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parker was hurt early on with his should but he is not a pussy and can still play
his numbers suffered but he was better then what his replacements would be
It was another Spurs vs. Suns tilt headlined by Tim Duncan and Steve Nash. It looked like any other such contest over the last eight years ... plus a few extra wrinkles. In the end, the Spurs held off the Suns for a 102-91 victory.
It was a bit of an odd game for the Spurs. San Antonio built leads early and often but they could never knockout the Suns. Phoenix kept fighting back until the bitter end.
For the third straight game, the Spurs leaned on their defense to get a win. The Suns shot only 41.8% from the field and got to the line just 14 times.
Tim Duncan A
Tim Duncan saw those Suns uniforms and forgot that he's not supposed to play this good anymore, especially without breaking a sweat. Duncan's vintage performance featured a number of jumpers, a few slick passes and great work on the boards. Defensively, he left a little bit to be desired but otherwise he was just damn solid.
Tony Parker B+
Although his efficiency waned at times, Tony Parker's aggression keyed San Antonio's offense. In addition to his scoring, he racked up nine assists to only two turnovers. On defense, I thought he gave good effort chasing Nash and was able make a few plays on that end. After a relatively slow start to the season, Parker is really starting to come on.
Richard Jefferson B-
It was another on again, off again effort out of Richard Jefferson. In spurts, he plays as hard as the Spurs need him to play. But there are stretches where he becomes too much of a spectator on both ends. That said, he made very good decisions on offense most of the night, which led to a season-high five assists (all five were in the first half).
DeJuan Blair A-
I liked how DeJuan Blair played on both ends. Defensively, he usually did a good job of staying near the perimeter shooting bigs of the Suns. On offense, his strength and determination combined with a soft touch allowed the Spurs to get a number of easy buckets. It was just a workmanlike effort out of Blair.
Kawhi Leonard B+
The rookie is beginning to make things look easy. And that's great to see. Against the Suns, he showed off some more ballhandling ability and more range on his jumper. Those two things combined to make him look like a legit shooting guard at times. On defense, he was disruptive while making few mistakes. Leonard also helped on that end by grabbing eight defensive boards. All in all, he looks like a fantastic fit in that starting group.
Danny Green B
At times, Danny Green was trying to do a little bit too much. Overall, though, I was satisfied. On offense, he's really starting to shine when he drives the ball. Green is an adequate finisher and can also make the difficult pass on the move. On defense, he was active and recorded yet another block.
Tiago Splitter B+
Tiago Splitter's quality play continues. In the low block, he has made great strides with his footwork, physicality and timing. As a result, those hurried soft shots we saw earlier in the year are rarely seen anymore. Against Phoenix, Splitter also did good work on the glass and was an asset on defense.
Matt Bonner B
I can't complain about Matt Bonner tonight. He had a few positive plays defensively to go with a couple contested rebounds. On offense, he was shooting with confidence and was also passing well. Bonner came down a little gimpy in the fourth quarter and had to leave the game. Though he returned to the court later, it may be something to keep an eye on.
Cory Joseph A-
Pop entered the game with Cory Joseph tabbed as the backup point guard. Even though his stat line isn't too impressive, I really liked how he played. He was basically the reincarnation of Jacque Vaughn. He pressured the basketball 94 feet and showed some toughness on that end. On offense, Joseph did a good job of running the sets. He didn't have any problems handling the ball or finding open players, which are obviously two important traits for a rookie point guard. Overall, the thing that most impressed me with Joseph is he played with a bit of a swagger. He acted like he was supposed to be out there. It's a bit of that "it" factor you look for in a young PG.
Gary Neal D+
In his nine minutes of playing time, Gary Neal shot the ball ... and shot the ball some more. I don't want to call him a ballhog, but he was close. In the second quarter, Neal suffered a quad contusion and sat for the rest of the game. Let's hope that's not an injury that will linger.
Pop B
Pop let his young guys play important minutes and the results were mostly positive. Despite the many runs by the Suns, Pop didn't panic and was able to get Duncan and Parker a decent amount of rest. After Neal's struggles running the point in previous games, he turned to Joseph and it ended up looking like the right choice. The only glaring negative continues to be the lack of minutes for Splitter. Somehow, someway Splitter needs to play at least 25 minutes a night. He's too important and has too much room to grow to waste valuable regular season learning opportunities.
parker was hurt early on with his should but he is not a pussy and can still play
his numbers suffered but he was better then what his replacements would be
booner being hurt should give splitter more minutes
neal also got hurt and did not return so more corey at point
Kawhi Leonard play should keep him in the starting lineup when manu gets back
limit manu's minutes and keep him fresher makes more since
that is saying kawhi does not hit the wall and keeps playing well
The lack of minutes for Tiago is just baffling.
nvm
thanks for the writeup... I'm liking we're able to win despite fairly poor 3 point shooting... and it's been a few games now... we just need to translate that to the road...
