Quick Grades: Spurs vs. Mavericks - March 14

[timvp]

Tim Duncan A
Vintage numbers across the board. His rebounding alone made a huge difference. Scored well from various spots on the court. Defended well, even in switches. Physically, looked spry and moved with pep.

Manu Ginobili C-
Passed the ball well; was able to create scoring opportunities with his court vision. Otherwise, though, it was a forgettable night. Iffy decisions. Subpar D. Loose with the ball. Appeared stiff when trying to score.

Kawhi Leonard B-
Commendable aggression, particularly in the open court. Any shyness in his game is evaporating. Authored quality passes and played strong D. Misfirings from the perimeter dampened his scoring output.

Danny Green C
Hit his threes, stayed mentally engaged on D and played with ferocity. Unfortunately, interior shooting was off, turned it over too much and his decisions were sometimes foolhardy.

Cory Joseph B-
It was a safe outing but he needs to dial it up some more -- on both ends. Could have applied more pressure on D. On O, he was too willing to pass it quickly rather than make plays.

Tiago Splitter A-
He didn't finish well but dealt with a lot of contact around the rim. I liked his rebounding; loved his perimeter D. He guarded Nowitzki well and challenged the potential game-winner. Passing also a plus.

Gary Neal B+
It wasn't always pretty but he supplied much-needed scoring. Hit a pair of key threes in the 4th. Took care of the ball; dished it adequately. D was pretty damn horrid -- but did what he could with limited mobility.

Boris Diaw A-
Played with a lot more purpose than usual. Entered the game ready to play. Made plays instantly on O. His D was very strong -- both help-wise and individually. Only negatives: his board-work and sloppiness.

Stephen Jackson B-
Kept it simple. Limited his mistakes while rebounding and passing well. Didn't score a point in 11 minutes but also didn't get many touches. Wasn't a star but also helped more than hurt.

DeJuan Blair C
Didn't defend well. Didn't get to open spaces on offense. Thankfully, only played six minutes.

Pop B-
Strangely coached game. Ended the game with Ginobili at point guard -- and that didn't exactly work out fantastically. Then again, his shortened rotation helped keep the team's rhythm intact.

[TheGoldStandard]

If this is the kind of effort we can see from Tim in the playoffs watch out, I know it's the Mavericks but he played well with the time off from his last start. Gary Neal did make better decisions with the ball this game but his defense is still atrocious. I always see him wander into the paint as if he's going to block a 7 footer while his man is about 10 feet away shooting an open jumper.

[spurraider21]

Even though Kawhi's shooting% was poor, it wasn't like he was taking a lot of bad shots. Was just missing shots that he could ordinarily make. Was playing within his game for the most part.

[TheGoldStandard]

Even though Kawhi's shooting% was poor, it wasn't like he was taking a lot of bad shots. Was just missing shots that he could ordinarily make. Was playing within his game for the most part.
He didn't take bad shots but he wasn't as aggressive in the second half, he pulled up a lot looking to pass rather than attack or confidently shoot.

[HarlemHeat37]

I'm worried Joseph is going to become too conservative, like many Spurs backup PGs of the past, tbh..it happened to De Colo earlier in the season after he had a nice game as a starter, as well..

They play aggressive basketball with success, but eventually revert to being conservative and deferring to the bigger name players on the floor..

[spurraider21]

He didn't take bad shots but he wasn't as aggressive in the second half, he pulled up a lot looking to pass rather than attack or confidently shoot.

This is true. He should be challenging the rim more, since he's also become one of our better free throw shooters. Now that he's actually putting the ball on the floor and creating his own shot, the next step in the evolution in his game would be playmaking, which we are already seeing a little bit of. Its awesome. Early in the season I was actually mildly disappointed since we were seeing what we saw last year, where he mainly just buried himself in the corner and occasionally made a basket cut. Since that Chicago game he's been assertive on offense. Loving it.

