Quick Grades: Spurs @ Warriors - Round 2, Game 3

[timvp]

Tim Duncan A-
Extremely steady throughout. Duncan appeared to be over his illness because he was moving much better, which especially helped him on D. His increased mobility allowed the Spurs to rotate properly and scramble less -- and that made a world of difference. On offense, he hesitated at times but other than that I don't have a beef with him. Duncan always seemed to be ready with an answer when the Spurs needed it. Well done.

Manu Ginobili B
Sure, we would have all loved for Ginobili to have hit more three-pointers -- but other than that, I don't have much complaints. He didn't score in the first half but he also wasn't a liability thanks to solid D and wise decisions. He got going more in the second half and authored key plays. He can play better but the Spurs can survive as long as he's healthy and playing smart.

Tony Parker A
That first half was epic. Honestly, it was probably a season-saving type of performance. Parker took the air out of the building and refused to let the Warriors sustain momentum. He ran out of gas a bit in the second half but he continued to attack. Very strong game on both ends -- and it couldn't have come at a better time. Let's hope he's healthy and ready to go for Sunday.

Kawhi Leonard B+
While Leonard had a few blatant mistakes on both ends, all in all he was extremely stout. Offensively, he was unsure of himself at times but he ended up with a very efficient statline. Defensively, he was assigned the task of slowing down Thompson and he succeeded.

Danny Green A+
That was by far the best defensive game I've ever seen Green play. And since Bowen retired, it might be the best perimeter defensive performance in a Spurs uniform. He was focused, utilized his length perfectly and seemingly never took a wrong step. I can't stress enough how impressed I was with his D.

Tiago Splitter D+
I was happy to see Splitter in the starting lineup again … but the Spurs need more from him than he supplied tonight. Overall, he was just too soft. He was particularly pliable when he was involved in a battle for a contested rebounds. He was bad at holding his position and just generally played weakly. Hopefully Pop keeps going with Splitter but the Brazilian needs to start showing some semblance of a backbone.

Boris Diaw B+
Diaw passed up a few shots but he also made plays at times when the Spurs were struggling to find mismatches. In fact, at times he was as demonstrative as he's been all season. I loved seeing that from him. When he attacks, he's a damn good offensive weapon. That said, there were other times where he simply floated out there and didn't do much.

Gary Neal B
He scored only two points in 10 minutes -- but I was pleased Neal's performance. He didn't hog the ball at all, played palatable defense and remained within the framework of what the Spurs were trying to do. This is how I want him to play when he's not getting clean looks. Play smart, create a bit off the dribble and wait for your moment.

Cory Joseph B+
Joseph didn't play much but this was definitely a bounce-back performance for the sophomore. He was successful on the defensive end for the first time this series. He got back to being a pest in loose ball situations, which is very valuable against a pesky team like Golden State. On offense, Joseph pushing the pace really helps the second unit find early-offense scoring opportunities.

Matt Bonner D-
Yeah, no, that first round magic against the Lakers is gone. It's back to typical playoff Bonner, unfortunately. I really don't know a reason why he should play again this series. Tonight, he didn't shoot a couple open shots. On the other end, he got manhandled by a crippled David Lee. Yeah, no, no, no, no.

Pop A-
Other than going to Bonner, I really liked how Pop coached this game. Starting Splitter was absolutely the right call. Pushing players to their maximum minute threshold had to be done because this was the most winnable of the road games in the series. Great job going back to basics -- and stay on this track, please.

[benstanfield]

:lol They show a few Green infographics on the tube and suddenly he's the next Bruce Bowen.

[siraulo23]

Awesome d by the spurs

kawhi defended thompson well, green played curry nearly flawless and joseph stayed in front of jack and wouldnt let him shoot his signature mid range j

Great gutsy win by the spurs
Hopefully tp is fine and his new injury isnt too serious

[Brunodf]

Too high: Tony/Green/Neal/Pop
Too low: Splitter/Diaw

[spurraider21]

Boris Diaw B+
Diaw passed up a few shots but he also made plays at times when the Spurs were struggling to find mismatches. In fact, at times he was as demonstrative as he's been all season. I loved seeing that from him. When he attacks, he's a damn good offensive weapon. That said, there were other times where he simply floated out there and didn't do much.

:deadhorse

[HI-FI]

thanks for grades.

Green was a badass tonight. He was so in Curry's head, he caused him to screw up his ankle again.

What an improvement for Danny.

CoJo was fantastic on Jack as well. Just an old school, killer Defensive performance from the Spurs.

