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Splitter/Belinelli/Mills/Ayers too high
Tony Parker
He was seemingly the only Spurs player with a healthy amount of focus for the duration of the game. Played hard and flexed his leadership skills on multiple occasions. His scoring was needed, as was his precision. Very good all-around game.
A
Manu Ginobili
He wasn't bashful -- and it paid off, for the most part. Ginobili continues to look strong and in as good of shape as we've seen him in a year or two. Let's hope he keeps it up.
A-
Kawhi Leonard
His jumper was off and he didn't play with much fluidity but Leonard's effort was commendable on both ends. His rebounding was key, as was his tenaciousness in loose ball situation.
B
Danny Green
The Lakers cut off most of his looks from deep and Green wasn't doing much to counter. His D was good at times, average at other times. I think he needs to up his intensity a gear or two.
C
Tiago Splitter
His finishing was a bit hurried but other than that Splitter was solid. He defended well and rebounded very well. His passing in the halfcourt offensive sets was also very helpful.
B+
Boris Diaw
After a dud of a first half, Diaw was fantastic in the second half. He played with a level of fight and purpose that we've rarely witnessed during his Spurs career. He looks like a totally new player this year thanks to a much higher aggression level. Hopefully he retains it going forward.
A-
Marco Belinelli
Even though he didn't shoot it straight, I liked the way he played. Belinelli has obviously bought into the Spurs system and he's making smart plays with the ball. His D was also better tonight than we've seen to date.
B
Patty Mills
The fact that he's not a point guard still gets him in trouble but Mills did okay. This new, slimmed down version of the Australian is a much better defender. He's still sub par on that end but at least he can be a pest. Offensively, he had his positive moments -- which mostly involved him being able to use his speed.
B
Matt Bonner
Missed a couple shots and then started to hesitate. A hesitating Bonner is worthless on offense. Defense he was okay but nothing to alert the woodsmen in New Hampshire about.
C
Jeff Ayres
Good: Hustled on defense. Ran the court hard. Gave very good effort on the boards. Set strong screens. Bad: That form on his jumper is awkward; there's not much bend to it. I also didn't like his selection of when to release it tonight.
B
Aron Baynes
His size was useful on defense and he was in the right spots. Unfortunately, the rest of his game was lacking. He didn't use his bulk to his advantage and his hands were uncharacteristically concrete-like. When given a cameo, he needs to play better than this to earn a spot in the everyday rotation.
C
Splitter/Belinelli/Mills/Ayers too high
Green still hasn't developed a counter to his outside shot. He needs some balance to his game so teams can't just take him out like that.
Ayres not being able to hit even a 10 ft jumper will severely limit the offense when playing against the top teams. He'll be a liability more times than not against them.
Good win when most of the team was lacking focus and playing sloppy while also shooting pretty damn bad. Most teams lose games like that.
Baynes has little baby hands, Dude can't catch a pass or consistently fight for a rebound. Other than his stregnth and streaky jumpshot, He's pretty much useless. By far my least favorite Spur
Grades seem more understated than last year. maybe timvp being more subdued since the Finals. good grades as usual though.
Danny Green: F
..............
Thanks for the thoughts. Understandably shorter than usual given how uninspiring this game was. Preseason games have more worth than this.
I would have said Splitter too low, actually. But the scrubs definitely too high. B means we should be generally fine with a player's performance, which was not the case with Beli and Ayres.
I really WANT to like him, too. I just get so frustrated when he misses a rebound he could have easily grabbed had he added a little more hustle, or when he can't run a successful pick and roll. Catching the ball is an underrated talent.
thanks
cheers
Green has 80 more games to get into form. Hopefully sooner
I like how Tony and Boris are focused after a successful Eurobasket.
Kawhi's development is still the biggest story of the season, but he'll be fine IMO.
I really think Ayers will emerge As a Malik Rose type off the bench. Has the energy, the rebounding, the defense, when his shot starts going down, that will be gravy.
Belinelli will challenge for 6th man of the year. He fits in so well that he will get more shots, more opportunities.
Timvp obviously isn't taking this serious. Those grades are sort of cartoonish. It almost feels like tee ball and Timvp is handing out participation trophies. Other than a couple of rebounds, Ayres was completely useless. " Hustled on defense", "ran the court hard".... What the Fvck is that?
Belinelli wasn't playing good defense. He was defending bad offense. I saw plenty of spacing between him and his defender. Offensively, he wasn't much better.
Not sure what to make of this bench, but it looks like it's going to be hit or miss every night. Two games and I'm not impressed.
timvp
Lacks passion, clearly still hurting from last year. Content with simply getting a passing grade. Lacking the drive that made him one of the greatest of all-time.
C-
Lj needs some
maybe
It's still early in the year to say anything about what's gonna be later.
It's tough to keep going when you had basically the last chance to win a trophy and it was so close that's makes spurs fans sick.
I lost some interest but probably if the spurs are going to be in good position to attack in the playoffs I will wake up.
Few years back LJ had more time to spend on the board and there were ppl to discuss with more. Now it is what it is as Bowen used to say.
When did he set a pick and roll to the hoop and have a pass directed to him? Not this game he didn't. You have to be thr first person I have seen describe his issues revolving around effort.
Parker, Manu and Splitter were all playing well in my opinion. Kawhi was decent, and Diaw was terrible at first and then a key player in the fourth. Ayres looked pretty lost offensively (awkward looking shot and awkward shot selection, too), but I can see him becoming a serviceable bench guy for the Spurs after a couple of months or so.
Well, this was the first I've seen from the Spurs since the Finals. It certainly wasn't a memorable game, but it's still nice to have Spurs basketball back.
I like how Manu has played these 2 games. He's not playing as fast or crazy, slowing himself down a bit is a great thing imo. He's not crashing into bodies as much and only attacks when he sees a really open lane, not really relying on his athleticism to get him by defenses. But that might be just because they aren't playing the Heat.
what is up with belinelli's votes, the guy was horrible on both ends, can't be better than a D no matter how you slice it..
I know this will piss some folks off, but Kwahi disappeared offensively in the second half. He had a great first half and then nothing and only one more rebound.
Yeah, Belinelli has been poor. So far, would far rather have Neal back.
i was really impressed with diaw, kawhi and mills. hopefully, diaw can maintain that type of play throughout the season because its a huge advantage for us against teams that stick small forwards on him. there were a couple possessions where kawhi and tony got in each other's way but other than that, he was a beast on the boards and wasn't shy pulling the trigger. i would like to see him attack the basket more and not settle for the 3 when his shot isn't falling.
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