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Tag Archive - Tiago Splitter

All Is Well When We Work

January 26, 2012 in by with 10 Comments

Tiago Splitter leads the league in field goal percentage, shooting an unreal 63.2 percent from the field. This wouldn’t have mattered much last year, when Splitter saw scant minutes here and there. But this isn’t last year. Splitter is playing significant minutes this season, and his play of late has been somewhat of a resuscitation for crestfallen fans coping with Manu Ginobili’s absence. Splitter is playing with confidence making plays that toe the line between “Finally! This is what we’ve been waiting for,” and “Wait, I had no idea he could do that.”

After 19 games, Splitter has doubled his scoring output from a season ago from 4.6 to 9.2 points a game. Splitter has scored in double-figures ten times, surpassing last season’s total of double-digit scoring outings (9) in less than a third of the games. These aren’t mind-blowing numbers, but if his last three games (17.6 points on 77.8 percent shooting, eight rebounds a game) are pointing towards a trend, the Spurs have not only found themselves an intriguing low post scorer, but a way to continue to stretch and ration Tim Duncan’s contributions to the team.

While his productivity has been off the charts, Splitter won’t win many hearts aesthetically. His post game is advanced, but lacks charm or grace. His hooks are a curious, curious thing. They have a seriously low trajectory, floating towards the rim mere millimeters out of reach for the defender’s outstretched arms. His hook shots, flip shots, and contested layups all share a common flatness. It’s definitely ugly, but to his credit, he’s been incredibly accurate with his array of shots. Splitter uses fakes and spins extremely well, but they are used to gain position and footing for an unsexy finish. Splitter doesn’t wear denim to be fashionable. He wears it because it’s a fabric tough enough to handle the rigors of his trade.

When he isn’t creating his own shot around the rim, he’s busy catching and finishing passes at an even more impressive rate. According to mySynergySports, Splitter has converted on 73.3 percent of his shots off of pick and rolls and cuts, which combined account for 42 percent of his field goal attempts. He has great hands and rolls to the basket fast and strong, as any Kobe System practitioner would. No one will confuse Splitter with Dwight Howard, but then again, they’re converting on pick and roll opportunities at a very similar rate.

Splitter’s recent string of outstanding performances should (if they haven’t already) lead to serious discussion about the allotment of minutes in the Spurs frontcourt. Being a much (much, much, much) better defender than DeJuan Blair, it’s become obvious that Splitter deserves to be a starter. Unfortunately the Spurs are forced to use the Splitter/Duncan tandem sparingly due to how pathetic Blair and Matt Bonner are on the defensive end. Playing Splitter and Duncan together is the Spurs’ best frontcourt pairing by far and increasing their minutes together would logically produce better results on the field, but it would inevitably bring about a Blair/Bonner duo, which is the scorched-earth policy of NBA frontcourts.

So while Splitter has been one of the Spurs’ best players thus far, the team almost can’t risk giving Splitter too many minutes. Their frontcourt is a delicate, imperfect balance with one competent defender to go with an awful one. Any injury or over-exhaustion of Splitter would lead to the complete demise of the Spurs interior defense. Though, if Splitter keeps playing at such a high level, the Spurs might want to consider playing their odds.

For Spurs, Graceful Aging Will Depend On Young Legs

December 29, 2011 in by with 0 Comments

Photo from halfrain via Flickr

Apart from being a playoff re-match and a season opener, Monday’s Spurs-Grizzlies game was also the much anticipated debut of exciting rookie/savior of humanity Kawhi Leonard.

Billed as an athletic defender with contagious high-energy and virtually nothing to offer offensively, Leonard shockingly displayed athletic defense with contagious high-energy and virtually nothing to offer offensively. But though it seems (after just 13.5 minutes, plus another 20 against the Clips Wednesday, it should be noted – this is even more premature than a Laker Lamar Odom trade) that Leonard is who we thought he is, he offers a plethora of intriguing options for a Spurs squad whose bench unit has become quite predictable. Andrew McNeill had an excellent take about the new, Kawhi-laden Spurs rotation over at 48 Minutes of Hell:

Instead, the Spurs rotated three players at the small forward position on Monday night, starting richard Jefferson and bringing on Leonard as a substitute. In the second quarter, James Anderson entered the game for Jefferson. Coach Pop also played Jefferson alongside Leonard for stretches in the second half.

