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LJ, great write-up as usual.
I have been watching the last few games and Danny Green is just spectacular.. He looks like a great fit with both Tony and Manu.
Another Spurs game. Another Spurs blowout. This time, the setting was the AT&T Center, the opponent was the Blazers and the final score was 124-89. San Antonio has now won eight straight games by an average margin of victory of 20.8 points. It's safe to say the Spurs aren't a bad basketball team right now.
Eleven seconds into the game, Danny Green drained a three-pointer ... and that was about the extent of the drama. The Spurs scored the evening's first eight points and never looked back. In the second half, the good guys never led by less than 20 points.
This victory clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. While Spurs fans are programmed to not care about the regular season, I honestly am impressed with this accomplishment. A lot of players stepped up and Pop did a marvelous coaching job. That said, it goes without saying that this season will be remembered for what happens in the playoffs.
In the final two games, the Spurs technically still have something to play for. With one more win, they'll clinch homecourt advantage over the Heat. If the Spurs can win their final two games and have the Bulls lose a game, San Antonio would have HCA throughout the playoffs.
Tim Duncan A-
A couple months ago, this type of stat line out of Tim Duncan would have Spurs fans thanking their rosary beads. But Duncan has been so dominant lately, it's no longer surprising when he puts up numbers that would make Prime Duncan blush. Tonight against the Blazers, he was just damn good once again. Offensively, his outside jumper was nearly automatic and that setup everything else he wanted to do. Duncan was also running the court extremely well -- perhaps as well as we've seen all season. Defensively, he challenged seemingly every shot at the rim and ripped down seemingly every contested board. Perhaps best of all is that Duncan did all this while hardly breaking a sweat. Going into the playoffs, the soon to be 36-year-old is playing better than anyone could have imagined in their wildest dream.
Manu Ginobili B
It was a relatively quiet night at the office for Manu Ginobili, though he did drop off a few more sweet dimes. Ginobili didn't look to score much -- it just wasn't needed -- but I did like the work he did on the defensive end. After slipping on that end against the Cavs, Ginobili was much more intense tonight and ended up with a handful of quality defensive plays. Physically, the Argentine star looks as good as he's looked all season. If you're Pop, you gotta be tempted to sit Ginobili until the start of the playoffs ... especially after what happened last season.
Tony Parker B+
Tony Parker missed his first three shots from the field. And that's about as much as I can nitpick Parker's game tonight. The rest of the way, Parker was stout in every aspect. Offensively, he carved up the Blazers. He scored in transition, off of straight-line penetration, on off-ball cuts and by hiding behind screens. Parker's passing was crisp and his timing was perfect. On defense, he gave a strong effort both individually and team-wise. Parker's cherry on top was tying his season-high in rebounds in only 22 minutes. If anything, I thought he was too active; Parker went crashing to the ground countless times. Then again, perhaps I'm just a paranoid.
Boris Diaw A-
Boris Diaw got the start in place of DeJuan Blair and this time it looks like it's permanent. Against the Blazers, Diaw gave Pop no reason to second-guess the change. The passing, movement and spacing he provides make him a natural fit alongside Duncan. The Blazers were usually helpless when Diaw got the ball -- his movements were too smart and his passing was too crafty. On defense, Diaw had one of his better games as a Spur, especially considering he avoided fouls. He was physical, did his work early and finished off possessions by boxing out with ferocity.
Kawhi Leonard C
Tonight was a classic rookie-wall game for Kawhi Leonard. His explosiveness wasn't there and he was much slower up and down the court. On offense, Leonard did a lot of standing and watching. Defensively, he wasn't much better but his length alone was able to get the job done in many instances. As the Spurs enter the playoffs, it'll be very interesting to see if Leonard can regain his legs. Lately, they've been here one day and gone the next.
Danny Green A+
Wow. Danny Green was a monster in his 15 minutes of action. His shooting was spectacular. Eighteen points on six shots? Yeah, that's pretty good. In his last 15 outings, he's now shooting 57.1% on three-pointers. In fact, his three-point percentage on the season is now all the way up to 43.4%. Defensively, Green was great. When he wasn't denying a Blazer in a one-on-one situation, he was flying in from out of nowhere to save the day. While he didn't play much, Green was the best player on the court when he was out there -- and that's saying a lot considering how well some of his teammates were playing.
Stephen Jackson B+
Don't look now but Stephen Jackson is heating up. The Spurs have been giving him more post-up opportunities and he's taken full advantage. In his last five games, Jackson is averaging 10.8 points in 24.4 minutes per game on 51.3% shooting from the floor. That's quite an improvement considering he shot just 26.2% in his previous nine games. In addition to his scoring, Jackson authored a number of slick passes while keeping his turnovers and miscues to a minimum. Defensively, he was very solid. While his gambling got him in trouble a couple times, it's difficult to be upset with a guy who swiped five steals and blocked two shots in 23 minutes of work.
