Reply With Quote
Bosh must be to Heat fans what Bonner is to us, except he costs even more and can't hit 3s.
After the game, timvp was getting phone calls from Spurs fans gloating about him being "wrong" on SpursTalk. My 4-year-old asked me why the phone kept ringing, so I said it was because Daddy wrote something that turned out not to be right. His response: "Does Daddy have to go to doctor to get a new brain?"
I told him maybe
Tim Duncan A
In the first quarter, it appeared as if the rust was really detrimental towards Duncan. He wasn't moving especially well and his offense was in shambles. But as the game progressed, he played much, much better.
Eventually, it seemed as if though he realized he had a distinct size advantage. When he would roll to the basket, he was almost always picked up by a small. Duncan started to feast -- but I actually think he has a lot of room to grow in this regard as the series progresses.
As for Game 1, I thought he was really good outside of the first quarter. Smart on offense. Provided a backbone on defense. And, overall, he played hard yet remained highly focused.
Manu Ginobili A-
While I think Ginobili had his share of mistakes throughout his 30 minutes, I was pleased by what he did and how he played. He kept it mostly basic on offense yet he really aided the effort by running effective pick-and-rolls.
His defense was hit or miss. But overall I thought Ginobili was smart, hit timely shots and competed extremely well.
Tony Parker A+
This was a work of art by Parker. With the Heat trapping every pick-and-roll, he didn't have much room to force the issue. So instead, he took what was there to take while biding his time. Once the fourth quarter hit, Parker was ready to take over and Miami had no answer to his aggression.
On the road, after a long layoff, against a pressure defense and Parker finishes without a turnover? That's amazing. If he can keep up this precise level of play, the Spurs will be difficult to beat.
Kawhi Leonard A-
I find it hard to settle on a grade for Leonard. As far as guarding LeBron is concerned, I don't think he could have done much better. He played him tight while simultaneously not giving up driving lanes. I also thought he did well in post-up defense. Rebounding was another feather in his cap.
On offense, he had a well-timed put back in the fourth quarter but his missing of open three-point shots really killed the momentum at times. If he can play like this going forward but also add better outside shooting, he will be nearly perfect.
Danny Green A-
Anyone who has called Danny Green a choker should be ashamed. He knocked down four three-pointers, including a gigantic shot in the fourth late in the game. He looked confident from the outset and let it fly.
I liked his rebounding and he had some good moments on D … but he also had some forgettable moments. He didn't defend LeBron well, wasn't sharp on his perimeter rotations and even his iso D was only average.
That said, if Green can knock down threes and provide some defense, that's very valuable.
Tiago Splitter B
I don't think Splitter was great but I do think he played his role well. He used his size to score around the rim against smaller players.
On defense, I don't think he did anything notable but he had some difficult rotations to make and made them relatively swiftly. I'd like better rebounding, though. Then again, his rim protection was better than usual -- so maybe that's the area he focused on.
Boris Diaw B
I actually like what Diaw brought to the table in the first half. He was making plays off the catch -- mostly of the passing variety. On defense, he bought some minutes against LeBron, which is great for a bigman.
Should Diaw play more going forward? Yeah, that might be an adjustment we see from Pop in Game 2 after he watches the film.
Gary Neal C+
My problem with Neal tonight was something he couldn't control: playing time. It felt like he was always in the game doing something wrong. Whether it was being too aggressive with his shot or his terrible D (particularly against Allen), Neal was often painful to watch.
All that said, it's Pop's duty to limit Neal's minutes. Obviously Pop was using him for spacing when the Spurs went small. I can see the logic (and I admit it helped free up Parker in the 4th) -- I'm just not sure that I agree with it wholeheartedly as a plan throughout the series. For what Neal could control, he wasn't far from expectations. He was able to drop big shots, make a few nice passes and hide at times on D -- in addition to those aforementioned negatives.
Matt Bonner C+
Can Bonner have success against the Heat? I'm not very optimistic. The Heat easily chased him off the three-point line and went after him on the other end.
But let's be honest: If Pop can work Bonner into the rotation -- and Bonner can hit threes -- that would give the Heat very little hope of hanging with San Antonio's offense.
Cory Joseph Inc.
Pop gave up on Joseph quick tonight. Was it justified? Is his spot in the rotation gone? We'll be able to answers those questions over the next week or so.
Pop A-
I loved Pop's gameplan on both sides of the court. On offense, there was a ton of variety and it kept the Heat off balance. Defensively, Pop was determined to not let LeBron win the game by himself.
