Quick Grades: Spurs @ Cavs - Feb 13

[timvp]

Tim Duncan B+
Great defensively in his return. Rebounding was subpar, though. Scoring was ragged but passing was strong.

Manu Ginobili A-
Wasted no time getting back into the swing of things. Looked sharp. Moved well. Passing was magnificent.

Tony Parker A
Orchestration inconsistent early but progressed. Very efficient on offense. Fantastic D on Irving. Played hard.

Kawhi Leonard A-
Uncharacteristically error prone but otherwise very good. A monster on D. Attacked on O. Hit the game-winner.

Danny Green D
Stout help-defense but individual D was horrid. Looked slow. Couldn’t hit a shot, no matter how open.

Tiago Splitter C+
Movements were more deliberate than usual (ankle injury?). Boarded well. Smart on D. Sharpness lacking.

Gary Neal A-
Looks like he may have regained his footing. Took quality shots. Hit a few big ones. Elsewhere he was adequate.

Boris Diaw C-
Impotent on offense. Floated during his 19 minutes. D wasn’t very good; sluggish to react. Rebounded well.

DeJuan Blair A-
His three dunks tonight matched his season total. Jumped well. Strong on the glass. Overall energy a plus.

Nando De Colo C
Wasn’t horrible but failed to follow up sharp showing. Too passive on O; got team in sets late. D was mediocre.

Matt Bonner D
Pathetic on the boards again. Effort on D was much worse than usual. Wasn’t helpful on offense either.

Pop D+
Extremely strange rotation. Team failed to ever find a rhythm due to his scrambling. Somehow they won anyways.

[ElNono]

thanks. Bonner did indeed suck.

[Libri]

DeJuan Blair A-
His three dunks tonight matched his season total. Jumped well. Strong on the glass. Overall energy a plus.

Could it be that it was all mental?

[Strategic]

When Pop put Bonner in the game with a few minutes left in the 4th I though the man had given up on winning it. It was nice seeing Neal play with the correct amount of assertiveness down the stretch. Maybe Green was trying to prove Steve rosenbloom correct? Good seeing TP show enough confidence in Leonard to give him the shot. Nice write up.

[Hoops Czar]

Not happy with the way this game went down. First off congrats to Leonard for the game winner but it shouldn't have come down to that. Once again, the Spurs offense was mediocre at best, playing the 28th worst in defensive efficiency. Anyone who says the opponents offensive rebounding isn't a problem isn't playing close enough attention. This is the problem when pair your backup big (Splitter) with Duncan. You're left with Diaw, Blair and Bonner, and none of them are worth a sh!t when it matters. Blair is probably the king of empty stats. This game was a root canal from start to finish.

[playblair]

#tradebonnernotblair

[spurraider21]

#tradebonnernotblair

keeping bonner = money off the books at season's end

although if blair can give a good 10-15 minutes a game he's worth hanging on to

[letmk]

When Pop put Bonner in the game with a few minutes left in the 4th I though the man had given up on winning it. It was nice seeing Neal play with the correct amount of assertiveness down the stretch. Maybe Green was trying to prove Steve rosenbloom correct? Good seeing TP show enough confidence in Leonard to give him the shot. Nice write up.

I thought Pop wanted to monitor Tim's minutes like Manu. But on the other hand, why play Tim at the beginning of 4th quarter. Fortunately he subbed Tim in, and Tim's offense rebound and assist to Neal's 3-pointer is huge.

Also, I like Manu's play a lot. Today he plays very briefly due to time limit, but I don't mind seeing him playing only 20 minutes. At his age, a less but efficient Manu is much better than a laboring and trying-too-hard Manu.

[letmk]

Plus, I feel Pop is teasing with the rotation and the Cavs. To my knowledge, I've never seen a Tim-Blair-Diaw front-court before, especially considering Cavs does not cause any match-up problem to the Spurs.

[spurraider21]

We're lucky Green's ice cold game came against Cleveland. I agree with Tiago's grade but your description seems really... forgiving.

[Hoops Czar]

Plus, I feel Pop is teasing with the rotation and the Cavs. To my knowledge, I've never seen a Tim-Blair-Diaw front-court before, especially considering Cavs does not cause any match-up problem to the Spurs.

Speights and Thompson had a combined 10 offensive rebounds. The Spurs bench had 3. Maybe Pop is just getting cocky, but if you give teams like OKC and the LAC second chance points, the Spurs won't stand a chance.

