Monday, January 11th, 2010...4:01 am
New Jersey Nets 85, San Antonio Spurs 97
The Spurs beat the Nets in a game that many saw as a yawn in between contests against the Mavericks and Lakers. And the 97-85 victory certainly reads that way: playoff bound Spurs cruise past the woeful Nets; Tim Duncan plays an easy 27 minutes.
If you’re looking at the big picture stuff, this game provides a quick capper. Tim Duncan scored 14 points and grabbed a season-high 17 boards in limited action. Manu Ginobili was a potpourri of sensational, scoring 21 points in 26 minutes. When Manu Ginobili is playing well, he likes to do stuff like this:
But that was, amazingly, neither the highlight nor the most important storyline of the game. No, this game against the Nets will be remembered as Ian Mahinmi’s first meaningful game in the NBA.
Mahinmi has technically played NBA minutes. But not many, and never when a game was still undecided. The bulk of his professional experience came two years ago with the Austin Toros, where he excelled as the D-League’s best player. Prior to this game, Ian Mahinmi had not even seen the active list for the Spurs. He played 24 minutes in this game, putting together an impressive 15 points, 9 rebounds and the block you saw in the highlight above.
Why did the Spurs activate Ian Mahinmi, let alone play him?
Gregg Popovich said, “You feel it when you feel it. He’s worked hard for two years and had some bad breaks with injuries. It was good to give Tim a little rest. You don’t want to look past anybody and I knew Ian wouldn’t do that. He did a good job.”
George Hill indicated that Mahinmi played because someone was injured: “He did a great job of coming in and stepping in for one of our hurt players and filling their role.”
Most Spurs fans assumed their team was showcasing the French big for another team during trade season.
Whatever the case, I was happy to see Mahinmi on the court. At points, I’ve blogged about him more than Tony Parker. As a D-Leaguer, Mahinmi convinced me that he was a rotation quality center. But then injury, a mediocre training camp, the Spurs’ decision not to exercise his contract option, and the absence of a single minute of playing time indicated differently.
On December 23 I published a post called A Christmas Wish: Play Ian Mahinmi. A little late, but thanks Pop.
It remains to be seen whether this game was a fluke, or if Mahinmi will receive any more minutes. Perhaps, he will be traded. What we do know is that he looked good. Ian Mahinmi is 23, big and skilled. He should be playing somewhere.
I hope Ian Mahinmi continues to develop. As a Spurs fan, it’s not just about cheering for him. If Ian Mahinmi transforms into a success story, his achievements will validate all the work the San Antonio Spurs have put into the Austin Toros. It’s a win for everybody.
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39 Comments
January 11th, 2010 at 4:15 am
How stupid would it be if the Spurs traded Mahinmi after drafting him and developing his game? Seeing him play yesterday reminded me how talented he really is and how much he can help the Spurs! It would be a shame if he had to go! He really deserves to be in the Spurs’ rotation. McDyess hasn’t really convinced me so far and Mahinmi knows the system better than the 2 veteran big guys (Dyess + Ratliff). He an athletic, agile and talented young guy we were looking for and he deserves to play! period
January 11th, 2010 at 5:19 am
I think he was activated b/c Pop feels he is athletic enough to defend the ’stretch 4’s’ of the NBA - think the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, who always give the Spurs a lot of trouble…
January 11th, 2010 at 5:41 am
How has Mahinmi been in practice? Did he finally show Pop that he was deserving real minutes? This was the first year that I followed the Spurs before summer ball and Ian did really well. I have bee surprised at the lack of pt for him and just wondered if it was because of a poor effort during practice?
January 11th, 2010 at 6:38 am
48 MOH writers: Can you give us a bit of a break down on why the Spurs would trade Mahinmi? I could understand if he were part of a package to get a really nice player, but if trading him were just a salary dump, isn’t the possible benefit of a talented, young, athletic big much greater than the savings of about 1.5 million?
