Los Angeles Lakers 102, Pomona-Pitzer 93: The Spurs’ second unit wins cookies and milk

Hate to blame the refs, but I think the ‘B’ team would have actually had this game if they wouldn’t have been getting called for such ticky-tack ‘and-1s’ in the 4th. Completely took the wind out of their sail; even with the poor shooting night.

It was kinda entertaining for a while. Especially when they had a two point lead in the 4th for about 5 seconds. They could have actually stolen that one if they hit a few more shots, maybe.
I thought all the bemch guys had some good moments.
Im glad the Big 3 sat. Just look at Bynum. I think they might as well rest tonight too.
It doesnt matter though. According to Charles Barkely the Spurs are toast if they play anybody besides the Hornets. Luckily his picks never pan out.

“Put differently, the jury is still out on Popovich’s Pomona-Pitzer maneuvers.”

Other than Popovich having coached their, I’m not sure what is menat by the maneuvers. Did Pop not play his starters while coaching their? Was he using “small ball” as far back as then?

The quote intrigued me as to what is meant. Sorry for not getting it.

Just that he played his b team

@mike
I agree. Those were some soft and1s. And back to back I believe.

Come play offs I think this team will be ready no matter the opponent. To win the championship they’ll have to be and eventually have to meet (as every team that advances) a tougher task.

If resting the starters helps enable them to play with optimum skill deeper into the playoffs …I’m all for it.

A glimpse into the future.

Had to give a a shout out to NOVAK for abusing the elderly, Joe Smith. Best moment of the night. I literally LOLd!

Yeah, that moment with Joe Smith pointed out a big difference between the Spurs and a lot of other teams. Everybody on the Spurs roster can play, but a lot of other teams have some players on the end of the bench who are just there to satisfy NBA requirements for roster spots. Joe Smith had quite a bit of talent once, although it never really blossomed into a good NBA career. But at this point in his career, he’s just a butt in a seat. God help the Lakers if they ever have to use him in a game.

Jack’s face said it all. He might just get a new hobby.

rob
April 13th, 2011 at 5:16 am “Put differently, the jury is still out on Popovich’s Pomona-Pitzer maneuvers.”

Other than Popovich having coached their, I’m not sure what is menat by the maneuvers. Did Pop not play his starters while coaching their? Was he using “small ball” as far back as then?

The quote intrigued me as to what is meant. Sorry for not getting it.

Rob, gotta lay off that Ganja! Ha!

I was pleased with the efforts of the reserves and RJ (for some moments)….the only thing that really bothered me was watching Splitter attempting brick hook shot after brick hook shot…..his defense was nice but he needs some arc on that shot. Sheesh!

Last night’s game was a little frustrating to watch, because I felt the scrubs could have won it if they just didn’t brick so many shots. I’m also frustrated that RJ had a terrible game, right after having a really good one. But the fact that the Lakers stunk on ice was pretty satisfying to watch.

What can you say about last night? Our bench can play with the best add our core 3 and then Lakers will respect us then. Please! Odom. You didn’t respect our bench because your team is cocky? They just didn’t realize how good our bench is and how well they execute and follow instructions from the ring master. Talk about our 2nd unit disrespecting their starting unit for all of 43 min until the refs put a stop to what could have been otherwise a demoralizing defeat. That win didn’t do any thing for their psyche. Good minutes for everyone. Splitter is still learning and will figure out how to play the stars of the NBA as his experience grows and just like RJ will get better at things needing improvement such as free throws, defensive adjustments, and a perimeter shot. The positive attributes he brings now to the table is hustle, understanding of the game, the ability to put teams in the penalty. That could be huge just for the sake of playoffs getting a few minutes here and there to draw fouls get not only him but our guys to the free throw line as a habitual advantage. More experience tonight for our 2nd unit and a little tune up for our starters and we are good to go.
GSG! Bring on the playoffs.

Watching last night’s game was really enjoyable. For a minute there, I actually thought that the bench was going to pull it off.

It sure looked like DeJuan and Tiago were lobbying for playoff playing time. Even before Bynum went down, their offensive rebounding and general hustle down low was impressive. Tiago’s length on D is great… I think he did a fairly respectable job on Gasol. DeJuan creates chaos with his hustle, poking balls away and getting strips. Both play well as the roll man. It will be interesting to see who Pop goes with in the playoffs. I guess it’ll most likely be matchup dependent.

@Alix Babaie
“the only thing that really bothered me was watching Splitter attempting brick hook shot after brick hook shot”

That seems to be one of his weaknesses and needs to be corrected during the summer. He could score 4-6 point more per game with just a small tweak.

Go Spurs Go!!

@Alix Babaie,

That hook shot of Splitter’s your complaining about worked very well for him the last 10 years he’s been using it. Since he’ll be getting more time to play on a regular basis next season you’ll see an improvement on that shot. That’s his shot he’s not abandoning that. What a summer, training camp, and regular season will do for him next year add another year of experience to Blair and the young guns and were right there again competing on a nightly basis bringing us quality entertainment.

@Titletown99030507

I agree with your post.

Go Spurs Go!!

Wish I’d been able to watch the game, but from the box score a few things stand out.
First of all, “The Kids are all RIGHT!” Nice FT-shooting, despite the poor floor shooting. Good hustle stats and the fact that Blair was our high-foul guy with 4 and we had three others with 3 fouls is a good point of focus, defensively. ESPECIALLY when compared to the fact that Bryant and Artest each had 5 fouls (dunno at what point they got them…Can anyone who watched the game say whether they should’ve fouled out?) and Bryant got his 27 points on 8-21 shooting? I like. A LOT!
The only thing that bugs me is Gasol’s 17 rebs, but given the height of our guys, I suppose that’s not too bad, and our guys were only out-rebounded by 3 overall. I can deal with it, particularly when we have 11 to their 7 OffRebs.
I think Pop did the right thing in this game. Give the second-squad some confidence, even with the poor shooting this game was there to be taken, and the Lakers shot .456 from the floor against B-team.
Tonight is tune-up for the Starters - I’m expecting the starters to play heavy in the first half, then nada in the second.

I agree that Splitter’s shot looks a bit “awkward”, but like Titletown says, that’s his shot and he’s used it for years against tough opposition down low. It’s almost as if Splitter anticipates contact which is why the release has such a strange character to it. It looks like he releases the ball as far from the defender’s reach as possible. I was jumping like a banshee when he used it to score on Gasol, and that it pissed off Gasol enough to demand the ball on offense so he could go at Splitter (drawing a foul on Tiago). Ultimately, what I saw was that Tiago grabbed rebounds, took a charge, and drew a surprising amount of fouls with some of his stronger, more aggressive moves into the paint against the two time champs. Absolutely incredible given all his setbacks that go back to the beginning of the season.

