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#1
10-13-10, 01:43 PM
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Popovich close to nailing down starting five By Jeff McDonald - Express-News Web Posted: 10/13/2010 12:00 AM CDT MEXICO CITY — The starting lineup Spurs coach Gregg Popovich trotted out south of the border Tuesday was the same as the one he's used north of it. But three games into the preseason, Popovich isn't ready to commit to Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Tim Duncan and DeJuan Blair as his opening-day starting five. He's feeling better about it by the day, though. “I want to give it a look and see how I feel about it,” Popovich said before the Spurs' victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at Palacio de los Deportes. “I might make a different lineup for a couple of games, or I might leave it the same if I like it. It's a little early to say, but I like what I've seen so far.” The most significant moving part is not likely to be Ginobili, a former NBA Sixth Man of the Year, but Blair, a 6-foot-7 second-year center. Popovich was hesitant to pair Blair with Duncan at times last season, preferring to play his All-Star power forward with big men who can spread the floor. Can Duncan and Blair co-exist? Popovich need only look at his 2007 NBA title team, which often paired Fabricio Oberto with Duncan in the frontcourt. “If Timmy can play with Fab, he can play with DB,” Popovich said. “Those guys are similar, in that neither were really shooters.”
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#2
10-13-10, 02:59 PM
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i'd say this doesn't last long because of Blair's defense. Oberto was really underrated defensively. his feet were quick, what he didn't have for hops, he made up with intangibles on defense. i'd hate to see Blair vs. the Lakers and the Mavs.
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#3
10-13-10, 03:08 PM
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#8
10-14-10, 07:53 AM
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I personally love the idea. He has a great wing span and energy. It's very hard to get past the 6'7 height issue but the energy he brings to the team is unmatched. He's the person you neeed to get the dirty work done and he's only gonna get better with time. He reminds me of the "A. Varejao/J. Noah" type. His intangables (energy/rebounds/confidence)are second to none and his work ethic is solid. It really sucks that he can't be just 2 or 3 inches taller  . Even with that, he's still just gonna get better.......I say start him until proven otherwise....I love Tiago BUT, he's gonna be a rookie this year and doesn't know the system yet and McDyess is just plain old.....he does the job (McDyess) but I'd rather have a eager energetic young player (Blair) over a savvy vet (McDyess) starting as of right now. If it doesn't work out (maybe the first 15-20 games) then switch it up.....just my 2 cents
__________________ “I think he’s going to be a star. And as time goes on, he’ll be the face of the Spurs, I think.” ---- Coach Pop on Leonard |
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#9
10-14-10, 09:04 AM
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I have thought about this for the past day, and I think it will work. I believe the Spurs have to play to their strengths, and having a quicker front court might prove to be advantages to us over say a longer player who isn't as quick. Especially if Blair can hit the jumper with regularity. One problem I think we run into is trying to match up with the favorite, and losing any sense of team identity because I are meeting the opponents more than half way, instead of forcing them to play our game. Matching the Lakers based on their length is silly and puts us at a disadvantage because they have already dictated the style of play for us. If we can have a cohesive unit of skilled Ball handlers, quick players, and energy from the start, we should be able to dictate how the game is played and give ourselves the right to win. I might liken it to the 04 Pistons, undersized energetic Center coupled with long armed 6-11 PF. Liken, not direct comparisons. But if the rotation of Blair, Duncan, Jefferson, Ginobili, and Parker melds into a cohesive unit, I don't see why we would mess with it. |
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#10
10-14-10, 12:07 PM
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I think it will work. Ideally I would like to have a mobile shotblocker next to Tim (someone taller, a rim defender not an opportunistic blocker like Blair) but that is not an option with this roster anyway.
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#11
10-14-10, 02:16 PM
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 , that line up is waaaaaay too small. Maybe at times, but NOT a starting line up.
__________________  I'm Batman's cousin  |
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#12
10-14-10, 06:11 PM
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I think the TP/Manu/Hill lineup has a strong chance of being our "closer" lineup again this year.
