Nikos
11-06-2004, 05:12 PM
Here are my grades for the Laker game. I missed a few min in the beginning but saw most of it. Please feel free to give your grades or disagreements about a players grade, and I’ll average them in. Again I am trying to get grades for every game, so if you can chip in on the non-televised games that would be cool cause I don't get most Spurs games :depressed
TONY PARKER (93) – Had a hot start. Scored very efficiently, passed the ball well. One play I remember where he almost turned completely around to spot an open Manu for 3. I never really seen him make a pass like that, normally last season that would have been a shot or an attempted foray to the hoop in traffic. Even though Manu missed it TP made good decisions in terms of when to score and when to pass. Defense was reasonable except letting Atkins hit a corner three that helped cut the deficit, but that’s nitpicking. Heck of a game from Parker without even needing many shot attempts. If he could play similar to this most games, that would be awesome.
MANU GINOBILI (89) – Looked like himself, got a little sloppy in the beginning with the ball – would turn it over a few times right after stealing the ball but that’s forgivable. Helped give the team separation with some small scoring bursts in the first and third. Didn’t score too efficiently but had his moments where he made some nice plays on offense. Made some good passes. Had a huge steal on Kobe towards the end to kind of stop the Lakers run, had a solid block and generally did well on Kobe in spurts. Very solid overall game aside from the turnovers and the missed three point shots.
TIM DUNCAN (92) – Good game from Tim. Played great D, got in a bit of foul trouble, but generally came up with big baskets that helped the team maintain the lead. No one could stop him when he wanted to score or attack. Was shaky at the FT line, but aside from that a typical dominant Tim Duncan game despite being in foul trouble.
BRUCE BOWEN (86) – Solid defense from Bowen. Couldn’t convert the layup after TP’s pass on the fastbreak, could see it coming but just didn’t feel he did too much to keep the offense smooth. He shot reasonably, but at times didn’t always want him in the game despite his good D on Kobe. Had a solid block on Kobe. Good overall game, just wasn’t anything special on offense relative to the team.
RASHO NESTEROVIC (91) – Very good game from Rasho for the most part. Missed an easy bucket or two underneath but his outside shot was money. He hit some big shots to stop runs during the game as well. He was being setup reasonably well by Manu, Barry, and Beno and it showed in how confident he shot it. Props to him for hitting those shots. Last season I didn’t see him make those type of shots consistently, nor take them for that matter. Helped seal the game with the two HUGE offensive rebound/tap backs. Played good D and got a nice block on Kobe on the right wing. Made a nice pass to Manu too. Very smooth overall play from Rasho.
Brent Barry (90) – Very solid offensive game. Didn’t shoot lights out, but moved very effectively away from the ball and passed extremely well. Had 5 assists and 0 turnovers. When Brent, Manu, Beno were on the floor the passing was incredible. Brent thus far has been very efficient in his offense and has also made other players around him a bit better as well. Missed an open dunk and a few threes but generally was solid.
Robert Horry (82)– had a decent stint off the bench on offense, moved well and passed well. Scored a bit. His defense on Odom and in general was kind of weak from what I saw.
Beno Udrih (91) – Came in and kept the offense running smoothly. Moved well off the ball, created a few easy shots for his teammates. The best was the pass to Barry for 3. His shot looks off still and he did look like he hesitated a bit in terms of attacking in traffic for a layup, but did his job in 10 minutes of play. 4pts 4asts 0To’s in 10 min is basically all you can ask for when backing up TP. Only reason he doesn’t get an A was his slight hesitation on his shot and taking it to the basket for his own shot.
Malik Rose (INC) – didn’t really get in
Devin Brown (INC) -same as Malik
Popovich (92) Did well with the rotation. Gave Beno a chance to play key minutes and it paid off. Also seem to get some offense out of Horry when they had that 5 man passing unit in. Probably saw how well the team was passing it and decided to go with Horry over Malik. It seemed to work tonight, but who knows what Rose would have done?
Their was some complacency and laziness in spots for the Spurs, but they generally made plays when they had to. Overall the team played well and put on a passing clinic that was refreshing to watch. Looked very crisp offensively inside and out. Hopefully they can keep this up consistently.
