timvp
12-23-2004, 07:16 AM
Tim Duncan
Against the Orlando Magic, Duncan had a hard time finding his rhythm. He was missing shots early and could never really find a consistent groove. Part of the problem was his teammates not doing a great job of setting him up. He got the ball in difficult situations and was forced into shots he doesn’t usually take. If you just looked at his stats, you’d think it was just another Duncan domination. He scored 24 points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked two shots, while shooting 11-for-22 from the field. Despite the impressiveness of the numbers, it was apparent that he couldn’t hit his stride. Hitting only 2-of-6 three throws also didn’t help matters, as the team shot a horrific 13-for-26 at the line.
GRADE: 79
DECEMBER: 87.3
SEASON: 87.7
Bruce Bowen
In a season-high 40 minutes, Bowen produced well. He was 4-for-8 from the field, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. He hit a number of big shots that helped the Spurs when the offense was struggling. His defense was also solid, holding Grant Hill to 13 points, one rebound and one assist in 35 minutes of playing time. Bowen helped in pretty much all aspects of the game, retrieving five rebounds and recording an impressive blocked shot against Hill. There isn’t much more the Spurs could expect out of their starting small forward.
GRADE: 90
DECEMBER: 84
SEASON: 84
Rasho Nesterovic
Nesterovic was productive in his 28 minutes, especially rebounding the ball. He registered nine rebounds in the first half and finished with 11 for the game. Despite the notable rebounding numbers in the first half, Nesterovic only played 45 seconds of the fourth quarter. While it would have been difficult for the Spurs to matchup defensively with him out on the court, Nesterovic’s interior presence might have made a difference in the final stanza. In addition to his job on the boards, he got two blocked shots. On the season, he’s blocked at least one shot in 21 of the 26 games the Spurs have played.
GRADE: 88
DECEMBER: 77.3
SEASON: 82
Manu Ginobili
The energy was there for Ginobili, but he had a hard time translating that into success. Though he finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists, he shot only 4-for-12 from the field and 1-for-5 from downtown. To beat a fast breaking team like the Magic, Ginobili had to come up bigger on the offensive end. He didn’t have a field goal in the fourth quarter, taking only one shot in that period. On the plus side, he finished the game without a turnover for only the second time this season.
GRADE: 83
DECEMBER: 85.8
SEASON: 87.8
Tony Parker
Parker had an inconsistent game and didn’t do a good job of directing the offense. At times he was spectacular, while at other times he seemed lost. The Spurs can’t afford that type of erratic performance and expect to win on the road against a quality opponent. For the contest, Parker totaled 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 36 minutes. He shot well, hitting 8-for-17 from the field. The Spurs needed better offensive execution and that begins with Parker. The zone defense the Magic employed stifled the Spurs, who looked like they’d never seen such a defense. The responsibility falls on Parker to get the Spurs offense in a situation to where they can score against any defense that is thrown at them.
GRADE: 83
DECEMBER: 87.5
SEASON: 84.5
Devin Brown
Brown was in attack mode, like the Spurs wish, but his shots were simply not falling. He drove the ball to the basket and failed to finish on a number of possessions and missed some open jumpers that could have swung the momentum. He connected on only 2-of-9 from the field and missed two free throws, a rarity seeing as he came into the game shooting 85.7% from the line. The Spurs need him to bring more of an offensive punch off the bench, or else Barry could start receiving more of the backup swingman minutes.
GRADE: 78
DECEMBER: 86
SEASON: 85
Malik Rose
With Robert Horry and Tony Massenburg getting DNP-CDs, it was up to Rose to produce off the bench in the frontcourt. To his credit, he did a fine job while he was out on the court. He was 4-for-8 from the field on his way to nine points for the game. The Philadelphia native also recorded four rebounds in his 19 minutes of play. However, he hurt the Spurs on the line. The usually good free throw shooting Rose missed three of his four attempts. After hitting 80.6% of his free throws in November, his percentage has plummeted to 57.1% in December.
GRADE: 87
DECEMBER: 84.2
SEASON: 85.3
Beno Udrih
Playing 14 minutes, Udrih played satisfactory basketball. He ran the show well, but his defense and shooting were off. He hit 1-for-3 from the field, including going 1-for-1 from beyond the three-point line. He had two assists, one rebound and one steal to complete his statistical line. A new wrinkle that Popovich has utilized as of late is putting Udrih at the shooting guard position. With the rookie guard shooting from the outside at such an incredible rate (50.0% on three-pointers for the season), the more open shots he gets, the better it is for the team.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 87.5
SEASON: 83.8
Brent Barry
After taking one step forward with his performance against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, Barry took two steps back with a stinker against the Magic. In his seven minutes of playing time, he missed all three of his shots and had one turnover. The worst part of it was his passing was awful, and that is supposedly one of the better parts of his game. Hopefully Rick’s son will revert back to Sonic form someday soon.
