Grades: Spurs @ Jazz - Game 3

Leading their first round series 2-0, San Antonio traveled to Salt Lake City to undergo their first true test of the 2012 NBA Playoffs. Although the ride was oftentimes bumpy, the Spurs ended up passing the test with flying colors. The 102-90 victory has the Jazz on the brink of elimination; the Spurs will go for the sweep on Monday night.

Through three and a half quarters, the contest was extremely close. The Spurs came out of the gates scoring well, but that was negated by Devin Harris' early success. Neither team gained much traction until the Spurs went on a 15-5 run to take a ten-point lead with one minute remaining in the third.

The Jazz made a push in the fourth period, cutting the lead to five points with 8:25 remaining. That's when Tony Parker flipped the switch over to God-mode. In the final eight minutes, Parker had 16 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor and 6-for-6 shooting from the line. With the Frenchman on fire, the Tabernacle Choir could soon be heard humming Taps.

Overall, this was an impressive victory. The Jazz have been a very good home team this season. To have the mental toughness to come out and put the Jazz to sleep tells me this Spurs team has a serious amount of mettle, especially considering San Antonio never trailed by more than three points. It was a workmanlike effort, which is what you want to see out of a team with lofty aspirations.

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Tim Duncan A-
I was expecting the Jazz to come out blazing in the first quarter. Instead, it was Tim Duncan who was aflame. Duncan scored the game's first six points to get the Spurs off to a great start. The rest of the way, he added timely baskets while mixing in a number of quality passes. Defensively, Duncan was a beast. By keeping Al Jefferson in front of him and cutting off his passing angles, Duncan turned Jefferson into a black hole who wasn't capable of aiding his teammates. Help-wise, Duncan was exceptional. In fact, it might have been his best help-defense showing of the season. He was lightening quick to react and snuffed out countless plays. All in all, it was truly an epic defensive performance. Another impressive aspect of Duncan's game was his running of the court. The 36-year-old was often the first player up and down the court; he made the Jazz bigmen look slow by comparison on multiple occasions. To nitpick, Duncan's rebounding was subpar and he seemed to tire in the fourth quarter. But obviously, despite those minor flaws, this was a vintage performance by the franchise.

Manu Ginobili B
Compared to the first two games of this series, tonight was definitely a step in the right direction for Manu Ginobili. His scoring touch is still AWOL; he's made only one non-layup this series. Tonight, he got his two baskets within three minutes of checking into the game. The good news is that Ginobili still had a strong impact on the offensive end by passing the rock. He exploited Utah's poor defense on the pick-and-roll repeatedly. While he had a couple iffy decisions, Ginobili definitely made life easier for everyone on the offensive end. Defensively, I wasn't as impressed. His energy was sporadic at best and he needlessly wandered off of his man too often. That said, the Jazz didn't do much to exploit Ginobili defense, so in the grand scheme of things, it probably didn't matter what he did on that end. In Game 4, let's hope Ginobili breaks out of his scoring slump because his points will become vital as the playoffs unfold.

Tony Parker B+
It was a rollercoaster of a night for Tony Parker. Early on, Parker looked unstoppable as he knocked down his first three shots. Then he went through a stretch that saw him hit only 2-of-9 shots from the field. To finish the game, as I detailed above, Parker connected on his final five attempts. While the results varied, I thought he was consistently taking the right shots. Playmaking-wise, Parker had some issues. He got too sloppy at times and was too anxious at other times when he should have let plays develop. That said, give credit to the Jazz for throwing everything including the kitchen sink at Parker tonight. And also give Parker credit for surviving it and then flourishing in money time. Defensively, even though Devin Harris was scoring early, Parker defended him well. Harris was simply hitting tough shots to begin the contest. As the game wore on, Parker's defense began bearing fruit -- culminating in Harris scoring only one point in the final stanza. Overall, it was good to see Parker withstand struggles and prevail with an MVP-like performance in the fourth quarter. Job well done.

