timvp
12-12-2012, 01:02 PM
Wow, what a crazy game. On paper, this affair looked to be quite simple for the men dressed in black. They were to take on a Rockets squad they had just blown out a few days earlier -- and this time James Harden would be sitting on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
Fifty-three minutes later, we were again reminded why games aren’t played on paper. When the dust finally settled, the Spurs had escaped Houston with a 134-126 victory. The win is San Antonio’s fifth straight and their tenth in their last 11 games.
The high-scoring nature of this contest didn’t shine through right away. Coming out of the gates, the Spurs went nearly three minutes without a point. On both ends of the court, the good guys just weren’t very sharp. From late defensive rotations to choppy ball movement, even artless aspects of the sport were a chore. As a result, the Spurs were constantly in catch-up mode in the first quarter.
The second quarter wasn’t much better early on. In fact, a barrage of three-pointers put the Rockets up by ten points midway through the period. In what would become a theme, the Spurs came roaring back with eight straight points -- only to see the Rockets respond with a counterpunch that restored their advantage to seven points. San Antonio landed the last blow of the half: a 15-7 run that gave the Spurs the lead at intermission.
In the third period, there were many moments where it appeared as if the Spurs were on the verge of gaining control. Instead, the Rockets went absolutely nuts. The Spurs were up 82-76 with four minutes remaining in the quarter when Houston unleashed a 29-14 run in a span of six minutes. The run consisted of Jeremy Lin going linsane and repeatedly murdering the Spurs with a pick-and-roll at the top of the key.
When Lin went to the bench in the fourth quarter to catch his breath, the Spurs were finally able to restore order. In less than four minutes of playing time, the Spurs went on a 14-2 run to take a three-point lead with 5:20 remaining in regulation. It was then Chandler Parsons’ turn to detonate. The second-year forward nailed three consecutive three-pointers to swing the momentum back to Houston.
With 1:59 to go, Lin hit a difficult 14-foot jumper to give the Rockets a one-point lead. Fourteen seconds later, Manu Ginobili tossed in a courageous three-pointer. Unfortunately, that two-point lead went away when Omer Asik made a clutch jumper with 37 seconds on the clock. After Tony Parker missed a jumper, Danny Green harassed Lin into a shot clock violation. The Spurs had the ball with five seconds to work with but failed to get off a shot.
In overtime, the Spurs scored the first two baskets. Following a pair of free throws by Lin, Gary Neal drained his seventh three-pointer of the game. Then, Duncan got a defensive rebound and fired an outlet pass to Ginobili who finished at the rim while being harmed. The resulting three-point play gave the Spurs an eight-point advantage that they were able to control the rest of the way.
All in all, it was 10 out of 10 in terms of entertainment value. The game was just tremendously fun to watch even if the Spurs never did find much of a rhythm on either end. Then again, if San Antonio can get a win and score 134 points while playing far from their best basketball, it’s difficult to be anything but happy about the result.
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Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
Omer Asik may very well be the best defensive player in the NBA. While Tim Duncan was able to best him in their last matchup, Asik won this battle. Duncan never got it going on offense, in large part due to Asik’s defense. The Rockets center was able to body Duncan in the lane and also get out and contest his jumpers. While the 36-year-old looked mortal for perhaps the first time all season, I’m not going to worry too much and will instead chalk it up to a combination of Asik and foul trouble. Besides, Duncan was very solid on the other end of the court. Seven of his 13 rebounds came in the fourth quarter or overtime; it seemed like he was retrieving all the most vital of caroms. Plus, the only way the Spurs found to slow down Jeremy Lin was to have Duncan switch off onto him on pick-and-roll sets. Without Duncan’s mobility, Lin might have gone for 50 points instead of “just” 38.
