timvp
11-16-2012, 03:54 PM
In one of the most exciting games of the season thus far, the Spurs and Knicks -- owners of the two best records in the NBA -- both had stints of magnificent basketball. Unfortunately for the Spurs, the Knicks had one last magnificent run at the end of the game to grab a 104-100 win in San Antonio.
The first quarter was a back and forth affair that featured pretty good defense but even better offense. Heading into the second period, the Knicks led 33-31. New York soon extended their lead; a Rasheed Wallace three-pointer midway through the quarter gave his team an eight-point advantage. The Spurs responded by turning up the volume on the defensive end and finished the half on a 17-7 run to take a two-point lead into intermission.
The Knicks came out strong in the second half and quickly regained the lead. However, the Spurs once again clamped down on defense. In the final six minutes of the third quarter and the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, the Knicks scored only three points. Early in the fourth is also when Tiago Splitter exploded. The Brazilian scored 13 consecutive points to begin the period. By the time he finished smoldering, the Spurs had a 12-point lead and were seemingly in control.
Regrettably, “seemingly” didn’t turn out to be reality. The Knicks went on a hellacious run in the game’s final seven minutes. Powered by a trio of three-pointers by Jason Kidd, supreme ball-movement and enthusiastic defense, New York went on a 27-11 run in the final seven minutes to steal the game from the good guys.
It was definitely a disappointing loss for the Spurs. That said, give the Knicks a ton of credit. They are undefeated for a reason. New York is playing with a purpose on both ends of the court and their execution is extremely impressive. It’s doubtful that they can keep up this level of play for the duration of the season -- but right now, they’re playing fantastic ball.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box91.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box92.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box93.png
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Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
Through three quarters, Tim Duncan was having another wonderful outing. In 26 minutes, he had 12 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and two assists on 5-for-7 shooting from the court. Offensively, his efficiency was amazing; just about every touch resulted in a positive outcome. On defense, he was also doing a great job. His interior D was very good, his help-defense thwarted numerous drives and he even ventured out on the perimeter from time to time. Unfortunately, Duncan’s five-minute stint in the fourth quarter wasn’t as superlative-laden. Part of the problem was he got virtually no touches until it was too late. On defense, Duncan wasn’t nearly as crisp -- although it should be noted that the Knicks did most of their damage from the perimeter during their closing sprint. All in all, I struggle to find Duncan’s blame in the downfall and thought he did very well for the majority of the night.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 91.2
Adj. Average: 91.9
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Manu Ginobili
http://www.spurstalk.com/mg12.png
By glancing at the final box score, one would assume that Manu Ginobili had a reasonably positive performance. However, watching the game told a completely different story. Offensively, Ginobili was out of rhythm to the nth degree. Plays he could usually make blindfolded were difficult. His passes weren’t time well. His decision-making left a lot to be desired. Defensively, I thought he showed some positive signs when guarding the ball, but his help-defense was missing in action. Ginobili did have some flashes of his old self but he’d be the first one to tell you that he needs to play a lot better.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 78.4
Adj. Average: 77.9
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Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Thursday night was a mixed bag for Tony Parker. The Bad: His defense on Raymond Felton was poor. This was easily his worst defensive game of the season. Parker’s 0-for-4 shooting in the fourth was probably the main reason why the Spurs lost. He took it upon himself to put the Knicks away but failed to do so. The Good: There’s only so much animosity you can aim at Parker considering that he had 12 assists and no turnovers. On the season, he has a better than 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio -- which is extraordinary. Against the Knicks, I didn’t think his poor showing defensively was due to a lack of energy or focus. Felton played a great game, no qualifiers needed. The Excuse? After the game Pop said Parker was tired. Seeing as all of his shots were short, it’s difficult to argue with the coach. Then again, even if Parker was tired, he shouldn’t have tried to do so much down the stretch … so that excuse can be stretched only so far.
