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Agree on all grades.
For only the second time this season, the Spurs were able to win a game outside of San Antonio. Against the Hornets, who entered the game with the worst record in the Western Conference, the Spurs hit enough shots to leave the Big Easy with a 104-102 victory.
It surely wasn't the defense that won the game. The Hornets are the lowest scoring team in the West, yet the Spurs allowed them to shoot better than 50% from the floor and score nearly 16 points more than their average.
Considering that the Spurs needed a pair of great games out of their two best players to beat a really bad team, this certainly wasn't a team performance to brag about. That said, a win to snap the two-game losing streak was needed by any means necessary.
Tim Duncan A
The highlights will show Tim Duncan's game-winner that he hit with less than two seconds remaining. However, that was just one of many key plays authored by Duncan this game. Offensively, he was confident with his jumper and productive in the low block. On defense, he was strong in the middle and rotated well. After a game off, Duncan returned to the court and looked as spry as we've seen him all season. He was jumping, running and moving laterally very well.
Tony Parker A
Tony Parker continues to carry the team offensively. To go along with his career-high 17 assists, Parker also hit a few momentous shots in the fourth quarter. Parker's playmaking was especially brilliant in the first half; he had 11 assists in the first two quarters alone (which actually isn't his career-high for a half -- he had 12 dimes in a half against the Clippers in 2006). I thought the pace at which he directed the offense was perfect throughout. On defense, Parker gave effort but the results were lacking.
Richard Jefferson C
Honestly, this was the same Richard Jefferson that we've been watching lately. The only difference was he knocked down a couple more three-pointers than usual. He was still lazy on defense and on the boards. He still isn't driving to the basket or doing much of anything outside of his catch-and-shoot jumpers. Early in the year, I thought he was playing really good defense. These days, he's just going through the motions.
DeJuan Blair D
The schedule seems to be taking its toll on the kid with no ACLs. DeJuan Blair had absolutely no legs tonight. He couldn't run the court. He wasn't getting any lift. The result was a poor outing. That said, Blair's toughness kept it from being a disastrous outing -- which deserves some kudos, I guess.
Kawhi Leonard D
Though he started, Kawhi Leonard played a season-low seven minutes. In fact, he didn't step on the court in the second half until the Spurs needed a stop at the very end. While I hope Pop doesn't make a habit of not playing Leonard, I could understand the strategy tonight. The Hornets don't have a go-to perimeter offensive player, so there was no one for Leonard to focus on. Plus, on the other end, the Hornets were swarming off of him whenever he was in the game. By going with a shooter, the Spurs didn't really lose much on defense and gained spacing on offense. On top of that, Leonard was pretty damn bad on defense in his few minutes, especially when attempting to maneuver around screens.
Danny Green B+
Very solid performance out of Danny Green. Offensively, he did a variety of helpful things -- from midrange jumpers, to slick passes, to pushing the tempo, to even running some backup point guard. Defensively, his ability to wreak havoc continues to be impressive. Unfortunately, I'm underwhelmed by his man-to-man defense. Quickness isn't a strength, to put it nicely, and picks give him a ton of trouble.
Tiago Splitter B+
Even with Duncan back in the mix and playing 34 minutes, Tiago Splitter was able to find a niche and provide a boost. He's setting great screens (Kori is in love with his screens, I think I'm jealous), has fantastic hands and is finishing strong around the rim. Opposing teams find it nearly impossible to stop pick-and-rolls involving Parker and Splitter. Defensively, tonight wasn't his night. The Hornets scored a number of points over and around the Brazilian. Perhaps the best news of the entire game was that Pop opted to finish the fourth with both Duncan and Splitter on the court ... and the tandem played well. Let's hope we see a whole lot more of that.
Gary Neal B
The Gary Neal we all liked last year is starting to reappear. His defense took another step forward tonight. On offense, he picked his spots well and has much better elevation on his jumper. Neal's shot is getting back to being picture-perfect once again. If he can regain his rookie form, Neal will be able to help the Spurs survive nights when their defense is a mess. Like tonight.
