Grading the Position: Small Forward

 I would trade Jefferson for almost anything that would help this team, but ideally I’d like to get a defensive minded SF that can help as the young guns develop.

Defense win championships … thats a fact

But at some point .. I think that the spurs fail in the playoffs … just like they fail the last year ..
>Last year .. The Spurs didnt have enough scoring options .. the bench of phoenix kill us
>This year… The Grizzlies play a hard defense … and the spurs didnt have enough scoring options

I would like to see how Mr. Butler fares with our team. I want to comment “The Butler did it.” in the game threads every time he plays.

I like RJ. I think when we had arguably the greatest wing defender to ever play this game, we’re a little spoiled. RJ had a good year, not so good in the playoffs. What really hurt this position IMO is that we didn’t have a true backup for RJ. Manu is great but having him play backup SF at this point in his career I just believe was a mistake and not fair. Manu should play his position SG maybe a little PG and that’s it. Same goes for Neal SG, PG. I think if there had been a true SF pushing RJ threatening RJ for starting min. the competition would have brought out the best in RJ. I know RJ still didn’t perform up to his contract this year but the way Pop was doing the rotation Neal starting and Manu and Hill backing up Neal if RJ had gone down for the year. I think RJ would have been a lot more appreciated by all. This position IMO is C+. Our weak link in the chain is PF and C. This should be our biggest concern if we are to compete next year in what might be Timmy’s last year.

I think RJ’s initial problem was that he chose to wear No. 24. Rage, until you prove us wrong, you’re No. 6. No one should blatantly try to double No. 12’s production.
heh.

I think we release Green. Butler and Anderson can back up the SF spot quite well. I don’t think RJ was THAT bad this year (even during the playoffs) but the SF spot in general was horrible. We were a flawed team that had to run out on 3 guard lineups if RJ got in trouble at all.

I look forward to Butler though, I’ve wanted him on the Spurs all year.

I believe RJ was not that bad. His shot was really good, he finished the season with 43%(?) on 3pts for FSM sake! Most of us would have kill if you would promise he was going to shoot like that at the start of the season. Almost no one had a good shooting series against a good defensive Memphis team and more often than not he was guarded by the best defenders himself (Battier, Allen).

I think he was better than most think but like a lot of people in this team, they look worse playing the role we are asking them to fill and the players they play with. Like Duncan now, but on a lower level of course, RJ is only a good defender being asked to be great while surround with teammates that are average defenders at best. Something similar happens on offense. RJ has gone from excelling on quick offenses (Nets) or being used to be a primary weapon (Bucks) to settle as a 4th or even 5th option on the floor on a execution based offense that asks him to stand on the corner. He was very good at the start of the year mostly because the Spurs played at a very high pace, or at least, one that included a lot of fastbreaks, quick shots and movement. The Spurs slowly went away from that and so did RJ’s involvement and confidence.

I think &erson deserves an “Incomplete”, not a C. He showed great promise before his injury. But it’s quite possible I’m slightly biased.

The biggest question in my mind about RJ is his confidence. We saw more glimpses of it this year, but it’s still a bit fragile. I wonder if he can find that this summer. If he play hard (and grab more boards) the entire time he’s on the floor, I’ll be happy. I do think the coaching staff needs to develop some RJ-specific offensive plays this offseason. He’s a more aggressive player when he gets early looks.

I’ve said it a few times before, but I’m a big Danny Green fan. I am a UNC fan, so I watched him during his entire college career. And the year the Tarheels won the NC, Green was a huge part of that team. He was their 6th man who brought energy, hustle, toughness, and a swagger that they needed. He was very good defensively and has the ability to make the open jumper. I really hope the Spurs keep him and see what he can do. You’ve gotta believe that between he and Butler, the Spurs could find a SF that could provide some toughness and scoring. (I do think the Spurs have been lacking in the toughness department ever since Bowen left).

I think you are being too hard on RJ. He started the season well because, as Sh!fty said, the offense was predicated on finding fastbreak opportunities and moving the ball. Jefferson got a few fastbreak points and was asked to hit the open shot and he did that just fine. On defense he was asked to guard big SFs and he wasn’t bad at that either. He didn’t look as lost and his effort level was a lot higher.

Then as the year went on and specially in the playoffs, the offense got stale. A lot of P&R that had him spacing the floor on a corner. Not enough ball movement. A slower pace. He wasn’t going to thrive on that situation.

On defense, he just didn’t have anyone to guard. Memphis SF rotation was Young, Battier and Allen and they almost never went small at PF. He wasn’t going to make an impact defensively on that series and the Spurs were not going to give him the kind of ISO heavy offense he enjoyed on the Bucks to get him going offensively when open shots weren’t there.

I agree with you that he doesn’t fit with the P&R heavy, Tony and Manu one-on-one kind of ball the Spurs played later on the season, but we already knew that from watching him last season. I think he tried his best to adjust to the Spurs offense; the Spurs offense didn’t adjust to him, and on a series were he didn’t have a great offensive player to limit on D of course his contribution wasn’t going to be great.

Rj was great at the beginning of the year. He had great balance between shooting the 3 and driving to the basket and getting to the FT line. But I think his great early season success from 3 was bad for him. He started to shoot more and more 3s and he stopped being aggressive and driving to the basket. But the thing I dont like about RJ is how soft he is and his low BBIQ. He takes himself out of the ball game when things are not going his way, he lacks confidence. Take Neal for example, even when he’s struggling his confidence still is very high, and he remains aggressive, but it is not the same thing with RJ, he takes himself out of the ball game.

If the spurs were samurais .. RJ should make the Harakiri

 I’m not going to admonish Richard, what I will say though, he is no longer quick enough to make the limited plays asked of him. Just watch any game where he takes it to the basket, he usually commits an offensive foul. He doesn’t exactly set the court on fire on a fast break either. He can still jump, but he simply does not possess the foot speed to finish alot of the plays asked of him.

Surely there is someone else on the roster or on the cheap that can shoot corner threes and has a quicker first step. Maybe Green, who knows.

When I was watching, it looked like the few times RJ drove to the basket he drew the foul. The few times we ran plays for him he usually executed. And the many times he set up for an open 3 I was usually off the couch with my arms in the air before he even shot it, usually with a justifiable result. The main thing he didn’t do well was being new on a team with 3 other legitimate stars and massive expectations. Within the Spurs system very few SF’s are going to be dominant scorers every night like RJ was for the first couple weeks of the season. I think he should try to continue to improve his defense, maintain his EXCELLENT 3 point shooting from this season, and be willing to take it to the rim more and he’ll be fine. If we can trade him for someone that fits us better, I’m not going to cry about it (and I think RJ’s numbers would be better on almost any other team) but I’m not going to be disappointed if we keep him.

Off With His Peanut Head!

Big50, I’m loving this series. Thanks for putting it together.

Good post, b50.

Popovich need to make some plays for RJ ..
He is not that old …. the problem is that he seems to depend on a assist maker

The only play I can remember is that classic alley oop with tony