I hereby declare Splitter to be “the real deal”. He had trouble defending Gasol and Bynum at times, but who doesn’t aside from perhaps D. Howard and Perkins? No way Pop doesn’t play him at least for spot minutes in the playoffs. And with those spot minutes, I predict Splitter will carpe the hell out of the diem and work his tail off to earn even more minutes. All aboard the Tiago express, next stop: respectable minutes in the first round.

The SA bench did an awesome job. It was a Lose-Lose for the Lakers, and they lost even more than they should have. LA was pitiful. We were nearly tied while shooting under 40%. Then we hit a couple and tied the game. With couple more stops and drops we would have won! I sure hope LA keeps this up!

I followed the game closely on my phone last night. Pomona-Pitzer showed heart.

I noticed a lot of missed shots, but the highlight to take from that is that Bonner was 3/3 from deep. That is a great takeaway. I’d love to see him perform when the playoff lights turn on, it adds a

I also believe RJ ‘disappeared’ because that’s the only player LA was willing to acknowledge as on their level and focused in on him. Can anyone who watched the game speak to that?

I’m headed into the office to mock an LA fan…

Whoa, totally spaced my thoughts there…my apologies.

…it adds a dimension to our offense and spacing that no one else can. I’m not counting on it, but one can hope.

One of the reasons I, like so many other Spurs fans, have clamored all season for more playing time for Tiago is that he shows an impressive ability to adjust his game on both ends of the floor to the situation and player at hand. Against Aldridge he got abused a couple of times and then adjusted and gave him fits the rest of the night. Again Al Jefferson he did the same thing, with Jefferson having to resort to jump shots after taking it to the basket a couple of times (yes, he hit some but he still had to adjust). I would have liked for him to have some of that knowledge against people like Z. Randolph, Marc Gasol and others. It could pay off big time in the playoffs. All in all, Tiago may never be a superstar ala TD, but he should prove to be a solid contributor for us for many years to come.

Dallas has every reason to lose tonight: Loss means no Lakers until WCF and ensuring that their possible 2nd round opponent, Spurs, play a tougher Memphis team Rd1

Despite the poor shooting that kept putting the team in a hole, they steadfastly fought back to tie the game, time after time. Pretty good stats for the most part-got to love the FT% and low TO#.

As I mentioned earlier, I love the Spurs more with Splitter than without but that shot needs some arc on it….it was like a line drive brick right into the back of the rim.

Didn’t get to watch the game, but I’m thoroughly impressed that our bench guys held up to the Lakers, and even did pretty decent on the boards. Got to wonder if that whole “size” thing is overblown.

Of course, they lost Bynum for an indeterminate amount of time. Never know, it might affect them in the first round. If they play the Grizzlies or the Blazers, it wouldn’t surprise me to possibly see them getting bounced in the first round.

Still, I really kind of want the guy to get back, not because I relish the Spurs playing him, but because I don’t want to hear all the whining that will ensue if the Lakers lose to the Spurs without Bynum. We all know Phil Jackson will have another one of those asterisks prepared for that eventuality.

The “Spurs 2nd Unit” is a singular term, thus it winS milk & cookies.

@Kintaro
I fully agree with your take - I second the “real deal” declaration and I am on-board that train!!

I expect Splitter to get a suprizing amount of playoff minutes, and who knows, maybe even a start in the right situation.

I, for one, am not happy with last night’s results. The Lakers, with their stars in the game, played with no energy and no focus and allowed themselves to be beaten if only our B squad would seize the win. They did not seize the win.

That bench squad will never see a better chance to beat an elite NBA starting lineup, and they blew it. As far as I am concerned, the Lakers left the game as wide open as can be for the taking, and our bench squad failed to secure what should have been a win. That displeases me.

Yes, I understand they were still playing against some of the most talented players in the NBA. I understand this game meant nothing to anyone except perhaps the Lakers. I get all that but am still displeased by the lack of “killer instinct” displayed by the Spurs.

I don’t care that this game ultimately means nothing to us. The Lakers stars played without focus and effort. They played longer minutes. They lacked a bench and had their center leave due to injury. They sucked for more than 3 full quarters. When you go against competition, or the lack of it, of that degree, you must win. If you can’t win against that much suckitude, when can you?

The lack of “edge,” of “killer instinct,” of “swagger” to this team is very disconcerting. Seeing a game like that, I have doubts that this team is capable of “going for the kill.” They shot something like 33% for much of the first half, but the Lakers, with all their star power, allowed them to hang around. When you are still winning a game in the 4th quarter in which you have been shooting that horribly against tired and unmotivated competition who lost a major player to injury, I don’t care who you are, you by all rights should win that game. Failure to do so indicates a lack of ability to execute. And that bothers me. This team will not win a championship if it cannot execute.

I’m starting to wonder if this team, like the criticism leveled against Pau Gasol, is soft. I am usually not one to react violently one way or the other, but the lack of a win last night has me disgusted. Yes, DISGUSTED. Am I the only one??

We are starting the playoffs and are still unable to execute, unable to put away weak competition. (I challenge anyone to watch that game again and tell me it was anything but the weakest of competition. The Kings put up more resistance than what the Lakers did last night.) That wasn’t just an off-shooting night for us. That was a check engine light going off indicating something serious and fundamentally wrong. A lack of confidence or something. You guys are fond of saying that Bonner chokes in the post-season, well the team collectively pulled a Bonner last night. I can only hope that the Big Three has enough in the tank to compensate for the problems with the rest of the team.

Someone please talk me down from the ledge!!! Please tell me I am wrong. I want to be wrong. I am not myself and am not well today. And I blame last night’s game as the cause.

Pop really want lose this game, he put GReen, Quinn, JA, Novak and Splitter with 3 minutes left??!!
Is OK, i don’t expect win, but now he give New Orleands to Lakers in 1st round, because certally Memphis will tank…

“Impressed”? IMPRESSED???

Are you guys kidding me?? It was disheartening. A punch to the gut.

Last night was an EPIC FAIL. How can you all see anything good about this game? I just don’t see it.

I thought Fisher’s comments at halftime were interesting. The Lakers were looking at the last 2 games as a chance to get sharp, but seeing the Spurs B team out there took away that mindset at least temporarily. Maybe Pop kept them from getting the edge they need for the 1st round.

