Spurs vs. Nuggets Game 1 - Grades

[timvp]

Tim Duncan
Duncan looked like he hadn't played in a week. On top of that, he was playing (hate to say it) soft. He only had a couple post moves that were Tim Duncan quality. The rest of the time he was either looking to get bailed out by the refs or he was shooting a fadeaway. Defensively, he was invisible for the most part. It was quite a surprising performance out of Duncan. He had been playing very well of late and I thought he'd be primed for a big postseason. The good news is he almost always bounces back.
Grade: D


Manu Ginobili
This was one of the worst games I've ever seen Ginobili play. Ginobili is best when he's driving the lane and getting to the free throw line. This three-point chucking version of Ginobili isn't that good. On top of that, his individual defense has deteriorated to the point that he's a liability in a one-on-one situation. It used to be that he could buy Bowen a few minutes on the other team's best perimeter player. Nowadays, Ginobili gets abused by scorers like his name is Matt Bullard. He doesn't look like he's lost a step, but his defense sure looks like it. The good news is that Ginobili is a rhythm player and a long break probably bothers him the most. In Game 2 he needs to drive the ball to the basket because the Nuggets have no one who can guard him. And for the love of God, stop with the one handed crossover move ... team's know you are going to do that at the end of games and they steal it every time.
Grade: F+


Tony Parker
Parker started off the game like this was Game 1 of the exhibition season. I don't know if someone forgot to tell him that the playoffs have started. When he finally saw the giant playoff sticker on the court, he was decent but not good enough. He missed more layups than I've ever seen him miss. His defense on Iverson was somewhere between sub par and poor. You'd like to keep him on Blake and just shut down Blake, but Ginobili for some unknown reason can't defend scorers anymore so that forces the Spurs into a bad matchup.
Grade: D+


Bruce Bowen
It was hard to get a read on Bowen. He was getting scored on more than usual, but then again he only played 19 minutes. Against a team with two big time scorers, you'd think the Spurs only perimeter defender would get some time on the court. I realize the offense was sputtering, but I fail to see how that would be Bowen's fault. Him standing in the corner shouldn't have an effect one way or the other on the Big Three.
Grade: C


Francisco Elson
Talk about having a horrible first impression. Usually you want to elevate your game in the playoffs, not play your worst game. He had perhaps the worst playoff performance in NBA history last year with the Nuggets, and it carried right over to this postseason. Four gimme rebounds were his only dent in the stat sheet. And of those four, he almost fumbled two of them out of bounds and threw a third one to the other team.
Grade: F


Michael Finley
Finley helped keep the Spurs in the game. Without him, the Spurs probably don't make it a game. That said, his defense wasn't anything to write home about and he wasn't rebounding or creating anything for others. He needs to do a better job on Carmelo and mix in a rebound or two.
Grade: B-


Brent Barry
Someone needs to tell Barry that this team wearing the blue uniform the Spurs are playing isn't the Mavs. Barry played tentatively and had no real impact on the game. He needs to shoot the ball when he's open and he was doing it for a while this year. But Game 1 of the playoffs looked like Mav Barry.
Grade: D


Fabricio Oberto
Oberto was one of the lone bright spots. He knows how to win big games and he brought the most toughness and energy to the court. If Elson is going to continue to play the way he played tonight, I'd much rather Oberto start and get someone in there who plays like he wants to win. Props to Oberto all around.
Grade: A-


Robert Horry
Good to know that Horry is still alive. He turned it on the playoffs again and contributed pretty well. I don't think he played as well as the numbers looked, however. He was slow to rotate on a couple of defensive plays and wasn't rebounding. But really, if he's hitting his shots, that's about all Spurs fans can hope to get out of him after the regular season he had.
Grade: B+


Jacque Vaughn
Vaughn played in an NBA playoff game and a NHL game broke out. He didn't do anything other than have a nice check of Blake into the boards. Pretty impressive. Regarding basketball, Vaughn didn't really do anything. It doesn't look like he can guard Iverson any better than Parker can, so that's not much of a help. He brought decent energy, but that's not enough right now.
Grade: C-

[T Park]

agree 100% with all of this.

