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BRHornet45 and I want our Pelicans name on the NBA forum, tbh.
Tim Duncan
Strong defensively and on the boards. Appeared rusty on offense. Took an elbow to the chest from Tony Allen and didn't return. Let's hope he bounces back quickly.
B-
Tony Parker
Slow start but he looked a lot better in the second half. He's not totally in shape yet so his explosiveness around the rim is lacking. He made up for his wayward shot with some slick passing down the stretch.
B-
Manu Ginobili
After a strong preseason, Ginobili kept it up in game No. 1. He looked great going toward the basket and overall look is playing a lively brand of basketball. I really liked the way he played tonight.
A-
Kawhi Leonard
A bit herky-jerky and struggled with turnovers but got the job done. His three-point stroke was quick and he was a menace in the open court. Defensively, I thought he was very strong. He has a ways to grow in terms of operating in a crowd and always staying under control.
B
Danny Green
Good: Hit a couple of pull-up jumpers off the dribble -- something we didn't see last year. Good defense. Bad: Sloppiness on offense led to needless turnovers.
C+
Tiago Splitter
Relatively quiet but effective game. Didn't make many mistakes on either end. Strong D, rebounded well, passed well, moved well without the ball and ran the court hard. Well done.
A-
Marco Belinelli
He looks like a natural fit from Day 1. Extremely heady plays on the offensive end that led to easy shots for teammates. Didn't try to do too much yet stayed agressive. A work in progress on D.
B+
Patty Mills
There's no doubt he outplayed Cory Joseph in preseason. Pop rewarded him with the backup point guard gig to begin the year. Mills didn't disappoint. He shot it straight and utilized his unbridled energy to make things happen.
A-
Matt Bonner
He was the first bigman off the bench -- and played decent. Held his own on defense for the most part. After a few hiccups, he settled down and played well on offense.
B-
Jeff Ayres
Played physically under the basket. Solid screens on offense. His passing continues to be better than advertised.
B
Boris Diaw
He was the fifth bigman to get into the game -- but then ended up being a key cog in the fourth quarter. His aggression -- especially shooting-wise -- was very good. He played with a purpose we didn't see much of last year. He also rebounded better than usual and got his nose dirty.
B+
Pop
As expected, he was in mad scientist mode to start the season. Going with Mills as the backup point guard was a bit surprising -- but it was also the fair thing to do following Joseph's preseason struggles. Bonner as the first bigman was also a surprise but Pop mixed and matched the five bigs well.
B
Overall
Fun game to watch -- or maybe it was just fun to watch a game that meant something. The bench unit looked amazing at times and I really expect it to be the best bench in the NBA when the Spurs are at full strength. The collapse in the second half was a bit concerning but Memphis is a team that will always claw back. Besides, the game never really felt like it was in doubt even when the scoreboard got close in the fourth quarter.
B+
One down. Let's hope TD is okay. Onward.
BRHornet45 and I want our Pelicans name on the NBA forum, tbh.
Feels great to get the season started with a win!
Grassyass senor.
Just feels great to have meaningful basketball back.
Splitter was so good, held down the fort with Duncan out.
Welcome back timvp
My regular season thanks for the grades TIMVP as I live up in Dallas now and we don't get the Spurs obviously. I look forward to reading your reviews as the season progresses; Go Spurs Go!
Grizz with 17 more FGA is concerning, but it's early yet. Always happy to see the Grizzlies lose. Finally have a rivalry developing on that side of the division.
thanks timvp
Welcome back Timvp. We played good D tonight, nice start. and TONY ALLEN, he has to be one of the stupidest, arrogant, deuchbags ever to play in the NBA
Danny Green is going to lead the league -
in inadvertently stepping out of bounds.
We need a shot blocker at the front of the rim.
Purrrrrrrrrr.
Ginobili looks more mobile and he seems to be able to turn the corner and get to the basket again
maybe something he did in the offseason helped with that
we saw it happen with Kobe when he got the German thing and Duncan in the 2012 offseason started regaining his mobility again
they actually ran post ups for Leonard and the only thing he really struggled with was handling the ball in traffic
once he works on that he can easily be a consistent 15-20 point scorer per game for us
the 1 dribble pull up jumper by Green is a really good improvement to his game that will pay dividends
he was stepping outside a lot probably because he wasnt use to doing those 1 dribble pull ups in the confined corner but it will go away as the season goes on
Boris was an A+ imo
9 shots in 20 minutes and leading the team in scoring
he was actually playing up to his skill level and being aggressive
if its not a 1 game thing like last season where he would shoot a 3 coming off a screen on one play and passing up a wide open 3 the next then be huge
if he starts isolating on the block then thats another dimension that can carry the bench
Welcome back timvp
thanks as usual. we've been told you've been busy, so thanks for taking the time to write these up
Just realized that Mills is the upgrade from Gary Neal, not Beli. So Beli is actually just bonus now, and serves a kind of Bones Barry role so Mills can play off the ball some which makes him more dangerous. Ayers proved to be a big upgrade over Blair, you can actually play him! That second unit was when we took off, so it looks like the big 3 might get some good rest this year, Mills/Beli/Manu is going to buy TP a lot of bench time.
This team looks pretty synchronized this year, almost every roster spot perfectly complimentary to the system. Very trim on the dead weight. Stay healthy and this talent can go on a deep run imo.
Ayers too high
Diaw too low
Grizz scored 67 points in the second half? No Duncan on D spells big trouble.
Cut Timvp a little slack. He's a bit rusty.
Ayers too high
Diaw too low
Ayyres and ginobili worked well together. That screen/ pnr roll action freed manu up for wide open lay ups. Ayres seems to understand spacing and moving without the ball.
Criticism for ayres. Get ur hands straight up when at least trying to provide rim protrction. The few times he got his hands up he was somewhat disruptive. Also, cant rake down. Keep them up. Work with splitter. Imrove that moving forward.
De colo in street clothes should be the norm. The added fPlexibility of a brute in baynes and floor stretching four outweighs carryin decolo as active due to redundancy and duplication in the limited skills and attributes de colo arguably brings. Belli brings what pafto hoped nando would. So ship his ass out
.
Last edited by rastaspur; 10-30-2013 at 11:21 PM.
Uncle.
Ginobili looked great IMO. TP had a strange game. Got to the spots he wanted, but could not finish like he normally does. You know that will change which is a great sign. Tim was really off offensively as well, but again, got what he wanted and moved well. Despite the injury, this was a very good opening game. Played a tough team, looked good defensively when healthy and got all around contribution. Most importantly, DPG all looked/moved well. Kawhi just has some beast plays.
I agree, Feels like every player this year brings a little something unique in their skillset. Such a deep roster.
Also, the Spurs have simply owned Zbo and in turn the Grizz since Tiago/Kawhi have become prominent players. It's awesome.
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