Quick Grades: Spurs at Clippers - Nov. 1

[timvp]

Quick Grades: Spurs at Clippers (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-grades/quick-grades-spurs-at-clippers/)
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-grades/quick-grades-spurs-at-clippers/

By LJ Ellis (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/author/ljellis/)
San Antonio Dispatch

Tim Duncan B- Extremely slow start. Eventually found a rhythm.

Manu Ginobili B Made things happen offensively. Gambled too much on D.

Tony Parker B+ Struggled finishing on break but otherwise played well.

Richard Jefferson A Solid defensively. On fire with jumper on offense.

DeJuan Blair C+ Better on defense but still struggling overall.

Antonio McDyess B+ Rebounding again a strength. Hesitated with jumper.

Gary Neal A+ Best perimeter defender. Rebounded. Shot it straight.

James Anderson A Good decisions. Defense solid. Conditioning improving.

Tiago Splitter B+ Got tired easily but glimpses of potential obvious.

Bobby Simmons B+ Played very physical defense and rotated well.

George Hill INC Injured on flagrant foul. Initial reports indicate muscle spasms in neck area.


http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/7084/boxnov1.jpg

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2481/flownov1.jpg

[z0sa]

I agree with all these grades.. that two headed monster of Neal and Anderson was spectacular, definitely big difference makers, particularly Neal. He shot lights out and wasn't hesitant in the least. I didn't study his defense much but what I saw, he was also very strong on that end, a huge plus if he can do it consistently. I also agree that, based on an obviously small sample size+his history, Splitter's potential is high, maybe even higher than most Spurs fans expect.. that dunk was ferocious, and he was supposedly "winded" at that point.. his defense was also very good relative to what I was expecting.

Overall, I am pleased with the Spurs effort, especially in the second half. There was a very strong effort in the first half of the 2nd quarter, as well, that made a big difference in the game's outcome.

[BoricuaCJA]

Was waiting for you to post this. I think blair offense was horrible. I really give him a c-

[Nathan89]

We finally have a professional analyst on the spurs forum. This guy is official.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Thanks! Can't argue with any of these grades.

[mingus]

now the question: are the Spurs going to use this game as springboard or are they going to regress against the Suns. i know it's still early in the season, but i'd like to see this team build some confidence and build on this.

[Cane]

Neal got caught up in a few screens but I liked his effort defensively, he's definitely a better offensive player though.

Solid grades. Most impressed with RJ, where was this guy last season?! :)

Shame that Blake has to play alongside Baron Davis...

[Cessation]

Fair assessment, though blair should get a lower grade.

[AussieFanKurt]

C+ for Blair is generous I feel

[EricB]

Neal Jefferson and Anderson were just, wow....

I look forward to many pick and roll dunks from Tiago and Manu. its crazy they seem to have a chemistry already.

Richard Jefferson is just playing mad mad ball right now, when he loses a defender his catchup speed to them is great. He's shooting it the most confidently I've ever seen and that form is just spectacular.

Gary Neal, I was very skeptical and will continue to be but wow his form is awesome and he looked great on both ends.

Anderson is gonna be a stud when he figures it out, no question in my mind. His athleticism and on ball defense for a young forward is crazy good. The Clippers broadcasters commented that Pop said he thinks he could be their next Bowen and they agreed. Don't agree with that but we shall see.

[bthewigwam]

Just got home from game, glad to see these grades. Thought fans would flip out over Splitter but to be honest, he had the deer in the headlights look in shootaround, he was very clearly nervous and trying to do too much. He wasn't terrible taking that into account. Blair looked lost. Best thing I saw: Duncan pulling Splitter aside for a good 5 minutes and pointing things out to him. Classic great Duncan.

[UnWantedTheory]

What I loved tonight from Neal is that he did it all in 20 minutes of work.

[EricB]

Tiago is gonna be fine. You can see though when the times he just played, he was in perfect spots and moved quite well. he also gets down the court a little quicker than I thought he would for such a thick trunk guy.


Look forward to his play against Phoenix.

[UnWantedTheory]

Also, was not all that impressed once again from Blair. I agree with others that a C+ is a tad generous.

[024]

splitter gets a B+? maybe he played better than i thought. it's clear he's still getting acclimated.

[BanditHiro]

splitter gets a B+? maybe he played better than i thought. it's clear he's still getting acclimated.

he played really good defense. his rotations were almost always excellent. he will easily become our best pick and roll defending big the season

[DespЏrado]

Neal, RJ, and Anderson made this game winnable.
Blair needs to calm the heck down, and start unleashing his inner beast.

The team needs to get a lot better, but they definitely have the pieces to contend.

[bthewigwam]

EricB said it well. Splitter was in the right spots and moved pretty well. His hustle on D was absolutely there. Effort and knowledge - A.