[TheyCallMePro]

I thought Splitter was god-awful. Diaw was solid. Green and Leonard played excellent defensively, but very mediocre on offense. Neither has confidence with the ball in their hands to shoot unless they're wide open. This is the playoffs. You get an inch and you need to have the confidence to take the shot. Parker was amazing, but he played isolation ball way too much and was able to get away with it because his shots were going in. Duncan was solid. Neal wasn't there. Bonner was dreadful. Ginobi was once again inconsistent but played well defensively and came up big in small spurts.

[Man In Black]

I will say having Splitter back in meant Tim could leave the paint a bit and stretch closer to the 3 point line. When it was 4 smalls and Tim, Tim wouldn't leave and open 3 for either Curry or Thompson. Tiago's play does need to improve but not much more other than challenging for rebounds and continuing with smart position D.

[J.T.]

Green was a badass tonight. He was so in Curry's head, he caused him to screw up his ankle again.


Curry rolling his ankle is his own damn fault. That's what happens when your go-to move is trying to cross over your opponent at the 3-point line to make space. And if Curry doesn't get you the first time he just brings it back out and tries to do it again. Green did a good job of not letting Curry create enough space to launch a 3, but that ankle roll is 100% Curry. He's like a pitcher who only has a fastball and a slider.

[MR-Clutch]

Great game. This board might be the most bi-polar forum I've ever been too. Coming here made it feel like the series was 3-1 them. This is a relief, now we won't have to deal cliff jumpers and flag wavers for the next day and a half. 2 things that have me frustrated this series is Duncan's hesitation on his jumpshot, and the Spurs inability to exploit the mismatch of a point guard guarding Leonard. These 2 nuisances have me yelling at the TV every time they happen, man is it frustrating. Can't say enough about Greens, Joseph's and Leonard's D. Manu is looking like the Manu we saw the last month of the regular season, but like timvp said, as long as he isn't making awful decisions, he isn't a liability. I loved, absolutely loved Diaw taking it to that scrub Draymond Green, who's been playing lights out on us. Great win, it'll be nice visiting this board without the negativity, for at least a day and a half.

[Darius McCrary]

Pop using Bonner makes his grade B at best

But Thank you for finally giving us some game thoughts

[rjv]

maybe pop can just give bonners minutes.to tmac. it couldn't be any worse.

[Sean Cagney]

Too high: Tony/Green/Neal/Pop
Too low: Splitter/Diaw
How the hell is Tony not a A tonight? TELL ME?????????? The rest okay, but Tony was a key tonight to this.
maybe pop can just give bonners minutes.to tmac. it couldn't be any worse.

YEAH YOU WOULD FIGURE! I mean damn you would figure but Pop will continue to play his love!

[Brunodf]

How the hell is Tony not a A tonight? TELL ME?????????? The rest okay, but Tony was a key tonight to this.

I love Tony, but he was trying to do too much in the 3rd and almost shot us out of the game.
Also he didn't get his teammates involved.

[SanDiegoSpursFan]

Diaw really punished the Warriors when they tried to go small in the first half.

Bonner is really bad at dealing with intense matchups/raising his intensity. He looked really lost, it took him forever to rotate.

[Sean Cagney]

I love Tony, but he was trying to do too much in the 3rd and almost shot us out of the game.
Also he didn't get his teammates involved.

He gave us the lead in the first half, if not for him or maybe Tim we were toast in the first half! He is the reason we had that 9 pt lead at the HALF! OUR ROLE PLAYERS were basically doing nothing! Diaw a little bit but we needed all Tonys 25 to have that lead, period. He played his little butt off tonight, he gets and A! SIDES SOME LITTLE flaws here or there. Why pass to a teammate when they are not making a shot at all? YES, Neal, BONNER and Manu etc. I am talking about.

[99 Problems]

Tech on TD was just shite. Really liked CJ Deee on JJack.

[Brunodf]

He gave us the lead in the first half, if not for him or maybe Tim we were toast in the first half! He is the reason we had that 9 pt lead at the HALF! OUR ROLE PLAYERS were basically doing nothing! Diaw a little bit but we needed all Tonys 25 to have that lead, period. He played his little butt off tonight, he gets and A! SIDES SOME LITTLE flaws here or there. Why pass to a teammate when they are not making a shot at all? YES, Neal, BONNER and Manu etc. I am talking about.
Still bro, his 1st half was A+ but the second wasn't good and if his teammates aren't shooting, its his fault, he is the playmaker.