Danny Green A-
Some players shrivel in the playoffs. Some players shine. Tonight gave me a lot of hope that Danny Green is in the latter category. On both sides of the court, Green played with unbridled fearlessness. He wasn't scared to mess up; Green was just out there playing hard while doing whatever he thought was needed to help the team. It sounds simple, but it's surprisingly not. Offensively, his three-point shot was errant but he was much better than usual finishing off the dribble. Green's running of the court and willingness to attack the basket, even when out-manned, was commendable. Defensively, he was really good. Green gets most of the credit for turning Gordon Hayward into a non-factor. He also played the passing lanes, helped out with tenacious double-teams to the post and grabbed a handful of contested boards. It's safe to say the Spurs have found something here.

Boris Diaw B-
Boris Diaw's performance was all over the map. The good: Diaw authored nifty passes, per usual. He also helped break down the defense a couple times by cutting hard to the basket. Defensively, he was excellent against Paul Millsap. The Spurs didn't even have to send much help because Diaw was handling his own. The bad: Diaw's inability to make the Jazz pay for collapsing on defense was majorly hurting the offensive flow. And while his individual defense was good, he was getting manhandled on the defensive boards. Diaw is usually good at boxing out but that wasn't the case tonight.

Kawhi Leonard B-
It's difficult to gauge how Kawhi Leonard played tonight because he didn't play much and wasn't very involved when he was in the game. Defensively, he was mostly on Josh Howard, which was predictably uneventful. On offense, he missed a pair of outside shots, converted a shot in the lane ... and that was about the extent of his touches. With so many other wings playing well tonight, Leonard simply wasn't needed.

Stephen Jackson A-
Stephen Jackson and the pressure of the playoffs seem to make a nice couple. His three-point jumpers all looked perfectly smooth coming off of his fingers. The three triples he made all happened to be well-timed daggers: the first one, in fact, came right after the Jazz had their first lead of the second quarter, while the last two came in the aforementioned third quarter 15-5 run. The rest of Jackson's offensive game was a plus. He was unselfish (if anything, he was too unselfish) and was running plays to perfection. Defensively, Jackson gave a fantastic effort. While the outcomes weren't always positive, he gave it his all against Millsap, boxed out with extreme physicality, quickly offered help in the paint and moved his feet well out on the perimeter. Jackson still has room to clean up his game but he's off to a very solid start this postseason.

Tiago Splitter B+
After missing a game due to a bruised wrist, Tiago Splitter was back with a vengeance. Offensively, he was simply unstoppable in pick-and-roll sets. When the Spurs ran complicated movement prior to a Splitter screen, forget it -- it was almost always an automatic two points for the Brazilian. To nitpick, Splitter was a tad too hesitant at times, which caused a couple turnovers and missed shots. Defensively, I didn't think he was too special in the first half; Splitter just wasn't making enough of a different either stopping players in his area or grabbing rebounds. However, in the final two quarters, I though Splitter was fantastic on D. He picked up his rebounding, played a headier brand of defense and was much better defending the rim. In the fourth quarter, Splitter played next to Duncan for five minutes, which could be a sign that Pop is actually considering playing his two best bigmen at the same time.

Matt Bonner C
Matt Bonner had a strange evening. First of all, he picked up three fouls in the first quarter. Considering that Bonner is the second least foul-prone bigman in the NBA (behind only Andrew Bynum), that was a shock. It was also shocking that Bonner had some level of success defending the Jazz bigmen in the low block, since that has been a bugaboo of his in his postseason career. While Bonner gave up his share of points, he also got a couple blocks and forced a couple other misses. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of Bonner's night. He hit a three-pointer right before halftime off of a set play by Pop but that was all the offense he could muster in his 16 minutes. Bonner grabbing only one rebound in the last two games over the course of 25 minutes is pathetic.

Gary Neal B-
Gary Neal did what Gary Neal usually does. In the first half, he dropped a couple brass-ball three-pointers. However, he also missed a couple wide open teammates on other possessions and played substandard defense, even for him. With Pop weary of Harris exploding in the second half, Neal stayed on the bench when it was time to substitute Parker. Honestly, I thought it was the right call. Neal is a valuable player -- as long as you can hide him on the defensive end.

