Grades: Spurs @ Raptors - Feb. 15

[TDMVPDPOY]

i felt matt bonner offensively played a good game contributing

his 2 missed shots were in the first quarter coming from not taking the stupid 3 and trying to do to much like a pumpfake and getting closer for the midrange jumpshot which his not good at...

defensively everyone was gettin torched, so bonner was no exception....

[TDMVPDPOY]

Another too close for comfort type game.

could it be trying to fit manu now into the rotation who he plays best with when we need a floor general for the 2nd unit.....we already got a solid rotation and still have to fit ford in when he comes back

the experiment of ja, cj needs to be stopped.......hence limit blairs minutes also...he has become a more of a liability then bonner

[jestersmash]

Another too close for comfort type game. Raptors have no effective iso scorers (I guess you can argue DeRozan) much like the Pistons and we still struggled defensively. Raptors are averaging 88 points on the season, didn't have their leading scorer and were on a b2b and we still allowed 106. Definitely take the win but the defense needs to improve. (Maybe as simple as timvp's suggestion of taking out Neal for Leonard in attempt to slow down the main catalyst.)

-Neal wasn't helping in the 2nd half, would have liked to see more Leonard, especially on DeMar.
-Manu looked pretty damn good. He made some pretty aggressive passes to Tiago in pick and roll situations.
-Parker exploding tonight certainly wasn't a surprise with Calderon and 36 year old Anthony Carter being the primary defenders.
-Tiago sudden minute increase in relation to Manu's return? Splitter has been the first big off the bench the last 2 games and usually with Manu attached to his hip. Although it was obvious tonight that the goal was to rest Duncan whereas last night Tiago and Timmy actually shared the court a few times.

Also I commented on how Ed Davis and Amir Johnson weren't great from beyond 15 and TD21 said that they were dependable enough. Tonight, they certainly were, Amir even hit one from like 19 feet. Amir would be the perfect Blair upgrade... tough on the offensive glass, shoots from the high post, is not a black hole, and hes athletic and long.

Better to have these poor defensive outings in the regular season (and on a win to boot).

I was expecting a better defensive effort last night and tonight given that Pop finally had a couple of days to hold a practice (or two) and really drill defensive rotations into our young players.

I'm also not entirely sold on Kawhi "Bowen Jr" Leonard's "lockdown perimeter defense" just yet.

[TDMVPDPOY]

I'm also not entirely sold on Kawhi "Bowen Jr" Leonard's "lockdown perimeter defense" just yet.

the only thing his good at so far this season is picking pockets and defensive rebounding....

defensively he gambles to much by allowing to much spacing between him and his man, running under screens....

it hurts us more when his on the court with someone who is passive on offense like him, only stands around force to be a jumpshooter. teams can maximized by playin lazy defense 5 on 3 against us....cause they know we usually have 2 players on the court who does all besides running up and down the court making up the roster

[timvp]

you got tony ranked A? thats a bit too high for my liking...B+

lets concentrate on the negatives
- 5 turnovers, most of it came from running into stupid defenders tryin to coast to coast after every calderon basket (he has nothing to prove against this scrub)

IIRC, three of Parker's five turnovers were trying to make passes in the halfcourt. One of those turnovers was when RJ watched the ball go out of bounds thinking it was off the Raptors.

But yeah, I'll take that assist-to-turnover ratio any night.

- when we needed baskets, he took like 2-3 straight possessions doing stupid like chucking shots

He didn't miss shots in two straight possessions the entire second half . . .

- he was part of that famous 3rd quarter lineup that blow its 9pt lead, only to be save by the bench

Huh? Parker played all but about 50 seconds of the second half. He wasn't "saved" by anyone.

you do know there were parts of the game where he was trying to make a point with calderon

None of Parker's turnovers came after a Calderon basket. Not sure what you are talking about, tbh.

has anyone noticed most of duncans points this season all come from that 18ft jumpshot, where else his inside game when contested by a defender are pathetic as blairs inside game

That's not the case and has especially not been the case recently. The previous five games almost all of Duncan's damage was done in the paint.

[Dex]

The Spurs are next in action Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles against that city's best team.

Oh snap...Just couldn't help yourself, could you?

[Manufan909]

IIRC, three of Parker's five turnovers were trying to make passes in the halfcourt. One of those turnovers was when RJ watched the ball go out of bounds thinking it was off the Raptors.

