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Manu should have shot more 3's
Tim Duncan
Prior to Tracy McGrady’s Three-Pointers Heard ‘Round The World, Duncan was having a nice night versus the Houston Rockets. Though his shots weren’t falling at his regular clip, Duncan kept the pressure on Houston offensively and defensively. On one side of the court, he recorded a season-high seven blocks and tied a season-high with 18 rebounds. On the other side of the court, he finished with 26 points but only shot 7-for-22 from the field. His poor shooting and unfortunate foul on McGrady late in the game withstanding, Duncan played one of his better games of the season. Another plus – he finished 12-for-14 at the line.
GRADE: 83
DECEMBER: 87.5
SEASON: 87.8
Bruce Bowen
Everyone will remember this game for how McGrady sank shot after shot in the final minute. What no one will remember is the job that Bowen did on McGrady in the game’s first 37 minutes. Preceding those final four three-pointers, Bowen had held McGrady to 8-for-25 shooting from the field. So it can be easily argued that Bowen played fantastic defense for 47 out of the first 48 minutes. On offense, Bowen was sharp. He connected on 3-of-6 shots from the field, including 1-of-2 from downtown.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 82.5
SEASON: 83.6
Rasho Nesterovic
Popovich came out in the press and confirmed what most Spurs fans have known – Nesterovic has been horrible as of late. He started the season off pretty well, but it’s gone in the toilet since then. Against the Rockets, Nesterovic actually showed some signs of snapping out of his funk. In 24 minutes, he totaled eight rebounds and a season-high four blocks. Offensively though, he was still struggling. He finished 1-for-5 from the field and 1-for-2 from the line to tally three points for the game. While he’s not out of the woods yet, it was at least baby steps in the right direction for Nesterovic.
GRADE: 81
DECEMBER: 71.3
SEASON: 81.5
Manu Ginobili
For the second straight game, Ginobili found most of his success beyond the three-point line. He was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and 1-for-5 from within. For the game, he finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 29 minutes. His defense was superb, holding Ryan Bowen scoreless. On the lest leg of the seven games in ten nights stretch the Spurs were in, the fatigue factor probably hurt Ginobili the most. That can be seen in his inability to finish at the basket in the last two games. Now that the Spurs will be getting more rest between games, Ginobili’s overall play should rise.
GRADE: 84
DECEMBER: 85.5
SEASON: 88.2
Tony Parker
It was an atypical game for the starting point guard for the Spurs. He couldn’t hit the side of the barn (2-for-9 from the field, 1-for-3 from beyond the three-point line), but handed out a season-high nine assists. His defense was above average, as he basically shut down Bob Sura and Andre Barrett. As the numbers would indicate, Parker did a fine job creating for his teammates. He broke down the defense and found shooters wide open. His lack of scoring is troublesome, as he’s only 8-for-25 from the field over his last two games.
GRADE: 81
DECEMBER: 86.7
SEASON: 83.5
Devin Brown
Take away the final couple seconds of the game and you can say that Brown played pretty near flawless basketball. Since taking over the job as the primary swingman off the bench, Brown hasn’t disappointed. Against the Rockets, it was more of the same. Playing 26 minutes, Brown scored 20 points and corralled four rebounds, while shooting 6-for-11 from the floor, 0-for-1 from beyond the arc and 8-for-8 at the line. He’s raised his scoring average to 7.2 points per game, fourth highest on the team. Now if he had only not turned the ball over to allow Houston to win the game, he’d have been the hero of the game. Now, sadly, he’s the goat.
GRADE: 86
DECEMBER: 89.7
SEASON: 85.8
Malik Rose
Playing with a dislocating ring finger on his left hand, Rose wasn’t effective against the Rockets. He gave great energy, but the results just weren’t there. He was 0-for-5 from the field and didn’t score. He also only recorded two rebounds in 25 minutes of action. With his play this season, Rose has earned the role as the first bigman off the bench. While this injury could upset his play, Popovich will most likely keep going to him because he knows that Rose will at the very least provide an emotional spark.