Also, I loved how Gary Neal attacked in the 4th quarter. Artest was playing right on top of him and Neal kept taking it at him and around him.

Chris

You’re right. Should have caught that.

I’m not so sure Memphis will tank tonight. The Lakers sans Bynum are highly vulnerable in the first round. In all honesty, it will piss the hell out of me if we are stuck with a vastly superior Grizz team while the Lakers (in second place) get a patsy like NO. That’s absolutely bullshit.

Well, at least the Lakers had to play big minutes. Maybe they will be that much more gassed in competitive playoff series.

@NYC

I agree with you that the unit on the floor at the end should be disappointed that they didn’t seize the opportunity. However, realize that Green, Quinn, Anderson, Novak and Splitter aren’t our bench. They’re actually the third team, whom Popovich has pretty much said will not play in the playoffs this year. Perhaps he will change his mind on Splitter.

Neal got in the fourth, and was suitably aggressive, which I think is something of the difference between guys who get minutes and guys who don’t. Your frustration should be pointed to the future, not the present.

@ NYC

Take a step back, take a deep breathe, calm down…A few things….

- The talent disparity was too great. At the end of the day, the NBA comes down to talent. If you were to run out the Spurs’ team from last night for 82 games, I have a hard time believing you would win 20 games, much less beat the most talented team in the NBA, no matter how lackadaisical they played.

- The Spurs don’t execute? They don’t put people away? Uh, we have one of the better point differentials in the league (5.8, 4th best) and TD hasn’t played in numerous 4th quarters. The Spurs are known for out-executing people to death.

- Last night’s Spurs team bears no resemblance to the team you’ll see in the playoffs. Absolutely no conclusions should be drawn based on last night’s game.

I don’t really know where all the pessimism is coming from. Sure, we all have concerns, but at the end of the day, we have the best record in the NBA and homecourt through at least the WCF. We’re an elite team - 82 games of data has shown that. Now, if we can find a way to kick it up another gear and a few breaks go our way (every title team gets ‘em), we could find ourselves playing for another title.

Hmm…double post? Something not working. Anyway…

@NYC

Yes, our third team bench players who don’t get PT and don’t have offensive sets for them may lack killer instinct. I think that’s okay. Their job is to step in and, in this system, shoot and defend. Taking charge isn’t really in the job description, and certainly not in concert with each other.

Pop’s been pretty clear that Quinn, Green, Novak, Anderson and even Splitter aren’t playing this post-season. Perhaps he’ll change his mind on Tiago. Neal was reasonably aggressive when he was in.

@NYC- quit trolling.

The two highlights of the game for me were 1) Splitter hitting the offensive glass so hard that LA got called for 3 straight loose ball fouls on one possession and 2) Matty Ice hitting the step-back 3. I haven’t seen that move from him before.

@Hobson13

What’s with the anger? No team has control of what another team does, except when they play each other.
If Spurs would have went all out to defeat the Lakers, that would have put LA in a tie for third, with a possibility of them dropping to 4th. We had Spurs fans that didn’t want that-creating a scenario of Spurs vs Lakers in the 2nd round.
A year ago the Spurs had to win 2 out of the last 3 games to just edge the Thunder for the 7th spot—to avoid playing the Lakers in the 1st round.

DorieStreet
April 13th, 2011 at 9:13 am

So you wouldn’t be the least bit upset if the Lakers, who have sleep walked through the majority of the regular season, get an easier first round opponent than the Spurs? True, there’s really nothing we could have done about it and I don’t fault the Spurs for their actions last night (thought we played well given the circumstances), but that doesn’t change the fact.

What’s this about Kobe appearing to utter a slur???

The bench really made me proud as a Spurs fan. Top props go to Garyu Neal and Danny Green for playing superb D on Kobe.

Also, I loved Matt Bonner’s guts for making a three out of a fake and hesitation; he proved that he’s not just a camp-out guy waiting for a pass for an open three.

Tiago Splitter looked like a rookie Pau Gasol - pure, raw talent. Gotta love how the Spurs are not hurrying him up to grow and mesh with the league. The fruits of this little-by-little sowing will pay off in its own time.

SAJKinBigD
April 13th, 2011 at 9:45 am

Kobe seemed frustrated with the Lakers play the entire night. I saw him mutter it live last night right after he got the technical. I called it from the very beginning, but it was easy to see. Scenario:
Kobe gets technical
Kobe just sits down on the bench
Kobe mutters “f-ing fag” (assuming at the ref)

I bet the Lakers come out with some sort of spin on it, but what he said was as plain as day. I have to admit that it was a bit funny to see him so upset.

@NYC,

For 43 minutes our 2nd unit played like “I don’t care if your the starting 5 of the Lakers were going to kick your ass ” up until the last few minutes the refs saw a tko coming and being delivered by yes our 2nd unit so took it upon themselves to call ticky tack and 1′s to disrupt any intentions we had. It would have been devastating if that happened not to mention the state of the NBA according to those tv analysts calling the game. What’s so funny is that they even said after the game that LA is still the team to beat when minutes before that they had serious problems. But the guys in post game show with Erie and the gang was funnier when they said nobody wants to play each other in the west they only want to play the hornets.

Nice post Kintaro!

+ 100000

@NYC

Yeah, I think you are alone in feeling “DUSGUSTED” at last night’s game.

The Lakers had to use their full might just to control a team of reserve players that have rarely seen any playing time the whole season (JA,Novak,Green,Splitter). R u kidding me? This was a victory for us:

1. It told the LAkers that we don’t give a s*** about you.

2. It gave our reserves some badly needed minutes to burn and prepare for the playoffs.

3. It gave the FO some hard data to measure and assess just how good our 2nd unit measure up each to an elite squad.

4. Considering that we’ll probably get physically kicked the crap out by MEM and OKC, and considering HCA accomplished, it was imperative to rest our starters.

Save your criticisms for when Pop AGAIN plays Bonner-Blair for 48 m of playoffs.

@NYC,

When Bynum went out we were tied! And that was well into the 2nd half. And as for that tech on Blair when Bynum went down. What up with that? I guess the refs felt they needed points for Bynum misfortune. Wow. Overall it was a positive experience for our guys and yes our 2nd unit was poised to give them the big chorizo. Can’t wait to see what they’ll do to them with all our guys.

