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Green outplayed Curry
Tim Duncan C
Duncan hit three of his first four shots from the field -- and then went 2-for-9 thereafter. Most of those misses were wide open; thankfully the Spurs didn't need his scoring tonight. The rest of his outing was decent to good. I liked his defense, particularly out on the perimeter. He rebounded well, took care of the ball and dished off pretty passes. That said, San Antonio can't afford for Duncan to lay another egg this series scoring-wise.
Manu Ginobili B
Not great but far from bad. Defensively, Ginobili was solid. His passing was helpful on offense and his playmaking was superb. Even though his scoring production was underwhelming, the offense always seemed to be rolling when he was in the game -- and that's no coincidence. But like Duncan, Ginobili needs to kick it up a notch to close out the Warriors.
Tony Parker A
I'm very, very pleased with Parker's effort. He is still hobbled a bit but he fought through the injury valiantly. His will to win was off the charts and his aggression on offense was invaluable. Defensively, I thought this was by far his best game of the series. My only minor quibble was his propensity to dribble too much at times -- but other than that, the Frenchman played about as well as one could expect.
Kawhi Leonard A
After looking a bit rattled on the road, Leonard got back to business in front of the home fans. His stroke was smoother and he exuded confidence. He probably could have forced the issue a bit more on offense -- but I can't critique his exquisite efficiency on this night. Defensively, Leonard was also damn good. Not only did he defend his man well, he was causing havoc away from the ball -- which is a specialty of his when he's at his best. All in all, it was a very encouraging bounce-back by Leonard.
Danny Green A-
Is it me or does Green suddenly look a lot more athletic this series? Somehow, the added pressure of the playoffs has added an extra spring or two in his legs. Tonight, while there were a couple ragged possessions on O and a few miscues on D, I was happy with Green. He shot without hesitation, focused well on defense and competed with ferocity. Well done.
Tiago Splitter C
Meh, I guess this was a step in the right direction -- but I'm not too thrilled. The Warriors used midget ball against him (including RJ at center) and Splitter never took advantage. He'd try to post up or otherwise hold his ground but would end up getting bumped out of position virtually every time. Give the Brazilian credit for a handful of commendable defensive plays but this is still a far cry from the Splitter we witnessed for much of the regular season.
Boris Diaw B+
I don't know why he's not playing more. Diaw is a really good fit for this series because he's actually looking to punish smalls on offense, while on D he is quick enough to guard screens really well. Sure, it's annoying when he doesn't shoot open shots but the Warriors are a perfect fit for his skillset. I liked most of his passes tonight and his overall aggression level was adequate.
Cory Joseph A-
Pop gave Joseph more minutes tonight and I thought it was absolutely the right move. The sop re has seemingly adjusted to the speed and the physicality of this series. He wasn't smooth running the offense but he made up for that with tenacity and taking care of the ball. I don't see any timidness in his game, which is a great sign for a young point guard. On defense, he really went at it hard and had a lot more positives than negatives.
Gary Neal C-
Neal was given a quick hook after five lackluster minutes. He was a liability on defense and a ball-stopper on offense. So, yeah, I agreed wholeheartedly with the decision to bench him.
Matt Bonner C+
I'm not sure why Bonner got more minutes in this series. Thankfully, this time he didn't do much wrong. His D was still substandard and he didn't rebound but knocking in that three-pointer was a bonus.
Pop B+
I agreed with most of what Pop did tonight. More Joseph and less Neal was absolutely the right call. Although, even less of Bonner and more of Diaw would be helpful, too. Pop avoided any huge mistakes like he had last year in Game 5 versus the Thunder -- so that's a plus. The cherry on top was the fact that no one played a huge amount of minutes. Let us hope the Spurs can carry this level of play into Game 6 to give themselves a legit shot at closing out this series.
Green outplayed Curry
I'm glad I wasn't the only one that noticed
He was magnifique this game.
Dude is -12 for this series. The king of plus/minus. If Memphis moves on, he shouldn't see the floor again until next season, IMO.
the good D that Green is playing is giving him mad confidence on the rest of his game. IMO Pop needs to challenge Green every game vs the opponents 1st or 2nd best perimeter player
I disagree with the Splitter and Duncan grades.
Splitter played OK but was victim to a couple of good defensive strips.
Duncan you could tell was out of gas, just didn't have it. That said as well, they hardly if at all went to him.
Duncan/Green too low
yup best game of Green's NBA career tbh A++
Tony mentioned in his postgame that he was definitely hobbled in the 1st quarter, but the injury started to loosen up in the 2nd half.
He's pretty much always done that. Green usually gets first crack before Leonard gets switched on them.
Green and Leonard destroyed Curry and Thompson. When your stars get beat by the other team's role-players, you just can't win. Great two-way games by the Medium Two. (I'm dropping Splitter from the group until he shows up again.)
Green was the MVP of this series, boy was on point
Green was everywhere tonight. That block he had on Jack at the half was crazy.
damn right
Green gets an A+
Splitter had more steals then touches this game tbh
the Spurs continually avoid him in the pick and roll
he actually was matched up with Lee whenver he was on the floor and the Spurs would rather jack up 3s over running Lee in a pick and roll
theyre gonna have to remember he isnt some garbage big and run something through him because without him theyre not beating Memphis
Spurfan cant on Splitter all season and say he doesnt deserve scoring opportunities then get mad when he doesnt magically become Kareem after getting 0 touches all season
same thing happens with Leonard
one of the first possession of the game was a Leonard post up vs Curry
hes had Jack switched onto him so much and his heroes avoid him
Good to see Green on Curry most of the time. Don't know what Pop was thinking in Game 4 with Parker on Curry. Should have closed series out tonight. smh
Ginobili made a difference
timvp Do you think that TMac should get some playing time, considering that Neal and Bonner have not contributed?
Lol Manu's grade should be broken up in sections.. Sometimes A+ other times D-
Green was awesome! Parker was great again! Ginobili was Ginobili!
Are the Warriors better we thought or are we not as good as we thought we were? We're playing our brand of basketball. We're holding Curry and Thompson to poor shooting nights (both have been quiet since Game 2), and yet they are still there hanging with us. Are we simply letting Barnes and Jack go off by design?
Pretty sure Bonner only played in the first half when Diaw picked up his second foul
Green had his best game ever.
Correct if Bonner plays like he did against the Lakers. I don't have a lot of hope for him having the same defensive impact as he did in Round 1, though. Howard is easy enough to defend if you're a big strong guy. Randolph and Marc require a lot more skill to check.
Paul Garcia PS @24writer
Last observation from AT&T Center: On the top right corner of the white board in the #Spurs' locker room was written one number, 9.
Ethan Strauss @SherwoodStrauss
Klay Thompson has played over 183 minutes without attempting a free throw. He's a great, inefficient, shooter.
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