timvp
11-24-2018, 04:04 AM
https://i.imgur.com/6UMMLFK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UAULDgR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/46tcHkR.jpg
San Antonio began their four-game road trip on the right foot with an impressive 111-100 victory in Indiana. The Spurs got out to an early lead and, despite a few hiccups here and there, cruised to a relatively easy victory.
Sure, the Pacers didn't have All-Star Victor Oladipo (or Myles Turner, for that matter), but in their last home game Indiana demolished the Jazz. The Spurs desperately needed a feel-good victory on the road after getting robbed by a whistle (or a lack thereof) last game -- and that's exactly what they got.
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LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
After massively struggling with his shot lately, particularly on the road, LaMarcus Aldridge delivered a vintage performance on Friday night. And, honestly, it could have been even better. Aldridge totaled 33 points on 14-for-25 shooting from the floor but he also inexplicably missed a handful of shots in the first half that were within two feet of the basket. But more important, considering his recent midrange misfires, is the fact that he connected on 5-of-9 shots from outside of the paint. The foundation for his offensive eruption tonight was running the court hard and playing physically in the lane. He was simply too big and too strong for the Pacers to handle. Defensively, he was also solid; he guarded the rim well, moved his feet when defending pick-and-rolls and inhaled nine more defensive boards. Let's hope this all-around masterpiece (outside of his errant first half chip shots) is a performance he can build upon.
Grade: A
Summary: Aldridge was dominant and could have easily gone for 40-plus points.
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DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
With Aldridge doing a lot of heavy lifting on the offensive end, DeMar DeRozan played more of a facilitating role -- and it worked out. In most cases, I would criticize DeRozan for not being more aggressive but his laid-back approach was appropriate due to the circumstances. Although his scoring wasn't efficient, he handled the ball a lot, made a lot of plays for his teammates and limited his mistakes. On defense, he defended on the ball more than usual and did an admirable job. When the Spurs went small, DeRozan helped by boxing out with uncharacteristic vigor.
Grade: B
Summary: This wasn't a typical DeRozan affair but he adjusted to the situation well.
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Rudy Gay
https://i.imgur.com/vqYr2we.png
A healthy Rudy Gay continues to be the X factor for this year's Spurs squad. When he's active and moving well, the good guys look a whole lot better. Against the Pacers, he stuffed the stat sheet: 11 points, 12 rebounds, a team-high seven assists and zero turnovers in 27 minutes of action. Yeah, that's outstanding production. I will say that he missed about three or four other possible passes to open shooters -- but that's being rather picky. Defensively, he was better than usual. His main task was slowing down Thaddeus Young and he did that well. Pulling down a team-high 12 defensive boards was also extremely helpful.
Grade: A
Summary: Gay played really, really well.
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Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
Bryn Forbes played the role of The Closer tonight. In the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, he scored eight points and then assisted on a Gay three-pointer to push San Antonio's lead to 19 points and essentially end the game. Up until that point, he was struggling with his shot but Forbes came out firing in the fourth and it paid off. He did have some negatives: Forbes committed a season-high four turnovers, he had a couple careless fouls and his defense was erratic. But all's well that ends well, right?
Grade: B-
Summary: Forbes was iffy until a well-timed mini explosion in the fourth quarter.
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Dante Cunningham
https://i.imgur.com/W3QWUCI.png
Dante Cunningham was asked to defend Bojan Bogdanovic and, well, he couldn't. In the first quarter, Bogdanovic got Cunningham in foul trouble within two minutes. The truth is that Cunningham is too slow-footed to defend any player who even moonlights as a small forward on offense. His value on defense relies on hustle, boxing out and defending the mobile power forward types. On Friday night, Cunningham's offense was probably a bit better than usual. He moved with and without the ball confidently and avoided any blatant mistakes.
Grade: C-
Summary: It's tough to accept when your defensive specialist can't defend his man.
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Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Patty Mills put together another strong performance. Offensively, he was efficient scoring-wise, aided the team's overall ball movement, brought the ball up the court quickly and remained a constant threat. Defensively, he was flopping too much but he also recorded two of the team's three steals and did a better than usual job at stopping penetration.
Grade: A-
Summary: Mills is starting to string together positive outings.
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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli still isn't shooting straight but there were signs of improvement in Indiana. He was in attack-mode on offense but didn't solely rely on a happy trigger finger. Instead, he looked to pass early and often, which helped promote team-wide unselfishness. Defensively, he was average. Belinelli is going to have to start shooting better to truly reach his potential but this outing was at least a step in the right direction.
Grade: C+
Summary: Belinelli isn't making shots right now but he found other ways to help tonight.