Matt Bonner B
Outside a lack of rebounding, I thought Matt Bonner played his role well. His fourth quarter defense was surprisingly good, especially against the pick-and-roll sets. He personally busted up a pair of plays by hedging hard and then quickly rotating back into position.
James Anderson C-
In the last game before the Spurs have to make a decision about whether to pick up his contract for next season, James Anderson got his first meaningful minutes in a couple weeks. While he definitely played hard, he just wasn't very good. Anderson didn't finish his drives, missed two more three-pointers and wasn't very helpful on defense. We'll see if the Spurs think he's done enough to guarantee him another year.
Cory Joseph B-
Cory Joseph's first stint was the best he's played in a while. He pushed the pace and actually broke down the defense a little bit. Joseph took his one shot with confidence, which was a nice change. On defense, he was active and made a few nice rotations. Truthfully, I don't know why Pop didn't go back to him in the second half.
Pop B
Sitting Duncan now looks like the right choice after he moved so well tonight. Pop used a zone in the first half that cooled off a Hornets squad that appeared to be well on their way to 200 points. Getting another look at Anderson before the contract deadline was a plus. Sticking with Neal and Green in the second half paid off. But by far the best decision was to give Splitter extended minutes in the fourth quarter. Pop still only played him 23 minutes -- but at least they were important minutes. I'll gladly accept baby steps at this point.
Agree on all grades.
Its not pretty to rely on a Duncan game winning shot against the Hornets, but every win is huge in this shortened season and it was fun to watch anyway
Parker played at an all star level and good to see both Parker and Duncan playing at a high level
Green having playmaking duties is going to be interesting but we'll see how the league reacts. Spurs definitely need some playmaking versatility though given their injuries.
Great writeup, as always.
I hope Kawhi's confidence doesn't wane because of this lack of playing time.
Parker was absolutely amazing. His confidence in running the pick and roll seems to be buoyed by the fact that Splitter is playing so well. It just seems that Splitter's upsurge in production is leading TP to become a more willing and confident passer. He no longer feels as though he needs to do it all himself and he's actively seeking to set guys up. His scoring will always be there. This is the PG that I've wanted to see for some time now.
I always look forward to these grades following the game, so thanks!
Did anyone else see Duncan's body language change when Splitter was in there?
Maybe I'm looking too much into things, but it looked like he liked the mix up.
He was actually roaming the perimeter a little bit.
With the way Duncan's jumper is going right now, I think that makes playing him with Splitter more dangerous.
Solid writeup, thanks Tim.
Let's hope the team can get another big so their efforts don't get wasted by Bonner and Blair.
shouldnt Green and Neal switch roles, if you need a point/forward to be the PG at times??? Green has better handles then Neal imo....
Thanks Timvp, always good reading before heading off to bed.
I'm getting real excited about Tony and Tiago playing together. Running the pick and roll can allow Tony to not exert so much energy during a game and possibly be more productive, imagine that. He'll be wishing he was running the P&R for much longer of his career (which I have only read here that he hasn't done much of in his career and that he's been bad at it in the past).
My only complaints with Pop's coaching are that he could reduce Bonner and Blair by two and a half minutes each to give Malcolm Thomas 5 minutes of playing time. I wish he didn't wait until the absolute last minute/game/end of season to try something new out. This would allow more of Tim and Tiago while also giving Blair/Bonner another big (Thomas) to play with. With all our team deficiencies I can't imagine Thomas would hurt much more than what we have now, and he'd only be playing 5 minutes a game. Simply, play him before you cut him, that's all we ask for as fans. Maybe his logic is that he doesn't want to introduce too many variables at once, such as letting Splitter play and letting Thomas play. This leads me to my next thought.
