Kawhi Leonard
Incredible performance. Legitimately GREAT on D. Exhibited exciting depth on O. His ability to score off the bounce gives him a superstar ceiling as a player.
Danny Green
Considering he had to deal with a ton of screens, he did very well on D. He competed hard, rebounded and made plays. His O was very solid across the board.
Tiago Splitter
Very efficient on offense. His attempts were more difficult than usual but he converted. Boarding was iffy but he provided a backbone on D.
Boris Diaw
Was basically running point power forward; he was the facilitator of the halfcourt offense. In money time, retrieved a lot of balls on D. Great leadership throughout.
Nando De Colo
Admirable poise from tip to horn. He looked like a true PG. Without his playmaking, S.A. had no chance. Quite good on defense; anticipated well and has quick hands.
Gary Neal
Faded late but he was key early. Hit some shots to get the offense going and helped the team survive rough patches. His shot is looking better these last two games.
Matt Bonner
His D was decent at times but his lack of rebounding really hurt the team. On offense, he was useful. His spread the court and helped with the ball-movement.
DeJuan Blair
Was a ball of energy during his minutes. A lot of good; a lot of bad. Pop went away from him in second half. Smart decision, in my view. Spurs needed stability.
Patrick Mills
Not bad during his minutes. Made a couple plays passing-wise and with movement. But the Spurs needed playmaking so this wasn’t his night.
Aron Baynes
Fouled a jumpshooter late. Pop wasn’t thrilled.
Pop
Sensationally surprising win. If anyone wants to doubt whether Pop has earned his eventual spot in the Hall of Fame, games like tonight prove he’s more than worthy.
*Programming Note: I don't give grades in games Pop decides to rest the Big 3. In hindsight, that was an questionable decision.
what a fun game to watch! i kinda had a weird feeling that these guys would come out and do it tonight. all my bull fan friends were y as get-out, but i kept it tim duncan. cool, quiet confidence
Pop's grade is too high tbh.
timvp, been meaning to ask you regarding Kawhi's knee, if everything was good. on his post game interview with Sean, he bluntly said it still hurts. any chance it can improve throughout the season? curious if you've heard anything.
Last edited by HI-FI; 02-12-2013 at 12:47 AM.
Only one thumb for Baynes?! This is ridiculous!
I wonder if any Chicago fans will sue...
I really liked where Gary Neal took his shots from. Just a few select spots instead of a pox-ridden shot chart. Those floaters will fall.
I also gained a new appreciation for Rip Hamilton with his vet moves of trying to get under Danny Green's skin. Gave me a sense of how opposing fans must have experienced Bowen and his endless bag of chalkboard scratch, irritating tricks.
Nando looked very good tonight, DeColo/Splitter PnR>>>>>>>>>>>>> DeColo/Bonner PnR.
Neal was great in the 1st half but terrible in the 2nd.
Kawhi is amazing.
Thanks Timvp.
Leonard definitely has all the tools to be something special. I personally had him pegged as a better ball handling Marion and so far so good. 2 way wings are just so hard to find these days. If he can grow into the player we want him to be, the Spurs are in good shape. Just a great game where he completely outplayed an all star in Luol Deng (who probably shouldn't be in the all star game but you get the idea) on both ends of the floor. He got into a good rhythm to start. Although he did have a couple of wild drives at points, I thought that he played with poise and he picked his spots wisely. His aggressiveness these past few games has been very encouraging to say the least. I hope he keeps it up.
Spurs need to do a better job of keeping Splitter involved offensively. They really didn't try until the 4th quarter when Pop told the guys to look for him because they needed to put the Bulls away. He scored 10 points I think in that last quarter and he was 3/5 before that point. Kawhi had a monster game and Gary was fairly efficient so thankfully it didn't matter as much this time around. His rebounding in the second half was not good enough but in that 4th quarter you could immediately see a difference in our interior defense when Pop subbed Splitter in for Blair/Bonner. Baynes still isn't ready for prime time imo, but it couldn't have hurt to let him play over those two.
I really hate the Blair/Bonner line-up and I can't stand it when Diaw plays C with either of those two.
It pains me to say this but I think De Colo has to start getting serious consideration for the back-up pg spot. As you have pointed out, his playmaking was a difference-maker (and was against Miami as well). I'd like to have a plan B in case Manu struggles/gets injured again. Theoretically, with a developed De Colo the second unit doesn't completely collapse and it gives the Spurs another playmaker. I like Mills but there's just no way he could've done what De Colo did tonight. Only problem is that I think De Colo's one of those guys who needs to be 20+ a game in order to play well. Lots of season to be played still but right now I don't think 5 minute stints are the way to go.
