Ed Helicopter Jones
05-13-2005, 12:46 PM
My apologies to Timvp, I thought I'd post my own assessment of the Spurs individual performances from the game. My official disclaimer is that my grading could never be as complete as the master Timvp:
Tony Parker – B His 18 points and 8 assists are impressive on paper, but Tony missed two wide open shots in the fourth quarter and clanked four free throws in the 4th quarter that could have sealed it for San Antonio. Tony played well through three quarters, but his offense disappeared when the game was on the line.
Brent Barry – C- The only times I really noticed Barry in this game was when he was turning the ball over. He committed a costly turnover in the 4th quarter that had me cussing at the televison. He seemed to have 4 or 5 turnovers even though he was only credited with 2. I waited and waited and waited for him to do something impressive, and I’m still waiting.
Tim Duncan – B+ Really tried to carry the team in this game. He was emotional. He was active on the offensive and defensive ends, and had to fight off a team of Seattle hack artists throughout the game. He waved off a chance to have Nazr sub for him in the 4th which I think might have been his undoing. He didn’t have his legs at the end of the game, missing the potential game winner and another gimme under the basket, and air-balling a bank attempt with Jerome “fat-ass” James running at him. He got a little slow on defense late in the game as well, but again, he was wrestling with all of Seattle’s no-talent bigs.
Bruce Bowen – B- If we were to grade Bruce strictly on defense he’d of earned an A+ for his work on Ray Allen. Bruce was in top “D” form and his game against Allen was a thing of beauty. On offense, though, Bruce was a non-factor, so much so that Ray Allen was able to cheat off of him and make some nice defensive plays of his own as a weak-side defender. Seattle’s defensive strategy with Bruce reminded me a little of how teams would often play the Spurs when Avery Johnson was in uniform – use Avery’s man as the designated help defender because of AJ’s suspect jumpshot. It may not have worked for the Knicks in 1999, but Seattle cheated Bruce’s defender and it paid dividends last night.
Manu Ginobili – B Probably the only Spur who was beat on worse than Duncan. Played with heart, as always, but missed the front end of two free throw opportunities with the game on the line. He didn’t have the kind of impact on this game that he had on the previous two. Luckily, however, his head is still attached to his body after the pounding he received from the Sonics.
Nazr Mohammed – B- Hit all three of his shots, and made a sweet spin move dunk in the third quarter last night. Missed some assigments on defense and was allowing Seattle to position for too many offensive boards, only grabbing three boards himself. Played a good, but not great game.
Rober Horry – B Made some smooth three pointers, but missed a couple of opportunities in the 4th when Seattle tightened their defensive pressure. He seemed active on both ends of the floor, but like the rest of the team, missed some opportunities late that could have sealed the win for San Antonio.
Beno Udrih – D Zero points, zero assists and three fouls in his eleven minutes on the floor. When you make Barry’s night look good you know you’ve had a bad game.
Rasho Nesterovic – B Played decent in his limited minutes. Didn’t get a rebound but hit both of his shots. I’d try to boost his minutes a bit more in the next game. He looks ready to play.
Glenn Robinson – D- Second quarter, Spurs up big and starting to roll, and Glenn takes a deep jumper early in the shot clock with no one in the paint to rebound. Next possession Glenn holds onto the ball until there’s one second on the shot clock, dishing it off too late to get an attempt off. Right after that he decides to shove Lewis into a referee drawing a technical and firing up what to that point had been a fairly quiet crowd and subdued Sonics team. The game was tight from there on. He was the only Spur to sink to the Sonics level during the game. That being said, he should have had the chance to redeem himself in the second half.
Coaching– C- The Spurs came out in the first quarter a little complacent, and started the third quarter the same way. Pop shortened his bench quite a bit which I felt led to the Duncan and Ginobili being too tired to be the heroes they needed to be at the end of the game. Putting Glenn Robinson in the corner, so to speak, and not playing him in the second half was a mistake. Glenn isn’t Devin Brown, Spider Smith or some journeyman he can punish and expect a positive response from, IMO. He’s got Big Dog playing with fire, albeit a little misdirected fire last night, and he doesn’t want to lose that. Robinson contributed, big time, in the first two wins, and last night I believe the fourth quarter would have gone a lot better with him in the game and not wasting away on the bench while Pop tried to make a point.
