Grades: Spurs vs. Clippers - Game 1

[timvp]

After more than a week of rest, the Spurs were back at work. And for the 15th consecutive game, San Antonio's work resulted in a win. While the Clippers showed a lot of fight, the Spurs were able to coast with relative ease to a 108-92 victory.

Early on, the rust was visible on defense. The Spurs had a handful of breakdowns on that end in the first quarter. The second period started off similar but eventually the good guys found their defensive groove. The Spurs held the Clippers scoreless for nearly five minutes to turn a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

By the third quarter, the Spurs were hitting on all cylinders and grew their advantage to as large as 19 points. The Clippers made a run in the fourth quarter to pull within eight points with 8:42 remaining. But again San Antonio's defense stiffened and the Spurs were able to go on an 11-3 run over the next six and a half minutes to put the game away.

Overall, I thought it was a solid effort. Los Angeles played hard but the Spurs just overwhelmed them with their skill, smarts and execution. Hopefully San Antonio can stay healthy and get even sharper as this series advances, which would force the Clippers to play a flawless game to even win once in this series.

http://dailyelements.com/may15box1.jpg

http://dailyelements.com/may15box2.jpg

Tim Duncan A+
During the week-long break, Tim Duncan publicly fretted about being rusty in Game 1. So much for that. Duncan was a machine from the opening tip. Defensively, he was extremely impressive. Duncan defended pick-and-rolls brilliantly, was strong on the low block and offered well-timed help. When matched up against Blake Griffin, he had a smart gameplan and executed it to perfection. Duncan also ran back in transition and pulled down a number of contested boards. Offensively, his efficiency was deadly. While Duncan didn't do anything too flashy, he played at a wonderful pace and was consistently making all the right decisions -- whether the situation called for a pass, a quick shot, a drive to the rim or a post move. All in all, it'd be difficult to expect the 36-year-old living legend to play much better.

Manu Ginobili A-
Manu Ginobili had a very productive evening. I especially liked what he did on defense. While there were a lot of perimeter breakdowns, Ginobili was actually very sharp on that end. He moved his feet well, stayed with his man, contested shots and never needlessly roamed. The Clippers small guards are a tough cover for Ginobili but he more than survived. Offensively, he took advantage of the fact that L.A. has no one to defend him. Ginobili didn't mess around; when he saw a sliver of daylight, he attacked off the dribble with ferocity. While his passing wasn't as sharp as usual, he more than made up for that with his scoring and aggressiveness. The scary thing for the Clippers is that Ginobili actually missed a number of shots he usually makes. He very well could put together some monster scoring outings against this club.

Tony Parker C-
With the Clippers focused on slowing him down, Tony Parker hit a few speed bumps on Tuesday night. Scoring-wise, he never could find his touch. He missed a jumpers early, blew a couple looks in the lane and then eventually started to hesitate a bit. Turnovers were also an issue in the first half. However, give Parker credit for fighting through his shooting woes and early turnovers to find multiple ways to help the team. In the second half, he didn't turn the ball over and his playmaking was high-quality. Parker pushed the pace and got the Spurs into their sets extremely fast. Defensively, he started off on Chris Paul and never let his All-Star counterpart get comfortable. He played very good position D and had obviously scouted Paul well because he was cutting off the angles to most of the plays the Clippers were trying to run. Going forward, Parker obviously has to score better and get rid of the hesitation but tonight was far from a disaster.

Boris Diaw A+
Wow. Boris Diaw had a whale of a game. Following his struggles in the last two games of the Utah series, this was a great way to get back on track. Diaw's defense on the block against Griffin was spectacular. He stayed low, kept a strong base and forced Griffin to shoot over the top -- which is exactly what you want to do. When Diaw wasn't making life difficult for Griffin, he was expertly fulfilling his help-defense responsibilities. There were many instances were a quick rotation by Diaw saved what would have otherwise been an easy basket. Offensively, I really liked what I saw. While his shooting percentage was lacking, I loved that he wasn't passive. Diaw's passing was incredible; this might have been his best game as a Spur in that regard. On both ends, Diaw's rebounding was huge. His effort on the glass is the main reason why the Spurs were able to outrebound the Clippers 47-34.

