Grades: Spurs vs. Nuggets - Mar. 4

[timvp]

In a game that featured plenty of physical play and numerous intense moments, the Nuggets came into San Antonio and escaped with a well-deserved 99-94 victory. The Spurs, despite a number of runs, could never get over the hump and lost their third home game of the season.

While Denver never trailed, that fact doesn't give justice to the closeness of this game. The Spurs got off to an agonizingly slow start offensively, which allowed the Nuggets to build a 16-point lead in the second quarter. But the Spurs came storming back and got within a point before going heading into intermission down by four points.

In the third quarter, the Spurs tied it early but then their offense stalled again -- and the Nuggets took advantage by going up by seven points about midway through the period. From then on, San Antonio's deficit remained between two and seven points until late in the game.

With the Spurs down by five and less than two minutes remaining, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan scored at the rim to make it a one-point deficit. But Ty Lawson hit a twenty-footer with ten seconds remaining and then Gary Neal missed a three-pointer that could have tied the game.

As a Spurs fan, there are two ways to look at this game. Glass half full: The Spurs had everyone active and available for the first time this season and thus growing pains are expected as everyone reacclimates. Glass half empty: The Spurs dropped a winnable game against a shorthanded Nuggets team due to various miscues.

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Tim Duncan B-
Prior to the game, Tim Duncan was a question-mark due to flu-like symptoms. He ended up playing and he was a rather active participant. On offense, I thought he was hurting the team early on. He held the ball too long, took a couple questionable shots and played a big part in the lack of ball-movement. As the game progressed, Duncan eventually settled into a more appropriate role that saw him finishing plays rather than initiating plays. Defensively, he was about average. While he protected the rim well, rebounded well and defended the post well, his lateral movement was lacking and he wasn't offering much help against pick-and-rolls. Interesting note: Duncan had 11 dunks all season prior to this game but tonight alone he had four dunks. He must jump higher when he's sick.

Manu Ginobili B+
In his latest return to action, Manu Ginobili looked better than expected. He seemed to be in much better shape than when he returned from his broken hand. Athletically, he wasn't 100% but he looked surprisingly close. On defense, the Nuggets attacked him a number of times but they didn't have much success; Ginobili wasn't great on defense but he wasn't a liability. Offensively, he took advantage of his touches. His passing was really good and he knocked down his first two looks from three-point land. Both of Ginobili's two-pointers got blocked but he showed decent enough burst to the rim. Let's hope he can remain healthy and he is soon ready to take on a much larger role.

Tony Parker B-
To begin the game, I thought Tony Parker once again let his guard down. A couple times this season, it seems like he relaxes a bit when Ginobili is available -- and that hurt the Spurs tonight. With Parker passive, the Nuggets built their 16-point lead. But once Parker went to work -- his first points came on a basket five minutes into the second quarter -- he was really good. He had 25 points in his final 26 minutes of action and did it on 10-for-11 shooting from the floor. Still, Parker needs to remain in attack-mode at all times and not acquiesce to who may or may not be around him. That also pertains to his defense, which was uneven throughout the night.

Richard Jefferson C
On the plus side, Richard Jefferson was running the court much more than usual. One time his running resulted in a dunk, while another time it resulted in Ginobili's first three-pointer. He even drove the ball to the basket in the halfcourt setting, something rarely seen this season. But everything else about his night was spotty at best. His defense was lazy and he wasn't helping out on the boards. I didn't really like Jefferson's shot selection and he had a couple costly mistakes in the fourth quarter.

Danny Green D
I don't know if it's his shoulder but Danny Green just isn't helping out much as of late. He missed all five of his shots tonight, most of which were wide open. The Nuggets were rotating off of him, so his misses were even more tough to stomach than usual. While he pulled down an impressive offensive rebound, he wasn't a factor on the defensive glass. The rest of his defense was similarly lacking. He spent some time on their point guards with minimal success. If Green is going to hold onto his starting gig, he's going to have to start showing a lot more.

DeJuan Blair Inc.
DeJuan Blair celebrated the Spurs finally having a healthy roster for the first time this season by injuring his knee 18 seconds into the game. Thankfully, it was diagnosed as a bruised knee and he was later able to return. Although after his return, he spent most of his time limping around the court so the Spurs will probably take a closer look at his ACL-less knees to make sure he's alright.

