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I agree with 90% of your grades.
The Spurs took on the defending champs in Dallas and faced an uphill climb seemingly the entire game. San Antonio gave good effort and made a number of runs, however the Spurs were never able to mount a successful comeback and ended up losing to the Mavs by a final score of 106-99.
Despite getting down early and never quite recovering, I saw a lot of things to be encouraged about. I was a bit leery of Stephen Jackson going into the game but I'm already totally sold on him being an upgrade from Richard Jefferson. Defensively, while overall the Spurs weren't very good, there were some combinations that were surprisingly effective. Going forward, I feel much better about this team than I did a week ago.
As for the Mavs, I have a lot of respect for that team. I truly think they are the favorites in the West this season. In Dirk Nowitzki, they have the conference's most unstoppable offensive player. And on defense, the Mavs are disciplined and have the tools to be a top five team on that end of the court. If Jason Kidd can play like he did tonight on a consistent basis, I don't see a reason why they shouldn't be the favorites to reach the NBA Finals again.
The Spurs are off until they play the T'Wolves on Wednesday night in the AT&T Center. It'll be a good opportunity to get some practices in and start figuring out how the pieces fit together.
Tim Duncan B-
Tim Duncan has had a few really bad games in the second night of back-to-backs but tonight wasn't an example. He wasn't great but he was doing enough for the Spurs to be successful. Compared to recent games, Duncan looked slower and wasn't nearly as mobile -- very likely side effects of the back-to-back. But his defense was solid; Duncan's pick-and-roll defense was actually better than usual. Rebounding, which had been a strength recently, was a weakness on both ends tonight. Offensively, while he held onto the ball too long at times and stagnated the flow, it's difficult to fault his production.
Manu Ginobili C+
It never seemed like Manu Ginobili found his rhythm. His decision-making was iffy all night and he appeared to be second-guessing himself too much. Although, when he decided to pass, Ginobili created numerous shot opportunities for his teammates. Defensively, he wasn't very good. He's having trouble staying in front of his man and his stops and starts just aren't as crisp as usual. Athletically he looked decent but he's still not in basketball shape. Ginobili is very much a work in progress right now.
Tony Parker C+
After the game, Tony Parker admitted to being tired. And following yesterday's exhausting outing, I can't really blame him for being gassed. But with Parker not at 100%, the Spurs really didn't have much hope against the Mavs. Typically, he has been attacking so early and often that the opposition has to be wary of his presence on the court at all times. Tonight, he never got his own offense going and that allowed the Mavs to concentrate on everyone else more than usual. On defense, Parker wasn't closing out on Jason Kidd and the wily vet made him pay. Despite that criticism, Parker still handed out 11 assists and turned the ball over only once. And while he gave up open shots to Kidd, the Mavs point guard came into the game shooting 32% from the field on the season, so it's not like Parker was supposed to close out hard on him. The bottomline is that Parker has set a high bar for himself and wasn't able to clear it tonight.
Kawhi Leonard C
Kawhi Leonard has played so well recently that it was shocking to actually watch him struggle a little bit. On offense, he missed a few shots from the outside early on and that added some hesitancy to his game. Defensively, he was average against Nowitzki and not very good against anyone else. Leonard also had a couple breakdowns on that end where he failed in his help-defense responsibilities. In the bigger picture, I continue to see growth in him as a legit NBA player and tonight didn't make me doubt his future at all.
Danny Green B+
After a hot shooting night against the Thunder, Danny Green got in foul trouble early and was silent until the second half. That was unfortunate because apparently his hot shooting carried over into this game. He once again shot the ball well from three-point range (he's hit 16 of his last 24 from downtown). Green's confidence is at an all-time high and his outside stroke looks smoother than it did just a few weeks ago. Defensively, he had some intermittent success but he didn't end up disrupting the Mavs too much. It wasn't for a lack of effort, though.
DeJuan Blair C-
For the first few minutes, it looks like DeJuan Blair was going to be able to hang with Nowitzki on the defensive end. Soon, reality set in and that matchup turned into the mismatch it is on paper. Nowitzki, when he's playing well, is too long, too quick and just too good for Blair to cover. Offensively, Blair had three layups in a span of two minutes in the first quarter but otherwise was a liability on that end as well. The Mavs just zoned off of him and used his man to clog up everything else.
Gary Neal B-
The good: Gary Neal stepped up and hit some of the biggest shots of the game for the Spurs. He also gave fantastic effort on the boards, made a couple really good passes and his defensive intensity was impressive. The bad: Neal was slow getting the team into the offense when he was running the point. He also took a few questionable shots that didn't come within the natural flow of the offense. On defense, Neal's lack of quickness was exposed a few times when he was isolated.
Matt Bonner D+
I struggle to understand what Matt Bonner did to deserve 22 minutes. His individual defense was below average ... and that's putting it nicely. While his perimeter help defense and rebounding were adequate, he was so helpless with any action coming toward him that he was a net liability on D. Offensively, he was quiet. He passed up a couple shots and he wasn't moving to open spaces as well as he usually does. Bonner just seemed out of sorts all game, yet he kept getting his number called. Go figure.
Tiago Splitter A-
It was just another wildly productive outing for Tiago Splitter. His pick-and-roll game is deadly. Splitter also added a few really good post moves and his finishes in the paint were impressive throughout. Defensively, he was attentive team-wise and did well in one-on-one matchups. Rebounding was another strength for Splitter on the night. And yet, he played less than Bonner. I can only shake my head.
