Neal brings in energy and what looks like a great shooting stroke. Anderson also looks like an energy guy which really helps our bench, Neal's play was vital in the hOrnets comeback attempt, and helped break down the Clippers in the 2nd qtr.
I don't know about the "Truth" but the guy played lights out last night. I kept thinking "Ok - who's minutes is he going to take?" At this point he is playing much better then Hill he has better ball handling skills, much better shooter and much better passer the dude has game.
trade Hill.................just ing around but seriously, he is playing better than Hill and with his injury it should give Neal more mins. if he can defend respectable, run the team/PnR and shoot lights out, why not trade Hill for a good SF? his defense is overrated. i cant remember one game where i thought Hill shut someone down. can you?
I agree, that's actually what I meant when I said his role wouldn't be as important as Mason's during his 1st year here..that's why I think he will end up being a better fit than Mason..
My point is just that people here like to jump the gun..
So for those that are questioning some of the differences, here are some of timvp's game thoughts from the beginning of that season that I'm referring to..
Personally, the biggest bright spot for the Spurs was the play of Roger Mason, Jr. After an uneven preseason, Mason showed why the coaching staff has been gushing over him since he signed as a free agent. Outside of Duncan and Parker, Mason was the only Spur to hit double-figures in scoring. Offensively, he showed a wide repertoire. He hit a mid-range jumper off the dribble and also had a stop and pop three-pointer on a fast break. I was also impressed with his patience and his ballhandling on the offensive end. Defensively, he also showed a lot of promise. He still is a work in progress, especially on transition defense, but he’s an active defender. Whether he was on Barbosa on the wing or Matt Barnes in the low block, Mason competed and gave the appearance that he could grow into being a good defender in the Spurs system. On the whole, I was very impressed with what I saw from Mason in his San Antonio debut.Watching the Spurs fall to 0-2 isn’t exactly loads of fun. What is exciting, though, is seeing how well Roger Mason, Jr. is fitting into the Spurs system. He’s showing an extremely well-rounded game that will certainly help the Spurs greatly as the season progresses. Not only is he shooting the ball very well, the pace at which he plays is perfect for how the Spurs run their offense. He’s smart with the ball and already has formed good chemistry with Duncan when they run a two-man game. He came to the Spurs with a reputation of having poor shot selection but, if anything, he’s not shooting enough. Defensively, I also really like what he’s doing. He not only can defend out on the perimeter, he’s also tough down on the blocks and when fighting through screens. He still has areas where he can improve but Mason has played just about as well as anyone could have expected after two games.Roger Mason, Jr. was a beacon of hope for the third straight game. Offensively, he gave the Spurs a few moments of life. Though he didn’t shoot lights out and he did have a couple of ugly turnovers, San Antonio is functioning much better offensively when he’s on the court. He started the second half and Mason continues on the path of earning more and more minutes as the season goes along. Defensively, he had both good moments and poor moments but overall he appears to be picking up the schemes quite well.Those are the game thoughts from the first 4 games of the season..it keeps going like this for a while, obviously some bad games mixed in, but mostly positive, until Mason collapsed..his defense progressively became worse, and his offense became worse as other teams realized his weaknesses..Lost in Parker’s huge game and Duncan’s gaudy stat line was the extraordinary play by Roger Mason, Jr. Building on what he showed in his first three games, Mason was a tad bit more aggressive and that turned into 26 important points. His outside stroke looks very good right now. He has a rapid release that is so fast that sometimes he doesn’t even have time to square all the way up to the basket. It also doesn’t seem to matter if the shots he gets are off of a stationary catch, off movement or off the dribble – he’s draining them all. Although he did most of his damage from the perimeter, he also demonstrated several crafty ball handling maneuvers that allowed him to attack the basket off the dribble.
I hope Neal turns out better, he's in a much better role with the current Spurs team, so he's in a much better position to succeed..again, my point is simply that it's way too early to make any conclusions, and the people that are dismissing the comparisons are simply wrong IMO..
It's still early, he would have to do what he did against the Clippers against the top tier teams(say that 3x fast) in the West and show up in the playoffs.
For a guy playing his third pro game, I'm very impressed. Same goes with Anderson. There's not really any reason to think those guys are getting by because there's no game film on them. It's certainly not like either one is going to demand any extra defensive attention. If RJ continues to play this way there are at least four other guys that teams have to worry about, allowing Anderson and Neal to just play their part.
Know why he's played that little? Cuz he stunk it up so bad in preseason.
Stinking in preseason earned Bogans a starting gig if I recall.
Simmons' podcast comments about Neal today were hilarious..
What people don't realize is a scorer from the euroleque like Manu , Splitter or Neal have a better chance of making an impact immediately in the NBA as compared to someone comming out of college or D -league. C'mon guys your comparing 25 year old seasoned pros with kids who haven't played against men professionally. I find it naive of the american public ( as some in this forum suggested) to think guys like Gee, Gist , temple had a better chance of delivering immediately vs Neal. Simple American stupidity
Neal definitely impressed me. But then again, so did Roger Mason not too long ago. Let's hope Neal keeps impressing us.
what podcast post link....
That was actually what impressed me the most on offense because we all knew he had a stroke, but it also looks like the kid can also drive the ball when he's run off his spots.
I will say that we should temper expectations at this point though - it's very early in the season and most teams don't start to play well until Dec at the earliest, so right now he's playing against teams which are at about 70% of what they'll be later in the season.
One game.
Clippers.
Third game of the season.
.....that said, Neal was impressive
BTW, LeCrab, your sig vid is hilarious - love how you have him doing a crossover!
Gary Neal is playing like a younger version of Derek Fisher.
Being naive okay,but really no need to call Americans stupid. After all you seem to like this stupid Amercian website.
Interesting similarity. Fisher of course is only 6'1". Let's however hope that Neal has the kind of klutch mentality as Fisher.
Of course, he's probably their best defender at that position (which speaks to their lack of depth) and he's being coached by a defensive-minded coach. Until at least one of those things changes, he will be in the starting lineup.
Mason is an offensive-minded player playing for an offensive-minded coach that runs a loose offense and he still can't get burn.
He just has to keep up a level of consistency. If he does, the Spurs got really lucky.
It's nice having someone else who can create his own shot.
you nailed it +1
like the points of neal and rmj defense, mason played defense because he had to. neal seems to actually want the ball!! that goes for anderson as well, im floored by his defensive intensity so far i mean guys this is freaking exciting
Commentators made a point that his man got by him once and the look on his face was one of anger. He is dedicated and has a good work ethic and obviously plays to win
dont know or care too much about the guy off court unless he messes with me lmao but on court ive been saying this since summer league, he appears to have strong leadership qualities and a good balance of confidence. this is why i think last alot longer than mason did.
he realizes this is a big break for him and a chance to clean the slate. i also heard them say he stays late and comes in early to practice all the time so i think hes very focused, its definitely paying off!!
i like this comparison.
(Fisher has always been a better ball handler, but there are quite a few similarities)
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