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the game was very sloppily played by the spurs, but i'll take the w.
i would also give anderson and denton a c as well.
Following a highly entertaining victory over the Mavs, the Spurs went out on the road for the middle game of their first back-to-back-to-back set. In New Orleans, the Spurs had a lot of trouble with the short-handed Hornets before prevailing with an 89-86 victory.
Throughout the game, both sides played a lot of ugly basketball. The culprit for the Spurs appeared to be a lack of energy mixed with a lack of focus. The Hornets, conversely, simply didn't have the horses to do much other than scratch and claw -- which they did very well all game long. Give the Hornets a lot of credit for playing hard.
As for the Spurs, they were facing a deflating loss before Tim Duncan scored four straight points in the fourth quarter to put the Spurs up for good with 1:19 remaining. While there is a lot to complain about, San Antonio will gladly take the victory considering the brutal upcoming schedule.
Tim Duncan B-
To begin the game, Tim Duncan was running on empty. He appeared totally listless and his mobility was even worse than it normally is on a back-to-back. In the first two quarters, Duncan did very little right. But in the final two quarters, he illustrated why he's regarded as one of the fiercest compe ors the game of basketball has ever seen. Even though he never regained must pep, Duncan came through when it counted. In the second half, Duncan totaled 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks on 3-for-6 shooting. Offensively, he used his size and power to his advantage in the final two quarters. Defensively, his pick-and-roll defense remained poor but Duncan stepped up his rim protection -- especially down the stretch.
Tony Parker C+
It was definitely an odd game for Tony Parker. He began the game only -- and I mean only -- looking to pass. He had seven assists before he tallied any statistic in any other category; Parker didn't attempt his first field goal until the middle of the second quarter. Typically, I don't mind Parker looking to pass early on but this game he just wasn't moving with much purpose. He wasn't pushing the pace on offense and he wasn't offering much resistance on defense. Eventually, Parker picked up his aggression and began looking to score the ball -- sometimes even looking too much -- but he failed to ever take command of the action. And his defense never improved very much. It's difficult to criticize a point guard who had ten assists and no turnovers but Parker just wasn't much of an asset tonight.
Danny Green C
Danny Green is proving to be an extremely streaking three-point shooter. Over a period of six games, Green was 16-for-24 (66.7%) from deep. However, in his last three games, he's 0-for-11 on three-pointers. Besides missing his threes, Green had a couple cringe-worthy runners in the lane. But give him credit for knocking down a late jumper that gave San Antonio its final margin of victory. Defensively, Green was up-and-down but I liked that he was active and looking to make plays. He's also much more valuable when he's crashing the boards like he did tonight. Green had the coaches scratching their heads at times tonight but overall he did enough right to avoid a total disaster.
Kawhi Leonard C-
The rookie had one of his most rookie-ish games of the season. Kawhi Leonard lacked a bit of explosion around the basket, which led to his poor field goal percentage. However, Leonard kept battling on offense and never got passive despite his struggles. Defensively, I thought he was much worse. The Hornets ran him around a ton of screens and Leonard wasn't keeping up. To be a successful defensive player long-term, he's going to have to get much better at navigating around picks. Even in isolation situations against the Hornets, the rookie was sub par.
DeJuan Blair A
If there was one bright spot for the Spurs, it was definitely the play of DeJuan Blair. Defensively, he was very attentive and his switches and rotations were surprisingly crisp. Especially early on, Blair's defense was better than any of his teammates had to offer. On offense, Blair was equally as effective. He used his body well to free himself in the paint. With the Hornets lacking size in the paint, Blair took full advantage. There were a few stretches tonight where it seemed like Blair was the only Spur going all out. Props to him for not overlooking this game and coming out ready to play.
Stephen Jackson C+
The bad: Stephen Jackson had his first poor shooting game for the Spurs. He tried to take over a couple times but failed to really sustain any positive momentum. On defense, Jackson's lack of chemistry with his teammates was painfully obvious when he was expecting help that never arrived. The good: Stephen Jackson competed. When the Spurs were desperate for buckets, Jackson stepped up to the challenge and created a few good looks. Even though he didn't shoot the ball well, the vast majority of his shots were good looks and he didn't turn the ball over. And even though his defense was far from flawless, it wasn't for a lack of want-to.
Matt Bonner C+
Against bad teams, the Spurs rely on Matt Bonner to find open spaces to make the opposition pay for sagging into the paint. This game, Bonner just wasn't able to do that. He wasn't moving crisply (to be fair, it appeared as if his back was bothering him) and he was slow to pop to open spots after setting picks. As a result, Bonner was basically a non-factor on the offensive end. Defensively, I thought he was mostly good. He was a tad slow to rotate at times but he was physical in the paint and pulled down a few contested boards.
James Anderson B-
James Anderson continues to look like a new player since the trade deadline. He plays much faster and with a lot more liveliness. On defense, he really moved his feet well and was able to blow up a few plays by correctly reading the call. Of all the Spurs perimeter players, I thought Anderson did the best work. On offense, he has suddenly turned into an impressive finisher who displays a lot elevation on his forays to the hoop. Unfortunately, not only is he missing three-pointers, his stroke appears to be regressing. The ball is coming out of his hand with sideways spin now and his misses are rarely even on line anymore. Anderson, known for his outside shooting coming out of college, hasn't hit a three-pointer in more than a month.
Boris Diaw C
Tonight, Boris Diaw actually looked like a newbie. His post D wasn't good and he made a couple mistakes in pick-and-roll defense. On offense, he looked comfortable when paired with Parker but otherwise he was consistently in the wrong spots in the sets the Spurs were trying to run. Diaw also passed up a few shots ... but everyone needs to get used to that because that's what Diaw does. All in all, though, Diaw wasn't bad and the talent remains obvious. He just needs more time to figure things out.