Neal looked great at his proper position. His decisions are so much better when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. He should never run the point again tbh.
Great win by our team. Pop managed the rotation beautifully. Much better than the first half against Brooklyn.
I was just about to comment on that.
It's really going to be hard to temper our expectations for Kawhi now
Great writeup, thanks! Had to follow on my phone and was still exciting!
emotional grades
No way Bonner has the same grade as Leonard... I know your kids love the red rocket, but the bias is really showing, tbh...
We are lucky the rebounding didn't have an impact. Bonner either was boxed out every time or still gave up the rebound when boxing out, he has to be in the bottom 5 for rebounding ability among 4/5s in the league
Everyone was great though
Awwh man, I was looking forward to the actual letters. Oh well, great write up man. Kawhi played I like I know he can. Does anyone noticed if Green change his shot? If he did, that would explain his better shooting.
I wonder when Baynes will get his time to shine in this time that Duncan is out. I want to see how he does if he gets another game of around 20 minutes.
I'm not trying to take anything away from the Spurs, because they played a great game without the big three. Huge props.
But this definitely shows the weakness of the Eastern Conference. Chicago has the fourth best record in the East (and is only a 1/2 game behind Indiana for 3rd - simply because Indy has played one extra game). And thats all with Derrick Rose still out. San Antonio was without their three top players, playing in Chicago, and routed them. The level of compe ion out East just isn't that high in general.
In rewatching the game, the rebounding issue isn't really that bothersome. The Bulls were sending four players to the offensive glass. Sometimes all five (). It was a decent plan since the Spurs were vulnerable, especially after Splitter turned his ankle. However, that plan eventually backfired for the Bulls.
1. By send almost everyone to the offensive glass, whenever the Spurs got a rebound, they had numbers going the other way. The result was a ton of mismatches created in early offense and that led to easier than normal shots that a team typically gets against the Bulls.
2. With all those mismatches going the other way, the Spurs rarely had to run deep into their offensive sets. That allowed the Spurs to avoid turnovers.
3. The Spurs were sending almost no one to the offensive boards. While that made it almost impossible for the Spurs to get offensive rebounds, it forced Chicago to play at a sloooooooow pace. The Spurs, even this depleted version of the team, has enough cohesion to play solid halfcourt defense.
4. Since the Bulls had to walk it up and allow the Spurs to get set, it's no wonder they finished with much more turnovers.
So, yeah, we can fret about the rebounding but in reality it was a non-issue. Thibs tried to attack a vulnerability but that it turn made life easier for the Spurs in other areas.
I got to download this few last games ...
lol at spurs getting almost outrebounded 2:1 being a nonissue
its been an issue this entire season
Diaw/Bonner are horrible rebounders and Blair either looks done or pads his rebounds getting his own misses when he plays
Splitter is about average to below average most nights
Duncan has been one of the top 3 defensive rebounders in the nba the past 2 seasons which cover the Spurs deficiencies
but you cant rely on a 36 to be 37 in the playoffs Duncan to shoulder the entire load, he will get tired eventually
hinrinch rose out and teague being a project they have no true ball handlers
nate robinson is basically a patty mills with better penetrating and handling
if they had a competent PG they wouldnt have had as much turnovers
and we scored a lot on midrange mostly because of how bad Nate and Boozer are at defending the pick and roll
they were just standing in the paint surrending mid range shots which SA converted
Chicagos starting lineup with Boozer nate and rip scores 99 per 100 and gives up 116 per 100 possessions
lol rebounding being an issue this entire season when the Spurs are the best defensive rebounding team in the entire NBA over the last two months
Besides, in the big picture, how the Spurs rebound without the Big 3 is meaningless. If the Spurs are going to battle for a championship, they'll do it with the Big 3. Duncan will obviously help tremendously. Ginobili has been great about pulling down contested rebounds. Jackson is very good at helping out in the paint when it's needed. Heck, TP is good at chasing down long boards. But the big difference is that Duncan's return will take away minutes for Bonner/Blair ... and that will naturally solve any ailments that have popped up over the last few games.
I know that feigning fret over rebounds is just a covert way of whining about Bonner playing over Baynes but defensive rebounding is one of the last areas we should be worried about with this team. When it comes down to it, I'm confident that defensive rebounding won't be a problem.
