San Antonio Spurs-Los Angeles Clippers: Grading The Spurs' 97-88 Win
Former No. 1 draft pick Tim Duncan's team out did fellow No. 1 pick Blake Griffin's Clippers in the process of adding on to the NBA's longest active win streak against another team at 17. The Spurs won it with everyone contributing and getting back to good old solid Spurs' defense. We even got to witness the debut of Tiago Splitter with a fine dunk in traffic.
With that said here's a report card of each Spurs' contribution to the game, as well as an overall evaluation of the coaching staff, starters and bench.
Tony Parker (PG)
1 of 14
Key Stats: 19 points, nine assists
Tony had some solid shooting (8-for-16 on FG) and excellent passing. He made sure everyone was involved, while mixing it up with inside and outside shots. He had a few too many turnovers (four), but hopefully that will improve as he gets more familiar with the new players. Tony also showed that he's in great shape again after playing more than 36 minutes while filling in for an injured George Hill.
Grade: A
Manu Ginobili (SG)
2 of 14
Key Stats: 14 points, seven assists
Not Manu's best outing, but still a solid day with decent shooting (4-for-10 on FG). Manu showed he's much better off penetrating towards the basket than shooting too many threes (three attempts compared to 11 in the previous game). He defended well with four steals, but still committed almost as many turnovers (three). Manu's doing a great job of getting other players involved, he just needs to take better care of the ball.
Grade: B+
Richard Jefferson (SF)
3 of 14
Key Stats: 18 points, three rebounds
RJ is well on his way from being the most inconsistent Spur to the most consistent. He is light years better than last year. He has shot extremely well all three games (7-for-11 against the Clips). He is no longer afraid of shooting, he's taking everything that's given and he's penetrating to the basket more. This is the guy the Spurs were looking for when they made the trade. He was also the only starter to not have three-plus turnovers with zero. Excellent performance all-around.
Grade: A+
Tim Duncan (PF)
4 of 14
Key Stats: 14 points, seven rebounds
Timmy was pretty quiet in the first half, but he came alive in the second. He re-discovered his outside shot that was missing in the previous game, and seemed more comfortable taking it as the game progressed. Pretty good defending, including a block. Tim also needs to work on his turnovers as well (four), which was the result of a few miscommunications.
Grade: B+
DeJuan Blair (C)
5 of 14
Key Stats: Five rebounds, 0-for-1 FG
Blair played some decent defense against the Clippers' bigs, but he needs some kind of confidence boost on the offensive end. He went from trying to do too much in the previous games, to not shooting at all. There really weren't any chances for him to get a good shot in, which on the upside means he wasn't forcing it too much like before. However, the shot will only improve if he shoots the ball more, and with confidence.
Grade: C
Overall Grade For The Starters
6 of 14
After a slow start in the first half when it required bench play to get the Spurs in the game, the starters settled down and began the second half strong.
Turnovers are still the main issue among the starters with 14 of the team total 18 belonging to them. It seems like this shouldn't be an issue considering they've all played at least one year together, but it will get better. Other than that it was a solid performance by all.
Grade: A-
Antonio McDyess
7 of 14
Key Stats: Six points, 10 rebounds
McDyess filled in well for the injured Matt Bonner and ineffective DeJuan Blair. He did a great job defending and rebounding, and appeared to be the only one who really bothered Blake Griffin on defense. On the offensive end he helped spread the floor and hit a couple of outside shots. He was also the best impact player of the game with a 15 plus/minus ratio.
Grade: A-
Gary Neal
8 of 14
Key Stats: 16 points, six rebounds
Have the Spurs found yet another diamond-in-the-rough? Like Bruce Bowen he went undrafted and unnoticed, making himself known by playing in Europe and the summer league. He may not have the defensive skills Bruce had (although he is good), but Neal sure has the offensive skills Bruce didn't have. Neal was a spark off the bench, and brought the Spurs back into the game in the second quarter with some timely threes.
Grade: A
James Anderson
9 of 14
Key Stats: Eight points, three assists
Great shooting and great defending is resulting in more playing time for James. The threes continue to fall for him, and he's showing off his moves with some penetration and fantastic passing. A couple of mistakes here and there on defense, but he has some great blocking ability and moves quickly to cover a player up.
Grade: A-
Tiago Splitter
10 of 14
Key Stats: Two points, two rebounds
Welcome to the NBA, Tiago Splitter! He only played a scattered 10 minutes, but he definitely showed signs of what he can do. He defended well, rebounded, ran the floor and made his first basket with a monstrous slam dunk in traffic. It seemed like he was getting winded fairly quickly, but as he gets more time on the court he will get into better shape.
Grade: B+
Rest Of The Bench
11 of 14
George Hill: Never really got a chance to get going before falling victim to a dirty, unnecessary foul by the Clippers' Craig Smith on a transition layup at the beginning of the second quarter. The report was muscle spasms and stiffness in the neck. Be thankful it's not much worse.
Garrett Temple: Gained some playing time due to Hill's injury. Didn't score, but played some great defense with a highlight worthy block in transition. He also had a rebound and assist in five minutes of work.
Bobby Simmons: Pretty much invisible in his nine minutes of action with nothing but an assist to show for it.
Grade: C+
Overall Grade For The Bench
12 of 14
Overall it was an amazing display by the bench players. This is probably the deepest bench the Spurs have had in several years, and it showed today with nearly everyone contributing something. They outscored the Clippers' bench 32-7, and it was 25-0 before the the other team finally scored in garbage time in the fourth quarter. The bench provided a much needed spark from the end of the first quarter into the second when the Spurs gained control of the game for good.
Overall Grade: A
Coaching
13 of 14
Gregg Popovich did an excellent job in spreading the wealth and giving everybody a chance to show what they can do. I like the increased playing time for Neal and Anderson. It's giving them loads of confidence to contribute immediately. I also like that Pop is not rushing Tiago into the game, but instead giving him limited minutes to get to know the game, get in shape, and not re-aggravate his injury. Overall it was a great game with Pop being able to experiment and find many good combinations of players.
Grade: A
Final Overall Grade
14 of 14
It was an excellent game overall, with the Spurs showing how badly the were itching to get out there and put the previous game behind them. The defense was much better overall, and everyone contributed to the win. It was great to finally see Tiago and what he will bring to the table. The only real negatives were turnovers and Hill's injury. Hopefully he will be OK and won't miss much time (if any), and as time goes on the turnovers should decrease.
Overall Grade: A
