Quick Grades: Spurs vs. Lakers - Jan. 9

[timvp]

Tim Duncan D+
Scoring was a massive struggle throughout. Passing was a plus. D was decent but not great. Rebounding was subpar.

Manu Ginobili B
Great on the boards and energy-wise. Scored well but shot selection was wonky. Playmaking was erratic.

Tony Parker C-
Scored in bursts but never sustained positive play. Passing was poor; rarely ran the offense correctly. D was average.

Kawhi Leonard A-
Outstanding individual D on Kobe. Made him work throughout. Offense was herky-jerky but improved.

Danny Green B+
Solid on the boards. Passed well. Defended better than usual. Shot it straight. Not much flash but had substance.

Tiago Splitter A-
Took advantage of his height rebounding-wise and offensively on the block. Overall D was up and down.

Boris Diaw A-
Didn’t score but loved his liveliness. Very strong on the glass. Pushed the pace. Best passing on the team.

Gary Neal D+
Ugly imitation of a point guard; just kept chucking it up there. Sloppy and out of control. D was mostly adequate.

Stephen Jackson B-
His jumper returned for the night but he didn’t take care of the ball well and his ejection was inexcusable.

Pop C
Rotations continue to induce scratching of head. Siccing Leonard on Kobe from the outset was the right call.

[ginobilized]

Seemed like just the thought of Baynes lit a fire under the team rebounding wise.

Nice write up and I concur wholly.

Jack has got to get it together.

[KaiRMD1]

Jack can't be doing that, his ejection was a let down for me as a Jack fan. It's expected but I was hoping not on the Spurs.

[TrainOfThought5]

Seemed like just the thought of Baynes lit a fire under the team rebounding wise.

Nice write up and I concur wholly.

Jack has got to get it together.

...... or the Lakers were missing their top 3 bigmen.

[TDMVPDPOY]

watchin gary neal handling the ball, running into defenses.....turning the ball over,

so what does he do on the next possession? dribble down and hoist up a shot

[jiggy_55]

Kawhi Leonard A-
Outstanding individual D on Kobe. Made him work throughout. Offense was herky-jerky but improved.


Team high +/- of -11 yet he was given the highest grade. I didn't watch the game, but why was he -11 when the team was up most of the game until the end?

[spurraider21]

the spurs had 18 turnovers to the lakers 9... this game shouldn't have been close. TP with 6 turnovers very uncharacteristic of him. Neal with 3 in his 17 minutes off the bench. Parker has had a pretty good season as far as assist/turnover ratio. gotta fix that, especially against a team like memphis comin up next

[TDMVPDPOY]

most of kobes basket came on from jax defending him

KL did a good job limiting the rapist going off in the first half...

[TDMVPDPOY]

the spurs had 18 turnovers to the lakers 9... this game shouldn't have been close. TP with 6 turnovers very uncharacteristic of him. Neal with 3 in his 17 minutes off the bench. Parker has had a pretty good season as far as assist/turnover ratio. gotta fix that, especially against a team like memphis comin up next

whats worst is the turnovers stock piling onto spurs brick shots, which lead to the lakers points in transition on the other end...fkn pathetic

ps.
this fkn team needs to do something with easy baskets like layups to the ring with no defender in sight, DUNK that shit for the auto 2pts then some weakass layup that usually gets blocked from behind....

[Cry Havoc]

Tony Parker C-
Scored in bursts but never sustained positive play. Passing was poor; rarely ran the offense correctly. D was average.


He did have 6 TOs, but he also had 6 dimes and shot 10-16. 3 steals as well.

[jiggy_55]

most of kobes basket came on from jax defending him

KL did a good job limiting the rapist going off in the first half...

Good to hear, and best of all it is good to see Kawhi get 30+ mins.. We need him to play big minutes and for him to keep improving offensively/defensively if we are to have any chance to go deep in the playoffs

[MR-Clutch]

Maybe it's just me, but I thought Kawhi did a poor job of staying in front of his man. It seemed Like everyone he guarded got by him on their first step, kobe seemed to do it pretty often and even Artest beat him to the basket play for an easy layup.

[jestersmash]

Team high +/- of -11 yet he was given the highest grade. I didn't watch the game, but why was he -11 when the team was up most of the game until the end?

