Quick Grades: Spurs vs. Clippers - Mar. 29

[timvp]

Tim Duncan A+
Amazing. He pours in a season-high in points against a big, talented frontline while attempting only 19 shots. On O, his hands were great, he was moving well, his outside shot was smooth and he played with physicality. On D, he was strong on the boards, defended the rim well and guarded pick-and-rolls really well. Vintage.

Manu Ginobili Inc.
It looks like he got kneed in his thigh and then aggravated his hamstring injury ... all on the same movement. With the playoffs around the corner, expect Pop to be extra, extra cautious. Could he be out until the postseason? It's possible.

Tony Parker A
Great defensively. He competed his derriere off in an attempt to slow Paul -- and was successful. On the other end, he was efficient despite ferocious pressure throughout the night. His passing was quality and he had the best burst going to the basket since his injury. Seemed to get fatigued in the fourth.

Kawhi Leonard C
His energy was commendable. He played hard and didn't back down. His passing was also much better than usual. But everything else was relatively weak. His closeouts on D were sloppy -- as were his fundamentals when isolated. On offense, he never found a niche despite Ginobili's absence.

Danny Green B+
The Clippers kept a close eye on him and were did well limiting his open looks. Give him credit for not forcing the issue and staying within his role on O. Defensively, he made some mistakes and his rebounding was poor. On the other hand, he contested a number of shots and played with frenetic effort.

Tiago Splitter B
The Good: I loved his post defense -- particularly against Griffin. He finished well -- especially early. His movement on O was endless. The Bad: His overall physicality was questionable. He didn't rebound well. His perimeter D was sketchy and he made more than his usual amount of mistakes in rotations.

Boris Diaw B
The statistics don't paint much of a picture but I thought he was solid. On D, he was attentive and rarely gave up open looks. When switched off on pick-and-rolls, he was fantastic. On O, he remained somewhat aggressive, authored smart passes and played a cleaner brand of ball than usual.

Gary Neal A-
Welcome back to the rotation. The Spurs are going to really need him if Ginobili is out for a substantial amount of time. Tonight, he looked capable. His passing was otherworldly, relatively speaking. His court vision was much, much better than usual. He was aggressive with his shot but his shot-selection was adequate.

Stephen Jackson B-
Didn't back down in the trenches. Played measured, heady perimeter defense. Unfortunately, his offensive struggles continue. He hit a notable shot in the fourth quarter but otherwise it was a difficult night at the office on O.

Nando De Colo B
I liked his tenacity on both ends. His defense has been really tough for the last couple weeks -- and it continued tonight. His offense was a smidgen more demonstrative than usual, which made him a lot more useful. Compared to earlier this season, his shooting mechanics are much more fluid.

Matt Bonner B-
There's not much good or bad to report. I thought he tried hard on D and avoided getting exploited on that end -- though he wasn't exactly helping a ton. On offense, he didn't get many touches but did hit a nice hook in the lane.

Pop B+
Adjusted well after the Ginobili injury. He pushed a lot of buttons -- and a lot were successful. Going with Neal turned out to be the right call. De Colo at backup PG was also smart in retrospect. I liked the play for Duncan at the end because it involved more movement than we've seen late in games recently.

[Agloco]

Gimmie some of what Timmy is taking. Incredible performance.

[Brunodf]

Gary Neal A-


http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQo5Mw_fLzNnTGrgYaGSzAs9H3Rrk0kt OTZBnllDc0-ABtFDLCP

[milkyway21]

agree to all except Boris Diaw. His D was really good tonight A-

[DarrinS]

Gary Neal? Meh

[milkyway21]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I see Griffin really struggled against Splitter's D..hesitant to shoot at times, well I will watch the replay again..

[freetiago]

Tonys D wasnt good
he was tasked with guarding Willie Green to start and the boxscore shows how he did
he also left Jamal Crawford wide open in the crucial play for no reason

the fact that Gary Neal doesnt throw bad passes that lead to layups for the other team helped a lot
he did hero a couple shots and had 2 or 3 which he had to force up because his teammates were pass happy at the end of the shotclock like the end of the first half where Boris passes up a layup/floater for a bad Neal 3
when Spurs run Neal off those around the world type screens and he gets in the middle for a floater he always sucks in a big or another perimeter guy
if he can consistently find the open guy while doing that hell be a huge threat like tonight

[Kidd K]

Refs: D

[letmk]

- Great job as always, LJ.

- No words can describe Tim. And as Timvp pointed out, they didn't simply dump the ball to Tim on low post, the setup was very sophisticated so that it's very hard for the defense to figure it out.

