Quick Grades: Spurs @ Warriors - Round 2, Game 6

[timvp]

Tim Duncan D+
Duncan's stats look strong at a glance -- but I wasn't happy with his performance. The glaring weakness that really hurt his value was his strange inability to grab contested boards. You can always count on him to rebound well -- well, almost always. Tonight, he just couldn't do it. Defensively, he had his moments guarding pick-and-rolls … but he struggled in that area as the game progressed. Duncan had some positives (for example, I liked the way he defended the rim and his scoring was strong) but overall he left a lot to be desired. The good news is that his negatives don't appear to be health related.

Manu Ginobili C
The Good: Ginobili's passing was outstanding. Not only was his vision exquisite, his timing was perfect. Down the stretch, he was a major difference-maker due to his ability to make plays. The Bad: He wasn't sharp enough mentally on defense. He needlessly got sucked into the paint too often. Scoring-wise, he was a non-factor.

Tony Parker C-
While I liked Parker's defense for a majority of his game, the Frenchman was headed to one of his worst playoff performances until he knocked in a pair of clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Those two shots helped give the Spurs the win and they will allow him to sleep better tonight. Outside of those two shots, I liked his attacking but he was an inconsistent passer (a few great passes mixed with a few terrible non-passes) and wasn't always quick to get the team into its offense. Unfortunately, it's obvious that he's still dealing with some sort of injury.

Kawhi Leonard A
I'm struggling to find any faults in Leonard's game. He was great on defense; his smothering of Thompson (and Barnes at times) was legendary. He rebounded fantastically. He made plays in loose ball situations. He ran the court well. On offense, he hit timely shots and his aggression level was just about perfect. Damn, this young kid is a player.

Danny Green A
What a series. Green very well may have been the most impactful player on either team. His ability to smother Curry was awesome. He played great defense again in Game 6 and his ferocity was contagious. I just loved his poise on both ends and the purpose he's playing with right now. Green grew up a lot in this series -- let's hope it continues in the WCF.

Tiago Splitter B
To begin the game, it looked like it was going to be another underwhelming performance by Splitter. But he bounced back and finished stoutly. Offensively, he did a much better job of gathering himself and taking his time around the rim. The Spurs ran more plays for him this game and the result was a more confident and alert version of Splitter. Defensively, he seemingly got better as the game went along. By the fourth, his pick-and-roll D was strong and he was holding his own in the paint. Hopefully he can bottle that type of play. It'll be vital against the Grizzlies.

Boris Diaw B+
He didn't hit a shot but Diaw made a difference on the offensive end with his passing. The stats make it appear as if he was ultra passive -- but he really wasn't. Diaw was attacking more than usual and made quite a few plays. On D, he played hard and rebounded much better than usual.

Cory Joseph A-
I was again impressed by Joseph. He's not playing a huge role but he's doing exactly what the Spurs need him to do. Joseph is making quick decisions on offense while not showing an ounce of intimidation. Defensively, he's really digging in and giving it his all. I'm really starting to believe the Spurs have found a long-term solution at backup point guard.

Gary Neal C+
Neal hit some shots but, wow, is his defense bad. I don't know if his feet/legs are still hurting him but he can't stay in front of anyone. Thankfully, Neal salvaged some value by hitting the glass better than usual and providing a few useful buckets on O.

Matt Bonner B-
My expectations for Bonner weren't high so I was satisfied with how he played. He was quicker on his feet on defense than we've witnessed this series, which made a big difference. His transition defense was also a lot better. On O, he was more decisive. Not bad.

Pop A
Benching Duncan down the stretch was a gutsy move -- and it turned out to be the absolute right move. Leaning on Splitter will hopefully help grow the Brazilian's confidence going forward. And winning a road playoff game with the Big 3 struggling? Pop had to be doing something (or a lot of things) right. He was demanding near perfect defense all night long ... and his demands were heard loud and clear. Great job.

