Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Raptors - Dec. 26, 2012

The Raptors came into this game with five straight wins and gave the Spurs a good run. The final score (100-80) wasn’t indicative of how competitive it was for a majority of the night. Toronto, especially defensively, came to play and it took a good effort from San Antonio to improve to 22-8 on the season.

The first quarter was hotly contested; neither team led by more than six points. The Raptors played their best ball in the second quarter. They took the lead three and a half minutes into the period and kept control of the game for about five minutes.

In the final three minutes before intermission, the Spurs were finally able to grab some momentum. They went on a 14-4 run that was punctuated by a steal and dunk from Kawhi Leonard. That run made it 44-37 at the half.

Toronto kept clawing in the second half. Every time the Spurs would make a push, the Raptors would respond right back. Thankfully, San Antonio had another strong end of quarter run. In the final four minutes of the third, the Spurs went on a 13-4 run to take a 13-point lead into the final stanza.

Slowly and steadily, the Spurs built upon that lead in the fourth quarter. Midway through the period, their advantage grew to 19 points. That turned out to be enough to allow the Spurs to take a deep breath and chalk up their third straight W.

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Tim Duncan
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Tim Duncan’s outside jumper had been wayward lately but he was able to find his range against the Raptors. All six of his baskets were from outside of ten feet. Duncan found open spots and shot with no hesitation. While his passing was decent, he was a lot sloppier than usual. Defensively, Duncan’s perimeter defense was lacking. With him sagging into the paint, the Raptors attempted (and made) a lot of jumpers. That said, Duncan was a monster in the lane and altered numerous shots near the rim.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 90.3
Adj. Average: 90.6
Last 10 Average: 86.5
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Manu Ginobili
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It looks like Manu Ginobili has arrived. He has cleaned up his decision-making and is now playing a nearly flawless brand of basketball. He’s taking smart shots and not forcing passes -- and, as a result, he's torturing the defense with his precision just about every time he touches it. Athletically, he appears to be in a good place. His defense against the Raptors wasn’t flashy but it was effective. He moved his feet well and was able to pressure ball-handlers.
Final Grade: 94
Season Average: 83.3
Adj. Average: 83.4
Last 10 Average: 84.5
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Tony Parker
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Defensively, Tony Parker did good work against Jose Calderon. He harassed him beyond the three-point line and forced the Spaniard to make a handful of uncharacteristically weak passes. The Frenchman also helped out on the defensive glass. On the other end, Parker shook off a slow start to put together a solid outing. He could have been a bit more aggressive but he certainly did well enough. He found shooters early and often, ran the pick-and-roll with Duncan to perfection, and continuously penetrated the lane. Parker wasn’t pushing the pace well in the first half but did much better in the third quarter.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 86.9
Adj. Average: 86.9
Last 10 Average: 85.3
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Kawhi Leonard
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Kawhi Leonard’s outside shot was off but just about everything else was on. Defensively, he did well individually but really shined when playing the passing lanes. His fast-break-igniting steals are becoming lethal. Leonard was also fantastic on the glass. Offensively, he made mistakes (he got benched in the third quarter for forcing a drive instead of passing) but he’s proving to be a dynamic force that other teams have to account for on a possession to possession basis. Overall, it’s exciting to see how well this sophomore has played since returning from injury.
Final Grade: 92
Season Average: 85.9
Adj. Average: 86.0
Last 10 Average: 91.7
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Danny Green
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New Rule: Danny Green isn’t allowed to play small forward. He was underwhelming defensively at SF but has been very good since returning to shooting guard. Versus Toronto, Green authored one of his best defensive outings of the season. He shut down DeMar DeRozan by denying him the basketball and then pressuring his dribble when he did get the ball. Green swiped three steals and was also strong rebounding-wise. On the other end, he knocked down his first two three-pointers and looked extremely comfortable. Since Leonard’s return, Green doesn’t have a turnover and is shooting 65.2% from the field. I don’t think that’s a complete coincidence.
Final Grade: 92
Season Average: 82.2
Adj. Average: 82.5
Last 10 Average: 83.6
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Tiago Splitter
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The Good: Tiago Splitter got clobbered a few times going to the basket … and just kept coming. As a result, he set season-highs in free throws made and free throws attempted. I also liked Splitter’s defense for the most part and he continues to pass the basketball very well. The Bad: Toronto’s physicality got to him at times. Aaron Gray, specifically, was able to move Splitter off of his spots. Rebounding was also a negative. Splitter continues to have trouble fully utilizing his height advantage on a consistent basis.
Final Grade: 80
Season Average: 84.8
Adj. Average: 85.6
Last 10 Average: 87.1
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Boris Diaw
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Boris Diaw started slowly but to his credit he regained his footing and finished well. He converted his final four shots from the field and his passing got better and better as the game progressed. Defensively, Diaw was good enough individually and team-wise, however his lack of rebounding is negating some of his positive defensive work. All in all, Diaw is playing energetically -- and that’s always half the battle with him.
Final Grade: 82
Season Average: 79.9
Adj. Average: 81.0
Last 10 Average: 78.8
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Stephen Jackson
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It was mostly an ugly evening for Stephen Jackson. His shot selection was subpar, he was loose with the rock and he hurt the ball movement at times. Defensively, Jackson was better but still not very good. He did some positive things in the lane and made a few plays but his agility remains a work in progress. Let’s hope he can sharpen his game up because right now he’s doing more harm than good.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 82.8
Adj. Average: 83.3
Last 10 Average: 77.2
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Nando De Colo
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With Gary Neal out with a calf injury, Nando De Colo had a chance to grab the backup point guard slot … but he didn’t do it. Offensively, he was meek for a majority of the night. He had a number of poor decisions when it came to passes and got a couple of his dishes picked off. Defensively, he was mostly good after a few early mistakes. De Colo put up some stats in garbage time but his work when the game was still in doubt was underwhelming. That said, he didn’t do anything horrendously bad and will still be in the running for a spot in the rotation going forward.
Final Grade: 76
Season Average: 83.0
Adj. Average: 85.1
Last 10 Average: 83.0
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Matt Bonner
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Matt Bonner came out gunning against his Canadian brethren. Unfortunately, he wasn’t hitting much of anything. It’s unusual for Bonner to shoot too much but Wednesday night was one of those rare occurrences. Defensively, he had a couple good plays but was largely ineffective. It didn’t help that he wasn’t rebounding or boxing out well.
Final Grade: 77
Season Average: 82.5
Adj. Average: 84.0
Last 10 Average: 82.0
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Pop
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In the first half, Pop’s rotations were wonky. A poor stretch in the second quarter was exacerbated because Pop insisted on using a tiny lineup. The rotations in the second half were much, much better. In the big picture, it’s impressive that Pop was able to keep everyone under 30 minutes even though this game wasn’t decided until midway through the fourth quarter.
Final Grade: 82
Season Average: 84.2
Last 10 Average: 80.8
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Offense
The pace of this game was much slower than usual for the Spurs, so putting up 100 points was actually impressive. In fact, the Spurs scored at a rate of 111.1 points per 100 possessions, which is above their season mark. They did well getting to the line and getting easy buckets on the break. The only notable weakness was turnovers.
Final Grade: 89
Season Average: 84.5
Last 10 Average: 82.9
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Defense
The defense was damn good. Allowing only 18 points in the paint and two points on the break? Wow, those are amazing numbers. The Spurs also kept them off the free throw line. San Antonio had a few intermittent breakdowns but those are forgivable due to those three impressive areas of strength.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 83.5
Last 10 Average: 83.1
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Overall
The Raptors played really hard and it’s obvious they are well coached on the defensive end. The Spurs did well to get a win, especially one that ended up not even being competitive in the final few minutes. Very good work. Keep it going.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 84.1
Last 10 Average: 82.6
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Thanks timvp!

