spursfaninla
01-04-2014, 11:25 PM
Overview:
For those of you who may have never seen me post, I am a Spurs Fan living in LA. I was actually hoping this was an away game so I could report from the stands, but, alas it was a Spurs game in SA, so I had to settle for watching on "the internet."
Clippers were without their best player and floor general; it showed. They opened the game to go down 20 in the first quarter and were down 35 at the half. The Clippers managed to pull together some dignity and started trying again, and managed to cut the lead to 13 in the 3rd before the spurs put the game back up to around 20. Given that, and although the Spurs showed offensive and defensive ineptitude in the 3rd and early 4th, they managed a 24 point victory. If you were to go by the box score alone, you would think this was a complete laugher and we had the twin towers in effect; instead, the game felt very much in danger in the 3rd and early 4th before the Spurs got serious again and put it to bed. Lets hope that Tiago is good to go within a few games.
Players, in order of importance to the win:
Splitter: A+ Best I have ever seem him play offensively. I know he has scored more before, but he did not even have a chance to play the whole game. Went down with a shoulder injury, but it did not look like it would cause any serious damage because he did not have that much momentum when he shouldered into the defender. In any event, Tiago had his roll part of the Pick and Roll going, and he was also playing like he has a game around the basket, which was refreshing. His defense was good, similar to what he was doing in the beginning of the season when he looked like a good defender.
Duncan: A- Seemingly effortless double double. His jumper was on. When Splitter went down he he picked up the scoring and kept the Clippers at bay. Defense in the post was good.
Parker A- 17 points is sub-par for parker, but on 8 of 9 shooting and 9 assists? He played his normal game with good results. His jumper and his inside game worked tonight, and he provided early offense by driving to the basket in the 3rd before the clipper defense could get set.
Manu A Gets a better grade than parker not because he played better, but because we don't depend on him as much as we do parker, so given that expectation that I have of him, he is playing great right now. Shot over 50% for 15 points, 6 assists, no turnovers simply cannot be nit-picked. Where he was particularly helpful was in effort plays; he got two offensive rebounds and one was a layup and the other was an assisted layup.
Kawhi B- I need to see 15 and 8 from him. 10 points on 5-8 shooting and 4 rebounds is not what I want to see from him. His defense did not seem to greatly impact the game, either. Overall, a good outing but below our expectations. I want my finals Kawhi back.
Marco B Marco had 5 points and 7 assists. I know that teams must have adjusted to him and are now not giving him the open 3, but we have to figure that one out. Otherwise, if this is what he is going to give us, I will join the chorus saying to just let danny start. Maybe it is a chemistry thing with him and manu. Anyway, can't complaint about the assists.
Danny B- Danny is shooting 40% on 3s for the year, but you would not know it from this (or many recent) games. At this point, I am honestly surprised when he makes a 3. Tonight, the timing was perfect and he redeemed himself by making a key 3 in the 4th when the spurs were only up in the teens. He also drew a monstrous charge that raised the roof. Now, shoot better than 13% and I will be a fan again (1-8 tonight).
Mills B Mills did what he typically does: he shot the ball and passed the ball to manu when it needed to be distributed. He scored 7 points and didn't mess up. I am very glad to have that sort of player on the team; our 2nd unit needs points, especially with Diaw out with a sore throat?!
Ayres: A- This grade is based on my expectations for the guy. He drew a good charge and played passable D when needed, actually hit some shots, and kept us from falling apart when Splitter went down and Duncan could not play both the 4 and the 5 by himself.
Joseph, Nando, Bonner, and Banes: Less than 10 minutes of playing time each, and not enough of an impact to truly warrant the time to comment, other than none had a negative +/-, so that means they were not a total disaster.
Defense: B Given that we did not have to face CP3, can't give the defense all the credit for holding them to 92. Still, better than in recent memory.
Offense: A You didn't really expect them to score another 70 points in the second half, did you? Granted, the offense fell off the horse in the 3rd, but the still put up 116 points and shot over 55% from the field. The 3pt shooting is a worry (4-18 for 22%), but we assisted on a ton of points and the offense looked legit in the first half.
Pop: B This is for resting Diaw with a sore throat; that is silly. No, really, he only gets a B in a 24 point blowout because we should beat the clips without CP3 at home by 24. Actually, we have a better record away (13-3) that at home (13-5); I don't remember the last time that happened, and I certainly don't expect it to continue, but still weird.
