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Thanks for the write-up. Sucks to see LDN struggle like that....he'll get it going I have no doubt.
On the Knicks....give Porzingis some time. If he can put some meat on those bones....watch out.
Venue
Storied Madison Square Garden, the mecca of some of the most incredible sporting events of the decade, played host to an early regular season game between the Knicks and the Spurs. As Mr. Elliott said, they seemed to have some pretty tight rims in store. If you've ever played basketball on a double rim outside, these weren't quite that bad, but it was pretty tough getting soft rolls tonight.
Player of the Game
Allow me to take a breath here.
It's a rare thing, a spectacle even, to watch a prodigiously talented person grow into the gifts they've been given, until their mental focus is as razor sharp as the natural tools that they were granted. That goes for anything from basketball to boxing to chess. Such is the case with Kawhi Leonard. As Spurs' fans, we might be more than just a little spoiled to have Tim Duncan, who was one of the most "NBA Ready" players in the history of the league when he stepped on the hardwood for the first time in silver & black. That is certainly not how most players develop, even the great ones. Kawhi Leonard may have been taking small steps toward signs of greatness in the past, but it's clear that he's not on the promenade to prominence anymore, he is triple jumping toward being a top player in the league even at this early point in the season. He was far and away the most dominant player on the court, as one of the creators on offense and the absolute force on defense that earned him the DPOY award last year. Leonard was destructive tonight in dismantling a guy that still might make a run for the scoring le in Carmelo Anthony. His footwork, body positioning, and overall awareness on defense are absolutely through the roof. If he continues on this trajectory, we'll very well be looking at one of the greatest defensive wings to ever play the game. But the true leap in his game is his offense. He's sinister and scary with the ball, exhibiting a nasty step-through from just inside the elbow that froze his defender in the paint. In fact, all of Leonard's 2 point attempts tonight came from within 17 feet. That's important, because he shoots around 10-20% higher inside of that 17 foot mark than outside, which he shoots marginally better than he does from 3. Kawhi is learning where he needs to be on the floor when he rises up, and that's a very good thing. He's also learning how to orchestrate an offense, not just to be a part of Pop's system. You could almost feel the moment in the 2nd quarter when Kawhi made the mental shift, and off he went, racking up 18 and 14 on a SEGBABA. Add in another 4 blocks, and 2 steals, while holding Carmelo Anthony to 5-17, and you can call that a simply dominant performance. At the rate he's improving, there is no ceiling in sight for this guy.
Lamarcus Aldridge: B-
To be clear, this is a highly provisional rating. I expect #12 to be in a much different place about two months from now than he is here. But the simple fact is that Aldridge gives the Spurs something they haven't had since David Robinson prowled the lane: A 2nd true force in the paint to stand next to Tim Duncan. Say what you want about his reliance on a jumper, or his not-up-to-Spurs-standard of defense, the simple fact is that LaMarcus gives the Spurs the ability to make plays in the paint that they haven't had in a decade+. When he's loose and active in the lane, it's absolutely fantastic to see. He's not completely there yet, though. 19 and 6 is a decent line and somewhat understandable in light of Kawhi's fantastic game, but there are missed rotations that are still fairly common. At one point, LMA followed a wing not only through the paint, but all the way out to the corner, and it was obvious that something clicked and he realized, "Whoa, I'm really not supposed to be out here". Still, his footspeed appears to be good and throughout the game his shot was much more in rhythm. After starting 1-6, Aldridge hit his next 7 shots in a row en route to a respectable 8-15 performance.
Tim Duncan: A
At one point, Tim Duncan was on pace for a 39 year old triple double. He ended up with "just" another double-double, 16 and 10. He also led the team with 6 assists. And shot 6-10 from the floor, 2 blocks, and a steal. All in a SEGABABA night's work for The Forever Man. I think there's a case to be made if Duncan keeps up this insane level of play that he could surpass Kareem as the gold standard for big man longevity. There's certainly never been a player who's this kind of a defensive presence at 39. Duncan is a wonder. His post defense tonight was suffocating, and most forays into the lane that weren't shut down by Kawhi were immediately contested and stifled by Tim. The frontcourt of the Knicks, which is actually pretty talented all things considered, combined for a 13-44 performance. Leonard and Tim were easily responsible for most of those contested shots. Tim is still one of the best big men in the entire NBA.
Tony Parker: B-
Early in the game, the Spurs offense was sputtering to find any sort of rhythm or consistency. Tony stepped up and scored some tough points early. He was solid tonight with the rock in his hands, and did not ac ulate a single turnover. 16 points and 3 assists may not scream "good performance", but Parker was active on D tonight, looked quick to the ball, and steadied the team early on, and after the Knicks made their customary runs in the first half. Parker also hit a nasty jumper over 7'3" Porzingis in the 4th quarter, one of the more clutch shots in the game. On any other team, Parker would be racking up assists, but that simply isn't the way the Spurs move the ball anymore, and Parker's 7-12 performance was satisfying, as he repeatedly collapsed the defense, getting into the lane and causing the Knicks to realize they're a young team that has no idea how to rota
Danny Green: F
This was the worst game I've ever seen from Danny Green. I almost don't feel like elaborating. His rotations were abysmal, his shot was completely off, and I'm fairly certain his man-on defense got him burned by the Knicks mascot at one point. Absolutely nothing redeeming about Verde's game tonight. Popovich even tried a Parker/Mills setup on the court tonight, that's how bad Green was.
