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oh theres no reason to speculate where the alcoholic is going with this lineup we know where its headed
Looks like Pop has his hands full with the front court rotation going forward. With Bonner going crazy from behind the arc, Blair's obvious struggles in the starting lineup, Splitters inexperience and Duncan and Dice' old legs how do you guys see our front court shaping up in the future?
I'm definitely a supporter of Splitter getting minutes and I understand Bonner is the least popular guy in a Spurs uniform, but the way he's shooting the ball I don't know if it's very smart to put him on the bench right now. Obviously starting Bonner the 2nd half tonight gave the big 3 more room to operate and helped spark that big 3rd quarter run. Blair has been playing better lately IMO but still doesn't seem to fit with the first unit guys.
Does Blair continue to start? Move Bonner in the SL?Is Splitter better off playing over Blair? Should be interesting to see where Pop goes with this.
oh theres no reason to speculate where the alcoholic is going with this lineup we know where its headed
Splitter is not going get into game shape sitting, but ya this team has a logjam on the frontline now. Could one of them now be expendable?
and where's that?
I mean Blair was putting up 20/20 games as a rookie, does this guy really just go out of the rotation?
Spurs have a frontcourt that has length but also talented to play with small athletic teams. We should be thankful that this team has so much flexibility. This is not something we enjoyed last year and killed us with those young athletic teams.
I think what ultimately happens (and, short of if Blair were playing out of his mind, I think it was going to happen anyway...not just because of his struggles, I think even relatively good play wouldn't have made a difference) is McDyess takes over as the starter at some point.
Bonner will probably be the third big (the Lakers and Mavs are the only potential exceptions in the West) and it'll be between Splitter and Blair for the fourth spot, with the edge to Splitter.
We all like Blair and his young legs and per minute production are important to help get this team through the regular season with a high seed without wearing out Duncan and McDyess. But in reality, he probably should be the odd man out in the playoffs. Right now, he's the worst overall defender amongst the bigs, he can't protect the rim, he offers no shooting/spacing and he makes too many foolish decisions due to his inexperience. Duncan and McDyess will play more in the playoffs, so his per minute production won't be as necessary.
Last edited by TD 21; 11-18-2010 at 12:52 AM.
Blair would be terrible against the Mavs. Bonner is definitely a better fit.
He might just need to go to Dice in the SL right now. He's probably the best choice right now and it's no secret Blair plays better off the bench. He's got to be worried about the amount of minutes Duncan and Dice are playing though.
I know. When I said those two teams were the exceptions, I meant I could see Splitter being the third big against those teams.
lol 5th big, 15 mpg...
If we can't find time to integrate Splitter now, it's not gonna happen in March... that's the reality of it. Now Matt looked like he had a stiff back or something. Anybody knows what was that about?
This "problem" really highlights the fact that we have a pretty deep front court.
IMO:
Duncan and Dice should continued to be limited whenever the luxury presents itself.
Blair and Splitter I feel should still receive most of the back up minutes. They have both have great potential and have shown that they can contribute. Blair is still SLOWLY improving each game and Splitter is still getting accustomed to the NBA but theyre both great pieces to have. Blairs 1v1 post D has been average to above average and his rebound is still solid, the 2 areas he needs to improve on are his team defense and his decision making with the basketball on the offensive end. I think effectively ways for him to improve in these areas are playing against other players in the nba.
Bonner should continue to be a situational role player like Neal. Some nights he'll come in stretch the floor and provide rest, other nights he shouldnt play. If history repeats itself, Bonner will be horrible during the playoffs, if thats the case he should really be a 5th big that spells rest and provides occasional offense.
unfortunally I have a feeling a big will go down then they will be only 4
hopefully not dice or duncan
Well I have a feeling that this team will be healthy all season long including the playoffs. So you can relax.
I'd trade a few losses (with Bonner on the bench) for Splitter gaining as much experience as possible. If a championship is truly the goal, it goes through LA and Splitter is needed against Gasol/Bynum. Pop can't resist playing Bonner and that's why I was so against re-signing him because I knew he'd eat into Splitter's minutes.