@NYC
To be honest I don’t know were to start attacking your argument. “They lacked a bench and had their center leave due to injury.” - well we were playing without our ‘leaders’, best players, pretty much our whole offense, the anchor of our defense… etc. We’re missing 4 out of our starting 5 but you somehow manage to criticize our team’s lack of execution and killer instinct.

‘Lack of a killer instinct’ - Well they are a bunch of 1st and 2nd year players on our team who don’t really know what kind of players they’ll be, yet, in the NBA so I’m not gonna get to worried.

Lack of execution - They only had 9 TOs and they were only out-rebounded by 3 by a much bigger LA frontline. No one expected this team to go into Staples and win but they hustled on D and executed the offense well. They just missed some shots that they usually make. Gary had about 4/5 shots that rattled in and out.

Everyone was impressed, evidently not you though, with the 2nd and 3rd teams ability to hustle and keep the game close. I don’t believe that any proper Spur fan could come out of this game annoyed by our teams effort, I for one was extremely pleased with the effort.

andy
April 13th, 2011 at 1:32 am
from the previous thread

“at least you recognised that he hustled. you and i obviously disagree on a lot, and this is a big one. you’ve continually been pessimistic about splitter. what do you think qualifies one to start? 10.3 boards/36 on an off night tonight, and that’s still not good enough to start? also, your last comment could be true about every big man in the league save a dozen or so.”

Rebounding wise this wasn’t an OFF NIGHT for Splitter…… He was above his normal average of 9.9rebounds/36 min………

“i agree that he needs to improve his shot, and i’ve said before that his hook needs work. to say he’s not starter-quality ignores a growing body of work that suggests otherwise. look, i didn’t see the game tonight, but i have seen him play almost every other time, and what i’ve seen shows me that he could start on almost half the teams in the league because of his defense alone.”

His defense ISN’T all that you and other supporters make it out to be…….. he is a SOLID defender….. but doesn’t block enough shots for his size/age…..and doesn’t rebound it great either……. There are a few teams that he MIGHT/COULD start for……..but very few…… There aren’t a ton of teams looking to add a big that doesn’t Block shots well, doesn’t rebound it well in to their starting lineups…….. And once you add that he plays best in a PnR system…… that narrows the list down even further…… Not many teams run the PnR as much as we do, and w/o it Tiago will struggle to score……

Let me end by saying this……. I still think Tiago should start next to Duncan……Then bring Blair off the bench…..But to say that he would start or even would be getting major minutes on another team is just off……He would on a few, but very few…….

For all u folks who wish for Timmy to start alongside Timmy, i dont think thats gonna happen. If i know Pop, hes only gonna use one tower at a time. Splitter will merely be Timmy’s backup. Splitter doesn’t have that much NBA experience yet.

That said, Splitter has a bright future no doubt. He hasn’t reached his ceiling IMO. This is just the beginning. Like someone said earlier, he’s like a rookie Gasol. And a frikin fast learner. The dude’s ability to adapt is proof of his high BBIQ.

Besides, I always tell my soccerphilic friends watching BB: playing LAL is like playing AC Milan or Barca in soccer. (which makes us Real Madrid I guess? )

Erratum:

I meant: for Timmy to start alongside Tiago.

@Hobson13

“So you wouldn’t be the least upset that the Lakers, who have sleepwalked through the majority of the regular season, get an easier first round opponent than the Spurs?”

Started out 8-0/tied for 3rd best record in the league (only 5 less wins-5 more losses than SA);
other than Spurs (a 2game & 6game loss streak) & Bulls (3 2-game losing streaks), they had most of their losses occur in 2- 5 game ‘mini-slumps’; so did Celtics/Heat/Magic—-don’t consider that sleepwalking.

And—the reason the Lakers are getting an easier first round opponent (NO) it is because a better opponent-Memphis- held out 2 starters last night & will do the same -or hold out more-in the last game tonight.

Be angry at the Grizzlies - (1) they’re ducking LA & (2) they want to play the Spurs because they think they are an easier opponent than the Lakers.
If LA would have caught us for HCA, do you think Grizz lose these last 2 games?

I was nervous after the first quarter and did not want to discourage our guys but they came together and played well, requiring the Lakers to make some end of the game runs to get their win. Splitter could really learn this summer but getting more time with Duncan is going to help him develop.

Both Blair and Splitter got some shots over Gasol, showing how weak the Lakers are on the inside. If Bynum is out, we should have good scoring on these guys come playoffs.

Let’s play the starters 20-25 minutes tonight, and try some good combinations with Splitter/Duncan.

@Hobson13
April 13th, 2011 at 9:52 am

??? Wow… What a punk…

In regards to all the “No one wants to face…” stuff: NOLA is hearing this stuff too. They may not have West, but they won’t have ANYTHING to lose and they’ve been listening to everyone basically equating them to a BYE series.
From personal experience, I can’t imagine a bigger insult. They may be under-manned, but I’m betting they’ll be giving everything they’ve got until they really are finished. Cornering an injured animal may end with the animal dead, but most of the time, those who did the cornering get wounded as well.

If MEM end up losing Yo the clippers just to avoid LAL (thinking SAS will be an easy 1st round opponent), then that shows poor mental character, and they deserve to be eliminated.

(at least when pop rested our starters, we were happy either way losing or wining LA. If anything, I’d be more afraid of facing OKC in round 2. LAL is an old team like us, but OKC will not hesitate to injure Timmy or Manu off to the bench for the rest of the playoffs)

But then again, maybe it’s better if we face MEM after all. If they’re so chicken to face LA (and therefore choose to lose to LAC), then that shows mental weakness.

I have a feeling that NOLA will bring in their best game, West or no West, just to prove that they’re no cakewalk. Like SAJKinBigD says: wounded animals fight fiercely.

It would be great if someone could ask Popovich why he hasn’t tried playing Splitter alongside Duncan. That lineup holds the most potential as far as extending Duncan’s career and improving the frontcourt defense.

Takeaways from the game

Lakers played down to the Spurs bench, I don’t think for a min that if the Spurs were making their shots that the Lakers wouldn’t have turned it on in kind (as evidenced by Odom in the 4th).

I was disappointed in Hill and Jefferson for not getting into the lane more. It was open all night but they didn’t seem to care. This would have opened up more of the inside out game that the bench players really needed. As it was the shooters from the bench had too many contested shots, that they still could have made.

Neal needs to work just a little on his ball handling in the off season. Just a bit of work and he will be doubly dangerous. Not saying he could fill in for Parker, Ginobili, or Hill, but he would add just a bit more to his game that would make a defender think twice about a lazy chase off the 3pt line. Also it would help in his fast break game too. Situational ball handling would add a huge weapon to his game.

