Grades:
Pacera STARTED 12/18 shooting and lead by as many as 9 in the first half. Spurs defense was bad both on the perimeter and guarding the paint early. Kawhi had two early steals but otherwise even his defense was subpar, though he was better than anyone else in the first half. Dedmon boarded well and scored, but his early d was meh too. Tony, Patty and Manu all failed to get the offense going. D improved in the second quarter and offense flowed better when it started going through Kawhi and the Spurs tied it up on a Patty 3 with about 2min to go in the half. It stayed deadlocked 49-49 at halftime. I decided Indian's halftime show was boring and watched a do entary about mysterious seal deaths on Sable Island. It turns out the culprits were Greenland sharks who were previously thought to be docile, nearly blind bottom scavengers Highly recommended.
The third quarter went back and forth with Kawhi keeping the good guy in it. Late in the 3rd a small ball line up with Lee at center rolled off 11 straight to take a lead. A late foul and a 3 by George (I think) cut it back but Lee got to the line and it was a 4 point lead for the Spurs going into the 4th.
Pop started with the small ball for the 4th. Lee struggled with Jefferson and LMA returned. LMA seemed to get the message and played better defense in the 4th. Ellis gave the Pacers the lead off a Green "over pass" turnover. Indiana started 4th on a 15-3 run. Leonard kept the crew in it with some nice baskets and boards. At the end LMA awakened and that plus a host of free throws and suddenly good defense finished off the Pacers. Final score was 110-106.
Kawhi Leonard - A
Kawhi started strong with 2 steals and going 2/2 including a 3 in the first 3 and a half minutes of play and had 7 in the first quarter and 13 half. Spurs O began to improve when it ran through him. But KL was slow on some close outs to Stucky and George. He turned up the defensive heat in the last 5 minutes or so before halftime. Kind of hoping Kawhi hasn't reached the point where he picks and chooses when to expend defensive energy. Still, he was by far the best Spur as per usual.
Kawhi started our scoring in the second half. He had 20 by midway through the third quarter willing his team to a brief lead. He was big in the 4th and the reason the Spurs were in and eventually won this game. Kawhi finished with 32 points, 6 boards, 4 steals and a team leading +17.
LaMarcus Aldridge - C-
LMA started 0 for 5 before hitting a nice jumper. He had only 1 board in the first quarter. His early d was also as weak as I've seen it recently. Things improve in the second quarter hitting 3 of 5. He picked up the defense and the boards in the second half, especially the 4th and began going to the basket. He got two big baskets at the end of the game to get the win to go with 9 in the 4th quarter. LMA gets a big bump for the 4th and the win after a miserable game. He finished with 19 and 7 but only on 7 for 22 shooting.
Danny Green - B-
Nice lob to Dedmon early other than that he didn't make much of an impression in the first half. He had a nice runner early in the second. Teague was scoring well and Pop put Green on him in the second half. Didn't change much. Hit a big 3 with 5 to go.
Tony Parker - C
Tony couldn't run the offense in the first quarter and had only one basket in the first half. Less penetration than Smithers at the Playboy Mansion but he hit some second half jumpers and one nice drive to the basket. Hit some FTs to help seal the game. Teague, George and Ellis had little problem with him though. Still he shot 50% and Spurs won...
Dewayne Dedmon - B
Dedmon started well offensively and on the boards though his d wasn't quite as strong as you'd like. Both he and LMA had trouble protecting the rim early but Dewayne improved his defense as the first half went on. He kept rebounding in the second half but also was slow on his rotations and close outs. A few stupid fouls too.
David Lee - A-
David Lee did David Lee things. He had 5 and 7 at halftime in 12 minutes and with Leonard really helped the offense get going. His d, like everyone's, was suspect but at least he expended effort. He was the small ball center when the Spurs went on a big run in the second half. Struggled on defense but we've come to expect that. Probably second best player behind Kawhi at least until LMA (finally) found a groove in the 4th. Finished with 12 and 11 in 22 minutes.
Kyle Anderson - B-
Kyle got in late in the 3rd quarter in a small ball lineup and had a nice block on Turner and smart pass to Lee for the and 1. He also got to the line though he missed half his FTs. In general KA did exactly what you want of him. He's a role player and played it near perfectly.
