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You're good at this. You are the Chris Landry of the Spurs.
Tim Duncan
Duncan didn't have his greatest game of all-time, but I thought he gave a very good effort. He was dead tired in the fourth quarter and instead of slowing down, he kept doing as much as he could. His determination and will to win were off the charts tonight. Again, didn't play overly great, but I'll take that type of effort every night.
Grade: B+
Manu Ginobili
This is the Manu I've been waiting for. He didn't have a fantastic night shooting the basketball, but Manu was Manu tonight. When he's attacking the basket, getting to the free throw line and creating for himself and others, the Spurs are damn hard to beat. If he can bottle up what he did tonight, the Spurs are going to be alright. He had a couple of defensive lapses and forced a few passes, but he more than made up for it with his overall aggressiveness. It was night and day from the first two games to this series.
Grade: A-
Tony Parker
Parker is having an odd playoff series. I thought he played poorly for large stretches tonight, but he'd respond with some important possessions. He started off the fourth quarter missing his first three shots, but responded with three huge baskets down the stretch. He also deserves props for playing very good defense on Iverson -- even though AI was hitting tough shots. When Duncan and Manu wore down in the fourth, Parker keeping his energy level up was also key. But really, Parker hasn't played as well as he could so far. He can play a lot better ... which I guess is a good sign for the Spurs. Through it all, he led the Spurs in scoring, had only one turnover and is the Spurs' leading scorer on the series.
Grade: C
Bruce Bowen
Bowen wasn't having too good of a game on either end of the court, but I liked that he kept at it. He wasn't backing down even though he wasn't having near the defensive game he had in Game 2. The Nuggets obviously had the game plan that they'd be physical with Bowen and push him coming off screens and when they had the ball. The refs weren't calling the fouls, so it negated a lot of his defense. But instead of giving up or complaining too much, he kept fighting.
Grade: C-
Francisco Elson
Hey, not bad by the big Dutchman. Didn't play overly well, but at least didn't hurt the Spurs too much. In this matchup, that's about the most you can ask. Decent production, hit his first two shots of the series and stayed within himself. He's a placeholder for Horry and Oberto at this point, but at least today he held his place and didn't hurt the Spurs in his minutes.
Grade: B
Michael Finley
Finley is having a monster playoff run so far. Not only is he knocking down shots, he's playing the best defense of his life. Without his overall confidence out there, the Spurs would be in trouble. He's rebounding now after getting none in Game 1 and is playing about as smart as I've ever seen him play. Can't really complain about anything he's doing out there.
Grade: A-
Brent Barry
Barry had a nice steal in his five minutes. He never really got an open look but his defense was pretty solid. This isn't the series for him, but it's good that he's not a liability in his few minutes on the court.
Grade: B
Fabricio Oberto
Didn't quite have a Game 2 like performance, but I thought he was good. His post defense was very good and continues to play smart, winning basketball. He didn't have much of an impact on the stat sheet, but he was solid and contributed to the win.
Grade: B
Robert Horry
What can you say about this guy? He looks like the worst player in the league during the regular season and then comes out and might have been the best player on the court. His basketball IQ is so off the charts it's scary. Amazing game for Horry, with too many big plays to even begin to mention them. Hopefully he can keep this up.
Grade: A+
Jacque Vaughn
Vaughn did a better job of not shooting today. In the first two games, I thought he looked for his shot too much. This game he finished with zero field goal attempts. That's about the right amount of shots you want him taking. Defensively he wasn't great, but did a pretty good job. As long as he can come in and run the show for a few minutes while playing rugged defense, that should be enough.
Grade: B-
Pop
Very nicely coached game tonight by Pop. I thought the rotations were right on the money. He kept Ginobili and Horry fresh, playing them a combined 60 minutes even though they were both playing so well. Oh and perhaps Pop was right by limiting Duncan's minutes in Game 2 because at the end of this game, Duncan looked drained after playing 40 minutes. Giving Parker more time on AI seemed to help keep AI from going totally off. He also ran much more 4-Down in the fourth quarter instead of motion, which was something I've been asking for. Running everything through Duncan on the block or isolating Parker and Ginobili is the way to go against Denver because it lessens the defensive impact of Camby. Great adjustments on both ends of the court.
Grade: A
You're good at this. You are the Chris Landry of the Spurs.