If anything, this gives the Spurs flexibility with their lineups. You have three players splitting time at the same position, who can all share the floor together if need be (Anderson at the 2, RJ at the 3 and Kawhi at the 4). Having all three players comfortable with a variety of situations safeguards the team in instances where foul trouble is an issue or, as should be the case this season, rest is needed for fatigue or injury. Playing Anderson at the 3 also allows for room when Gary Neal returns to the lineup.

via Looking at the Spurs’ rotation after one game.

Flexibility is always a good thing to have, specifically in the case of the Spurs, who were ultimately knocked out of the playoffs because of their inability to adjust to a very specific style of play. By adding the rookie Leonard and two de facto rookies in James Anderson (whose rookie season was thrown out of rhythm due to injury) and Tiago Splitter (whose rookie season was thrown out of rhythm due to a reluctant Pop), the Spurs are banking on the ability of younger legs to make that switch. Despite the rarity that is youngsters getting big minutes for San Antonio, the current roster make up pretty much ensures that these folks get some burn.

The big knock against the young trio is offensive ineptitude. While Anderson has definitely shown that he can spot up from behind the arc and may even have potential as a tunnel-vision slasher, Leonard and Splitter’s offensive abilities can be pretty neatly summed as mobile rebounders/pick setters who can make shots under the rim and not much more (though we are hopeful that reports of Leonard’s offseason work on his jumper are more than your typical “best shape of my life” banter).

However, if last season is any indication, the Spurs don’t need too much offense from their second unit. Between shooters such as Neal and Bonner, the still fearsome three-pronged attack of Tony-Manu-Timmy, DeJuan Blair’s offensive rebounding chops, and whatever they  can get from Jefferson and the youngsters on a given night, the Spurs are (or, at least, hope they are) more or less set, scoring wise. Remember, even though it’s tough to think about San Antonio as a defensively challenged squad, but last year’s team finished 2nd in the league in offensive efficiency vs. 11th in the league defensively.

Even though said offense declined over the course of last season, inconveniently reaching its low point against Memphis, the Spurs are clearly willing to take a hit on that end of the court if it means tightening up the screws on defense. And the defense was clearly lacking against Memphis as well, with just one Tim Duncan not duplicate  enough to guard two elite big men (though I would give anything to see Timmy try and deal with the Z-Bo/Gasol combo on his own in his prime).

While offensively, trading in Hill’s total package (a gifted, if not elite, offensive player who can both create for himself and complement others) and the retiring Antonio McDyess’ reliable 15 footer for Anderson’s hopeful scoring chops and the Leonard/Splitter brickfest is quite hurtful, it gives the Spurs an entire new dimension defensively. Splitter immediately becomes the Spurs’ secondary defensive big, the only other player on the roster who even begins to approach Duncan’s size and mobility (yes, mobility, even at his age). Just throw out the name “Matt Bonner” on a Spurs message board if you don’t know how important that is. Leonard, on the other hand, was created straight from the Shawn Marion/Gerald Wallace mold, with alien arms and hands to go with scintillating athleticism and a burning passion for stopping other players from scoring. Two games and two comfortable wins in, the youngsters are already showing their worth, if you look hard enough.

During the second quarter against the Clippers on Wednesday, Tiago Splitter was guarding Blake Griffin in the post. Griffin passed out to Mo Williams, and set himself up for a re-post, but he never got the ball – Splitter pounced on the entry pass, left the ball in the hands of T.J. Ford, ran down the right flank and got the ball back an easy layup. Similarly, twice against Memphis, Kawhi Leonard sagged away from his designated man to pick off an unsuspecting Grizzlies driver and go off in the other direction.

