Quick Grades: Spurs vs. Rockets - Dec. 7

[timvp]

Tim Duncan A-
Fantastic on the boards. Great interior D. Deadly from the high-post both shooting and passing.

Manu Ginobili A-
Much more under control. Quality playmaking. Rebounding a strength. Energetic overall.

Tony Parker A
Came out and destroyed Jeremy Lin from the opening seconds. Impressive in all aspects.

Danny Green C
Seemed a bit slow following his injury. Individual D shaky. Shooting stroke looked smooth.

Gary Neal B+
Created a number of buckets for himself. Took care of the ball. Defended decently well.

DeJuan Blair C
Rebounded effectively but everything else was a struggle. Turned an ankle late.

Nando De Colo A-
Court vision continues to amaze. Orchestrating offense to perfection. Gaining confidence quickly.

Tiago Splitter A
Active on D and protected the rim well. Great finishing on offense. All-around just very tenacious.

Patrick Mills B+
Used his speed to his advantage. Good shot selection.

Boris Diaw B+
His ability to handle the ball and dish it shined once again. Good on the glass.

James Anderson B
Effort on both ends remains commendable. Didn't do anything too notable but solid.

Matt Bonner Inc.
Highlight dunk and celebration in garbage time.

Cory Joseph Inc.
Looked capable of pushing the pace and finding open teammates.

Pop A-
Spread out the minutes. Find good combinations. The team responded to his timeouts.

[Admidave50]

First, thx for the quick quick grades!

[Chinook]

I thought Green looked pretty good in his first stint. He did a good job filling up the stat sheet. Hopefully he keeps his shot while getting back to his usual defensive level.

[jestersmash]

Seeing Nando knock down that open corner 3 pointer was really encouraging.

I'm comfortable moving him past Patty Mills in the PG depth chart, especially if he can continue to hover around 35% from 3 (although our team as a whole has been pretty subpar from 3 so perhaps it's a little unfair to single Nando out and expect consistency from him when players like Ginobili and Green have been inconsistent in this regard).

[Bender]

Neal has really expanded his repertoire this season

[Boomersgold]

Neal has really expanded his repertoire this season

Probably because he's been playing a position he's more confortable in (shooting guard).

[Brunodf]

For some reason Spurs can't make 3 pointers anymore

[Bruno]

Thanks for the grade.

The S**** trade is a damn steal for Spurs. Rockets are giving $17M to S**** to play for another team while Spurs have a nice rookie with Nando. :tu

[letmk]

ESPN recap mentioned that it's Tim's 742 double-double, did he pass somebody after tonight's game?

[timvp]

Thanks for the grade.

The S**** trade is a damn steal for Spurs. Rockets are giving $17M to S**** to play for another team while Spurs have a nice rookie with Nando. :tu

Delayed truth bomb :wow

[jestersmash]

ESPN recap mentioned that it's Tim's 742 double-double, did he pass somebody after tonight's game?

Not yet.

1 Wilt Chamberlain 966
2 Moses Malone 894
3 Elvin Hayes 890
4 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 882
5 Karl Malone 811
6 Bill Russell 780
7 Hakeem Olajuwon 774
8 Walt Bellamy 755
9 Tim Duncan 742
10 Shaquille O'Neal 727
11 Bob Pettit 708
12 Charles Barkley 705

[Manufan909]

Thanks for the grades, timvp! It's hard to pick standouts from this game, but I'd say Nando, Tony, and Tiago beasted the most.

[letmk]

Not yet.

1 Wilt Chamberlain 966
2 Moses Malone 894
3 Elvin Hayes 890
4 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 882
5 Karl Malone 811
6 Bill Russell 780
7 Hakeem Olajuwon 774
8 Walt Bellamy 755
9 Tim Duncan 742
10 Shaquille O'Neal 727
11 Bob Pettit 708
12 Charles Barkley 705

So it seems he can pass Russell after this season.