Dude, Pop did get an A tonight.
tp could play better but he is averaging over 4 rebounds a game 6 assist a game
more then regular season
plus he is spending alot of energy guarding ai
when ai was a sixer pop did not want him to score one game just play d on him]
The one knock tonight on Horry's performance was his loose-ball foul on the offensive glass with just over a minute to go and the Spurs in the penalty. Those types of plays are inexcusable, especially for such a savvy veteran like Horry. I'll give him an "A" for effort though on the play, which actually brings his game grade down to an "A", IMHO.
spot on
The only note I might disagree with is Tony Parker. The fact that he hit some timely outside jumpers to keep the Denver defense honest warrants a "B" in my opinion. He would've gotten an "A" if not for some erratic turnovers.
you give duncan a b+ while elson did jack gets a b?
according to yahoo
tp had one yes one turnover
he was such a turnover machine tonight
tp took one bad shot (a three point shot)
throw the ball on a fast break to horry when he should have just drove it in for a layup
but he deserved a b not a c tonight
You're right. Tony played a nice game. I didn't consult the stat sheet. But that one turnover stood out in my mind. Also, please understand that I drank lots of beer during the game.according to yahoo
tp had one yes one turnover
he was such a turnover machine tonight
yeah it was a bad turnover
For the 59,000th time, players are graded on how well they played compared to their individual potential. One grade doesn't compare to another grade. If that were the case, Duncan would always get an A and everyone else would be getting D's or F's.
Since Duncan looked somewhat winded at playing 40 mpg, does Pop keep pushing him since it's the playoffs or maybe try a different subs ution pattern?
this was the first game pop played duncan 40 minutes
I hope spurs get a lead and he does not have to play 40 minutes in denver
in sa it would not be a problem
I'd hope that Duncan and Parker can both average around 40 minutes in close games, but we'll see if Duncan being tired tonight has an effect on him in Game 4. Hopefully not.
Duncan could play 40+ anywhere but Denver I think..or at least he should be able too, he should be in good enough condition.
Duncan: I'll give him a B+. He made some huge defensive plays, but took some ill advised shots as well. If it wasn't for a few REALLY easy putbacks, his offensive numbers would have been less impressive.
Ginobili: B. I thought he was brilliant in stretches and disappeared in others. His defense was mostly solid tonight, and he kept the Nuggets defense on their heels.
Parker: B! I say this emphatically! His offense was inconsistent and he made a few silly gaffs, but his D on Iverson was stellar tonight! If anyone TiVo'ed this, watch him fight through the screens and move laterally like crazy. He was one of the best players on the floor. Parker was absolutely the key guy to consistently collapsing the Denver defense and had them playing scared and tentative. Of course, they would probably be a bit more ready to step out on Parker if....
Finley: A+. Great defense. Great shooting. Very few mistakes. Unbelievable contribution, and best of all: I bet the Mavs wish they had him against the Warriors about now.
Bowen: D+. His defense wasn't that great tonight, and he missed several open jumpers. But at least he didn't jack 'em up all night.
Horry: A+. Nothing needs be said about this guy, other than he was the MVP of the game. Ridiculously clutch defense and amazing shots.
Elson: C. Good grade for him, but still making the bone-headed fouls and not playing smart ball. Oh well, he didn't -hurt- us tonight at least.
Pop: B+. I'm not sure about having Parker AND Manu on the bench during a key stretch in the fourth quarter, but hey, it worked and we won. I wish wish wish Pop would make these guys work through Duncan more often, it slows the game down and forces the D to wear themselves out chasing the ball as it goes Parker - Duncan - Finley - Parker - Duncan - Parker - Manu - 3 points. But hey, we won, and that's all that matters right now.
Let's win Game 4 and send the Nuggets packing in 5 at home. That would give us so much momentum heading into Phoenix (or L.A.
As a Nuggets fan I say that Parker really impressed me more than Manu in the third game.
He hit tons of tough shots and gave us a lot of problem tonight. My props for him.
Plus, Horry and Finley made our horrible "rotation defense" pay for all those wide open treys.
Parker was hard to grade. For stretches he was the worst player on the court, but for other stretches he was the best player on the court. His shots in the fourth were huge and his defense was outstanding in stretches. I'll probably watch the game again and see if it should be adjusted, but for now I'll stick with the C.
