Game 26 Grades: Spurs @ Warriors

[Bruno]

A game like that couldn't go without some kind of gales grades, so here is my try:

A b2b, the 7th game in 10 days, on the road, against a good team and without Parker, Duncan and Ginobili = no problem. Like a year ago against Miami, Spurs "bench" showed a lot of poise. The difference this year was a win and $250K more in Holt's pocket.

Boxscore: http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/san-antonio-spurs-golden-state-warriors-2013121909/

Kawhi Leonard: A
Kawhi Leonard was the one that bring back Spurs in the game while they were down by 14 after 15 minutes played. In the final 9 minutes of the second quarter he scored 14 points by attacking the basket and with a nice midrange game. His defense was good except for a couple of cuts to the basket from Klay Thompson. His 10 rebounds were also great and allowed Spurs not to be too dominated in that area with Duncan sitting.

Boris Diaw: C+
Diaw delivered in clutch time but the rest of his game was more so-so. His offensive game in the post was nice and his passing really helped Spurs in a game were there offense was limited. However, his defense and rebounding were atrocious for most of the game. If Lee had a monster game, it was because of Diaw. Diaw was just a traffic cone and didn't move at all his feet. His defensive activity level was abnormally low. 3 rebounds in 32 minutes is way too little.
You had to wonder in what physical shape Diaw was for that game. He is 31 years old, not in great shape, has played all this summer and was playing his 7th game in 10 days.

Aron Baynes: D-
After 2 good games against Utah and Toronto, this game could have been Baynes opportunity to show Pop he deserved more playing time and he just failed. He was a train wreck offensively and nothing special defensively. He had the wrong mindset at wanting to force the issue, while he clearly hasn't the level to do so, instead of letting the game comes to him. Understanding your role and your limitations is a key part to stick in the NBA when you aren't that talented.

Patrick Mills: A+
Our little Australian deserves tons of props for how he is playing this year. Against Warriors, these props are especially deserved.
Offensively, it was the classical good Mills. A good scorer but with little playmaking skills. Defense is the area where he should to be congratulated. With his lack of size, he will never be a great defender and he was sometimes outmatch by Curry, but he makes the best of what he has. The offensive foul drawn on Curry in the 4th quarter was especially big. He is now so pesky and active. The weight loss and the pride he now takes to defend have turned him into an annoying defender for opponents.
If he continue like that, Mills will be the second best backup PG, behind George Hill, of this last decade for Spurs.

Danny Green: C
In that kind of game, where players have to do a little more to compensate players not available, the lack of global skills of Green is even more obvious. Aside of being a great 3 point shooter and a good defender, the rest of his game is ugly. He can't dribble, make a layup or a complicate pass. He is an ultra specialized role player like Bowen was (I'm not saying he is as good as Bruce).

Marco Belinelli: A+
If Kawhi bring back Spurs in the game in the second quarter, Marco makes them believe they could win this game in the third quarter with 17 points scored. He was on fire with nice off the ball movement and a great shot selection. This shot selection and a not that bad defense makes him a so much better player than Gary Neal for Spurs.
I've been a huge fan of what Belinelli has done with Spurs this year.

Tiago Splitter: C
Since he came back from his calf injury, Tiago has lost his offensive rhythm. It was especially the case in that game where he made highly questionable choices and miss some easy baskets. He came huge offensively in the last minutes with that pass to Diaw and the tip in. Defensively, while he isn't at his pre-injury level, he is getting closer by being very physical.

Cory Joseph: D-
In the first 3 quarters, while Joseph wasn't good, he wasn't a disaster. He hit a couple of shots, played average defense but showed no playmaking skills. To start the fourth quarter, Warriors upped their defensive pressure and Joseph disappeared and nicely give the ball to them. It's so disappointing to see a young player regressing like Joseph is doing this year.

Matt Bonner: C
Matt Bonner did what Matt Bonner did. while being almost invisible on the court. He ended up with the team best +/- at +10 (tied with Mills).

