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Spurs to a 15-7 record without Manu Ginobili and with a 35-year-old Tim Duncan
In perhaps their best win of the season, the Spurs traveled to Philadelphia and left town with a 100-90 victory. While you may not hear much about the 76ers, they have quietly been one of the best teams in the NBA this season and had won six of their previous seven games. As it turns out, San Antonio -- now winners of six straight -- ain't too shabby themselves.
For the first two and a half quarters, neither team could get much separation. Then the Spurs defense locked in and held the Sixers to four points over a six-minute span, which allowed the good guys to push a one-point advantage to 11 points. While Philadelphia kept fighting, the Spurs held them at bay the rest of the way.
I can't say enough about how impressed I am with this victory. Utilizing a stingy defense and a steady offense, the Spurs improved to 2-0 on the Rodeo Road Trip with a playoff-style win.
Tim Duncan B-
It wasn't always pretty. In fact, it was downright ugly at times. But Tim Duncan kept battling and was able to put together a solid outing. Rebounding was again his major strength; he's averaging 14.3 boards over the last three games. Duncan defended the rim well and rotated quickly on pick-and-roll defense. The Sixers are a physical team but Duncan never let up. Offensively is where most of the ugliness occurred. His jumper wasn't on, he wasn't rolling well after setting picks and he was indecisive in the low block. But to his credit, Duncan scored two big buckets late to help secure the win.
Tony Parker A+
If there were any questions remaining about whether Tony Parker deserves to be an All-Star, he cleared up any lingering doubts tonight. Against a very good defensive team who gives up the fewest points in the league largely due to their ability to bottle up opposing point guards, Parker refused to be mishandled. Doing most of his scoring in the paint, Parker's relentlessness resulted in a season-high number of free throws. When it came to distributing, he was best in pick-and-roll sets -- particularly with Tiago Splitter. Overall, it was another great performance punctuated by a fourth quarter that saw him produce 16 points.
Richard Jefferson D+
On defense, Richard Jefferson was pathetically slow. He couldn't stay in front of anyone and rarely hustled back in transition defense. Offensively, Jefferson didn't hit a shot or do much of anything. His only redeeming quality was that he was strong on the boards on a night when the Spurs weren't rebounding well. But seriously, with Manu Ginobili returning on Saturday, Pop needs to find a whole lot of bench time for Jefferson going forward.
DeJuan Blair B
I liked DeJuan Blair's effort tonight. Early on, Blair was strong on the glass and drew a pair of offensive fouls. He also made a handful of good passes and remained aggressive on both ends even after his mistakes. Blair still has a ways to go in terms of getting his game back but this was definitely a step in the right direction.
Danny Green C-
Yeah, Danny Green did his share of little things. But he needs to start the big things again. Over his last three games, he has missed his last 16 shots from the field. No matter how you slice it, that's unacceptable. His rebounding and defense also haven't been as impressive as of late. Personally, I think Green's tired -- which could explain why his shot is off and why he's not as physically imposing as of late. With the Spurs getting some rest in the coming week, let's hope Green can regain his footing and continue his breakout season.
Gary Neal A+
Wow. Where did that come from? Gary Neal played 30 minutes of the most well-rounded basketball I've ever seen out of him. In addition to his deadly outside shooting, Neal's playmaking was great. Coming into this game, playmaking was definitely a weakness of his but Neal had six assists and no turnovers -- and he was even better than those stats indicate. Defensively, he was very solid, especially chasing his man around screens. The cherries on top were the few contested boards he snatched out of midair.
Matt Bonner B-
At times, Matt Bonner was comically bad. He had one of the worst transition defense moments in recorded history. Twice in a row, the Sixers scored off of in-bounds plays when Bonner blew the assignment. But other than those lows, Bonner did his job. He rebounded extremely well and did just enough defensively against the athletes of the Sixers to keep Pop from going small. Against pick-and-rolls, Bonner continues to excel on the defensive end. And on offense, Bonner's lone three-pointer gave the team their largest lead (12 points) near the end of the third quarter.
