Game Thoughts: Spurs @ Hornets - Jan. 7

[timvp]

In recent Spurs losses, it seemed like fatigue was at least a partial excuse in each and every defeat. This game against the Hornets was an honest to goodness loss. There were no ifs, ands nor buts attached to this 95-87 L. The Spurs came out flat and never were able to ascend the mountain.

The offense was nonexistent to begin the game. The Spurs were stuck on ten points nearly ten minutes in. Thankfully, San Antonio was able to score nine points in the final two minutes of the opening period to make it 24-19 heading into the second.

The second quarter wasn’t much better. New Orleans started off well and then kept rolling. A Ryan Anderson three-pointer put the Hornets up by ten points with three and a half minutes remaining before intermission. They were able to hold onto that cushion and took a 49-41 advantage into the break.

The Hornets were cold to begin the second half but, unfortunately, the Spurs failed to take advantage. After getting within four points, the Spurs sputtered again and were soon back down by double-digits. Another three-pointer by Anderson put the Hornets up by 13 points with 2:09 remaining in the quarter. This time, the good guys showed some signs of life and scored the final eight points of the period to make it a five-point deficit heading into the final period.

The opening seconds of the fourth proved disastrous for San Antonio. Gary Neal missed a three-pointer and then the Hornets hit back-to-back three-pointers to push their lead back to 11 points. The Spurs made another run at the nine-minute mark. Down by 11 points, the Spurs went on an 8-0 run to get within three points. That, though, was short-lived. Eric Gordon scored three straight baskets to kick-start a 12-4 run that sank the Spurs. San Antonio kept clawing but it was too little, too late.






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Tim Duncan

In the first half, Tim Duncan looked like Tim Duncan. He had nine points and seven rebounds on 3-for-6 shooting in 17 minutes. While he was sloppy during those minutes, he otherwise did well. Duncan was strong in the paint and ran the court extremely well. I’m not sure what happened but he was a totally different player in the second half. He hit only two of his eight attempts and pulled down only one rebound. Most of his attempts were point-blank and the Hornets were go over and around him for rebounds on a consistent basis. When leaving the game for good in the third quarter, he looked either really tired or slightly injured. Let’s hope I’m just being paranoid and Duncan will bounce back tonight against the Lakers.
Final Grade: 70
Season Average: 89.9
Adj. Average: 90.3
Last 10 Average: 89.0
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Manu Ginobili

The one player to really play balls to the wall was Manu Ginobili. He was intense from his opening stint, however he wasn’t able to lift the play of those around him. Part of the problem was his haphazard passing. The Hornets were really pressuring his dribbles and defending screens aggressively, which forced Ginobili into a lot of desperate situations. When looking for his own offense, Ginobili did very well. He threw down another dunk; his athleticism looks better than it has all year. His shooting stroke was also very smooth. On defense, he was above average -- complete with highs and lows. His rebounding, once again, was a plus.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 84.3
Adj. Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 88.4
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Tony Parker

Coming out of the gates, Tony Parker was as listless as humanly possible. He had zero energy on defense and he wasn’t attacking at all on offense. He eventually defrosted and joined the party -- but it turned out to be too late. By the time he started playing hard, the Spurs were desperate for scoring so he started looking for his own shot every time down the court -- and that ultimately played a role in the team’s offensive rhythm breaking down even further. His final stats look decent and his defensive energy eventually picked up but this was undeniably a poor outing by Parker.
Final Grade: 72
Season Average: 86.9
Adj. Average: 86.9
Last 10 Average: 87.1
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Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi Leonard played with an ample amount of vigor on the defensive end. Unfortunately, it didn’t really result in much defensive production. His one-on-one defense was lukewarm. His team defense was decent but he didn’t rebound well. Offensively, he’s still unsure of himself. It doesn’t help that his teammates are also unsure of how much they should lean on Leonard. He hit shots here and there but rarely were any of his looks created organically as a result of the offensive sets. It’s just not clicking on that end for Leonard right now.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 84.1
Adj. Average: 84.1
Last 10 Average: 84.2
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Danny Green

