Quick Grades: Spurs @ Lakers - Round 1, Game 4

[Sean Cagney]

Fluke showing. He still needs 2 more years at least to learn the system from the bench. Spurs should resign Blair fir 2 more years until Aaron gets over himself and can make the correct rotation at least 99.9% of the time.

How about re sign neither and Bring in Pau Gasol after the Lakers Amnesty him this offseason.........

Aron Baynes, almost. ALMOST makes you question keeping Splitter around.

I have to see alot more of him! IF some team throws alot at Splitter though, forget it and let him walk.

[John B]

Spurs got a playoff training camp thanks to the Lakers.

[QUOTE=therealtruth;6520103]TMac definitely gives us another look since you can put the ball in his hands and let him run the offense like Manu. Baynes defense was impressive. He pretty much completely flustered Howard. He drew an offensive foul and the play Howard drew the tech on was probably also another offensive foul. I don't think Howard scored on him at all.[/QUOTE
This. I like it. Baynes's defense was great and his outside was another look at freeing up Timmy. He could post-up. Watch out Splitter. Here's a little compe ion for you. Watching TMac was cool. He has poise and really looks great. I think Pop would use him in small ball tbh and give our 2nd unit some scoring plus veteran leadership. Go Spurs Go!

[siraulo23]

when you see baynes tossing howard around you know he's a strong mofo, really good signing by the spurs, i just wish he played a little more during the RS

it's shocking how manu is playing right now, other than having tp back and healthy, he's the other reason the bench has got fluidity and iden y out there. It usually takes manu a long time before he could get in rhythm but the first game back vs the Twolves he looked sharp. Hopefully he can keep that up

Now on to GSW or Nuggets, if GSW gets through and plays out of their minds like they are vs the Nuggets, it's gonna be a long 2nd round series

[benfti]

Nice!

Aron Baynes stat of the night: +15 in 16 minutes

Did anyone get the feeling whenever he was on court that the lakers had no interest in going inside at all, and on O no one wanted to post him up.

[Stabula]

Honestly I think Parker still looks somewhat hurt. He's much more humble than someone like Kobe and won't front with the 'wounded warrior' routine but it looked like he was grimacing and stretching after every drive.

[benstanfield]

Things we learned:

Every player on the Spurs, from top to bottom, is capable of playing quality rotation minutes. With the exception of McGrady I guess, until we see him play actual minutes. Still, there aren't a lot of teams you can say that about.

I actually wouldn't mind McGrady at backup point if we needed to start Manu. He's definitely slower than Jack, though, and still looks pretty dismal at defense. Getting a steal wasn't exactly an accomplishment tonight.

The Lakers are in a ty situation with Dwight. them. They pretty much have to give him a max contract if he wants it, but he just got absolutely demolished by Tim Duncan in 2013, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, and most notably the big boy...

...and they have to pay Kobe to sit out next year. Presumably they will pay Steve Nash to do the same. Artest will most likely not be the same player. Gasol is gone.

[TJastal]

Things we learned:

Every player on the Spurs, from top to bottom, is capable of playing quality rotation minutes. With the exception of McGrady I guess, until we see him play actual minutes. Still, there aren't a lot of teams you can say that about.

I actually wouldn't mind McGrady at backup point if we needed to start Manu. He's definitely slower than Jack, though, and still looks pretty dismal at defense. Getting a steal wasn't exactly an accomplishment tonight.

The Lakers are in a ty situation with Dwight. them. They pretty much have to give him a max contract if he wants it, but he just got absolutely demolished by Tim Duncan in 2013, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, and most notably the big boy...

...and they have to pay Kobe to sit out next year. Presumably they will pay Steve Nash to do the same. Artest will most likely not be the same player. Gasol is gone.

What a bleak picture that paints for the lakers next season.... I feel so sorry for the fans.. oh wait ... no I don't.

[polandprzem]

Baynes is a prospect for next year.
He seems like a good banger but he needs to get used to NBA basketball. Good call by Pop to put him in the starting lineup. Just to have a big body from the get go and not letting Howard and Gasol going

Overall the series was far from playoff intensity. next round will be more intense and aggressive. But spurs were looking better and better as the series went, so if spurs can keep the progression healthwise and shapewise the journey might be fun.

[Stabula]

Lakers are done for a couple of years.

[benfti]

funny because the biggest baynes doubters were the aussies

not me, ive been backing him in as an NBA prospect well before he even came to us

Im a big fan of Baynes, and I think I made that clear around the Olympics. He would suit the Spurs perfectly, and knowing the Aussie sets and he could slot in with minimum fuss mid sesaon.

