Amuseddaysleeper
01-31-2017, 11:47 PM
The Spurs faced the new look OKC Thunder (or should I say the shit look OKC Thunder since they lost Durant, Ibaka, and didn't have Kanter tonight) and while this may not be your slightly older brother's OKC, the Thunder have always been a thorn in the Spurs side. Last season they were responsible for another let down for the Spurs in the playoffs as their size was too much for the Spurs to overcome along with Durant playing out of his mind and Westbrook being Westbrook. This season they still have Westbrook who causes all kinds of headaches as well as Steven Adams who was a huge catalyst for OKC round house kicking the Spurs after Game 3 of that respective series.
Tonight the Spurs started Dedmon/Aldridge/Kawhi/Green/Parker and that folks is a starting lineup I'd love to see more often. I'm not crazy about Pau at all this season, his defense is one of the worst for a starting big man in this league and his offense just doesn't generate enough to offset his poor defense. Dedmon had been up and down defensively lately but tonight we saw how much he can really bring and scored a majority of his points around the rim, many being generated from straight up hustle. Gasol likes to park himself 20 feet from the basket as does Aldridge (who seems to be less confident in his post game than ever) so I like having Dedmon around the rim which still gives Aldridge room to operate from mid range when necessary.
It was really nice to see the Spurs be so aggressive around the basket instead of settling for jumpers and giving the opposing defense an easy time. Parker, Lee, and Dedmon were all great at attacking the rim and causing havoc to a scrambling Thunder team. However, after coming out firing in the beginning of the third quarter, the Spurs completely fell apart and the Thunder rallied all the way back to take a 3 point lead with a couple minutes left in the third. Mills hit a huge three, and Kawhi went in total fuck you mode the rest of the game to help the Spurs open up the floodgates to a much needed win to right the ship. Aldridge and Simmons were also great in the second half with Aldridge playing some of his best defense of the season.
A nice win, but the elephant in the room is the team's atrocious free throw shooting. They nearly blew the Cleveland game with some horrid FT shooting, and lost a handful of close games this season that could have been solved at the FT line. On the upside, it was nice to see them be aggressive to earn 38 (!) free throws, but giving up 32 free throws on the other end isn't going to help. The defense was also pretty damn good on the whole. The second and third quarters got a little ugly, but the fourth quarter was really nice to see and holding the Thunder to 35% shooting for the night was great. While I can count on two fingers the number of games where the Spurs played really well for 48 minutes, it's hard not to be happy with the win considering how great Kawhi and Aldridge looked. When those two play well at the same time, this team can go toe to toe with virtually anybody.
https://s28.postimg.org/tic0mkt19/Screen_shot_2017_01_31_at_11_28_52_PM.png
https://s28.postimg.org/o871va8sd/Screen_shot_2017_01_31_at_11_28_41_PM.png
Grades
Tony Parker - B
While Parker has been up and down this season his ability to penetrate and create easy looks can't be underestimated. I hate the fact that the Spurs are in the bottom two in points in the paint as well as 3 point attempts (even if they do shoot well from downtown this season) but Parker (along with Murray, Simmons and Kawhi) are one of the few players who can slash to the rim. I also feel as though Parker isn't as slow or laboring as much as he was earlier in the season. Yeah, he missed all of his shots, but he actually passed very well and set up a lot of his teammates. I'm okay with this version of Parker, the one who doesn't force jumpers and tries to hero ball it, but the one who is aware of his age and plays within the offense.
Danny Green - C+
Wonderful block on Westbrook in the first quarter but holy cow is LDN cold. I know Danny has always been streaky but the amount of wide open three's he misses is absolutely staggering. It sucks because when Danny hits at least three 3's I believe the Spurs are 323-2. I may need to double check those numbers but I'm pretty sure that's about right. He hit a pair of 3's in the second half, but he's got to nail those open shots because they often lead to a huge momentum boost for the team. I liked his defense for the most part, and he's still one of the best fast break defenders in the league. Westbrook is always a tough cover, but I was okay with how Danny did. Just need to have his shooting to show up.
