Game Grades: Spurs at Sixers (2 of 2) 40-12 WS1

[Chinook]

Overview:

At least this was better than the Memphis game. Having Kawhi back made a lot of difference as you’d expect, since he was efficient with his scoring and steadied the Spurs. The Sixers are a much improved team depending on who’s healthy, so I wouldn’t take any victory against them lightly. You can see some of their talent coming through with Saric and Stauskas going off. You add in Embiid and Simmons (and a PG taken at the top of this draft), and you have a legit great young core.

Still, the Spurs have dominated better teams than this, so it was a disappointment that Pop had Tony out there at the end. The bench scoring 25 points was a big culprit of that, along with Philly making an unfair number of difficult threes. Without Embiid, it’s too tough to know if the Spurs would win, but no one in Philly should think they had any real chance to beat SA as is.

Here’s the box score:

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
L. AldridgePF	36	5-10	0-1	5-6	2	8	10	0	0	2	2	2	+10	15
K. LeonardSF	37	9-18	3-7	11-11	1	5	6	5	0	0	2	2	+14	32
D. DedmonC	26	4-5	0-0	2-3	2	9	11	3	0	1	0	3	+13	10
T. ParkerPG	30	7-12	1-1	3-3	0	1	1	5	0	0	0	2	+7	18
D. GreenSG	25	4-8	3-4	0-0	0	3	3	0	2	1	2	1	+16	11
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	+/-	PTS
D. LeePF	14	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	6	6	4	0	0	3	3	-1	2
D. BertansSF	15	3-5	2-4	1-2	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	1	-5	9
J. AnthonyC	3	1-2	0-0	0-0	1	1	2	0	0	0	1	1	+0	2
P. MillsPG	18	2-5	1-3	0-0	0	3	3	2	0	0	0	1	+1	5
K. AndersonSG	6	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	1	0	2	-4	2
M. GinobiliSG	18	1-3	1-2	0-0	0	0	0	2	1	0	2	2	-4	3
J. SimmonsSG	11	1-3	0-0	0-0	0	2	2	1	0	0	2	2	-7	2
D. MurrayPG	DNP-COACH'S DECISION
TEAM		39-74	11-22	22-25	6	41	47	24	3	5	15	22		111
		52.7%	50.0%	88.0%

Grades:

LaMarcus Aldridge – B-plus: You want to see more points come from your second option, but he was solid all around, scoring efficiently, rebounding well and defending better than his two blocks suggested. The Spurs can win against almost all teams with this LMA, but he’ll have to grab about 10 more points to be in a form that would let the Spurs beat GS.

Kawhi Leonard – A: I’m actually giving Kawhi a bump here because he didn’t come back rusty. Obviously the scoring was great and perfectly efficient. He loses points on the other end. That he collected so few defensive stats is puzzling, and Covington had a pretty good night due to him beating Leonard on cuts multiple times (and making some fluke shots). I appreciate that, since Robert’s on by FBB team, but still, it was a blemish on what was a disappointingly necessary explosion.

Dewayne Dedmon – A: Three fouls in 26 minutes spent mostly against the other team’s best (uninjured) offensive big is impressive for Dewayne’s standards. And for a guy like him, a double-double is a nice touch. It’s kind of amazing that he only recorded on block, though. He really earned by praise on offense, though. He scored 10 points on six possessions, and he had three assists to no TOs. Very strong all-around game and was marked only by a couple of instances where he failed to secure a board.

Tony Parker – A: 18 points on 13 tries is great, as is five assists to no turnovers. He easily dominated his match-up and played a decent defensive game when he wasn’t being forced to switch onto forwards. He was a perfect third option.

Danny Green – B-plus: I actually thought there was little wrong with Green outside that absurd alley-oop attempt. I would have liked to have seen one or two more of those drives end in success, but it was still an adequate use of possessions. He had a couple of nice steals and a really nice block that unfortunately ended in him being bulldozed after the Spurs let an offensive board go to Philly. If this were average Danny, the team would be the one-seed. Unfortunately, this has been good Danny all year. Let’s hope for a shift.

