Quick Grades: Spurs @ Celtics - Nov. 21, 2012

[therealtruth]

Tiago's playing too well. Pop going to start messing with his minutes again.

[DPG21920]

I agree but I was still somewhat surprised to see it tbh. Not because it was Tiago, but because doing what he did meant saying screw what the match up says to do and go with the hot hand as you desribed with the Tiago/Tim pairing. That would be a pretty big change from the Pop of old to start doing that.

What we also saw (which many of us have seen before) is that this team's ceiling is pretty damn high with The Big 3 + Tiago playing to the level he is capable of. It's pretty damn ridiculous how good he can be and his defense was also pretty damn good. Not only did he block shots, but he rotated well and did something he had not been doing so well - making guys finish over his length without fouling. If he can do that consistently this team is really, really good assuming the health of the big 3.

While Diaw really helped this tonight and played great, I can't give him all the credit because Tiago also did this vs the Knicks without Diaw playing very well. It certainly helps when one or both of Diaw/Manu are on the court with Tiago, but he's shown some nice growth (albeit in small doses so far) to be a pretty damn good focal point despite who's around him.

[pjjrfan]

Well I as well as a whole lot of people have been clamoring to see Tiago and Tim on the floor at the same time and during crunch time, and in this game I got that, and in those last minutes of this game both of them complimented each other and helped control the boards and the game. Hopefully Pop will continue to let them get some chemistry together.

[DPG21920]

Damn good tbh.

[letmk]

I don't mind Neal taking quick shots as he really has the range all over the court. When he is open and in-the-mode, he could be our Jason Terry or Jamal Crawford.

However, I don't like him taking tough shots. His body control is not that good when the good defense collapses on him --- well, that's exactly the reason he's a just great supporting scoring-player instead of a star SG --- so he needs to make quick decisions as well when the defense emphasize on him instead of forcing the shots.

He has grown enough to be a threat that opponent teams have to respect, which proves to be an asset to our team. But right now he is going to the other extreme opposite of Bonner, but ends up with the same negative results sometimes. When Bonner hits 3-pointers, he is useful to us; but when defense sticks with him, he shies away from the shots, which in turn makes him a liability to the team as the rest of his game is sup-bar to say the least. Whereas Neal would just force the shots anyways and hope them go in like the open shots he takes.

So Neal needs to grow his games more to find the balance between what he does and what Bonner does. Be aware of teammates' positions, and avoid penetrating too deep without second option in head when the Howard/Garnett are ready for him.

[therealtruth]

Bonner isn't in the rotation this season, he's the fifth big apparently.

Hopefully Pop's outbreak of common sense stays. Unfortunately about four years too late. I would rather get into the playoffs as an eight seed than win 70+ regular season games with Bonner. Pop overplaying players who have no business playing has probably cost us a couple of rings.

[therealtruth]

Well I as well as a whole lot of people have been clamoring to see Tiago and Tim on the floor at the same time and during crunch time, and in this game I got that, and in those last minutes of this game both of them complimented each other and helped control the boards and the game. Hopefully Pop will continue to let them get some chemistry together.

Imagine if he had done that about two years ago. They would probably be alot further along now.

[pjjrfan]

He moved the ball around, got the offense rolling, played decent defense on both Rondo and Pierce and just made some smart plays, he missed some tough shots that for him normally go in, and though he had some turnovers he made more good plays than bad, and he helps that second unit especially De Colo, Splitter and Neal.

[racm]

...... Danny Green nailed a 3-pointer in the middle of the streak, giving him 30 straight games with at least one 3, the league's longest current streak........

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/parker-...4966--nba.html

Schooling Ray Allen tbh

[letmk]

Tiago and Tim really complement each other well considering that Tim has better mid-range shots than ever (I don't have the statistics, but that's my impression while watching the games, especially the non-hesitation from Tim). When Tiago can move his feet to the position, even without Tim's blocking capability, his height instantly makes him our far-away second best low-post defense. You can see the huge difference between him and Blair guarding KG on mid-range shots.

[Ice009]

I was going to make some sort of Drago quote, but you beat me to it hehe. When he plays strong it makes our team that much better, because it means between Tim and Tiago we always have an inside presence. When Tiago starts playing soft, there is a huge discrepancy when Tim is on the bench and it forces him to play too many minutes

lol I mentioned it after the last game as I got tired of him not being physical and aggressive enough consistently. If he can develop an at ude towards his opponents, something close to Ivan Drago, then I think that will take his game to the next level.

[silverblk mystix]

It has only taken the genius coach three years.....THREE IN' YEARS!!!!