January 11th, 2010 at 6:39 am
I know this is not a trade thread, but I have just read that Spurs made an offer to NOH for CP3 in a deal centered at Tony Parker plus sweeteners…
Apparently, the offer was turned down by the Hornets but I am still shocked to know that the front office was willing to trade one of the Big three…
January 11th, 2010 at 7:21 am
@ Martin,
source?
January 11th, 2010 at 7:24 am
Ian should be playing more, and he might to get a higher trade value. But why would you want to trade him? How can you put all that time and money and effort and not get to play that much. Why do that? To develop him? I want to see him play more. I wanna see what kind of production he can make out there. Pop knows why and what he is doin. So like usual, GO SPURS!!!! P.S. Martin- where the hell you hear the spurs trying to trade TP for CP3? Sounds made up.
January 11th, 2010 at 7:40 am
VI_Massive: Ian is a free agent at the end of the season. The Spurs are in a bad spot with him. And I suspect that he would be added to a bigger deal as a sweetener. After last night, he’s a lot more sweet.
January 11th, 2010 at 7:50 am
You should start a whole new thread: why did Pop play Ian? I’m curious as to theories.
January 11th, 2010 at 7:54 am
@AP the source is hoopsworld.com
Bold Move In San Antonio?: The San Antonio Spurs are not happy or satisfied with where they stand today. League sources said recently that the Spurs made a pass at New Orleans trying to pry away Chris Paul with an offer that included Tony Parker.
The offer was immediately turned away by the Hornets.
However it is interesting to hear that San Antonio would consider parting with Parker, but if it returned Chris Paul the move is easy to justify. Parker has one more season remaining on his deal worth $13.6 million and could be one of the top free agent guards in the summer of 2011.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=14943
January 11th, 2010 at 7:56 am
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=14943
cp3 for tony parker source. wtf…
January 11th, 2010 at 7:58 am
lol martin i didn’t see you posted it lol
January 11th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Anyways, I tried the trade in ESPN Trade machine and it doesn’t work because of Salary Caps…and because CP3 is in a Base Year Compensation…
I am not that familiar with trade rules except for the fact that salaries must match…
January 11th, 2010 at 8:10 am
Well, I like Tony as much as the next Spurs fan, but a trade for Chris Paul is not exactly dangling Tony Parker - Chris Paul is probably the best point guard in the game. Probably a top five player overall. And it’s no secret that the Hornets are struggling financially.
Basically it’s like the front office calling Cleveland and saying, “Hey, we’ll trade you Manu Ginobilli for some guy named LeBron James”. It’s nothing personal against Parker - he’s clearly one of the best point guards in the league, but you have to give something up to get something in return.
Unsurprisingly the Hornets are like, “Umm, no thanks.” I would be surprised if the Spurs are the only team to offer deals like that to the Hornets for Paul - another team that fields a lot of similar calls for a player (I would imagine) is Toronto with Bosh.
I was a little surprised Ian hasn’t suited up more with Bonner out. It’s early in the season, the schedule is still pretty light - it would seem that now would be the time to play him.
January 11th, 2010 at 8:20 am
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes last night when I looked up the stats and saw Ian not only played, but had significant minutes and good numbers. I’ve been waiting a long time to see this guy finally get his shot and show us something.
He’s too young, with length and too much upside and they invested too much to just dump him in a trade, but sadly this really felt like a showcase.
I haven’t heard a peep about TP on the block, but I do know that CP3 is indeed available for a the right offer. It made sense to at least see if the NOH would bite. I have noticed that TP doesn’t look right this season and it has concerned me.
I know the Spurs don’t want to admit that perhaps the trade for RJ hasn’t quite work out the way they had hoped, but he’s the guy on the block and packaged with Ian and some other sweeteners I would believe the target destination might have been Golden State for Anthony Randolph and (unfortunately) Maggette (who the Spurs have flirted with in the past). However AR’s ankle injury could be severe thus making that move very unlikely now.