Unfortunately Ginobili has turned into a strict jump shooter.

hes lost all will to drive and create fouls.

Duncan hopefully bounces back, and I think Parker will too.

Bowen hopefully adjusts and gets more minutes.

Elson? beh, just hope he doesnt hurt anyone in practice.

Oberto? Go ahead and play him 25+

Horry? Same amount of minutes, but cut em shorter if he doesnt rebound.

Barry? Why bother.

Finley? Rebound and defend better, you did it against Phoenix, you can do it vs these guys.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I know it was because of switches, but Vaughn gets a little extra credit for playing good defense on Carmelo.

[T Park]

I gaurantee Pop is sitting up right now lamenting the losses of offseasons of yore.

Id take Glenn overweight out of shape Robinson to guard Melo right now than Finley.

God and we thought Finley guarding Dirk was bad.

[timvp]

Almost forgot. . .

Pop
I had some big problems with the way Pop coached not only this game but issues going back to the regular season. First of all, if he was going to trust Horry in the playoffs, how about letting play in the fourth quarters of a couple regular season games? Horry hadn't played a fourth quarter with the Big 3 in so long the chemistry was way off. Then I also have a problem sitting Bowen. Spurs fans can hate on Bowen all they want, but he's clearly the team's best perimeter defender. Taking him out of the game completely with AI and Melo on the court makes no sense to me. Again, that move went against everything that happened in the regular season. And overall, not playing the main players after the Dallas Debacle only seemed to hurt matters. There was no cohesiveness out there and the team was obviously rusty. Overall, the Spurs just looked unprepared and not in playoff mode.

I realize the Spurs last two championship runs started with a Game 1 loss, but you can only go to the well so many times. One of these years, the team is going to steal the second game and then it could get ugly.

The Spurs should still win the series, but this was a disappointing performance from the Big 3, to the head coach to most of the role players.

Not Spurs Basketball.

[T Park]

Once again can't argue.

The decision to bench Bowen for almost all of the 4th quarter when you needed to slow a hot AI down was just beyond puzzling.

Parker could've shut down Blake, maybe cheated over at the last second on Melo.

Leaving him out to dry on AI like that when hes as quick, but not long enough to bother, just doesn't make sense.

This loss really hurts the old gut.

[aaronstampler]

I have no idea which game either you or TPark watched. Ginobili attempted at least 6 lay ups out of his 15 shots. The problem was he only made 2 of those.

The team never involved him in the offense in the 2nd half. He took 3 shots, and one was the coast to coast lay-up he got in the 3rd quarter. That goes on Pop.

Also, I'm sick and tired of reading how bad he was on defense this game. Who did he guard most of the time? Blake and Klieza or whatever his name is. He guarded Melo a little bit in the second, but that's about it. He hardly ever was on AI.

I don't know why either of you expecting him to all of a sudden guard Melo no problem. If Bowen can't guard him, I don't know what Manu is gonna do. Melo burnt every single guy on him, whether it was Bowen, Finley or Manu.

The problem was in the second half we totally let AI go off, and I don't think you can blame Manu's defense for that.

You want to rip his offense, go ahead. He was only 4-15. He shot poorly. But don't say he didn't attempt lay ups and don't say his defense was garbage, because both are false.

Tony and Fin were MUCH worse defensively today and Bowen played 19 mins, so that tells you what Pop thought of his play.

I think you guys are going crazy with the hyperbole. I expect it from TPark, but frankly TimVP, I expected better from you. Not everything that happened in the game was the "worst blah blah blah" ever. As poorly as the big three have played, they've all had worse games this year.

It's just one game, you all need to calm the out.

[aaronstampler]

You know what though, it's good to see this from TPark. I didn't say about Tony the whole game and all he does is trash Manu for like what 10 straight hours now. Thread after thread after thread, completely unsolicited from me.

But I'm the "hater."

Don't you dare EVER pretend you're neutral anymore dude. You're a complete phony. You have just as much of an agenda as anyone from Argentina or France.

You hate Manu, you hate Barry, you hate Beno. Got it.

Oh and you seem to have the memory of a tse tse fly.

You are, without a doubt, the least informed, least knowledgable regular on this board.

