timvp
11-14-2012, 11:44 AM
In the latest installment of Spurs versus Lakers, the two teams had a competitive -- if not aesthetically-pleasing -- affair. Thanks to a Danny Green three-pointer with less than ten seconds remaining in the contest, the Spurs were able to pull out an 84-82 victory
After Kobe Bryant scored the first basket of the game, the Spurs responded with ten consecutive points. The Lakers called a timeout and then proceeded to go on a 14-0 run of their own. San Antonio continued to struggle offensively for the duration of the first period and trailed 24-18 at the end of the quarter.
Early in the second, the Spurs were able to close the gap thanks to a strong defensive showing that allowed the Lakers to score only four points in the first five and a half minutes. From then until the end of the game, neither team was able to gain an advantage of more than five points.
With two minutes remaining in the game, Antawn Jamison hit a three-pointer to put the Lakers up by a point. Tim Duncan hit a jumper to put the Spurs back up, however Pau Gasol responded with two free throws and a jumper to lift the Lakers to a three-point advantage.
Needing a basket with under a minute remaining, Duncan again came through -- this time with a difficult runner in the lane. The Spurs got a stop on the other end to gain possession down by a point with less than 20 seconds remaining. That’s when Pop drew up a play that resulted in the game-winning three-pointer from Green. On the final play, Gasol missed a desperation three-pointer and Tiago Splitter pulled down the rebound (eventually) to secure the win.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box81.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box82.png
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Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
It was just another extremely strong performance from Tim Duncan. Although he started off slowly, Duncan’s 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the second half were gigantic. Defensively, he did very good work against Dwight Howard. He fought him for position all night long and was instrumental in the Lakers newest superstar bigman committing six turnovers. Duncan’s defensive rebounding was also huge, particularly in the second half. Offensively, in addition to the big shots he authored down the stretch, Duncan played a controlled, cerebral brand of basketball. Not only did he finish without a turnover, he didn’t have much trouble getting the shots he wanted against Los Angeles’ imposing front line. Passing was yet another strength of Duncan’s on this night. It remains exciting to watch Duncan play at such a high level.
Final Grade: 96
Season Average: 91.4
Adj. Average: 92.1
---------------
Manu Ginobili
http://www.spurstalk.com/mg12.png
Manu Ginobili’s back flared up before the game and he had to convince Pop to let him play. In retrospect, he probably should have sat this one out. On offense, besides a transition layup and a few quality passes, Ginobili was a train wreck. His shooting stroke was awkward, his timing was off and his movements were ragged. However, there was a bright spot for Ginobili: defense. He competed his heart out when assigned to Bryant and actually did a fine job. The Argentinean was able to stay right with him and forced him to work for his points. Hopefully Ginobili’s better than expected defense is a sign that his back is on the mend and that his offensive woes are simply a matter of lacking rhythm.
Final Grade: 76
Season Average: 79.2
Adj. Average: 78.7
---------------
Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
While far from a dominant showing, I thought Tony Parker did rather well. Defensively, he pressured the ball to take advantage of their lack of a true point guard (both Steve Nash and Steve Blake were out due to injury). His help-defense was also attentive. On offense, Parker took great care of the ball. After two straight games of excessive team turnovers, a healthy Parker was able to almost single-handedly solve that issue. Passing-wise, he was strong, particularly in pick-and-roll sets. And while his shooting percentage wasn’t anything to write home to Paris about, I thought that just about every shot he attempted was a good, clean look.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 84.0
Adj. Average: 85.5
---------------
Kawhi Leonard
http://www.spurstalk.com/kl12.png
Coming out of the gates, I wasn’t too impressed with Kawhi Leonard. His offense was shaky, his defense was lukewarm and his play in transition left a lot to be desired. However, I was pleased by how his level of play increased as the game went along. By the fourth quarter, Leonard wasn’t bashful about trying to make an impact on each possession. Offensively, he connected on a pair of midrange jumpers that the Spurs desperately needed. Defensively, his off the ball help was really good and he pulled down a couple contested boards. In the final two minutes, he switched onto Bryant and was able hold him scoreless.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 83.3
Adj. Average: 83.6
---------------
Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
Danny Green deserves credit for knocking down the game-winner and for playing strong help-defense. It’s not easy to hit a pressure shot on the road and the Spurs probably lose if he misses -- so kudos to him. That said, I was displeased by the rest of Green’s game. His defense on Bryant was atrocious. Not only was he not showing enough grit or determination, his fundamentals were poor. Offensively, I wasn’t thrilled with his shot selection and he wasn’t shooting with his normal level of confidence. Again, props to Green for hitting that shot … but the Spurs need more from him.
