If you were to grade each player defensively

[Nikos]

Not on last night, but on the season.

On a scale of 1-10, in increments of .25, how does each player rank?

Please consider -- man/containment defense, team defense (help), ability to force TO's, how well the player challenges shots etc.....

Rasho
Duncan
Bowen
Ginobili
Parker

Mohammed
Horry
Finley
Barry
Van Exel
Beno


Considering the Spurs are again the #1 team in the league defensively by a wide margin -- I guess their team defense would probably rank as a 9.75/10. They are elite, but not quite as good as the last two seasons....

Thanks

[nkdlunch]

rasho 9
duncan 9
bowen 10
manu 7
parker 6

nazr 7
horry 8
finley 6

the rest get a mediocre 5

[leemajors]

last night team defense was a d.

[leemajors]

rasho 9
duncan 9
bowen 10
manu 7
parker 6

nazr 7
horry 8
finley 6

the rest get a mediocre 5

i agree but would give nazr a 4 or 5

[Spurminator]

Rasho 7.75
Duncan 9.75
Bowen 9.75
Ginobili 8.25
Parker 8.0

Mohammed 5.25
Horry 6.0
Finley 5.5
Barry 4.75
Van Exel 3.75
Beno 4.25

[angel_luv]

Consistent top four:
Bruce, Timmy, Rasho, and Gino.


Ranking the rest is to nitpicky for me. They all have their nights.

[Nikos]

Rasho 7.75
Duncan 9.75
Bowen 9.75
Ginobili 8.25
Parker 8.0

Mohammed 5.25
Horry 6.0
Finley 5.5
Barry 4.75
Van Exel 3.75
Beno 4.25

Just one thing I want to mention that I should have mentioned in the starter post. Consider Horry being healthy and the calibur of defense he plays in the playoffs. Horry certainly is worth more than a 6 right?

[zeleni]

Rasho 8
Duncan 8,5
Bowen 8,5
Ginobili 8
Parker 8

Mohammed 5
Horry 7
Finley 7
Barry 5,5
Van Exel 5
Beno 7.5
Oberto 6
Marks 6

[14dave]

Rasho 8,5
Duncan 9
Bowen 9,5
Ginobili 8
Parker 8,5

Mohammed 4
Horry 7,5
Finley 6
Barry 7
Van Exel 3
Beno 4,5

[Manu'sMagicalLeftHand]

Rasho 8.5
Duncan 9
Bowen 9.5
Ginobili 7.5
Parker 7

Mohammed 5
Horry 6.5
Finley 6
Barry 5
Van Exel 5
Beno 4.5
Marks 5
Oberto 5

[Supergirl]

I agree with angel_luv - Timmy, Bowen, Manu, and Rasho are consistently the best defenders we have. I'd give them all a 10, at their WORST a 9.

Parker and Horry both excellent defenders, but they take breaks sometimes and and cheat on defense. I give them 8's.

Finley is better defensively but still only about a 7 at best. Barry is about a 5 or 6.
Nazr is about a 6 as well. He's a good rebounder but not a very good defender, though occassionally he has his nights and he jumps up to an 8.

[Spurminator]

Just one thing I want to mention that I should have mentioned in the starter post. Consider Horry being healthy and the calibur of defense he plays in the playoffs. Horry certainly is worth more than a 6 right?

I might consider a slightly higher grade based on his ability to draw a charge, but aside from that and an occasional block on help defense, I don't see him as a great defender.

6, on my scale, is about average.

[kskonn]

Rasho 8.5
Duncan 9
Bowen 9.5
Ginobili 7.5
Parker 7

Mohammed 5
Horry 6.5
Finley 6
Barry 5
Van Exel 5
Beno 4.5
Marks 5
Oberto 5

I agree with everyone except marks, I give him about a 5.75.

[Leetonidas]

Rasho 9.5 - He's playing awesome post D.
Duncan 8.5 - PF has hobbled him.
Bowen 9.0 - Only because of the New Jersey Game, and the last two.
Ginobili 8 - Consistent Gino.
Parker 7.5 - Consistent Tony.

Mohammed 2 - Horrible post D.
Horry 7 - Blocks and rebounds.
Finley 4.5 - Getting torched by a lot of SG's and SF's.
Barry 4.75 - *Cough*
Van Exel 2.75 :rolleyes
Beno 5.5 - Hasn't played enough
Marks 8.5 - Marks has been playing good D when he's in.

[timvp]

On the season:

Rasho 8
Duncan 7.75
Bowen 9.5
Ginobili 8.25
Parker 8.25

Mohammed 4
Horry 7.5
Finley 7
Barry 6.5
Van Exel 5
Beno 5
Oberto 5
Marks 4

By the time the playoffs come, I expect:

Rasho 7.5
Duncan 9
Bowen 9.5
Ginobili 8.5
Parker 8.5

Mohammed 7
Horry 9
Finley 6.5
Barry 6
Van Exel 6
Beno 6
Oberto 6
Marks 5


Duncan hasn't played that well defensively yet this year. He rotations have be slow and he's getting beat around the rim more than usual. However, he can flip that switch when he wants to and all of a sudden turns into a monster defensively.