I would add that I felt Pop kept Ginobili in the game past the point when the game was already at hand... given Ginobili's two prior 'potential injury' plays in that game (Amir Johnson's swipe at Manu's face and the knee-to-knee he sustained while driving baseline), I felt that decision was rather risky... then again, we can't wrap Manu in a bubble until the playoffs; for many reasons...

Excellent write up timvp :tu

Does Duncan's slipping rebounding numbers concern you a little bit? Feels like he doesn't even get more than 7 boards a night anymore whereas before he was routinely pulling down double digit rebounds.

Maybe the Spurs winning by a more comfortable margin and shooting a better percentage in the past couple games has to do with that.

Great write up, as usual timvp.

One observation about Leonard. Is it just me or does he appear to hold the ball every time he dribbles? I know his hands are freakishly large and he can easily hold the ball with one hand but it seems like he holds the ball just a bit with every dribble instead of having a smooth, up-and-down dribble motion.

I'm actually surprised a ref hasn't called him on it yet. Anyone else notice this? It does give him an unfair level of control while ballhandling. At least it looks that way to me.

NDC/Manu/Kawhi/Diaw/Splitter is the best lineup to start the 2nd and 4th quarters.
Big 3 played well, Manu looks healthy.
Leonard played great but he is called for an offensive foul every time he drives to the rim.

I don't know what a player should do to earn a score grade of 0 or 5

Regarding Duncan's rebounding, he had 18 in Denver. Then he had 10 against New Orleans and single digits in the last two games. I think he's just not expending as much energy right now.

timvp - As always, your write-up is a great read and on point. Thanks again for always providing a great synopsis and roll-up.

