Ludden: Spurs fans finally get long look at Barry

[Marcus Bryant]

Then send an email.

[picnroll]

Radosoft can't seem to give what Rose can inside and Radosoft has half a foot on him.

We've been through this. Radosoft has a higher per 48 minute rebouding average, a muuuuch higher per 48 minute block shot average. He is a faaaar more disciplined and effective post defender. He shoots for a better average even in an off year and doesn't take dumb shots especially in critical situations, make dumb fouls especially in critical situations, make bad turnovers especially in critical situations. You're too caught up in Rasho looks and demeanor and not what he contributes, particularly against certain players.

I hope Malik has a great year. He is what he is and even if he's not playing the blackhole he's not going to be the high IQ Manu, Barry or believe it or not Radosoft player. He's going to have his defensive limtations on the blocks. But if he does reverts to the blackhole I expect his ass to be on the bench and Massenburg getting his minutes.

[Marcus Bryant]

Sure, Radosoft was a regular member of the rotation. The sad thing is that even given that and his size his per 48 minute stats were only a few hundredth points better than Rose.

I don't see anyone else pretending that Radosoft is a physical interior player like Rose.

I guess Pop was caught up with Radosoft's demeanor and looks when he said that Radosoft needed to 'find his aggressiveness' at the end of last season.

[Karl Mundt]

Sure, Radosoft was a regular member of the rotation. The sad thing is that even given that and his size his per 48 minute stats were only a few hundredth points better than Rose.

I don't see anyone else pretending that Radosoft is a physical interior player like Rose.

You seem to fail to understand what stats per 48 minutes mean. They are designed for one sole purpose and that is to compare stats between players with different playing times. It's not like someone is trying to compare Rasho's 7.7 rebounds to Malik's 4.8 and use that information as a base to favour one over the other. With stats per minutes you get a clear picture of how much (statistically anyway) a player does per every minute he is on the court.
I'm sure your rationale for bringing up the fact that Malik wasn't part of the rotation will be that when a player doesn't get regular minutes, he doesn't have the time to warm up and get into the right rhythm in the few minutes he gets. But i could just as seriously argue that a player with less playing time has an easier job for performing better (per minute) because he is playing relatively fresh for the entire time he stays on the court instead of having to battle for every rebound for much longer stretches of time. In my opinion it is harder to get the same kind of numbers per minute when you have to play for 40 minutes instead of 5 for example.

[picnroll]

Mundt don't forget Malik's also playing against the other teams second line and scrubs a lot.

[Marcus Bryant]

You seem to fail to understand what stats per 48 minutes mean. They are designed for one sole purpose and that is to compare stats between players with different playing times.

How have I failed to understand that? The point is that when you compare the two players by that metric the difference is small and in the case of Nesterovic it isn't good considering that he has a distinct size advantage over Rose as well as a regular spot in the rotation.

I'm sure your rationale for bringing up the fact that Malik wasn't part of the rotation will be that when a player doesn't get regular minutes, he doesn't have the time to warm up and get into the right rhythm in the few minutes he gets.

Now you are getting it.

[ChumpDumper]

Nevermind the fact that when Malik had 24mpg early in the season before he was BEAT OUT he was shooting about 32%.

What's the excuse for those 17 games?

[ChumpDumper]

I'll grant you Horry's numbers weren't much better, but at least he could hit the three.

[Marcus Bryant]

Rose got the bulk of his minutes when TD was out in that stretch, which included the double OT game against the Lakers.

[Marcus Bryant]

And Malik has a tad bit more strength down low.

[ChumpDumper]

Rose got the bulk of his minutes when TD was out in that stretch, which included the double OT game against the Lakers.

So that makes it even worse.

32%fg

17 games

Tell me how that's good.

[Marcus Bryant]

Oh please. For starters, how many shots does he take a game?

That's not his role. The Spurs weren't going to trade him for that. Again, why did they want to move him? His contract. It begins and ends with that contract.

[ChumpDumper]

Oh please. For starters, how many shots does he take a game?

Seven in that stretch.

That's not his role.

So power forwards no longer have to shoot over 33%?

Circulate that memo.