[Pasta Batman]

Speights and Thompson had a combined 10 offensive rebounds. The Spurs bench had 3. Maybe Pop is just getting cocky, but if you give teams like OKC and the LAC second chance points, the Spurs won't stand a chance.

It really hurt when Cleveland went small and couldn't depend on Jackson. He was missed tonight in those type of lineups for defense and rebounding.


#tradebonnernotblair

Blair having good games only increases his trade value and allows the Spurs to ask for a draft pick in the 1st round. That's why he hasn't moved since they have been able to pry a 1st rounder. Blair better hope he gets a player like Manu to feed him the ball for open dunks.

[spectator]

i thought tim did not want to take any risks when moving laterally. thus, his screen-setting ability was missed on O. hopefully, this is all because he's working his way(knee) back into shape.

manu looked great on O, but slow on D. he could not or did not want to follow his man around screens, and went for too many steals, leaving the defense scrambling. i think the spurs might have to play a little "del negro" defense with ginobili (aka hide him on the slowest perimeter player)

[spurs1990]

keeping bonner = money off the books at season's end

although if blair can give a good 10-15 minutes a game he's worth hanging on to

I mean I feel like if DeJuan is paired up with Manu he's going to produce. Those two would get several baskets a game.

#keepitintact

[Hoops Czar]

It really hurt when Cleveland went small and couldn't depend on Jackson. He was missed tonight in those type of lineups for defense and rebounding.
Yes, probably.... But Jackson would have shot them out of the game. Offensively, having the worst season of his career. If he just sticks to defense and leaves the offense to the rest of the team, he'd be a major +. He has't hit a three since the 26th of January.

[Pasta Batman]

Yes, probably.... But Jackson would have shot them out of the game. Offensively, having the worst season of his career. If he just sticks to defense and leaves the offense to the rest of the team, he'd be a major +. He has't hit a three since the 26th of January.

Jackson doesn't shoot that much though. He's not like Neal where when he's not hitting, he keeps shooting. Spurs biggest problem was getting stops, more than scoring. Jackson would have been useful there.

[racm]

Health has messed up the rotation to the point where Green (too small, was useless on D) and Diaw (too slow) saw time at the 3.

When Jackson's back and Tim/Manu aren't on minutes limitations I bet the rotation normalizes.

[DapDaGenius]

#tradebonnernotblair

Trade both.

[Fireball]

Danny Green sticking to his nickname "IcyHot" ...

[Man In Black]

Speights and Thompson had a combined 10 offensive rebounds. The Spurs bench had 3. Maybe Pop is just getting cocky, but if you give teams like OKC and the LAC second chance points, the Spurs won't stand a chance.
No, that's the way it's always been. The Spurs concede O rebounds to put themselves in a position to set up their defense. Plus most teams who are good at offensive rebounding are teams that miss a lot of shots. 41% for the Cavs today and they got 16 O boards. The Spurs shot 45% and got 11 O boards. It's not like they don't do it, they just do it when the situation most calls for it.

[Darkwaters]

It was good to see Gary Neal continue his solid play. I don't want to jinx him, but he seems to be emerging from this funk. That can't happen soon enough as hes a huge asset when hes hot.

Dejuan Blair also played a nice game. His presence on the boards was obvious and he was in a the right place a lot of times for easy baskets off of nice passes. His defense was its typical level of putrid, but he still contributed nicely tonight.

[Pasta Batman]

Dejuan Blair also played a nice game. His presence on the boards was obvious and he was in a the right place a lot of times for easy baskets off of nice passes. His defense was its typical level of putrid, but he still contributed nicely tonight.

He needs to play every single minute with Manu and not one single more.

[Bruno]

Not a great game but what was great was to see Duncan looking good.

And with 42 win, Spurs will finish the season above .500. It's crazy to be able to say that before the ASG.

[Hoops Czar]

No, that's the way it's always been. The Spurs concede O rebounds to put themselves in a position to set up their defense. Plus most teams who are good at offensive rebounding are teams that miss a lot of shots. 41% for the Cavs today and they got 16 O boards. The Spurs shot 45% and got 11 O boards. It's not like they don't do it, they just do it when the situation most calls for it.
Denver is tied for 5th in O EFF and 2nd in O rebounding; The Clips rank 7th and 10th; OKC comes in at 2nd and 15th. The Spurs? 4th and 30th. So as you can see, that's not always the case. And if you need more proof, check out the play by play of the last meeting between the Clips and Spurs. The Spurs needed one defensive rebound to give themselves a chance and they couldn't get it. When Duncan sits, the team is basically one and done on offense. You're right about the Spurs conceding O rebounds to set up the defense, but when the shot goes up, the Spurs should be crashing the glass. It doesn't help matters that when the opponent grabs an O rebound, it's almost a automatic putback for two points. When the Spurs grab the O rebound, they blow a layup, turn it over, or kick it out instead of going up strong, Duncan not withstanding.