[Sean Cagney]

Still bro, his 1st half was A+ but the second wasn't good and if his teammates aren't shooting, its his fault, he is the playmaker.

I give him an A for this game, you might not I see so we disagree! He was slowed down because he was tired as hell for carrying the team while most did not step up and help! I don't blame him for that there. Tim stepped up, Diaw for a stretch and Manu for a few mins, other than that it was just a two man show! Tim and Tony! I give both of them an A.
Tech on TD was just shite. Really liked CJ Deee on JJack.

Yeah JJack stopped going off then! I noticed in the 4th that bald F could hardly get a shot off! The more you mentioned it the more I think he played excellent D on him and Green on Curry! Now if this would work every game!

[pikkiwoki]

Curry rolling his ankle is his own damn fault. That's what happens when your go-to move is trying to cross over your opponent at the 3-point line to make space. And if Curry doesn't get you the first time he just brings it back out and tries to do it again. Green did a good job of not letting Curry create enough space to launch a 3, but that ankle roll is 100% Curry. He's like a pitcher who only has a fastball and a slider.

Yeah like Mariano Rivera

[Brunodf]

I give him an A for this game, you might not I see so we disagree! He was slowed down because he was tired as hell for carrying the team while most did not step up and help! I don't blame him for that there. Tim stepped up, Diaw for a stretch and Manu for a few mins, other than that it was just a two man show! Tim and Tony! I give both of them an A.

Fair enough...Also Tony bailed out some terrible lineups(Diaw at C+Neal, Bonner/Timmy frontcourt)...

[Austin_Toros]

Disappointing that Splitter didn't give more and I'm think it should be expected of him, tbh. At the least he should be playing stronger and challenging rebounds more.

[polandprzem]

You've got low expectation for Neal.
Why is that?

He should be a main contriubutor on offense from the bench besides Manu.

[Sean Cagney]

Fair enough...Also Tony bailed out some terrible lineups(Diaw at C+Neal, Bonner/Timmy frontcourt)...

Bonner and Neal in there is a horrible anything right now man hahahahahh :(

[polandprzem]

btw.\\

Pop did a great job of giving Parker some extra minutes on the bench. Shorter bursts worked. Also Manu as a PG and then with TP on the florr worked well.
Another thing was timeouts. Pop never let Warriors to get deadly rhythm.
More Diaw and Splitt was a must.

Tiago will have much better next game IMO. His mistakes in the 4th got me flipped a bit but other then that I feel comfortable to paly him big minutes the next game.
As for Bonner there is a chance he will make some bombs. Give him a shot doing that if he ofcourse gonna produce some D.

[alamo50]

Tiago Splitter D+
I was happy to see Splitter in the starting lineup again … but the Spurs need more from him than he supplied tonight. Overall, he was just too soft. He was particularly pliable when he was involved in a battle for a contested rebounds. He was bad at holding his position and just generally played weakly. Hopefully Pop keeps going with Splitter but the Brazilian needs to start showing some semblance of a backbone. .

Why keep going with Tiago?
He ain't doing his rebounding job.
I much rather see Blair getting a chance. He'll outhussle everybody.

[100%duncan]

Bonner should be fucking F- tbh :lol

[Brunodf]

Why keep going with Tiago?
He ain't doing his rebounding job.
I much rather see Blair getting a chance. He'll outhussle everybody.
:lmaoThis guy missed games 1/2 and don't know how the Spurs play with/without bigs.
Splitter set great screens/plays smart/is quick enough to guard smaller players/good help D/good passing/
Even if he couldn't grab one or two rebounds or score, he is much better than Blair.

[Man In Black]

Why Tiago?

For the first eight quarters of this series, the Warriors had held the Spurs to under 50% shooting. Against a hyper-efficient, execution-based team like the Spurs, that’s a huge accomplishment. In Game 3, that string ended. The Spurs shot 65% in the first quarter, building a lead that they never relinquished. Tony Parker will get the headlines — he was 6-8 in the quarter for 13 points — but he was getting better looks thanks to the Spurs’ system. Tiago Splitter’s return to the starting line-up gave San Antonio another body to set picks. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry ended up going under a lot of them early in the game, and were badly burned in the process. Jarrett Jack often ran smack into them, leaving his man wide open for an unobstructed run to the basket. By the time some of the Warriors ramped up their defensive intensity and started fighting and chasing the way they had in San Antonio, the Spurs’ lead had already risen to double digits. Once the Spurs have a lead, they know how to keep it.