Kawhi Leonard A-
The rookie just continues to perform. Kawhi Leonard got involved early by swiping three steals in the first eight minutes. Throughout the game, he played with limitless energy on both ends. He ran the court hard, made a few really good passes, showed a lot of scrappiness and was really decisive in all his actions. The three cherries on top were his three shots from downtown. I can't even fault Leonard much for the things that went wrong. For example, in the third Caron Butler caught fire against him. But Butler is an iffy shooter who is playing with a broken hand, so I'm fine with him shooting contested jumpers. Leonard also got a couple shots blocked but that didn't deter him. Overall, when Leonard plays this hard and this fearlessly, he's such a valuable asset because he's able to impact the game in virtually every possible way.

Danny Green A
Danny Green seems to get better and better. Tonight he was once again a key cog in an important game. Defensively, he started off against Randy Foye and shut him down. Pop then switched him to Paul and Green did amazingly well. Paul was held scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting in the second half and Green was the biggest reason why. He was able to stay with the shifty point guard and then used his length to bother Paul's shots and passes. When Green wasn't playing the role of defensive stopper, he was skying for rebounds. On offense, Green hit his first four shots from the floor and was even making plays with the ball as he sparked the team in the first half. His offense wasn't as smooth in the final two quarters but he never shied away from the playoff pressure. Job well done.

Stephen Jackson C+
Against the Jazz, Stephen Jackson was mostly in the paint on defense. Against the Clippers, he needs to prove he can move his feet out on the perimeter. In Game 1, Jackson didn't do a very good job in that area. He was slow to rotate a few times and didn't look comfortable defending the small guards. Let's hope Jackson improves on defense as the series progresses. Offensively, he was quiet yet effective. He drained a three-pointer to start the fourth quarter and his passing was superb. If the Clippers are going to continue to go small, Jackson should look to go into the post on offense more often. We saw some of that tonight but that's something the Spurs can potentially exploit in upcoming games.

Gary Neal C-
On paper, the Clippers are a poor matchup for Gary Neal. Reality agreed with paper. Defensively, Neal couldn't hide. Whoever the Spurs put him on usually had success. Neal started off on Eric Bledsoe, which partially explains why Bledsoe exploded. Offensively, Neal had a lot of problems simply dribbling the basketball. With the Clippers hanging all over him, Neal's subpar court vision got even worse. Thankfully, he retained some of his value by knocking down a pair of jumpers. But if Neal keeps being a liability on both ends of the court, Pop may have no choice but to remove him from the rotation.

Tiago Splitter D+
Over the last few months, Tiago Splitter has been consistently really good. Tuesday night was an exception to that rule. On both ends, Splitter struggled mightily. Offensively, he was sloppy in all aspects -- especially ballhandling. He wasn't rolling as hard as usual and when he got the ball, he was making poor decisions. Defensively, Splitter wasn't getting back fast in transition, wasn't rebounding and he didn't protect the rim nearly as well as he can. It's probably best to just forget this performance ever happened and chalk it up to an aberration.

Matt Bonner C
With Diaw playing so well and the Clippers going small, Matt Bonner saw his minutes cut. In his time on the court, he rebounded pretty well and got another flat-footed block. But Bonner also had a couple boneheaded plays on defense and was a non-factor on the offensive end. So far in these playoffs, he's just not seeking out open looks as well as he did for most of the regular season. Bonner usually runs the court hard and constantly shifts positions along the perimeter in search of open space. In recent games, he's become much too sedentary and I don't see him running up and down the court with nearly as much purpose as usual.

Pop A-
There weren't many huge surprises out of Pop tonight. I thought he was going to start Green off on Paul and then let Parker defend him late but Pop did it the other way around. Other than that, this game went according to plan. I was really happy he let Leonard, Green and Diaw play extended minutes. Going small when the Clippers went small was the right move. The bottomline is Pop got yet another win without taxing any of his players too much. Onward.

[Kuestmaster]

Great as always timvp :toast

[Obstructed_View]

Good shooting made up for dumb passes and defensive lapses. I expect the team to be far better on Thursday.

I thought the lineup of Neal, Manu, Jack, Why and Splitter was promising. You've got good defenders, good rebounders, good shooters and the two guys that do the best job of getting the ball to Splitter in good spots.

