timvp
11-09-2012, 06:33 PM
The 4-0 Spurs began the game Wednesday night on the right foot. Five minutes into the contest, the Spurs were executing well on both ends and the Clippers had trouble doing anything right. Unfortunately, that’s when it all fell apart for San Antonio. The Clippers ended the first quarter on a 22-9 run and ultimately won the game by a final count of 106-84.
The Spurs kept it reasonably close in the second quarter and for the beginning of the third. However, the Clippers got hot in the latter half of the third period and extended their lead to 20 points going into the final stanza.
In the fourth, the Clippers let their guard down and the Spurs were able to trim the deficit to 11 points with eight minutes remaining. That glimmer of hope quickly disappeared when the Clippers responded with a 15-1 run to put the game on ice and drop the Spurs to 14-1 in their last 15 regular season games.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box51.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box52.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box53.png
Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan’s first hiccup of the 2012-13 season was Wednesday night against the Clippers. While his movements were fine, he was doomed by hesitancy. On offense, his shot selection was often questionable -- usually due to holding the ball too long. On defense, his rotations weren’t crisp and his focus wasn’t as sharp as it was in the first four games. Let’s hope he rebounds quickly and regains his retro form as soon as possible.
Final Grade: 73
Manu Ginobili
There wasn’t much to like about Manu Ginobili’s performance. On offense, he was neither much of a scoring threat nor a playmaker. He settled too often instead of trying to forcefully put his stamp on the game. On defense, Ginobili wasn’t much of a help. When asked to defend a speedy guard, Ginobili was overmatched. It’s obvious that Ginobili is still recovering from his preseason injuries -- but it appears to me that he’s getting close.
Final Grade: 75
Tony Parker
Let’s hope Tony Parker had some success hobnobbing in Los Angeles before and after the game because his time on the basketball court was a waste. The Clippers wanted to take the ball out of Parker’s hands and he acquiesced without much of a fight; his only counterattack was to dribble aimlessly out on the perimeter. To say he played without energy would be a massive understatement. The Spurs simply can’t win when Parker plays as listless as he played on Wednesday night. Though his defense wasn’t a disaster, his offensive indifference more than negated any positives that could found on the opposite end.
Final Grade: 67
Kawhi Leonard
Defensively, I thought Kawhi Leonard did his job. He mostly covered Caron Butler and the Clippers small forward had a quiet outing. Leonard’s help defense wasn’t spectacular -- but that could be said about every player on the team. It was a different story offensively. Leonard was so unsure of himself that he was clearly a liability. He didn’t know where he wanted to be or what he wanted to do, which resulted in him being in the way of everyone else. Leonard needs to figure out his niche and then start playing with more self-assuredness.
Final Grade: 77
Danny Green
If there was a bright spot, it was Danny Green continuing his solid play. Defensively, he had more energy than any of the starters. He made a few mistakes but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. On offense, Green remains on fire. In his last four games, he’s averaging 14 points on 63.6% from the field and 64.7% on three-pointers. He’s shooting with confidence from the perimeter and is a much improved finisher in the paint. Green’s passing has also been commendable the last few outings. Hopefully this streak continues for a while.
Final Grade: 86
Boris Diaw
So far this season, I’ve been underwhelmed with Diaw’s offense but extremely happy with his defense. On Wednesday, it was the other way around. On offense, Diaw did well. His aggression was really good and he was consistently creating plays for himself and others when he caught the ball. Defensively, while he wasn’t horrible, he wasn’t nearly as great as he was in the first four contests. He wasn’t holding his position well and also hurt himself by misreading a handful of moves. Plus, rebounding remains a concerning weakness. While it’s difficult to keep Blake Griffin in check (in addition to dealing with Chris Paul in pick-and-roll sets), Diaw can do better.
Final Grade: 80
Stephen Jackson
With his teammates succumbing to the pressure around him, Stephen Jackson tried to steady the ship -- whether it meant a physical play or the threatening of fisticuffs. As it turns out, Jackson wasn’t able to do much to slow down L.A.’s momentum. He was playing hard but not always smart. Defensively, his positioning was subpar and his fundamentals were missing in action. On offense, Jackson was slow to notice mismatches and was breaking the sets too often.