What? You mean De Colo's 9 points on 27 % shooting, 7 assists and 5 fouls in 33 minutes of playing time? I'm almost certain that Mills could do what "De Colo did tonight". Don't forget that Mills averaged 10.3 points and 2.4 assists in 16 minutes of playing time last season. Would've liked to see Mills get more playing time to see what he's truly capable of. Like De Colo, Patty would benefit from playing 20+ minutes a game. As a shooter, it's hard to find an offensive groove when you're only on the court for less than 5 minutes. (See Gary Neal for evidence of this)Thanks Timvp.
Leonard definitely has all the tools to be something special. I personally had him pegged as a better ball handling Marion and so far so good. 2 way wings are just so hard to find these days. If he can grow into the player we want him to be, the Spurs are in good shape. Just a great game where he completely outplayed an all star in Luol Deng (who probably shouldn't be in the all star game but you get the idea) on both ends of the floor. He got into a good rhythm to start. Although he did have a couple of wild drives at points, I thought that he played with poise and he picked his spots wisely. His aggressiveness these past few games has been very encouraging to say the least. I hope he keeps it up.
Spurs need to do a better job of keeping Splitter involved offensively. They really didn't try until the 4th quarter when Pop told the guys to look for him because they needed to put the Bulls away. He scored 10 points I think in that last quarter and he was 3/5 before that point. Kawhi had a monster game and Gary was fairly efficient so thankfully it didn't matter as much this time around. His rebounding in the second half was not good enough but in that 4th quarter you could immediately see a difference in our interior defense when Pop subbed Splitter in for Blair/Bonner. Baynes still isn't ready for prime time imo, but it couldn't have hurt to let him play over those two.
I really hate the Blair/Bonner line-up and I can't stand it when Diaw plays C with either of those two.
It pains me to say this but I think De Colo has to start getting serious consideration for the back-up pg spot. As you have pointed out, his playmaking was a difference-maker (and was against Miami as well). I'd like to have a plan B in case Manu struggles/gets injured again. Theoretically, with a developed De Colo the second unit doesn't completely collapse and it gives the Spurs another playmaker. I like Mills but there's just no way he could've done what De Colo did tonight. Only problem is that I think De Colo's one of those guys who needs to be 20+ a game in order to play well. Lots of season to be played still but right now I don't think 5 minute stints are the way to go.
Neal looked great at his proper position. His decisions are so much better when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. He should never run the point again tbh.
Great win by our team. Pop managed the rotation beautifully. Much better than the first half against Brooklyn.
I was impressed with De Colo's ability to play calm and controlled throughout the game, but I was hardly impressed with De Colo's performance and production as a starting player (compared to an average NBA starter). Tony Parker usually gets around 9 points and 5 assists by half time.
I'm surprised Pop decided to go with Bonner for most of the game when it was clearly obvious that we were being dominated on the boards. We ended up getting out-rebounded 49 to 26....
Bonner, who played almost 20 minutes, couldn't even muster a single rebound and was absolutely useless in the paint. Anyone besides Bonner (Blair, Splitter or even Baynes) would've contributed more than what Bonner did tonight.
As for Kawhi and Splitter,
In the end, we got the win, and that's all that matters. Pop seemed pretty happy after the game; he probably thought his rotations were magic.
Last edited by Boomersgold; 02-12-2013 at 03:43 AM.
Is it really that hard for you to ever give Nando credit?What? You mean De Colo's 9 points on 27 % shooting, 7 assists and 5 fouls in 33 minutes of playing time? I'm almost certain that Mills could do what "De Colo did tonight". Don't forget that Mills averaged 10.3 points and 2.4 assists in 16 minutes of playing time last season. Would've liked to see Mills get more playing time to see what he's truly capable of. Like De Colo, Patty would benefit from playing 20+ minutes a game. As a shooter, it's hard to find an offensive groove when you're only on the court for less than 5 minutes. (See Gary Neal for evidence of this)
I was impressed with De Colo's ability to play calm and controlled throughout the game, but I was hardly impressed with De Colo's performance and production as a starting player (compared to an average NBA starter). Tony Parker usually gets around 9 points and 5 assists by half time.
I'm surprised Pop decided to go with Bonner for most of the game when it was clearly obvious that we were being dominated on the boards. We ended up getting out-rebounded 49 to 26....
Bonner, who played almost 20 minutes, couldn't even muster a single rebound and was absolutely useless in the paint. Anyone besides Bonner (Blair, Splitter or even Baynes) would've contributed more than what Bonner did tonight.
As for Kawhi and Splitter,
In the end, we got the win, and that's all that matters. Pop seemed pretty happy after the game; he probably thought his rotations were magic.
LOL comparing Nando to TP as a starter. By that same token, Patty didn't do much better when he started against the Heat.
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