[pookenstein]

Great read. As always. TY.

Now Carrol can go and do his magic as well...:lol

[Manufan909]

Thanks timvp!!! I missed the game, so this was a huge help. Now I finally get to go to bed, woot!

[TampaDude]

This was a 16-point win that could have easily been a 25-point win.

The Spurs are just better than the Clippers, and it showed last night.

[Nathan89]

The reassuring game by Manu that Spurs fans needed. He recognized the team needed him to score more so he was more aggressive in that pursuit.

Thanks for the grades.

[capek]

I'll wait to see what John Carroll has to say. He's more authoritative tbh

[Stabula]

Pop should consider trying Mills out in place of Neal to be Parker's back up. Neal was awful tonight.

[Legacy]

Thanks for the grades, timvp. I always appreciate and look forward to your write-ups... especially since I fell asleep during the whole third quarter, and half of the fourth as well. :cuss


Gawd, I cannot fucking stand Griffin. Post Game Locker Room Interview: "Yeah... we can beat 'These Guys'...blah, blah, blah, blah..." ... Guess checking into all those hotels rooms made him forget where the hell he was and who he was playing tonight. LMAO. WTFever. Nice try, you fugly lil' snot. :monkey :vomit:


Great first game. The rust was pretty visible, but we came out on top, and that's all that matters, obviously. Can't wait for Game 2. Not looking forward to the later ones in LA we'll have coming up, though... :sleep

[Paranoid Pop]

Thanks! Good stuff.

Don't want to overeact about the bench and need to watch the game again but it's was painful to watch at times.

Also no fool's gold thread on the first page after we made 13 3s at 52%, kinda disappointed in Spurstalk tbh :(.

[spurspokesman]

Good job Timvp. Forgot just one thing on Kawhi. He pulled down some crucial offensive boards down the stretch when the game was still hanging in the balance and kept the clippers from making a mini run. Great stuff from the rookie. Neal was pathetic as was splitter. But I'm confident they will up the ante.

[Legacy]

I'll wait to see what John Carroll has to say. He's more authoritative tbh


:rollin

[MI21]

Sorry, I prefer to go to ESPN to get my game recaps.

Thanks anyways, I guess.

[angelbelow]

Tiago was awful tonight. The goods: he didn't back down from Evans (not that I saw anyway) and the 2 pick and roll plays where he was able to get wide open layups. The bad: agression on offense. He should be able to carve up this Clipper defense (with the aid of Manu and Stephen ofcousre) but that didn't happen.

The scary thought is that Parker and Splitter both had poor offensive games and we still scored 108 points.

Also, great to see Manu score the ball. I expressed some concern for his lack of scoring against the Jazz and the possibility of him falling out of rhythm. Tonight he looked great despite coming off a poor scoring series against the Jazz and a long layoff from basketball.

[freetiago]

clippers forums summary of the game

diaw got lucky and was able to hack griffin to slow him down while getting no fouls called
paul will average 30/10 the rest of the series
spurs got lucky shooting and wont shoot that percentage again

spurs finna drop 20 threes on the clips
they were just lucky SA missed some
they didnt even try to contest half our 3s

i highly doubt butler drains contested step back fadeaways/3s and bledsoe gets a career high again anyway
clips also shot a decent % from 3
spurs did a lot better then memphis at closing out on the shooters
their 3s mostly come on transition when paul quickly dumps it to one of them and they shoot right away if theyre defended or not

[boutons_deux]

While the Clips started out very threatening, they ended up getting beat down like I'm sure they and everybody else knew the would. They goin fishin next Monday.

[TheSkeptic]

clippers forums summary of the game

diaw got lucky and was able to hack griffin to slow him down while getting no fouls called
paul will average 30/10 the rest of the series
spurs got lucky shooting and wont shoot that percentage again

spurs finna drop 20 threes on the clips
they were just lucky SA missed some
they didnt even try to contest half our 3s



Isn't the first stage denial? :D

Thanks as always Timvp. :toast

[Cry Havoc]

More turnovers, fewer steals, and fewer blocks, and we still dominate. This team is good. But I would love to see us force more TOs than we give up next game. That kind of sloppy play can't continue, so here's hoping it's just rust.