Matt Bonner C-
In the first quarter, Matt Bonner had eight key points to jumpstart a sputtering offense. He also pulled down six rebounds in the first half. Unfortunately, that was about the extent of Bonner's pluses tonight. On defense, he was too slow and immobile to stay with Al Harrington and too unathletic to hang with Kenneth Faried. Bonner is usually able to hide a lot of his defensive flaws by being physical and doing his work early … but that wasn't happening tonight. Offensively, though he added another three-pointer in the middle of the fourth quarter, Bonner wasn't doing nearly enough to allay the damage he was causing on the defensive end.

Gary Neal C+
Gary Neal never really seemed to find a groove. Part of the reason could be blamed on his erratic role, which saw him play five minutes in the first half and then start the second half while seeing minutes at point guard, shooting guard and small forward. Defensively, he was just straight up bad. He had trouble staying in front of the quicker Nuggets players and then made a handful of wrong switches in the halfcourt defense. On offense, he mostly stayed behind the three-point line. He hit two of his first four threes before missing two late -- including the one that could have tied it.

Tiago Splitter B+
Though he's still not all the way back to his pre-injury level, Tiago Splitter is making progress. Defensively, he was extremely active tonight. He defended out on the perimeter when needed. He defended the rim really well; Splitter was jumping for blocks left and right in addition to providing a roadblock against drivers. Rebounding-wise he was adequate. Offensively is where Splitter still has rust. He's setting good screens but his rolls aren't as crisp as before and he's not being as demanding when it comes to calling for the ball on the low block.

Kawhi Leonard B
The relentlessness Kawhi Leonard brought to the game was invaluable. With the Nuggets outworking the Spurs and looking like the much sprier team, Leonard was able to change that. Offensively, he did most of his damage at the line; his nine free throw attempts were easily a season-high. Over the last two games, he's 14-for-15 at the line -- which is impressive both in terms of attempts and percentage. Against the Nuggets, I thought he settled for staying behind the three-point line too much, especially in transition. I also thought his defense was alarmingly bad at times. Since his calf injury, he's had difficulty keeping players in front of him. While Leonard was good in loose ball situations, technically his defense was substandard.

TJ Ford B+
After not playing in the first half, TJ Ford was the coaching staff's backup point guard of choice after halftime. Even though he basically just got thrown in the fire, Ford did well. I loved his effort on the boards and he made a number of quality passes. He had a couple mistakes but he did just about all that could have been expected out of him given the way the game played out.

James Anderson Inc.
James Anderson was the first player off the bench. I'm still trying to figure out why. He didn't play too poorly but he muddled an an already disjointed offensive attack.

Pop D-
Pop was going for the cover of Mad Scientist Weekly with his rotation tonight. Playing all 12 players when the team was challenged as it was to figure things out with all the new pieces added to the mix? That made no sense. I know Pop had a lot more toys to play with than usual but the answer wasn't to just throw everyone out there willy-nilly. On top of that, he made other questionable decisions such as drawing up multiple plays for Green, putting in Anderson early, not playing Neal much in the first half, waiting so long to go back to Leonard in the second half and suddenly switching to Ford. The Spurs needed a calming hand, instead Pop seemed intent to increase the difficulty.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I figured tj got hurt when he didn't play the first half. Fords defense was really good in his brief stint, I thought. Seemed to have a fire lit.

I don't agree with manu bringing the ball up the court with Ford in the game. It makes fords presence useless.

[angelbelow]

It was discouraging to see Pop stick with Bonner late in the 4th, but he did eventually pull him after Bonner made yet another defensive error. I thought Splitter was hanging well enough with the smaller Denver PF's to warrant playing next to Duncan down the stretch, too bad we didn't get to see that.

Also, I was hoping one of the guys would give Fariad a hard foul cause he was practically laughing after every play. I knew this guy was an energizer bunny but he made the Spurs effort look very very poor tonight.

[jjktkk]

Thanks for the writeup Tim. Other than the inconsistant rotations, the biggest problem imo, was the inability to matchup with Harrington and Faried.

[Hooks]

RJ deserves an F, he was the main reason the Spurs lost today, I mean his defense was TERRIBLE. Every guy he was guarding was scoring, he missed a lot of rotations as well. Nearly every play the guy he was guarding was blowing past him, he'd also literally run past the guy he was guarding instead of trying to challenge their shot or stay in front of them. It was by far RJ's worst game defensively in probably his career as a Spur.

