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Enjoyed your wirte-up, Cry. Thanks. Spot-on with the grades (and Manu).
The Spurs took on the Raptors Wednesday night in a game that looked, on paper, to be very much of a blowout. Indeed, it looked that way after the Spurs started the game on a 10-0 run. However, afterward the Spurs had problems finding any shot to go down and had an uncharacteristically bad night from beyond the arc, prompting many Spurs fans to utter such heresy as, "We could really use Matt Bonner back" or, "I miss our ginger." The Spurs struggled massively through the second quarter, and the defense was unable to slow down DeMar DeRozan, who erupted for 20 of his 28 points in the first half. Neal was off. Manu was off. Jefferson didn't even shoot, and Duncan had one attempt the entire second quarter. Talk about tanking the rest of the season to finish 35 and 47 proved premature, however, and the Spurs banded together in the 3rd behind DeJuan Blair's off-ball movement to even the score, then put it away in the fourth behind good guard play from Hill, Parker, Manu, and a vintage Antonio McDyess. The Spurs improved to 36-6, one of the 7 best starts in NBA history.
Player of the game
When the Spurs drafted DeJuan Blair with the 37th pick, this is the guy they hoped they were steali-er, drafting. In 35 minutes of action, DeJuan Blair systematically tore apart the Raptor defense. He knew exactly where he needed to be on the floor, and put himself in position to receive the ball with an open path to the hoop. Several times throughout the game, the Raptors switched to a 2-3 zone, and almost every time, Blair immediately found an empty spot on the floor and got the ball. On his best shooting performance of the season since going 7-10 on December 10th, Blair showed a nice mix of hustle plays and actively got penetration inside, as well as hitting some long jumpers to keep the D honest. Blair grabbed 11 rebounds and fought all night long against the Raptors front line, and picked up a steal, an assist, and a block as well. It's disappointing that he didn't flip anyone over his back during the game, but Beast Mode was definitely active tonight, and Blair was the go-to man on offense for much of the game. Aside from a few mental gaffes, this is exactly what the Spurs need from Blair.
Grade: A+ You really can't ask any more of Blair than 11-16 from the field.
Starters:
Tony Parker - B Another solid outing from Tony. He seemed to be sitting back a bit this game and letting things happen, rather than forcing the issue with a lot of penetration (hmmm, I just realized how horrible basketball analysis sounds when you aren't talking about the sport). The Spurs are a better team when Parker is getting into the lane, but I'm not going to be too upset if he's being patient and choosing his spots, rather than constantly attacking and making turnovers. Parker played extremely well, especially in the 3rd quarter swing that won the game for the Spurs. As soon as the Raptors got a bit on their heels, Parker starting pushing the tempo. He also picked up 3 steals and was moving well tonight on D. However, he did seem to disappear at certain points during the game, especially in the second quarter. Parker shot 50% from the field, going 8-16 to go with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. More aggressive drives from Tony will be needed as the Spurs host the Knicks on Friday night in a possible revenge game for San Antonio.
Manu Ginobili - B+ It's pretty ridiculous to try to grade a performance by Manu. What should I focus on? The fact that he was forcing a lot of shots up? Or the fact that he was getting to the line every 4 seconds during the game? Should I lament the fact that he was 1-5 from three, or laud him for leading all Spurs scorers with 23? In a lot of ways, grading Manu is impossible. Perhaps more than any other player I've ever watched, he is truly a man of intangibles and reading between the lines. If he was a movie, he would be a classic like Pulp Fiction or The Big Lebowski, where a person asks you why they are such good movies and you kind of stutter and grin like a buffoon for about 5 minutes until you just tell them to go watch it themselves. When someone asks me in 20 years what made Manu so special, I'm going to have to reply in much the same fashion -- you just have to watch this guy to understand what makes him great. Manu shot 14 free throws... and made every single one. So despite his 4-13 shooting, he still scored 23 points on 13 attempts. Manu's ridiculous season of scoring efficiency continues, leaving Spurs fans to wonder what his PPG average would be if he tried to go for individual stats like Kobe.
