Quick Grades: Spurs @ Raptors - Nov. 25, 2012

[timvp]

Tim Duncan B+
Very good offensively -- both scoring- and passing-wise. Defense and rebounding lacking.

Manu Ginobili B-
Outside of three-point shooting, he was pretty good. First half was weak again, though.

Tony Parker A-
After the opening minutes, defense on Kyle Lowry solid. Scored huge hoops to seal the victory.

Danny Green B
Very active on D. Best rebounding game of the season. Missed wide open shots made the game longer.

Gary Neal B-
Didn’t shoot well but defense was above average and again rebounded with gusto.

DeJuan Blair C+
Missed more chippies. Team defense wasn’t good but his individual D on Andrea Bargnani was positive.

Boris Diaw B
Better aggression offensively. Didn’t do much of anything on the other end until money time.

Tiago Splitter C
Quiet on both sides of the court. He’s simply failing to impact the game on a consistent basis.

Nando De Colo C
Teams are starting to adjust to the fact that he can’t do anything.

Matt Bonner C+
Good energy but little in the way of tangible positives in his six minutes.

Patrick Mills B
Did a much better job of playing to his two strengths: shooting and speed.

Pop B-
Can’t blame him for the excess minutes but it’d help if he could find a unit that can rebound.

[SpurSwag]

Nando review is harsh but spot on at the same time. He's a good passer, but he doesn't do much of anything at all on either side of the ball.

[hooperflash]

It's a beautiful sight when Tony Parker is hitting those jumpers consistently. Another win for the good guys without KL and SJax.

[DMC]

Nando is a slightly worse Beno.

[BillMc]

Missed this game, so great to see the grades and give me a perspective on what happened. Thanks.

Who do we rest tomorrow? All 3 of the Big 3?

[Brazil]

out rebounded by a team with Bargnani and McGuire as starting bigs is just :hang

[TDMVPDPOY]

Nando is a slightly worse Beno.

seems like he didnt know what to do with the ball when he was on the court tonight...gettin called for travel a couple of times probably fcked up his confidence on the next couple of plays where he jittered on whether to shoot or continue dribbling.......but he fkn looks huge out there for a pg defender...

[SpursRock20]

Doesn't the extra minutes (about 10) get negated thanks to the early start time? I hope so, no reason to rest the Big 3 when we are already down 2 players.

[jeebus]

Well they'll all get a chance to redeem themselves at tomorrow's preseason game against the Wizz. I expect to see a lot of Joseph, Jimmy Anderson, Nando, and Mills in the game with Bonner draining 3s like crazy.

[Obstructed_View]

Backcourt dominant on the boards, tbh.

[Richie]

I think we should just pencil ourselves in for a loss tomorrow. Timmy played 40 min, he shouldn't play IMO.

Give Tony and Manu their usual minutes

[justinandimcool]

Mills and Nando are going blow for blow every other game it seems.

I like Bonner in the set-up man role. No minutes until crucial 4th quarter :lol Tbh, in small, important doses he's been doing alright. It's when teams adjust to him that he's a problem.

I'd like to see JA get at least a few minutes in with this squad. Maybe tomorrow.

Splitter/Diaw was pretty good again today after a rough outing in Indiana.

[dunkman]

It's great the Spurs keep winning games without Kawhi and Jack.

[Brazil]

It's great the Spurs keep winning games without Kawhi and Jack.

too bad we have 3 games in 4 days stuff

[TD 21]

Mills and Nando are going blow for blow every other game it seems.

I like Bonner in the set-up man role. No minutes until crucial 4th quarter :lol Tbh, in small, important doses he's been doing alright. It's when teams adjust to him that he's a problem.

I'd like to see JA get at least a few minutes in with this squad. Maybe tomorrow.

Splitter/Diaw was pretty good again today after a rough outing in Indiana.

As underwhelming as Mills has been, he needs to stick with him at least until Leonard returns and then he can play nine until Jackson returns (unless Mills picks it up obviously). But at least with Mills they get shooting and speed. Right now, De Colo is not an NBA player and despite what the numbers may say, this team is laboring to score. So they can't afford to throw away a spot in the rotation.

Anderson should play plenty tomorrow. I expect the big three to get the game off and for the frustrated, due to win Wizards to blow them out.

Splitter/Diaw were pathetic and are far too soft to play together consistently if this team is going to be serious about contending. They made Davis (who, granted, is a good rebounder) look like a damn All-Star.

