Spurs vs. Cavs Game 3 -- Grades

[smeagol]

I think your grade for Bowen is too low...

. . . and your grade for Manu is too high.

[smeagol]

It was funny watching the Argie feed. One of Manu's brothers was a commentator and he was very harsh on his brother.

- "Who is that guy wearing the balck shirt with the #20?"

- When Manu missed his first FT: "Man, he can't even help from the line!"

- The commentators were asking the audience to call in order to be part of a lotto to win a signed Manu shirt. At the end of the game, Leandro Ginobili says "We decided to give away a Bruce Bowen signed shirt!"

And the other commentators kept making fun of Leandro telling him to cut it out or Manu would make him sleep on the lawn.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

What I'd like to see for MVP voting:

Bowen, Duncan, Tony

What it'll be:

Duncan, Tony, Bowen

On the grades, I have one gripe:

Finley finally had a decent Finals showing. He had seven points, including a big three in the fourth quarter. Defensively, he had one of his better games of the playoffs.

He was good defensively? He was a turnstile when guarding Pavlovic.

BTW, no apologies for Manu, he sucked last night.

[Spurminator]

I'd love to see Duncan pass Shaq in career Finals MVPs.

At this point I think it comes down to preference. I don't think there's much of an argument against either Duncan or Parker, and I'd be happy for either of them.


And while Bowen is my favorite Spur, I don't think he stands a chance.

[MadDog73]

The press votes for MVP, right?

Tony Parker is a lock.

Point 1: Tim Duncan will surpass Magic Johnson in Finals MVPs if he wins another. I don't think the press wants this to happen, I do think it influences them (or else Tim would have another regular season MVP by now).

Point 2: Tony Parker is getting all the love. He is seen (rightly or wrongly) as the main reason the Spurs are winning.

Caveat: There could be a co-MVP award for Parker and Duncan. That would be very unlikely, but I personally wouldn't have a problem with it.

[Supergirl]

Yeah, I knew if the Cavs kept sagging off Barry he'd eventually start knocking down those shots. He made them pay last night.

[SAGambler]

If the Spurs eliminate the Cavs Thursday, and Tony has a big scoring game, I think he will probably be the Finals MVP. If not, then it will be Duncan for his effort on both ends. Right now, I see it as a tossup, with Thursday being the tie breaker.

I don't see a problem with either of them getting it. They have both been a driving force on this team throughout the playoffs.

It's just too damn bad they don't have a Finals Defensive Player award, because there is no doubt who would win that. And it would sure be nice to see Bruce recognized nationally for something. He has meant so much to the success of this team. And we all know age is someday going to catch up with him, just like it does with everyone. He can't have many years left.

[ALVAREZ6]

Manu deserves an F. He played terribly last night.

[deepsouth]

First of all, I don't want to hear from the Manu apologists. He had an off game. Life goes on. Spurs up 3-0. All is good.

Ok, Manu had one of his worst games yesterday night.
But, how do you people explain that even so he had the second higher Spur's +/- of the night (after B. Barry)?

Confirm
http://www.popcornmachine.net/cgi-bi...12&game=SASCLE

[2centsworth]

Best grading this year. So far, Bowen deserves MVP!!!

I also bumped Manu from an F to a D+ because of the free throws he could have easily missed with the night he was having.

[ShoogarBear]

And thirdly, I'm damn proud of this team. They struggled throughout but showed great heart and gutted this victory out. Fantastic job and it's great to be a Spurs fan right now.

Eh, actually they played just as bad as Utah game 3, but the difference is that Cleveland reallyreallyreally sucks.

I have never watched a Spurs game before where I felt so confident that no matter how bad they played, the opponent was going to play worse. There was never any doubt in my mind that Cleveland couldn't win that game, because if they could, they would have been up by 15 going into the fourth.

There is a huge argument for Bruce winning the MVP, since the only shot the Cavs had was if LeBron went nuts, and Bowen established from the opening minutes of Game One that that was not going to happen.

But Bowen winning MVP would be like an offensive lineman winning Super Bowl MVP. Ain't gonna happen.

[T Park]

Yeah Ginobili might've earned a E.

Barry is very legit with an A.

He was fantastic last night, getting his hands in the passing lanes, hustling to balls. Bagging huge threes.

