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Hats off to Parker. He took this game by the balls and won it for the Spurs. Let's hope he can keep playing like this for the remainder of the season.
Hosting the team with the best record in the NBA, the Spurs picked up a surprisingly easy victory over the Thunder. Thanks to one of the best performances of Tony Parker's career and timely three-point shooting, San Antonio looked downright dominant at times tonight.
The Thunder actually played relatively well. Their Big Three was doing what they do offensively; tonight was just a matter of the Spurs being unstoppable -- especially through three quarters of action.
This win was a great send-off as the Spurs embark on the Rodeo Road Trip. The team has to be confident, and with Manu Ginobili's return on the horizon, things are joyful in Spurs land.
Tim Duncan B+
Offensively, Tim Duncan wasn't too hot. He had trouble finishing against the the frontline of the Thunder, which features a mixture of brute strength and athleticism. Duncan's jumper was also iffy. But on the other end of the court, he was fantastic. Duncan's post defense was great, he was helpful in pick-and-roll sets and he protected the rim. However, by far Duncan's best attribute was his rebounding. He pulled down contested rebound after contested rebound over and around the capable bigs of OKC. Without Duncan cleaning up the boards, it wouldn't have been nearly as easy of a ride for San Antonio.
Tony Parker A+
It safe to say Tony Parker was ready to play. I'm not sure if he was more amped up about taking on likely All-Star Russell Westbrook or becoming the all-time franchise leader in assists, but the Frenchman wasn't lacking motivation. Overall, Parker was amazing. On offense, he was unstoppable in transition and worked the pick-and-roll to perfection. He finished at the rim, had his teardrop flowing and knocked down a handful of jumpers. Parker's passing was very good throughout; his ability to find shooters off of penetration was the main reason why the Spurs got so many open looks from deep. Defensively, he competed as hard as he could to slow down Westbrook. Oh, and Parker took care of the ball. The last time an NBA player had at least 42 points and nine assists without turning the ball over was Larry Bird 22 years ago.
Richard Jefferson B-
Well, at least Richard Jefferson was a little less one-dimensional tonight. He gave good effort on the glass and looked alive for most of his 33 minutes. While the ability to be a threat inside the arc has all but vanished from Jefferson's repertoire, it was good to see him actually drive toward the rim a few times. Overall, while he wasn't very good, this was definitely an improvement from a typical Jefferson outing as of late.
DeJuan Blair C
The woes continue for DeJuan Blair. He's just a s of the player he was early in the season. He's having a lot of trouble scoring on the offensive end and, to make matters worse, his underrated ability to pass has also been missing in action. Blair's defense was better than usual, as he used his quick hands to break up some plays. That said, Blair is certainly hurting more than helping these days.
Kawhi Leonard A
Any 20-year-old rookie is going to have his ups and his downs. Tonight, Kawhi Leonard experienced an "up". Defensively, I have no complaints about how he guarded Kevin Durant. While Durant scored 22 points, it took him 19 shots to do so. Leonard wasn't giving him much room while also keeping the talented scorer off of the free throw line. On offense, Leonard's outside shooting made a cameo. He entered the game only 7-for-28 from downtown on the season but he hit all three of the three-pointers he attempted against Oklahoma City. Once the Thunder were forced to respect his outside shot, Leonard made a number of good passes against rotating defenders. Going forward, if the rookie can become even a 34-35% three-point shooter, that would make life much easier for him on the offensive end.
Danny Green C-
Outside of a few defensive possessions and his overall energy level, I didn't like much of what Danny Green brought to the table tonight. He was unsure of what to do on the offensive end and made a number of mistakes on defense. With Green, there's a thin line between being an asset and trying to do too much. Tonight was definitely the latter.
Gary Neal D+
Gary Neal made a good pass to Tiago Splitter and knocked down a three-pointer … and that was about the extent of his positives. His defense left much to be desired; guards were blowing by him all night. Offensively, the hired gun couldn't find his range and was a mess when it came to locating open teammates. There's not a player on the team who will be more relieved once Ginobili is ready to play. At that point, Neal will be able to go back to playing to his strengths.
Matt Bonner B
On defense, Matt Bonner wasn't too helpful. He's just not a very good fit against a Thunder team that is built on speed and athleticism. But offensively, Bonner gave OKC a headache. Their bigs couldn't figure out how to help against Parker while simultaneously staying close enough to Bonner to contest his jumper. The Spurs are now 46-10 all-time when Bonner hits at least three three-pointers in a game.
Tiago Splitter C+
Uncharacteristically, Tiago Splitter wasn't automatic in the paint. The Thunder were physical with him and Splitter didn't respond too well, although he seemed to get the hang of it as the game progressed. But while his scoring was off, Splitter's superior passing ability was on full display. However, Splitter's turnovers remain a problem. He had three of his team's ten turnovers and his turnover rate on the season is way too high. Defensively, Splitter was solid against the Thunder. He played strong and hit the glass with authority.
Pop B-
I liked that Pop put Leonard back in the starting lineup and let him be the main defender against Durant for virtually the entire game. I also thought Pop called a good mixture of pick-and-rolls for Parker and 4-downs for Duncan when the Thunder made their runs. On the other hand, Pop failed to give Parker any sort of adequate rest. As a result, the team's best player was running on fumes at the end. There also wasn't much of an excuse not to play Splitter more minutes; playing him less than both Blair and Bonner is never acceptable. And with Green and Neal struggling, tonight was probably a good opportunity to give James Anderson a chance.
Hats off to Parker. He took this game by the balls and won it for the Spurs. Let's hope he can keep playing like this for the remainder of the season.
Parker went HAM tonight. Blair deserves a big ol' fat F.
Seriously...where do you get this stuff? Awesome stat find, awesome stat, at that, by Tony.
