Grades: Spurs @ Thunder - Jan. 8

[timvp]

In a battle of a team playing the second game of a back-to-back (Spurs) and a team playing the third game of a back-to-back-to-back (Thunder), the young legs of Oklahoma City won out. While the contest was close early on, the reserves for the Thunder -- namely James Harden and Nick Collison -- quickly gave OKC a lead they would never relinquish.

San Antonio made a few runs in the middle quarters but the Thunder never truly lost control. For the Spurs, besides a porous defense, the aspect that doomed the team the most was poor point guard play.

Oklahoma City is undoubtedly a contender for the crown in the West. They have the talent and chemistry to get it done and it just seems like a matter of time before the Thunder reach the Finals.

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/9074/boxjan8.jpg

Tim Duncan B+
The brightest spot of the game to me was Tim Duncan's mobility. Playing on the fourth game in five days, Duncan moved quite well and was lively on both ends. Due to the compressed schedule, it's questionable whether Duncan can to hold up during the grind. His rebounding, specifically, was as good as we've seen this season.

Tony Parker D
I'm officially pushing the panic button on Tony Parker's scoring. After a 1-for-8 night, Parker is now shooting under 40% on the season. He's simply not getting to the rim as often as usual, and even when he gets to the hoop, he's not finishing well. Energy-wise, Parker was lacking -- which led to another poor defensive showing. While totaling seven assists and no turnovers in 25 minutes is commendable, the Spurs have to get scoring out of Parker with Manu Ginobili sidelined.

Richard Jefferson B+
I don't have much bad to say about Richard Jefferson tonight. He hit 3-of-4 three-pointers, attacked the basket a few times, played near flawless defense on Kevin Durant and played with a reasonable amount of effort. To nitpick, he only has one rebound in the last two games.

Gary Neal C+
In his return from injury, scoring hasn't been an issue. To begin this game, his shooting touch played a vital role in the Spurs keeping it close. That said, defensively Neal went from bad to worse this game. His individual defense was poor, his transition defense was slow and his help defense was worthless. Neal played point guard during garbage time ... and the results weren't too aesthetically pleasing. His ballhandling wasn't good and he wasn't getting the team into their sets.

DeJuan Blair B-
On defense, DeJuan Blair was really active. Unfortunately, about half the time that activity worked against him. Offensively, I thought Blair did well -- he matched the physicality of Kendrick Perkins and used his bulk against the athleticism of Serge Ibaka. Blair's night ended when Durant kneed him in the back of his leg, which is more worrisome with him due to Blair's knee injury history. Let's hope he's okay going forward.

Kawhi Leonard A-
Kawhi Leonard is still rough around the edges but we saw more signs tonight that he's starting to figure it out. Offensively, he was hesitant with his catch-and-shoot jumper but illustrated very nice touch off the dribble and in the paint. On defense, Leonard spent a lot of time defending Durant, and while he wasn't perfect, I thought Leonard did very good work. He's big enough to keep Durant off the block while being long and quick enough to challenge his shots. On the boards, Leonard continues to be phenomenal.

Daniel Green D+
This was your classic back-to-reality game for Danny Green. After playing out of this world last night, Green couldn't do much right against the Thunder. Defensively, he was very bad in his first run. When Green wasn't allowing penetration, he was sagging too much behind the screens. He also had a number of mistakes in transition defense. Offensively, while he had a couple slick passes, he missed his first five shots from the field and routinely forced the issue when he had nothing. Now we'll see what Green is made out of and if he can bounce back after this disappointing performance.

Tiago Splitter B+
Offensively, Tiago Splitter looked good. He was tricky yet physical and decisive most of the night. While I thought he bogged down the offense a bit sometimes by holding onto the ball too long, the Spurs can live with that as long as he's not being soft. On defense, Splitter protected the rim well -- although he wasn't very crisp on his rotations.

TJ Ford D-
As good as TJ Ford was in his last couple of outings, he was equally as bad tonight. A few of his old bad habits returned. Ford was calling his own number too often, turned the ball over too much and was otherwise wasting possessions by the bushel. On defense, Ford was also a major negative. Hopefully this was just a bump in the road.

