Grades: Spurs vs. Jazz - Dec. 31

[TD 21]

Leonard is a true SF and Neal will not be getting his minutes since Neal will be getting minutes at the PG and SG positions. So look for Neal to steal some minutes from the PG and SG position when we need some offense.

No, but Anderson could take Leonard's minutes as the primary backup SF. Because Neal is going to be the primary backup SG. Eventually, he may take over as the primary backup PG, but I don't see that happening now.

I don't think Pop will want to go away from one of Leonard or Anderson entirely though, so I wouldn't be surprised if he essentially platoon's them for a while.

[Fabbs]

Tim Duncan [SIZE="6"]
Tiago Splitter B+
Defensively, Tiago Splitter was really good at protecting the rim. He's never been a shotblocker at any level in his basketball career, however he's showing that ability so far this year. His post defense against the Jazz wasn't very good, however. On offense, Splitter was really, really aggressive -- with mostly positive results. The Spurs need him to get comfortable offensively for Splitter to reach his potential and he appears to be making strides in that direction.

Kawhi Leonard B-
In the first half, Kawhi Leonard looked good. His movement on offense continues to be a plus. He was also a big factor on the boards and played fine defense. In the second half, Leonard experience a lot of growing pains. He got caught being too aggressive defensively a number of times and found himself out of position. He also made a handful of tactical mistakes on the defensive end, especially in transition. That said, there's no way the Leonard is going to learn on the fly without these types of struggles.

Matt Bonner B
Hey, compared to the first three games, Matt Bonner was pretty damn good. He actually pulled down three rebounds and hit his only shot. His defense was still sub par but his passing on the offensive end helped the Spurs get off to a good offensive start. Watching him closely, he appears to be favoring one of his legs. He had a knee wrap in the first half, which may be a hint that he's not totally healthy right now.

Is the grading criteria how well the player does for said players skill set?
Or equal criteria for all players?

Leonard had 6 rebounds in 15 minutes.
Gingerbread had 3 land on him in 15.
As for his passing, i saw nothing that Ginger did out of the ordinary. GNob was on fire and all Bonner did was make one or two obvious passes.
D, help D, all the other stuff yet Gingerbread out earns Leonard by B to B-.
All the stuff Splitter has to do yet he only outearns Bonbon by a 1/2 a grade?

[spurs10]

Interesting quote by Pop, but do the Spurs have the personnel to not live by the perimeter? Also it's a little worrisome how Tim looks considering how early it is and how all of the reports were that he was in phenomenal shape. His minutes have been managed by foul trouble and by Pop so I don't get why he looks like he does. Hopefully it's more of a rust thing but I was anticipating more of a sharp start from Tim.

I think it's "more of a rust thing." Tim was clearly frustrated with his shot not falling, thus the fist pump. At one point during a dead ball he made 6 consecutive baskets, one after the other, just to watch the ball go through the %**$$#%ing net. He was getting a lot of boards and making it hard on Al Jefferson, not something many people can do.

[Obstructed_View]

I never really understood this American fascination to start. (Internationally it doesn't matter) what matters is who finishes, or who is in when it matter most (your best 5). Which brings me to the question, the Spurs haven't been in that tight end game situation yet where Pop has had to show which 5 he will finish with, ao who we will he finish with? At SF RJ or Leonard, at PF Blair or Splitter? Seems like a offense vs defense trade off

It'll be interesting to see how he handles those situations. As for starting, when the other teams in the league start their best players, you should put yours on the floor unless there's a clear matchup that you can exploit.

[Obstructed_View]

Interesting quote by Pop, but do the Spurs have the personnel to not live by the perimeter?

I'm totally puzzled by that quote, considering he's built the team just this side of the Motta Mavericks to put up as many threes as possible.

[Seventyniner]

I'm totally puzzled by that quote, considering he's built the team just this side of the Motta Mavericks to put up as many threes as possible.

This was true as recently as last season. However, the Spurs basically traded Hill for Leonard (this season, other pieces of that trade notwithstanding), signed Ford as a backup PG, and are finally playing Bonner the 4th-most big minutes. I think Pop wants to move away from a 3-point chucking team and has a tough task ahead of him. Heck, I recently saw a Ford/Ginobili/Leonard/Blair/Splitter lineup on the floor, and thought to myself "only 1 three-point shooter?! Isn't that 3 less than Pop usually wants?"

[Obstructed_View]

This was true as recently as last season. However, the Spurs basically traded Hill for Leonard (this season, other pieces of that trade notwithstanding), signed Ford as a backup PG, and are finally playing Bonner the 4th-most big minutes. I think Pop wants to move away from a 3-point chucking team and has a tough task ahead of him. Heck, I recently saw a Ford/Ginobili/Leonard/Blair/Splitter lineup on the floor, and thought to myself "only 1 three-point shooter?! Isn't that 3 less than Pop usually wants?"

Four games does not unmake what Pop made the team into over the last several years. It would be like Jason Garrett coming out tonight and saying "I don't know why our secondary was so bad".

[BillMc]

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate the write ups Timvp. I don't always agree (though usually I do), but you do a really nice job every time. The first thing I do after every game is wait for the grades. (Especially if I didn't see it!)

Keep up the great work.

[therealtruth]

This was true as recently as last season. However, the Spurs basically traded Hill for Leonard (this season, other pieces of that trade notwithstanding), signed Ford as a backup PG, and are finally playing Bonner the 4th-most big minutes. I think Pop wants to move away from a 3-point chucking team and has a tough task ahead of him. Heck, I recently saw a Ford/Ginobili/Leonard/Blair/Splitter lineup on the floor, and thought to myself "only 1 three-point shooter?! Isn't that 3 less than Pop usually wants?"

I think Pop was fascinated with as many three point shooters as possible after the Suns beat the Spurs in '10 playoffs. The problem in that series is the Spurs didn't stay on the shooters or at least leave the worst shooters open like Grant Hill. It would have been better to have let Stoudemire go for 40 with Dice defending him than let all their shooter go crazy from 3. They also lacked a Bowen type defender to unleash on Nash. I think they should have experimented with RJ there. They tried putting Ginobili on Nash in game 4 but they were already asking him to do so much on offense.

[Manu-of-steel]

Thanks tmvp.

[dylankerouac]

Does anybody remember the forward line-up we saw in the game. I think it was somewhere in the 3rd or 4th when I saw Leonard, Jefferson, I think Blair and Tiago in there. I don't remember who was on PG duties. I thought this was an interesting line-up. I may have to go back and watch how long this unit was on the floor together and what they accomplished.

[Mel_13]

Does anybody remember the forward line-up we saw in the game. I think it was somewhere in the 3rd or 4th when I saw Leonard, Jefferson, I think Blair and Tiago in there. I don't remember who was on PG duties. I thought this was an interesting line-up. I may have to go back and watch how long this unit was on the floor together and what they accomplished.

It was Splitter/Blair/Leonard/RJ/TJ. It was just for a few minutes in the 4th and the lead dropped from about 25 to 15 and then Tony and Anderson subbed in for TJ and Leonard.

[dylankerouac]

Ah ok, thanks. I hope Kawhi gets at least 20 minutes tonight.