DeJuan Blair C
With Bonner in foul trouble and Diaw not showing enough gumption on the boards, Pop turned to DeJuan Blair for a stint in the first half. The results were about what you'd expect. On offense, Blair got his first shot blocked and his second shot goaltended. Defensively, he showed flashes of competence -- only to immediately follow it up with a facepalm-worthy gaffe.

Pop A-
The bad: I didn't see much reason for Pop to go to Blair. Bonner wasn't going to foul out and Diaw could have used the work. Jackson probably deserved more time, especially in the fourth. Ideally, Parker and Duncan would have played two less minutes each. The good: The victory. I just can't complain much about a win that puts the Spurs up 3-0. Pop's plays out of timeouts were stupendous all night. He pushed a lot of right buttons; I especially loved the Duncan and Splitter duo down the stretch. Can Pop get the troops ready to put the Jazz out of their misery on Monday night? Let us hope.

Thanks Timvp. :toast

One thing I've been wondering about Manu is if maybe he's not better off playing with Splitter. I'm not sure he has the same explosion on a regular basis these days but I feel like he has an easier time working around Splitter's screens to get himself openings. My impression could be wrong on that one.

I don't know what to make of Bonner. If he's not making his 3's against Utah I'm not sure what we can expect if the Spurs play Memphis next round. He's hustling on defense and I can appreciate that but he's supposed to be making his shots out there...Better him than Blair though so I'm not sure what I think there.

TD and Parker (in the second half) were good imo. Green and Jax were awesome as well. Pop's calls have also been excellent so far. I'm really enjoying the playoffs this year.

Game Flow: http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/ga...05&game=SASUTH

Parker was outstanding in the 4th quarter.

The game could've very easily been a lot closer if they'd hit free throws. That's an element of luck, as we can't really defend FT shooters once they're at the line.

It was great seeing Danny Green play so well under pressure ... however it looks like Ginobili needs to take his game up another notch.

Bonner did ok, but Blair looked hopeless out there.

lol parker gettin a high grade, while he did shit all for 3quarters, turning back harris clock making his bitch for those quarters, then going ice cold not contributing shit for the jazz, spurs already up and pulling away with parker padding his stats for the 4th quarter..........

first half shouldnt have been a close game if he pulled his head out of his ass, jazz didnt capitalize on shit even when they got the benefit of the calls in the first half and plenty of freebies at the ft line, yet only shot 50% from the line costs them dearly....

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Originally Posted by mkurts

but Blair looked hopeless out there.

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was anyone else fkn pissed this clown got minutes, even though he contributed, he still gives up as much on the other end...couldnt get anything going besides trading baskets..

Thanks for the grades Timvp!

Wow I didn't see the game, but only B+ for another MVP preformance by TP?

And no injuries.

Thanks for the write-up timvp. :toast

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

lol parker gettin a high grade, while he did shit all for 3quarters, turning back harris clock making his bitch for those quarters, then going ice cold not contributing shit for the jazz, spurs already up and pulling away with parker padding his stats for the 4th quarter..........

first half shouldnt have been a close game if he pulled his head out of his ass, jazz didnt capitalize on shit even when they got the benefit of the calls in the first half and plenty of freebies at the ft line, yet only shot 50% from the line costs them dearly....

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I want to see you eat your words when Tony gets his well deserved MVP this year...

My biggest grins of the night, Millsap salivating over being defended by Green in the fourth Q, going to the block couple of times, the result, couple of misfired shots and TO. :D

That play to end the first half was gorgeous.

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Originally Posted by Pauleta14

Thanks for the grades Timvp!

Wow I didn't see the game, but only B+ for another MVP preformance by TP?

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6 assists to 5 turnovers guarantees that the grade will not be an A of any kind. Parker has set the bar much higher than that, and he will be judged as such.

I noticed it awhile back, but does anyone else think it is funny that Tiago with his hands straight up seems to actually alter shots, but Bonner just looks helpless when he does the same? I know Matty is an inch shorter and has T-rex arms, but I still find it humorous.