BTW, I don't think Pop has any dilemmas. Bonner is the 2nd/3rd big in this team. He was injured that's why it wasn't as obvious earlier.
I expect Splitter to come back against less athletic frontcourts and borderline bad teams. I'm sure he'll see minutes against the Cavs saturday.
I didn't wish for Bonner to get injured...but I knew when he got injured that it would be a blessing for the team.
Bonner returning and hitting 3's is fool's gold when you look at the big picture.
When the spurs get manhandled in the playoffs against the lakers...Splitter would have been a difference maker....but if Pop continues this Bonner love-then Splitter will come in and not be up to speed and things will crumble...
Hope I am wrong and will be glad to eat my words if Bonner continues his streak and then stays hot in the playoffs.
I can't believe we're actually saying we have crazy front-court depth but we do. And they're all different type of big men as well. TD is the franchise and can still score in a variety of ways in the paint, and still defends and rebounds very well. Blair is an undersized hustle big man who can rebound and bring an instant energy into a game. Dice is the veteran you can go to who can pick and pop the midrange J and still finish at the rim crazy good. Bonner is the big who can stretch the floor with his 3-pt shooting. And Splitter (although still learning at this point) is the big who can defend the pick and roll well, has a great Bball IQ, and can defend the rim as well.
Playoff chokers will not win you championship. Tmack says hi.
Unfortunately Bonner has proven time and time again that he is a playoff choker. Sure, he can win you a couple of regular season games but He needs to not be eating minutes of the players that will contribute to the playoffs.
After saying that it's nice to see Bonner red hot but if the goal is to win a championship Spurs better not be relying that much from Bonner.
It's about the bigger picture here
I agree, I couldn't believe it when people here were defending the Bonner signing with "Relax He will be the 5th big" You don't sign a player with that kind of contract to an end of the bench player. Bonner was ment to be a 2nd/3rd big all along and thats what concerns me.
Bonner and Blair are BOTH kind of specialty players at this point. Bonner at stretching the defense with outside shooting, Blair with rebounding and some hustle plays. Unfortunately, Bonner's specialty is more unique on this team than Blair's, and right now he's better at it too. Bonner clearly knows the system, plays equal or better defense, and doesn't make nearly as many bad decisions with the ball.
I think the "problem" right now is really Dice... and it's a nice problem to have. Dude is flat out clearly the best second big on the team, even at his ripe old age. And he's played so well, it's pretty tough to argue giving Blair or Splitter time over him. I'd much rather he coast right now, to be honest, and play minimal minutes until after the all-star break... but if the big 3 really went to Pop and told him they wanted to win early in the season, it's hard to justify not playing Dice right now.
Pop should give Bonner one more chance to play against elite teams. Who knows, maybe this is the year he overcomes his nerves against those teams? I'm skeptical, but I think it's worth a shot. Because if he could, he could help this team. Not only with his shooting and the spacing it offers, but he doesn't make a lot of mistakes, either.
Blair is liable to get the ball against Gasol, think he's shaking him and either turn it over or force some ridiculous shot that get's swatted. With Bonner, you don't have to worry about stuff like that. He's low risk.
I'd have been ardently against this not too long ago, but the more I think about it, I'm not sure Blair is ready to play at the level required deep in the playoffs. It's not just the lack of size in certain match-ups, it's the lack of experience and the poor decision making. You just can't have that at that level.
If the Spurs go Duncan/McDyess and Bonner/Splitter, they'd pretty much have everything covered. They wouldn't have a true second big for a championship caliber team per se, but the way McDyess is playing, he might be capable of approximating that level of play for roughly two months, so long as they don't wear him out before then.
McDyess is going to keep getting his minutes unless his production drops off. And as long as Bonner keep draining 3s, Pop will keep him on the floor. So that's leaving Splitter and Blair to fight for minutes (and Blair is still starting). Unfortunately, those are the two guys we need to continue developing. Hopefully by playoff time, both of those guys are in rotation and contributing.
Bonner is simply unable to match the physicality, plus long teams have an incentive attacking the paint being that he's a terrible rebounder. Plenty of second chances for those teams.
And regardless if he deserves another chance or not, he will get it.
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