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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Dirk started the game 4 of 6 shooting against Blair. That would mean after we starting throwing Boris, Bonner, SJax, and Kawhi at him, he finished the night going 1 of 15
Less than a week ago, the Spurs lost to the Mavericks in Dallas. Tonight, the Spurs returned the favor by downing the Mavs in San Antonio by a final score of 104-87.
The first quarter was back and forth but the Spurs opened up the game a bit in the second quarter and led by ten points before going into halftime up 52-45. The third quarter, though, got ugly. With the Spurs offense completely stagnant, the Mavs took advantage by outscoring San Antonio 18-6.
However, that's when the Spurs took over. The good guys went on a 22-2 run ... and the Mavs never recovered. The Spurs held the Mavs at bay for the final nine minutes to increase their lead in the division to six games.
Considering the Spurs were without two key cogs (Tony Parker and Tiago Splitter) and were working in another new piece (Boris Diaw), this was a great win. Not always aesthetically-pleasing but a quality victory nonetheless.
Tim Duncan D+
While the effort was there, Tim Duncan just didn't play very well. He missed 12-of-18 shots from the court but even worse than his shooting percentage was the fact that Duncan was just trying to do too much. He was calling for the ball nearly every time down the court and was resorting to one-on-one basketball. And though he got decent looks, the Spurs were doing much better when they utilized crisp ball-movement to create open shots in rhythm. Thus, it's no accident that the Spurs outscored the Mavs by 25 points during the 15 minutes Duncan was on the bench. In addition to his offensive struggles, Duncan also wasn't providing much help in pick-and-roll defense and wasn't protecting the rim very well.
Manu Ginobili B-
Manu Ginobili started the game at point guard ... and it wasn't pretty. Ginobili had trouble getting the team into sets and his usual pick-and-roll mastery wasn't as automatic as usual tonight. That said, Ginobili eventually found a groove and ended up being decently effective on the offensive end. He had a number of great passes and I liked his tenacity attacking the rim. Defensively, Ginobili had a few lapses but overall I thought he was better than he's been as of late.
Danny Green B+
When Danny Green is playing with a lot of ferocity, he's a legit NBA player. In the first half tonight, his style of play was right where it needs to be. He was aggressive yet smart and was a major asset on both ends of the court. However, in the second half, Green went a bit too far with his aggression. He started forcing shots, breaking the offense, dribbling into crowds and tried to do too much on the defensive end. It wasn't all bad in the third and fourth periods but Green definitely exceeded the boundaries of his role in the final two quarters. More specifically, Green should never shoot 19 times unless he's wide open all night ... and that wasn't the case. All that said, Green was still easily a positive force in tonight's game.
Kawhi Leonard B+
It was just another quiet beast of a game from Kawhi Leonard. The kid just doesn't need many touches to have a notable impact. On offense, he hit all six of his two-pointers by slashing hard to the hoop and finishing with a patient, soft touch. Leonard now has his field goal percentage on the season all the way up to 49.5%. Defensively, Leonard made much fewer mistakes than usual. When matched up against Dirk Nowitzki, Leonard more than held his own. The best thing you can say about this rookie is he makes amazingly efficient games like tonight look effortless.
DeJuan Blair B-
Defensively, DeJuan Blair did just about all he could against Nowitzki. He played him well but the big German still had a lot of success against Blair, which is saying a lot since Nowitzki finished the night 5-for-21. On offense, I thought Blair was above average. He had his customary mistakes mixed in but Blair did a good job converting his looks and he also dropped off a few dimes along the way. On both ends, I thought Blair's physicality was a plus and it set a good tone for the rest of the team.
Gary Neal D
Ugh. I support Gary Neal as the team's backup point guard ... but tonight tested my faith. Each time up the court was an adventure for Neal. He was hurried all game long and was consistently making difficult passes, taking tough shots or otherwise appearing to be in distress. On defense, things weren't much rosier. He was downright difficult to watch at times, especially when attempting to guard Jason Terry.
Matt Bonner A
After missing a game due to back spasms, Matt Bonner returned with a vengeance. It wasn't his best game of the season but it very well could have been Bonner's most well-rounded game. On defense, he defended Nowtizki well a couple times. He made swift rotations and competed on the defensive backboard. Offensively, Bonner knocked down his open threes and had a season-high five assists. He made a lot of smart reads without wasting too much time and was overall just a lot sharper than he had been as of late.
Stephen Jackson A-
Stephen Jackson continues to look like a perfect fit. Honestly, it's difficult to nitpick and find anything he's doing wrong. On offense, he plays at a great pace while showing good vision and good understanding of the situation. Jackson's shot selection has been virtually flawless. Defensively, he's equally as impressive. He plays solid individual defense while also making quick rotations to help his teammates. All in all, Jackson is playing a winning brand of basketball that I didn't know he had in him.
