Quick Grades: Spurs vs. Nuggets - Mar. 27

[timvp]

Tim Duncan A-
It wasn't the cleanest affair -- and he looked overwhelmed by Denver's size and athleticism at times -- but the production was elite. He rebounded great and his rim protection was extremely vital. In all facets, his D was above average. On O, he willed his way to a positive evening despite a couple rough patches.

Manu Ginobili C
Still just not there. His nimbleness and lateral quickness are missing in action. I'm not sure if age has caught up to him suddenly or if he's not feeling 100% but something was slowing him tonight. On D, he was forced to reach and grab a lot. On O, he hit a key three but was otherwise below average.

Tony Parker B
His passing was very good throughout -- although his ball-control was more lax than usual. His aggression going to the rim was good but he had trouble scoring up and over their interior trees. On D, he was effective and competed with gusto. A finger injury scare seemed to have him out of balance late.

Kawhi Leonard B+
I really liked his defense, particularly against Gallinari. Overall, his athleticism on D helped neutralize what would have otherwise been a huge advantage in Denver's favor. Offensively, he wasn't involved very much. That said, he remained efficient, passed better than usual and finished without a turnover.

Danny Green A
He hit all six of his three-pointers in the first half -- and the Spurs would have been dead in the water without those triples. His shooting brought the team back quickly and gave S.A. momentum going into the second half. On D, he was also an asset. Good aggression in all aspects and played physically.

Tiago Splitter C
I wasn't too impressed with his D. He was typically a step late when helping and he lost his own man too often. More toughness on the boards also would have been helpful. On offense, his ability to get to the line was important. However, his finishing woes continue.

Boris Diaw D+
Laid an egg. His defense -- other than a play or two -- was poor. He didn't corral any defensive rebounds. He didn't make a difference in the passing department yet bungled a handful of possessions wit sloppiness. All in all, a forgettable night at the office.

Cory Joseph B+
Pop went back to him for the backup point guard job and I thought he responded much better than his last couple outings. Defensively, he was back to being a pest. His pressuring made a difference in terms of slowing down Denver's attack. On O, he did just enough to keep their D honest.

Stephen Jackson C-
Again spent the second half watching from the bench. In the first half, he really didn't do much of anything. The things he did do -- outside of his quality individual defense -- were almost all negative.

DeJuan Blair C-
No defensive rebounding. In fact, there's little proof that he was actually ever on the defensive end. His D was ghastly, to put it kindly. He had a couple decent plays on offense but it's difficult to support him getting regular minutes when his defense is such a liability -- especially against teams with big, athletic bigs.

Pop B
Going with Joseph at backup PG ended up being a smart move. He rode Duncan, Leonard and Parker (considering the injury scare) hard -- but, honestly, with the way bench was playing, Pop didn't have much choice if he wanted to win.

[racm]

The bench including Manu has been invisible lately, but tbh the bench matters less in the playoffs.

[hooperflash]

Reasonable grades, I loved that we won especially after some Nuggets fans at the game were getting super cocky after a McGee block on Tony in the second half.


I'm sorry but I knew the game was ours as soon as I heard George call a timeout with 10 seconds, they had a better chance at winning by just dribbling up the court like any other normal posession. I guess that's just me underestimating G. Karl's playcalling and Nugget players' execution abilities.

[Kuestmaster]

Thx for the grades timvp, great as usual.


Timmy posted his 5th game this season with 20+ pts 10+ rebs and 5+ blks. No other player has done it more than once this season. He is amazing this year.

[Obstructed_View]

It's sure a good thing that Dejuan Blair knows the system.

[Fireball]

I hoped we would see some kind of a playoff rotation in this game, but Pop again went to Blair in the first half. This and Andre Millers huge plays cost us heavily ... thanks to IcyHot we stayed in the game and were able to win it! Good that Lawson played, so no excuses either way ...

[SPIDER2311]

what happened to PATTY? Injury or has pop had enough

[Fireball]

what happened to PATTY? Injury or has pop had enough

Seems that way ... Cory or Nando are fighting for the back up job right now.

[racm]

Patty's in the doghouse due to lack of defense and because he can't wave towels while on the court.

[SPIDER2311]

I think patty wlll look for a chance at another organization.

[Pop]

I hoped we would see some kind of a playoff rotation in this game, but Pop again went to Blair in the first half. This and Andre Millers huge plays cost us heavily ... thanks to IcyHot we stayed in the game and were able to win it! Good that Lawson played, so no excuses either way ...

People who thinks the turd towers wont get minutes in the POs are kidding themselves.

[TJastal]

People who thinks the turd towers wont get minutes in the POs are kidding themselves.