Think Leonard will be alright in the playoffs when teams dare him to shoot the 3. When he has time his shot looks good with heaps of arc. When he shoots off the dribble or catches and shoots it looks flat.
At this point should we give up on Tiago getting big minutes? What have we seen to believe otherwise?
Great win though. Their level of play, although 3 point reliant, seems to be much better than last years team.
Yeah its clear Pop sees Tiago as strictly a backup to Tim. So in reality the Spurs have a PF rotation of Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blairthat they are trying to win an NBA championship with.
Is there a worse rotation position in any team in the western conference playoff race? Perhaps the Lakers at PG with Fisher and Goudelock.. but even then you take Fisher over Bonner in the playoffs because hes a proven clutch performer.
Its a legitimate question imo.
Only plausible explanation I can think of is that Pop is so averse to Tiago's tendency to turn the ball over that he limits his minutes as much as necessary, even though his longterm goal is to get Tiago more minutes.
I think Pop is still being very 2011esque in his rotations going towards individual game wins.
We are all questioning Pop's rotations and ing about Splitter but we just beat the number 1 team in the entire league pretty convincingly.
Why is it that people think Pop would hammer Tiago for his short comings but not every other player?
And what makes it worse is that the PF position is clearly the most stacked position in the WC playoff race. It may have something to do with why the Spurs have success against the Thunder (relatively).. the Thunder dont have an elite PF that can abuse the Blair/Bonner combo like every other team does.Yeah its clear Pop sees Tiago as strictly a backup to Tim. So in reality the Spurs have a PF rotation of Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair
Is there a worse rotation position in any team in the western conference playoff race? Perhaps the Lakers at PG with Fisher and Goudelock.. but even then you take Fisher over Bonner in the playoffs because hes a proven clutch performer.
Its a legitimate question imo.
Dirk
Gasol
Aldridge
Griffin
Randolph
Nene
Love
Scola
These are the 4's currently in the playoff race
IMO TP deserved a A++++
Duncan guards the C 90% of the time and is always guarded by the C.. and Blair the PF's. Duncan is a PF only in name.
Damn
Westbrook is really a ty defender
Thanks Tim.
All our bad play is concentrated in 1 position though, and Bonner is fine as a 4th big/floor spacing big. He's an efficient scorer, and while defense and rebounding leave a bit to be desired, we can't reasonably expect the defensive play off the bench to be elite. The Bulls have Gibson and Asik, but having that is unreasonable. Splitter/Bonner is pretty good in reality. It's replacing Blair with a better mobile defender, and a pure 4 that's the issue. But if you can fill that hole, We're in good shape.
Last edited by jesterbobman; 02-05-2012 at 02:27 AM. Reason: Quote for context
I loved the effort tonight. Reminds me of last year when the Spurs torched the Heat in their first meeting. You could see the team played with a purpose. Parker was sensational. When he is that aggressive and his shot is falling he is one of the most unstoppable players in the league. Guys missed a lot of wide open shots he created for them too. His assist total could have been a lot higher.
When this team is on they are a tough team to beat. When Manu and TJ come back they are going to be extremely tough if Pop reintegrates them well. The potential has been there all year. We have seen glimpses of it, such as the first half of the Miami game. I am very excited to see what these guys can do at full strength. Great win heading into the RRT.
Thanks for the writeup!
Nice set of grades all around. Spot on again.
I'm glad you acknowledged Tim's effort on the boards. It was huge. The Thunder didn't get all those trash points off of second shots that so often plague the Spurs.
I thought Kawhi's defense on Durant was better than it looked in the first half, even though Durant scored 17 points. Leonard made him work, and he didn't put Durant on the FT line. Those are the gravy points for KD, and he kept trying to suck out fouls on Leonard - and Leonard avoided it masterfully in my opinion.
Part of what I have really liked about Green is that he is fearless and decisive. I've never seen him look as indecisive as he did tonight. On both ends. That's gotta go away.
I kept thinking that, as Splitter proved himself, Pop would increase his minutes and put him into more critical situations. The Spurs schedule is going to allow them to have a couple of full practices during the RR Trip. If Pop can't find a way to get him more minutes than Blair, then I give up too. Is it possible that they are trying to showcase Blair so that they can move him before the deadline? I'm digging for some logic here... help me out.
good point, tonight Lady Luck was not on Tiagos side
I hope it is. Otherwise tonight really looked like a playoff rotation. Not the minutes each player had, but I guess these guys would play in the playoffs (incl. Manu of course). James Anderson and Corey Joseph would have gotten a DNP if not for garabge time. So I am a little worried about Tiagos minutes right now. The only good thing is that "opening the bench" for garbage time means for Pop: Tiago out and Blair in ... there you see which player is more valuable to Pop in the long run ...
i am very excited about tonight's win. however, i do not think we can win the championship with the current bigs. i would throw the kitchen sink at taj gibson or varejao. blair + neal/anderson + 1st rounder + 2 2nd rounders.
manu showed us glimpses of still being able to play at an elite level; duncan is probably a solid 15-10-1.5 guy in 36 mpg for the playoffs. parker is still a baller. we need to win now, not in 2-3 years. if we don't make a trade for another big, i would start to prepare myself for another playoff exit. 1st or 2nd round - depending on manu's health.
wasnt happy when KL was goin out scoring only to be bench for the whole 2nd quarter....talk about cooling the hot hand...
btw, all spurs fans that i know think the same about the bigs on the roster, in regard to winning the championship. we need new blood. the fans know it, the coaches know it and the FO knows it.
just that b/c the media completely ignores the fact that the spurs are 3rd in the west, without their best player, FAs like martin do not consider us a true contenter. unfortunately for us, we are in the same position we have been since 07 - one true big away from the le.
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