Grades: Spurs @ Grizzlies - Feb. 5

[Darkwaters]

Thats whats killing me about Blair. The only guy on this roster that just tries to coast out there.

You think Jefferson hasn't been coasting downhill all season?

[Robz4000]

Another solid write-up timvp. Only two changes on my end: give Bonner and Green Bs. When Bonner plays more aggressively, good things seem to happen. Since the Dallas game he's been playing with heart, and when he does it allows his game to improve drastically. Green made some dumb mistakes, but all in all he did exactly what he needs to do, and that's bring the energy. He never backed off, even after failing, and in the end persevered to play a key role in this win. Also, tbh, this was an occasion where Pop should've left Splitter in with Duncan. They were beginning to develop a form of rhythm. Whose to say where it would have taken them, but a trial by fire might've been more beneficial in the long run, considering this is exactly the type of game they're gonna see in the playoffs.

[will_spurs]

Minor comment: could you please include the full boxscore? Would be useful to see important stats from the other team like TOs, offensive rebounds or FG%.

[TE]

One problem with your grades. Blair was arguably the main reason we gave up the lead in the third quarter. He is useless and pathetic in terms of basketball IQ and it shows in every damn game. A D- at best tbh

[Muser]

Damn Duncan was a beast.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Think I'd give Green a C-. He made a couple nice plays here and there but he hurt us too more then he did good.

He made BIG plays LATE, and that's worth a letter grade bump. He rebounded, passed, and defended well. That's the EXACT effort that Pop wants to see from a player who's shot isn't falling. That bounce pass he dropped between Gasol's legs to Timmy for the dunk late was positively Manu-esque.

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Minor comment: could you please include the full boxscore? Would be useful to see important stats from the other team like TOs, offensive rebounds or FG%.

It's available on NBA.com. Use a tabbed browser and toggle back and forth.

[Ice009]

What do people think about Kawhi's offense? I'm a little worried that Pop might cut his minutes in the playoffs if he doesn't improve and find a niche offensively.

[Bruno]

It was a huge win.

More like individual grades, Spurs' team as a whole deserves a lot of props. After Manu's injury, expectations were Spurs being about a .500 team. To make it worse, they have lost TJ Ford just after Manu. The worst was expected but they are 14-7 without Manu. That's just great even more than Spurs have had a very condensed schedule that wasn't particularly easy or home oriented. You had to be proud about what Spurs have done this past month.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Great write up timvp, the only disagreement I have is Pop was graded too high.

I don't know if we should just accept that Tiago will almost never break the 25 MPG barrier, but it's just getting downright silly with his inability to find more minutes for Tiago. It's going to really suck if he doesn't play Tim/Tiago enough during the regular season to give this team a good shot to be ready come playoff time.

Maybe a trade or picking someone up off a buyout will happen to add another big, but it is still puzzling how much Pop hates Tiago.

[acoelho1]

Tiago shoots 6 for 7 and only gets 20mins..sigh. On the positive note, at least Green is getting the minutes over RJ. Sure, he makes mistakes and his shot is inconsistent but he makes things happen out on the court and is aggressive on defensive.

[urunobili]

The team plays better with Anderson on the court because he is constantly passing the rock! thanks timvp!

[benefactor]

It was a huge win.

More like individual grades, Spurs' team as a whole deserves a lot of props. After Manu's injury, expectations were Spurs being about a .500 team. To make it worse, they have lost TJ Ford just after Manu. The worst was expected but they are 14-7 without Manu. That's just great even more than Spurs have had a very condensed schedule that wasn't particularly easy or home oriented. You had to be proud about what Spurs have done this past month.

Agreed. There were players that had ups and downs in this game but the overall team effort gets an A+ from me. There is more fight from top to bottom in this Spurs team then we have seen in a long time.

[Mel_13]

It was a huge win.

More like individual grades, Spurs' team as a whole deserves a lot of props. After Manu's injury, expectations were Spurs being about a .500 team. To make it worse, they have lost TJ Ford just after Manu. The worst was expected but they are 14-7 without Manu. That's just great even more than Spurs have had a very condensed schedule that wasn't particularly easy or home oriented. You had to be proud about what Spurs have done this past month.

Yes.

From top to bottom the team has stepped up, and Tim and Tony have played like champions.

[TDMVPDPOY]

What do people think about Kawhi's offense? I'm a little worried that Pop might cut his minutes in the playoffs if he doesn't improve and find a niche offensively.

he will be like every rookie on this team for the last couple of seasons...will not see any minutes in the playoffs unless pop is force or plays the mercy card

[WeNeedLength]

he will be like every rookie on this team for the last couple of seasons...will not see any minutes in the playoffs unless pop is force or plays the mercy card

I don't see how Pop would bench Leonard in the playoffs unless he started turning over the ball rampantly. He's our best perimeter defender and has successfully defended the likes of Durant and Gay. I don't see him being benched in the playoffs unless, like I said, just becomes a turnover machine. There's enough offense out there to make up for his passiveness...