David Lee – B-minus : He didn’t play poorly. Pop just elected to go with small-ball down the stretch. The TOs and fouls weren’t great, but he rebounded well and assisted well. It’s just not what we’re used to seeing him do in the absence of Pau. That pass to Bertans to end the first quarter was awesome, though.

Davis Bertans – B: Davis’ two threes were both great momentum shots. The first was the aforementioned shot off Lee’s pass to end the first. The second was off a scramble under the basket to end the third. I’m not sure the Spurs win without those shots. And that scoop off his drive was great, as was the pass he make to Tony on Okafor’s block. The O was good. The D sucked. The dude went full-on Bambi on the perimeter, letting everyone blow by him while he staggered back like a newborn deer. The interior weaknesses will only be fixed if/when he puts on weight, so no reason to hate on him too much for not being able to check Okafor or Noel inside.

Patty Mills – C-plus: I honestly really don’t remember him too much. He didn’t score in the second half, and it wasn’t like he was getting it done with his D. With Parker’s game, it was fine.

Manu Ginobili – C-plus: Force the jumpball with Noel to lead to that Bertans three in the third was a huge momentum play. I’ll give him credit for that. That he didn’t score or assist very well besides that was pretty big knock. The bench picked a good game to go cold, but hopefully, it won’t do that in a game that matters.

Jonathon Simmons – C-plus: I didn’t like Simmons too much in this game outside his really smart pass to Bertans on that twice-mentioned third-quarter shot. It turns out that that pass, a pull-up and a block/foul pretty much summed up Simmons’ night. I didn’t like his D much at all tonight, as he was one of the main culprits to help Stauskas and Saric go off. It’s not all on him, but he was pretty juiceless.

Kyle Anderson – B-minus: I’d like to give him an INC, but I don’t think I could get away with in given that he had a solid non-GT stint. The defense was pretty good until he got the two quick fouls that pretty much killed his night. Underrated efficiency from him was a plus. He probably should have been kept playing even with the fouls.

Joel Anthony – INC: I would at least wait to see who else was out there before giving Joel a contract. He’s not a horrible player, but he’s really not a good one, and that dunk he had instead of running the clock out probably didn’t earn him any points with Pop.

Pop – C-plus: I think Pop panicked and overcompensated. The Spurs seemed to lose momentum whenever they switched players. The starters by and large played well. But because Pop didn’t like their energy, so he brought in Manu and Patty early, and it didn’t work out. Bringing in Manu to end the first half was another bad idea. Had Pop played his first unit normal minutes, the Spurs probably put them away by the middle of the third.

[SAGirl]

Thanks so much for the review Chinook!! Much much appreciated.
It was kind of a nail biter for a while...

[GSH]

Thanks, Chinook.

You mentioned Lee sitting because Pop went small. Wouldn't you normally think Lee would be on the floor playing small ball? Of course, Dedmon is showing that he can run the floor. I loved the way he was hitting the offensive glass, too.

I am really disappointed with Simmons the last few games. Seems like maybe Pop is, too.

When the game was close near the end, Danny took several running jumpers that just looked like . I don't ever want the team to be dependent on Danny moving with the ball and shooting in an important game. I just cringed each time I saw him dribbling toward the paint, because I knew it was going to be another empty possession. And you can see that was the shot their defense was happy to give.

[Robz4000]

Thanks for the grades my dude. Agree with everything .

[ElNono]

Thanks Chinook. I have to rewatch the game, tbh... bench was certainly kinda cold but despite the close score, it didn't felt the game was going to get away from us.

BTW, Bertans is HUGE. First time I see the guy in person, he's a big boy.

[Spur|n|Austin]

thanks!

