Quick Grades: Spurs @ Nuggets - Game 1, 2019 NBA Playoffs (Apr. 13)

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In a game that went down to the wire, the seventh seeded Spurs were able to begin the 2019 NBA playoffs on the right foot with a 101-96 victory over the Nuggets in Denver. Neither team played exceedingly well -- in fact, there were stretches where James Naismith could be heard rustling around in his grave -- but the Spurs were able to make get key defensive stops down the stretch to seal the win.

Well done. It wasn't pretty but it was a great way for the good guys to start the postseason.

LaMarcus Aldridge C-
While Aldridge's effort level was satisfactory, he struggled mightily on the offensive end. Nikola Jokic was allowed to belly Aldridge and that kept the Spurs bigman out of rhythm. His fadeaway jumpers were off, as his touch was coarse in most facets. Defensively, Aldridge was good against Jokic, guarded the perimeter better than usual and supplied sufficient help. That said, his defensive rebounding left a lot to be desired ... though he did corral a key one late.

DeMar DeRozan C-
The good: DeRozan was great on the defensive boards. He pulled down a handful of contested boards and was also boxing out with vinegar in his veins. The rest of his defensive work was also better than usual, save for a couple intermittent mistakes in rotation. DeRozan got to the free throw line six times in the first half, which helped set the tone for San Antonio. His playmaking at times was very help -- for example, when he setup Bertans' momentous fourth quarter three-pointer. The bad: As feared, DeRozan tried to do too much on offense, especially as the game progressed. He compounded that issue by settling more and more for tough jumpers as contest went along. As a result, his efficiency was poor and he was more of a liability down the stretch than an asset. That said, he seemed to realize the error of his ways before it was too late and shared just enough before the situation became irreparable.

Derrick White A-
Early on, White looked every bit like an inexperienced youngster who's basically in his rookie season. His decision-making was shaky and he committed two bad fouls, which is certainly uncharacteristic for him. Thankfully, White eventually settled in and posted an otherwise outstanding performance. He grew patient on offense, took smart shots, created opportunities for teammates and ran the offense decently well. On defense, after those two early fouls, he was really good. He harassed Jamal Murray into a disastrous night (17 points on 24 shots to go along with zero assists for Denver's starting point guard). White's steal with less than five seconds remaining iced the game for San Antonio. Oh, and that third quarter dunk was pretty cool, too.

Bryn Forbes A
Apparently, Forbes' strong end to the regular season wasn't a fluke. To begin the playoffs, his swagger and confidence was palpable from the opening tip. Forbes made big shots for San Antonio -- both of the catch-and-shoot variety and off of inventive forays to the rim. I also thought Forbes was good on defense. He overplayed his man a few times but was otherwise physical in one-on-one situations, his feet were quick enough and his team-defense rotations were swift. The cherry on top was Forbes' hard work on the defensive glass, which the Spurs desperately needed.

Jakob Poeltl B+
There was nothing too fancy out of Poeltl but the starting center was rock solid. He came out a little bit antsy on defense but he eventually settled in and was a source of strength on that end during the final three quarters. I especially liked his smarts when defending the post and the couple contested defensive boards he ripped down with aggression. On offense, Poeltl got in the way sometimes but he also set the best screens on the team and flashed enough variety to his game to force the Nuggets to account for him even if he was away from the basket.

Rudy Gay C+
Gay was fantastic in the second quarter. He got the Spurs going and helped ignite San Antonio's best offensive quarter. When he wasn't knocking down three-pointers, he was taking his time to overwhelm smaller defenders or driving past larger defenders. The rest of the game, though, wasn't nearly as beautiful for Gay. While I give him credit for bringing enough physicality to the game to match Millsap's ruggedness under the rim, it was difficult for Gay to hold his ground against the burly Nuggets -- and especially difficult for him to pull down (and safeguard) rebounds. Offensively, outside of the second quarter, Gay didn't provide much tangible help.

Patty Mills B-
I liked Patty Mills' vivacity on defense. He was chasing his man around screens and played tight man defense. However, his lack of size definitely was a factor, as the Nuggets were able to attack him by simply going up and over the Australian. Offensively, he dribbled too much, tossed ill-advised passes and took a couple questionable shots. Despite Mills' iffy decisions, things tended to work out for him tonight: he made two of those questionable shots, finished without a turnover and successfully pushed the pace.