And just to be a hypocrite, I'd like to whine about Tiago's grade after calling someone out for complaining about Parker's grade. 10 pts on 63% shooting, with 8 boards, and 1 AST/TO/block should deserve at least an A-, imo. I guess Splitter has just raised the bar too high this season.

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Originally Posted by SpursIndonesia

My biggest grins of the night, Millsap salivating over being defended by Green in the fourth Q, going to the block couple of times, the result, couple of misfired shots and TO. :D

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Did another Spur come over to double, or did Green just hold his own? He might be a skinny mo fo, but if he can take Metta, I guess he can handle Millsap on occasion.

Btw, my biggest grin of the night was in the 4th when Splitter was subbed out, and then subbed back in 3 minutes later after the Jazz repeatedly made Bonner look like a chump. Tim and Tiago were only +1 in their stretch together, but ain't nothing wrong with maintaining a double digit lead at the end of a game, especially given the circumstances and arena.

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Originally Posted by Manufan909

I noticed it awhile back, but does anyone else think it is funny that Tiago with his hands straight up seems to actually alter shots, but Bonner just looks helpless when he does the same? I know Matty is an inch shorter and has T-rex arms, but I still find it humorous.

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even with trex arms, bonner puts much more effort than the dancing bear, his limited on what he can do defensively, but as long he puts his hands up thats enough to alter shots, hence he puts his body on the line even bumping them here and there like his a piece of shit, still forces the other player into difficult shooting positions,,,,when u look at blair doing the same thhing, the other guy just shoots over his midget ass without even trying....did you see tonights game where the utah jizz got their way with blair....

why were they booing tp everytime he touched the ball....must be tp haters from CoM....

Thanks again, timvp!


Praying for no injuries (as usual)... and yes... let us clean up dat house come Monday!!! :toast




(Replace The Cavs logo with The Jazz, BTW, obviously). :p:

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As many of us talked before the start of playoffs, Manu's shooting touch, hence his offense flow is something to worry about. If he can't get out of slump, we'll have our hands full against either Griz or Clippers.

Bonner's defense is at least B+ based on expectation of him, and it's his offense that has the problem. It's not only the shooting percentage issue. It's that he couldn't even get open look, either by his own poor off-ball movement, or teammates' inability of finding him, or the opponents' emphasis of denying him the opportunity.

Normally we would blame him passing shots from time to time, But the problem right now is he simply can't even find shots.

Tim is doing a great job on Jefferson. He forced Jefferson to have to make jump shots (Tonight Jefferson did), and sometimes Tim even forced Jefferson give up the ball when he was already under the basket. This will not be reflected in boxscore as it's neither a blocked shot nor a turnover, but it limits Jefferson's contribution to their offense.

Love Green's effort and determination a lot. Between him and Kawhi, if both of them settle on catch-and-shoot, and combined with the lack of shooting by Diaw (not trying to blame him here, just a fact), that would too much pressure on Parker. By attacking the basket relentlessly, he prevents the defense solely collapsing on Parker, which they already did oftentimes.

Jack's offense is like a roller-coaster in three games, but his toughness on defense is always there. This is exactly what the Spurs need to go deep.

I like the combination of Tim and Tiago together, and at least Pop's openness to this idea is a good sign. Unfortunately, the lack of chemistry on offense is also obvious. They either go for the same spot near the paint, or don't go there at all.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Body

That play to end the first half was gorgeous.

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That play alone was worth the time I spent watching this game, and it should be shown to basketabll clinics.

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Originally Posted by Pauleta14

Thanks for the grades Timvp!

Wow I didn't see the game, but only B+ for another MVP preformance by TP?

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Parker was C/D before the 4th.
On offense and on defense.
Harris was being Parker on Parker.
Then he went A+ in the 4th.

