timvp
11-27-2012, 06:25 PM
The Spurs took on the winless Wizards on Monday night. Following a 118-92 dismantling, the Wizards dropped to 0-12 while the Spurs improved to 12-3 and moved to 4-0 on their six-game road trip.
For most of the first two quarters, it was actually a competitive ballgame. The Spurs didn’t grab control until the final three minutes of the second period. A 10-0 going into halftime put the Spurs up by 12 points.
Midway through the third quarter, San Antonio engineered the coup d'état. Leading by 11 points, the Spurs scored 11 straight points to double their advantage and end Washington’s hopes of experiencing their first victory of the 2012-13 campaign.
The ensuing quarter-plus of garbage time was well-timed considering the twin overtimes the Spurs endured the previous day north of the border.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box151.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box152.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box153.png
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Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
The resurgence continues. Tim Duncan was again fabulous. Offensively, he couldn’t have been much better. With his outside jumper falling, the Wizards were powerless to stop him. When they sent extra help his way, Duncan picked them apart with his passing. Defensively, he was strong as well. Duncan defended the rim well and his help-defense was almost always timely. On the road trip, Duncan is averaging 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 32 minutes per game on 55.6% shooting from the field. Wow.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 92.0
Adj. Average: 92.3
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Manu Ginobili
http://www.spurstalk.com/mg12.png
This is another step forward for Manu Ginobili. He looked much more comfortable on the court and it appears as if he’s nearly 100% healthy now. His jumper had improved arc and rotation, plus he was much more judicious about when to unleash his outside J. Passing was another positive. Ginobili rebounded well for the second straight game. His individual defense was lacking but he was usually attentive to his team responsibilities.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 82.0
Adj. Average: 82.7
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Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Tony Parker came into this road trip having hit only 40% of his shots on the season. After his 6-for-10 performance against the Wizards, Parker is shooting 61% on the trip and has raised his season percentage to 48.1%. Not only is he on fire on his pull-up jumper, Parker’s ability to finish at the rim has gone from a weakness back to a major strength in record time. Against Washington, he once again crisply ran the offense and rarely took his foot off the gas. His defensive effort wasn’t up to normal standards but he wasn’t a liability on that end.
Final Grade: 92
Season Average: 86.5
Adj. Average: 86.5
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Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
Danny Green’s streak of consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer ended at 32 games. That wasn’t the only negative news. Outside of a few good passes and a couple hustle plays, Green just didn’t play very well. He was absent on the boards and his individual D was inconsistent. Green, who was extremely streaky last season with his shooting, is showing signs of that streakiness carrying over to this campaign. He has hit just four of his last 18 hoists from deep.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 82.2
Adj. Average: 82.2
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Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
While his shooting percentages were commendable, Gary Neal might have been trying too hard to impress his hometown fans. It was uncomfortably obvious most of the night that Neal was the only guard not making the extra pass. On the other end, Neal was relatively good on defense. He was mostly assigned to Bradley Beal and the rookie had a difficult evening.
Final Grade: 81
Season Average: 82.2
Adj. Average: 83.5
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DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
The Good: DeJuan Blair played hard and rebounded very well. On the season, it’s heartening to see that his rebounding numbers have improved over last season’s disappointment. The Bad: More missed easy shots. He let Kevin Seraphin get going early due to lackluster defense and he was extremely loose with the ball in garbage time.
Final Grade: 76
Season Average: 81.0
Adj. Average: 82.2
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Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
That stat line is staggering. Fifteen points on five shots to go along with 12 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks? All of that in only 23 minutes of action? Amazing work by Tiago Splitter. Just as notable as the final stats are the circumstances surrounding those numbers. These numbers weren’t put up in garbage time and weren’t a result of endless pick-and-rolls. Splitter put up these stats in a supporting role that usually featured him away from the action. In fact, a healthy portion of the numbers were amassed while playing next to Duncan. Considering that Splitter has historically struggled to produce offensively when paired with Duncan, this was an extremely encouraging turn of events. If the Brazilian can learn to be this effective without plays being called for him on offense, while also rebounding with fervor and being fanatically active on defense, the Spurs would have a damn good player on their hands.