Final Grade: 77
Season Average: 91.4
Adj. Average: 91.6
Last 10 Average: 91.5
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Manu Ginobili
http://www.spurstalk.com/mg12.png
Manu Ginobili is getting really, really close. There were still a few bizarre decisions and a couple sloppy plays intertwined into his performance, however Ginobili was otherwise impressive. His passing and rebounding once again looked great. His shot is looking a lot better and he’s showing an ability to get into the lane. Defensively, Ginobili was amazing early on (he forced three air balls by my count) but appeared to get tired late in the second half. Yes, there are still rough edges but Ginobili’s rust is almost a thing of the past.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 83.6
Adj. Average: 84.0
Last 10 Average: 86.2
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Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Congrats to Tony Parker for his first career triple-double. And, honestly, this wasn’t a cheap triple-double. On a few occasions, he was battling in midair against Houston’s bigmen for rebounds. Needless to say, it was by far Parker’s most impressive game of the season on the boards. Offensively, he was also a positive. He consistently made plays for himself and others by using his speed and underrated strength. Perhaps most importantly, Parker kept a steady hand despite the numerous runs by the Rockets. Unfortunately, D was the Frenchman’s Achilles heel on the night. His energy on that end was iffy early on and by the time Parker tried to ramp it up, Lin was blazing. He was later switched off onto other players but he was never able to make an impact on that end outside of rebounding.
Final Grade: 93
Season Average: 88.4
Adj. Average: 88.4
Last 10 Average: 93.0
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Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
Early on, Danny Green wasn’t doing much of anything. He was lackadaisical defensively and wasn’t involved offensively. However, as the game progressed, Green defrosted. While his outside shooting remained iffy, everything else about his game improved drastically. Defensively, he took on the challenge of guarding Lin and did well. Green also played outstanding transition defense and grabbed a few contested rebounds. On the other end, his ballhandling and passing -- usually not exactly strengths of his -- shined as he became a weapon in just about every aspect of the game. It started off inauspiciously but this game against the Rockets turned out to be somewhat of a breakout game for Green. When he plays with ferocity on both ends and brings more than one or two dimensions to the table, he’s a very good role player.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 82.7
Adj. Average: 83.1
Last 10 Average: 81.8
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Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
At the heart of it all, Gary Neal is a shooting specialist. On Monday night, his shooting was definitely special. I lost count of how many huge shots Neal knocked down. He was just stepping up and knocking down cold blooded shot after cold blooded shot. Other than his marksmanship, he didn’t do much. Defensively, he could have been a lot quicker closing out on three-point shooters. And considering how well he has been rebounding lately, the goose egg was surprising.
Final Grade: 92
Season Average: 83.4
Adj. Average: 84.5
Last 10 Average: 85.0
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DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
DeJuan Blair’s stats from this game are proof that numbers can lie. He was an undeniable liability on both sides of the court. On D, he was doing a poor job guarding the perimeter and was basically worthless in the paint. Offensively, he kept getting in the way, passed the ball to the wrong player repeatedly and the lack of cohesion on that end had his finger prints all of it.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 79.9
Adj. Average: 80.7
Last 10 Average: 78.9
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Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
In retrospect, Tiago Splitter should have gotten more minutes. When he was on the court, he was quite productive. His finishing at the rim remains very impressive. In his last four games, he’s a stunning 22-for-29 (75.9%) from the field. Splitter also passed well and ran the court hard. On defense, he was aggressive (perhaps too impressive considering his foul trouble) and defended the hoop really well. Right now, Splitter is unquestionably one of the most efficient players in the entire NBA.
Final Grade: 89
Season Average: 84.1
Adj. Average: 84.9
Last 10 Average: 87.9
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Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Ugh. Boris Diaw had one of the worst games you’ll ever see him play. When he wasn’t throwing the ball away he was either getting the ball stolen or in the act falling down. The Rockets were doubling off of him whenever they could and he didn’t even come close to taking advantage. Defensively, Diaw wasn’t much better. His rotations were slow and he was weak in the paint. The only silver lining is he was playing with a lot of effort -- and that’s usually half the battle when it comes to the precocious Frenchman.
