timvp
12-09-2004, 05:35 AM
Tim Duncan
If you looked at the final score, you’d figure that Duncan had a bad game. If you looked at the stat sheet, you’d figure Duncan had a great game. The answer resides somewhere in the middle. The numbers against the Seattle Supersonics look impressive: 39 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and four blocks. But truth be told, Duncan struggled with some of the nuances of the game. His pick-and-roll defense was sub par and he oftentimes held the ball too long on offense. Overall, Duncan must be given his due for battling throughout the game. He needs to clean up a few loose ends, but the effort was there.
GRADE: 85
DECEMBER: 88.4
SEASON: 88.1
Bruce Bowen
After being called a “sissy” by Ray Allen last season, you’d think Bowen would come out ready to defend his honor. Guess again. Bowen got torched for the second time this season at the hands of his nemesis from Seattle. Allen scored 29 points, pulled down four rebounds and handed out three assists, while hitting 9-of-19 from the field, 5-of-9 from downtown and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Bowen, who played a season-high 37 minutes, tallied four points but finished and anemic 1-for-6 from the field. While he did a good job defending Allen in the third quarter, he was manhandled in the other three stanzas.
GRADE: 61
DECEMBER: 82.2
SEASON: 82.6
Rasho Nesterovic
If Nesterovic doesn’t show up for one of these games, the Spurs might want to consider placing his stoic face on the side of a milk carton. Their starting Slovenian center is nowhere to be found. After playing 11 ineffective and unenthusiastic minutes in the first half, Popovich glued Nesterovic to the bench for the second half. It’s tough to figure out what exactly is wrong with him. Is it a lack of confidence? Does he just not care enough to bring the necessary energy? Who knows, but the Spurs desperately need their starting center to show up for a game or two.
GRADE: 60
DECEMBER: 69.4
SEASON: 81.5
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili’s outside shot was falling, but he was unable to finish around the rim. For the game, he was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and only 1-for-9 on two-point attempts. He was in attack mode for most of the night, but his inability to finish at the rim diminished his effectiveness. He had a tough defensive assignment versus the 6-foot-10 Rashard Lewis, but did a pretty good job. Lewis scored 16 points and shot 6-for-11 from the field. Ginobili has had better nights, but this loss isn’t on him. There is a long list to go through before you get down to blaming Ginobili.
GRADE: 83
DECEMBER: 85.8
SEASON: 88.4
Tony Parker
It looked as if Parker had turned the corner, but then reverted into early season form against the Sonics. He had poor shot selection and wasn’t doing a good job of setting up his teammates. When the Spurs got down, he was playing too desperate and not sensible enough. The Spurs need him to be more evenhanded and just keep running the offense. For the game he finished with 16 points, four assists and three steals, while going 6-for-16 from the field, 1-for-6 on threes and 3-for-4 at the line. If there was a silver lining to his performance, it’d be that he played another good game defensively.
GRADE: 76
DECEMBER: 87.8
SEASON: 83.7
Malik Rose
Rose played a season-high 32 minutes and produced at an impressive rate. He recorded 10 points, six rebounds, an assist and a block, while hitting 5-for-9 from the field. Most important though was the energy and fire he brought to the court. He fought the Sonics for every inch and was up inciting the crowd throughout the game. He wanted to win this game and poured every ounce of himself out on the court. He had a couple mistakes here and there, but on the whole he played a very fine game.
GRADE: 91
DECEMBER: 87.4
SEASON: 86.4
Devin Brown
Brown played well, but not up to the recent standards he has set for himself. He completed the game with four points and four rebounds, while hitting 2-of-4 shots. His defense was adequate but could have been better. He lacked a little bit of that liveliness he had been bringing to the games, but it seemed like pretty much everyone was a step slow. Despite not having an overwhelming performance, Popovich must have liked what he saw enough to award him with 20 minutes of playing time.
GRADE: 85
DECEMBER: 90.4
SEASON: 84.1
Beno Udrih
This was not one of Udrih’s better showings of the year. He didn’t make an impact shooting the ball and was even worse at running the offense. He was pressured a lot by Seattle and didn’t get the team into its offensive sets. Also, a number of times he’d drive the lane and pass the ball out when he had an open layup. Scoring at the rim has been a problem so far for Udrih, who is trying to adjust to the athletes of the NBA.
GRADE: 77
DECEMBER: 85
SEASON: 82.4
Robert Horry
Horry brought a lot of oomph to the table, yet had a difficult night converting it into something positive. He finished with three points and three assists, while missing all three of his shots from the field. In a key stretch at the end of the third quarter, he failed to convert a couple shots around the basket that would have cut into the Sonics’ lead and changed the momentum in the game. His rebounding problem also persists, as he grabbed only one rebound in 13 minutes of play.
GRADE: 77
DECEMBER: 83.5
SEASON: 83.5
Brent Barry
Playing against his former teammates, Barry did next to nothing. After playing six minutes in the first half and hardly contributing anything other than substandard defense, Barry didn’t get off the pine in the second half. In addition to not hitting shots, he’s obviously not comfortable out on the court. The Spurs need him to find his rhythm and start to contribute so that these types of losses are few and far between.