Horry is another guy who is a great defender when he wants to be. Last year in the playoffs, his rotation and his ability to close out on shooters was great. His improvement defensively in the Spurs' system from 2004 to 2005 was a big reason the Spurs won it all.

Parker and Manu are both pretty damn good defenders, even though that never gets talked about. Parker is always hounding the other team's point guards and rarely allows open shots and Manu can be a lockdown defender in key situations.

Rasho has been good but his game seems to be declining for some reason. During the rodeo road trip he's been an average defender at best. He's still better than Nazr, Oberto and Marks defensively, but that's not saying much. Nazr has actually improved slightly and seems to be getting better and better. Against the 76ers, he made the right rotations most of the time. I even saw him switch off on AI and actually keep him in front of him. I almost fainted.

The rest of the bench is filled with mediocre defenders. Finley has a chance to be a pretty good defender, but he still has a ways to go. Oberto, before his injury, was showing signs of being a decent NBA defender.

Overall, the Spurs have played pretty well defensively this season, but they have another level they can get to. The key to getting there is Duncan and Horry stepping it up a notch as the playoffs near.

[Peter]

When the Spurs face Detroit in the Finals:

Rasho 0.5

This team is about winning championships. Rasho can be useful against other teams but against the Pistons he's close to worthless.

[Nikos]

When the Spurs face Detroit in the Finals:

Rasho 0.5

This team is about winning championships. Rasho can be useful against other teams but against the Pistons he's close to worthless.

Why not take a stab at ratings Peter?

[Peter]

I'm too old.

[spurs=bling]

for last nights game i give the team a..........................



F

[NZHayden]

marks - 10

[Nikos]

I'm too old.

Give it a shot.

[ducks]

I'm too old.

I guess if you are to old you should know better then wasting time here

:lol :lol :lol :lol

[duncan2k5]

no way is timmy a 9 this season. i still remember how troy murphy schooled him. i know he is injured, but that should factor into it. plus i think he has a career low in blocks. he gets a 7-8. finley gets a 5. the whole team gets a 8.

[Nikos]

On the season:

Rasho 8
Duncan 7.75
Bowen 9.5
Ginobili 8.25
Parker 8.25

Mohammed 4
Horry 7.5
Finley 7
Barry 6.5
Van Exel 5
Beno 5
Oberto 5
Marks 4

By the time the playoffs come, I expect:

Rasho 7.5
Duncan 9
Bowen 9.5
Ginobili 8.5
Parker 8.5

Mohammed 7
Horry 9
Finley 6.5
Barry 6
Van Exel 6
Beno 6
Oberto 6
Marks 5


Good call on Horry IMO timvp. I think by playoff time he is an excellent defender. He may be undersized in the post, and is not the best rebounder, but he does a good job on most forwards. He forced what seemed like several key TO's in fourth quarters on D, and in general contested shots very well. He is a very good defender IMO when motivated and playing his best ball.

timvp, what did you rate Duncan's D in the previous seasons when healthy? Just curious?

[Nikos]

I might post another thread as a spinoff to this about Duncan vs Bowen.

But in general does anyone here think Duncan is the main reason the defense is elite since 2004? I know Bowen may be the best man defender in the league at guard, in a league that is at its peak with elite swingmen.....But Duncan is the BIG MAN who at his best can guard his man very well AND provide excellent team defense.

Isn't Duncan the more valuable defender when healthy?

[Spurminator]

I think Duncan is absolutely more valuable, by virtue of his size which translates into blocks and forced misses. We've seen that while Bowen is still great at making his opponent work for shots, without a reliable defender in the post he can be easily screened off his man. Duncan has less area to cover.

They help each other tremendously. Without good defense on the perimeter, Duncan has to cover more ground and disrupt more penetration. Without a shotblocking presence, Bowen has to back off his man a little and work harder to avoid screens. But if I had to choose, I think I'd want a dominant presence near the basket to disrupt as many easy baskets as possible, and to clear the boards.

[Chris]

Rasho - 8
Duncan - 10 easily
Bowen - another easy 10
Ginobili - 9
Parker - 6 maybe 7

Mohammed - 7 extra point for above average rebounding
Horry - 7
Finley - hasn't changed his d up much probably a 4 maybe 5
Barry - a generous 6
Van Exel - 6
Beno - 6 maybe 7

Marks - 6-7ish
Oberto - Fabio only gets a 7 until i get to see more but i like what i see so far


Average Spurs Defense = 7.7