But yeah, I'll take that assist-to-turnover ratio any night.


He didn't miss shots in two straight possessions the entire second half . . .

Huh? Parker played all but about 50 seconds of the second half. He wasn't "saved" by anyone.



None of Parker's turnovers came after a Calderon basket. Not sure what you are talking about, tbh.

That's not the case and has especially not been the case recently. The previous five games almost all of Duncan's damage was done in the paint.

Why feed the troll!?! You just strengthen it with your sound logic.

[024]

spurs lucked out. parker decided to will the spurs to a win today. parker may not be so generous the next game. the spurs really need to work on rallying their defense.

[jjktkk]

Thanks for the writeup Tim.

[maddnezz]

IIRC, three of Parker's five turnovers were trying to make passes in the halfcourt. One of those turnovers was when RJ watched the ball go out of bounds thinking it was off the Raptors.

But yeah, I'll take that assist-to-turnover ratio any night.


He didn't miss shots in two straight possessions the entire second half . . .

Huh? Parker played all but about 50 seconds of the second half. He wasn't "saved" by anyone.



None of Parker's turnovers came after a Calderon basket. Not sure what you are talking about, tbh.

That's not the case and has especially not been the case recently. The previous five games almost all of Duncan's damage was done in the paint.

Some people just cant separate video games and reality TIMVP. They expect the Spurs to play on superstar settings and the opponet to be on rookie setting. The guys are human and are gonna make mistakes. I dont know why that guy allways complains. You owned every complaint that fool dished out kudos.(p.s. He complains after every game tbh. If your gonna keep in root for a different team ya jack ass.That is all!)

[Em-City]

i swear - TDMVPDPOY is the worst damn poster on this forum. normally i wouldn't give a but the fact that I can't avoid his annoying ass cry-baby posts really s me.

[ChumpDumper]

lets concentrate on the negatives

[z0sa]

that 3D "sign" isn't a sign, its a flat piece (pieces, actually) of the court, just FYI for a few of ya..

mostly agree with the grades.. the reality is, this team is YOUNG and INEXPERIENCED.. this 9 game streak has no doubt made them complacent, and it's shown more than ever the past couple games.. that's fine; it's to be expected, and I'll take the wins at any rate.

[will_spurs]

i swear - TDMVPDPOY is the worst damn poster on this forum. normally i wouldn't give a but the fact that I can't avoid his annoying ass cry-baby posts really s me.

Somebody should tell him that we aren't doing the "worst poster of the year" award any more, so he can stop competing against himself for this le.

[SpurNation]

As they say..."A win is a win".

Not sure I'm a fan of starting Green but understand they can't start either Neal or Ginobili at this time. Leonard would have been a better option defensively against DeRozan but limit the Spurs offensively. Neal's talents being reduced as a pg but what can they do?

The team misses (needs) T.J. to be complete in it's ability to distribute and focus the other players in areas they would be better suited to playing in rotation, minutes and position. Look forward to his impending (and hopefully significant) return.

[benefactor]

Somebody should tell him that we aren't doing the "worst poster of the year" award any more, so he can stop competing against himself for this le.

He's competing against TJastal tbh.

Good grades. Any win on a back to back is a good win. On to Clipperland...um..er..Staples.

[Bruno]

Thanks for the grades, timvp.


Something, I've noticed lately is Pop is going away more and more from Blair. When there isn't garbage time, he plays 16-18 mpg and doesn't play at all in the 4th quarter. In fact, Blair hasn't played a single second in the 4th quarter aside of garbage time these past 11 games. Blair is in that weird situation where he is both a starter and somewhat in the doghouse. Spurs are a mess at the PF spot.

[SpurNation]

Thanks for the grades, timvp.


Something, I've noticed lately is Pop is going away more and more from Blair. When there isn't garbage time, he plays 16-18 mpg and doesn't play at all in the 4th quarter. In fact, Blair hasn't played a single second in the 4th quarter aside of garbage time these past 11 games. Blair is in that weird situation where he is both a starter and somewhat in the doghouse. Spurs are a mess at the PF spot.

A situation remedied next season? A f/a big looking to establish himself on a le contentious team would have ample opportunity with this team.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Nice write up as always.

Was at the game last night and while I knew the Raptors would play the Spurs tough, I didn't expect it to go down to the wire like it did. Figured the Raps would make their run in the 3rd and then the Spurs would blow the lead back up and ride off into the sunset.

