Cry Havoc
01-22-2011, 12:45 AM
http://images.buddytv.com/articles/movies/maximgladrev.jpg
Are you not entertained? The Spurs finally got revenge on the Knicks Friday night. After a back and forth first quarter, the Spurs took the lead with 8:02 to play in the 2nd quarter and never relinquished it, playing several tiers of defense better than the atrocious 128 points they gave up on their January 4th meeting. But it wasn't easy. Despite excellent defense for most of the game, especially in the post, the Knicks shot a tick under 38% for the game yet the Spurs could never quite put them away. Some timely drives by Raymond Felton, and a few questionable officiating calls kept the Knicks hanging around until late in the 4th, when the Phalanx of Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson finally roused from hibernation to sink the final gladius into the backs of their foes, propelling the Spurs to a 37-6 record.
Player of the Game:
http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/310541/tim-duncan-hug-ball-425.jpg
"At my signal, unleash hell!" Tim Duncan is absolutely still one of the best big men in the NBA on any given night, and he gave the Knicks his own personal brand of perdition Friday night. With a staggering series of blocks, alterations, and brilliant feeds, Tim Duncan was everywhere and everything for the Spurs tonight. When he is in this mode, it is simply a joy to watch, because perhaps no one in the NBA can completely shut down a post in the NBA quite like Tim. Duncan's stat line is blistering: 21 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks, and just 2 turnovers. However, stats don't begin to tell the story here, or the level of dominance that Duncan was showing. His assists were all over the place, from beautiful interior passes through a double to Blair to kick outs, Duncan controlled this game. Despite being hit in the face repeatedly (with no foul being called), Duncan put his head down and took Amare, Turiaf, and whoever was guarding him to school, rather than losing focus. Tonight might not be his best game of the season statistically speaking, but it was vintage Duncan, a game where his dominance isn't up in your face, but instead a kind of subtle, sublime control, a systematic demolition where you get the sense that Duncan is just simply on another level than anyone else on the court, something only the all-time greats seem to have. His numerous tap outs and constant defensive prowess in the face of physical play and questionable calls earn Timmy an A+, and the player of the game award. :lobt:
Starters
Tony Parker A - The Spurs simply lose tonight if it wasn't for the efforts of Tony Parker. Rocking back on their heels as the Knicks closed to within 4 in the final quarter, San Antonio got a huge boost from Tony's presence on the court. He came off the bench and immediately hit a teardrop, then a jumper a minute or two later. This is the kind of game I simply love to see from him, because it shows how much he has matured as a player, and how in tune with the Spurs he is. Tony saw the Spurs were struggling, and simply took the game into his hands until the lead was restored and the defense was re-established. Tony is not a rookie anymore, folks, he is a veteran player who is doing exactly what he needs to get his team a W. Tony started the game hitting his first 6 shots, and finishing 9-14 overall to score 21 points, tied for a team high with Duncan. His 13 dimes also tied for his highest total since the 26th of December. Tony did have 6 turnovers, which is less than ideal, but his leadership tonight when his team needed some buckets was simply invaluable, and his night-in night-out shooting of over 50% is a testament to how good of a finisher he is. In a physical game, Tony just doesn't back down, and he scored a big punch in the 4th tonight that the Knicks never recovered from.
Manu Ginobili D+ - In many ways, this was one of Manu's worst games of the season. He shot just 5-18 from the field, and took a number of ill-advised shots that were blocked or just missed. However, Manu and RJ combined in the 4th quarter after Parker's surge, and took the Knicks physical defense apart. So, despite the struggles, Manu stayed in attack mode, and that's exactly the kind of confidence the Spurs want to see from him, because this team is all the better when Manu is pulling the trigger and making the defense scared of him. Having said that, Manu might want to start thinking about making his 3s, because he is just 2-18 from behind the arc in the last 4 games. Still, the Spurs are a better team with Manu, even if he isn't hitting his shots, just because of the havoc he causes on the court. Manu has now made 44 free throws in a row over his last 9 games.