Richard Jefferson - D+ The gloves are finally coming off. RJ had a pretty horrible game tonight. He was almost invisible on both sides of the ball, and I don't even recall a single play he made save for the layup in the first quarter. This is a game the Spurs could have desperately used his production in the first half, where the Spurs were up 10 and then found themselves actually trailing by double digits. I would like to see Popovich get Jefferson firmly re-integrated into the offense before he loses confidence, even if it meant losing a game to do so. Jefferson finished with 24 minutes played, and more turnovers (2) than field goals. Maybe he wasn't feeling well, maybe Amir Johnson poured a tranquilizer into his lunch; we'll never know. Most Spurs fans do know that RJ is struggling right now -- to a worrying degree.
Tim Duncan - A- After years of debate, the question of whether or not Tim is a PF or a C has been solved. In reality, he's a PG, as he demonstrated by grabbing a rebound and then running the entire floor Wednesday night, finishing the play with a beautiful assist to DeJuan Blair. Duncan was wise to realize that tonight was Blair's night on offense, and therefore spent much of his energy on the other side of the court, where his 3 blocks as a stat is questionable, since I seem to recall Duncan getting 3 swats in the first half alone. Let there be no doubt -- the Raptors were very, very wary of getting into the paint with Tim around. He was a hawk, completely shutting down interior penetration for much of the game, save for the 2nd quarter when the entire team must have been rolling up characters to go questing with Tim in Dungeons and Dragons. Duncan had 12 boards to go with 10 points and 4 beautiful assists, and looked comfortable all night.
Bench
Antonio McDyess - A Say what you want about his point total of 8. McDyess was balling on this night. Two thunderous jams punctuated his play, and made Spurs fans sigh sadly thinking about his potential retirement next year. Dice looked like a man who wanted to be on the court tonight, a guy who was having fun playing basketball. He seemed to be constantly in motion on both sides, and his energetic play seethed out to the rest of the Spurs. Dice was a pest on both sides of the ball, picking up 3 steals to go with 4 assists and 6 boards in 28 minutes, a (tied) high for any bench player tonight.
George Hill - B- George Hill can barely be called a bench player any longer. His quality of play is so consistent that it's going to call for increased grading difficulty, and in this vein, George only did the mean or slightly above tonight for his talent, and the play he's shown in the past. That said, he was a good player tonight for the Spurs, one of 5 guys in double figures with 14 points on 4-9 shooting. He also had 6 rebounds and no turnovers, but struggled shooting from deep, going 1-4. Sent text messages were sadly not a recorded stat for this contest.
Gary Neal - D Neal has been the Spurs most consistent pure shooting threat this season outside of perhaps Matt Bonner, and since the ginger doesn't really do anything else except shoot threes, the Spurs need Neal to be versatile and hit from wherever he's open. Tonight, he completely failed the Spurs in that aspect. 3-11 shooting is just not acceptable for Neal, and he's starting to show signs of streakiness to his shooting, as 2 of his last 3 games have been poor performances. Neal did go 2-4 from downtown, but was open for many of his shots. Along with RJ's dip in productivity, the Spurs coaching staff has reason to be slightly concerned at this point in the season.
Owens & Splitter - 3 minutes. Woot.
Chris Quinn - Did not play. You have to wonder if he's calling up other teams asking if they need a 6'2" point who can occasionally knock down a 3.
Gregg Popovich - B+ At this point, it's kind of silly to really criticize Popovich, considering the team is 36 and 6, and owns both the best home and road record in the league. But I'm starting to scratch my head at the defensive lapses that the Spurs undergo. Letting DeRozan go off for 20 points in a half is just unacceptable against a depleted Raptors team. However, Pop made adjustments, and I definitely love seeing Blair get 35 minutes with the way he was playing. So Pop will have to take his B+ and like it.
Last edited by Cry Havoc; 01-20-2011 at 03:39 PM.
Enjoyed your wirte-up, Cry. Thanks. Spot-on with the grades (and Manu).
Nice read
but...
Loved the Manu writeup. Classic stuff!!
He still wants to be Magic after all these years.
Duncan's court vision and his passing can be under-rated. He's always had a well-rounded game, and it's fun to see him break out of the mold.