Because raw +/- is one of the most dubious advanced stats in existence. Maybe Kawhi plays terrific defense on Kobe but he hits a tough, contested 3 (-3). Maybe Kawhi plays great defense on Kobe (they don't score) and on offense Gary gets a great look but fails to score (+0). Maybe Gary fails to get a great look because Kawhi's spacing on the floor was incorrect, or maybe it wasn't Kawhi's fault at all because it was a 2 man game between Gary and Splitter on the opposite side of the floor and Kawhi was correctly waiting at the opposite corner 3. The "what ifs" are endless with raw +/-.

His defense on Kobe was phenomenal and he held his own on offense (including a tough step back corner 3), +/- be damned.

[chapnis]

Yeah, Kawhi had a terrible +/- but was awesome in my view

[Sean Cagney]

Gary Neal D+
Ugly imitation of a point guard; just kept chucking it up there. Sloppy and out of control. D was mostly adequate.


Which is about what I see from this guy when I get to watch games, ugly PG play and chucking up shots! D sucks mostly and out of control, still wonder why anyone stilll likes this guy. Gary is what he is, a very streaky shooter and nothing else. I am not a fan, sorry.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Joseph has a good size/speed for the position and is the best defender of the bunch. DeColo has shown promise on both ends. I think his jumper may be legit. Patty Mils can be a lights out shooter and up and down defender that doesn't pass and is a minus ball handler too. He at least has upside.

Neal at PG is what it is at this point. If he hits some shots great but Chuck Neal sucks worse when he starts with the ball. It's like he only looks at the rim, his man and never the court.

About 6 more weeks before he needs to set the rotation but if we have to continue forward with the Roger Mason experiment v2.0 some more I don't like it.

[mingus]

Duncan has looked far from his vintage self the last 3 games or so. That knee must be bothering him.

[chapnis]

Gary is so much better at the 2...

[PingPong]

the Spurs need another decent point guard if Pop doesn't trust in NDC. Neal, Green and Mills don't fit well as playmakers.

[Boomersgold]

Neal's been playing terribly. When he isn't hitting his shots, he's just useless out there. Patty's a terrific shooter (top 10 in three point %), and even though he isn't a great passer, will occasionally play the pick and roll game with the bigs. At least, he's willing to give up the ball if the shot isn't available. De Colo may not be as good of a shooter as Neal, but he looks to get his teammates involved. Even if De Colo's offensive game is off, we can always count on him to make efficient passes that'll result in easy buckets for the Spurs. Either player would be preferred over Neal at this point.

I wouldn't mind trying a Mills/Baynes combo when Baynes is definitely signed.

[freetiago]

Spurs troubles these past 3 games have all been about turnovers
for a supppsed veteran team they make a lot of stupid mistakes constantly
parker and ginobili are obviously the main culprits but TD has been having his fair share as well

[PingPong]

Green and Neal are very similar, but the late is cold blooded. Green seems to be a guard vesion of Bonner. Probably will desappear in the playoffs.

[TDMVPDPOY]

remember KL on kobe, kobe didnt get going till jax or whoever was late on the switch mismatch was guarding him got him going...

u can clearly see KL was gettin into the rapists head forcing mind games that he cant beat KL 1on1 or 5on5, or whoever he wants to bring to a fight...rapists was jawing with the refs all night for fouls, which he didnt get...shows KL is gettin some respect in the defensive area....

[TDMVPDPOY]

is anyone else pissed when pop continues to play players who cant get going, but wont dig into the bench deep roster giving guys like mills, de colo minutes.....yet continue to players hoping they get a hot hand...

[Boomersgold]

is anyone else pissed when pop continues to play players who cant get going, but wont dig into the bench deep roster giving guys like mills, de colo minutes.....yet continue to players hoping they get a hot hand...

I'm pretty pissed, tbh. When Neal and Jackson are having bad games (not specifically this game), I'd like to see Pop go to someone else, whether it be our 3rd stringers or our starters.

I guess Pop is giving them a chance to prove themselves out there before he locks up the rotation for the playoffs.

[crc21209]

Unlike most here, I wasn't TOO upset with Jack's ejecting. I mean after all, this IS Jack we're talking about here. Now Neal's shot selection, THAT I had a major problem with. I understand he can get hot at the drop of a hat but tonight he was forcing it waaay too damn much. He needs to tone it down a notch....

