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Suns trainer A++++
Tim Duncan
Duncan had a poor first quarter. He was missing easy shots and wasn't making very good decisions. For the final three quarters, he was phenomenal. Offensively, he was dominant and it might have been his best game on the low block this season. Defensively, he was also very, very good. The only thing I can critique him on defensively is that his pick-and-roll defense wasn't perfect. Overall, this was a vintage Tim Duncan performance.
Grade: A
Manu Ginobili
I guess it's time to start getting worried. In the Nuggets series, the thinking was that George Karl made Ginobili Denver's number one priority to stop. In this game, Ginobili wasn't double nearly as much and the Suns don't have a Marcus Camby waiting in the paint. His aggression level was decent but his effectiveness was poor. He avoids a lower grade due to his rebounding and the fact that he didn't have a turnover.
Grade: C-
Tony Parker
Parker took on the two-time reigning MVP and matched him play for play. Fantastic game out of Parker whose energy was probably the biggest reason the Spurs won the game. He made the Suns pay defensively no matter who they put on him. It was easily one of his best playoff games of his career. The only negative you can point to are his turnovers, but nearly all of them were out of being aggressive.
Grade: A
Bruce Bowen
Bowen played decent but he never got into a groove defensively. The matchup with Nash is an amazingly difficult one and he didn't do much more than someone like Parker would have done on him. Offensively he only had three points on two shots, but the one shot he did hit was a big one. He also gets props for pulling down seven rebounds, including a key rebound late.
Grade: B
Francisco Elson
Some good plays and a good amount of bad plays for Elson. One second he'd look competent, the next second you'd have to wonder how he's in the NBA. Overall, he needs to rebound more -- especially against this team. He had a good block and had decent energy, but he can play a lot better than he showed.
Grade: C+
Michael Finley
Finley continues to be huge in this playoff run. Without his 19 points, the Spurs don't win this game. His defense was also very good. Overall, you can't complain about much Finley is doing. He has stepped up and his been the third scorer the Spurs need in recent games.
Grade: A-
Brent Barry
Barry only got eight minutes on the court. In that time, he missed a wide open three, got two rebounds and an assist. He was decent but the Spurs need more from him this series.
Grade: C+
Fabricio Oberto
Oberto continues to play solid. His post defense was very good. He scored a huge basket for his only two points of the game. He also pulled down two rebounds in his ten minutes. He's really a calming influence out there and hasn't made many mistakes this postseason.
Grade: A-
Robert Horry
Horry flew under the radar like usual but he was very effective and efficient this game. In 28 minutes, he had ten points, seven rebounds and two blocks. And like usual, he hit an enormous shot. I'm running out of good things to say about him this playoffs.
Grade: A
Jacque Vaughn
This was Vaughn's worst playoff game of the season. He gets himself in trouble when he tries to do too much offensively. When he's just distributing and shooting wide open jumpers, he's a pretty good placeholder. When he tries to do more than that, he's a liability. His defense was also nothing to write home about.
Grade: D+
Pop
Pop is proving that he can be a huge advantage for the Spurs over D'Antoni. He coached a much better game than his Suns' counterpart. What impressed most was his stubbornness in staying big, which resulted in the Spurs having a +14 advantage on the boards. He also allowed Parker to attack at will, which really wore down the Suns. However, the Spurs defense could play better and Pop needs to find a way to get Ginobili playing better again. But overall, very nice job by Pop.
Grade: A-
Suns trainer A++++
I'm curious as to what you are blaming Elson for. He had a terrible travel, but I thought he was very good for the rest of the game.
Pop > D'Antoni may be the key matchup of this series.
Vaughn - don't you mean D+? He played the worst I've seen him play and had 4 TOs in 10 mins.
Manu gets an F minus.
And damn, you're fast with these Timvp!
His rotations were decent at best. He made a couple mistakes in transition defense by picking up the wrong guy. Offensively he did nothing that took advantage that a shooting guard was on him a lot of the time. Didn't take advantage of his height rebounding the ball.
Seriously, a C+ was pretty nice of me.
I agree with the grades. Manu needs to have one of those games to get going. Finley has been amazing...he definitely wants that ring. Holla!
how do you not give vaugn and F? the guy was horrible and the suns practically begged him to shoot everytime he brought up the ball. that being said i hope he plays plenty next game.
Juat an A for Parker ? I thought he deserved an A+, because he got Nash out of the game
Not with 9 rebounds, a couple of them clutch, and 4 asts he doesn't, and not when Fin is hitting shots and he doesn't need to.
If he forced up 15 shots in this game he gets an F.
Finley is FEELING this championship run, and because of that, so am I. Heavy props to Tony, Tim and Robert, and I'll look for Manu to get his, eventually.
Don't you mean mismatch?
I couldn't believe the time D'Antoni put Kurt Thomas out there with Duncan not on the floor ... and then when Duncan went in, D'Antoni pulled Thomas.
That was one of the oddest coaching moves I've ever seen.
Cool. I'll go back and watch the game again before I respond.
"4 TOs in 10 mins."
and 4 PF in 3 minutes
I really hope Tony doesn't have any ill effects from the collision because he destroyed the Suns today. In addition to driving, his jumper was freakin' money.
Duncan was more aggresive than he has been in years. Great game by him and A+ for bringing the pivot, fake, reverse jump hook out of retirment.
That's what I've been waiting for. He was dunking, calling for the ball, aggressive.
He didn't do it 100% of the game, but it was good to see the old Duncan back.
Nice game, Tim.
Spurs will be champions if he keeps playing like this.
Tony is supremely confident in his jumper when he plays the Suns. I really trust him shooting that against the suns every time. No wonder why he's averaging like 28 + against them.
When Tony's jumper is on, he's basically unstoppable.
I really liked when he called for the ball from Manu. He's definitely looking to carry this team as opposed to 2005 when he was on two bad ankles and not the most aggressive/confident in his ability, (lateral movement, etc.).
I agree with the other poster, I don't see how Vaughn doesn't get an F. He was absolutely terrible at both ends.
I don't quite understand how Bruce got a B either. Nash scored on him rather easily all day. I know it's a part of our strategy to turn Nash into a scorer rather than a passer, but I thought he'd have to get his points on a bunch of fadeaway 14 footers, not lay-up after lay-up.
Also, I think you're being a bit too kind with Horry. I thought his pick and roll defense was pretty shaky.
As far as Manu goes, I don't disagree with the grade, but I think he's kind of painting himself into a corner. The worse he shoots from the outside, the more other teams will sag off him and make driving that much harder. Either he's going to have to get hot from the perimeter before he can drive again (he was on his way before that 2nd foul in the 1st) or he'll have to work some give and goes with Timmy to get himself going.
No kidding. D'Antoni underplayed Thomas in the last regular season matchup, too.I couldn't believe the time D'Antoni put Kurt Thomas out there with Duncan not on the floor ... and then when Duncan went in, D'Antoni pulled Thomas.
That was one of the oddest coaching moves I've ever seen.
He must be the only man in America who can't see that Thomas does a great job on Duncan and needs to be out there 30 minutes a game.
You lose credibility when you give Elson the same grade as Barry.
Brent was useless today, Elson made some great plays, including covering up a Duncan up that allowed Marion to get to the rim.
Elson was deserving of at least a B today.
I'm guessing Bruce's rebounding was enough to bump up his grade.
Manu, he just needs to knock down some shots and get in some rhythm. I have full confidence in him - I was actually sure that today he was going to come up big in the 4th. At least he is still doing all the intangibles, even if he isn't scoring.
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