Nicely done Cry Havoc. Appreciate the breakdown.
"Spurs improved to 36-6, one of the 7 best starts in NBA history"
Link for the above and their eventual outcome to the season?
Great write-up.
As to this:
I've been lucky enough to see Manu play well over 200 times. The best description I can offer is that he's worth the price of admission.
Nice call, edited.Nice read
but...
Tim's ability to run while controlling the ball is staggering for a big man. He was never as fast as David Robinson, but I would love to see a demonstration of Tim just doing And-1 type stuff with the ball. He has some crazy fluid handles when he's in the open in transition. That pass to Blair couldn't have been more perfect from Parker or Steve Nash.
Duncan's court vision and his passing can be under-rated. He's always had a well-rounded game, and it's fun to see him break out of the mold.
Nicely done Cry Havoc. Appreciate the breakdown.
Great job! Thanks.
You have my vote to keep doing it...
Do you guys like the Player of the Game section? Should I keep it? Is there anything else you would like to see added?
I enjoy these more than timvp's grades
Good stuff as always. Enjoyed the Manu write up, particularly.
As a role player, I'm reluctant to penalize Gary Neal for taking good shots, even if he misses a lot of them. If anything, I'd say he'll occasionally have a play or two per game where he might be stepping beyond his boundaries taking mid-range, off-balance, lean-in jumpers/runners. That to me is cause for more concern than missing shots, though at the same time he's certainly earned a "heat check" play here or there every couple of games. I'd like to see him tone it down a bit, though.
If he's run off the 3 and starts to drive, I'd like to see him get better at determining if he has a good shot mid-range. Otherwise, I'd like him to pass the ball back out to Tony/Manu/Hill provided that there's sufficient time remaining on the clock, of course.
I like it.
Another G to Pop's name.Is there anything else you would like to see added?
Maybe a Defender of the Game or something like that...X-Factor, Turning Point, some other random tidbit. But even that's probably stretching it.
I enjoy these more than timvp's grades
That's a good point. Neal needs to keep firing away. But he didn't do much else to help the team last night.Good stuff as always. Enjoyed the Manu write up, particularly.
As a role player, I'm reluctant to penalize Gary Neal for taking good shots, even if he misses a lot of them. If anything, I'd say he'll occasionally have a play or two per game where he might be stepping beyond his boundaries taking mid-range, off-balance, lean-in jumpers/runners. That to me is cause for more concern than missing shots, though at the same time he's certainly earned a "heat check" play here or there every couple of games. I'd like to see him tone it down a bit, though.
I don't mind Neal driving, but the off-balance stuff is just bad.If he's run off the 3 and starts to drive, I'd like to see him get better at determining if he has a good shot mid-range. Otherwise, I'd like him to pass the ball back out to Tony/Manu/Hill provided that there's sufficient time remaining on the clock, of course.
Very well done Havoc
great recap for those (like me) who cannot watch the games. Thanks !
That's why I'm doing them.
Grades are good, but Neal for me gets at least a C because he helped us pull away with those threes in the 4th quarter when no one still could not hit from outside.
Blair had great numbers and deserves a lot of credit. Now, if he can play that way 9 out of 10 games instead of 1 out of 10 then we really have got something.
It's also great for those that can watch. Post-game conversations bring other views on the game, bring things up you might have missed, can bring ideas about particular plays or rotations or anything else that comes to mind. It's always appreciated when people take the time to present their thoughts.
good work Cry, I know these write-ups take work as I've done a couple ones myself. Keep it up
You can add the "play of the game" ...
Glad the coach gets a grade in these now.
a little harsh on his shooting performance considering Manu went 4-13 and you gave him a B+.Gary Neal - D
Neal's +/- was +10 for the game, and I thought his 3 balls in the 2nd half were very timely.
C+, imo.
I'd agree with everything else.
The thing I'm most impressed by Neal is that hes still shooting, not shriveling up like some rookies, or young players who go on a cold shooting streak.a little harsh on his shooting performance considering Manu went 4-13 and you gave him a B+.
Neal's +/- was +10 for the game, and I thought his 3 balls in the 2nd half were very timely.
C+, imo.
I'd agree with everything else.
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