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Pretty cool overall, Matt comes across as a good guy tbh.
Bonner Interview on CNNSI
Didn't see this posted earlier. Red Rocket talks Splitter, rotations, his defensive mentality, being a geek in high school, sandwiches.
Pretty cool overall, Matt comes across as a good guy tbh.
I like Bonner's self-depreciation in a humorous way, and taking a jab at his own un-coolness.
The guy has a role, accepts it and works at it.
No matter how good he plays or improves, the haters will still jump all over this rotational player for every mistake or claim in advance that he'll choke in the playoffs.
I think it's like the syndrome where abusive parents pick one child out of the family and pour all the abuse on it. It's irrational, but apparently a characteristic of pack behavior.
It's not irrational when people comment on something that has actually repeatedly happened i.e. Bonner in the playoffs.
Pretty lame he got snubbed again for the three point contest.
Bonner seems to have gotten slightly better every year he's been a Spur. Very solid role player, improving defense and versatility (his little runner has gotten better), great three-point shooter, and not afraid to mix it up with bigger and stronger guys.
I think people are biased against him because the favorable mismatches he creates are seen as more easily replaced than the negative ones. His major plus is three-point shooting, which people figure can be done by guards and small forwards, while his weaknesses in rebounding and defense against other bigs can't be replaced as easily by players at other positions. That said, his ability to stretch the floor, improved defense, and our acquisition of guys like Leonard who can rebound from the 3 make Bonner more valuable now than ever.
PS, has anyone ever messed around with Synergy Sports (mentioned in the article)? That's an interesting stat they say it provides (opposing players are shooting 8-37 against Bonner in the post this year) and I'd love to see similar stats for other players.
Every year...I almost start liking Bonner again...just in time for the stretch run...
and every year...Bonner wilts and disappears in the playoffs...
and I end up hating him all over again.
I have noticed this happening right now with a lot of posters...a lot of you have really short memories...and you can see he is starting to play a little better...hit a few more shots...
and you are getting your hopes up again that ...maybe...just maybe...
THIS year....
He seems like a good guy.
Very good interview
Bonner is having a pretty damn good season, all things considered. But I disagree with anyone who says Spurs fans are too tough on him. Bonner has played well in the regular season and then fell flat on his face in the playoffs. If Bonner had been a playoff hero over the years, he'd be right there with Manu as the most popular player on the team.
But until then, he'll be viewed as the guy who shines in the regular season and then wilts when the games matter. And it's a pretty fair view at this point, tbh.
he'd be somewhere else making 8-10 million a yearVery good interview
Bonner is having a pretty damn good season, all things considered. But I disagree with anyone who says Spurs fans are too tough on him. Bonner has played well in the regular season and then fell flat on his face in the playoffs. If Bonner had been a playoff hero over the years, he'd be right there with Manu as the most popular player on the team.
But until then, he'll be viewed as the guy who shines in the regular season and then wilts when the games matter. And it's a pretty fair view at this point, tbh.
Great interview!
It's nice to gain the little glimpses into the Spurs approaches and payers.
Matt seems like a great guy. I hope he can shine a bit more these playoffs.
If only he were as aggressive on the boards and defense as he is amiable.
"Bonner: I mean, Pop’s all about defense. One of his pet peeves is bad post defense."
Zero credibility.
Mrs FinleyPop
Himself
Soft
All *manning* the PF/SF position in the post. That's some "demanding" defense.
GMAB.
The problem is that we should not place our disappointment of the Spurs on Bonner alone. He didn't play well during the playoffs. That is true. But as a role player, he goes as far as star players go. When our big three were outplayed by other teams' star players, we were bound to lose.
Compared to other Spurs, Bonner's performance roughly matches his salary (around $3M) and a reasonable expectation on him. When you blame team failure on him, you are barking at the wrong tree.
It's because of Tim becoming old (not his fault), Manu getting injured (not his fault either) and Tony not playing up to his capable level (like this season, partially his own fault), and more importantly, the management's failure to find better complement players.
When we were at the championship level from 03-07, the big three were dominant even we didn't win in 04 and 06. We lost because of some trivial things, or maybe just bad luck.
In the past several seasons, however, that's not the case. We were simply not that good. Like last year, as disappointed as we all were, it's more of over-achieving in regular season than under-achieving in playoffs.
All in all, there are two steps. First, you need star players to get the team to a championship level; second, you need role players and some good-executions to win the real thing. We were just not in the first category in the past several seasons.