Davis Bertans C+
To begin the night, Bertans was getting abused by Denver's bigs. They were simply bumping him out of the way and the Latvian wasn't putting up much of a fight. Thankfully, Bertans eventually located his cojones and fought back. By the night's end, he had a definite positive impact on the victory. On offense, he hit a key three-pointer with less than five minutes remaining in the fourth to put the Spurs up by six. He also had a key play in the fourth where he utilized his burgeoning ball-handling acuity to spoon feed a bucket for Poeltl. On defense, his boxing out got better and better -- and Bertans even altered shots at key moments, at the rim and out on the perimeter.

Marco Belinelli B
Belinelli looked injured to end the regular season. The good news is it appears he regained his health in time for the postseason. He was moving well again -- and even successfully drove the ball to the basket a couple times. Belinelli's activity on and off the bell helped spark the offense and give life to the bench unit. Defensively, I'd classify his work as above average -- relatively speaking, of course. He did a reasonably good job of keeping ball-handlers in front of him and was better than usual on the glass.

Pop B-
I'm glad Pop started Poeltl and went with the rotation that was the team's best over the second half of the regular season. The confidence he showed in White, Forbes and Poeltl was key to the win. Pop did concern me at times when he leaned on Mills too much but that ended up not hurting the Spurs. He also could have done more to get Aldridge in the low block and stop DeRozan from engaging hero mode ... but Pop pushed enough right buttons to help San Antonio begin the playoffs with a win. He had multiple effective plays out of timeouts and his overall gameplan was very strong.

Thanks timvp! On point.

Other than LA and Derozan i am actually pretty happy with everyone... Even patty mills.

:reading

bertans got abused on defense, but on offense he had many chances to pull up for 3 when he was left open...

one thing i notice, nobody on the nuggets can stop bertans if he decides to attack the rim, bunch of midgets trying to defend him, problem is can he execute them into baskets

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Originally Posted by timvp

Pop B-

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:lol thanks brah

rudy had a good game when the team needed baskets of the bench, then dunno what happen in the 2nd half, it went down hill for him... lack of focus keeping the ball and turning it over....

nuggets dont have lengthy players that can defend the spurs taller guys who can attack the rim, why do they attack the rim for easy open shot, only to morph into malik rose with the multiple pumpfakes brick shot

Wow,very Quick!!! Thanks Timvp ! Great Team Effore, tough fight!

Good grades. Can anyone find the nuggets bench reaction to D Whites dunk !?

Wow,very Quick!!! Thanks Timvp ! Great Team Effore, though fight!

Our two best players had terrible nights and we won.

You'll take that 10/10 times.

Excellent grades. And damn quick.

I saw Derek well after the game say that he was probably a little too cranked up to begin the game, and he just did some dumb things. Understandable, given his whole story. But he got himself under control, and I'd say he showed a lot about who he is by coming back and playing solid ball.

You've given more credit to Forbes through the season than I would have. At times it was almost maddening. But he has taken his game up several notches, and maybe it was just hard to see the progress along the way. He still blows some defensive assignments, but I think he's earned the grades you've given him lately.

Great win tbh. White and Aldridge's early foul trouble definitely impacted the game, Spurs still outplayed Denver pretty handily anyways.

Best players and biggest stars not always one and the same.

Wow. It was looking Spurs would collpase the last 4 minutes, but held on. Great win. Nuggets were very bad, not sure if due to Spurs tough defense or just pissing in their pants. They chocked more than DDR, who as usual almost costed us the game with a weak last shot. Thank god for the Nuggets missing the easiest shot ever.

Besides the obvious (1-0 wins the series most of the times) Spurs are clear favourite now. Might even win next one, playing with house money.

Winning on the road against the best home team, with not so good games from DDR and LMA. I'll gladly take that one. Tho Denver killed themselves.

I've had no confidence in Forbes the whole year, and I woild have bet good money he woulda shat the bed tonight. So glad he proved me wrong. Without his strong performance we woulda lost for sure.

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Originally Posted by Cry Havoc

Our two best players had terrible nights and we won.

You'll take that 10/10 times.

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On the road too, against the toughest home court in the league

Let's just not get satisfied with a W and push for another win on Monday to destroy all their hopes...