[pgardn]

Thanks Chinook. I have to rewatch the game, tbh... bench was certainly kinda cold but despite the close score, it didn't felt the game was going to get away from us.

BTW, Bertans is HUGE. First time I see the guy in person, he's a big boy.

The man has no shoulders.
His arms are attached to his neck, it's disturbing.

[pgardn]

Thanks for the write up.

You are kind.
As a team... Ahhh... We were not good.
We have hit a bit of a rough patch.

[Cry Havoc]

Thanks Chin. Nicely done. I caught most of the game but it's still nice being able to read this as a follow-up.

That DG alley-oop. Yao Ming wouldn't have been able to get that thing.

[SAGirl]

The man has no shoulders.
His arms are attached to his neck, it's disturbing.

This was funny... with all the fathead pejorative remarks (damn you Kawhitstorm, he's a beast coming up with pejorative names... no one can rival his trolling game in creativity and quickness in coming up with names ) No shoulders Bertans created an image... very funny.

[spurs10]

Thanks for the write-up!!

[Pocho La Pantera]

Thanks man!

[daledondale]

Thanks man!

[CGD]

The man has no shoulders.
His arms are attached to his neck, it's disturbing.

Yeah, he kind of has the Will Purdue shoulder thing

[Seventyniner]

Wouldn't you normally think Lee would be on the floor playing small ball?

Any small ball lineup is going to have Kawhi at the 4 with three guards and one big. Lee being that big would be too small imo.

[Chinook]

You mentioned Lee sitting because Pop went small. Wouldn't you normally think Lee would be on the floor playing small ball?

Any small ball lineup is going to have Kawhi at the 4 with three guards and one big. Lee being that big would be too small imo.

I was considering Bertans and Anderson as the PFs mainly. I'm trying to think if I saw Kawhi at the four. Lee had his time as a small-ball center, especially early (he and Bertans were the two bigs at the end of the first). But I think Pop was reluctant to play Lee with LMA or Dedmon given that he couldn't really guard Ersan, Dario or Covington.

[GSH]

I was considering Bertans and Anderson as the PFs mainly. I'm trying to think if I saw Kawhi at the four. Lee had his time as a small-ball center, especially early (he and Bertans were the two bigs at the end of the first). But I think Pop was reluctant to play Lee with LMA or Dedmon given that he couldn't really guard Ersan, Dario or Covington.

Yeah, that's sort of what I was thinking. Made me wonder if the range of matchups where Pop will use Lee (postseason) might be a little narrower than I had been thinking.

[Chinook]

Yeah, that's sort of what I was thinking. Made me wonder if the range of matchups where Pop will use Lee (postseason) might be a little narrower than I had been thinking.

It's actually even more true given that this was without Pau. With Gasol, that's just one more big to compete for minutes. I think Lee has a spot against GS and CLE, but against Houston or LAC, maybe not. Ersan and Dario have the advantage of both being legit fours who happen to be stretch-bigs. So it's not like going against Durant at the four where you could at least say Lee could body KD up down low.

[Blake]

Good grades. I agree with all except Simmons who I thought deserved a D+.

[SAGirl]

In a very not talked about way lately, Simmons has been putting up games where you don't remember much of what he was doing out there bc it wasn't good. The Memphis game was an eyesore and he followed it up with this.

[HarlemHeat37]

In a very not talked about way lately, Simmons has been putting up games where you don't remember much of what he was doing out there bc it wasn't good. The Memphis game was an eyesore and he followed it up with this.

It has always been like that, tbh..everybody remembers his big bursts that he has a few times a month, but forgets the many ty games in between

[SAGirl]

It has always been like that, tbh..everybody remembers his big bursts that he has a few times a month, but forgets the many ty games in between

You are right. I went on blurb in that "Manu back for another season thread"... which was lengthy even for me. Bottom line, he's fine at current contract and for about 10 minutes, more than that in a good team you are asking for trouble.

"Hard to say, his future in the Spurs is..."