[Bruno]

De Colo was a good scorer in Europe (around 20 points per 40 minutes) but he has been dismal in that area will Spurs. He has played 64 minutes, scored 9 points with a .154 FG%.

You can explain this dismal drop by a lot of factors (shooting slump, work with Chip, desire to fit with the team and not forcing the issue, difficulty to so the NBA transition...) but , at the end, it doesn't matter and Nando will need to up a lot his offensive production if he wants to continue to get some minutes.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

The crowd was kinda solemn during a majority of the game (not much to root for in terms of the local Toronto teams) but they really came alive once the Raps took a 60-51 lead. Tony Parker got a very nice reception during the player introductions. As did Matt Bonner (who has a framed photo of him shooting a free throw in the hallway of the ACC along with several Maple Leaf legends :lol)

I couldn't believe how many 3's Danny Green missed considering how open he was. He hits even one of those the game probably ends in regulation. Still, he hit a clutch shot later on but I'm sure the Spurs will be feeling those extra minutes in the Wizards game tomorrow.

Finally, Andrea Bargnani is officially the most hated player in Toronto since Vince Carter. People were FREAKING out over his 2-19 performance. I tried to stop the mob from overtaking his home by telling them Andrea had a career high in rebounds (8) but seeing as that was just one more than Neal got, it was to no avail.

I've been going to every Spurs game in Toronto since 2004 when I moved here, and about 80% of the games are down to the wire with the Raptors even taking their fair share. Not sure how/why it happens, but man is it nerve racking!

Oh, and awesome quick grades as always timvp

[DanAu]

TBH I think it would be VERY difficult for Nando and Mills right now. Their primary job in the second unit seems to be to get the ball to the big three, mainly Manu as soon as they are at half court. Surely its got to eat at your confidence and game if your primary roll is to just give the ball off to Manu and spread the floor for the 5 minutes you are on court?

I before I judge Nando or Mills so far this season I want to see them get a good 15-20 mins (even if its trash time) where they can play with a little more freedom.

Seems to me by their passiveness that they are being told to look for the big three at all times and score only when its the only option.

I am hoping to see the bench depth get some good minutes and operate without the big three being the focus, good practice for when the inevitable injuries happen.

[polandprzem]

De Colo was a good scorer in Europe (around 20 points per 40 minutes) but he has been dismal in that area will Spurs. He has played 64 minutes, scored 9 points with a .154 FG%.

You can explain this dismal drop by a lot of factors (shooting slump, work with Chip, desire to fit with the team and not forcing the issue, difficulty to so the NBA transition...) but , at the end, it doesn't matter and Nando will need to up a lot his offensive production if he wants to continue to get some minutes.

Will not happen probably this season. As a rookie with spurs rotations on guards positions I can't see this happen. Manu plays bad, no Jack and Mr. K and still he cannot shake things up.
This is Pops team his system :)

-----------
We need Manu in the second unit. His game with splitter gives the most dividends

[TDMVPDPOY]

tommarow is going to be a win

I think de colo is going to expose that draft bust JOHN WALL, u heard it it here first and last

[Hoops Czar]

It shouldn't be this difficult. No such thing as a laugher anymore. Rebounding was atrocious. Spurs can thank the Raptors for keeping Ed Davis on the bench during the overtime periods.

[Brazil]

tommarow is going to be a win

I think de colo is going to expose that draft bust JOHN WALL, u heard it it here first and last

:lmao especially since Wall is injured and probably out for the game

[Bruno]

Will not happen probably this season. As a rookie with spurs rotations on guards positions I can't see this happen. Manu plays bad, no Jack and Mr. K and still he cannot shake things up.
This is Pops team his system :)


De Colo is very strong player mentally wise. At the 2011 Eurobasket, he was awful for the first handful of games before ending this tournament with strong performances. I'm not saying De Colo will have for sure a breakout game for Spurs soon but, as long as he is getting playing time, I won't write him off because his a tough guy.

[nbaman99]

Everything is good, except I think Nando just need more than 5 minutes a game or so to get going, and I think Diaw should get a B+. Same goes with Mills. He is way better than what he is showing us, just need more playing time to get used to.

[freetiago]

you never stop going full potato
john wall hasnt and wont be playing for a while

and this game was more about what we didnt do then what the big 3 did
we got destroyed on the offensive boards and also missed way to many wide open 3s
if we get the O-boards to half of what it was or make a respectable amount of 3s this game is a blowout
both things we should be able to easily do

[Capt Bringdown]

Can't say that Splitter's not getting a chance to prove himself.