Final Grade: 79
Tiago Splitter
Tiago Splitter might have had the play of his life when he went coast-to-coast for a dunk while faking out Chris Paul in the process. Unfortunately, while Splitter had a few other highlight moments, his overall play was deficient. Again, a lack of physicality was a main culprit. He needs to finish more powerfully offensively and play with more brawn on defense. As it stands, he gets pushed around too easily whenever he’s in the paint. Concentrating on rebounding is another thing he can do to help his general effectiveness.
Final Grade: 77
Gary Neal
Eric Bledsoe is a difficult player for any backup point guard in the NBA to handle. However, Gary Neal was painfully overmatched. His ballhandling, which is never a strength, was exposed by Bledsoe’s ball-hawking defense. Neal’s only chance was to turn his back on Bledsoe and hope for the best. On the other end, Bledsoe was free to do whatever he wanted due to Neal’s relative lack of footspeed and athleticism. Time will tell whether this was simply a bad night at the office or whether Neal is incapable of competing against the top backup PGs in the league.
Final Grade: 70
DeJuan Blair
DeJuan Blair’s encore was a flop. Other than his rebounding, everything else about Blair’s night was forgettable. His shot selection, patience and spatial awareness were all weaknesses on offense. Defensively, he was rarely in the right position -- no matter if he was asked to defend the painted area or guard out on the perimeter. All in all, I think this was a major step backwards in Blair’s quest to earn an everyday spot in the rotation. His sloppiness and inattentiveness to detail aren’t what winning basketball teams are made of.
Final Grade: 74
Matt Bonner
Matt Bonner didn’t get into the game until late in the third quarter. During his time on the court, I didn’t find him particularly good or bad. He basically just played his role: spacing the court on offense while attempting to be in the right spots on defense. He did that well enough on this night.
Final Grade: 81
Patrick Mills
I still don’t like how Patrick Mills is playing. He’s trying to be a playmaking point guard and that’s just not his game. He’s poor at running pick-and-rolls, a below average passer and not an especially impressive ballhandler. What Mills can do is light up the scoreboard with his scoring and pressure the basketball on defense. The sooner he gets back to playing to his strengths, the sooner the Spurs will have a legit alternative to Neal at backup point guard.
Final Grade: 73
Nando De Colo
During his minutes in garbage time, I thought Nando De Colo showed some intriguing qualities. He had a few possessions of good defense, a couple more fine passes, and he hit a three-pointer that had great rotation on the ball and better arc than we saw in the preseason.
Final Grade: Inc.
Pop
In the first half, Pop attempted to play Splitter and Blair at the same time while benching Bonner -- and the results were horrid. I’m confident in saying that Splitter and Blair is a combination that will never work. Both are pick-and-roll players; playing them together creates spacing issues galore. Besides that misstep, I also thought Pop was slow to adjust. I never saw him do anything to make the Clippers pay for all their overaggressive trapping. Additionally, it was obvious early on that Neal couldn’t handle Bledsoe. All that said, the complete lack of energy by the virtually the entire team made winning an impossibility.
Final Grade: 74
Offense
The Spurs had 25 assists on 30 baskets and went to the free throw line 24 times. Everything else was ugly. San Antonio committed 20 turnovers, weren’t particularly accurate on three-pointers (8-for-23), grabbed offensive rebounds at a feeble rate and had trouble scoring in the paint. Give the Clippers credit but the Spurs definitely deserve a healthy portion of the blame.
Final Grade: 71
Defense
Good news: The Clippers went to the line only nine times and made only 6-of-17 three-pointers. Bad news: The rest. Allowing Los Angeles to shoot 55.4% is totally unacceptable for a team trying to fashion themselves as a defensive squad. That shooting percentage was a result of both inadequate individual defense and help defense that was later than these game thoughts. The Spurs were also poor on the defensive boards and allowed the Clippers to total a whopping 30 assists. Giving up 54 points in the paint and 24 points on the fast break were also extreme negatives.
Final Grade: 65
Overall
Undoubtedly, this was a bad loss. The Spurs were poor on both sides of the court and just about every player had glaring holes. But, even though it was a bad loss, it was also a predictable outcome. The Clippers were extremely motivated and had a tremendous intensity advantage. I’m really interested to see how the Spurs bounce back. As long as they don’t allow it to linger, this loss should serve as a wakeup call that every member of the team needs to play with appropriate fear and sufficient energy each night.
