timvp
12-18-2012, 04:20 PM
In rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals, the Spurs traveled to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on Monday night. After a competitive first half, the Thunder got rolling in the final two quarters on their way to a convincing 107-93 victory.
Both teams played very good basketball on the offensive end in the first quarter. Neither team led by more than four points for the first 11 minutes of the period as powerful punches were traded. Kevin Martin hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining in the quarter to put the Thunder up by seven, but a Danny Green three made it 30-26 going into the second stanza.
Midway through the second, a Tiago Splitter basket put the Spurs up by a pair, 41-39. Unfortunately, OKC responded with a 12-2 run to go up by eight points. A Gary Neal three-pointer 31 seconds before halftime made it 53-48 going into intermission.
Tony Parker hit a jumper with 8:26 remaining in the third quarter to bring the Spurs within four points. That’s when San Antonio collapsed. They didn’t score again for four and a half minutes as the Thunder built a 15-point advantage.
With Oklahoma City rolling, Pop emptied his bench near the end of the third quarter. The bench, like they always seem to do, kept playing hard and actually pulled the Spurs within nine points with 5:28 remaining in the fourth. But the Thunder’s starters quickly regained control and sprinted away with the win.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box261.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box262.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box263.png
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Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
On offense, Tim Duncan was decent. He usually scored when he had an adequate amount of space to operate. However, he also forced the issue at times and was prone to holding onto the ball for too long. His passing could have been better and a whole lot quicker. Defensively, he also wasn’t too bad. Individually and team-wise, he fulfilled most of his responsibilities. His weakness on that end was rebounding. The Spurs needed him to control the backboard but Duncan simply didn’t come through in that regard.
Final Grade: 77
Season Average: 90.0
Adj. Average: 90.2
Last 10 Average: 86.9
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Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Coming out of the gates, I thought Tony Parker was playing really well. Defensively, he was forcing Russell Westbrook into difficult shots while also cutting off his passing lanes. On offense, Parker was continuously probing and was able to force the defense to collapse on him, which opened up space for others. Regrettably, his play was much worse in his subsequent stints on the court. He wasn’t quite as sharp defensively, but it was his offense that really suffered. Parker started over-dribbling and was reluctant to give the ball up even though the Thunder were trapping him and shading their defense to his side of the court. He has to trust his teammates more instead of stagnating the ball-movement by trying to force the issue.
Final Grade: 75
Season Average: 87.5
Adj. Average: 87.5
Last 10 Average: 88.9
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Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
The Spurs had little choice but to put Danny Green on Kevin Durant to start the game. Predictably, it didn’t work out well. Durant is just too big and too athletic for Green to handle. And while Durant didn’t exactly explode, the Spurs had to pay so much attention to this mismatch that it opened up holes elsewhere in their defense. Even when Green wasn’t defending Durant, he wasn’t too impressive. On the other end, Green was decent enough. He took advantage of his touches and avoided turnovers. He also showed much more patience than he did during the WCFs.
Final Grade: 76
Season Average: 81.8
Adj. Average: 82.2
Last 10 Average: 81.1
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Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
In today’s NBA, Gary Neal’s lack of size usually doesn’t matter much and he’s able to survive at shooting guard. But against the tall, long and athletic Thunder, he stuck out like a sore thumb. On offense, Neal was engulfed by the Thunder’s length and all his passes and shots were forced and either blown up or on the verge of getting blown up. Unless he had space, it was just really ugly. Defensively, it wasn’t much better -- especially when he was placed on Kevin Martin. Martin is too lengthy and too crafty for Neal to deal with.
Final Grade: 69
Season Average: 82.1
Adj. Average: 82.6
Last 10 Average: 81.9
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Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
The Bad: Tiago Splitter didn’t close too well on Serge Ibaka’s jumpers. Letting Ibaka shoot long jumpers was part of the game plan but Spitter still needs to do a better job of challenging the shot when Ibaka begins to elevate. Additionally, the Brazilian didn’t do good work on the boards. The Good: Offensively, he was really solid. He finished strong at the rim and was aggressive whenever he sensed an opening. Defensively, Splitter was attentive about his rotations and he also went hard after blocked shots without getting himself in foul trouble. Pairing Duncan and Splitter is going to take some time to master but so far it has been relatively smooth.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 84.8
Adj. Average: 85.6
Last 10 Average: 88.3
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Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Teams who have scouted the Spurs well know to pay little attention to Boris Diaw on the offensive end. The Thunder are one such team and this tactic worked again. Diaw’s reluctance to shoot open shots or even move to open spots on the court is really limiting his offensive value right now. When he’s in his hide-from-the-ball mode, even his great passing skills go to waste. Defensively, Diaw was average to slightly above average. I liked his effort and he did well challenging shots. Especially when the game was still in doubt, he was one of the culprits that contributed to the poor rebounding performance.