[Nbadan]

It's basketball dude. When posting get's that personal, you should step away from the keyboard.

[timvp]

I have no idea which game either you or TPark watched. Ginobili attempted at least 6 lay ups out of his 15 shots. The problem was he only made 2 of those.

The team never involved him in the offense in the 2nd half. He took 3 shots, and one was the coast to coast lay-up he got in the 3rd quarter. That goes on Pop.

Also, I'm sick and tired of reading how bad he was on defense this game. Who did he guard most of the time? Blake and Klieza or whatever his name is. He guarded Melo a little bit in the second, but that's about it. He hardly ever was on AI.

I don't know why either of you expecting him to all of a sudden guard Melo no problem. If Bowen can't guard him, I don't know what Manu is gonna do. Melo burnt every single guy on him, whether it was Bowen, Finley or Manu.

The problem was in the second half we totally let AI go off, and I don't think you can blame Manu's defense for that.

You want to rip his offense, go ahead. He was only 4-15. He shot poorly. But don't say he didn't attempt lay ups and don't say his defense was garbage, because both are false.

Tony and Fin were MUCH worse defensively today and Bowen played 19 mins, so that tells you what Pop thought of his play.

I think you guys are going crazy with the hyperbole. I expect it from TPark, but frankly TimVP, I expected better from you. Not everything that happened in the game was the "worst blah blah blah" ever. As poorly as the big three have played, they've all had worse games this year.

It's just one game, you all need to calm the out.

Hey, it's not my fault you can't handle critiquing of your favorite player. Don't get mad at me.

First of all regarding his offense, Manu was 2-for-9 on jumpers, didn't get to the free throw line and had two assists. If you don't think that is a bad day at the office, I don't know what to tell you.

Like I've posted countless times, Manu is best in the playoffs when he's getting to the free throw line and creating shots for others. Shooting nine jumpers when his shot was off wasn't the way to go.

And really, this series is made for Manu. Who on the Nuggets can guard him? AI, Carmelo, Klieza, Blake, Smith? None of those guys are even decent one-on-one defenders. There's absolutely no reason why Manu isn't attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line.

You can make excuses all day, but bottom line is Manu's job in this series is to create havoc and shred the Nuggets defense. He didn't do that tonight.

And defensively, why do you think he was guarding Denver's scrubs? Could it be that every time during the game and every time in recent history he's being abused by scorers? You think Pop doesn't realize who can guard who?

The rare times Manu guarded a real player, they scored no problem. That's why Pop had him guarding their worst player. I've said all season that while Manu remains a good team defender, his individual one-on-one defense has gone down the toilet.

Manu of years past would be the one getting the Iverson assignment or at least get part of the Carmelo assignment. Instead, Pop has gone with Finley over him in the tough matchups, and even Barry over him.

Now that Manu can't be counted on as a one-on-one defender, that forces the Spurs into cross matches where their point guard has to guard the other team's shooting guard, while Manu guards whichever of Blake or Kleiza is on the court.

Again, this is something I've pointed out all season. Manu either can't guard scorers anymore or isn't concentrating on that aspect enough. Pop hides him on the defensive end ... which isn't something you do unless the player can't defend.

I hope this is a correctable issue, but for the first 83 games of the season, it has been Manu's biggest flaw. Manu Fan can pretend it doesn't exist, but anyone who has watched him defend someone in an iso situation would realize that he hasn't done a good job this season.

And yes, it's only Game 1 and I fully expect the Spurs to right the ship. But part of the righting of the ship involves Manu penetrating and creating scoring opportunities for himself at the rim, at the free throw line or for others.

[Nbadan]

BANG TIMVP! I competely agree with your assessment of Manu's game this year. For the Spurs to have any chance in any series, Manu is gonna have to play big offensively and defensively. Whatever happens, Gino should take the summer off and let his body recoup.

[Nbadan]

Jacque Vaughn
Vaughn played in an NBA playoff game and a NHL game broke out. He didn't do anything other than have a nice check of Blake into the boards. Pretty impressive. Regarding basketball, Vaughn didn't really do anything. It doesn't look like he can guard Iverson any better than Parker can, so that's not much of a help. He brought decent energy, but that's not enough right now.
Grade: C-

I'm not a big fan of Vaughn, but he brought some energy to the court when the Spurs looked just plain old and tired. A little more weight on Iverson's ankle and we could have called this a series.