[polandprzem]

:lmaoThis guy missed games 1/2 and don't know how the Spurs play with/without bigs.
Splitter set great screens/plays smart/is quick enough to guard smaller players/good help D/good passing/
Even if he couldn't grab one or two rebounds or score, he is much better than Blair.

tbh tbh

[alamo50]

I didn't see any of the above.
6"11 dude got 4 points, 4 rebounds (only 1 offensive), 4 fouls, 2 turnovers and 0 blocks.
I understand the comfort level with him starting, but Blair deserves minutes over Tiago.

[Stabula]

Tiago played like a flacid dick but honestly anyone 7 feet tall is automatically better than Blair.

[blkroadrunners]

I didn't see any of the above.
6"11 dude got 4 points, 4 rebounds (only 1 offensive), 4 fouls, 2 turnovers and 0 blocks.
I understand the comfort level with him starting, but Blair deserves minutes over Tiago.

To be fair, Splitter is still trying to find his way into the rotation after missing over a week.

Blair had opportunities in Gm 1 and blew it.

[polandprzem]

Why Blair deserves anything at this point?
Tiago is our startuing center after a 'severe' :p injury he is back and trying to get into playoff rhythm.
I mean really Blair is being screwed on D and is not anywhere near a passer Tiago is.

[baseline bum]

Loved Green's performance tonight in an absolutely critical game to get. I wonder what adjustments Mark Jackson will make to get Curry easier looks, or if it'll even matter if his ankle is still hurt. Man, the one time a quick turnaround can really benefit the Spurs in a playoff game. :tu

[Baynes]

Green deserves S lol.

CoJo also deserves a higher grade. A- atleast.

[Johnny RIngo]

B- is more acceptable for Manu.

And how the hell did Bonner receive the same letter grade as Tiago? Splitter sucked but at least he impacted the game. Bonner was a zero across the board. We might as well have been playing 4 vs 5 anytime he was on the court. If Bonner never starts game 2, we might be looking at a sweep right now.

[polandprzem]

Hey Johnny grades are on expectations.
Obvious.

[callo1]

Manu played poorly. He falls in love with the three ball far too often. Had Manu really found his game, it could easily have been a 20 point game.

[Capt Bringdown]

Why Blair deserves anything at this point?
Tiago is our startuing center after a 'severe' :p injury he is back and trying to get into playoff rhythm.
I mean really Blair is being screwed on D and is not anywhere near a passer Tiago is.

Agreed. I'm disappointed in Splitter, but he's miles better than Blair.

[Uriel]

Pop A-
Other than going to Bonner, I really liked how Pop coached this game. Starting Splitter was absolutely the right call. Pushing players to their maximum minute threshold had to be done because this was the most winnable of the road games in the series. Great job going back to basics -- and stay on this track, please.
With Curry's sprained ankle? Not anymore. Plus, unlike after Game 1, I thought the Warriors were genuinely demoralized after this loss.

[jesterbobman]

Through 3 Games, Kawhi has averaged 14.7 points, 10 rebounds, 2 Assists and a steal, While averaging 1 Turnover per game and shooting 59%.

Are you not entertained?


I get his free throw shooting has been off, and people want him to be more involved overall, but those stats are star caliber.

[rmt]

The best thing about the offense (other than TP's shooting) was the multiple screens set to get him free. The big bodies of TD, Splitter and Diaw help with that. Welcome back, tall-ball. When GS adjusts and plays their bigger players, that's to SAS' advantage. I'll go with TD, Splitter, Diaw over Bogut, Lee and whoever (Landry, Ez, Green).

[Brazil]

Great win ! We needed that.
tp first half is absolutely key for this serie.
i loved to see Duncan moving well, d is so much easier for everybody when he is healthy.
hats off to green.

oh and bogut is a bad boy

[dunkman]

After barely surviving G1 and losing G2, had the impression the Warriors are the better team. Tbh, its good to see Pop make some adjustments and motivate the players. This game on road was very complicated to win, and its good to see the Spurs win. With Tim and Tony playing all-NBA ball, Kawhi being a borderline all-star, Manu still being good and a number of good role players, the Spurs have a shot this season. It's great to see Diaw playing well, hopefully Splitter will show up too at some point. It's also good to see Cory doing well in playoffs too, there is a chance he will be a good player.

[superjames1992]

I love Tony, but he was trying to do too much in the 3rd and almost shot us out of the game.
Also he didn't get his teammates involved.
Yeah, he had a bad shooting second half, but at the same time his first half was too good not to give him an A, IMO, tbh. If he doesn't go off, the Spurs are probably down at halftime, per par.

