What the is pop doing with Beno? We're short of big men, not point guards, yet Pop pulls Wilks off or IR rather than Marks. Then in the Phoenix game, he plays the out of Parker and Wilks while resting Udrih (11 minutes?).
It seemed to me earlier in the season that the point guard position was our best starter/backup combination. Beno doesn't make many mistakes, and he nearly always gets the ball to the right guy on the break.
What has Beno done to get in Pop's doghouse, or is Pop just blind on this? Our offense sucks when Barry is at point, and while Wilks has performed admirably, he's not a Parker or an Udrih. I almost get the feeling that Pop wants to deal Udrih after this year, and doesn't want him to gel with the team. Then again, Pop has until recently always been about getting minutes to the guy that will help the team (Speedy for example).
Anybody have any insight into why Pop continues to limit Udrih?
Last night Pop jerked Beno out when he disapproved of the way Beno was executing a play. I think he used it as a teachable moment.
Pop went with a small lineup (in the 4th) with TP and Wilks in the backcourt and it was fairly effective. They went away from the motion and flex offenses (tired?) and ran middle and side screen/rolls or post-ups. The way they finished the game, it looked like Pop was looking for something besides a W.
Mike averages 4 MPG, then Pop plays Mike 20 minutes vs Suns, and Beno only 11? WTF?
Tony and Mike playing together for almost a full quarter? WTF?
Just another aspect of totally freaky game.
I think Pop just didn't want to won that game for some weird reason.
I think Pop knows what he is doing. He knows the players better than we do and he said that he will try some different rotations after the allstarbreak. I think for the last 15 games (when all players are available) or something he will try to shorten the rotation to 8/9 players to get ready for the playoffs.
Its messing with things that are not broken and if you mess with it to much you will end up with broken things. Every way i look at it it seems wrong to me...
I think Pop is trying to make certain of what he has. There's a method to this "madness." Had Pop been solely worried about wins and losses, Tim's injury and Nazr's uncertain situation would have brought Sean Marks off the IR as a just in case. Rather than that, he activated Wilks -- I think with the idea of making Wilks a part of the playoff roster. I think he used last night to test that idea -- to be sure that Wilks would be up to the challenge. (I thought he was; for a guy picked up near the end of camp, Mike Wilks has been a very nice find).
I suspect, in a strange way, that Pop gave his team a gut check last night. He wanted to see what they would do in an adverse situation (on the road against a quality opponent) and how much the boys have bought into the system. He saw an opportunity to afford Tim and Manu several consecutive days of rest while at the same time challenging the rest of his team to rise to the occasion. That infusion of confidence could prove very helpful as we move forward from this point, and particularly if the Spurs are faced with having to win some road playoff games, last night could prove pivotal.
I think Beno has just inherited Malik's whipping boy le.
Wilks > Beno.
Beno sucks.
Pop should not have to bench a rising player in efforts to get a 10 year vet into the system 60-odd games into the season. But he's trying it.
A 10-year vet in Barry should re-discover his mojo, because sitting Beno for Bones must be hampering his development somewhat.
Perhaps Pop is already VERY satisfied with Beno's performance and wants to do experiments on other guys.
how's beno's D. can he hang with nash? and we all know beno's strong point is his shot rather than his penetration, maybe Pop wanted faster pg's that were going to stay in front of nash on D and attack the rim on offense. wilks threw up a couple jumpers early, but he was all attack after those and did suprisingly well. Who else saw minutes on nash on D?
we are deep at pg, which was unexpected...but i'd still like to see barry get some minutes at pg as well to see if that helps his game contributions any....obviously the D matchups have to be favorable.
That all makes sense, and was well said.
What still doesn't make sense to me is if Pop is worried about injuries (TD) and wear and tear (Manu) why put Tony Parker through the wringer?
I think it was a good game to lose, if there is such a thing. I just don't get his point guard rotation circus.
Parker explained on his show last week that beno was not as effective as before and was a little bit under. this might explain what we can not see in a short period of time on the court from BENO. TP added that he was confident about beno coming back and be the effective back up he was
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