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#13
10-14-10, 06:26 PM
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as a 3: he has to have quick feet and long endurance to be hanging around with faster guys. in this current "running" NBA, SF's are typically more athletic than before and better shooters (instead of being athletic/shooting versions of PF's, they're more of a taller/stronger SG. same deal with PF's, instead of being a more athletic version of a 5, they're getting to be athletic/quick/fast like 3's, ex. Amare). i'll throw 2 scenarios for Blair if he'd play at the 3: playing against athletic 3's who score in the paint (ex. someone like RJ): not really a 3 point shooter, so he can play back. but what some coaches do in this scenario is they set screens with the guy who's open if he can't shoot. let's say he sets a pick for a guard. if the guard is a shooter, then we're in trouble since Blair is playing back and the guy is getting an open look. if Blair plays the pick, now you got yourself with Blair guarding the faster/quicker guard and our guard being on their 3, which ain't pretty in the paint. we can supply help, but nowadays you're not getting 3 guys who can't shoot. if a 3 can't shoot (like how we have with RJ), teams try to make up for it with a big who can shoot (how Pop uses Bonner), so somewhere we're gonna get screwed no matter how we play it. playing against 3's who can shoot 3's or mid range: this is probably the simplest one to explain. if they're not drivers, just about anyone would drive on Blair if he played close. you got picks being set by bigs and now you gotta decide "does Blair cheat the pick and tries (keyword there) to kill the jumpshot or does our big commit to the pick to contest the shot?". really either one is a disadvantage. if Blair cheats the pick and the guy were to drive, you're talking about Blair trying to guard a faster guy being steps behind him so it'll be a 2 on 1 scenario against us if both guys go to the basket. if he doesn't cheat the pick, the guy gets an open jumper. that's the same scenario if Blair cheats and our big stays back. now playing against 4's and 5's is pretty much simpler. taller guys like Pau Gasol or Bynum don't have to jump up to grab rebounds against him because guys in the NBA have long wingspans (at least most of them). so you're talking about taller guys with long arms. Blair HAS to get position and he has to jump high to get rebounds. for those who saw Blair's big rebounding games during the season, most of his rebounds are offensive rebounds that come from his shots being blocked or him missing. he's not really a "rebounding machine" as some make him out to be. now if you got an athletic quick 4 (ex. Amare) that gives him trouble because it's hard enough to keep up with them. now if you got 4-5's who are athletic and can shoot (ex. Dirk/Pau), he can't play up on them because he'll get burned and he can't play back because they can shoot. they can just shoot over him just about every time. the pump fake is going to absolutely kill us on defense. if he doesn't jump and contest, it's a free shot (because remember, he just has arm length but his height is 6'7" or so, he has to jump to contest because the other guys jumping for the shot equalize his defense). if he jumps and they fake, now you're talking about our D scrambling and most likely a big is going to have to help out in the paint. if the big helps out, you got their guy open close to the rim (alley oops or a quick pass) or they got an easy shot in the paint. if we have a wing (ex. RJ/Manu/etc.) help out, then you got a pass to the 3 and an open 3 pointer. so if Blair needs help against a big, that really kills our defense. remember last season, Dice bailed us out TREMENDOUSLY! he didn't need help every time Dirk and played great defense, that's why our D was so solid. once Bonner came in, he needed help every time and you saw Dirk throw a quick pass to the center who had an easy shot or they had an open 3 pointer if Manu/Parker/Hill helped out. our D is designed for man defense and helping the 1-3 spots, it's not effective on being focused on helping our PF's and C's. to give you another example, in 2006 we had Bruce guard Dirk and he needed help sometimes. Horry guarded Josh Howard at the 3, but Horry was savvy enough to play in a position where if Duncan helped out Bruce, Horry was there to slip in front of the center and be quick enough to contest a shot his guy may have. i've never been enamored by Blair. i love his work ethic and his attitude, but physically, he's a killer for this team in my opinion. "experts" and fans expect his legs to break down with no ACL's at some point, putting him at the 3 would quicken that process (not a doctor, just my opinion) and his negatives on the floor surpass his positiveness, especially in the playoffs
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#14
