Congrats to Danny Green and other statistical ponderings

[timvp]

For the second straight series, Danny Green led the Spurs in plus/minus per 48 minutes. Once could be a fluke. Twice in a row? Maybe there is something to those Ginobili-lite comparisons.

Plus/Minus Per 48 vs. Jazz
Danny Green +25.4
Tiago Splitter +23.0
Boris Diaw +22.9
Kawhi Leonard +22.9
Matt Bonner +21.6
Tim Duncan +19.2
Tony Parker +16.5
Manu Ginobili +12.6
Stephen Jackson +12.3
Gary Neal +11.0

Plus/Minus Per 48 vs. Clippers
Danny Green +27.3
Boris Diaw +25.4
Tim Duncan +24.5
Tony Parker +23.6
Kawhi Leonard +14.2
Manu Ginobili +4.3
Stephen Jackson -10.6
Gary Neal -13.5
Tiago Splitter -13.9
Matt Bonner -19.4

Here's a more detailed look at the stats versus the Clippers:

Team Points Scored Per 48 vs. Clippers
Danny Green 110.2
Tim Duncan 105.7
Boris Diaw 105.3
Tony Parker 103.4
Stephen Jackson 101.9
Gary Neal 99.9
Kawhi Leonard 99.9
Matt Bonner 99.0
Tiago Splitter 97.7
Manu Ginobili 97.4

Team Points Allowed Per 48 vs. Clippers
Tony Parker 79.8
Boris Diaw 79.9
Tim Duncan 81.2
Danny Green 82.9
Kawhi Leonard 85.7
Manu Ginobili 93.1
Tiago Splitter 111.6
Stephen Jackson 112.5
Gary Neal 113.3
Matt Bonner 118.4



Random thoughts:

-Danny Green has been extremely effective but it's a bit surprising that it's his offense that is supersizing his value. Then again, maybe it shouldn't be surprised since Green was 11-for-19 on three-pointers versus the Clippers.

-It's shocking that Manu Ginobili was the team's biggest offensive liability considering these stats showed he was by far the best offensive player in the entire NBA during the regular season. Let's hope he finds his rhythm in the WCF.

-Speaking of liabilities, it's amazing how Matt Bonner is the regular season king of plus/minus but gets exposed in the postseason like clockwork. It was obvious that Gary Neal sucked on defense versus the Clippers but the numbers say that Bonner was even worse. Much worse.

-Boris Diaw is near the top in all these stats. Gotta be thrilled with his level of play right now.

-In the regular season, Tim Duncan was hurting the team's offense when he was on the court. It's safe to say that's no longer the case.

-Tony Parker looked like he played a great defensive series and these numbers agree.

-For a rookie, Kawhi Leonard's ability to impact the game is outstanding. He's come a long, long way in that regard since the beginning of the regular season.

-Tiago Splitter was good against the Jazz but was a disappointment against the Clippers. I thought Splitter was pretty horrible in the first three games of the series and the numbers seem to agree.

-Even though Jackson's offense was ugly this series, it was actually his defense that was hurting the team.

-Gary Neal is who we thought he was: good enough on offense, really bad on defense.

-Spurs fans scoffed when people suggested that the Clippers were equally as deep but it turns out the Clippers bench played much better than the Spurs bench this series. That's a bit concerning going forward.

-Pop should wear a shock collar that is activated whenever he starts to think about putting Bonner into the game in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. Especially since Diaw is an option now.

-If the starters can continue to play great and the bench can regain their standing, this Spurs team is going to be very difficult to defeat, tbh.

[FromWayDowntown]

It's hardly a novel thought, but I've been absolutely thrilled with the way both Danny and Kawhi have played in these playoffs.

Their length and athleticism obviously make this team so dramatically different than the Spurs teams of the last few years, but their poise has been a true revelation. Even if neither plays the game the way Manu does, the fact that they've become so reliable in big moments reminds me of the way Manu (and Jack) made such huge contributions -- and not always statistically -- in 2003.

It's really too bad that Pop can't trust young players and give them meaningful minutes.

[Mr. Body]

The Clippers bench really caused some big problems, especially guys like Eric Bledsoe. Fortunately there aren't many speedy guys on the bench of the remaining teams.

Really hoping Ginobili and Jackson can start serving more of an offensive punch.

[DBMethos]

Clippers had the best bench of any team remaining in the playoffs, save for perhaps Indiana. Since I find it highly unlikely that the Spurs will be facing the Pacers, I look forward to great things from the bench once again.

[TacoCabanaFajitas]

-Spurs fans scoffed when people suggested that the Clippers were equally as deep but it turns out the Clippers bench played much better than the Spurs bench this series. That's a bit concerning going forward.

The only other team with even decent depth left is Indiana, and they will have to get through Boston/Miami/76ers first. I don't see OKC beating the Spurs simply because their 2nd unit has no firepower outside of Harden, and the Thunder are going to need Harden/Durant/Westbrook on the floor 40+ minutes of every game to have a shot at winning the series.

[T Park]

Lol@ being concerned about the bench

[loveforthegame]

The usual suspects find a way to contribute but I'm most impressed with Leonard, Green, and Diaw. They've gone way above my expectations.