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 83.9
Adj. Average: 84.2
---------------
Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
Getting the start next to Duncan in order to help deal with Howard and Gasol, Tiago Splitter had by far his best game of the season. The most extraordinary aspect was that he played a completely different role and did so without skipping a beat. His pick-and-roll sets were nowhere to be found and he was forced further out on the perimeter defensively. Instead of looking like a fish out of water, Splitter adapted and figured out how best to help. Offensively, he concentrated on crashing the glass and continuously searched for open space on the weak-side of the court. On defense, he guarded well outside of the paint but was still aware enough to help at the rim. Splitter also ran the court very well and his physicality was much, much improved. Let us hope this ends up being the turning point in Splitter’s season.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 79.2
Adj. Average: 80.5
---------------
Stephen Jackson
http://www.spurstalk.com/sj12.png
It was a relatively quiet night for Stephen Jackson. He buried a pair of well-timed three-pointers and played some good defense, however his overall impact was minimal in his 23 minutes. He wasn’t making many plays and his energy wasn’t at its normal level. That said, he did well to avoid any mistakes and he added some toughness in the paint to help offset the Lakers size advantage.
Final Grade: 82
Season Average: 85.1
Adj. Average: 85.6
---------------
Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Defensively, Boris Diaw was an asset off the bench for the Spurs. He played very strong post defense and his help was almost always on time. Unfortunately, that was about the extent of his usefulness. Diaw was silent on the boards and did next to nothing on offense. For someone who is shooting better than 60% from the field, it’d be nice if he thought about shooting more often. His all-world passing ability has also been missing in action as of late.
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 81.0
Adj. Average: 82.9
---------------
DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
Well, we can’t call DeJuan Blair timid. He seemed to be involved in just about every play during his 13 minutes. When watching the game live, I was underwhelmed by Blair’s performance. However, when viewing the tape, I noticed more small things he was doing correctly. His post defense was surprisingly stout and he worked non-stop to gain good position. Blair’s running of the court was also helpful. That said, it’s impossible to deny that he was mostly a ball of unbridled action. He needs to play smarter and under more control if he’s going to be a dependable part of this team.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 78.2
Adj. Average: 80.0
---------------
Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
Playing only in the first half, Gary Neal wasn’t very good. He was forcing shots and failed to get the Spurs into their sets. Defensively, he was decent but wasn’t challenged. After lighting up the Blazers last game, Neal sliced open a finger on his shooting hand. Perhaps that had something to do with his struggles on this night.
Final Grade: 75
Season Average: 83.3
Adj. Average: 85.7
---------------
Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
Patrick Mills took over for Gary Neal in the second half and did well. His pressure defense was useful and his pushing of the pace helped the Spurs get some easy shots. It was great to see him shoot without hesitation and otherwise stick to his strengths offensively. Mills’ ability to go from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye will allow him to be an intriguing option in Pop’s bag of tricks.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 80.2
Adj. Average: 79.6
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
I was really impressed by how Pop coached this game. I loved not only that he started Splitter, but that he played him quality minutes and trusted him in the guts of the game. Benching Ginobili at the end turned out to be the right move, as was replacing Neal with Mills. Pop’s play for Green was genius. Switching Leonard onto Bryant at the end worked wonders. Oh, and I managed to not shed a tear regarding Matt Bonner’s DNP-CD.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 85.3
---------------
Offense
How did the Spurs shoot 38.9% and only get to the free throw line 11 times yet still put up enough points to win? Turning the ball over only eight times was huge. Passing well (22 assists) and shooting a reasonable percentage on three-pointers (7-for-20 for 35%) also helped. Obviously, the Spurs will need to score better going forward but it was a good learning experience for the team to figure out how to put points on the board when nothing was going as planned.
Final Grade: 71
Season Average: 82.5
---------------
Defense
Defensive rebounding remains extremely troubling and Bryant was on fire for the first 46 minutes … but everything else was strong. Outside of Bryant, the Lakers shot only 34.5% from the field and 25% on three-pointers. Holding the Lakers to 18 assists while forcing 17 turnovers also points to superlative D. And perhaps best of all, L.A. was able to score only 26 points in the paint. Against a team so tall and talented, that’s a spectacularly low number.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 83.3
---------------
Overall
Great playoff-style win. Sure, there is a lot of cleaning up to do (for both teams) but the scrappiness was commendable and the Spurs were once again able to come up clutch in money time.