[chapnis]

Unlike most here, I wasn't TOO upset with Jack's ejecting. I mean after all, this IS Jack we're talking about here. Now Neal's shot selection, THAT I had a major problem with. I understand he can get hot at the drop of a hat but tonight he was forcing it waaay too damn much. He needs to tone it down a notch....

It was pretty much the worst possible situation to get ejected. And jawing at refs is a pretty weak way to go. Much rather see him getting ejected because of a confrontation with an opponent or something...

EDIT: Wow, Jax only has 10 ejections in his career. Lower than I expected.

[crc21209]

It was pretty much the worst possible situation to get ejected. And jawing at refs is a pretty weak way to go. Much rather see him getting ejected because of a confrontation with an opponent or something...

Like I said, we all know how Jack can get a little too emotional at times. For the most part he's been very quiet since he's been back...

[freetiago]

jack ruined the 1 good game hell have
now we just have to suffer through 10 bad ones for the next one to happen

[Russo21]

What did Jackson do to get ejected? I had to leave for work before the game ended.

[chapnis]

What did Jackson do to get ejected? I had to leave for work before the game ended.

Hurling profanities at the referees I believe.

[Russo21]

Oh i see. I'm not surprised :(

[Bruno]

So, after 5 games with Neal as the backup PG, what do people think of that move? Should Pop stick with that choice or go with someone else?

[chapnis]

So, after 5 games with Neal as the backup PG, what do people think of that move? Should Pop stick with that choice or go with someone else?

Would be better playing some minutes at SG and when he is PG have Manu on as the ball handler. Then give NDC/PM some minutes at PG.

[Manufan909]

What's surprising concerning Neal is that there are 7 Spurs players iirc that are shooting better from deep this season. Even NDC is more reliable (with a third of the attempts). He needs to crack 40% by the end of the season, or just give all the PG/SG minutes to Tony, Manu, Green, NDC and Patty. Neal probably gets paid way too much to have Pop turn him into a garbage man after having a great last season, but he needs to be held accountable. A gunner that shoots more crooked than pretty much everyone else on the team AND plays mediocre D at best needs to go.

[Boomersgold]

What's surprising concerning Neal is that there are 7 Spurs players iirc that are shooting better from deep this season. Even NDC is more reliable (with a third of the attempts). He needs to crack 40% by the end of the season, or just give all the PG/SG minutes to Tony, Manu, Green, NDC and Patty. Neal probably gets paid way too much to have Pop turn him into a garbage man after having a great last season, but he needs to be held accountable. A gunner that shoots more crooked than pretty much everyone else on the team AND plays mediocre D at best needs to go.

Actually, Neal's getting paid a very small amount for an NBA player, which is the ONLY reason why the Spurs are hesitant in trading him.

[Sportcamper]

Tiago Splitter A-...He certainly is not afraid of anyone...Smacked MWP a couple times...

[Slippy]

Gary Neal is just tearing my hair out.

It's a shame Nando hasn't worked out yet.

The only positive out of this game . Pop did state we got to take better shots going into 4th. What we saw in the 4th - hope to god thats not what he was meaning.

[Strategic]

About ten minutes after the game last night I was speaking to my wife. The little ones call her granny. She ask me how it was and I said there were some questionable moves made, and like sometimes, it seemed as though we had never been under pressure before. When she ask me what I meant I explained futher "It started out well as usual, then it appeared as though we lost our concentration and things got a little soft and sloppy. Near the end we made some wrong moves and even went cold a bit, but true to form, the night had a happy ending", then I smirked and rolled over to sleep. Scolding me, she said "I've had it with your tasteless comments regarding our love life, just see how long it is before you get any more". Stunned, I replied "Love life, I was talking about the Spurs game". She said "It's too late for that old excuse. You know how those worn out farts play, a win is a win. Now get your whining butt up and go sleep on the couch, I don't want to hear your snoring tonight"! It wasn't a total loss as I did get to see the Mavs fall apart in the 4th quarter.

[Brazil]

Tiago Splitter A-...He certainly is not afraid of anyone...Smacked MWP a couple times...

he is not afraid but his weak ass lay ups drive me nuts, he needs to finish with authority when he is near the rim

[Russ]

Stephen Jackson B-
His jumper returned for the night but he didn’t take care of the ball well and his ejection was inexcusable.

