Gregg Popovich has shown he’d prefer not to play DeJuan Blair — Boris Diaw has taken over a lot of the minutes (22 a game) that went to Blair because the Diaw’s skill set is a better fit with what the Spurs want to do. Diaw only averages 5.8 points a game but he shot 53.8 percent from the floor and he’s a respectable shot from three (38 percent this season).
However, Popovich is going to have to rely on Blair — and likely more Matt Bonner to space the floor — early in the playoffs because Diaw will be out three to four weeks, the team announced.
This is just an escalation of what the Spurs said two days ago, when they said he would be out 2-3 weeks to rest a back injury. Apparently he needed more than rest, but this is not that serious.
The Spurs are likely to face the Lakers or Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, and either way a switch of Blair for Diaw is not going to make a difference. If Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are healthy enough to play, the Spurs should have little trouble in the first round.