DMC
01-05-2014, 12:20 AM
This has been done twice already, so I'm not trying to step on toes. Here's my take on it, maybe not as charitable as some.
Splitter: B+ You have to allow room for improvement, and as soft as the defense was from LA, Splitter capitalized on it well. I don't think you can use that 1st half as a marker for how well he was playing, however we can say that letting them score 35pts in the 3rd doesn't deserve an A. If Splitter did this against the same team on the 1st night of a b2b, with CP3, perhaps.
Duncan: B Tim got wide open looks and often hesitated to take them, opting to play two man ball rotation with Leonard who also hesitated. Since we were up huge, it seemed like a non-issue, however Tim should let if fly if he's open since that's what the play is designed for. His defense was solid, even if he was a bit slow to recover in transition a few times.
Parker B Points aside, Tony started off moving the ball around but it didn't take long before he was overdribbling again and dumping off late in the shot clock. Tony probes the defense, but it's not a one man show, so he needs to get it going faster. I think he loses too much clock by walking the ball up the floor so often. With the Clippers tired from the 2nd of a b2b, Tony needs to run the ball at them non stop until they just give up. He did that some in the 1st half but got complacent in the 2nd half and the rhythm suffered because of it. That allowed Crawford to get his shot going.
Manu B+ Manu was everywhere on both ends of the floor. He hit some shots, and made his FTs. He brought a lot of energy and that worked well for us. It wasn't his A game however.
Kawhi B- Leonard doesn't get the touches on offense in spots where he need to get them. Many times the ball was thrown at his feet instead of at his chest so he couldn't recover in time, and had to put the ball on the floor. Other times he was hesitant to do anything, and I believe that's because he's been left out of the plays for a few games when Tony has been running hero ball into the ground. I give him some slack here for that reason. Otherwise he's struggling.
Marco B Marco didn't get the touches in places where he is usually effective, and missed some shots he usually hits. That said, the game was blown out by the middle of the 2nd, and Marco's scoring wasn't needed. He's quick to his spots, recovers well and doesn't defend anything. That's about what we expect from him.
Danny C Danny was horrific tonight. He sagged off shooters, was in the wrong place much of the time, just looked lost out there. He bit on every shot fake and he's gained a reputation for flying at jump shooters. On offense, he was end of bench-like. I'd not give Danny more than a C.
Mills B Patty was Patty. He's about all he can be, and the only thing that separates his good nights from his bad ones is whether or not his shot falls.
Ayres: B Jeff had some hustle plays on both ends that looked good. He was also out of position a few times on both ends and made some silly mistakes because of it. Jeff doesn't get an A for anything until he develops a game.
Joseph, Nando, Bonner, and Baynes: 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- We got a false high from that 1st half and felt good about ourselves. The Clippers started playing in the 3rd and our defensive asses were left showing. We cleaned it up a bit and proceeded, but at some point this season we need at least 40 minutes of defense from this team.
Offense: A Hard to not have great offense when no one is defending the paint.
Pop: A I actually think Pop did a great job tonight but not panicking when his lead dropped to 13. As much as he loathed the reasons, he probably preferred the intensity over a full quarter of garbage minutes. He seemed a bit disgusted at the half, but spry in the middle of the 4th. The more minutes the team has to compete on the floor, the better they will be. Pop was afraid of 24 minutes of useless basketball. Some of the grade is from the ass kicking he served up after the last game. Too many coaches coddle players and try to encourage them without knowing how to balance critique and praise.
Splitter: B+ You have to allow room for improvement, and as soft as the defense was from LA, Splitter capitalized on it well. I don't think you can use that 1st half as a marker for how well he was playing, however we can say that letting them score 35pts in the 3rd doesn't deserve an A. If Splitter did this against the same team on the 1st night of a b2b, with CP3, perhaps.
Duncan: B Tim got wide open looks and often hesitated to take them, opting to play two man ball rotation with Leonard who also hesitated. Since we were up huge, it seemed like a non-issue, however Tim should let if fly if he's open since that's what the play is designed for. His defense was solid, even if he was a bit slow to recover in transition a few times.
Parker B Points aside, Tony started off moving the ball around but it didn't take long before he was overdribbling again and dumping off late in the shot clock. Tony probes the defense, but it's not a one man show, so he needs to get it going faster. I think he loses too much clock by walking the ball up the floor so often. With the Clippers tired from the 2nd of a b2b, Tony needs to run the ball at them non stop until they just give up. He did that some in the 1st half but got complacent in the 2nd half and the rhythm suffered because of it. That allowed Crawford to get his shot going.
Manu B+ Manu was everywhere on both ends of the floor. He hit some shots, and made his FTs. He brought a lot of energy and that worked well for us. It wasn't his A game however.
Kawhi B- Leonard doesn't get the touches on offense in spots where he need to get them. Many times the ball was thrown at his feet instead of at his chest so he couldn't recover in time, and had to put the ball on the floor. Other times he was hesitant to do anything, and I believe that's because he's been left out of the plays for a few games when Tony has been running hero ball into the ground. I give him some slack here for that reason. Otherwise he's struggling.
Marco B Marco didn't get the touches in places where he is usually effective, and missed some shots he usually hits. That said, the game was blown out by the middle of the 2nd, and Marco's scoring wasn't needed. He's quick to his spots, recovers well and doesn't defend anything. That's about what we expect from him.
Danny C Danny was horrific tonight. He sagged off shooters, was in the wrong place much of the time, just looked lost out there. He bit on every shot fake and he's gained a reputation for flying at jump shooters. On offense, he was end of bench-like. I'd not give Danny more than a C.
Mills B Patty was Patty. He's about all he can be, and the only thing that separates his good nights from his bad ones is whether or not his shot falls.
Ayres: B Jeff had some hustle plays on both ends that looked good. He was also out of position a few times on both ends and made some silly mistakes because of it. Jeff doesn't get an A for anything until he develops a game.
Joseph, Nando, Bonner, and Baynes: 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- We got a false high from that 1st half and felt good about ourselves. The Clippers started playing in the 3rd and our defensive asses were left showing. We cleaned it up a bit and proceeded, but at some point this season we need at least 40 minutes of defense from this team.
Offense: A Hard to not have great offense when no one is defending the paint.
Pop: A I actually think Pop did a great job tonight but not panicking when his lead dropped to 13. As much as he loathed the reasons, he probably preferred the intensity over a full quarter of garbage minutes. He seemed a bit disgusted at the half, but spry in the middle of the 4th. The more minutes the team has to compete on the floor, the better they will be. Pop was afraid of 24 minutes of useless basketball. Some of the grade is from the ass kicking he served up after the last game. Too many coaches coddle players and try to encourage them without knowing how to balance critique and praise.