- Overall, Tony played a very good game. But I really worry about his performance after Barnes checked on him in the 4th quarter. It's not like he simply missed good shots. He just couldn't shake off the defense at all. However, give Pop and the team credit for not forcing multiple P&R again and again.

- Splitter played a decent game, but he could really have done better on that critical blocked shot by Paul.

- Nando looks much more comfortable on the court and didn't "think" before playing like before. Just play the game.

- With Manu out, I hope Pop can give the benches more varieties and boost their scoring. Yes, unlike for regular season games, a deep bench doesn't help that much in the playoffs. But still, that other teams' benches doubled our bench's scoring is worrisome.

[NASpurs]

Neal's defense was horrendous and that gives him an A-? Interesting.

[TrainOfThought5]

where in the hell is Cojo??

[chapnis]

Swap Gary and Boris' grade and that's about right for me.

[wut]

Pop deserves a beer for his hack-a-Jordan strategy...poor Vinny. :lmao

[Brazil]

No matter what how you slice it, TP just owns CP3.

and what a pleasure to see Tim fucking Duncan playing like this, impressive

[nbaman99]

Agree with you. I also think Splitter did a great job on Blake. Also don't think neal did anything special.

[ElNono]

Neal was the feel good story this game, IMO... good that at least he can give us some minutes off the bench

[John B]

I like when Green depends CP3 and Kawhi bothered him later in the 4th. Now to control Bledsoe/Crawford offensive burst in the 2nd unit. We might need CoJo because Neal's D is just plain terrible. Crawford was just too fast for him. For a moment in the 2nd qtr i thought the Clips would make the separation.

[DPG21920]

Timvpbot with an appearance

[TheGoldStandard]

Tiago has deceptive foot speed, he is able to keep bigger defenders in front of him and use his length. Overall a great game, felt like a playoff game.

[wildbill2u]

Tim Duncan A+++++ Although he was obviously tired in the 4th and missed a bunch of consecutive shots, he put the team on his back and carried it to victory with an absolutely stunning performance.

[DapDaGenius]

I had to leave while the game was on, glad we pulled this off. I just wish I didn't have some superstitious habits. lol Seems common among Spurs fans, though.

[jag]

RIP Manu

:cry

[Floyd Pacquiao]

Manu will be back

Believe

[Robz4000]

Neal's defense was horrendous and that gives him an A-? Interesting.

His horrendous D is pretty much the norm. Anything good on that end is a bonus.

[TheGoldStandard]

Neal wandering around the paint when he should be on his guy is what I've come to expect than a run out and hope the guy's concentration is off, same with Danny Green at times.

[Sean Cagney]

Neal's defense was horrendous and that gives him an A-? Interesting.

Yep, Neal is Neal and he is a horrible Backup PG and a horrible D player! He is a volume shooter.

[timtonymanu]

I don't think Neal deserves an A-, but he didn't play badly tonight. His shot has been broken for a while and I think he hit some important shots tonight.

Of course Neal will get torched by guys like Bledsoe and Crawford, so I don't think Neal was completely useless today.

[Baynes]

Neal's passing gave him an A-

[Mel_13]

Yep, Neal is Neal and he is a horrible Backup O and a horrible D player! He is a volume shooter.

???

[Sean Cagney]

???

Sorry backup PG! He is a horrible backup PG. He is a shooter or volume shooter as they say. If he is on keep him in you can use his O, if he is off get him out he is useless.

[HarlemHeat37]

A player like Neal is much more valuable than guys like De Colo and Joseph, tbh..

Neal is a speciality player that excels at one aspect of basketball and sucks at the rest..the other two are well-rounded players that don't excel at any particular facet of basketball(Joseph plays hard on D, but PG individual D is overrated)..

[racm]

If you've noticed, Pop no longer plays Neal at the point. He's always on the floor with Parker or De Colo these days.

[Spur|n|Austin]

Thanks, agree on all except on your questioning of Tiago's physicality. I'd have to say he's grown more physical in each game that passes.


If you've noticed, Pop no longer plays Neal at the point. He's always on the floor with Parker or De Colo these days.

And it'll continue with, Manu out. Hopefully he's back where he belongs, and comfortable.

[Brunodf]

A player like Neal is much more valuable than guys like De Colo and Joseph, tbh..

Neal is a speciality player that excels at one aspect of basketball and sucks at the rest..the other two are well-rounded players that don't excel at any particular facet of basketball(Joseph plays hard on D, but PG individual D is overrated)..
Neal is shooting worse than Joseph and DeColo

[crc21209]

Yeah if Manu is gonna miss some significant time coming up we're gonna need Neal to step up and provide some quality minutes...

