Spurs vs. Suns Game 3 - Grades

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

There were so many big 2nd half plays today.

First was Barry's 3 straight off the bench, then Manu's poked eye anger, Horry's 4th Q 3, Finley's 4th Q 3, Tony's big 4th Q bucket, Timmy every time we needed something... but the biggest difference was the SCRAMBLING D in the 2nd half. We didn't scramble in the first and they nailed 6 threes on us, but we did in the second and they only had 3 threes, not to mention all the blocks, steals and assorted defensive hustle plays. Much more SPURSBALL like!

[LaMarcus Bryant]

I'm still a little worried about our offense, starting to buy into the crap about phoenix clamping down on us....if Barry doesn't hit that sick three, or Manu doesn't get poked in the eye....then what is the outcome?
If we can give "the offense" a general grade, i would still say like B- at best. We're still missing something.

[florige]

Tim Duncan
This was one of the best games of Duncan's career. He thoroughly dominated action during all 41 minutes he was on the court. He finished with 33 points, 19 rebounds, three blocks and no turnovers, while shooting 12-for-19 from the field. He also had many huge defensive plays in the fourth quarter. Just an amazing effort by Duncan who appeared to be the hungriest player on the court. He couldn't have played much better.
Grade: A+


Manu Ginobili
Welcome back, Ginobili. After a frustrating string of games, Ginobili bounced back with a huge performance. He scored a playoff high 24 points in 32 minutes. He was ultra aggressive attacking the basket and making things happen. Ginobili had been settling for jumpshots recently, but responded in a big way when the Spurs needed him the most. His play in the third quarter was the turning point in the ballgame.
Grade: A-


Tony Parker
When the Spurs only had one basket outside of 16 feet in the first half, it was Parker and Duncan keeping the Spurs close. Without Parker's first half points, the Spurs would have been in trouble going into the third period. Parker's scoring fell off in the second half, but he had a couple timely assist and a big basket. More impressive than his offense was his defense. He dominated Nash defensively in the first half and when he switched off onto Barbosa, he stopped Barbosa from producing. Defensively, this goes down as a highlight in Parker's career.
Grade: A-


Bruce Bowen
Speaking of defense, Bowen's killer D was back. With Parker starting on Nash, it made Bowen more effective late when Nash had little time to adjust. Bowen also had three huge baskets in the second half that propelled the Spurs. He finished with ten points, nine rebounds, four steals, two assists and a block. It was an all around very good performance from Bowen.
Grade: A


Francisco Elson
Elson was decent in the first half. His rotation were there for the most part and he hit one of the Spurs few first half jumpers. He had a couple bad plays, but nothing extraordinarily bad. He didn't play in the second half.
Grade: C+


Michael Finley
Finley had an off shooting night, but the two shots he did hit were huge. He hit the Spurs lone shot outside of 16 feet in the first half when he sank a three-pointer late in the second quarter. He hit another gigantic three in the fourth quarter that helped seal the victory. On the other hand, his defense wasn't as good as it has been and he missed eight shots out of ten.
Grade: C


Brent Barry
This quietly might have been the most important playoff performance of Barry's career. Forget the stats, he came in and changed the offensive flow for the Spurs in the third quarter. When he entered, the Spurs had hit only one three-pointer in the game. Within minutes, the Spurs had buried three treys, with Barry accounting for the first make and dishing out an assist on the second one. He came in, got the ball moving and was a huge part of the win.
Grade: A+


Fabricio Oberto
Oberto was another player who subtly had a nice showing. He drew a couple fouls, got a couple big rebounds and it was his passes that got Ginobili going. He started the second half, so there's a possibility that he could see a lot more action in this series. If that's the case, he's proven to be able to do the small intangible things that produce victories.
Grade: B+


Robert Horry
Horry struggled much of the game but like usual, came through with a clutch three-pointer in the fourth quarter. His defense was sub par and he had a couple bad decisions offensively, but the effort was there and he was playing tough. As long as Horry is playing hard, good things usually tend to happen.
Grade: C


Jacque Vaughn
Vaughn played seven minutes and didn't make a dent in the stat sheet at all. Usually that'd be a sign of a bad game, but that's actually an improvement over the way he's been playing. The Spurs don't need him to shoot or even distribute the ball much. His job is to pass it once he gets passed halfcourt and then just get out of the way.
Grade: B-


Pop
Well coached game by Pop in Game 3. He didn't panic and kept Ginobili coming off the bench, which turned out to be the right call. He had a magic touch when it came to subs utions. He put Barry in the game in the third quarter and right away Barry led a run. Then in the fourth, he put Finley in and Finley drained a three-pointer within seconds. His decision to start Oberto in the second half was also a good one. And it's good to see Pop playing the Big Three more minutes.
Grade: A-

I rememeber one play in the 1st half that kinda made me chuckle. Vaughn had just brought the ball up past half court and passed it to Ginoboli, immediatly Manu got double teamed in the process leaving Vaughn wide open. It was like Manu saw him open and just took his chances forcing a pass to someone else. I know that had to make Vaughn feel like crap.