His ejection may be inexcusable but I kinda like it.

One thing about the Spurs, particularly in the playoffs, is their stoic predictability. They may be good, the other team thinks, but there's nothing they will do to show you up or surprise you or unnerve you. The worst they will do is win the game without much pain involved. It creates a subconscious comfort zone that allows the opposition to simply focus on basketball considerations, pure basketball (like the Spurs do). There's not that sense of risk to distract you, no seed of doubt (however unlikely) about what might come.

The Spurs championship teams have always had someone like Jack to create a flaw on that perfect round ball of Spurdom. Ellie, Jack himself, Horry, etc. I like it.

[TheSkeptic]

So, after 5 games with Neal as the backup PG, what do people think of that move? Should Pop stick with that choice or go with someone else?

He should go with someone else. Out of the remaining candidates, CoJo and NDC are the only viable options short of a trade (which I'm also not opposed to).

My thing is that I have serious problems with Neal's shot selection when he's running the point. It's one thing when he's being given shots and he goes 5/12 but when he's not shooting lights out and is *also* handling the ball it undermines the second unit's production. We'd see similar problems with Mills running the point which is why Pop has wisely made him a spot-up shooter rather than the guy who gets the sets going.

That won't get it done in the playoffs. Thanks as always Timvp.

[EVAY]

I disagree pretty strongly with the grade for TP. Not only was his 10 of 16 shooting dismissed with "scored in bunches BUT", but his three steals pretty much belies the observation regarding "average or below on defense". His assist numbers were down from his average because Tim couldn't hit the side of a barn, and Tim is the where the ball goes at the beginning of our offensive set. Moreover, two of the turnovers assigned to Tony should have been on Tim because Tim just seemed too lackadaisical to haul the ball in. One more should have gone to Ginobili because Tony delivered the ball at the end of the game to the PRECISE spot on the court where every Spur player for 11 seasons is supposed to be in the offensive scheme, but Ginobili had taken himself out of there. But Tony gets the turnover.

The offense started looking so bad, imo, when Tony, after hitting some shots early on, starting passing out to others to take shots, and then they would just stand there. Way too often in the last couple of games, our shooters have gotten the ball and hesitated before shooting, allowing the defense to arrange themselves into a good defensive position. I think that is a result of playing some pretty bad defensive teams where we got in the habit of not being challenged too much on our shots. Now, when a team shuts down the lane (always a good ploy against us), TP has to give the ball to someone else and then that person has to pass or shoot quickly. None of that has been happening. It happened with Tim last night, it happened with Neal last night, big time, and I'm not sure that Green even touched the ball before the third or fourth quarter. Then when they did try to get Green involved, we ended up with three trips down the court with either turnovers or blown layups.

The issue of layups and blown fast breaks is approaching disaster, imo. Splitter keeps missing layups way too often, Green and Leonard miss fast break opportunity layups virtually all the time, and Neal can't seem to move fast enough to create a fast break.

The fast break issue can be dealt with in practice, I think, but the Neal issue has to be addressed with some certainty. Last year Ginobili was hurt so much we had to rely on Neal as a backup pg, but he is not one and never will be, and forcing him into that position negates his strength as a player and puts us in very bad situations as a team. Whenever he is the only pg on the floor for us our offense falls apart, and the other's team's offensive players get a break on defense and start getting into a rhythm that nullifies what the first team has done to keep them under control.

The grade given to Tony should have been given to Jackson, imo, because he really did 'score in bunches' but then negated all of his good by giving the other team 5 points out of a ten point lead in the final minutes of a game. That is too stupid to rate anything above a C minus overall.

[dylankerouac]

I disagree pretty strongly with the grade for TP. Not only was his 10 of 16 shooting dismissed with "scored in bunches BUT", but his three steals pretty much belies the observation regarding "average or below on defense". His assist numbers were down from his average because Tim couldn't hit the side of a barn, and Tim is the where the ball goes at the beginning of our offensive set. Moreover, two of the turnovers assigned to Tony should have been on Tim because Tim just seemed too lackadaisical to haul the ball in. One more should have gone to Ginobili because Tony delivered the ball at the end of the game to the PRECISE spot on the court where every Spur player for 11 seasons is supposed to be in the offensive scheme, but Ginobili had taken himself out of there. But Tony gets the turnover.