[GSH]

DeJuan Blair
All in all, it's obvious that he's not feeling 100% physically and he's making things worse by forcing the issue too often.

I hadn't thought of Blair's struggles in terms of him being less than 100% physically. Is there some court injury you are thinking about, or just general observation? If the latter, do you think it's his knees?


Danny Green
With the Grizzlies trapping Parker, the Spurs needed someone to find the open man against the scrambling defense and Green stepped up to that challenge.

I think we are going to see teams trapping Parker with more regularity. If a team wants to shut down one player badly enough, they can do it. Unfortunately, nobody else was facilitating plays. Do you think Pop would have gone with that two-PG lineup, if TJ Ford were healthy?

Green made some bad plays, no question. I think he also got victimized by having the ball dumped on him near the end of the shot clock several times, with no place to go. I think he also made at least one other good feed to Tiago that he just mishandled, and another to Anderson for an alley-oop, which Anderson just missed. In the game thread, people were screaming about him taking some shots that were really very good looks. He needs to knock them down, but there's a big difference between missing an open shot and being dumb.

Gary Neal
The scouting report on him is starting to get around because every team now knows to pressure his weak dribble and then jump the passing lanes. The result is usually Neal either turning it over or almost turning it over.

That's the biggest reason why the Neal-as-a-PG experiment needs to stop. There is absolutely no doubt that word it out, and teams are going straight after him when he's got the ball. He might have the opportunity to improve, if he was receiving a normal amount of pressure. But this is a recipe for failure, and it doesn't do him or the team justice.

Tiago Splitter
When Duncan and Splitter are both playing this well, the Spurs constantly have a very capable bigman on the court at all times -- and that's a big reason why the team has been able to survive the injury to Manu Ginobili so well thus far.

I would sure like to see a little more time when the Spurs have two very capable big men on the court, and maybe a chance at a little bit of dominance in the middle. And I keep thinking how deadly Tim could be with that bank shot, if the other team was forced to cover Tiago in the low blocks. And how that could be enough to starte getting those WIDE open 3-point looks we used to get. And...

[will_spurs]

I think we are going to see teams trapping Parker with more regularity. If a team wants to shut down one player badly enough, they can do it. Unfortunately, nobody else was facilitating plays. Do you think Pop would have gone with that two-PG lineup, if TJ Ford were healthy?

The answer in the past was usually to put Manu in with Tony in order to have 2 players who can create for others. If TJ Ford plays the same as he was paying when he got injured (i.e. sharing the ball well) then he could be another weapon to make teams pay for focusing too much on Tony.

[therealtruth]

Tiago shoots 6 for 7 and only gets 20mins..sigh. On the positive note, at least Green is getting the minutes over RJ. Sure, he makes mistakes and his shot is inconsistent but he makes things happen out on the court and is aggressive on defensive.

Exactly. Tiago should be getting more shots. He has the highest FG%. I'd rather win with Tiago getting and making high percentage shots than Bonner taking 3's that he won't hit in the playoffs. Tiago will be able to get those same shots in the playoffs or a foul or double team. The double teams will make it easier for the 3 point shooters. It's generally easier to hit a 3 of a pass out of the post than of a drive and kick situation like they tried against the Grizzlies last year.

[therealtruth]

Don't forget the Grizzlies had played away in Boston the night before.

[Horse]

The most compelling argument thus far for no Splitter in the starting lineup/being paired with Duncan is the bench problem. So I definitely feel like that's one major reason pop isn't rolling with Duncan and Tiago. However, I personally favor the Duncan and Splitter starting line up with those two getting most of the big men minutes.

I feel like the pros would outweigh the cons. Our best defensive front court starts and sets defensive tone for the game. Our offense would be more than fine with Ginobili back, Duncan playing the high post (which hes been doing for most of the season), and we could even move RJ to the bench and have Leonard start as well. And you could still stick Tiago with that energy lineup of Neal, Green, Anderson and Bonner. Unless Tiago has cardio problems (which I doubt and could actually be fixed if he played more), I don't see why he shouldn't be getting 25-30 minutes a game for the rest of the season. He's proven to be that kind of player. Even on off-nights where his shooting was off, he still found other ways to contribute (offensive rebounds, solid defense, hustle, etc.)

Our 2003 championship team didn't really have a deep front line either. Outside of the starting duo of Duncan and Robinson, it was Rose who would take the majority of the remaining minutes. Next in line were Danny Ferry and Kevin Willis. Both Ferry and Willis played limited minutes that season. So it was basically a 3 man rotation of Duncan, Robinson and Rose.