Boris Diaw A
Wow. A few hours after signing his contract, Boris Diaw suited up and played 16 high-quality minutes for the Spurs. The stats don't look like much but Diaw was extremely impressive. Defensively, the Frenchman played outstanding defense against Nowitzki and also defended the pick-and-roll well. When switched onto a perimeter player, Diaw proved he could move his feet. Offensively, his passing was excellent. His ability to create from the power forward position was handy. He set very good screens and simply looked like a natural fit for the offense. Throughout the game, it was obvious that Diaw's basketball IQ could really become an asset for this team. Diaw understands how the game of basketball is supposed to be played and is very willing to play a role. If he can get in good shape and regain some confidence and love for the game, Diaw has a chance to be a very important piece to the puzzle going forward.
Eric Dawson Inc.
Congrats to Eric Dawson for hitting all three of his shots and recording a block in his only minute of play. If he doesn't hang on with the Spurs, his play tonight might have been enough for him to earn a 10-day contract somewhere else.
Pop A
It was another very good coaching performance. With Diaw but without Parker and Splitter, Pop was forced to play a number of completely new lineups. And despite a few questionable decisions here and there, I have to take my hat off to Pop for a job well done. I loved how he threw Diaw in the fire and kept riding him after he succeeded early on. Pop also deserves credit for throwing a ton of different looks at Nowitzki and at least somewhat disrupting Dallas' superstar.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Dirk started the game 4 of 6 shooting against Blair. That would mean after we starting throwing Boris, Bonner, SJax, and Kawhi at him, he finished the night going 1 of 15
Off the top of my head, I can't remember a shot Dirk made that wasn't against Blair. But I'm probably forgetting a shot or two.
dirk did not make a shot from the field other then blair
he got fouled a couple times
dirk knows blair on d now
how in the did manu deserve a b- he deseved a d
Thanks for the grades. It's amazing how Jack has just slipped back into the fold. It's like he never left.
Dirk also beasted on Blair at the start of the third quarter in Dallas last week. Dejuan's awful D is one of the primary reasons we lost that game.
Thanks again, timvp! What are your thoughts on Pop's constant starting of Blair? (besides Tiago obviously being hurt). I personally don't mind it because of the spark he brings to the beginning of the game; you also notice his rear is ALWAYS on the bench when it needs to be.
Nowitzki made some very tough shots over Blair, I was actually impressed with his defense. I would just say it was great offense beat good defense. Diaw was a pleasant surprise tonight. Glad he's on the team, even though I'm not sure I'm sold on him quite yet. If he plays defense like he did tonight, it would be the biggest in-season FA pickup in the league.
I'll mention it again but I knew Diaw could fit into the Spurs system, but I thought it would take some games; but during Diaw's post game interview he mentioned that the French NT uses a lot of the same sets as the Spurs, so it really helped his learning curve. Any player you bring in mid season (minus SJAX who played for the Spurs before) is going to have to learn the system on the fly and sometimes that doesn't always work with the season almost over.
Speaking of that, Spurs were able add 2 players at the deadline that know or have some knowledge of the Spurs system; very important aspect.
Diaw team high +20 tonight
21 games left. Ironically that's Tims' number lol
blair might be the best first 4-5 minute nba player ive ever seen
but right after he falls off a cliff
he could start because of his ability to play well in the begining of games but he also sets the tone with his low iq defense
tonight he actually did well but if jackson started on dirk spurs probably would have blown them out by the half
good sign is pop tried to close the game out with diaw
diaw is probably the player pop fantasizes about
stretch 4 who can play d, pass well, and set good screens
gonna be interesting to see what lineups pop throws out when splitter gets back
A few random thoughts:
1. Given that Diaw is a bit short playing in the post already, and considering how well he moved for someone his weight, and considering how well his girth helped him set near Kurt Thomas-esque picks...I wonder what his ideal weight should be. Obviously he needs conditiong, but some of his mass actually seemed to be a benefit.
2. I'll be happy if he takes all of Blair's minutes within two weeks, and somehow doesn't steal any minutes from Splitter.
3. Assuming that Pop doesn't ever play Splitter and Tim together in the playoffs, does this mean that Splitter's minutes might go down and Diaw walks right into the role of the second big? It seems like a stretch for this late in the season but Pop obviously respects Diaw greatly.
So you saved your best assessment of the Spurs for this game. Agree on all accounts. Best grades of the season.
Thanks for the writeup Tim. Wow, it shocking how much this team has changed in a week.
And he didn't make up for his errors by making shots. Eight points in 29 minutes is way below from what we expect of Neal.Gary Neal D
Ugh. I support Gary Neal as the team's backup point guard ... but tonight tested my faith. Each time up the court was an adventure for Neal. He was hurried all game long and was consistently making difficult passes, taking tough shots or otherwise appearing to be in distress. On defense, things weren't much rosier. He was downright difficult to watch at times, especially when attempting to guard Jason Terry.
Kawhi, Manu, Green, Sjax= 29rebs
tbh. Diaw played very well tonite~
thanks LJ!
bonner leading the team with 2 blocks
Agreed with most but I thought Kawhi deserved an A, remember the 4 straight points he gave us? He also got in Dirk's head.
The new King of the Plus/Minus?Diaw team high +20 tonight
crashing the boards and improve perimeter defense...
is that still enough to offset whatever interior defense we have when going up against big lineups? aka memphis
I just recall one against Bonner.
Quality win. And I've got the feeling that Parker and Duncan won't play tonight. Even in that situation, we should get a win in NO.
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