The offense started looking so bad, imo, when Tony, after hitting some shots early on, starting passing out to others to take shots, and then they would just stand there. Way too often in the last couple of games, our shooters have gotten the ball and hesitated before shooting, allowing the defense to arrange themselves into a good defensive position. I think that is a result of playing some pretty bad defensive teams where we got in the habit of not being challenged too much on our shots. Now, when a team shuts down the lane (always a good ploy against us), TP has to give the ball to someone else and then that person has to pass or shoot quickly. None of that has been happening. It happened with Tim last night, it happened with Neal last night, big time, and I'm not sure that Green even touched the ball before the third or fourth quarter. Then when they did try to get Green involved, we ended up with three trips down the court with either turnovers or blown layups.

The issue of layups and blown fast breaks is approaching disaster, imo. Splitter keeps missing layups way too often, Green and Leonard miss fast break opportunity layups virtually all the time, and Neal can't seem to move fast enough to create a fast break.

The fast break issue can be dealt with in practice, I think, but the Neal issue has to be addressed with some certainty. Last year Ginobili was hurt so much we had to rely on Neal as a backup pg, but he is not one and never will be, and forcing him into that position negates his strength as a player and puts us in very bad situations as a team. Whenever he is the only pg on the floor for us our offense falls apart, and the other's team's offensive players get a break on defense and start getting into a rhythm that nullifies what the first team has done to keep them under control.

The grade given to Tony should have been given to Jackson, imo, because he really did 'score in bunches' but then negated all of his good by giving the other team 5 points out of a ten point lead in the final minutes of a game. That is too stupid to rate anything above a C minus overall.

God overall post. Something I noticed too is that the Lakers knew that Tim would be getting the ball at that spot and had very active hands throughout the game which made it difficult for the Spurs to get comfortable, especially Tim since they had those swipes on him early on.

Whats scary is that Tim always gets the spot down there and if every team starts having active hands when we are trying to set up our offense, every game is going to be just as ugly, moreso if teams wait to do this in the playoffs.

[bus driver]

the whole team should have gotten F's. they should have mopped the floor with that lakers team.

[Brunodf]

So, after 5 games with Neal as the backup PG, what do people think of that move? Should Pop stick with that choice or go with someone else?

Should be out of the rotation, give his minutes to Decolo/Mills or CoJo

[NRHector]

the whole team should have gotten F's. they should have mopped the floor with that lakers team.

+1

[spurraider21]

kobe sets all time nba record for field goals missed :lol
chucker bryant :lol
best player since jordan :lol

http://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-news-kobe-sets-nba-record-for-most-career-misses/2013/01/10/ (http://www.lakersnation.com/lakers-news-kobe-sets-nba-record-for-most-career-misses/2013/01/10/)

[quentin_compson]

Because raw +/- is one of the most dubious advanced stats in existence. Maybe Kawhi plays terrific defense on Kobe but he hits a tough, contested 3 (-3). Maybe Kawhi plays great defense on Kobe (they don't score) and on offense Gary gets a great look but fails to score (+0). Maybe Gary fails to get a great look because Kawhi's spacing on the floor was incorrect, or maybe it wasn't Kawhi's fault at all because it was a 2 man game between Gary and Splitter on the opposite side of the floor and Kawhi was correctly waiting at the opposite corner 3. The "what ifs" are endless with raw +/-.

His defense on Kobe was phenomenal and he held his own on offense (including a tough step back corner 3), +/- be damned.

Raw +/- is not an advanced stat, that's why it is so dubious. ;)

[Johnny RIngo]

This team has no heart sometimes. It was up to the Spurs to humiliate the Lakers after Kobe said this about D'antoni: "He's probably one altercation in San Antonio away from getting to the Finals."

Instead, the Spurs gives them hope and Lakers scrubs have a field day with the team. Thankfully OKC is waiting to crush them the same way they crushed us two weeks ago.

[Bruno]

Good to know that I'm not the only one who didn't like what Neal is doing at PG. Neal at PG badly failed last year and I have seen no evidence that it would be different this year.

Neal is a quality player but it's a shame that he is such a bad fit with this team. He just is too good at SG to be a third stringer behind Green/Ginobili and he is too bad at PG to be Parker's backup.

[Fabbs]

Quote Originally Posted by Russo21
What did Jackson do to get ejected? I had to leave for work before the game ended.