Tony Parker was just amazing out there. His A grade was very well deserved. I was surprised at just how loud the cheers he received at the arena were, considering Ginobili usually gets the loudest ovation when his name is announced up here. Women were screaming all over my section and I even had some chick's underwear hit me in the face. Once the game started every shot Tony hit or pass to Tiago for the finish led to groans all over the arena.

Everyone was impressed with Tiago, a lot of people at the ACC still didn't know his name after the game but some in the row behind me referred to him as "the guy who chose 22 as his number to one up Duncan"

Seeing Tiago in person was just awesome. He's like the anti-nazr mohammed when it comes to pump fakes. He fakes 2-3 players at a time under the rim and then nails it.

It was a good game to be at, even if the Spurs D was atrocious. I questioned the lineups Pop used in the fourth, but it was really nice to see lots of Splitter for once. If Tiago can somehow get the benefit of the calls from the refs, he should be an FT machine.

Good game guys, would be HUGE if we can stomp the Clippers this Saturday.

[GSH]

crofl its not a sign its a 3d painting

that 3D "sign" isn't a sign, its a flat piece (pieces, actually) of the court, just FYI for a few of ya..

Wow - not one, but two helpers. Thanks for explaining that. Without you, I would have gone through life thinking that the Raptors have a magic court sign that stands up, but suddenly lays down whenever anyone touches it. And now I know that the term "3D" can only be used when the object really is 3D.

BTW, helpers - the company that painted it also calls it a "sign". So you might want to write and set them straight, too. They'll probably give you a cash reward.
http://www.logopaint.com/nc/3d-signs.html

you do know there were parts of the game where he was trying to make a point with calderon who was clearly outplayed and only trading early baskets...

hence 2 of those run in turnovers with defenders, he couldve pass it off, but he wanted to penetrate split the defense for some sort of basket...like i said if he makes shots ppl will glorify him, when he doesnt ppl will hate him...

spurs tend to do alot of stupid plays when theres a lead...

And I especially like the way TVDPMYOB decided to split all his hallucinatory ramblings into multiple posts, so that they dominate the real estate of the entire thread.
So that's helpful. Just lots of little helpers here.

[TDMVPDPOY]

And I especially like the way TVDPMYOB decided to split all his hallucinatory ramblings into multiple posts, so that they dominate the real estate of the entire thread.
So that's helpful. Just lots of little helpers here.

just keeping the fans of certain players are accountable...

[z0sa]

Wow - not one, but two helpers. Thanks for explaining that. Without you, I would have gone through life thinking that the Raptors have a magic court sign that stands up, but suddenly lays down whenever anyone touches it. And now I know that the term "3D" can only be used when the object really is 3D.

BTW, helpers - the company that painted it also calls it a "sign". So you might want to write and set them straight, too. They'll probably give you a cash reward.
http://www.logopaint.com/nc/3d-signs.html

asshurt much?

by your logic, the Raptors symbol in the middle of the court is also a sign. The long and short of it is that giving it a grade and being annoyed by it makes you look silly IE confused about what it actually was, at least, IMHO. If that bothers you, so what.

edit: i wasn't even talking to you or anyone directly in my first post. just an FYI, like I said..

[jag]

just keeping the fans of certain players are accountable...

If by "keeping the fans of certain players accountable" you mean "making factually incorrect and nonsensical posts", then yes, you're definitely keeping the fans of certain players accountable.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Why are the spurs so damn bad at defense? Especially when compared to division rivals Dallas and Memphis, Houston, we are simply downright pathetic. That's the main reason I've totally prevented myself from bring my normal superlative self proclaiming how awesome the spurs are. I just can't figure out how a team full of old stiffs like Dallas plays defense light years ahead of us.

[Brazil]

you got tony ranked A? thats a bit too high for my liking...B+

lets concentrate on the negatives
- 5 turnovers, most of it came from running into stupid defenders tryin to coast to coast after every calderon basket (he has nothing to prove against this scrub)
- when we needed baskets, he took like 2-3 straight possessions doing stupid like chucking shots
- he was part of that famous 3rd quarter lineup that blow its 9pt lead, only to be save by the bench

BLAIR = C? hahahahaha bull


The best thing about this game was playin 40mins and the team only committed 6pfs only...the last 5pfs came in the final minutes of the game....defense all game was lazy hole, but not many freebies was handed out...

you are posting a lot of BS recently really