I would disagree that Finley is a major rotation player anymore.
It doesn't take this long to come back from a grade two sprained ankle.
Bottom line, no matter which side of the argument you fall on, it is a legitimate basketball question to ask why a coach would decide to bench a starter and then SHORTEN the lineup on the end of a B2B.
And also why a guy who got 15 and 9 can't get off the bench. It was just New Jersey? Well, how many get 15 and 9 against the Nets?
My question is whether somebody in the SA media actually had the balls to ask Pop that.
Yeah and Jefferson matches up decent with Green, but in general asking him to consistently guard players bigger than him is playing with fire. Like the Trail Blazers game, when he was inexplicably guarding Aldridge.
As I said, save for Green, Mahinmi could/should have played against any of the other Thunder bigs (include Green in that because he regularly mans a big position, even if he's technically not a true/traditional big).
I doubt Sefolosha would come off the bench; if anything, Green might. Sefolosha is their stopper and is receiving praise as being amongst the top wing defenders in the league this season.
Not sure how that qualifies as "working" to you, but I presume that your contention is that fatigue had zero to do with it, and a player like Hairston or Mahinmi getting a few minutes of playing time would have instantly caused a hypothetical situation where the Spurs lose this game, and it seriously damages their chances at a le.
As you said earlier, the Spurs are trying to win a le, but it sounds from the above like they were trying pretty desperately not to choke away another big lead in a mid-season game. I'm dreading your further contention that the outcome of the game somehow justifies the rotation.
You're asking for better player development. You're painting this picture of Pop as a coach who refuses to develop or play younger players. Blair is starting and Hill is getting heavy minutes, but you still want more. This isn't a team that is rebuilding, this isn't the Griz or even the Thunder, that can just throw out Ibaka and see how he does.
Again, it would have been nice to see Ian out there, but not playing him isn't a bad coaching decision.
He was when he went out. The opportunity has been there all along to develop Hairston by giving him some of Finley's minutes. Having done that ever since Fin went down might have allowed him to take some of the pressure off the lineup tonight. How exactly is that a bad thing for the team?
It's frustrating, but i don't think this falls under the category of a poorly coached game that the Spurs won in "in spite of Pop."
The Spurs went with RJ, Tony and Manu as their scorers tonight. Manu disappeared and RJ was barely mediocre. Pop's big-man rotation was not the issue...Manu laying an egg, however, was.
I'd love to see Ian and Haislip get some quality minutes, but I think too many people here see this as some sort of priority for the Spurs. Yes, I sometimes question Pops decisions.. however.. it's no coincidence that Ian got some quality minutes and stats for the 1st time all year against the lowly Nets. Guys like Ian are not going to win playoff games this year for the Spurs so why are so many people overly concerned with this? Midway through the season, the Spurs focus is to continue to improve defensively, start ac ulating wins and rest guys like Timmy so he can be fresher for the playoffs. Cutting down on turnovers and getting rhythm is going to involve a shortened rotation, there's just too many new people to integrate this year to go deep into bench and expect consistency. The Lakers rely on their core group to get things done, despite their ty bench. Kobe logging so many minutes while being hurt no less is stupid though, but hey that's their in problem.
Blair's started 13 games, so it's not like Pop came upon the realization that he should be starting early. Bonner got injured, and Dice and Latif have stunk on ice, so again, it's not like his finally arriving at the decision to start Blair was revolutionary. Pulling Blair from the starting lineup the same time he pulled out Duncan was about as bumbling as tonight's decision to shorten the rotation on the second night of a B2B.
I'm not painting Pop as a guy who refuses to play younger players, the fact that Pop is refusing to play younger players is what paints him that way. I didn't make Roger Mason the backup point guard, he did. Ian Mahinmi or Malik Hairston may not be able to play, but how on earth does finding that out in January hurt the team?
You have three priorities:
Rest Tim Duncan
Don't overwork your main rotation
Win games
How does "develop young players" fail to dovetail perfectly with the above three priorities?
Oh, yeah. I wasn't jumping off the AHF cliff.
And Pop's rotation strategies have always been a little odd at this time of year, to say the least.
Good post. Though i don't really understand why Pop would shorten the bench, It makes sense that RJ, McDyess and Blair are logging heavy minutes together as a means to develop chemistry.
So the Spurs went into the second night of a back to back relying on a guy who isn't integrated into the offense yet, a guy coming back from an injury, and a guy who complained that he's tired and also has PF in his jumping foot. Those guys played heavy minutes in an overtime game so Timmy could get some rest.
I'm sorry, but can you explain to me how this situation isn't compounded by the inability to trust in any of the young players again, or how exactly it makes the Spurs better prepared for a seven game series against a healthy Laker team?
Pop has admitted his past mistakes with Hill...and it seems like he's doing everything in his power to develop Hill and make him playoff ready. On top of that he's starting Blair and giving him heavy minutes. How many players do you want a team to develop while they are trying to contend for a le?
With Duncan out the Spurs had a chance to grab this win and rest for the Bobcats...they did just that. I want to see Mahinmi and Hairston get minutes, but that doesn't mean Pop coached a bad game.
When they have Finley and Bonner out injured and have fifteen guys on the roster in a year they're WAY over the salary cap? I don't think it's too much to ask that they try to get minutes for the guys they've got, one or the other on a given night.
Also, may we please stop throwing Blair in with the players that need development? The guy narrowly missed a 30/20 night tonight and has outplayed all the other bigs not named Duncan. And if Hill isn't established as the backup point guard for this team by now, then it was a huge mistake to draft him so high.