Hurling profanities at the referees I believe.
Did the play involve Kirby?

[timtonymanu]

The problem with De Colo and Mills is that both were given opportunities at the backup point when Neal was out and shit the bed.

Both are really only good at situational minutes, not the rotation.

I would like to see CoJo given another shot actually.

[quentin_compson]

Just watched the game. Apart from getting the W, there was not much to like about the Spurs' performance. Probably the biggest exception was Leonard's defense against Kobe. But overall, I felt that the Spurs never really got into a good rhythm, and the Big 3 being erratic had much to do with that. Turnovers were a problem, and the final two and a half minutes of this game were pure travesty all around.

[Budkin]

Great game until the 4th... total meltdown. We're lucky the Lakers weren't hitting or we would have lost for sure.

[Juggity]

Kawhi's defense on Kobe in the last few possessions was magnificent. Stuck with him, force him to take awful shots.

[chapnis]

Lakers weren't hitting? Kobe was hitting ridiculous non-stop during the 4th...

[Strategic]

So, after 5 games with Neal as the backup PG, what do people think of that move? Should Pop stick with that choice or go with someone else?

I don't see Neal as a serviceable point guard. Regardless of what he might of said over time, I don't think he has really bought into playing the point position. It is a nice way for him to stay active in the league, and when his contract is up, he will be able to add a little versatility to his resume. I think his next contract will be 4 fold over this current one and some one else will be paying him. I think Joseph should be the back up point because he can bring the ball up and pass it, thus taking these chores from Manu, and keeping Manu from expending so much energy getting the ball up the court. Actually, I liked when the Spurs had a Jacque Vaughn backing the point to kind of steady the ship. Miss that experience.

[timaios]

Am I the only one to notice that Parker and Duncan play almost exclusively together in the 1st quarter without involving the other 3?
It's been like that for two weeks.
This is seriously beginning to bother me!

[phxspurfan]

I definitely wouldn't give Leonard an A. Kobe was going off as usual, just not like he would drop 81 on the Bucks or whatever. Very good, but not excellent. And I like the word Wonky.

[phxspurfan]

Good to know that I'm not the only one who didn't like what Neal is doing at PG. Neal at PG badly failed last year and I have seen no evidence that it would be different this year.

Neal is a quality player but it's a shame that he is such a bad fit with this team. He just is too good at SG to be a third stringer behind Green/Ginobili and he is too bad at PG to be Parker's backup.


This. Neal is an embarassment at PG. I can't understand why Pop doesn't see this and use one of his three/four if you count Manu backup PGs instead of Neal.

[temujin]

Good to know that I'm not the only one who didn't like what Neal is doing at PG. Neal at PG badly failed last year and I have seen no evidence that it would be different this year.

Neal is a quality player but it's a shame that he is such a bad fit with this team. He just is too good at SG to be a third stringer behind Green/Ginobili and he is too bad at PG to be Parker's backup.

My overall attitude is that you are not trained as a PG, you are born like one. Neal is a decent-enough PG against awful teams that don't pressure the ball, because all he does if bring down the ball and hand it to someone, Manu preferably.
But it is very visible that he's not a born PG and won't become one. I think he's also not 100% physically.
A team that goes deep into the playoffs needs a better backup PG: Mills is not either and we all know De Colo, who far exceeded my expectations as an NBA player so far, won't play in POs, if Pop's record is teaching us something.
I think it is time to realize that Spurs have a problem here that could potentially wreck the whole season.

[polandprzem]

Yea if Neal on PG not gonna change, the spurs are screwed. There are teams that can hurt spurs badly feeding of Gary mistakes.

Manu is not as dominant as he was at the PG but we need to rely on him in the playoffs. So why not just put De Colo in the frickin rotation and let him play?

[Manufan909]

He should go with someone else. Out of the remaining candidates, CoJo and NDC are the only viable options short of a trade (which I'm also not opposed to).

My thing is that I have serious problems with Neal's shot selection when he's running the point. It's one thing when he's being given shots and he goes 5/12 but when he's not shooting lights out and is *also* handling the ball it undermines the second unit's production. We'd see similar problems with Mills running the point which is why Pop has wisely made him a spot-up shooter rather than the guy who gets the sets going.

That won't get it done in the playoffs. Thanks as always Timvp.

