Cry Havoc
01-30-2011, 10:14 PM
If you could look through a crystal ball in time at the beginning of the NBA season to see the records of each respective team on January 29th, and the Spurs were listed at 40-7, you would instantly have wondered how the Spurs managed to trade Matt Bonner for Kevin Durant. Instead, the Spurs are rolling along as the League nears the All-Star break, and with the Lakers surprising-slash-humorous loss to the lowly Kings (and Celtics!), now own 7.5 game lead in the Western Conference, with 35 games left in the season. This means the Spurs magic # to clinch the No. 1 seed stands at just 27 :hat. They are also incredibly on pace to go 39-3 at home this year. The meeting with the Rockets was a fantastic team performance that showed off the depth and ability of the Spurs team to put away opponents as soon as they hit a higher gear.
Player of the Game
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/gallery_images/photos/000/325/331/GYI0060057149_crop_450x500.jpg?1270713930
The Spurs are simply a different team when Manu Ginobili is confident and hitting his shots. Saturday Night was the 3rd game in a row where Manu has seemed like his old self. His shot is much calmer when he starts well, and tonight his 3 point shooting (4-6) was absolutely fantastic to see. Would anyone enjoy the ability to go back in time to see a prime Manu on the attack against Bruce Bowen? One of the most unguardable players in NBA history against one of the best defenders... it would be something special to watch. Manu's energy on offense was excellent, and it was commendable on defense as well, where Manu played passing lanes and generally made himself to be a nuisance to the Rockets. Manu scored nearly a point (22) per minute (30), and had 4 assists to go with only one turnover and a couple of steals. For his incredibly efficient play and tenacious mentality, Manu earns the Player of the Game award (his first since I started doing game grades) and an A+. We simply can't ask Manu to do more in only 30 minutes of play than he did tonight. 22 points + 4 assists on 11 shots. Awesome.
Starters
Tony Parker - B+ I'm sure there will be many questions as to why Tony got such a good grade for relatively mediocre stats. There is a very simple answer to this question: Tony Parker was the only Spurs player that mattered on offense in the first quarter. While every other Spur appeared to be in sleep mode as the game started, Parker came out looking to attack, penetrate, and dish the rock when he couldn't find any open looks. Point being, he changed the game for the Spurs, and if he doesn't have such a great first quarter, we might have been in a hole that would have been much tougher to dig ourselves out of. Parker is an elite point guard in this league if for no other reason than for the fact that he can put his entire team on his shoulders for extended periods of time. He also almost never flops (Hi, Chris Paul, you Juilliard graduate, you), which means that maybe one of these days refs will start giving him free throws for contact. Parker was also very aggressive on defense tonight, and I am surprised that he didn't ring up a single steal. 5 assists to go with one turnover means Parker produced at a very, very high rate, considering he also scored 17 points on 9 shots, and went 6-6 at the charity stripe.
Richard Jefferson - A+ Earlier in the season, this might have been just an A or an A- effort, but given RJs struggles, it was incredible to see him return to shooting form. All you really need to know about this game is that RJ shot 7-8 and made good decisions throughout the game on both sides of the court. I'm still not wild about his ability to fight through screens, but his lethality tonight was essential in just ruining the Rockets' day. RJ also played 31 minutes -- further highlighting how much balance we had in this game. 3 rebounds is a little low for him, but I'll take it with this kind of shooting. Perhaps if he keeps this up, RJ will be re-invited to Tim Duncan's D&D parties.
Tim Duncan - B- Duncan's effort was good against the Rockets, but the numbers just aren't there to put him at a higher grade. 12 points and 7 rebounds to go with 4 turnovers in a game that was close through three quarters is something I'd like to see increased a bit. However, I am absolutely convinced that Duncan still has IT on defense. As the season goes forward, he is beginning to be a complete pest inside for other teams, and I swear he's altering more shots per game than he was earlier in the season. The fact that Duncan's scoring is down isn't necessarily reflective of his decline; it's simply a function of the fact that the Spurs -- yes, the SPURS -- are so incredibly loaded on offense this year. Say that out loud. I mean it. Say, "The Spurs are loaded on offense." Feels pretty good and strange on the tongue, doesn't it?
