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That Spurs draftee Tiago Splitter has reportedly decided to choose Spain over San Antonio qualified as a minor defeat in the face of last night's Game 4 failure. It has gotten attention -- notably from TrueHoop and The Sporting Blog -- but obviously takes a backseat to Barry/Fisher. But something's been ignored in all the frim-fram over the loss of Splitter: his would-be training camp competition, current Spur Ian Mahinmi.
By my watch, Mahinmi is a better Spur today, tomorrow, and in three years. Remember Amir Johnson? As a D-League youth, Amir set the midwest ablaze, creating a spectacle of brimstone and glory which had locals speaking in tongues. He graduated to the Pistons this year and in limited minutes proceeded to light up every player rating system known to Man, according to the awesome Count the Basket (via Shoals).
Why does this matter? Because Monsieur Mahinmi set the midwest ablaze as a D-League youth this season. He finished third in PER for his work with the Austin Toros, shooting extraordinarily well from the floor, drawing fouls and hitting FTs, racking up steals and blocks, all while offering 17 and 8.
Splitter played just fine in Spain this season, but he's a season behind on American/San Antonio integration (Mahinmi spent training camp, early November, and May with the big club) and a step back on adjusting to the NBA-style game (which is employed at some scale in the D-League). The Spurs would love to have both Tiago and Ian in the fold as Robert Horry retires (we can pray) and Tim Duncan walks closer to retirement (not too fast, Big Fun). But Splitter's resistance isn't the death of San Antonio big men of the future. Mahinmi will represent just fine.
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