[silverblackfan]

Damn fine win and good write up. The Spurs need more of these type of games where the refs seem to favor the opponent and the opponent is physical. Winning the last two games by gutting it out on defense in the 4th looks good to me. It seems pretty obvious that the Spurs are going to have to win the games despite the refs or fan coverage. These games will forge the steel that the Spurs team will become.

Drunk talk aside, Timmy was beyond words tonight. If this guy shows up during the playoffs, just start making those new ring logos now. When the Clippers woke him up in the second quarter, it was something to behold. He was furious and determined and the young clippers were a bit unsure what to do. You have to think a player who idolized a certain player would get a bit disturbed when said player started looking like his memory. Unstoppable. Ok, maybe not drunk talk aside...

Great game!

[TE]

Great game. I missed the live telecast but I saw a replay just now.


Bring on the Heat!

[silverblackfan]

A player like Neal is much more valuable than guys like De Colo and Joseph, tbh..

Neal is a speciality player that excels at one aspect of basketball and sucks at the rest..the other two are well-rounded players that don't excel at any particular facet of basketball(Joseph plays hard on D, but PG individual D is overrated)..


I agree with the second part. Neal is like Jason Terry in that he can hit clutch shots and is not afraid to do it. Terry is more of a punk or thug, and Neal is willing to work for the team and improve his game. Either player is an offensive threat, but defensively, it seems that Neal is working on his game. Good attitude to boot.

Good tools if you know how to use them and they are willing to play the part. I like De Colo and Joseph as PGs, and leave Neal as a situational SG.

[Bruno]

Nando deserves props for his recent toughness but also for taking more care of the ball. Turnovers were a big with him issue earlier this season but he has only turned the ball 4 times this month while he played 135 minutes and had 16 assists.

[callo1]

KL set a perfect screen to get TD open for that last shot....B

[racm]

Nando deserves props for his recent toughness but also for taking more care of the ball. Turnovers were a big with him issue earlier this season but he has only turned the ball 4 times this month while he played 135 minutes and had 16 assists.

I think he's been playing better since his last D-League stint.

[BillMc]

I hope Nando doesn't go back to France this summer. Give him an offseason with Chip and he'll become a major asset.

[boutons_deux]

Tony was definitely tired in the 4th, but everybody was missing shots.

google "beet juice", Tony :lol

[polandprzem]

Nando deserves props for his recent toughness but also for taking more care of the ball. Turnovers were a big with him issue earlier this season but he has only turned the ball 4 times this month while he played 135 minutes and had 16 assists.
I told you!



:D

[EricB]

Thanks, agree on all except on your questioning of Tiago's physicality. I'd have to say he's grown more physical in each game that passes.



And it'll continue with, Manu out. Hopefully he's back where he belongs, and comfortable.



While true, Splitter wasnt as physical last night. His shot getting thrown back down his throat in the last minute was evidence of that.

[Hoops Czar]

Ho hum. Another game, another blown 4th quarter lead. I don't take solace in winning games at the buzzer in a home game that was well in hand five minutes prior. The Spurs need to show home court dominance and save the last second buzzer beaters for the road.

[Boomersgold]

Nando deserves props for his recent toughness but also for taking more care of the ball. Turnovers were a big with him issue earlier this season but he has only turned the ball 4 times this month while he played 135 minutes and had 16 assists.
De Colo was also a -7 in +/- in 11 minutes of playing time. Playing with toughness is great, but if you're not helping your team outscore the opposition then you've played poorly.

[Mel_13]

De Colo was also a -7 in +/- in 11 minutes of playing time. Playing with toughness is great, but if you're not helping your team outscore the opposition then you've played poorly.

Terrible take.

[Boomersgold]

Terrible take.

How so? Isn't the object of basketball to score more points than the other team?

[Mel_13]

How so?

You said that any player on the court when his team is outscored has, by virtue of that fact, played poorly.

That's an incredibly simplistic and terrible take.

[Boomersgold]

You said that any player on the court when his team is outscored has, by virtue of that fact, played poorly.

That's an incredibly simplistic and terrible take.

Well, it doesn't really matter how well you've played or how much improvement you've shown as an individual in any one game. If the team plays poorly whilst you're on the court, by virtue of being outscored, then how can you possibly justify that that player had a positive impact on the game?

[Shastafarian]

whilst your on the court

lol

[Boomersgold]

lol
Thanks for picking that up. My excuse is that it's 3:00 am here in Australia. :lol

[Mel_13]

Well, it doesn't really matter how well you've played or how much improvement you've shown as an individual in any one game. If the team plays poorly whilst your on the court, by virtue of being outscored, then how can you possibly justify that that player had a positive impact on the game?

:lol

You're backing away from your original take, but that's to be expected.