DeJuan Blair - A This guy is rapidly becoming one of my favorite Spurs to ever step on the hardwood. Forget about the counter-hype we had when drafting him (Laker trolls would loooooove to have a guy willing to work this hard aside from Kobe) - he is a legitimate post player. Forget about the concern about his lack of size - Blair recorded 3 blocks this game, higher than anyone else on the court. Forget about the worry of his lack of range - Blair is showing a pretty damn good jumper, and he used it in the 4th. In fact, forget anything anyone has ever said about Blair - all you need to know is that recently, Blair is one of (if not THE) best big man on the court. Forget what I just said, as a matter of fact. 14 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks, 3 assists, and a steal to go with a ton of deflections. 6-12 shooting. You may miss Nazr, or Rasho, but only Malik had the kind of fire I see in Blair (and obviously D-Rob). If he can just settle down a little bit and stop rushing shots, he's going to be a fantastic player for the Spurs in the 2010s.
Bench (sorted by minutes)
George Hill - B+ To be honest, I'm going to give Hill a pretty good grade for almost any game in which he gets to the line 8 times. That kind of tenacity and willingness to attack the paint when Parker is sitting is going to be absolutely awesome when the Lakers try to guard Hill with Fisher (Ha) or Blake (HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA) in a potential Western Conference Final. Hill's addition to this group, and his subsequent rise in form, is the reason the Spurs have one of the best backcourts the NBA has seen in decades. I think Hill is quietly improving little by little every game. His cuts are sharper now, his defensive rotations are much more intelligent, and he is literally the perfect fit to the backcourt when Parker goes to the bench or when we need a stop. I swear with the way he's finishing these days, he's taking lessons from Tony as well.
Antonio McDyess - B I saw a lot of effort from McDyess. That said, only 4 rebounds means he's going to get docked a bit; even with the human suction cup DeJuan Blair on the court, we need Dice to use his size to get us possessions back from the other team. However, what Dice did, what I saw tonight was true offensive cohesion, and very little in the way of forced shots. Yes, Blair took a bad shot or two, but this was one of the first games of the season where I saw "the look" in our players eyes. I turned to T, and said, "We're about to blow them out." And sure enough, just minutes later the Spurs kicked it up into a higher gear and just left the Rockets in the dust. Dice is a fully functioning part of our gameplan now, and he picked up 2 blocks and 2 steals with an assist to go with it. It's kind of amazing to watch these guys play together: You could almost see Dice and other guys watching RJ and Manu go off, and saying, "Well, I'll just do what I can tonight and stay out of their way." Team chemistry... we haz it.
Gary Neal - D+ I didn't bold his name because all the above Spurs earned their time on the floor tonight, and Neal did not. He did play some pretty solid defense, but 1-7 shooting and 0-3 from downtown means he was a liability on the floor tonight. That said, I don't want him to stop shooting. Ever. He is our mini-Jax, and we need to feed mini-Jax the rock and tell him to fire away even if he's 0-15. Because he's eventually going to start hitting those threes, eventually Kobe's going to get pissed, start flailing around and yelling "Hey!" every three seconds, and then GHill will fold Kobe into a box and casually hand him to Phil Jackson. You watch. This guy is going to clutch it like hell at playoff time. I feel it in my bones.
Tiago Splitter - C At this point, I'm just happy to see Splitter get more time on the court. Best of all, I can see him really working out on the floor while he's there. He's just not mentally ready to play at the highest level. He misses cuts and switches on D, but he did record a couple of steals tonight to go with 3 points and three rebounds. I just wish Duncan would pull him aside when we have a couple games off (like, I don't know, NOW?) and show him how to go up strong against NBA bigs. Give him credit - he's really working, and trying on the court, he's just not there yet.
Quinn, Owens, Anderson - Three minutes apiece for these guys makes it impossible to grade them. At this point, I'm hoping Anderson can make it back to his previous level of play. Pop needs to tell our guys to get up by 30 in a half so he can play for an extended period of time.
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Gregg Popovich - A Popovich is a coaching machine this year. He has truly become a genius at managing minutes. Parker, Manu, and Duncan all recorded 30 or under tonight, and the team had just the right amount of energy to blow the Rockets out in the late 3rd and early 4th quarters. The Spurs played a complete game tonight, from the start of the first to the end of the 4th, and I really loved the effort out of our guys, particularly on defense, where everyone seems to be having more fun shutting down the opposition as the game goes on. 95 points to a top 5 offense in the league isn't so bad either. I might even watch the ASG with interest this year, just to see how Pop handles a team full of guys he doesn't regularly coach, and to see if he tears into anyone for not playing defense in a meaningless game :lol.
