Grades: Spurs vs. Rockets - Feb. 1

[SpurNation]

I'd have to give Gary an A-. Green a C. For a little more than two periods...the whole team probably deserved an F.

TIMMY!!! of old and not an old Timmy sparked the come back and probably the others into playing better. His value on this team is more than what can be explained even if he's not the same player he used to be on a nightly basis.

Pop almost got an F. He was lucky his rant in the last minute (and maybe deservedly towards the official when trying to call time out) but none the less didn't earn the Rockets a free throw for a technical. I was like...STFU Pop. Thankfully I can laugh about it now.

[TJastal]

With this condensed season though it's kind of hard. Depth is the ultimate strength right now - without it our guys would just get burned out way too often. While playoff roles and rotations are important, right now I think it's better to play as much of the bench as you can while still winning.

I believe he's talking about playing the bench even more or even suggesting that changes to the starting lineup be made. Splitter in particular. When the spurs start playing the powerhouses of the west they will need more Splitter and less Blair/Bonner. If this means moving Tiago into the starting lineup and senidng Blair to the bench now so be it.

And for the most of the year Jefferson has been lackluster on the court. Might be time to start thinking about moving Green into the starting lineup to get more of his energy from the start so the spurs aren't digging holes they won't be able rely on the bench to climb out of.

[SpurNation]

And for the most of the year Jefferson has been lackluster on the court. Might be time to start thinking about moving Green into the starting lineup to get more of his energy from the start so the spurs aren't digging holes they won't be able rely on the bench to climb out of.

This may not be a bad idea when Ginobili returns. Run Manu and R.J. out there with the second unit to help maintain or build leads. Especially since Manu is the most adept at finding Splitter. It would in the least be worth experimenting just to see a starting unit of Parker, Green, Kawhi, Duncan and Blair since (for the most part) we see a 2 man game when Parker and Duncan are on the floor.

[Old School 44]

Nice write-up. Great job by TD. Like Sean mentioned in the telecast, he's best when his decisions are quicker in the post.

Still not sure why he continues to turn and shoot over his right shoulder in the post.
I can see the occassional shot to mix it up, but he seems to be doing it more and more often.

[DPG21920]

Tim, why is it that Pop will reward Bonner with extended minutes for a stretch of good plays but not Tiago?

[ManuTastic]

Good writeup. Great 2nd half effort, esp. Timmy and Neal (and Tony).
It seemed to me that at least half the credit for the win goes to the Rox cooling off in the 2nd half, especially Martin. Just clanged a bunch of open shots they normally would make. Just glad it happened on a Timmy throwback night.

[bigfan]

TIMVP, your next day appraisals are greatly appreciated by out of town Spurs fans! Keep up the great work!

[TJastal]

Tim, why is it that Pop will reward Bonner with extended minutes for a stretch of good plays but not Tiago?

This is problematic.

Add in the fact he will start a greenhorn rookie whose barely 20 years old yet treats Tiago (a 27 year old seasoned veteran of professional European basketball) like an old dog turd on the sidewalk.

Eventually these little stupid games of his will have consequences. Not sure how or when, but they will.

[cantthinkofanything]

This is problematic.

Add in the fact he will start a greenhorn rookie whose barely 20 years old yet treats Tiago (a 27 year old seasoned veteran of professional European basketball) like an old dog turd on the sidewalk.

Eventually these little stupid games of his will have consequences. Not sure how or when, but they will.

Well, the consequences last season were in the playoffs and we had an athletic big man sitting on the bench while the other teams athletic big men detroyed us.

[GSH]

Pop A-

Now you are getting all these other sheep in here to forget all about the last three post seasons and already I see the "if Bonner plays like tonight...I don't really mind....ad nauseum....

17 IN MINUTES FOR TIAGO

Pop is a in moron.

Just a thought: We've already had the grades for the LAST post-season. And Timvp can't very well give grades for games that haven't happened yet. These grades were for THIS game - and they are spot-on.

We get your message. But if that's not enough, start your own thread. Call it "Tiago needs more minutes, and Pop is a moron". Then bump it every single game that Tiago doesn't get 40 minutes on the floor. It will save you a lot of time in the long run.

[Manu-of-steel]

Great write up, timvp. Keep it up. It's been part of my routine to check the grades after the game. Thanks alot.

[TDMVPDPOY]

why u clowns complaining if its a b2b to save splitter for next nights game if the game is won the previous night?

[GSH]

why u clowns complaining if its a b2b to save splitter for next nights game if the game is won the previous night?

Maybe because the last time Timmy didn't play, Bonner started in his place?

[5in10]

If were trying to find kawhis niche in the offense, why don't we try running post ups for him? Most of the time hes bigger that the person hes guarding, like yesterday, He could have posted K-mart up all day. Also I wouldnt mind seeing him run pick n rolls, from what I have seen so far he seems to be a capable passer and has the athleticism to get to the rim.

[TJastal]

If were trying to find kawhis niche in the offense, why don't we try running post ups for him? Most of the time hes bigger that the person hes guarding, like yesterday, He could have posted K-mart up all day. Also I wouldnt mind seeing him run pick n rolls, from what I have seen so far he seems to be a capable passer and has the athleticism to get to the rim.

He seems more of a cutter who can collect garbage points on feeds near the basket, but straight post up one on one doesn't seem to be his game.

[TDMVPDPOY]

He seems more of a cutter who can collect garbage points on feeds near the basket, but straight post up one on one doesn't seem to be his game.

maybe his a draft bust?