Ok here is what you need to know about Baynes.

He is big, he knows it, and some how finds a way to move his girth at good pace, and he has a surprisingly quick first step for a 6'11 white guy. His mid range game kind of ends around the 10 feet mark, but he actually can drop step to create space if he ends up further out from the rim.

Spot on with the passing, he can throw some howlers at times where he gets delusions that he is Steve Nash, but its more born from youthful energy than a low IQ. Quick step aside Baynes doesnt look for holes when he is posing up, he is far more interested in making them himself. Will not under any cir stance shirk the contest, this sometimes boarder lines on short tempered which will see him get a few technical and unsportsmanlike fouls through his journey.

For me he is probably the most promising big man prospect from our country at the moment. We need a big set under the rim for us and Aron wont die wondering.

In many ways he is like Blair just taller and angrier

[KL2]

Kawhi didn't do a whole lot offensively this series but defensively the guy was a monster.

Game 1 he locked MWP down, bodying him and making him his grabbing some TOUGH boards.

Game 2 he was solid offensively, in all the games his help defense on Howard was excellent, stripping and knocking the ball away quite a few times.

Game 3 when Goudelock just couldn't miss Pop wound up putting Kawhi on him, Kawhi proceeded to hold him to just 2-4 points after Goudelock had scored 14 in the 1st half.

Game 4 he did a great job on Goudelock again and really gave Pau , doing a great job of denying him the ball, I think the entire time Pau was on him he only scored once.

Dude guarded 2 PGs/SGs a SF, and a PF all extremely well, pretty much everyone except Howard who he played great help defense on.

[Darius McCrary]

Baynes weakness is he is slow twitch. He's not slow per se, and he's fast enough in terms of getting up and down the court but he lacks any quickness. That's how he got his easy dunk blocked, and why he struggles to rebound in traffic. But he's got a lot of positives, and i expect him to get much better.

[superbigtime]

How about re sign neither and Bring in Pau Gasol after the Lakers Amnesty him this offseason..........

to the yes.

[dylankerouac]

Thanks for the grades and thoughts throughout the series timvp.

[024]

I like Baynes. As Duncan continues to slim down and slide back into the PF spot, Baynes is a big body that can guard heavy centers. If he can guard DHO, he can guard pretty much any center in the league. Draftexpress has his pre-draft measurements at 6'10.5" without shoes so he's probably closer to 6'11.5", 7'0" with shoes. He looked taller than DHO out there. Hope the coaching staff really takes the summer to develop him and maybe give him some post moves.

[Bill_Brasky]

Joseph/Blair had a nice connection going, and Blair was actually finishing well for once.

Joseph looks damn good, he's getting very comfortable out there. May have found a legit backup for Tony.

[ironman2886]

Baynes needs to work on catching the ball. His jumper can be more consistent, and he needs to go harder to the rim. Can't wait to see what a training camp will do for Baynes.

[Dex]

Nice!

Aron Baynes stat of the night: +15 in 16 minutes

Aron Baynes stat of the night: Ejections: 1 (Howard)

[Whisky Dog]

To me the staff needs to work Baynes this offseason on his 15 to 20 ft jumper. He's a perfect pick and pop candidate to Splitter's pick and roll and can be a big who can guard the best bigs down low while making a living on that jumpshot. I don't think he has the quickness to pull off a big low post game but he can have a niche here for sure and give the Spurs what they don't have without him.

[Obstructed_View]

Baynes weakness is he is slow twitch. He's not slow per se, and he's fast enough in terms of getting up and down the court but he lacks any quickness. That's how he got his easy dunk blocked, and why he struggles to rebound in traffic. But he's got a lot of positives, and i expect him to get much better.

You could be right, but one might also argue that it was his first game and his dunk was blocked by a rather good player named Pau Gasol. I'm definitely with you on the last sentence though.

[Capt Bringdown]

Although unlikely, I hope we see more strategic, crafty use of Baynes in this post-season. Baynes may be limited/raw at this point, but even in the playoffs there can be spot minutes for such a player. Pushing around and getting under the skin of Howard is no small feat. I can't see any of our other reserve bigs doing that.

[jesterbobman]

While Gasol and Howard are tough matchups for bigs, defending them down low doesn't require the same work in space as some others bigs would. Blair and Baynes have the physical part sorted, so while it was tough, it's a matchup that played to their strengths.

[moisaenz]

I am happy if Baynes can play the role that Perkins plays in OKC.