[Darkwaters]

Not a great game but what was great was to see Duncan looking good.

And with 42 win, Spurs will finish the season above .500. It's crazy to be able to say that before the ASG.

Thats true. The Spurs could literally lose every remaining game this season and still finish with a winning record now.

Very amazing to be there by the All-Star break. Especially when you consider that the unfavorable part of our schedule is almost entirely behind us.

[Phenomanul]

He needs to play every single minute with Manu and not one single more.

^^^ This....

Blair's pick and roll talent is certainly magnified when paired with Ginobili. If anything, it helps keep Blair focused, and with his head in the game...

[Dex]

Not a great game but what was great was to see Duncan looking good.

And with 42 win, Spurs will finish the season above .500. It's crazy to be able to say that before the ASG.

Furthermore, the Spurs could play .285 ball the rest of the way, and still continue their streak for 50-win seasons.

[SpursRock20]

#tradebonnernotblair

You do realize that a vast majority of Blair's baskets come from being spoon fed, right? Almost any big in the league can look halfway decent when Ginobili is giving you the ball right next to the hoop.

[silverblk mystix]

I don't know if it was because of injuries but usually Tiago will get subbed after 5-6 minutes and then Tiago will return to sub for TD near the end of the 1st qtr...but not this time.

I only hope that Pop isn't thinking of giving Bonner more minutes....because this will surely fuck up what has been a nice and fun season to witness.

Trade Bonner = Taking Pop's CRACK away from him.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Gary Neal had a good game, but I still dont understand why he is the primary ball handler when De Colo is on the floor.

[ManuTastic]

Dear Pop,
No more Nando-Neal-Green-Bonner-Blair lineups. OK? Ever.

(At least I think I saw that for a while last night. Maybe it was a nightmare.)

[Darius McCrary]

Is Danny hitting some sort of wall? What gives with this guys defense?

[Splits]

RRT win and the coach gets close to a failing grade? BS. But thanks for the grades as always.

[freetiago]

Popovich rotations were horrible
Duncan playing with the bench sporadically
no splitter with the bench at all
lots of blair/ bonner or diaw frontlines
randomly throwing bonner into the game in clutch time in the 4th
sticking with Mr. All or Nothing Danny Green
didnt play ginobili enough, he looked like he could go at least 15 minutes
not riding the guy who was hot in blair
the no playmaker lineups
not taking advantage of luke walton guarding splitter in the post by calling plays for him

and people need to stop being fooled by Danny Green
hes been exposed this season
inconsistent shooter whos defense depends on his confidence from hitting shots
when hes good hes good but when hes bad hes really bad and can lose you games
cant defend any plays involving a screen and he happens to play the position which depends most on screens being used
getting torched by jared dudley, rip, joe johnson, dion waiters etc
its gonna be a trainwreck in the playoffs when he defends one of the best offball players in the league in kevin martin and ray allen if were lucky enough to get there
should just move his ass to the bench where he belongs and reduce his role with the starters

[Obstructed_View]

You do realize that a vast majority of Blair's baskets come from being spoon fed, right? Almost any big in the league can look halfway decent when Ginobili is giving you the ball right next to the hoop.

That's not really fair. Blair is very good on the pick and roll. He was by far the best on the team until Splitter came along. Blair is also a pretty talented scorer. He's added a couple of shots to his game since he was drafted. The problem with him is defense. That hasn't changed.

[Pasta Batman]

That's not really fair. Blair is very good on the pick and roll. He was by far the best on the team until Splitter came along. Blair is also a pretty talented scorer. He's added a couple of shots to his game since he was drafted. The problem with him is defense. That hasn't changed.

Spurs have a lot of players good at the pick and roll. Duncan, Splitter, Blair. Even Baynes, if he understands the system could fit that well. Heck, even Diaw (when he's engaged), although he's more a pick and popper. Spurs teach their bigs well (obviously they pick their guys well too). He rolled well, but Cleveland also did not play good D on some of those. Blair's pop-a-shot isn't that reliable a shot though. It has better odds than his jump shot, but it's still iffy.

