Grades: Spurs @ Pistons - Feb. 14

[Manufan909]

Keep the in depth versions if you have the time.. They are amazing..

Indeed.

[SpurNation]

Love the in depth. But jestersmash had a good idea if it makes it easier on you. Either way...it'll be good without one being better than the other. So if I were you I would make it easier on myself being the end result would appropriately be the same.

Regarding the game itself...the old saying of "there'll be games like these" could not have been more adaptive. Fortunately the Spurs walk out with the win with Tony Parker proving to be all star worthy once again at the end.

[Manufan909]

how many of you actually watch the game? We led by 14 when the 4th quarter began. Bonner was on the court in the 4th for the first 2:45. He went to the bench we led by 7. When he came back at the 5:28 mark we trailed by 1. How in the did he give away the lead all by himself when half of it was lost with him on the bench? After he came back, he must have been doing something right or we would have lost by having only 4 on 5. Most of you only watch the game and the ball. Try watching who blocks out on the rebounds. Try watching who give help D sometime. Instead of blaming Bonner for the lost lead, blame it on the TEAM effort. One player doesnt lose games. Every player who has every set foot on the NBA floor has made mistakes. Maybe Bonner is not the most effiecent defensive player on the Spurs but he plays hard when he is on the court. You want to point a finger at a single player for losing the lead? Try pointing at Leonard, he was on the court from the beginning of the 4th quarter until all the lead was gone. Did he lose the lead all by himself? Not NO but no. The entire team quit for 6 1/2 minutes.

This. And I hate the fact that Splitter didn't even play 5 min in the 4th, but Bonner isn't ALWAYS a negative... just usually.

[SpurNation]

I just started watching the game and the first 3 minutes have been the Danny Green show. Hes taken 3 shots (missed the first two, fouled on the last and sent to the line), gotten three boards, made several nice passes (including a pinpoint assist to Duncan), gotten two clean strips and played suffocating defense on at least one break-away by Brandon Knight.

Too bad I don't think he kept it up all game. He had a great start.

Green has been "quietly not so quietly" one of the best team players on the squad. http://basketballvalue.com/player.ph...11-2012&id=813

And though getting notoriety for his rookie play...Leonard "quietly not so loudly" has been one of the worst. http://basketballvalue.com/player.ph...1-2012&id=1003

For those who think Kawhi should start...the numbers show he plays best not as a starter per say but more so if he pairs up with Green.

[pookenstein]

Manu Ginobili B
On defense, he drew a pair of offensive fouls, including a huge one with 1:24 remaining in a tie game.

I think everybody knew what wass about to happen as soon as Prince tried to post up Manu at that possesion. My first thought was "Tayshaun, you're about to be ed very soon."

Question: Does the SpursTalk populace prefer comprehensive grades like the above post that takes longer to put together ... or would do you prefer a less in-depth version that would be posted quicker following games?

Thank you in advance for your input

Keep it the way it is now. A great read every time.

[Obstructed_View]

Green has been "quietly not so quietly" one of the best team players on the squad. http://basketballvalue.com/player.ph...11-2012&id=813

And though getting notoriety for his rookie play...Leonard "quietly not so loudly" has been one of the worst. http://basketballvalue.com/player.ph...1-2012&id=1003

For those who think Kawhi should start...the numbers show he plays best not as a starter per say but more so if he pairs up with Green.

Leonard's given minutes against superstar players on the other team under 6'10", and usually his starting gig depends on whether the opponent has said player on the roster.

[Fireball]

I think once we saw the lineup of TP, Manu, Kawhi, Splitter and Duncan ... I want to see more of that one

[Darkwaters]

Green has been "quietly not so quietly" one of the best team players on the squad. http://basketballvalue.com/player.ph...11-2012&id=813

And though getting notoriety for his rookie play...Leonard "quietly not so loudly" has been one of the worst. http://basketballvalue.com/player.ph...1-2012&id=1003

For those who think Kawhi should start...the numbers show he plays best not as a starter per say but more so if he pairs up with Green.

I'm a card-carrying member of the Danny Green club. Sure, hes got some things he needs to reel in and work on in his game, and sometimes his decision-making if iffy, but for a scrap heap player playing his first consistent minutes in the NBA (despite being a "3rd year player") I'm pretty sold on his potential. He'll get better as he finds his niche.