Final Grade: 87
Season Average: 84.4
Adj. Average: 85.7
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Kawhi Leonard
http://www.spurstalk.com/kl12.png
I thought Kawhi Leonard’s offense looked great in the first quarter. That pull-up jumper off the dribble is beginning to become a weapon for the youngster. If he can add it to his repertoire permanently, it’s going to make him a much better offensive player. Additionally, his three-point stroke is starting to look a lot better. He’s using his legs more and the arc on his shot is improved. All told, Leonard had ten of his 13 points in the first 12 minutes. In the second half, it was Leonard’s defense that shined. He was the main defender against Carmelo Anthony, who was largely held in check -- scoring-wise, at least. Leonard also pulled down a number of contested boards throughout the night. Now if he could take his offense from the first quarter and his defense form the second half and put it into one portrait … wow.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 84.0
Adj. Average: 84.4
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Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
I wasn’t overly pleased with any aspect of Danny Green’s outing. His individual defense was average. His help-defense was oftentimes late. His rotations were ill-timed on too many instances. Offensively, his shot selection was decent enough but it would have been helpful if he knocked down one or two more open looks. On both ends of the court, Green could have helped out by playing with a bit more liveliness.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 83.2
Adj. Average: 83.5
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DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
DeJuan Blair started the ballgame and, honestly, I thought he did rather well. He had the responsibility of defending Anthony at the beginning of the game and he was surprisingly adequate. On the other end, Blair tried to punish Anthony in the low-post. And while his attempts didn’t pay off, it was a good thought. Following his opening stint, Blair never went back in the game. Strange decision (unless it was due to an injury, obviously).
Final Grade: 84
Season Average: 79.2
Adj. Average: 80.3
---------------
Stephen Jackson
http://www.spurstalk.com/sj12.png
Stephen Jackson brought intangibles to the table by the truckload against the Knicks. The Spurs utilized small ball for a chunk of the game and were able to get away with doing so due to Jackson’s toughness in the paint. His season-high of 11 rebounds point to how much he was concentrating at holding down the fort in the middle. Jackson was also energetic when playing perimeter defense and did good work on Anthony. Offensively, he was another player who missed a majority of his wide open looks. Additionally, it would have been helpful if he took on more of the playmaking duties -- especially with Ginobili being limited.
Grade: 88
Season Average: 85.5
Adj. Average: 85.9
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Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
Talk about a turnaround. For the first three quarters, Tiago Splitter was a disaster. His defense was horrendous, his rebounding was non-existent and his offense was so depressing it became laughable. Then all of a sudden he exploded in the fourth quarter. Those 13 straight points he authored should have been enough to give the Spurs the win. I also thought Splitter’s defense improved in the fourth -- although he never did grab a rebound. Let us hope we begin to see more of that fourth quarter version of Splitter going forward.
Grade: 84
Season Average: 79.9
Adj. Average: 81.0
---------------
Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
With Gary Neal missing the game due to a finger injury, Patrick Mills was thrown into his role. Overall, I don’t think he helped his standing in Pop’s eyes. Defensively, he had a couple good moments but was subpar on the whole. Mills gave up too much penetration and he was slow closing out on shooters. On offense, I didn’t see any point guard skills. He basically just brought the ball up the court, passed it and stood beyond the arc. Rinse and repeat. He’s not a great ballhandling or passer but Mills needs to at least use his speed to break down the opposing defense in order to create opportunities for teammates. The brightest spot was Mills wasn’t bashful about shooting the ball.
Grade: 73
Season Average: 79.0
Adj. Average: 78.3
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Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Um, are we sure Boris Diaw is alive? His effort against the Knicks was pitiful. It was like he was jogging around the court trying not to sweat. And the bad news is that this is becoming a pattern. In the last three games, Diaw has three points, three rebounds and two assists in 45 minutes. It’d be difficult to be any more invisible. I know he isn’t a focal point of this team but Diaw has to do something … anything. In the offseason, Pop talked about getting on Diaw to play harder and with more of an edge. I don’t see any evidence of that. If anything, he’s regressing.