Bowen and Barry got Co MVPs for me last night.


BTW Im on the BOWEN FOR MVP bandwagon too

[johnpaulwall21]

Parker will win MVP BOOK IT..................

[smeagol]

I agree with Shoog. There wasn't a moment last night were I doubted the W was coming our way.

[vanvannen]

Duncan should win MVP, no question.
I think TP has been huge for the Spurs so far, but if they give it to him, they really don't get Spurs basketball.

[wildbill2u]

I think Finley probably was in the b-/b range. After all, we don't really expect too much from him and his points were crucial and timely.

i can't think of any bad mistake either. So let's puff his score up a little and give him some love.

[nkdlunch]

It was funny watching the Argie feed. One of Manu's brothers was a commentator and he was very harsh on his brother.

- "Who is that guy wearing the balck shirt with the #20?"

- When Manu missed his first FT: "Man, he can't even help from the line!"

- The commentators were asking the audience to call in order to be part of a lotto to win a signed Manu shirt. At the end of the game, Leandro Ginobili says "We decided to give away a Bruce Bowen signed shirt!"

And the other commentators kept making fun of Leandro telling him to cut it out or Manu would make him sleep on the lawn.

where can I listen to this feed online?

[ShoogarBear]

They should get Leandro and Jon Barry to do a game together.

[Extra Stout]

I agree with Shoog. There wasn't a moment last night were I doubted the W was coming our way.

True. Cleveland is terrific on defense, but their offense is just pathetic for an NBA team. Shutting them down is straightforward. For all of LeBron's skills, if you can make him into a jump shooter, he fails, and Cleveland then essentially cannot score.

That they were able to flourish as much as they did against Detroit is a testament to the gross incompetence of Flip Saunders as a defensive coach.

[Obstructed_View]

I think Finley probably was in the b-/b range. After all, we don't really expect too much from him and his points were crucial and timely.

i can't think of any bad mistake either. So let's puff his score up a little and give him some love.

Finley's defense was pretty terrible. He missed rotations and Mike Greenberg blew past him three times in the first half. He was aggressive and fought through it, though.

[thousandth]

It was funny watching the Argie feed. One of Manu's brothers was a commentator and he was very harsh on his brother.

- "Who is that guy wearing the balck shirt with the #20?"

- When Manu missed his first FT: "Man, he can't even help from the line!"

- The commentators were asking the audience to call in order to be part of a lotto to win a signed Manu shirt. At the end of the game, Leandro Ginobili says "We decided to give away a Bruce Bowen signed shirt!"
And the other commentators kept making fun of Leandro telling him to cut it out or Manu would make him sleep on the lawn.

ahahahahahaha What did he say?? very funny
Bowen for MVP

The only one I disagree whit is Horry's and Oberto's grades.

Horry did'nt a good stuff in the game 3. Not rebounds, defensive and scoring. But I love "Big Block Bob" always.

Oberto played hard and helped on James and Boobie Gibson on pick and rolls. He drew 3 and 4th Gooden´s fouls and it out of him. I think he needs to have some playing time in the game 4.

[danyel]

It was funny watching the Argie feed. One of Manu's brothers was a commentator and he was very harsh on his brother.

- "Who is that guy wearing the balck shirt with the #20?"

- When Manu missed his first FT: "Man, he can't even help from the line!"

- The commentators were asking the audience to call in order to be part of a lotto to win a signed Manu shirt. At the end of the game, Leandro Ginobili says "We decided to give away a Bruce Bowen signed shirt!"

And the other commentators kept making fun of Leandro telling him to cut it out or Manu would make him sleep on the lawn.

And when Barry made a 3 pointer he said he'd like to be known as Leandro Barry now...

[ForeignFan]

tp is underrated and misunderstood because (beyond the fact that TP might be a bit more selfish than his team mates and that he is french ) there're many fans out there who believe that the spurs would be as successfull (if not more successfull) with any other decent point guard... whereas TD and Manu are seen as irreplaceable and unique players...

BS. I think Tim will get MVP (parker more or less waived it in advance) but Tony has indeed been at least as "valuable" as Tim in this series.

[ForeignFan]

and what is your problem with the French anyway ?

[Budkin]

give them all an A+....

Um, no. Did you actually watch the game last night?