Justin Dentmon B-
Playing his first NBA game, I was fairly happy with Justin Dentmon. Compared to Cory Joseph, he appears much more ready to play the NBA game. On defense, he made a few savvy rotations and his on-ball defense was solid. Offensively, while he needed to shoot more because the Hornets weren't respecting his jumper, Dentmon played at a good pace and made a few quality passes. It's obviously too early to predict his future but Dentmon didn't fail the eyeball test.
Pop C-
The Spurs were without Tiago Splitter (back spasms), Gary Neal (mid foot sprain) and Manu Ginobili (rest) so Pop had his work cut out for him. While the end result was positive, Pop had his ups and Pop had his downs. On the positive side, I liked that he called plays for Jackson when the Spurs couldn't get anything else going. He also made the right move by having the ball go through Duncan down the stretch. On the other hand, I didn't like that he played Bonner and Blair together when Diaw was available. And Pop never was able to come up with a combination that was playing well together. Tonight, that didn't end up costing the Spurs ... but that was mostly due to the compe ion, or lack thereof.
the game was very sloppily played by the spurs, but i'll take the w.
i would also give anderson and denton a c as well.
Thanks for the writeup
ugly but i'll take it. If only JA would get his shot back
Didnt have the chance to watch the 1st half. Great writeup, thanks!
Ugly, ugly game. But it's a game that is hard to get up for, especially looking at a tougher one tomorrow. At least they gutted out the W.
Thanks for the writeup Tim.
If JA gets his shot back, I wouldn't be shocked if he starts over Green at some point. JA seems to work very well with the big 3, and if it wasn't for that missed layup, he would of had almost the perfect game.
Marco Belinelli B-
solid when given the opportunity and delivered two clutch shots
Carl Landry C+
solid, but 5 turnovers is pathetic
Lance Thomas C
solid during his limited playing time given
Al-Farouq Aminu C
another with limited playing time, but solid on the boards when in
Greivis Vasquez C-
made a few nice plays happen, but made a few terrible mistakes as well
Gustavo Ayon C-
grabbed a ton of boards, but chucked the ball like Kobe Bryant
Jarrett Jack D
forget about the points scored. his selfishness, lack of clutch, and stupidity single handedly cost the Hornets yet another win.
Xavier Henry F
17 minutes of absolutely nothing
Pop F
Blair had a great start in this game, yet he only play 25 mins without any foul trouble. WTF Pop?
james anderson has become the best finisher at the rim for the spurs
he tries to make a lot of explosive dunks now
spurs fastbreak/rim finishes are a trainwreck
we either get to see blair brick an open layup
green airball a floater or get called for a charge
leonard who usually was missing dunks
or tiago throw a pump fake against nobody
It's amusing to read some comments that seem to suggest that playoff games are never sloppy. Good teams win sloppy games. Games decided by offense are normally prettier, but defense wins championships and often that's what wins the sloppy games.
Idiot or troll. Take your pick.
....20 point game from Dejuan Blair? ... this guy sucks, trade him.......Eric Dawson is waaaay better right? There's gotta be much better available..
RJ had a few decent games.
boxscore fans
Pffft...we could be stuck with alot worse..... stop going with the general consensus on these boards and appreciate the stuff he does rather than nit-pick on the stuff he doesn't do...we'd have a cotton-soft frontline without him.RJ had a few decent games.
I could and complain that Parker doesn't have reliable 3pt range and shoots a bit too much, or complain that Manu is garbage because he spends more time on the injured list than on the court too if I wanted.....lol
If we can upgrade I'd be all for it, but unfortunately I don't think Dwight Howard is coming to San Antonio.
Last edited by G-Dawgg; 03-25-2012 at 01:55 AM.
Thanks for the writeup.
How could Blair not have had trade value with his ability to explode for 20 point games?
Because all the Spurs experts on this messageboard say he's worthless so they must be right.....
theres a reason tony doesnt pass it on the fastbreak
anderson is the only one ive seen now who has some moves around the rim and can dunk with some explosiveness
leonard is getting better but he was still missing dunks in the begining of the season
Jarrett Jack left it all out there. He's a splendid player forced to try to be the star on a team without any talent. On a team where he doesn't have to do that, he could be very good.
I watched the whole game and didn't realize Xavier Henry was there. At all.
Anderson sucks. Green, Kawhi, Sjax, and Manu all finish better than him.
No 4th quarter playing time for Blair
Blair getting bench after the first three games in the playoffs
Only getting playing time so he doesn't get depressed and eat himself into retirement
Even if Hornets are a bad team and they are without a lot of players, it's a very good win for Spurs.
For Spurs, it was a b2b on the road, without Manu, Tiago, Neal and Mills, Parker and Bonner weren't at 100% healthy and Diaw didn't know the team. It was a lot to overcome.
Last edited by Bruno; 03-25-2012 at 02:18 AM.
we can see how manu does at the rim once he actually plays
jack was ok but he missed a few
kawhi does score in the paint but on the fastbreak type situations he isnt a good finisher
his only move so far is bull rushing into the defender who should be drawing a charge then shooting it once they get knocked back
he used a step through once that i would like to see him do more
you should go through previous game threads and see all the "green misses layup" posts
anderson has been taking contact and doing reverses and windwill type finishes
in the trailblazers game he was going up for dunks in traffic but got denied
im sure once he actually starts playing become a good player
but that probably wont happen in a spurs uniform
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