Stephen Jackson A
Welcome back, Stephen Jackson. It was great to see him in silver and black again. I didn't know what to expect but I got a quick reminder why everyone loved him in his first stint with the Spurs. The toughness and swagger Jackson brings to the court is palpable. It's difficult to explain but you just feel better about your team's chances when Jackson is on your side. Tonight, I thought his defense against Nowitzki was magnificent. He was physical with him, didn't give him an inch, kept a hand in his face at all times and even used smarts to bait him into a couple offensive fouls. On top of that, even when he was defending Nowitzki, Jackson was able to offer quality help defense. Needless to say, Jackson's defense was a major bright spot in his return. Offensively, he had a beautiful pass to Splitter for a dunk. Jackson also knocked down his first three-point attempt and scored on a drive to the bucket from the perimeter. Overall, I really couldn't be much happier with his play. Let's hope it's a glimpse of what Jackson can bring to these Spurs.
Pop D
I've been supportive of Pop lately but I just can't bite my tongue anymore. First of all, Bonner needs to play less. I doubt any other basketball coach in the NBA would have played Bonner more minutes than Splitter tonight. That was just inexcusably bad coaching. On top of that, even if Pop doesn't want to play Duncan and Splitter together, he should have just gone with Leonard, Jackson, Green or basically anyone else. In other news, I thought Pop's offensive playcalling was too bland. I realize he was using timeouts to give his guys some rest here and there but he seemed to time those breaks at the worst moments. He also uncharacteristically subbed out lineups that had gotten things rolling in the right direction. I'll admit Pop had the difficult job of adding a new piece to the equation in addition to dealing with a couple half-injured or tired players but his coaching tonight was holding the team back.
I agree with 90% of your grades.
On Splitter the fact that he couldn't post up Dirk shows me how overrated he is, a good performance against the undersized Rockets mislead most of us to believing he can be a good post up player.
in b4 the
" yo grades, clown"
post
Richard Jefferson A+
Thanks for the writeup Tim.
New KBP account?
Thanks for the writeup! Pretty much agree.
Coincidentally, I was just reading that Tony's FG% against Dallas this season is the lowest against any NBA team. Not sure how accurate that is, but it looks like besides being tired, Carslile does seem to have a good scheme to contain him.
Pop defintely screwed the pooch tonight. We had a little momentum and then he took out Manu and SJax, and then Dallas put it away. He then brought them back when it was too late, and Manu lost his momentum
The best 2-14 shooting night I have ever seen!! You know you had a good game when you have more shot attempts than points.
WHO DAT?
But on some real I like Splitter but his offensive game is horrible, I still want to see him on the floor with Tim more tho. They're both centers yes, but Splitter is pretty quick.
Pop is a problem.
Thanks for the grades. I can't argue with them, but I think this game was an anomaly in a few ways. Kidd shot way over his average tonight, Manu is probably not going to play this tentatively in the future, and TP just had a pedestrian performance compared to his outstanding recent play. I think we have a great shot with this group against anyone in the west if Manu can get back to how he was playing at the beginning of the year. Friday should be a good game.
Why does Pop continue to get a pass for misusing Splitter and overusing Bonner?
I'm a big fan of Splitter, so I wont front. But he has a 61% FG and 67% FT for this year averaging almost 10 and 5 in 20 minutes. That is NOT a horrible offensive game.
I notice we get lower grades when we lose. I think we played better tonight than we did last night, only last night we got shots to fall and they didn't. We let OKC go on a 20-2 run, one of three huge runs they went on. Dallas didn't do that to us tonight, we kept it fairly close but we lost.
So I would say that Parker didn't do so well because maybe he was tired, but he only took 12 shots (seemed like he took 30) and hit 5 of those. We are accustomed to Tony getting into the paint and scoring, and he did that some, but it seems the infusion of Manu and maybe Jack (Spurs were ignoring Jack on offense for most of the night) caused problems with the offense, and Bonner is always willing to help with a timely miss or panic attack when we need the points the most. Add to that the in-situ decision to post up Blair and couple that with Blair's inability to handle the ball down low, the turnovers and fouls and you see the game difference.
I thought Gary Neal was doing ok, but we went away from him and for some reason Manu felt the need to practice 3pt shooting during the crucial stretch at the end instead of finding someone else. Weird for him tbh.
Still, Dallas played better than OKC down the stretch, and Kidd killed us.
Most of his shots are set up from the pick n'roll, I mean honestly he can't create his own shot & really does struggle against similar sized players on the low post...at least he's finishing but still he needs to be better in those situations.
For once I agree with Bonner and Pop grades.
Sjax needs to be the one to have a talk with Pop because Pop has gone more wacko than Jax ever did when he was here. This silly Pop is pulling with Bonner and Blair over Splitter is crazy.
Agree on all accounts. Thought this was Pops worst game of the year, thought Splitter clearly deserved more minutes and thought Jack could have and should have played more. I also said in the game thread that the Mavs are a really bad match up for the Spurs and should be avoided at all costs. A first round matchup would be worst case scenario.
I realize this is sarcasm, but you only have to have less than 50% shooting to have fewer points than shot attempts if you don't shoot any FTs or 3's.
RJ's output was dismal though but he got 38 minutes.
That's because Pop is the best coach by far.
Pop still not recognizing he needs to play Splitter more
Pop lovers
We have the pieces to have a very strong defensive starting lineup but the "defensive minded coach" won't allow it
So what is it that you figure happens? Fire Pop? Replace him? With? Please expand on that. I don't see another coach in the NBA that can handle all the minutes he does on a nightly basis and manage to win games. If you say he is the problem then what do you suggest? Pop sits down with Pop?
Too much risk and vulnerability when we play Blair/Bonner with Leonard and Green at the same time. I hope to see Pop adjust the starting lineup on weds after we get a few practices in.
I was confused by what Pop was doing out there as well. Timvp, do you think that maybe Pop has multiple ideas of how to play Dallas and is using the regular season to try these methods out? Tonights method being unsuccessful.
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