Final Grade: 98
Season Average: 82.1
Adj. Average: 83.2
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Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Another game, another season-high in points for Boris Diaw. Not only was he more aggressive on offense, he was smarter about his movements in the halfcourt sets and got out and ran in transition. When Diaw is willing to break a sweat and take advantage of open space, he’s marvelous offensive player. His scoring opens up his passing, which becomes nearly indefensible. On the other end, Diaw wasn’t especially good. His individual D was acceptable but his lack of rebounding led to a number of second attempts by the Wizards.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 80.1
Adj. Average: 82.1
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Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
Patrick Mills was the first point guard off the bench and he took advantage of the opportunity. On defense, he pressured the ball well and helped out on the boards. Offensively, he took open shots, made simple passes and played virtually mistake-free. Mills still has a way to go to regain the rhythm he had last year but this was a step in the right direction.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 79.7
Adj. Average: 79.8
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Matt Bonner
http://www.spurstalk.com/mb12.png
Matt Bonner’s shooting is beautiful when there’s no pressure. Add in a few angry exchanges with Chris Singleton of the Wizards and Bonner was the second coming of Larry Bird in the fourth quarter. His defense was also reasonably good, although there continues to be little evidence that Bonner is capable of rebounding.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 81.3
Adj. Average: 82.1
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Nando De Colo
http://www.spurstalk.com/ndc12.png
The rook can pass the basketball. Nando De Colo is unquestionably special in that regard. I was also impressed with him on the defensive end during a handful of possessions. Additionally, it was good to see him make a shot. He’s not going to have a chance at a regular spot in the rotation until he becomes more well-rounded offensively.
Final Grade: 84
Season Average: 81.5
Adj. Average: 82.7
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Cory Joseph
http://www.spurstalk.com/cj12.png
In his longest stint of the season, Cory Joseph illustrated some interesting talents. His court vision was really good. He handled the ball effortlessly and he looks like he’s much more explosive athletically compared to last season. Joseph’s deceptive length and quickness made him an asset on D. Despite his horrific rookie season, Joseph continues to show signs that he’s a legit NBA prospect.
Final Grade: Inc.
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James Anderson
http://www.spurstalk.com/ja12.png
James Anderson was skinnier than he was during his first two years in San Antonio. It also looked like he was jumping higher. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice much skill improvement. His lateral quickness is still lacking and his offensive game relies heavily on a wonky three-point stroke.
Final Grade: Inc.
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
Pop’s biggest decision was made before the game. Should he rest any of the Big 3 after the double overtime game in Toronto? Pop decided to go with his entire roster and hindsight tells us it was the right move. He was betting the presence of the Big 3 would allow the Spurs to blow out the Wizards and avoid big minutes for anyone -- and that’s exactly what happened. I also thought it was a great decision to start Splitter in the second half to reward him for hardnosed play and to better matchup defensively.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 84.3
---------------
Offense
The offense was fun to watch. (Yes, the competition was bad, but it was still fun to watch.) Knocking down 13-of-23 three-pointers helped, although that was far from the only thing going right. The Spurs passed extremely well, hit the offensive boards, took care of the ball and rarely hit any lulls.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 84.7
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Defense
Once again, defensive rebounding remains San Antonio’s most pressing issue. It was another horrible night in that area. The Spurs also didn’t force many turnovers (then again, Washington’s offense rarely featured more than one or two passes, so the Spurs didn’t have many opportunities to force miscues). The positives: kept them off the three-point and free throw lines, played very good transition defense, and controlled the paint.
