Super Quick Grades: Game 1 Western Conference Finals

[apalisoc_9]

I don't have a whole lot of time since I have a trip tomorrow early in the morning so excuse spelling and Grammar

1. Tim Duncan - Tim was phenomenal in the first half offensively. He dominated the smaller big men of OKC in addition to Kevin Durant in the post..In the second half, particularly in the third i thought he tried way too much with Parker. Parker and him forced a two man game of pick and roll that made the offense stagnant. Defensively, he was awful both the first half and the second half..Pop recognized his poor PnR defense and decided to keep him in the bench for an extended period of time. Final Grade..B-

2. Tony Parker - Offensively, Parker passed the ball really well in the first half. I thought he should have been more aggressive in terms of looking for his own shoot early in the first quarter with Brooks opting to put Westbrook on him instead of Sefelosha to start the game, but Leonard and Duncan stepped up so it wasn't that big of an issue. In the second half, particularly in the third he forced a two man game of him and Duncan that made the offense stagnant. TONY NEEDS TO START TRUSTING HIS OTHER TEAMMATES. Defensively, he was ok for the most part..Final Grade B-

3. Manu Ginobili - Manu started heating up late in the third and was the focal point of the that punch back after a scary comeback from the thunder. In the First half he was just flat out poor on both ends of the floor. He Scored a few garbage points that allowed him to be in the NBA.com cover when in reality he was really subpar for the most part and was also part of the reason why the offense got stagnant mid third quarter..Final Grade C

4. Kawhi Leonard - This Kid is a Stud..offensively, he showed the right amount of aggressiveness. He was somewhat Subpar in the third offensively, but I think that was by design to allow Tony, Manu and Duncan to get going..unfortunately, that resulted in almost thunder comeback. Defensively he had 3 steals and caused a lot of disruptions..He was phenomenal on KD. Final Grade A+

5. Danny Green - This is the real deal tbh. We all know he's a role player, but when danny hits his three there is no reason why he should be playing less than 30 minutes imo. Offensively he was hitting everything and defensively, he was a stud both against westbrook and KD. Final Grade A+

6. Tiago Splitter - In 19 minutes, Splitter lead the team in rebounds..Defensively, he was great at defending the PnR..Offensively, he didn't get much touches since he didn't play much. I don't really think this is splitter's series and I know Diaw is going to eat majority of the big man minutes, but for the amount of time he was out there..He was Great..Should have played more minutes over Duncan who was a liability on the defensive end. Final Grade A-

7. Boris Diaw - He was really aggressive against mismatches and posted up the most in the team. He posted up about 8 times tonight in 20 minutes play..That speaks volume to his aggressiveness which the spurs will be needing in this series.. That also, speaks volume to tony parker's ability to recognize mismatch..Tony passed him the ball everytime he gets a mismatch...Amazing recognition from Parker IMO, I didn't know he had that in him. Defensively, he was okysish IMO..but in this series, Diaw's offense is far more important that his defense. Final Grade B

8. Patty Mills - Patty made 2-3 of his shots and really frustrated Reggie Jackson. I thought he picked his spots today offensively and the effort was there defensively..Final Grade B

9. Marco Bellineli - Thankfully for the spurs, Bellineli can be hidden on the defensive end against OKC..Played 16 minutes and made a couple of shots. I don't really think he should be playing more than 15 minutes but that's Pop's call. For the most part, he did what was asked out of him and what he can do from a talent, and athletic ability perspective. Final Grade B-

10. Aaron Baynes - Steven Adams who?..Baynes was awesome today. He made a crucial bucket in the third and made a couple of momentum killing defensive stops in the third as well..He was a huge reason why San Antonio regained their composure and lead late in the third. Final Grade A.

[Chinook]

Thanks for the grades, man. They were a great read, even if I could smell the CoK bias through my monitor .

[testies]

Manu deserves more than C

[ElNono]

thanks

[Aztecfan03]

Thanks for the grades, man. They were a great read, even if I could smell the CoK bias through my monitor .

Kawhi is the reason i'm a Spurs fan(I wouldn't be following nba otherwise) but he definitely didn't have an A+ performance tonight

[G-Dawgg]

I personally think Duncan deserves more than a B-... he was a killer on the interior..

[Cry Havoc]

Duncan goes off for 27 and 7 with one turnover and gets a B-.

K.

[Robz4000]

Mostly agree tbh, tho Leonard should get a B+ at best. His individual D was meh on Durbeta, but he caused enough havoc to be a big plus on that end. Needs to be more efficient with his shot selection, but 16 FGAs sounds about right in this series.

[superjames1992]

These grades are so tinted with CoK flavor that they're virtually useless, tbqh...

Manu a C? Tony Parker and Tim Duncan a B-?

All deserved As...

[apalisoc_9]

At Duncan and Parker deserving an A today

[benstanfield]

You forgot to give Ibaka's calf an A+++++++

[007nites]

I don't have a whole lot of time since I have a trip tomorrow early in the morning so excuse spelling and Grammar

5. Danny Green - This is the real deal tbh. We all know he's a role player, but when danny hits his three there is no reason why he should be playing less than 30 minutes imo. Offensively he was hitting everything and defensively, he was a stud both against westbrook and KD.[B] Final Grade A+

[spurraider21]

thanks for the write up... while i disagree with some stuff here and there i always appreciate people putting there time into this stuff. i thought leonard was good not great defensively, but a lot of that is just durant being durant.

[21209]

I stopped reading when Manu got a C

[mrjap2x]

Baynes should get an A, just for knocking down Durant.

[heyheymymy]

baynes was a A just for what you got vs. what you'd expect from him in a playoffs game. what a pleasant surprise. i suspect some cia pop.

[doldrums]

Bring back TimVP grade's , these are useless. A in A+ for KAwhi??? that's for when Michael Jordan would go off for 50 in the playoffs. Please do not grade anymore

[Brazil]

My diaw does not deserve a B tbh fwiw

thanks for the grades

[Pocho La Pantera]

Pure bs

[cd98]

These grades are mostly stupid. The Spurs blew out the Thunder. No one should get below a B. Tim Duncan has like 27 points and it's a B-? His first half offense was key to is winning the game and he wasn't bad on defense, it's just that Splitter is better at pick and roll defense. Tony Parker gets 12 assists and it's a B-? 12 assists shows he trusts his teammates. Does he need like 30 assists to prove that?

[superbigtime]

I stopped reading when Manu got a C

This. No one was less than B grade.

[SpurAddict561]

[apalisoc_9]

At Manu deserving a B just because the spurs blew out the thunder

[Raven]

very good

[cd98]

At Manu deserving a B just because the spurs blew out the thunder

And yet if Danny Green scores 18 points on 7-12 shooting including 3-4 from three point range with only one turnover, then he's an A+. Just silly bias. Manu has up and down games, but yesterday was an up game for any rational viewer.