Grading Every San Antonio Spurs' Round 2 Performance so Far

The second-round battle between the San Antonio Spurs and the Golden State Warriors is shaping up to be one of the hottest match-ups of the playoffs. With a total of three rounds of overtime play in just four games, this is looking like anybody's contest.

Now, with the series shifting back to Texas in tomorrow's Game 5, let's take a look at how each of the Spurs' contributors have stepped up so far. 

Aron Baynes

The Spurs have brought Aaron Baynes back and forth during the year from the NBA D-League, mostly using the Australian big man in the waning minutes of blowouts.

The forward/center has yet to see any play in Round 2. 

Baynes averaged 2.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.8 minutes in his first-round play against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Grade: Absent

DeJuan Blair

You never really know when coach Gregg Popovich is going to pull backup center Blair off the bench.

The 6'7" big man has shown he is plenty capable of contributing when called upon, scoring 13 points and pulling down 5 rebounds in 19 minutes of play during the Spurs' Game 4 win over the Lakers.

Blair has only seen six minutes of action in the second round, totaling two points, an assist and a steal in Game 1 vs. the Warriors.

Grade: C

Matt Bonner

The Red Rocket has shown himself lackluster in his second round of play, with averages of 1.75 points and 1.5 rebounds in 11 minutes. 

Coach Pop has shown no hesitation in benching the forward when he is not contributing, as evidenced by his downward trending minutes this round: 19 minutes in Game 1, followed by 16, 6 and 3 in Games 2, 3 and 4, respectively. 

Opposing teams know Bonner has the potential to be a serious threat from behind the arc; however, it will be his own play that will determine if he gets that chance this series. 

Grade: D

Nando De Colo

De Colo is another reserve Pop will sometimes pull off the bench once the game is decidedly over.

Nando did see some decent minutes in the last days of the regular season, with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili kept out due to injuries.

However, the backup guard has yet to see any game time this series, with Pop finding fellow reserve guard Cory Joseph more apt to match up against Golden State's frontcourt.

Grade: Absent

Boris Diaw

Backup center Boris Diaw was forced to sit out the first round of the playoffs, recovering from a cyst removed from his spine.

In his return in the second round, Diaw has played some valuable minutes, including being a key contributor in the Spurs' Game 1 comeback. 

Diaw was given the task of guarding Steph Curry late in Game 1 and showed some impressive defense in pick-and-roll and isolation situations.

The big man used skilled footwork in addition to his height and length advantage to keep Curry out of the paint. 

While his averages this round haven't been necessarily impressive (4 points and 2 rebounds in 16.5 minutes), Diaw's quickness and defensive presence have proven useful against the young team from the Bay.

Grade: B

Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan is doing almost all you could expect from the 37-year-old this round. His numbers are elite, averaging 21 points and 11.3 rebounds. Duncan's post defense has been stifling and he's shown his experience in drawing fouls, keeping Warriors center Andrew Bogut in foul trouble virtually the entire series. 

The only obvious dip since the regular season has been blocks. Timmy has seen his blocks average go from 2.7 to 1.3. Obviously, the wear and tear of playoff basketball will be a factor in his ability to elevate and extend, fountain of youth or not.

This series is shaping up to be a long one, and the Spurs will need every bit of effort they can get, especially down the stretch. Duncan was hot in the first half of Game 4, heading into the third quarter with 14 points, but Tim went cold when he was needed most, scoring only five points in the game's final 29 minutes.

Overall, Duncan has remained consistent and effective. If he can prove to be a little more reliable in the final minutes of play, it just might give the Spurs the edge in a tightly contested matchup.

Grade: A

Manu Ginobili

It seems that Coach Pop is destined to be constantly in between wanting to cook breakfast for and trade Manu Ginobili. The Euro-stepper has seen ups and downs this round, from being the hero of Game 1 to throwing up an air ball and missing big shots in Game 4.

Ginobili actually recorded quite a solid overall performance in Game 4, scoring 21 points and grabbing three steals in 37 minutes, including hitting his first four treys.

However, he entered the game very dry from beyond the arc, having made just four of 24 attempts.  He totaled only 12 points in Games 2 and 3, both in 28 minutes of playing time.

The worst stat of this second round: Manu is averaging a paltry 36 percent from the floor, which is only slightly above his 34 percent for the postseason. 

San Antonio is not a team that can have one of its biggest stars shooting like that and still expect to advance. The playoffs are the time where the stars must shine. 

Now that Ginobili seems to have fully recovered from his hamstring injury, he's going to have to prove to Pop, his team and his fans that he still has some consistency left. 

Grade: C+

Danny Green

The Spurs are a team known for cultivating talent, and Danny Green is one of the many products of that system. The former NBA D-Leaguer has earned his starting place on this Spurs roster, and he has become a reliable defender as well.

