timvp
01-06-2005, 04:47 AM
Tim Duncan
With the game virtually over by the end of the first quarter, Duncan didn’t have to exert much energy in the Spurs 100-83 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Though he only played 28 minutes, he still was able to total 12 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while shooting 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. It was a good all-around effort by Duncan, who was much too big and strong in the paint for any of the Lakers defenders.
GRADE: 89
JANUARY: 80
SEASON: 86.9
Bruce Bowen
In what was probably his best outing of the year, Bowen completely outplayed Kobe Bryant. Bowen held Bryant to just 17 points, two assists and three turnovers on 5-of-16 shooting from the field. Bowen’s defense was remarkable as he kept Bryant totally out of rhythm. It was even more remarkable seeing as Bryant came into the game with three consecutive games with at least 42 points. On the offensive end, Bowen was feeling it. He scored a regular season career-high 24 points, while shooting 9-of-19 from the field and 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.
GRADE: 99
JANUARY: 83.5
SEASON: 84.7
Rasho Nesterovic
In 22 minutes, Nesterovic played solid basketball. He wasn’t overly impressive or overly active, but did enough to warrant his minutes on the court. He finished with four points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while playing nice defense. Over the last five games, he’s picked up his play. In those games, he averaged 5.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks as he shot 46.4% from the field.
GRADE: 88
JANUARY: 88
SEASON: 82.9
Manu Ginobili
Though he only played 22 minutes, Ginobili was active. Sometimes, too active. In his eternal battle of aggression versus recklessness, Ginobili was at times too careless. Despite that, his stats were impressive. He recorded 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field, 1-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Popovich and his hair grayed a couple shades with some of Ginobili’s antics during the game, but the Spurs coach did a good job of letting him play his game.
GRADE: 87
JANUARY: 85.5
SEASON: 87.9
Tony Parker
After a stretch of games where he couldn’t be stopped, now it seems as if Parker is stopping himself. He’s rarely attacking the rim and when he is, he’s passing the ball. He went from being a superstar scorer to being gun shy overnight. Luckily for the Spurs, Parker did a very fine job of distributing the ball and running the offense. He finished with ten assists in 29 minutes of play, as he often found three-point shooters wide open. He’s a large part of the reason why the Spurs were 15-for-30 on three-pointers for the game.
GRADE: 86
JANUARY: 75
SEASON: 85.7
Brent Barry
Barry looks like he’s reclaimed his spot in the rotation and is making the most of it. He’s put together a string of strong performances, including his 26 minutes against Los Angeles. He finished with 14 points, five assists and no turnovers, while shooting 5-for-10 from the field and 4-for-7 from beyond the three-point line. He got the Spurs offense going by draining multiple three-pointers early in his time on the floor. If Barry plays like this on a consistent basis, the rest of NBA better take heed.
GRADE: 92
JANUARY: 88.5
SEASON: 82.5
Beno Udrih
It was just another day in the office for the rookie point guard out of Slovenia. He’s made a habit out of coming into games and leading the Spurs with ease. The way he’s running the offense and his overall poise is unbelievable for a rookie. The league is taking note, as he was named the Western Conference rookie of the month for December. Against the Lakers, Udrih shot 4-for-7 from the floor, including 1-for-3 on threes, while totaling nine points and two assists. An added bonus is he’s gone without a turnover in four consecutive games, a span of 71 minutes.
GRADE: 89
JANUARY: 84.5
SEASON: 84.4
Robert Horry
Much like Barry, Horry has found himself back in the regular rotation. For much of the season, Malik Rose was the first bigman off the bench. Now it looks like Horry has assumed that role. Against his former team, Horry scored five points, dished out three assists, pulled down a rebound and blocked a shot. His lack of work on the boards is an alarming number, especially considering that it has been his weakness thus far this season.
GRADE: 84
JANUARY: 85
SEASON: 85.2
Tony Massenburg
Massenburg got some early action in the rout of the Lakers. He played 16 minutes and finished with four points, four rebounds and four fouls, while shooting 2-for-5 from the field. With Kevin Willis going back to Atlanta, Massenburg has stepped in and filled the rugged 12th man role, as he has recorded 34 fouls in 166 minutes this season.
GRADE: 85
JANUARY: 85
SEASON: 84.1
Malik Rose
With Horry get most of his early minutes, Rose had a very difficult night against the Lakers. He missed all three of his shots, committed three fouls and had a turnover in 12 minutes. His only positive stats were his two assists. It’ll be interesting to see whether the move to go with Horry as the first bigman off the bench is permanent.
GRADE: 69
JANUARY: 76.5
SEASON: 84.8
Devin Brown
Brown’s run as the first swingman off the bench looks to have come to an end. With Barry now filling the role the whole world predicted he would, Brown seemingly is now back to fighting for minutes. Versus Los Angeles, he put up a valiant fight. In only nine minutes, he seven points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc.
