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*knocks on wood*
...For passing on Mr. Blair cuz his suspect knees... R.C. and Pop are truly genius. This man fell to us in the 2nd round and he will go down as one of the best steals we ever had in a draft. He's a fresh 21 and STILL LEARNING the game but he has so much basketball IQ, his timing is something to truly be marveled at and it's his amazing timing that makes him such a great rebounder... And don't look now but he's starting to figure out how to guard these 7 footers pretty well...
Grizzly Blair is the truth!!!
*knocks on wood*
This
I'm gonna kill OP if ....
Yeah, my bad. Lol wasn't tryin to jinx anything...
Yup...Blair was the SOTD, hands down. He's a beast...and he's only gonna get better.
Other teams should be afraid...very afraid...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sport...rticle1901504/Blair makes impression on Spurs
Larry Millson
Toronto— The Canadian Press
DeJuan Blair is an unusual athlete.
He's considered short for an NBA centre at six foot seven, and maybe a little heavy at 265 pounds.
Not only that, the second-year San Antonio Spurs player does it with no anterior cruciate ligament in either knee.
He's not even sure how long he's been that way.
“I don't even know,” Blair said after equalling his career best with 28 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 111-100 win over the Toronto Raptors. “I just found out (in 2009).”
It turned up in Blair's medical examination before the draft in 2009 and the condition is one reason he went in the second round after his career at Pittsburgh instead of the first. He did have two knee surgeries in high school.
Blair, 21, played 36 minutes against the Raptors and scored 16 points in the fourth quarter as well recording eight rebounds as the Spurs outscored the Raptors 30-16. The win improved San Antonio to an NBA-best record of 44-8.
“I play hard,” Blair said. “I know that there are players way taller than me. I am one of the smallest centres in the league. But at the same time I think that I have one of the biggest hearts in the league. I am just going to keep playing hard.
“I still have a lot to learn. I still have to get better on defence and once I get that in three, four or five years from now then I will be pretty good.”
Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich had nothing but praise for Blair after the victory.
“We don't call his number, we don't do anything for him,” said Popovich. “We don't throw him the ball, we don't do anything. I'm on his butt from the beginning of the game until the end of the game mercilessly and he just ignores me and plays his game and it comes out pretty good.
“He's just got a knack for the game. He's just a natural player. He has great hands, he understands what's going on, he's got great body control. He gets it done.”
completely agree with you man
its bear time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beno Udrih
Ian Mahimi
Goran Dragic
Luis Scola
it's not all sunshine ünd lollipops.
beno - i think he will always be a guy to put up good numbers on a bad team and bad numbers on a good team.
trading scola was obviously a mistake (although drafting him when nobody else did was still wise).
dragic...eh - i know that technically the Spurs traded him, but he was drafted for phoenix, he was high on Kerr's radar. it wasn't like the Spurs liked him one minute and then soured on him a minute later.
ian - couldn't stay healthy. probably would have been a decent back-up if he could have. typically, towards the end of the first round, you're willing to take some risks for a high ceiling guy at that spot (some teams do it at the top of the first round). that was a weird draft in that a lot of second rounders ended up paying off (David Lee [1st rounder, but went 2 picks later], Brandon Bass, CJ Miles, Von Wafer, Monta Ellis, Andray Blatche, Ryan Gomes, and Gortat). normally, there aren't a lot of guys available after the 27th pick that would make you regret anybody chosen in that spot.
anyhow, you could make an argument that the scouting did dip for a couple years there - but it's tough to argue that it's been anything but gold the last few.
i don't think its about his acl's, well maybe a bit. i think its about the way he flips shots (UGLY), his ill-advised shooting. his shot selection could use some help. he likes to throw up bricks hoping they go through the net. he also has the tendency to go soft, like RJ. he should dunk the frickin ball, not pump it like a shooting guard!
Beno was a good pick. He had the talent, just no heart.
Dragic wasn't a pick for themselves.
Mahinmi was a good pick late in the first round, or at least not bad. Didn't pan out.
Scola, they did blow it, but things have worked out since then.
Nice of DeJuan to give an interview in Canadian to the Canadian press.
Remember the club that passed on Tyson Chandler last year (or year before that, cannot recall) was OKC I believe, because their doc was worried about his toe.
Imagine him in OKC. Different picture in the West.
The 29 other teams in the NBA are RE ED...
Make that 28 teams. I think the Clippers are okay with having drafted Blake Griffin instead.