**Again feel free to add your own comments, grades and I will average them in with mine most likely and enter them in the spreadsheet. Comments are welcome.
TONY PARKER (93) – Had a hot start. Scored very efficiently, passed the ball well. One play I remember where he almost turned completely around to spot an open Manu for 3. I never really seen him make a pass like that, normally last season that would have been a shot or an attempted foray to the hoop in traffic. Even though Manu missed it TP made good decisions in terms of when to score and when to pass. Defense was reasonable except letting Atkins hit a corner three that helped cut the deficit, but that’s nitpicking. Heck of a game from Parker without even needing many shot attempts. If he could play similar to this most games, that would be awesome.
MANU GINOBILI (89) – Looked like himself, got a little sloppy in the beginning with the ball – would turn it over a few times right after stealing the ball but that’s forgivable. Helped give the team separation with some small scoring bursts in the first and third. Didn’t score too efficiently but had his moments where he made some nice plays on offense. Made some good passes. Had a huge steal on Kobe towards the end to kind of stop the Lakers run, had a solid block and generally did well on Kobe in spurts. Very solid overall game aside from the turnovers and the missed three point shots.
TIM DUNCAN (92) – Good game from Tim. Played great D, got in a bit of foul trouble, but generally came up with big baskets that helped the team maintain the lead. No one could stop him when he wanted to score or attack. Was shaky at the FT line, but aside from that a typical dominant Tim Duncan game despite being in foul trouble.
BRUCE BOWEN (86) – Solid defense from Bowen. Couldn’t convert the layup after TP’s pass on the fastbreak, could see it coming but just didn’t feel he did too much to keep the offense smooth. He shot reasonably, but at times didn’t always want him in the game despite his good D on Kobe. Had a solid block on Kobe. Good overall game, just wasn’t anything special on offense relative to the team.
RASHO NESTEROVIC (91) – Very good game from Rasho for the most part. Missed an easy bucket or two underneath but his outside shot was money. He hit some big shots to stop runs during the game as well. He was being setup reasonably well by Manu, Barry, and Beno and it showed in how confident he shot it. Props to him for hitting those shots. Last season I didn’t see him make those type of shots consistently, nor take them for that matter. Helped seal the game with the two HUGE offensive rebound/tap backs. Played good D and got a nice block on Kobe on the right wing. Made a nice pass to Manu too. Very smooth overall play from Rasho.
Brent Barry (90) – Very solid offensive game. Didn’t shoot lights out, but moved very effectively away from the ball and passed extremely well. Had 5 assists and 0 turnovers. When Brent, Manu, Beno were on the floor the passing was incredible. Brent thus far has been very efficient in his offense and has also made other players around him a bit better as well. Missed an open dunk and a few threes but generally was solid.
Robert Horry (82)– had a decent stint off the bench on offense, moved well and passed well. Scored a bit. His defense on Odom and in general was kind of weak from what I saw.
Beno Udrih (91) – Came in and kept the offense running smoothly. Moved well off the ball, created a few easy shots for his teammates. The best was the pass to Barry for 3. His shot looks off still and he did look like he hesitated a bit in terms of attacking in traffic for a layup, but did his job in 10 minutes of play. 4pts 4asts 0To’s in 10 min is basically all you can ask for when backing up TP. Only reason he doesn’t get an A was his slight hesitation on his shot and taking it to the basket for his own shot.
Malik Rose (INC) – didn’t really get in
Devin Brown (INC) -same as Malik
Popovich (92) Did well with the rotation. Gave Beno a chance to play key minutes and it paid off. Also seem to get some offense out of Horry when they had that 5 man passing unit in. Probably saw how well the team was passing it and decided to go with Horry over Malik. It seemed to work tonight, but who knows what Rose would have done?
Their was some complacency and laziness in spots for the Spurs, but they generally made plays when they had to. Overall the team played well and put on a passing clinic that was refreshing to watch. Looked very crisp offensively inside and out. Hopefully they can keep this up consistently.
**Again feel free to add your own comments, grades and I will average them in with mine most likely and enter them in the spreadsheet. Comments are welcome.