[superjames1992]

I didn't see any of the above.
6"11 dude got 4 points, 4 rebounds (only 1 offensive), 4 fouls, 2 turnovers and 0 blocks.
I understand the comfort level with him starting, but Blair deserves minutes over Tiago.
Not sure how you come to this conclusion, tbh... :downspin:

[pgardn]

You've got low expectation for Neal.
Why is that?

He should be a main contriubutor on offense from the bench besides Manu.

Putting him on the floor for offense also means he has to play defense. Exactly who on GS can he cover?

[polandprzem]

What's funny it's Tony and Danny were -6 on +/- stats :D

[polandprzem]

Putting him on the floor for offense also means he has to play defense. Exactly who on GS can he cover?

That was towards timvp . I mean Neal got a B grade actually for what?
He did not contribute much.


btw. I need to watch this game again tbh

[John B]

Why keep going with Tiago?
He ain't doing his rebounding job.
I much rather see Blair getting a chance. He'll outhussle everybody.
No Blair please. We won this game because we didn't play smallball like the first two games. Splitter established the height from the very first rebound. I don't think he played that bad, except for that horrific pass to Green that went all the way to 5th row, and doubling on a 3pt player that caused an and-1 dunk, that got him yanked out by Pops. No. I think we should keep this line-up and continue to impose our height. Diaw did great manhandling his man when he decided to attack the rim. We want more of that.

[John B]

After barely surviving G1 and losing G2, had the impression the Warriors are the better team. Tbh, its good to see Pop make some adjustments and motivate the players. This game on road was very complicated to win, and its good to see the Spurs win. With Tim and Tony playing all-NBA ball, Kawhi being a borderline all-star, Manu still being good and a number of good role players, the Spurs have a shot this season. It's great to see Diaw playing well, hopefully Splitter will show up too at some point. It's also good to see Cory doing well in playoffs too, there is a chance he will be a good player.
It's not really complicated at all. Spurs played Spurs basketball last night like we were playing all season. Playing smallball the first 2 games was partly due to Duncan and Splitter not in their 100%. And our guys had to scramble because of that. Last night our perimeter defense was able to focus and close in on their guys and not allowed open 3's. We could have used Baynes on game two to boxout Bogut or just an interior presence and we could be seating on 3 wins. But hell that lost woke us up to play playoff style D, which is maybe what we needed after the Laker sweep.

[lil'mo]

Tony Parker A
That first half was epic. Honestly, it was probably a season-saving type of performance. Parker took the air out of the building and refused to let the Warriors sustain momentum. He ran out of gas a bit in the second half but he continued to attack. Very strong game on both ends -- and it couldn't have come at a better time. Let's hope he's healthy and ready to go for

:tu They didn't get to use that gay ass sound level meter nearly as much as they wanted to :lol

[vander]

Hmm, all those good grades + curry not hitting his shots + curry rolling his ankle, and the spurs only win by 10?

[rmt]

It's not really complicated at all. Spurs played Spurs basketball last night like we were playing all season. Playing smallball the first 2 games was partly due to Duncan and Splitter not in their 100%. And our guys had to scramble because of that. Last night our perimeter defense was able to focus and close in on their guys and not allowed open 3's. We could have used Baynes on game two to boxout Bogut or just an interior presence and we could be seating on 3 wins. But hell that lost woke us up to play playoff style D, which is maybe what we needed after the Laker sweep.

Doesn't this series remind you of SAS vs NOH - Duncan sick the 1st 2 games, plays poorly, comes back. Hopefully the Spurs win again (hopefully not in 7 as vs NOH).

[ginobilized]

Thanks again, Timvp!

That was a classic Spurs style win. It sure was great to see a return to the mean shooting wise for Golden State and some hard-nosed D by the Spurs.
If the Spurs can rally for Sunday, there's a strong chance to break the Warriors back.

[silverblackfan]

Spurs played their game last night and Pop found the right match-ups on defense. It seems that a healthy Tim Duncan IS THE SECRET! Once he started manning the paint with non flu-like speed and agility, the perimeter defense improved a lot. Tiago's size helped along with Diaw playing a pretty nice substitution pattern.

It will be interesting to see Mark Jackson's adjustment to the excellent D by Green, Leonard, and Joseph. Given that he plays pretty much an 8 man team, he does not have a lot of options. Especially if Curry is hurt and Lee is not recovered.