[TDMVPDPOY]

lets get this straight, gary neal the fkn scrub will never be a pg or should have anything to do with bringing the ball up or trying to set plays.....tonight he over dribbled to much trying to create plays running into dead ends which the clippers did all night against our pgs....


the game was ref properly and played properly...didnt see many flops or flop calls being rewarded tonight....but one thing for sure is the refs are starting to call alot of moving screens....

[TDMVPDPOY]

lets get this straight, gary neal the fkn scrub will never be a pg or should have anything to do with bringing the ball up or trying to set plays.....tonight he over dribbled to much trying to create plays running into dead ends which the clippers did all night against our pgs....


the game was ref properly and played properly...didnt see many flops or flop calls being rewarded tonight....but one thing for sure is the refs are starting to call alot of moving screens....

[benefactor]

All the bad that I saw can pretty much be attributed to the lay off. Tighten up the loose ends and they blow them out Thursday.

I can't type good words to say how beautiful the offensive execution was...especially late in the game. It's like it didn't even matter that they were bottling up Parker because he and the rest of the team are on such a different level offensively that the counter punch was timed perfectly and landed accurately.

[John_Carroll]

Hmmm, not really what I would say.

Here are mine, you will notice they're quite different:

--------------------------------------------------

After more than 7 days of rest, the Spurs were back on the court. And for the 15th straight game, San Antonio's work resulted in a W. While the Clippers showed a lot of fight, the Spurs were able to coast with ease to a 108-92 victory.

Early on, the rust was felt on defense. The Spurs had a handful of breakdowns on that segment in the first quarter. The second period started off in pretty much the same way but eventually the good guys found their defensive groove. The Clippers didn't score for nearly five minutes to turn a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

By the third quarter, the Spurs were hitting everything and grew their advantage to as large as 19 points. The Clippers made a run in the end quarter to pull within eight points with 8:42 remaining. But again the Spurs were able to go on an 11-3 run over the next six and a half minutes to finish the game.

Los Angeles played hard but the Spurs just beat them with their skill, basketball IQ and execution. Hopefully the Spurs can stay healthy and get even sharper as this series progress, which would force the Clippers to play a flawless game to even win once in this contest.


Tim Duncan A+
During the week-long break, TD fretted about being rusty in Game 1. So much for that. Duncan was a robot from the get go. On Defense, he was supremely impressive. Duncan defended pick-and-rolls, was strong on the low block and offered help in a timely manner. When matched up against Blake Griffin, he had a smart gameplan and executed it to perfection. Duncan also ran back in transition and pulled down a number of contested boards. Offensively, his efficiency was lethal. While Duncan didn't do anything too flashy, he played wonderfully fast and was consistently making his good calls -- whether it called for a pass, a quick shot, a drive to the rim or a post move. All in all, it'd be difficult to expect the veteran hall of famer to play at a higher level.


......
......
......

Pop A-
There weren't many huge surprises out of Pop tonight. I thought he was going to start Green off on Paul and then let Parker defend him late but Pop did it the other way around. Other than that, this game went according to plan. I was really happy he let Leonard, Green and Diaw play longer minutes. Going small when the Clippers went small was the right move. The bottomline is Pop got yet another win without taxing any of his players too much.

--------------------------------------------------

As you can see the differences are subtle, but I feel quite meaningful.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go talk to my editor.


P.S. Can you do these a little sooner next time? I'm way past my submission deadline.

[TheSkeptic]

Hmmm, not really what I would say.

Here are mine, you will notice they're quite different:

--------------------------------------------------

After more than 7 days of rest, the Spurs were back on the court. And for the 15th straight game, San Antonio's work resulted in a W. While the Clippers showed a lot of fight, the Spurs were able to coast with ease to a 108-92 victory.

Early on, the rust was felt on defense. The Spurs had a handful of breakdowns on that segment in the first quarter. The second period started off in pretty much the same way but eventually the good guys found their defensive groove. The Clippers didn't score for nearly five minutes to turn a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

By the third quarter, the Spurs were hitting everything and grew their advantage to as large as 19 points. The Clippers made a run in the end quarter to pull within eight points with 8:42 remaining. But again the Spurs were able to go on an 11-3 run over the next six and a half minutes to finish the game.

