I thought it was odd that Tiago Splitter didn't play in the first half of last game. Tonight against the Nuggets, he only played when Denver went big with two centers. Josh Powell and DeJuan Blair were the first two bigmen off the bench. Splitter didn't re-enter in the second half. In total he played only eight minutes -- and that's with Pop giving Matt Bonner the night off.
When Splitter got hurt shortly after the start of training camp, Pop had this to say: "Tiago’s getting better, but he’s going to miss the beginning of training camp again, unfortunately. It’s been a habit for him."
Maybe I'm being paranoid but that sounds a lot like the quotes Pop had about Beno Udrih when that situation went south. Beno eventually proved to be an NBA caliber player but -- largely due to nagging injuries -- Pop got tired of him and eventually nudged him out of the rotation.
Personally, I hope I'm overreacting. Splitter had a damn good season last year (before the Thunder went Hack-a-Splitter against him) and he has the potential to be the best backup center in the league. I'm hoping Pop finds a way to play him about 25 minutes per game this season.
But looking at just the facts (mostly the quote and the subsequent playing time), it looks like Splitter is in Pop's doghouse right now.
pop is playing it safe with him, if pop thinks splitter wont hold up for the season...the spurs wouldve signed curry already
it didnt help when pop continue with the small ball midget lineup b4 going big for the 2nd half...
as with beno, he only had one bad series against the pistons and got fat, then bring in a chucker in NVE...beno was too good to be bench warmer, let alone his price tag...
Just the preseason, if Pop starts pulling this in the regular season when Splitter was dominating at times last season then he's insane. Like you said, he has the potential to be the best backup C in the NBA.
I also just bought myself a new Splitter swingman so he better not get traded
ill tell you, when a player on this team gets hot....the other 4 morons on the court start to jack up shots or not continue feeding the guy with the hot hand, or pop benching the guy with the hot hand for no apparent legitimate reason....this was the case with duncan last season and was really frustrating to continue to watch....Just the preseason, if Pop starts pulling this in the regular season when Splitter was dominating at times last season then he's insane. Like you said, he has the potential to be the best backup C in the NBA.
I also just bought myself a new Splitter swingman so he better not get traded
It's preseason. Curry and the others are working themselves off.
That's another strong possibility since Splitter is guaranteed a spot in the rotation and he is injury prone, maybe Pop wanted to give the guys fighting for the last spot an extended look while not giving Tiago a chance to get injured in a meaningless game
I find it way more intriguing to see Bonner receiving a second DNP-CD in a row than to see Splitter playing only 8 minutes while he is coming back from an injury.
He needs to rub off some nasty off Jack or Curry, tbh... He also needs to attend back to the basket school.
Exactly, and he'll be backing up Tim Duncan for most of the season.
It's worth noting the last time he scored points was in game 2 of the WCF.
Derek Fisher still without a team, and now Bonner getting no playing time...
Union cleanup?
Billy Hunter with the purge tbhDerek Fisher still without a team, and now Bonner getting no playing time...
Union cleanup?
Sounds like Pop is just frustrated at the situation, not Splitter. The timing of the injuries are out of his control. Pop recognizes the important role Splitter had last year, and values his production.
I thought Splitter was in the doghouse ever since he arrived tbh.
Are you including the temper tantrum Popped threw when he might have missed ONE defensive assignment vs OKC last year?
Splitter in Pops **dawghowse** now or has been for quite some time. Or as one said "ever since he got here"?
I remember you posting last year that CIA Popped needed to develop Tim and Splitter working together if we were going to have playoff success vs. playoff opponent front lines. We pretty much one and all agreed and yet, into the **dawghowse** went Splitter.
I also hope its as poster above mentioned that Splitter is guaranteed a spot so CIA Petty Tyrant is just giving some other players more playingtime.
It seems that Pop wants to motivate Splitter to show more fire. He was hard on Parker too, and TP eventually became a great player. It was the same with Beno, he liked Vaughn better because he was more motivated.
I won't be worried too much until Splitter has reduced minutes in regular season games. As I said in a previous thread, I think the main reason Bonner isn't playing much is because he's a known quan y and the Spurs want to evaluate other players. While I think Splitter needs more reps this preseason than Bonner does (primarily due to Tiago's upside), I'll choose to believe that Splitter is being benched for a similar reasons (plus return from injury).
All this being said, if Pop truly is souring on Splitter (and is planning on giving him less than 15 mpg come late season), then they absolutely have to trade him this year. Value-wise, you're not likely to get much from a package revolving around Neal/Blair/Bonner. However, if you throw Splitter into that mix, you have a serious chance of getting a rotation caliber big in return.
Spurs need to dump Splitter. Pop isn't the right coach for him. He can be more than a backup center.
It is preseason.
Splitter in injury prone.
No need to play in when 3 other guys are vying for a spot.
I wish Pop would take Splitter out of the woodshed and doghouse and into the living room. This guy's talent is going largely to waste. Coach of the Year should be able to figure out how to better utilize an Olympian center.
It's preseason people. No need to play a talented yet injury prone big man heavy minutes in a game meant for 15th men to fight for roster spots.
I am more with timvp on this one! Pop values training camp so much, and he gets very frustrated with guys who always seem to have these nagging injuries during the time of the season when they need to practice hard and learn so much. It has also seemed at times that maybe Pop questions just how injured Splitter is compared to guys like Manu and Tim who are bugging him to get to play when they are hurt.
Not sure of the "it's pre-season and he's a known commodity". Duncan is a known commodity as well and has logged more time this pre-season than Splitter. Who...if was struggling in playoffs last season would think he would be getting more time to help improve his role before the season starts.
Pop was noticeably not pleased with Splitter in the OKC series. And reactively, Tiago noticeably not pleased with Pop. That's a recipe for getting soured when it comes to Pop so I don't think it may be out of the question if Pop is souring on Tiago.
Why do we keep giving excuses for Pop when he refuses to play Splitter? He's already shown a pattern of not playing him.
Because every time Splitter starts to get meaningful minutes, he seemingly gets dinged up. Hard to rely on a guy who can't stay healthy.
Like I said before- Splitter should have been traded as he will never ever get a true chance to play here. Maybe some team will see his value and as a bonus- the Spurs can get some talent. Someone who will actually get a fair chance from Pop.
I still hope Splitter gets traded - there is no way he will ever get out of Pop's doghouse.
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