timvp
02-11-2013, 07:26 PM
Early on, San Antonio’s game in Brooklyn appeared to be a replay of the previous outing in Detroit. The Spurs couldn’t get a stop and their offense couldn’t keep pace. But on this night, the Spurs were able to turn it around. By the end, the Spurs had gone from potentially being blown out to blowing out the Nets. The 111-86 victory improved their record to 40-12.
The first quarter began going downhill at around the four-minute mark. Trailing by a point, the Spurs watched the Nets go on a 10-0 run to take a commanding lead. At the end of the first, it was 35-25 Nets.
Four minutes into the second quarter, the Spurs were still down double-digits. That’s when San Antonio slowly but surely began chipping away. A 13-6 run over the next five minutes pulled the Spurs within four points. At halftime, the Nets held a 57-51 advantage.
Trailing 61-53 90 seconds into the second half, the Spurs took control of the game. The Nets were held scoreless for the subsequent four and a half minutes as the Spurs went on a 12-0 to take the lead. Up by three points with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter, San Antonio went on a 7-0 run to take an 81-71 lead into the fourth.
Early in the final stanza, the Spurs went on another run -- this time it was 14-2 over a span of five minutes. By the time the dust cleared, the good guys were up by 20 points and were well on their way to the emphatic victory.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box521.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box522.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box523.png
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Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Tony Parker was simply spectacular. Offensively, his precision, patience and decision-making were all virtually flawless. Parker knew what he wanted and didn’t take no for an answer. He ran the sets until the Spurs got a clean look, no matter how much of the load that forced him to carry. Not only was he highly productive, Parker finished without a turnover to go with his 29 points and 11 assists. Defensively, he was very good against Deron Williams and was aggressive with everything he did on that end of the court. Overall, Parker is playing better than he has ever played. It is truly a joy to behold.
Final Grade: 99
Season Average: 88.2
Adj. Average: 88.3
Last 10 Average: 94.2
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Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
I didn’t like how Tiago Splitter was playing early on. He wasn’t physical enough in the paint and that allowed Brook Lopez to get to his spots in addition to making it easy for the Nets to crash the boards. With Tim Duncan out, Splitter playing without any fiber makes it difficult for the Spurs to get stops. Fortunately, the Brazilian picked it up as the game progressed. San Antonio’s huge defensive improvement within this game can be directly attributed to Splitter playing with more force. His rebounding was good and his offense was adequate. While his finishing wasn’t up to par, he was fearless going to the hole (which led to his nine free throw attempts), passed the ball well and limited his mistakes.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 85.4
Adj. Average: 86.1
Last 10 Average: 85.9
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Kawhi Leonard
http://www.spurstalk.com/kl12.png
Kawhi Leonard didn’t leave much of a statistical footprint against the Nets but he did very well. Defensively, he was staunch in all aspects. He was very good individually, offered timely help, interrupted the passing lanes and was good about quickly turning defense into offense. His second half was particularly dominant on D. Offensively, he picked his spots well. He let the offense flow naturally and only interrupted the proceedings when he had a clear advantage. It wasn’t a beastly performance out of Leonard but he fit in seamlessly and found multiple ways to impact the game.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 85.0
Adj. Average: 85.0
Last 10 Average: 88.8
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Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
The Good: Danny Green’s hot shooting from three-point land continues. He’s now shooting 62.9% from deep in his last five outings. Defensively, he was really effective in transition. His help defense was also better than usual. The Bad: Offensively, he was pretty much useless other than his three-point shooting. Defensively, his man-on-man D was very poor. Joe Johnson repeatedly went right at him and Green looked powerless to stop him. Green usually is a pretty good defender when no screens are involved. On Sunday night, though, he was getting roasted in straight-up isolation sets.