Final Grade: 86
Season Average: 82.3
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Overall
Yeah, the Wizards are horrible, but the circumstances added some difficulty to the task at hand. A relaxing blowout win is what the doctor ordered and what the Spurs delivered.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 83.6
---------------
For most of the first two quarters, it was actually a competitive ballgame. The Spurs didn’t grab control until the final three minutes of the second period. A 10-0 going into halftime put the Spurs up by 12 points.
Midway through the third quarter, San Antonio engineered the coup d'état. Leading by 11 points, the Spurs scored 11 straight points to double their advantage and end Washington’s hopes of experiencing their first victory of the 2012-13 campaign.
The ensuing quarter-plus of garbage time was well-timed considering the twin overtimes the Spurs endured the previous day north of the border.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box151.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box152.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box153.png
---------------
Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
The resurgence continues. Tim Duncan was again fabulous. Offensively, he couldn’t have been much better. With his outside jumper falling, the Wizards were powerless to stop him. When they sent extra help his way, Duncan picked them apart with his passing. Defensively, he was strong as well. Duncan defended the rim well and his help-defense was almost always timely. On the road trip, Duncan is averaging 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 32 minutes per game on 55.6% shooting from the field. Wow.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 92.0
Adj. Average: 92.3
---------------
Manu Ginobili
http://www.spurstalk.com/mg12.png
This is another step forward for Manu Ginobili. He looked much more comfortable on the court and it appears as if he’s nearly 100% healthy now. His jumper had improved arc and rotation, plus he was much more judicious about when to unleash his outside J. Passing was another positive. Ginobili rebounded well for the second straight game. His individual defense was lacking but he was usually attentive to his team responsibilities.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 82.0
Adj. Average: 82.7
---------------
Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Tony Parker came into this road trip having hit only 40% of his shots on the season. After his 6-for-10 performance against the Wizards, Parker is shooting 61% on the trip and has raised his season percentage to 48.1%. Not only is he on fire on his pull-up jumper, Parker’s ability to finish at the rim has gone from a weakness back to a major strength in record time. Against Washington, he once again crisply ran the offense and rarely took his foot off the gas. His defensive effort wasn’t up to normal standards but he wasn’t a liability on that end.
Final Grade: 92
Season Average: 86.5
Adj. Average: 86.5
---------------
Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
Danny Green’s streak of consecutive games with at least one made three-pointer ended at 32 games. That wasn’t the only negative news. Outside of a few good passes and a couple hustle plays, Green just didn’t play very well. He was absent on the boards and his individual D was inconsistent. Green, who was extremely streaky last season with his shooting, is showing signs of that streakiness carrying over to this campaign. He has hit just four of his last 18 hoists from deep.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 82.2
Adj. Average: 82.2
---------------
Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
While his shooting percentages were commendable, Gary Neal might have been trying too hard to impress his hometown fans. It was uncomfortably obvious most of the night that Neal was the only guard not making the extra pass. On the other end, Neal was relatively good on defense. He was mostly assigned to Bradley Beal and the rookie had a difficult evening.
Final Grade: 81
Season Average: 82.2
Adj. Average: 83.5
---------------
DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
The Good: DeJuan Blair played hard and rebounded very well. On the season, it’s heartening to see that his rebounding numbers have improved over last season’s disappointment. The Bad: More missed easy shots. He let Kevin Seraphin get going early due to lackluster defense and he was extremely loose with the ball in garbage time.
Final Grade: 76
Season Average: 81.0
Adj. Average: 82.2
---------------
Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
That stat line is staggering. Fifteen points on five shots to go along with 12 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks? All of that in only 23 minutes of action? Amazing work by Tiago Splitter. Just as notable as the final stats are the circumstances surrounding those numbers. These numbers weren’t put up in garbage time and weren’t a result of endless pick-and-rolls. Splitter put up these stats in a supporting role that usually featured him away from the action. In fact, a healthy portion of the numbers were amassed while playing next to Duncan. Considering that Splitter has historically struggled to produce offensively when paired with Duncan, this was an extremely encouraging turn of events. If the Brazilian can learn to be this effective without plays being called for him on offense, while also rebounding with fervor and being fanatically active on defense, the Spurs would have a damn good player on their hands.
