Quick Grades: Spurs @ Clippers - Feb. 21

[timvp]

Tony Parker A++
He simply eviscerated CP3. He came out on fire and never let up. He was phenomenally crisp on both ends. WoW.

Tim Duncan B
Did he even break a sweat? Sold on D, strong on the boards and competent enough on O to draw attention.

Manu Ginobili B-
A dollop of slop was mixed into his otherwise positive outing. His hustle and determined play was contagious.

Danny Green A
Weakside D was too lax but was great otherwise. Strong D on the ball. Hit shots. Best passing of his career.

Gary Neal B+
A couple foolish miscues on D. The rest was solid. Unexpectedly played within framework of what was needed.

Tiago Splitter A
Outstanding post D vs. Griffin. Attentive when giving help. Patient yet strong on O. Passing a plus.

Boris Diaw B-
No defensive boards and neglected shooting obligations but court vision was special and D was stout.

Stephen Jackson C+
Welcome back. He was painfully rusty at times but he showed flashes of good play, especially on D.

Nando De Colo B+
Knocked down shots to get confidence flowing early. Deftly made plays. Meshed well with Ginobili.

Matt Bonner A-
Extremely aggressive on O and it paid dividends. Competed on D and the glass. Commendable physicality.

DeJuan Blair Inc.
Offensive decisions were questionable but passed well and went up strong for caroms.

Patrick Mills Inc.
Great energy. His revving from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye (or, more apropos, the wave of a towel) is a gift.

Aron Baynes Inc.
He's a big ol' dude who was doing big ol' dude type things: tossing blokes around, protecting the rim, etc.

Pop A
Nothing to complain about tonight. They unleashed a vicious beating with Pop pushing the proper buttons.

[spurraider21]

Thanks for the quick grades.

Was at the game, and didn't see the stat sheet afterwards (tbh haven't looked at it yet, just got home), and these grades seem pretty accurate from my impression of the game. Diaw looked really fluid on offense. B- seems a bit harsh, but I guess the lack of rebounds did that.

[Mal]

Just saw highligths on nba.com. Sick team basketball. Cuts, great passes, unselfishness. Wow

[LittleCriminal]

Baynes should get an A!

[letmk]

I like Neal's recent approach even though the production is not great yet. Or exactly because he is not in a great shooting form, he needs to play within the system. Only after deferring to hotter-hands teammates, then he can slowly pick up his own aggressiveness.

[freetiago]

A's all around really
couldnt find much wrong at all in this game
found it suprising when the bench would look to Green to be the playmaker and he delivered
Nando wasnt getting much penetration but got better as the game went along
Neal also played 16 minutes at one point and only took 1 shot i think which was suprising
should have another 3 on his total that was wiped away on a horrible call

I was starting to get worried about Ginobili tbh
havent seen him like that flop in almost 2 years
good to see his skills are still intact

[capek]

Super impressed with Splitter tonight. He plays like this consistently in the playoffs the Spurs will be a very tough out. :tu

[letmk]

Also I like Green's penetration and play-making. It's a little bit out-of-control sometimes, but overall, it broadens his arsenals and will in turn help his 3-pointer shooting since the defense has to give him more space.

[Brunodf]

I am not the biggest Green fan, but the kid was great tonight:tu

[Pasta Batman]

Thanks for the quick grades.

Was at the game, and didn't see the stat sheet afterwards (tbh haven't looked at it yet, just got home), and these grades seem pretty accurate from my impression of the game. Diaw looked really fluid on offense. B- seems a bit harsh, but I guess the lack of rebounds did that.

I was there too. I don't feel his lack of rebounds made the team worse though. Everything he did well, he did very well. Spurs were super fluid.

[Pasta Batman]

I am not the biggest Green fan, but the kid was great tonight:tu

He's definitely gaining more experience. His dribbles still can be "cover your eyes" bad, but I'm glad he's improved upon it slowly. He was a big part of the push to put the game away early, along with Parker's pure domination.

[Floyd Pacquiao]

simply a beautiful team performance, with tp9 leading the way.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I'm just re-watching the game now but want to make a comment at half time.