*Editor's note* I've been informed my fiancee that I must give Manu an A++ for effort tonight, so there's that.
Richard Jefferson C- - Here I was all set to give RJ his first F of the season, and he decides, "Hey, maybe I should just dunk this alley-oop and then get some rebounds." RJ was non-existent for the first three quarters, but he showed confidence and poise in the late 3rd/4th quarters, scoring 6 points and hauling in 7 rebounds, on a night when we needed every board we could get. His influence helped the Spurs right the ship when the Knicks looked set to make a run, and the Spurs can only hope he'll continue to show no hesitancy to move well off the ball in the future. RJ played pretty decent defense tonight as well, recovering from screens and keeping hands up against shots.
DeJuan Blair A+ - Warning to all NBA teams: The Spurs Twin Towers are back. Well, okay, so it's more like a skyscraper and a large apartment building, but DeJuan Blair has officially begun playing out of his mind. Over the past 4 games, DeJuan Blair has produced 15+ points, 10+ boards averages, and tonight he kicked it up a notch with 18 and 13 and 4 steals with 3 blocks. Oh yeah, and there was the minor fact that DeJuan Blair completely outplayed Amar'''''e Stoudemire. In fact, Amare was so discouraged by Blair's defense that he became little more than a jump shooter for much of the 2nd half. Anytime you reduce one of the most explosive post players in the league to JJ freaking Redick, it's an accomplishment. It must be heartening for Popovich to see Blair play this way, this consistently, because it gives the Spurs talent under the hoop that they have not had since David Robinson was in his prime playing with a young Duncan. Blair gets a special mention, because not only is he scoring in volume, he's doing it efficiently as well: Over his last 4 games, Blair is shooting 64% from the field. Due to his amazing interior athleticism, I have given him the new nickname of "Sexy Time". :lol
Bench
Gary Neal B- - Neal continues to struggle from the field. He shot 4-11 tonight. However, he ended up playing 33 minutes -- partially due to George Hill's injured finger, and partially because he had a lot of energy and was running all over the court on defense. Neal was actively fighting through screens and staying on his man. Neal did shoot 2-5 from downtown, so firing away from distance is still encouraging. His ball movement tonight was decent, and I like to see Neal attacking, even if he's missing, the penetration makes the defense rotate to guard him, giving us mismatches inside. I have a feeling the Lakers are going to see a lot of this guy snapping his wrist in their faces in the playoffs, knocking down 3s as they are late to rotate on defense, leaving Phil shaking his head and muttering about how the officials shouldn't allow the other team to shoot 3s.
Antonio McDyess C - Dice has been playing so well lately, he gets a mulligan from me tonight. When Blair and Duncan are both going off, you really can't blame him for going scoreless. Instead, McDyess spent his energies on defense containing Amar'e (and every other Knick big) while guarding him/them. In all, every Spurs big played amazing post defense tonight, redirecting a ton of close-range shots, and overall collectively showing some of the best interior containment the team has played all season long. Dice hauled in 6 rebounds and also got a steal and a block.
Chris Quinn B- - I'll take this effort from Quinn, who came on the court in place of George Hill, and scored 5 points in 11 minutes. Quinn played within the offense and didn't really force anything, instead just giving the Spurs a solid presence on the court. It's good to know that Quinn can get the ball against a physical, pressuring team like the Knicks and still keep his cool.
Larry Owens B - Hey, what more can you say? 9 minutes on the court, but Owens hit a big three that got the whole team off the bench. Owens didn't turn the ball over while playing, and scored 4 points. He was an active body on a night the Spurs bench was depleted, and I have to smile at the Spurs front office picking up yet another asset to help us get a victory. It's tough to fit into a system, to say nothing of one as complex as the Spurs, so anything from Owens that he can give us is just great. :tu
Tiago Splitter A+ - According to the statline, he got 1 rebound in 0 minutes of action. That's not even mathematically possible, so he gets an A+ for being on pace for infinite rebounds over a 48 minute game.