GRADE: 65
DECEMBER: 74.3
SEASON: 81.7
Against the Orlando Magic, Duncan had a hard time finding his rhythm. He was missing shots early and could never really find a consistent groove. Part of the problem was his teammates not doing a great job of setting him up. He got the ball in difficult situations and was forced into shots he doesn’t usually take. If you just looked at his stats, you’d think it was just another Duncan domination. He scored 24 points, pulled down eight rebounds and blocked two shots, while shooting 11-for-22 from the field. Despite the impressiveness of the numbers, it was apparent that he couldn’t hit his stride. Hitting only 2-of-6 three throws also didn’t help matters, as the team shot a horrific 13-for-26 at the line.
GRADE: 79
DECEMBER: 87.3
SEASON: 87.7
Bruce Bowen
In a season-high 40 minutes, Bowen produced well. He was 4-for-8 from the field, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. He hit a number of big shots that helped the Spurs when the offense was struggling. His defense was also solid, holding Grant Hill to 13 points, one rebound and one assist in 35 minutes of playing time. Bowen helped in pretty much all aspects of the game, retrieving five rebounds and recording an impressive blocked shot against Hill. There isn’t much more the Spurs could expect out of their starting small forward.
GRADE: 90
DECEMBER: 84
SEASON: 84
Rasho Nesterovic
Nesterovic was productive in his 28 minutes, especially rebounding the ball. He registered nine rebounds in the first half and finished with 11 for the game. Despite the notable rebounding numbers in the first half, Nesterovic only played 45 seconds of the fourth quarter. While it would have been difficult for the Spurs to matchup defensively with him out on the court, Nesterovic’s interior presence might have made a difference in the final stanza. In addition to his job on the boards, he got two blocked shots. On the season, he’s blocked at least one shot in 21 of the 26 games the Spurs have played.
GRADE: 88
DECEMBER: 77.3
SEASON: 82
Manu Ginobili
The energy was there for Ginobili, but he had a hard time translating that into success. Though he finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists, he shot only 4-for-12 from the field and 1-for-5 from downtown. To beat a fast breaking team like the Magic, Ginobili had to come up bigger on the offensive end. He didn’t have a field goal in the fourth quarter, taking only one shot in that period. On the plus side, he finished the game without a turnover for only the second time this season.
GRADE: 83
DECEMBER: 85.8
SEASON: 87.8
Tony Parker
Parker had an inconsistent game and didn’t do a good job of directing the offense. At times he was spectacular, while at other times he seemed lost. The Spurs can’t afford that type of erratic performance and expect to win on the road against a quality opponent. For the contest, Parker totaled 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 36 minutes. He shot well, hitting 8-for-17 from the field. The Spurs needed better offensive execution and that begins with Parker. The zone defense the Magic employed stifled the Spurs, who looked like they’d never seen such a defense. The responsibility falls on Parker to get the Spurs offense in a situation to where they can score against any defense that is thrown at them.
GRADE: 83
DECEMBER: 87.5
SEASON: 84.5
Devin Brown
Brown was in attack mode, like the Spurs wish, but his shots were simply not falling. He drove the ball to the basket and failed to finish on a number of possessions and missed some open jumpers that could have swung the momentum. He connected on only 2-of-9 from the field and missed two free throws, a rarity seeing as he came into the game shooting 85.7% from the line. The Spurs need him to bring more of an offensive punch off the bench, or else Barry could start receiving more of the backup swingman minutes.
GRADE: 78
DECEMBER: 86
SEASON: 85
Malik Rose
With Robert Horry and Tony Massenburg getting DNP-CDs, it was up to Rose to produce off the bench in the frontcourt. To his credit, he did a fine job while he was out on the court. He was 4-for-8 from the field on his way to nine points for the game. The Philadelphia native also recorded four rebounds in his 19 minutes of play. However, he hurt the Spurs on the line. The usually good free throw shooting Rose missed three of his four attempts. After hitting 80.6% of his free throws in November, his percentage has plummeted to 57.1% in December.
GRADE: 87
DECEMBER: 84.2
SEASON: 85.3
Beno Udrih
Playing 14 minutes, Udrih played satisfactory basketball. He ran the show well, but his defense and shooting were off. He hit 1-for-3 from the field, including going 1-for-1 from beyond the three-point line. He had two assists, one rebound and one steal to complete his statistical line. A new wrinkle that Popovich has utilized as of late is putting Udrih at the shooting guard position. With the rookie guard shooting from the outside at such an incredible rate (50.0% on three-pointers for the season), the more open shots he gets, the better it is for the team.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 87.5
SEASON: 83.8
Brent Barry
After taking one step forward with his performance against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, Barry took two steps back with a stinker against the Magic. In his seven minutes of playing time, he missed all three of his shots and had one turnover. The worst part of it was his passing was awful, and that is supposedly one of the better parts of his game. Hopefully Rick’s son will revert back to Sonic form someday soon.
GRADE: 65
DECEMBER: 74.3
SEASON: 81.7