[jestersmash]

Ignoring playoffs, Tim's career theoretical maximum for double doubles = 742 + 62 + 82*2 = 968

Wilt Chamberlain career double doubles = 966

:wow

[Richie]

Ignoring playoffs, Tim's career theoretical maximum for double doubles = 742 + 62 + 82*2 = 968

Wilt Chamberlain career double doubles = 966

:wow

playoffs count?

[jestersmash]

Stockton had 709 career double doubles (assists/points) which would put him at #12 overall. The above list is actually for points-rebounds double doubles only, but it doesn't affect Tim's overall rank if you consider all double doubles since Stockton is the only one to make the top 12 (barely, replacing Barkley) if you consider any double double combination other than points/rebounds.

Wikipedia has a list for career regular season double doubles since the 1985-1986 season (does this date have special significance?):

1 Karl Malone* 811
2 Tim Duncan^ 742
3 Shaquille O'Neal 727
4 Hakeem Olajuwon* 718
5 Kevin Garnett^ 707
6 Charles Barkley* 677
7 Patrick Ewing* 580
8 David Robinson* 543
9 Kevin Willis 480
10 Dikembe Mutombo 469

Edit: Again, the above list is points-rebounds double doubles only, but if you want to consider all double doubles then put Stockton in at rank 5 with 709 assists/point double doubles. The next highest non-point/rebound double double is held by Steve Nash who has 415 assists/point double doubles - not enough to crack the top 10.

Richie: The aforementioned stats are for regular season only.

[Mel_13]

Stockton had 709 career double doubles (assists/points) which would put him at #12 overall. The above list is actually for points-rebounds double doubles only, but it doesn't affect Tim's overall rank if you consider all double doubles since Stockton is the only one to make the top 12 (barely, replacing Barkley) if you consider any double double combination other than points/rebounds.

Wikipedia has a list for career regular season double doubles since the 1985-1986 season (does this date have special significance?):

1 Karl Malone* 811
2 Tim Duncan^ 742
3 Shaquille O'Neal 727
4 Hakeem Olajuwon* 718
5 Kevin Garnett^ 707
6 Charles Barkley* 677
7 Patrick Ewing* 580
8 David Robinson* 543
9 Kevin Willis 480
10 Dikembe Mutombo 469

Edit: Again, the above list is points-rebounds double doubles only, but if you want to consider all double doubles then put Stockton in at rank 5 with 709 assists/point double doubles. The next highest non-point/rebound double double is held by Steve Nash who has 415 assists/point double doubles - not enough to crack the top 10.

Richie: The aforementioned stats are for regular season only.

That's how far back you can search for trivia like this on basketball-reference.com:

Player Game Finder

Full player game logs available for the 1985-86 through 2012-13 regular seasons and 1985 through 2012 playoffs.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=&match=career&year_min=&year_max=&age_min=0&age_max=99&team_id=&opp_id=&is_playoffs=N&round_is_ec1=Y&round_is_ecs=Y&round_is_ecf=Y&round_is_wc1=Y&round_is_wcs=Y&round_is_wcf=Y&round_is_fin=Y&game_num_type=&game_num_min=&game_num_max=&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&is_starter=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&is_dbl_dbl=Y&order_by=pts

[Mel_13]

Here's the playoff list since 1985:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=&match=career&year_min=&year_max=&age_min=0&age_max=99&team_id=&opp_id=&is_playoffs=Y&round_is_ec1=Y&round_is_ecs=Y&round_is_ecf=Y&round_is_wc1=Y&round_is_wcs=Y&round_is_wcf=Y&round_is_fin=Y&game_num_type=&game_num_min=&game_num_max=&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&is_starter=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&is_dbl_dbl=Y&order_by=pts

[ElNono]

thanks LJ

[racm]

Thanks for the grade.

The S**** trade is a damn steal for Spurs. Rockets are giving $17M to S**** to play for another team while Spurs have a nice rookie with Nando. :tu

And this is why no one wants to trade with the Spurs, they rarely lose them.

[racm]

Also, look at how many rotation players on the squad were taken in the second round.

[Boomersgold]

And this is why no one wants to trade with the Spurs, they rarely lose them.

Who's "S****"?