Los Angeles played hard but the Spurs just beat them with their skill, basketball IQ and execution. Hopefully the Spurs can stay healthy and get even sharper as this series progress, which would force the Clippers to play a flawless game to even win once in this contest.


Tim Duncan A+
During the week-long break, TD fretted about being rusty in Game 1. So much for that. Duncan was a robot from the get go. On Defense, he was supremely impressive. Duncan defended pick-and-rolls, was strong on the low block and offered help in a timely manner. When matched up against Blake Griffin, he had a smart gameplan and executed it to perfection. Duncan also ran back in transition and pulled down a number of contested boards. Offensively, his efficiency was lethal. While Duncan didn't do anything too flashy, he played wonderfully fast and was consistently making his good calls -- whether it called for a pass, a quick shot, a drive to the rim or a post move. All in all, it'd be difficult to expect the veteran hall of famer to play at a higher level.


......
......
......

Pop A-
There weren't many huge surprises out of Pop tonight. I thought he was going to start Green off on Paul and then let Parker defend him late but Pop did it the other way around. Other than that, this game went according to plan. I was really happy he let Leonard, Green and Diaw play longer minutes. Going small when the Clippers went small was the right move. The bottomline is Pop got yet another win without taxing any of his players too much.

--------------------------------------------------

As you can see the differences are subtle, but I feel quite meaningful.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go talk to my editor.


P.S. Can you do these a little sooner next time? I'm way past my submission deadline.

:lmao :lmao :lmao

I can't get enough of this troll tbh.

[Warlord23]

Any news on Parker's knee? He seemed to land a bit awkwardly at one point.

[TMTTRIO]

I still think Manu could've played a lot better but it was good to see him getting involved tonight. Onse thing I've noticed is his very reduced minutes. Tonight he only played 26 minutes. So is this going to continue for the rest of the year.

[DBMethos]

Boris Diaw had a whale of a game.

I c wut u did thar

[100%duncan]

Should've put copyright/watermark,tbh.

[pgardn]

Tiago's FT shooting saved him from an F.

Take a bow son, what on God's green earth...?

We move the ball around better than any team in the NBA. When we got it going, its a thing of beauty. No highlights for excellent off the ball movement, spacing, and passing if it does not end with a thunder dunk.

And we are doing this with new players inserted. Its pretty damn amazing.

[Horse]

Did it seem like Pop went away from Diaw even though he had a great game? I guess cause the clips went small. Anyway even with a double-digit win we know these Spurs will play alot better from here on out, keep the broom on standby.

[TDMVPDPOY]

I still think Manu could've played a lot better but it was good to see him getting involved tonight. Onse thing I've noticed is his very reduced minutes. Tonight he only played 26 minutes. So is this going to continue for the rest of the year.

he came on and did alot of stupid shit, even though he score +18, it felt like he got these pts out of somewhere while not makin any highlight plays...

im surprised they didnt play martin alot of minutes, his the only one that could play any form of defense on our bigs until his emotions get the better of him...

[ALVAREZ6]

I think Manu deserves slightly lower than an A-, did not play well enough imo to get any type of A. He took a couple of bad shots and dicked around with that one three at the top of the 3 PT line trying to draw a foul leading to another basket for the Clips in part of their run.

I'm a little concerned with Manu because he still hasn't come close to playing to his potential offensively. He mainly just shoots 3s and sometimes drives but even when he drives he's still not 100% at finishing. And perhaps he's lost a step or two and can't shake defenders off and get by them as quickly. He's also rarely shooting mid-range jumpers, which is something he's added to his game over the last few years.

[gameFACE]

Kawhi = the real ROY. His play is a big reason the Spurs are able to maintain a high level of play. Sure he's hit a few rookie walls this season. But to contribute what he does on this team, and in the playoffs no less, gets him ROY.

(but congrats to whoever got it.......)

[EVAY]

Dude, the Clippers went full court press on the bench, which took the Spurs pick n roll away. This is really easy to counter. Have Tiago and Sjax set double screens (one right after the other) going up the court on Bledsoe or Mo Williams. Pick them hard. Have Neal or Manu go up the court full speed, right around each pick, this will cause one-on-one matchups with Evans/Martin on Neal or Manu and both will eat those guys for lunch.