[T Park]

The defense in the second half was a little better than the first, they just got lucky that Marion and Nash missed some shots, and Kurt Thomas blowing a point blank layup.

They have got to stop abandoning the perimiter shooters collapsing on Nash, and staying the home!!!!

[Supergirl]

I realized tonight (this perhaps should have been obvious) but part of the reason Manu coming off the bench works so well is that Pop has timed his subs utions so that he and Oberto play together a lot. It makes sense - they know each other well and play with great chemistry.

Spurs need this level of intensity in Game 4, and then they should have this series - whether it takes 5 or 6 games.

[v2freak]

I'm not sure the Spurs even win the game without Barry. Before he entered the game, the Spurs' offense had no crispness.

He made it crisp.

Agree

[TampaDude]

theres something better than A+

A++, then!

[Slippy]

Brent Barry
This quietly might have been the most important playoff performance of Barry's career. Forget the stats, he came in and changed the offensive flow for the Spurs in the third quarter. When he entered, the Spurs had hit only one three-pointer in the game. Within minutes, the Spurs had buried three treys, with Barry accounting for the first make and dishing out an assist on the second one. He came in, got the ball moving and was a huge part of the win.
Grade: A+

Good call. Barry's 3, on offense atleast.. changed the complextion of the game.

[bresilhac]

Tim was simply magnificent and is THE reason the Spurs are looking so impressive this playoff and WILL win this year's Championship. It seems that no matter what the Suns try to defend him it doesn't work. Or gets worse as the games wear on. What's next for Tim in this series? 40 & 20?

[E20]

I also wanna say that I'm really impressed by Tim's aggressiveness. Everytime he had that opening for the lay-up he didn't go for the lay-up, but went for the slam, even knowing at times he could have got the easy two, but instead geared up to slam it, even though he was unsuccessful except for once.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

I also wanna say that I'm really impressed by Tim's aggressiveness. Everytime he had that opening for the lay-up he didn't go for the lay-up, but went for the slam, even knowing at times he could have got the easy two, but instead geared up to slam it, even though he was unsuccessful except for once.

You could almost say he was the Sylvester Stallone of Game 3

[timvp]

Two aspects that might be overlooked:

1) Manu using his drive to setup his outside shot instead of the other way around. Great self adjustment.

2) Parker's defense. His first half defense on Nash was outstanding and his second half defense on Barbosa was great as well. In one-on-one situations, I'm not sure if the Suns ever scored a basket on Parker.

[E20]

Stallone couldn't even have calmed down Duncan tonight. People boat about Amares show in 05 against the Spurs I can't wait until this series becomes a part of history and is showcased. Amare is David and Tim is Hakeem, no offense to Dave -- I love him.

[ducks]

Barbosa did have a very poor game

[GrandeDavid]

LJ, I don't know if you're getting paid or not, but you should receive some form of monetary compensation for your consistently excellent summary of each individual player's performance. Great job, my friend.

[timvp]

LJ, I don't know if you're getting paid or not, but you should receive some form of monetary compensation for your consistently excellent summary of each individual player's performance. Great job, my friend.

The only form of payment timvp accepts is a Spurs victory.

[aaronstampler]

I think a big key to the game was how we did such a great job of taking care of the ball in the second half, especially the fourth quarter. We basically got a shot up every possession, so we gave ourselves a chance to score every possession, plus we didn't give them a chance to fast break.

Turnovers by quarter:

1: 4
2: 3
3: 3
4: 0

[ducks]

no turnovers by td when has that every happened

[Pop OFits]

Nice grades...and pretty much right on.
Key moments in the game:
* Oberto draws Amare's 4th foul...questioned by many but it was a frustration foul and Oberto drew it out of him. Amare sits.

* Barry's 3, injection of energy and confidence...like a Medrol Dosepack for a team who was feeling not so fresh.

* The Manu eye-mouse. Manu goes on an 8-0 run. The Suns had a tough time recovering.

[conversekid]

The only form of payment timvp accepts is a Spurs victory.

And "flattery" when vex and walter steal your grades and use them as discussion points. They don't call them "grades"... but i've heard them repeat almost word for word your comments on player performance on their show... the few minutes i catch them here and there.

[aaronstampler]

P.S. I guess the win put you in a good mood, but some of those grades were waaaaaaaaaaay too generous.