[Raven]

i love green every day more, he's D is very underrated here because it doesn't stand out much in our system. He's more of a man marker than a team defender but he's improvement is obvious and i'm glad we have him.

[G-Nob]

:tu They didn't get to use that gay ass sound level meter nearly as much as they wanted to :lol

Another dumb ESPN idea that blew up in their face.

Pop has to take Tony off Curry early in the game. Part of the reason he's always gassed in the 4th quarter.

[mingus]

I think Cojo has a chance to be a Lindsey Hunter type player on the defensive end. His foot speed and anticipation were impressive.

Going back to last year I said the biggest reason the Spurs lost to OKC was because Tony Parker wasn't taking mid range shots they were giving him. Last night he showed when he takes them there's literally nothing you can do to guard him. Spurs can tinker and adjust a lot of things but none if it really matters if Tony isn't taking what the defense is giving him.

[Mark in Austin]

It simply came down to the Spurs playing better man on man defense - all you can do against a jumpshooting team that can't be forced baseline. Green on Curry and Kawhi on Thompson was the only logical play Pop had. Thank the basketball gods it worked. :tu

[EVAY]

The thing I liked best about what Pop did in this game was how he changed the minutes played by the big three (well, along with starting Splitter and playing Diaw more than in game 2). Rather than his normal rotation of having Tim and Tony play all of one quarter and then rest for half or more of the next, he pulled Tony off and on more frequently, giving him short rests and then putting him back in. I think this kept Tony from getting exhausted and losing his effectiveness at the end of a quarter and also kept the Warriors unable to figure exactly when he was going to be in and when he wasn't it. It thought it was just a great great move. Hope he keeps it up. He also put Duncan back in in the 4th earlier than usual, and it kept GS from gaining momentum after Splitters disastrous first two minutes of two turnovers followed immediately by a foul on the other end.

Pop being really really flexible. wow!!

[thOOdee]

:tu They didn't get to use that gay ass sound level meter nearly as much as they wanted to :lol

damn...that shit was annoying.

[BlackSilver]

Tiago Splitter D+
I was happy to see Splitter in the starting lineup again … but the Spurs need more from him than he supplied tonight. Overall, he was just too soft. He was particularly pliable when he was involved in a battle for a contested rebounds. He was bad at holding his position and just generally played weakly. Hopefully Pop keeps going with Splitter but the Brazilian needs to start showing some semblance of a backbone.


Disagree on Tiago's grade. Yes, he could've done a lot of things better, but his biggest contributions were how he set picks in the Pick and Roll and how he correctly spaced the floor. You could tell Tony was glad to have him back because suddenly the starters felt comfortable. That and the fact that GS had to start a big and they were all exposed by Tony when he kept waving off TD and calling Tiago over for the PnR.

The other thing I really liked was Diaw's play. Actually, there was one sequence where he did the PnR with TD that was just beautiful. His ball handling and shooting have no answer in GS.

Also, I'm as big a Manu fan as anyone, but that was a turd performance.

[pgardn]

That was towards timvp (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=8) . I mean Neal got a B grade actually for what?
He did not contribute much.


btw. I need to watch this game again tbh

Yes it was.

For what he did not do.
He did not dribble the ball wildly at times. Neal did not experience a complete blow by.

So as you stated, which I believe is an excellent observation, Parker is effective in bursts, he can't be made to go long periods of time against this group. Neal gets a B as a body.

[polandprzem]

Yes it was.

For what he did not do.
He did not dribble the ball wildly at times. Neal did not experience a complete blow by.

So as you stated, which I believe is an excellent observation, Parker is effective in bursts, he can't be made to go long periods of time against this group. Neal gets a B as a body. hITTING 3 TREY WOULD MAKE A GRADE A+ then? huh

:wtf

[dbreiden83080]

I thought Tim's D was amazing last night. He moved so well on his rotations challenged at the rim and as usual grabbed big rebounds. 37 years old folks.. Amazing..

[BackHome]

Splitter stunk up the place and he played worse then any D-League player come out and throwing the ball five feet over a players hands...Geez...Would rather give Baynes a chance at breaking some breast bones out there with some crushing picks.

[bklynspursfan]

333265587910352896

[Budkin]

:lol They show a few Green infographics on the tube and suddenly he's the next Bruce Bowen.

Not Bowen level but damn you can tell he worked his ass off in practice and it showed. Very proud of the guy.