Final Grade: 69
Season Average: 80.2
Adj. Average: 81.7
Last 10 Average: 82.3
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Nando De Colo
http://www.spurstalk.com/ndc12.png
The Good: Nando De Colo’s shooting is really starting to come around. He’s 15-for-31 (48.4%) from the field and 7-for-15 (46.7%) on three-pointers in his last six games. Versus Houston, De Colo was decent to good on defense. The Bad: The Rockets pressured De Colo and he didn’t handle it well. In fact, the pressure stopped him from creating much of anything when he had the ball. Considering that his ability to create is what makes him an NBA prospect, that’s a worrisome turn of events. Going forward, De Colo has to prove that he can handle pressure. If he can’t, his outlook suddenly doesn’t look very bright.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 82.8
Adj. Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 83.3
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Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
Pop threw Patrick Mills in the game in the second half. It turned out to be a mistake. With Mills and Neal at the guard positions, neither one was capable of running the show. If Mills isn’t going to show any point guard ability, that’s going to really limit his usefulness.
Final Grade: Inc.
Season Average: 82.2
Adj. Average: 82.2
Last 10 Average: 89.4
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Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
I didn’t like Pop’s rotation for much of the game. When Duncan and Splitter both in foul trouble, it wasn’t easy coming up with capable fivesomes but some of the lineups made little sense. When he went to the Mills and Neal lineup in the second half, that was almost the death knell. All that said, give Pop credit for finding a lineup (Duncan, Green, Ginobili, Neal, Parker) that was able to pull out the victory.
Final Grade: 80
Season Average: 86.0
Last 10 Average: 89.6
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Offense
Scoring 134 points on 117 possessions is impressive no matter how you slice it. Even though it was oftentimes ugly, the Spurs found ways to put points on the board. It helped that they shot so well from the line (24-for-26) and canned 14 three-pointers. And while they definitely turned it over too much, their ability to score in the paint continues to be a strength.
Final Grade: 89
Season Average: 86.0
Last 10 Average: 88.9
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Defense
The Spurs had been doing a really good job of closing out on three-point shooters until this game. The Rockets made things worse by launching (and hitting) bombs from a few feet behind the line but San Antonio could have definitely defended better. Additionally, allowing 36 free throws makes it difficult to win. The bright spots: the Spurs were strong on the defensive glass and defended the paint well (the Rockets shot only 37.3% on two-pointers).
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 83.3
Last 10 Average: 84.2
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Overall
There were many reasons why the Spurs should have lost this game. But, as has become a habit with this team, they found a way to win yet again. Impressive.
Final Grade: 81
Season Average: 85.0
Last 10 Average: 87.0
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Fifty-three minutes later, we were again reminded why games aren’t played on paper. When the dust finally settled, the Spurs had escaped Houston with a 134-126 victory. The win is San Antonio’s fifth straight and their tenth in their last 11 games.
The high-scoring nature of this contest didn’t shine through right away. Coming out of the gates, the Spurs went nearly three minutes without a point. On both ends of the court, the good guys just weren’t very sharp. From late defensive rotations to choppy ball movement, even artless aspects of the sport were a chore. As a result, the Spurs were constantly in catch-up mode in the first quarter.
The second quarter wasn’t much better early on. In fact, a barrage of three-pointers put the Rockets up by ten points midway through the period. In what would become a theme, the Spurs came roaring back with eight straight points -- only to see the Rockets respond with a counterpunch that restored their advantage to seven points. San Antonio landed the last blow of the half: a 15-7 run that gave the Spurs the lead at intermission.
In the third period, there were many moments where it appeared as if the Spurs were on the verge of gaining control. Instead, the Rockets went absolutely nuts. The Spurs were up 82-76 with four minutes remaining in the quarter when Houston unleashed a 29-14 run in a span of six minutes. The run consisted of Jeremy Lin going linsane and repeatedly murdering the Spurs with a pick-and-roll at the top of the key.
When Lin went to the bench in the fourth quarter to catch his breath, the Spurs were finally able to restore order. In less than four minutes of playing time, the Spurs went on a 14-2 run to take a three-point lead with 5:20 remaining in regulation. It was then Chandler Parsons’ turn to detonate. The second-year forward nailed three consecutive three-pointers to swing the momentum back to Houston.
With 1:59 to go, Lin hit a difficult 14-foot jumper to give the Rockets a one-point lead. Fourteen seconds later, Manu Ginobili tossed in a courageous three-pointer. Unfortunately, that two-point lead went away when Omer Asik made a clutch jumper with 37 seconds on the clock. After Tony Parker missed a jumper, Danny Green harassed Lin into a shot clock violation. The Spurs had the ball with five seconds to work with but failed to get off a shot.
