timvp
05-03-2007, 01:31 AM
Tim Duncan
20.2 Points
10.6 Rebounds
5.4 Assists
3.0 Blocks
.473 Field Goal Percentage
Denver threw a lot of physical bigmen at Duncan and Duncan responded with an overall balanced performance. With the Spurs playing with an inside-out offensive philosophy, Duncan was a huge part of the action on both sides of the court. Although he did miss more easy shots than usual, it's hard to criticize his overall dominance in this series.
Grade: B+
Manu Ginobili
13.4 Points
5.0 Rebounds
3.8 Assists
1.2 Steals
.339 Field Goal Percentage
.261 Three Point Percentage
Stopping Ginobili was a priority for George Karl and the Nuggets and overall Denver had to be happy with the job they did on the Spurs star shooting guard. With the lane clogged, Ginobili was forced to shoot more shots further away from the basket. To Ginobili's credit, he made up for his lack of scoring with his rebounding, passing, momentum altering baskets and overall team play. However, down the line, the Spurs will need more of a scoring punch out of Ginobili.
Grade: C+
Tony Parker
18.2 Points
6.8 Assists
3.2 Rebounds
.442 Field Goal Percentage
Parker bounced back from a couple of games early in the series where he didn't play well to turn in one of his most complete performances in his playoff history. Parker outplayed Allen Iverson, who the Spurs point guard was matched up with a good portion of the time. He became more and more aggressive offensively as the series went on, while also progressively getting better on the defensive end.
Grade: B+
Bruce Bowen
6.0 Points
2.6 Rebounds
1.6 Assists
1.6 Steals
.462 Field Goal Percentage
.400 Three Point Percentage
Bowen played only 19 minutes in the Game 1 loss. In the next four contests, Bowen never played less than 34 minutes. His defense in the last four games was a huge reason why the Spurs won the series. He switched defensively between Iverson and Carmelo Anthony without skipping a beat. Bowen's offense was also improved compared to his regular season numbers.
Grade: B+
Francisco Elson
3.2 Points
4.8 Rebounds
0.4 Blocks
.400 Field Goal Percentage
Elson had a tough series. Other than Game 5, he was constantly hurting the Spurs on both ends of the court. Offensively, he was hesitant to assert himself (he finished the series without an assist). Defensively, he was oftentimes late on rotations and not physical enough in the low blocks. The Nuggets were a difficult matchup for Elson, who should play better against a less physical team such as the Phoenix Suns.
Grade: C-
Michael Finley
16.0 Points
3.8 Rebounds
.467 Field Goal Percentage
.528 Three Point Percentage
Finley was the long range bomber the Spurs needed versus the sagging Nuggets defense. He hit at least one three-pointer in each contest, finishing with 19 on the series. Perhaps equally as impressive, he defended Anthony well. If Finley can keep knocking down his shots and playing defense, he's going to be a huge part of the Spurs playoff push.
Grade: A-
Brent Barry
1.8 Points
1.2 Assists
.273 Field Goal Percentage
.273 Field Goal Percentage
Barry didn't get into any sort of a groove against the Nuggets. The most minutes he played in a game was 12, which obviously wasn't enough to get him going. All 11 of his field goal attempts were from beyond the arc, as Denver was trying to force the Spurs to beat them from downtown. The bright spot for the series was his crisp passing.
Grade: C
Fabricio Oberto
5.2 Points
5.4 Rebounds
0.6 Assists
.591 Field Goal Percentage
Oberto scared San Antonio before the playoffs started when he was diagnosed with a heart condition. Luckily, he recovered in time for Game 1 and was a huge part of the Spurs success. He played smart basketball and matched the physicality of the Nuggets. He was the king of the intangibles and could even be considered as the Spurs most valuable player of the series.
Grade: A
Robert Horry
7.8 Points
3.6 Rebounds
1.4 Blocks
.500 Field Goal Percentage
.375 Three Point Percentage
Horry looked finished in the regular season. But not only is Horry alive and kicking, he had enough in the tank to sink the Nuggets. Horry had big shots and big plays all series long. From his momentum changing block in Game 2, to his clinching shot in Game 4, Horry did it all. With even more heroics, Horry has cemented himself as one of the clutchest players in NBA history.
Grade: A
Jacque Vaughn
2.4 Points
1.4 Assists
.417 Field Goal Percentage
Vaughn came out ready to rumble from the opening tip of Game 1. However, he didn't settle down and really start playing good basketball until Game 4. The last two games Vaughn was a very good player off the bench for the Spurs. If he can continue to spell Parker to keep Parker fresh, that's going to help the team in the long run.
Grade: B
Gregg Popovich
Pop's in-series adjustments were key to the Spurs ending the series as soon as they did. In Game 1, he tried to put the most shooters on the court as possible. After that didn't work, he went back to relying solely of defense winning the series for the Spurs. Pop also kept the Spurs playing inside-out on offense, which wore down and eventually beat the Nuggets. He managed minutes well and did an infinitely better job of utilizing his bench than Karl did his. Pop's championship level coaching was on full display in this series.
Grade: B+
Overall
The Spurs rebounded well from the Game 1 defeat to win the series in five games. Although the overall outcome was the same as 2005 versus Denver, this Nuggets team was a lot better. Denver played at a level that would have given any team in the playoffs trouble. That said, the Spurs handled them in impressive fashion. Led by their defense and inside-out offensive approach, the Spurs fought their way to the second round.