Gregg Popovich A - Facing a tough Knicks team that absolutely did not want to lose, Popovich made good calls and put lineups on the floor that gave us the best chance to win. Giving Blair 42 minutes tonight was excellent, as I'm sure his confidence is soaring. Pop shows that he never stops coaching, as late in the game after it was over, he still ripped into Gary Neal for a missed rotation on D. Lesson to Spurs players: Never quit when you're on the court, lest ye awaken the Pop. Anytime you win against a +.500 team when you are without your two most productive bench scorers, it's a pretty good coaching job. Seems like Pop is tightening the noose on defense as the season goes on, as well. All positive signs as the Spurs have a legitimate shot to get 40 wins before the end of January. If he isn't the CotY, indeed giving one of the greatest coaching performances in NBA history, I don't know what is.
---
Note about grades: I'm aware that some people seem unhappy anytime a favorite player of theirs gets less than a B-. However, I'm attempting to be impartial here. Keep in mind that a "C" grade is what a player is supposed to accomplish on his court, given his minutes, talent level, and flow within the offense. Parker scoring 10 points will probably earn him a D, whereas Larry Owens getting 10 points will give him in the "A" range for the game, if he's equally competent in other areas. A "D" grade is not indicative of a player playing horribly -- just that they didn't play as well as their expectations of the season. If a player plays particularly well when the team needs it, or makes a spectacular momentum shifting play, he gets a bonus to his grade, which means you can actually play worse than your average and still end up with better than a C. These are my grades, and I am simply attempting to evaluate the team's performance and being as objective as possible. For instance, tonight the Spurs played excellent defense, so they all get higher grades than their offensive numbers would dictate. These grades are NOT based solely upon stats. This is long winded, but I felt it necessary to explain in greater detail how I am going to use the grading system, since there seemed to be a decent amount of commentary in the last thread about the system.
Are you not entertained? The Spurs finally got revenge on the Knicks Friday night. After a back and forth first quarter, the Spurs took the lead with 8:02 to play in the 2nd quarter and never relinquished it, playing several tiers of defense better than the atrocious 128 points they gave up on their January 4th meeting. But it wasn't easy. Despite excellent defense for most of the game, especially in the post, the Knicks shot a tick under 38% for the game yet the Spurs could never quite put them away. Some timely drives by Raymond Felton, and a few questionable officiating calls kept the Knicks hanging around until late in the 4th, when the Phalanx of Manu Ginobili and Richard Jefferson finally roused from hibernation to sink the final gladius into the backs of their foes, propelling the Spurs to a 37-6 record.
Player of the Game:
http://cdn2.sbnation.com/imported_assets/310541/tim-duncan-hug-ball-425.jpg
"At my signal, unleash hell!" Tim Duncan is absolutely still one of the best big men in the NBA on any given night, and he gave the Knicks his own personal brand of perdition Friday night. With a staggering series of blocks, alterations, and brilliant feeds, Tim Duncan was everywhere and everything for the Spurs tonight. When he is in this mode, it is simply a joy to watch, because perhaps no one in the NBA can completely shut down a post in the NBA quite like Tim. Duncan's stat line is blistering: 21 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 blocks, and just 2 turnovers. However, stats don't begin to tell the story here, or the level of dominance that Duncan was showing. His assists were all over the place, from beautiful interior passes through a double to Blair to kick outs, Duncan controlled this game. Despite being hit in the face repeatedly (with no foul being called), Duncan put his head down and took Amare, Turiaf, and whoever was guarding him to school, rather than losing focus. Tonight might not be his best game of the season statistically speaking, but it was vintage Duncan, a game where his dominance isn't up in your face, but instead a kind of subtle, sublime control, a systematic demolition where you get the sense that Duncan is just simply on another level than anyone else on the court, something only the all-time greats seem to have. His numerous tap outs and constant defensive prowess in the face of physical play and questionable calls earn Timmy an A+, and the player of the game award. :lobt:
Starters