Thanks for having me. You have been great, really. :blah
For those of you who may have never seen me post, I am a Spurs Fan living in LA. I was actually hoping this was an away game so I could report from the stands, but, alas it was a Spurs game in SA, so I had to settle for watching on "the internet."
Clippers were without their best player and floor general; it showed. They opened the game to go down 20 in the first quarter and were down 35 at the half. The Clippers managed to pull together some dignity and started trying again, and managed to cut the lead to 13 in the 3rd before the spurs put the game back up to around 20. Given that, and although the Spurs showed offensive and defensive ineptitude in the 3rd and early 4th, they managed a 24 point victory. If you were to go by the box score alone, you would think this was a complete laugher and we had the twin towers in effect; instead, the game felt very much in danger in the 3rd and early 4th before the Spurs got serious again and put it to bed. Lets hope that Tiago is good to go within a few games.
Players, in order of importance to the win:
Splitter: A+ Best I have ever seem him play offensively. I know he has scored more before, but he did not even have a chance to play the whole game. Went down with a shoulder injury, but it did not look like it would cause any serious damage because he did not have that much momentum when he shouldered into the defender. In any event, Tiago had his roll part of the Pick and Roll going, and he was also playing like he has a game around the basket, which was refreshing. His defense was good, similar to what he was doing in the beginning of the season when he looked like a good defender.
Duncan: A- Seemingly effortless double double. His jumper was on. When Splitter went down he he picked up the scoring and kept the Clippers at bay. Defense in the post was good.
Parker A- 17 points is sub-par for parker, but on 8 of 9 shooting and 9 assists? He played his normal game with good results. His jumper and his inside game worked tonight, and he provided early offense by driving to the basket in the 3rd before the clipper defense could get set.
Manu A Gets a better grade than parker not because he played better, but because we don't depend on him as much as we do parker, so given that expectation that I have of him, he is playing great right now. Shot over 50% for 15 points, 6 assists, no turnovers simply cannot be nit-picked. Where he was particularly helpful was in effort plays; he got two offensive rebounds and one was a layup and the other was an assisted layup.
Kawhi B- I need to see 15 and 8 from him. 10 points on 5-8 shooting and 4 rebounds is not what I want to see from him. His defense did not seem to greatly impact the game, either. Overall, a good outing but below our expectations. I want my finals Kawhi back.
Marco B Marco had 5 points and 7 assists. I know that teams must have adjusted to him and are now not giving him the open 3, but we have to figure that one out. Otherwise, if this is what he is going to give us, I will join the chorus saying to just let danny start. Maybe it is a chemistry thing with him and manu. Anyway, can't complaint about the assists.
Danny B- Danny is shooting 40% on 3s for the year, but you would not know it from this (or many recent) games. At this point, I am honestly surprised when he makes a 3. Tonight, the timing was perfect and he redeemed himself by making a key 3 in the 4th when the spurs were only up in the teens. He also drew a monstrous charge that raised the roof. Now, shoot better than 13% and I will be a fan again (1-8 tonight).
Mills B Mills did what he typically does: he shot the ball and passed the ball to manu when it needed to be distributed. He scored 7 points and didn't mess up. I am very glad to have that sort of player on the team; our 2nd unit needs points, especially with Diaw out with a sore throat?!
Ayres: A- This grade is based on my expectations for the guy. He drew a good charge and played passable D when needed, actually hit some shots, and kept us from falling apart when Splitter went down and Duncan could not play both the 4 and the 5 by himself.
Joseph, Nando, Bonner, and Banes: Less than 10 minutes of playing time each, and not enough of an impact to truly warrant the time to comment, other than none had a negative +/-, so that means they were not a total disaster.
Defense: B Given that we did not have to face CP3, can't give the defense all the credit for holding them to 92. Still, better than in recent memory.
Offense: A You didn't really expect them to score another 70 points in the second half, did you? Granted, the offense fell off the horse in the 3rd, but the still put up 116 points and shot over 55% from the field. The 3pt shooting is a worry (4-18 for 22%), but we assisted on a ton of points and the offense looked legit in the first half.
Pop: B This is for resting Diaw with a sore throat; that is silly. No, really, he only gets a B in a 24 point blowout because we should beat the clips without CP3 at home by 24. Actually, we have a better record away (13-3) that at home (13-5); I don't remember the last time that happened, and I certainly don't expect it to continue, but still weird.
Thanks for having me. You have been great, really. :blah