[freetiago]

Joseph has always played conservatively
he creates nothing
just scores of cuts to the baskets and transition
spurs are a drive and kick team and he needs to get into the paint to draw defenders in and kick it out
outside of Parker no one has been able to do this
its effecting all the role players game

well see if Parkers return can make the bench play better
and Leonards 3 point shot has been off for a while now
his last game shooting over .500 on 3s was Feb 6th
been shooting mostly 1/4 or 1/3s since then

[TheGoldStandard]

I think Joseph will improve the penetration and dish game with more time, he's still feeling out everything with the players on the floor. Parker will definitely come back and make an improvement not only because he can score in the paint but also he has improved his passing and it shows with the assists he has this season. I think Leonard has struggled from the 3 point arc but that's actually helped his mid range and inside game more, I'm all for Leonard being able to hit a 3 but having someone who can slash to the basket score and possibly get a foul call is going to be better in the long run. We haven't had that kind of presence from a wing in quite some time and the refs will grow accustomed to this and afford him more trips to the line if he's successful.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

Neal scored well, but he held on to the ball for far too long most of the time imo. He had some really good scoring drives though.

[Gummi Clutch]

have you ever given Timmy a bad grade? I'm not saying he's not usually an A...but you a homer brah.

[jimbo]

have you ever given Timmy a bad grade? I'm not saying he's not usually an A...but you a homer brah.

you know he's gonna reply to this with occasions he's given him a bad grade, right?

[ElNono]

Tiago too high: You would need to overlook he's a big and he was 3-9 (4-19 the last two games). Teams finally paying more attention to him?

Manu too low: We need an assist man with Tony out, and as much as he has sucked lately, he's pretty much the only one that can setup the offense. His stint with the starters in the 1st half led to a 7-0 run to close the quarter. 9 assists (next guy had 3), 5 boards, 2 steals and 2 turnovers is an ok game. Yeah, his shot is off, but he didn't shoot much and no step back 3s. Progress.

Blair way too high: 11 minutes of terror. 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, and a red carpet to our basket. Useless on offense. Don't know why Pop keeps insisting.

[Kuestmaster]

Awesome game from the 21, I hope he is saving more of those for the playoffs.

And also, lol:
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2321917/ohyoutimmy.gif

[Juggity]

have you ever given Timmy a bad grade? I'm not saying he's not usually an A...but you a homer brah.

Jesus fuck. You are a seriously awful poster :lol

I'm not sure you know what the word "homer" means.

timvp has given low marks to Tim when he has played poorly relative to expectations. The fact is, Tim hasn't had very many games where he has played poorly relative to expectations. In fact, early on in the season, for at least the first month, I can't remember a single bad game he played.

He was a top 5 MVP candidate a few months ago. Obviously the injury slowed him down a bit, but he's getting back to form.

[freetiago]

Splitter has been getting hacked and getting no calls these past 2 games
guys going for piggyback rides and grabbing his face

hes still rebounded in double digits, made great passes, and played good D

games like these are proof that Diaw is just coasting
still need to see if Popovich will stick with staggering the Splitter/Duncan minutes
the 5 minute left sub out he does with Tiago and then brings him back at the 5-6 minute mark has been where the team has been getting torched

[letmk]

Even with Tony out, Manu cannot automatically be the sole closer, let alone when he did not play well for the whole game. I didn't re-watch the game, but since he took over as the ball-handler at the end of the game, the offense is so predictable. His last shot was not better than a turnover.

Plus, even if Manu personally plays well for this game, the first and foremost objective with Tony out has to be finding offense flow assuming Tony is "shutout" by bigger defenders. So the ball needs to be distributed among Tim, Kawhi, Manu and even Splitter. Right now, Tony is the only superstar in this team (being a top 5 player). If Tony is limited, then after him, it has to be the system, not Manu, and not even Tim either.

Even though Tim's overall offense production was great tonight, but when he tried to initiate the offense in the first half, he was not nearly successful. He was shooting 9-10 in the second half, but many of them were from fast break, or cut, or offense rebounds.

Although Manu is younger than Tim, he has aged worse than Tim. So Pop needs to stop dumping the ball to Manu and hope for miracles. During the playoffs, it may work for 1 game in a series, but it's bound to hurt the Spurs than help the team.

Also, I don't agree with CoJo's minutes. Granted, he was not very aggressive. But his error-free play alone has to warrant more than 13 minutes. At the beginning of the second half, when he purposefully attacked for three consecutive possessions, he was successful with 2-3 FG. I think part of his deference to senior teammates has to be related to Pop's game-calling. Basically a rookie, you have to give him opportunities to make plays and mistakes.