And those of us lobbying for Mahinmi to get minutes are pretty well convinced that he's going to be helpful to get the Spurs past a healthy Laker front line. Maybe tonight wasn't the night to get him some burn with Duncan out, though I don't really understand why, but if not him, then why not Hairston? With Manu and Mason stinking on ice, does giving him two or three minutes doom the Spurs to a loss the instant he steps on the floor during a meaningful time of the game?
You kind answered your own question. It's not so much that end of the bench players will make more mistakes, it's about your core guys developing chemistry out there on the court, they need time out there together. All those guys you mentioned and Hill need to gel with our big 3. RJ is a whole other thread.
I'm one of those lobbying for Mahinmi to get minutes. You're preaching to the choir. But that doesn't mean i'm going to lose all rationality and label Pop as incompetent or a detriment just because i'm not getting what i want, exactly when i want it. There's no telling how the Spurs are going to use Mahinmi. There's no telling if they even want they guy...so to me it seems pointless to presume Mahinmi could be the guy who puts the Spurs over the top.
I'm getting some sleep.
Blair can do that with raw talent, but he does need to develop his game and not just score on putbacks and learn how not to foul so much. He's a rookie!
Regardless of what Ian may be able to contribute, do you really think a player who's hardly played the past 2 yrs and played in only 1 game this year so far is all of a sudden going to be a factor in the playoffs. Sure there's still time for him to crack the rotation but it's not going to happen this year. It's not priority.
What does Hairston really gain by playing only a few minutes? It's not like he's going to dominate in those minutes and all of a sudden be a factor. It's like what was said before, the Spurs aren't rebuilding, so end of the bench development isn't a must. Maybe we'll see much more of those guys next year.
I feel bad for Mahinmi. The kid just doesn't get a chance even after playing so well, and he seems like a good, hard working kid with a lot of upside. I don't care if he practices worth a , let the kid prove that he can play worth a .
Great win, but they were up 8 with 3 to go in reg and almost blew it because the lineups were far too small to stop anyone in the paint.
I was as surprised as many here that Pop didn't give any burn to Ian or Theo. No one is arguing that they should have played 20 minutes, but at least one of those two could have contributed 5/10 minutes in the first 3 quarters to give other guys a breather and protect the rim in a Zone defense..
We won so I guess it's no big deal, but that is the kind of game where the coach could have given it a try...
Anyway, it must be hard for Ian, I hope he gets traded for a piece that is of use to the spurs to a team where he would play, so that everybody wins.
I think you're right but at the some time it's obvious that playing for two years in a row in the nbdl with the Toros should put you in a very more easy position for gaining a spot in the rotation when needed...expecially if, in the rare occasions you had to show what yopu can do with the team, you played fairly well...and that's not happening!
The point is that in Pop's mind Finley and Bonner/Ratliff, this season, will always have a place, like 10th, 11th ahnd 12th man before, respectively, Hairston and Mahinmi.
So, despite their willing top prove themselves, there will be no reason (expecially consiedring their contract situations) to let them play (barring obviously emergency cir stances)...
Looks that all the good signs Hairston and Mahinmi will give to the coach and F.O. this year in training and (for little sttratěches) on the court will be evaluated only (excluding emercgency) in the wiew of giving them a contract next year and deciding for what amount of money...
My biggest problem with pop is not his decision to play Ian or not. I'd prefer see Ian for sure but I can respect that decision. Anyway the most disturbing thing for is the decision to shorten the rotation to 8 players on a back to back on the road. If no space for Ian because of OKC low size why not for instance playing Hairston ? Why risking injuries on this game for playing 8 exhausted players ?
Erm..
So I'm supposed to believe this was a great thing that Duncan sat out the entire game roasting marshmallows and singing kumbyah while 8 other guys got run through meat grinder, one of which has just been diagnosed with a foot injury and the other who's lack of health the past few post-seasons has doomed the spurs?
Thunder score 54 points in the paint yet I'm supposed to believe its a good move to shorten the rotation and not play the two other guys besides Duncan that could have helped out protecting the paint. (Ian and Theo)
I'm supposed to believe Mahinmi (who was drafted the same year as Bynum) can never be a factor in a playoff run despite putting up almost a double-double in his first real game as a spur. And that Hairston & Haislip playing a few minutes can't help either, cuz they suck.
Well , since our bench is so horrible we should just cut down to a 7-8 man rotation like the lakers have been doing. You know, since they all healthy and playing so well and everything.
And sit Duncan out all the B2B games. We'll ride those 8 guys until "chemistry" is their middle name. Ya!
I thought Pop was running this team to the ground last night... Absolutely agree that he should have played, at the very least, Hairston for spot minutes. Guys had no legs out there at the end, and we were extremely lucky to win the game.
Furthermore, I'm pretty sure that if Duncan would not have sit out and played his usual 32 minutes, we would still be talking about Blair's rookie wall and what he cannot do.
It's obvious the kid can play when given opportunities. Unfortunately, Dice is getting more playing time than him wether he's playing well or not.
I lost my faith on Pop playing youngsters with a lot of talent over vets sucking ass last season. Specifically when he kept on playing Finley on Durant while Hill was warming up the bench. I hope Pop took a hard look at Blair last night and realized he's handicapping the team when he does that .
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When you're right, you're right. Pop was thanking the 'basketball gods' for the win after the game because he knew damn well that if the spurs had lost it was ALL gonna be on him.
im also surprised Mahinmi didnt see any action, especially when OKC put their rookie big guy in and he was killing us with his energy on the boards. There was a good 5 minute stretch that I was just screaming for him to be put in the game
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