I know it's hard to think about, but since he doesn't wear a number, would it be possible to retire one of Pop's suits and hang it from the rafters when he's done coaching the Spurs? I'm serious. He's earned it.
Player of the Game
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/gallery_images/photos/000/325/331/GYI0060057149_crop_450x500.jpg?1270713930
The Spurs are simply a different team when Manu Ginobili is confident and hitting his shots. Saturday Night was the 3rd game in a row where Manu has seemed like his old self. His shot is much calmer when he starts well, and tonight his 3 point shooting (4-6) was absolutely fantastic to see. Would anyone enjoy the ability to go back in time to see a prime Manu on the attack against Bruce Bowen? One of the most unguardable players in NBA history against one of the best defenders... it would be something special to watch. Manu's energy on offense was excellent, and it was commendable on defense as well, where Manu played passing lanes and generally made himself to be a nuisance to the Rockets. Manu scored nearly a point (22) per minute (30), and had 4 assists to go with only one turnover and a couple of steals. For his incredibly efficient play and tenacious mentality, Manu earns the Player of the Game award (his first since I started doing game grades) and an A+. We simply can't ask Manu to do more in only 30 minutes of play than he did tonight. 22 points + 4 assists on 11 shots. Awesome.
Starters
Tony Parker - B+ I'm sure there will be many questions as to why Tony got such a good grade for relatively mediocre stats. There is a very simple answer to this question: Tony Parker was the only Spurs player that mattered on offense in the first quarter. While every other Spur appeared to be in sleep mode as the game started, Parker came out looking to attack, penetrate, and dish the rock when he couldn't find any open looks. Point being, he changed the game for the Spurs, and if he doesn't have such a great first quarter, we might have been in a hole that would have been much tougher to dig ourselves out of. Parker is an elite point guard in this league if for no other reason than for the fact that he can put his entire team on his shoulders for extended periods of time. He also almost never flops (Hi, Chris Paul, you Juilliard graduate, you), which means that maybe one of these days refs will start giving him free throws for contact. Parker was also very aggressive on defense tonight, and I am surprised that he didn't ring up a single steal. 5 assists to go with one turnover means Parker produced at a very, very high rate, considering he also scored 17 points on 9 shots, and went 6-6 at the charity stripe.
Richard Jefferson - A+ Earlier in the season, this might have been just an A or an A- effort, but given RJs struggles, it was incredible to see him return to shooting form. All you really need to know about this game is that RJ shot 7-8 and made good decisions throughout the game on both sides of the court. I'm still not wild about his ability to fight through screens, but his lethality tonight was essential in just ruining the Rockets' day. RJ also played 31 minutes -- further highlighting how much balance we had in this game. 3 rebounds is a little low for him, but I'll take it with this kind of shooting. Perhaps if he keeps this up, RJ will be re-invited to Tim Duncan's D&D parties.
Tim Duncan - B- Duncan's effort was good against the Rockets, but the numbers just aren't there to put him at a higher grade. 12 points and 7 rebounds to go with 4 turnovers in a game that was close through three quarters is something I'd like to see increased a bit. However, I am absolutely convinced that Duncan still has IT on defense. As the season goes forward, he is beginning to be a complete pest inside for other teams, and I swear he's altering more shots per game than he was earlier in the season. The fact that Duncan's scoring is down isn't necessarily reflective of his decline; it's simply a function of the fact that the Spurs -- yes, the SPURS -- are so incredibly loaded on offense this year. Say that out loud. I mean it. Say, "The Spurs are loaded on offense." Feels pretty good and strange on the tongue, doesn't it?
DeJuan Blair - A This guy is rapidly becoming one of my favorite Spurs to ever step on the hardwood. Forget about the counter-hype we had when drafting him (Laker trolls would loooooove to have a guy willing to work this hard aside from Kobe) - he is a legitimate post player. Forget about the concern about his lack of size - Blair recorded 3 blocks this game, higher than anyone else on the court. Forget about the worry of his lack of range - Blair is showing a pretty damn good jumper, and he used it in the 4th. In fact, forget anything anyone has ever said about Blair - all you need to know is that recently, Blair is one of (if not THE) best big man on the court. Forget what I just said, as a matter of fact. 14 points, 12 boards, 3 blocks, 3 assists, and a steal to go with a ton of deflections. 6-12 shooting. You may miss Nazr, or Rasho, but only Malik had the kind of fire I see in Blair (and obviously D-Rob). If he can just settle down a little bit and stop rushing shots, he's going to be a fantastic player for the Spurs in the 2010s.