In overtime, the Spurs scored the first two baskets. Following a pair of free throws by Lin, Gary Neal drained his seventh three-pointer of the game. Then, Duncan got a defensive rebound and fired an outlet pass to Ginobili who finished at the rim while being harmed. The resulting three-point play gave the Spurs an eight-point advantage that they were able to control the rest of the way.
All in all, it was 10 out of 10 in terms of entertainment value. The game was just tremendously fun to watch even if the Spurs never did find much of a rhythm on either end. Then again, if San Antonio can get a win and score 134 points while playing far from their best basketball, it’s difficult to be anything but happy about the result.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box221.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box222.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box223.png
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Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
Omer Asik may very well be the best defensive player in the NBA. While Tim Duncan was able to best him in their last matchup, Asik won this battle. Duncan never got it going on offense, in large part due to Asik’s defense. The Rockets center was able to body Duncan in the lane and also get out and contest his jumpers. While the 36-year-old looked mortal for perhaps the first time all season, I’m not going to worry too much and will instead chalk it up to a combination of Asik and foul trouble. Besides, Duncan was very solid on the other end of the court. Seven of his 13 rebounds came in the fourth quarter or overtime; it seemed like he was retrieving all the most vital of caroms. Plus, the only way the Spurs found to slow down Jeremy Lin was to have Duncan switch off onto him on pick-and-roll sets. Without Duncan’s mobility, Lin might have gone for 50 points instead of “just” 38.
Final Grade: 77
Season Average: 91.4
Adj. Average: 91.6
Last 10 Average: 91.5
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Manu Ginobili
http://www.spurstalk.com/mg12.png
Manu Ginobili is getting really, really close. There were still a few bizarre decisions and a couple sloppy plays intertwined into his performance, however Ginobili was otherwise impressive. His passing and rebounding once again looked great. His shot is looking a lot better and he’s showing an ability to get into the lane. Defensively, Ginobili was amazing early on (he forced three air balls by my count) but appeared to get tired late in the second half. Yes, there are still rough edges but Ginobili’s rust is almost a thing of the past.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 83.6
Adj. Average: 84.0
Last 10 Average: 86.2
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Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Congrats to Tony Parker for his first career triple-double. And, honestly, this wasn’t a cheap triple-double. On a few occasions, he was battling in midair against Houston’s bigmen for rebounds. Needless to say, it was by far Parker’s most impressive game of the season on the boards. Offensively, he was also a positive. He consistently made plays for himself and others by using his speed and underrated strength. Perhaps most importantly, Parker kept a steady hand despite the numerous runs by the Rockets. Unfortunately, D was the Frenchman’s Achilles heel on the night. His energy on that end was iffy early on and by the time Parker tried to ramp it up, Lin was blazing. He was later switched off onto other players but he was never able to make an impact on that end outside of rebounding.
Final Grade: 93
Season Average: 88.4
Adj. Average: 88.4
Last 10 Average: 93.0
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Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
Early on, Danny Green wasn’t doing much of anything. He was lackadaisical defensively and wasn’t involved offensively. However, as the game progressed, Green defrosted. While his outside shooting remained iffy, everything else about his game improved drastically. Defensively, he took on the challenge of guarding Lin and did well. Green also played outstanding transition defense and grabbed a few contested rebounds. On the other end, his ballhandling and passing -- usually not exactly strengths of his -- shined as he became a weapon in just about every aspect of the game. It started off inauspiciously but this game against the Rockets turned out to be somewhat of a breakout game for Green. When he plays with ferocity on both ends and brings more than one or two dimensions to the table, he’s a very good role player.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 82.7
Adj. Average: 83.1
Last 10 Average: 81.8
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Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
At the heart of it all, Gary Neal is a shooting specialist. On Monday night, his shooting was definitely special. I lost count of how many huge shots Neal knocked down. He was just stepping up and knocking down cold blooded shot after cold blooded shot. Other than his marksmanship, he didn’t do much. Defensively, he could have been a lot quicker closing out on three-point shooters. And considering how well he has been rebounding lately, the goose egg was surprising.