Kawhi Leonard B-
Coming off the bench again, this time due to Philadelphia's sixth man (Lou Williams) being their best offensive weapon, Kawhi Leonard did decent work on the defensive end. He played the passing lanes well and the intensity was there, however he just never seemed to get into any sort of defensive rhythm. Offensively, he scored off of a strong cut to the basket. With Ginobili returning, it'll be interesting to see if Leonard will lose his starting gig for good.
Tiago Splitter A
For a guy who played only 17 minutes, I'm not sure Tiago Splitter could have done more. He was an absolute terror in pick-and-rolls; his timing on the rolls is very, very good and he can finish off of just about any type of catch. He scored in the low block and made a couple really good passes. Defensively, he used his quick feet and his deceptive length to wall off sections of the paint. The only thing he didn't do tonight was rebound, though that was mostly due to him being so active on D that he wasn't under the basket when the shots went up.
Pop B+
It's difficult to complain too much about a win of this quality. It's painfully obvious that Splitter deserved more minutes but ... I guess Pop has his reasons. In hindsight, he probably should have pulled Jefferson and/or Green earlier and given even more minutes to Neal, Leonard or maybe even James Anderson. But all in all, Pop coached well. I liked how he sneakily found minutes to rest Parker here and there. Duncan re-entering late paid dividends, even though it appeared as if Splitter was the better option. And Pop giving Neal semi-consistent minutes at point guard this year despite mostly negative results really paid off tonight with Neal looking like the reincarnation of John Stockton at times.
Spurs to a 15-7 record without Manu Ginobili and with a 35-year-old Tim Duncan
Stats of the night:
-Parker's 13-for-13 at the line wasn't a career best. Back in 2007, he had a game in which he was 14-for-14.
-Entering the game, the Sixers were holding opposing point guards to a PER of 11.0. In other words, the Sixers turn opposing point guards into a worse version of Richard Jefferson.
P.S.
Anyone have a preference about whether or not to include the full box?
I like it but it uses more bandwidth
Great job as usual Timvp. I have to admit I have started looking forward to reviewing your grades after the games. Please keep up the great work.
Solid review. Thanks!
parker is making case he is the best player not manu
I cant fall asleep until my bedtime story of Spurs grades and commentary.Great job as usual Timvp. I have to admit I have started looking forward to reviewing your grades after the games. Please keep up the great work.
It's getting harder and harder to explain Tiago's minutes. A guy comes in and looks totally unstoppable, scores 15 in 17 minutes, on 70% shooting. , the other coaches in the league notice that, so I know Pop does. I hope he's really crazy like a fox, because the crazy part is getting harder to ignore.
Danny Green is becoming almost invisible. I like the way the kid played for a stretch there, but I won't let that excuse what he's done lately. He looks indecisive, and that's not good for the kind of role he's trying to carve out. Get with it, Danny.
So does Pop just get a bye for still giving Splitter the least big man minutes? What reason could he possibly have for not rewarding him with more? 15 pts on 70% shooting in 17 minutes ain't enough? Short-sighted is what I call it. Sure the win is nice but Splitter should be getting more than 17 minutes to prepare him for the playoffs.
is green nervous manu is healthy?
green needs the days off to get his spring back
Kawhi did a GREAT job on Iguodala when he actually got the chance to guard him, he didn't give him any space at all, Iguodala even had trouble just getting open to receive a pass. Iguodala went off early because he was butt ramming RJ.
Bonner deserves a C imo, dude was getting RAPED by Young, mostly in the 4th Q. The only thing Bonner did well was grab some defensive rebounds and make 2 shots, defensively he was terrible though.
Tony is a beast and is top dog. Now there's no need for u to actively root against a spurs player.
The full box is a nice addition as you can see how well the Spurs defended opposing players. As for the game itself, it was very impressive. The team really seems to have turned a corner after the Dallas game. Parker has been on an absolute tear the past few games. When his jumper is on I would take him over any PG in the league at this point. It also appears that Duncan might be having a mini resurgence after his bumpy start and weak year last year. He has really been coming on strong.