Kawhi Leonard - A+
I know it's been said many times over and over, but the growth and improvement that Kawhi Leonard shows every year is nothing short of astounding. I remember the controversy on this forum when the Spurs traded Hill for the rights to Leonard but my goodness did that end up being one of the greatest draft day trades in NBA history. Every year Kawhi brings something new to the table. While he started off a little slow and probably deferred to his teammates a little too much in the first quarter he began to establish himself with some nifty hook shots and being very aggressive in getting into the teeth of the Thunder's defense. He was huge in getting the Spurs the lead back towards the end of the third with a gorgeous turnaround jumper and a 3 point play to give the Spurs a 4 point lead heading into the fourth. Speaking of the fourth, Kawhi was just unconscious out there. He was doing it all with dunks in traffic, long range three's, step backs, fade aways, you name it. It was like messing around with him in NBA 2K on a practice court. His defense was also great as he forced some turnovers and had an epic block on Grant's dunk attempt.
While the media has gotten wise to Kawhi's ascension I still think his playmaking ability isn't talked about enough. While I wouldn't call him a stellar play maker he is definitely reading the defense better than ever and has gotten really good at finding the open man at the last second when attacking the rim. You couldn't have built a better SF for San Antonio in a lab if you tried. Crazy to think how much the small forward position was a sore spot for us after Bowen retired and now we have one of the two best SF's in the entire league. :wow
LaMarcus Aldridge - A
Aldridge was an abysmal 11-34 in his last two games so he really needed to bounce back tonight. He had a slow first half with some ticky tack fouls on the defensive end but came out firing in the second half with a nice pair of jumpers, got fouled on a jumper and nailed a 3 ball to have the Spurs increase their lead and assert themselves after OKC had regained some momentum before the half. He was also immense in the fourth quarter, but this time it was on the other end of the floor. He had some fantastic blocks (3 in total) and rebounds in traffic that really helped the Spurs blow open the game in the fourth. It was also wonderful to see him get 9 free throw attempts as being a jumpshooter doesn't favor his chances of getting to line, but his aggressiveness really paid off tonight. Aldridge has been wildly inconsistent this season but when he shows up the Spurs actually begin to look like a team worthy of their record. He may not be able to shoot a great percentage every night, but when he plays hard defensively I'll take some off nights offensively if he's going to man the paint and use his size to give the Spurs a yyyuuuuugggeeee advantage.
Manu Ginobili - B+
The man, the legend, my favorite Spur of all time. He actually looked good today with a nifty up and under in the first quarter to go with an almost 4 point play (eat your heart out Jamal Crawford) as well as some great passing without forcing the issue. This was one of his best offensive showings in quite some time. When Manu is playing well in his limited time it makes the bench look that much better. He also had some nice help defense forcing some turnovers. I hope we see this version of Manu more often who can reign in the turnovers and really dictate the offense like the bench needs him to. Going to be a dark day in Spurs history when he hangs it up so enjoy him while you can.
Patty Mills - B-
His shot is still somewhat off and when it's off he doesn't bring much to the table. These are also the type of games where Patty's lack of vision in the open court becomes very apparent. I feel he tends to overdribble a lot lately (like a certain someone, but I won't go there) and his defense once again leaves a lot to be desired. However, what I did like is that Patty didn't force up stupid shots. While he only took 4 shots all game, I'm okay with that when he decides to take what the defense gives him. And once again, his three ball towards the end of the third quarter was huge in giving the Spurs some momentum after blowing the lead.
David Lee - B+
Energy Energy Energy! He has to be one of the best bang for bucks any NBA team has gotten from the offseason. Sure, his defense isn't always stellar but how can you not love a guy who hustles on every play and is still deceptively athletic for his age. He was a wrecking ball when going at the rim and I thought it was hilarious when he showed the ref blood coming out of his mouth sarcastically saying "no foul, no foul" :lol
This was a damn fine game from Lee who was a real pain in the ass for the Thunder to deal with. He's been one of the biggest surprises of the season for the Spurs. He never got deterred from going to the rim even when he got blocked (and sometimes fouled without a call) and I think putting his head down and going straight down the middle did wonders for the Spurs when the offense was cold from outside. He was like a bull in a china shop.
