Quick Grades: Spurs vs. Celtics - Dec. 15

[timvp]

Tim Duncan C
Poor offensively. Obviously not 100% physically. Great on the boards and defended the rim well.

Manu Ginobili Inc.
Suffered a left quad contusion. His history suggest he’ll miss at least one game with the injury.

Tony Parker A+
Fantastic work defensively against Rondo. Ran the show with precision and hit biggest shots of the night.

Danny Green B
Looked more confident tonight. Much better aggression on offense. Some good, some bad on D.

Gary Neal B+
Started off very solid on defense but quickly went downhill. That said, his scoring punch was gigantic.

Tiago Splitter A-
Very impressive in the starting lineup. Lacked physicality in some moments but overall very productive.

Boris Diaw C+
Better but still not in rhythm. Surprising amount of defensive mistakes. Rocky moments on offense.

Nando De Colo A
Strong on D. Quick to loose balls and rebounds. Very good passing. Scored enough to keep D honest.

Patrick Mills B
Found ways to make a positive impact on defense. Good energy but not much production on offense.

Matt Bonner B+
Added a valuable offensive punch with scoring and passing. D was decent enough but no rebounding.

James Anderson Inc.
Admirable effort on D and the boards. Hit a three in garbage time.

Pop B+
Massaged his rotation successfully when Ginobili went down. I fully support Splitter starting.

[ducks]

duncan needs to not play monday

[BackHome]

It seems almost every game that Boris is getting mostly a D and the highest a C......even Bonner is getting better grades then him. For his position we need a lot more out of him and he seems to be giving us pretty much nothing do you think he is in a funk or he just doesn't give a f...k.

[Brunodf]

Starting Splitter was/is a good move by Pop. Great game by TP.

[ducks]

parker needs to tell boris to quiet coasting
lets do this now

[egtonecity]

So Parker is gonna whisper that?

[bbarry]

1 game? I was thinking more like 1-2 weeks minimallly for some reason.

[timvp]

1 game? I was thinking more like 1-2 weeks minimallly for some reason.

As I posted in the other thread, he missed one game with the same exact injury in March of 2011. He also missed one game in January of 2005 with a right quad contusion.

But again, this one appeared to be a little bit more serious so I wouldn't be too surprised if it takes him a couple weeks. Plus he's at the age where it takes players a long time to heal.

[dylankerouac]

Great job by Gary, once again putting the NBA on notice. Cold-blooded is priceless.

[playblair]

blair will be back in the rotation soon ....... bonner will fade & diaw wont shoot .......

[ElNono]

Tiago was the best player of the game, IMO

[jARS mEsH sEt]

So Parker is gonna whisper that?

His schtick is to post short 2/3 line "haiku-style" paragraphs with deliberate spelling errors (he knows how to spell quit but it looks better for his schtick to use 'quiet'. By responding seriously to his spelling error, you're validating his trolling intent).

[ace3g]

Jeff McDonald ‏@JMcDonald_SAEN Pop informed Splitter of new starting role on plane back from POR. "He told me I'd be starting with Timmy. Just keep doing what I'm doing."

[Boomersgold]

Jeff McDonald ‏@JMcDonald_SAEN Pop informed Splitter of new starting role on plane back from POR. "He told me I'd be starting with Timmy. Just keep doing what I'm doing."

Not really a good thing. Who's our big man off the bench then? Bonner?

[timvp]

Jeff McDonald ‏@JMcDonald_SAEN Pop informed Splitter of new starting role on plane back from POR. "He told me I'd be starting with Timmy. Just keep doing what I'm doing."

Damn, that sounds like it may be long-term

[ace3g]

Not really a good thing. Who's our big man off the bench then? Bonner?

Maybe Spurs have a trade in mind, Boris and other PF/C in trade coming off the bench

[TheSkeptic]

Jeff McDonald ‏@JMcDonald_SAEN Pop informed Splitter of new starting role on plane back from POR. "He told me I'd be starting with Timmy. Just keep doing what I'm doing."

I'm not sure how I feel about Splitter and Duncan starting together either tbh. On the one hand, I'm thrilled that Pop's finally playing them together. But at the same time I'm kinda furious because it was painfully obvious that Splitter needed to start some 2 years ago. Infuriating!

Assuming the change is permanent though I suppose I don't have any basketball-related complaints. If the Spurs keep him involved in the offense I think he can really help us once he gets his reps in.

At this point I think that Diaw is key. As the player that can singlehandedly ensure that neither Blair or Bonner sees the court during the post season, we need more production out of him than we've been getting. Besides Splitter, Pop, and Parker, I was also very happy with De Colo. With some reps I think he could be the answer to our back-up PG problems. Besides Blair or Bonner, the last thing I want to see in the playoffs is Mills running the point.

[Brunodf]

Not really a good thing. Who's our big man off the bench then? Bonner?

Duncan and Splitter were in the game all the time, either paired with Boris/Bonner or together.
Splitter can start and still play with the bench.

[Bruno]

While I like the Splitter/Duncan starting frontcourt, it's a risky pair given Spurs roster. If one start to be in foul trouble, Spurs will have to play heavy minutes in a game without some kind of interior defensive presence.

Starting Splitter with Duncan would be better if Spurs have another center at the end of the bench. Maybe Spurs will do a move in that way. I find it weird that Pop didn't put Blair in the game for the garbage time.

Other than that, it's nice to see Nando bouncing back after a couple of bad games.

[Brunodf]

Damn, that sounds like it may be long-term

I hope so

[Brunodf]

While I like the Splitter/Duncan starting frontcourt, it's a risky pair given Spurs roster. If one start to be in foul trouble, Spurs will have to play heavy minutes in a game without some kind of interior defensive presence.

Starting Splitter with Duncan would be better if Spurs have another center at the end of the bench. Maybe Spurs will do a move in that way. I find it weird that Pop didn't put Blair in the game for the garbage time.

Other than that, it's nice to see Nando bouncing back after a couple of bad games.

i will take my chances, neither Splitter or Duncan are making too many fouls this season, and is good to start strong

[Drz]

Not really a good thing. Who's our big man off the bench then? Bonner?

I don't think we're going to have one. This probably will increase Bonner's minutes, but there's zero chance he plays the traditional role of a "big."

It's going to be very interesting to see how lineups without Duncan or Splitter do. Doubt we'll see it much, but it kind of feels like it has to happen at some point.

[Trainwreck2100]

I hope Manu's good to go by the Denver game. That's the team he historically uses to get off the schnide

[DMC]

Diaw seems to drift off mentally and then pop back to reality. You can see it during the game when he suddenly realizes his man has left him.

[racm]

Duncan and Splitter should continue to start together but Pop has been doing a good job so far in staggering their minutes.

Big men who shoot 60 percent from the field are a rarity, and two star bigs and a star guard have been good in winning the West lately (see Dallas two seasons ago, LA three-four seasons ago).