Tony Parker A - The Spurs simply lose tonight if it wasn't for the efforts of Tony Parker. Rocking back on their heels as the Knicks closed to within 4 in the final quarter, San Antonio got a huge boost from Tony's presence on the court. He came off the bench and immediately hit a teardrop, then a jumper a minute or two later. This is the kind of game I simply love to see from him, because it shows how much he has matured as a player, and how in tune with the Spurs he is. Tony saw the Spurs were struggling, and simply took the game into his hands until the lead was restored and the defense was re-established. Tony is not a rookie anymore, folks, he is a veteran player who is doing exactly what he needs to get his team a W. Tony started the game hitting his first 6 shots, and finishing 9-14 overall to score 21 points, tied for a team high with Duncan. His 13 dimes also tied for his highest total since the 26th of December. Tony did have 6 turnovers, which is less than ideal, but his leadership tonight when his team needed some buckets was simply invaluable, and his night-in night-out shooting of over 50% is a testament to how good of a finisher he is. In a physical game, Tony just doesn't back down, and he scored a big punch in the 4th tonight that the Knicks never recovered from.
Manu Ginobili D+ - In many ways, this was one of Manu's worst games of the season. He shot just 5-18 from the field, and took a number of ill-advised shots that were blocked or just missed. However, Manu and RJ combined in the 4th quarter after Parker's surge, and took the Knicks physical defense apart. So, despite the struggles, Manu stayed in attack mode, and that's exactly the kind of confidence the Spurs want to see from him, because this team is all the better when Manu is pulling the trigger and making the defense scared of him. Having said that, Manu might want to start thinking about making his 3s, because he is just 2-18 from behind the arc in the last 4 games. Still, the Spurs are a better team with Manu, even if he isn't hitting his shots, just because of the havoc he causes on the court. Manu has now made 44 free throws in a row over his last 9 games.
*Editor's note* I've been informed my fiancee that I must give Manu an A++ for effort tonight, so there's that.
Richard Jefferson C- - Here I was all set to give RJ his first F of the season, and he decides, "Hey, maybe I should just dunk this alley-oop and then get some rebounds." RJ was non-existent for the first three quarters, but he showed confidence and poise in the late 3rd/4th quarters, scoring 6 points and hauling in 7 rebounds, on a night when we needed every board we could get. His influence helped the Spurs right the ship when the Knicks looked set to make a run, and the Spurs can only hope he'll continue to show no hesitancy to move well off the ball in the future. RJ played pretty decent defense tonight as well, recovering from screens and keeping hands up against shots.
DeJuan Blair A+ - Warning to all NBA teams: The Spurs Twin Towers are back. Well, okay, so it's more like a skyscraper and a large apartment building, but DeJuan Blair has officially begun playing out of his mind. Over the past 4 games, DeJuan Blair has produced 15+ points, 10+ boards averages, and tonight he kicked it up a notch with 18 and 13 and 4 steals with 3 blocks. Oh yeah, and there was the minor fact that DeJuan Blair completely outplayed Amar'''''e Stoudemire. In fact, Amare was so discouraged by Blair's defense that he became little more than a jump shooter for much of the 2nd half. Anytime you reduce one of the most explosive post players in the league to JJ freaking Redick, it's an accomplishment. It must be heartening for Popovich to see Blair play this way, this consistently, because it gives the Spurs talent under the hoop that they have not had since David Robinson was in his prime playing with a young Duncan. Blair gets a special mention, because not only is he scoring in volume, he's doing it efficiently as well: Over his last 4 games, Blair is shooting 64% from the field. Due to his amazing interior athleticism, I have given him the new nickname of "Sexy Time". :lol
Bench
Gary Neal B- - Neal continues to struggle from the field. He shot 4-11 tonight. However, he ended up playing 33 minutes -- partially due to George Hill's injured finger, and partially because he had a lot of energy and was running all over the court on defense. Neal was actively fighting through screens and staying on his man. Neal did shoot 2-5 from downtown, so firing away from distance is still encouraging. His ball movement tonight was decent, and I like to see Neal attacking, even if he's missing, the penetration makes the defense rotate to guard him, giving us mismatches inside. I have a feeling the Lakers are going to see a lot of this guy snapping his wrist in their faces in the playoffs, knocking down 3s as they are late to rotate on defense, leaving Phil shaking his head and muttering about how the officials shouldn't allow the other team to shoot 3s.