The Spurs came back as soon as Leonard was inserted into the lineup, his energy, rebounding and scoring ignited the Spurs' run to cut it before half time. RJ of course started again and the lead blew up once again for the Nuggets.

[loveforthegame]

Thanks for the grades. :tu

I was disappointed Ford didn't get some burn in the first half. He makes some mistakes but his passing and offense has been pretty solid. He's trying on defense too.

Sad to see Leonard benched for a guy like Jefferson. Or Green when he's clearly playing hurt and not helping the team.

I've given up hope that Splitter might actually close a game over Bonner or Blair.

[TJastal]

Tiago Splitter B+
Though he's still not all the way back to his pre-injury level, Tiago Splitter is making progress. Defensively, he was extremely active tonight. He defended out on the perimeter when needed. He defended the rim really well; Splitter was jumping for blocks left and right in addition to providing a roadblock against drivers. Rebounding-wise he was adequate. Offensively is where Splitter still has rust. He's setting good screens but his rolls aren't as crisp as before and he's not being as demanding when it comes to calling for the ball on the low block.

Is this any big surprise when your coach refuses to run plays for you and take advantage of obvious size mismatches in the low block against smaller defenders? Also tells the national press how "unskilled" you are at every opportunity. Then for the coup de grace calls timeouts when you have your man pinned on the low block?

:lmao

[therealtruth]

It was discouraging to see Pop stick with Bonner late in the 4th, but he did eventually pull him after Bonner made yet another defensive error. I thought Splitter was hanging well enough with the smaller Denver PF's to warrant playing next to Duncan down the stretch, too bad we didn't get to see that.

Also, I was hoping one of the guys would give Fariad a hard foul cause he was practically laughing after every play. I knew this guy was an energizer bunny but he made the Spurs effort look very very poor tonight.

I think the closing power forward has to be TS. Fariad's only 6'8" yet he was dunking all over the Spurs. That's why small ball doesn't work. Fariad wouldn't be getting minutes on a healthy Nuggets team yet he's better than Bonner/Blair.

[therealtruth]

Is this any big surprise when your coach refuses to run plays for you and take advantage of obvious size mismatches in the low block against smaller defenders? Also tells the national press how "unskilled" you are at every opportunity. Then for the coup de grace calls timeouts when you have your man pinned on the low block?

:lmao

The only reason the TD-TS lineup doesn't work is Pop doesn't want to make it work. He's forgotten how to coach mismatches and can only play small ball.

[TJastal]

The only reason the TD-TS lineup doesn't work is Pop doesn't want to make it work. He's forgotten how to coach mismatches and can only play small ball.

Aye, good point. It's almost as if he discourages the spurs to play inside out. He's totally dropped the ball on encouraging Splitter's development as a post presence, and has actually worked as a roadblock in many cases. Pop rather has this kid's head turned inside out IMO (no pun intended).

He's also failed to integrate him into the starting lineup which will probablyl be another fatal mistake. Any decent coach would have figured out by now how to utilize this guy for much higher production.

[Fireball]

I did not like putting in James Anderson this early in the game. Obviously they want to showcase him a little bit, but it put the Spurs in a hole early ...

2nd game in a row that Timmy had 3 dunks ...

[tenbeersbold]

TP might have a bone to pick with you...
Manu graded higher than TP?!? C'mon Tonys 25pts vs Manu's 8pts ?!?!

[TJastal]

Pop D-
Pop was going for the cover of Mad Scientist Weekly with his rotation tonight. Playing all 12 players when the team was challenged as it was to figure things out with all the new pieces added to the mix? That made no sense. I know Pop had a lot more toys to play with than usual but the answer wasn't to just throw everyone out there willy-nilly. On top of that, he made other questionable decisions such as drawing up multiple plays for Green, putting in Anderson early, not playing Neal much in the first half, waiting so long to go back to Leonard in the second half and suddenly switching to Ford. The Spurs needed a calming hand, instead Pop seemed intent to increase the difficulty.

This is the same old Pop we've been watching the past 5 years tbh. I think he thinks it's cute to be all willy nilly n 'sheeit.

[TJastal]

So apparently Pop thinks its necessary to sacrifice a few games in order to figure out a finalized rotation; either that or he is crazy enough to think this current 12 man clusterfuck is going to work. I honestly don't know which at this point. He's been throwing guys in and out of the lineup at random with no rhyme or reason for a good week or so, punctuated with that completely nutty forfeit game in Portland.

