timvp
12-28-2004, 06:34 AM
Tim Duncan
For the fifth consecutive game, Duncan didn’t play as well as we’ve come to expect from him. Over that period of time, he’s only averaging 17.6 points and 9.6 rebounds, while shooting 43.2% from the field. The Boston Celtics did a good job of contesting his shots, but Duncan has succeeded against much stiffer competition. He’s being slow with his decisions and isn’t attacking the basket with as much force as he needs to be successful. Although his stats are decent (14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks), the Spurs will need much more from him if they want to have a shot to beat the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
GRADE: 78
DECEMBER: 85.8
SEASON: 87
Bruce Bowen
Bowen had another banner day offensively, which has been the norm as of late. Over his last ten games, he’s averaging 9.0 points on 51.4% shooting from the field and 42.9% shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Against the Celtics, Bowen scored 15 points and was 6-for-13 from the field and 3-for-8 from downtown in 27 minutes. The 13 field goal attempts were a season-high. On defense, Bowen surprisingly wasn’t as active. Though Paul Pierce only scored 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting from the floor, Bowen left him open a couple times and wasn’t as swift as he normally is fighting through screens.
GRADE: 86
DECEMBER: 84.5
SEASON: 84.3
Rasho Nesterovic
In 25 minutes of action, Nesterovic did little to get happy or sad about. He scored four points, pulled down five rebounds and blocked a shot. His defense was good, as he was rotating well and did an adequate job on his post defense. Hitting two of his three shots from the field was a step in the right direction for the 7-foot center, who is hitting only 33.3% of his shots in December and only 32.7% over his last ten games. No team can afford to have a starting center that makes only one-third of their shots. There will come a time that Nesterovic will either have to step up or the Spurs might be forced to look to replace him.
GRADE: 80
DECEMBER: 77.9
SEASON: 82
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili had a frustrating game, with many borderline foul calls going against him. Despite the foul trouble (he finished with five fouls), he played well. The Argentinean sensation recorded 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes, while making 4-of-8 field goal attempts. Over his last five games he’s putting up All-Star caliber stats, averaging 15.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 52.9% shooting from the field. If he can keep shooting at that rate and hold his turnovers down, he’s one of the best guards in the entire league.
GRADE: 87
DECEMBER: 86.8
SEASON: 88.1
Tony Parker
Simply put, Parker is on fire. Over his last five contests, he’s averaging 19.0 points, 6.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds, while hitting 55.3% from the field. Against Boston, he scored 27 points, dished out six assists, pulled down five rebounds and swiped three steals. His shooting was lights out – 11-for-17 from the field, 2-for-3 from three-point land and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. If he keeps up this type of play for the rest of the season, it’ll be a difficult task to beat the Spurs. When he’s penetrating and creating, he makes things happen for himself and everyone else on the team.
GRADE: 98
DECEMBER: 88.9
SEASON: 85.4
Devin Brown
After struggling for a couple games, Brown broke out and had another big outing. He scored 17 points and shot 5-for-11 from field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down six rebounds, dished out two assists and didn’t commit a turnover. His barrage from downtown is a little bit of a surprise, especially considering that he was 1-for-8 in the previous eight games heading into the Boston contest.
GRADE: 90
DECEMBER: 85.2
SEASON: 84.7
Robert Horry
Horry is proving to be a weapon off of the Spurs bench. He’s coming into games and is providing energetic yet cerebral play. The Celtics got a taste of the rejuvenated Horry, who totaled eight points, four assists and three rebounds, while shooting 4-for-5 from the field. In his last five games, he’s been particularly impressive. Over that time span, he’s averaging 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds on 52.6% shooting from the floor, 42.9% from beyond the three-point line and has hit all eight of his free throws.
GRADE: 89
DECEMBER: 87.5
SEASON: 83.6
Malik Rose
Rose played solid basketball in his 15 minutes. He had four points and three rebounds, hitting 1-of-3 shots from the field and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. It was a physical game for Rose, who had to briefly leave the court in the first half to have a torn toenail attended to.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 84.2
SEASON: 85.3
Brent Barry
Though it hasn’t come nearly as fast as most thought, Barry seems to have finally begun to understand the way the Spurs play. His defense was active, including a forceful foul on an attempted block. If he can bring that type of energy to the defensive end, Popovich will find minutes for him. On the offensive end, Barry was played well. He hit 3-of-5 shots from the field, with his only misses coming from three-point range. He also passed the ball well, handing out three dimes in 15 minutes.
GRADE: 86
DECEMBER: 76.2
SEASON: 81.8
Beno Udrih
Udrih, who has seemingly made everything he’s shot this year, was off against the Celtics. He missed both of his field goal attempts, one of which being a three-pointer. While his shooting was off, his playmaking was good. He had two assists in 13 minutes, plus many other nifty passes that setup scoring opportunities.
