Game Grades - Spurs @ Blazers - February 1st

[siraulo23]

iirc gary neal didnt play in the 2nd half a few games ago because of an injury

he hasnt been the same since

[Dex]

Who's the tranny with the black hair?

I think that's Chris Angel, the magician / uber .

[SenorSpur]

Good stuff, Cry Havoc!

Thanks for the summary.

[awktalk]

Manu Ginobili - C Like Parker, Manu gets a boost in grade for trying to create for the team, and still fighting when he was out there. He also had 4 steals and 4 rebounds, but shot just 33% on 6-18, and made some incredibly tough passes. I understand that Manu can make plays that no one else in the NBA can, but why do we need to make tricky, high-risk passes to beat the Blazers? It occurred to me that maybe settling down on offense, grinding out the pace, and just playing old-school Spurs ball was the way to go here. Instead, the action was constantly forced, and our ball movement was non-existent, leading to a lot of bad plays or passes received out of position. Manu understood what his team needed tonight but was unable to execute and get us the W.

6-18 with only 2 trips to the line is not "average" for Manu. By your grading system, there's no way this was a C for Manu. He got a D+ against the Knicks which you argued was deserved due to his 5-18 shooting. He had 0 turnovers that game, 2 this game. 2 steals in the Knicks game, 4 here. 6 dimes against the Knicks, 4 against the Blazers. At best, he is a C- but this wasn't that different of a performance than against the Knicks. You said after that game:

All of which I completely expect from Manu. 6 dimes isn't too much above his average. He's going to get a steal or two every game. The no turnovers is nice, but when you take 18 shots and make 5 of them, you're giving the other team the ball a lot anyway.

But he only made one more shot on the same number of attempts and we lost.

Other than that nitpick, great write up again CH.

[DMC]

Great writeup again. You have a knack for this.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

There was no reason for Parker to play that bad.

So pissed at him.

[LakerHater]

There was no reason for Parker to play that bad.

Hopefully he picks it up in tomorrows game!

[Cry Havoc]

6-18 with only 2 trips to the line is not "average" for Manu. By your grading system, there's no way this was a C for Manu. He got a D+ against the Knicks which you argued was deserved due to his 5-18 shooting. He had 0 turnovers that game, 2 this game. 2 steals in the Knicks game, 4 here. 6 dimes against the Knicks, 4 against the Blazers. At best, he is a C- but this wasn't that different of a performance than against the Knicks. You said after that game:

Right, but you have to realize that these numbers don't exist in a vacuum. 6-18 with 5 airballs is much worse than 6-18 with a few shots that are halfway down and roll out.

On a night where we won by 20, Manu probably would have received a D or D-. But it's all relative. Manu was extremely close to going 7 or even 9-18 from the field. And while some might think this is whining, the simple matter of the fact that is that with a different officiating crew, Manu probably shots 10 free throws last night. He played hard, he tried to step his game up and make things happen. No one else really did, so I reward him for that. But if it keeps happening, I'll probably start grading him a little harsher. As it was, Manu seemed like the only Spur aside from Blair (and maybe Hill) who WANTED to be on the court for the full 48.

[mingus]

I've been critical of Pops use of RJ going back to last year. RJ is getting paid 10 mil a year and his involvement in the offense doesn't reflect that. Throw RJ the ball in the high post and let him face up and either drive or shoot the mid range shot. You'd be utilizing his ability to draw fouls and shoot at a range he's shown he's very comfortable shooting. The offense is sometimes straight up predictable when it doesn't have to be. This offense, while great, to me hasnt reached it's potential and I feel pop is the reason behind that.