Final Grade: 92
Season Average: 83.4
Adj. Average: 84.5
Last 10 Average: 85.0
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DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
DeJuan Blair’s stats from this game are proof that numbers can lie. He was an undeniable liability on both sides of the court. On D, he was doing a poor job guarding the perimeter and was basically worthless in the paint. Offensively, he kept getting in the way, passed the ball to the wrong player repeatedly and the lack of cohesion on that end had his finger prints all of it.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 79.9
Adj. Average: 80.7
Last 10 Average: 78.9
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Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
In retrospect, Tiago Splitter should have gotten more minutes. When he was on the court, he was quite productive. His finishing at the rim remains very impressive. In his last four games, he’s a stunning 22-for-29 (75.9%) from the field. Splitter also passed well and ran the court hard. On defense, he was aggressive (perhaps too impressive considering his foul trouble) and defended the hoop really well. Right now, Splitter is unquestionably one of the most efficient players in the entire NBA.
Final Grade: 89
Season Average: 84.1
Adj. Average: 84.9
Last 10 Average: 87.9
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Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Ugh. Boris Diaw had one of the worst games you’ll ever see him play. When he wasn’t throwing the ball away he was either getting the ball stolen or in the act falling down. The Rockets were doubling off of him whenever they could and he didn’t even come close to taking advantage. Defensively, Diaw wasn’t much better. His rotations were slow and he was weak in the paint. The only silver lining is he was playing with a lot of effort -- and that’s usually half the battle when it comes to the precocious Frenchman.
Final Grade: 69
Season Average: 80.2
Adj. Average: 81.7
Last 10 Average: 82.3
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Nando De Colo
http://www.spurstalk.com/ndc12.png
The Good: Nando De Colo’s shooting is really starting to come around. He’s 15-for-31 (48.4%) from the field and 7-for-15 (46.7%) on three-pointers in his last six games. Versus Houston, De Colo was decent to good on defense. The Bad: The Rockets pressured De Colo and he didn’t handle it well. In fact, the pressure stopped him from creating much of anything when he had the ball. Considering that his ability to create is what makes him an NBA prospect, that’s a worrisome turn of events. Going forward, De Colo has to prove that he can handle pressure. If he can’t, his outlook suddenly doesn’t look very bright.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 82.8
Adj. Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 83.3
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Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
Pop threw Patrick Mills in the game in the second half. It turned out to be a mistake. With Mills and Neal at the guard positions, neither one was capable of running the show. If Mills isn’t going to show any point guard ability, that’s going to really limit his usefulness.
Final Grade: Inc.
Season Average: 82.2
Adj. Average: 82.2
Last 10 Average: 89.4
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Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
I didn’t like Pop’s rotation for much of the game. When Duncan and Splitter both in foul trouble, it wasn’t easy coming up with capable fivesomes but some of the lineups made little sense. When he went to the Mills and Neal lineup in the second half, that was almost the death knell. All that said, give Pop credit for finding a lineup (Duncan, Green, Ginobili, Neal, Parker) that was able to pull out the victory.
Final Grade: 80
Season Average: 86.0
Last 10 Average: 89.6
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Offense
Scoring 134 points on 117 possessions is impressive no matter how you slice it. Even though it was oftentimes ugly, the Spurs found ways to put points on the board. It helped that they shot so well from the line (24-for-26) and canned 14 three-pointers. And while they definitely turned it over too much, their ability to score in the paint continues to be a strength.
Final Grade: 89
Season Average: 86.0
Last 10 Average: 88.9
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Defense
The Spurs had been doing a really good job of closing out on three-point shooters until this game. The Rockets made things worse by launching (and hitting) bombs from a few feet behind the line but San Antonio could have definitely defended better. Additionally, allowing 36 free throws makes it difficult to win. The bright spots: the Spurs were strong on the defensive glass and defended the paint well (the Rockets shot only 37.3% on two-pointers).
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 83.3
Last 10 Average: 84.2
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Overall
There were many reasons why the Spurs should have lost this game. But, as has become a habit with this team, they found a way to win yet again. Impressive.
Final Grade: 81
Season Average: 85.0
Last 10 Average: 87.0
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