Originally Posted by
Cry Havoc
Since TimVP is apparently on the injured list, I thought I'd take a crack at game grades, since people seem to miss it, and those of you who weren't able to catch the game always look forward to his reviews. Any objections? Didn't think so. Onward...
Coming into the January 14th contest, the league leading San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks could not be on more divergent paths, at least for the near-future. The Spurs, winners of their last 4 and 7 of their last 10 continue to set the pace for the NBA. Meanwhile, the Mavericks resemble a boxer on their last legs, after being bruised and battered by the loss of Dirk Nowitzki for the 9th game, and Caron Butler for the entire season, not to mention potential starter Roddy Beaubois. Historically, the Spurs seem to struggle to play well against ailing teams, but that obviously wasn't the case here, as they wasted no time in building a sizable lead and blowing out the Mavs in a game that wasn't as close as the 12 point final margin indicates.
Starters
Tony Parker A: Game ball goes to Tony Parker, who came out with his foot on the floor and promptly decimated the Mavs defense with aggressive drives, excellent kick outs, and scoring at an extremely efficient clip. With 18 points and 6 assists in only 25 minutes, Parker ensured that Jason Terry was going to have to make an ass of himself to save a little face for the Mavs, which of course, he obliged. Parker was the engine tonight for the Spurs, and left the Mavs choking on his... dust... from the tip off.
Manu Ginobili B-: An unusually quiet game from Manu, the Spurs were fortunate that they did not need efficient production from him. Just 4-11 shooting to go with 1 assist and 1 rebound, Manu forced the issue on offense a little too much tonight. However, when he wasn't shooting he moved the ball well, and seemed to be active on defense tonight, even though the stats won't show it. Manu is saved from a C grade if for nothing else than infuriating Jason Terry and his headband into giving him a shoulder throw, sending Manu to the court and getting a technical on JET, who's 3-14 performance was more of an airline crash tonight.
Richard Jefferson C: Considering the 0fer he put up his last time out, anything would have to be an upgrade for RJ. However, 7 points on 2-7 shooting puts me in the "I'm officially worried about RJ again" category. He did play some nice defense tonight, with active hands and grabbed 5 boards, but this is a Mavs team without 2 of their best scorers, so how hard should it be to limit them, anyway? If Pop can't find a way to rejuvenate RJ's production in the offensive flow, I am worried about our chances in the playoffs.
Tim Duncan A-: Duncan had a solid night, as he absolutely shut down penetration on defense (again, not too remarkable against this Mavs team) and scored well on offense. Duncan also had arguably his best dunk of the year, when DeSSSSSSSSShawn Stevenson got in his way and Tim promptly added him to his already massive collection of Hall of Fame level plays. 16 points, 12 boards, and a couple of blocks for Duncan to go with no turnovers makes for very happy Spurs fans.
DeJuan Blair A: Parker was the best player on the Spurs tonight, but Blair played one of his best games of the season, most of which won't be shown on the stat sheet, because the most encouraging thing I saw from Blair wasn't his 13 rebounds, or his 7-11 from the field, but his ball movement and passing. Several times, Blair made strong moves to the hoop, drawing defenders, only to pass it (correctly) out to waiting Spurs players on the wing. He moved well on D and lit it up on offense, but did drop a couple of passes that he should have caught. Still a great effort from the Beast from Pitt, perhaps a top 2 or 3 performance this season.
Bench
George Hill B: As usual, George Hill's performance is hard to gauge by numbers. He scored just 9 points on 2-9 shooting, but his play was solid, and his defense was swarming, especially on Jason Terry, who shot 3-14 (I'm aware I already listed that stat, but I enjoy mentioning how horribly JET played again). I'll take poor shooting nights from Hill if he shuts down the other team's scorer.
Antonio McDyess A-: Dice earned his 23 minutes tonight. He was constantly making good rotations on the court and playing with a lot of energy. His 10 rebounds tied him for 3rd behind Duncan and Blair, and he played better than any big from Dallas. McDyess, in what could be his final season, is still a better big man than Brendan Haywood, who's making $7.6 million next year.
Gary Neal D+: In a rare off-night for Neal, he shot very poorly from the field. 8 points in 26 minutes probably makes this the least productive night of the season from Neal. He also turned the ball over more than any other Spurs player tonight. I did see good energy from Neal, and he wasn't hesitant about pulling the trigger, he just missed nearly every shot he took tonight. But he's still better than Jason Terry.
Tiago Splitter D+: Sigh. I really, really had high hopes for Splitter, but those are fading, as he failed to produce against a depleted Mavs team. Just one point in 15 minutes of play worries me about his ability to put the ball in the hoop. His hook shot is kind of a half fade-away half chuck-and-pray, and his defense was less than stellar tonight. Is it too late in the season to hire an NBA great like Hakeem did for DHoward to teach this guy to play close to the hoop?
Matt Bonner B: Bonner only played 8 minutes due to injury, apparently a nagging knee problem sidelined him for the second half, even though he didn't do anything to aggravate it. Bonner made both shots he took and got one rebound, then stole another from Manu.
Chris Quinn D+: Yikes. In just 8 minutes of play, I did not like what I saw from CQ. He struggled with ball movement and clanked 3 free throws at the stripe. The Mavs made a run in garbage time with Quinn and Splitter on the floor, making the game a lot closer than it should have been.