It was cool to see Ian finally out there and I hope they find a spot on the rotation for him. Along with Splitter and Blair and tutored by a savvy veteran like Duncan - the future of the front court looks promising (but that’s the future and the Spurs are clearly in the hunt for a title now…)
Lastly - how great was Manu last night?
January 11th, 2010 at 8:53 am
[...] via New Jersey Nets 85, San Antonio Spurs 97 | 48 Minutes of Hell. [...]
January 11th, 2010 at 9:09 am
I had some fun playing around on the trade machine last night,and came up with the following deal. To quote Bill Simmons, “Who says no first?”
Spurs get:
Fabricio Oberto
Luis Scola
Shane Battier
Brandon Haywood
Houston gets:
Richard Jefferson
Antawn Jamison
Washington gets:
Tracy McGrady
Ian Mahinmi
Marcus Haislip
Malik Hairston
With this deal, the Spurs get back some corporate knowledge (Oberto), improve their perimeter D and shooting (Battier), and have Scola playing with Duncan in the post. In addition, you could run a second unit of Ginobili, Oberto and Scola that could be up and effective immediately due to their long history.
Houston gets All-Star caliber talent in Jamison, and borderline in Jefferson. I think Jefferson thrives better in Houston’s up-tempo style than with our more half-court oriented one.
Washington gets the dynamite out here. This trade puts them not just under the luxury tax, but under the salary cap for next year, and that’s even if they don’t get to void Arenas’ bloated contract. Mahinmi is a good enough big-man prospect that he would be useful to them. I originally did this without Hairston, but realized that he would be cut in this scenario to make room on the roster, so figured he could go ahead and head to Washington. Since we’re just making stuff up here.
January 11th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Ian looked so happy in the post game interview. We need his energy and eagerness to play right now. I think Tony is having a tough yr. Do all sport’s icons get side tracked and play bad {or just ok}after getting with a hot girl. Look at Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson and how that turn out. Lamar odom and Kloe, that silly. The T.O. show, come on! Is this kinda effecting Tony confidence on the court? IDK! But come on Tony, you got a better squad and have less of a burden now with the development {and still learning} of G. Hill. He has had his flashes, but inconsistent. Sorry T.P. i love ya, but not a good time to be mediocre.
Now to R.J.. Keep him. He is a solid player. We all know how tough it has been said of the spurs playbook. R.J. has been offensive minded for the last 2 or so yrs. Now pop wants him to be like the bowen but with 1,2 punch for them. It’s an ongoing transition for all of them. When this team gets it down and going on all cylinders watch out! I think we have a great squad as is. Any more transitions and you lose what you work so hard at to get what they got now. Which to me as a die hard spurs fan is ok. Transition. That my word of the day.
January 11th, 2010 at 9:57 am
I agree on Jefferson. I like him, and expect him to continue improving. Not sure if the numbers corroborate this, but it seems like he’s starting to be more efficient in his offense. His defensive effort certainly looks much better than the early season.
My trade scenario (conveniently pulled from a convenient orifice), was just a bit of whimsy trying to see if I could get Scola and Oberto back.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:07 am
I think it’s easy to see one reason why the Spurs haven’t played a lot of Mahinmi in the box score: he had five fouls in limited minutes, and played at least half the fourth quarter with that many.
At the same time though, considering Mahinmi’s production and the relative length of our bench, I would think the Spurs would be happy to run him out there for 15 to 20 minutes a game. He would be an explosive part of our bench squad, particularly in games where Blair faces his own foul trouble.