Nuggets missed lots of shots. But LMA offensively played poor.

The youngins.... White, Forbes, Poetl have all stepped up to the occasion! This is a good sign!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=295zvryVot8

Pop didnt go to LMA enough on the low block. Must be a strategy thing or an adjustment to Nuggets defense

amazing win

Great win - not such a great game, but of course, you'll take a victory on the road every time to start a series.
I think the Spurs got lucky that the Nuggets missed quite a number of open jump shots. I liked the game plan against Jokic, but hopefully the Spurs will be able to cut down on those open looks Denver got. Take Murray's wide open shot from a couple of feet away from the basket when the Spurs were up 97-96, for example. But well, late game defensive break downs happen to better defensive teams than the Spurs are - just see Kawhi and Gasol before that Augustin (?) go-ahead three last night.

White and Forbes were great, most of the rest of our guys were at least adequate or can reasonably be expected to play better in games to come (Aldridge).

I don't know if there ever was a Spurs player whose game I detested as much as that of DeRozan - relatively speaking to the usage of said player, that is. He stifles the offensive rhythm much too often and in general just is too much of a black hole offensively while only having a marginally positive impact on the game at best. Don't get me wrong - he rebounded well against the Nuggets and mostly was okay defensively. But he just does not play winning basketball on the offensive end and frankly shouldn't have the ball in his hands as much as he does down the stretch.

Gracias.

White should get an A+ for that dunk on Millsap. I hate Millsap and glad he got killed at the rim by White.

In Timvp's preview of the series I stated that the X factors in this series would be Gay, Forbes, and Poeltl. Those three didn't disappoint last night.

The Spurs need to go all out for game 2. If they can get game 2, I don't see a team like Denver recovering.

Derozan led us with ast, points, ft's, and rebounds. I mean, that's not bad.

I'm still not sure Murray was bad because of White or because of himself. This is something we need to monitor going forward. I'm saying this because Murray missed a bunch of wide open shots including the most important shot of the game that would've given Denver the lead when White didn't fight hard enough to beat the screen, no help came and Murray was left wide open and Murray thankfully missed.
I disagree with the very generous grades because this game was probably the worst game of all the day1 playoff games.
If we are being honest and real, Denver is still the favorite to go through and i hope i'm wrong about that.

White and Gay have consistently had higher percentages that other players in the team.

They should be the guys setting up the plays during crunch time.

DeRozan and Aldridge are good players when there's nothing on the line, but when forced to make a play, they've got terrible percentages.

I don't get why Pop does not realize this!!!

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Originally Posted by monty4329

Wow. It was looking Spurs would collpase the last 4 minutes, but held on. Great win. Nuggets were very bad, not sure if due to Spurs tough defense or just pissing in their pants. They chocked more than DDR, who as usual almost costed us the game with a weak last shot. Thank god for the Nuggets missing the easiest shot ever.

Besides the obvious (1-0 wins the series most of the times) Spurs are clear favourite now. Might even win next one, playing with house money.

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Were you drunk when you wrote this?.....it was brutal to read, but all of your points made sense

Forbes was outstanding. Playing like a baller w supreme confidence. Great win time to get greedy.

There is no such a thing as an ugly win in the playoffs, much less on the road, and in particular for this team.

But, really, the fact that Spurs went out there and beat these Nuggets on their floor with their C game is more a reflection on Denver's pedigree.. We really lucked out playing this team in their current shape.

They are about the most 'lightweight' 2nd seed in the West that I can remember.

Spurs should step on their throats in Game 2. And if that happens, a sweep isn't that inconceivable, although nothing comes easy with Playoffs Derozan.

And yet we won. A playoff game. On the road. Against a 2 seed (as a 7). Controlling the leadmost of the game. And did not play well.

Pretty amazing if you ask me.

Best case scenario: DeRozan acquits himself well in these playoffs (especially in comparison with Lowry). GMs around the League are interested in acquiring him this offseason. We open up space on the floor and increase our cap space.

Win-win.

And the next 2 are on nba tv, fuck you nba

Great win for Spurs and puts Pop at the top of the All-Time list, not a bad day.