Gary Neal B-
The scare of the night was when Gary Neal left the game with an apparent shoulder injury after running into a brick wall named Kurt Thomas. Thank the basketball gods above that the X-rays were negative and Neal has been diagnosed with a stinger. As for his play on this night, Gary Neal had his ups and downs. His three-pointers were a bright spot but his passing was even iffier than usual; Pop jumped on him a few times for failing to make the quick, proper pass. He's still going through point guard growing pains and tonight was further proof. Defensively, Neal was relatively good. Other than getting blown by a couple times, I thought he was solid. Neal closed out well, hustled in transition and his rotations were usually on time.
Matt Bonner B-
Well, I guess going 1-for-1 on three-pointers is a step in the right direction for the April version of Matt Bonner. But it's still worrisome that he's been so quiet lately. In the eight-game winning streak, Bonner is averaging 4.3 points and hasn't scored more than eight points in any outing. While he wasn't passing up shots tonight, he also wasn't nearly as active as usual when it came to seeking out open space. On defense, Bonner was mostly a positive. He defended the post well, hustled to loose balls and got back in transition. In one of these final two games, it'd be great for Bonner if he could explode offensively. He's a rhythm player and right now it's difficult to imagine that he's in rhythm.
DeJuan Blair B
DeJuan Blair was the fifth bigman off the bench tonight. Truthfully, Blair's skillset is more suited for a reserve role. Now that it appears as if Diaw is the starter going forward, let's hope Blair is mature enough to accept his new role. Against the Blazers, he was actually pretty darn impressive on the offensive end. His passing was sublime and he converted around the rim. His defensive, though, wasn't nearly as delightful. Let us just move along . . .
Tiago Splitter B
With Blair getting the backup center minutes in the second half blowout, all of Tiago Splitter's minutes came in the first half. He spent his time on the court doing things we've come to expect such as finishing with high percentage shots, getting to the free throw line, pulling down rebounds and turning the ball over. If Pop is going to sit any of the Big 3 in the final two games, one would imagine that Splitter will need to come up big for the Spurs to have a chance of winning.
Patrick Mills A-
After a rough patch, Patrick Mills is back to lighting it up again. In his last four games, he's 11-for-15 (73.3%) from the field -- including 5-for-8 (62.5%) on three-pointers -- and has scored 28 points in 37 minutes. In his previous six outings, he was just 12-for-42 (28.6%) from the floor. Even though all his minutes came in garbage time tonight, Mills seemed to go extra hard against his former team.
James Anderson D
Ugh. James Anderson looked like anything but an NBA player during most of his time on the court. Other than his rebounding and a few drives to the hoop, Anderson was plain bad. He couldn't catch the ball. He couldn't defend. Even simple, everyday things were difficult for him tonight. I'm not sure what was wrong but it was difficult to watch.
Pop B
With his team putting together another blowout, Pop did a good job of spreading the minutes. Although, I'm not sure what the logic was behind playing Duncan the most amount of minutes -- unless Pop is planning on sitting him the final two games and wanted Duncan to get one final good run. Putting Diaw in the starting lineup was the right move even though the Spurs have had a lot of regular season success with Blair starting. In the final two games of the season, Pop has his work cut out for him. How does he keep this team healthy while also avoiding any type of letdown? It's not going to be easy.
LJ, great write-up as usual.
I have been watching the last few games and Danny Green is just spectacular.. He looks like a great fit with both Tony and Manu.
I admit that by the end I was half-assed watching the game but I remeber Anderson making some shots and thought "that's cool" then I read your grade and said "what the did I see" so I went to check the box-score.
11 pts on 4-7 from the field with 5 boards deserves a D from Anderson?
If Danny Green keeps playing like that in the playoffs ( hopefully he will ), he might earn himself a contract too big for the Spurs to afford matching.
Timvp, Im intersted on your take going into the playoffs...
http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195602
True. Maybe we'll get a hometown discount for giving the kid a chance
Thanks, great read
thanks for the write up, crazy to see everybody on the roster with a positive +/-
Thanks for the grades.
Blair with the Diaw-esque pass. I remember someone started a thread a few weeks ago about an analysis on why Diaw was such a versatile player. One of the featured topics was Diaw's ability to make passing decisions before receiving the ball while on the move. Blair made such a pass today, and a very high degree of difficulty one. Blair's demotion from starting PF to 5th big on the team must be difficult for him. Understandably so because a lot of careers are made from playoff performances and he must know that his longevity in the NBA is a question mark. I hope he handles it better this time because the kids got potential left. Over the summer, he should work very closely with Pop or another one of the assistants and figure out his issues on defense.