[Cessation]

Splitter brought the energy, and you could tell opposing guards thought twice before penetrating, he's much quicker than duncan and all he does is put his hands up. Hes smart on d, the one foul he had was a bs call too. When he came in, in the third, thats when we put the game out of reach and went up by 16 or so. There is no doubt our d will improve tremendously, and this is just him playing 10 minutes after coming of an injury, and still making a noticable impact.

[Cry Havoc]

Tiago looks fantastic. The play where he cut to the hoop and got the no look from Manu shows that the kid can read the floor like a pro -- something the Spurs haven't had in a big (big) man in a while. Okay, so Dice can, but he doesn't have the speed that Splitter is going to bring to the table with his youth.

Personally I thought Tony Parker was amazing tonight. 19 and 9 with 3 steals? I'll take that every game. He kept his foot on the gas and anytime our offense looked like it would sag, he was diving into the paint just like it was 2008 all over again.

If we can get decent shooting from Neal/Anderson, and RJ keeps getting his schwerve on, we're going to start making some noise in the West.

I just want to see defense like they played tonight. Never gave up on the ball, even if they were trailing, fought for rebounds, swatted at lazy passes. It was truly a team effort tonight, and despite the horrendous Clipper officiating, the Spurs started to remove doubt from this game in the 3rd quarter.

With a little time, and continued aggression on both sides of the ball, I like our team vs. anyone else in the league.

[#2!]

Richard Jefferson might have deserved an A+ tonight. He was everything Spurs fans have wanted him to be tonight, and for every game of the season so far: a confident scorer, who goes to the rack when its available, runs the fast break everytime there's an opportunity, and stays focused on defense. Thumbs up for Richard so far this year.
Lol Second year thread failure.

Splitter is going to replace Blair quickly once he gets going. It was amazing to me that despite how lost he looked in the offensive sets at times, on defense he appeared to know exactly what to do. That excites me b/c interior defense is exactly what the spurs need; Splitter's ability to move his feet quickly and contest shots w/ his arms straight up in the air (thus avoiding foul calls) gave me hope for the current roster.

Although I know Blair will bounce back I have come to the conclusion that he is almost as expendable in a trade scenario as Matt Bonner (though I'd send Bonner off first every time). The Spurs need as many big defenders as they can get ahold of, and having 2 guys in rotation that flat out can't be relied on to defend half-court offensive schemes is at least 1 too many. Blair is a decent help defender, but Chris Kaman shot over him each time they went up against one another. Like I said, I'd rather trade Bonner in for a defensive minded big man, but Blair is a trade chip as far as I'm concerned.

[DesignatedT]

Neal made some overly aggressive mistakes on defense but that was fine to see IMO. He moves his feet well. I thought he played solid defense.

[DesignatedT]

The 6 Neal rebounds is great to see also. This guy is a HUGE upgrade from RMJ and an even better shooter.

[Leonard Curse]

i saw everything i wanted to say and stronger points than i had in mind. great read from the replies to the poster!!! oh wait i will say anderson is scaring the crap out of me with his drive for defense its very bruce like, and no im not just saying that because pop did but i see that defensive mind shining on the court.

tiago/parker/and wow neal !! unlike last year were seeing a real chemistry take place and you can see the players working on one cylinder as the game progresses. i think this is an aspect being overlooked. im just so happy

[#2!]

tiago/parker/and wow neal !! unlike last year were seeing a real chemistry take place and you can see the players working on one cylinder as the game progresses. i think this is an aspect being overlooked. im just so happy

Outside of defense, chemistry is the most important thing for the Spurs.


They were severely lacking in the dept last year, but that is somewhat understandable looking back. The FO had just brought in a new key component in RJ, Bruce Bowen was officially out of the league, and before that was traded away, Michael Finley was unhappy w/ his playing time, RMJr was unhappy with his role, the Spurs were unhappy with his performance, DeJuan was a rookie, and everytime George Hill made a steal or finished a fast break some one was typing "Does George Hill Make Tony Parker Expendable?"

I am glad to see how the guys on the team already seem to be playing more cohesively than they did for more than a few short stretches last season. I personally believe that Manu drawing up a game winner for the backups sans coaching staff was a major coming together moment for this squad.

[HarlemHeat37]

Splitter's defense was outstanding, which is surprising, considering this was the first time he's played an actual game with the rest of the guys..

The difference on the p&r stands out..

Whenever Duncan or McDyess would guard the p&r, they would sag off the perimeter player, giving them the J, knowing that they wouldn't be able to recover if they hedged or played it too aggressively..this has often hurt the Spurs, it gives the opponent's open shot after open shot..

With Splitter, he hedged aggressively EVERY time, forcing the Clippers to reset their offense, obviously helping the Spurs kill more time on the shot clock, which is when pressure kicks in against the offense..

He rotated very well too, I love how he moves his feet and keeps his hands up..

It's only one game, I expect him to struggle with fouls in many games, but he has to be a starter soon..he's the anti-Blair defensively..seeing his p&r D gave me a lot of hope for this D though, he appears to be exactly what Duncan needs next to him from a defensive standpoint..