As for Tony Parker, I wouldn’t be surprised if the front office tried to trade for an elite passing guard. I’ve been thinking about the Parker post on this Web site — how his scoring game is central to the Spurs system — and I think Pop and Buford might think that system is outdated with Jefferson’s addition. If we had a passer at the 1, I’d bet dollars to donuts RJ’s game would look a lot better.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:09 am
I would consider Scola, but no to Oberto. I think we need a big, young cat that’s gonna go down low and post-up and be efficent. Oberto not good offensively enough for me. I would like to see David West or Marcus Camby or hell maybe even Al Jefferson? Why not. Just my my thought. We all love the spurs and see things in a different light, but one things is for sure, GO SPURS!!!
January 11th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Corporate knowlege? Yes for perimeter players (and even for guys that can hit 15-20 footers) I can see the Spurs system being tough to learn. But what we need is a big defensive-minded center or a power forward that can defend stretch 4s and either would need to be able to rebound. I’m no coach, but it MUST be easier to incorporate a non-shooting big into the system, right?
We have enough offensive weapons.
Either keep on playing Mahimni or get this new big now so he can gel.
We suck against teams over .500. Don’t ever forget that.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:18 am
I think Ian just doesn’t have a high Basketball IQ. He was a volleyball player for a long time in France, which explains the awesome jumping ability. He just looks a little uncomfortable playing basketball which is probably why he fouls a lot or is out of position. I hope he stays and learns the spurs system from playing more.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:27 am
I am still sceptical about the RJ move but I believe it was the right decision. He can only get better as the season develops.
He is shooting 47% from the field which is quite good. This also is a clear indicator that he’s taking quality shots most of the time. His scoring is down which is totally normal because he’s not option 1 or 2 but 3 or 4. So he’s taking less shots, logically resulting in less points.
OK, I admit that I thought too that he’d have more impact on the offense earlier in the season but I think that so far he’s just trying to fit in, not forcing any shots because he knows he has a lot of other players around who know the system better than he does. Plus his minutes are down so that explains too why he “only” averages 13pts/game. I am quite sure he’s going to feel more comfortable come springtime, and then he’ll have more understanding of his role and then confidence and aggressiveness will come by themselves. btw I think he made a pretty good job defending Dirk on friday.
January 11th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Pop certainly found a way to make a Sunday evening game on NFL playoff weekend vs a team 30 games under .500 have some meaning. Good for Ian, making his minutes count. Good that the main guys all played under 30 minutes. Certainly not a wasted game.
January 11th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I do a CP3 for TP deal in a heartbeat.
January 11th, 2010 at 11:41 am
@VP I don’t even wait for the second half of the heartbeat.
January 11th, 2010 at 11:44 am
TP for CP3 is a no brainer, which is why the NOH won’t go for it.
January 11th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Mahinmi was never a volleyball player. That’s a draft day legend.
January 11th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Also, viz a viz Mahnimi’s fouls - most young players foul a ton, it takes a while for them to realize what a foul is and isn’t. Blair, for example, earlier in the year was committing tons of dumb fouls.
There’s no way for him to work out of it without playing him. I actually thought last night was the ideal situation to play him in - the Nets aren’t good, but do have the correct kinds of players you want to see Mahnimi in a matchup with.
Hopefully Pop will activate him more often against the lower tier teams to save minutes on Ratliff.
January 11th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Ian leads like every statistical category on Hoopdata…haha.
January 11th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
You better be getting back an equal to excellent small forward if you move RJ. Against the Mavs, he played excellent against Dirk. Dirk only went off once Coach B took RJ out (after the block on Terry). Before that, Dirk struggled.
They really should have called plays to attack Dirk, as he could never keep up with RJ.
His D has def improved since the beginning of the season. His D against bigger players is not bad in the small ball.
With regard to Parker, only 2 guys I’d trade him for are CP3 or Deron Williams.
It’s tough for the Spurs to trade this season because all the expiring contracts are small (Finley, Bonner, Mason). It would require at least 2 players to move + perhaps Ian to even get a decent sized contract player. Nothing likely will happen unless the perfect deal comes along.