GRADE: 76
DECEMBER: 73.2
SEASON: 86.4
If you looked at the final score, you’d figure that Duncan had a bad game. If you looked at the stat sheet, you’d figure Duncan had a great game. The answer resides somewhere in the middle. The numbers against the Seattle Supersonics look impressive: 39 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and four blocks. But truth be told, Duncan struggled with some of the nuances of the game. His pick-and-roll defense was sub par and he oftentimes held the ball too long on offense. Overall, Duncan must be given his due for battling throughout the game. He needs to clean up a few loose ends, but the effort was there.
GRADE: 85
DECEMBER: 88.4
SEASON: 88.1
Bruce Bowen
After being called a “sissy” by Ray Allen last season, you’d think Bowen would come out ready to defend his honor. Guess again. Bowen got torched for the second time this season at the hands of his nemesis from Seattle. Allen scored 29 points, pulled down four rebounds and handed out three assists, while hitting 9-of-19 from the field, 5-of-9 from downtown and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Bowen, who played a season-high 37 minutes, tallied four points but finished and anemic 1-for-6 from the field. While he did a good job defending Allen in the third quarter, he was manhandled in the other three stanzas.
GRADE: 61
DECEMBER: 82.2
SEASON: 82.6
Rasho Nesterovic
If Nesterovic doesn’t show up for one of these games, the Spurs might want to consider placing his stoic face on the side of a milk carton. Their starting Slovenian center is nowhere to be found. After playing 11 ineffective and unenthusiastic minutes in the first half, Popovich glued Nesterovic to the bench for the second half. It’s tough to figure out what exactly is wrong with him. Is it a lack of confidence? Does he just not care enough to bring the necessary energy? Who knows, but the Spurs desperately need their starting center to show up for a game or two.
GRADE: 60
DECEMBER: 69.4
SEASON: 81.5
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili’s outside shot was falling, but he was unable to finish around the rim. For the game, he was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and only 1-for-9 on two-point attempts. He was in attack mode for most of the night, but his inability to finish at the rim diminished his effectiveness. He had a tough defensive assignment versus the 6-foot-10 Rashard Lewis, but did a pretty good job. Lewis scored 16 points and shot 6-for-11 from the field. Ginobili has had better nights, but this loss isn’t on him. There is a long list to go through before you get down to blaming Ginobili.
GRADE: 83
DECEMBER: 85.8
SEASON: 88.4
Tony Parker
It looked as if Parker had turned the corner, but then reverted into early season form against the Sonics. He had poor shot selection and wasn’t doing a good job of setting up his teammates. When the Spurs got down, he was playing too desperate and not sensible enough. The Spurs need him to be more evenhanded and just keep running the offense. For the game he finished with 16 points, four assists and three steals, while going 6-for-16 from the field, 1-for-6 on threes and 3-for-4 at the line. If there was a silver lining to his performance, it’d be that he played another good game defensively.
GRADE: 76
DECEMBER: 87.8
SEASON: 83.7
Malik Rose
Rose played a season-high 32 minutes and produced at an impressive rate. He recorded 10 points, six rebounds, an assist and a block, while hitting 5-for-9 from the field. Most important though was the energy and fire he brought to the court. He fought the Sonics for every inch and was up inciting the crowd throughout the game. He wanted to win this game and poured every ounce of himself out on the court. He had a couple mistakes here and there, but on the whole he played a very fine game.
GRADE: 91
DECEMBER: 87.4
SEASON: 86.4
Devin Brown
Brown played well, but not up to the recent standards he has set for himself. He completed the game with four points and four rebounds, while hitting 2-of-4 shots. His defense was adequate but could have been better. He lacked a little bit of that liveliness he had been bringing to the games, but it seemed like pretty much everyone was a step slow. Despite not having an overwhelming performance, Popovich must have liked what he saw enough to award him with 20 minutes of playing time.
GRADE: 85
DECEMBER: 90.4
SEASON: 84.1
Beno Udrih
This was not one of Udrih’s better showings of the year. He didn’t make an impact shooting the ball and was even worse at running the offense. He was pressured a lot by Seattle and didn’t get the team into its offensive sets. Also, a number of times he’d drive the lane and pass the ball out when he had an open layup. Scoring at the rim has been a problem so far for Udrih, who is trying to adjust to the athletes of the NBA.
GRADE: 77
DECEMBER: 85
SEASON: 82.4
Robert Horry
Horry brought a lot of oomph to the table, yet had a difficult night converting it into something positive. He finished with three points and three assists, while missing all three of his shots from the field. In a key stretch at the end of the third quarter, he failed to convert a couple shots around the basket that would have cut into the Sonics’ lead and changed the momentum in the game. His rebounding problem also persists, as he grabbed only one rebound in 13 minutes of play.
GRADE: 77
DECEMBER: 83.5
SEASON: 83.5
Brent Barry
Playing against his former teammates, Barry did next to nothing. After playing six minutes in the first half and hardly contributing anything other than substandard defense, Barry didn’t get off the pine in the second half. In addition to not hitting shots, he’s obviously not comfortable out on the court. The Spurs need him to find his rhythm and start to contribute so that these types of losses are few and far between.
GRADE: 76
DECEMBER: 73.2
SEASON: 86.4