[Cry Havoc]

This win reminded me of old Spurs ball. Ugly offense that cobbles together a couple of runs, but suffocating defense that makes the other team look like a D-league squad at times. I don't mind the low scoring games, our guys know how to get in the trenches in slugfests and pull out victories.

Memphis will be tough but I don't see them having any kind of bizarre shooting nights like Golden State did early in this series.

I'd really like to see better side to side ball movement though. GSW seemed to be sagging a bit on defense to try to contain our passing lanes and we never really fell into a rhythm on offense. If the Griz do that we're going to have to hit outside shots that we simply didn't this series outside of Green, Leonard, Parker, and occasionally Duncan.

[chapnis]

Parker was crap this game but boy those 2 threes were huge.

[letmk]

Tim deserves a B-.

First, we win a elimination game on the road.

Second, he is one of the reasons we got the lead in the first half.

Third, even with his atrocious second half, he is still 7-13 for the night (5-6 in the firs half). If Tony and Manu can crack even 1/3 of their shots, Tim's missing shots would be much more forgivable or forgettable.

Fourth, even though he didn't grab many rebounds, the whole team still out-rebounded dubs. Save a couple offensive like one by Biedrins, I didn't see Tim gave up many offensive rebounds when he was on court. It's just that other players grabbed those defensive rebounds.

Fifth, it may not be related with grades, but I'm not as discouraged with Tim as game 4 when Bogut basically outplayed him on Spur's offense end. During game 5 & 6, he just missed some good shots.

[Stabula]

God damn Tony with a from- trade-him-to-breakfast performance.

[bayareaspursfan]

This win reminded me of old Spurs ball. Ugly offense that cobbles together a couple of runs, but suffocating defense that makes the other team look like a D-league squad at times. I don't mind the low scoring games, our guys know how to get in the trenches in slugfests and pull out victories.

Memphis will be tough but I don't see them having any kind of bizarre shooting nights like Golden State did early in this series.

I'd really like to see better side to side ball movement though. GSW seemed to be sagging a bit on defense to try to contain our passing lanes and we never really fell into a rhythm on offense. If the Griz do that we're going to have to hit outside shots that we simply didn't this series outside of Green, Leonard, Parker, and occasionally Duncan.

This! I was thinking exactly the same. Brought back some great memories of the old school spurs!

[HI-FI]

good grades timvp. agree on Kawhi and Pop getting the same great grade, they were my keys to the game.

[-21-]

Tim was a -2 tonight. Hope he bounces back against Memphis.

[chapnis]

Parker deserves an F. He was awful on both ends. The rest of the team bailed him out.

The 2 big 3s down the stretch probably knock it up a wee bit.

[quentin_compson]

This was the best and most complete (both individually and collectively) defensive game I've seen the Spurs play in a while. Green and Leonard were monumentally with their defense and their timely shot-making. And while TP really was pretty bad in a lot of ways (not being able to run the halfcourt offense, killing a couple of fastbreaks with his decision not to pass, and, of course, shootingwise), he battled relentlessly on the defensive end. Splitter was very good in this area as well, at least in the second half.

All in all, it's great to get a win when Parker and Ginobili are shooting a combined 4-22 and Duncan seems to fade physically in the second half. Role players stepped up big time, and the whole team stayed focused defensively (granted, sometimes you need a little luck, as with those Curry and Thompson 3s that rimmed out).

[Obstructed_View]

Parker deserves an F. He was awful on both ends. The rest of the team bailed him out.

And the troll goes plonk.

[lefty]

It was nice to see Pop really pissed

Always a good sign for the Spurs going forward

[T Park]

10 points in the final 3 minutes for Parker. Now thats clutch.

[Brazil]

The game was well at hand at that point. Parker had literally nothing to do with this win. He was awful. Contributed nothing. He ed up like, what, 4 easy fast breaks? Those are gimmes for NBA talent. Most coaches would go berserk messing up one, but he had 4 of them, partly because he's selfish and partly because he doesn't know how to run a fast break.

Your takes on Parker are Fkla's level. The game was at hand , spurs up two after GS run 3:30 mn to go in the fourth. That is what I call having a game at hand. Poor troll.