Yes, Danny Green is streaky. This is something we now know. Regrettably, he was streaking the wrong way on Monday night. His attempts were mostly well-conceived, so that’s a positive, at least. On defense, I thought he was doing pretty darn well against Eric Gordon in the first three quarters. Gordon hit 4-of-6 shots in the fourth -- mostly with Green defending him. Green didn’t adjust well as Gordon got going, which played a role in the loss.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 82.6
Adj. Average: 82.9
Last 10 Average: 85.9
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Tiago Splitter

The Good: Tiago Splitter was very active on defense. He was blocking shots, playing the passing lanes and hustled in general. On offense, Splitter passed the ball well, had a few good takes to the rim and found his way to the line. The Bad: In the paint, Splitter simply wasn’t physical enough. He got pushed off of his position and that was a big part of the defensive rebounding problem. That lack of physicality also plagued him on the offensive end. Stepping out and defending the perimeter was also a negative in this game for Splitter.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 84.4
Adj. Average: 84.9
Last 10 Average: 83.2
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Boris Diaw

This was a slightly above average affair for Boris Diaw. He was better than average in terms of offensive aggressiveness and rebounding. His passing was also a plus and he took care of the ball reasonably well. On defense, he was all over the place. On one possession, he’d play very good defense on the perimeter or in the paint. On the next possession, Diaw would blow an assignment or be late with a rotation.
Final Grade: 81
Season Average: 80.3
Adj. Average: 81.1
Last 10 Average: 83.4
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Gary Neal

Gary Neal missed a couple shots that could have been shifted the momentum. He also had a few of his typical breakdowns on defense. That said, the rest of Neal’s evening was a positive. He scored well. He passed better than usual. He didn’t turn it over. His effort on defense was extremely encouraging. Neal was mentally engaged and his rotations were particularly admirable. If he can keep going hard on D, he may be able to shed his label as a defensive liability.
Final Grade: 84
Season Average: 81.1
Adj. Average: 81.8
Last 10 Average: 79.0
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Matt Bonner

After a stretch of time where he was playing quite well, Matt Bonner is regressing. He’s not rebounding well anymore. He’s back to hesitating on the offensive end. On defense, his physical play has disappeared and he’s back to being the human red carpet (nickname alert?). Not good.
Final Grade: 66
Season Average: 80.7
Adj. Average: 82.2
Last 10 Average: 75.0
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Pop

The rotations in the first half were illogical. Playing Bonner the final eight minutes of the half when he was literally doing nothing? Why? It especially didn’t make sense when the Hornets went with the frontcourt of Anthony Davis and Robin Lopez. Add in Leonard sitting almost the entire second quarter while Neal was playing 14 of the final 16 minutes of the first half … and I really don’t know what Pop was thinking. In the second half, Pop was better. When he went small with Diaw at center and Jackson at power forward, that helped bring the Spurs back. Still, this game was filled with a lot of unique fivesomes, which didn’t help matters.
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 84.0
Last 10 Average: 83.0
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Offense
The offense was poor, mostly due to the 19 turnovers. You turn the ball over 19 times on the road in a slow paced game and you’re going to lose that game more often than not. The three-point shooting, or lack thereof, did damage. Aesthetically, it wasn’t pretty. The ball-movement was far from crisp and there were too many one-on-one forays.
Final Grade: 69
Season Average: 84.3
Last 10 Average: 84.7
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Defense
The defense was slightly better but still poor. The 95 points the Hornets scored doesn’t look bad at first glance but the Hornets only had 89 possessions so it was definitely a subpar night at the office. New Orleans killed the Spurs on the offensive glass and that played a role in them having so much success in the paint. Subjectively, when San Antonio really needed a stop, they almost never got one.
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 83.6
Last 10 Average: 85.2
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Overall
There’s no way to frame this loss as anything other than just a loss. This time, the scheduling wasn’t a factor. While it’s disappointing, it’s also unavoidable. Every team in every season will have periodic letdowns. Considering that the last such loss that couldn’t have been blamed on fatigue might have been in the middle of November against the Clippers, this loss can be swept under the rug if the Spurs bounce back well. Let us hope that bounce back begins tonight against the other team from Los Angeles.
Final Grade: 70
Season Average: 84.1
Last 10 Average: 85.0
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[RodNIc91]

Thanks for the grades man! Is it just me, or should Nando watch some tape on Greivis Vasquez. I think Nando should aspire to become someone like him. OH and LOL @ Grizzlies for trading him for Quincy Pondexter