That was a rather impressive win. I guess you could say that the Jazz more or less packed their hardest possible punch - and the Spurs withstood it and hit back.
Parker and Duncan always seem to be able to shift into a different gear when needed - what an improvement over last season, so far at least. Duncan moves very well and seems to be in great shape physically.
Major props to Danny Green for not only surviving his first road test in the playoffs but actually passing it with flying colours. Once again, the overall depth of San Antonio was making it very hard for the Jazz: Neal comes in for a cameo and is 2-3 from downtown in seven minutes, SJax finds his range, Tiago has 10 and 8 in 18 minutes ...

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Originally Posted by timvp

Tiago Splitter B+
After missing a game due to a bruised wrist, Tiago Splitter was back with a vengeance. Offensively, he was simply unstoppable in pick-and-roll sets. When the Spurs ran complicated movement prior to a Splitter screen, forget it -- it was almost always an automatic two points for the Brazilian. To nitpick, Splitter was a tad too hesitant at times, which caused a couple turnovers and missed shots. Defensively, I didn't think he was too special in the first half; Splitter just wasn't making enough of a different either stopping players in his area or grabbing rebounds. However, in the final two quarters, I though Splitter was fantastic on D. He picked up his rebounding, played a headier brand of defense and was much better defending the rim. In the fourth quarter, Splitter played next to Duncan for five minutes, which could be a sign that Pop is actually considering playing his two best bigmen at the same time.

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Speaking of Splitter, I totally agree on the bolded part. Down the stretch, he showed that he can be a difference maker on the defensive end against taller frontlines. If I recall correctly, Bonner had just been scored on by Favors two times in a row when Pop called Tiago's number. His ability to protect the rim is a very good thing to be able to fall back on when you want to gear it up on D. Let's hope that Pop going to the Duncan/Splitter combo down the stretch is a sign of things to come, especially if the Spurs should run into the likes of Memphis or the Lakers.

Kind of amazing that Danny Green's line is almost identical to Timmy's. In fewer minutes, no less.

The Splitter-Duncan combo also had at least two occasions when there was decent interior spacing and passing on D that miscued, once Tiago got the ball a little unexpected and a little low which resulted in a series of fast-break turnovers by both teams, and once when by the time the pass receiver controlled the ball he was a bit to far under the rim and surrounded by Jazz for a pass out.

Also interesting Duncan seems to be extending the range on his jump-shot a bit more lately to the point where he tried and missed what was either a step-back three or feet on the line two in the first quarter....

Has Blair played himself off of this team for 2012-13?
I think so if they can find a low first round pick that is NBA worthy. The only reason he may be able to get such a trade is really about his salary.

gino shot like shit as expected, we can live with that as long he brings other intangibles to the table, that is playmaking, handling the pg duty in the halfcourt, defense, rebound, steals and best of all...attack the rim.....rushin 3s has been his forte :(

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Originally Posted by Mr. Body

That play to end the first half was gorgeous.

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Yeah, that was truly a thing of beauty. The Jazz were all standing there wondering what the fuck just happened. :lol

I'm not concerned about Manu yet. His playmaking and passing were great yesterday, and he did good work on the boards as well. His shot will come back.

TimVP, you are awesome, you should get this syndicated. I bet all the Spurs players read your grades. They probably wager large stakes on what they get rated at.

what do you think about moving Manu back to the starting lineup and moving Danny Green back to the bench. Manu doesn't bring the energy anymore that made him a great sixth man all of these years and of course can't score. I thought he was sleepwalking through most of the game. Danny Green on the other hand has been amazing and we need that kind of energy off the bench.

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Originally Posted by TMTTRIO

what do you think about moving Manu back to the starting lineup and moving Danny Green back to the bench. Manu doesn't bring the energy anymore that made him a great sixth man all of these years and of course can't score. I thought he was sleepwalking through most of the game. Danny Green on the other hand has been amazing and we need that kind of energy off the bench.

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No. As much as we praise Green's aggressiveness on offense, he is not a play-maker like Manu. With Neal essentially a short SG, we need somebody to play PG.

Really only one thing to say to Utah


Fuk yo best shot clown

Matty's three at the end of the first half was the difference in this game. It's the troof.