Final Grade: 64
Season Average: 79.1
Adj. Average: 81.6
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
After Pop’s best coaching game of the season, he followed it up with a dud. His post-game excuse of the team being tired rang hollow since he didn’t fully take advantage of his deep roster. I also didn’t see him do much to try to impede New York’s late run. A couple plays ran specifically for Duncan could have made a world of difference. Pairing Mills next to Parker was highly questionable since Mills wasn’t playing that well to begin with. Some of Pop’s small ball lineups were entirely too small. Overall, I have no doubts that Pop would have done things differently with hindsight.
Final Grade: 68
Season Average: 83.3
---------------
Offense
Outside of three-point shooting, the offense did well. The two-point shooting was 51.7% and the free throws (21 attempts), assists (21) and turnovers (13) were all at acceptable levels. The Spurs also grabbed offensive rebounds at a higher than normal rate. As it was, the offense was good. It would have been great if more three-pointers fell.
Grade: 88
Season Average: 83.1
---------------
Defense
The 104 points allowed looks ugly but truthfully I wasn’t too dissatisfied with the defense. There were definitely some breakdowns from time to time (Kidd’s three-pointers being glaring examples) but I thought the Spurs were better than usual on this end. At times, they were damn near dominant. The Knicks exploded at the end of the game but statistically you can see they were able to succeed by hitting a high percentage of three-pointers and taking extreme care of the ball. The Spurs could have played better on D but I can’t classify this showing as a step backwards. Oh, and for once San Antonio didn’t get abused on the defensive glass. That’s another faint silver lining.
Grade: 82
Season Average: 83.1
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Overall
Is it fair to say the Spurs played adequately well but the Knicks just played better? I think it is. Is it fair to say San Antonio choked? Yeah, probably. But when the Spurs play at this level at home, they will win a vast majority of the time. The collapse was unsightly. The lost opportunity was disheartening. That said, give the Knicks credit and hope the Spurs will learn something from this as they continue their journey of 82.
Grade: 86
Season Average: 83.8
---------------
The first quarter was a back and forth affair that featured pretty good defense but even better offense. Heading into the second period, the Knicks led 33-31. New York soon extended their lead; a Rasheed Wallace three-pointer midway through the quarter gave his team an eight-point advantage. The Spurs responded by turning up the volume on the defensive end and finished the half on a 17-7 run to take a two-point lead into intermission.
The Knicks came out strong in the second half and quickly regained the lead. However, the Spurs once again clamped down on defense. In the final six minutes of the third quarter and the first two and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, the Knicks scored only three points. Early in the fourth is also when Tiago Splitter exploded. The Brazilian scored 13 consecutive points to begin the period. By the time he finished smoldering, the Spurs had a 12-point lead and were seemingly in control.
Regrettably, “seemingly” didn’t turn out to be reality. The Knicks went on a hellacious run in the game’s final seven minutes. Powered by a trio of three-pointers by Jason Kidd, supreme ball-movement and enthusiastic defense, New York went on a 27-11 run in the final seven minutes to steal the game from the good guys.
