Tim Duncan
Duncan came out a little sluggish but picked it up in the second half to help put the final nail in the Nuggets. Duncan shot the ball well and was rebounding very well in traffic. He was just the rock for the Spurs all series and the backbone to anything they did. It was a tough, physical series for Duncan, but he survived it and did a good job of staying clear of the refs.
Grade: B+
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili played like a rhythm player who never got in rhythm. And that's exactly what happened. He picked up two quick fouls, the first of which probably should have been a no-call. It's hard to blame him because he never got into any kind of a flow.
Grade: C-
Tony Parker
Parker had some reckless passes and some ill-advised shots, but his aggressiveness on both ends of the court helped carry the Spurs in this game. He kept attacking the Nuggets and never let them rest. It wasn't a perfect outing, but it was impressive -- especially when you factor in the job he did on Iverson. AI finished 6-for-22 and even then, most of those six makes came against Bowen. Parker also deserves some credit for getting Finley going. Five of Finley's baskets were off of Parker's passes -- including the first two threes.
Grade: A-
Bruce Bowen
Bowen had a very good defensive showing. He switched seamlessly between AI and Anthony and had success against both of them. He played outstanding defense in the second half and helped the Spurs run away with the win. The series was just another example of why Bowen is one of the best defenders of this generation.
Grade: B+
Francisco Elson
This was by far Elson's best game. It was the first time that he looked comfortable on the defensive end of the court. His rotations were really good and everything he did had a crispness about it that wasn't there the first four games of the series. His stats don't jump off the page, but I thought it was a huge improvement from his first four outings.
Grade: A-
Michael Finley
Finley wants that championship ring. Burying 8-of-9 three-pointers in a closeout game will help him get that ring. Without Finley, the Spurs could have been in for a long night. His outside shooting was been a big asset all series. Lost in his barrage of threes was his defensive effort. He played great on that end of the court.
Grade: A+
Brent Barry
Barry didn't get many minutes but he again looked ready to come in and play playoff basketball. He hit a big three in the first half, which can hopefully help his confidence going into the upcoming series.
Grade: B
Fabricio Oberto
Oberto was the quiet assassin for the Spurs this series. He was a huge boost off the bench. On the series he rebounded well, passed the ball well, made the shots he took and just overall played a very efficient five games. In this game, it was more of the same. Job well done so far in the playoffs by Oberto.
Grade: A-
Robert Horry
Even though Horry didn't have a great outing, he still hit a gigantic three to start off the fourth quarter and followed it with a dunk that put the Spurs up by nine. After that, the Nuggets finally started to ease up. Overall, it was a fantastic series by Horry, giving the Spurs hope that their ol' wily veteran has one more playoff run in him.
Grade: B+
Jacque Vaughn
Four points, three assists, one steal and zero turnovers is the type of line you want to see out of your backup point guard. Vaughn also had a very good night on the defensive end of the court. As the series went on, Vaughn seemed to get more and more comfortable with the Spurs style of play in the playoffs. Good series overall from Vaughn.
Grade: B+
Pop
By out-coaching George Karl pretty handily, Pop helped this series end as abruptly as it did. The Spurs defense seemed to guard AI and Carmelo better and better, which no doubt has a lot to do with Pop. Pop also must have done something right in half time, because the Spurs came out like a totally different team after intermission. Props on a job well done by Pop.
Grade: A-
agree 100% with Elson.
His traps and rotations were superb, maybe the best of the season.
In the 3rd he also came out, challenged shots and grabbed some boards from Camby.
Against Phoenix, he will be in his element, and I'm expecting him to take some minutes from Fab.
Waiting for you grades, will you do one for the overall series against the Nuggets?
Keep them coming
I think even C- for Ginobili tonight might be a bit generous. He never got in the flow, but he also made some bad decisions that didn't help his effort to get into the flow. He seems to be over-dribbling at times and I thought he hoisted a couple of ill-advised shots. He just seemed to be pressing when he got chances and I thought he generally hurt more than he helped tonight.