Tony should get a C just for clearing out Duncan and then picking up his dribble against Nene on the angle. That was redirkulously stupid.
I'm pissed that I missed the game, I tried following it on my cell phone while at work. Once I saw the Spurs were up in the 3rd I pissed my pants with joy. Excellent overall effort by the Spurs today. HWOOOOOOOOOOOOWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
parker was parker... with the good and the bad, if you know what i mean... i think we can live with it
I have issues with a few of these.
Tim Duncan
Duncan didn't have his greatest game of all-time, but I thought he gave a very good effort. He was dead tired in the fourth quarter and instead of slowing down, he kept doing as much as he could. His determination and will to win were off the charts tonight. Again, didn't play overly great, but I'll take that type of effort every night.
Grade: B+
I'd give Tim a B-, at best. I think he had a poor shooting night, left a lot of shots short and his good work on the offensive boards inflates his rebounding number when really he was pretty weak on the defensive glass, which is more important. I think overall he was more of a defensive force in Game 2, and he had 0 turnovers that night as opposed to three today.
Manu Ginobili
This is the Manu I've been waiting for. He didn't have a fantastic night shooting the basketball, but Manu was Manu tonight. When he's attacking the basket, getting to the free throw line and creating for himself and others, the Spurs are damn hard to beat. If he can bottle up what he did tonight, the Spurs are going to be alright. He had a couple of defensive lapses and forced a few passes, but he more than made up for it with his overall aggressiveness. It was night and day from the first two games to this series.
Grade: A-
See this I don't get. His statline really wasn't all that different from Game 2. His aggressiveness going to the rim in the first half today was no different then the second half last time. I think the main difference is in Game 2 the Nuggets let him finish off some lay-ups and today they decided, " that, we're foulin' his ass." I was a bit disappointed Manu wore down in the 4th and we were lucky that Tony and Horry hit some shots late. I think it's a bit overdramatic to go from giving him a "C" in game 2 to an "A-" in Game 3 when really he didn't play that differently overall. I'd have gone maybe a "B-" at worst in Game 2, and a "B+" at best here.
Tony Parker
Parker is having an odd playoff series. I thought he played poorly for large stretches tonight, but he'd respond with some important possessions. He started off the fourth quarter missing his first three shots, but responded with three huge baskets down the stretch. He also deserves props for playing very good defense on Iverson -- even though AI was hitting tough shots. When Duncan and Manu wore down in the fourth, Parker keeping his energy level up was also key. But really, Parker hasn't played as well as he could so far. He can play a lot better ... which I guess is a good sign for the Spurs. Through it all, he led the Spurs in scoring, had only one turnover and is the Spurs' leading scorer on the series.
Grade: C
This, I think, was harsh. Yeah, he took maybe five or six shots I wish he hadn't, but besides that I think Tony played his best game of the series. He really stepped up for us big time in the 4th and I'm one of those people that weighs the 2nd half more than the 1st. Dude only had the one turnover this time, so that was an improvement. My only concern here is again, for whatever reason, Manu and Tony can't seem to play well simultaneously. The better one plays, the worse the other plays, and it's been like this two straight games now. I'd have given Tony a "B".
Bruce Bowen
Bowen wasn't having too good of a game on either end of the court, but I liked that he kept at it. He wasn't backing down even though he wasn't having near the defensive game he had in Game 2. The Nuggets obviously had the game plan that they'd be physical with Bowen and push him coming off screens and when they had the ball. The refs weren't calling the fouls, so it negated a lot of his defense. But instead of giving up or complaining too much, he kept fighting.
Grade: C-
I think C- might be a bit too generous here. I agree, it's almost cruel asking him to constantly shuttle back and forth between the 2nd and 3rd highest scorers in the league, but IMO, he struggled mightily tonight and the ol' +/- numbers weren't very kind to him... I'd go with a "D".
Francisco Elson
Hey, not bad by the big Dutchman. Didn't play overly well, but at least didn't hurt the Spurs too much. In this matchup, that's about the most you can ask. Decent production, hit his first two shots of the series and stayed within himself. He's a placeholder for Horry and Oberto at this point, but at least today he held his place and didn't hurt the Spurs in his minutes.