Sure hes streaky as a shooter. But he always brings solid effort, even if the shots aren't falling. And sometimes he can go 6-7 from 3 and/or just drop 24 on you. He can't be a focal point, but hes a nice piece to have around. Not sure I like him as a starter, but for a while he can fill in.

[will_spurs]

Tim Duncan A-
School was in session for Greg Monroe and Tim Duncan was the professor.

Sadly the school was also in session for Blair with Monroe as a professor. Blair is just never going to score any points going 1-on-1 with Monroe.

Manu Ginobili B
The bad: Manu Ginobili didn't make a basket -- and wasn't very close on any of his attempts. Defensively, he had trouble keeping up with anybody. [...] Overall, he has a lot of room for improvement but tonight was further evidence of Ginobili's legendary will to win.

Is that based on expectations for a recovering Manu? Otherwise it's a C at best. It's ok to admit that Manu is playing subpar right now, he has a legitimate excuse.

Tony Parker C+
Thankfully, Parker shifted into gear before it was too late. With the game tied 90-90 with with 2:16 remaining, the All-Star point guard scored scored eight straight points to finally put the Pistons away.

So Parker being clutch is further evidence of Manu's legendary will to win. Ok, get it

BTW I couldn't help but notice that Parker's FG% has been going down a lot in the last couple of games, so I looked up this stat:
- FG% with Manu = 38.82%
- FG% w/o Manu = 47.08%

It looks like Parker isn't sure what his role is any more with Manu back in the mix.

Which brings me to...

Pop A
I liked a lot of what Pop did tonight.

It looks like everything is too easy for Pop, so his modus operandi right now seems to be first to dig himself into a hole, and second to see if he can manage to get out of it. The funny part being that we could have been afraid that Manu coming back might affect KL or Green's game, but it apparently seems to affect Parker the most.

As the technical FT incident showed, this team defers to Manu way too much. Much like Spurs fans, actually

[Pauleta14]

Take the C+ for Parker as a compliment. (if you're a Parker homer..err, I mean fan). All it means is that we've come to expect and depend on TP to produce all star caliber numbers night in and night out. This is the same guy who dropped 42 and 37 on competent defensive clubs like OKC and Philadelphia.

TP is doing what Pop is asking him...

The fact that TP seemed "asleep" as Timvp said only means to me that with Manu in, he had the ball less in his hands and didn't have to be the go to guy.

I'm not saying he deserves an A, but come on C+? really?

That means you expect all star performances every single game from him?

That's crazy, you know Pop is the puppet master and you know that the veteran Tony is has to anticipate the long term and save his energy for the PO.

A game like last night showed me 2 things, first that WHEN/IF NEEDED, Tony can step up and second that he is damn clutch in the 4th...

When Manu sucks for 3 quarters and finaly is a hero in the clutch everybody is amazed/in love... when it's Tony, it's "WTF where you doing for 3 quarters???...)

Call me homer if you want, but these are objective facts...

[rmt]

Loved seeing TD and Tiago playing together. Hated seeing Bonner closing the game. That's Pop's crunch time line-up - TD, Manu, TP, RJ and Bonner? Spurs not going to last long in the playoffs. What is Pop's love affair with Bonner - he just can't play under pressure - missing a wide open 3 and 2 free throws.

[RodNIc91]

I prefere the longer writeup. Thanks for the grades. They are specially insightful when you don't get to watch the game.

BTW do you think the team can improve more defensivly? What's the defensive ceiling of this team?

[Maddog]

My vote is for the more comprehensive coverage.

[ManuTastic]

Question: Does the SpursTalk populace prefer comprehensive grades like the above post that takes longer to put together ... or would do you prefer a less in-depth version that would be posted quicker following games?

I love the in-depth analysis. I don't mind waiting a bit, though it seems these are up pretty fast anyway. Some of my favorite morning reading!

Agreed that Parker is less aggressive. Not sure that's a bad thing, as long as the Ws keep coming. While I personally love seeing Parker going full out, a la the OKC game, maybe he'd be better served picking and choosing his spots so as to avoid exhaustion in this compressed season. If that's his strategy, last night it seemed to work. He coasted until the end when he wrapped it up for the team. Perhaps that's just the right amount of energy to expend against a Detroit.

Just win, baby.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Kawhi Leonard, you guys still buyin the hype???

whatever happened to his college offensive game, why we turning him into a jumpshooter...he should be driving it more into the lane, his playing against players at his position who are scrubs on defense...