Your question includes the same terrible take. Answering it, as phrased, would lend credence to that terrible take.

A proper question would be:

Q: How can you justify that a player had a positive impact during a segment of the game in which his team was outscored?

A: By watching the game.

[timtonymanu]

Boomersgold always finds a way to bring down Nando. Here's another case.

[Boomersgold]

:lol

You're backing away from original take, but that's to be expected.

Your question includes the same terrible take. Answering it, as phrased, would lend credence to that terrible take.

A proper question would be:

Q: How can you justify that a player had a positive impact during a segment of the game in which his team was outscored?

A: By watching the game.

Rewriting my question but with different wording makes it a "proper question"? :lol

[Boomersgold]

Boomersgold always finds a way to bring down Nando. Here's another case.

Well, I'm a Patty fan, as you all know. I still prefer Nando at the backup point guard spot over Cojo though.

[Mel_13]

Rewriting my question but with different wording makes it a "proper question"? :lol

Rewriting it to take out the erroneous premise contained in your question does exactly that.

[timtonymanu]

Well, I'm a Patty fan, as you all know. I still prefer Nando at the backup point guard spot over Cojo though.

That's fine and all, but it doesn't mean you have to bring that terrible take on here. It's not like we're comparing to Bonner to Splitter. It's Patty to Nando. Both have had the opportunity to take up the backup PG and haven't been impressive enough to do it. For the record, I'm a Patty fan myself but I'm also very critical of him as well as I am with Nando. I'm secretly rooting for Patty myself, but I'm not gonna be a blind homer and bring up :cry But he plays better with Manu. He's the best 3 pt shooter on the team :cry anytime Nando has an impressive game.

[Bruno]

De Colo was also a -7 in +/- in 11 minutes of playing time. Playing with toughness is great, but if you're not helping your team outscore the opposition then you've played poorly.

Well, Spurs could have even been outscored by more point in these 11 minutes.

You had to have realistic expectations for De Colo. He isn't a great player and is a rookie. He certainly isn't able to carry the bench like Manu did in the past. Lately, he has been better because he has cut a lot of mistakes but he still doesn't make a lot of positives plays.

With their current bench, Spurs can't be dominant when Parker is out. The best they can do, against a great bench like the Clippers one, is to limit damage which they did quite well yesterday. It can change if Manu came back at his December/January level.

[TrainOfThought5]

Well, it doesn't really matter how well you've played or how much improvement you've shown as an individual in any one game. If the team plays poorly whilst you're on the court, by virtue of being outscored, then how can you possibly justify that that player had a positive impact on the game?

youre either an idiot. or an incredibly clever troll. but im betting on the former

[Boomersgold]

That's fine and all, but it doesn't mean you have to bring that terrible take on here. It's not like we're comparing to Bonner to Splitter. It's Patty to Nando. Both have had the opportunity to take up the backup PG and haven't been impressive enough to do it. For the record, I'm a Patty fan myself but I'm also very critical of him as well as I am with Nando. I'm secretly rooting for Patty myself, but I'm not gonna be a blind homer and bring up :cry But he plays better with Manu. He's the best 3 pt shooter on the team :cry anytime Nando has an impressive game.

Trust me, I'm just as critical of Patty as everyone else on here. Every time he makes the bad pass, misses a wide open three, turns the ball over, etc, etc, I'll negatively criticize him for it because I know that it lowers his chances of winning that backup spot. Bringing up the fact that he plays better with Manu, and that he's a better three point shooter than De Colo (I've never said that he's the best three point shooter on the team) isn't being a "blind homer" as they are proven facts. Timvp's playing pair analysis shows that out of all the backup pgs on the team, the Spurs generate the largest point differential per 100 possessions when Manu plays with Patty. As for their three point shooting, De Colo may slightly have a higher percentage (by 0.6%), but factor in the fact that Patty's played 156 minutes less than De Colo and that he still has 17 more threes than DC, and you can easily say that Mills is the better shooter of the two.

The reason why you don't see me criticizing Patty near as much as De Colo is simply because De Colo's been given much more meaningful minutes than Patty. There isn't any need to bring down Patty (or anyone else for that matter) if he plays poorly in a minute of garbage time.

[skulls138]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I see Griffin really struggled against Splitter's D..hesitant to shoot at times, well I will watch the replay again..Yeah, Griffin pump faked a jumper to drive but Splitter didnt bite so Griffin had no choice but to shoot and Splitter may have got a hand on it. Great D.

[superjames1992]

Honestly, the Hero played awful defense and shot 3-10 from the field, per par. I don't understand how he got an A-. More like a C, tbh.

I mean, I guess it's all relative, but he still played pretty poorly, tbh.