Matt Bonner D+
While the team defense was really bad when Matt Bonner was on the court, he was often the one left holding the bag. For a stretch, it seemed like Bonner was involved in every defensive breakdown. On offense, he tried to do too much when his shot wasn't available. All in all, it was a night to forget for the Red Turtle.

James Anderson C+
Due to others playing poorly and the extended garbage time, James Anderson got some extended minutes against OKC. While he continues to miss a vast majority of his shots, I liked that he's playing with more confidence again. As long as he keeps shooting and keeps trying to make plays, he's a worthwhile prospect. Defensively, he was really bad at times but he did grab a few highly contested rebounds.

Ike Diogu D-
It's time to try again in the search for a fifth bigman. Ike Diogu made Cole Aldrich look like George Mikan on steroids.

Pop B-
There's not much Pop can do when his two point guards don't produce and there's no Ginobili. In the first half, I thought Splitter should have played more often, however he didn't make a difference when he got time in the second half. I do like how Pop threw Leonard into the Durant fire; those 34 minutes will do a world of good going forward.

[DPG21920]

:lol Manny.

[dylankerouac]

A good thing we can take from this game is that the OKC team that we played has been playing together for a number of years now, getting their chemistry up and at this point play very well together.

We can mostly say that about our first unit but our second unit is definitely still figuring it out. The first unit was also missing Ginobili. This was a good test for our guys and will show them what the playoffs will be like, especially against a dangerous OKC team.

[Blake]

Incredible how just a few very nice games can elevate expectations.

If C is considered "average", I think D+ is a bit harsh for Danny at this point.

[DPG21920]

I agree with your thoughts on Duncan and TP. Duncan looks pretty solid all things considered (better than I expected, but obviously past his prime). TP's level of finishing and scoring in general are very alarming even though it's early. But since he is the vital cog, it's definitely the cause for the majority of the stress.

I like that Neal is pretty much back and seems likely to avoid going the way of Mason at least on offense (which is what is more important for him). Overall the bench is fighting hard, providing versatility but without TP being an elite scorer/finisher the bench will only take you so far.

[DPG21920]

I agree with Blake as well. Danny struggled tonight, but he was guarding some elite perimeter guys and he still hit 3's, rebounded and had some good passes. He continues to be a pretty rare breed of a guy who can get you 1+ 3PT, 1+ STL & 1+ BLK while playing pretty good defense. Tonight wasn't great, but I think as far as his normal ceiling, he was C+

[dylankerouac]

I'm also tempted to say that any PG would be having trouble driving to the basket in a post TD prime-era. On top of that TD hasn't consistently played in the post this season, this may lead to TP needing to rework his game as Tim has worked on and been doing this season.

[dylankerouac]

Also, I think OKC has a very tall team sans Westbrook.

[spectator]

i would take the gary neal C+ any day over james anderson C+. at least he can hit his shots on offense. also, neal does not look as slow as anderson on defense.

still, ja is almost a rookie - let's hope he finds his groove sooner than later.

[hsxvvd]

When I read 34 minutes for Leonard I was hoping he spent a lot of that time on Durant... great move by Pop to give him an early test.

[dylankerouac]

I agree with Blake as well. Danny struggled tonight, but he was guarding some elite perimeter guys and he still hit 3's, rebounded and had some good passes. He continues to be a pretty rare breed of a guy who can get you 1+ 3PT, 1+ STL & 1+ BLK while playing pretty good defense. Tonight wasn't great, but I think as far as his normal ceiling, he was C+

Except his 2 3's were in the last 3 minutes or so against scrub defenders.

[spectator]

Except his 2 3's were in the last 3 minutes or so against scrub defenders.

true - very little pressure to make those shots; the game was already blown out

[DPG21920]

Sure, but shots are shots and he's been making his 3's all year (and even in limited minutes last year).

[dylankerouac]

Thanks for posting Timvp. Despite the blowout in the first three quarters I was looking forward to your write-up as usual.

