Malik Hairston to be cut by Siena?

Lower leg injuries can be really tough on your back, especially if you return to physical activity too soon. The back muscles over-compensate for the injury and can cause other injuries (Ex: Robinson).

This is a tough break for a hard worker, hopefully he can stay under contract.

Hairston didn’t develop the type of defense I anticipated, don’t think we need him. If Gee is going to be inactive most of the time, I’d rather Temple take the 12th spot if we don’t sign some sharp-shooter or a good defender.

Yeah they closed the door on him, too bad I always thought he was a good quality for the cash pickup for us.

definitely tough break, and i wish malik the best. i’ve had a knee and lower back injury before, and coming back from them is tough. my career doesn’t even depend on them, so i can only imagine what he must be feeling.

that said, as a spurs fan, i don’t think we need or should bring him back though. we have to evaluate what we have in the stable. best of luck to him though!

Gentlemen of the 48…

Team USA and Brazil play tonight, affording all of us the opportunity to see Tiago Splitter log minutes against these young NBA players….

Lets see what all the fuss is about.

USA – Brazil game is live on ESPN at 2:30pm ET.

I’ve watched both Brazil games on ESPN3.com (replays) to get a sense of what type of player Tiago is.

Firstly I think playing on international team doesn’t always show off the best abilities. But here are my quick thoughts on Tiago, and of course 2 game sample isn’t really good base. But here goes:

Pros:
- Polished post moves. Right/left hook, spin, up and unders.
- Moves feet quickly on defense, good on PnR’s
- Great court vision / passer

Cons:
- Doesn’t seem to rebound much out of his area.
- Not much 0f a shot blocking presence
- I have yet to see him make a set jump shot (though FT’s are decent). I suppose either he just doesn’t need to for Brazil and he gets easy layups all game. On this note, I remember a couple weeks ago on the Podcast some int’l guy was saying he could shoot up to 18ft. Maybe he is just holding back.

Anyway it would be nice to see a piece here on 48MoH regarding Tiago’s play at the World Championships, and how he’d fit in with Spurs. My worry is he won’t be able to space the floor (like Pop likes), but on the other hand his passing/defense will make up for it.

Very nice 1st quarter for Splitter. If that’s indicative…he’ll be ready to contribute.

Splitter had a real nice game. He produced 13pts, 10 rebs, 3assts, 2 steals, and a block in limited playing time due to foul trouble. Most of this production came against Lamar Odom whom Splitter will see this next year. There were several take aways I had:

1. 5 turnovers is too many.
2. He has decent post moves, but will be going up against bigger players than Odom and Tyson Chandler on most nights.
3. He has good lateral quickness and covers a great deal of ground while defending the P&R.
4. His verticle jump seems to be poor. In fact, I was surprised that he had 10 rebs. From watching the game, I would have guessed he only had 5-6. Splitter does a good job of neutralizing his opponents with his size, width, and strength but it appears the guy has a 4 inch verticle.
5. He is a good passer and sees the floor well. There were many of his passes that would have been assists if his man would have hit the shot.
6. He needs to finish stronger or take the 12-14ft jumper. He got his shot blocked while throwing up weak trash on a drive instead of either dunking or shooting the short shot.

Considering he only played 30 minutes in a low scoring, grind-it-out game, I think he played very well. Brazil (especially Barbosa) shot way too many 3′s. They should have done a better job pounding it into the post with Tiago, but that’s just my biased opinion. Bottom line: Splitter should be a very nice addition on the defensive end with his lateral movement and quick hands.

Splitter blocked Russell Westbrook hard in the first quarter. Brought a smile to my face

I could get used to seeing plays like that from him this season

Splitter,

Saw his game a bit…He has some missing elements, but could be effective in the low post if properly utilized by our future Hall of Fame coach.

Splitter cant jump for shyt and isnt all that athletic. But, he does have talent and could definately contribute next to Duncan.

As for all of the name calling,

We are all fans to a certain extent. However, a fan that wants to win is no less a fan than one who just wants to be a fan.

We dont scorn that fan that just has blind support. We simply dont agree.

Lot of low balls thrown at ol Jim Henderson. Ive been to combat with Jim at the 48. He may be a bit persistent in getting his ponts across, but thge man knows his shyt as it relates to this team and the NBA.

Most dont know jack…Just like to run thier mouths….

Here is the bottom line…

If you think that the Spurs are combat ready with this roster, your knowledge of this game is not what you think it is…

Some of us have simply tired of limited talents like Bonner, and want the organization to start bringing in real ball players. Ginnobli and Duncan arent getting any younger. A gradual retooling with our Big 3 in place is far better than a direct drop to the lottery..

After All, We dont support the Spurs because of the color of thier uniforms..

It’s about winning….Anything else is just lip service.