Final Grade: 98
Season Average: 82.1
Adj. Average: 83.2
---------------
Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Another game, another season-high in points for Boris Diaw. Not only was he more aggressive on offense, he was smarter about his movements in the halfcourt sets and got out and ran in transition. When Diaw is willing to break a sweat and take advantage of open space, he’s marvelous offensive player. His scoring opens up his passing, which becomes nearly indefensible. On the other end, Diaw wasn’t especially good. His individual D was acceptable but his lack of rebounding led to a number of second attempts by the Wizards.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 80.1
Adj. Average: 82.1
---------------
Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
Patrick Mills was the first point guard off the bench and he took advantage of the opportunity. On defense, he pressured the ball well and helped out on the boards. Offensively, he took open shots, made simple passes and played virtually mistake-free. Mills still has a way to go to regain the rhythm he had last year but this was a step in the right direction.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 79.7
Adj. Average: 79.8
---------------
Matt Bonner
http://www.spurstalk.com/mb12.png
Matt Bonner’s shooting is beautiful when there’s no pressure. Add in a few angry exchanges with Chris Singleton of the Wizards and Bonner was the second coming of Larry Bird in the fourth quarter. His defense was also reasonably good, although there continues to be little evidence that Bonner is capable of rebounding.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 81.3
Adj. Average: 82.1
---------------
Nando De Colo
http://www.spurstalk.com/ndc12.png
The rook can pass the basketball. Nando De Colo is unquestionably special in that regard. I was also impressed with him on the defensive end during a handful of possessions. Additionally, it was good to see him make a shot. He’s not going to have a chance at a regular spot in the rotation until he becomes more well-rounded offensively.
Final Grade: 84
Season Average: 81.5
Adj. Average: 82.7
---------------
Cory Joseph
http://www.spurstalk.com/cj12.png
In his longest stint of the season, Cory Joseph illustrated some interesting talents. His court vision was really good. He handled the ball effortlessly and he looks like he’s much more explosive athletically compared to last season. Joseph’s deceptive length and quickness made him an asset on D. Despite his horrific rookie season, Joseph continues to show signs that he’s a legit NBA prospect.
Final Grade: Inc.
---------------
James Anderson
http://www.spurstalk.com/ja12.png
James Anderson was skinnier than he was during his first two years in San Antonio. It also looked like he was jumping higher. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice much skill improvement. His lateral quickness is still lacking and his offensive game relies heavily on a wonky three-point stroke.
Final Grade: Inc.
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
Pop’s biggest decision was made before the game. Should he rest any of the Big 3 after the double overtime game in Toronto? Pop decided to go with his entire roster and hindsight tells us it was the right move. He was betting the presence of the Big 3 would allow the Spurs to blow out the Wizards and avoid big minutes for anyone -- and that’s exactly what happened. I also thought it was a great decision to start Splitter in the second half to reward him for hardnosed play and to better matchup defensively.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 84.3
---------------
Offense
The offense was fun to watch. (Yes, the competition was bad, but it was still fun to watch.) Knocking down 13-of-23 three-pointers helped, although that was far from the only thing going right. The Spurs passed extremely well, hit the offensive boards, took care of the ball and rarely hit any lulls.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 84.7
---------------
Defense
Once again, defensive rebounding remains San Antonio’s most pressing issue. It was another horrible night in that area. The Spurs also didn’t force many turnovers (then again, Washington’s offense rarely featured more than one or two passes, so the Spurs didn’t have many opportunities to force miscues). The positives: kept them off the three-point and free throw lines, played very good transition defense, and controlled the paint.
Final Grade: 86
Season Average: 82.3
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Overall
Yeah, the Wizards are horrible, but the circumstances added some difficulty to the task at hand. A relaxing blowout win is what the doctor ordered and what the Spurs delivered.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 83.6
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