Final Grade: 75
Season Average: 78.8
Adj. Average: 80.1
Last 10 Average: 76.9
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Nando De Colo
http://www.spurstalk.com/ndc12.png
The silver lining to this otherwise poor showing was the play of Nando De Colo. Defensively, he spent a lot of time on Westbrook and didn’t look overwhelmed. De Colo might not be a great athlete but he is coordinated and quick for his size. Offensively, he’s really starting to blossom. Passing remains his biggest strength since his court vision is fantastic, but his ability to score is rapidly developing. In his first 11 games, De Colo averaged 6.9 points per 40 minutes. In his last 10 outings, that number has skyrocketed to 16.2 points. Against the Thunder, his ability to score off the dribble shined bright.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 83.4
Adj. Average: 86.0
Last 10 Average: 84.6
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Stephen Jackson
http://www.spurstalk.com/sj12.png
In his return to the lineup after breaking a pinkie finger, Stephen Jackson was rusty. His feet were slow on the perimeter and he got tired quickly. Jackson was also sloppy when trying to dribble. That said, he did flash some positive qualities. He grabbed a few contested boards and used his defense was solid when his quickness (or lack thereof) wasn’t tested. Jackson obviously needs to play much better but this was predictable level of play after his lengthy absence.
Final Grade: 80
Season Average: 85.1
Adj. Average: 85.6
Last 10 Average: 80.0
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James Anderson
http://www.spurstalk.com/ja12.png
James Anderson played with a ton of liveliness, didn’t back down at all and his determination was commendable. He was able to make plays on both ends by simply being the hardest worker on the court. Alas, those intangibles only took him so far. When the Thunder revved up their effort, Anderson was unable to keep up. That said, he’s still showing enough promise to keep around. Anderson plays within the offense, passes well, goes for rebounds and defends with gusto. As emergency depth, he’s sufficient.
Final Grade: 81
Season Average: 85.0
Adj. Average: 84.8
Last 10 Average: 85.0
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DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
Considering his atrocious play as of late, I thought DeJuan Blair did better than expected. He still wasn’t very good and his athletic ability is still missing in action but Blair made a handful of positive plays and was an undeniable part of that fourth quarter comeback.
Final Grade: 82
Season Average: 78.5
Adj. Average: 79.7
Last 10 Average: 74.8
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Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
Patrick Mills hit a three-pointer shortly after he checked in but that was about the extent of his positives. He found it difficult to dribble against OKC’s athleticism. Plus, his speed wasn’t a notable advantage against these guys. Defensively, there was nothing to write home about.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 82.3
Adj. Average: 82.1
Last 10 Average: 86.0
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Matt Bonner
http://www.spurstalk.com/mb12.png
Matt Bonner did a couple good things: He rebounded well and his aggressiveness offensively was better than it usually is against the Thunder. Other than those aspects, though, Bonner was blah; nothing notably good or bad.
Final Grade: 83
Season Average: 82.9
Adj. Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 84.9
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Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
With Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard out injured, Pop didn’t have two of his key weapons to throw at the Thunder. He needed to be inventive in order to keep the Spurs in the game. That just didn’t happen. Part of the reason why Parker was overly aggressive in the third quarter was because Pop failed to put another playmaker in the game with him. Pop didn’t find (and seemed to not even try to find) combinations that could handle OKC’s physical talents. The one bright spot was he limited everyone’s minutes and by doing so improved San Antonio’s chances of winning against Denver.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 84.7
Last 10 Average: 85.2
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Offense
Two aspects killed the Spurs offense: turnovers (17) and a lack of crisp ball-movement. Turning it over because there’s too much passing is survivable, but not passing much and still turning it over isn’t. The Spurs shot better than 50% on two-pointers, scored on the break and got into the paint but the offensive cohesion simply wasn’t there.
Final Grade: 71
Season Average: 84.5
Last 10 Average: 84.1
---------------
Defense
Rebounding poorly really hurt San Antonio. They had been doing a much better job recently but OKC just destroyed them on Monday night. Transition defense was also lacking. It’d be great if the Spurs could keep the Thunder off the line … but that’s easier said than done in Oklahoma City. Outside of Ibaka, the Thunder shot only 40.8%. That’s good news but it’s getting to the point that the Spurs can’t keep viewing Ibaka’s production as an outlier.
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 83.2
Last 10 Average: 84.7
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Overall
It’s not surprising the Spurs lost this game. The Thunder are a great team and the odds-on favorites in the West. San Antonio didn’t have a full deck and they’ve played a ton recently. The Thunder, like always, are completely healthy -- plus they had an extra day of rest before this showdown. But despite those excuses, the showing wasn’t good enough to label it as anything but poor.