Final Grade: 69
The Spurs kept it reasonably close in the second quarter and for the beginning of the third. However, the Clippers got hot in the latter half of the third period and extended their lead to 20 points going into the final stanza.
In the fourth, the Clippers let their guard down and the Spurs were able to trim the deficit to 11 points with eight minutes remaining. That glimmer of hope quickly disappeared when the Clippers responded with a 15-1 run to put the game on ice and drop the Spurs to 14-1 in their last 15 regular season games.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box51.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box52.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box53.png
Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan’s first hiccup of the 2012-13 season was Wednesday night against the Clippers. While his movements were fine, he was doomed by hesitancy. On offense, his shot selection was often questionable -- usually due to holding the ball too long. On defense, his rotations weren’t crisp and his focus wasn’t as sharp as it was in the first four games. Let’s hope he rebounds quickly and regains his retro form as soon as possible.
Final Grade: 73
Manu Ginobili
There wasn’t much to like about Manu Ginobili’s performance. On offense, he was neither much of a scoring threat nor a playmaker. He settled too often instead of trying to forcefully put his stamp on the game. On defense, Ginobili wasn’t much of a help. When asked to defend a speedy guard, Ginobili was overmatched. It’s obvious that Ginobili is still recovering from his preseason injuries -- but it appears to me that he’s getting close.
Final Grade: 75
Tony Parker
Let’s hope Tony Parker had some success hobnobbing in Los Angeles before and after the game because his time on the basketball court was a waste. The Clippers wanted to take the ball out of Parker’s hands and he acquiesced without much of a fight; his only counterattack was to dribble aimlessly out on the perimeter. To say he played without energy would be a massive understatement. The Spurs simply can’t win when Parker plays as listless as he played on Wednesday night. Though his defense wasn’t a disaster, his offensive indifference more than negated any positives that could found on the opposite end.
Final Grade: 67
Kawhi Leonard
Defensively, I thought Kawhi Leonard did his job. He mostly covered Caron Butler and the Clippers small forward had a quiet outing. Leonard’s help defense wasn’t spectacular -- but that could be said about every player on the team. It was a different story offensively. Leonard was so unsure of himself that he was clearly a liability. He didn’t know where he wanted to be or what he wanted to do, which resulted in him being in the way of everyone else. Leonard needs to figure out his niche and then start playing with more self-assuredness.
Final Grade: 77
Danny Green
If there was a bright spot, it was Danny Green continuing his solid play. Defensively, he had more energy than any of the starters. He made a few mistakes but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. On offense, Green remains on fire. In his last four games, he’s averaging 14 points on 63.6% from the field and 64.7% on three-pointers. He’s shooting with confidence from the perimeter and is a much improved finisher in the paint. Green’s passing has also been commendable the last few outings. Hopefully this streak continues for a while.
Final Grade: 86
Boris Diaw
So far this season, I’ve been underwhelmed with Diaw’s offense but extremely happy with his defense. On Wednesday, it was the other way around. On offense, Diaw did well. His aggression was really good and he was consistently creating plays for himself and others when he caught the ball. Defensively, while he wasn’t horrible, he wasn’t nearly as great as he was in the first four contests. He wasn’t holding his position well and also hurt himself by misreading a handful of moves. Plus, rebounding remains a concerning weakness. While it’s difficult to keep Blake Griffin in check (in addition to dealing with Chris Paul in pick-and-roll sets), Diaw can do better.
Final Grade: 80
Stephen Jackson
With his teammates succumbing to the pressure around him, Stephen Jackson tried to steady the ship -- whether it meant a physical play or the threatening of fisticuffs. As it turns out, Jackson wasn’t able to do much to slow down L.A.’s momentum. He was playing hard but not always smart. Defensively, his positioning was subpar and his fundamentals were missing in action. On offense, Jackson was slow to notice mismatches and was breaking the sets too often.
