timvp
12-22-2004, 06:41 PM
Tim Duncan
Against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, Duncan had one of his rare off games. He forced some shots at times and at other times he held the ball too long. His passes could have been crisper and he was bogging down the offense early in the game. To his credit, Cliff Robinson played him well defensively. For the game, Duncan finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Defensively, it appears that Duncan is trying to dominate on that side of the court more than ever this season. He’s rotating better than he ever has and is averaging a career-high 3.24 blocked shots.
GRADE: 79
DECEMBER: 88.1
SEASON: 88
Bruce Bowen
Oddly enough, Bowen’s offense was ahead of his defense against Golden State. He made 5-of-9 shots from the field to finish with ten points. He did a very good job of penetrating, running the fast breaks and finishing. His defense, on the other hand, wasn’t up to his usual standard. Jason Richardson had a good game, scoring 22 points and shooting 10-for-19 from the floor. Richardson was overpowering and used his superior athletic ability against Bowen. However, as the game went on, Bowen did a better and better job on Richardson. For the month, the Spurs’ defensive ace is shooting 46.8% from the field.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 83.4
SEASON: 83.8
Rasho Nesterovic
Nesterovic’s defense was pretty impressive versus the Warriors. He finished with three blocks in 30 minutes of action. The 30 minutes played tied his high for the month. As has been well documented, the Slovenian center is in a prolonged funk. He’s been coming out of it lately, but the struggles continue for the most part. Though he played defense well and was active overall, he only had four points and four rebounds to go along with those blocks. The Spurs will need more out of him. If not, look for Karl Malone to be starting within the month.
GRADE: 82
DECEMBER: 76.2
SEASON: 81.8
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili had his problems with back-to-backs earlier in the season, but played exceedingly well Saturday night. He was all over the place, scoring 21 points, pulling down seven rebounds, dishing out six assists and swiping two steals. He shot 8-for-14 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 3-for-5 from the free throw line. While his four turnovers are somewhat a concern, the Spurs would rather him always been attacking as opposed to playing cautious.
GRADE: 94
DECEMBER: 86.1
SEASON: 88
Tony Parker
It seems like Parker is starting to figure it out. He’s not settling for his jumpers anymore, rather he’s penetrating and creating off the dribble. He’s figured out over the years how to finish around the basket and now he’s getting back to that. As a result, he’s shooting percentage and assist numbers have been rising over the last couple weeks. Against Golden State, Parker finished with 21 points, nine assists and four rebounds. If he can keep getting into the lane and causing havoc, his numbers will continue to be impressive.
GRADE: 94
DECEMBER: 88
SEASON: 84.6
Devin Brown
Brown played well throughout the game, despite his perimeter shooting being a little shaky. He finished 3-for-7 from the field, 0-for-2 from downtown and 4-for-4 from the line. This early in his career, Brown is destined to be a streaky shooter. The key is he needs to stay confident in his shot and don’t hesitate. Nothing makes a player fall out of favor with Popovich faster than a player who doesn’t take an open shot.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 86.8
SEASON: 85.3
Robert Horry
The Spurs have to be happy with how Horry is playing as of late. He started off the season stiff and wasn’t getting many rebounds, but he’s turned that around. Against Golden State, he had seven rebounds, two points, two assists and two steals in 19 minutes of playing time. It’s his third good game in a row and he’s now slowly earning more and more minutes.
GRADE: 89
DECEMBER: 86.1
SEASON: 83.6
Beno Udrih
It’s becoming an everyday occurrence for Udrih. He’s coming into game and producing right away. In 15 minutes, the rookie point guard had 11 points, three assists and two rebounds. His shooting, like usual, was very good. He was 3-for-5 from the floor, 1-for-1 from three-point land and 4-for-4 from the line. If he can keep hitting his shots at his current clip he won’t only earn more point guard minutes, he could also earn minutes at the shooting guard position.
GRADE: 89
DECEMBER: 87.8
SEASON: 84
Brent Barry
Barry had his best game in a long, long while. He was active on both sides of the court and seemed more at ease with himself. He was 3-for-4 from the field, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc. It was only the second time He also chipped in with two assists, two rebounds and a steal. If he can play this well, Popovich will find minutes to give him.