Antonio McDyess C - Dice has been playing so well lately, he gets a mulligan from me tonight. When Blair and Duncan are both going off, you really can't blame him for going scoreless. Instead, McDyess spent his energies on defense containing Amar'e (and every other Knick big) while guarding him/them. In all, every Spurs big played amazing post defense tonight, redirecting a ton of close-range shots, and overall collectively showing some of the best interior containment the team has played all season long. Dice hauled in 6 rebounds and also got a steal and a block.
Chris Quinn B- - I'll take this effort from Quinn, who came on the court in place of George Hill, and scored 5 points in 11 minutes. Quinn played within the offense and didn't really force anything, instead just giving the Spurs a solid presence on the court. It's good to know that Quinn can get the ball against a physical, pressuring team like the Knicks and still keep his cool.
Larry Owens B - Hey, what more can you say? 9 minutes on the court, but Owens hit a big three that got the whole team off the bench. Owens didn't turn the ball over while playing, and scored 4 points. He was an active body on a night the Spurs bench was depleted, and I have to smile at the Spurs front office picking up yet another asset to help us get a victory. It's tough to fit into a system, to say nothing of one as complex as the Spurs, so anything from Owens that he can give us is just great. :tu
Tiago Splitter A+ - According to the statline, he got 1 rebound in 0 minutes of action. That's not even mathematically possible, so he gets an A+ for being on pace for infinite rebounds over a 48 minute game.
Gregg Popovich A - Facing a tough Knicks team that absolutely did not want to lose, Popovich made good calls and put lineups on the floor that gave us the best chance to win. Giving Blair 42 minutes tonight was excellent, as I'm sure his confidence is soaring. Pop shows that he never stops coaching, as late in the game after it was over, he still ripped into Gary Neal for a missed rotation on D. Lesson to Spurs players: Never quit when you're on the court, lest ye awaken the Pop. Anytime you win against a +.500 team when you are without your two most productive bench scorers, it's a pretty good coaching job. Seems like Pop is tightening the noose on defense as the season goes on, as well. All positive signs as the Spurs have a legitimate shot to get 40 wins before the end of January. If he isn't the CotY, indeed giving one of the greatest coaching performances in NBA history, I don't know what is.
---
Note about grades: I'm aware that some people seem unhappy anytime a favorite player of theirs gets less than a B-. However, I'm attempting to be impartial here. Keep in mind that a "C" grade is what a player is supposed to accomplish on his court, given his minutes, talent level, and flow within the offense. Parker scoring 10 points will probably earn him a D, whereas Larry Owens getting 10 points will give him in the "A" range for the game, if he's equally competent in other areas. A "D" grade is not indicative of a player playing horribly -- just that they didn't play as well as their expectations of the season. If a player plays particularly well when the team needs it, or makes a spectacular momentum shifting play, he gets a bonus to his grade, which means you can actually play worse than your average and still end up with better than a C. These are my grades, and I am simply attempting to evaluate the team's performance and being as objective as possible. For instance, tonight the Spurs played excellent defense, so they all get higher grades than their offensive numbers would dictate. These grades are NOT based solely upon stats. This is long winded, but I felt it necessary to explain in greater detail how I am going to use the grading system, since there seemed to be a decent amount of commentary in the last thread about the system.