My main complaint would be Neal's playing time but despite any negatives, the Spurs won Game 1 of the 2013 NBA Finals! What a game and what a season so far!
Bosh must be to Heat fans what Bonner is to us, except he costs even more and can't hit 3s.
timvp in the fetal position?
nice grades though and i agree about neal. i was having a heart attack everytime he checked in.
kawhi really needs to make his 3s though. that's a play they draw up for him on that outside 3 and despite running it all season he can't hit it to save his life.
Last edited by The Reckoning; 06-07-2013 at 05:26 AM.
Joseph was needed for defense is previous rounds, not against Miami with Chalmers/Cole.
CoJo did a decent job on d. Neal the bed, tbh. I wish we could "fuse" them ala DBZ, then we'd have ourselves a baller.
Come on Kori you made me laugh so hard.After the game, timvp was getting phone calls from Spurs fans gloating about him being "wrong" on SpursTalk. My 4-year-old asked me why the phone kept ringing, so I said it was because Daddy wrote something that turned out not to be right. His response: "Does Daddy have to go to doctor to get a new brain?"
I told him maybe
I'm going to be daddy in a couple hours and it reminds me how great kids can be.
Just tell LJ and your little guy how great his dad is as far as Spurstalk is concerned.
Wow Congrats!Come on Kori you made me laugh so hard.
I'm going to be daddy in a couple hours and it reminds me how great kids can be.
Just tell LJ and your little guy how great his dad is as far as Spurstalk is concerned.
I would honestly play Patty Mills ahead of Neal at this point could not possibly play any worse that one 25 foot three he took, Holy ..
Neal deserves an A. For reasons I detailed in my thread
I thought Splitter made a block in the 4th that was very notable. Solid defense.
lol. I love Kawhi but this is his first finals just like Joseph and Green. we need to check our expectations for a couple games as he acclimates himself.
Remember this was far from an A game from our Spurs. They couldn't bury a shot in the first half if their lives depended on it, while it looked like Miami was hitting every frigging contested outside shot. And I'm not particularly a Neal fan but for some stretches he seemed like the only one who could hit an outside shot for us in that first half. That's why Pop kept him in the game.
He IS another ex-Raptor soft big man...
Your analysis seems pretty spot on.
Seemed like a little bit of gradeflation there -- I feel like the Spurs can play a better game or two this series, and you didn't leave much headroom in the grades. And you were especially generous to Tiago, I thought -- he seemed more like a C+ to me, honestly.
But anyway, thanks for the grades, Kori.
It did affect him that much that HIS grades had to be posted by you.
I know I'm pain in the ass
------
I thought spurs did a great job from the get go. Not letting Miami go off quick. Not surround by the pressure. They looked bit rusty but not that much and as the game went on they were better and better esp on defense. As for LeBron and Leo, I think he did fantastic job. But Miami knew it or james knew it and he got rest of the guys involved, typical for spurs opponents. A triple double just showed how fantastic LeFlop is. In game 2 he probably will go for more scoring. And we can use it. One leBron not gonna win the game if the spurs stays sharp.
Spurs did outstanding job not turning the ball over esp with the reffing we had in that game it was even more impressive. TP's patience worked well.
IMO Pop tried too much different rotations but he used to do it in 1st halves. I think now he will know better who and when to throw in the game.
All in all good game to watch for every fan. We need game 2
The Spurs were rusty, can play better. It was incredible they stole the game. The defense was great in the forth, and the team executed down the stretch. Parker and Duncan are insanely good players, tbh.
The ghost of Beno has Joseph stuck to the bench.
That defense in the last 5 minutes when Pop finally put Green in for Neal was something to behold. Those 5 guys (Parker, Ginobili, Green, Leonard, Duncan) gave the heat fits aside from 1 lapse by Green which was forgiveable (trying to contest Allen). If he doesn't contest that shot, Allen hits those in his sleep.
We just gettin' started!
Thanks for the write-up, Kori.
LJ can't take the pressure and handed the keys to his spouse.
Humbling yet valiant move tbh.
timvp must be in quarantine until the end of the series to complete the rev-jinx. if he even says the wrong thing once, the rev-jinx becomes a rev-rev-jinx.
exactly. spurs jacked up way to many 3s after it was obvs the 3 wasn't falling.
That was flat out terrible defense TJ and green should know better to contest while giving the shooter room to land safely. He was brilliant besides that I agree.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