[therealtruth]

It's a positive sign that the Spurs were able to win despite Parker. They've struggled when he has in the past.

[Captivus]

Ginobili, only player in the POs to average per 36: 17pts - 8Ass - 6 Reb

[milkyway21]

Duncan deserves a lot better than D. Perhaps a C+?


Thank God those sharpshooters were so tired in the last 4 minutes we finally closed the series in 6 games

[biskvito]

people give Splitter such a hard time, this was as good as it gets

[Budkin]

Man if you missed the game and just saw these grades first there is no way you'd think we won that game. It's nice to have other guys that can step it up.

[cutewizard]

The game was well at hand at that point. Parker had literally nothing to do with this win. He was awful. Contributed nothing. He ed up like, what, 4 easy fast breaks? Those are gimmes for NBA talent. Most coaches would go berserk messing up one, but he had 4 of them, partly because he's selfish and partly because he doesn't know how to run a fast break.

i agree about the selfishness of Parker

[Homeland Security]

Tony Parker C-
While I liked Parker's defense for a majority of his game, the Frenchman was headed to one of his worst playoff performances until he knocked in a pair of clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Those two shots helped give the Spurs the win and they will allow him to sleep better tonight. Outside of those two shots, I liked his attacking but he was an inconsistent passer (a few great passes mixed with a few terrible non-passes) and wasn't always quick to get the team into its offense. Unfortunately, it's obvious that he's still dealing with some sort of injury.

I chock that up to a player who depends on his speed, but is now over 30 years of age, with a bad calf bruise who had to endure a 3-hour plane flight and the wonderful things all that sitting does to the blood circulation in the legs.

[SouthernFried]

I don't think I could ever give Duncan a D+

His top of the key screening alone wouldn't permit it. Couple that with 19 points...no way. Even with some bad passing, just his presence in the paint makes everything a little easier for the spurs. No less than a C performance for Tim, but I'd give him a B-.

[wildbill2u]

We were lucky as down the stretch. The big three made several really really bad lackadaisical passes that went sailing out of bounds. There is no excuse for that lack of focus when you are trying to milk a lead down in the last minutes. Duncan was removed after one of these bad passes and I don't think it was a coincidence.

The only thing that bailed us out from these turnovers was the defense--and the defensive rotations were excellent down the stretch.

Finally, if we have to rely on Parker making 3s to win the game, particularly after his bad shooting the rest of the game, that is asking for a miracle. Fortunately the miracle was granted.

[SenorSpur]

Tim Duncan D+
Duncan's stats look strong at a glance -- but I wasn't happy with his performance. The glaring weakness that really hurt his value was his strange inability to grab contested boards. You can always count on him to rebound well -- well, almost always. Tonight, he just couldn't do it. Defensively, he had his moments guarding pick-and-rolls … but he struggled in that area as the game progressed. Duncan had some positives (for example, I liked the way he defended the rim and his scoring was strong) but overall he left a lot to be desired. The good news is that his negatives don't appear to be health related.

Whenever your HOF PF/C gets a rebound taken away from him by a puny, 6'3" PG, it's time to sit him down. Besides Duncan losing his focus and throwing the ball away on countless occasions, it's was inexcusable for him to not secure rebounds - especially against a small guy like Curry. I actually applauded when Pop sat him down because he was giving possessions away to the Warriors.

[milkyway21]

Whenever your HOF PF/C gets a rebound taken away from him by a puny, 6'3" PG, it's time to sit him down. Besides Duncan losing his focus and throwing the ball away on countless occasions, it's was inexcusable for him to not secure rebounds - especially against a small guy like Curry. I actually applauded when Pop sat him down because he was giving possessions away to the Warriors.

Just wondering, what if so happens we lost the game because Pop sat Duncan (despite 1 crucial TO in the 4th), what would be in the headlines? I think Pop would be in the hot seat, Spurs fans would be so mad would be talk trashing @ him right now

He had done it before no big deal he subs uted Diaw over him in the last minutes even in game 1 when Manu made a game- winning 3.