Game Grades - Nuggets @ Spurs - Jan. 16

We have arrived at the precipice. Despite the All-Star break being a month away, this is the game which delineates the first half of the season from the second. So while it might not be looked upon as the most significant game of the season come playoff time, the Spurs had to come into the game looking at it as an opportunity, since the Lakers lost to their Clipper brethren earlier in the day (thanks 21_Blessings! :toast ).

Enter the Nuggets. Despite the fact that several of their players might need a dictionary to spell defense (Yes, I'm looking at you, JR Smith), the Nuggets were a dangerous offensive team driven by one of the most versatile, explosive players in the game in Carmelo Anthony. Luckily, the Spurs went on a 22-2 run midway through the 2nd quarter to go ahead of the Nuggets, who never really threatened again. This was a fantastic Spurs performance after the first quarter, and saw some of the most active, smothering defense of the season to go with a very motivated offense.

Interesting/important stat of the game: At the end of the 3rd quarter, no Nuggets player had more than 5 rebounds. Credit to our post players for boxing out, all of them get a small boost in grade for this.


Starters

Tony Parker A+: How do you improve on a great performance on the 14th? Well, you go out and just decimate Chauncey Billups, formerly one of the best defensive point guards in basketball. Tony Parker was all over the court tonight, making decisive drives into the paint to the tune of 30 points, which include 2 big threes down the stretch that completely killed any momentum the Nuggets were trying to build. Perhaps the most shocking stat for Tony on this night is the fact that he outrebounded every Nuggets player, except for Nene, whose total he equaled. I cannot stress to anyone watching the Spurs play, especially this year, how much more lethal this team is when Tony has his foot on the gas. It is literally the difference between this team being great, and potential NBA Champions. When he is going, we are almost impossible to stop. Parker annihilated Billups so completely that Chauncey picked up a tech and nearly had a flagrant rang up after he took a swipe at Tony's head.

Manu Ginobili B: Yes, tonight was another poor shooting night for Manu. However, if you believe that he had an off-game, you shouldn't just check the box score to surmise his performance. In many ways, it was vintage Manu tonight, and he came within a couple of gentle touches of shooting 8-15, rather than the 5-15 he actually shot, as he got to the rim numerous times only to have unlucky rolls fall out of the hoop, shots that go down on any other night. Manu constantly found his way to the lane and to the line this evening, and went 7-7 at the line. Manu was all over the court on defense, and while he made some mis-rotations, I'll take this every night from Manu, because he was constantly forcing the Nuggets out of rhythm on offense. 7 assists highlight how well he moved the ball. If I have a complaint, it's that Manu needs to hit his 3s.

Richard Jefferson A-: I hope a certain stately gentlemen was watching this Spurs game. I hope that he nodded his bald head appreciatively watching Jefferson go to work tonight. I hope he pumped his fists or mentally cheered every time Jefferson forced Carmelo Anthony into a bad position on offense, or a bad shot as Anthony rose to release the ball. Most of all, I hope Bruce Bowen had a big, goofy, knowing grin on his face as he watched the Spurs shut down one of the most lethal scorers in the NBA. Jefferson's performance tonight has nothing to do with his box line, although the Nuggets definitely respected his threat from 3. No, tonight was about getting out of Tony Parker's way, and doing what he could on defense to help us get this win. Jefferson got his. If he hit his free throws, he'd have an even higher grade, stats be damned.

Anthony's line: 5-17 shooting, 12 points, 4 TOs, 3 assists, 0-0 from 3 point range.

Tim Duncan A-: Gone are the days when Tim Duncan needs to score 18+ points to have a really "good" game. However, Duncan was THE defensive force in this contest. Every time the Nuggets got around the rim, Duncan was swamping them with active hands and arms. He recorded only 3 blocks, but if shot alterations were a recorded stat, Duncan would have had a double double tonight to go with his suction cup-like 16 rebounds, and he picked up his usual 4 assists as well. Duncan could have scored 20 tonight, as usual, but when TP is so hot, it's nice to see the big man just focusing on shutting down the team on defense. From watching him move tonight, I have to think he's going to be ready to step up in the playoffs.