[timvp]

Danny struggled tonight, but he was guarding some elite perimeter guys and he still hit 3's, rebounded and had some good passes.

I gave him credit for his passes but he was the worst defender on the court during his first stint out on the court. For a defensive specialist, that is unacceptable no matter the expectations. And "still hit 3's"? Those threes came with less than two minutes to go in what had become glorified practice.

If Green played like this the first game of the season, I would have given him a C-. After the last few games, there should be at least some expectations given to the new 6th man.

[DPG21920]

I gave him credit for his passes but he was the worst defender on the court during his first stint out on the court. For a defensive specialist, that is unacceptable no matter the expectations. And "still hit 3's"? Those threes came with less than two minutes to go in what had become glorified practice.

If Green played like this the first game of the season, I would have given him a C-. After the last few games, there should be at least some expectations given to the new 6th man.

I guess we just view him differently. He's still a role player and he is still learning this new found role. Yes, he's there to defend and didn't do well, but he didn't let that impact the rest of his game too badly (rebounded well, passed well) and even showed a few more things (passing) and I think that is important for guys like him and warrants a higher grade. He still did some useful stuff although I agree his main job is to defend and he failed at that.

[ElNono]

IMO, TP's struggles can be directly attributed to Bonner's reduced minutes this season.

As we all know by now, the reduced floor-spreading causes Tony not to be able to find the lanes inside to exploit.

So I wouldn't worry too much about it. CIA Pop clearly is saving the best for last, so when Matty goes back to his larger role, TP's performance should increase accordingly.

[SenorSpur]

The Thunder seemed to break the game open on a succession of Spurs defensive miscues. They repeatedly isolated the Spurs bigs in pick-n-roll situations and either beat them off the dribble or kicked out to open shooters. It seems that when the Thunder missed on dribble drive penetrations to the hoop, there was usually a Thunder teammate there to clean up the mess with a timely putback.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are crippled on the frontline because they're really playing with 3 bigs (Duncan, Splitter and Blair - Bonner doesn't count). The Spurs were getting minimal points in the paint and, at least of this game, couldn't keep the young Thunder out of the lane.

The lack of an interior paint presence, on both ends - but especially on the defensive end - was really alarming. Of course, it's a wart that has been exposed in the past two playoffs. It's only getting progressively worse.

[Ice009]

Games like this that are on the road is a good time to watch the young guys play and see who performs the best. Young players playing well on the road is a lot more impressive to me than when they have a big game at home. It takes mental toughness to perform well on the road, which is something you need in the playoffs if you're going to go anywhere.

I think Kawhi was the best out of all the young guys and didn't seem to get rattled. He definitely stood out to me. He played decent defense for his first time guarding Kevin Durant. Rebounded great again and was looking more aggressive on offense too.

JA - I don't even know if this guy is a good shooter. Can anyone clarify? To me he seems like he might be a scorer that needs volume shots to get into a shooting rhythm, so I don't think he is that good of a shooter. Last season he looked a lot better on defense than this season so not sure what has happened there?

Danny Green - may have been a little tired as Pop rode him hard in the previous three homes games playing most of the 4th quarter in each one. Didn't expect him to play as good as he did at home on the road, but he was a non factor. The next few games are going to be important for Danny. We'll see what kind of player he is from how he bounces back from this game.

Another big (no pun intended) problem is that OKCs 4th or 5th big seems better than our third big. Ike Diogu looks like total trash. I don't understand what kind of players Pop is looking for to bolster the depth on our front line? Can anyone tell me wtf the Spurs are looking for in a big man?

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Ice009 - I can tell you that we're scraping the bottom of the barrel trying to find a big because there simply aren't any decent ones left out there. Maybe we could try and flip JA or Green for a 5th big from another team? But then again, with Manu out that might not be wise. Maybe we'll do so at the deadline.

I don't like Ike any more. Not after being pantsed at both ends by Cole Aldrich. Looks like the knee surgery has destroyed any agility he once had. Now we know why the Clippers passed. Bye bye, Ike.

