Thanks for write up as always!
The best record doesn't get you anything but regular season championships. Pop's got to coach with the idea of improving for the playoffs. That means figuring out the questions on the roster like who is the backup PG. The last couple of seasons he's been coaching like all they need to do is get to the playoffs and then everything will take care of itself.
Jack's got a bad hand and he's playing through it. Plus with limited bigs, he's forced to play minutes often against bigger player than him. He's all heart and fire and for that alone, he stays. When his hand is healed...he's going to be a friggen' animal.
B- a little harsh on Splitter that got 15 and 12 IMO or maybe his grading standards are rising? Quietly Tiago has become what many of us expected a very solid/top tier starting NBA big in his current role - his PER. 20.34 is higher than Howard, L. Aldridge of Portland, and both of the Gasol's as just one measure:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/holli.../_/league/west
I agree with both of these. I'm assuming this was graded on a first-game curve, because it did seem more like a C+ game. He looked a bit lost at times, and had too many turnovers for a big, and quite frankly didn't play very well. But, given that it was his first set of NBA action and that we got to see some of the athleticism, there's plenty of reason for optimism.
Jax knows he's earning his paycheck in the playoffs.
B- a little harsh on Splitter that got 15 and 12 IMO or maybe his grading standards are rising? Quietly Tiago has become what many of us expected a very solid/top tier starting NBA big in his current role - his PER. 20.34 is higher than Howard, L. Aldridge of Portland, and both of the Gasol's as just one measure:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/holli.../_/league/west
I don't see how DeCole gets a B. Turns the ball over couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and matador defense. He looked awful to me.
I thought he looked really out of his depth tonight. Don't get me started on Gary. Patty got 2 minutes, please explain. Patty is not the best player on the team , but he plays like it is last game every time he hits the floor. Maybe a few should follow his lead
Neal actually passed up shots he should of taken including plays run for him. Not sure if his head was in the game, maybe injured or sulking about something.
Baynes with the goods.Hopefully becomes part of the rotation.
Sean was getting very excited.
He wasn't passing up wide open shots or stopping the offensive flow.
I have to laugh at all the "Nando is terrible, where's Patty?" comments, because Patty was getting all the burn less than a month ago and also wetting the bed.
Both players have been given consistent opportunities to take the backup PG spot and neither has succeeded. I seriously think it's time for CoJo to get 5-10 games of good burn to see what he can do.
He wasn't making wide open shots, and his careless handling of the ball sure stopped the offensive flow a few times.
I actually like Nando...think with another year he'll settle into his role with the team and acclimate to the league. But, he clearly doesn't have it figured out yet.
I'm not saying Neal is the answer, but Nando doesn't get a B just for not beibg Neal.
There's way to much Man Love in here for Stephen Jackson. The man helped us to a championship 10 years ago. You gotta stop living in the passed. He's 34 years old averaging
6.8ppg
3.1rpg
1.5apg
36% FG
27% 3PTFG
PER 8.4
$10,059,750 3rd highest salary on the team. More then the great Tim Freakin Duncan.
His stats are house. If he couldn't help us to the championship last year when we were just 2 games away from the finals what makes anyone think he can this year. I understand he shot well in the playoffs last year and thats what he's about but with his valuable trade chip and dwindling effectiveness i'd be very surprised if the F/O didnt try trade him at the deadline. I don't know how or who for but they'd be crazy to not explore their options in the next few weeks.
Cory Joseph? You know, he hasn't looked too bad.
I wouldn't ever judge a player based on a box score. And I don't think Reggie Evans is a fair comparison. Sure, it looks like he'll be a capable rebounder like Evans. But Reggie is pretty much a one trick pony with absolutely no other skills. I don't know just how complete Baynes' game will be, but I'd think he'll be much more than just a rebounding drone that does nothing else. He'll be able to contribute some in other areas based on his play in college/Olympics/Ljubljana.
Baynes is nothing like Reggie Evans. Evans just rebounds and does nothing else.
Try NOLA Jason Smith type of player. That's how a see Baynes.
Evans sucks at everything related to actually putting the ball in the basket, tbh. Baynes rolled well to the rim and could hit FTs.
+1000000
Seems like every year lately Pop can't or won't make up his mind on a set rotation until the week before the playoffs start. He has a problem with decisiveness apparently.
You Hayters need to stop.
Gregor Pop just coached yet another regular season win without cornerstone Matt Bonner. Over the Bobcats.
Pop is great! Recognize!
Heresy!
The cornerstone is, and always shall be, Keith Bogans!
Learning the defensive system and tired legs. I somewhat disagree about 1 on 1 defense...Baynes strength in the low post is evident... Not going to be easy to overpower him there at all.
Throw David Lee into that mix as well...
Spurs stars are highly efficient players.... it's rather neat to have 4 Spurs in the top 28 in league PER.
That's probably due to the fact that his 2 fingers on his shooting hand are still taped together.... Jack has had some nice games, and even if he's not shooting well you can still count on him to fight for rebounds and be aggressive on the defensive end. It's probably not easy to change your mechanics on your jump shot and expect immediate results. He'll be fine...
no matter what baynes does and outshines whatever scrubs on the bench....
pop will usually not play rookies in the playoffs...even if he does beat out the scrubs up the rotations
This is where I come out on Nando as well. I think he has the best potential back-up pg of anyone else on the team, excluding Manu of course. But Pop rarely plays rookies many minutes (notable exception + Tony). Think about how long it took him to get comfortable enough with Tiago to put him into the regular rotation, much less starting him. Pop wants everyone on the floor to be fully versed in Spurs offensive and defensive set-ups. Therefore, people like Tiago and Nando will take longer to integrate than people who have played in our system (like Neal) or a similar system (like the Aussies).
I predict that Nando will be the back-up pg on a consistent basis by mid-season next season. He has the length, the athleticism, the bball IQ, the passing ability, etc. etc. etc.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