Solid B.

[Man of Steel]

I expect Manu to get really heated up for game two and to have a minimum of 20 points.

Spurs will win game 2 by 15.

[Kori Ellis]

I expect Manu to get really heated up for game two and to have a minimum of 20 points.

Spurs will win game 2 by 15.

I think Manu/Tim/Tony combine for 70 in game 2.

[aaronstampler]

Hey, it's not my fault you can't handle critiquing of your favorite player. Don't get mad at me.

First of all regarding his offense, Manu was 2-for-9 on jumpers, didn't get to the free throw line and had two assists. If you don't think that is a bad day at the office, I don't know what to tell you.

Like I've posted countless times, Manu is best in the playoffs when he's getting to the free throw line and creating shots for others. Shooting nine jumpers when his shot was off wasn't the way to go.

And really, this series is made for Manu. Who on the Nuggets can guard him? AI, Carmelo, Klieza, Blake, Smith? None of those guys are even decent one-on-one defenders. There's absolutely no reason why Manu isn't attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line.

You can make excuses all day, but bottom line is Manu's job in this series is to create havoc and shred the Nuggets defense. He didn't do that tonight.

And defensively, why do you think he was guarding Denver's scrubs? Could it be that every time during the game and every time in recent history he's being abused by scorers? You think Pop doesn't realize who can guard who?

The rare times Manu guarded a real player, they scored no problem. That's why Pop had him guarding their worst player. I've said all season that while Manu remains a good team defender, his individual one-on-one defense has gone down the toilet.

Manu of years past would be the one getting the Iverson assignment or at least get part of the Carmelo assignment. Instead, Pop has gone with Finley over him in the tough matchups, and even Barry over him.

Now that Manu can't be counted on as a one-on-one defender, that forces the Spurs into cross matches where their point guard has to guard the other team's shooting guard, while Manu guards whichever of Blake or Kleiza is on the court.

Again, this is something I've pointed out all season. Manu either can't guard scorers anymore or isn't concentrating on that aspect enough. Pop hides him on the defensive end ... which isn't something you do unless the player can't defend.

I hope this is a correctable issue, but for the first 83 games of the season, it has been Manu's biggest flaw. Manu Fan can pretend it doesn't exist, but anyone who has watched him defend someone in an iso situation would realize that he hasn't done a good job this season.

And yes, it's only Game 1 and I fully expect the Spurs to right the ship. But part of the righting of the ship involves Manu penetrating and creating scoring opportunities for himself at the rim, at the free throw line or for others.

He shot poorly. He shot awfully. But six lay up attempts out of 15, especially when the Nuggets were packing the lane isn't that bad for him. The problem is they didn't go in. It's right on line with what he's been doing all year. 40% of his attempts are in close. And you have to realize that 5 of those 15 attempts came in the 2nd quarter when he was playing with four other bench players and in those situations he's gonna be doubled and driving is pretty much out of the question.

For whatever reason he hardly touched the ball in the 2nd half. I don't know if he was in a funk at half time at being 2 for 12 or they just didn't call any plays for him, but it's like he didn't even play the 2nd half.

He was awful on offense, but I don't think it's fair to say he was unaggressive. He could have been more aggressive, but he's had way more passive games than this. If he makes 3 more jump shots, nobody says anything.

The reason I'm complaining is that it seems like he's being singled out when all three stars played like crap. I disagree strongly with your comments about his defense. They're off base.

He's a much better defender than Finley, it's not even close. Manu allowed 99 points per 100 possessions this year. Finley allowed 105.3. Brent allowed 104.7. Bowen allowed 97.7.

The reason Pop puts Manu on weaker people is because in case you haven't noticed, the dude is superduper skinny. He might be the skinniest two guard in the league. Most of the star two guards he goes up against are significantly more muscular than him and can just post him up at will. All Manu can do is either front them or deny them the ball, but if they have it, there isn't much he can do.