While Kawhi missed both layups, the idea behind these three plays is vital – they’re the sort of athletic, transition setting defensive moves that the Spurs got too little of last year, especially from their frontcourt.  And they’re the sort of moves Leonard and Splitter make on the regular.

The Spurs can’t get anywhere without major contributions from the Big Three, whose decline is an entirely different story than what we are touching here ( if you are interested in that aspect of the 2011-2012 Spurs, I strongly recommend this brilliant Duncan-centric piece from Aaron McGuire regarding the Spurs’ offense and where it may suffer). But for all the death talk, these three players were the core of a 61 win team just one season ago. Father time sometimes offers up a slippery slope, but in one year increments, the Spurs can hold on.

Whether they want to do more, though, is contingent on their supporting cast, one that was revamped in a young direction that is intriguing both in its nature and in its direct contradiction with the Pop we thought we knew. As if Kawhi Leonard wasn’t fascinating enough.

The Best 2010 NBA Contract Signing Under $40 Million

July 23, 2010 in by with 3 Comments

Dennis Velasco is the newest contributing writer for Hardwood Paroxysm. His work has been featured at Hoops Hype, Yahoo! Sports, and SLAM. We’re pretty sure he’s not an alien. Pretty sure. Greet him as a brother. -Ed.

The summer of 2010 will be remembered around NBA circles as a period of excess – in ego, non-stop speculation, and the expenditure of money.  It was about the “big three” of NBA free agents in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh, all of whom not only decided to put their talents together and merge in Miami to play for the Heat, but also agreed to take less money in hopes of winning multiple championships.  Unless you’re a Cleveland Cavaliers fan and its majority owner, it’s hard to hate on that.

Ironically, the top guns in free agency proved to be players such as Joe Johnson (six years/$119 million) re-signing with the Atlanta Hawks, Rudy Gay (five years/$82 million) re-signing with the Memphis Grizzlies, Darko Milicic (four years/$20 million) re-signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Amir Johnson (five years/$34 million) re-signing with the Toronto Raptors, and a slew of others who were overpaid, relatively, top dollar for their services.  J.  Johnson will make more money than each of the Heat’s trio of stars; Gay has proven to be an effective scorer, but not much more; Milicic almost left the NBA last season of his own volition; and A. Johnson, while showing promise as a rebounder and shot-blocker, has displayed an uncanny knack to acquire personal fouls.

It was in the beginning stages of free agency that the frenzy of doling out dollars happened, including the contracts previously cited.  However, as time went by, bargains began to emerge.  The aforementioned James (six years/$110.1 million) and Wade (six years/$107.5 million), perhaps the only players deserving of max-contract money, were signed on the “cheap.”  Bosh (six years/$110.1 million) took less dollars than expected.  Zydruanas Ilgauskas (two years/NBA minimum) will once again go to battle with LeBron to win a title with Miami.  The same goes for Derek Fisher (three years/$10.5 million), except he’ll be defending a title with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.  And for all the belly-aching New Jersey Nets fans are doing, needs were met for the roster, particularly with the signing of Anthony Morrow (three years/$12 million).

However, with all of that said, which was the best signing under $40 million during free agency?  As the bargains that came later during this period, the best contract has had time gone by (three years) before it was finally signed.  The player is/was the best in his league and helped his team win a championship.  He’s been a hot basketball commodity since he was 15-years-old and has had international success.

I’m talking about Tiago Splitter (three years/$10.9 million), finally joining the San Antonio Spurs, much to their fans’ delight.

Splitter, the 6’11, 235 pound center from Brazil was drafted by the Spurs in the 2007 NBA Draft with the 28th pick of the first round even though he was still under contract with his Spanish ACB League team, Tau Ceramica.  He previously declared for the draft in 2004, 2005, and 2006, but withdrew each time.  Despite being drafted in 2007 by the NBA champion Spurs, Splitter signed a two-year extension in 2008 with his Spanish team, eventually opting out after this past season where he was both the season MVP and Spanish ACB championship series MVP, leading Caja Laboral Baskonia (formerly Tau Ceramica) in a sweep over FC Barcelona.

