313
05-30-2014, 12:18 AM
It's my first time doing grades, and it's around midnight at the time that I'm starting this post, so please bare with me if there are any grammatical errors.
I'll just get right to it...
Tony Parker:
Overall he played a solid game. After a slow, 1-5 start, I couldn't help but think he was going to be another no show. Thankfully, Tony had other plans. In the second quarter he was more aggressive, and after canning b2b jumpers he built up his confidence. He was attacking the paint relentlessly, and while not always finishing, he put a lot of pressure by getting in there. In the previous two games he was settling for jumpers, but when he penetrates, it opens up the offense tremendously. He got a little dribble happy at times, but I felt he ran the offense nicely. He even attempted to pass to kawhi on a fast break :lol Of course, the pass was deflected.
Defensively he was....meh. About what you expect from him nowadays.
B
Tim Duncan:
Another tough start for Timmy. He was posted up on Steven Adams twice and failed miserably. The post ups felt forced and out of sync with the offense, and once the Spurs went back to their motion/pnr offense, Timmy was often found in good position, and took advantage accordingly. Also a quiet 12 rebounds which put him just three double doubles behind Magic for first all time. Defensively he looked a lot more spry out there, unlike the previous two games where he seemed to be a step late everywhere. He got abused in the first by Reggie, but after that he had a good game defensively. Even had a block, but I forgot who it was on.
A-
Kawhi Leonard:
Dude was pretty impressive today tbh The team needed him to play better and he answered the bell. He had the tough assignment of guarding Westbrook, and played him perfectly. Pop obviously wanted to give WB the LeBron treatment and dare him to shot. With Kawhi's length he could sag off and still contest WB's shots. I don't know if you guys have heard, but that Westbrook guy is pretty good, so of course he made some in Kawhi's face, but you have to live with those shots. He tallied two steals, one that resulted in his only turnover(was that his first TO since game 6 of the Mavs series???) of the game. Full credit to WB on the heads up play on that steal btw. Offensively he was efficient, and aggressive. He passed up one shot in the first quarter, I think it was, when he passed to Bonner in the corner. Other than that, he picked his spots well and attacked the hole relentlessly. it was beautiful to see the Spurs, as a team, play so fearlessly.
A-
Danny Green:
472212326393737216Any game where Danny plays within the offense and doesn't try to play outside of his capabilities, he'll have a solid game, at least. At worst, he won't get any clean looks. But when he plays like he did in games 3 and 4, or games 6 and 7 of last year finals, when teams take away his 3 pt shot and he tries to put the ball on the floor, bad things happen. The latter was not the case tonight and Danny boy did the Lord's work. Knocking down 4 threes and doing an admirable job on KD. He needlessly helped one pass away a couple times, and that's not gonna cut it, but I'll let it slide this time.
B+
Tiago Splitter:
He didn't do much in his 12 minutes, but he didn't mess up much either. He set solid screens, drew some fouls at the basket instead of passing like a pussy. Only two rebounds in 12 minutes however, is a let down.
B-
Boris Diaw 2.0:
Leading up to the game today, i was hoping Diaw would remain aggressive the way he was in the second half of game 4. He's so versatile, he is a matchup nightmare for any big on the opposing team. He can shoot on less mobile bigs, post up lil niggas aka Durant, and attack off the dribble too. Reducing him to just a spot up shooter would be asinine tbh. Tonight, Diaw did not disappoint. He was everywhere. He hit a catch and shoot three, some floaters/close-to-mid range shots, reverse lay ins, post ups. Diaw is the full package, offensively and defensively. Heck, he even blocked the MVP.
A+
Patty Mills:
Patty finally woke up. He only played 16 minutes, but he made his presence known. He came in, in the first quarter and hit his first shot, and I believe he was 3/3, all from downtown, until garbage time. He got a great hustle offensive rebound from a missed FT, and got flopped for an offensive foul call on that POS Fisher too. Defensively he was on Fisher most of the time and I don't think fish got much of anything.
B
Manu Ginobili:
"Ginobiliiiiiiii"
That pretty much summed up my night. Vintage game from Manu. A near perfect game, in fact. I was waiting for the pass to the audience, or the risky pass that get's picked off, but nope, Manu finished the game with ZERO TURNOVERS. 7-9 from the field, 3-4 from behind the arc. While guarding KD on the other end. Great stuff. Now it's time for him to exercise his game 6 demons, by not effing up next game.
A+
CIA Pop:
:pop:"We just made shots"
A+
Honorable Mentions:
Bonner:
+6 tonight, somehow
Cojo:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bo2OnDPIUAEJjxk.jpg
I'll just get right to it...