GRADE: 71
DECEMBER: 84.7
SEASON: 85.7
Beno Udrih
Udrih is going through some growing pains again. He played exceedingly well for a stretch before cooling off over the past couple games. Although he hit 2-of-3 shots from the field on his way to four points, his playmaking and offensive execution left a lot to be desired. He wasn’t getting the team into its offensive sets and was frustrated by pressure. He’s going to half to get back to making running the offense his number one priority.
GRADE: 80
DECEMBER: 84.2
SEASON: 81.5
Brent Barry
Another game and another benching for Barry. He played only nine minutes against the Rockets, his second consecutive game playing less than ten minutes. In those nine minutes, he was 0-for-3 from the field, including 0-for-1 from beyond the arc. His shooting slump has hit legendary status. He’s made one of his last 22 three-point attempts and shooting 20.8% in December. Luckily, Barry is a wily veteran who will undoubtedly fight his way through this slump.
GRADE: 70
DECEMBER: 72.7
SEASON: 82.1
Manu should have shot more 3's
It's good to be back to playing Spurs basketball.
Please tell Manu to stop being a pussy and not get tired. It'd be one thing if we had a good bench...but we don't...at least not good enough to use when we face the mighty Rockets.
Rockets are obviously unbeatable, so all mistakes by anyone not named Brent Barry or Robert Horry should be excused, and it was only due to the incredible d by Bruce, the brilliant decision making by Devin...that we were able to hang with them as long as we did.
I also agree with your thoughts on running the bench O through a player with a dislocated finger...and advocate continuing to do so like yourself.
I mean we don't have a bench...least talented Spur team in history.
Manu's a pussy?
rrright.
He plays with more energy than any other spurs, so shut ur mouth.
Pop takes him out, he doesnt take himself out.
its hard having manu and barry and devin all on one team, they need to share minutes.
if you don't remember Barry was a starter last year.
He made more than one three last December too.
Go figure.
11 minutes, 0/0 FG, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks = grade 60
25 minutes, 0/5 FG, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 0 blocks = grade 71
Does that really seem fair?
"Bowen played fantastic defense for 47 out of the first 48 minutes. "
Bowen was on the floor 32 minutes.
McGrady for 44.
So he played 12 minutes of great defense on McGrady from the bench! DPOY!!
Apologize to TimVP!"Bowen played fantastic defense for 47 out of the first 48 minutes. "
Bowen was on the floor 32 minutes.
McGrady for 44.
So he played 12 minutes of great defense on McGrady from the bench! DPOY!!
Bowen really did even better on McGrady than the numbers suggest. If I recall, in the first half TMac scored most of his points on Brown/Manu.
TMac was 6-14 against Bowen. 6-15 against everyone else(and this includes the 3 pointer with the foul).
It's pretty obvious that was supposed to mean that Bowen played good D except the last minute of the game."Bowen played fantastic defense for 47 out of the first 48 minutes. "
Bowen was on the floor 32 minutes.
McGrady for 44.
So he played 12 minutes of great defense on McGrady from the bench! DPOY!!
McGrady is one of the best players in the league. Dude is going to get his sooner or later, no matter who is guarding him.
Spurs lost. Game over.
Malik won that other game with a stolen pass at the end. Devin Brown slipped on the ice and turned the ball over and lost this game. It's as simple as that. If he would have just waited for a foul or passed it, these topics wouldn't be here.
Devin Brown's fault.
Malik's praise.
Period.
When Bowen or Devin cost us a game...No biggie...It is the mighty Rockets and 19 losses in a row Tmac...
When Barry or Horry don't shoot 10-10 with 48 boards per 48 minutes in 30 point blowouts...They are hurting the team.
Devin Brown did go to West Campus and UTSA. He might need to read the book of Duke fundamentals of basketball since he is probably lacking.
He won't make that mistake again.
This youthfulness is one of the reasons why I am against Beno being the Spurs backup. How many kids do they need?
