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I believed you would not have much to write about and you found a way... good job.
In an attempt to avoid wearing down his stars, Pop decided to bench Tim Duncan and Tony Parker tonight against the Trail Blazers. With Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter already sidelined due to injury, extending the winning streak to 12 games appeared to be a tall task.
And it was. Extremely tall. When the final buzzer mercifully sounded, the Blazers had a 137-97 victory. The Spurs, on the other hand, had their first loss of the Rodeo Road Trip.
Early on, the Spurs gave their fans a glimmer of hope. When Richard Jefferson hit a three-pointer with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter, San Antonio took a 20-19 lead. The Blazers called a timeout and responded by scoring the game's next 22 points, essentially ending the contest in the first quarter.
The Spurs will try to start a new winning streak in Denver on Thursday in the final leg of the Rodeo Road Trip.
Kawhi Leonard F
F is for future, as in Kawhi Leonard seems to have a bright one. Despite the ugly game, Leonard showed off some impressive skills. On offense, his ballhandling ability -- particularly in the open court -- is a definite plus for a small forward. We even saw Leonard run a few successful pick-and-roll sets. The rookie utilized power-dribbles in the halfcourt to get into the lane and finish -- let's hope we see more of that in actual contests. His instincts and quick reflexes shined when it came to rebounding and getting deflections on the defensive end. I'm still not exactly sure what the Kawhi Leonard finished product will look like but I'm excited to see him continue to grow.
Cory Joseph C
C is for see, as in what could the Spurs have seen in Cory Joseph to use a first round pick on him? I'm not quite ready to give up on him but it's a bit troubling that he doesn't appear to have anything resembling an above average NBA talent. Joseph isn't a good athlete. He's not fast. He doesn't have great vision. He's not a supreme ballhandler. He doesn't play great defense. He's not extraordinarily long. He doesn't have natural scoring instincts. He gets little elevation on his jumper, which is shot with a slow release and little rotation on the basketball. I asked a Spurs scout earlier this season what they saw in Joseph and the scout told me that they really liked his leadership abilities and that he had the mental makeup of a successful point guard. That's nice and all but I'd feel better about his long-term prognosis if he showed some sort of potential on the court.
James Anderson B
B is for bungle, as in what James Anderson did with this opportunity. And, for that matter, what he did when he was around the rim. I liked the explosion he showed going toward the basket but he just couldn't finish. From beyond the arc, Anderson wasn't much better. It's been reported that his agent is "encouraging" the Spurs to trade him. Teams that were potentially interested won't be picking up for the phone based on what they saw tonight. One thing I noticed in his extended minutes against the Blazers is Anderson has trouble stopping and starting. Perhaps that's due to his multiple foot surgeries over the years.
Eric Dawson C
C is for congratulations. Eric Dawson, NBA Player. That's a le that can never be taken away. As for his actual play, it was iffy. On one hand, he didn't really pass the eye test. He's smallish for a big, doesn't look overly strong and doesn't move very well. He's stiff and his reaction times are slow. When rebounding, Dawson didn't jump high or show very good timing. On the other hand, he remains a mildly interesting prospect because he has a bit of range on his jumper, looks to have good touch around the basket and showed some awareness on the defensive end. Is he an NBA player? Unlikely. But the good news is that I didn't see any singular fatal flaw. It might be worth testing him out next to Duncan. If Dawson shows a willingness to bang on D and is able to hit the 15-footer on offense, he might be worth a spot as the team's fifth big.
Danny Green F
F is for free throw line, as in the place where Danny Green needs to end up more often. He's not a very good finisher so he should really go to the basket looking for contact. Due to a lack of fluidity or coordination, I don't think he's ever going to make anyone forget about Tony Parker when it comes to scoring around the rim. But Green has enough dribbling ability and athleticism to get to the line much more than he has so far this season. Tonight, he did that well. Let's hope it carries forward.
DeJuan Blair D
D is for defensive rebounding, as in what DeJuan Blair fails to do these days. He went from being an elite rebounder to averaging less defensive rebounds per minute than Matt Bonner. Compared to last year, his defensive rebounds per minute are down 31.5%. Compared to his rookie season, he's down 36.7%. I know I've harped on it all season but Blair simply doesn't bring enough to the table to compensate for such a huge drop in his bread and butter stat. More D boards should be his No. 1 focus in the second half of the season.
Richard Jefferson A
A is for astonishing, as in an adequate adjective to describe Richard Jefferson's drop in ability to finish. The last two season, Jefferson was actually one of the most dangerous players in the league when given an open driving lane to the rim. Nowadays, he simply has zero ability to drive to the basket and score. None. Even when he gets a step on his opponent, it's like he's allergic to actually going up strong. He looks for every opportunity to stop dribbling and pass it. I know he's at an age where swingmen tend to deteriorate but I've never seen such a sudden loss of a go-to skill. If Jefferson didn't become a somewhat reliable three-point shooter, he'd be unplayable.
Gary Neal B
B is for better, as in what Gary Neal is this year compared to last year. Yeah, last year he had really pretty shooting percentages. But Neal being forced into playing point guard has forced him to expand his game. Once everyone is healthy, Neal will be a much more dangerous weapons because he'll be able to do more than just catch and shoot. Roger Mason, Jr. didn't react well to playing point guard. Neal, though, has used it as an opportunity to stretch his limitations and become more well-rounded.