[ChumpDumper]

I'm OK with the way Bonner is being used. It just gives the Spurs a lot of room to work their traditionally effective sets when the newer look offense bogs down.

Thank goodness the guards partially made up for the turrble big man rebounding. Toronto is a very tall, young team though.

[elemento]

Duncan DNP-old coming.

Pop should slap Splitter in the face before the game to make him play angry.

Hopefully SA won't be the 1st team to lose against the Wiz this season. They're terrible but Nene is back and they played better with him.

[Ice009]

Duncan DNP-old coming.

Pop should slap Splitter in the face before the game to make him play angry.

Hopefully SA won't be the 1st team to lose against the Wiz this season. They're terrible but Nene is back and they played better with him.

I think I read that Wall has been out all season so far? Is that correct? How many games has Nene played? Didn't realize that he has missed games too. This pretty much explains why they haven't won any games.

[Tuddy]

Think Pop's gonna have to tell the refs to call make some bad calls early against Splitter so he gets angry

[ploto]

Overall average grade seems a little high for a double overtime game against an opponent with a 3-11 record.

[Boomersgold]

De Colo is very strong player mentally wise. At the 2011 Eurobasket, he was awful for the first handful of games before ending this tournament with strong performances. I'm not saying De Colo will have for sure a breakout game for Spurs soon but, as long as he is getting playing time, I won't write him off because his a tough guy.

I watched De Colo play during the Olympics, and to be honest, he played like crap. He couldn't shoot, couldn't defend fast guards, and his passing was very mediocre.

[Stabula]

Pop should slap Splitter in the face before the game to make him play angry. :lol Haha I completely echo your sentiments

[TDMVPDPOY]

I watched De Colo play during the Olympics, and to be honest, he played like crap. He couldn't shoot, couldn't defend fast guards, and his passing was very mediocre.

imo his stuck on a team playing behind TP and fighting with another 2-3 ball handlers on the team that are not real PGS....he could be in a better scenario if neal goes back to his SG duties.....colo looks lost out there when u have 3 ball handlers out there....

his got erratic handles, bigger than beno...but crap then beno atm for his rookie campaign....


why doesnt pop just throw mills or colo out there to the wolves and continue to play them more minutes in that backup PG job...neither is as good as TOSB FORD or Beno, but this looks like ian mahinmi bullshit all over again not playin rookies or bother developing them....only given minutes in scrub minutes or b2b games here and there then constant minutes every game battle test them in each different scenario....

[quentin_compson]

Game thread reasoning: So Tony gets rewarded with an A- for playing hero ball?

[TDMVPDPOY]

perimeter defense was a joke tonight....

[polandprzem]

De Colo is very strong player mentally wise. At the 2011 Eurobasket, he was awful for the first handful of games before ending this tournament with strong performances. I'm not saying De Colo will have for sure a breakout game for Spurs soon but, as long as he is getting playing time, I won't write him off because his a tough guy.
Yea I would like to see him play as a backup PG but in spurs system I don't know if it can happen. Pop will not trust the rookie on such important position. I was hoping he will be on reg rotation but now still Pop shuffles guys and did not find the solution. Putting Neal on PG is a bad idea. I'd rather see De Colo talents and learning process then NEal struggles

[temujin]

Agree on most, disagree on Green, who gets a C in my classification, as his defense was terrible, particularly down the stretch.

Most importantly, you failed to recognize the best Spur:

Bargnano A++++++
It's impossible to do more to make the opponents come out with a victory.

[therealtruth]

Duncan DNP-old coming.

Pop should slap Splitter in the face before the game to make him play angry.

Hopefully SA won't be the 1st team to lose against the Wiz this season. They're terrible but Nene is back and they played better with him.

The only thing left to do is start him. He seems to play well when he starts.

[elemento]

I think I read that Wall has been out all season so far? Is that correct? How many games has Nene played? Didn't realize that he has missed games too. This pretty much explains why they haven't won any games.

Yeah Wall is out indefinitely with a knee injury. They're starting Livingston.

Nene only played the last 2 games (two OT losses against the Hawks and the Bobcats). Washington is a mess. The Emeka/Ariza experiment was a major failure. If SA has any interest in Emeka, this season's deadline is probably the best time to get him for essentially nothing.

[therealtruth]

Yeah Wall is out indefinitely with a knee injury. They're starting Livingston.