Whottt, if Barry gets 12+mpg for the next two weeks, and is still struggling? Would you still advocate giving him more minutes? Where is your limit?
What about Manu's turnovers? Why does he get a season pass to Sea World? His turnovers and stupid ass decisions wipe out his dunk between 3 lakers. Dude is out of control.
What about Parker? Dude has the inside game of Tim Duncan, but the outside game of Anthony Carter. Isn't that a problem? Barry isn't the only problem and by the way, Barry is not a scorer that is going to get you 15 a night. Maybe 8-10, but not 15. He is not Bowen, he is one of the best shooters in the league. Dude is used to consistent playing time, now he is thrown out there Pop unexpectedly. Again, another example of Pop trying to change players, rather playing them in their comfort zone. Pop has the tools, he just needs to use them.
Manu would probably average at least 2-3 more turnovers per game if they counted the passes that go out of bounds.
After we get eliminated from the playoffs because he shoots like Hedo or Smitty. Honestly, that's my limit, and I'd be saying the same thing if he was shooting 80% from three right now. We already know what we are going to get from Devin...We know Manu and TP are going to be strekay from 3....Barry is the key to us being more successful than last season. And if he pulls a Hedo...or a Smitty...
Then you guys will have to pull me off of him...meanwhile..he makes good passes, makes fewer bonhead TO's than any player on the team, hits his FT's, has shot well under pressure this season, he draws a defender off of Duncan, and is the most experienced guard type on the team...
We need to use our deep bench...Manu loses effectiveness when he logs heavy minutes and Bruce is 34...Bruce gets beat more on defense than he used too, he wears down easier. He's 34 and he has the toughest job in the NBA. S'why I wanted to start Devin ahead of him....and I'd like to see him still have enough legs in the post season to have a J. He hasn't had a post season J since game 2 VS Kobe in 03. He's only human, sooner or later all that energy he expends on D has to be paid back.
Of course, we all got the sense of what he meant.
I was just having some fun with the numeric impossibilites.
I was talking about before the last minute barrage, Whottt.
Nobody could have stopped those shots from going in.
Malik Rose is not 7 foot.
Well...the two TO's we had in the last 48 seconds didn't help, unless you are a Rocketfan...
Nor did the fact we were trying to guard a player who is closer to 7 feet tall than the 6'8 he is listed at ...at the 3 line with a guy who is 6'6. Might have been a good idea to try something different, try something a little bit closer to what TMac is, after the first two he hit,...like Horry..he is a good perimeter defender....and since a three was the only thing that could hurt us...the fact that TMac would have blown by him for some twos 2 would not have been as much of a factor....and I like Duncan guarding the interior better than I do the perimeter.
There is no excuse for losing this game. There really isn't...I'd rather take the blame then appoint TMac as unbeatable...especially since I just watched the Mavs beat him in an almost identical game.
I kinda agree with whottt. remember when barry used to log minutes all those deft passes and easy lay-ups and slam dunks we were getting? I dont think because he is in a slump that this would change. im not saying lower brown's minutes. im saying maybe they can both play on the court at the same time. or whatever the rotation is, just give him more minutes. he doesnt have to be shooting that well to be a help to the offence. plus how can he get out of a slump if he dont play?
No duncan2k, they don't remember those things, they also don't remember the beautiful and unselfish pass by Barry that officially unleashed Devin Brown upon this season...Devin's still getting a few dunks...but what happend to those passes?
What happend to the Spurs looking like the best passing team in the NBA?
Simple, a drastic reduction in the minutes of Robert Horry and Brent Barry, two of the smartest players in the NBA, reduced for absolutely nothing to do with W-L.
Reduced because the #1 defensive team in the NBA wasn't playing good enough D. It's called Spurs basketball and Barry's game is the an hesis of it...
So now insteading of looking like the class of the NBA and charging off to the best start in team history...we look like the same offensively challenged, hardworking boneheads, that can't hold a 4th quarter lead, that we usually are this early in the season...
Last edited by whottt; 12-11-2004 at 01:39 PM.
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