Somebody explain it to me.

And talk slow.

When he's hitting his threes, he really does make them a much better team. He's really worked on his inside game when he is chased off of the three point line. I also think his defense has improved. But he really does a disservice when he goes cold.

But who's our other option? Blair gives up size and still makes a lot of mistakes and is nowhere near ready for crunch time. Do we play small ball and move RJ to 4 when he has said on many occasions that he isn't comfortable doing so? I'm not giving up on the Red Rocket yet.

I think the Spurs lose more than they gain from Bonner. He contributes absolutely nothing when he isn't hot, I'd rather have someone out there who gives them a more well-rounded game even if they don't have the ability to occasionally drop 4 threes in 4 minutes.

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But who's our other option? Blair.

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FIFY.

In approximately 18 minutes this season, Bonner is scoring 7 ppg and pulling down 3 rebounds. Most of his scoring is off the 3-point line, where he is shooting ~ 0.388. If he ain't hitting that shot (last night he was 0-4) he is absolutely worthless offensively. And it isn't like he's shooting contested 3's. He's being left wide open. A lot.

In approximately 18 minutes this season, Dejuan Blair is scoring 8 ppg and pulling down 6 rebounds. Most of his points are off of putbacks and pick/rolls. He's shooting 0.556 from the floor, good enough for 13th in the league among players who have played 70+ games (in contrast to Bonner, Blair was 6 for 6 last night...all of his shots coming on hustle). He has the most energy of any player on the team not named Manu Ginobili.

Pop needs to get over his thing with rookies. I cringe every time Bonner trots his pasty white arse out on the floor. Blair is a better rebounder, a bigger body defensively, has more hustle, and plays more efficiently. It would be one thing if Bonner were "stretching the floor", but he doesn't even seem to be doing that lately. Teams are letting him have his shot for the most part, and for the most part it has turned into a decent strategy.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 4/7/2010 10:09a).]

Don't get me wrong. I love Blair, but he still commits stupid fouls. You cannot afford that in the 4th quarter especially in a tight game. And his height is of concern. I remember a couple of times in yesterday's game when he had great position but still failed to secure a rebound due to the length of the player he was boxing out.

Even given his height, Blair is a better rebounder than Bonner. He's a banger, he's got a big body, and he's good at positioning himself. His skill makes up for his size. That's why he's 4th in the league in rebounds per 48 minutes (among players qualified for the statistic).
As far as mistakes in the 4th quarter, I'm not looking for a 4th quarter guy. I'm looking for a 2nd and 3rd quarter guy. I want Dice on the floor in the 4th.

Bonner may not make as many turnovers or bad fouls as blair, but 1) he takes a lot of terrible shots, which Blair doesn't do, and 2) the fact that Blair commits bad fouls means that he's at least in the picture defensively, which is something you can rarely say about Bonner.

I heard a rumor that Bonner plays in New Balance shoes. Aren't those running shoes?

He's our white Michael Finley now.

He's a bench player that can SOMETIMES provide a spark by hitting 3s. that's it.

Anytime that sort of guy is starting or logging significant minutes, your team has big issues.

This is what I finally came to grips with last year...I don't care how "good he's shooting", if he and finley are in your starting lineups, you're as good as out in the first round.

finally read the points below the OP, yep. this is exactly the sort of thing that leaves me scratching my head. wtf do you not let blair get more minutes over bonner? i don't get it. in fact i hate it.

it's not like bonner is some great defender. he sucks balls at everything other than shooting the 3...that doesn't help us win moreso than a guy like blair

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He's our white Michael Finley now.

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Exactly. The main difference is that Finley was a much more polished offensive player.

I didn't like Finely getting all those minutes, but I tolerated it. With Bonner, I feel like he must have dirt on Pop or something. There's no reason Matt Bonner should see minutes in an NBA game, and I literally can feel my blood pressure go up when trots out there.

Another benefit of Blair, but also a reason why his minutes have dipped lately, is his connection with Ginobili. You'd swear Blair was on the Argentinian national team the way those two play together. Blair is much more of an impact with Manu on the court. However, with Ginobili starting now, Bonner is a good fit because he draws bigs out of the paint to let Manu get to the rim & takes away some double teams of Tim. It also leaves Blair without someone in the 2nd team to get him cheap buckets on putbacks/pick n rolls, especially with Hill out.

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he takes a lot of terrible shots

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I don't agree with that. I think he has been cold since his hand injury and just misses a lot of high percentage shots more than anything. Blair is a much better rebounder. But I wouldn't say Blair is a better one on one defender (Blair is a better help defender IMO). Watch Bonner play tonight. He's not the same awful defender IMO. I think he's really made some strides.

And Manu does work great with Blair, but he also works great with the drive and kick with Matt. I just think that when he's hitting his shots (40-50%), he makes us a MUCH better basketball team than with Blair in the middle. That's just my opinion.




[This message has been edited by ItalAggie (edited 4/7/2010 6:05p).]

Now Mason, there's a guy who takes a lot of terrible shots. Let's just throw it up while we are set up in a half court offense with 19 seconds left on the shot clock. Those are bad shots because they lead to transition buckets.

I guess my point on Bonner's "terrible shots" were not necessarily that he takes a lot of low-percentage shots. What I mean is, if he's not bricking a 3, he puts it on the floor and takes it to the rim and throws up a dead duck.

He actually wasn't completely terrible last night. However, he had two really wide open looks and didn't come close on either.

4/14/2010

The last word on the Bonner/Blair debate.

The end.

The end.

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 4/15/2010 8:14p).]

I give up on Bonner finally. Just couldn't find that groove he was in towards the beginning of the season. Would love to see Blair as long as he can stay out of foul trouble.

.... a big bag of nothing.

Defense - He's the worst defender on the court. When he plays defense, the opponent gives his man the ball. He's too slow to guard anybody with any quickness. But he's not big enough to control the glass, protect the rim, etc.

Offense - He's the worst offensive player on the court. The opponent gets to use 5 defenders on the other 4 players. You let him shoot from the outside. If he wants to dribble, you allow it. He's terrible.

Bonner's playoff numbers so far:

16 mpg
3.1 ppg on 31% shooting
5-20 (25%) from beyond the arc
3.5 rebounds per game

Blair's playoff numbers so far:

9 mpg
4 ppg on 50% shooting
3.8 rebounds per game, INCLUDING 2 OFFENSIVE RPG


And that's without trying to quantify the energy level Blair brings.

Have you noticed teams have started leaving Bonner wide open?

[EDIT: I had to retype "Bonner" because I accidentally spelled it "Boner". thought about leaving it that way]

[This message has been edited by MassAggie97 (edited 5/6/2010 11:16a).]

a fork

How about more minutes for McDyess??

I'm all for giving Blair a little more time, but the Suns went on an offensive rebounding rampage with Blair and Bonner in the game. To me, when Tim sits, the Spurs need to forget running on misses and sent five to the D glass. It cost us game 2.

I didn't read a DAYUM response to this post and I'm still pissed!!!
Shoot that mangy, diseased, red-headed dog in tha Head!!