Dewayne Dedmon - B
It was really nice to see him in the starting lineup and he had very active hands and played solid defense for the most part. It was awesome seeing him knock away loose balls leading to baskets for the Spurs and ripping away rebounds to get the Spurs the possession back. However, he did seem to gamble a bit too much at times. For example when Westbrook was posting up Green while Dedmon was fronting Adams, only to have Dedmon inexplicably double Westbrook who dished it to a wide open Adams under the basket. But that's okay, as Dedmon looked much better defensively than he has in some time. Loved the energy Dedmon brought tonight, as he even did great when being switched onto a smaller guard on the perimeter. In the second half he did find himself in foul trouble which is something he needs to work on. However, I love what he brings to the table and I hope we get to see more of this effort moving forward as his skillset is quite an asset for the Spurs defensively. I wish there was a way Pop would be willing to start Dedmon over Pau full time but you know the soft Spaniard would throw a hissy fit.
Jonathon Simmons - B
It was good to see him back and while he clearly looked rusty out there in the first quarter I thought he looked better and better as the game went on. He had a lovely spin move going to the rim and a nice putback that didn't count, but I loved the effort. His defense wasn't bad overall, but my goodness that chase down block was like watching a live murder on television if you were a Thunder fan. He was solid in the fourth quarter along with Kawhi to help the Spurs blow the game open. His shot was somewhat off but that is to be expected considering how many games he has missed recently. Simmons really showed in the second half what the Spurs had been missing while he was injured. While he has been up and down for the season if he can string together some solid performances this Spurs team becomes that much more dangerous.
Davis Bertans - B
His shot being off is incredibly frustrating as he was wide open as hell on a lot of them, but I do love the fact that he never hesitates and keeps shooting even when he misses several in a row. On the flipside, his defense was wonderful. He had some timely blocks and hustled on the boards. I wish he had a couple more shots go in for a higher grade but it's also quite telling that he had the best +/- on the team with a +20. He is the player I always wished Matt Bonner was. I hope he continues to get more minutes as the Spurs are onto a hidden gem right now.
Pop - A-
I loved the starting 5 he put out there tonight and his substitution patterns were on point from what I can remember. His timeouts were always at the right time (not when the Spurs were on a run and killing their momentum) and I thought the team played wonderful defense overall. Maybe the recent losses were getting to Pop as well as he was pacing up and down the sidelines a lot. I think Pop has been a bit frustrating at times this season, but when he's engaged and looks like he gives a shit, this team looks so much more fired up and locked in. His rotations tonight were very fair. Although I'm baffled at the lack of Murray especially when you consider our shaky backcourt, I liked that he gave Dedmon and Bertans decent minutes (Dedmon being in foul trouble wasn't Pop's fault). He also didn't over play Parker or Patty.
A nice showing overall :tu
Dejounte Murray, Kyle Anderson, and Joel Anthony barely played so I'm not going to do a write up on them as it would be pointless.
Tonight the Spurs started Dedmon/Aldridge/Kawhi/Green/Parker and that folks is a starting lineup I'd love to see more often. I'm not crazy about Pau at all this season, his defense is one of the worst for a starting big man in this league and his offense just doesn't generate enough to offset his poor defense. Dedmon had been up and down defensively lately but tonight we saw how much he can really bring and scored a majority of his points around the rim, many being generated from straight up hustle. Gasol likes to park himself 20 feet from the basket as does Aldridge (who seems to be less confident in his post game than ever) so I like having Dedmon around the rim which still gives Aldridge room to operate from mid range when necessary.
It was really nice to see the Spurs be so aggressive around the basket instead of settling for jumpers and giving the opposing defense an easy time. Parker, Lee, and Dedmon were all great at attacking the rim and causing havoc to a scrambling Thunder team. However, after coming out firing in the beginning of the third quarter, the Spurs completely fell apart and the Thunder rallied all the way back to take a 3 point lead with a couple minutes left in the third. Mills hit a huge three, and Kawhi went in total fuck you mode the rest of the game to help the Spurs open up the floodgates to a much needed win to right the ship. Aldridge and Simmons were also great in the second half with Aldridge playing some of his best defense of the season.