GRADE: 82
DECEMBER: 86.3
SEASON: 83.8
For the fifth consecutive game, Duncan didn’t play as well as we’ve come to expect from him. Over that period of time, he’s only averaging 17.6 points and 9.6 rebounds, while shooting 43.2% from the field. The Boston Celtics did a good job of contesting his shots, but Duncan has succeeded against much stiffer competition. He’s being slow with his decisions and isn’t attacking the basket with as much force as he needs to be successful. Although his stats are decent (14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks), the Spurs will need much more from him if they want to have a shot to beat the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
GRADE: 78
DECEMBER: 85.8
SEASON: 87
Bruce Bowen
Bowen had another banner day offensively, which has been the norm as of late. Over his last ten games, he’s averaging 9.0 points on 51.4% shooting from the field and 42.9% shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Against the Celtics, Bowen scored 15 points and was 6-for-13 from the field and 3-for-8 from downtown in 27 minutes. The 13 field goal attempts were a season-high. On defense, Bowen surprisingly wasn’t as active. Though Paul Pierce only scored 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting from the floor, Bowen left him open a couple times and wasn’t as swift as he normally is fighting through screens.
GRADE: 86
DECEMBER: 84.5
SEASON: 84.3
Rasho Nesterovic
In 25 minutes of action, Nesterovic did little to get happy or sad about. He scored four points, pulled down five rebounds and blocked a shot. His defense was good, as he was rotating well and did an adequate job on his post defense. Hitting two of his three shots from the field was a step in the right direction for the 7-foot center, who is hitting only 33.3% of his shots in December and only 32.7% over his last ten games. No team can afford to have a starting center that makes only one-third of their shots. There will come a time that Nesterovic will either have to step up or the Spurs might be forced to look to replace him.
GRADE: 80
DECEMBER: 77.9
SEASON: 82
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili had a frustrating game, with many borderline foul calls going against him. Despite the foul trouble (he finished with five fouls), he played well. The Argentinean sensation recorded 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes, while making 4-of-8 field goal attempts. Over his last five games he’s putting up All-Star caliber stats, averaging 15.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 52.9% shooting from the field. If he can keep shooting at that rate and hold his turnovers down, he’s one of the best guards in the entire league.
GRADE: 87
DECEMBER: 86.8
SEASON: 88.1
Tony Parker
Simply put, Parker is on fire. Over his last five contests, he’s averaging 19.0 points, 6.6 assists and 4.4 rebounds, while hitting 55.3% from the field. Against Boston, he scored 27 points, dished out six assists, pulled down five rebounds and swiped three steals. His shooting was lights out – 11-for-17 from the field, 2-for-3 from three-point land and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. If he keeps up this type of play for the rest of the season, it’ll be a difficult task to beat the Spurs. When he’s penetrating and creating, he makes things happen for himself and everyone else on the team.
GRADE: 98
DECEMBER: 88.9
SEASON: 85.4
Devin Brown
After struggling for a couple games, Brown broke out and had another big outing. He scored 17 points and shot 5-for-11 from field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down six rebounds, dished out two assists and didn’t commit a turnover. His barrage from downtown is a little bit of a surprise, especially considering that he was 1-for-8 in the previous eight games heading into the Boston contest.
GRADE: 90
DECEMBER: 85.2
SEASON: 84.7
Robert Horry
Horry is proving to be a weapon off of the Spurs bench. He’s coming into games and is providing energetic yet cerebral play. The Celtics got a taste of the rejuvenated Horry, who totaled eight points, four assists and three rebounds, while shooting 4-for-5 from the field. In his last five games, he’s been particularly impressive. Over that time span, he’s averaging 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds on 52.6% shooting from the floor, 42.9% from beyond the three-point line and has hit all eight of his free throws.
GRADE: 89
DECEMBER: 87.5
SEASON: 83.6
Malik Rose
Rose played solid basketball in his 15 minutes. He had four points and three rebounds, hitting 1-of-3 shots from the field and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. It was a physical game for Rose, who had to briefly leave the court in the first half to have a torn toenail attended to.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 84.2
SEASON: 85.3
Brent Barry
Though it hasn’t come nearly as fast as most thought, Barry seems to have finally begun to understand the way the Spurs play. His defense was active, including a forceful foul on an attempted block. If he can bring that type of energy to the defensive end, Popovich will find minutes for him. On the offensive end, Barry was played well. He hit 3-of-5 shots from the field, with his only misses coming from three-point range. He also passed the ball well, handing out three dimes in 15 minutes.
GRADE: 86
DECEMBER: 76.2
SEASON: 81.8
Beno Udrih
Udrih, who has seemingly made everything he’s shot this year, was off against the Celtics. He missed both of his field goal attempts, one of which being a three-pointer. While his shooting was off, his playmaking was good. He had two assists in 13 minutes, plus many other nifty passes that setup scoring opportunities.
GRADE: 82
DECEMBER: 86.3
SEASON: 83.8