I like the Spurs chances strategically. Not sure how many adjustments Denver will make and how effective they will be. Spurs have a lot of options as far as game planning.
It seems likely that there will be a couple of games where LA goes off in the series and might win a game or two by himself.

White is reminding me more and more of the late Dennis Johnson with his deceptive athleticism, solid D and smart decisions. What a find he has turned out to be!

Let's see. Congrats, Pop, on becoming the WINNINGEST coach in NBA history (in a road game against a #2 seed in which your two best players had subpar performances). Here's your B-.

C'mon, how about a little respect and awareness. :nope

Poeltl dominated Jokic. Jokic dominated LA.

They'll probably get blown out in Game 2. Hope Lonnie can get some burn as I think he's got a chance to be impactful in limited PT this series tbh.

White should easily be playing in the 35-40 minutes range .

Pop needs to understand he is their 2nd or 3rd best player on any given night and the most valuable one in vaccum. He is not a Patty Mills or Bertans microwave type. He is a core player for this team.

dunno about u guys, but whatever lma was doing that made jokic gas out, he should continue doing it instead of chuckin up bricks, make that clown work on defense, make him chase u around or on the switch pnr.... man jokic sure did sat out long when lma was in foul trouble

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Originally Posted by Biggems

Were you drunk when you wrote this?.....it was brutal to read, but all of your points made sense

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yes, sorry, was just home from watching the game, then clubbing plus the necessary drinks. All considered, it was quite polished....:dizzy

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

dunno about u guys, but whatever lma was doing that made jokic gas out, he should continue doing it instead of chuckin up bricks, make that clown work on defense, make him chase u around or on the switch pnr.... man jokic sure did sat out long when lma was in foul trouble

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Running up and down the court. That pudgy fuck was gassed out by the national anthem tbh.

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Originally Posted by tbdog

Derozan led us with ast, points, ft's, and rebounds. I mean, that's not bad.

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Nope, not bad at all. Could've had more assists too. Also hit a big shot when they cut it to 1 late in the 4th. I know he made some bad decisions, and couldn't hit a shot, but he had a nice well rounded game

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Originally Posted by ginobilized

Great win for Spurs and puts Pop at the top of the All-Time list, not a bad day.

I like the Spurs chances strategically. Not sure how many adjustments Denver will make and how effective they will be. Spurs have a lot of options as far as game planning.
It seems likely that there will be a couple of games where LA goes off in the series and might win a game or two by himself.

White is reminding me more and more of the late Dennis Johnson with his deceptive athleticism, solid D and smart decisions. What a find he has turned out to be!

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That's a very good comparison.

Is it just me or does Bert get an unusually high amount of tough shots made over him around the rim? So many times I find myself thinking "that's good defense, guy just made a tough shot". I think opponents see a redhead white guy with a 7 year old's shoulders and their confidence skyrockets.

Great write up TIMVP. I personally think the isolation ball of DeRozan almost killed the Spurs. Popovich made a mistake taking the ball out of Derrick Whites hands and letting DeRozan be the playmaker. He settled for mid range shots and was predictable.The best trait of Derozan for this team ( not a fan) is to take the ball to the basket as much as possible and create for his teammates from there. Also, the Spurs bigs did not seem to rebound well, did not match the toughness and intensity might want to give Dante Cunningham a shot for a energy boost. Same way Derrick White's dunk did to reenergize the Spurs.

Thanks for the grades TimVP. Pop's rotations were great. Really have no issues with what he did out there, I think B- is a little too low. He subbed in Mills for White in the 4th, but that was for like 2 minutes, I guess just to give White some rest for crunch time. Spurs will need to find a counter move to the Nuggets doubling LA on the low block. They need to get him going early

Thanks for the grades!!

Agree with Drunkford. I think Pop had one of the best games all season: timely timeouts and lineups making sense. Really liked defensive plan of Jokic: started single-coverage on him to see if he'll start cooking, then timely double-teams.

Have to apologize to Bryn Forbes for my criticism all season. Him and White won us this one.

Can't believe LA will struggle so much all series long. I like our chances.