Jeff Ayres: C-
In the first half, I found Ayres relatively good. He was playing way more under control than Baynes and Splitter. At least he wasn't hurting the team.
In the second half, as pointed by Reggie Miller, his defense was a disaster. He was in a no man's land defending nothing on the P&R. On a side note, it was the only good remark made during the game by Reggie, my sister is more manly than me, Miller.

Nando De Colo: C-
What a difference a year make. Last season, Nando shined in the Miami game but he showed nothing against Warriors. A missed doable layup and that's all. His future should be on a lower level NBA team or in Europe.

Tim Duncan: A+
Tim is just amazing. In his 17th season, after 4 rings, 2 MVP titles... Tim was on the bench actively cheering his teammates for a December game. Spurs' fans are so lucky to have him. Aside of the amazing player he has been, he has an amazing character. When you see what kind of assholes are most of the other great players, it's awesome.
Thank you, Tim.

Coach Pop: A+
He played the right players to win the game and had timely timeouts. A very nice coaching job.
This is the kind of game that show why Pop is the best coach in the NBA. He has created a great system and culture in San Antonio. Even when the top players are out, the team is still trying to win and is playing the right way.
The contrast with Mark Jackson was so big. His timeout talk showed on TV was just pathetic.

[FvckMavs]

Nice read, Thanks!

[ajballer4]

Missed the game unfortunately. Anywhere I can catch a full game replay?

[eDizzle20]

Thanks for taking time to do the grades Bruno. It's nice to have someone give an unbiased assessment of a game since Timvp no longer does. Great write up.

[wildbill2u]

Coach Pop deserves an A+++. It takes a lot of courage to bench your remaining members of the Big 3 when you've already faced a league fine of $250,000 last year for doing the same thing.

But to actually win this game with the bench including some scrub play by Joseph, Green and Ayers was a fucking miracle. Sure there was some luck involved, but he had those guys playing like they thought they could win--or maybe they were afraid of what Pop would do to them if they didn't produce for him when he showed that confidence in them. This was truly a case of the mason, hammering on the rock until it finally gives up and breaks.

[TXstbobcat]

Thank you Bruno!

[Prime Time]

Astounding Read :tu
Personally, I hope Baynes' performance last night will shut some Spurs fans up about how 'bad' Ayres is. Ayres is a poor player yes, but he can at least catch the damn ball while playing under control. Ayres is the kind of player that won't help your team's chemistry, but he won't absolutely ruin it (See: Richard Jefferson/Gary Neal)

Baynes on the other end is terrible. He has tiny hands, slow feet, bad rebounding instincts, doesn't have the IQ to consistently be a threat in the post, he tries to do too much (A walking foul I'd say) and due to his lack of quickness/IQ the Spurs look awkward on both ends whenever Baynes is in. I think Ayres gets too much hate, tbh.

[spurraider21]

in the 4th quarter Joseph had to back people down just to cross half-court. it was pretty ugly for an nba point guard to have to resort to that every possession

[HarlemHeat37]

^^I've been saying Baynes sucks for a while, too, but he isn't any worse than Ayres, tbh..neither of them should be in the rotation of a team with title aspirations, and I'd much rather see Bonner on the floor, as unfortunate as that is..

As Bruno said, Ayres was tolerable in the 1st half, he was under control, but like Joseph, when the Warriors increased their intensity, Ayres looked like the D-league player that he is, tbh..making mistakes like giving Curry an abundance of room when defending the pick&roll is inexcusable for a 27-year old veteran that doesn't provide any standout basketball skills, tbh..his hustle and his IQ should be his strengths, but only the former has been evident, so far..


I also agree with Bruno about Diaw, Pop should consider resting him at certain points of the season, he's essential to this team's success..

Good grades, I agree with most, nice to include Duncan, tbh..it's cool seeing Tim look even more excited than the players on the floor:lol..there are other legends in the NBA that take $48 million, salary-cap killing extensions, while downplaying their team's 10-9 record without him through the media, but I won't name names..

