After a disappointing loss in New York, the Spurs were back in San Antonio for a night to take on the 76ers. The good guys methodically built their lead and eventually hammered out a 109-86 victory to get back to the winning ways.
The Sixers scored the opening bucket but then the Spurs rattled off the next nine points. San Antonio was up by double-digits midway through the first quarter and kept the cushion through the end of the first quarter.
The Spurs led 31-21 as the second quarter began. Though Philadelphia made a few runs and got as close as six points, the Spurs always had an answer. At intermission, San Antonio had a 54-42 advantage.
In the third, the Spurs were on cruise control as the Sixers got no closer than 11 points. Leading by 18 going into the final stanza, the good guys put the game away by scoring eight of the fourth quarter’s first ten points. After that, all that was left was to put a cherry on top of this ho-hum midseason victory.
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Tim Duncan
Tim Duncan didn’t show enough respect for Spencer Hawes’ jumpers. And that, my fellow Spurs fans, ends my critique of Duncan’s play against Philadelphia. Everything else was good to great. Offensively, he did most of his work in the paint but also mixed in a few smooth jumpers and a handful of deft passes. On defense, Duncan was staunch in the paint; he exhibited cat-like quickness to snuff out potential layups. All in all, it was just another outstanding outing for this ageless wunderkind.
Final Grade: 95
Season Average: 90.5
Adj. Average: 90.8
Last 10 Average: 91.8
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Manu Ginobili
The highlight of the night was Manu Ginobili’s one-handed power dunk following a slick drive in which he bypassed multiple defenders. The Argentine living legend did much more than perform that burst of aerial artistry, however. Ginobili was uber aggressive in all aspects of the game. Defensively, he was great on the boards and really competed in one-on-one situations. Offensively, he constantly attacked whenever the Spalding was within his grasps. A few times he got hyperenthusiastic and made mistakes -- but they were mostly forgivable. The most important matter of Ginobili’s night is the fact that he’s obviously feeling good and his production level continues to ascend.
Final Grade: 92
Season Average: 84.3
Adj. Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 87.6
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Tony Parker
Tony Parker enjoys going against the best point guards in the NBA. This year, Jrue Holiday qualifies for that category. On Saturday night, Parker met the challenge. Defensively, the Frenchman was quite good. He pressured Holiday early and often, which effectively ruined a healthy portion of Philadelphia’s sets. On the other end, Parker was in attack-mode throughout. He made plays for himself and others while operating at breakneck speeds. Despite his haste, Parker managed to finish sans turnover. Overall, this is the type of performance that has become commonplace for Parker: rugged defense with extreme forcefulness on offense while keeping mistakes at a minimum. Another job well done.
Final Grade: 93
Season Average: 87.3
Adj. Average: 87.4
Last 10 Average: 86.9
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Kawhi Leonard
On the defensive end of the court, Kawhi Leonard was quite beneficial. His rebounding was fantastic. His individual D was very good. He was attentive to his team-defense responsibilities and was especially great defending in transition. Offensively, it was a different story. He didn’t get many touches and then was oftentimes hesitant even when he did get the ball. The good news is that Leonard has played a much cleaner brand of basketball lately, as evident by his zero turnovers in his last four games combined.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 84.4
Adj. Average: 84.4
Last 10 Average: 84.9
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Danny Green
Early in games, Danny Green has a habit of draining three-pointers to get the Spurs off on the right foot. That was again the case on Saturday night. His two three-pointers in the opening minutes broke the game open almost instantly. Green’s shooting eventually dried up a bit and he got sloppy with the ball but he also handed out a few really fine passes; his orchestration of pick-and-roll sets is much improved from last season. Defensively, he was really good. He helped off his man enough to disrupt their plays but always stayed close enough to run his man off the three-point line (or at least contest the shot). Green’s rotations on D were also much better than usual.
Final Grade: 87
Season Average: 82.8
Adj. Average: 83.1
Last 10 Average: 85.3
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Tiago Splitter
It’s not often that we’ll ever see Tiago Splitter miss nine shots in a game. He simply lacked his typical patience against the Sixers and rushed a number of attempts that he usually makes in his sleep. And, yes, it’d help if he went up with more physicality. Defensively, he was mostly sound. His rebounding was really good; he pulled down a number of contested boards. Splitter’s defense in the paint was good but he was sometimes slow closing out on shooters.
Final Grade: 80
Season Average: 84.6
Adj. Average: 85.1
Last 10 Average: 84.2
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Boris Diaw
Boris Diaw was going through the motions. He was flaccid on offense, even going by his standards. He basically refused to take open shots and his passing wasn’t anything special either. Defensively, his mobility was a plus in the halfcourt setting. He defended screens well and cut off penetrations a few times. However, his effort in transition defense left a lot to be desired. His casual jogging back on D led to a few Philadelphia layups.