I agree that Danny Green looks tired. We should be able to tell if that is the case over the next few days as the team will get some well deserved nights off during the RRT. I am not to worried about Green though. Gary Neal was very impressive tonight. Probably the best game I have seen out of him. The rest of the bench played their roles sufficiently too.
Blair had a decent night. I would take his play any day of the week if those numbers were coming from a 4th or 5th big. I do not believe the Spurs can contend in the playoffs with him starting games for us. This latest stretch of games have shown that the Spurs are in the mix. A healthy Spurs team can beat any team in the league this year if the roster is used correctly. As I noted in another thread, a starting lineup of Parker, Manu, Leonard, Splitter, and Duncan would improve the team's defense dramatically. They wouldn't be to shabby on offense either.
Full box is good
good grades - liked the reading; don't care that much for the full box
btw, what do you guys think will the the spurs playoff crunch time lineup? i only ask this because i see pop's reluctance to partner tim with tiago, but can the spurs front a better line than tony-manu-kawhi-tiago-tim? that gives us 4 great guys on offense and the best defensive group.
Thanks for the writeup... haven't watched the game @ home yet... was sorely disappointed with RJ, and that time Matt was running back looking left, while a Sixer and the ball were on his right
Manu is our MVP of the team, period
Gary mother in Neal and Tony Parker were the highlights tonight. THIS is why I said Gary Neal has balls of steel. He just doesn't give up or give in, no matter what role, minutes, or defense he sees.
I prefer the full box to get an idea for both sides. I rarely go to espn and yahoo now to look at the box scores and summaries, whereas before spurstalk I only went to those sites for Spurs recaps. Thanks for the post.
Matt Bonner B-
At times, Matt Bonner was comically bad. He had one of the worst transition defense moments in recorded history. Twice in a row, the Sixers scored off of in-bounds plays when Bonner blew the assignment. But other than those lows, Bonner did his job. He rebounded extremely well and did just enough defensively against the athletes of the Sixers to keep Pop from going small. Against pick-and-rolls, Bonner continues to excel on the defensive end. And on offense, Bonner's lone three-pointer gave the team their largest lead (12 points) near the end of the third quarter.
Bonner covering a Point Guard? That was his assignment? Come on Timvp, this is silly. Sweet Lou Williams rubbed off his defender and slipped behind both bigs. He got an easy basket, but dont lay all the blame on the PF who did a good job of defense tonight. Even Sean said that Young shooting from 15 to 18 was what you wanted him to do. The grade was about right but the comments were short on what he did. Try watching Bonner from a different view, like looking at what he does. He spent his night getting 9 rebounds and blocking out. Same as in Memphis. He may not be perfert but he give effort ever night.
As for Richard Jefferson, you should have given him a great big FFFF. He did nothing to help the team. He gave little effort to get things going.
Also, something you failed to point out about TP's night. He had 0 fouls. Was it a lack of D, or fantastic D?
Team play won this game. We won each quarter. Every single player had a +in the +/- column but RJ. Everyone played good D tonight. TP made the best comments after the game when he was asked about the 0 fouls. He said "I play team defense".
Bold looks good btw
Random game thoughts:
-Neal's play making definitely stood out. Normally when Neal drives right, he puts up a floater or awkwardly kicks it out to the someone on the right side. Any attempt to pass to his left was a sure fire turnover. Today he had at least two passes to the left hand side that were on target.
-Blair looked good early on, his 1v1 back and forth battle with Lavoy Allen did not.
-Would have liked to see Splitter get more minutes too but the 76ers had Brand and Young and the 5 and 4 to end the game so Pop went with a smaller lineup to counter it. Definitely need to bump this guys playing time.
He was an absolute monster. I'm really curious how the game would have looked if Parker and Tiago started the game and played 25 minutes together.
Thanks for the writeup Tim, and yes I too would like for you to include the box score in your game grade writeups.
I too like box.Full box is good
Its kinda interesting that Blair had a decent game. Could that be because a similar sized Brand was mostly guarding him?
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