Green is mostly relied upon for his three-point efficiency, but this series has shown him to be an effective defender on Steph Curry as well. Game 2 gave way to particular success against Curry, who finished 0-of-8 when Green was defending him.

The Tar Heel Triple came up with a huge three-pointer in Game 1 to help push the Spurs into overtime, and his youth and athleticism is a welcome addition to the Spurs' old guard. 

Danny is averaging 11.3 points against the Warriors, which is slightly above his 10.5 points during the regular season. His field-goal percentage, however, has slightly dipped from 44.8 percent to 40.5 percent.

Grade: B+

Cory Joseph

Joseph hasn't seen much playing time since Parker has been back in the rotation, although you never know what Coach Pop has up his sleeve.

The reserve guard has proven an effective defender against Curry during the regular season, holding him to 42.9 percent shooting, the most effective of the Spurs' guards. 

Cory has seen playing time in all four games against GS, and, barring any unexpected Pop rotations, will probably spend the majority of this series watching from the pine.

Second-round averages: 2 points, 0.8 assists, 1.3 rebounds in 8 minutes. 

Grade: B-

Kawhi Leonard

The most impressive thing about sophomore small forward Kawhi Leonard is that he rarely makes mistakes, a coach's dream for a 21-year-old two seasons into the league. Leonard has been a solid contributor in the Spurs' starting lineup, earning his keep and playing 42.5 minutes per game this series compared to his 31.2 in the regular season.

Coach Popovich expects a lot from his young upstart, and he doesn't seem to be disappointing. Kawhi is averaging 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds this round, both significant jumps from his regular season averages of 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. 

Additionally, Leonard's defense has built him the reputation of one of the premier star-defenders of the league. Over the course of the regular season, Leonard has been called upon to guard the Kobe Bryants and Kevin Durants of the league. No easy task, much less for a 21-year-old.

Leonard's downfall this series: free throws. Leonard was an 89 percent free throw shooter this season. Inexplicably, he is shooting 59 percent this postseason. 

In order for the Spurs to advance, those late-minute free shots MUST be made. 

Grade: B+

Tracy McGrady

Everyone's heard the story of Tracy McGrady's last-minute acquisition to the squad. This writer offers nothing new. Exciting and anti-climactic. Pop has chosen to use him all of one minute this series. He's tallied one (1) steal and nothing else. 

This renders McGrady's second-round season thus far....

Grade: Absent

Patty Mills

The Australian three-point helper has shown his stripes in this season; however, Pop has not deemed him useful during this 2nd round. 

Mills played one minute in Game 2 of this series, tallying zero stats.

Grade: Absent

Gary Neal

Neal is known among Spurs fans as a competent three-point contributor, and he displays an admirable quality of pure hustle and an inability to quit.

Gary has put up inferior numbers to his regular season averages, recording 5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 18.8 minutes of play this series, compared to his season norm of 9.5 points per game.

Those of us who remember Neal's incredible buzzer beater against the Grizzlies in 2011 will recall he has what it takes to come up big in clutch moments. However, we've yet to see a major contribution from the backup point guard this series.

Grade: C

Tony Parker

The MVP candidate is showing up as expected. Sans a bruise to the calf by an unintentional kick from Andrew Bogut, the All-Star point guard is playing injury-free and has been looking himself, for the most part.

Undoubtedly, Tony's best outing of this series was Game 3, which reminded the rest of the world that this series has two superstar point guards.

Game 3 saw Tony erupting for 25 points in the first half and ending with 32 points on 13-of-23 shooting. This was the TP we all saw throughout his peak-playing of the regular season and it was a silent, precise and effective night from one of the most un-talked-about stars of the NBA today.

However, there's always a however. 

Parker's field-goal percentage has seen quite the dip this series in comparison with his regular season averages. Regular season: 52 percent. Second round: 44 percent. This means he has either been not quite himself, or excellently defended.

Signs point to the latter. Warriors Coach Mark Jackson has been very effective in chasing Parker around the floor utilizing his young guards. 

However, Tony has increased his points per game from 20.3 in the regular season to 24.3.

Come playoffs, there are certain players, such as Stephen Curry and Tony Parker, who you cannot stop. 

Grade: A

Tiago Splitter

Splitter has become a competent finisher and formidable defender in the post. Couple that with an excellent passing game for a big man, and you have a potent backup to future Hall of Famer Duncan in the post.

Unfortunately, Tiago suffered a sprained ankle late in Game 3 during the first round against the Lakers and hasn't quite been himself since. 

Splitter, who was a starter for the Spurs this season, had averages of 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds. 

He now is clocking in a measly 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds, averaging 16 minutes. Splitter's defensive presence is still a useful tool in the Spurs' playoffs run, but his peak is required in the postseason minutes. 

Only time will tell if Tiago will return to his regular season contributions.

With the Spurs looking at a 2-2 record against the underdog sixth-seeded Warriors, they're going to need every contribution they can get. 

Grade: C-