Thought that Splitter and or Diaw should have got some burn in the 4th. I know that injures are a concern but I want to get these guys into better shape. Diaw may still have some conditioning issues, Splitter seems like hes having conditioning issues, Pop saying that Leonard hit the rookie wall and Jackson admitted to basketball shape being a work in progress. Leonard and Jackson got some good cardio in but Diaw and Splitter should have gotten a few minutes too.
Wouldn't be surprised to see the big 3 sit from here. Probably the right move since HCA is practically set. If we make it out of the west, we SHOULD have home court over the Heat unless we lose our last two and they win their last two. Good chance that the Bulls clinch HCA through out since they have the tie breaker on us.
as i've said to the whole France yesterday evening your grades are invaluable
It's like last year all over again with the Spurs needing to win 2 for HCA through the playoffs.
I think the greatest growth in Parker's game is his ability to affect the game even when he's not scoring.
I like Diaw starting just for the fact that it replaces a low bbiq player with a high bbiq player. The playoffs come down to who makes the least mistakes.
It's kind of dangerous to be starting him since he could try demanding starter money.
Best case scenario : Spurs win 5, kid gets paid somewhere and de Colo is brought in the summer.
Good stuff, man.
danny's earned whatever money he will be making
lucky for us nobody watches the spurs so his breakout play wont be as noted
spurs only have about 1 year left of competing for a le so if danny leaves it wont be as big of a deal
but it would be nice to have him as a player to build around
Nice writeup, thanks for the grades so quickly.
JA deserves a bit more respect though, he was his fumbly bumbly self, but knocked down his shots and played with some heart. TBH he could probably start for about 10 teams in this league, at least with injury depletion and what not. To have him as #13 shows you how special this team is.
James Anderson according to these rankings had a much better game than Manu did when he made the game winning play in Boston...James Anderson D
Ugh. James Anderson looked like anything but an NBA player during most of his time on the court. Other than his rebounding and a few drives to the hoop, Anderson was plain bad. He couldn't catch the ball. He couldn't defend. Even simple, everyday things were difficult for him tonight. I'm not sure what was wrong but it was difficult to watch.
James may have had the worst game of any Spur this season.
His stat line is not too bad, but Anderson was horrible to watch tonight. I remember saying out loud that the only reason he was on the floor was to prevent someone else from getting injured.
Thanks again for your time and the write-up, timvp.
I definitely agree that Danny is just getting better and better out there. He's just such a great sport, period--even after he got "popeyed" last night and everything.
I just love watching him and Kawhi working their little 'tricks' together, lol. Some really impressive and entertaining stuff they tend to "pull out of their hats" on the fly, hehehe.
Veterans from opposing teams better watch out for these two lil' trixters. They'll figure it out soon enough, if they haven't already. Such joy. Oh yeeaahhh. MMMmmm-HHhmmmm.
Thanks for the quick grades. Nice practice game.
I'd just note this win was against a short-handed, nose-diving team, so if the grades are vs. expectations, they should be marked average. I.e., a big, easy win is what I'd expect against this team.
Also, a few of the previous wins in the streak were against tanking teams, so there's that. I am definitely excited about this team's chances this year, but let's not forget the streak had a couple of charity Ws.
Still, I'm loving how well Tim and Manu are playing right now. As well as the new pieces, of course, but the mainstays seem to be peaking at the right time.
Pop did do a great job and will probably get COTY.
Ftr, I think he actually did a better coaching job last year.
I sincerely hope that we can now safely assume Diaw will be getting the starting nods from now on. Only took Pop a full month to figure it out.
Well, I guess going 1-for-1 on three-pointers is a step in the right direction for the April version of Matt Bonner.
One silver lining I see to the Matt Bonner situation....Spurs don't seem to be as reliant on him hitting his threes to be dominant. They have been blowing opponents out of the water over the past month, despite Matty failing to produce from beyond the arc.
If, by some divine intervention, Matt actually starts dropping his threes again, and the Spurs continue to play like they currently have been....NBA=fcked.
On the same note, Bonner has actually managed some productivity in areas that don't have a stripe in front of his feet. He has been crashing the boards better, playing decent defense in the post, and I don't immediately facepalm when I see him trying to dribble drive or put up that funny little floater.
I'm liking Jax evolution.. I think he is feeling more and more comfortable. Strangely enough Diaw hasn't need a lot of adaptation to the spurs, it is a longer process for Jax which is quite surprising
So here we are with just two games left and Pop seems to have finally finalized his rotation. I guess we should just be thankful it's done before the end of the season.
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