At least we got "asked and answered" by SI reporter even if BonBon had no idea re Splitter-Duncan.
SI.com: Tiago Splitter and Duncan have played something like 110 minutes together this season after barely playing together at all last season. Have you noticed that? Have the coaches talked about it — how playing those two together could help the team’s defense inside?
Bonner: I’m obviously not in on the coaches’ meetings, but we knew when we got Tiago last year, how respected he was on the international basketball scene, and his potential to be a really good player in the NBA. Going back to your question before: Coming in here last year, with the Spurs system, your first time in the NBA after playing overseas for six or seven years — there’s a lot of adjustment. He’s made that adjustment now, and you can see by how he’s stepped up for us this year. He’s really helped us, and we’ve needed help. Guys are tired.
SI.com: What are the challenges of playing him and Duncan together, specifically? Is it a spacing issue on offense?
Bonner: It’s just the rotation. It just comes down to different skill sets and how we complement each other. Maybe as the season goes on, you’ll see them play more together, but that’s up to the coaches.
"It's just the rotation."
In other wordsloser hasn't told BonBon why either.
The stats are not all that clear cut actually.
Uh, yeah they are:
PER: Down 42.4% in the playoffs
WS/48: Down 62.7% in the playoffs
Points: Down 27.5% in the playoffs
FG%: Down 16.4% in the playoffs
3P%: Down 22.7% in the playoffs
eFG%: Down 14.3% in the playoffs
TS%: Down 11.1% in the playoffs
Rebounding: Down 12.7% in the playoffs
Assists: Down 50.8% in the playoffs
Turnovers: Up 44.6% in the playoffs
And his advanced defensive metrics go from very good to very bad.
To say the stats aren't clear cut that Bonner has struggled in the playoffs is wrong.
timvp dumping stats smegma all over these forums
fuzzy needs to go home and calculate the regression line of that bloadation fallout
Numbers don't lie. Do they?
Exactly because the gap between his regular season and playoff stats is SO big, my thinking is, maybe we should look from another perspective.
Bonner was, is and will always be a spot-up 3-pointer shooter. Unlike some skillful or athletic players who might have a very good series when finding how to beat the defense scheme, or a very bad series vice versa, or simply lost a step, Booner always relies on his shooting touch.
When other players set up for him, he shoots. It's hard, if not impossible, to think that he suddenly lost this touch once entering into the playoffs for several consecutive years. Then suddenly he regained his touch once the next season starts.
Obviously he is not old enough to be in a consistent decline. And if it should not be about confidence either as he is always in this kind of hesitate-some-shoot-some mode, no matter in regular season or in playoffs.
And unlike LeBron, who mystically stopped attacking in NBA Finals, all Bonner needs to do is just shoot or not shoot. So it's not about aggressiveness either.
So I would rather think that in a best of 7 series, the opponents found out that big three, especially Tim, does not merit double team any more, so their focus shifted to the shooters. And when our star players cannot break down the defense, it's hard for the role players to perform.
This season follows the same script. Bonner and others do have better stats recently, but it's truly because Tony started taking off after the first 15 or so games, that the Spurs are on a roll. When the opponents cannot find a way stop Tony, we became the old always-find-a-way-to-win Spurs.
sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
yep, if we had real offensive threats, who could break down playoff defenses, Bonner would be hitting 3s at a much higher percentage.
exactly - 2 problems for the Spurs in the playoffs:
1. Defenses will key on Tony & Manu to limit their effectiveness to penetrate and kick out.
2. Bonner needs open shots and therefore unable to help the offense in the playoffs.
Solution: Give most of Bonner's minutes to a player that can help the offense when Manu and Tony are shut down and as a result later helping them.
This is very true, and to dude above we are not hating at all it's just the truth when they say he fades every year annually around say April.
Thanks for filling in for meVery good interview
Bonner is having a pretty damn good season, all things considered. But I disagree with anyone who says Spurs fans are too tough on him. Bonner has played well in the regular season and then fell flat on his face in the playoffs. If Bonner had been a playoff hero over the years, he'd be right there with Manu as the most popular player on the team.
But until then, he'll be viewed as the guy who shines in the regular season and then wilts when the games matter. And it's a pretty fair view at this point, tbh.
I'm spending some quality time in Texas with the family for the next couple of weeks so I appreciate the backup, tbh
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