Seeing as the nuggets have now crept into the 8th seed in the west and are a mere 4 games back now, I sure hope he figures things out quick. The rest of the pack is breathing down the spurs' necks. 4 games is not a big cushion and the spurs cannot afford to keep losing games.

[benefactor]

I was livid when Pop continued to leave Bonner in there on Harrington in the third quarter when the Nuggets went small. He finally went back to Leonard but only after Harrington embarrassed Bonner repeatedly.

[will_spurs]

I wonder if we saw the same game. Parker was actually the only playing hard, and if not for him the Spurs would have been routed at home. Duncan was decent, Leonard was good, Bonner did everything he was supposed to do in the first 5 minutes of the game.

Splitter was soft, Green was bad (but at least showed a bit of effort), Manu is still recovering (and sorry but, effort is good but production is better), everybody else was useless. ESPECIALLY Jefferson. At this point it looks like the Spurs would play better just going 4 against 5.

Pop decisions were weird but I got the feeling right from the start of the game that he had decided it would be "win, lose, I don't care, I need this game as a real life experiment".

We can discuss matchups all night long, it's pointless when most players don't care on defense and play soft.

There's one thing at least I can say in fvor of RJ, he got called for a phantom foul on the rookie, the next time he grabbed him and slammed him on the floor.

And one last thing, what's with the refs? The Spurs get better calls on the road than at home. The rookie form Denver was laughing his ass off because he could do whatever he wanted and either get no-calls (when he confused boxing out with shoving) or calls in his favor. It was ridiculous.

[bklynspursfan]

I actually think this was a game Blair could've really helped in. He could've put a body on that Fareid dude and kept him off the glass.

[TJastal]

I actually think this was a game Blair could've really helped in. He could've put a body on that Fareid dude and kept him off the glass.

Moot point. Nex time the spurs see the nuggets it'll likely be Nene and Gallinari that Blair will be guarding. Good luck with that.

[TJastal]

I remember one poster saying the key to the season was Blair overcoming his mental challenges. Good luck with that. I lost count of how many 3 second violation turnovers he was the cause of. Bunch of stupid offensive fouls added to that as well. :bang

[TJastal]

Blair gets an INC for that turd of a game? lol

[ElNono]

Thanks for the writeup. IMO, disappointing loss at home against a shorthanded team.

Frankly, I'm alarmed to see this team slowly regressing into the 3 ball team from last season when it appeared we were making strides on the defensive end pre-ASG.

This team is incredibly frustrating to watch when they play the brand of defense they played last night.

[urunobili]

Time to bench Green for good and get Kawhi or Manu in the starting lineup TBH

[TJastal]

Time to bench Green for good and get Kawhi or Manu in the starting lineup TBH

I agree.

But I get a very strange feeling about Parker and his comments about Manu. Something ain't quite right. I don't think putting those two together in the starting lineup would be a good idea.

Given that touchy situation, I think the best solution for a rotation at this point is to put Leonard & Neal into the starting lineup, ASAP. Move Jefferson to the bench and cut his minutes in half to start, and see how he responds. If he still isn't contributing give his minutes to Green. Manu & Tiago will run the 2nd unit and probably close out games with some of the starters.

If Pop is going to continue to start the mentally and physically challenged Blair, then Leonard has to start IMO. The team lacks too much size and athleticism otherwise. I think the Neal/Parker scoring combo will give the spurs enough scoring in that starting lineup to offset any offensive production lost by benching Jefferson.

[will_spurs]

Move Jefferson to the bench and cut his minutes in half to start

Not going to happen because... pick one:
- Pop doesn't want to admit he signed RJ to a horrible extension
- RJ will be amnestied and the more he's paid by another team, the less remaining salary the Spurs have to pay for
- that would destroy his confidence (haha, according to Pop)
- "it wouldn't be fair to the team"

[TJastal]

Not going to happen because... pick one:
- Pop doesn't want to admit he signed RJ to a horrible extension
- RJ will be amnestied and the more he's paid by another team, the less remaining salary the Spurs have to pay for
- that would destroy his confidence (haha, according to Pop)
- "it wouldn't be fair to the team"

#1 Likely that is weighing on Pop's mind. You know he's still just hoping in the back of his mind that RJ will shake off his pansiness one day and become that 4th scorer the spurs have been looking for. Not likely given his nature.