Manu Ginobili - D-
Careless with the ball early with a turnover and near turnover that Lee managed to save. Though he got to the line. Never hit a shot, was a team worst -13. He's my favorite active Spur but tonight he looked like an old, rotting seal carcass after a Greenland shark attack. Barely passes because the Spurs won.
Jonathon Simmons - C
Like Kawhi he had trouble with George though he started a late first period run with 2 straight baskets. Still defensive issues the first half. He overcame a turnover by taking a nice charge. Don't remember much more about him other than nice defense on George's final 3.
Patty Mills - C
His lack of size really hurt him on the defense and boards tonight. He also started 0-3. He got his shot going in the second quarter giving Spurs the lead briefly. Hit 50% on his 6 3 attempts. Other than a non factor.
Davis Bertans - Inc.
Davis got in with 16 seconds left in the 3rd and then it was back to the bench. Rumor is Pop whispered "What kind of man are you? You're worthless and weak."
Dejounte Murray - Inc
"You do nothing. You are nothing."
Joel Anthony - Inc
"You sit in here all day and play that sick, repulsive electric twanger. I carried an M16. And you? You carry that...that...that guitar!"
Bryn Forbes - Inc
"Who are you? Where do you come from? Are you listening to me? What' ya wanna do with your life?"
Pop - B-
Spurs won on the road. Which I guess should mean its an above average game. His small ball line up and the brilliance of Kawhi saved the game (as least until LMA FINALLY woke up). Still it was meh....
Good job. Agree with these grades.
Thanks Bill, you da real MVP
Thanks for the write-up. Good grades
Thanks for the write-up. Good grades
This was so funny and nicely written... including the reference to the mysterious seal deaths... Thanks for sharing so much since an couldn't watch this one.
Thanks for the 'cap.
Missed the game, preciate the info.
Tp had a great 3 when spurs had that big run
He have more assist if LMA could hit a basket
Awesome, thanks, Bill.
"Less penetration than Smithers at the Playboy Mansion"? Seriously, you decided to go all Dennis Miller on us? Would you like a Tom Collins?
Nice grades and well done as I would expect.
Simmons made a great steal, drive, and kick to the corner for a 3. Some of his defense can only be measured in shots not taken. Two steals, three boards, on 2-3 shooting. I'd at least stick a + on that C. If he had gotten a couple of trips to the FT line (and he usually does these days), it wouldn't have been too bad of a night at all.
B- for Kyle isn't bad. It may have been a B- performance overall, but I'm glad he was in the game for that one stretch. The Spurs were looking pretty stale, and he sort of gave things a lift. He had a part in making it a W, instead of just filling minutes.
Thanks for the grades. I would agree overall. It was nice to see several players have positive moments (Simmons made early impact, Anderson had a good stretch, etc..)
Thanks for the grades Bill! Nice write-up too!
TP a C and Fathead with his block and assist a B-?
otherwise good grades Bill
Bill is cool
BillMc, thanks for the grades. I agreed pretty much, but who cares? The write-up was too funny!Thanks for investing the time, but more than that, your sense of humor.
Nice write-up! Now I know many here want to put Tony, Patty, and LMA in a seal suit and go at them with a ball bat, but they did turn their game around in the end. Kawhi was Kawow ...as usual. Good win!!
Good write-up, thanks Bill!
Good grades, thanks.
I watched just a little bit after the fact. Got to say, glad to see Simmons had a better game than the ones he had recently, but his grade at C is just fine due to the bad fouls he committed. Two of them that I saw were him trying to go around screens. In the worst one he fouled Paul George at the 3 pt line. Just things he has to clean up.
On one of Simmons' fouls Turner had his legs spread wider than allowed and caught Simmons between the legs. Should have been a foul on Turner, but Simmons didn't sell it.
At worst it was a 50/50 call to me. He was screened free in a good screen and him fighting to try to go around it after he was already out of the play triggered the foul. He will be called on that often and twice against GSW. (you know how it is.)
50/50 at best.
50/50 at best.
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