Pop will make the adjustments and make the Clips pay for being overly aggressive.

And for Parker, they are just doubling and it hurt them with TD and Diaw hitting their jumpers. But to really negate this, just have Green or Leonard Spot at the top of the Key or close to the wing, have Duncan/Diaw set the pick. As soon as they continue to double, Duncan/Diaw cut to the post, Parker make the quick pass either to Duncan/Diaw if open. But if Kwahi or Green guys drops to defend them then pass it to either of them. If their defender don't step up, shoot the 3 ball. if they do step up, pass it back down low to Duncan or Diaw for a two on one in the post.

The Clippers put up their best effort last night and it wasn't enough. They have so many holes on their D to exploit its not funny. I am sure Pop will make alot of adjustments come Thursday where we might see another 30 pt Game 2 shalacking.

Really good observations. Well said.

[lefty]

Great read :tu

[OldSilentHill]

Good post but Manu deserved a B+(can do way better).

And Boris Diaw an A+ like Duncan ????? C´mon!

[OldSilentHill]

Double post.

[EVAY]

Hey, Timvp:

I often disagree with one or more of your observations/grade write-ups, but I have to say that I thought every one of these was spot on! Not suggesting that you need/want any encouragement from me...just thought I would pass along praise since I so frequently pass along differences.

Thanks for doing these.

[EVAY]

Hey, Timvp:

I often disagree with one or more of your observations/grade write-ups, but I have to say that I thought every one of these was spot on! Not suggesting that you need/want any encouragement from me...just thought I would pass along praise since I so frequently pass along differences.

Thanks for doing these.

[EVAY]

One thing overall...Tim totally deserves the A+ from last night.

As a couple of us noted before the series began, given the nature and talent of the Clippers big me, he should easily be the MVP of this series. He was HUGE last night, and will continue to be so, I believe.

[GSH]

Hmmm, not really what I would say.

Here are mine, you will notice they're quite different:

--------------------------------------------------

After more than 7 days of rest, the Spurs were back on the court. And for the 15th straight game, San Antonio's work resulted in a W. While the Clippers showed a lot of fight, the Spurs were able to coast with ease to a 108-92 victory.
...
--------------------------------------------------

As you can see the differences are subtle, but I feel quite meaningful.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go talk to my editor.


P.S. Can you do these a little sooner next time? I'm way past my submission deadline.


Oh, holy shit! This is so brutal, but so funny at the same time. :lol

[EVAY]

I seems that it always takes Tony a couple of quarters to get the defense of a good team figured out. So I wasn't surprised or upset when he started the way he did last night. Patience is a good thing in those situations. I think the offensive spacing saved us last night from some nightmare scenarios that could have occurred with other teams, and that almost occurred with Neal.

We have got to stop Neal from bringing the ball up. Manu just has to be the ball handler, or even Jackson...but Neal is a liability against a team like the Clippers, who are quick with their hands and feet. We need him out there for scoring, but somebody else has to be the ball handler.

[Old School 44]

Great write-up, great win!
With the layoff, I think in the first half, the Spurs were just shaking the rust and getting reaquainted with playoff game speed. On Thursday, I expect fewer turnovers and an even more convincing victory.

[Mr. Body]

It's just filthy the Spurs got Boris Diaw for absolutely nothing. Thanks for tanking it up on the Bobcats, Boris!

[ginobilized]

Just out of curiosity, did James Anderson warrant a grade?
I was surprised to see him in the first quarter and thought
he did pretty well.

[John_Carroll]

Fuck off!!! :flipoff
Find your own forum to pilfer!


http://www.cikava.com/gallery/albums/Smack/active_users.jpg

[_jin]

hum, he played 4 sec in the 1st quarter and had one stupid foul

[jiggy_55]

Good shooting made up for dumb passes and defensive lapses. I expect the team to be far better on Thursday.

I thought the lineup of Neal, Manu, Jack, Why and Splitter was promising. You've got good defenders, good rebounders, good shooters and the two guys that do the best job of getting the ball to Splitter in good spots.

