by BLACKJACK21 http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138010
Matt Bonner.
That 6-9, red-headed, basketball-playin’ fool.
You know you love him, but you just can’t understand how it is that he demands to start alongside Tim.
We’ve all heard the logic and even somewhat come to accept it, well, maybe not accept as much as been beaten into it’s submission.
Watching the Spurs fall to the Bulls wasn’t unexpected or disheartening, the Bulls are a very solid defensive team that possesses both the continuity and chemistry to give them a leg up over a team like the Spurs at this early stage, but seeing Bonner and Finley starting for the second night in a row had me asking a question for the bigger picture.
Why?
Well corporate knowledge and know-how for a team with significant turnover would seem to be a pretty good reason. And Bonner and Finley do both space the floor for Tim and Tony, so, offensively, there’s definitely credence to the logic. But do the pro’s really outweigh the con’s?
Don’t answer that; rhetorical question…
See, I don’t mind the idea of Bonner playing alongside Tim to give him space and get him on track and in a flow. It’s a perfectly sound basketball move and one that’s been proven effective. Doing it from the start however, taxes Tim and the defense more than it benefits the offense. Plus, there’s something to be said for setting a tone.
Pop’s been preaching how this team needs to get back to their defensive identity; that trademark of theirs that netted them four titles. So how does the starting of Bonner and Finley coincide with that demand?
Well, it doesn’t, but what are you going to do?
You could go ahead and start 'Dyess next to Tim, it’s what most expect to see come the end of the year anyway, but how wise would that really be? Having 'Dyess come off the bench is easier to limit his minutes, he is 35 and the owner of a pretty injury-riddled past, and he’s got a certain comfort level there given his time in Detroit. You’d definitely have a better defensive tone set from the jump, but for how long, and would it even be sustainable for what hopes to be a one-hundred plus game schedule?
With the age of Tim, 'Dyess and Theo, the only one’s capable of setting a defensive tone in the front court, the answer’s probably not; which makes the starting of Bonner understandable, even if not ideal.
I think it was Rusty a while back that used the analogy of an innings-eater in regards to Bonner; logic I’ve ascribed to, but wasn’t smart enough to come up with that particular analogy. Bonner starting is a stop-gap measure and an offensive ploy. The Spurs’ top four bigs would seem to be: Tim, 'Dyess, Bonner and Blair, and the latter two can’t play together defensively. So you start Bonner, bring 'Dyess off the bench and Blair can come in for Tim. Makes sense, right? Well, it does given the personnel and for the immediate future, but how optimistic would you feel about that rotation come April and May?
A night like tonight only reminds you of the trouble young athletic teams have given the Spurs over recent years. But you could also dismiss it considering those young and athletic teams aren’t the one’s usually in the playoff picture for the Spurs to contend with.
But seeing the Spurs roll out the Bonner and Finley duo in the starting-five, even knowing every bit as well the athletic disadvantage they’d have defensively and on the boards, a defensive tone is something Pop doesn’t seem to believe he can set with the roster as is; at least he can’t sustain it for the long haul.
I’m a firm believer in setting the tone as a team and imposing your style of play on the opponent. But I just can’t see how this Spurs team can reclaim their defensive exploits of yesteryear on a nightly basis; not at the elite championship-level at least – they’ll be a good defensive team by the numbers but not the imposing, feared team of the past. –
So, Bonner starts for now; as does Finley.
The defensive tone, I think most of us would like to see, won’t be set and the Spurs will be left to deal with the ramifications.
The question is, are the ramifications of Bonner starting any worse than if they were forced to play 'Dyess as a starter, for all one-hundred plus games, to set that all-important defensive tone?
When I ask myself that question and I look at the front line’s in the way of getting a title, I can only come to one conclusion.
The Spurs, for as good as they are and as much as they’ve improved, still have another move that needs to be made; possibly two.