Finley shoots 2 of 10 and gets a C? His defense wasn't even any good. He was responsible for 2 of Bell's 4 open 3s and Marion toasted him pretty regularly when they were matched up.

A "C+" for Elson? Dude had 3 turnovers in 8 minutes. Didn't close out on Bell. The Suns had their highest scoring quarter when he played most of his minutes. Pop though so highly of his play that he benched him for the last 34 minutes of the game. I wonder what he'd think of the C+.

A "C" for Horry? He finished -15 in 22 minutes in a game we won by 7. He didn't make a shot, his defense was poor, and not in one of his "shifts" did the Suns fail to outscore us. C'mon now.

Jacque Vaughn shouldn't get a "B-" for doing nothing. Are standards so low around here we can give the backup PG a B- just not turning the ball over? Methinks this is code for "let Brent or Manu run backup point."

Finally, I think an "A" for Bruce might be a little much. Nash didn't do crap in the first half with Tony on him mainly (and Manu a little), and he had a pretty good 2nd half all things considering with Bruce on him. Plus, Stevie didn't have the luxury of playing with Amare very much. I think a "B+" or so would've been appropriate.

[timvp]

Finley shoots 2 of 10 and gets a C? His defense wasn't even any good. He was responsible for 2 of Bell's 4 open 3s and Marion toasted him pretty regularly when they were matched up.

Two big shots and got the foul parade started on Amare. Wasn't great but he stepped up when needed.

A "C+" for Elson?

In case you haven't noticed, Elson sucks. For him to get lower, he'd have to do more outwardly bad.

A "C" for Horry? He didn't make a shot

Re-watch the game and then get back to me.

Jacque Vaughn shouldn't get a "B-" for doing nothing.

He hurts the Spurs most when he tries to do anything. Vaughn doing nothing >>> Vaughn trying to do something.

Finally, I think an "A" for Bruce might be a little much. I think a "B+" or so would've been appropriate.

Yeah, a B+ for a guy who hit three huge shots, rebounded way above his norm and got four big steals. Most of the points Nash scored in the second half were off of scramble plays or when matched up one-on-one with Barry.

[Obstructed_View]

Finley made up for a terrible game with that dagger. I'll take a guy making a play when it's important.

Horry was very good on intangibles despite not having a wonderful stat sheet. His team defense isn't ever great but if he's getting in Amare's head, coming in hard from the weak side and drawing defenders out of position, he's earning his money.

Vaughn and Elson have become such huge liabilities that their expectations coudn't possibly be lower. The fact that Elson made a basket or got a rebound without ting all over himself or tripping on his own feet is surprising, and Vaughn gets some points from me for simply NOT shooting the ball and instead waiting to give it to Manu. Glad they were angry enough with the Amare situation that they came out and almost didn't up as a show of support for their team. Four points and only three turnovers between them in fifteen minutes is a small blessing.

Bruce was pretty ing clutch, even though taking Parker off Nash was a mistake in my opinion. He played like a team leader and you can't discount when he's giving you both scoring and rebounding.

[aaronstampler]

Re: Elson, 3 turnovers in 8 minutes is about as outwardly bad as it gets. Does he have to take a on the court to get a lower grade?

Re: Horry, my bad, I forgot about the one he hit in the fourth. Still, I think it's a bit sad the guy can hit one shot and it enhances his folk hero status. I think it cheapens the memory of the actual good games he does have. Like against Denver he was one of our best players. Today he was just a passanger.

Re: Vaughn, that still doesn't sound like much of a defense. I think Pop needs to put serious thought into letting Brent or Manu run some point. Might be a way to find Brent some extra minutes without sacrificing Manu/Fin/Bowen's playing time.

I will however, accept your defense of Fin and Bowen.

[timvp]

Finley made up for a terrible game with that dagger. I'll take a guy making a play when it's important.

Horry was very good on intangibles despite not having a wonderful stat sheet. His team defense isn't ever great but if he's getting in Amare's head, coming in hard from the weak side and drawing defenders out of position, he's earning his money.

Vaughn and Elson have become such huge liabilities that their expectations coudn't possibly be lower. The fact that Elson made a basket or got a rebound without ting all over himself or tripping on his own feet is surprising, and Vaughn gets some points from me for simply NOT shooting the ball and instead waiting to give it to Manu. Glad they were angry enough with the Amare situation that they came out and almost didn't up as a show of support for their team. Four points and only three turnovers between them in fifteen minutes is a small blessing.

Bruce was pretty ing clutch, even though taking Parker off Nash was a mistake in my opinion. He played like a team leader and you can't discount when he's giving you both scoring and rebounding.

You said it better than I did.