I wouldn't expect much better shooting, we were rolling from deep.. But I would expect less mistakes and turnovers, and the same type of defensive effort.

[FvckMavs]

Thanks, John...

[rmt]

It's just filthy the Spurs got Boris Diaw for absolutely nothing. Thanks for tanking it up on the Bobcats, Boris!

I wonder if he purposely did that. He must talk to TP about how well he would fit in beside Duncan given the Spurs' weakness up front.

[SuperDave]

Nice win, and it's always scary to play game 1 coming off a long layoff, so I'm happy just to have survived. Turnovers were a big problem, and we can't count on shooting that well from 3 in the future--- even with the looks we were getting. Game would have gotten a little scary if we had shot to closer to our average from the arc. Most impressive part of the game, besides Tim's dominance, was the individual and team defense on CP3. Keep Paul bottled up, and the Clips won't be able to score consistently enough to win.

[T Park]

hum, he played 4 sec in the 1st quarter and had one stupid foul


That was an intentional foul but he fouled the wrong guy. Had Evans and Martin in the game but fouled Martin :-/

[2centsworth]

I think Manu deserves slightly lower than an A-, did not play well enough imo to get any type of A. He took a couple of bad shots and dicked around with that one three at the top of the 3 PT line trying to draw a foul leading to another basket for the Clips in part of their run.

I'm a little concerned with Manu because he still hasn't come close to playing to his potential offensively. He mainly just shoots 3s and sometimes drives but even when he drives he's still not 100% at finishing. And perhaps he's lost a step or two and can't shake defenders off and get by them as quickly. He's also rarely shooting mid-range jumpers, which is something he's added to his game over the last few years.

My thoughts too, but no lower than a b+ for knocking down early momentum threes, getting some fts and playing solid d.

[jjktkk]

Thanks for the grades and writeup Tim.

[wildbill2u]

The rust showed in our first half passing problems and other turnovers. I didn't expect the second half blow-out because of the relatively poor first half.

We used a lot more minutes on our starters than usual and surprisingly more than did LA. In fact, their second team logged more minutes that our second team which is unusual.

But all's well that ends well.

[Vito Corleone]

This was a 16-point win that could have easily been a 25-point win.

The Spurs are just better than the Clippers, and it showed last night.

I remember back in 2002 when we played the Lakers in the playoffs. I mentioned that we could play our game and do what we wanted and still lose because the fact was the Lakers were just a better team.

The Clippers are in the same boat, they played about as well as they could have and still got beat by 16 pts. I was watching the game with my dad and neither of us felt the Spurs brought their A game defensively yet we held them under 100 pts and beat them 16 pts.

I have a hard time seeing us lose more than one game

[ElNono]

Thanks!

[therealtruth]

I remember back in 2002 when we played the Lakers in the playoffs. I mentioned that we could play our game and do what we wanted and still lose because the fact was the Lakers were just a better team.

The Clippers are in the same boat, they played about as well as they could have and still got beat by 16 pts. I was watching the game with my dad and neither of us felt the Spurs brought their A game defensively yet we held them under 100 pts and beat them 16 pts.

I have a hard time seeing us lose more than one game

As long as we continue to make adjustments. The playoffs are all about adjustments. It's how teams that seem really good end up losing. They either don't adjust or can't adjust.

[Mugen]

Manu had one of the worst stretches of flopping I've seen from him in a long time. Worse was that he didn't even get any calls.

Other than that, i thought he was great and def deserved is A-.

Apart from him, the bench had a pretty subpar game. They will have to play better moving forward.

I would not be opposed to seeing Patty and DeJuan make appearances if Neal & Bonner continue to struggle.

[~Sweetmelody~]

I'll wait to see what John Carroll has to say. He's more authoritative tbh

Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.

[TMTTRIO]

Manu deserved a C+ or B- tonight. By the way I'm not sure if it's good to continue to use Manu as the Sixth Man anymore. I know they're starting to use him less and not rely on him so much because he's old but one of my concerns lately is that when he comes into the game now it takes him a long time once he gets in to start contributing or doing anything. It's not like it used to be where he could come in right away and produce right away or bring a lot of energy. Also I've noticed that the starters get us a huge lead in the first place which is great but then you bring Manu in to pretty much play really useless minutes and pretty much hope he doesn't get hurt again in those minutes. Also he seems to not play well with Neal out there. He needs to be out there with Tony now. By the way I've noticed his minutes are starting to decrease more and more.