Splitter looked strong, but…
He needs work on his post moves a bit. A couple of times he did two moves that Gasol didn’t bite on then just forced up a shot. A third move and a pass would have been preferable to the forced shot. Maybe he could ask Robinson or even Duncan for some tips in the offseason.
His D was good too, but I’d like to see him get a bit more understanding on how low he can let his man get before the pass comes in. Save himself some work in the long run.
Lastly, he was breaking off the picks in the P&Rs way too early, I think this killed some of the penetration that Hill could have had.

The bench looked wrecked, just look at Anderson late in the game, he was gasping. This may have contributed to the poor shooting as well. Green actually looked ok, but his fitness level looks like it rivals Hill’s. He has a TON of untapped talent there, and with a bit of work he could be a solid rotation guy (not near term though).

All in all a good workout for the bench, but not enough to take away anything meaningful.

Nima K.

“Like someone said earlier, he’s like a rookie Gasol. And a frikin fast learner.”

Whoa—whoaaa, baby-slow your roll on Tiago-comparing him to Pau Gasol, I assume?

82 games played, 79 games started

36 minutes/game, 53%FG, 22% on 3′s, 75%FT

18 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 2 blks in 2001-02

NBA All-Rookie 1st Team /Rookie of the Year

-and he hasn’t slowed down since then-those are pretty much his career averages.

Injuries are never funny, but this is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpYi2SL__SM&feature=player_embedded

“Get ‘em a body bag!”

I love Pop’s move, and I’ve been screaming that we need to go for the overall 1 seed since we claimed the West Seed. The Lakers looked confused and mad. Ol’ CIA Pop got right into their heads. If we would have played Hill, Tiago and Neal more in the 4th, we would have won. I’ve never liked a loss, but I loved this loss. Now the Lakers will go into the playoffs feeling low and bewildered. Lots of bench guys got some good solid PT in case we need ‘em in the POs. The team had fun and we got in LA’s heads. I love that Phil sees himself as some sort of mental guru who can manipulate the way the press, refs, coaches and players in the nba think and act, and that he just got mind f*cked by Pop! Let’s beat Phoenix tonight, get the starters back into the swing of things and then dominate! Playoffs baby! Go Spurs Go!

Oh, and Spillter doesn’t play alongside Duncan, because Spillter clogs the post. He can’t stretch the spacing out because he doesn’t have a jumper. He sure does look solid though. If we play LA, I hope Pop has the confidence to let him play some d against their big line-up. Speaking of d, did anyone else think Novak did a surprisingly awesome job on Lamar? I know Lamar was playing flat, but still.

@DorieStreet
Agree, Gasol had PT in rookie season and nobody fucked with his shot.

Correction on the shooting percentages—
52% FG, 20% on 3′s, 72% FT— in 37 min per game

Previous posted numbers are his career averages.

Why are you people so concerned about Memphis? Yes, they’re bigger than the Hornets but does that automatically mean they’re better? And do you seriously believe that it would really matter who we face? You’re probably reading too much of ESPN, who are calling these Grizzlies a “threat” in the first round. Give me a break. Oh c’mon, would you really prefer a Chris Paul lead team over a squad without playoff experience?? And seriously, no matter who the Spurs play in the first round, they will be ready. The better team will win, so I cannot see any reason to worry.

Regardless of outcome in May, I’d always prefer for the starters to be as healthy as possible prior to their first round action in the playoffs. While the number 1 overall seed is important for game 7 of the Finals, not every championship is decided by this, nor are both Eastern and Western conference top seeds facing one another in the Finals.
Since the 1980s there have been only 5 game 7s for the Finals. 12 prior to that dating back to the 1946-1947 season. I attempted to see how many times a number 1 seed has actually made the Finals, but ran out of time to research.
For now, I am happy with Coach Popovich’s decision to start resting up players. Here’s to a good playoff run!
Good article Timothy Varner. If you can tell me how many times both 1 seeds have made it to the finals that be helpful as well.

@Dorie

Gasol played 3001 minutes in his rookie year, vs. 733 for Splitter?

It’s not Splitter’s fault if he’s not getting any playing time. It’s more the burden of a coach who is intensely in love with veterans of the battlefield. (Thats why he frequently visits BAMC I’m told.)

Yeah, Gasol is a better 3pt shooter, but Splitter’s job description is not exactly the same.

If it werent for the contract issue, Splitter probably wouldve been drafted higher in the NBA, IMO.

And Bruno’s right. They did mess up his FT. I noticed that too. His low angle shot WORKED when he got here. He was shooting 63% at Caja Laboral last season in Spain.

Plus, I think Taigo has a higher BBIQ than Gasol. But that’s just my opinion. I’m sure many will disagree.

Anyway: Tiago may not be better than Gasol (potentially), but I think he’s no lesser of a player either.

The sweet thing about this year is that the Spurs get to rest their players, get the 1 seed, and are assumed to be uncompetitive to the rest of the league.

Zeanocril: The Spurs-Grizz season record is 2-2, and they won one of those (where they THRASHED the Spurs) after Rudy Gay went out.

They have the two things the Spurs’ starting unit lacks: youth and height.

Sure, they’re not going to win the series, but they’re liable to make the Spurs work a lot harder than they would against the Hornets. Not only are the Hornets weaker by the lack of height/injury to West, but I believe they’re a much easier team for Pop to gameplan against, because they’re incredibly dependent on Chris Paul making things happen. Our PGs can run with him (he’s slower now), and I have faith that Pop can figure out how to shut down one guy.

Memphis though, phew. They’ve got the defenders to mess with Manu, and Gasol/Randolph can out-beast Duncan and trouble Tony’s teardrop (seriously, he lives and dies by a running floater). They’re going to be physical and dangerous.

Splitter’s value this year, in these playoffs, will be his ability to draw fouls. According to 82games.com, the % of shots he was fouled on is twice that of any other Spur (23.6%). That doesn’t take into account all the offensive and loose ball fouls he draws.

In a 3 possession run last night, he drew a moving screen foul on Ron Artest, got fouled by Gasol during a rebound, and then drew a foul on Walton on another rebounding attempt. That’s 3 fouls drawn in 3 straight possessions.

