Unfortunately it's not going to work for the playoffs. The question they need to be asking Pop is how he intends to get championship level defense without enough bigs or does he just not care anymore.
So much for "all in." It's a shame Tim Duncan has to endure the twilight of his career in the hands of such incompetent individuals.
Unfortunately it's not going to work for the playoffs. The question they need to be asking Pop is how he intends to get championship level defense without enough bigs or does he just not care anymore.
Pop has to analyse the roster he has and design the rotation to his strengths.
Leonard is an above average rebounder (one of the skills that aren't lost from college to the NBA). He's perhaps a better rebounder than Bonner or Splitter.
The Spurs still have the option to go big with Splitter and Duncan if needed, since Splitter will be able to log more minutes in his second season, so Splitter doesn't have to be strictly Duncan's reserve.
Just kick yourself in the nuts really hard before you blame RC and Holt for 2006 too. Nobody does anything without Pop. Good ing god.
Sorry, the word "smallball" makes me unusually hostile. My Pop anger overflows a bit.
Just sign Elson and get it over with.
Tbh Kawhi Leonard is the perfect fit for a small ball 4..
Playing Big guys is for pussy coaches....winning with small ball takes huevos....
Interesting take, do you dream of Pop teabagging yea?
Chuck Hayes with 8 boards already against the Lakers at halftime
maybe you missed the sarcasm...
I was pretty satisfied with the big situation tonight.
We saw a lot of Tiago/Tim and Bonner didn't play 30 mins.
Tiago also being the first big off the bench was sweet.
This was all some of us wanted LAST SEASON!!!!!
Why can't a hall of fame coach see this until a season later??????
tbh = One of the dumbest ing overused abbreviations in the history of history and internets. You know who you are. Just get a hold of yourself.
Yeah, I heard it too. My immediate thought was and still is...
Though, I was pleased to see Splitter tabbed as the first big off the bench, as well as him playing in tandem with Tim.
Still. without another true big, my response to Pop's continued adoration with small ball is still a confusing and hearty..
Last edited by SenorSpur; 12-27-2011 at 01:13 AM.
If small ball means manu on the point, anderson as sg, rj as sf, kl as pf and td or ts at center, why not. we field no players below 6'5
Small ball can work when it's done for a good reason like a specific matchup and when it's not overused. Not having enough bigmen isn't a good reason to play unbalanced lineups. It's a recipe for failure.
Spurs must sign a center and they must do it quickly. The calendar will go crazy very soon with 6 games (3b2b's) played in 8 days between January 4th and January 11th. Money isn't a factor because Spurs can waive Green when Neal will be back to offset the cost of this center.
We must sign a 5th big but I don't know if they will cut Green. Elliott said during the 4th quarter that Pop loved Green. But Pop also loved Hill and he was traded
Then again I can see a scenario where Pop will play Bonner a lot of minutes next game to get him back into rhythm and if Bonner hits his 3 pointers, Pop will go back to inserting him into the first big off the bench since he has his floor spreader back
At this point we've only got 3 bigs really. On top of him mainly being on the court to spread the floor, Bonner has no inside presence, doesn't rebound and can't stay in front of his man. You might as well call anybody else on this team a big if Bonner fits the 'big' description. Secondly, Blair is undersized and lacks the quickness (or smarts?) to keep his man out of the post. Sure enough he played decent defense yesterday. The lack of rebounding yesterday wasn't a good sign for things to come though. 'Small ball' and 'big man rotation' are very relative in our roster. With those things being said, I don't see a reason not to play 'small ball' at times with Leonard AT THIS POINT. He proved to be a terrific rebounder and has great hands and long arms. Great hustle and i was pleasantly surprised by his footwork on defense. Not to mention he can wear out his man on the other end. Give 10 min outta Bonners 28 from last night and he woulda had a double double.
To summ it up: Bonner as a big is of no use. If only he could use that body of his, but then again you can't if you can't use it. We def need another true big, but having to deal with the roster as it stands, playing Leonard at 4 during some stretches would actually make a lot more sense.
This.
This is why the Spurs frontcourt rotation is even shorter than it appears.
I can even live with Blair's shortcomings because he's still learning and has some ability and heart. I can't live with Bonner anymore because of the way Pop rewards hiim for his continued underwhelming lack of production and mental midgetry.
I thought small ball would be synonymous with Splitter not getting any minutes, but just a few minutes into the season Pop played Tim and Tiago at the same time, which was a great surprise. It looks like Tiago will get big minutes this year, which is a relief. Still don't want weak small ball, but at least Pop is open to "tall ball" as well.
I can't speak to the big man market and if it's quickly drying up. It makes sense to get a center now and begin the Spurs Reeducation Camp, but if the big man we get isn't any good I can almost make the argument for holding on to Green until Neal is back. Green in theory adds a defensive presence and in theory could help with minutes for Manu on back to backs and triple headers, if that becomes a concern. Based on last night Manu will be needed to win most if our games.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)