Matt Bonner C
C is for Canada, because I don't understand why Matt Bonner thinks he's Canadian. Yeah okay the Raptors drafted you and you played there a few seasons. But they didn't want you anymore and gave you away. You've been in San Antonio for what feels like forever. Stop trying to become a Canadian citizen and whining about how FIBA won't let you play for Canada. It's annoying.
Pop A
I'm fine with Pop resting his stars. Duncan just played 38 minutes against a very physical team. Asking him to travel and play the next night against a team that likes to get up and down the court with wiry athletes is asking for trouble. And without Duncan, Ginobili and Splitter, there's no way you run Parker out there. He probably could have kept it close but the reward didn't outweigh the risk. Parker has hit the floor a lot recently, even for his standards. He's played 122 minutes in his last three games and has gone to the free throw line 33 times. Going forward, there isn't even another back-to-back until March 17th, so it's not like Pop is suddenly going to start surrendering left and right. Coming into this season, we all knew Pop was going to be conservative with minutes in this condensed schedule. This was just an extreme, yet necessary, example.
I believed you would not have much to write about and you found a way... good job.
What these Spurs looked like after that 1st quarter...
Great job at turning a sour night into something I can stomach. I especially loved the breakdown and grade for Matty tonight. No one reaks of patriotism quite like he.
You scared/confused me there for a second.
Pop F
lol RJ being outscored by CJ
Thanks for the grades and writeup Tim.
On a serious note, I understand we just had a turrible hurtin' put on us, but to blame Pop is ridiculous. Resting TD and Tony was a good call. I was also interested to see how the young ones reacted, despite my utter disappointment in the results.
Very well done.
Eric Dawson C
C is for congratulations. Eric Dawson, NBA Player. That's a le that can never be taken away. As for his actual play, it was iffy. On one hand, he didn't really pass the eye test. He's smallish for a big, doesn't look overly strong and doesn't move very well. He's stiff and his reaction times are slow. When rebounding, Dawson didn't jump high or show very good timing. On the other hand, he remains a mildly interesting prospect because he has a bit of range on his jumper, looks to have good touch around the basket and showed some awareness on the defensive end. Is he an NBA player? Unlikely. But the good news is that I didn't see any singular fatal flaw. It might be worth testing him out next to Duncan. If Dawson shows a willingness to bang on D and is able to hit the 15-footer on offense, he might be worth a spot as the team's fifth big.
Watching the game was pure . If I had to take a silver lining from the game it would be Dawson. (Leonard gets the gold) Dawson in his first appearance on the court did look really stiff and scared. But in the second half when he began to loosen up, he looked really good. Not at the top of the NBA centers, but I have seen backups who were not near as good. I would love for Pop to send CJ to the Toros when Ford comes back and keep Dawson. With 5 bigs we would not have this problem of worrying about losing one. I think against Denver, Dawson will see more minutes than Blair. He has something to prove to Pop and the only way Pop can see him is on the court. Once the AS break starts, Dawson will be able to work out with the team and get valuable knowledge of the Spurs system at the high level.
I say keep him and give him the chance to prove himself. Get the 2nd 10 day contract ready.
One more thing KL is for real.
You didn't try with these grades :P
Excellent writeup on a dour day, when everything lived upto expectations - the team selections, the bad defeat etc..except for Kawhi Leonard's continuing striving for excellence and maturity.
I read ESPN's write-up on the game. I love how they try and make it sound like this game was anything except a sacrificial fly.
Corey Joseph deserves D fot there's the door.
As in "F u Stern"?
As in this was a ing awful decision by him.
You were an awful decision. Quit your ing.
Cool avatar, bro.
Grassyass
Cocaine is a wonderful drug.
Just kidding, LJ.
You had me feeling real stupid there for a second when I read Kawhi had an F, and I even went back and looked over the line, again.
As always, I agree with all of your grades...
Except maybe Jeffersons...
I really did not expect him to ever get another A, and I think the only way he can help the Spurs right now is if he's on the opposing team.
I agree with this comment. I give a A++ to Pop
Thanks for the creative write up. Did not get to see the game.
I was curious to see what the newbies and second year group would do knowing they were going to get a lot of time.
Kawhi rising to the challenge did not surprise and I wish I could have seen that.
Anderson choking away yet another opportunity to showcase did not surprise me.
Not sure why people expect Joseph to be anything he hasn't already shown.
Eric Dawson...a D-league transplant produces as well as DeJuan Blair (a two and a half year vet?) Blair equates F no matter how you look at it. Failure, Fraud, Freak and Forget about it.
Jefferson gets a D for "Deception" of what 9 mil a year player is suppose to do.
Game was what it was for Pop...a A for...A throw away game; Lets see who can up their game; Going to start settling on rotations; Maybe somebody I can get ready in time for playoffs post player that can earn time away from Blair; From here on out Danny Green starting experiment is over; Please hurry back T.J. so Neal can play his role more effectively; If Manu can get through the season and playoffs without getting injured again I'll stop drinking wine; Tim Duncan I wasn't lying when I said when you retire so will I since it's been you all along that has made me look great while enjoying the ride.
It's official...Kawhi Leonard is the SF we have all been looking for.
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