He's definitely not a talented scorer. He can score, but it depends on a lot of factors. There are a few talented scorers on the team, and Blair isn't one of them.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Now if we just win out the rest of the season, we'll hit the 70 win mark; pshh that's easy.

[Obstructed_View]

Spurs have a lot of players good at the pick and roll. Duncan, Splitter, Blair. Even Baynes, if he understands the system could fit that well. Heck, even Diaw (when he's engaged), although he's more a pick and popper. Spurs teach their bigs well (obviously they pick their guys well too). He rolled well, but Cleveland also did not play good D on some of those. Blair's pop-a-shot isn't that reliable a shot though. It has better odds than his jump shot, but it's still iffy.

He's definitely not a talented scorer. He can score, but it depends on a lot of factors. There are a few talented scorers on the team, and Blair isn't one of them.

The way the offense runs, Blair rolls to the hoop better than anyone on the team not named Splitter. It's the one thing he can do as long as the defense isn't specifically trying to prevent it, and if the defense does that, they open themselves up to other things. Blair has very good hands and good offensive instincts. The shots that you call iffy are shots that he didn't have coming out of college, so he's constantly working on it. He scores on just about every team, so trying to split hairs about Cleveland's D is lame.

Seriously, if you're going to bag on him, you need to pick the other end of the floor, where he's damn near as bad as anyone that's ever put on a Spurs uniform. If he played anything approaching average defense, Pop would overlook his height, and so would most of us.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I apparently do not see what you see in Blair's pnr defense. He pokes some balls away but he doesn't force ballhandlers away to the baseline and away from the rim nor close out jumpers from bigs. His weakside rotaions helping on pnr's are just plain awful.

[Pasta Batman]

The way the offense runs, Blair rolls to the hoop better than anyone on the team not named Splitter. It's the one thing he can do as long as the defense isn't specifically trying to prevent it, and if the defense does that, they open themselves up to other things. Blair has very good hands and good offensive instincts. The shots that you call iffy are shots that he didn't have coming out of college, so he's constantly working on it. He scores on just about every team, so trying to split hairs about Cleveland's D is lame.

Seriously, if you're going to bag on him, you need to pick the other end of the floor, where he's damn near as bad as anyone that's ever put on a Spurs uniform. If he played anything approaching average defense, Pop would overlook his height, and so would most of us.

There's no point in talking on him defensively.

That said, Blair's offense is dependent on the matchups. And he needs a guard like Manu (especially) or Parker to set him up well. I'm sorry, but Duncan is a pretty good roller. Many of those big dunks have come off of it or shots (if the defense packed the lane). Splitter is probably the best, but the team is loaded with guys who can screen and roll. It's the Spurs major component in the system, so it makes sense.

Cavs D at times was bad. This is what I mean by matchups. Blair's effectiveness can vary greatly. Otherwise, they'd P&R the second units to death with Blair, but the scouting report says ways you can reduce that effectiveness greatly on Blair as the roller.

There's a reason why his minutes aren't consistent. Even with Duncan out, they haven't been exactly consistent.

[Galileo]

Irving was 2-15 from floor with only 2 free throw attempts.

[Brunodf]

There's no point in talking on him defensively.

That said, Blair's offense is dependent on the matchups. And he needs a guard like Manu (especially) or Parker to set him up well. I'm sorry, but Duncan is a pretty good roller. Many of those big dunks have come off of it or shots (if the defense packed the lane). Splitter is probably the best, but the team is loaded with guys who can screen and roll. It's the Spurs major component in the system, so it makes sense.

Cavs D at times was bad. This is what I mean by matchups. Blair's effectiveness can vary greatly. Otherwise, they'd P&R the second units to death with Blair, but the scouting report says ways you can reduce that effectiveness greatly on Blair as the roller.

There's a reason why his minutes aren't consistent. Even with Duncan out, they haven't been exactly consistent.

Agree, Blair is useful when paired with Manu. But his defense/rebounding isn't good enough and would be exposed in the playoffs, bigs rotation should be TD/TS/Diaw/Baynes.

[Kidd K]

Could it be that it was all mental?

Possible temporary ailments instead of long term.

[Kidd K]

Irving was 2-15 from floor with only 2 free throw attempts.

And those were right at the end of the game. . .on a bailout call that wasn't even a foul, upon reviewing the replay.