It's for BONNER STILL! SO no it's not baffling to me! Pop will just keep at Bonner until the bitter end it seems.
For this game, I'm thinking Pop saw Tim playing well and would rather have the "floor spacer" out there... Plus the Suns always had at least one 3 point shooter big all the time (which burned Blair a few times). So I can see why he wouldn't play a Tiago-Tim frontline much...
The counter to that though is that neither Frye or Morris could guard Splitter, so going big wouldn't have been a bad option either.
Jefferson has his good and bad moments, but at least he's not playing weak. He may get beaten, but he's playing with some fire, fighting for boards, wrestling for position (sometimes pretty nasty). It makes a big difference, and I just hope he can keep that part up.
Kawhi Leonard just looks more solid to me every night. He's smart enough not to try and showboat, but he isn't intimidated by guys who have been here for years, either. He's strong, and he's turning out to have a pretty high basketball IQ. Looks like a starter.
If I had seen Green for the first time tonight, I would have been less impressed than I have been. On a couple of plays, Nash played Ring-Around-Gortat, and left Green scratching his head. But I think playing against Steve Nash is confusing for guys who have done it for years. Still a pretty nice night for a guy out of nowhere, but I'm skipping church.
I like the things you said about Cory Joseph. I'm not sure the full court pressure actually did a lot of good, but if he's got the energy for it, why not? One of my favorite moments of the young season was tonight. Cory Joseph was holding the ball at the end of the game. There were only a few seconds left, and we had it wrapped up - but the shot clock was going to expire before the game clock. You could tell that Joseph wasn't sure whether he was supposed to jack up a shot at the end of the play clock or not. (I don't blame him for not wanting to do the wrong thing and piss Pop off.) So with a few seconds left on the shot clock, he dumped it to Jefferson and put his hands down. "There, R.J. - you decide what to do with it."
Poor kid. Jack one up, and Pop might scream at you for trying to show off and run up the score. Don't jack one up, and he might scream at you for just letting a shot clock expire. I'd hate to be a nervous rookie trying to figure out Gregg Popovich. We were all laughing at his solution. Pretty smart if you ask me.
Take away the Suns' 21 fast break points, and they had 19 in the paint. Take away our 12 fast break points, and we had 30 in the paint.
hey, that's me!!!
parker's blokc on nash was awesome
T2S exposed again.
One thing I still don't get about this box score.
Why is Blair listed as a plain "Forward" . . .
But Bonner is listed as a "Power Forward?"
Leonard is shooting better than freakin Anderson
i noticed that cj favors his left hand when dribbling. i am no point guard coach, but i find this a bit worrying. hopefully what i saw was the exception and he regresses to the mean.
I thought they improved greatly the last few games at home... it seemingly coincides with Leonard starting and Green getting more run. I thought they did a better job than all last year, IMO. We just need to translate that to games on the road.
Splitter has the mobility to close out on a three point shooter and has the length to bother or block the shot. Plus like you said they wouldn't be able to guard him on offense.
Plus, I recall cursing Bonner in at least 2 closeouts to the 3 point shooter where he was really late. Luckily Frye was cold as today.
I can't figure out what Pop's doing with Splitter's minutes. He's the best post defender and it's not like the Spurs have enough defense. His offense has picked up and he's taking advantage of shorter opponents. What would you rather have? Bonner shooting 3's you know he will never make in the playoffs or a TD/Splitter combo putting pressure on the opposing frontcourt. Also, you would hope he learned from last year that trying to change strategies in the middle of the season or game 3 of the playoffs won't work.
Usually, I agree with your evalutions, but Blair is a little too high. He had to be yanked for Bonner when he started to throw up any old shot in the second half. He probably would have rated a C- if Frye could have hit any of his wide open shots. He didn't so for me Blair gets a B.
The only thing Joseph proved to me is he is not ready for the big show, yet. At best I'd give him a C-. You don't get extra points for being a rookie in the game.
Manu should come off the bench when he gets back.
Especially if TJ's injury is a lingering issue all season.
Just makes too much sense to keep Kawhi in the starting unit.
DeJuan Blair scored in the paint like 5 times, and Splitter 3 or 4 more. Do you even watch the games?
Why pop still sees Tiago as a situational player is beyond me. he's mobile enough to not be a defensive liability against quicker 4s and could work just as well offensively as Timmy and Blair do, probably even better since Tiago has the superior BBIQ.
i just don't get it.
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