This is crucial against teams like MEM and LA. They both have very skilled big men who can hurt us at any moment while they are on the court. The easiest thing to do is let Tiago run around in there and get some fouls on these guys, send them to the bench.

i say take it easy on tiago’s hook-shot. his agressiveness was enough of a positive for me. he also landed a nice one in the lane over gasol. he iwas very active on the offensive boards and drew a couple of charges, one that frustrated kobe. he boxed out andrew bynum well. but i also agree he is slipping a little soon on the screens.

gary neal played some respectable defense against kobe and showed a fearlessness in driving to the lane. seemed like he was taking more of a leadership role.

tiago and blair will split some mintues depending on matchups. blair provided tenacity and defensive rebounding. splitter enforced solid d, offensive boards and turnovers.

finally got to see JA on kobe, and it wasn’t pretty. those were indeed examples of a rookie learning curve. overall, i think we have enough perimeter guys to frustrate kobe into poor shooting nights consistently.

i personally hope bynum heals in time. i would rather us face and beat LA at full strength. none of this asterisk crap.

@DorieStreet

Some Players average before Nba

Scola= 30 min; 17 points; 7,2 reb; 1,8 stls; 0,6 blks; FG 60%; FT 76%; PER 27
Gasol = 26 min; 18,5 pts; 6 reb; 0,8 stls; 0,7 blks; FG 66%; FT 74%; PER 29
Splitter= 28 min; 16 pts; 6,7 reb; 1,2 stls; 0,8 blks; FG 58%; FT 79%; PER 27

Now in rookie season
Scola= 25 min; 10,5 pts; 6,5 reb; 0,7 stls; 0,2 blks; FT 67%; PER 16,13
Gasol= 37 min; 17,6 pts; 9 reb; 0,5 stls; 2,1 blks; FT 71%; PER 20, 6
Splitter= 12 min; 4,7 pts; 3,4 reb; 0,5 stls; 0,3 blks; FT 54%; PER 16,4

Looks like if you give playing time and don’t try change his shots, they play well.

Oooh lovely, memphis tanked yestrday’s game and will do so tonight so they can avoid Lakers and meet SA.

We Should go out hard at them and stiffle them so they won’t thinks that way again.. although they scare me the most among POR/NO/MEM as they look like LA light in some way with their big Front line and great perimeter defense…but anyway if we want to win the title we should beat any team that faces us….

Drive for 5…GO Spurs Go….

@Nima K.

You might need to check in @ Fort Sam-

I see you’re having trouble understanding what the honor “NBA Rookie of the Year” means.

This former Spanish Cup MVP left F.C. Barcelona as a 21yo and started balling in the league as soon as he stepped off the plane in Graceland -the same year he was drafted (not 3 years later). He didn’t need a “season to adjust.”

63% FT shooting-wow. We moaned & groaned those seasons when Timmy’s average dipped below 70%.

And-drafting Splitter higher- what’s that have to do with anything?

And if you fault Pop for not playing him earlier and more, then aim equal amounts of blame at RC for letting him stay over in Europe to play 3 more seasons after he drafted him. Imagine what we could have had THIS year if he spent 2007-8, ’08-09, ’09-10 as a Spur……

@Dorie
He shots 79% FT in ACB League last year.

@ Bruno

What’s the difference between Scola, Splitter, and Gasol? Pau was brought over the same year he was drafted- 2001.

Scola -drafted 2002, then Spurs were held hostage by his international team contractually for 5 years before the FO bailed & traded him to Houston. Splitter-drafted 2007-let 3 seasons pass before he was brought over-why? Ian Mahinmi (groan-drafted in 05) was already struggling to make team-only 6 games in 07-08, in Dleague in 08-09.

Titletown99030507 mentioned it earlier this year-let’s not go through this same situation with Ryan Richards. Bring him over here this summer -and put him on the team this fall.

Greetings from Coach Robinson,

There was a sequence in the 1st qtr where George caught the pass at the 3 line on the right-side of the floor and prepared to shoot. The problem w/this is that the pass was coming from his left, so he has to turn away from the basket in order to catch the pass, then turn and face the basket in order to get the shot off, even the Pacers would be able to defend the 3 if the mechanics of the play took that long to develop. Now certainly there are times when after you hit 3 or 4 in a row, you can shoot effectively from any position, but that is not often the case. The 3 should be treated as a bonus shot, if I can’t “take my time” to shoot, then I probably should not be shooting. This is precisely why we empasize making a shot fake on all 3pt shot attempts in the 1st qtr, preferring instead to drive toward the basket. This puts the defense on their heels, so by the second qtr, whenever a pass is caught beyond the 3, the D reacts just a little less quickly, and if your “teams” 3pt mechanics are honed, there is more than enough time to take the 3pt shot in the manner for which the shot was intended.

Let Me Quickly Digress to George

Please tell him to watch the Broad Ripple Rockets vs. Bishop Chatard Trojans when George had 30 at half-time. He could have had 60 or more but was injured on a dirty play to start the 2nd half and did not return, but that is a story for another. On that day in 2004, George hit the 2, 3, inside out, assists, length of the court dashes, everything that he is fully capable of doing every night. Last night, he did not play up to his standards, lets hope tonight is different.

Peace-

@DorieStreet

2 big difference :
1) Playing time
2) Nobody try change Gasol/Scola shooting style, because 75% FT for a Big Man, is good, so don’t make sense change

@ Dorie

“I see you’re having trouble understanding what the honor “NBA Rookie of the Year” means.”

NBA Rookie of The Year only has meaning when you actually play that season, not when you’re benched because your coach thinks Bonner is better than you.

“This former Spanish Cup MVP left F.C. Barcelona as…”

Splitter has 4 MVP titles from Europe.

“[Gasol] didn’t need a “season to adjust”.”

The “season to adjust” thingy was the excuse put forward by those trying to explain why Pop isn’t playing him (which was a pretty lame excuse). You adjust to the league by PLAYING, not by sitting on the bench and watching the games all season.

“63% FT shooting–wow. We moaned & groaned those seasons when Timmy’s average dipped below 70%.”

It still proves my point: They messed up his FTs.

“[You should] aim equal amounts of blame at RC for letting him stay over in Europe to play 3 more seasons after he drafted him.”

Yes, contrary to popular belief, the FO hasn’t been all that stellar. They resigned Bonner at 3.3M, signed RJ for a humongous sum, and let go of Scola and other assets. These mistakes are now biting us back in the ass.

@ Rafael, Bruno, Nima, ThatBigGuy

And others who say Splitter needs more playing time and should have gotten more……….

