It seems like Pop wouldn't want to tinker with the starting lineup too much, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Blair continue to start well into the playoffs. I'm hoping Antonio would at least start against the Lakers, but who knows.
NOPE, Bonner will get alot of mins though missing or not as usual though. Pop is stubborn, like it or not he will not change what he has done now for a while. He is a winner though and has us atop the NBA so not is all lost and he must do some right.
Pop reorganized a 63 win team for the playoffs to match up with Sacramento and never went back. The only thing he could do that would surprise me is actually put Splitter into the game with Duncan.
I reckon Blair will start for 3-5 mins in the first quarter and then be subs uted by Dyess/Bonner.
It also depends on if Pop will turn spurs into a defensive team comes playoff time.
This. I think Pop may keep his starting line-up the same, but if things turn quickly within the first 4-5 minutes of a game and Pop doesnt like what he sees, I could see him giving Blair the quick hook and putting Dice in....
versus Lakers, I wouldn't mind seeing this matchup
SPlitter GASOl
DUNCAN BYNUM
BLAIR ARTEST
Manu KOBE
Parker FISHER
I said this awhile back...I agree...it would certainly surprise the lakers and we could punch them in the in' mouth for a change...
Splitter would not stand 3 feet away watching Gasoft launch open jumpers all night...
Blair would throw some weight back at Artest like he likes to throw weight at Manu
Do it Pop!
TD would figure Bynum out in a series and get bynum's ass fouled out...
then when Odumb comes in...that's when you put RJ on him...
no. i think he'll see what blair does first. but he will have a steady dose of playing time.
Anyone who thinks Splitter will be part of the rotation in the playoffs this year is either stupid, delusional, or not paying attention.
blair will play aobut 3 minutes before he gets taken out. its gonna be like a keith boagans situation in chicago
I suspect Blair will get a game or two in the first round to see how he reacts to playoff pressure and physicality. But, I don't anticipate Dyess replacing him in the starting line up.
The one I wouldn't be surprised to see is Manu moving to the bench; since Manu always gets moved around in the POs. That being said, Manu's value starting was aptly demonstrated in the Heat game.
So, uh. Roundabout way of saying I wouldn't be surprised to see changes but don't anticipate it.
Exactly. That's been what I've been preaching for the most part since the start of the season. Blair and Bonner are situational players because Gasol and Bynum are just too big and too physical for them. Splitter and Dice have to play the majority of the rotation mintues against LA.
It was so frustrating watching Blair and Bonner be exploited on Sunday. Not because I didn't expect it would happen if LA decided to hammer it inside, but because Pop has stupidly hung his hat all year on those two guys being able to hold their own on a consistent enough basis against LA's bigs and i finally saw that stupidity manifest itself. And there's Splitter on the bench all year
yeah ignore how Bonner and Blair did the first two games.
its all about the last game...
Blair will keep starting...but as others have said he should be gauged from game to game. Dice should be the first big off the bench and get most of the bench minutes. I'm worried that the Spurs will be down 0-2 in the series before Pop figures this out though.
idk what you guys are talking about. Blair's been our only big able to outwork the Lakers all season. He put up like 12 rebounds the other night.
We can spend the summer looking at his impressive rebounding numbers in the box score.
Pop's vanity will prevent him from forsaking Blair.
For him to change now would make him look like a horse's ass.
The Spurs won't win starting a 6' 6" center. Having said that, Pop will most likely keep things as they are. I wish he would, however, play Splitter a lot more even if he believes Splits isn't "ready."
See 2006. All it took was Ron Artest getting into the paint a few times and Nazr Mohammed hitting a three pointer in garbage time to make Pop completely scrap the lineup that won 63 games opened the playoffs with a 34 point win. They went .500 the rest of the playoffs and may not have had an actual center at any time since.
I keep reading people mention that Nazr got benched for that three. Are people half joking when they say that or do people actually believe that is why Nazr was benched the whole playoffs because he hit one three in garbage time?
Either way 2006 is the example to use to show that Pop completely changed his lineup in the playoffs from the regular season team that won 63 games, so it is possible that he does that.
I know. I was just trollin'.
Pop needs to take Splitter's skills (at this point) and figure out how to use them against the Lakers. Could be Pop's greatest challenge and latest chance for coaching glory.
is this supposed to be some kind of analysis?
Nice idea, but there are no 3-point shooters, outside of Manu, so I doubt if Pop would do it.
These last 19 games will determine whether Splitter sees much time in the playoffs. If he gets the kind of playing time he has seen most of the year, don't count on seeing him much in the playoffs.
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