Take your mind back to the panic and dismay around ST for weeks after the pummelling we took from the Clippers back in December. All kinds of cliff-jumping were observed during this orgy of early-season hubris even though we were only 6 weeks into the season and our team had yet to find its chemistry.

At the time I said that early season losses to good team don't mean much, it's Feb and beyond, post-ASB when the Spurs usually get going and start testing themselves against the competition... hereabouts we call it SPAM. In fact, SPAM usually starts on the RRT during a gutsy win if it's going to start at all, and this trip has all the hall-marks of the RRTs that have kick-started other deep playoff campaigns. Great signs. :tu

From now on we are measuring ourselves against the competition and fine-tuning chemistry and lineup for the run to the rings. Hang on for the ride and hope for the best. :smokin :D

[letmk]

I'm just re-watching the game now but want to make a comment at half time.

Take your mind back to the panic and dismay around ST for weeks after the pummelling we took from the Clippers back in December. All kinds of cliff-jumping were observed during this orgy of early-season hubris even though we were only 6 weeks into the season and our team had yet to find its chemistry.

At the time I said that early season losses to good team don't mean much, it's Feb and beyond, post-ASB when the Spurs usually get going and start testing themselves against the competition... hereabouts we call it SPAM. In fact, SPAM usually starts on the RRT during a gutsy win if it's going to start at all, and this trip has all the hall-marks of the RRTs that have kick-started other deep playoff campaigns. Great signs. :tu

From now on we are measuring ourselves against the competition and fine-tuning chemistry and lineup for the run to the rings. Hang on for the ride and hope for the best. :smokin :D

To be fair, Tony started to take off only after the 2nd loss to the Clippers and the talk with Pop.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Oh, and when the "2nd best PG in the NBA" disembowels, beheads, draws and quarters the "best PG in the NBA", what's that called?

It's called the commentators not understand the respective meanings of "best" and "2nd best". :lmao

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

To be fair, Tony started to take off only after the 2nd loss to the Clippers and the talk with Pop.

I agree, but your comment only reinforces what I said. TP wasn't cooking yet and nor was the team, so why get upset about early season losses? We're starting to bubble now, as is always Pop's plan, and I think we're going to beat a lot of strong teams in the next 4 months.

[Pasta Batman]

Some interesting numbers...

per ClipperBlog (http://clipperblog.com/2013/02/22/last-call-spurs-116-clippers-90/)


No Parking Allowed
Tony Parker’s mid-range shooting has improved so much over the past year that it’s turned him almost into a new player. Observe…
Shooting from 10-to-16 feet last year: 42.7 percent
Shooting from 10-to-16 feet this year: 46.5 percent
Shooting from 16 feet to the three-point line last year: 37.7 percent
Shooting from 16 feet to the three-point line this year: 45.9 percent
- Fred Katz
Chris Paul’s Kryptonite
Chris Paul has struggled against the Spurs as a Clipper and the numbers back it up (http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=paulch01&match=game&year_min=&year_max=&age_min=0&age_max=99&team_id=LAC&opp_id=SAS&is_playoffs=&round_is_ec1=Y&round_is_ecs=Y&round_is_ecf=Y&round_is_wc1=Y&round_is_wcs=Y&round_is_wcf=Y&round_is_fin=Y&game_num_type=&game_num_min=&game_num_max=&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&is_starter=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_G=&pos_is_GF=&pos_is_F=&pos_is_FG=&pos_is_FC=&pos_is_C=&pos_is_CF=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=pts):




35.9 minutes per game
15.1 points per game
8.6 assists per game
3.3 rebounds per game
2.2 steals per game
41.2 percent field goal percentage
31.0 percent three-point percentage


- D.J. Foster

[Mal]

Is this game worth of downloading and watching, knowing what was the final score ?

[spurs10]

Tony is playing out of this world! It's a fabulous time to be a Spurs fan! Thanks for the grades!
:flag:

[spurs10]

Is this game worth of downloading and watching, knowing what was the final score ?
Abso^&$#inglutely!

[Fireball]

Just watched the game. At the start of it I was sad to see Kawhi was not playing - it also made me angry because if his knee is still such an issue, he should have been in Houston at the All-Star Weekend.