Ginobili had one of the worst games I've seen him have in a very very long time.
Ditto...
duncan had some nice finishes and not goin weak on the offensive end
this game suprised me
I thought manu would go off in second half
this is one of his worse ever playoff games
Manu been scary bad.
He's gotta find his game.
As badly as he played, he only played 17 minutes, so Pop tried to minimize the damage as best as he could.
One mistake Pop made in an otherwise well coached game was that Parker-Finley-Bowen-Horry-Oberto line-up in the end of the 2nd quarter.
Tony, with clothes on: 33 minutes, +19.
Tony, bareass nekkid: 3 minutes, -8
Ginobili did play amazingly bad.
Timvp, Beno saw some time at the end. What do you give him?
Perhaps Manu should have been graded a little harsher, but I gave him a break because he wasn't needed in the fourth quarter -- where he can oftentimes turn a D game into a B or A game.
Manu needs to come out ready to roll against the Suns. His offense is going to be a huge key in that series.
E for effort?Beno saw some time at the end. What do you give him?
Beno's pass to the ref at the end of the game showed his outstanding court vision hasn't left him even though he hasn't played much of late.
It'll be interesting how they guard him. He'll probably see a lot of Raja Bell (torched him in Phoenix but struggled against him in SA), but maybe every once in a while they might throw Marion at him instead.
If LB is ever on him, Manu has to go right at him.
I think overall he has to go to the basket a lot stronger against Phoenix because they don't have the shotblockers that Denver does.
timvp, I wanna hear your thoughts on Oberto real quick
you always said before the playoffs that he was going to be crucial for the Spurs and his big game experience seems to be paying off....so do you think Oberto can keep this up as he seems to fare well against the Suns.
i have to say, him, finley, and the resurgence of horry has been a very pleasant surprise.
, he would'nt take Steve Blake to the hole, let alone L friggen B.If LB is ever on him, Manu has to go right at him
Ginobili from minute one vs Phoenix, needs to get the ball, penetrate and just dominate the matchups.
Marion can defend him decently, but, BUT, Bell can sometimes guard him, but some screen and rolls will change and help that immensly.
TimVP A+
It depends how the Suns decide to play. If they go small and put Marion at PF and Amare at C, the Spurs are going to match by going small. If Kurt Thomas sees time alongside Amare, that's when Oberto will come in handy.
But seeing how the Suns have been playing and knowing that D'Antoni will try to keep Horry off the court as much as possible, the Suns will probably go small. If that's the case, the X-Factor for the series will switch from Oberto to Brent Barry.
Either way, Oberto has earned some playing time. When Duncan rests, Oberto right now looks like the best option to replace him as the big in a small ball lineup.
If Pop wants to get a little risky, he might see if Oberto, Horry and Elson can buy time on Diaw.
what i hope manu does, (though he was starting at the time) was immediately when the spurs won the jumpball, Manu would get a dunkw ithin 5 seconds to start virtually every game
It wasn't about Blake, TPark, it was about who was waiting behind Blake. Karl made it pretty clear their whole defensive focus was to not allow Manu room to penetrate.
Elson could guard him.If Pop wants to get a little risky, he might see if Oberto, Horry and Elson can buy time on Diaw.
Oberto, hes too slow to stay in front.
Horry Also.
Might have to play zone alot, so that you CAN keep Horry in there.
Small ball opponents are gonna be gritting their teeth for the next couple weeks.
Yeah that Eduardo Najera is an intimidating interior defender no questionIt wasn't about Blake, TPark, it was about who was waiting behind Blake
I can't believe that of all Spurs, the guy to break Manu's streak of six straight playoff series as the team's leader in +/- was broken by his countryman. Your final tally..
Oberto +24
Duncan +19
Finley +19
Parker +15
Barry +14
Ginobili +13
Horry +12
Bowen +6
Vaughn +6
Elson -9
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