Nene only played the last 2 games (two OT losses against the Hawks and the Bobcats). Washington is a mess. The Emeka/Ariza experiment was a major failure. If SA has any interest in Emeka, this season's deadline is probably the best time to get him for essentially nothing.

With Nene back they've come pretty close to winning. You have to wonder if they will break through against us.

[will_spurs]

Game thread reasoning: So Tony gets rewarded with an A- for playing hero ball?

You're right, winning the game for us should be worth a A at least :D

[will_spurs]

I tried to stop the mob from overtaking his home by telling them Andrea had a career high in rebounds (8)

:lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao :lmao

[will_spurs]

De Colo was a good scorer in Europe (around 20 points per 40 minutes) but he has been dismal in that area will Spurs. He has played 64 minutes, scored 9 points with a .154 FG%.

You can explain this dismal drop by a lot of factors (shooting slump, work with Chip, desire to fit with the team and not forcing the issue, difficulty to so the NBA transition...) but , at the end, it doesn't matter and Nando will need to up a lot his offensive production if he wants to continue to get some minutes.

For once I disagree with you. There are 4 things I can think about that will get in Pop's doghouse (namely missing defensive rotations, fouls, taking stupid shots as a roleplayer, and turnovers) and low production simply isn't one of them. I'm quite sure that Pop, Tony and Boris made it clear to Nando that he wasn't going to be assessed on his scoring ability. I'm convinced Pop (and the rest of the coaching staff) are looking first at his behavior on the court, leadership, passing, general attitude, defensive attitude, ability to learn a system, ballhandling way more than his scoring.

And Nando has been average or positive in all these areas, which is getting him more playing time, and not only in garbage time. I like that Pop seems to understand De Colo is not ready for prime time and is easing him into the game slowly but surely, as well as trying to assess what kind of guard he got (shooting, combo or point). The points will come later. I am not worried in the least. All indicators point to De Colo being a more likely rotation player than Mills or Joseph.

[quentin_compson]

Parker has been pretty damn impressive in quite a number of games already this season. It's amazing how good he can be when he is fit and really focused: He can score efficiently and at a high clip, rack up very good assist-turnover ratios more often than not and still play engaged, often times even good defense.

[Paranoid Pop]

For once I disagree with you. There are 4 things I can think about that will get in Pop's doghouse (namely missing defensive rotations, fouls, taking stupid shots as a roleplayer, and turnovers) and low production simply isn't one of them. I'm quite sure that Pop, Tony and Boris made it clear to Nando that he wasn't going to be assessed on his scoring ability. I'm convinced Pop (and the rest of the coaching staff) are looking first at his behavior on the court, leadership, passing, general attitude, defensive attitude, ability to learn a system, ballhandling way more than his scoring.

And Nando has been average or positive in all these areas, which is getting him more playing time, and not only in garbage time. I like that Pop seems to understand De Colo is not ready for prime time and is easing him into the game slowly but surely, as well as trying to assess what kind of guard he got (shooting, combo or point). The points will come later. I am not worried in the least. All indicators point to De Colo being a more likely rotation player than Mills or Joseph.

I'm with Bruno, Nando (who can't shoot atm) vs Patty (who can't really pass) is a close call. Anyway I don't see either of them making the playoff rotation if Gary is healthy.

[Paranoid Pop]

double post

[Boomersgold]

I'm with Bruno, Nando (who can't shoot atm) vs Patty (who can't really pass) is a close call. Anyway I don't see either of them making the playoff rotation if Gary is healthy.

I'd rather play Patty than De Colo. Patty's a proven NBA player. He averaged 10+ points a game last season, whilst playing under 15 minutes a game.

Has everyone forgotten his performance in the last game of the regular season (last season)?
As the starting point guard, he ended the game with 34 points and 12 assists!! De Colo will never get these kinds of numbers, based of how he's performed on the international level and his performance so far in the season.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxcuFWrPUzw

[Drom John]

The Warriors were in desperate tank mode to keep their first round pick in that Mills game. OTOH, Mills game against the Suns was legit.

What's this Mills or De Colo debate. Mills and De Colo.

[jesterbobman]

Shockingly a guy called BoomersGold wants Patty Mills to play.

[Boomersgold]

Shockingly a guy called BoomersGold wants Patty Mills to play.

Shockingly, a guy called freetiago wants Tiago Splitter to play.

[TDMVPDPOY]

beating raptors....they be tankin soon, they traded the pick to OKC top3 protected...so it might fall in the 4-8 range....OKC winning