[Embedded]

Wow, Bruno, what a great read, thank you so much. I do think Boris Diaw could have used the night off, too, but he came through when it mattered. I credit Coach Popovich with deciding to let Corey Joseph burn some of the first half minutes to save Patty Mills some energy for the final push. This was IMHO a statement win, especially considering we had trouble with this team during the playoffs in our house WITH the big three playing! I thought that Golden State took their foot off the gas, getting cocky when they were up early in the game.

[playbonner15]

Matt Bonner: A-
Matt Bonner did what Matt Bonner did. while being almost invisible on the court. He ended up with the team best +/- at +10 (tied with Mills).

Thanks for the game grades Bruno! Matty truly is :king

[BillMc]

Good read (though a tad hard on Boris, I think). Still, many thanks and nicely done!:toast

[SpurPadre]

Why does TD get grades for the game but not Manu? They were both cheering the team on and I was at the game, Manu was doing his best Patty Mills-towel-waving impression in a few moments! He's gotta get some love for that!

[cd021]

Good read (though a tad hard on Boris, I think). Still, many thanks and nicely done!:toast

C is about right. He score just 2 points through the first 3 quarters. He did have 6 assists. He did a great job late in the game, including the block and save. Also the steal on the final offensive play that got Splitter in position to tip the ball back in.

[spurs10]

Thanks for the grades Bruno! Great game! Wow!

[ChumpDumper]

Parker's grade is too high.

[Brazil]

Bruno YTD A-

while gnsf god is MIA, Bruno deserves tons of props to step up and clean the house down the stretch. He is just here to talk basketball and his threads are always worth reading. While extremely solid taking care of the bb part, he also regulates fools left and right, his recent skull regulation is note worthy. Since the beginning of the season his work ethic is flawless, you can smell just by the title of a new thread that ST executioner will do his job and lock it in a timely manner. Letting timvpdpoy locked out of spurs forum is quite gold knowing his banishement is lasting forever and a lot of his groupies are whining.
Bruno just doesn't give a fuck, doesn't look behind and carry ST on his shoulders like TP carried Duncan to his 5th finals last season.

[jeebus]

Astounding Read :tu
Personally, I hope Baynes' performance last night will shut some Spurs fans up about how 'bad' Ayres is. Ayres is a poor player yes, but he can at least catch the damn ball while playing under control. Ayres is the kind of player that won't help your team's chemistry, but he won't absolutely ruin it (See: Richard Jefferson/Gary Neal)

Baynes on the other end is terrible. He has tiny hands, slow feet, bad rebounding instincts, doesn't have the IQ to consistently be a threat in the post, he tries to do too much (A walking foul I'd say) and due to his lack of quickness/IQ the Spurs look awkward on both ends whenever Baynes is in. I think Ayres gets too much hate, tbh.

Baynes didn't play well last night. Ayres hasn't played well his entire time as a Spur. I don't get where you see that Ayres can catch the ball; he's missed pretty much every pass that's been thrown to him this season. The only time he dunks is if it's an uncontested rebound or putback. 95% of the time Ayres comes in, the Spurs start losing or playing worse. That's called ruining team chemistry. Ayres doesn't get enough hate.

[Bruno]

Why does TD get grades for the game but not Manu?

Because I'm French and I hate Manu since eh never pass the ball to Tony...

It was maybe because, unlike Manu, Tim was wearing a suit or because he was more animated but Tim enthusiasm caught more my eyes. On top of that, Tim is at another legendary level than Manu.

BTW, Duncan's gif during the Diaw missed layup and Splitter tip in (sorry, for the quality/size, I suck at gif):
http://i43.tinypic.com/flyt93.gif

[Bruno]

Good read (though a tad hard on Boris, I think).

I've hesitated between B- and C+ for Boris but his "defense" on Lee really pisses me off.

[313]

Because I'm French and I hate Manu since eh never pass the ball to Tony...

It was maybe because, unlike Manu, Tim was wearing a suit or because he was more animated but Tim enthusiasm caught more my eyes. On top of that, Tim is at another legendary level than Manu.