January 11th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
Spurs better not trade Ian. If all else falls, Ian can still be a Kwame Brown-type contributor, but I think he is already better than Kwame. He can be a great backup C. But let’s see him play a few more games before everyone gets on the Ian bandwagon.
January 11th, 2010 at 3:27 pm
ian is an athletic big that we so sorely need. unless he is a trade asset to land another athletic, shot blocking big, we need to keep him. move him up in the rotation. maybe we will see him against odom or bynum tomorrow? tim can’t defend all of them(including pau) on his own….
January 11th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Its interesting that they offered up Tony as the main player in the deal. It makes sense that you would trade PG for a PG, but I wonder if the organization is a little pissed about him going off and getting injured in the offseason and then playing bad in the first half of this year.
That said, I wonder what other deals the Spurs have in mind since they are obviously looking and I wonder if Tony is at the heart of all their trade discussions (if they exist). The Spurs could use a big like Jefferson or even West, but that would leave the PG position bare for the Spurs if Tony was thrown in on that deal. Sounds like somethings-a-brewin’ in the FO.
P.S. If they got Jefferson, I think that would add a year or two to Duncans career. It would allow Duncan to play the high post and Jefferson to do more of the dirty/physical work in the low block. We saw what a beast he is when we played the wolves a few weeks ago.
January 11th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
Unless they get Chris Bosh, don’t trade IAN.
I know it was only one game but what a game it was.
You don’t go into a game ice cold, after sitting on the bench for two years and put up 15 points and 9 rebounds, without talent.
He’s got enough time before the trade deadline to prove if he is for real. If he is consistent then don’t trade him. He is exactly what the Spurs need, a big body in the mix. (Check out his block)
If they do want to make a move then, go after haywood or Oberto, Washington can’t be asking too much. They want to bust that team up.
January 11th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
[...] Original post: New Jersey Nets 85, San Antonio Spurs 97 | 48 Minutes of Hell [...]
January 11th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
If Ian is part of a trade package for Bosh, that would be acceptable. Haywood would also be okay (depending on how much they have to give up) - but either way he would only be a part of the package. Someone better would have to go as well.
Again, I wouldn’t read to much into the Parker message other than the fact the front office is clearly looking at the teams that are losing money to see if they can land a Pau Gasol-type deal (which is good because, frankly, I wish we had gotten Gasol two years ago).
January 11th, 2010 at 6:46 pm
Easy now folks - yeah I’d probably make the TP for CP3 deal - but when he’s got his turbo going TP can and has outplayed Nash and CP3 when it counts - in the playoffs.
I think there is some lack of motivation going on with TP and the FO (contract, his off-season injury etc.). I know he and the missus have a home in SA, but I wonder if he wouldn’t mind playing in LA. He seems to like that lifestyle. Forget the hated Lakers - but a swap for Baron? Risky.
Still moving TP and Bonner for CP3 and Posey seems logical for financial purposes for the NOH - although NOH would probably be nuking their team with a fire sale soon thereafter. Also other than getting a star in return for CP3, you’re going to have to take Posey’s three remaining years and perhaps even Peja’s. Throw in RJ and you have a very complicated deal that works, but would make it tough for either team to gel this season.
They peaked two years ago and will always be dangerous, but they just don’t have the horses outside of CP3 and West to really play with the big boys and their owner has always been more about money that winning. This trade would not be about basketball as much as dollars and the reality of our current economy.
I also wonder if the mileage is starting to catch up with TP. Playing for the national team and all those long playoffs seasons - they may be saving him for when the real season begins.
The Spurs have some trade chips, and it doesn’t surprise me that TP would be a movable centerpiece (remember they tried to get Kidd right after beating him in the Finals).
I hope they remain intact and that Ian gets more run - he does bring an athletic dimension sorely lacking to the front line. Coupled with TP getting ignited by any trade talk and starting to scorch through defenses and working that teardrop shot, well things are about to get interesting. But first…beat LA!
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