It was definitely a disappointing loss for the Spurs. That said, give the Knicks a ton of credit. They are undefeated for a reason. New York is playing with a purpose on both ends of the court and their execution is extremely impressive. It’s doubtful that they can keep up this level of play for the duration of the season -- but right now, they’re playing fantastic ball.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box91.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box92.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box93.png
---------------
Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
Through three quarters, Tim Duncan was having another wonderful outing. In 26 minutes, he had 12 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and two assists on 5-for-7 shooting from the court. Offensively, his efficiency was amazing; just about every touch resulted in a positive outcome. On defense, he was also doing a great job. His interior D was very good, his help-defense thwarted numerous drives and he even ventured out on the perimeter from time to time. Unfortunately, Duncan’s five-minute stint in the fourth quarter wasn’t as superlative-laden. Part of the problem was he got virtually no touches until it was too late. On defense, Duncan wasn’t nearly as crisp -- although it should be noted that the Knicks did most of their damage from the perimeter during their closing sprint. All in all, I struggle to find Duncan’s blame in the downfall and thought he did very well for the majority of the night.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 91.2
Adj. Average: 91.9
---------------
Manu Ginobili
http://www.spurstalk.com/mg12.png
By glancing at the final box score, one would assume that Manu Ginobili had a reasonably positive performance. However, watching the game told a completely different story. Offensively, Ginobili was out of rhythm to the nth degree. Plays he could usually make blindfolded were difficult. His passes weren’t time well. His decision-making left a lot to be desired. Defensively, I thought he showed some positive signs when guarding the ball, but his help-defense was missing in action. Ginobili did have some flashes of his old self but he’d be the first one to tell you that he needs to play a lot better.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 78.4
Adj. Average: 77.9
---------------
Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Thursday night was a mixed bag for Tony Parker. The Bad: His defense on Raymond Felton was poor. This was easily his worst defensive game of the season. Parker’s 0-for-4 shooting in the fourth was probably the main reason why the Spurs lost. He took it upon himself to put the Knicks away but failed to do so. The Good: There’s only so much animosity you can aim at Parker considering that he had 12 assists and no turnovers. On the season, he has a better than 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio -- which is extraordinary. Against the Knicks, I didn’t think his poor showing defensively was due to a lack of energy or focus. Felton played a great game, no qualifiers needed. The Excuse? After the game Pop said Parker was tired. Seeing as all of his shots were short, it’s difficult to argue with the coach. Then again, even if Parker was tired, he shouldn’t have tried to do so much down the stretch … so that excuse can be stretched only so far.
Final Grade: 87
Season Average: 84.4
Adj. Average: 85.7
---------------
Kawhi Leonard
http://www.spurstalk.com/kl12.png
I thought Kawhi Leonard’s offense looked great in the first quarter. That pull-up jumper off the dribble is beginning to become a weapon for the youngster. If he can add it to his repertoire permanently, it’s going to make him a much better offensive player. Additionally, his three-point stroke is starting to look a lot better. He’s using his legs more and the arc on his shot is improved. All told, Leonard had ten of his 13 points in the first 12 minutes. In the second half, it was Leonard’s defense that shined. He was the main defender against Carmelo Anthony, who was largely held in check -- scoring-wise, at least. Leonard also pulled down a number of contested boards throughout the night. Now if he could take his offense from the first quarter and his defense form the second half and put it into one portrait … wow.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 84.0
Adj. Average: 84.4
---------------
Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
I wasn’t overly pleased with any aspect of Danny Green’s outing. His individual defense was average. His help-defense was oftentimes late. His rotations were ill-timed on too many instances. Offensively, his shot selection was decent enough but it would have been helpful if he knocked down one or two more open looks. On both ends of the court, Green could have helped out by playing with a bit more liveliness.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 83.2
Adj. Average: 83.5
---------------
DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
DeJuan Blair started the ballgame and, honestly, I thought he did rather well. He had the responsibility of defending Anthony at the beginning of the game and he was surprisingly adequate. On the other end, Blair tried to punish Anthony in the low-post. And while his attempts didn’t pay off, it was a good thought. Following his opening stint, Blair never went back in the game. Strange decision (unless it was due to an injury, obviously).
Final Grade: 84
Season Average: 79.2
Adj. Average: 80.3
---------------
Stephen Jackson
http://www.spurstalk.com/sj12.png
Stephen Jackson brought intangibles to the table by the truckload against the Knicks. The Spurs utilized small ball for a chunk of the game and were able to get away with doing so due to Jackson’s toughness in the paint. His season-high of 11 rebounds point to how much he was concentrating at holding down the fort in the middle. Jackson was also energetic when playing perimeter defense and did good work on Anthony. Offensively, he was another player who missed a majority of his wide open looks. Additionally, it would have been helpful if he took on more of the playmaking duties -- especially with Ginobili being limited.