Grade: B
Well, if you want to get technical about it, he hurt us a lot more in Game 3 (-7) than Game 2 (+1) in about the same number of minutes. He hit a couple of pretty jumpers today, but I don't think he had much of an interior presence defensively. "C-."
Michael Finley
Finley is having a monster playoff run so far. Not only is he knocking down shots, he's playing the best defense of his life. Without his overall confidence out there, the Spurs would be in trouble. He's rebounding now after getting none in Game 1 and is playing about as smart as I've ever seen him play. Can't really complain about anything he's doing out there.
Grade: A-
Like Duncan, I think Finley was overall a bit better in Game 2. He had a couple of painful sequences where he held the ball, and held it some more, and then some more, and then cast an ugly no-chance fadeaway. He wasn't alone by any means. Tim, Manu, Tony, even Robert all launched a few no chance prayers. I just think Robert was a bit of a ball stopper in some stretches. Either catch and shoot or catch and pass. "B+"
Brent Barry
Barry had a nice steal in his five minutes. He never really got an open look but his defense was pretty solid. This isn't the series for him, but it's good that he's not a liability in his few minutes on the court.
Grade: B
I think "Inc." would be more appropriate here. Five minutes isn't enough to do anything. I'd like to see him play more and possibly take advantage of one of Denver's crappy wing players on defense. In a perfect world Pop would've played both Fin and Bruce five minutes less and Brent ten minutes more.
Fabricio Oberto
Didn't quite have a Game 2 like performance, but I thought he was good. His post defense was very good and continues to play smart, winning basketball. He didn't have much of an impact on the stat sheet, but he was solid and contributed to the win.
Grade: B
I think you have to hold him somewhat accountable for not getting a single defensive rebound in 10 minutes. Najera, Neno and Melo all got offensive boards on his watch. "C".
Robert Horry
What can you say about this guy? He looks like the worst player in the league during the regular season and then comes out and might have been the best player on the court. His basketball IQ is so off the charts it's scary. Amazing game for Horry, with too many big plays to even begin to mention them. Hopefully he can keep this up.
Grade: A+
No arguments here, he was our best player tonight. Coulda used play like this last year against Dallas.
Jacque Vaughn
Vaughn did a better job of not shooting today. In the first two games, I thought he looked for his shot too much. This game he finished with zero field goal attempts. That's about the right amount of shots you want him taking. Defensively he wasn't great, but did a pretty good job. As long as he can come in and run the show for a few minutes while playing rugged defense, that should be enough.
Grade: B-
This was by far my favorite paragraph of your whole post. Very funny. Mainly what I like about Jacque Vaughn is when he's in there he usually just passes it to Manu and gets the out of the way. When he's out there sans Manu, that's a very, very bad idea, as we discovered in the 4th quarter. Really, neither Tony nor Tim should ever be put in the position of playing "naked" (without one of the other big two) ever again because neither has had much experience with it during the year. Manu is the only one who's been asked to do it on a daily basis so he's more comfortable with it. Seeing Tim by himself was just ing weird.
Pop
Very nicely coached game tonight by Pop. I thought the rotations were right on the money. He kept Ginobili and Horry fresh, playing them a combined 60 minutes even though they were both playing so well. Oh and perhaps Pop was right by limiting Duncan's minutes in Game 2 because at the end of this game, Duncan looked drained after playing 40 minutes. Giving Parker more time on AI seemed to help keep AI from going totally off. He also ran much more 4-Down in the fourth quarter instead of motion, which was something I've been asking for. Running everything through Duncan on the block or isolating Parker and Ginobili is the way to go against Denver because it lessens the defensive impact of Camby. Great adjustments on both ends of the court.
Grade: A
I'm afraid I can't quite go that high for Pop. He should have played Brent more (as a team we haven't had a minus sequence this series with Barry out there) and Bowen less when he was struggling out there. I also think he let Tony get a bit too carried away shooting the ball and could have pulled those reins a bit. As a team we probably took 15 ugly, no chance out of rhythm shots between Tim-Horry-Manu-Tony-Finley and that's at least 8 too many. He might have stressed ball movement more. Defensively I think we could have mixed it up better, thrown up the occasional double on Melo, and packed the lane better. Gave up too many dunks and easy put backs. I'd go with a "B" for Pop.
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