Spurs vs. Kings Jan. 2nd - Grades

[timvp]

Tim Duncan
It has been reported that Duncan has been hampered by an illness as of late. That is the only way to explain why he’s been struggling for the last couple weeks. Against the Kings, he could get anything going. He finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, but shot only 6-for-17 from the field and 2-for-6 from the line. Over his last ten games, he’s averaging only 18.2 points and 10.2 rebounds, while shooting under 50% from the field.
GRADE: 71
SEASON: 86.8

Bruce Bowen
It was one of the worst games of the year for Bowen. He let Peja Stojakovic, a player who he usually shuts down, dominate from the perimeter. Stojakovic had 23 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 10-for-20 from the field and 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. Bowen, on the other hand, couldn’t buy a basket. He recorded two points, while connecting on 1-of-8 shots from the floor.
GRADE: 68
SEASON: 84.2

Rasho Nesterovic
Nesterovic came to play. While he’s drifted for much of the season, his head was in the game on Sunday night. He scored six points, pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked a shot in 24 minutes of action, while going 3-for-7 from the field. He starting the second half of on fire, but then picked up his fourth foul and wasn’t seen again. As the coaching staff watches film, they’ll probably second guess not putting Nesterovic back into the game at some point.
GRADE: 88
SEASON: 82.7

Manu Ginobili
Ginobili led the team in scoring with 18 points versus Sacramento. He shot 7-for-16 from the field and added three rebounds, four assists and four steals. He was at some points of the game the only offensive weapon the Spurs had. He did a good job getting to the rim and finishing. But on the other hand, his defense was porous and he hit only 1-of-6 shots from three-point land.
GRADE: 84
SEASON: 88.1

Tony Parker
After a series of incredible performances, Parker laid an egg against the Kings. It was a horrible performance all the way around. He couldn’t shoot from the outside, was hesitant about driving the ball into the lane and his defense wasn’t where it needed to be. The Spurs can’t live with erratic play from their point guard. Parker has to bring it day in and day out. Until that point, the Spurs will be susceptible in big games and in the playoffs.
GRADE: 64
SEASON: 85.7

Robert Horry
Playing in Arco Arena brought back good memories for Horry. He was playing like his old self versus the Kings Sunday night. In 27 minutes, the five-time NBA champion finished with 12 points, three rebounds and two blocked shots. He hit 5-of-10 attempts from the floor, including 2-of-4 from downtown. His defense was solid, but the Spurs would have liked for him to have been more active on the boards.
GRADE: 86
SEASON: 83.6

Beno Udrih
With Parker struggling as much as he was, it would have been nice if Udrih responded with a great performance. Unfortunately for the Spurs, Udrih didn’t have a spectacular game himself. He hit only 2-of-7 shots from the floor, while collecting four rebounds and two assists. The good news for the Spurs is Udrih hasn’t had a turnover in three games, a span of 51 minutes of action.
GRADE: 80
SEASON: 83.8

Devin Brown
In 17 minutes, Brown had one of his poorer performances. He finished 3-for-7 from the floor to finish with six points for the game. That was the good. The bad was his defense. He was obliterated by screens while trying to chase around Stojakovic. If he could play better defense, the Spurs could use him more when Bowen is struggling. Otherwise, the Spurs will have to go with a struggling Bowen even though Brown is the better offensive threat.
GRADE: 80
SEASON: 84.6

Brent Barry
Barry played some huge minutes for the Spurs in the fourth quarter. His three-pointer tied the game late in the contest. He showed some clutch ability, the main attribute the Spurs need him to show in the playoffs. He scored six points and dished out three assists, while shooting 1-for-2 on three-pointers and 3-for-4 from the charity stripe.
GRADE: 85
SEASON: 81.8

Malik Rose
Although he played only 10 minutes, Rose was effective. He scored six points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field, while chipping in one rebound, one assist and one steal in his minutes on the court. He too could have rebounded more, but he made up for it with some big hoops in his limited minutes. The bad news for Rose is it looks like Horry may have passed him in the rotation.
GRADE: 84
SEASON: 85.3

[T Park]

the Spurs will have to go with a struggling Bowen

how about just Ginobili and Barry.

Bowen DOESNT have to play 28 35 minutes a game.

[SLOVENIAN 8]

So Rasho was the best Spurs on that game.

[Dario]

Go figure

[Rummpd]

Rasho and Rose effective did not play enough on a night when energy was needed and it was not happening.

Go figure.

MadDoc

[orhe]

we won the 2003 championship w/ stephen jackson and ginobili finishing games for us.
well ginobili finished 4th quarters towards the end of the season... i was wondering when we would start to do that again w/ manu and either brown/barry (though im hoping it's barry) for the season?