A nice win, but the elephant in the room is the team's atrocious free throw shooting. They nearly blew the Cleveland game with some horrid FT shooting, and lost a handful of close games this season that could have been solved at the FT line. On the upside, it was nice to see them be aggressive to earn 38 (!) free throws, but giving up 32 free throws on the other end isn't going to help. The defense was also pretty damn good on the whole. The second and third quarters got a little ugly, but the fourth quarter was really nice to see and holding the Thunder to 35% shooting for the night was great. While I can count on two fingers the number of games where the Spurs played really well for 48 minutes, it's hard not to be happy with the win considering how great Kawhi and Aldridge looked. When those two play well at the same time, this team can go toe to toe with virtually anybody.
https://s28.postimg.org/tic0mkt19/Screen_shot_2017_01_31_at_11_28_52_PM.png
https://s28.postimg.org/o871va8sd/Screen_shot_2017_01_31_at_11_28_41_PM.png
Grades
Tony Parker - B
While Parker has been up and down this season his ability to penetrate and create easy looks can't be underestimated. I hate the fact that the Spurs are in the bottom two in points in the paint as well as 3 point attempts (even if they do shoot well from downtown this season) but Parker (along with Murray, Simmons and Kawhi) are one of the few players who can slash to the rim. I also feel as though Parker isn't as slow or laboring as much as he was earlier in the season. Yeah, he missed all of his shots, but he actually passed very well and set up a lot of his teammates. I'm okay with this version of Parker, the one who doesn't force jumpers and tries to hero ball it, but the one who is aware of his age and plays within the offense.
Danny Green - C+
Wonderful block on Westbrook in the first quarter but holy cow is LDN cold. I know Danny has always been streaky but the amount of wide open three's he misses is absolutely staggering. It sucks because when Danny hits at least three 3's I believe the Spurs are 323-2. I may need to double check those numbers but I'm pretty sure that's about right. He hit a pair of 3's in the second half, but he's got to nail those open shots because they often lead to a huge momentum boost for the team. I liked his defense for the most part, and he's still one of the best fast break defenders in the league. Westbrook is always a tough cover, but I was okay with how Danny did. Just need to have his shooting to show up.
Kawhi Leonard - A+
I know it's been said many times over and over, but the growth and improvement that Kawhi Leonard shows every year is nothing short of astounding. I remember the controversy on this forum when the Spurs traded Hill for the rights to Leonard but my goodness did that end up being one of the greatest draft day trades in NBA history. Every year Kawhi brings something new to the table. While he started off a little slow and probably deferred to his teammates a little too much in the first quarter he began to establish himself with some nifty hook shots and being very aggressive in getting into the teeth of the Thunder's defense. He was huge in getting the Spurs the lead back towards the end of the third with a gorgeous turnaround jumper and a 3 point play to give the Spurs a 4 point lead heading into the fourth. Speaking of the fourth, Kawhi was just unconscious out there. He was doing it all with dunks in traffic, long range three's, step backs, fade aways, you name it. It was like messing around with him in NBA 2K on a practice court. His defense was also great as he forced some turnovers and had an epic block on Grant's dunk attempt.
While the media has gotten wise to Kawhi's ascension I still think his playmaking ability isn't talked about enough. While I wouldn't call him a stellar play maker he is definitely reading the defense better than ever and has gotten really good at finding the open man at the last second when attacking the rim. You couldn't have built a better SF for San Antonio in a lab if you tried. Crazy to think how much the small forward position was a sore spot for us after Bowen retired and now we have one of the two best SF's in the entire league. :wow
LaMarcus Aldridge - A
Aldridge was an abysmal 11-34 in his last two games so he really needed to bounce back tonight. He had a slow first half with some ticky tack fouls on the defensive end but came out firing in the second half with a nice pair of jumpers, got fouled on a jumper and nailed a 3 ball to have the Spurs increase their lead and assert themselves after OKC had regained some momentum before the half. He was also immense in the fourth quarter, but this time it was on the other end of the floor. He had some fantastic blocks (3 in total) and rebounds in traffic that really helped the Spurs blow open the game in the fourth. It was also wonderful to see him get 9 free throw attempts as being a jumpshooter doesn't favor his chances of getting to line, but his aggressiveness really paid off tonight. Aldridge has been wildly inconsistent this season but when he shows up the Spurs actually begin to look like a team worthy of their record. He may not be able to shoot a great percentage every night, but when he plays hard defensively I'll take some off nights offensively if he's going to man the paint and use his size to give the Spurs a yyyuuuuugggeeee advantage.
Manu Ginobili - B+
The man, the legend, my favorite Spur of all time. He actually looked good today with a nifty up and under in the first quarter to go with an almost 4 point play (eat your heart out Jamal Crawford) as well as some great passing without forcing the issue. This was one of his best offensive showings in quite some time. When Manu is playing well in his limited time it makes the bench look that much better. He also had some nice help defense forcing some turnovers. I hope we see this version of Manu more often who can reign in the turnovers and really dictate the offense like the bench needs him to. Going to be a dark day in Spurs history when he hangs it up so enjoy him while you can.