The game itself was just great to watch. TP completely controlled the game, Splitter played great defense forcing Blake to make tough shots. At one point Reggie Miller called TP the best point guard, and right he was.

Loved to see Baynes in garbage time - this guy is strong ...

[Kidd K]

I give Pop and the rest of the coaching staff an A+ for preparing the team well over the all star break despite Pop's responsibilities as the western conference all stars head coach. Pop gets bonus points for cussing out Dwight Howard and apparently dropping "several F bombs" on Dwight while doing it.

Clippers got fuckin tossed tonight though. Talk about a beatdown.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Great game to watch for the Spurs' utter cohesion and dominance. :)

Also, best commentary I've heard in ages! Harlan and CWebb were good as usual, and even Reggie brought his A game and kept the inane stuff to a minimum. Nice! :toast

[Kuestmaster]

Awesome game. There were like 15 minutes of garbage time. The best part of all it's that we don't have to rest timmy or manu tomorrow 'cause they played very little.

[racm]

To be fair, Tony started to take off only after the 2nd loss to the Clippers and the talk with Pop.

It was on him to respond however.

[racm]

Awesome game. There were like 15 minutes of garbage time. The best part of all it's that we don't have to rest timmy or manu tomorrow 'cause they played very little.

34 minutes combined.

[Capt Bringdown]

One of the more solid games I've seen Bonner play in a Spurs uniform.
Highlight for me was that Splitter to TP bounce pass. Ball movement was outstanding.
Considering we had one of our key players out & the caliber of the opponent, a really fun and satisfying win.

[jyra]

I loved how consistent the Spurs were in forcing the Clippers off the three point line. That one play where Danny basically ran the width of the court to get the block on what seemed to be a wide open shot for Butler really showed the effort the team put in defensively.

[Captivus]

I couldnt watch the game (12:30 am in Argentina), but when I loaded the NBA page and saw "Spurs Cruise in LA"....YEAH!!!

[John B]

I'm a Spurs fan from LA. Enough said. I love going to work today. Hello butthurt LA fans:ihit

[Strategic]

Tiago Splitter A
Outstanding post D vs. Griffin. Attentive when giving help. Patient yet strong on O. Passing a plus.



Splitter's foot work on defense was outstanding. It looked like he watched the correct films which would show that when Griffin starts with his back to the basket, he makes a lot of unnecessary moves that gains him no advantage. Last night he flopped around like a fish out of water and Tiago held his ground. :nope It was a thing of beauty.:toast

[dougp]

I think both Bonner and Diaw have better ball handling skills than Green. He looked like a 5 year old girl dribbling at times - he slams it down with too much force, simply does not look graceful.

[racm]

I think both Bonner and Diaw have better ball handling skills than Green. He looked like a 5 year old girl dribbling at times - he slams it down with too much force, simply does not look graceful.

Diaw's one of the better ball-handling big men in the league fwiw.

[dougp]

Diaw's one of the better ball-handling big men in the league fwiw.

Yes, I know, and despite how ackward it looks when Bonner runs, he can put it down on the floor and go to the basket without looking as terrible as Green does.

[wildbill2u]

Aron Baynes Inc.
He's a big ol' dude who was doing big ol' dude type things: tossing blokes around, protecting the rim, etc.

C'mon, TimVP, you always say your grades are based on whatever skills and experience levels the player has. For a newbie, the Mighty Roo played at a damn good level in this game. Considering his skills and experience, I don't know how he could have done more than he did.

I'd give him a grade at least and it would be A-.

[timvp]

^ Players who play only in garbage time have gotten Incs all season, tbh.

[biskvito]

I wonder if come playoffs time the refs will allow the Spurs play this much defense.

Lots of BS call opportunities in this game, Spurs must remain calm when the ref ball starts rolling...

[Bruno]

What a great win. TP keep playing at a MVP level.

It was nice to see Spurs bench finally doing well against Clippers bench. I've liked how they took Bledsoe defense out of the equation by putting De Colo in the corner and how they share the ball. Defensively, not turning the ball over and not allowing easy fastbreak points helped. Jamal Crawford ballhoging is also a good thing for Spurs.