#2 What's sad is I don't think Jefferson will even be offered half of what he's currently making by any team, regardless of what he does from here on out. Might as well just once and for all write him off as a net loss and be done with him. This continuous cycle of throwing good $$ after bad is stupid. Like trying to quit smoking by cutting your own throat so you can't inhale.

#3 Who cares at this point (ties in with #2).

#4 If Pop actually believes it wouldn't be fair to the team to see less of Jefferson and more of Leonard/Green/Neal he needs to cut back on his wine consumption.

[jag]

Tiago's going to need post-up reps to get back into a decent groove. He sometimes rushes his offense or forces the issue in the post, probably because he doesn't think he'll get the ball back. He hasn't looked very good, but he still needs attempts down there.

I don't know if that's going to happend though because the post entry passes are becoming fewer and fewer. The offense is really getting away from that, as opposed to early in the season when he was getting almost half of all his attempts while posting up.

[jgome21]

As much as we dislike him, we are going to need RJ in the playoffs. As good as Green and Leonard may be now, playoff experience is def. gonna have an impact when the time comes. Hopefully they can continue to bring that energy.

[timvp]

TP might have a bone to pick with you...
Manu graded higher than TP?!? C'mon Tonys 25pts vs Manu's 8pts ?!?!

Expectations. Parker is an All-Star and has been playing some of his best basketball of his career, while Ginobili is returning from another injury plus also adjusting to having a plate in his hand. Not an even playing field for the time being.

[TJastal]

Tiago's going to need post-up reps to get back into a decent groove. He sometimes rushes his offense or forces the issue in the post, probably because he doesn't think he'll get the ball back. He hasn't looked very good, but he still needs attempts down there.

I don't know if that's going to happend though because the post entry passes are becoming fewer and fewer. The offense is really getting away from that, as opposed to early in the season when he was getting almost half of all his attempts while posting up.

From just a month ago to now, he doesn't seem to be the same to me. A lack of confidence appears to be once again glazed over his demeanor on the court. I suspect this has to do with the daily mindfuck he gets from Pop finally taking its toll. I still think Pop was wrong to think disparaging him publically was healthy for his mental outlook. Along with getting no confidence from his coach, it's rare that he has any set plays run for him. Unless I'm just missing them. Seems all he does is endless P&R with little interruption, almost like a robot. And he doesn't even look confident doing that anymore. He's basically on his own island out there. Pretty sad that's all we're getting out of him after the potential he has shown and revealed (courtesy Timvp's advanced stats) so far this season.

[TJastal]

As much as we dislike him, we are going to need RJ in the playoffs. As good as Green and Leonard may be now, playoff experience is def. gonna have an impact when the time comes. Hopefully they can continue to bring that energy.

Arrreeee Jayyyy gonna beast fo' us in da play uffs!

[timvp]

Parker was actually the only playing hard, and if not for him the Spurs would have been routed at home.He came out of the gates not playing sharp at all. I gave him credit for his play in the final 2.5 quarters but the Spurs needed him for four quarters.


I actually think this was a game Blair could've really helped in. He could've put a body on that Fareid dude and kept him off the glass.That's a good point. Blair owned Faried in Denver last game. A couple times he just bodied him out of bounds.

[timvp]

I lost count of how many 3 second violation turnovers he was the cause of. Bunch of stupid offensive fouls added to that as well. :bangBlair had one three-second violation and an offensive foul when Faried ran into him on the fast break that was an unusual call, to the say the least. That's it.


Blair gets an INC for that turd of a game? lolBlair played all of three minutes and 34 seconds.

[silverblk mystix]

The Spurs came out lazy and overconfident....

when they saw that Denver was not the same team as last time...the Spurs tried to turn it on...but it was too late.

I did enjoy Duncan smacking tat boy in the head and then dunking on him though...

Denver deserved this win because they played hard for 48 minutes. Spurs starting lineup really hurt them. This is a good example of what will happen in the playoffs...Pop will trot out a bullshit starting five thinking that he has time to fuck around--and the deficit will have them working hard all game to catch up...when he finally inserts "playoff" players...it will be too late.

See the Memphis series....

[TJastal]

The Spurs came out lazy and overconfident....

when they saw that Denver was not the same team as last time...the Spurs tried to turn it on...but it was too late.

I did enjoy Duncan smacking tat boy in the head and then dunking on him though...