[jestersmash]

Who's "S****"?

Shawnelle Scott (S****)

[Danny.Zhu]

Thanks for the grade.

The S**** trade is a damn steal for Spurs. Rockets are giving $17M to S**** to play for another team while Spurs have a nice rookie with Nando. :tu

Well, if 17m and a rookie is more valuable than 2-3 championships then you're right...

[jestersmash]

Well, if 17m and a rookie is more valuable than 2-3 championships then you're right...

+1. Shawnelle was without question our missing piece for 2002, 2004, and 2006.

[Boomersgold]

http://www.thedreamshake.com/2012/12/7/3740216/rockets-take-on-the-spurs

LOL, it must suck to be a Rockets fan. The whole game thread is filled with comments about how their team sucks and how "crisp" our offense is.

[callo1]

Manu still looks bad out there. A- is very generous. I'm sure Manu will get better, but he isn't even close yet.

JA is getting his legs back. On the rebounds he got, he really showed nice explosion.

Nando is for real.

[racm]

First time this season Tiago has had two good games.

[007nites]

I put together this thread a while back. It has all the info you need about Timmy's stats and who he is about to pass next etc.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193022

[superjames1992]

Neal has really expanded his repertoire this season
Want a guy who plays hero ball 24/7? Neal's your guy.

[Boomersgold]

Want a guy who plays hero ball 24/7? Neal's your guy.

Isn't that what Tony does?

[superjames1992]

Isn't that what Tony does?
Neal takes it to another level. The dude jacks up shots like it's the last game of his life. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn't. I'm not a huge fan, though, to be honest.

[jestersmash]

Neal takes it to another level. The dude jacks up shots like it's the last game of his life. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn't. I'm not a huge fan, though, to be honest.

I kind of like it. He brings an "X-factor" component to our offense. At any given point in the game, I feel like he can explode for a quick 7-10 points in 6 minutes because he clearly feels comfortable to take every semi-open shot given to him (and a couple of contested, "bad" shots as well) without being fearful of Pop pulling him or cutting back his minutes.

It's pretty clear that Pop has given him the green light to shoot with almost as much flexibility as the Big 3 have. It's pretty rare for a role player to have that kind of green light, but Neal's earned it IMO by having such a fundamentally sound shot.

[racm]

Neal is one of the best scorers in the league. He's best in a score-in-bunches off the bench role, but he's not bad as a starter. Remember when he went 0-5 to start the Bucks game? He finished hitting 7 of his 10 shots.

[Darkwaters]

Previously I was thinking that this would be the final season for both Blair and Neal, as they move on to different roles on different teams.

Now I'm thinking that Neal really needs to be resigned to another reasonable 3 year deal. He reallly has been great for us - especially when he plays the 2 guard role.

Blair can GTFO.

[Brunodf]

I don't like Neal the PG, he just shots and never pass, but Neal the SG is really good.

I just don't know if we have enough cap to resign him...

[jestersmash]

I think the latter half of this practice interview from Manu perfectly encapsulates my overall impression of Gary Neal for the past couple of years -

http://www.nba.com/spurs/video/2012/12/07/121207ginobilishootmov-2318079

Praise of Gary Neal starts at around 4:27.

[Johnny RIngo]

So it seems he can pass Russell after this season.

And pass Malone after next season. I see him finishing short of Kareem though.

[AussieFanKurt]

Bonner should be fined for his celebration after that dunk

[99 Problems]

Not even the NBA would have the heart to fine him. Everyone once in their life should have a moment when they feel like TD.

[SpursRock20]

Manu still looks bad out there. A- is very generous. I'm sure Manu will get better, but he isn't even close yet.

JA is getting his legs back. On the rebounds he got, he really showed nice explosion.

Nando is for real.

Manu looked very solid tonight. When he doesn't try to do too much and picks his spots he has been playing well this season. He can no longer play reckless like he has in the past because it seems that his passing has regressed and he can't get by his man as well as he used to be able to (I don't know if this is just a phase or not). As long as he doesn't play out of control or force the issue, he combats his turnover/shooting problem. Tonight was a fine example.