Final Grade: 77
Season Average: 80.3
Adj. Average: 81.2
Last 10 Average: 83.8
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Gary Neal
With Stephen Jackson sidelined with a waitress-induced sprained ankle, Gary Neal was able to play mostly at shooting guard. As usual, he flourished in that role. He was aggressive yet sensible with his shot selection. He helped keep the pace elevated and knocked down a couple key shots to help end the Sixers hope. Defensively, Neal was pretty darn good. What stood out most was his hustle. When there was a loose ball, Neal could be found flying into the picture in an effort to corral it. His one-on-one defense was also better than average.
Final Grade: 88
Season Average: 81.0
Adj. Average: 81.7
Last 10 Average: 76.7
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Matt Bonner
Matt Bonner isn’t going to win more minutes if he’s not going to even try to stop penetration. Recently, he’s basically just stepped out of the way instead of actually playing defense. His effort on the boards has also been wishy-washy lately. Offensively, he wasn’t very crisp and was caught flatfooted and unprepared to shoot a couple times.
Final Grade: 74
Season Average: 81.4
Adj. Average: 82.7
Last 10 Average: 76.8
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Nando De Colo
Nando De Colo got the call at backup point guard … ultimately, he failed to impress. Defensively, he was okay. His quickness was a plus in some cir stances but he was also caught out of position a handful of times. Offensively, he had a couple stylish passes but he was feeble when it came to taking care of the ball. His ballhandling was iffy, particularly in crowds, and he attempted a few foolhardy passes.
Final Grade: 78
Season Average: 81.7
Adj. Average: 83.7
Last 10 Average: 77.2
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Pop
The Spurs looked extremely well prepared to take on Philadelphia’s unique offensive sets that feature a ton of off-the-ball screens, so give Pop and the coaching staff credit for that. The rotations made sense and nobody play more than 29 minutes.
Final Grade: 91
Season Average: 84.3
Last 10 Average: 83.5
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Offense
The offense was satisfactory. Scoring 108 points in 102 possessions isn’t much to brag about these days but the Spurs were decent in just about every statistical category. They were a tad low in assists, a tad high in turnovers and they could have shot straighter from deep … but it was more than enough for this night.
Final Grade: 85
Season Average: 84.8
Last 10 Average: 85.5
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Defense
The defense, on the other hand, was really, really good. Giving up 86 points in 102 possessions is fantastic work. The Spurs kept the Sixers out of the paint and defended the three-point line well. Outside of Hawes getting hot from midrange, the Spurs were able to hold everyone else to 35.2% shooting from the floor.
Final Grade: 96
Season Average: 83.9
Last 10 Average: 85.4
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Overall
Considering the cir stances of this game -- a lone home game shortly after a back-to-back on the road and shortly before a road game in New Orleans -- the Spurs did very well. They took command of the game early and never let go. The effort on defense was especially impressive; let’s hope the Spurs can build on it.
Final Grade: 92
Season Average: 84.5
Last 10 Average: 85.6
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Nice write up. I'm curious as to where we re in the point differential standings. It seems like we've been beating teams by a lot of points lately--and the ones which were close were mostly because we ran up a lead and then coasted in to the finish.
Some may complain that these blowouts are mostly at the expense of lesser teams, but that is what good teams are supposed to do--take care of business on the bad teams and be prepared to take on the better teams with rested players.
I'm going to rejoice when there is finally a game thoughts that doesn't have to include some variation on the phrase "X got the opportunity to play backup point guard, but didn't impress."
3rd. MOV column under miscellaneous stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/.../NBA_2013.html
It was frustrating watching Tiago missing so many close shots. One could see his visible frustration. But he only gets 3 points higher than Boris, who gave only one shot attempt in 15 minutes and had zero assists? Boris was pretty pathetic. A 70 would be generous for him. Tiago is so close to being damn good, he needs finish those shots with more authority and be more assertive. Was a little surprised (only just a little) that this was only his 2nd double double of the season.
The Spurs are also 3rd in rating differential (ORtg minus DRtg) at 9.1, with LAC and OC tied for 1st at 9.6. I wish that was a sortable column. This is probably a better indicator because it adjusts for pace. The Spurs are 2nd in pace, so MOV stats will be slightly inflated compared to a team that plays slower.
Also, the Spurs are 1st in SRS, probably because the Spurs have played a tough schedule (strength of schedule rankings: SA 6th, LAC 9th, OC 18th).
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