Let me 1st say that I think he should start next to TD, so he can do some garbage work and learn FASTER……

But the idea that POP has failed him because he didn’t play him more is INSANE……It’s Tiago’s fault that he doesn’t have an offensive move outside of 6ft…… It’s his fault that he is a good rebounder and not a GREAT one(Blair)…….it’s his fault that he is a decent shot blocker and not a GOOD or GREAT one…..

His BEST move is unfortunately almost every player in the leagues best moves…… “he finishes well, IF others create for him……… Now almost every player in the league fits into that category……. so that’s not special either……. Even DJB shoot’s 50% from the floor, so even as short as he is, he still finishes well………

Gasol, Scola, even Blair all came into the NBA with NBA level skills……. they were developing others, but they had some when they 1st got here…….Not Spanish League Moves……..

Gasol - 1v1 Post game……
Scola - 15-20 ft jumper
Blair - rebound HOG

These are all things they do, and they still finish well around the rim when others create for them……..

And ThatBigGuy……. you can’t play a player based mainly on how many fouls he can draw….. especially when he can’t shoot FT’s to really make it a bonus for you……….

SO yes POP will hopefully take Bonner’s minutes down when he is cold, and increase Splitters minutes…. But Splitter being 26 should be MORE of a FINISHED PRODUCT…….ala Gary Neal at this Point and he has no one to blame for that, but himself……..

@TD = Best EVER

So Splitter problems basically is :
poor FT shooting and can’t shoot outside 10-15ft.
Interesting because before he came to NBA, he could make both things, but some genius realize his shot was wrong, so changed his shooting style, now he have a poor FT shooting and no 10-15ft jumper, and is his fault? Cool.

Doesn’t everybody get how hilarious last night was? Pop had to dump on two levels to make sure they lost. The first is obvious, not playing Tim, Manu, et al. But the second level was much more revealing. Yes, you can argue about your stars needing to be fresh for the start of the playoffs. But how does Pop explain that with the score about tied with about 5 minutes to go, he takes out Neal, Hill, and Jefferson, and puts in Novak and Quinn? Pop thought not playing his stars would ensure a loss, but he had to pull his starters in the last five minutes to get the job done.

I think Dallas and Memphis win tonight and we play NO. I also think Sac beats the Lakers and LA has to play Portland in the first round. I also believe George W. Bush was actually a deep thinker and only pretended to be stupid. Also in the tooth fairy and Santa Claus.

Thanks, Coach R! So happy to have your input and insights here!

@Dorie: I agree! I really want them to bring Richards over as soon as possible! Get him in the Strength and Conditioning program, get him used to life here, the Spurs culture, etc.

@TD = Best EVER

Youre playing a sub 0.5 team, youre winning/losing the game, and Bonner’s playing 20+ minutes while he’s having a terrible night, and yet Splitter still gets 2 minutes of garbage time.

How many times have we seen that?

I dont care how low you think of Splitter. There’s no way in hell he would be a worse contributor than Bonner or Quinn or Udoka, but that’s how he was treated.

The only reason we played Neal is because JA was out. Otherwise Neal wouldve had the same fate as Splitter.

Pop is not immune to making mistakes. Even he admits it.

As for Blair, his BB life will be short, I guarantee you. Less than the avg NBA player. His weak knees will eventually cave in to his weight. It’s only a matter of time. So I would only play him 1-2 more seasons (maybe less), then trade him.

@TD = Best EVER
I like Blair as much as anyone but Splitter is (and will be) better player in the future. Tiago’s defense is miles ahead of Blair’s. Blair tries on defense but he is simply too small. Don’t get me wrong Blair will always find a pay check (Hopefully with the Spurs) in this league due to the fact that he rebounds like crazy but he isn’t a good man to man/team defender. Both are limited offensive players and score best of the PnR with TP or Manu. Neither is a great one on one player offensively but they will learn to play in the future considering they are only 1st and 2nd year players.

@Everyone who compared Splitter and Gasol
Regardless of playing time, Splitter is in no way close to Gasol even in his rookie season. Gasol is a potential hall of fame player and at this stage I see Splitter as a career 13 & 10 guy. I would be absolutely delighted with this production from Tiago and I think he’ll be a quality player in this league but Gasol is so much further ahead of Splitter in his offensive game and Splitter has to develop his body to become the same player Gasol is on the defensive end.

Talking about next year about Richards got me to thinking. Surely a lockout will help a team like ours because Tim and Manu will be able to coast through the shorter season and then they’ll be able to go into the postseason well rested.

@ Lima K.

Here is the blogger’s words you referred to on Splitter=’rookie Gasol’

“Tiago Spiltter looked like a rooki Pau Gasol: pure, raw, talent. Gotta love how the Spurs ARE NOT hurrying him to grow and mesh wigth the league. The fruits of LITTLE-BY-LITTLE sowing will pay off in ITS OWN TIME.” {emphasis added}

-from [ mybloodissilverandblack]
April 13th, 2011 at 9:48am

That does not sound like someone who thinks Splitter is ready- a guy who turned pro @ 15; is 26 now; 4-time MVP

-while Scola was traded summer 2007; after training camp play in all 82 games his rookie year, -starting 39; then started and played every game since until he was injured a in th 74th game this season

-after training camp 2001 (at age 21) Gasol started 79 of 82 games, and thereafter for the next ten seasons thru today.
re TD=Best EVER -these 2 guys came and produced immediately. Do you truly believe Tiago Splitter’s game in his first year is equal to theirs?

And it’s not just Ryan that’s waiting out there.

There’s also Nando De Colo. He can be developed. Or traded.

At any rate, we need some serious changes to make in the off season.

@MSteele
April 13th, 2011 at 2:24 pm

+100 ..and thank you.

@Lima K. , Bruno
I don’t blame you for being frustrated at Tiago’s lack of PT his first season. I am too-at the coaching staff-for waiting til this past summer to determine (IN THEIR OPINION) he couldn’t be part of the regular rotation this season-why did they & the FO didn’t bring him over AT LEAST one season earlier (2009-10)?

@ Dorie

Look:

Tiago the rookie is not playing on the same level as Gasol the rookie, nevertheless,

He did deserve more playing time in the season (for a bunch of reasons).
He has the potential to develop into a full starter

do you at least agree on this?

It was an outstanding effort by the second unit! Just another reason why we say…..POP 4 COY…………
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/664103-better-stronger-faster-why-pop-deserves-the-coy

To all those complaining about Splitters minutes two things:

1) He’s not fully in game shape, although he is much better than the start of the season. Remember be played a lot before joining the team and was probably a bit worn out to start the season, on top of the injury.