[UZER]

Neal is a threat that defenses have to pay attention to...unlike Bonner.

[Stabula]

Neal goes Westbrick way too often for my liking. He really does shoot like its the last game of his life instead of trying to make a smarter play.

[Old School 44]

I think the latter half of this practice interview from Manu perfectly encapsulates my overall impression of Gary Neal for the past couple of years -

http://www.nba.com/spurs/video/2012/12/07/121207ginobilishootmov-2318079

Praise of Gary Neal starts at around 4:27.

Nice praise for Gary. He's a flat out scorer. I'm glad, as Manu put it, he has his "Green Card" to shoot. :)

[GrandeDavid]

Matt Bonner deserves an A tonight. Highlight dunk, splashed a three, had at least a couple of nice boards.

[letmk]

Neal takes it to another level. The dude jacks up shots like it's the last game of his life. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn't. I'm not a huge fan, though, to be honest.

If I'm a fan of any other teams, I would not like what Neal does as there are no shortages of jack-up-shots type of guards all around NBA. But Spurs is in a unique situation, being mechanical and disciplined, Spurs is too predictable and players are sometimes too self-conscious about not taking bad-shots.

Neal's unconsciousness in offense and Jack's don't-give-it-a-damn attitude in defense give Spurs an edge that big-three and other players don't possess. They are just too model-citizens.

[elemento]

lol @ people wanting to move Neal. You guys have to remember a few things: 1st - He is the best shooter of the team and one of a few players in SA that can create his own shot. How many guys can hit clutch shots and feel no pressure in important moments outside the big3 ? Only Jax and Neal. 2nd- he makes the minimum so I am no sure what you guys expect. He is a fine backup SG and he is a great scorer. 3rd - He was put in a bad situation as a backup PG. He is not a PG, so it's pretty obvious that he would struggle. As a backup SG, Neal is great. Neal has always produced in limited minutes. How many guards in the league can put 10/2/2 in 20minutes/game with a 54%TS and 40% from deep making the minimum? Not many. Blair hasn't produced shit in 4 years. Neal is miles ahead of Blair for San Antonio. Don't be surprised to see the FO re-signing Gary Neal to a Danny Green type of contract. He is worth it easily. The pathetic hate for Neal has to stop.

[Kidd K]

I think Danny Green deserved a bit better than a C considering it was his first game back, and he hit some shots for us. Active enough on D' for my tastes. Didn't he have a few steals and a couple blocks? I know that isn't everything, but that's a nice defensive statline for a dude coming off a hamstring.

Was pleased with just about everyone overall tonight. Nice, solid win. Spurs have been looking real strong since closing that Memphis game out with a big run to tie it, then dominate in OT for the win.

[BRs.Ganso]

Bonners dunk

play of the year! :lol

[Paranoid Pop]

lol @ people wanting to move Neal. You guys have to remember a few things: 1st - He is the best shooter of the team and one of a few players in SA that can create his own shot. How many guys can hit clutch shots and feel no pressure in important moments outside the big3 ? Only Jax and Neal. 2nd- he makes the minimum so I am no sure what you guys expect. He is a fine backup SG and he is a great scorer. 3rd - He was put in a bad situation as a backup PG. He is not a PG, so it's pretty obvious that he would struggle. As a backup SG, Neal is great. Neal has always produced in limited minutes. How many guards in the league can put 10/2/2 in 20minutes/game with a 54%TS and 40% from deep making the minimum? Not many. Blair hasn't produced shit in 4 years. Neal is miles ahead of Blair for San Antonio. Don't be surprised to see the FO re-signing Gary Neal to a Danny Green type of contract. He is worth it easily. The pathetic hate for Neal has to stop.

4/ he got better every year, the PG experiment helped him expand his repertoire and now he can do pretty much everything offensively.

5/ playoffs certified.

He deserves to get paid next year but I hope it's with us.

[Sean Cagney]

Probably because he's been playing a position he's more confortable in (shooting guard).

YEP! Thats where he needs to be!