[TrainOfThought5]

^ Players who play only in garbage time have gotten Incs all season, tbh.

clearly this board has made exceptions in their logic and expectations for Baynes.

let the good times roll.

[silverblackfan]

This game was truly a clinic and extremely fun to watch. TP just dominated the game and when asked about the match up at the end of the game, he just deflected the comment to appreciate how well the team plays. You got to love how the Spurs handle their wins with class.
Danny Green played the best basketball I have seen in a while. His passing was clever and crisp. He was late in covering Butler a few times, but made up with that with that last minute lunging block. (very Kawhi like) After the block, he stayed home on Butler a bit better or Butler got rattled.

You could see the team expecting each player to make the next assist. They are really clicking and enjoying themselves. Hell, it sounds like Webber and Miller wanted to play with the Spurs because they play so well...

[blkroadrunners]

Gotta give props to Parker. He put on quite an @$$-kicking on Paul last night :tu

[Obstructed_View]

This was the most enjoyable game I've seen from the Spurs in a long time. They did what they did to the Clippers in the playoffs last year.

Looks like Chris Paul had Sunday circled on his calendar and Tony Parker had Thursday circled on his.

Diaw deserves to have his grade kicked up a notch for stuffing monkeyball. If we're not calling offensive fouls on those, then it looked like a good block to me.

Danny Green actually blocked a three attempt on a closeout. Now that, my friends, is hustle.

While I didn't agree with Pop's decision to sit Kawhi, he did everything else picture perfect as far as I could see. Great subs for matchups, great team chemistry, got everyone out when he should. No let down. There's not really any reason to sit anyone but Leonard for tonight. Excellent job.

[Obstructed_View]

Is this game worth of downloading and watching, knowing what was the final score ?

I say yes. Clinic by the Spurs on both ends, lots of play by the bench in the 4th quarter, discussion of Parker for MVP at halftime, Aaron Baynes' nickname becoming official.

[phxspurfan]

Aron Baynes Inc.
He's a big ol' dude who was doing big ol' dude type things: tossing blokes around, protecting the rim, etc.

Loved how Baynes played last night. He was definitely passing the eye test for a center. The exact opposite of Splitter, which is what we may need in the future.

[Xevious]

Splitter's individual defense on Griffin was the highlight for me. That bodes well for the playoffs (through the WCF anyway, how the Spurs guard Lebron at the four I don't know).

[Mal]

I say yes. Clinic by the Spurs on both ends, lots of play by the bench in the 4th quarter, discussion of Parker for MVP at halftime, Aaron Baynes' nickname becoming official.

Yeah, I got it, but still havent managed to watch

[superbigtime]

Oh, and when the "2nd best PG in the NBA" disembowels, beheads, draws and quarters the "best PG in the NBA", what's that called?

It's called the commentators not understand the respective meanings of "best" and "2nd best". :lmao

They were saying that over and over, Miller especially. I would like to choke Reggie Miller. Chris Webber is affable, but he is mornoic too. At one point he said something like 'and the spurs have no bigs on the floor right now' .. the lineup at that time included Splitter and Bonner, Green, Parker and I forget who else, I think Jack. ... Say what?

Parker is just the best point guard for this team. No point guard in the league can score and distribute like he can. Tony is the shit. Splitter had an outstanding game. The shooters, Manu included, did well. Good team D. Overall, very very focused. Frickin awesome. :toast

[Obstructed_View]

Splitter's foot work on defense was outstanding. It looked like he watched the correct films which would show that when Griffin starts with his back to the basket, he makes a lot of unnecessary moves that gains him no advantage. Last night he flopped around like a fish out of water and Tiago held his ground. :nope It was a thing of beauty.:toast

A tale of two possessions:
Griffin in the post, Splitter checking him. He just kind of stands there waiting to make a move. My wife said to me, "What is he doing?" Griffin finally turns and awkwardly makes a high degree of difficulty shot.

Later in the game, Duncan in the post, Griffin checking him. Duncan just kind of stands there waiting to make a move. I said, "Do you see what he's doing?" My wife said, "He's waiting to throw it over his shoulder to Green." Sure enough, as soon as Butler commits to the double, Green cuts and the ball is waiting for him. Green draws the foul.