DeJuan Blair D: Part of this grade results in disappointment. I really thought Blair could have a great game against the Nugget front line. He started out well enough, getting an and-1 on the first play of the game. After that... he simply disappeared. Playing 14 minutes, he didn't score for the final 13:30 he played in or so, and actually got outplayed by Tiago Splitter, who was far more active tonight. Blair seemed to just be trying too hard tonight, and getting in his own way. Pop needs to find a way to get Beast to relax, because we need a lot more consistency out of him.


Bench

George Hill B-: In many ways, this is the kind of game we need from George Hill. He was extremely active on defense, and smothered the Nuggets with active hands. However, there were some lows for George in this game. Every shot he took was a 3, and he had 5 turnovers. We need Hill to get more penetration and to handle the ball better moving forward, although it seemed like a lot of Spurs were getting hacked pretty hard tonight. Hill did get 6 free throws during this contest, so that's a trend that would be nice to see continued.

Gary Neal A: Can you believe this guy? He's seriously a mini-SJax on offense, only way more consistent. After a horrid night shooting last game, Neal stepped it up and just crushed the Nuggets with huge buckets from both inside the paint and beyond the 3 point line. Neal might be finding a comfort zone in San Antonio -- all of his deep makes were from the left side of the court, while all his misses came from the right side of the 3 point line. Most importantly, I just trust seeing this guy with the ball in his hands, especially if he's open and rising to shoot from deep. He's just scary.

Antonio McDyess A-: This guy is rapidly becoming another reliable weapon to use night in, night out on offense. McDyess helped key a Spurs run in the 2nd quarter by stretching the defense, hitting that patented jumper from around 18 feet out that seems to go in every time he shoots it. Dice was also very active on the boards, inhaling 7 in just 19 minutes of play. If there is anything I would like to see, it's MORE DICE, because he was excellent tonight and probably only limited in minutes to keep him fresh and ready for the Rodeo Road Trip.

Tiago Splitter B: In 14 minutes, I actually really liked what I saw from Splitter tonight. He fought for a trio of rebounds, made some good pump fakes on offense, and had a fantastic swat on defense. I honestly believe Splitter has the talent to succeed and be a good player for us, he just needs to mentally click over to the NBA game. He has good speed and good moves for a big man, he just seems a little slow to adapt to the speed and power of the NBA. 14 minutes is not a dismissible contribution, and Tiago seemed to be fairly comfortable tonight. Make your FTs and maybe Pop gives you an even 20, Mr. Splitter.

Quinn and Owens Incomplete: Quinn and Owens amassed just 2 minutes a piece. I have to wonder if Quinn is on his way out of San Antonio, especially with Anderson coming back soon for the Spurs. I will say that Owens seems to have an NBA body -- the guy looked extremely strong for his size, and actually he did make a good pass in his first possession with the ball as a Spurs player.

The Ginger Factor: Matt Bonner did not play tonight for the Spurs, as he was nursing a sore knee. Presumably, he set his kneecap on fire when doing stretches, as the knee likely came into unfortunate contact with his hair.

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Ze coach

Greg Popovich A: Pop gave minutes to the guys who deserved them tonight. I really like that he got Splitter on the floor for a stretch in the first half, and his lineup in the 2nd quarter spurred a 22-2 run and completely took the Nuggets out of the game mentally. I really have nothing to complain about from Pop in this game, so he gets an A for continuing to show why he's one of the best coaches in the history of the league.

Ninja edit for clarity and to change a couple of wordings.

Edit: Added a grade for Pop.

Manu was an A, IMO. Tony and TD were both A+. RJ was A also.
It was just one of the best games of the season for our starters not named Blair, IMO.

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Originally Posted by ElNono

Manu was an A, IMO. Tony and TD were both A+. RJ was A also.
It was just one of the best games of the season for our starters not named Blair, IMO.