But as far as Carmelo goes, it's like insane for you to expect Manu to guard him. Carmelo is a 3 and a big three at that. Even Bowen is hopeless against him. I don't know what cross matching you're talking about. In any lineup the Spurs play with Fin or Brent together with Manu, they're always going to be the SF and Manu will stay at SG.

When Manu and Bruce are on the court together, Bruce always takes the tougher perimeter player. It's been that way forever. He did it in 2004 too when Manu was considered a great defender. Manu took Tayshaun, Bruce took either Rip or Billups, whoever was hotter.

AI has a quickness advantage on Manu (or anyone) but Tony didn't do any better on him than Manu did. Bruce is the only guy who remotely could stop him, and that screwed the defense up more than anything because Bruce is the only guy who can guard Melo too.

When we kicked Denver's ass earlier this year, Tony did the job on AI but not today. It's not really fair to call AI the shooting guard and Blake the point guard though because Iverson has the ball most of the game. Really Blake is more the two guard and Manu had him. No cross matching there.

He shot like crap, but I think the rest of your post is not factual.

[aaronstampler]

agree 100% with all of this.

Unfortunately Ginobili has turned into a strict jump shooter.

hes lost all will to drive and create fouls.

[ChumpDumper]

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/shotch...meId=270422024

[timvp]

He shot poorly. He shot awfully. But six lay up attempts out of 15, especially when the Nuggets were packing the lane isn't that bad for him. The problem is they didn't go in. It's right on line with what he's been doing all year. 40% of his attempts are in close.

That doesn't take into account getting to the line. When Manu is at his best, he's shooting a free throw for every 1.5-1.7 field goal attempt. That means a lot more of his attempts are at the rim when he's drawing fouls.

No free throws on 15 attempts is unheard of for Playoff Manu. It's indicative of not aggressively attacking the basket.

Especially against the Nuggets. Who is going to guard him? At least last time in 2005 they had someone like Buckner to throw at him. This year they have no one.

And you have to realize that 5 of those 15 attempts came in the 2nd quarter when he was playing with four other bench players and in those situations he's gonna be doubled and driving is pretty much out of the question.

Manu played all of 2:30 seconds with "four other bench players".

For whatever reason he hardly touched the ball in the 2nd half. I don't know if he was in a funk at half time at being 2 for 12 or they just didn't call any plays for him, but it's like he didn't even play the 2nd half.

I agree that he should have gotten the ball more, but he had plenty of touches. But he was either not driving all the way to the basket or settling for a three.

He was awful on offense, but I don't think it's fair to say he was unaggressive. He could have been more aggressive, but he's had way more passive games than this. If he makes 3 more jump shots, nobody says anything.

In the playoffs, when was the last time Manu had that many FGA with no FTA?

Never happened.

The reason I'm complaining is that it seems like he's being singled out when all three stars played like crap.

Do you not see me calling out all three of the Big 3? A couple of D's for the other two and I didn't exactly praise them.

Tim and Tony sucked too, but I don't see how you can say either one sucked as much as Manu if you were ranking them on a suck-o-meter.

I disagree strongly with your comments about his defense. They're off base.

He's a much better defender than Finley, it's not even close. Manu allowed 99 points per 100 possessions this year. Finley allowed 105.3. Brent allowed 104.7. Bowen allowed 97.7.

I know his numbers. And like I keep saying, he's a good team defender. Put him on a guy who isn't looking to score and Manu will disrupt the other team's offense.

But in the series, the Spurs need him to play some tough man-to-man defense. The few spots he got switched off to AI or Carmelo, they ate him right up. That isn't going to help win this series.

The reason Pop puts Manu on weaker people is because in case you haven't noticed, the dude is superduper skinny. He might be the skinniest two guard in the league. Most of the star two guards he goes up against are significantly more muscular than him and can just post him up at will. All Manu can do is either front them or deny them the ball, but if they have it, there isn't much he can do.

But as far as Carmelo goes, it's like insane for you to expect Manu to guard him. Carmelo is a 3 and a big three at that. Even Bowen is hopeless against him. I don't know what cross matching you're talking about. In any lineup the Spurs play with Fin or Brent together with Manu, they're always going to be the SF and Manu will stay at SG.