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Originally Posted by Spurs7794

Regarding Duncan's rebounding, he had 18 in Denver. Then he had 10 against New Orleans and single digits in the last two games. I think he's just not expending as much energy right now.

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Ah, you're right. Guess his numbers are fine then

Jax needs to start playing basketball because right now having rj would be an upgrade

Hero Ball gets an A+ from me for being on the bench injured, tbh.

Love your work LJ but I fear you are going to take a lot of points off for Pop and his wonky lineups between now and SPAM. With Leonard and Jack out he has not been able to tinker with a lot of the smallball lineups as he is wont to do and he is going to truck them out there. I just hope that some of the shit he throws out there is worth sticking.

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Originally Posted by Brunodf

Leonard played great but he is called for an offensive foul every time he drives to the rim.

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The refs are calling everything where more than one player falls down an offensive foul this year. It's terrible to watch. Someone should tell David Stern that it's messing up his precious offense.

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Originally Posted by Brazil

Jax needs to start playing basketball because right now having rj would be an upgrade

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Fair statement. (shuddering)

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Originally Posted by Brazil

Jax needs to start playing basketball because right now having rj would be an upgrade

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No. Even the current level Jack is playing right now is still miles ahead of what RJ gave you every night.

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Originally Posted by timtonymanu

No. Even the current level Jack is playing right now is still miles ahead of what RJ gave you every night.

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This is just not true. I dislike RJ and I like Jax as 99% os spurs fans but right now Jax is close to be a liability and a good RJ would be better.

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Originally Posted by Brazil

This is just not true. I dislike RJ and I like Jax as 99% os spurs fans but right now Jax is close to be a liability and a good RJ would be better.

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Sad but true and Jack is playing some hero ball lately...

Thanks LJ

Jax haters can turn in their Spurs fancard at the AT&T Center M-F 9AM to 3PM, or the US Embassy in Paris:

4 Avenue Gabriel, Paris, France

kthx

Wtf recently with hero ball...don't even sure what that means

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Originally Posted by ElNono

Thanks LJ

Jax haters can turn in their Spurs fancard at the AT&T Center M-F 9AM to 3PM, or the US Embassy in Paris:

4 Avenue Gabriel, Paris, France

kthx

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Us embassy in Paris. I don't know what you smocking but I want 10 kgs please

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Originally Posted by Amuseddaysleeper

Excellent write up timvp :tu

Does Duncan's slipping rebounding numbers concern you a little bit? Feels like he doesn't even get more than 7 boards a night anymore whereas before he was routinely pulling down double digit rebounds.

Maybe the Spurs winning by a more comfortable margin and shooting a better percentage in the past couple games has to do with that.

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Kawhi's return means TD gets fewer defensive boards.

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Originally Posted by Brazil

Us embassy in Paris. I don't know what you smocking but I want 10 kgs please

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https://www.google.com/search?q=Us+E...oe=UTF-8&hl=en

It's that place you guys call after surrendering, tbh /blue

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Originally Posted by ElNono

https://www.google.com/search?q=Us+E...oe=UTF-8&hl=en

It's that place you guys call after surrendering, tbh /blue

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that would be the us embassy in Saigon tbh

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Originally Posted by Brazil

that would be the us embassy in Saigon tbh

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They don't take Spurs fancards there though.. Only AT&T Center and Paris Embassy, sorry

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Originally Posted by Brazil

that would be the us embassy in Saigon tbh

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Haha, nicely played.

Though France also lost the First Indochina War, tbh. There would have been no Vietnam War if you all would have held onto and continued to ruthlessly oppress your colony, tbh.

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Originally Posted by Dr. Robert Ley

Though France also lost the First Indochina War, tbh. There would have been no Vietnam War if you all would have held onto and continued to ruthlessly oppress your colony, tbh.

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This is true, plus lefty wouldn't have Internet if they would've hold on to Algeria too... Big mistake right there, tbh

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Originally Posted by ElNono

This is true, plus lefty wouldn't have Internet if they would've hold on to Algeria too... Big mistake right there, tbh

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Biggest mistake was to not hold on to Lousiana in the 1600's tbh

I missed the game, but did see my man Bonner's crazy box score (8 shots in 12 minutes). I can't see a line like that without wondering if it was a game plan thing, and that he was told by Pop to be more aggressive with his shot selection. For those who watched the game, did it seem like that?

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Originally Posted by Brazil

Jax needs to start playing basketball because right now having rj would be an upgrade

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I'd rather have any version of SJax than RJ who just did not FIT the Spurs. How quickly people forget the CLUTCH 3s SJax hit this last playoffs (much less in 03). He's got more **** in his broken pinkie than RJ has in his entire body.