Grade: 88
Season Average: 85.5
Adj. Average: 85.9
---------------
Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
Talk about a turnaround. For the first three quarters, Tiago Splitter was a disaster. His defense was horrendous, his rebounding was non-existent and his offense was so depressing it became laughable. Then all of a sudden he exploded in the fourth quarter. Those 13 straight points he authored should have been enough to give the Spurs the win. I also thought Splitter’s defense improved in the fourth -- although he never did grab a rebound. Let us hope we begin to see more of that fourth quarter version of Splitter going forward.
Grade: 84
Season Average: 79.9
Adj. Average: 81.0
---------------
Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
With Gary Neal missing the game due to a finger injury, Patrick Mills was thrown into his role. Overall, I don’t think he helped his standing in Pop’s eyes. Defensively, he had a couple good moments but was subpar on the whole. Mills gave up too much penetration and he was slow closing out on shooters. On offense, I didn’t see any point guard skills. He basically just brought the ball up the court, passed it and stood beyond the arc. Rinse and repeat. He’s not a great ballhandling or passer but Mills needs to at least use his speed to break down the opposing defense in order to create opportunities for teammates. The brightest spot was Mills wasn’t bashful about shooting the ball.
Grade: 73
Season Average: 79.0
Adj. Average: 78.3
---------------
Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Um, are we sure Boris Diaw is alive? His effort against the Knicks was pitiful. It was like he was jogging around the court trying not to sweat. And the bad news is that this is becoming a pattern. In the last three games, Diaw has three points, three rebounds and two assists in 45 minutes. It’d be difficult to be any more invisible. I know he isn’t a focal point of this team but Diaw has to do something … anything. In the offseason, Pop talked about getting on Diaw to play harder and with more of an edge. I don’t see any evidence of that. If anything, he’s regressing.
Final Grade: 64
Season Average: 79.1
Adj. Average: 81.6
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
After Pop’s best coaching game of the season, he followed it up with a dud. His post-game excuse of the team being tired rang hollow since he didn’t fully take advantage of his deep roster. I also didn’t see him do much to try to impede New York’s late run. A couple plays ran specifically for Duncan could have made a world of difference. Pairing Mills next to Parker was highly questionable since Mills wasn’t playing that well to begin with. Some of Pop’s small ball lineups were entirely too small. Overall, I have no doubts that Pop would have done things differently with hindsight.
Final Grade: 68
Season Average: 83.3
---------------
Offense
Outside of three-point shooting, the offense did well. The two-point shooting was 51.7% and the free throws (21 attempts), assists (21) and turnovers (13) were all at acceptable levels. The Spurs also grabbed offensive rebounds at a higher than normal rate. As it was, the offense was good. It would have been great if more three-pointers fell.
Grade: 88
Season Average: 83.1
---------------
Defense
The 104 points allowed looks ugly but truthfully I wasn’t too dissatisfied with the defense. There were definitely some breakdowns from time to time (Kidd’s three-pointers being glaring examples) but I thought the Spurs were better than usual on this end. At times, they were damn near dominant. The Knicks exploded at the end of the game but statistically you can see they were able to succeed by hitting a high percentage of three-pointers and taking extreme care of the ball. The Spurs could have played better on D but I can’t classify this showing as a step backwards. Oh, and for once San Antonio didn’t get abused on the defensive glass. That’s another faint silver lining.
Grade: 82
Season Average: 83.1
---------------
Overall
Is it fair to say the Spurs played adequately well but the Knicks just played better? I think it is. Is it fair to say San Antonio choked? Yeah, probably. But when the Spurs play at this level at home, they will win a vast majority of the time. The collapse was unsightly. The lost opportunity was disheartening. That said, give the Knicks credit and hope the Spurs will learn something from this as they continue their journey of 82.
Grade: 86
Season Average: 83.8
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