DJB could spontaneously combust tomorrow and it would STILL have been a great pick for the Spurs.
I wouldn't say all 29 teams were. For instance the Heat, Magic, Celtics, and Rockets didn't even have a pick in the first 37 of the 2009 draft. The Clippers had the #1 pick and that was it. I think they did okay in taking Griffin over Blair. Even with hindsight being 20/20 it's tough to blame a GM for not risking a lottery pick on a guy with no ACLs no matter how durable he seems to be. Looking at the list there's a few that jump out as bad fits for him no matter how healthy. For instance Curry to the Warriors at #7. He's got a of a motor but The Beast is not built for a flat out run and gun system. Probably not the guy for the Knicks either. Can't hate on the Jazz too much for passing when they've already got Paul Milsap there. , as questionable as Minnesota's strategy of selecting 58 point guards was they were already pretty happy with what they had in Kevin Love. That's working out for them this year.
Still, two years out he's defiinitely looking like the steal of the draft and there's plenty of stupid signs to hang on the necks of at least a dozen clubs. Big lolz at the Grizzlies whiffing bad with the #2 pick on Thabeet and then having the 36th pick right before the Spurs got the man that isn't screaming in agony in this photo.
He'd have been worth a few more wins to them - they'd certainly be better defensively.
But he wouldn't have solved their need for a low post scoring threat*. I think they'd still be a step behind the top 3 teams in the West, they'd just look a little better in getting there.
* Chandler is completely dependent on a stellar passing PG for his offense. Previously Paul, now Kidd. Take that away from him, and his offense is limited to put-backs and defensive breakdowns around the rim.
He is playing with what he got. The floaters he's doing suits him better since one of his strengths is timing. And if you shoot a floater, the ball usually hits the back of the rim giving him the opportunity to jump again and grab the rebound.
He is under sized and is giving up 4-5 inches every night so if he tries to get tough and dunk the ball everytime, he will get fouled and he's not really a good ft shooter.
At the time of the draft, the Suns needed Dragic desperately, so I don't think that was a bad pick. We didn't really need a player like Blair on our roster at the time, but we could sure as use him now.
Beno has developed into a decent NBA player. On a good team, he is probably more of a backup. He didnt mature in his time in San Antonio. It happens. Not really a horrible pick.
Ian- you cant win them all, but you have to realize at that time, the spurs werent looking to add anyone to contribute at any time. They truly took a gamble, it didnt pay off. It happens.
Dragic - this was a phoenix pick. Just because the spurs drafted him, doesnt mean it was done by the spurs. You can't give them over that, it was all prearranged.
Scola - It is what it is. The Spurs couldnt pay him what he wanted at the time. Its not like it was a bad pick or anything, so I really dont know waht you are getting at, at the spurs making a bad pick there or anything.
And it was still funny how quickly the Spurs made that pick of Blair. I think the card was in as soon as the spurs heard the deputy commish announce that the grizzles were taking sam and before the young got out.
I know bruh, lol i was just being sarcastic. Plus 29 sounded better instead of trying to figure out who didnt have a pick!I wouldn't say all 29 teams were. For instance the Heat, Magic, Celtics, and Rockets didn't even have a pick in the first 37 of the 2009 draft. The Clippers had the #1 pick and that was it. I think they did okay in taking Griffin over Blair. Even with hindsight being 20/20 it's tough to blame a GM for not risking a lottery pick on a guy with no ACLs no matter how durable he seems to be. Looking at the list there's a few that jump out as bad fits for him no matter how healthy. For instance Curry to the Warriors at #7. He's got a of a motor but The Beast is not built for a flat out run and gun system. Probably not the guy for the Knicks either. Can't hate on the Jazz too much for passing when they've already got Paul Milsap there. , as questionable as Minnesota's strategy of selecting 58 point guards was they were already pretty happy with what they had in Kevin Love. That's working out for them this year.
Still, two years out he's defiinitely looking like the steal of the draft and there's plenty of stupid signs to hang on the necks of at least a dozen clubs. Big lolz at the Grizzlies whiffing bad with the #2 pick on Thabeet and then having the 36th pick right before the Spurs got the man that isn't screaming in agony in this photo.
I was thinking the same thing...
Give the guy a break, Im sure he not going to check who has picks or not. The idea was sound
Even though Blair was picked with a PHX pick, Suns still could have had him instead of Earl Clark.
I think Kerr was a pretty competent GM - but his drafts were pretty underwhelming in retrospect.
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