if landing Batum meant they wouldn't have been able to land Hill, I could've lived with that. Players as immensely talented and gifted as Batum do not come around often - and they certainly do not fall that far in the draft. Besides, the Spurs could've simply kept drafted and kept Goran Dragic for themselves as backup PG. Those are issues I'm sure Pop would've loved to have had.
Disagree again. I've already seen enough of Bowen at the end of last season and the start of this one to realize that our much-heralded, defensive wizard is starting to decline - and fast. Pop needs to start managing and limiting his minutes. At this point and outside of Udoka, Pop has no transitional plan or player in place to offset that decline. Udoka is no where near the perimeter defensive stopper that Bowen is. He may never be. Batum is a player whose combined skill set and physical talents ARE NOT on this roster. Besides you're forgetting that the last time Pop was faced with such a dilemma with a similarly-talented young player, he ended up starting a 19 year-old PG from France - to the absolute surprise of many. Screw all this positional heirarchy. If the Batum's talents were such that it warranted him getting the nod over a veteran - so be it. If Pop couldn't figure out how to use a player, as gifted as Batum, he should step down as coach.
Being out of position is a mental mistake; it has nothing to do with losing a step.
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