Manu Ginobili: B-
Manu and Kawhi might have saved the game in the 2nd quarter. They set foot on the court and completely changed the tone of the game. Manu was on an obvious minutes restriction tonight, but he looked absolutely fantastic in the time he spent on the court. He was the only real ballhandler the Spurs had tonight outside of Tony (more on that later) and did a nice job orchestrating the scores. Other than a cherry-picked hoop, Manu made some hard drives and caused the Knicks defense to account for his triple-threat offense, which is still quite hard to deal with. Manu appears to be better on defense as well this year and overall looks to be in much better shape. He led all Spurs bench scorers with 7 points and chipped in a trio of assists as well. Not terrible for 17 minutes of play.
Boris Diaw: C-
Boris didn't do a lot to be noticed this evening. He did hit a very nice 3 in the 4th quarter that was easily his most important contribution of the night, but other than that, his 20 minutes weren't very impactful. On top of that, he had 3 turnovers, which is just unacceptable against a team that's such a poor defensive squad like the Knicks. Diaw seems that he hasn't really sorted out his place in this new Spurs team. Hopefully he does, because he still shows flashes of brilliance here and there.
Patty Mills: D-
Yikes. Patty made a serious run at taking away the terrible player of the game award from Danny Green. Mills wasn't much use to the Spurs tonight... in fact it was actually frightening whenever he touched the ball. I'm shocked that Mills ended with only 1 TO, because he was fumbling the ball all over the court and generally disrupting an offense... his own. Mills looked terribly unsettled, and against guards that aren't really too rough on defense. Perhaps it was a one off for our favorite Australian, or maybe he drank a little too much strawberry milk last night and wasn't ready for the b2b. He did have two steals, and his energy was probably the reason he managed to steal away some minutes from Green at the 2.
West & Anderson
David West just doesn't look ready to contribute on this team. He's just not in the right spacing at any time on the court, and teams seem to go after him on D. It's a bit concerning at this point. Anderson has some potential and looks quicker this year, but it's hard to see him getting many minutes in the playoffs at his current form. Hopefully he can improve his presence and rotations in the coming months.
Gregg Popovich: B-
I'm not too enthralled with some of Pop's rotations. But hey, a win on the road in the 2nd night of away games is a win. I also like the fact that he put in Mills when it was apparent that Green was a human wasteland tonight, but he went back to Green to little effect later in the game. At the end of the day, this was a maintenance game for our older players and the Spurs still won comfortably over a hungry Knicks team. It was ugly, but the season is still very young.
A word on the Knicks
If you watched this game, one thing was apparent: Kristaps Porzingis is going to be a force in the NBA, very very soon. His game is reminiscent of Dirk Nowitzki... in a 7 foot 3 inch frame. No joke, this guy is going to turn some heads. The Knicks are not going to be a laughingstock much longer, as they have other talent on the team with Jerian Grant and Kyle O'Quinn, both of whom should be starting sooner rather than later. Their current offense as it stands should not score 80 points on anyone... as it doesn't really exist. I only saw a few plays run all night that could even be considered a real set. If the Knicks get some consistency together, and stop starting players like Sasha Vujacic (yes, he is still in the league), they have a future in this League that's brighter than Knicks fans have seen in a while.
Thanks for the write-up. Sucks to see LDN struggle like that....he'll get it going I have no doubt.
On the Knicks....give Porzingis some time. If he can put some meat on those bones....watch out.
How did you grade Boban tonight tbh?
Thanks for the writeup. I missed today's game and this was a good read. Cheers.
He played 1 minute. A+.
thanks Cry!
Fantastic write up. Four games in, I'm loving this season. Please, keep em coming when you can, the write ups from knowledgeable posters are greatly appreciated by those of us who still visit the board for actual insight and good takes, go spurs
Thanks for the write up, great job!
Didn't like Diaw at all tonight. He was terrible. Mills needs to get his head out of his ass.
True, I was probably too generous with my C-.
Mills Diaw and West way too low for a win against a "decent" east coast team.
I thought the 2nd quarter extended run with Mills and TP on the floor at the same time was very effective, Mills had b2b steals IIRC which resulted in points.
Diaw didn't have his best game but wasn't below average.
West was +12 in 7 minutes with 3 assists, his best showing as a Spur.
Otherwise, thanks for the writeup.
Nice write up, I'd probably give Aldridge a B since he was key during a stretch and Parker a B+ for having his best game of the season.
Thanks OP
Thanks, Cry!!!
Thanks.
Disagree on Green though, he played the passing lanes well. Got steal/blocks. Although he did get burned by his man but not that many a times.
Thanks for the grades.
I'd say Pau Gasol.
BOOM!
Danny Green: F
This was the worst game I've ever seen from Danny Green. I almost don't feel like elaborating. His rotations were abysmal, his shot was completely off, and I'm fairly certain his man-on defense got him burned by the Knicks mascot at one point. Absolutely nothing redeeming about Verde's game tonight. Popovich even tried a Parker/Mills setup on the court tonight, that's how bad Green was.
Your writing style is just too dramatic and corny for me to take the write-up seriously. I couldn't even get through the first paragraph.
Agreed on Porkzingis, that rook is great once Fatmelo is out the team forever the Knicks can rebuild for good around him.
Thanks Cry for actually creating a decent thread. Far too few of these around here.
I like him but don't see him as a build-around level (franchise) player.
gonna order my kawhi jersey soon
Thanks for the grades. Miss having these.
Good writeup. Thanks, agree with most.
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