Final Grade: 89
Season Average: 83.5
---------------
After Kobe Bryant scored the first basket of the game, the Spurs responded with ten consecutive points. The Lakers called a timeout and then proceeded to go on a 14-0 run of their own. San Antonio continued to struggle offensively for the duration of the first period and trailed 24-18 at the end of the quarter.
Early in the second, the Spurs were able to close the gap thanks to a strong defensive showing that allowed the Lakers to score only four points in the first five and a half minutes. From then until the end of the game, neither team was able to gain an advantage of more than five points.
With two minutes remaining in the game, Antawn Jamison hit a three-pointer to put the Lakers up by a point. Tim Duncan hit a jumper to put the Spurs back up, however Pau Gasol responded with two free throws and a jumper to lift the Lakers to a three-point advantage.
Needing a basket with under a minute remaining, Duncan again came through -- this time with a difficult runner in the lane. The Spurs got a stop on the other end to gain possession down by a point with less than 20 seconds remaining. That’s when Pop drew up a play that resulted in the game-winning three-pointer from Green. On the final play, Gasol missed a desperation three-pointer and Tiago Splitter pulled down the rebound (eventually) to secure the win.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box81.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box82.png
---------------
Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
It was just another extremely strong performance from Tim Duncan. Although he started off slowly, Duncan’s 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the second half were gigantic. Defensively, he did very good work against Dwight Howard. He fought him for position all night long and was instrumental in the Lakers newest superstar bigman committing six turnovers. Duncan’s defensive rebounding was also huge, particularly in the second half. Offensively, in addition to the big shots he authored down the stretch, Duncan played a controlled, cerebral brand of basketball. Not only did he finish without a turnover, he didn’t have much trouble getting the shots he wanted against Los Angeles’ imposing front line. Passing was yet another strength of Duncan’s on this night. It remains exciting to watch Duncan play at such a high level.
Final Grade: 96
Season Average: 91.4
Adj. Average: 92.1
---------------
Manu Ginobili
http://www.spurstalk.com/mg12.png
Manu Ginobili’s back flared up before the game and he had to convince Pop to let him play. In retrospect, he probably should have sat this one out. On offense, besides a transition layup and a few quality passes, Ginobili was a train wreck. His shooting stroke was awkward, his timing was off and his movements were ragged. However, there was a bright spot for Ginobili: defense. He competed his heart out when assigned to Bryant and actually did a fine job. The Argentinean was able to stay right with him and forced him to work for his points. Hopefully Ginobili’s better than expected defense is a sign that his back is on the mend and that his offensive woes are simply a matter of lacking rhythm.
Final Grade: 76
Season Average: 79.2
Adj. Average: 78.7
---------------
Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
While far from a dominant showing, I thought Tony Parker did rather well. Defensively, he pressured the ball to take advantage of their lack of a true point guard (both Steve Nash and Steve Blake were out due to injury). His help-defense was also attentive. On offense, Parker took great care of the ball. After two straight games of excessive team turnovers, a healthy Parker was able to almost single-handedly solve that issue. Passing-wise, he was strong, particularly in pick-and-roll sets. And while his shooting percentage wasn’t anything to write home to Paris about, I thought that just about every shot he attempted was a good, clean look.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 84.0
Adj. Average: 85.5
---------------
Kawhi Leonard
http://www.spurstalk.com/kl12.png
Coming out of the gates, I wasn’t too impressed with Kawhi Leonard. His offense was shaky, his defense was lukewarm and his play in transition left a lot to be desired. However, I was pleased by how his level of play increased as the game went along. By the fourth quarter, Leonard wasn’t bashful about trying to make an impact on each possession. Offensively, he connected on a pair of midrange jumpers that the Spurs desperately needed. Defensively, his off the ball help was really good and he pulled down a couple contested boards. In the final two minutes, he switched onto Bryant and was able hold him scoreless.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 83.3
Adj. Average: 83.6
---------------
Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
Danny Green deserves credit for knocking down the game-winner and for playing strong help-defense. It’s not easy to hit a pressure shot on the road and the Spurs probably lose if he misses -- so kudos to him. That said, I was displeased by the rest of Green’s game. His defense on Bryant was atrocious. Not only was he not showing enough grit or determination, his fundamentals were poor. Offensively, I wasn’t thrilled with his shot selection and he wasn’t shooting with his normal level of confidence. Again, props to Green for hitting that shot … but the Spurs need more from him.
