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Kawhi is a bonus for the spurs. i didn't think that he can play like that
Three days. Three games. Three wins. And the best of the bunch for the Spurs was this latest victory over the Sixers, which came without Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal. The 93-76 win allowed the Spurs to sweep a back-to-back-to-back for the first time in nearly 34 years.
The Sixers entered the game 27-21 -- good enough for the fourth seed in the East. However, except for one stretch, the Spurs absolutely dominated. Philly went on a 15-0 run in about four and a half minutes from the end of the first quarter until the beginning of the second. Other than that spurt by the Sixers, San Antonio was better than imaginable.
Statistically, these Sixers are the best defensive team the NBA has seen since the 2004 Spurs. On this night, it was the Spurs who flexed their defensive muscle. Philadelphia was held to 27 points in the second half and shot only 41.2% for the game. The Spurs went nearly six weeks without holding a team under 90 points but have now accomplished that feat in three straight games.
The difficult stretch of games isn't over yet. After a day off tomorrow, the Spurs have a back-to-back on the road that begins in Phoenix and ends in Sacramento. My fingers are tired just from typing these grades for a third consecutive day so let's hope the Spurs have fuel to finish this exhausting stretch in style.
Tony Parker A-
Against the Hornets, I criticized Tony Parker for being too passive early on. Tonight, that was definitely not the case. Parker was in attack mode from the opening tip and his aggression seemed to knock the Sixers back on their heels. He just kept attacking and created a lot of offense for himself and others. During his 32 minutes, Parker was by far the best player on the court. Defensively, he had a few miscues in the first quarter but otherwise played very well on that end of the court. Perhaps his statistics weren't pretty but this was one of Parker's most hardnosed outings of the season.
Manu Ginobili B+
In terms of his help defense, this game was a quantum leap forward for Manu Ginobili. While his one-on-one defense is still a work in progress, Ginobili was a terror when coming from off the ball. Since defense has been his main weakness lately, that was great to see. Offensively, Ginobili began slowly but he eventually found his rhythm. His passing was again great and he drove effectively to the hoop on numerous occasions. Overall, I thought Ginobili appeared more athletic than he's looked in a long while.
DeJuan Blair A
The kid may not have an ACL in his body but that didn't stop DeJuan Blair from playing with a ton of vivacity in the third night of a back-to-back-to-back. He missed four straight shots and was trying to do way too much to began the third quarter but otherwise I can't really find fault in anything else he did. Defensively, I thought he did good work when defending the post and he chased down a number of loose balls. On offense, other than his cold spell to start the second half, he finished very well and had the Sixers expending extra energy in keeping him off the offensive boards. Blair is never going to wow with his technical skill but when he plays with heart and toughness, he can be valuable.
Kawhi Leonard B+
Though Kawhi Leonard didn't have a major impact in any one area, this was one of his more well-rounded games of his rookie campaign. Defensively, he moved his feet well and showed good effort in transition defense. Most importantly, Leonard crashed the defensive glass to help camouflage the team's lack of size. Offensively, Leonard ran the court extremely well, drove to the basket in the halfcourt offense and illustrated some budding skills as a playmaker. I'm more and more impressed by his ability to handle the basketball. Some scouts thought he couldn't dribble well enough to play out on the perimeter in the NBA. Not only has he proven the doubters wrong, I'd now rate him as an above average ballhandler for an NBA small forward.
Danny Green B
Danny Green had a very Danny Green-esque game. He broke out of his slump from beyond the arc but his accuracy-challenged floater was alive and well. Green made a few mistakes on offense but also had a couple slick finds. Defensively, he was decent on the ball but was much better when offering help. All in all, I thought Green played at about 80% of his normal energy level but I can't complain about the results.
Matt Bonner A-
Doug Collins is one of the best coaches in the NBA but he did the Spurs a big favor by putting 7-foot-1 Spencer Hawes on Matt Bonner. Not only did Bonner pull Hawes out of the paint, he was able to use his mobility advantage to find open looks. Defensively, Bonner was very good against their pick-and-roll sets and was sturdy in the paint. Overall, I thought Bonner played a very clean game and did a much better job of sticking to his strengths than we've seen recently.
Boris Diaw B+
On the defensive end, Boris Diaw appears to be better than advertised. He's a bigman who can really move his feet; Diaw has switched off onto guards without missing a beat. On the low block, he's strong and crafty. Against the Sixers, he was even strong on the boards. Offensively, Diaw was passive when it came to looking for his own shot -- but, again, that's too be expected. He made smart passes and set solid screens. Diaw's ability to create plays on the perimeter as a bigman is very unique ... and should be very beneficial going forward.
Stephen Jackson C
There's good Stephen Jackson and then there's bad Stephen Jackson. Tonight, we witnessed the latter. He had five official turnovers and a handful of near turnovers. Jackson also missed open shots and stagnated the offense at times. That said, I liked that Jackson kept on competing and didn't become gun-shy. I also thought he was quite good on the defensive end. He made a few errors on that end as well but I'm beginning to think he might be the team's best perimeter defender. He's somewhat susceptible to speed but he's physical, picks up his man early and is always quick in his help-defense responsibilities.