Neal's play is not always pretty. Like Timvp and all of rest of STers mentioned, his D and ball-handling are essentially below average. But his scoring ability in a short period shows his value to the team.

[mercos]

Strange game. The Spurs played their offense, netting 31 assists, but shot poorly. You have to credit the Mavs defense mostly for that, they had 10 steals and 10 blocks. They also did not turn the ball over much with only 11. You could tell the Mavs really wanted that game to avoid being swept in the season series.

It took a beast game from Duncan to get that win. When Splitter and Green go 3-9, with no Parker, it is going to be a tough night. I love Leonard's aggression since the Chicago game. He didn't shoot well tonight, but it's just a matter of time before he figures things out. He could provide a real problem for other teams in the playoffs, and will give Parker some breathing room once teams start focusing on shutting him down.

[Brunodf]

:tu
Neal and Splitter grades are too high.

[pookenstein]

Wow, what a performance by Timmy. Tonight he was really putting the fun in fundamental.

What I don't get is why they stopped feeding him at the end of the game. Until then he was scoring from the outside, inside, even had some kind of a floater. Why not be Splitter the guy who sets the pick for Manu and if nothing develops forcefeed Tim inside. We nearly pissed away his vintage performance.

[therealtruth]

If this is the kind of effort we can see from Tim in the playoffs watch out, I know it's the Mavericks but he played well with the time off from his last start. Gary Neal did make better decisions with the ball this game but his defense is still atrocious. I always see him wander into the paint as if he's going to block a 7 footer while his man is about 10 feet away shooting an open jumper.

I think what Neal costs in weakened defense isn't worth his streaky shooting. He got outplayed by Derek Fisher in the playoffs.

[EricB]

Death taxes and 24-12 - timvp circa 2003. Needs to be brought back it seems.

[playbonner15]

Missed the game. Mah boy Bonner didn't play?

[spursparker9]

Missed the game. Mah boy Bonner didn't play?

pop saving him for the playoff.

[benefactor]

have you ever given Timmy a bad grade? I'm not saying he's not usually an A...but you a homer brah.
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m61ukoK4JO1rqfhi2o1_250.gif

[Darkwaters]

Death taxes and 24-12 - timvp circa 2003. Needs to be brought back it seems.

There are only three things in life you can truly depend on.

Death
Taxes
Spurs will win at least 50 games each season

Cheers on yet another 50 win season for the Silver and Black. The streak dates back 13 seasons to the 1999 Lock-out (which featured a 50 game season...and would have required a perfect year for the Spurs to continue the streak). If we don't count that short season then it actually goes back 14 seasons.

Props to the best team in professional sports over the last decade plus.

[milkyway21]

A+ to Duncan considering his age :)

[Brox6]

A+ to Duncan considering his age :)


Vintage TD21..almost got 20-20 (28pts 19rebs) and still manage to give credit to his teammates..:toast

[milkyway21]

yeah I like the emotion too after that 2&1 ..that was new to me... :tu

[John B]

Had we lost this game we're probably looking at lower grades. And boy did the Spurs give them a great look at the end it just didn't go in. I'm not happy. I've expected a beating after the loss. Splitter has to dunk those instead of the reverse. Stop watching Blair on practice please. Speaking of Blair, he looks like he's lost some more weight. But still ineffective and could not convert. I like Diaw's aggresiveness though and was looking for his shots early. Boy he could be our 4th or 5th option if consistent. He really reminds me of Odom with his lenght and versatility. I wish he continues to be aggresive around the rim. He was too fast for Novitsky. He can punish more slow footed PF. I don't know why Pop stopped going to him. A combination of Diaw and Splitter could make Novitsky and rest work harder. I like CoJo looking for his shots also, but he needed to contain Collison and those kind of guards. That's mainly his purpose when TP gets back and Manu setting-up the 2nd unit, corraling the likes of Bledsoe. Overall I'm not happy with Spurs D. They're 16 games away, they need to get better controlling the guard's penetration. We need Danny to step-up his D and harrass the opposing PG's like Bowen did with Nash and CP3. We need better control of the tempo. Just the same congrats on the 50th win for the 14th consecutive year. Go Spurs Go!