Agreed, and they don't have to come out at the same time. Bring Bonner or Blair in, but keep Tiago out there a few more minutes. Then Bring Timmy back in for Tiago. Then end the game with them out there together. Something like that could work.

[024]

green's grade of C+ is fair. i rather have his hustle and energy over jefferson's power of invisibility.

having green out there actively making plays is a very refreshing thing to see. he just needs to refine his game and cut down on his mistakes. that will take time. in fact, if green was not on the floor, i'm sure the spurs would have lost the game because the entire offense sputtered (familiar sight) but green stepped up and made plays.

[quentin_compson]

Was this the second game in a row where Green was whistled for goaltending after there had been a foul call already? At least it's the second time it has happened over the last couple of games.
His two passes to Tiago and Tim were great, though.

[timvp]

-you can honestly count the times RJ has driven to the hoop this season with one hand. Bonner has taken it to the basket more than him this year. It's really sad considering he was at one time one of the best finishers in the league.

Yeah, Bonner has definitely been more of a driver this season than RJ, which is indeed a shocking turn of events. While RJ has lost athleticism, that's not the only thing that has changed because it's not like we see him even attempting layups. He's just much lazier and scared this year.

Looking back on it, it's almost like he's not willing to put his body on the line for a team that nearly amnestied him. That's the only explanation that makes sense to me.

-kawhi has been moving a lot better laterally the last couple of weeks. When the season started, he was a lot slower than i expected and not really that athletic. he's done a better job moving side to side as well as running through picks the last couple of games

Good observation. He has been much better at navigating around screens recently.

Now if only he can teach Danny Green to do the same . . .

-i like Danny and the intangibles he brings but he makes some dumb plays. This is the 2nd game in a row where he's given up an And 1 by goaltending after a foul. I'm not gonna complain too much because hes great at recovering with a block but he needs to play smarter.

Green's mistakes are Ginobili-esque in that they are usually a result of just playing so hard. Ginobili, especially compared to earlier in his career, has been able to cut down on that type of mistakes. Hopefully Green can do the same as he gains more experience.

Question, do you think Tiago and Tim can ever be effective together on offense? I know they haven't seen much time together and there's a lot of room for improvement. But the only way i see it working is if they alternate touches on the low block which isn't exactly the smartest way to attack defenses especially with great PnR players like TP and Manu.....

I think it can work. Last night was unquestionably a mess, though. A couple times, Parker was calling a play for Splitter to post up due to Splitter's size advantage over Cunningham but one time Splitter just ran the wrong play and on another time Duncan overruled Parker's call and demanded the ball. Then there was the time Duncan was fronted, which meant that Splitter should have gone to the high post ... but it took Splitter about five seconds to realize where he should go.

Those issues can be ironed out with playing time. I understand your concern but with Duncan showing more of an outside jumper and Splitter understanding spacing so well, there's no reason why it can't work. But it is going to take A LOT of minutes. And preferably, those minutes won't be in the guts of the game because that will end up costing the Spurs a bunch of wins.

I hate to keep harping on it but the only answer here is Splitter starting next to Duncan. That will grow the needed chemistry and vastly increase the Spurs chances of winning a championship. I don't buy the talk that Bonner and Blair can't both come off the bench because once the playoffs arrive, the Spurs historically shift to a three-man bigman rotation anyways. Starting Splitter and Duncan with either Bonner or Blair called on depending on matchups is what the Spurs will need to do to win a championship.

Not allowing Duncan and Splitter to figure each other out is the fastest way to make this team a pretender instead of a contender.

[GSH]

The most compelling argument thus far for no Splitter in the starting lineup/being paired with Duncan is the bench problem. So I definitely feel like that's one major reason pop isn't rolling with Duncan and Tiago.

Next in line were Danny Ferry and Kevin Willis. Both Ferry and Willis played limited minutes that season. So it was basically a 3 man rotation of Duncan, Robinson and Rose.

Pretty solid logic all around. I mean that. And if there hadn't been so many times that both Tim and Tiago were on the bench, I would think that was exactly what Pop has in mind. (Last night was the first time I remember that one of them was on the floor for pretty much the whole game.)

If Pop is going to play Tim 30 minutes, that leaves 18 minutes for Tiago to cover. But Tiago ought to be good for 28, don't you think? So we ought to be able to see Tim and Tiago together for at least 10 minutes per game, anyway. I'd settle for that right now.

And BTW - I would kill for a Kevin Willis right now. That was a very bad man. In his last season with the Spurs, his per/36 numbers were still like 16 and 10, and he could lay some serious wood on an opposing big and make him think twice about strolling to the rim. Give me 10 minutes per night of a guy like that.