Final Grade: 72
Season Average: 84.0
Last 10 Average: 84.6
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Both teams played very good basketball on the offensive end in the first quarter. Neither team led by more than four points for the first 11 minutes of the period as powerful punches were traded. Kevin Martin hit a three-pointer with 36 seconds remaining in the quarter to put the Thunder up by seven, but a Danny Green three made it 30-26 going into the second stanza.
Midway through the second, a Tiago Splitter basket put the Spurs up by a pair, 41-39. Unfortunately, OKC responded with a 12-2 run to go up by eight points. A Gary Neal three-pointer 31 seconds before halftime made it 53-48 going into intermission.
Tony Parker hit a jumper with 8:26 remaining in the third quarter to bring the Spurs within four points. That’s when San Antonio collapsed. They didn’t score again for four and a half minutes as the Thunder built a 15-point advantage.
With Oklahoma City rolling, Pop emptied his bench near the end of the third quarter. The bench, like they always seem to do, kept playing hard and actually pulled the Spurs within nine points with 5:28 remaining in the fourth. But the Thunder’s starters quickly regained control and sprinted away with the win.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box261.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box262.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box263.png
---------------
Tim Duncan
http://www.spurstalk.com/td12.png
On offense, Tim Duncan was decent. He usually scored when he had an adequate amount of space to operate. However, he also forced the issue at times and was prone to holding onto the ball for too long. His passing could have been better and a whole lot quicker. Defensively, he also wasn’t too bad. Individually and team-wise, he fulfilled most of his responsibilities. His weakness on that end was rebounding. The Spurs needed him to control the backboard but Duncan simply didn’t come through in that regard.
Final Grade: 77
Season Average: 90.0
Adj. Average: 90.2
Last 10 Average: 86.9
---------------
Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Coming out of the gates, I thought Tony Parker was playing really well. Defensively, he was forcing Russell Westbrook into difficult shots while also cutting off his passing lanes. On offense, Parker was continuously probing and was able to force the defense to collapse on him, which opened up space for others. Regrettably, his play was much worse in his subsequent stints on the court. He wasn’t quite as sharp defensively, but it was his offense that really suffered. Parker started over-dribbling and was reluctant to give the ball up even though the Thunder were trapping him and shading their defense to his side of the court. He has to trust his teammates more instead of stagnating the ball-movement by trying to force the issue.
Final Grade: 75
Season Average: 87.5
Adj. Average: 87.5
Last 10 Average: 88.9
---------------
Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
The Spurs had little choice but to put Danny Green on Kevin Durant to start the game. Predictably, it didn’t work out well. Durant is just too big and too athletic for Green to handle. And while Durant didn’t exactly explode, the Spurs had to pay so much attention to this mismatch that it opened up holes elsewhere in their defense. Even when Green wasn’t defending Durant, he wasn’t too impressive. On the other end, Green was decent enough. He took advantage of his touches and avoided turnovers. He also showed much more patience than he did during the WCFs.
Final Grade: 76
Season Average: 81.8
Adj. Average: 82.2
Last 10 Average: 81.1
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Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
In today’s NBA, Gary Neal’s lack of size usually doesn’t matter much and he’s able to survive at shooting guard. But against the tall, long and athletic Thunder, he stuck out like a sore thumb. On offense, Neal was engulfed by the Thunder’s length and all his passes and shots were forced and either blown up or on the verge of getting blown up. Unless he had space, it was just really ugly. Defensively, it wasn’t much better -- especially when he was placed on Kevin Martin. Martin is too lengthy and too crafty for Neal to deal with.
Final Grade: 69
Season Average: 82.1
Adj. Average: 82.6
Last 10 Average: 81.9
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Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
The Bad: Tiago Splitter didn’t close too well on Serge Ibaka’s jumpers. Letting Ibaka shoot long jumpers was part of the game plan but Spitter still needs to do a better job of challenging the shot when Ibaka begins to elevate. Additionally, the Brazilian didn’t do good work on the boards. The Good: Offensively, he was really solid. He finished strong at the rim and was aggressive whenever he sensed an opening. Defensively, Splitter was attentive about his rotations and he also went hard after blocked shots without getting himself in foul trouble. Pairing Duncan and Splitter is going to take some time to master but so far it has been relatively smooth.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 84.8
Adj. Average: 85.6
Last 10 Average: 88.3
---------------
Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Teams who have scouted the Spurs well know to pay little attention to Boris Diaw on the offensive end. The Thunder are one such team and this tactic worked again. Diaw’s reluctance to shoot open shots or even move to open spots on the court is really limiting his offensive value right now. When he’s in his hide-from-the-ball mode, even his great passing skills go to waste. Defensively, Diaw was average to slightly above average. I liked his effort and he did well challenging shots. Especially when the game was still in doubt, he was one of the culprits that contributed to the poor rebounding performance.