[Bruno]

These grades are so nice, thanks a lot timvp.

It was a great win for Spurs because they didn't gave up. In the third quarter, they played with a lot of energy but didn't succeed to come back for about 9 minutes. They continue to play hard and Rockets finally folded.

While I've been disappointed by Neal sooner this year, he has been very good lately. Last year Neal is back which is good news.

[Fireball]

why u clowns complaining if its a b2b to save splitter for next nights game if the game is won the previous night?

Well, the last time Tim sat out the game, it was Matt Bonner starting with Blair ... why Pop did it although he sees both Timmy and Tiago as centers is beyond me. I think Tiago still got enough playing time in that game (was it the 25 point game against the Rockets?), but still you cannot be sure he gets enough playing time just because Timmy gets the night off. And thats a shame ...

[cherylsteele]

Pop A-
Usually I'd complain about Splitter playing only 17 minutes but tonight Bonner actually deserved to be on the court. When Bonner is hustling, rebounding and playing tough, I have no problem rewarding him. Pop sticking with a struggling Green rather than going back to Jefferson turned out to absolutely be the right decision. Pulling the plug on Leonard was called for, as was playing Neal big minutes. All in all, I can't really complain about anything Pop did tonight … well, other than that time he motioned to Green to back off of Kyle Lowry and Lowry responded by hitting a three-pointer in Green's eye.


You guys are masochists.

You never learn that Bonner is fools gold. So he had a good game....

Well he in' plays extended minutes EVERY IN' GAME!!!!!! If you play a chimpanzee the same minutes Bonner gets the Spurs would have the best record in the in' league.

I can't wait til the playoffs when Pop and "Matty" break your in hearts again...

Now you are getting all these other sheep in here to forget all about the last three post seasons and already I see the "if Bonner plays like tonight...I don't really mind....ad nauseum....

17 IN MINUTES FOR TIAGO

Pop is a in moron.

Tonight was warranted though, and no, this doe not make me forget about post season failures. Pop used Matty tonight correctly because he did well overall. I would love Matty to have a game like that in playoffs but it hasn't happened yet....we'll see.

I would love to see splitter getting more minutes because he does deserve them, especially alongside Timmy.

I laughed at that last time out when Pop was jumping around frantically like he was having a tantrum.

[5in10]

One thing I have also noticed is that Danny Green and Leonard have got to learn how to get through screens. A lot of the time their guys scores it because of a pick and not being able to get through and close out on their men. Bruce Bowen was so good at getting/fighting through screens, in fact it was a very underrated abilty. I guess a lot of it was about how fast he could shuffle his feet but also knowing what his man was going to do. Anyways to be a great defensive team we gotta be able to close those shots out.

[callo1]

Very generous to give Pop an "A".
I think Pop deserved an "F' or at best a "C"

Pop's continual denial of Tiago's worth on the floor is inexcusable. It is getting comical to watch Pop pull an entire lineup minutes into a game, and his 34 seconds into a half timeouts...all his actions do is affirm that he is putting the wrong unit on the floor to begin with.

[wildbill2u]

Re: 17 minutes for Splitter. Timmy was having one of his flashback games so he took advantage of that and let him run. And since Timmy was working in the paint, where was Splitter gonna go? They haven't worked enough in tandem yet to figure all that out in the offense.

Finally, Pop knows he can't use Timmy for big minutes at NO tonight so he rested Splitter so he can play extended minutes.

Great coaching in the use of minutes to maximum advantage.

[The ADMIRAL 50]

Edit: was Martin, not Lowry.

I think Pop had the right idea. Green was playing Martin out near the half-court stripe and was virtually begging to be drove right around, which would have probably ended up in an even-more-open look for another Rocket after the Spurs rotated to help. Spacing Martin was smart...Green just retreated a step too far back. He was hanging behind the three-point line instead of staying outside at the top of the arc. If he stands outside the stripe, I doubt Martin puts up that 30-footer...and even though he made it, it's still hard to call that a quality shot. I'll take a rushed, semi-contested long-three from a moderate shooter over an open shot every day of the week...if he makes it, you just tip your hat and get back on D.

After the play and ensuing timeout, it looked like Pop was telling Green the same thing...space him, but still contest the three-point line. I wouldn't blame Green for being frustrated though....he tried to take his coach's advice, and got burned for it.

I was yelling at the TV when Pop got Green to back off. When he said it there was only 4 or 5 seconds left on the shot clock, it was obviously Martin was looking to bust, and he did. Generally speaking guarding a guy five out beyond the three point line is silly, but a shooter like Martin shooting the way he was that fist half (wow), he really shouldve let Green stay glued to him. Normally giving up a thirty footer, even an uncontested thirty footer, is a good play for a defense, but in that situation it was a really bad one. I called it right before it happened, then was super pissed when it did. Can't blame Green, and I get what Pop was thinking but not the right time or player to lay off.

[The ADMIRAL 50]

Re: 17 minutes for Splitter. Timmy was having one of his flashback games so he took advantage of that and let him run. And since Timmy was working in the paint, where was Splitter gonna go? They haven't worked enough in tandem yet to figure all that out in the offense.

Finally, Pop knows he can't use Timmy for big minutes at NO tonight so he rested Splitter so he can play extended minutes.

Great coaching in the use of minutes to maximum advantage.

very good spin of the situation

hopefully we see it come to fruition with Tiago getting starters minutes tonight. I, for one, won't be holding my breath though.

[Sense]

With the exception of that late 3.. I thought Anderson played horrible.