When Manu and Bruce are on the court together, Bruce always takes the tougher perimeter player. It's been that way forever. He did it in 2004 too when Manu was considered a great defender. Manu took Tayshaun, Bruce took either Rip or Billups, whoever was hotter.

I'm not sure if anyone ever labeled him as a great one-on-one defender, but he was better than he is at this second. In 2003, he was put on players like Richard Jefferson, Michael Finley and even guarded Kobe for stretches. It used to be that when Bowen wasn't in the game, Manu would steal some minutes and play tough defense in small stretches on scorers.

In 2005, he wasn't as good of a defender, but he still could be put on Carmelo and Ray Allen without losing too much. It was never for long stretches, but it gave Pop an option for short spurts to give them another look.

And yes he's skinny, but he was just as skinny in 2003. I'm not even asking for much. Just play passable defense to buy time.

Other teams are starting to notice and it's no mistake that every time Manu is matched against a scorer, the other team clears out and gives it to the player.

AI has a quickness advantage on Manu (or anyone) but Tony didn't do any better on him than Manu did. Bruce is the only guy who remotely could stop him, and that screwed the defense up more than anything because Bruce is the only guy who can guard Melo too.

Tony didn't do a very good job (like I said in the original post) but he at least made AI work a little bit. Manu was either giving up wide open jumpers or free lanes to the basket the four or five times he was matched up with one of the two scorers.

When we kicked Denver's ass earlier this year, Tony did the job on AI but not today. It's not really fair to call AI the shooting guard and Blake the point guard though because Iverson has the ball most of the game. Really Blake is more the two guard and Manu had him. No cross matching there.

Blake is about as pure of a point guard for that team as one can be. He brings up the ball almost every possession. AI was only point when Blake was on the bench, outside of a couple possessions.

He shot like crap, but I think the rest of your post is not factual.

I guess we'll have to disagree then. You are saying he was fine on defense and was just a couple made shots away from being good. If that's the way you see it, I'm not going to be able to change your mind.

[kris]

I don't know why Tim Duncan didn't get a F. The guy was afraid to post up one on one. Plain and simple. That's not rust, that's not chemistry. He was just scared. I know he's always been a little tenative against Marcus Camby, but when Nene was manhandling him and had him passing to Tony because he didn't know what to do with it, he was just scared.

[Hoy]

Gino should take the summer off and let his body recoup.

Recoup from what?
If he can't play 28 minutes to stay healthy, if he is this fragile, goodbye championship.

[Kibic]

agree 100% with all of this.

Unfortunately Ginobili has turned into a strict jump shooter.

hes lost all will to drive and create fouls.

Duncan hopefully bounces back, and I think Parker will too.

Bowen hopefully adjusts and gets more minutes.

Elson? beh, just hope he doesnt hurt anyone in practice.

Oberto? Go ahead and play him 25+

Horry? Same amount of minutes, but cut em shorter if he doesnt rebound.

Barry? Why bother.

Finley? Rebound and defend better, you did it against Phoenix, you can do it vs these guys.

Beno f.... up again?
this is his 4. game in a row... fu...ing up.
Why Pop keep puting him on court?

[ata]

Almost forgot. . .

Pop
I had some big problems with the way Pop coached not only this game but issues going back to the regular season. .....The Spurs should still win the series, but this was a disappointing performance from the Big 3, to the head coach to most of the role players.

Not Spurs Basketball.

Just asking: have you graded Pop G- or H+

[George Gervin's Afro]

Tim Duncan
Duncan looked like he hadn't played in a week. On top of that, he was playing (hate to say it) soft. He only had a couple post moves that were Tim Duncan quality. The rest of the time he was either looking to get bailed out by the refs or he was shooting a fadeaway. Defensively, he was invisible for the most part. It was quite a surprising performance out of Duncan. He had been playing very well of late and I thought he'd be primed for a big postseason. The good news is he almost always bounces back.
Grade: D