[bigdog]

Jefferson, Anderson, and Neal played solid ball tonight. RJ continues to impress and Neal is surprising me. I expected Anderson to be solid. Duncan finally came around in the 2nd half. TP played alright and Manu seemed a bit too excited on both ends. Simmons didn't do anything amazing, but his hustle on defense was awesome. Blair didn't play very well at all. McDyess hit some jumpers and did a good job on the boards.

Now, Splitter looked awesome on pick and roll defense and he ran the floor well when he wasn't winded. Don't expect much from him on offense, but that dunk on the PnR with Manu was sweet. If he can get into game shape, I expect him to be solid.

[AussieFanKurt]

Pretty happy with the game but Clips have been shooting 38% and they shot 50% so that will be addressed hopefully

[#2!]

lol at timvp and a couple others praising Simmons for his "physical defense."

Why not just say it? I liked it when Bobby Simmons popped Blake Griffin in the mouth.

Seriously, I did. I know it was an accident, but the spurs need aggressive, physical defenders who may cross the line occasionally, accidental or not. The Spurs will not find another Bruce Bowen (they are as rare as dominant big men, if not more so), but having a toughness, and an edge defensively does not require any particular player or talent. Props to Simmons, I hope he makes that edge his niche.

[024]

i'm pretty disappointed by blair so far. he should be moved back to the bench pretty soon because he's better against the second unit bigs. the first unit bigs usually tear him apart.

[Rito3d30]

TP should play more pnr game with either Blair/Splitter

[wildbill2u]

Splitter has great hands and moves for a big and is going to be awesome on the pnr. You watch.

[yavozerb]

Defense looked solid last night. Everyone seemed to be moving much better and helping out one another very well. lets hope this continues.

[BronxCowboy]

I have to agree with the above posters that C+ may be a little generous for Blair, or maybe we're just expecting too much after last year/preseason. On the plus side, he showed nice effort on defense, and made some nice passes on offense. One the minus side, he didn't appear to be attacking the boards with the kind of aggression that we've seen from him, and wasn't looking to score inside. The one field goal he did attempt looked tentative, not something I expected from Blair.
Neal was great, and I hope this wasn't just a freak game. I'm not sure I would say his defense was great, but it was very good considering he doesn't have great size and strength. Hopefully if he and Anderson keep showing some defensive aggression, and Splitter can improve his conditioning, the Spurs can get back to making life miserable for the other team.

[arakkus]

I agree with all your grades except Blair, I would have to give him an F.

Whether it was Gordon penetration, Griffin post moves, or Kaman standing jumper Blair seemed to be the guy they picked on consistently. The perimeter players seemed to be doing a decent job of funneling the players to help but Blair's help defense is non-existent. Add to that the fact that he doesn't seem to be grabbing us any extra rebounds or getting easy points near the basket its hard to see why he is deserving of a starting role at this point. However, I'll give Pop credit he is giving Blair a chance to prove himself over time. Yanking someone after a couple games can definately mess with your head. I'm pretty sure if this continues Blair will completely understand if he loses his starting role.

[The_Worlds_finest]

now the question: are the Spurs going to use this game as springboard or are they going to regress against the Suns. i know it's still early in the season, but i'd like to see this team build some confidence and build on this.

No such thing as early in the season. Spurs got off to a shit start last year giving up games to teams they should have beat. However that being said,

I like this team much better than last years reasons being;
-A young talented bench full of potential
-2nd year for Blair
-Finally a big in the paint behind Tim Duncan
-RJ fitting in!!!

Bring on the Suns!

[Spurs Brazil]

Gary Neal A+ Best perimeter defender. Rebounded. Shot it straight.

Neal D was impressive. We'll know he can shot but his D so far has been a great surprise. He moves his feet well and he's great in fight through screens.

RJ with another great game and Anderson solid once again

TP was good and TD played much better in the 2nd half

Tiago will be a big upgrade for our D

[ElNono]

I concur that Tiago P&R defense was :wow
Best I've seen on a big guy in a while.
Gary Neal continues to be fearless. He lets it fly and on defense he plays aggressive, even if he makes some rookie mistakes here and there (understandable).
Anderson is also starting to pick it up. I like how he cheats sometimes and stays baseline on defense waiting to contest at the rim. He's got caught a couple of times with 3 second defensive violations for doing that, but he will learn in time.
I liked what RJ brought to the table too, already pointed it out in another thread.

All in all, it was a step in the right direction. Granted, it was the Clippers, but on a night where the bench played as well, if not better, than the starters, you have to be happy.

[Pauleta14]

Neal is not a usual rookie, like Splitter, he learned a lot in europe, specialy defensively...

Let's wait a few games before drawing any conclusion, but he looks like another steal from our FO! (Chip Engeland?)

[SplitterHook]

Even thought he barely played with his team mates I expected Tiago to display great PnR, defensively and offensively and he showed it! C+ due to his lack of conditioning.

Neal was shooting really well. B-