[bklynspursfan]

Neal helped out with his scoring. My biggest problem with him is his inability to see whats going on around him at times when he's dribbling and ultimately has his mind set on shooting. He left Jack with his arms up 3-4 times in the corner wide open for a 3. I think he scored on one of those possessions.

[silverblackfan]

Love the grades. Tim was playing out of his mind and I am hoping this is the Tim we will see in the playoffs. Leonard was very effective and continues to grow into an offensive force. All to the better since we all expected only defense this year. The best thing about having Kawhi and Danny out on the court is that they are so damn disruptive to the other team's offensive sets. Those long arms come sneaking in from everywhere. Throw Tim and Tiago on the court and you have a lot of disruption.

Manu was horrible again and still seems to be pressing too much. He was too damn slow on defense. He is getting rocked back on his heels and slow to recover except to swipe at the ball. Although his mid-range step back seems to be working, his passing is starting to make me cringe. The other team is focused on him and manage to get steals every game lately. Probably due to game planning for Manu and Tim and not having to worry about Parker, but still worrisome. Manu is smart, so I am hoping he will adjust and start to play better by the end of the season. The Spurs will need him.

[EVAY]

One of the things that I have noticed is that Cojo is getting a lot of 'good grades' because he is not getting turnovers at a fast clip.

The reason that he is not getting turnovers is that he is no threat to score. All the defenses know that he is going to do little more than bring the ball up the court, pass it to someone else, and then the offense goes into its set. He is not an assist leader. He is not a scorer. He is little more than a vessel for getting the ball from the base line past center court.

Our offense is predicated on a scoring pg. Cojo has not shown that he can do that. Without doing that, he is not a threat and the other teams' defense can sag off of him to our other players, or sit in the passing lanes. That is what is happening in these games without Tony, and it surprises me that more folks here haven't picked up on it.

It is not that Joseph is playing so well that he is not turning the ball over; the fact that he is not a scoring threat means he won't be challenged as a ball handler.

I don't think that a lot of folks here realize that, at least so far, Joseph has not shown himself to be the definitive backup point guard that everyone seems to anoint him to be just because his turnover rate is low.

Without Parker we lose 20 points and 7 or eight assists per game. Cojo doesn't materially contribute to either scoring or assists. That is why we also have had turnovers go up so much in Parker's absence. The rest of the team must get into the system, but Cojo is not really a contributing part of the system, yet, imo.

[Pop]

Meh, we shouldn't need a playmaker at backup PG with Manu, someone with great defense and who can bring up the ball vs pressure is good enough.

He makes plays on D and has shown to be a decent scorer, I'd give him an A overall since he got the opportunity to show what he could do.

Can Bledsoe and Bradley create and pass the ball very well? They are still the best backup PGs in the league. Bledsoe at starting PG wasn't pretty tbh.

[rjv]

manu's string of average games continues (unfortunately)

[clambake]

i wasn't able to watch the game.

what was the difference in free throws?

[boutons_deux]

i wasn't able to watch the game.

what was the difference in free throws?

home cooking favored Spurs dramatically

Spurs destroyed Mavs on the boards

escape with lucky 1 pt win.

[024]

Manu is a shadow of his former self. He has flashes of good Manu but he has mostly been bad this season (as compared to his previous seasons). He isn't in a funk, he isn't "still recovering from injury," he isn't "still trying to get into rhythm," he has truly been playing subpar all season. Like all other over the hill players who used to play at all-star caliber, he will have a few games here and there where you think he's coming back, but that's not true. If the spurs do resign ginobili, he better be reduced to a role player and let someone else (leonard) take over as the third option. Too bad it's too late this season to make the switch.

Splitter needs to stop getting packed by people much shorter than him but the refs also need to start giving him some calls.

[Darius McCrary]

Used to be the Mavs outbound us ugly style, and we have absolutely no answer for Dirk. Now we out rebounded them at will and they had no answer for Duncan.

[Obstructed_View]

Joseph is playing very conservatively, but that's a good thing right now. The Spurs aren't playing particularly well as a team at the moment, and he's not the guy I want trying to step up and be the difference in the game.

