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Anything is better than Neal. I was creepin' the Bucks section on the real gm boards and they all want him to die a horrible death. I feel kinda bad they're stuck with him tbh.
Thoughts on THAT dude now that we've gone through about 10% of the season?
I'm really liking what I've seen so far.
On offense he's not been hesitant to give the extra pass, play within the system, and didn't force 3s that were not there, instead stepping in and taking a shorter 2 pointer.
On defense, I like he's tall enough where opposing players don't just shoot over him, and he's also shown good activity and effort, IMO.
Anything is better than Neal. I was creepin' the Bucks section on the real gm boards and they all want him to die a horrible death. I feel kinda bad they're stuck with him tbh.
No shoeless players have scored on him yet so I'm happy with him tbh.
He's average at best on defense which is still significantly better than the guy he's replacing. Better fit offensively and I think Patty brings a lot of the same stuff that Neal did on offense so it evens out.
Pretty excited about a bench of Patty/Beli/Manu/Diaw. Hope Ayres doesn't suck so hard going forward or the Spurs can add a piece.
Marco gets it, not trying to do to much and learning the system with success.
I tuned in to the Heat-Bucks game today to watch him, but he wasn't playing at the time, and the game was kinda meh...
been a fan since his Hornets' days, back when BRHornet posted his gifs all over the boards. Belli just seemed meant for the Spurs. I'm liking that already he understands the system but also that he can do his own thing within its structure. I believe his fluidity within the team will only improve. Neal always seemed to be looking for his own shot, even til the end.
Much better than Neal.
He's been alright. He does fit well with Manu and Patty and is easily an upgrade over Neal.
I still think some people are overrating him though, especially all the premature start Marco over Green threads.
Neal would make bonehead plays like pulling up to shoot a jumper on a 3-1 fast break. Marco gets it and isn't trying to rock the boat.
He doesn't have to look at the ball when he's dribbling, unlike his predecessor.
I was sick of seeing that guy turn his back to the rim and get trapped
Marco = The Dude. The Truth.
THAT GOD DAMN DUDE
Belli is better than neal defensively, doesnt matter how much better, but hes better
Solid
Belinelli can at least drive to the basket and not be a total liability on D...
A nine-man rotation of Duncan/Parker/Leonard/Green/Splitter + Ginobili/Belinelli/Diaw/Mills should be the favorite out West.
I hope so!
i'll be posting some of the unacceptable things belinelli does on defence, just to busy with work for now, stay tuned.
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167828
Congrats Gary
One of the few players that Spurs HAVE to keep. He's what players like RJ, Bonner, and Hill need to play like.
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=179606
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=187121
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170502
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=178348
Yeah', I'm going to give it a little more time before I cast judgement. Some of the same thing being said about Belinelli now were being said about Neal back then. How ironic is that? People just write off the fact that Neal was INJURED last season so his numbers and production was down. It still doesn't change the fact that for two years, he was a very solid contributor off the bench.
The biggest problem with Neal was the way Pop utilized him. He was never a true point guard, but that didn't stop the Spurs from using him as one. When you put a player in a position to fail, more often than not, he's going to. That's not neal's fault.
Neal has always been a chucker, but nobody seemed to mind his first two seasons. It's only last year during his injury-plagued season when his shooting percentage took a dive did anyone care.
I haven't seen anything in Belinelli to this point that suggests he's much of an improvement over 2010-12 Neal. I'm not sure he'll net this team one more win than a healthy Neal. Only time will tell.
Last edited by Hoops Czar; 11-13-2013 at 01:59 AM.
Czar, there's a big difference with Gary though. With Gary there was seemingly room to develop him, and that invited more questions. Marco comes in as a much more seasoned player, and the question with him is "will he fit?".
I always liked Gary. We always knew he was limited in certain areas, and we were hoping to see improvement year over year in those areas. It never panned out, and that's fine. The Spurs paid dimes for his production, he was an absolute steal for the team. But it's also clear he hit a ceiling within the system. When the question became "can he fit?" instead of "can he develop further?", I feel the FO thought the price tag wasn't worth it.
This is no knock on Neal. Belli has limitations of his own. Most players do.
So far I like what I've seen from Belli as far as "fit" goes. It's early, but encouraging.
Yep. Neal is much better than people realize. The jury's still out on Beli. On one hand, he's playing better than he has for most teams. On the other hand, he seems to playing out of character. We'll see how long it lasts. He is showing to at least be trying to fit into the Spurs'system, which is great. I won't give him the nod over Gary defensively yet, though. Neal's ability to draw charges is incredibly underrated.
I'll give him a B+ so far. I would like to see his scoring ability some more, a thing Neal was never afraid to exihibit. In contrast, I do like his ability to run the offense and set players up, sort of like a mini-Manu, and I love his versatility as well (something Neal didn't have). IMO, this Spurs team is a bit deeper than last year, especially with the emergence of Mills and Diaw being more aggressive. I'm a Neal homer, but so far Beli fits with this Spurs team better than Neal would.
Last edited by blkroadrunners; 11-13-2013 at 03:29 AM.
All that thread did is remind me of how far SA has come. Neal and Hill turned in to Beli and Leonard
But to be fair, at the time Neal was a rookie just signed straight from the SL. He was blowing expectations like crazy. If Marco was in the same situation (Little known Guard signed from Las Vegas) then people would start calling him the next Manu. Sounds crazy, but some fans acted that way with Nando during the 2012 pre-season.
I agree with a lot of ElNono has to say, but a lot of posters seem to have tunnel vision when it comes to Neal. By no means was he a stout defender or even a well rounded basketball player, but he too had assists, steals, created turnovers and took charges. I don't know why we have to slam Neal to make Belinelli look good. Try playing basketball with plantar fasciitis for a season and tell me it doesn't affect your lift, and movement on the court.
Beli's career to date would suggest he isn't much of an upgrade over Neal. However, maybe he's finally found the right system, coach and supporting staff that could help him raise his game to the next level. I'm hopeful this is the case because right now, I'm kinda bummed out the Spurs essentially ruined their financial flexibility with two players that didn't really deserve MLE money when they could have resigned Neal and used that extra money on a backup SF or PG.
I'm going to give Belinelli every opportunity to prove me wrong and hope he does.
Last edited by Hoops Czar; 11-13-2013 at 04:22 AM.
Yeah, but it'd only be half the length of a similarly themed Gary Neal video.
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