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Tim Duncan
For the second consecutive game, things didn’t come easy for Duncan. He labored through the contest with the Hornets, but produced enough to lead the Spurs to victory. He finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while shooting 8-for-18 from the field and 3-for-8 from the free throw line. His free throw shooting was disappointing, especially considering he had been shooting 73.8% from the line in December and had seemed to have turned the corner in that department. Overall though, this was just another example that even if Duncan doesn’t play at his best, he’s still better than almost everyone in the league.
GRADE: 88
DECEMBER: 89.1
SEASON: 88.4
Bruce Bowen
The energy was there for Bowen, but it can be argued that the result was less than spectacular. Without a go-to player on the Hornets, it was difficult for the Spurs to put Bowen on one specific player to shut him down. So instead, Bowen was put on any player who hit a couple shots in a row. His most important defensive job came against David Wesley, who scored early but was stymied as the game went on by Bowen. On offense, Bowen was pretty quiet. He hit 2-of-4 shots from the field to finish with five points. He also pulled down three rebounds, dished out four assists and managed to finish with no turnovers in 25 minutes of action.
GRADE: 82
DECEMBER: 83.3
SEASON: 83.8
Rasho Nesterovic
Nesterovic had another hot and cold game, with more cold than hot. Early in the contest he missed a couple defensive rotations and was benched for the rest of the first half. He came back to play better after halftime, but the Spurs need a more balanced performance out of Nesterovic. Looking strictly at his statistics, you can make a case that this year is his career’s worst. On the bright side, he went to the free throw line for the fourth consecutive game. Since being called “awful” by Gregg Popovich, Nesterovic has upped his aggression and has been to the line nine times in the last four games – compared to ten times total in the first 20 games of the season.
GRADE: 81
DECEMBER: 75.6
SEASON: 81.8
Manu Ginobili
Ginobili was efficient in his 35 minutes. He hit 4-of-7 from the field, 0-for-2 from beyond the arc and 2-for-3 from the line. For the game, he finished with ten points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal. And for the first time in the month of December, Ginobili had less than two turnovers in a game (he had only one). It will be interesting to see how he plays against Golden State on Saturday night since it will be a back-to-back contest coming off of a 35 minute performance. Ginobili has struggled some in the second half of back-to-backs, and him playing the extra minutes probably won’t help.
GRADE: 88
DECEMBER: 85.2
SEASON: 87.8
Tony Parker
Parker played pretty well, but didn’t do as good a job creating for others as he’s been doing in recent weeks. Since hurting his groin against the Cavaliers, Parker’s playmaking has been lacking in the subsequent two games. Against New Orleans, Parker finished with ten points, five assists, three rebounds and only one turnover. He shot 5-for-10 from the field, but missed both of his three-point attempts. For the month of December, Parker is shooting 49.5% from the field and 39.1% from downtown.
GRADE: 87
DECEMBER: 87.3
SEASON: 84.2
Robert Horry
It was a breakout performance for Horry against the Hornets. He scored a season-high nine points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds in 20 minutes -- the most he’s played since the second game of the year. Since beginning the season awful on the boards, Horry has turned it around. In November, he averaged 5.9 rebounds per 48 minutes. In December, he’s raised it to 11.6 rebounds per 48 minutes. Now that he’s hitting the boards, he’s a much effective player and Popovich can use him freely in fourth quarters.
GRADE: 98
DECEMBER: 85.7
SEASON: 83.6
Beno Udrih
Udrih continues to impress. Following the best game of his short career, Udrih backed it up with another strong showing. In 19 minutes, the Slovenian rookie point guard had 12 points, two rebounds and two assists, while shooting 5-for-8 from the field, 1-for-3 from beyond the arc and 1-for-2 at the line. His shooting from the floor has been amazing. For the season, he’s shooting 49.1% from the field and 47.2% from beyond the arc. For the month, he’s shooting 60.5% from the floor and 46.2% from downtown.
GRADE: 94
DECEMBER: 87.7
SEASON: 83.8
Brent Barry
After four straight games of playing less than ten minutes, Barry broke that streak by playing 16 minutes. His numbers weren’t gaudy, but his defensive intensity was much better. Barry was 1-for-4 from the field (all three-point attempts) to finish with three points, two assists and a rebound. It was a step in the right direction as Barry gets adjusted to the defense-first at ude of the Spurs. If he can bring the energy on both sides of the court, Popovich will give him the playing time.