GRADE: 86
JANUARY: 83
SEASON: 84.6
With the game virtually over by the end of the first quarter, Duncan didn’t have to exert much energy in the Spurs 100-83 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Though he only played 28 minutes, he still was able to total 12 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while shooting 5-for-9 from the field and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. It was a good all-around effort by Duncan, who was much too big and strong in the paint for any of the Lakers defenders.
GRADE: 89
JANUARY: 80
SEASON: 86.9
Bruce Bowen
In what was probably his best outing of the year, Bowen completely outplayed Kobe Bryant. Bowen held Bryant to just 17 points, two assists and three turnovers on 5-of-16 shooting from the field. Bowen’s defense was remarkable as he kept Bryant totally out of rhythm. It was even more remarkable seeing as Bryant came into the game with three consecutive games with at least 42 points. On the offensive end, Bowen was feeling it. He scored a regular season career-high 24 points, while shooting 9-of-19 from the field and 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.
GRADE: 99
JANUARY: 83.5
SEASON: 84.7
Rasho Nesterovic
In 22 minutes, Nesterovic played solid basketball. He wasn’t overly impressive or overly active, but did enough to warrant his minutes on the court. He finished with four points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while playing nice defense. Over the last five games, he’s picked up his play. In those games, he averaged 5.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks as he shot 46.4% from the field.
GRADE: 88
JANUARY: 88
SEASON: 82.9
Manu Ginobili
Though he only played 22 minutes, Ginobili was active. Sometimes, too active. In his eternal battle of aggression versus recklessness, Ginobili was at times too careless. Despite that, his stats were impressive. He recorded 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the field, 1-for-3 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Popovich and his hair grayed a couple shades with some of Ginobili’s antics during the game, but the Spurs coach did a good job of letting him play his game.
GRADE: 87
JANUARY: 85.5
SEASON: 87.9
Tony Parker
After a stretch of games where he couldn’t be stopped, now it seems as if Parker is stopping himself. He’s rarely attacking the rim and when he is, he’s passing the ball. He went from being a superstar scorer to being gun shy overnight. Luckily for the Spurs, Parker did a very fine job of distributing the ball and running the offense. He finished with ten assists in 29 minutes of play, as he often found three-point shooters wide open. He’s a large part of the reason why the Spurs were 15-for-30 on three-pointers for the game.
GRADE: 86
JANUARY: 75
SEASON: 85.7
Brent Barry
Barry looks like he’s reclaimed his spot in the rotation and is making the most of it. He’s put together a string of strong performances, including his 26 minutes against Los Angeles. He finished with 14 points, five assists and no turnovers, while shooting 5-for-10 from the field and 4-for-7 from beyond the three-point line. He got the Spurs offense going by draining multiple three-pointers early in his time on the floor. If Barry plays like this on a consistent basis, the rest of NBA better take heed.
GRADE: 92
JANUARY: 88.5
SEASON: 82.5
Beno Udrih
It was just another day in the office for the rookie point guard out of Slovenia. He’s made a habit out of coming into games and leading the Spurs with ease. The way he’s running the offense and his overall poise is unbelievable for a rookie. The league is taking note, as he was named the Western Conference rookie of the month for December. Against the Lakers, Udrih shot 4-for-7 from the floor, including 1-for-3 on threes, while totaling nine points and two assists. An added bonus is he’s gone without a turnover in four consecutive games, a span of 71 minutes.
GRADE: 89
JANUARY: 84.5
SEASON: 84.4
Robert Horry
Much like Barry, Horry has found himself back in the regular rotation. For much of the season, Malik Rose was the first bigman off the bench. Now it looks like Horry has assumed that role. Against his former team, Horry scored five points, dished out three assists, pulled down a rebound and blocked a shot. His lack of work on the boards is an alarming number, especially considering that it has been his weakness thus far this season.
GRADE: 84
JANUARY: 85
SEASON: 85.2
Tony Massenburg
Massenburg got some early action in the rout of the Lakers. He played 16 minutes and finished with four points, four rebounds and four fouls, while shooting 2-for-5 from the field. With Kevin Willis going back to Atlanta, Massenburg has stepped in and filled the rugged 12th man role, as he has recorded 34 fouls in 166 minutes this season.
GRADE: 85
JANUARY: 85
SEASON: 84.1
Malik Rose
With Horry get most of his early minutes, Rose had a very difficult night against the Lakers. He missed all three of his shots, committed three fouls and had a turnover in 12 minutes. His only positive stats were his two assists. It’ll be interesting to see whether the move to go with Horry as the first bigman off the bench is permanent.
GRADE: 69
JANUARY: 76.5
SEASON: 84.8
Devin Brown
Brown’s run as the first swingman off the bench looks to have come to an end. With Barry now filling the role the whole world predicted he would, Brown seemingly is now back to fighting for minutes. Versus Los Angeles, he put up a valiant fight. In only nine minutes, he seven points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field, including 1-for-2 from beyond the arc.
GRADE: 86
JANUARY: 83
SEASON: 84.6