Justin Dentmon C+
Once Patty Mills is ready, Justin Dentmon will be heading back to Austin. While he wasn't horrible, he just hasn't done anything to make the Spurs think he's more than simply a placeholder this season.
Pop A
Give credit to Pop for smartly planning how he'd attack back-to-back-to-back. He allowed each member of the Big 3 to rest a game and didn't overplay the role players … and he was rewarded with three wins. This game, Pop guided his team to a victory over a quality team without anything resembling a true center. I have no complaints about the rotation and Pop gets bonus points for being able to limit everyone's minutes. Job well done, Pop.
Last edited by timvp; 03-26-2012 at 09:41 AM.
Kawhi is a bonus for the spurs. i didn't think that he can play like that
Great write up. Sometimes I feel like the only other person on here that feels like Blair will make an impact in the playoffs.
The team's defense is twice as good as it was last year. If splitter ever gets healthy and they can get some continuity going there's no reason this team can't defend well enough to be a contender.
my question is, where did LJ find a stat sheet that said rest instead of old? lol
Where are the Pop haters now? He has done a fantastic job of managing the minutes of our newly stacked roster, while also managing to give a little rest to our big three. Coach of the year, IMHO.
i liked their defense. they scramble and help eachother. with all the offensive firepower we got, when we play solid defense and get stops when were supposed to ( like they did tonight )
theres not a team in the league that can stop us.
Believeeee dat.
Thanks for the scores. Great accomplishment by the Spurs.
Anyone know how many b2b2b games the Spurs have played in their history? Do they typically occur at least once a season?
its only this season clown, they still have one in april....
Matt Bonner has played well lately. Won't happen when it counts but it's great when you can get it.
Pops got a good problem on his hands in regards to bigs minutes. Splitter is not doing himself any favors.
I believe they only play those in compressed lockout seasons. This is their first since 98-99. Correct me if I'm wrong someone...
Man this is the first time I have felt good about the Spurs in a while. It's been said a lot of times but RJ leaving has really given our team a new dimension. No longer does this team get pushed around anymore. Guys like Leonard, Neal, Jack, and Green are always playing aggressive. Diaw has been a great fit so far. I never expected this much out of him and Blair has seemed to pick up his level of play too lately. I can't wait to see how this all comes together. The only thing holding us back is health. We need Tiago and Neal to get healthy and hope Manu is in shape by the playoffs.
Bonner looks to start as either center or PF once Duncan retires for the Spurs, and this is probably grooming him towards eventually assuming that pivotal front court role.
Pop has a lot of confidence in Bonner and an A- tonight from timvp cements that I guess.
Just one correction - the Phillies don't have the fourth best record, they have the sixth best. But that is good enough for them being fourth in the EC, because of their lead in the Atlantic division standings.
Thanks for the grades and thoughts, again.
Grades look about right. The only thing is we need another big. Although dent on isn't a bad player, we don't need 4 point guards
The box score on ESPN says "Rest"?
As a long-time lurker and new poster, just wanna say thanks timvp for these grades. Always a treat to read.
we still have to see how pop integrates splitter til he can claim him to be the genius everyone thinks he is
Phillies?
Forgot for a moment that the sixers are actually good this year and almost blew this one off as a gimme... Then i remembered and was pleasantly surprised
Matty just took a +/- on SpursTalk.
The Spurs are deep and playing well together. It's up to Pop to deliver a rotation that draws the best out of these guys.
Championship!
Coach of the year, possibly, but still coach who refused to play Splitter last season. It's still not too late to play Manu in a meaningless game at the end of the regular season and get him injured either.
I'm more than glad the Spurs are taking advantage of their depth and talent, but let's not act like this erases everything that's ever happened.
Good catch, thanks
Good stuff. Another excellent write-up.
What else can be said about Jack? Even when he's struggling with his shot, he still competes. He's a total compe or and such a refreshing change from RJ.
Diaw has definitely been a pleasant surprise. His defense and BBIQ are really good.
I hope Blair continues his upward performance surge - and that he stays clear of Whataburgers.
Kawhi's ballhandling style looks a bit awkward, but he's surprisingly and deceptively effective. All the hard work he's putting into his shot is paying big dividends.
Personally, I'm rooting for Green to hold that starting 2-guard spot for the duration. He gives great energy out of the gate and I know Pop loves that.
Overall, I'm proud of the Spurs for sweeping their first B2B2B series. The talent pool of depth that Pop now has to work is going to come in handy during the stretch drive toward the playoffs.
Although Diaw does pass a lot, a majority of the time they are great passes for open shots. His ability to drive and dish is a nightmare match up against immobile bigs. One thing everyone has mentioned before but wasn't something I initially expected, was the screens he sets off the ball to create shots for his teammates. It will be interesting to see how he handles the larger PF/C on defense. Basically overall he is filling in for that "Oberto" type role on the team I had hoped for.
The Spurs have a lot of great PF/C passers on this team (Diaw, Timmy, Splitter, Blair). And overall have a lot of great playmakers, I'm not worried about this roster going into a close game.
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