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Udrih the MAN!100
Tim Duncan
While his statistics don’t jump off the page, Duncan played a vital role in the dismantling of the Portland Trailblazers. He finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and no turnovers, while shooting 8-for-17 from the field and 3-for-5 from the free throw line. He started off the game a little slow shooting-wise, but was creating for others from the onset of the game. In the last few games, he’s taken a little bit of a backseat as the rest of the team has been lighting it up. Seeing as he only had to play 32 minutes of free flowing action, he should be rested for the game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.
GRADE: 92
DECEMBER: 86.7
SEASON: 87.3
Bruce Bowen
Bowen did a fine job setting the tone defensively. He was getting back on defense and forcing the Blazers into halfcourt sets. Bowen was as active as he’s been this year on defense, deflecting a lot of passes, swiping a pair of steals and blocking a shot. His started the game off slowly on the offensive end, but hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the game away when the Blazers made a run in the second half. For the game, he totaled nine points, five rebounds and one assist.
GRADE: 90
DECEMBER: 85.3
SEASON: 84.7
Rasho Nesterovic
Is Nesterovic finally turning the corner? It looks like it. After weeks of uninspired play, the Slovenian center has put together a string of solid outings. Against the Blazers, he had a couple slick moves early in the game. First he connected on a reverse layup and then schooled Theo Ratliff on an up-and-under move. When he’s that aggressive that early, it almost always means he’s going to have a good game. In addition to his scoring (eight points), he had some nice passes (four assists) and did a good job on the boards (seven rebounds). If he keeps this up, the Spurs might start having second thoughts about Karl Malone.
GRADE: 90
DECEMBER: 79.3
SEASON: 82.4
Brent Barry
Barry started in place of Manu Ginobili, who was out with a strained neck. Barry stepped in and did a commendable job. In 27 minutes, Barry had 15 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot. He shot the ball well, hitting 6-of-10 from the field, 1-of-3 from downtown and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. His individual defense has improved from earlier in the year. He still has a ways to improve, but he’s figuring out the Spurs system.
GRADE: 89
DECEMBER: 77.6
SEASON: 81.8
Tony Parker
Parker is playing unbelievable basketball right now. He’s unstoppable on the pick-and-rolls and is finishing around the basket virtually every time he ventures into the lane. In Portland, Parker finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists, while shooting 8-for-14 from the field and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. December has been a great month for Parker. In the month, he’s averaging 17.2 points, 5.9 assists and 3.8 rebounds, while shooting 54.2% from the field, 42.4% from three-point land and 72.7% from the line.
GRADE: 95
DECEMBER: 89.9
SEASON: 86.1
Devin Brown
Brown is becoming a topflight sixth man right in front of our eyes. With the way he’s playing, it’s hard to imagine that Popovich could afford to take him out of the rotation. What Ginobili brought to the bench in years past, that is what Brown is doing this season. Against the Blazers, it was more of the same for the Spurs’ sparkplug. In a team-high 32 minutes, Brown scored 13 points, pulled down six rebounds and dished out six assists, while shooting 6-for-11 from the field.
GRADE: 89
DECEMBER: 85.4
SEASON: 84.8
Beno Udrih
Udrih quietly played the best game of career. With the way he played against the Blazers, it almost seemed like John Stockton was back in the league. In 21 minutes, Udrih scored 12 points and dished out 10 assists. It was his first double-double of his career, and it was even more impressive considering that he finished the game without a turnover. A backup point guard can’t play better than he played Thursday night. On top of his impeccable playmaking, his shooting was gold. He shot 4-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
GRADE: 100
DECEMBER: 87
SEASON: 83.8
Robert Horry
In his second year as a member of the Spurs, Horry is now playing genius basketball. When the other teams throw a zone at the Spurs, Horry comes in and dices it up. His rebounding is greatly improved from the beginning of the year and his passing is off the charts for a bigman. Thursday night, Horry totaled four points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 20 minutes of playing time.
GRADE: 94
DECEMBER: 87.8
SEASON: 83.6
Malik Rose
In 11 minutes of action, Rose had a satisfactory game. He had a couple moments where he was too aggressive and wasn’t playing with his head, but made up for it with a mul ude of energy plays in a short period of time. For the game, he recorded six points and three rebounds, while shooting 2-for-5 from the field and 2-for-4 from the line.
GRADE: 85
DECEMBER: 84.5
SEASON: 85.3
Tony Massenburg
Massenburg had his one of his best games as a Spur. He scored a season-high ten points in seven minutes on 4-for-4 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 shooting from the line. He also chipped in with two rebounds, one assist and one block. It’s good to know that the Spurs have a bigman deep on their bench who can produce if the situation arises.
GRADE: 90
DECEMBER: 82.9
SEASON: 83.3
Last edited by Kori Ellis; 12-31-2004 at 10:02 AM.
Udrih the MAN!
Beno Udrih
Udrih quietly played the best game of career. With the way he played against the Blazers, it almost seemed like John Stockton was back in the league. In 21 minutes, Udrih scored 12 points and dished out 10 assists. It was his first double-double of his career, and it was even more impressive considering that he finished the game without a turnover. A backup point guard can’t play better than he played Thursday night. On top of his impeccable playmaking, his shooting was gold. He shot 4-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
GRADE: 100
DECEMBER: 87
SEASON: 83.8
Whatever Beno still sucks!
sincerly
Sequspur
100 grade rofl, i never seen that 1
was the 5 supposed to be dimes?
Last edited by RobinsontoDuncan; 12-31-2004 at 08:26 AM.
Correction Kevin Johnson/Stockton combo.
100, that isn't bad , is it?
Did you all see that horry block?
That block was sick, he smacked that into the crowd.
He could have caught that ball, but i can see why he did what he did.
Good teams will have great games against bad teams. And bench players will come in and latch onto the momentum and look great.
However, I think this Spur team is morphing into something special because of the bench. Beno Barry Devin Horry and Malik all have good NBA talent. I don't think I've ever seen a team with so many players who can come off the bench and play so well.
The last bench player to round into a force is Barry and he seems to be getting over his slump and playing up to his career levels.
I think Pop has a problem with rotations and playing time because he has so many good options on his bench that it's hard to know how to use them to best effect.
"problem with rotations"
yep, how to share 240 minutes is a tough problem. At least, no Spur will be over-played and fatigued going into the playoffs.
I wish Sean Marks could suit up, but that makes the 4/5 PT even worse.
I love the way Pop is playing with various back-court combos.
When is Sean Marks expected to make his return? What's his injury again?
Who did Horry Block?
Telfair, that was a mean block!
People do get amazed by how the Spurs play, the crowd was like "AWW" and "ooH!"
when the spurs were getting their way, I just hate when the idiots don't admit the Spurs are an amazing team.
They hating!
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