Final Grade: 84
Season Average: 82.6
Adj. Average: 83.1
Last 10 Average: 82.5
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Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Following a 3-for-13 slump, it was great to see Boris Diaw hit all four of his attempts against Brooklyn. When he was actively seeking out shots from the perimeter, he became practically impossible for the Nets to deal with. Diaw’s passing got better later in the game after a frigid start. Defensively, his total lack of rebounding lately is hurting his value. He has three defensive boards in his last 78 minutes. That, obviously, won’t get it done for a starting bigman. Versus the Nets, give Diaw some credit for boxing out relatively well and picking up his defensive energy in the second half.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 81.2
Adj. Average: 82.0
Last 10 Average: 81.2
---------------
Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
This was a flashback of how Gary Neal used to play back when he was a major asset coming off the bench. His shot selection was aggressive but not reckless. He mixed in a few quality passes along the way to keep the defense off balance. He also hit some momentum-altering shots at key points in the game. Defensively, he wasn’t very good but he at least competed and attempted to keep players in front of him. Let’s hope this is the start of a string of strong games for Neal.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 79.4
Adj. Average: 80.5
Last 10 Average: 76.3
---------------
Stephen Jackson
http://www.spurstalk.com/sj12.png
Like Leonard, Stephen Jackson didn’t have much of an impact on the stat sheet. However, he too was very good. Defensively, he was likely the best player on the court. He dominated in isolation situations; Jackson routinely blew up plays with his doggedness. His rotations were very observant and he was cutting off angles left and right. Jackson also hit the boards and aided in the paint with his physicality. Offensively, he stayed away from the three-point line and took care of the ball. Add in a couple buckets plus a couple fine dishes and this was a very promising game from Jackson.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 80.8
Adj. Average: 81.8
Last 10 Average: 76.7
---------------
Matt Bonner
http://www.spurstalk.com/mb12.png
Matt Bonner is now 5-for-6 on three-pointers after going 2-for-15 during the #letbonnershoot campaign. His spacing of the court really helped things on the offensive end. Since Brooklyn’s bigs are relatively immobile and all tend to drift toward the paint, Bonner’s presence was extra vexing for them. Besides his shooting, Bonner also authored a few nice passes. On D, I liked how hard Bonner played. Unfortunately, his impact was iffy at best. It also hurt his cause that he failed to pull down a defensive board in 24 minutes of action.
Final Grade: 87
Season Average: 80.2
Adj. Average: 81.8
Last 10 Average: 80.6
---------------
Nando De Colo
http://www.spurstalk.com/ndc12.png
This was a solid outing for the rookie out of France. Nando De Colo limited his mistakes while making a handful of positive plays. He didn’t do anything too splashy but the Spurs needed him to hold serve while Parker was out and De Colo was able to come through. His ballhandling was better than usual, as was his defense on the ball. There was nothing earthshattering out of De Colo but the Spurs got the consistency they needed.
Final Grade: 87
Season Average: 81.5
Adj. Average: 83.2
Last 10 Average: 81.7
---------------
DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
On offense, DeJuan Blair was really good in the pick-and-roll game. He set a mean pick, was patient on his rolls and then finished well -- including his second dunk of the season. However, he also got in the way at times offensively due to trying to set too many screens. On the defensive end, Blair wasn’t good. He didn’t make a difference on the boards, didn’t even attempt to protect the rim and was overwhelmed by the Nets bigs. Basically, there was just too much standing and watching on D from Blair.
Final Grade: 75
Season Average: 80.0
Adj. Average: 81.2
Last 10 Average: 84.3
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
Pop’s in-game adjustments worked out perfectly. He obviously jumped on the team about lacking muscle on defense and the Spurs corrected it. I also thought Pop’s second half rotation was very reasonable.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 84.2
Last 10 Average: 86.7
---------------
Offense
San Antonio scoring 111 points isn’t noteworthy. But considering the Spurs only had 83 possession, this was actually one of the best offensive showings of the season. They scored 133.7 points per 100 possessions -- yeah, that’s great. Parker deserves most of the credit for the offensive excellence but he got help. The Spurs shot lights out from deep and turned it over only seven times. That’s a recipe for a Spurs win.
Final Grade: 97
Season Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 85.8
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Defense
The defense in the first half was poor. The second quarter was better. The third and fourth quarters were fantastic. The Nets ended up scoring only 29 points after halftime. San Antonio allowed too many offensive rebounds but other than that, they were very good across the board. Among the highlights: two fast break points allowed, 38 points in the paint allowed, only 12 assists allowed and 18 turnovers forced.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 85.9
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Overall
This was a very good win. The game started out poorly and it appeared to be heading toward a loss. The Spurs fought back, took control and then absolutely annihilated those color scheme piggybackers.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 84.6
Last 10 Average: 86.9
---------------
The first quarter began going downhill at around the four-minute mark. Trailing by a point, the Spurs watched the Nets go on a 10-0 run to take a commanding lead. At the end of the first, it was 35-25 Nets.