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Meh. I hold our players to a ridiculously high standard (that they set for themselves). For Manu to get an A, he basically has to dominate the game, because he has the potential to do that every single game. Manu can't go 5-15 and get an A from me.

Not much disagreement with the grades. Unfortunately the one I may have some disagreement with, you gave a D -- and I can't remember how many letters are worse than that . . .

Some great Team D on 'Melo, though. And I really think that 19-0 run authored by the three-guard, small-ball lineup of Parker, Hill, Neal, Jefferson and Duncan from 18:07-21:23 of the second, pretty much crushed the Nuggets. They had been in complete control and just got their ass blitzed. ...Been a long time since I remember seeing the Spurs pull that much of a 180 against a team playing as well as the Nuggs were to start the game.

Amazing onslaught of offensive and defensive basketball they put together to dominate a game in which they were giving the Nuggets plenty of open-court opportunities with their turnovers.

agree with the grades for the most part.

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Originally Posted by Cry Havoc

Meh. I hold our players to a ridiculously high standard (that they set for themselves). For Manu to get an A, he basically has to dominate the game, because he has the potential to do that every single game. Manu can't go 5-15 and get an A from me.

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It's all good. I though he got more to the line tonight. IIRC, he scored 18 on only 5 made shots? Thats crazy.

Wouldn't change the grades, and enjoyed your writing, CH -- good job.

Good stuff, Havoc. You should throw in a grade for Pop as well.

I thought he coached a very good game and small ball really worked out in the 2nd.

I think Melo's numbers had more to do with overall Team D and Duncan contesting his drives than RJ's individual defense.

Speaking of RJ, i think he's been settling more the 3 too much lately. He needs to start attacking. Would help if Pop actually ran some plays for him once in a while tho.

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Originally Posted by Mugen

Good stuff, Havoc. You should throw in a grade for Pop as well.

I thought he coached a very good game and small ball really worked out in the 2nd.

I think Melo's numbers had more to do with overall Team D and Duncan contesting his drives than RJ's individual defense.

Speaking of RJ, i think he's been settling more the 3 too much lately. He needs to start attacking. Would help if Pop actually ran some plays for him once in a while tho.

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Good point, I'll make sure to do this.

Edit: Done.

Grades are subjective and don't matter so much for me.. but what counts for me are thoughts.. and I think Cry Havoc has done a great job. Add nice writing skills and this was an enjoyable read. Thanks.

35-6, haters! And looks like, for an extended while, we will have a troll free Spurstalk Spurs forum :)

Great grades.

I was pleased to see that Ginobili got to the rim at will. He missed a number of shots right at the rim that he'd normally make.

LO had a pass to Tiago in the open court during garbage time, but it's certainly not enough to make any sort of assessment at this point.

thanks for this again, cry havoc, how would you have graded Pop? I'd give him an A for sure.

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Originally Posted by jestersmash

Great grades.

I was pleased to see that Ginobili got to the rim at will. He missed a number of shots right at the rim that he'd normally make.

LO had a pass to Tiago in the open court during garbage time, but it's certainly not enough to make any sort of assessment at this point.

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Manu had that ridiculous behind the back drive he does... it's more amazing every time he does it, because it's almost unstoppable.

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Originally Posted by mando6599

thanks for this again, cry havoc, how would you have graded Pop? I'd give him an A for sure.

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Grade for Pop is up.

Thank you Havoc. Maybe the grades for Splitter and Blair are a bit high but it's true Blair hurt the team more in this game.

[QUOTE=Cry Havoc;4904759]Manu had that ridiculous behind the back drive he does... it's more amazing every time he does it, because it's almost unstoppable.

This move by Manu earned him nba play of the night..
Thanks for the nice grades, Cry Havoc.

Dejuan Blair really disappoints me. Poor decisions (always reaching in for the steal) on defense killed the early momentum of the Spurs. He has more offensive talent than Splitter, but his D sucks ... plain and simple.

thanks for the writeup..

it's just a matter of time, we're gonna have to start grading Neal harder, dude is averaging more than anyone!!