Tony Parker – B His 18 points and 8 assists are impressive on paper, but Tony missed two wide open shots in the fourth quarter and clanked four free throws in the 4th quarter that could have sealed it for San Antonio. Tony played well through three quarters, but his offense disappeared when the game was on the line.
Brent Barry – C- The only times I really noticed Barry in this game was when he was turning the ball over. He committed a costly turnover in the 4th quarter that had me cussing at the televison. He seemed to have 4 or 5 turnovers even though he was only credited with 2. I waited and waited and waited for him to do something impressive, and I’m still waiting.
Tim Duncan – B+ Really tried to carry the team in this game. He was emotional. He was active on the offensive and defensive ends, and had to fight off a team of Seattle hack artists throughout the game. He waved off a chance to have Nazr sub for him in the 4th which I think might have been his undoing. He didn’t have his legs at the end of the game, missing the potential game winner and another gimme under the basket, and air-balling a bank attempt with Jerome “fat-ass” James running at him. He got a little slow on defense late in the game as well, but again, he was wrestling with all of Seattle’s no-talent bigs.
Bruce Bowen – B- If we were to grade Bruce strictly on defense he’d of earned an A+ for his work on Ray Allen. Bruce was in top “D” form and his game against Allen was a thing of beauty. On offense, though, Bruce was a non-factor, so much so that Ray Allen was able to cheat off of him and make some nice defensive plays of his own as a weak-side defender. Seattle’s defensive strategy with Bruce reminded me a little of how teams would often play the Spurs when Avery Johnson was in uniform – use Avery’s man as the designated help defender because of AJ’s suspect jumpshot. It may not have worked for the Knicks in 1999, but Seattle cheated Bruce’s defender and it paid dividends last night.
Manu Ginobili – B Probably the only Spur who was beat on worse than Duncan. Played with heart, as always, but missed the front end of two free throw opportunities with the game on the line. He didn’t have the kind of impact on this game that he had on the previous two. Luckily, however, his head is still attached to his body after the pounding he received from the Sonics.
Nazr Mohammed – B- Hit all three of his shots, and made a sweet spin move dunk in the third quarter last night. Missed some assigments on defense and was allowing Seattle to position for too many offensive boards, only grabbing three boards himself. Played a good, but not great game.
Rober Horry – B Made some smooth three pointers, but missed a couple of opportunities in the 4th when Seattle tightened their defensive pressure. He seemed active on both ends of the floor, but like the rest of the team, missed some opportunities late that could have sealed the win for San Antonio.
Beno Udrih – D Zero points, zero assists and three fouls in his eleven minutes on the floor. When you make Barry’s night look good you know you’ve had a bad game.
Rasho Nesterovic – B Played decent in his limited minutes. Didn’t get a rebound but hit both of his shots. I’d try to boost his minutes a bit more in the next game. He looks ready to play.
Glenn Robinson – D- Second quarter, Spurs up big and starting to roll, and Glenn takes a deep jumper early in the shot clock with no one in the paint to rebound. Next possession Glenn holds onto the ball until there’s one second on the shot clock, dishing it off too late to get an attempt off. Right after that he decides to shove Lewis into a referee drawing a technical and firing up what to that point had been a fairly quiet crowd and subdued Sonics team. The game was tight from there on. He was the only Spur to sink to the Sonics level during the game. That being said, he should have had the chance to redeem himself in the second half.
Coaching– C- The Spurs came out in the first quarter a little complacent, and started the third quarter the same way. Pop shortened his bench quite a bit which I felt led to the Duncan and Ginobili being too tired to be the heroes they needed to be at the end of the game. Putting Glenn Robinson in the corner, so to speak, and not playing him in the second half was a mistake. Glenn isn’t Devin Brown, Spider Smith or some journeyman he can punish and expect a positive response from, IMO. He’s got Big Dog playing with fire, albeit a little misdirected fire last night, and he doesn’t want to lose that. Robinson contributed, big time, in the first two wins, and last night I believe the fourth quarter would have gone a lot better with him in the game and not wasting away on the bench while Pop tried to make a point.