Once again, the Spurs were just out there shooting some shots...just beating a team they were supposed to beat...no surprises there. :lol

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

lol parker gettin a high grade, while he did shit all for 3quarters, turning back harris clock making his bitch for those quarters, then going ice cold not contributing shit for the jazz, spurs already up and pulling away with parker padding his stats for the 4th quarter..........

first half shouldnt have been a close game if he pulled his head out of his ass, jazz didnt capitalize on shit even when they got the benefit of the calls in the first half and plenty of freebies at the ft line, yet only shot 50% from the line costs them dearly....

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stat padding in the fourth when the lead was cut at 5 with 8 mn to go :lmao you're probably the worst ST poster by far

Fratello with the goods on Bonner 3 pointer. The key was Jackson clearing out the space for Duncan to throw to and Ginobili to run to. Reminds me of soccer where many plays are about passing into space and letting the wing go get it for a cross.

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/tn...nba/index.html

Another key play not called out by anyone was the Parker back door cut and assist from Duncan late in the 4th. That was a back breaker for the Jazz and another plus for Popovich's grade.

Does anyone have more of a breakdown on how the Spurs shut down Harris after the first quarter? I couldn't figure it out. Another Popovich special?

Parker I have to give Parker and 'A'. His MVP performance in the 4th was unbelieveable and that's what MVPs do. They take the challenge, put the team on their back and win the game. Manu used to display that killer instinct. I never thought I'd see it in Parker tbh.

Bonner Somebody remarked that Bonner couldn't find a way to get his shot. I'd say that's because they were defending him pretty tightly--and that took one of their guys out of the middle so his presence as a perimeter shooter was doing what its supposed to do. Speaking of the lane, it looked like a rugby scrum in there at times and Bonner was pushing and shoving with the rest of them to keep Utah's 3 bigs from simply running over them. I remember on one play where Bonner was boxing out, facing the basket for a rebound and Millsap just blasted him with a shove in the back that threw Bonner about 4 feet forward into TD and Diaw and their men. It was a rough, physical game and Bonner was fighting to keep their bigs from taking over. With 2 blocks and several altered shots, I'd say it was an above average defensive performance in relief. Give him a B-/B.

Blair the less said the better. He should only play in blowouts and against teams who have 6'5" bigs with no ACLs in both legs. He's trying to recreate himself with the floater so maybe he'll wind up a shooting guard someday.

Pop Saw Kwahi was overawed by the Utah playoff crowd and wasn't going to be aggressive so he cut his minutes. Good call. Remember how Pop and Parker argued about shorting Parker's minutes in the last game? This time he realized he needed Parker down the stretch and gave him 40, probably more minutes than he played all season. And maybe Parker had enough gas to play great D and O in the 4th because of that decision in the previous game.

When you look at Pop, you have to consider not just the 'now' like the out of bounds plays he's so good at drawing up but the past moves and the future moves he's thinking about like a grand master in three dimensional chess. I bet other coaches think they are coaching against Yoda.

While Bonner hasn't been great, his shooting percentage will be good.

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Originally Posted by YoMamaIsCallin

Fratello with the goods on Bonner 3 pointer. The key was Jackson clearing out the space for Duncan to throw to and Ginobili to run to. Reminds me of soccer where many plays are about passing into space and letting the wing go get it for a cross.

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/tn...nba/index.html

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Fratello is the best commentator in the league, wished he did all the spurs games.

Tiago & Tim down the stretch of a playoff game brought tears to my eyes. Bonner getting thrown around like a vietnamese whore also brought tears to my eyes.

Watching guys like Green/Tiago/Jax step their game up in the playoffs is so great to see after watching the RJ/Bonner chokejob debacles of the past few seasons.

Love this team right now.

thanks!

Thanks for the writeup!

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Originally Posted by YoMamaIsCallin

Does anyone have more of a breakdown on how the Spurs shut down Harris after the first quarter? I couldn't figure it out. Another Popovich special?

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Harris just stopped hitting lucky shots, tbh. Most of the shots he hit early on either Parker was right on him or he hit an impossible floater over a big.