[Spurtacus]

Timmy was in old man beast mode last night.

Nice write up as usual. :tu

[therealtruth]

Duncan's playing like he's back in 2007.

[DMC]

This was already posted on ESPN day after tomorrow.

[UnWantedTheory]

Hmmm, not really what I would say.

Here are mine, you will notice they're quite different:

--------------------------------------------------

After more than 7 days of rest, the Spurs were back on the court. And for the 15th straight game, San Antonio's work resulted in a W. While the Clippers showed a lot of fight, the Spurs were able to coast with ease to a 108-92 victory.

Early on, the rust was felt on defense. The Spurs had a handful of breakdowns on that segment in the first quarter. The second period started off in pretty much the same way but eventually the good guys found their defensive groove. The Clippers didn't score for nearly five minutes to turn a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

By the third quarter, the Spurs were hitting everything and grew their advantage to as large as 19 points. The Clippers made a run in the end quarter to pull within eight points with 8:42 remaining. But again the Spurs were able to go on an 11-3 run over the next six and a half minutes to finish the game.

Los Angeles played hard but the Spurs just beat them with their skill, basketball IQ and execution. Hopefully the Spurs can stay healthy and get even sharper as this series progress, which would force the Clippers to play a flawless game to even win once in this contest.


Tim Duncan A+
During the week-long break, TD fretted about being rusty in Game 1. So much for that. Duncan was a robot from the get go. On Defense, he was supremely impressive. Duncan defended pick-and-rolls, was strong on the low block and offered help in a timely manner. When matched up against Blake Griffin, he had a smart gameplan and executed it to perfection. Duncan also ran back in transition and pulled down a number of contested boards. Offensively, his efficiency was lethal. While Duncan didn't do anything too flashy, he played wonderfully fast and was consistently making his good calls -- whether it called for a pass, a quick shot, a drive to the rim or a post move. All in all, it'd be difficult to expect the veteran hall of famer to play at a higher level.


......
......
......

Pop A-
There weren't many huge surprises out of Pop tonight. I thought he was going to start Green off on Paul and then let Parker defend him late but Pop did it the other way around. Other than that, this game went according to plan. I was really happy he let Leonard, Green and Diaw play longer minutes. Going small when the Clippers went small was the right move. The bottomline is Pop got yet another win without taxing any of his players too much.

--------------------------------------------------

As you can see the differences are subtle, but I feel quite meaningful.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go talk to my editor.


P.S. Can you do these a little sooner next time? I'm way past my submission deadline.




Great write up as usual John. Thanks so much.

[maverick1948]

I tend to disagree with Timvp on Bonner's grade most of the time. He looks at Bonner and says "Oh well, it's Bonner. He will do something stupid." Well, this time I think you are wrong about the "bonehead plays on defense". He was on the court with Gary Neal. He was rotating to cover the area that should have been protected by Neal and got burned. Bonner does things that are viewed as mistakes on his part when he is trying to give help defense on a guard who has been beaten. Bonner is not a one on one defender, but he is a solid help defender most of the time. Getting burned by a guard is the biggest nightmare of every big man. He doesnt deserve an A or C. His short stint on the court should be at least a B or B-. As for offense, Utah and LAC have not left him open in the playoffs. I think in 5 games, he is shooting 50% from 3 point line. Do you think he is going to see many open shots? On a couple of his passed up shots, the pass led to a completely unguarded 3 from someone else. Please PLEASE watch the games closer.

[UnWantedTheory]

^^^So...you heart Bonner?

[Spurtacus]

This was already posted on ESPN day after tomorrow.

I paid for it.

[timvp]

The aspect of Manu I really liked was his defense. Perhaps my expectations for him were lower than they should have been since the last game against the Clippers was the worst defensive game I've ever seen him play, but I really liked his defense and his attacking of the basket. All those short guards of the Clippers are tough for him to defend but he was up for the task ... and then he was obviously an asset on the offensive end.