2) The Spurs system is very big man centric. They do a lot and are expected to know a lot of plays and positions on the court. It is very hard for a big man to come into their system. Just look at the start of the season compared to now, Splitter is definitely less lost than he once was on the court. He still does make mistakes though. Hell even McD is missing rotations and caught in the wrong place every now and then.

@Lima K.

Certainly.
I watched Splitter this past summer in the FIBA world championships, and I liked what I saw a lot-his energy; movement; skills displayed. I had made up in my mind he would work up to 10-12pt & 7-8 reb.But for whatever the reasons -his long basketball schedule & a nagging injury or two-his Spurs beginning sputtered out the gate-and never got going as a rotation regular.
But hey Lima K. -we can hope he can get some opportunites starting this weekend.

@NimaK-Tiago was injured most of the year, which hindered his development. I’m not sure why his playing time was limited so much the last couple of weeks, though, since he’s finally been healthy. It seems he’s definitely benefitting from the court time, and he helps the team when he’s out there.

It remains to be seen if he will get any playoff time this year. I hope he will play in the playoffs some, but even in my wildest dreams he doesn’t play big minutes THIS year. He will probably play situational minutes and garbage time. Which still helps the team by giving Timmy time off the floor.

The exception might be against the Lakers if we face them in the WCF. We will probably play a big lineup at least part of the time, probably him and Blair as the bigs. Although, after watching the Lakers last night, I’d say they are vulnerable to an earlier exit.

@ MSteele

Splitter individual D is better than Blair’s because of his size, but his help D isn’t much better…….You have to remember that defensive rebounding and getting steals is also apart of defense that Blair has down well……. And Yes because he rebounds “Outside of his area” this becomes an even bigger part of his game…….Splitter will need to become a better shot blocker to be heads and shoulders above Blair on D……Being tall isn’t enough…..This is the NBA and every player who is worth ANYTHING is Accustomed to scoring layups over taller players…… And even 7ft players…… Almost every team has one or 2 on the roster and Tiago’s shot blocking/rebounding isn’t any better than who ever Team X has in practice now……

Nima K.
April 13th, 2011 at 3:00 pm

The funny thing about trying to predict who starts is that you have to see the signs of progression 1st……

All these things below COULD happen and if they do, said player will become a full starter…….

IndyG- Improve ball handling and play-making - Both

Blair - Develop 10-15ft jumper like Dice/TD / improve decision making - probably Both, but the jumper is most needed and would make him a borderline starter in the NBA……..

Tiago - Develop Dice’s jumper, become Good shot blocker, improve post game……… either of those

The question is who do you see making these changes to their games the fastest……

Bruno

“Interesting because before he came to NBA, he could make both things, but some genius realize his shot was wrong, so changed his shooting style, now he have a poor FT shooting and no 10-15ft jumper, and is his fault? Cool.”

I know Splitter is probably your cousin or something, but the coach doesn’t shoot free throws for him. Its a mental issue and a problem SPLITTER needs to fix. Shooting 10-15 ft jumpers against Euro-leaguers isn’t quite the same as having guys like Lamar Odom closing out on that jumper in the NBA.

He will work on both things and get better over the course of seasons to come, hopefully all for the Spurs. It doesn’t happen all at once. Were you really expecting him to come here and be rookie of the year?

Hah. Sir Charles has predicted a 2nd round exit for the Spurs, by Denver or OKC.

Anyway,

Time to get ready to watch and meet our 1st round opponent. Signing off for the night.

“Rob, gotta lay off that Ganja! Ha! ”

Reading comprehension is a wonderful thing if I would’ve let it happen. But no …I had to read and try to comprehend something on only 3 hours of sleep and not an ounce of coffee in me.

Trying to rush through the blogs and comments so early while also preparing for the day. Man something’s gotta give. So long job …you’re cutting into my 48 Minutes of Hell Time.

@Colin
No, i don’t expect, what i was saying is : u can’t blame the guy for poor shooting FT and not shooting 10-15 ft jumpers because Chip is changed his shooting style. I just think : if the guy shots 79% and has a jumper, u don’t need change his shooting style just because looks “wrong”.
About Euroleague, Neal was like top 200 maybe, and here in Nba he is a very good role player.

No, i don’t expect, what i was saying is : u can’t blame the guy for poor shooting FT and not shooting 10-15 ft jumpers because Chip is who changed his shooting style. I just think : if the guy shots 79% and has a jumper, u don’t need change his shooting style just because looks “wrong”.
About Euroleague, Neal was like top 200 maybe, and here in Nba he is a very good role player.

“Neal was like top 200 maybe”

Neal has played NBA-style pick up games in grammar school, high school, and in college since he was a young boy. That all makes a big difference at the NBA level. Brandon Jennings wasn’t as good in the Euro league either.

….last post @ Bruno

Wow, that was the worst quarter of defensive basketball that I have seen the Spurs play all year. That was also probably the single greatest quarter of Marcin Gortat’s career (I’m writing from Poland, so the announcer’s are going beserk). Just awful all around. The seriously look like a D-league defense right now.

@Bry

Whats worse than that is how MEM is playing. Down by 30 from the Clippers? Because they figure they can beat the Spurs?

Pathetic.

couple of things:

you can’t compare splitter to pau gasol yet, even as rookies. there’s just no comparison. i like splitter, and think he’s got an all-star ceiling, but gasol is definitely a top 3 big man in the league today. completely underrated, as crazy as that sounds about a lakers player.

i don’t think he should be starting, though, unlike some commenters. i think he should be one of the first subs in, but not start. i know he would draw needed fouls on starters, but i feel he would feast on 2nd unit players even more, especially since looking at his hook shot, he’s used to playing shorter competition.

@Bruno
April 13th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
about his shooting mechanics: what i’ve learned from personal experience and from shooting coaches, is that unless you’ve worked extremely hard and honed it to the point at which you can achieve confidence and consistency, faulty mechanics will always hinder you from your full shooting potential. it’s better to change splitter’s mechanics now and let him grow into it than let him flail away with poor ones.

also, neal was killing it for benneton treviso. i don’t know if there were 100 players in the euroleague better than him, and i agree with colin that neal’s experience in the american system probably gave him a leg up on splitter.

i like that people have a sense of humor on here. along with the writing, definitely keeps me coming back.

Nothing will make me happier than to see the lakers fall to the 3rd seed and have memphis miss out on the opportunity to play the mavs as a result of their obvious tanking, its pathetic, unless you are locked into your seed every team should hope to improve, its embarasing for the league and the spirt of competition.