I was out of town and missed the game's second half.

So I am mindful that my questions are based on incomplete data. Timvp, would you explain to me. Why you gave TD a higher grade than TP? I notice that Tim's shooting percentage was lower than Jefferson's and Parker's. Parker also had a higher percentage than Harris. Tim had 6 rebounds and Tony had 6 assists.

Tony had five tos, but as you said, he also had the entire Jazz team on his ass the whole game, and he put the team on his back to get 27 points total on something like 10 of 18 shooting.

I know that it is subjective, but it seems to me sometimes that when Tony scores more points he gets lower grades.


I am not trying to challenge you, I 'm trying to understand how you grade the two. I know that they are each on their own sliding scale, but TD is a first round HOF and yet you seem to give him more slack than TP on a pretty regular basis and I don't understand why.

Please don't get pissed because I am really trying to understand, not criticize.

^That's what those words underneath the grades are for, tbh. I can't really explain it more clearly. Parker was great in money time but he had a rather large stretch of mediocre play (2-for-9 over a stretch of nearly 30 minutes with as many turnovers as assists). Duncan was great defensively throughout and was a consistent asset on offense.

Duncan was closer to an A than Parker was to an A-, fwiw.

Thanks for the writeup Tim.

I was shocked on who the crowd disappear in the second half. For a young inexperienced team like Utah, they need a great crowd behind them and they didn't get it. Maybe Jazz will have a reaction in the next game to avoid the sweep, but I got the feeling that everybody (fans, coaches and players) have given up.

Manu doesn't need to take his game up a notch. He's doing fine. We don't need more than the points we won by. We need a healthy Manu. When the time comes, Manu will crank it up. Right now I want him to play within the flow of the game, not try to do too much at either end and end up getting injured.

We are used to seeing Ginobili be the designated game-taker-overer in the late 4th quarter.

That role has moved to Tony this year. Ginobili has become leader of the 2nd unit, and facilitator, defender, and rebounder in the late stages.

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Originally Posted by YoMamaIsCallin

We are used to seeing Ginobili be the designated game-taker-overer in the late 4th quarter.

That role has moved to Tony this year. Ginobili has become leader of the 2nd unit, and facilitator, defender, and rebounder in the late stages.

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It's not even about closing games though. I'll be the first to admit that he played a well-rounded game last night. He set teammates up and he rebounded. Manu really didn't need to score.

Against Utah it doesn't matter but once we start dealing with the elites, we'll need a little more than 6 points out of him imo. He doesn't have to be magical but around 10-12 should be within reach for him.

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Originally Posted by Paranoid Pop

Fratello is the best commentator in the league, wished he did all the spurs games.

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Correct. The guy knows the game better than anyone else on TV.

This was his second PO Spurs game. I wouldn't be surprised if he's asking for Spurs games.

I'm so happy to see Jax back. He loves this playoff atmosphere, nigh and day comparing to the SF who played with the #24

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Originally Posted by TMTTRIO

what do you think about moving Manu back to the starting lineup and moving Danny Green back to the bench. Manu doesn't bring the energy anymore that made him a great sixth man all of these years and of course can't score. I thought he was sleepwalking through most of the game. Danny Green on the other hand has been amazing and we need that kind of energy off the bench.

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Manu doesn't bring the energy anymore? First thing he did in game 3 was score a pair of layups and dish Splitter a perfect pass in the P&R for another hoop.

You spurs fans kill me.

:lol

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Originally Posted by Mugen

Tiago & Tim down the stretch of a playoff game brought tears to my eyes. Bonner getting thrown around like a vietnamese whore also brought tears to my eyes.

Watching guys like Green/Tiago/Jax step their game up in the playoffs is so great to see after watching the RJ/Bonner chokejob debacles of the past few seasons.

Love this team right now.

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I gotta say, the nba officials sometimes seem to have a vendetta against Matt Bonner.

I didn't like the horseshit foul called on Bonner near the end of the 1st half. Some kind of imaginary push off on Favors that awarded him free throws. Bonner clearly didn't agree with the call, just threw his hands up in disgust.