[Silverheart80]

I vote for comprehensive.

It's easy for us out here to say that. We're not the ones putting in the time. I don't post that often but I still check your post after every game, either same night or next morning.

If anyone were to expect the same quality but faster, they need to get a life. I appreciate the swiftness of your posts as it is. I think they're extremely timely (and excellent), all things considered.

[Kewni Leonard]

Kawhi Leonard, you guys still buyin the hype???

whatever happened to his college offensive game, why we turning him into a jumpshooter...he should be driving it more into the lane, his playing against players at his position who are scrubs on defense...

Because Popo is the most overrated coach in NBA history, has been carried by Tim Duncan his entire career and has no ability to adapt his system to fit players of different skillsets; he tries to force players out of their comfort zones and ruin their confidence.

A few quick examples of his brilliance: Finley at PF in Mavs playoff series for the first time the entire season, 2006. Turning Richard Jefferson into purely a spot-up shooter. Ditto Hedo Turkoglu. Playing Beno Udrih behind Jacque Vaughn. Pinning the best player in Europe to the bench all of last season; we are lucky McDyess retired or he would still be glued there, he surely would have been ruining Splitter's career just like he did Udrih's.

[Brazil]

I have no issue with Parker C+ tbh it just shows at what level of expectations we can have after the beginning of the year. I'm pretty sure timvp would have given a B+ after the three first weeks of the season. Tonight it's a C+ thats a compliment.

Now I disagree with Pop having a A. Pop is IMO responsible for the pistons run during the fourth. When Ben started to play physically and jerebko made some good plays, he should have changed the lineup. I understand why he stayed with Tim (on Ben) and Matt (on Jerebko) but that was a bad decision IMO. Ben was eating Tim, Tiago deserved a shot on him. I would have paired Tiago with Tim and let Leonard chasing jerebko. We need physical intensity on the floor at that moment. Instead of doing Pop used the hack a ben.... ok it worked but I'm sorry I don't like it.

The team needs to show they can respond to a physical challenge... this is what we are going to face in the PO, we are not going to save the day with a hack a stuff every time.

[urunobili]

Question: Does the SpursTalk populace prefer comprehensive grades like the above post that takes longer to put together ... or would do you prefer a less in-depth version that would be posted quicker following games?

Thank you in advance for your input

This version rocks!

I dont feel like reading anything else on any news place after reading your thoughts TBH

[SpursNW]

[I prefer this version since I miss games sometimes like tonight for V-Day because it gives me a more in depth look at what happened rather than just looking at a box score]


Ditto above - still trying to get Spurs games televised in the NW!

TimVP,

I really apprecate the time you put into your analysis -I read this after every game.

[will_spurs]

I also prefer the long version, mostly because I fear a shorter one who be linked too much to the box score. It takes time and space to explain the discrepancies between the box score and what actually happened on the court.

[timvp]

Something I took away that was interesting during the game that the cameras might not have caught: The Spurs had to shoot a tech and the entire team was looking to Manu to shoot it, he waved them off and said he couldn't. That isn't a good sign.

Interesting. I was wondering why TP shot the technical and not Manu.

I'm guessing the soonest Manu will get his legs back will be after the All-Star break. Thankfully, he can help in the meantime.

Is this the real Leonard we are seeing regarding his 3's? Or is he just a raw, streaky shooter who just happens to be hot

It's probably just a hot streak but he seems to have changed his shot a bit. He's taking his time and is getting a little bit more arc on the ball. The deliberate windup he's using now kinda reminds me of Horry. . .

37% on the year is freaking good for a player like him

My hope for him was he could one day shoot 35% on three-pointers. Anything higher than that is gravy.

Going seven for his last night is pretty ridiculous, especially considering he was 7-for-28 prior to that.

[Muser]

Lets say Leonard keeps up his hot shooting and can stay around the 35% mark, surely that would be enough to warrant a starting role over RJ?

[NASpurs]

Pop knows what he has when it comes to RJ, Bonner and Blair. He knows he has weak minded individuals who would fold up and wither away if he ever benched them (RJ and Blair). So he would rather stroke their egos a bit instead of forcing tough love on them like he does with other players on the team.

I understand it but it also ticks me off. Psychology plays a big part in being a coach I guess.

[DMC]

I normally scan down the grades. I trust your grading system and only have disagreed with a couple since the start of the season, but then only by a small margin.

I wouldn't be opposed to either style, which ever is easier for you.