We all complain about NDC becoming a spot up SG when he plays with Manu, was that not the case with Neal last night? Maybe I'm getting confused, and there were 5-10 minutes where Neal was the best option for PG on the floor, aka in :vomit: (couldn't find the continuous vomit smiley, which would've been better) worthy lineups that had 3 of Neal/Patty/Green/Kawhi/Jackson. That's probably Pop's most recurring mistake this season; not putting a playmaker on the floor. And 90% of the time it isn't garbage time. I know he's overloaded at the guard positions, even with CoJo in Austin, but he needs to realize that NDC is the future. Or maybe CoJo will be the primary back-up PG at the end of next season, who knows? I just know that Mills is a Neal clone who is playing better than the original this season and still getting significantly less minutes.

And did anyone else check the boxscore after not watching the game, and get confused by Splitter's 14 boards? I thought either it was a typo or I had accidently looked at Duncan's rebound total. He hasn't a stellar board game in awhile, and 14 rebounds in 34 minutes is pretty sweet. It isn't fantastic per se, but relatively speaking it is. Especially because Tiago has boarded significantly worse since he's been starting alongside Duncan. As long as he boxes out and battles in the paint even on his poor rebounding nights, I can live with it.

[temujin]

His ejection may be inexcusable but I kinda like it.

One thing about the Spurs, particularly in the playoffs, is their stoic predictability. They may be good, the other team thinks, but there's nothing they will do to show you up or surprise you or unnerve you. The worst they will do is win the game without much pain involved. It creates a subconscious comfort zone that allows the opposition to simply focus on basketball considerations, pure basketball (like the Spurs do). There's not that sense of risk to distract you, no seed of doubt (however unlikely) about what might come.

The Spurs championship teams have always had someone like Jack to create a flaw on that perfect round ball of Spurdom. Ellie, Jack himself, Horry, etc. I like it.

Interesting post, I agree with.

[Brazil]

Good to know that I'm not the only one who didn't like what Neal is doing at PG. Neal at PG badly failed last year and I have seen no evidence that it would be different this year.

Neal is a quality player but it's a shame that he is such a bad fit with this team. He just is too good at SG to be a third stringer behind Green/Ginobili and he is too bad at PG to be Parker's backup.

The whole Neal PG bs is a copy paste of RMJ situation. Pop needs to install a back up PG period. Trying SGs into PGs is just being stubborn, it doesn't work. The vast majority of the SGs are not capable to play that spot, not everybody is Manu, Kobe, Wade...

[Brazil]

I also think TP grade from timvp is kinda BS tbh but it's not like he had a stellar performance either... so no big deal

[polandprzem]

TP got into a frickin hero-mode which is the most destructible when it comes to the spurs ofense. Now other then that he was far from being playmaker and I was wondering if LJ gonna give him B something. I'm all with timvp on Tps grade

[lefty]

He did have 6 TOs, but he also had 6 dimes and shot 10-16. 3 steals as well.

He played like shit

[maverick1948]

Hurling profanities at the referees I believe.


He was swinging his arms in disgust at a no call. Got the first one. Then he keep on barking at the referee with a little nasty word or two. It was a consistant call as 3 Lakers had already tasted the whistle for doing the same thing.

As for his grade. B- is BS. He needed to be more like a D. He did not play the defense everyone says he can. He did hit a couple of key shots, but the ejection is unacceptable.

[Sean Cagney]

This game I forgot about already, like a win loss but a W in the column so I will take it. We have seen the Spurs come all the way back or come short in the end and call them moral victories so this is a moral loss.

[Sean Cagney]

Spurs troubles these past 3 games have all been about turnovers
for a supppsed veteran team they make a lot of stupid mistakes constantly
parker and ginobili are obviously the main culprits but TD has been having his fair share as well

Like I said before this started in the Clippers series late and has been going on since! They just look lost with the ball at times and throw it away or do some dumb pass that get intercepted. Ginobili like you said is the main one (Parker too an extent). It is like they just can't make a damn routine pass.
This. Neal is an embarassment at PG. I can't understand why Pop doesn't see this and use one of his three/four if you count Manu backup PGs instead of Neal.

Some tried to tell me in here or another board he was learning PG and getting better at it, YEAH F IN RIGHT LOL. Neal is a horrible PG, agreed.