Denver deserved this win because they played hard for 48 minutes. Spurs starting lineup really hurt them. This is a good example of what will happen in the playoffs...Pop will trot out a bullshit starting five thinking that he has time to fuck around--and the deficit will have them working hard all game to catch up...when he finally inserts "playoff" players...it will be too late.

See the Memphis series....

That was pretty funny and almost cartoonish watching him see stars for a second then taking off and trying to block Duncan's dunk attempt. :lol

Although tat-boy got the last laugh I thought with his very fine all around game from the bench. People claiming this guy is washed up need to get some new glasses, he is still a solid defender who can really use his length and hops to bother shots which is something the spurs could defenitely use.

[will_spurs]

He came out of the gates not playing sharp at all.

He was indeed 0-for-4 in the first quarter, as was anybody not named Bonner, basically.

I'd say he went into game looking to set up the offense and make passes (probably on instructions from Pop) and he did just that. He could have had 4-5 assists in the first quarter alone, except nobody (again, except Bonner) could hit the broad side of a barn at that time.

Seeing that, he went "fuck that shit", dropped 12 or 14 points in one quarter, and shot 83% the rest of the way :hat

In short, he got a B- because he tried to run the offense for offensive luminaries such as Green (0%), RJ (28%) or Neal (28%), instead of taking 25 shots.

[Cane]

Parker's D also left a lot to be desired but he's not much of a positive impact on that end anyway

[ElNono]

I thought Manu did a terrific job on Afflalo after he was torching us in the 1st quarter. And that was individual defense.

[ThaBigFundamental21]

All in all just a terrible game by the Spurs. A home game, after a night of rest, against a short handed team. This was a game we should have won. It really looked like the Spurs didn't care in this game. Especially the opening quarter. They expected to win without playing. There were stretches in the game when we would play with intensity for a few possessions, then we would lolligag. The Nuggets wanted to win and they earned a it.

[TJastal]

I thought Manu did a terrific job on Afflalo after he was torching us in the 1st quarter. And that was individual defense.

:tu

Saw that too. A fresh Manu come playoff time should be a big advantage for the spurs. Just another reason I think Pop should keep Manu's minute limited off the bench. Plus it's not like he has to carry it like in year's past, this year he has plenty of help.

[TJastal]

All in all just a terrible game by the Spurs. A home game, after a night of rest, against a short handed team. This was a game we should have won. It really looked like the Spurs didn't care in this game. Especially the opening quarter. They expected to win without playing. There were stretches in the game when we would play with intensity for a few possessions, then we would lolligag. The Nuggets wanted to win and they earned a it.

Well you can clearly see the extended layoff plus the flippin' nutso blazer blowout totally derailed and discombobulated the players and halted all the momentum and chemistry the team was riding. It's gonna take weeks to get that back if not a full month. And that's a big "if".

[lefty]

Lol having TP shoot a technical FT when Neal was on the floor :wtf

Lol at keeping Green on the bench while Harrington was lighting up Bonner :lmao

Pop gets a Z

[therealtruth]

Splitter was soft, Green was bad (but at least showed a bit of effort), Manu is still recovering (and sorry but, effort is good but production is better), everybody else was useless. ESPECIALLY Jefferson. At this point it looks like the Spurs would play better just going 4 against 5.

Splitter could have played better for sure but he had the highest plus-minus and he was part of the unit that got them back into the game. His ability to set picks makes TP/Manu more effective. They need to develop that chemistry. Maybe without him this is a blowout.

[TJastal]

Splitter could have played better for sure but he had the highest plus-minus and he was part of the unit that got them back into the game. His ability to set picks makes TP/Manu more effective. They need to develop that chemistry. Maybe without him this is a blowout.

I thought Splitter protected the rim very well and seems to have learned a thing or two from Duncan on how to secure rebounds in traffic, which used to be one of his weaknesses (last season IIRC).

[ajballer4]

I'll tell you what. I want nothing to do with Denver in the postseason. That team is that good, without their two best players, Nene and Galo, and three if you count Wilson Chandler coming back from China. They're gonna be a tough tough out

[boutons_deux]

These Spurs, with RJ and Matty getting any minutes, will be lucky to make it to the 2nd round, but no further.

[rasho8]

I can not understand why Pop is misusing Splitter so badly. I dont want to second guess him since he obviously knows more about the situation than we do, but what the hell?