Tony Parker:
Overall he played a solid game. After a slow, 1-5 start, I couldn't help but think he was going to be another no show. Thankfully, Tony had other plans. In the second quarter he was more aggressive, and after canning b2b jumpers he built up his confidence. He was attacking the paint relentlessly, and while not always finishing, he put a lot of pressure by getting in there. In the previous two games he was settling for jumpers, but when he penetrates, it opens up the offense tremendously. He got a little dribble happy at times, but I felt he ran the offense nicely. He even attempted to pass to kawhi on a fast break :lol Of course, the pass was deflected.
Defensively he was....meh. About what you expect from him nowadays.
B
Tim Duncan:
Another tough start for Timmy. He was posted up on Steven Adams twice and failed miserably. The post ups felt forced and out of sync with the offense, and once the Spurs went back to their motion/pnr offense, Timmy was often found in good position, and took advantage accordingly. Also a quiet 12 rebounds which put him just three double doubles behind Magic for first all time. Defensively he looked a lot more spry out there, unlike the previous two games where he seemed to be a step late everywhere. He got abused in the first by Reggie, but after that he had a good game defensively. Even had a block, but I forgot who it was on.
A-
Kawhi Leonard:
Dude was pretty impressive today tbh The team needed him to play better and he answered the bell. He had the tough assignment of guarding Westbrook, and played him perfectly. Pop obviously wanted to give WB the LeBron treatment and dare him to shot. With Kawhi's length he could sag off and still contest WB's shots. I don't know if you guys have heard, but that Westbrook guy is pretty good, so of course he made some in Kawhi's face, but you have to live with those shots. He tallied two steals, one that resulted in his only turnover(was that his first TO since game 6 of the Mavs series???) of the game. Full credit to WB on the heads up play on that steal btw. Offensively he was efficient, and aggressive. He passed up one shot in the first quarter, I think it was, when he passed to Bonner in the corner. Other than that, he picked his spots well and attacked the hole relentlessly. it was beautiful to see the Spurs, as a team, play so fearlessly.
A-
Danny Green:
472212326393737216Any game where Danny plays within the offense and doesn't try to play outside of his capabilities, he'll have a solid game, at least. At worst, he won't get any clean looks. But when he plays like he did in games 3 and 4, or games 6 and 7 of last year finals, when teams take away his 3 pt shot and he tries to put the ball on the floor, bad things happen. The latter was not the case tonight and Danny boy did the Lord's work. Knocking down 4 threes and doing an admirable job on KD. He needlessly helped one pass away a couple times, and that's not gonna cut it, but I'll let it slide this time.
B+
Tiago Splitter:
He didn't do much in his 12 minutes, but he didn't mess up much either. He set solid screens, drew some fouls at the basket instead of passing like a pussy. Only two rebounds in 12 minutes however, is a let down.
B-
Boris Diaw 2.0:
Leading up to the game today, i was hoping Diaw would remain aggressive the way he was in the second half of game 4. He's so versatile, he is a matchup nightmare for any big on the opposing team. He can shoot on less mobile bigs, post up lil niggas aka Durant, and attack off the dribble too. Reducing him to just a spot up shooter would be asinine tbh. Tonight, Diaw did not disappoint. He was everywhere. He hit a catch and shoot three, some floaters/close-to-mid range shots, reverse lay ins, post ups. Diaw is the full package, offensively and defensively. Heck, he even blocked the MVP.
A+
Patty Mills:
Patty finally woke up. He only played 16 minutes, but he made his presence known. He came in, in the first quarter and hit his first shot, and I believe he was 3/3, all from downtown, until garbage time. He got a great hustle offensive rebound from a missed FT, and got flopped for an offensive foul call on that POS Fisher too. Defensively he was on Fisher most of the time and I don't think fish got much of anything.
B
Manu Ginobili:
"Ginobiliiiiiiii"
That pretty much summed up my night. Vintage game from Manu. A near perfect game, in fact. I was waiting for the pass to the audience, or the risky pass that get's picked off, but nope, Manu finished the game with ZERO TURNOVERS. 7-9 from the field, 3-4 from behind the arc. While guarding KD on the other end. Great stuff. Now it's time for him to exercise his game 6 demons, by not effing up next game.
A+
CIA Pop:
:pop:"We just made shots"
A+
Honorable Mentions:
Bonner:
+6 tonight, somehow
Cojo:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bo2OnDPIUAEJjxk.jpg