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Originally Posted by TDMVPDPOY

dunno about u guys, but whatever lma was doing that made jokic gas out, he should continue doing it instead of chuckin up bricks, make that clown work on defense, make him chase u around or on the switch pnr.... man jokic sure did sat out long when lma was in foul trouble

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LMA made him box out for every single rebound. He might not have gotten that many offensive rebounds but he fought for every single one and that tired out Jokic. It's funny bc Hubie called out LMA for not rolling on a pick n roll (he was right to do it btw) bc had he done so then he would've had a dunk. He suggested that LMA was tired and scolded him a bit saying there's no tired in the playoffs. But I was thinking man Jokic looks pretty ragged too. So many times he got the ball and just didn't do anything with it. He basically let LaMarcus rest on defense.

Aldridge and DeRozan both play subpar and we win on the road against the best home team in the league? Yes please.

The whole team gets an A+ for grit. No matter what happened, they kept right on playing as best they could. That's how they won. The old cliche, pounding the rock. The Spurs never quit.

Also, for maybe the only game this season, that I can think of, the refs get an A. They did a pretty good job of staying almost invisible. A welcome change from the regular season.

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Originally Posted by Mugen

Running up and down the court. That pudgy fuck was gassed out by the national anthem tbh.

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Even Porker was watching the game thinking Jokic was pudgy as fuck.

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Originally Posted by JeffDuncan

The whole team gets an A+ for grit. No matter what happened, they kept right on playing as best they could. That's how they won. The old cliche, pounding the rock. The Spurs never quit.

Also, for maybe the only game this season, that I can think of, the refs get an A. They did a pretty good job of staying almost invisible. A welcome change from the regular season.

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Yes! In Q4 I was thinking "wow the refs are actually good"

Thank for the grades! Glad we hung in there after that 3rd quarter. Luckily they couldn't make a shot either. If we can do this well on a not great game by LMA, then I like our chances.

Victory!

Let’s maybe win game 2 as well?

Quite a few posters on here were wrong about Forbes. Kid is a player.

the Nuggets are under huge pressure now. Game 2 is a must win for them already. They can't afford to go to AT&T down 0-2. Spurs now got a big advantage going into game 2

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Originally Posted by Mugen

Running up and down the court. That pudgy fuck was gassed out by the national anthem tbh.

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:lol fat Yolk itch

Rewatching the last few minutes of the game, this is what I got from it:

Our offensive execution was pretty bad. Our defense saved us, plus some missed shots by Denver. But the D was on point for the most part.
-D White turned the ball over with about a minute to go
-Derozan missed like 2 or 3 shots in the last 2 minutes.
-The last FG for the spurs was the pump fake shot by DeRozan. That was with a little over 2 minutes to go.
-But defense was on point. Only the last Murray attempt was an open attempt and he missed but Spurs played solid D the last 2 minutes. Thats what won us the game.

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Originally Posted by RC_Drunkford

the Nuggets are under huge pressure now. Game 2 is a must win for them already. They can't afford to go to AT&T down 0-2. Spurs now got a big advantage going into game 2

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Hmm... Jamal Murray is starting to defiantly feel the pressure that it's on him for the reason they lost. Check out this story from Real GM:

Jamal Murray worked on his jumper while teammates showered and addressed the media following a 8-24 performance in the Denver Nuggets' 101-96 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Murray missed an open jumper with 13 seconds left in the game that would have put the Nuggets in the lead.
“I took some shots on every shot I missed, especially that one I missed, the open one at the end of the game. I was just shooting. I was frustrated...I’ll bounce back. My teammates have confidence in me. Coach has confidence in me. It’s up to me now," said Murray.

Well, let's see if he'll "bounce back" for tomorrow's game. Aside from Murray, "The Joker" & Millsap," the Spurs will also have their hands full with Harris, Barton, with Beasley & Craig coming off the bench. Thank goodness that the McNuggets really didn't have a good scoring game, & I don't know if it was the jitters being in the playoffs, but I'm sure this team will bounce back for game two & try to even this series. The Good Guys have their work cut out for Tuesday. Also hoping that LMA & DD10 will also play better, too, & bring some energy & play consistent defense along with O-rebounding here on out! GSG!!!

I think some mention should be made of the altitude problem. It probably affected Gay the most based on his great start which tailed off toward the end. It can also be responsible for LA's problems as well. Older big men are going to feel it more. Finally, I think Pop was taking this into account with longer minutes for Mills because he had to keep White strong for the finish in the 4th quarter.

All things considered this was a super win for the team.