Grades: Spurs @ Clippers - Game 4

[therealtruth]

After watching the game a second time, I wonder how many of you noticed the BENCH play last night?

Points SA 43 LA 31
Rebounds 12 14
Assists 13 4
Steals 2 3
Blocks 1 1
Turnovers 6 4
Fouls 9 12 (includes 4 hack-a-bad foul shooter from Bonner)

It appears that the regular season rotation of bench seeing a lot of play in b2b paid off. Every bench player contributed to the win. Individually, they each delivered their share.
For all the Bonner haters who think he played bad D. Maybe you should look at the guard who let their man get away from them. Also, considered the 2 uncontested shots counted only 4 points. To contest may have let to +1 making the uncontest the smart move. Jackson played smart. He did not fill up the stat sheet but made a few smart plays both on offense and defense. Ginobili passed up a couple of open 3's, but his pass led to a easier basket. Neal was lights out on the offensive end. What can you say about Splitter but fantastic game. Offense, defense and rotations all were excellent. He didnt get blocks but he altered shots. And he stuffed with more gusto than usual.

Give Pop an A+ for the rotation he put on the court. He trusted each one because they were there in the regular season.

I'm just glad Bonner is starting to taking hard fouls and instead of the ticky tacky kind.

[tesseractive]

I've been wondering how Blair is handling this. He must be frustrated. What's his at ude next season?

His at ude should be, "I'm going to bust my ass all offseason to be in perfect condition to hold my own on the block, grab any boards I possibly can, and make shots when I can get them."

He's always going to be undersized, but if he can keep his at ude right and work on his game, there's no reason he can't be a ferocious rebounder off the bench and force his way back into a rotation for a solid career -- if not the Spurs' rotation, then someone's.

Whether DJB is that guy or not, I don't know though.

[mando6599]

Maybe it is just me, but I think Bonner was in during the 4th to prepare for "hack a".

Diaw had too many fouls to be in for that.


I thought Pop deserves an A. His play calling was outstanding in the 4th.

but hey that is just me : )

This is what I was thinking exactly, Dr Cox.

[temujin]

I understand the giddiness but I sincerely hope the Spurs aren't reading forums to see what they need to do.

Of course not. Hovewer:
from the Spurs organization's point of view, I'd be surprised if someone is not checking. This appears to be a popular site. If anything, for control purposes: they have the local media under total control, apparently, so they don't need to worry about that.
On top, there is some pretty darn good stuff in here. I mean, serious pro-like technical analysis. And I think I know what I am talking about.
Sort of a real independent view, they will never get from the local media.
So once you get hooked, you might as well report it.

As for the players, they have plenty of time off in this period, between a series and the next....

[Bruno]

I've been wondering how Blair is handling this. He must be frustrated. What's his at ude next season?

Blair will likely be traded this summer so it won't matter.

[tesseractive]

Blair will likely be traded this summer so it won't matter.

Any guess what his trade value is?

I've heard some people float the idea of a 1st rounder, but I have trouble believing that anyone will give that for a guy who fell out of the rotation.

[SnakeBoy]

Matt Bonner C
While it was good to see Matt Bonner hit half of his four shot attempts, he passed up another three or four looks that he has to shoot. If he's going to be a floor spacer, he has to let it fly -- not pump-fake a half-dozen times. Bonner was dribbling into the lane tonight and although it didn't really hurt the Spurs, that's not what the team needs from him. Defensively, while he had a few good possessions, he also had a couple embarrassingly bad possessions where he basically conceded easy shots. Although Bonner was a lot more active tonight than he has been the last few weeks, I just don't think he played well enough to justify his minutes.

You could have saved time and just said post season Bonner has arrived.

Post season after post season yelling " ! SHOOT IT BONNER!" is getting really tiring.

[Bruno]

Any guess what his trade value is?

I've heard some people float the idea of a 1st rounder, but I have trouble believing that anyone will give that for a guy who fell out of the rotation.

My guess woudl be more of a pick around #40. Spurs might too trade him for another player or use him to salary dump Joseph.

[tesseractive]

My guess woudl be more of a pick around #40. Spurs might too trade him for another player or use him to salary dump Joseph.

Is Joseph a writeoff (as opposed to a project) already?