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Jakob Poeltl
https://i.imgur.com/FUIlW00.png
The good: Jakob Poeltl continues to look more and more confident. When he moves freely and without thinking too much, he's quite mobile and can get up and down the floor fast. That aspect was valuable tonight in transition defense. Offensively, he actually looked decent next to Aldridge for the first time this season. He even authored a couple nice Pau Gasol-esque high-low passes. The bad: His positioning when defending pick-and-rolls left a lot to be desired. He struggled to hold his ground when the Pacers got physical, which made it difficult for him to come down with defensive rebounds.
Grade: B-
Summary: Poeltl is improving.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Davis Bertans is another player who appears to be rounding into form and finding his niche in this year's team. Offensively, he didn't hesitate; when he had an inch of space, he fired away. Bertans also made a couple plays off the dribble and looked comfortable doing so. Defensively, he made mistakes but I thought he gave better than usual effort when boxing out.
Grade: B
Summary: Bertans spaced the floor on offense, didn't get totally obliterated on defense.
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Derrick White
https://i.imgur.com/IrTA2dV.png
Derrick White continues to do a whole lot of nothing on offense. It's good that he has cut down on his mistakes but he needs to rev up his aggression-o-meter if he's to have any impact on that end. Right now, he doesn't look comfortable dribbling or shooting. Defensively, he made a few plays including drawing a charge in transition and challenging a couple shot attempts.
Grade: C+
Summary: Hopefully White has a confidence-boosting performance soon. He desperately needs one.
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Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
I thought Pop was too conservative and ended up playing Aldridge and DeRozan too many minutes. While, yes, blowing this victory by playing the bench too much would have really hurt, it never really seemed like the Pacers were primed to make much of a run. As it turned out, the Spurs now have a nearly impossible game tomorrow night in Milwaukee after Aldridge and DeRozan both logged 37 minutes. On the other hand, I liked that Pop rested Gay adequately, found extra minutes for Poeltl and sat Cunningham when he struggled. Pop drawing up multiple plays for Forbes in the fourth quarter also paid off handsomely.
Grade: C-
Summary: Pop didn't want to risk losing this game at all.
Looking ahead: This was a good win. The defense was stout and Aldridge hopefully busted out of his prolonged slump. Saturday night in Milwaukee is going to be really challenging but the Spurs have a chance if their new Big Three can carry forward the level of production we witnessed tonight.
https://i.imgur.com/UAULDgR.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/46tcHkR.jpg
San Antonio began their four-game road trip on the right foot with an impressive 111-100 victory in Indiana. The Spurs got out to an early lead and, despite a few hiccups here and there, cruised to a relatively easy victory.
Sure, the Pacers didn't have All-Star Victor Oladipo (or Myles Turner, for that matter), but in their last home game Indiana demolished the Jazz. The Spurs desperately needed a feel-good victory on the road after getting robbed by a whistle (or a lack thereof) last game -- and that's exactly what they got.
-------------
LaMarcus Aldridge
https://i.imgur.com/1nluyNF.png
After massively struggling with his shot lately, particularly on the road, LaMarcus Aldridge delivered a vintage performance on Friday night. And, honestly, it could have been even better. Aldridge totaled 33 points on 14-for-25 shooting from the floor but he also inexplicably missed a handful of shots in the first half that were within two feet of the basket. But more important, considering his recent midrange misfires, is the fact that he connected on 5-of-9 shots from outside of the paint. The foundation for his offensive eruption tonight was running the court hard and playing physically in the lane. He was simply too big and too strong for the Pacers to handle. Defensively, he was also solid; he guarded the rim well, moved his feet when defending pick-and-rolls and inhaled nine more defensive boards. Let's hope this all-around masterpiece (outside of his errant first half chip shots) is a performance he can build upon.
Grade: A
Summary: Aldridge was dominant and could have easily gone for 40-plus points.
-------------
DeMar DeRozan
https://i.imgur.com/ZKxGADZ.png
With Aldridge doing a lot of heavy lifting on the offensive end, DeMar DeRozan played more of a facilitating role -- and it worked out. In most cases, I would criticize DeRozan for not being more aggressive but his laid-back approach was appropriate due to the circumstances. Although his scoring wasn't efficient, he handled the ball a lot, made a lot of plays for his teammates and limited his mistakes. On defense, he defended on the ball more than usual and did an admirable job. When the Spurs went small, DeRozan helped by boxing out with uncharacteristic vigor.
Grade: B
Summary: This wasn't a typical DeRozan affair but he adjusted to the situation well.
-------------
Rudy Gay
https://i.imgur.com/vqYr2we.png
A healthy Rudy Gay continues to be the X factor for this year's Spurs squad. When he's active and moving well, the good guys look a whole lot better. Against the Pacers, he stuffed the stat sheet: 11 points, 12 rebounds, a team-high seven assists and zero turnovers in 27 minutes of action. Yeah, that's outstanding production. I will say that he missed about three or four other possible passes to open shooters -- but that's being rather picky. Defensively, he was better than usual. His main task was slowing down Thaddeus Young and he did that well. Pulling down a team-high 12 defensive boards was also extremely helpful.