BTW, Duncan's gif during the Diaw missed layup and Splitter tip in (sorry, for the quality/size, I suck at gif):
http://i43.tinypic.com/flyt93.gif
lol he's so old

[Prime Time]

Baynes didn't play well last night. Ayres hasn't played well his entire time as a Spur. I don't get where you see that Ayres can catch the ball; he's missed pretty much every pass that's been thrown to him this season. The only time he dunks is if it's an uncontested rebound or putback. 95% of the time Ayres comes in, the Spurs start losing or playing worse. That's called ruining team chemistry. Ayres doesn't get enough hate.
Both of them are fucking horrible. But Ayers can at least run the damn floor, and I know Ayres is no Tiago at catching the ball - but Baynes is something else in that department. Again, does anyone notice how uncoordinated he is?

Tbh, the fact we're arguing which scrub sucks more is quite the bummer. :lol

[Prime Time]

I will admit this, Baynes has more all-around talent than Ayers due to his offensive touch. So his raw potential is higher. However, it's quite rare when raw bigs actually reach their potential.

[EVAY]

This is the first game I have completely missed in several years, tbh, and I am really sorry that I didn't catch it. But your write-up, Bruno, is terrific for letting us know what happened.

Thanks a ton...for the write-up and for the ongoing moderating.

[Whisky Dog]

"Matt bonner did what Matt bonner did"

Possibly my favorite quote in a game thoughts ever. Sums up the enigma that is Matt Bonner in such a Yogi Berra-esque manner.

[TD 21]

I know they've got spacing issues amongst the bigs (considering Pop appears done with Bonner and Ayres apparently forgot that he's capable of making mid range jumpers) and lack forward depth in general, but considering Diaw's age/mileage and their reliance on him in the big picture, he's the one player outside of the big three that should receive the odd game off. Since they need him in games where they rest the big three, in order to have a punchers chance, they should sit him the game before they sit them from now on.

As far as individual performances go, nothing really surprised me. I knew Leonard, Diaw, Belinelli and Mills would step up, I knew Splitter and Joseph would struggle mightily and I knew Green would be somewhere in between.

[jjktkk]

Thanks Bruno.

[Baam]

Tim was surprisingly well dressed, you can tell he's back in the game :toast.

[Bruno]

BTW, if you are interested in having grades after each games and if there are enough posters willing to make it (like a dozen), we can organize a games grade calendar. Posters pick the game they want to grade and we made a calender thread to avoid having 2 people grading the same game. If some of you aren't comfortable with grades, game thoughts would be fine too.

I don't know if you are interested in that idea or if there will have enough posters to do grades/thoughts but I'm just throwing the idea. It might be fun and bring a new lightning from a different fan after each game.

[MR-Clutch]

Has anyone else noticed or thought that green just seems either reluctant or hesitant to pass kawhi the ball? Over the past couple of games I've found myself yelling because green either misses kawhi or ignores him when he's open.

[jag]

Nice work Bruno

:tu

Bruno, Harlem, ElNono and Horse should take turns with game grades.

Horse is obviously for his unintentional comedy. Harlem isn't allowed to grade any games vs. the Heat. And Nono has to put an asterisk next to Manu's grade for every game.

[tim_duncan_fan]

Excited about Baynes despite the grade. Dude WILL average at least 10 and 10 for the San Antonio Spurs in the near future.

I love having more than 2 players taller than 6'7.

[Vash StampedE]

Agree on Tim's grade

[HI-FI]

:tu Bruno.

my favorite moment of this game was seeing Duncan, as well dressed as you'll see out of him, jump out of his seat at a great play. I wish we could clone TD.

[dylankerouac]

Great reading Bruno! Thanks for the grades.

[ABC]

Thank you!

[Spursfanfromafar]

Thanks, Bruno. I was keen on doing the grades myself. So many NBA games are being telecasted live, here, in India these days as one channel has dedicated itself to showing as many as possible. We get to see one Spurs game almost every week (sometimes even 2/3), mostly because of their status as near-winners of the finals last year.