Manu Ginobili
This was one of the worst games I've ever seen Ginobili play. Ginobili is best when he's driving the lane and getting to the free throw line. This three-point chucking version of Ginobili isn't that good. On top of that, his individual defense has deteriorated to the point that he's a liability in a one-on-one situation. It used to be that he could buy Bowen a few minutes on the other team's best perimeter player. Nowadays, Ginobili gets abused by scorers like his name is Matt Bullard. He doesn't look like he's lost a step, but his defense sure looks like it. The good news is that Ginobili is a rhythm player and a long break probably bothers him the most. In Game 2 he needs to drive the ball to the basket because the Nuggets have no one who can guard him. And for the love of God, stop with the one handed crossover move ... team's know you are going to do that at the end of games and they steal it every time.
Grade: F+


Tony Parker
Parker started off the game like this was Game 1 of the exhibition season. I don't know if someone forgot to tell him that the playoffs have started. When he finally saw the giant playoff sticker on the court, he was decent but not good enough. He missed more layups than I've ever seen him miss. His defense on Iverson was somewhere between sub par and poor. You'd like to keep him on Blake and just shut down Blake, but Ginobili for some unknown reason can't defend scorers anymore so that forces the Spurs into a bad matchup.
Grade: D+


Bruce Bowen
It was hard to get a read on Bowen. He was getting scored on more than usual, but then again he only played 19 minutes. Against a team with two big time scorers, you'd think the Spurs only perimeter defender would get some time on the court. I realize the offense was sputtering, but I fail to see how that would be Bowen's fault. Him standing in the corner shouldn't have an effect one way or the other on the Big Three.
Grade: C


Francisco Elson
Talk about having a horrible first impression. Usually you want to elevate your game in the playoffs, not play your worst game. He had perhaps the worst playoff performance in NBA history last year with the Nuggets, and it carried right over to this postseason. Four gimme rebounds were his only dent in the stat sheet. And of those four, he almost fumbled two of them out of bounds and threw a third one to the other team.
Grade: F


Michael Finley
Finley helped keep the Spurs in the game. Without him, the Spurs probably don't make it a game. That said, his defense wasn't anything to write home about and he wasn't rebounding or creating anything for others. He needs to do a better job on Carmelo and mix in a rebound or two.
Grade: B-


Brent Barry
Someone needs to tell Barry that this team wearing the blue uniform the Spurs are playing isn't the Mavs. Barry played tentatively and had no real impact on the game. He needs to shoot the ball when he's open and he was doing it for a while this year. But Game 1 of the playoffs looked like Mav Barry.
Grade: D


Fabricio Oberto
Oberto was one of the lone bright spots. He knows how to win big games and he brought the most toughness and energy to the court. If Elson is going to continue to play the way he played tonight, I'd much rather Oberto start and get someone in there who plays like he wants to win. Props to Oberto all around.
Grade: A-


Robert Horry
Good to know that Horry is still alive. He turned it on the playoffs again and contributed pretty well. I don't think he played as well as the numbers looked, however. He was slow to rotate on a couple of defensive plays and wasn't rebounding. But really, if he's hitting his shots, that's about all Spurs fans can hope to get out of him after the regular season he had.
Grade: B+


Jacque Vaughn
Vaughn played in an NBA playoff game and a NHL game broke out. He didn't do anything other than have a nice check of Blake into the boards. Pretty impressive. Regarding basketball, Vaughn didn't really do anything. It doesn't look like he can guard Iverson any better than Parker can, so that's not much of a help. He brought decent energy, but that's not enough right now.
Grade: C-

I disagree with you timvp

Duncan was an F
Vaughn should have been a B
Finley should have been a B+

[DarrinS]

Terrible game from our "big 3".

[CubanMustGo]

I don't know why Tim Duncan didn't get a F. The guy was afraid to post up one on one. Plain and simple. That's not rust, that's not chemistry. He was just scared. I know he's always been a little tenative against Marcus Camby, but when Nene was manhandling him and had him passing to Tony because he didn't know what to do with it, he was just scared.

7 assists, 10 boards, 3 blocks make it a D instead of an F. He played like he hadn't played in a while, I always wonder why SA gives its players time off at the end of the regular season b/c they always come out and play like sh*t in game 1.