Patty Mills - B-
His shot is still somewhat off and when it's off he doesn't bring much to the table. These are also the type of games where Patty's lack of vision in the open court becomes very apparent. I feel he tends to overdribble a lot lately (like a certain someone, but I won't go there) and his defense once again leaves a lot to be desired. However, what I did like is that Patty didn't force up stupid shots. While he only took 4 shots all game, I'm okay with that when he decides to take what the defense gives him. And once again, his three ball towards the end of the third quarter was huge in giving the Spurs some momentum after blowing the lead.
David Lee - B+
Energy Energy Energy! He has to be one of the best bang for bucks any NBA team has gotten from the offseason. Sure, his defense isn't always stellar but how can you not love a guy who hustles on every play and is still deceptively athletic for his age. He was a wrecking ball when going at the rim and I thought it was hilarious when he showed the ref blood coming out of his mouth sarcastically saying "no foul, no foul" :lol
This was a damn fine game from Lee who was a real pain in the ass for the Thunder to deal with. He's been one of the biggest surprises of the season for the Spurs. He never got deterred from going to the rim even when he got blocked (and sometimes fouled without a call) and I think putting his head down and going straight down the middle did wonders for the Spurs when the offense was cold from outside. He was like a bull in a china shop.
Dewayne Dedmon - B
It was really nice to see him in the starting lineup and he had very active hands and played solid defense for the most part. It was awesome seeing him knock away loose balls leading to baskets for the Spurs and ripping away rebounds to get the Spurs the possession back. However, he did seem to gamble a bit too much at times. For example when Westbrook was posting up Green while Dedmon was fronting Adams, only to have Dedmon inexplicably double Westbrook who dished it to a wide open Adams under the basket. But that's okay, as Dedmon looked much better defensively than he has in some time. Loved the energy Dedmon brought tonight, as he even did great when being switched onto a smaller guard on the perimeter. In the second half he did find himself in foul trouble which is something he needs to work on. However, I love what he brings to the table and I hope we get to see more of this effort moving forward as his skillset is quite an asset for the Spurs defensively. I wish there was a way Pop would be willing to start Dedmon over Pau full time but you know the soft Spaniard would throw a hissy fit.
Jonathon Simmons - B
It was good to see him back and while he clearly looked rusty out there in the first quarter I thought he looked better and better as the game went on. He had a lovely spin move going to the rim and a nice putback that didn't count, but I loved the effort. His defense wasn't bad overall, but my goodness that chase down block was like watching a live murder on television if you were a Thunder fan. He was solid in the fourth quarter along with Kawhi to help the Spurs blow the game open. His shot was somewhat off but that is to be expected considering how many games he has missed recently. Simmons really showed in the second half what the Spurs had been missing while he was injured. While he has been up and down for the season if he can string together some solid performances this Spurs team becomes that much more dangerous.
Davis Bertans - B
His shot being off is incredibly frustrating as he was wide open as hell on a lot of them, but I do love the fact that he never hesitates and keeps shooting even when he misses several in a row. On the flipside, his defense was wonderful. He had some timely blocks and hustled on the boards. I wish he had a couple more shots go in for a higher grade but it's also quite telling that he had the best +/- on the team with a +20. He is the player I always wished Matt Bonner was. I hope he continues to get more minutes as the Spurs are onto a hidden gem right now.
Pop - A-
I loved the starting 5 he put out there tonight and his substitution patterns were on point from what I can remember. His timeouts were always at the right time (not when the Spurs were on a run and killing their momentum) and I thought the team played wonderful defense overall. Maybe the recent losses were getting to Pop as well as he was pacing up and down the sidelines a lot. I think Pop has been a bit frustrating at times this season, but when he's engaged and looks like he gives a shit, this team looks so much more fired up and locked in. His rotations tonight were very fair. Although I'm baffled at the lack of Murray especially when you consider our shaky backcourt, I liked that he gave Dedmon and Bertans decent minutes (Dedmon being in foul trouble wasn't Pop's fault). He also didn't over play Parker or Patty.
A nice showing overall :tu
Dejounte Murray, Kyle Anderson, and Joel Anthony barely played so I'm not going to do a write up on them as it would be pointless.