Grade: A
Summary: Gay played really, really well.
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Bryn Forbes
https://i.imgur.com/yXVIEAs.png
Bryn Forbes played the role of The Closer tonight. In the first four and a half minutes of the fourth quarter, he scored eight points and then assisted on a Gay three-pointer to push San Antonio's lead to 19 points and essentially end the game. Up until that point, he was struggling with his shot but Forbes came out firing in the fourth and it paid off. He did have some negatives: Forbes committed a season-high four turnovers, he had a couple careless fouls and his defense was erratic. But all's well that ends well, right?
Grade: B-
Summary: Forbes was iffy until a well-timed mini explosion in the fourth quarter.
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Dante Cunningham
https://i.imgur.com/W3QWUCI.png
Dante Cunningham was asked to defend Bojan Bogdanovic and, well, he couldn't. In the first quarter, Bogdanovic got Cunningham in foul trouble within two minutes. The truth is that Cunningham is too slow-footed to defend any player who even moonlights as a small forward on offense. His value on defense relies on hustle, boxing out and defending the mobile power forward types. On Friday night, Cunningham's offense was probably a bit better than usual. He moved with and without the ball confidently and avoided any blatant mistakes.
Grade: C-
Summary: It's tough to accept when your defensive specialist can't defend his man.
-------------
Patty Mills
https://i.imgur.com/gTa4B5z.png
Patty Mills put together another strong performance. Offensively, he was efficient scoring-wise, aided the team's overall ball movement, brought the ball up the court quickly and remained a constant threat. Defensively, he was flopping too much but he also recorded two of the team's three steals and did a better than usual job at stopping penetration.
Grade: A-
Summary: Mills is starting to string together positive outings.
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Marco Belinelli
https://i.imgur.com/hP9vIFY.png
Marco Belinelli still isn't shooting straight but there were signs of improvement in Indiana. He was in attack-mode on offense but didn't solely rely on a happy trigger finger. Instead, he looked to pass early and often, which helped promote team-wide unselfishness. Defensively, he was average. Belinelli is going to have to start shooting better to truly reach his potential but this outing was at least a step in the right direction.
Grade: C+
Summary: Belinelli isn't making shots right now but he found other ways to help tonight.
-------------
Jakob Poeltl
https://i.imgur.com/FUIlW00.png
The good: Jakob Poeltl continues to look more and more confident. When he moves freely and without thinking too much, he's quite mobile and can get up and down the floor fast. That aspect was valuable tonight in transition defense. Offensively, he actually looked decent next to Aldridge for the first time this season. He even authored a couple nice Pau Gasol-esque high-low passes. The bad: His positioning when defending pick-and-rolls left a lot to be desired. He struggled to hold his ground when the Pacers got physical, which made it difficult for him to come down with defensive rebounds.
Grade: B-
Summary: Poeltl is improving.
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Davis Bertans
https://i.imgur.com/ucY2jSF.png
Davis Bertans is another player who appears to be rounding into form and finding his niche in this year's team. Offensively, he didn't hesitate; when he had an inch of space, he fired away. Bertans also made a couple plays off the dribble and looked comfortable doing so. Defensively, he made mistakes but I thought he gave better than usual effort when boxing out.
Grade: B
Summary: Bertans spaced the floor on offense, didn't get totally obliterated on defense.
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Derrick White
https://i.imgur.com/IrTA2dV.png
Derrick White continues to do a whole lot of nothing on offense. It's good that he has cut down on his mistakes but he needs to rev up his aggression-o-meter if he's to have any impact on that end. Right now, he doesn't look comfortable dribbling or shooting. Defensively, he made a few plays including drawing a charge in transition and challenging a couple shot attempts.
Grade: C+
Summary: Hopefully White has a confidence-boosting performance soon. He desperately needs one.
-------------
Pop
https://i.imgur.com/x7B1It7.jpg
I thought Pop was too conservative and ended up playing Aldridge and DeRozan too many minutes. While, yes, blowing this victory by playing the bench too much would have really hurt, it never really seemed like the Pacers were primed to make much of a run. As it turned out, the Spurs now have a nearly impossible game tomorrow night in Milwaukee after Aldridge and DeRozan both logged 37 minutes. On the other hand, I liked that Pop rested Gay adequately, found extra minutes for Poeltl and sat Cunningham when he struggled. Pop drawing up multiple plays for Forbes in the fourth quarter also paid off handsomely.
Grade: C-
Summary: Pop didn't want to risk losing this game at all.
Looking ahead: This was a good win. The defense was stout and Aldridge hopefully busted out of his prolonged slump. Saturday night in Milwaukee is going to be really challenging but the Spurs have a chance if their new Big Three can carry forward the level of production we witnessed tonight.