Game thoughts, tbh..

[HarlemHeat37]

As I said prior to the season, Houston will be the Spurs' most difficult matchup in the West IMO..

They have always played well against the Spurs, even before they were labeled a contender and acquiring Howard..this Rockets team matches up very well against the Spurs: they have Howard/Asik in the paint to guard Duncan/Splitter and challenge the Spurs inside, they have big wing players that can easily shoot over any Spurs' player outside of Leonard on the perimeter, they have a good defensive PG in Beverly, and they have an abundance of shooters..

More importantly, they have James Harden, a Spurs killer that relishes the opportunity to kill our team, tbh..

Needless to say, this was going to be a difficult outing, especially against the November version of the Spurs that are still coasting/figuring out, tbh..

Tony Parker
Tony started off the game slowly, missing makeable shots at the rim and forcing the issue..it appeared that Parker was going to have a rough overall game with the Spurs down 23, until he exploded in the 2nd quarter..

Parker single-handedly went on a 10-0 run and assisted on a Duncan jump shot to cap off a 12-0 Spurs run to cut the lead to a manageable deficit, giving the Spurs hope for the 2nd half, tbh..

Parker was very good in the 4th quarter, a huge reason the Spurs took the lead and remained compe ive down the stretch, but ran out of gas in the final few plays, missing a layup and failing on the final Spurs' possession, leading to an atrocious shot from Ginobili..

Defensively, Parker played one of his worst games in recent memory IMO..Pop lashed out at him several times for missing rotations..Parker was responsible for a number of wide open 3s from Rockets perimeter players, opting to sag in the paint in case of a Harden drive and even Howard post-ups on 2 occasions..

I assumed it was strategy until Pop began screaming at him..Parker's Harden-like defense hurt the Spurs tonight, but at least we know Parker turns it on for the playoffs..

Man grade: nice face, no ass/ ties

Tim Duncan
It appears that Duncan has started playing regular season basketball, tbh..following a great performance against Orlando, Timmy followed it up with a really good performance against Dwight Howard and the Rockets..

Duncan's rebounding and not fouling Howard when he had the ball at the end was the only criticism I could generate, tbh..his jump shot looked a lot better than it has virtually all season, he finished well at the rim, he set good screens, and he looked good from a physical standpoint, tbh..

Defensively, he did a great job contesting shots inside..he had 3 blocks and altered several shots at the rim, his interior defense was a key component of the Spurs' charge in taking the lead..his 9 points in the 3rd quarter helped lead the charge in the comeback, too..

Overall, other than a few more boards(especially on the GW tip, but he was against 3 Rockets on that play), Duncan played a very good game..

Man grade: Katy Perry

Kawhi Leonard
Leonard was mostly invisible in the 1st half, not asserting himself, which has often been the case this season..Kawhi was being guarded by Harden, one of the worst defensive players in the NBA, but the Spurs did not take advantage..

This is an indication that the Rockets do not respect Kawhi as a shooter, nor should they, and that the Spurs weren't going to post up Leonard on Harden with Howard in the paint IMO..if Kawhi was going to pass it out, the Rockets were fine with Duncan beating them with jump shots..

Leonard began the 3rd quarter with promising shots, including a nice soft floater over Howard..on the following possession, Duncan found Leonard on a nice cut against the fronting defender, and instead of Kawhi going up to finish, he hesitated, waited for Jones to help, instead forcing up a terrible brick..this ended Leonard's assertiveness, tbh..

In the 4th, Kawhi played great team defense and individual defense against Terry Jones, but his offense helped kill the Spurs, tbh..opposing teams don't respect his jump shot, and the lack of shooting success is destroying his offensive value when he's on the floor with Parker and Duncan, tbh..

The Spurs went 2-10 from the field with a turnover when Leonard was inserted in the 4th, including Kawhi himself missing 2 wide open jump shots and committing the turnover..his lack of a consistent jump shot played a large part in the loss tonight, tbh..

Man grade: OKC Thunder female fan

Danny Green
Awful game for Danny tonight, tbh..as I've said many times, he's arguably the barometer for this team..when he struggles, it's difficult for the Spurs to win, and when he plays well, this team is usually dominant..

His defense against Harden was very good for the most part, Pop should have had him guarding him from the beginning IMO..his defense played a large part in the Spurs' taking the lead in the 3rd/4th, and he deserves credit for his effort..

Outside of that, it was a bad game for Danny..he got caught on screens for 3 several times, and he had trouble guarding the Rockets big forwards, which is also Pop's fault for putting him in a position to fail..

Offensively, Green was horrific..along with Leonard, his lack of offense killed the Spurs in the 4th, including a mind-boggling turnover when he tried to drive..he couldn't make a shot and I thought he forced 2 or 3 attempts in the 4th IIRC..if Danny plays even half as well as he's capable of, the Spurs easily win this game..

Man grade: Khloe Kardashian

Tiago Splitter
I didn't even notice him on the court for most of this game, tbh..

He didn't have much defensive responsibility with Asik on the floor and the Rockets shooting from outside during most of his stints, tbh..