Just when you think you've figured out Pop's plans he changes them. After a while you realize there is no rhyme or reason to anything he does and even more disturbing not a whit of urgency. The punch drunk stubborn fool will take his sweet time and enjoy his drunken stupor.

The only thing that will snap him back to reality is, say, being down 2 games in the first round. Then he might just start thinking about things like setting a rotation or choosing a backup pg. One would think he'd have learned his lesson with Splitter 2 years ago.

[Fireball]

People who thinks the turd towers wont get minutes in the POs are kidding themselves.

If they get a few minutes I am fine with that, but either Tim or Tiago have to be on the court as well. Playing two of Diaw/Bonner/Blair together at the same time is suicide ...

[John B]

Baynes > Blair every time against athletic and big teams. Where were the Ausies? We could have used Patty's instant offense in the 2nd unit as well. I'm happy with the win because it's against a very good team. But again it was down to the last second win. And we really need to get better closing games. That's two consecutive games we didn't convert on our last possession. Why not drive to the hole and get fouled instead of a jump shot?

[Old School 44]

Sean mentioned it during the telecast, but Diaw makes some dumb interior passes...late in the shot clock to guys who are not in position to do anything with the pass.

To Manu's credit (or maybe Pop's) he seemed to dial it back a little as far as forcing some plays, but still an overall poor effort. With that said, I still BELIEVE Manu will find a way to get it done in the playoffs.

I know he's 80 years old now, but I always thought Andre Miller would somehow find his way to the Spurs.

[dwayne shintzius]

tbh i'd give manu a B- instead of a C.

old or no, he was making things happen at the end of the game

how do you mean? by trying to pass over the outstretched arms of Mcgee or flailing in the lane and looking for the foul? I know he hit that 3 (thank god) but other than that he was a liability on the court. 1 or 2 good passes for every 3 turnovers doesnt constitute making things happen; i agree with TIMVP; Turnobili is out of sync and times running out

[Chinook]

how do you mean? by trying to pass over the outstretched arms of Mcgee or flailing in the lane and looking for the foul? I know he hit that 3 (thank god) but other than that he was a liability on the court. 1 or 2 good passes for every 3 turnovers doesnt constitute making things happen; i agree with TIMVP; Turnobili is out of sync and times running out

Nah, man. Stick to your guns. Don't like the masses stop you from saying Ginoturnover.

[DAF86]

Neal should be the backup PG, his scoring is needed.

[Blake]

Tiago Splitter C
I wasn't too impressed with his D. He was typically a step late when helping and he lost his own man too often. More toughness on the boards also would have been helpful.

Sean noted that Tiago was doing great when stuck on the perimeter defending a guard, on his "inside the game"segment somewhere around the 3rd quarter.

...which right after that became the nugget dunk fest that was the 4th quarter.

I really don't know how the Spurs won this game.

[rjv]

splitter has the absolutley most disgusting hook shot in the history of the hook shot. he literally just throws it up there.

[boutons_deux]

splitter has the absolutley most disgusting hook shot in the history of the hook shot. he literally just throws it up there.

Tim has taken some of the ugliest, flattest, most hopeless heaves ever seen on a bball court.

[dwayne shintzius]

Nah, man. Stick to your guns. Don't like the masses stop you from saying Ginoturnover.

im not ashamed to admit Turnobili is a much better name than Ginoturnover; Ginoturnover was used while in anger over his decision making.

[Chinook]

im not ashamed to admit Turnobili is a much better name than Ginoturnover; Ginoturnover was used while in anger over his decision making.

All right. I just remember laughing my head off when I first read that thread title. The fact that it's more awkward than Turnobili is why I thought it fit better. Personally, I've been calling him Ginobyl recently.

[Budkin]

Manu threw one of the worst passes I've seen in a while in the 4th. Left wing back to the basket, sees someone just inside three point line at the top of the key, uses right hand to throw the ball behind his head in some kind of no look bullshit. Ball easily picked off. WTF is going on in his head?

[LongtimeSpursFan]

Manu needs to stop throwing passes across his body from left to right. It seems like every time he does that it is tipped or stolen.


Manu threw one of the worst passes I've seen in a while in the 4th. Left wing back to the basket, sees someone just inside three point line at the top of the key, uses right hand to throw the ball behind his head in some kind of no look bullshit. Ball easily picked off. WTF is going on in his head?

[Blake]

In seriousness, my favorite Manu pass is the one where he drives down the lane to the left, jumps but slings a pass to someone waiting in the corner for an open three.

[freetiago]

aka the skip pass
which doesnt work for him anymore and is in general a bad pass
Parkers court vision has become really good
the difference his 1 or 2 steps makes in being able to find open guys really shows compared to without him

and Tiago did a solid job defensively
Spurs were switching on pick and rolls probably to force mid range shots
Tiago forced some airballs from Lawson
and he got Chandler to throw some bricks up and also lose his dribble once

[DrSteffo]

Tiago has a very effective hook shot and his grade was a bit low me thinks. Thanks anyway.