For whatever reasons the Clippers were not a good match up for Neal, Jackson, and even Ginobili. I expect they'll bounce back in the next series.

[Koolaid_Man]

" and the Los Angeles Lakers once on the verge of elimination now take a commanding 2 games to none lead in this best of 7 Western Conference Finals. We'll be back after this commercial break

[ChumpDumper]

I was glad that the bench showed signs of life in game four; they were pretty terrible before that.

[ChumpDumper]

lol large font fantasy

[hater]

Jax looks like he's 70 years old out there

[TDMVPDPOY]

the thing with ginoboli is whether you accept how many dumb plays b4 he gets going?

[tesseractive]

Am I right in thinking that Bonner ought to be useful against the Thunder? They don't have nearly as much post offense, so he won't be as exposed. And if he can pull guys like Ibaka or Perkins out to the perimeter, that's a win. I'm not saying we should be playing him ahead of Diaw or anything, but I do hope he'll be useful as a 4th man out there.

Also, congrats to Boris and Danny for the great playoffs they're having. And for Kawhi for looking way better than any rookie has a right to.

[T Park]

Jax looks like he's 70 years old out there

Only because he was guarding point guards.....

[ChumpDumper]

Am I right in thinking that Bonner ought to be useful against the Thunder? They don't have nearly as much post offense, so he won't be as exposed. And if he can pull guys like Ibaka or Perkins out to the perimeter, that's a win. I'm not saying we should be playing him ahead of Diaw or anything, but I do hope he'll be useful as a 4th man out there.

We'll see. The Clippers did a great job closing out on Bonner. Don't know if the Thunder could do the same.

[coyotes_geek]

-Danny Green has been extremely effective but it's a bit surprising that it's his offense that is supersizing his value. Then again, maybe it shouldn't be surprised since Green was 11-for-19 on three-pointers versus the Clippers.

Green has been in a good spot so far these playoffs. He gets most of his minutes with Tim & Tony, plus he's got a pretty quick trigger on his shot. It's harder to close out on him than it is on Leonard who needs more time and more space to size up his shot. Looking in hindsight, it certainly makes sense that he'd be the primary beneficiary of getting to face teams who don't defend the 3pt line very well.

[benefactor]

We'll see. The Clippers did a great job closing out on Bonner. Don't know if the Thunder could do the same.

Indeed. It should probably be done on an experimental basis to see how OKC will react and if Bonner can actually make them pay for it. If he's not knocking down his shot or passing them up he needs to head back to the pine.

[FromWayDowntown]

We'll see. The Clippers did a great job closing out on Bonner. Don't know if the Thunder could do the same.

Agree with this.

But Bonner also seems to have some self-inflicted doubt going against him. He's been a willing shooter all season and against Utah, that seemed to continue as he confidently hoisted up shots throughout that series.

While the Clippers' closeouts did appear to cause him to either move the ball or put it down several times, there were a few instances in which he had good looks and seemed quite content to move the ball instead of pulling the trigger.

[Bruno]

The Clippers series can be sum up in one sentence: Spurs starters were great and Spurs bench sucked.

Clippers bench really took advantage of Spurs bench being slow on the perimeter. In addition of that some bench players were really bad. The worst of the bunch was Jack with 1.3ppg in 14.8mpg.

[Mugen]

The Clippers did a great job of closing out on Bonner because his uberslow release + playoff passivity makes him easy to close out on.

OKC will probably go small whenever Bon Bon is on the court which doesn't bode well for SA.

I don't really see a good matchup for Matty left in the playoffs outside of Indiana where he can match up with Psycho T or Almundson. I'm just happy Pops limited his mins. and that we have Boris.

[Manu-20]

Really glad to see green and kawhi playing such big roles in just their first time in the playoffs getting playing time, hopefully we can keep those 2 together for a while I think they can be a good combo at the 2 and 3 for years to come.

[ElNono]

It's really too bad that Pop can't trust young players and give them meaningful minutes.

Danny has been great and I pointed out in Game 3 vs Clippers that it was no coincidence that the Spurs went down by 20+ with Danny sitting on the bench with early foul trouble. He isn't just good on the perimeter, but his help defense and ability to react quickly between a double teams inside is a big plus.

[TJastal]

We'll see. The Clippers did a great job closing out on Bonner. Don't know if the Thunder could do the same.

I'm calling bull here.

In the 4 games I saw vs the clippers Bonner was left open for the most part. He was passing up opportunities for open 3's in favor of passing off or dribbling in for mid range shots which isn't really playing to his real strength.

My theory here is that this is just standard playoff Bonner. And I think the difference between this year and year's past is he's finally becoming self-aware of his lack of sphincter control at this time of year. The telling sign is his shot mechanics haven't looked the same since the playoffs started. Seems he's back to his shot put form, pushing the basketball rather than shooting it, usually resulting in a brick.

[boutons_deux]

SJax, with so few minutes, can't be in any kind of game shape. Looks heavy, slow, befuddled and that's before he touches the ball!

[cheguevara]

yup both Bonner and Jackson have been passing up the open shot. Even Manu in some occassions. that won't cut it vs. OKC