Grade: B+
Game 1 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64981)
Game 2 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65247)
Game 3 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65492)
Game 4 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65707)
Game 5 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65920)
20.2 Points
10.6 Rebounds
5.4 Assists
3.0 Blocks
.473 Field Goal Percentage
Denver threw a lot of physical bigmen at Duncan and Duncan responded with an overall balanced performance. With the Spurs playing with an inside-out offensive philosophy, Duncan was a huge part of the action on both sides of the court. Although he did miss more easy shots than usual, it's hard to criticize his overall dominance in this series.
Grade: B+
Manu Ginobili
13.4 Points
5.0 Rebounds
3.8 Assists
1.2 Steals
.339 Field Goal Percentage
.261 Three Point Percentage
Stopping Ginobili was a priority for George Karl and the Nuggets and overall Denver had to be happy with the job they did on the Spurs star shooting guard. With the lane clogged, Ginobili was forced to shoot more shots further away from the basket. To Ginobili's credit, he made up for his lack of scoring with his rebounding, passing, momentum altering baskets and overall team play. However, down the line, the Spurs will need more of a scoring punch out of Ginobili.
Grade: C+
Tony Parker
18.2 Points
6.8 Assists
3.2 Rebounds
.442 Field Goal Percentage
Parker bounced back from a couple of games early in the series where he didn't play well to turn in one of his most complete performances in his playoff history. Parker outplayed Allen Iverson, who the Spurs point guard was matched up with a good portion of the time. He became more and more aggressive offensively as the series went on, while also progressively getting better on the defensive end.
Grade: B+
Bruce Bowen
6.0 Points
2.6 Rebounds
1.6 Assists
1.6 Steals
.462 Field Goal Percentage
.400 Three Point Percentage
Bowen played only 19 minutes in the Game 1 loss. In the next four contests, Bowen never played less than 34 minutes. His defense in the last four games was a huge reason why the Spurs won the series. He switched defensively between Iverson and Carmelo Anthony without skipping a beat. Bowen's offense was also improved compared to his regular season numbers.
Grade: B+
Francisco Elson
3.2 Points
4.8 Rebounds
0.4 Blocks
.400 Field Goal Percentage
Elson had a tough series. Other than Game 5, he was constantly hurting the Spurs on both ends of the court. Offensively, he was hesitant to assert himself (he finished the series without an assist). Defensively, he was oftentimes late on rotations and not physical enough in the low blocks. The Nuggets were a difficult matchup for Elson, who should play better against a less physical team such as the Phoenix Suns.
Grade: C-
Michael Finley
16.0 Points
3.8 Rebounds
.467 Field Goal Percentage
.528 Three Point Percentage
Finley was the long range bomber the Spurs needed versus the sagging Nuggets defense. He hit at least one three-pointer in each contest, finishing with 19 on the series. Perhaps equally as impressive, he defended Anthony well. If Finley can keep knocking down his shots and playing defense, he's going to be a huge part of the Spurs playoff push.
Grade: A-
Brent Barry
1.8 Points
1.2 Assists
.273 Field Goal Percentage
.273 Field Goal Percentage
Barry didn't get into any sort of a groove against the Nuggets. The most minutes he played in a game was 12, which obviously wasn't enough to get him going. All 11 of his field goal attempts were from beyond the arc, as Denver was trying to force the Spurs to beat them from downtown. The bright spot for the series was his crisp passing.
Grade: C
Fabricio Oberto
5.2 Points
5.4 Rebounds
0.6 Assists
.591 Field Goal Percentage
Oberto scared San Antonio before the playoffs started when he was diagnosed with a heart condition. Luckily, he recovered in time for Game 1 and was a huge part of the Spurs success. He played smart basketball and matched the physicality of the Nuggets. He was the king of the intangibles and could even be considered as the Spurs most valuable player of the series.
Grade: A
Robert Horry
7.8 Points
3.6 Rebounds
1.4 Blocks
.500 Field Goal Percentage
.375 Three Point Percentage
Horry looked finished in the regular season. But not only is Horry alive and kicking, he had enough in the tank to sink the Nuggets. Horry had big shots and big plays all series long. From his momentum changing block in Game 2, to his clinching shot in Game 4, Horry did it all. With even more heroics, Horry has cemented himself as one of the clutchest players in NBA history.
Grade: A
Jacque Vaughn
2.4 Points
1.4 Assists
.417 Field Goal Percentage
Vaughn came out ready to rumble from the opening tip of Game 1. However, he didn't settle down and really start playing good basketball until Game 4. The last two games Vaughn was a very good player off the bench for the Spurs. If he can continue to spell Parker to keep Parker fresh, that's going to help the team in the long run.
Grade: B
Gregg Popovich
Pop's in-series adjustments were key to the Spurs ending the series as soon as they did. In Game 1, he tried to put the most shooters on the court as possible. After that didn't work, he went back to relying solely of defense winning the series for the Spurs. Pop also kept the Spurs playing inside-out on offense, which wore down and eventually beat the Nuggets. He managed minutes well and did an infinitely better job of utilizing his bench than Karl did his. Pop's championship level coaching was on full display in this series.
Grade: B+
Overall
The Spurs rebounded well from the Game 1 defeat to win the series in five games. Although the overall outcome was the same as 2005 versus Denver, this Nuggets team was a lot better. Denver played at a level that would have given any team in the playoffs trouble. That said, the Spurs handled them in impressive fashion. Led by their defense and inside-out offensive approach, the Spurs fought their way to the second round.
Grade: B+
Game 1 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64981)
Game 2 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65247)
Game 3 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65492)
Game 4 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65707)
Game 5 Grades (http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65920)