Did he forget the twin towers completely?

[boutons_deux]

and who was the 3rd big behind Tim and David? Malik?

[tlongII]

What grade would you give the refs?

[rasho8]

and who was the 3rd big behind Tim and David? Malik?

Yeah Malik

[TJastal]

I can not understand why Pop is misusing Splitter so badly. I dont want to second guess him since he obviously knows more about the situation than we do, but what the hell?

Did he forget the twin towers completely?

:pop: Already tried that twin tower lineup thingy already, and it didn't yield us Matty's superior +/- or Dejuan's superior .. uh.. umm... whatever he does.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Pop D-
Pop was going for the cover of Mad Scientist Weekly with his rotation tonight. Playing all 12 players when the team was challenged as it was to figure things out with all the new pieces added to the mix? That made no sense. I know Pop had a lot more toys to play with than usual but the answer wasn't to just throw everyone out there willy-nilly. On top of that, he made other questionable decisions such as drawing up multiple plays for Green, putting in Anderson early, not playing Neal much in the first half, waiting so long to go back to Leonard in the second half and suddenly switching to Ford. The Spurs needed a calming hand, instead Pop seemed intent to increase the difficulty.


Timvp, first off, I want to thank you for getting back to doing the grades this year. The first thing I read after a Spurs game is your analysis, because it's the best recap and evaluation of the team's performance that you can find. Amazing work!

To the game last night, this grade for Pop is spot on. He left me scratching my head with his decision-making, especially down the stretch. Watching Bonner getting destroyed in the 4th quarter, and then have Pop replace him with Jefferson was painful to witness. Jefferson wasn't trying on either end of the floor, and to have him play vital 4th quarter minutes made no sense to me. Denver's energy was destroying the zone D Pop was running there for a stretch, and we needed some energy guys on the floor to match up. Jefferson is the anti-energy guy.

Our self-imposed dependence on Bonner and Jefferson will ultimately be our downfall in the post season...again.

[DPG21920]

Tim, do losses like this overly concern you and do you think the Spurs are actively pursuing trades (in particular for a big man)?

[ajballer4]

Didnt want to start a whole new thread for this, but TJ Ford is practicing with the Toros today, from Marc Spears

[Horse]

Thanks for the writeup. IMO, disappointing loss at home against a shorthanded team.

Frankly, I'm alarmed to see this team slowly regressing into the 3 ball team from last season when it appeared we were making strides on the defensive end pre-ASG.

This team is incredibly frustrating to watch when they play the brand of defense they played last night.
Denver shot 41%, and scored 99 pts that's less than they average. Is that terribel D? After the first quarter when they were sleep-walking I thought they did pretty good.

[ElNono]

Denver shot 41%, and scored 99 pts that's less than they average. Is that terribel D? After the first quarter when they were sleep-walking I thought they did pretty good.

Denver was missing 3 guys, two of which provide a sizeable amount of their offense. Mozgov was also dinged up. I thought our defense was really bad outside that stretch when we made the comeback. We just couldn't make stops when it mattered and they almost always ended up recreating their lead to 6 or 7 points.

This was a home game against a extremely shorthanded Nuggets team, especially on offense. The fact they were able to drop 99 points on us tells you all you need to know about our D.

[jag]

I thought Manu did a terrific job on Afflalo after he was torching us in the 1st quarter. And that was individual defense.

Manu's individual defense was very impressive, especially the times he was matched up against Andre Miller.

[Bill_Brasky]

Manu looked like Manu, I was very impressed. When he came back from the hand injury he was slow.....but this time he had some explosiveness and had legs under his shot, playing good defense to boot.

Pop disappointed last night. We were getting massacred on the boards and he stayed small. We needed TD/TS/KL out there together.

[tenbeersbold]

Expectations. Parker is an All-Star and has been playing some of his best basketball of his career, while Ginobili is returning from another injury plus also adjusting to having a plate in his hand. Not an even playing field for the time being.

Not to be picky but is 25 pts not playing to expectations...just wanna be sure 'bout this ;)

[SenorSpur]

Watching the undermanned Nuggets outwork and outhustle the Spurs, particularly with Kenneth Faried on the inside, only highlghts the obvious - the Spurs are still weak along the frontline. They simply are lacking a physical, athletic PF-type, who can score, rebound and defend the post.