[ChumpDumper]

My guess woudl be more of a pick around #40. Spurs might too trade him for another player or use him to salary dump Joseph.

I can't see their giving up on Joseph at this point. I'm sure he was a two-year project from the start and showed a fair amount of progress through the season. Guess it could depend on what they think about Mills.

[manufan10]

I've been wondering how Blair is handling this. He must be frustrated. What's his at ude next season?

He seems to be handling it very well via his Twitter page. At the very least, he's being professional about it.

[TJastal]

You could have saved time and just said post season Bonner has arrived.

Post season after post season yelling " ! SHOOT IT BONNER!" is getting really tiring.

But don't ya know those meddlesome clippers closed out on poor Matty before he could shoot it!

[Obstructed_View]

I've been wondering how Blair is handling this. He must be frustrated. What's his at ude next season?

Whatever his at ude, he'd be well served to show up with a jump shot.

[Bruno]

I can't see their giving up on Joseph at this point. I'm sure he was a two-year project from the start and showed a fair amount of progress through the season.

You may be right even if Spurs have a tendency to give up quickly on projects when they don't like them.
Joseph rookie year has been screwed by the lockout and by Ford injury that forced him to stay at the end of Spurs bench instead of playing with the Toros. Because of that, they could gave him more time to prove what he is worth.

[Obstructed_View]

The only thing stupider than the scouting reports of many of you on Cory Joseph would be the Spurs giving up on him after a fraction of a season with no camp.

[coyotes_geek]

Any guess what his trade value is?

I've heard some people float the idea of a 1st rounder, but I have trouble believing that anyone will give that for a guy who fell out of the rotation.

I don't think Blair falling out of the rotation hurts his trade value all that much. GM's are going to understand that the Spurs are super deep and that Diaw is such a great fit for this team.

Whether or not there's a GM who thought Blair was worth a late 1st in the first place is a different matter. I don't think it's completely out of the question. Blair, while limited, has proven that he's good enough to be in the NBA. There might be a GM out there who would prefer to use his draft pick to acquire a known commodity as opposed to taking a chance on a rookie.

[timvp]

Maybe it is just me, but I think Bonner was in during the 4th to prepare for "hack a".

Nah, that wasn't it. Bonner was in the game for two and a half minutes before the first intentional foul. Somehow, Bonner was in Pop's clutch-time lineup. And the only reason Pop pulled Bonner was because Del Negro went small by putting Caron Butler at PF.

[Obstructed_View]

Nah, that wasn't it. Bonner was in the game for two and a half minutes before the first intentional foul. Somehow, Bonner was in Pop's clutch-time lineup. And the only reason Pop pulled Bonner was because Del Negro went small by putting Caron Butler at PF.

I suppose if you believe in a player, and Pop certainly seems to believe in Bonner, you're never going to find a better opportunity to put him in a situation to live up to that belief than when you're up three-love against an overmatched opponent and aren't sure that you want another sweep for your team.

Sorry for the run on sentence, but the above is as close as Pop and Bonner will ever get to a no-lose situation in the playoffs.

[Spurtacus]

What's Gary got to do to get an A- in the playoffs?

Green def the best player on the court last night. Timmy was pretty good but I gotta give props to the playoff rook.

[Obstructed_View]

What's Gary got to do to get an A- in the playoffs?

Play someone other than the Clippers. The matchups are far better in the next round. I expect him to do fine against Steve Blake or Derek Fisher.

[T Park]

Yeah OKC's guards are less athletic than LAC's.

You can hide Parker or Neal on Sefolosha or Fisher.

[BackHome]

I love Manu but he needs to get on Duncan's summer workout list cause if he doesn't it is going to be an ugly year for him. I am shocked that Manu has looked so bad so far with him sitting out I don't know if it is a conditioning thing or just age?

[gilmor]

I rewatched 4th quarter again and I noticed there are at least 2-3 plays that Tony, Tim and Manu drew up from their little sketch-book of their vast experience playing off each other. Every time Clippers got the lead, they ran those plays to perfection to get back the lead.

[Blake]

Somehow, Bonner was in Pop's clutch-time lineup.

Pop being the ultimate Bonner apologist.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i just had to