Offensively, he was pretty bad IMO..he was stripped inside several times, forced a horrible pass to Ginobili in traffic, and his missed FG was on a drive inside where the only defender was a Rockets PG(either Brooks or Beverly)..

Tiago wasn't a factor in the game tonight IMO..

Man grade: Amy Duncan, that s bag ho

Manu Ginobili
Manu had his usual share of puzzling turnovers and the final shot he attempted was as bad as it gets, but overall, he played a solid game, tbh..

His passing was great all night, he played a large part in the comeback, he set up Beli for a few unreal plays, he attacked the rim, and he made a clutch 3..

There will be frustration from Spurs fans regarding his final shot and his decision making, but the standards for Manu should be adjusted for age/level of play, and he performed very well in this game by those standards IMO..

Man grade: Matt Bonner's wife

Marco Belinelli
Marco was having an ordinary, average game for the first 3 quarters..he took some questionable, off-balance shots and wasn't playing effective defense, tbh, he made a few shots, it looked like it was going to be an up and down game for Beli..

However, in the 4th quarter, he became Larry Bird, tbh..he made his 3-point shots, Manu connected with him on one of the best plays of the NBA season, he was aggressive, he was competing aggressively on defense against Chandler Parsons..

Belinelli's role with the Spurs is to provide a spark off the bench and compete offensively, he did an excellent job tonight and you couldn't have asked for more, tbh..

Man grade: Hmm..knowing King Beli's affinity for sexing, I'll go with Mia Malkova

Matt Bonner
Bonner's defense was bad during the Spurs deficit, tbh, he was too slow on rotations and struggled against Houston's athleticism..he competed better on defense during the 2nd half..

Houston closed out well on his 3s, but he got a few open looks and made 2 of them..unfortunately, he missed his only 3-point attempt in clutch time, which we've come to expect from Matty..

Overall, a below average game from Bonner..

Man grade: Below average girl, possibly underaged, holding a sandwich

Patty Mills
ty game for Mills, although he only played 10 minutes..he missed his only attempts from the field and was on the floor during Houston's run to blow the game open..

Man grade: Kevin Durant's mom



Overall, it was a good game, especially for a meaningless game in November..

- San Antonio's offense struggled immensely in the 4th with Leonard and Green unable to make a shot, it destroyed the spacing and fluidity of the offense..Kawhi's jump shot will continue to hurt the Spurs until it can be fixed, especially with Tim's erratic jumper..

- Harden did a great job down the stretch, he dominated the game when his team needed him..his game is hideous, as is his face in HD, but he showed why he's the best in the league at his position..

- Pop's decision to go with Leonard against Harden and Green on Parsons was questionable, to say the least..Parsons had no problems scoring against players that were significantly smaller than him, which wouldn't have been the case against Leonard..

- Spurs were out of gas after cutting a 23-point deficit..I don't think people realize how difficult it is to come back from a 20-point deficit, especially against a good team..

- This game was lost due to the 2nd quarter hole that was caused by Houston's shooters getting hot, exacerbated by the Spurs' terrible defense..they left Houston's limited players wide open from 3 for virtually the entire quarter and it was too much to overcome, tbh..

[RD2191]

[sook]

Mia Malkova is all I saw. Oh my.

[Mikeanaro]

LOL!
BEST GRADE SYSTEM EVER!
AND YOUR GAME THOUGHTS WERE AWESOME!

[GrandeDavid]

Kevin Durant's mom!!!! lol lol lol!!!!

[ElNono]

solid writing, thanks

[Chinook]

Mia Malkova is all I saw. Oh my.

Damned straight. Awesome thread, Harlem. The takes were nice, too.

[Mikeanaro]

Danny Green
Awful game for Danny tonight, tbh..as I've said many times, he's arguably the barometer for this team..when he struggles, it's difficult for the Spurs to win, and when he plays well, this team is usually dominant..

Strange but true

[HarlemHeat37]

And also, realistically, the Spurs aren't going to win many games when both Leonard and Green are struggling offensively, especially when Splitter is also a non-factor..

Spurs need both Kawhi and Danny on the floor to maintain their elite defense, but when they're struggling to shoot, it destroys the entire offense..it's pick your poison for Pop, tbh..

Duncan, Splitter, Green and Leonard are by far the 4 best defensive players on this team..Duncan and Leonard haven't been able to make a jump shot this season, and Green has been even more inconsistent than usual..it's actually very impressive that the Spurs have this type of winning record when 3 of the 4 most important players on the team haven't been nearly as good as we've come to expect from an offensive standpoint..

[Mikeanaro]

As Spurs are in the west they are gonna play more good teams than bad, so we´ll see what are they made of but... still november

[timtonymanu]

Wonderful analysis, Harlem.

It's too early in the season to be cliff jumping but you have the same usual suspects quitting on the team already.

[HI-FI]

some of that low down NFL grades creeping in here. I got a good laugh out of it.

[RD2191]

Wonderful analysis, Harlem.