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 83.9
Adj. Average: 84.2
---------------
Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
Getting the start next to Duncan in order to help deal with Howard and Gasol, Tiago Splitter had by far his best game of the season. The most extraordinary aspect was that he played a completely different role and did so without skipping a beat. His pick-and-roll sets were nowhere to be found and he was forced further out on the perimeter defensively. Instead of looking like a fish out of water, Splitter adapted and figured out how best to help. Offensively, he concentrated on crashing the glass and continuously searched for open space on the weak-side of the court. On defense, he guarded well outside of the paint but was still aware enough to help at the rim. Splitter also ran the court very well and his physicality was much, much improved. Let us hope this ends up being the turning point in Splitter’s season.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 79.2
Adj. Average: 80.5
---------------
Stephen Jackson
http://www.spurstalk.com/sj12.png
It was a relatively quiet night for Stephen Jackson. He buried a pair of well-timed three-pointers and played some good defense, however his overall impact was minimal in his 23 minutes. He wasn’t making many plays and his energy wasn’t at its normal level. That said, he did well to avoid any mistakes and he added some toughness in the paint to help offset the Lakers size advantage.
Final Grade: 82
Season Average: 85.1
Adj. Average: 85.6
---------------
Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Defensively, Boris Diaw was an asset off the bench for the Spurs. He played very strong post defense and his help was almost always on time. Unfortunately, that was about the extent of his usefulness. Diaw was silent on the boards and did next to nothing on offense. For someone who is shooting better than 60% from the field, it’d be nice if he thought about shooting more often. His all-world passing ability has also been missing in action as of late.
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 81.0
Adj. Average: 82.9
---------------
DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
Well, we can’t call DeJuan Blair timid. He seemed to be involved in just about every play during his 13 minutes. When watching the game live, I was underwhelmed by Blair’s performance. However, when viewing the tape, I noticed more small things he was doing correctly. His post defense was surprisingly stout and he worked non-stop to gain good position. Blair’s running of the court was also helpful. That said, it’s impossible to deny that he was mostly a ball of unbridled action. He needs to play smarter and under more control if he’s going to be a dependable part of this team.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 78.2
Adj. Average: 80.0
---------------
Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
Playing only in the first half, Gary Neal wasn’t very good. He was forcing shots and failed to get the Spurs into their sets. Defensively, he was decent but wasn’t challenged. After lighting up the Blazers last game, Neal sliced open a finger on his shooting hand. Perhaps that had something to do with his struggles on this night.
Final Grade: 75
Season Average: 83.3
Adj. Average: 85.7
---------------
Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
Patrick Mills took over for Gary Neal in the second half and did well. His pressure defense was useful and his pushing of the pace helped the Spurs get some easy shots. It was great to see him shoot without hesitation and otherwise stick to his strengths offensively. Mills’ ability to go from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye will allow him to be an intriguing option in Pop’s bag of tricks.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 80.2
Adj. Average: 79.6
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
I was really impressed by how Pop coached this game. I loved not only that he started Splitter, but that he played him quality minutes and trusted him in the guts of the game. Benching Ginobili at the end turned out to be the right move, as was replacing Neal with Mills. Pop’s play for Green was genius. Switching Leonard onto Bryant at the end worked wonders. Oh, and I managed to not shed a tear regarding Matt Bonner’s DNP-CD.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 85.3
---------------
Offense
How did the Spurs shoot 38.9% and only get to the free throw line 11 times yet still put up enough points to win? Turning the ball over only eight times was huge. Passing well (22 assists) and shooting a reasonable percentage on three-pointers (7-for-20 for 35%) also helped. Obviously, the Spurs will need to score better going forward but it was a good learning experience for the team to figure out how to put points on the board when nothing was going as planned.
Final Grade: 71
Season Average: 82.5
---------------
Defense
Defensive rebounding remains extremely troubling and Bryant was on fire for the first 46 minutes … but everything else was strong. Outside of Bryant, the Lakers shot only 34.5% from the field and 25% on three-pointers. Holding the Lakers to 18 assists while forcing 17 turnovers also points to superlative D. And perhaps best of all, L.A. was able to score only 26 points in the paint. Against a team so tall and talented, that’s a spectacularly low number.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 83.3
---------------
Overall
Great playoff-style win. Sure, there is a lot of cleaning up to do (for both teams) but the scrappiness was commendable and the Spurs were once again able to come up clutch in money time.
Final Grade: 89
Season Average: 83.5
---------------