[ChumpDumper]

When he actually shoots a hook it isn't bad. Much of the time he rushes into that shoulder level flip shot which never made any sense in any situation.

[phxspurfan]

Our bench isn't nearly as good as it was last year. But our defense is way better. Hopefully that translates to some good playoff basketball.







That is, if TP isn't indeed broken.

[Blake]

aka the skip pass
which doesnt work for him anymore and is in general a bad pass

Not a skip pass. Not really this, but similar to this:

BeIaWw7yK9s

[Mel_13]

I think this is the play you're looking for:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIO8-61XmVU

[Blake]

Thanks Melbert. That's the one.

[spurs10]

Fitting grades to a tight, but great win. The long wait between the Houston loss and our next win was not something I was hoping to extend. Although a lot of work needs to be done, I believe this schedule will indeed bring out the best in the team. I just hope Tony's finger is a minor injury, as that could be a real difference maker down the stretch. I'm not as worried about Manu because I think he'll find a way to peak at the appropriate time. Denver should be a great warm up for the Clips, as maybe people will get tired of being dunked on....over and over...If Jack, Diaw, and Tiago can play better then we have a good chance.
:flag:

[Pasta Batman]

Fitting grades to a tight, but great win. The long wait between the Houston loss and our next win was not something I was hoping to extend. Although a lot of work needs to be done, I believe this schedule will indeed bring out the best in the team. I just hope Tony's finger is a minor injury, as that could be a real difference maker down the stretch. I'm not as worried about Manu because I think he'll find a way to peak at the appropriate time. Denver should be a great warm up for the Clips, as maybe people will get tired of being dunked on....over and over...If Jack, Diaw, and Tiago can play better then we have a good chance.
:flag:

The good news about tough games, is that Pop can point out stuff wrong. I remember seeing Pop mention that he wish they lost at some point during that crazy winning streak last season. Harder to point out stuff when things seem like they are going right.

[cd021]

I think patty wlll look for a chance at another organization.

He'd be passing up guaranteed cash if he opts out. He hasn't played very much to guarantee he will stick with another team. I'd expect him to return next season, unless traded.

[Pasta Batman]

He'd be passing up guaranteed cash if he opts out. He hasn't played very much to guarantee he will stick with another team. I'd expect him to return next season, unless traded.

Also, Neal might be gone, so there'll be somewhat more opportunity to battle it out. He might then get that Neal-like role to be instant offense if he can develop more of his game.

[crc21209]

I really hope Jack is just coasting and turns it up for the Playoffs. Because I think the team is gonna need him when it really counts. We cant afford for Pop to play Manu, Kawhi, and Green too many minutes. Jack has to be able to buy some of those guys rest and make use of his minutes as well..

[Dr. John R. Brinkley]

Diaw has no excuses for his pathetic play. His talent is immense.

Ginobili is playing poorly but with his age and miles it shouldn't be as shocking as people are acting.

[Arcadian]

It's fascinating how different the 2013 Spurs are from the 2012 Spurs.

The 2012 Spurs were dominant offensively with a heavy reliance on the bench.

The 2013 Spurs are dominant defensively with a heavy reliance on the starters.

I think the latter is more prone to winning championships.

[HarlemHeat37]

The Spurs are very good defensively, not dominant..

They still have too many lapses on the defensive end, tbh, and the bench defense is too inconsistent..

[spurs10]

The good news about tough games, is that Pop can point out stuff wrong. I remember seeing Pop mention that he wish they lost at some point during that crazy winning streak last season. Harder to point out stuff when things seem like they are going right.
Yes, I'm sure last night's win will have plenty of good film to show for room to improve. A close one!

[cd021]

Also, Neal might be gone, so there'll be somewhat more opportunity to battle it out. He might then get that Neal-like role to be instant offense if he can develop more of his game.

Agreed plus Mills is 3 + years younger than Neal and would be cheaper considering Neal could possibly get a $3-4 million (a season) deal in the offseason.

[Obstructed_View]

Watching Parker and Manu running the same play last night, when both defenders follow Parker, he stops and backs up to the three point line again and sets up the screen until he gets what he wants. Manu goes, on the first screen, full speed, every single time, and teams know he's going to do it. That's why there's always two defenders going after him, and why they always have their hands up for the pass that he's inevitably going to try to make when he's got no place to go. The second Manu slows down and starts to pick and choose when he's going to go, all his turnover problems are going to magically go away and we'll all wonder why we were so worried about it.

Seriously, when's the last time we saw Manu split a double team and go to the rim?