10-14-10, 06:29 PM
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by the way, i'd switch Ginobili & Hill in that lineup at least. Hill would get destroyed in the SF position
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#15
10-14-10, 07:57 PM
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#16
10-14-10, 08:55 PM
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#18
10-15-10, 11:14 AM
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__________________ “I think he’s going to be a star. And as time goes on, he’ll be the face of the Spurs, I think.” ---- Coach Pop on Leonard |
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#19
10-15-10, 11:41 AM
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nowadays since we've had trouble with our defense, we've had the Ginger, Dice, and Blair in our defensive systems. none of them are shot blockers nor are they savvy type veterans (i know Horry is the same height as Dice, but Rob was way better overall defensively and had more hops than Dice at this point in his career). Oberto didn't have hops as any of the other guys, but his footwork and basketball IQ was so high that he'd get there before he needed to block any shots. back to the point, so now Duncan is actually playing our center position because he's really our only true shot blocker. Splitter's maturity of the Spurs system will depend on what position he plays. if Pop slides him into the Center position and he can contest/block shots or alter them at the least, he'll learn quickly and our defense will actually improve. if Pop doesn't trust him under the rim like he did Nazr and Rasho when they first came in or he can't protect the rim with consistency/efficiency, Pop will slide him into the PF position and Tim will be our center, but again, the responsibilities of the PF defensive position are a bit more complicated than the Centers, so don't be surprised if he's lost in the scheme of things his first year playing the 4.
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#20
10-15-10, 12:24 PM
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I think the Spurs are deliberately resting Splitter after international summer play. They know all too well the possible consequences if you don't. The season is a marathon, not a sprint. He's young I know but rest is just as important as playing. They don't want a tuckered or injured Tiago.
__________________ The Cap'n says "Go Spurs Go!" Now mind your manners, each your spinach and never ever listen to David Hasselhoff records. They're for wussies...Ba ding ding. |
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#21
10-15-10, 08:02 PM
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Tired players are usually the ones most prone to injuries. Yes, he needs to play with the guys for them to get a feel for his game and vice versa, but as has beeen pointed out, sitting beside Manu and observing is really (or ahould really shorten)his learning curve. Splitter will get into one, or perhaps two preseason games and get a couple solid weeks of practice, which should help him get to full game fitness by New Year's. By the end of the rodeo gig, he and James Anderson should be up to around 20 mins a game. (maybe I am too optomistic and that should read could be vice should be.)
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#22
10-15-10, 08:09 PM
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the thing we have to remember about Splitter is that he's really the newest guy we got on the roster for the whole team that's gonna make an impact. last year we had lots of new pieces who were expected average to big roles. if Splitter comes off the bench, his margin for error is decent with 2nd string guys in there (and Manu leading the offense if he comes off the bench). if he were to start, he'll have 4 guys who know how to play with each other next to him, so he may get bailed out a lot of times and it won't hurt us a bit on the court
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#23
10-15-10, 08:43 PM
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That's why Tiago could start on the second half of the season. And Blair bring energy and scoring from the bench.
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#24
10-15-10, 10:06 PM
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When I see Bonner on it I will get dumb drunk and cry....... Why could he not be gone when he was supposed to be gone 
__________________ “The [Navy] specs called for Mach 2.34. We actually tested the airplane for Mach 2.5. I flew it 2.5 a couple times. When you fly a Phantom, it’s built for 2.0, but when you fly that fast you know it. It’s like sitting on a beach ball; you don’t know which way it’ll go, it’s so sensitive. In a F-14 it’s like sitting in a Cadillac. It’s solid. You don’t realize you’re going that fast. |
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