[Chinook]

I've been saying for a couple of weeks now that Green has a better assist game in him than he's shown. I think we're starting to see it come out. If he can become more consistent at finding the open man, it will only help the team's offense, not to mention that it would help a De Colo/Green back court.

[Obstructed_View]

They were saying that over and over, Miller especially. I would like to choke Reggie Miller. Chris Webber is affable, but he is mornoic too. At one point he said something like 'and the spurs have no bigs on the floor right now' .. the lineup at that time included Splitter and Bonner, Green, Parker and I forget who else, I think Jack. ... Say what?

Yeah, I did a double take when he said that. I don't think black people can see Tiago Splitter. That's why he's so effective.

[Dex]

Tony Parker A++
He simply eviscerated CP3. He came out on fire and never let up. He was phenomenally crisp on both ends. WoW.


Will this be the first, elusive 100 in the Grades?

[DrSteffo]

One thing I really appreciate with these grades is that you don't care so much about stats. D and team play and helping your team win is what should be important.

[polandprzem]

Is this game worth of downloading and watching, knowing what was the final score ?

1st 3qrs

[polandprzem]

What was most amazing is that all the tv cast were in awe of the spurs to the point it made me sick. It was strange and far from sincere. Like they had to sell the spurs on the broadcast.
And of course no way TP is not near MVP consideration. I can even assume he will not be in the 1st allnba. Oh well. :)

Spurs played their ball and Clipps let them do it.
TP playing superball and I hope Manu and Tim will take care of their bodies more now on the lighter schedule to get the rhythm going into the playoffs.

[Pasta Batman]

What was most amazing is that all the tv cast were in awe of the spurs to the point it made me sick. It was strange and far from sincere. Like they had to sell the spurs on the broadcast.
And of course no way TP is not near MVP consideration. I can even assume he will not be in the 1st allnba. Oh well. :)

Spurs played their ball and Clipps let them do it.
TP playing superball and I hope Manu and Tim will take care of their bodies more now on the lighter schedule to get the rhythm going into the playoffs.

I'd lose my shit if Parker losing 1st team to both Kobe/Paul. That's straight up bull shit if they win over him.

[benstanfield]

If the WCF were tomorrow, I honestly like how Splitter matches up with Ibaka. In the starting lineup and with big minutes/confidence, Splitter can make Ibaka pay dearly for roaming on defense.

[Manufan909]

Yeah, I did a double take when he said that. I don't think black people can see Tiago Splitter. That's why he's so effective.

Where is the "that's racist" black boy when you need him? :lol

Baynes was a breath of fresh air out there. Grabbing rebounds like there was no tomorrow, showing no mercy in the paint, he was excellent. I can't wait for him to start playing non-garbage minutes. If it's only when Timmy sits I'll just have to settle for that.

[MR-Clutch]

“I’m as good as I can be,” Jackson said before Thursday’s Spurs-Clippers game at Staples Center. “I’m happy to be back with the team. I need to be back with the team, just for my own sanity. Basketball and being around these guys helps me a lot, so it’s definitely something I needed.”

Jackson learned of the loss while the Spurs were on the first phase of the rodeo road trip. He left the team after it arrived in Chicago for a game Feb. 11, missing games in Chicago, Cleveland and Sacramento. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told Jackson to take as much time away from the team as he needed.

“It was an unfortunate situation,” Jackson said. “Very frustrating and emotional and I’m nowhere close to being over it.

“My wife is not doing too well, so I’m happy I had a coach like Pop who gave me the time to be with her. In order for me to help her I also have to help myself because this was a baby we were definitely looking forward to having. Being back with the team hopefully is going to help me be able to help my wife even more.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/san-antonio-spurs-stephen-jackson-returns-action-death-160021759--nba.html

[Obstructed_View]

Where is the "that's racist" black boy when you need him? :lol

Stephen A Smith made a liar out of me anyway. I heard him say that Tiago Splitter was a big contributor to the Spurs today.

[Brazil]

I'm moving and still trying to settle things. Is somebody has a link to download the game? I have issue with my league pass now that I moved.