[Spursfanfromafar]

The first game I have seen on air since the lockout. And whatever happened to the Tony Parker that I knew?!. Shocking, his decline as a scorer. Hopefully it is just some fatigue/getting into shape issue that he will sort out. Or else, he loses his USP - that of a "scoring easily in the paint" Point Guard.

[RodNIc91]

Thanks for the post timvp.

Its getting maddening to the point of sickness every time Boner steps in the court. He made Collison look like the second coming of Chris Mullin. Im not sure he has trade value anymore. Our big rotation is a joke aside Duncan and perhaps Splitter.

As for Parker, hopefully anyone has a better point of view than mine on this but Im getting worried TP has reached his ceiling while regressing his play. This does not look like a player in his prime. Correct me if Im mistaken but eventhough Parker's jumper has been falling (ocasionally) his form is back to his old way making him easier to defend. He is also lacking in playing sound basic offensive basketball like not receiving in triple threat form. Its giving me RJ memories back from 09. Does he need pop to sit with him 101 again as he did with Jefferson? Does he need from Chip Engelland again? Dont get me wrong, I don't expect (anymore) Parker reaching elite status as far as a playmaker, or a clutch performer or anything ginobili-level but I'm aware now that in order to win a championship we need a difference maker like Chandler was to Dallas. Who more capable than our own star?

[Fireball]

Just watched the game ... I screamed out loud (again) as Splitter left the court and Bonner stayed on the floor. Bonner got burned on every possession ... making Nick Collison look like Pau Gasol ... thats where the game went away

[ElNono]

Just watched the game ... I screamed out loud (again) as Splitter left the court and Bonner stayed on the floor. Bonner got burned on every possession ... making Nick Collison look like Pau Gasol ... thats where the game went away

Nonsense. His 34.3 Dotbr (Defensive off the ball ranking) is off the charts, despite what you see. Your TV is lying to you, imagine that.

[SenorSpur]

Games like this that are on the road is a good time to watch the young guys play and see who performs the best. Young players playing well on the road is a lot more impressive to me than when they have a big game at home. It takes mental toughness to perform well on the road, which is something you need in the playoffs if you're going to go anywhere.

I think Kawhi was the best out of all the young guys and didn't seem to get rattled. He definitely stood out to me. He played decent defense for his first time guarding Kevin Durant. Rebounded great again and was looking more aggressive on offense too.

JA - I don't even know if this guy is a good shooter. Can anyone clarify? To me he seems like he might be a scorer that needs volume shots to get into a shooting rhythm, so I don't think he is that good of a shooter. Last season he looked a lot better on defense than this season so not sure what has happened there?

Danny Green - may have been a little tired as Pop rode him hard in the previous three homes games playing most of the 4th quarter in each one. Didn't expect him to play as good as he did at home on the road, but he was a non factor. The next few games are going to be important for Danny. We'll see what kind of player he is from how he bounces back from this game.

Another big (no pun intended) problem is that OKCs 4th or 5th big seems better than our third big. Ike Diogu looks like total trash. I don't understand what kind of players Pop is looking for to bolster the depth on our front line? Can anyone tell me wtf the Spurs are looking for in a big man?

That is a definite truism. The Thunder has already surgically carved up the Spurs frontline with their first 4 bigs, with Collison doing the most repeated damage. Aldrich simply added more insult to injury, as he made Ike look like Bonner. With their depleted, undersized and underskilled frontline, the Spurs are playing at a decisive disadvantage on most nights. At first glance, one would think they're shorthanded on the frontline, until you realize that crew is all they've got - and it's doubtful much will change this year.

[jason1301]

TP simply can't carry this team. What ppl don't realize that the basketball mileage on his body is not that of a typical 29 year old NBA player. Tony turned pro in Europe at the age of 16 --which explains that he played so good and adjusted to the NBA at an early age, similar to what R. Rubio does now.

He 'll play better later this season, but I don't have my hopes up. I don't think we 'll see Tony from '07 or '09.