GRADE: 87
DECEMBER: 75.3
SEASON: 81.8
Against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, Duncan had one of his rare off games. He forced some shots at times and at other times he held the ball too long. His passes could have been crisper and he was bogging down the offense early in the game. To his credit, Cliff Robinson played him well defensively. For the game, Duncan finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Defensively, it appears that Duncan is trying to dominate on that side of the court more than ever this season. He’s rotating better than he ever has and is averaging a career-high 3.24 blocked shots.
GRADE: 79
DECEMBER: 88.1
SEASON: 88
Bruce Bowen
Oddly enough, Bowen’s offense was ahead of his defense against Golden State. He made 5-of-9 shots from the field to finish with ten points. He did a very good job of penetrating, running the fast breaks and finishing. His defense, on the other hand, wasn’t up to his usual standard. Jason Richardson had a good game, scoring 22 points and shooting 10-for-19 from the floor. Richardson was overpowering and used his superior athletic ability against Bowen. However, as the game went on, Bowen did a better and better job on Richardson. For the month, the Spurs’ defensive ace is shooting 46.8% from the field.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 83.4
SEASON: 83.8
Rasho Nesterovic
Nesterovic’s defense was pretty impressive versus the Warriors. He finished with three blocks in 30 minutes of action. The 30 minutes played tied his high for the month. As has been well documented, the Slovenian center is in a prolonged funk. He’s been coming out of it lately, but the struggles continue for the most part. Though he played defense well and was active overall, he only had four points and four rebounds to go along with those blocks. The Spurs will need more out of him. If not, look for Karl Malone to be starting within the month.
GRADE: 82
DECEMBER: 76.2
SEASON: 81.8
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili had his problems with back-to-backs earlier in the season, but played exceedingly well Saturday night. He was all over the place, scoring 21 points, pulling down seven rebounds, dishing out six assists and swiping two steals. He shot 8-for-14 from the field, 2-for-3 from beyond the arc and 3-for-5 from the free throw line. While his four turnovers are somewhat a concern, the Spurs would rather him always been attacking as opposed to playing cautious.
GRADE: 94
DECEMBER: 86.1
SEASON: 88
Tony Parker
It seems like Parker is starting to figure it out. He’s not settling for his jumpers anymore, rather he’s penetrating and creating off the dribble. He’s figured out over the years how to finish around the basket and now he’s getting back to that. As a result, he’s shooting percentage and assist numbers have been rising over the last couple weeks. Against Golden State, Parker finished with 21 points, nine assists and four rebounds. If he can keep getting into the lane and causing havoc, his numbers will continue to be impressive.
GRADE: 94
DECEMBER: 88
SEASON: 84.6
Devin Brown
Brown played well throughout the game, despite his perimeter shooting being a little shaky. He finished 3-for-7 from the field, 0-for-2 from downtown and 4-for-4 from the line. This early in his career, Brown is destined to be a streaky shooter. The key is he needs to stay confident in his shot and don’t hesitate. Nothing makes a player fall out of favor with Popovich faster than a player who doesn’t take an open shot.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 86.8
SEASON: 85.3
Robert Horry
The Spurs have to be happy with how Horry is playing as of late. He started off the season stiff and wasn’t getting many rebounds, but he’s turned that around. Against Golden State, he had seven rebounds, two points, two assists and two steals in 19 minutes of playing time. It’s his third good game in a row and he’s now slowly earning more and more minutes.
GRADE: 89
DECEMBER: 86.1
SEASON: 83.6
Beno Udrih
It’s becoming an everyday occurrence for Udrih. He’s coming into game and producing right away. In 15 minutes, the rookie point guard had 11 points, three assists and two rebounds. His shooting, like usual, was very good. He was 3-for-5 from the floor, 1-for-1 from three-point land and 4-for-4 from the line. If he can keep hitting his shots at his current clip he won’t only earn more point guard minutes, he could also earn minutes at the shooting guard position.
GRADE: 89
DECEMBER: 87.8
SEASON: 84
Brent Barry
Barry had his best game in a long, long while. He was active on both sides of the court and seemed more at ease with himself. He was 3-for-4 from the field, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc. It was only the second time He also chipped in with two assists, two rebounds and a steal. If he can play this well, Popovich will find minutes to give him.
GRADE: 87
DECEMBER: 75.3
SEASON: 81.8