Four minutes into the second quarter, the Spurs were still down double-digits. That’s when San Antonio slowly but surely began chipping away. A 13-6 run over the next five minutes pulled the Spurs within four points. At halftime, the Nets held a 57-51 advantage.
Trailing 61-53 90 seconds into the second half, the Spurs took control of the game. The Nets were held scoreless for the subsequent four and a half minutes as the Spurs went on a 12-0 to take the lead. Up by three points with 90 seconds remaining in the third quarter, San Antonio went on a 7-0 run to take an 81-71 lead into the fourth.
Early in the final stanza, the Spurs went on another run -- this time it was 14-2 over a span of five minutes. By the time the dust cleared, the good guys were up by 20 points and were well on their way to the emphatic victory.
http://www.spurstalk.com/box521.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box522.png
http://www.spurstalk.com/box523.png
---------------
Tony Parker
http://www.spurstalk.com/tp12.png
Tony Parker was simply spectacular. Offensively, his precision, patience and decision-making were all virtually flawless. Parker knew what he wanted and didn’t take no for an answer. He ran the sets until the Spurs got a clean look, no matter how much of the load that forced him to carry. Not only was he highly productive, Parker finished without a turnover to go with his 29 points and 11 assists. Defensively, he was very good against Deron Williams and was aggressive with everything he did on that end of the court. Overall, Parker is playing better than he has ever played. It is truly a joy to behold.
Final Grade: 99
Season Average: 88.2
Adj. Average: 88.3
Last 10 Average: 94.2
---------------
Tiago Splitter
http://www.spurstalk.com/ts12.png
I didn’t like how Tiago Splitter was playing early on. He wasn’t physical enough in the paint and that allowed Brook Lopez to get to his spots in addition to making it easy for the Nets to crash the boards. With Tim Duncan out, Splitter playing without any fiber makes it difficult for the Spurs to get stops. Fortunately, the Brazilian picked it up as the game progressed. San Antonio’s huge defensive improvement within this game can be directly attributed to Splitter playing with more force. His rebounding was good and his offense was adequate. While his finishing wasn’t up to par, he was fearless going to the hole (which led to his nine free throw attempts), passed the ball well and limited his mistakes.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 85.4
Adj. Average: 86.1
Last 10 Average: 85.9
---------------
Kawhi Leonard
http://www.spurstalk.com/kl12.png
Kawhi Leonard didn’t leave much of a statistical footprint against the Nets but he did very well. Defensively, he was staunch in all aspects. He was very good individually, offered timely help, interrupted the passing lanes and was good about quickly turning defense into offense. His second half was particularly dominant on D. Offensively, he picked his spots well. He let the offense flow naturally and only interrupted the proceedings when he had a clear advantage. It wasn’t a beastly performance out of Leonard but he fit in seamlessly and found multiple ways to impact the game.
Final Grade: 90
Season Average: 85.0
Adj. Average: 85.0
Last 10 Average: 88.8
---------------
Danny Green
http://www.spurstalk.com/dg12.png
The Good: Danny Green’s hot shooting from three-point land continues. He’s now shooting 62.9% from deep in his last five outings. Defensively, he was really effective in transition. His help defense was also better than usual. The Bad: Offensively, he was pretty much useless other than his three-point shooting. Defensively, his man-on-man D was very poor. Joe Johnson repeatedly went right at him and Green looked powerless to stop him. Green usually is a pretty good defender when no screens are involved. On Sunday night, though, he was getting roasted in straight-up isolation sets.