[will_spurs]

I think you're a bit easy on Duncan with a B+, he was VERY average in that game, the only positive being that he defended the rim better than any other Spur (which is not a surprise, unfortunately).

Leonard was doing great, the best Spur for me yesterday, very active on D yet getting some offense going too, which is important. Remember that you said you didn't see how he could ever contribute offensively at the beginning of the season. He is really exceeding expectations.

[TDMVPDPOY]

TP simply can't carry this team. What ppl don't realize that the basketball mileage on his body is not that of a typical 29 year old NBA player. Tony turned pro in Europe at the age of 16 --which explains that he played so good and adjusted to the NBA at an early age, similar to what R. Rubio does now.

He 'll play better later this season, but I don't have my hopes up. I don't think we 'll see Tony from '07 or '09.

lol a bunch of excuses, euroball they only play once a week...yeh alot of mileage...lol

[analyzed]

Kawhi hasn't taken a shot from 3 in the last 2 games. Yet his offense has been the best these past 2 games. I think he is figuring it out, although Spurs SF typically are asked to hit the corner three, there are other way to contribute. His defense on Durant is one of the best I've seen from a Spur. while his rebounding is just special as a SF. At this point come playoff time he is our 4th best big and best perimeter defender. So without question he will get his minutes.
If you're looking to rebuild for the future, you've got to look at Anderson , RJ and to lesser extent Tony as possible trading piecess. Contrary to what people might think the trade value of Parker isn't high. I think lottery bound teams woud'nt trade their first pick for any of the 3 players. Tony included. So based on what you can get in return , i think it's still best to keep Tony in regardless if he has lost a step or so, With our dept in the wings, especially when Manu returns before the trade deadline I think either Anderson or RJ become expendable for a trade. I don't expect much in return , maybe a serviceble big at best or a low or mid level 1st round pick.

[mingus]

As long as we win the home games we'll be good in the span Manu is out. We had 0 chance of winning this game. Hopefully we can steal at least a handful on the road against the lesser teams.

[quentin_compson]

IMO, TP's struggles can be directly attributed to Bonner's reduced minutes this season.

As we all know by now, the reduced floor-spreading causes Tony not to be able to find the lanes inside to exploit.

So I wouldn't worry too much about it. CIA Pop clearly is saving the best for last, so when Matty goes back to his larger role, TP's performance should increase accordingly.

Careful there, some people might take that as a valid point. :lol

Watching Bonner getting destroyed by Collison was sad, but also hilarious at times.
I wouldn't worry too much about the bad games Green and TJ had - they were both due one, so to speak. If TJ was playing every game like he did against Denver, he wouldn't be a backup PG ...
Leonard looks like he might become one of the better defenders against Durant in this league, which is quite something.

Yeah, watching TP is not a nice thing to do these days. I hope it's just a matter of him needing to get his legs back.

As for the Thunder, they are legit and will be the ones coming out of the West sooner rather than later.

[benefactor]

My favorite part of the game was during a free throw that was missed...Bonner simply backed out of the way and let Collison tip it back in. It had to be the worst block out in the history of basketball.

[ManuTastic]

On offense, this game was Regression to the Mean + Tired Legs. Meh, I'm not too unhappy and definitely not surprised, OKC's a better team anyway.
On defense, the problem is deeper and more intransigent: our bigs can't protect the rim. Christ what I wouldn't give to see Ibaka in a Spurs uni...

[Bruno]

It's a logical loss. A healthy Thunder team is better than an healthy Spurs team and Spurs aren't healthy.

Saying that, Parker needs to play way better and Spurs FO likely needs to waive Diogu and try another bigman.

[therealtruth]

On offense, this game was Regression to the Mean + Tired Legs. Meh, I'm not too unhappy and definitely not surprised, OKC's a better team anyway.
On defense, the problem is deeper and more intransigent: our bigs can't protect the rim. Christ what I wouldn't give to see Ibaka in a Spurs uni...