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Originally Posted by ElNono

It's all good. I though he got more to the line tonight. IIRC, he scored 18 on only 5 made shots? Thats crazy.

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Heh. Coming from the same guy who scored 16 pts on only 1 made shot. :hat

I didn't see the game so I don't know how Larry Owens played. But I don't think Pop will just send Quinn away when he's been here since playing camp and has been playing pretty solid for his role on the team.

Great job, Havoc.

GJ Cry. nice read

I don't think RJ's defense was the main cause of Melo game, it was more of that swarming defense the Spurs are using (so amazingly well) on counted occasions. Melo trying to shot while covered by 2 or even 3 Spurs caused many missed shots tonight and was recurrent throughout the game.

IMO RJ deserves a B+. He needs to get to the paint to get into As.

I'd give Hill a worse grade. then again, i saw the replay on t.v. at 2 am and they edited out some of the game, so maybe i missed something.

Hill was careless with the ball and wasn't aggressive on offense. they need him to be in constant attack mode. i'd give him a C+.

I would give Neal an A+. Neal more than fulfilled his role. Anytime he scores 14 points and plays good d, i think he should get an A+ because we probably expect somewhere around 7-9 ppg from him.

I agree with the issue of speed in the NBA but I disagree about power. Where Splitter played the game is much more physical and as such Splitter has developed some bad habits in order ot get his shot off against physical play.

The game in the NBA is much more soft on the inside and he still plays in like someone is going to knock him for a loop. Once he figures out that the contact is not going to come then maybe he can start simplfying his shot.

Good read...:toast

I would have added an A for Bonner for taking a game off so the spurs could have a better shot at winning.

Cry Havoc, thanks for the summary. Great job again!

Nice job, Cry Havoc.



(I'd like to see Manu get an "A" every game just to watch ducks explode. thx)

Good job Cry Havoc

And I liked it:

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Gary Neal A: Can you believe this guy? He's seriously a mini-SJax on offense.

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mini SJax...with less than half the turnovers.

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Originally Posted by silverblk mystix

Good read...:toast

I would have added an A for Bonner for taking a game off so the spurs could have a better shot at winning.

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:rolleyes

I guess being the #2 3 point shooter in the NBA is a bad thing.

lol @ ginger factor :lol

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Originally Posted by Cry Havoc

:rolleyes

I guess being the #2 3 point shooter in the NBA is a bad thing.

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Yeah, it's one thing to hate Bonner's past playoff performances and have serious concerns about his ability to perform in the playoffs.

It's another thing to ignore that he has played really well thus far this season and been a big part of the terrific first half.

Good write up

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Originally Posted by igruex

I don't think RJ's defense was the main cause of Melo game, it was more of that swarming defense the Spurs are using (so amazingly well) on counted occasions.

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All defense is team defense if it works. Bowen was able to play his wreckless, in your jock defense because he knew he had David/and/or Tim behind him.

RJ did a terrific job of running Melo off his favorite spots and faceguarding him so he couldn't turn around and back down. Melo as a face up player is about 70% as effective.

Another good job, especially the writing. We all have our opinions about how certain players did. I would require DVR and hours of watching the game over and over to really get the individual contributions down, but I didn't have any issues with your scores.

Looking at the box score I was surprised that all our starters except Blair played over 30 minutes because of the long run made by the bench.

But Pop has found ways to spot the Big 3 into games where and when needed and still keep them fresh.

The Spurs played excellent team ball on defense and offense, showing how good they can be if they play to their ability.

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Originally Posted by ChuckD

All defense is team defense if it works. Bowen was able to play his wreckless, in your jock defense because he knew he had David/and/or Tim behind him.

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Hmph... not sure about that, Bowen used to provide a swarming defense just by himself, it's somehow similar to what the Spurs did with 2 o 3 players on Melo, at the same time, not behind :p

RJ is not even close to bring that defense by himself.

Great read. Thanks!

I give Owens an A

In his first action, he could have been a chucker....instead, he made 2-3 solid passes during his first set. Then he got open in the corner a few times, though the ball never found him. I believe he got a defensive rebound.