Getting to your grades itself, I would have graded Boris Diaw somewhat higher. I think he showed a lot of B-ball IQ in the second half, taking advantage of the Spurs being in bonus in the fourth quarter, and good offensive moves. The usual frustrating passiveness in a play or two where he should have taken a shot was there, but his offense was very important. I agree that he was not good at all against Lee, but he did well in the fourth quarter (the block of Curry was a highlight).

Great win for the Spurs which should boost the confidence of guys like Mills. Some of the plays he makes every game are just ridiculous -especially the double steal of his Aussie teammate Bogut followed by the 3. That was just outrageous - trying to rob Bogut off his hands and then doing it again in 2 seconds. Then, that statement 3 pointer in transition when there was a 2 for 1 situation.. that was Reggie Miller like. No wonder, his teammates are proud of him. If it gets us fans going.. I am sure ultra-team players like DUncan would have been super-excited and that showed in his reactions.

I love this team.

[Pauleta14]

Thank you Bruno for taking the time!

I wish my english writing was good enough to participate to your proposal, but I would really apreciate if you could do it more often!

ps/ Still no news of timvp?

[TheGoldStandard]

Danny and Cory looked like they were lost out there getting caught out of position, biting on pump fakes or getting screened to oblivion. Their offense was also just as atrocious

[ElNono]

Nice work Bruno

:tu

Bruno, Harlem, ElNono and Horse should take turns with game grades.

Horse is obviously for his unintentional comedy. Harlem isn't allowed to grade any games vs. the Heat. And Nono has to put an asterisk next to Manu's grade for every game.

I'll try to do a few when I get back home in January :tu

[ElNono]

And thanks Bruno :tu

[Expert]

Many ignore the fact that GS has two decent bigs who can bang in the paint. They don't use them well, but they have them. Add to that the fact that there are only a few decent bigs in the league right now and you begin to realize that all the Spurs need from bigs (other than TD) is rebounding and some mid level paint defense. You cannot expect either Ayres or Baynes to provide TD level play because they don't even know the Spurs system. They are just out there trying to not get in the way, and quite often are out of position on defense.

Defense is harder than offense because you cannot sit back and let your superstar do it all, and you cannot hide on defense.

[Legacy]

Thank you for your time, Bruno. :tu

[Admidave50]

Thanks Bruno for stepping up, we are all missing game grades

[polandprzem]

BTW, if you are interested in having grades after each games and if there are enough posters willing to make it (like a dozen), we can organize a games grade calendar. Posters pick the game they want to grade and we made a calender thread to avoid having 2 people grading the same game. If some of you aren't comfortable with grades, game thoughts would be fine too.

I don't know if you are interested in that idea or if there will have enough posters to do grades/thoughts but I'm just throwing the idea. It might be fun and bring a new lightning from a different fan after each game.

Looks like a good idea while LJ is out of business. / I wonder if he still cares about ST ? /
Maybe he got caught up with the criticism and gave a rest ...


Worth thinking with the grades- if anybody can stand my English


btw. You are doing great work here Bruno lately :tu

[Gagnrath]

I hate to say this but baynes in today's NBA is somewhat situation based. Baynes isn't skilled enough on offense to be a premier presence, and he is to slow on defense to guard the perimeter or even really out past 10 feet against quicker power-forwards. Against other bigs that don't have a jumpshot beyond 10' and aren't particularly mobile he looks very good defensively. Though he is a bit foul prone. On a switch or against faster bigs he's in trouble. Getting burnt on defense also seems to effect his offensive game. If you look at the NBA 5 to 7 years ago when all the teams had a big center to counter shaq he would have been an above average example. Personally I think considering he relatively late start to basketball. If the spurs and the D league can find consistent minutes for him to work on his repetitions at anticipating positioning and getting his stamina up he will be a serviceable 3rd or 4th big on a high level team. He is a raw second year player.

Ayers on the other had has considerably more basketball experience though not a huge amount more NBA experience. His body type is actually more suited to current NBA standards but his instincts and mind don't seem to be there. From my point of view at least Baynes works very hard but is oft times just a bit to slow and has a bit of a bull in a china shop feel to him. Some of which is due to other players realizing that they will get a foul call for flopping/exaggerating against baynes as he plays more against high level competition his anticipation will get better. For ayers he seems the human embodiment of Murphys law as it applies to basketball.