It's too early in the season to be cliff jumping but you have the same usual suspects quitting on the team already.

[TheGreatYacht]

Man grade: OKC Thunder female fan

[DMC]

It wasn't about offensive struggles. The Spurs scored 106 points. It was about defensive intensity and focus.

[spurraider21]

Harlem with the goods

[Mikeanaro]

It wasn't about offensive struggles. The Spurs scored 106 points. It was about defensive intensity and focus.

I think the first half were both

[Boomersgold]

Not the conventional grading system, but I'll take it.

[blkroadrunners]

Good sh*t

[DMC]

And also, realistically, the Spurs aren't going to win many games when both Leonard and Green are struggling offensively, especially when Splitter is also a non-factor..

Spurs need both Kawhi and Danny on the floor to maintain their elite defense, but when they're struggling to shoot, it destroys the entire offense..it's pick your poison for Pop, tbh..

Duncan, Splitter, Green and Leonard are by far the 4 best defensive players on this team..Duncan and Leonard haven't been able to make a jump shot this season, and Green has been even more inconsistent than usual..it's actually very impressive that the Spurs have this type of winning record when 3 of the 4 most important players on the team haven't been nearly as good as we've come to expect from an offensive standpoint..

Danny's 2pt FG% is the lowest it's been at 44%, however his overall FG% of 45% is buoyed by his 3pt shooting percentage of 46%, which is better than it was last season. So if anything Danny is missing easy looks at the basket since he doesn't shoot a lot of long 2's.

Leonard, on the other hand, is shooting a horrid 25% from three, but his overall FG% is almost 50% since he's almost 60% from 2. I think offensively he needs to put the ball on the floor and drive to the rim instead of settling for the long 3. No doubt he's been told to shoot, but maybe Pop will rethink it like he did with Tony and we'll see Leonard get to the rim and the FT line more.

[Chinook]

And also, realistically, the Spurs aren't going to win many games when both Leonard and Green are struggling offensively, especially when Splitter is also a non-factor..

Spurs need both Kawhi and Danny on the floor to maintain their elite defense, but when they're struggling to shoot, it destroys the entire offense..it's pick your poison for Pop, tbh..

Duncan, Splitter, Green and Leonard are by far the 4 best defensive players on this team..Duncan and Leonard haven't been able to make a jump shot this season, and Green has been even more inconsistent than usual..it's actually very impressive that the Spurs have this type of winning record when 3 of the 4 most important players on the team haven't been nearly as good as we've come to expect from an offensive standpoint..

Green's problem is mainly that he doesn't get enough good looks. In the Suns game, Pop manufactured those looks to get him in rhythm. Actually, there was a stretch last year where a Green shot was the opening playcall each game. He's been open a lot, but his teammates miss him. So he's forcing out of rhythm shots to try to contribute. Both he and Leonard need to be part of the offensive gameplan each game. Simply put, it's not sustainable for the Spurs' offense to just be Parker dominating the ball and everyone else fighting over the scraps.

[Chinook]

Also, Leonard needs to be involved on both sides of the PnR. If Durant and be a screener, so can Kawhi. And if Green can be the handler, so can Leonard. Right now, his role sucks, because he just sits in a spot until being told to move most of the time. At least Green moves around a lot. It's clear Kawhi isn't comfortable out there.

[HarlemHeat37]

It wasn't about offensive struggles. The Spurs scored 106 points. It was about defensive intensity and focus.

The Spurs' defense was horrible in the 1st half against the Rockets' shooting..the D was a lot better in the 3rd quarter and for half of the 4th..

The offense was the problem during the stretch where Leonard and Green played in the 4th..if they had made a few shots, the Spurs pull away and win..once Pop decided to take out Leonard, and then Green, for more offense in Manu/Beli, the defense suffered down the stretch..

So, I agree with you that the defense was the problem, especially in the 1st half, but I thought the offense was a huge reason for the loss during a key stretch in the 4th with Leonard and Green struggling..

[HarlemHeat37]

Danny's 2pt FG% is the lowest it's been at 44%, however his overall FG% of 45% is buoyed by his 3pt shooting percentage of 46%, which is better than it was last season. So if anything Danny is missing easy looks at the basket since he doesn't shoot a lot of long 2's.

Leonard, on the other hand, is shooting a horrid 25% from three, but his overall FG% is almost 50% since he's almost 60% from 2. I think offensively he needs to put the ball on the floor and drive to the rim instead of settling for the long 3. No doubt he's been told to shoot, but maybe Pop will rethink it like he did with Tony and we'll see Leonard get to the rim and the FT line more.

Danny is shooting similar %s to last year but his usage % is down 2 points and he's been taking less shots in a lot of these games, tbh..

As Chinook said, he isn't getting the looks/opportunities he was getting last year..

The Spurs need to figure out a way to involve Green more and utilize Leonard better, because their growth is essential to the Spurs' winning a le, tbh..Leonard as a shooter just doesn't work with Parker and Duncan dominating the ball..

[McGusto55]

LMFAO