[carina_gino20]

I agree that Tiago played too soft this game but before the game, he had only played 9 mins in this series. He's shown before that he's a quick learner. I hope Pop doesn't over-analyze this. Tiago should be given another chance. Pop needs to go to TD, Tiago, and Diaw. BonBon should see time this series only to hack Bogut.

[EricB]

Why keep going with Tiago?
He ain't doing his rebounding job.
I much rather see Blair getting a chance. He'll outhussle everybody.


No, just no. No. God. No.

[pgardn]

hITTING 3 TREY WOULD MAKE A GRADE A+ then? huh

:wtf

Yeah I guess.

What if he actually played good D and stole the ball from Curry?
The grading scale would have to change. Give him an alpha + ...

[DMFG]

Curry probably manages to roll his ankle laying in bed.

[SenorSpur]

Great writeup! Couldn't agree more with the grades - especially as they pertain to both Splitter and Bonner.

Tiago was beyond soft. He was directly responsible for several of the additional offensive rebounds the Warriors got because he fails seek out an opposing body and box their ass out. For a bigman, this fundamental should be as natural brushing one's teeth in the morning.

As for Bonner, there isn't much else to add. When a big man with a torn hip-flexor is kicking your ass all over the court, in a very short span, then you know you're a wus. I agree that he shouldn't see the court anymore this series. I wish Pop would call Baynes' number. With his willingness to bang and be aggressive, at least, he would help the Spurs limit the Warriors to one shot.

I'd be remiss not to mention the absolute scorchng performance by Parker.

[John B]

Doesn't this series remind you of SAS vs NOH - Duncan sick the 1st 2 games, plays poorly, comes back. Hopefully the Spurs win again (hopefully not in 7 as vs NOH).
In all championship years Spurs lost a game at home at early rounds, which woke them up. Just needed to taste that blood to awaken the beast.

[Manufan909]

Did anyone think Tiago was robbed of at least one block last night? The "foul" on Landry wasn't replayed so idk if that was a good call, but that 2nd block attempt looked clean to me. They only replayed that play from one angle, but it still looked clean from my rose-colored glasses.

Also, TD, TP, Diaw, Green and Leonard were fucking fantastic. I knew Green was capable of that level of defense, but I thought those screens would negatively affect him much more than they did. And Leonard needs more shots!!! Tim and Tony were both excellent and efficient, but someone outside of the Big 3 needs to take 10 shots in Game 4, and Leonard has the best offensive game so he needs to be the one. If Splitter goes off and hits 6 of 10 I'd be ecstatic, but Leonard should probably be the one with more shot attempts. Or Neal if he gets hot and plays a good 20-25 minutes.

[Gagnrath]

Tim Duncan A-
Extremely steady throughout. Duncan appeared to be over his illness because he was moving much better, which especially helped him on D. His increased mobility allowed the Spurs to rotate properly and scramble less -- and that made a world of difference. On offense, he hesitated at times but other than that I don't have a beef with him. Duncan always seemed to be ready with an answer when the Spurs needed it. Well done.

Manu Ginobili B
Sure, we would have all loved for Ginobili to have hit more three-pointers -- but other than that, I don't have much complaints. He didn't score in the first half but he also wasn't a liability thanks to solid D and wise decisions. He got going more in the second half and authored key plays. He can play better but the Spurs can survive as long as he's healthy and playing smart.

Tony Parker A
That first half was epic. Honestly, it was probably a season-saving type of performance. Parker took the air out of the building and refused to let the Warriors sustain momentum. He ran out of gas a bit in the second half but he continued to attack. Very strong game on both ends -- and it couldn't have come at a better time. Let's hope he's healthy and ready to go for Sunday.

Kawhi Leonard B+
While Leonard had a few blatant mistakes on both ends, all in all he was extremely stout. Offensively, he was unsure of himself at times but he ended up with a very efficient statline. Defensively, he was assigned the task of slowing down Thompson and he succeeded.

Danny Green A+
That was by far the best defensive game I've ever seen Green play. And since Bowen retired, it might be the best perimeter defensive performance in a Spurs uniform. He was focused, utilized his length perfectly and seemingly never took a wrong step. I can't stress enough how impressed I was with his D.

Tiago Splitter D+
I was happy to see Splitter in the starting lineup again … but the Spurs need more from him than he supplied tonight. Overall, he was just too soft. He was particularly pliable when he was involved in a battle for a contested rebounds. He was bad at holding his position and just generally played weakly. Hopefully Pop keeps going with Splitter but the Brazilian needs to start showing some semblance of a backbone.