GRADE: 80
DECEMBER: 73.9
SEASON: 81.8
Malik Rose
Rose didn’t have a very good outing against the Hornets. He brought a lot of energy, but couldn’t turn that into production. For the game, Rose totaled seven points and two rebounds in 15 minutes. His play was sporadic and he was forcing the issue too much, leading Popovich to give more minutes to Horry. For Rose to be effective, he has to concentrate on defense, rebounding and running the floor.
GRADE: 74
DECEMBER: 84.2
SEASON: 85.3
Devin Brown
Brown had his worst game since cracking the rotation. He was hesitant with the ball at times and at other times he was making poor decisions. He recorded one point and one rebound in 12 minutes of play, while missing all three of his attempts from the floor. Hopefully this was just an off game for Brown and not a sign of things to come.
GRADE: 68
DECEMBER: 87.1
SEASON: 85.3
Tony Massenburg
Massenburg got some time in the first half and did well. He banged around in the low blocks and got the Hornets into foul trouble. He finished with two points, two rebounds and a block. The biggest news of the night for Massenburg? He got his first assist of the season. Rest in peace, Yinka Dare.
GRADE: 88
DECEMBER: 82
SEASON: 82.9
Last edited by Kori Ellis; 12-18-2004 at 06:09 AM.
LOL I was joking earlier!
What was your joke?
That's too bad -- I felt this was the main factor that limited his minutes early in the season. Once he became decisive and aggressive with his offensive movement, he cracked the rotation.[Devin] was hesitant with the ball at times
If he can bring the energy on both sides of the court, Popovich will give him the playing time.
Fire Pop [whottt]
Good assessment, timvp.
There was a point in the game, early on, where Devin could have really made a difference. He passed up several good shots that he easily makes when he's feeling it. Devin chose to send the ball around to someone else on most occasions, or drive into the teeth of the defense and force something.
Parker is hurting a bit. How many of you who watched the game found yourself in the 3rd quarter saying, "Come on Pop, it's Beno time"? I know I did.
The experiment with Parker and Beno in the backcourt together worked out rather nicely in the 4th quarter, since NO had a smallish backcourt.
How do you expect players, other than TD not to be hesitant? They know if they take a bad shot, i.e miss, throw the ball away, or let their man score, they are coming out. I have been a big proponent of BB getting back to more playing time, but not at the expense of someone (D Brown) who takes a bad shot or throws the ball in the stands. He (Brown) has been playing so well, yet he screws up a couple of times and boom..here comes the hook. That's exactly how you have guys becoming tentative down the stretch of a game. Doesn't matter much against NOH, but it will later. Duncan is the only one who has the luxury of being able to play through his mistakes.
Beno for MVP!!!
I think Malik's new favorite player is Beno. He got deep in the lane a couple of times and Beno found him, once with a bounce pass with "English" on it to thread it in there.
Malik's reaction was a grin from ear to ear and I thought he was going to go Misty May with Beno there for a minute.
Who has gotten pulled for missing a good shot?They know if they take a bad shot, i.e miss....
Brent's airball last night didn't help him or the team, but I don't remember it causing him to be pulled next dead ball.
Everyone but Tim is passing up open shots to pass the ball (but Tim needs to pass more and quicker when he's in traffic). I think the Spurs are spooked on offense and overpassing, which must contribute to a lack of overall team confidence and trust. Pop has been chewing too much ass for offensive/defensive. errors, and has got everybody scared, resulting in less fluid, more hesitant play on both ends. Spurs are playing below their individual and team capabilities.
Brent's airball was shot from 29-30 feet out after Manu's pass to him was tipped ...as the shot clock was expiring (1 sec).
People are passing up shots - agreed. I'm not convinced of the reasons collectively, as you seem to be boutons, but they are indeed overpassing some of the time. I think most of us believe Barry's hesitancy is because of his recent lack of success and unselfishness. I'm not sure about some of the other guys last night except that the Hornets did a nice job of rotating and closing out.
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