Imagine if he had thrown Tiago into the fire and let him make mistakes and allowed him to quickly get some chemistry with Timmy and the starters.

Imagine if he had allowed Tiago to get familiar with the physicality and the level of talent in the NBA----THREE IN YEARS AGO!!!

Imagine if Bonner had been benched THREE IN YEARS AGO!!!!


Imagine.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i bet yah pop is going to go away from playin tim and splitter together...fck him

[I1lovethespurs]

Tiago ing Splitter.

[dunkman]

Hopefully Pop's outbreak of common sense stays. Unfortunately about four years too late. I would rather get into the playoffs as an eight seed than win 70+ regular season games with Bonner. Pop overplaying players who have no business playing has probably cost us a couple of rings.

After the '07 le, Pop and RC become too slow adapting and improving. I'm not sure why K-Mart or Dice wasn't signed, because its clear that Blair will become a liability for the playoffs.

[SpurSwag]

Though TP's had a rough start to the season, its encouraging to see his 3 point stroke has greatly improved. in the next couple years he should really look to become a realiable three point shooter as he slows down

[boutons_deux]

pedal to the medal

[timvp]

It has only taken the genius coach three years.....THREE IN' YEARS!!!!

Imagine if he had thrown Tiago into the fire and let him make mistakes and allowed him to quickly get some chemistry with Timmy and the starters.

Imagine if he had allowed Tiago to get familiar with the physicality and the level of talent in the NBA----THREE IN YEARS AGO!!!

Imagine if Bonner had been benched THREE IN YEARS AGO!!!!


Imagine.

Add some music and I think you got yourself a song there.

Tiago ing Splitter.

Quality first post

pedal to the medal

Ha, thx.

[Josepatches_]

Pop didn't need 3 years to realize that. He used Tim/Tiago when the situation was very difficult like playoffs or when we face the Lakers in the past. It's clear that he knows Splitter is one of our best 5 players. No doubt . But he doesn't want to play him a lot of minutes. Dumb move or good move?? It could be to avoid injuries.. whatever reason. He's one of if not the best coach out there. What i believe is that Splitter would be a better player and he would have a lot of more confidence on him if he had been playing more in these 3 years. He's arguably worse than the Splitter who played here in Spain.

[will_spurs]

Manu with +24?
Woah, I missed the game, but I'd love to see how he did it despite the other low stats.

Piggybacking his way to a B-, with a few "intangibles" thrown in.

Happy to see De Colo playing like a PG, after all he's the first backup PG who actually plays like one since... Jacque Vaughn? (and yes I'm being somewhat sarcastic) I'd rather have De Colo play 'the right way' than try to stuff the stats sheet and take a ton of ill-advised shots. He probably got some info from Tony and Boris about what not to do with Pop...

[Obstructed_View]

I refuse to believe that a team with two good bigmen can compete with unfavorable matchups simply by dictating their game. I absolutely refuse to believe it. You have to go small with small and constantly be watching what the other team does if you want to compete. The Spurs couldn't compete for a championship with two good seven footers in the game together.

[TDMVPDPOY]

wtf does this team need to do b4 they willing to accept to go in another direction with some changes, new leadership and some new innovation...someone whose ambitious to lead this team to the holy grail again....

seems like all you clowns are happy with 60win seasons and falling short in the playoffs...

[TDMVPDPOY]

I refuse to believe that a team with two good bigmen can compete with unfavorable matchups simply by dictating their game. I absolutely refuse to believe it. You have to go small with small and constantly be watching what the other team does if you want to compete. The Spurs couldn't compete for a championship with two good seven footers in the game together.

if one of ur bigs can run and jump like a deer, then u have no problem playing 2 bigs against small ball...we dont have that currently

[objective]

It has only taken the genius coach three years.....THREE IN' YEARS!!!!

Imagine if he had thrown Tiago into the fire and let him make mistakes and allowed him to quickly get some chemistry with Timmy and the starters.

Imagine if he had allowed Tiago to get familiar with the physicality and the level of talent in the NBA----THREE IN YEARS AGO!!!

Imagine if Bonner had been benched THREE IN YEARS AGO!!!!


Imagine.

Come on now. Pop and the media will tell you . . . it wasn't fair to the team. Just not fair.

Still isn't.

Why is loyal Bonner, wealthy with corporate knowledge and large Spurs checks, so shunned? This is not fair to him.

I fully expect this unfair Splitter nonsense to go away and a return to Bonner-ball.

[pookenstein]

I don't mind Neal taking quick shots as he really has the range all over the court. When he is open and in-the-mode, he could be our Jason Terry

I know what you mean, but