While I do not expect anything to happen this year, but the FO simply HAS to draft a young, physical PF, who can do some of this dirty work and prevent Pop from having to resort to this incessant brand of small-ball - using a SF as a PF.

I certainly hope they can do what they did in last year's draft, and that is use some assets (Anderson perhaps) as bait to swap spots to improve their position in this year's June draft.

This long-standing hole at the PF slot absolutely MUST be filled.

[TD 21]

Watching the undermanned Nuggets outwork and outhustle the Spurs, particularly with Kenneth Faried on the inside, only highlghts the obvious - the Spurs are still weak along the frontline. They simply are lacking a physical, athletic PF-type, who can score, rebound and defend the post.

While I do not expect anything to happen this year, but the FO simply HAS to draft a young, physical PF, who can do some of this dirty work and prevent Pop from having to resort to this incessant brand of small-ball - using a SF as a PF.

I certainly hope they can do what they did in last year's draft, and that is use some assets (Anderson perhaps) as bait to swap spots to improve their position in this year's June draft.

This long-standing hole at the PF slot absolutely MUST be filled.

What's the rush? They've got plenty of good years left with Duncan and Ginobili. Preserving some future 1st round pick is far more important than taking a serious run at a championship. I'm sure the instant they clear cap space, the next batch of superstars that become unrestricted free agents will be flocking to San Antonio.

[Brazil]

didn't see the game but looking at the comments and the grades... still not sure how we lost this game... to sum up, parker played well enough to win this game againts a shorthanded team, manu has been good considering he is recovering, tim looked ok, matt scored, tiago seemed to be ok too... its all on pop ?

[LakerHater]

I did enjoy Duncan smacking tat boy in the head and then dunking on him though...

[therealtruth]

Watching the undermanned Nuggets outwork and outhustle the Spurs, particularly with Kenneth Faried on the inside, only highlghts the obvious - the Spurs are still weak along the frontline. They simply are lacking a physical, athletic PF-type, who can score, rebound and defend the post.

While I do not expect anything to happen this year, but the FO simply HAS to draft a young, physical PF, who can do some of this dirty work and prevent Pop from having to resort to this incessant brand of small-ball - using a SF as a PF.

I certainly hope they can do what they did in last year's draft, and that is use some assets (Anderson perhaps) as bait to swap spots to improve their position in this year's June draft.

This long-standing hole at the PF slot absolutely MUST be filled.

What I really like about Faried is he plays within himself and his limitations.

[SenorSpur]

What I really like about Faried is he plays within himself and his limitations.

Same as he did in college. His play only confirms that skills like rebounding and a having a high motor can instantly translate to the next level.

[Manu-of-steel]

TP played great. The problem is that we didn't have a good shooting night. We missed wide open shots. And we were manhandled in rebounds. I was also impressed with how manu shut down afflalo.

[Horse]

Denver was missing 3 guys, two of which provide a sizeable amount of their offense. Mozgov was also dinged up. I thought our defense was really bad outside that stretch when we made the comeback. We just couldn't make stops when it mattered and they almost always ended up recreating their lead to 6 or 7 points.

This was a home game against a extremely shorthanded Nuggets team, especially on offense. The fact they were able to drop 99 points on us tells you all you need to know about our D.
Denver is a team kind of like us where all there players are good with maybe no superstar, so the drop off is not that much when some of their players are out, they're very deep. I also believe right before the ASG the D was coming around, and they'll get it together especially with more Manu. And hopefully shorter rotations and more Kawi and Tiago.

[TJastal]

Manu looked like Manu, I was very impressed. When he came back from the hand injury he was slow.....but this time he had some explosiveness and had legs under his shot, playing good defense to boot.

Pop disappointed last night. We were getting massacred on the boards and he stayed small. We needed TD/TS/KL out there together.

But the data shows that Tiago and Tim can't play good basketball together. Pop tried it once and they gave up, like, alot of points and shit. And didn't score much either. It was a worthy effort though. I'm sure Pop talked about it alot before the game. And even got out his clipboard once or twice.

Well, maybe we'll get to see them both play when the spurs are down 3-1 in the 1st round again like last season. That was a hoot.

[superbigtime]

If the team is healthy with a full roster, there is absolutely NO reason to play Anderson unless it's garbage time or special situations like giving a foul. He has nothing going for him right now. I am beginning to wonder if Green is going to ever be consistent. Pop can't play everybody (well, he did but looked what happens), so why not play the guys who play well?