Tim and Tiago playing together is superb, as long as Tiago is the one in the low block. I hope that as the season goes on Timmy continues with his ranged shots to complement Splitter and prolong his own career. He has always been a team player so hopefully this is not a big deal. The other thing is that when he played with Tiago both of them almost seemed re-energized to me, there was a moment in the fourth just before Tim came in that Tiago looked gassed, not so much when Tim entered shortly after. Tiago helps Tim out so much by basically taking some of the boulder that is the San Antonio Spurs off Tim's back. Hopefully he will carry more of that boulder as the season progresses because Tim also looks rejuvenated by it. Also, A+ by Pop for going with Splitter and Duncan to close the game.
The other awesome thing about Splitter finally getting some playing time and even better, being allowed to close is that when Manu comes back we can have a lineup of Tony, Manu, Tim, Tiago and either Kawhi or Danny depending on cir stances. If Pop wants to go full defense he can probably sub Tony for Kawhi or Danny. That sounds like a good lineup to close a game out. Unfortunately, our game-wide defense is not so great but throughout the season our offense has kept us in games while some of our line-ups can contain the opposing team at times. More importantly, if the game is close throughout then the only thing that becomes important is who closes the game and this lineup looks terrific to me and brimming with potential at containing the other team and getting the W.
I think Pop benched Kawhi to break him down to bring him up.
Honestly I think Pop did it too late. Leonard's been playing bad for bout a week now.
Perhaps his jumpers were total rhythmic flukes?
In either case, I think this rookie has hit the WALL already, down and dirty. Pop's rotations and subs utions tonight were actually the best they've been in ages IMO.
Not only did he pressure the youngins, he played the hot hands, gave Splitter more time in a situation we want, but still got the win.
The only thing that makes tonight's win seem lame is that it was the absolute weakest team in the conference we won against....
Thanks!
Matty tearin' it up!
thanks for the great write up, timvp.
Good stuff. Splitter's recent improvement definitely gives him a good case as the starting center. Pop does like to play him as the third big in the rotation, but could he up his minutes and bring Blair in as a spark off the bench? I think that's a move that's going to have to take place by at least the playoffs if we have any chance of competing.
Great grades, thanks!
Great write up. The only grade I disagree with is Pop's B. While I liked most of the moves he made tonight, not playing Splitter at least 30 minutes after his performance against Houston was a bad coaching move. I know we've all come to expect as much out of Pop, but that does not excuse the error. The mistake is magnified by the terrible first half Blair turned in. Not playing the best players you have is bad coaching and it is causing us to play down to our compe ion.
The starting spot should have been Splitter's to lose from the time he got here. Instead he's had to deal with Pop's mindgames.
Since Bonner has complained about his grades timvp has been way too nice to the Red Rocket.
Since Bonner has complained about his grades timvp has been way too nice to the Red Rocket.I'm starting to think that actually was him. I was kidding at first . . .
That's what Rj has done and will continue to do on offense for the Spurs. His shooting% and his defensive intensity will fluctuate. Tonight he hit shots and he should get credit for that. Seems to me you graded him completely on defensive intensity.
This is a poor grade and doesn't make sense given the curve grading system.
win games get good grade, ppl still find ways to complain
lose games, get bad grade, ppl still want to lower their grades...
I don't often get to see the games so I always look forward to reading your posts. Thanks, Timvp.
One thing that I've noticed about this team is that our starting lineup sucks, and our backups are awesome. It seems like we always get in a hole, or just scrape by, with our starting five...but make a big run once the reserves get in there.
I think theres good reason for that.
1) We have some excellent reserves. Splitter, Green, Neal, and TJ Ford (before he was hurt) bring a lot to the table.
2) We have some dead beat starters. Jefferson is one dimensional and Blair is getting to be downright worthless.
Great to see Duncan score almost 30 points and Parker with an almost 20/20 game. The Hornets are still an NBA team and they wanted to win this game.
I agree 1000%. I live in Ukraine. When I can't see a game, the first thing I do after the ESPN results is count the minutes until Timvp's grades!
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