Duncan and Splitter need to start together. That's our best option as far as rim protection. The Spurs need a fifth big Blair can play with off the bench.

[Fireball]

Nonsense. His 34.3 Dotbr (Defensive off the ball ranking) is off the charts, despite what you see. Your TV is lying to you, imagine that.

You got me thinking ... for about 0.583 seconds

[quentin_compson]

My favorite part of the game was during a free throw that was missed...Bonner simply backed out of the way and let Collison tip it back in. It had to be the worst block out in the history of basketball.

Yeah, that was brutal. But what can you do against Dwight "Shaq" Collsion?

[SenorSpur]

T.J. really morphed into the player I thought we would see when he signed. He looked far more to get himself going, than getting the Spurs into their offensive sets. Give the Thunder some credit, their length and defense really limited his penetrations and clearly bothered him. Ford compounded his problems by dribbling too much, too.

[Darkwaters]

It's a logical loss. A healthy Thunder team is better than an healthy Spurs team and Spurs aren't healthy.

Saying that, Parker needs to play way better and Spurs FO likely needs to waive Diogu and try another bigman.

So we've changed from a revolving wing player to a revolving bigman. Well, at least the wings look way better.

On a side note, did Gani Lawal officially sign overseas yet?

[cheguevara]

LMAO how the fuck does Bonner not get an F?

[sananspursfan21]

this game was hard to watch live :/ thunder fans are louder than mile high

[wildbill2u]

The Thunder seemed to break the game open on a succession of Spurs defensive miscues. They repeatedly isolated the Spurs bigs in pick-n-roll situations and either beat them off the dribble or kicked out to open shooters. It seems that when the Thunder missed on dribble drive penetrations to the hoop, there was usually a Thunder teammate there to clean up the mess with a timely putback.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are crippled on the frontline because they're really playing with 3 bigs (Duncan, Splitter and Blair - Bonner doesn't count). The Spurs were getting minimal points in the paint and, at least of this game, couldn't keep the young Thunder out of the lane.

The lack of an interior paint presence, on both ends - but especially on the defensive end - was really alarming. Of course, it's a wart that has been exposed in the past two playoffs. It's only getting progressively worse.

As TimVP said, many times our bigs --and especially Bonner-- were left holding the bag on the pick and roll by TP. When our bigs tried to recover they were way behind the Denver guys. During the halftime I asked on the game blod if anyone else was seeing what I was seeing about TP's absolute disinterest in defending the P&R. I didn't use the phrase 'left holding the bag" but this was just what was happening to our bigs with Parker's failure to switch or put any effort into the defense.

As Pop often says, you can't control your offense sometimes when the shots won't fall, but you can contribute by putting out the effort on defense. Parker looks like a guy who's given up on the season with Manu out.

[Dex]

DeJuan Blair B-
On defense, DeJuan Blair was really active. Unfortunately, about half the time that activity worked against him. Offensively, I thought Blair did well -- he matched the physicality of Kendrick Perkins and used his bulk against the athleticism of Serge Ibaka. Blair's night ended when Durant kneed him in the back of his leg, which is more worrisome with him due to Blair's knee injury history. Let's hope he's okay going forward.

I immediately thought about Blair's knees when he went down and started limping around the court. Fortunately, when he was talking to the trainers on the bench, he seemed to be grabbing and motioning toward his calf, not his knee, so I think he'll be okay (in relative terms, anyways).

[ace3g]

I immediately thought about Blair's knees when he went down and started limping around the court. Fortunately, when he was talking to the trainers on the bench, he seemed to be grabbing and motioning toward his calf, not his knee, so I think he'll be okay (in relative terms, anyways).

KNEED REST: Blair and point guard Tony Parker left the game in the second half after each taking a knee to the back of the leg.

Both were sore and bruised but could have played had the game still been in reach. Barring a setback, both said they would be ready for Tuesday’s game at Milwaukee.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2012/01/08/spurs-rookie-gets-trial-by-durant%E2%80%99s-fire/

[DMC]

The Spurs won't win many game 2s of a b2b. Shocker. No one predicted that.