The towls are to heavy!

Yeh we just noticed while doing the national anthem he is in a suit with the spurs jacket on the outside.

No need to patronise Patty by calling this "a blow to the Spurs", Cheese...

Energy from the bench surely means something, Mick.

x2 Statsheet Stuffer

Yeah, as a macro factor that is great for team culture and boosts morale over the course of a season or finals run, not something that has a quanitifiable game-by-game impact.

what does this mean for him playing in the Aus-NZ series?

He is still waving the towel on the bench in his suit

This from today's Advertiser. Probably says everything about Patty's chances of staying with the Spurs.

AN infected toe may have cruelled Australian star Patty Mills' NBA finals campaign, ruling him out of a bench spot for today's crucial game five.

But that may be the least of his problems. The gun shooter could be looking for a new home.
After failing to make the squad for game four - where the Miami Heat returned fire to level the topsy-turvy series 2-2 with San Antonio - Mills did not train with the Spurs yesterday.
However as he rested at home, Spurs assistant coach and former Australian Boomers coach Brett Brown raised questions over the Canberra-born guard's future in San Antonio, saying he may have to look elsewhere to go to the next level.
Brown, an NBL legend who is in the midst of a fifth NBA finals series, said Mills would put himself in a "dog fight" if he opted to stay with the Spurs, fighting for the role of bench point guard with more highly rated players including Cory Joseph.
While the coach said the team would love to keep him, given the respect and affection they have for the 24-year-old, he would not be guaranteed the role, and the playing minutes, that he craves if he bunkered down with the Spurs for another year.
"You would think (he would get more game time elsewhere). Ultimately it is up to him to find a solid back-up point guard role and find 12-14 minutes a game, and securing that rotation and going from there. I hope somewhere in his career he can find that," Brown said.
"I think if he stays here he is in a dog fight with Corey Joseph who comes in for Tony Parker. Cory Joseph is 20 years old and was a first-round draft pick, so he is not going to get worse. He is only going to get better.
"We believe there is a future there for him, and if that's not true then you move on, and he's created that type of value for himself. Why wouldn't (other teams come knocking on his door)? The risk-reward with Patty is small because you cover both sides - he can deliver on the court and he can deliver in the locker room and that is not to be disputed."
After leading the scoring at the London Olympics, Mills slotted into the San Antonio line-up smoothly, becoming a rotational player off the bench through December and January, averaging 6.4 points a game in the latter month. But for reasons coach Brown could not pinpoint, Mills fell out of the rotation and was used sparingly for the remainder of the season, coming on late in the season to drain 23 and nine points respectively in the final two games of the regular season.
"There is not a specific instance. He has played more off guard this year than point guard, so at times it becomes a match-up situation," he said.

Timing never been Patty's strong suit but then again he probably figured after last season he'd be getting a few minutes. I dunno is there anyway he can bulk up and improve his defense? Get a bit of Nate physique? I'm probably stretching for something that's not there.

He's probably better off leaving now. Not going to get ahead of any of those guys who pretty much offer the same thing as Patty except with more size. But that's not say that he should have left San Antonio last year. Being part of this run would be great for his development.

He needs to find a team where he's the Gary Neal: a streaky bench gunner.

Or he can develop his PG skills but that's probably a bit much to ask at his age.

I don't think his skills are the problem. It's his mentality, of being a score first, second and third player. Its great that he can put points on the board in a hurry but his future in the league is as a point, and he doesn't have the capability right now to be the floor leader.

Agree Situation, but at this point he can still be a valuable instant offense off the bench like a like Jason Terry or Gary Neal. Ideally, yeah, he becomes a pure PG and makes others around him better but I don't think you just become one all of a sudden at his age.

Patty can still give something to an NBA team off the bench (no doubt about that).

He would do no worse than someone like Kemba Walker.

Kemba is shielded a little bit by the fact that he only just finished his second year and put up 17.7ppg.

But in reality, he is only a year younger than Mills and:

Actually check this out:

Per 36 minutes:
Mills = 17.4 ppg over career
Walker = 17.4 ppg over career.

Mills has shot much much higher percentages as well both from FG, 3point and FT!

Didn't Patty have the player option for this season with the Spurs? I'm sure his agent would have looked around for a better deal. This off-season he's at the mercy of the Spurs team option, but at a scheduled $1.13m for next year, he's a cheap option, and if anyone saw how Pop and Parker raved about him on that NITV doco, I'll say he'll be there.

I think his "under appreciation" on this forum is evened out by the many comments that he has superstar potential in the NBA.

Mick's comment was good. He could be a Jason Terry type player but he still needs to do more to get team mates involved when given the reins.

Patty can flat out score, we know that. It has been proven by his top-10 finish in points per 48 minutes in 2011-2012, and his leading scorer title from the Olympics. But in reality, 6-0 (if lucky) scoring guards don't generally have long and successful careers unless their names are Isiah Thomas or Allen Iverson. Patty is only 24, he has time to work on his weaknesses, and San Antonio is a fantastic place to do that. And in reality, he was only the 55th pick of the draft. That low a selection doesn't exactly produce dozens of players with 'star' quality.

you guys forgetting Jeremy LIN...?

Just sayin'

Yes, he has time and just like the little Ivy Leaguer he can turn it around. With some luck and effort, stay injury free and given the chance of course he can mack a splash.

Agree, work on those little weaknesses and play on his strengths...

...make a splash...

Yeah but Jeremy Lin is different. Patty has to actually change the way he plays the game entirely, not just "play better" or wait for an opportunity like Lin did. He needs a different mindset. I mean, he's already lost the PG gig at the Boomers because we play better when he's not running the show.

To be a 6 foot nothing scoring guard in the NBA you have to be GREAT.

He needs to learn how to run a team.

I'm not sure he'll ever develop the skills required to be a 'true' point guard. This is not a knock against him, just reality. He's made it this far playing to his strengths, perhaps he just needs to continue with that and become as strong as possible in all those offensive areas.

Mick, you're right about the Boomers part. It was so clear, right from the first minute that Delly stepped on the floor in the first game against the young Greeks at Hisense, that the offence flowed so much better. It really was surprising to me that it took so long for Brett Brown to make the switch with Delly coming into the starting five, and Patty shifting spots.

I'd like to see Patty play somewhere like Denver or Utah because he'd simply run his opposite guard to a halt. He's pretty damn fit.

Does anyone have stats on shooting percentages at altitude compared with the more sea-level NBA venues? Not just for Mills but all NBA? It just popped into my head--from memory, I generally see Denver and Utah shooting better at home games.