Quick Grades: Spurs at Clippers - Nov. 1

[HarlemHeat37]

Splitter's defense was outstanding, which is surprising, considering this was the first time he's played an actual game with the rest of the guys..

The difference on the p&r stands out..

Whenever Duncan or McDyess would guard the p&r, they would sag off the perimeter player, giving them the J, knowing that they wouldn't be able to recover if they hedged or played it too aggressively..this has often hurt the Spurs, it gives the opponent's open shot after open shot..

With Splitter, he hedged aggressively EVERY time, forcing the Clippers to reset their offense, obviously helping the Spurs kill more time on the shot clock, which is when pressure kicks in against the offense..

He rotated very well too, I love how he moves his feet and keeps his hands up..

It's only one game, I expect him to struggle with fouls in many games, but he has to be a starter soon..he's the anti-Blair defensively..seeing his p&r D gave me a lot of hope for this D though, he appears to be exactly what Duncan needs next to him from a defensive standpoint..

[bigdog]

Jefferson, Anderson, and Neal played solid ball tonight. RJ continues to impress and Neal is surprising me. I expected Anderson to be solid. Duncan finally came around in the 2nd half. TP played alright and Manu seemed a bit too excited on both ends. Simmons didn't do anything amazing, but his hustle on defense was awesome. Blair didn't play very well at all. McDyess hit some jumpers and did a good job on the boards.

Now, Splitter looked awesome on pick and roll defense and he ran the floor well when he wasn't winded. Don't expect much from him on offense, but that dunk on the PnR with Manu was sweet. If he can get into game shape, I expect him to be solid.

[AussieFanKurt]

Pretty happy with the game but Clips have been shooting 38% and they shot 50% so that will be addressed hopefully

[#2!]

lol at timvp and a couple others praising Simmons for his "physical defense."

Why not just say it? I liked it when Bobby Simmons popped Blake Griffin in the mouth.

Seriously, I did. I know it was an accident, but the spurs need aggressive, physical defenders who may cross the line occasionally, accidental or not. The Spurs will not find another Bruce Bowen (they are as rare as dominant big men, if not more so), but having a toughness, and an edge defensively does not require any particular player or talent. Props to Simmons, I hope he makes that edge his niche.

[024]

i'm pretty disappointed by blair so far. he should be moved back to the bench pretty soon because he's better against the second unit bigs. the first unit bigs usually tear him apart.

[Rito3d30]

TP should play more pnr game with either Blair/Splitter

[wildbill2u]

Splitter has great hands and moves for a big and is going to be awesome on the pnr. You watch.

[yavozerb]

Defense looked solid last night. Everyone seemed to be moving much better and helping out one another very well. lets hope this continues.

[BronxCowboy]

I have to agree with the above posters that C+ may be a little generous for Blair, or maybe we're just expecting too much after last year/preseason. On the plus side, he showed nice effort on defense, and made some nice passes on offense. One the minus side, he didn't appear to be attacking the boards with the kind of aggression that we've seen from him, and wasn't looking to score inside. The one field goal he did attempt looked tentative, not something I expected from Blair.
Neal was great, and I hope this wasn't just a freak game. I'm not sure I would say his defense was great, but it was very good considering he doesn't have great size and strength. Hopefully if he and Anderson keep showing some defensive aggression, and Splitter can improve his conditioning, the Spurs can get back to making life miserable for the other team.

[arakkus]

I agree with all your grades except Blair, I would have to give him an F.

Whether it was Gordon penetration, Griffin post moves, or Kaman standing jumper Blair seemed to be the guy they picked on consistently. The perimeter players seemed to be doing a decent job of funneling the players to help but Blair's help defense is non-existent. Add to that the fact that he doesn't seem to be grabbing us any extra rebounds or getting easy points near the basket its hard to see why he is deserving of a starting role at this point. However, I'll give Pop credit he is giving Blair a chance to prove himself over time. Yanking someone after a couple games can definately mess with your head. I'm pretty sure if this continues Blair will completely understand if he loses his starting role.

[The_Worlds_finest]

now the question: are the Spurs going to use this game as springboard or are they going to regress against the Suns. i know it's still early in the season, but i'd like to see this team build some confidence and build on this.

No such thing as early in the season. Spurs got off to a start last year giving up games to teams they should have beat. However that being said,

I like this team much better than last years reasons being;
-A young talented bench full of potential
-2nd year for Blair
-Finally a big in the paint behind Tim Duncan
-RJ fitting in!!!

Bring on the Suns!

[Spurs Brazil]

Gary Neal A+ Best perimeter defender. Rebounded. Shot it straight.

Neal D was impressive. We'll know he can shot but his D so far has been a great surprise. He moves his feet well and he's great in fight through screens.

RJ with another great game and Anderson solid once again

TP was good and TD played much better in the 2nd half

Tiago will be a big upgrade for our D

[ElNono]

I concur that Tiago P&R defense was
Best I've seen on a big guy in a while.
Gary Neal continues to be fearless. He lets it fly and on defense he plays aggressive, even if he makes some rookie mistakes here and there (understandable).
Anderson is also starting to pick it up. I like how he cheats sometimes and stays baseline on defense waiting to contest at the rim. He's got caught a couple of times with 3 second defensive violations for doing that, but he will learn in time.
I liked what RJ brought to the table too, already pointed it out in another thread.

All in all, it was a step in the right direction. Granted, it was the Clippers, but on a night where the bench played as well, if not better, than the starters, you have to be happy.

[Pauleta14]

Neal is not a usual rookie, like Splitter, he learned a lot in europe, specialy defensively...

Let's wait a few games before drawing any conclusion, but he looks like another steal from our FO! (Chip Engeland?)

[SplitterHook]

Even thought he barely played with his team mates I expected Tiago to display great PnR, defensively and offensively and he showed it! C+ due to his lack of conditioning.

Neal was shooting really well. B-