Final Grade: 75
Season Average: 78.8
Adj. Average: 80.1
Last 10 Average: 76.9
---------------
Nando De Colo
http://www.spurstalk.com/ndc12.png
The silver lining to this otherwise poor showing was the play of Nando De Colo. Defensively, he spent a lot of time on Westbrook and didn’t look overwhelmed. De Colo might not be a great athlete but he is coordinated and quick for his size. Offensively, he’s really starting to blossom. Passing remains his biggest strength since his court vision is fantastic, but his ability to score is rapidly developing. In his first 11 games, De Colo averaged 6.9 points per 40 minutes. In his last 10 outings, that number has skyrocketed to 16.2 points. Against the Thunder, his ability to score off the dribble shined bright.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 83.4
Adj. Average: 86.0
Last 10 Average: 84.6
---------------
Stephen Jackson
http://www.spurstalk.com/sj12.png
In his return to the lineup after breaking a pinkie finger, Stephen Jackson was rusty. His feet were slow on the perimeter and he got tired quickly. Jackson was also sloppy when trying to dribble. That said, he did flash some positive qualities. He grabbed a few contested boards and used his defense was solid when his quickness (or lack thereof) wasn’t tested. Jackson obviously needs to play much better but this was predictable level of play after his lengthy absence.
Final Grade: 80
Season Average: 85.1
Adj. Average: 85.6
Last 10 Average: 80.0
---------------
James Anderson
http://www.spurstalk.com/ja12.png
James Anderson played with a ton of liveliness, didn’t back down at all and his determination was commendable. He was able to make plays on both ends by simply being the hardest worker on the court. Alas, those intangibles only took him so far. When the Thunder revved up their effort, Anderson was unable to keep up. That said, he’s still showing enough promise to keep around. Anderson plays within the offense, passes well, goes for rebounds and defends with gusto. As emergency depth, he’s sufficient.
Final Grade: 81
Season Average: 85.0
Adj. Average: 84.8
Last 10 Average: 85.0
---------------
DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
Considering his atrocious play as of late, I thought DeJuan Blair did better than expected. He still wasn’t very good and his athletic ability is still missing in action but Blair made a handful of positive plays and was an undeniable part of that fourth quarter comeback.
Final Grade: 82
Season Average: 78.5
Adj. Average: 79.7
Last 10 Average: 74.8
---------------
Patrick Mills
http://www.spurstalk.com/pm12.png
Patrick Mills hit a three-pointer shortly after he checked in but that was about the extent of his positives. He found it difficult to dribble against OKC’s athleticism. Plus, his speed wasn’t a notable advantage against these guys. Defensively, there was nothing to write home about.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 82.3
Adj. Average: 82.1
Last 10 Average: 86.0
---------------
Matt Bonner
http://www.spurstalk.com/mb12.png
Matt Bonner did a couple good things: He rebounded well and his aggressiveness offensively was better than it usually is against the Thunder. Other than those aspects, though, Bonner was blah; nothing notably good or bad.
Final Grade: 83
Season Average: 82.9
Adj. Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 84.9
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
With Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard out injured, Pop didn’t have two of his key weapons to throw at the Thunder. He needed to be inventive in order to keep the Spurs in the game. That just didn’t happen. Part of the reason why Parker was overly aggressive in the third quarter was because Pop failed to put another playmaker in the game with him. Pop didn’t find (and seemed to not even try to find) combinations that could handle OKC’s physical talents. The one bright spot was he limited everyone’s minutes and by doing so improved San Antonio’s chances of winning against Denver.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 84.7
Last 10 Average: 85.2
---------------
Offense
Two aspects killed the Spurs offense: turnovers (17) and a lack of crisp ball-movement. Turning it over because there’s too much passing is survivable, but not passing much and still turning it over isn’t. The Spurs shot better than 50% on two-pointers, scored on the break and got into the paint but the offensive cohesion simply wasn’t there.
Final Grade: 71
Season Average: 84.5
Last 10 Average: 84.1
---------------
Defense
Rebounding poorly really hurt San Antonio. They had been doing a much better job recently but OKC just destroyed them on Monday night. Transition defense was also lacking. It’d be great if the Spurs could keep the Thunder off the line … but that’s easier said than done in Oklahoma City. Outside of Ibaka, the Thunder shot only 40.8%. That’s good news but it’s getting to the point that the Spurs can’t keep viewing Ibaka’s production as an outlier.
Final Grade: 73
Season Average: 83.2
Last 10 Average: 84.7
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Overall
It’s not surprising the Spurs lost this game. The Thunder are a great team and the odds-on favorites in the West. San Antonio didn’t have a full deck and they’ve played a ton recently. The Thunder, like always, are completely healthy -- plus they had an extra day of rest before this showdown. But despite those excuses, the showing wasn’t good enough to label it as anything but poor.
Final Grade: 72
Season Average: 84.0
Last 10 Average: 84.6
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