I do sympathize with him sometimes and don't fault him at all for letting up on his physical play. Especially in cases such as this.

Behind one “Pop Basket”
Posted on 05/06/2012 by Buck Harvey

SALT LAKE CITY — The Spurs hadn’t run the play all year, but they knew what they were doing. That was clear when the Spurs came out of their huddle Saturday night at the end of the first half, with 3.4 seconds left, trailing by one.

Keep reading: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/buckhar...ne-pop-basket/

Bonner getting two blocks was one of the more interesting things I'd seen. The block on favors was pretty legit too.

Played 15 minutes. Just right.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by T Park

Bonner getting two blocks was one of the more interesting things I'd seen. The block on favors was pretty legit too.

Played 15 minutes. Just right.

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Who did Bonner block first?

And also, who did Splitter block and when?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spurs Brazil

Behind one “Pop Basket”
Posted on 05/06/2012 by Buck Harvey

SALT LAKE CITY — The Spurs hadn’t run the play all year, but they knew what they were doing. That was clear when the Spurs came out of their huddle Saturday night at the end of the first half, with 3.4 seconds left, trailing by one.

Keep reading: http://blog.mysanantonio.com/buckhar...ne-pop-basket/

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Nice find Spurs Brazil! And thanks timvp, for the MVP-level PO Game Grades!!!!!!!:toast

bonner probably had one of those team blocks where burks just threw his body into 3 spurs with their hands up and they just decided to give it to bonner
another was basically a fluke hands up block on favors
favors got away with a lot of physical play on bonner, he even threw bonner away and bonner was called for the foul on one play

splitters block came on al jefferson on the low block
he did a good job of not going for the pump fakes and forced him baseline near out of bounds
he had to throw up garbage while falling out of bounds pretty much while splitter stood their hands up

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freetiago

bonner probably had one of those team blocks where burks just threw his body into 3 spurs with their hands up and they just decided to give it to bonner
another was basically a fluke hands up block on favors
favors got away with a lot of physical play on bonner, he even threw bonner away and bonner was called for the foul on one play

splitters block came on al jefferson on the low block
he did a good job of not going for the pump fakes and forced him baseline near out of bounds
he had to throw up garbage while falling out of bounds pretty much while splitter stood their hands up

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Yeah I saw that and was pissed how the hell can Bonner get that foul? I think the ref's do call tick tacky fouls on Bonner but I think they do because he doesn't stand up for himself.

If I were him next season when he gets one of those phantom fouls he needs to go ballistic on the ref....I mean just go off were you team has to hold you down..I wanna see slobber coming out of his mouth.... He does that that will end the ticky tacky shit calls he gets!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freetiago

bonner probably had one of those team blocks where burks just threw his body into 3 spurs with their hands up and they just decided to give it to bonner
another was basically a fluke hands up block on favors
favors got away with a lot of physical play on bonner, he even threw bonner away and bonner was called for the foul on one play

splitters block came on al jefferson on the low block
he did a good job of not going for the pump fakes and forced him baseline near out of bounds
he had to throw up garbage while falling out of bounds pretty much while splitter stood their hands up

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Not that I don't believe you, but out of the 3 shots I remember Al taking when Splitter was on him, 2 were swished jumpers, and one was a miss from the low block. Maybe it registered as a block and I didn't hear it. The D I remember from Splitter was about a minute or two in from him being paired with Tim, he switched onto Tim's man at the perfect time, and disrupted the entire play.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by freetiago

bonner probably had one of those team blocks where burks just threw his body into 3 spurs with their hands up and they just decided to give it to bonner
another was basically a fluke hands up block on favors
favors got away with a lot of physical play on bonner, he even threw bonner away and bonner was called for the foul on one play

splitters block came on al jefferson on the low block
he did a good job of not going for the pump fakes and forced him baseline near out of bounds
he had to throw up garbage while falling out of bounds pretty much while splitter stood their hands up

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It was legit.

He jumped up and knocked it away.

The first one was holding his ground on Burks yes.