The thinking coming into signing Splitter was that the Spurs would need to use their full mid-level exception (MLE; about $6 million), which would have handicapped the Spurs from making many more quality moves to fill out their roster.  Obviously, it didn’t take that to bring Splitter across the Atlantic, which adds more value to the contract that he signed.  Plus, a regular season and championship MVP with prolific experience in international competition; how could you go wrong with that contract in both length and dollars?  However, here are more reasons why Splitter’s is the best 2010 NBA contract this summer.

It was ten years ago that Splitter’s journey to basketball greatness began when Tau Ceramica signed the then 15-year-old to its team, but loaning him out to Araba Gorago Alava of the EBA League for the 2000-01 season and then to Bilbao Berri in the LEB for the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.  In the 2003-04 season, Splitter joined the senior Tau Ceramica team and over the course of his decade-long experience as a professional basketball player, Splitter has won many awards, honors, and championships, usually younger than his competition.

Splitter comes into the NBA a lot more mature and polished than other NBA rookies and dependent on playing time, should contend for NBA Rookie of the Year honors.  One reason why Splitter delayed his debut in the Association is that he wanted to improve his game.  Looking at his Player Efficiency Rating (PER) since 2007, he obviously did (note that a PER of 15 is considered that of the average NBA player):

2007-08 (Tau Ceramica; ACB): 23.5
2007-08 (Tau Vitoria; Euro): 26.9
2008-09 (Tau Ceramica; Euro): 24.8
2008-09 (Tau Ceramica; ACB): 26.4
2009-10 (Caja Laboral; Euro): 21.1
2009-10 (Caja Laboral; ACB): 26.7

Splitter is a low-post player possessing various moves, excellent footwork, lateral ability, interior passing skills, and very good at the pick and roll (Manu Ginobilli and Tony Parker will be Splitter’s new best friends).  Defensively, he has a natural instinct to block shots to go along with good agility and holding position down low.  Splitter is an athletic big man with excellent length and can finish on the break.  He can be an intense player, but has a cool and mature demeanor on the court like his new teammate, Tim Duncan. He should improve by leaps and bounds learning from and playing alongside Duncan.  In fact, Splitter wore the number 21 because of Duncan.  Splitter will listen and learn as he is very coachable.  Speaking of which, his coach at Caja Laboral, Dusko Ivanovic, is very much like Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich – disciplinarian, no-nonsense, team-first, candid, a winning demeanor, and protective of his players.  Splitter should adjust very quickly to Popovich’s coaching style, which will be half the battle to acclimating himself to the NBA and succeeding.

The last Spanish MVP the Spurs drafted was Luis Scola in the 2002 NBA Draft with the 27th pick in the second round (55th overal).  Unfortunately, Scola and the Spurs could not come to terms and since then, Scola has been a very good and durable power forward/center for the Houston Rockets.  As a rookie Scola averaged 10.3 PPG and 6.4 RPG, making the All-Rookie First Team.  It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Splitter can duplicate those numbers his first season in the NBA, especially since the other Spurs big men, aside from Duncan, cannot match his size, frame, and skill set.  However, the Euroleague and Spanish league are obviously different from the NBA.  Luckily for the Spurs, Splitter’s maturity, experience, tools, and athleticism shouldn’t have him overwhelmed too much, if at all, when hitting the NBA hardwood.  But, as we’ve learned with the free agency period, it’s all about patience and the Spurs and its fans hope Splitter proves the old adage, “Good things come to those who wait” proves true.  The three-year wait will now be a three-year period of hope for Splitter.

Every free agency period brims with hope in acquiring a player or multiple players that will take a team to the next level for the upcoming season.  In Miami, the much bally-hooed acquisitions of James, Wade, and Bosh has sent the city into a frenzy for the 2010-11 season to start.  In San Antonio, much like their franchise player, Spurs fans are buzzing quietly and with confidence because there’s a new player in town, and his name is Tiago Splitter.

You can find more Dennis Velasco written goodness at Nets Are Scorching and Fanway.  For written badness, follow Dennis on Twitter at @dv140.