Gary Neal looked like Gary Neal for the first time in a while. That's really encouraging. I figured his injuries would require an off season to completely heal.

Manu looks terrible, but he doesn't look old, and he doesn't look slow. That's REALLY encouraging. He's gone through stretches like this, and he'll adjust. A few more games and he's going to get the turnovers under control and get it going for the playoffs.

When Vince Carter fronted Timmy, I screamed "HIGH LOW" at the TV. Seeing them do it was beautiful.

Anyone else ever seen a shit-eating grin from Timmy on the court prior to that tip-in last night? Me neither.

[clambake]

home cooking favored Spurs dramatically

[Thread]

I'll give ya's an A+. I needed that and you humps delivered for once.

[superbigtime]

Missed the game. Mah boy Bonner didn't play?


That's a huge element in this win. Good things happen when Bonner sits.

[clambake]

home cooking favored Spurs dramatically

[Brunodf]

home cooking favored Spurs dramatically

Spurs destroyed Mavs on the boards

escape with lucky 1 pt win.
:lolGood one

[TheSkeptic]

:lolGood one

Yeah actually I thought it was fairly even aside from the part about Tiago getting hacked without calls and Diaw getting those questionable calls against him. Refs really let them play physical last night...No wonder why Manu used to flop all the time.

Thanks as always Timvp. :toast This time around I think Duncan's grade is too low and that Splitter, Blair, and Neal's grades are too high. The jury's still out on Manu but I think that if Neal/Manu are going to be running the point Pop needs to consider letting Splitter play with the second unit again so that hopefully the bench will stop undoing the work of the starters in the first half. Without Parker out there I just don't think the Spurs have the luxury of being able to play from behind if this keeps up.

Splitter's finishing has been bad as of late, but I'm not that worried about it just yet. I do think that teams are paying more attention to him now but what's encouraging if we ignore the no-calls is that he's still getting looks and his percentage was better than against the Wolves. I'm hoping that's a sign the slump is ending. Kawhi's still being aggressive with his offense. That's really good to see but I also hope that his efficiency starts going up soon as well. We're still looking at about another week or so until TP comes back I think.

[spurraider21]

This was Duncan's first 20 point game since the injury :toast

[clambake]

home cooking favored Spurs dramatically

[Slippy]

Manu Ginobili C-
Passed the ball well; was able to create scoring opportunities with his court vision. Otherwise, though, it was a forgettable night. Iffy decisions. Subpar D. Loose with the ball. Appeared stiff when trying to score.


Amazed to see how under-valued this aspect of Manu's game is to fans. If this doesn't occur spurs struggle to score 90 points. His decision making sure can improve but for this game atleast his teammates needed to do a better job of converting the good looks.

[playbonner15]

....

[playbonner15]

That's a huge element in this win. Good things happen when Bonner sits.
No. Manu couldn't get inside the lanes because the opponent's bigs will just clog the lanes when he drives, then they just intercept that he will pass the ball outside. I guess it's time to start the yearly Let Bonner Play campaign #LetBonnerPlay

[TJastal]

No. Manu couldn't get inside the lanes because the opponent's bigs will just clog the lanes when he drives, then they just intercept that he will pass the ball outside. I guess it's time to start the yearly Let Bonner Play campaign #LetBonnerPlay


Negative.

More and more teams have figured out they can use a guard (even a point guard) to shadow Bonner out on the perimeter while still packing the paint. At this point Bonner is really best used as an occassIonal change of pace, or monkeywrench if you will and NOT as a predIctable fixture in the rotation that any halfway competent defense can gameplan and disrupt easily.

[therealtruth]

Negative.

More and more teams have figured out they can use a guard (even a point guard) to shadow Bonner out on the perimeter while still packing the paint. At this point Bonner is really best used as an occassIonal change of pace, or monkeywrench if you will and NOT as a predIctable fixture in the rotation that any halfway competent defense can gameplan and disrupt easily.

It's more like teams let him shoot in the regular season. Then in the playoffs they gameplan against him and Pop has no clue how to adjust. I would much rather the Spurs win games with defense even if it means slightly more losses now. The payoff will be in the playoffs.