Boris Diaw B+
Diaw passed up a few shots but he also made plays at times when the Spurs were struggling to find mismatches. In fact, at times he was as demonstrative as he's been all season. I loved seeing that from him. When he attacks, he's a damn good offensive weapon. That said, there were other times where he simply floated out there and didn't do much.

Gary Neal B
He scored only two points in 10 minutes -- but I was pleased Neal's performance. He didn't hog the ball at all, played palatable defense and remained within the framework of what the Spurs were trying to do. This is how I want him to play when he's not getting clean looks. Play smart, create a bit off the dribble and wait for your moment.

Cory Joseph B+
Joseph didn't play much but this was definitely a bounce-back performance for the sophomore. He was successful on the defensive end for the first time this series. He got back to being a pest in loose ball situations, which is very valuable against a pesky team like Golden State. On offense, Joseph pushing the pace really helps the second unit find early-offense scoring opportunities.

Matt Bonner D-
Yeah, no, that first round magic against the Lakers is gone. It's back to typical playoff Bonner, unfortunately. I really don't know a reason why he should play again this series. Tonight, he didn't shoot a couple open shots. On the other end, he got manhandled by a crippled David Lee. Yeah, no, no, no, no.

Pop A-
Other than going to Bonner, I really liked how Pop coached this game. Starting Splitter was absolutely the right call. Pushing players to their maximum minute threshold had to be done because this was the most winnable of the road games in the series. Great job going back to basics -- and stay on this track, please.


Wow we have lowered the standard a bit from 18 months ago for Manu,

I would lower Neal to a b- not because he was bad he had a very good defensive effort for him and for him, his shot selection and ball movement were very good. That said he is also mainly there to score, and he didn't. So an above average grade but not far above average.

I'd raise A- Diaw he was aggressive in timely possessions and he is just back from injury.

Drop Green to a flat A he was fairly passive on offense, I know he was busy chasing curry but for me in order to get an a+ you have to be good on both ends of the floor.

[snickles]

Did anyone think Tiago was robbed of at least one block last night? The "foul" on Landry wasn't replayed so idk if that was a good call, but that 2nd block attempt looked clean to me. They only replayed that play from one angle, but it still looked clean from my rose-colored glasses.


if its the one i'm thinking of, it was clean. i was DVRing the game, and since a friend of mine insists that GS is getting screwed by the refs, i was going back and looking at all the questionable calls. all ball, no body contact. should have been no foul.

[99 Problems]

Splitter did a job for Pop. I saw him jump once only. He did the job for Pop on one ankle. Find it hard to believe the take by so many fans.

[EricB]

Splitter did a job for Pop. I saw him jump once only. He did the job for Pop on one ankle. Find it hard to believe the take by so many fans.


Yeah he's still not close to 100% but fans want him out there for 35 mins.

[Chinook]

Splitter needs to play better. It doesn't matter if he's hurt; there're no excuses in the playoffs. He doesn't have to pretend he's healthy, but he should leave it all on the court every game.

[BackHome]

Damn if your hurt to the point where you can't get a rebound or pass a ball to your own player then you probably shouldn't be playing. Oh and I am a fan of Splitter but he played scarred and I did not see one ounce of him being aggressive at least try to look tough throw a snarl out there..lol

[ace3g]

not sure why NBA.com stopped posting these after first round, but I updated it

http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/8416/spursplayoffs2013update.jpg

[Brunodf]

Damn if your hurt to the point where you can't get a rebound or pass a ball to your own player then you probably shouldn't be playing. Oh and I am a fan of Splitter but he played scarred and I did not see one ounce of him being aggressive at least try to look tough throw a snarl out there..lol
He was moving well, at some point he ended up guarding Jack and Jack couldn't drive by him.
Anyway it's the playoffs, if the player can walk he should play.

[jimbo]

I think Tiago is learning too much from Diaw. Dude was just looking to pass it as soon as he got in the paint. I can only think of once where he had 1 on 1 coverage and went for it. I think he missed, but it was still something.

Those passes were just bad too.

[skulls138]

I think Tiago is learning too much from Diaw. Dude was just looking to pass it as soon as he got in the paint. I can only think of once where he had 1 on 1 coverage and went for it. I think he missed, but it was still something.

Those passes were just bad too.Splitter was already a good passer, finding the open shooter as he was driving. I think Tiago is going to have a bounce back game in game 4.

[therealtruth]

He's probably still a little hurt and somewhat rusty. Just when he was getting his rhythm at the end of the Lakers series is when he got hurt. Yet he's 7 foot and when he starts he gives the team confidence.