Final Grade: 84
Season Average: 82.6
Adj. Average: 83.1
Last 10 Average: 82.5
---------------
Boris Diaw
http://www.spurstalk.com/bd12.png
Following a 3-for-13 slump, it was great to see Boris Diaw hit all four of his attempts against Brooklyn. When he was actively seeking out shots from the perimeter, he became practically impossible for the Nets to deal with. Diaw’s passing got better later in the game after a frigid start. Defensively, his total lack of rebounding lately is hurting his value. He has three defensive boards in his last 78 minutes. That, obviously, won’t get it done for a starting bigman. Versus the Nets, give Diaw some credit for boxing out relatively well and picking up his defensive energy in the second half.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 81.2
Adj. Average: 82.0
Last 10 Average: 81.2
---------------
Gary Neal
http://www.spurstalk.com/gn12.png
This was a flashback of how Gary Neal used to play back when he was a major asset coming off the bench. His shot selection was aggressive but not reckless. He mixed in a few quality passes along the way to keep the defense off balance. He also hit some momentum-altering shots at key points in the game. Defensively, he wasn’t very good but he at least competed and attempted to keep players in front of him. Let’s hope this is the start of a string of strong games for Neal.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 79.4
Adj. Average: 80.5
Last 10 Average: 76.3
---------------
Stephen Jackson
http://www.spurstalk.com/sj12.png
Like Leonard, Stephen Jackson didn’t have much of an impact on the stat sheet. However, he too was very good. Defensively, he was likely the best player on the court. He dominated in isolation situations; Jackson routinely blew up plays with his doggedness. His rotations were very observant and he was cutting off angles left and right. Jackson also hit the boards and aided in the paint with his physicality. Offensively, he stayed away from the three-point line and took care of the ball. Add in a couple buckets plus a couple fine dishes and this was a very promising game from Jackson.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 80.8
Adj. Average: 81.8
Last 10 Average: 76.7
---------------
Matt Bonner
http://www.spurstalk.com/mb12.png
Matt Bonner is now 5-for-6 on three-pointers after going 2-for-15 during the #letbonnershoot campaign. His spacing of the court really helped things on the offensive end. Since Brooklyn’s bigs are relatively immobile and all tend to drift toward the paint, Bonner’s presence was extra vexing for them. Besides his shooting, Bonner also authored a few nice passes. On D, I liked how hard Bonner played. Unfortunately, his impact was iffy at best. It also hurt his cause that he failed to pull down a defensive board in 24 minutes of action.
Final Grade: 87
Season Average: 80.2
Adj. Average: 81.8
Last 10 Average: 80.6
---------------
Nando De Colo
http://www.spurstalk.com/ndc12.png
This was a solid outing for the rookie out of France. Nando De Colo limited his mistakes while making a handful of positive plays. He didn’t do anything too splashy but the Spurs needed him to hold serve while Parker was out and De Colo was able to come through. His ballhandling was better than usual, as was his defense on the ball. There was nothing earthshattering out of De Colo but the Spurs got the consistency they needed.
Final Grade: 87
Season Average: 81.5
Adj. Average: 83.2
Last 10 Average: 81.7
---------------
DeJuan Blair
http://www.spurstalk.com/db12.png
On offense, DeJuan Blair was really good in the pick-and-roll game. He set a mean pick, was patient on his rolls and then finished well -- including his second dunk of the season. However, he also got in the way at times offensively due to trying to set too many screens. On the defensive end, Blair wasn’t good. He didn’t make a difference on the boards, didn’t even attempt to protect the rim and was overwhelmed by the Nets bigs. Basically, there was just too much standing and watching on D from Blair.
Final Grade: 75
Season Average: 80.0
Adj. Average: 81.2
Last 10 Average: 84.3
---------------
Pop
http://www.spurstalk.com/gp12.png
Pop’s in-game adjustments worked out perfectly. He obviously jumped on the team about lacking muscle on defense and the Spurs corrected it. I also thought Pop’s second half rotation was very reasonable.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 84.2
Last 10 Average: 86.7
---------------
Offense
San Antonio scoring 111 points isn’t noteworthy. But considering the Spurs only had 83 possession, this was actually one of the best offensive showings of the season. They scored 133.7 points per 100 possessions -- yeah, that’s great. Parker deserves most of the credit for the offensive excellence but he got help. The Spurs shot lights out from deep and turned it over only seven times. That’s a recipe for a Spurs win.
Final Grade: 97
Season Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 85.8
---------------
Defense
The defense in the first half was poor. The second quarter was better. The third and fourth quarters were fantastic. The Nets ended up scoring only 29 points after halftime. San Antonio allowed too many offensive rebounds but other than that, they were very good across the board. Among the highlights: two fast break points allowed, 38 points in the paint allowed, only 12 assists allowed and 18 turnovers forced.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 85.9
---------------
Overall
This was a very good win. The game started out poorly and it appeared to be heading toward a loss. The Spurs fought back, took control and then absolutely annihilated those color scheme piggybackers.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 84.6
Last 10 Average: 86.9
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