[polandprzem]

Yea, I'm frickin worried about out frontcourt situation. Both Ayers and Baynes are disappointments as hell, esp. Baynes. We clearly miss a guy like K. Willis or Massenberg. Just to provide experience and calm and some /mental/ boost of the bench

[Mel_13]

Patrick Mills: A+
Our little Australian deserves tons of props for how he is playing this year. Against Warriors, these props are especially deserved.
Offensively, it was the classical good Mills. A good scorer but with little playmaking skills. Defense is the area where he should to be congratulated. With his lack of size, he will never be a great defender and he was sometimes outmatch by Curry, but he makes the best of what he has. The offensive foul drawn on Curry in the 4th quarter was especially big. He is now so pesky and active. The weight loss and the pride he now takes to defend have turned him into an annoying defender for opponents.
If he continue like that, Mills will be the second best backup PG, behind George Hill, of this last decade for Spurs.

I don't believe that this can be emphasized enough. Mills has gone from designated towel waver to an integral part of the rotation based upon the work he did over the summer to improve his fitness and make himself into a decent enough defender to get regular playing time. Kudos to him.

[Bruno]

Yea, I'm frickin worried about out frontcourt situation. Both Ayers and Baynes are disappointments as hell, esp. Baynes. We clearly miss a guy like K. Willis or Massenberg. Just to provide experience and calm and some /mental/ boost of the bench

If you look more globally, Spurs roster is split apart this year. On the one hand there are 9 quality players with Parker, Mills, Belinelli, Green, Ginobili, Leonard, Diaw, Splitter and Duncan. On the other hand, there are some bad players with Joseph, De Colo, Bonner, Ayres and Baynes . The gap between these two groups is quite huge.

It's really nice to have a quality depth of 9 players but 10 would be perfect. When you look at this 9 players roster, a mobile PF or big SF would be the perfect complement.

[boutons_deux]

The gap between these two groups is quite huge.

you can blame the NBA mgmt and owners for that, diluting the talent pool of players, coaches, staff over twice-too-many teams.

[BackHome]

I would have not problem at this point trading Green and CoJo and Bonner to get a better replacement for Green.

[Mel_13]

I would have not problem at this point trading Green and CoJo and Bonner to get a better replacement for Green.

You would actually have a real problem trying to turn that package into a better player than Green, unless you're willing to take on an albatross of contract like Gerald Wallace. Even then, it would be debatable if that trade makes the team better in the short run, let alone the long term ramifications.

[silverblackfan]

Great job on the game review and grades. Nice recognition that Tim is the Man even when he is not actively playing. That was one of the best games all year just for the sheer pleasure of watching the bench beat a good team on their home court. Even better when Mark Jackson is the opposing coach.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I think putting a calendar thread together for the game grades is a great idea.

I'd be down to the game grades for when the Raptors visit the Spurs on the 23rd, unless someone else is already going that.

Obviously, the more game grades from Bruno the better :tu

[Bruno]

OK, let's do a calendar thread for games grades.

[polandprzem]

If you look more globally, Spurs roster is split apart this year. On the one hand there are 9 quality players with Parker, Mills, Belinelli, Green, Ginobili, Leonard, Diaw, Splitter and Duncan. On the other hand, there are some bad players with Joseph, De Colo, Bonner, Ayres and Baynes . The gap between these two groups is quite huge.

It's really nice to have a quality depth of 9 players but 10 would be perfect. When you look at this 9 players roster, a mobile PF or big SF would be the perfect complement.

Well 9 guys suits payoff standards but when it comes to the spurs it's not enough when most guys are not playing big minutes in every game. I don't know if we can have 7 guys that can play ~40 minutes. and I still have in mind disappearing Splitter in the Finals series along with Green. In the situation you need to have somebody that can step up and you can rely on him. Is there anybody from that bad players side who can manage it on a big stage? I sincerely doubt it