[Marcus Bryant]

If you want to hold those 1st 17 games over his head, then you can't ignore his 20 point, 22 performance against the Mavs with TD out, or his 14 pts 11 rebs versus Miami, 23 & 8 against the Wiz, 26 & 11 against the Clips, and so on.

[Kori Ellis]

If you are going to judge Malik on those 17 games, then I guess you should bench Bowen and a few other Spurs. A lot of players suck over a small sample size of games.

[Marcus Bryant]

A cold shooting streak for a few games is not a reason to run a player out of town. Especially when he performed as well as he had in a number of games in that stretch.

Apparently you missed that part of the 'memo'.

[ChumpDumper]

I will judge Malik over those 17 games because it's after those 17 games that he was benched in favor of Horry.

It's what actually happened.

[Karl Mundt]

How have I failed to understand that? The point is that when you compare the two players by that metric the difference is small and in the case of Nesterovic it isn't good considering that he has a distinct size advantage over Rose as well as a regular spot in the rotation.

This is beating a dead horse but your second sentence tells you how you failed to understand that.

This is going nowhere and will go nowhere. I'm done

[ChumpDumper]

If a player gets beat out year after year by whatever old fart you happen to sign and you end up paying him $6 million to play 15mpg, you'd be an idiot to not consider moving him.

Here's hoping he doesn't get beat out this year.

[Marcus Bryant]

Yes, it is going nowhere because you have no point. I haven't failed to grasp anything O wise one.

[Marcus Bryant]

Perhaps, just perhaps, the Spurs decided to go with Horry because, again, they committed themselves to moving Rose? And why might they be so inclined? Again, his contract.

Ok, if you are going to judge him over those 1st 17 games then how many boards per game did he have? How do you ignore him stepping up when TD was out?

[CosmicCowboy]

Malik is very entertaining to watch play...hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, rebound, pump fake, pump fake, pump fake, pump fake, rejection...kick and reset the offense has simply never been in his offensive repetoire...which is why he was sitting on the bench last year...

If Pop and Malik got that little flaw in his game worked out he could be very valuable to the Spurs this year...

[ChumpDumper]

Perhaps, just perhaps, the Spurs decided to go with Horry because, again, they committed themselves to moving Rose? And why might they be so inclined? Again, his contract.

Perhaps it was his play was subpar.

You've done nothing to prove there was some great changed in the cap or contract situations at the time Malik was benched. I, on the other hand, have cited substandard play and a ready replacement.

The ball is in your court.

Prove it.

[Marcus Bryant]

It was rather clear the Spurs wanted to move Rose because his contract did not fit into their long term plans. Even Ludden managed to point that out. Given that Ginobili was a free agent this summer and that Parker's new deal would start in 05-06 it is clear they would be adding some rather significant salary in the next couple of years.

Perhaps, just perhaps they wanted to see if Horry had anything left before they made the effort to move Rose and his contract?

If a player gets beat out year after year by whatever old fart you happen to sign and you end up paying him $6 million to play 15mpg, you'd be an idiot to not consider moving him.

And you'd be an "idiot" to run a frontcourt player out of town who performed so well in last season's le run, prior playoff runs, and in general over the last 5 years over some cold shooting in a few early season games, especially when he had turned in some rather strong performances otherwise.

After the season Ginobili was signed for less than anticipated and the Spurs perhaps realized that a decent replacement for Rose might cost more than 5 years and $32 mil, if the contracts received by certain players last summer were any guide. Funny how after a couple of those deals were signed as well as Ginobili's that Malik suddenly turned into a team player who the Spurs wanted to keep. Go figure.

[Marcus Bryant]

The Spurs wanted to move Rose for KThomas at the trade deadline last season. Why? Because KThomas had an expiring contract. Why is that significant? Because they wanted to reduce their future payroll with Ginobili and Parker up for new deals soon.

This wasn't a new concept. Ginobili had performed quite well in the 2003 playoffs and had raised his stock considerably. Going into the 2003-04 season it certainly looked like keeping Ginobili was going to be quite expensive in the summer of 2004.

The decision to move Rose was not based on his shooting percentage over a few games. It was made whenever the Spurs determined that Rose did not fit into their long term budget, a decision primarily tied to Parker and Ginobili's impending free agency.