Final Grade: 79
Tiago Splitter
Tiago Splitter might have had the play of his life when he went coast-to-coast for a dunk while faking out Chris Paul in the process. Unfortunately, while Splitter had a few other highlight moments, his overall play was deficient. Again, a lack of physicality was a main culprit. He needs to finish more powerfully offensively and play with more brawn on defense. As it stands, he gets pushed around too easily whenever he’s in the paint. Concentrating on rebounding is another thing he can do to help his general effectiveness.
Final Grade: 77
Gary Neal
Eric Bledsoe is a difficult player for any backup point guard in the NBA to handle. However, Gary Neal was painfully overmatched. His ballhandling, which is never a strength, was exposed by Bledsoe’s ball-hawking defense. Neal’s only chance was to turn his back on Bledsoe and hope for the best. On the other end, Bledsoe was free to do whatever he wanted due to Neal’s relative lack of footspeed and athleticism. Time will tell whether this was simply a bad night at the office or whether Neal is incapable of competing against the top backup PGs in the league.
Final Grade: 70
DeJuan Blair
DeJuan Blair’s encore was a flop. Other than his rebounding, everything else about Blair’s night was forgettable. His shot selection, patience and spatial awareness were all weaknesses on offense. Defensively, he was rarely in the right position -- no matter if he was asked to defend the painted area or guard out on the perimeter. All in all, I think this was a major step backwards in Blair’s quest to earn an everyday spot in the rotation. His sloppiness and inattentiveness to detail aren’t what winning basketball teams are made of.
Final Grade: 74
Matt Bonner
Matt Bonner didn’t get into the game until late in the third quarter. During his time on the court, I didn’t find him particularly good or bad. He basically just played his role: spacing the court on offense while attempting to be in the right spots on defense. He did that well enough on this night.
Final Grade: 81
Patrick Mills
I still don’t like how Patrick Mills is playing. He’s trying to be a playmaking point guard and that’s just not his game. He’s poor at running pick-and-rolls, a below average passer and not an especially impressive ballhandler. What Mills can do is light up the scoreboard with his scoring and pressure the basketball on defense. The sooner he gets back to playing to his strengths, the sooner the Spurs will have a legit alternative to Neal at backup point guard.
Final Grade: 73
Nando De Colo
During his minutes in garbage time, I thought Nando De Colo showed some intriguing qualities. He had a few possessions of good defense, a couple more fine passes, and he hit a three-pointer that had great rotation on the ball and better arc than we saw in the preseason.
Final Grade: Inc.
Pop
In the first half, Pop attempted to play Splitter and Blair at the same time while benching Bonner -- and the results were horrid. I’m confident in saying that Splitter and Blair is a combination that will never work. Both are pick-and-roll players; playing them together creates spacing issues galore. Besides that misstep, I also thought Pop was slow to adjust. I never saw him do anything to make the Clippers pay for all their overaggressive trapping. Additionally, it was obvious early on that Neal couldn’t handle Bledsoe. All that said, the complete lack of energy by the virtually the entire team made winning an impossibility.
Final Grade: 74
Offense
The Spurs had 25 assists on 30 baskets and went to the free throw line 24 times. Everything else was ugly. San Antonio committed 20 turnovers, weren’t particularly accurate on three-pointers (8-for-23), grabbed offensive rebounds at a feeble rate and had trouble scoring in the paint. Give the Clippers credit but the Spurs definitely deserve a healthy portion of the blame.
Final Grade: 71
Defense
Good news: The Clippers went to the line only nine times and made only 6-of-17 three-pointers. Bad news: The rest. Allowing Los Angeles to shoot 55.4% is totally unacceptable for a team trying to fashion themselves as a defensive squad. That shooting percentage was a result of both inadequate individual defense and help defense that was later than these game thoughts. The Spurs were also poor on the defensive boards and allowed the Clippers to total a whopping 30 assists. Giving up 54 points in the paint and 24 points on the fast break were also extreme negatives.
Final Grade: 65
Overall
Undoubtedly, this was a bad loss. The Spurs were poor on both sides of the court and just about every player had glaring holes. But, even though it was a bad loss, it was also a predictable outcome. The Clippers were extremely motivated and had a tremendous intensity advantage. I’m really interested to see how the Spurs bounce back. As long as they don’t allow it to linger, this loss should serve as a wakeup call that every member of the team needs to play with appropriate fear and sufficient energy each night.
Final Grade: 69