Bench (sorted by minutes)
George Hill - B+ To be honest, I'm going to give Hill a pretty good grade for almost any game in which he gets to the line 8 times. That kind of tenacity and willingness to attack the paint when Parker is sitting is going to be absolutely awesome when the Lakers try to guard Hill with Fisher (Ha) or Blake (HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA) in a potential Western Conference Final. Hill's addition to this group, and his subsequent rise in form, is the reason the Spurs have one of the best backcourts the NBA has seen in decades. I think Hill is quietly improving little by little every game. His cuts are sharper now, his defensive rotations are much more intelligent, and he is literally the perfect fit to the backcourt when Parker goes to the bench or when we need a stop. I swear with the way he's finishing these days, he's taking lessons from Tony as well.
Antonio McDyess - B I saw a lot of effort from McDyess. That said, only 4 rebounds means he's going to get docked a bit; even with the human suction cup DeJuan Blair on the court, we need Dice to use his size to get us possessions back from the other team. However, what Dice did, what I saw tonight was true offensive cohesion, and very little in the way of forced shots. Yes, Blair took a bad shot or two, but this was one of the first games of the season where I saw "the look" in our players eyes. I turned to T, and said, "We're about to blow them out." And sure enough, just minutes later the Spurs kicked it up into a higher gear and just left the Rockets in the dust. Dice is a fully functioning part of our gameplan now, and he picked up 2 blocks and 2 steals with an assist to go with it. It's kind of amazing to watch these guys play together: You could almost see Dice and other guys watching RJ and Manu go off, and saying, "Well, I'll just do what I can tonight and stay out of their way." Team chemistry... we haz it.
Gary Neal - D+ I didn't bold his name because all the above Spurs earned their time on the floor tonight, and Neal did not. He did play some pretty solid defense, but 1-7 shooting and 0-3 from downtown means he was a liability on the floor tonight. That said, I don't want him to stop shooting. Ever. He is our mini-Jax, and we need to feed mini-Jax the rock and tell him to fire away even if he's 0-15. Because he's eventually going to start hitting those threes, eventually Kobe's going to get pissed, start flailing around and yelling "Hey!" every three seconds, and then GHill will fold Kobe into a box and casually hand him to Phil Jackson. You watch. This guy is going to clutch it like hell at playoff time. I feel it in my bones.
Tiago Splitter - C At this point, I'm just happy to see Splitter get more time on the court. Best of all, I can see him really working out on the floor while he's there. He's just not mentally ready to play at the highest level. He misses cuts and switches on D, but he did record a couple of steals tonight to go with 3 points and three rebounds. I just wish Duncan would pull him aside when we have a couple games off (like, I don't know, NOW?) and show him how to go up strong against NBA bigs. Give him credit - he's really working, and trying on the court, he's just not there yet.
Quinn, Owens, Anderson - Three minutes apiece for these guys makes it impossible to grade them. At this point, I'm hoping Anderson can make it back to his previous level of play. Pop needs to tell our guys to get up by 30 in a half so he can play for an extended period of time.
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Gregg Popovich - A Popovich is a coaching machine this year. He has truly become a genius at managing minutes. Parker, Manu, and Duncan all recorded 30 or under tonight, and the team had just the right amount of energy to blow the Rockets out in the late 3rd and early 4th quarters. The Spurs played a complete game tonight, from the start of the first to the end of the 4th, and I really loved the effort out of our guys, particularly on defense, where everyone seems to be having more fun shutting down the opposition as the game goes on. 95 points to a top 5 offense in the league isn't so bad either. I might even watch the ASG with interest this year, just to see how Pop handles a team full of guys he doesn't regularly coach, and to see if he tears into anyone for not playing defense in a meaningless game :lol.
I know it's hard to think about, but since he doesn't wear a number, would it be possible to retire one of Pop's suits and hang it from the rafters when he's done coaching the Spurs? I'm serious. He's earned it.