San Antonio Spurs-Phoenix Suns: Grading The Spurs in Their 112-110 Win
It was obvious that Amar'e Stoudemire is missed in Phoenix with Steve Nash throwing alley-oops to nobody, and trying to score too much on his own.
However, the rivalry between the Spurs and Suns is still as strong as ever. The Spurs gave the Suns a dose of revenge for ending their previous season by knocking them back to 1-3 to start the season. (BTW, all those who claim Manu Ginobili is the king of flopping should check out anyone on the Suns, especially Nash.)
Here is a report card grading each Spurs' performance and contribution to the game, as well as overall evaluations of the starters, bench and the entire team as a whole.
Tony Parker (PG)
1 of 13
Key Stats: 11 points, six assists
Not a great offensive performance by Tony. He couldn't avoid or draw a foul if his life depended on it, often falling victim to Nash's foul-drawing techniques and getting into foul trouble. He initially defended Nash well, but once Nash got going trying to create his own shots it became difficult.
Grade: B
Manu Ginobili (SG)
2 of 13
Key Stats: 18 points, five assists
It was one of those "can't hit 'em all" nights for Manu when it game to FT's (5-for-8) and three-pointers (1-for-4), but he hit the most important FT giving the Spurs a four-point cushion with 11 seconds left. Either way he contributed well with three rebounds, five assists and 12 much-needed second-quarter points. However four turnovers is not acceptable.
Grade: B+
Richard Jefferson (SF)
3 of 13
Key Stats: 28 points, 4-for-5 on three-pointers
Wow! RJ gave the state of Arizona the home-coming performance they didn't want. It's about time those who were concerned with the Spurs re-signing him put those doubts to rest. He has been the most consistent player on the team so far, and that's no small accomplishment. He hit four massive threes in the fourth quarter, the final one extremely key in picking his team back up after a 9-0 run by the Suns put them ahead. To put icing on the cake, this is RJ's first EVER win in Phoenix. Shocking!
Grade: A+
Tim Duncan (PF)
4 of 13
Key Stats: 25 points, 17 rebounds
When Timmy doesn't hesitate, he doesn't miss (11-for-13 on FG). It was a great performance on both ends of the floor, hitting inside and outside shots, rebounding and three blocks, including a key one down the stretch.
The only real negative was Timmy's turnovers at six. That cannot continue.
As a side note, he also passed George "The Iceman" Gervin on the NBA all-time scoring list to move into the 32nd spot with 20,710, 80 points shy of David Robinson in 31th.
Grade: A
DeJuan Blair
5 of 13
Key Stats: Four points, seven rebounds
Still some bad luck with shots rolling off the rim, but a few started to fall for him. Blair played pretty good defense when the Suns were playing small, and had a key assist down the stretch. If he can just find that shooting touch again he will be more of a factor in the game.
Grade: B-
Overall Grade For Starters
6 of 13
Unlike previous games, the starters shined in this one, especially in the fourth quarter with massive offensive plays, particularly by Tim and RJ, and a key shutdown of the Suns' offense in the last four minutes of the game. I still cannot understand why these guys are turning the ball over so much (20 of the teams' 23), but that has to improve in a real hurry if they're going to keep winning.
Overall Grade: A-
Antonio McDyess
7 of 13
Key Stats: Nine points, seven rebounds
Antonio did excellent in this one, especially on defense. He was pesky and annoyed the Suns' offense with his aggressiveness and attacking the boards. He played key minutes down the stretch when the Spurs needed him to make stops the most.
Grade: A-
James Anderson
8 of 13
Key Stats: Six points, three assists
Anderson wasn't as much of a scoring factor in this one, but that stroke sure is sweet. He is not your typical rookie who will charge into the basket and try to score. Instead he made some excellent passes to open players outside, including two to RJ when he hit those big threes in the fourth quarter. He also played some excellent defense once again.
Grade: A-
Tiago Splitter
9 of 13
Key Stats: Seven points, three rebounds
Tiago's beginning to show us what he can do. He has excellent footwork and some nifty shot selections. He also showed some excellent passing and defensive ability. I know this is only his second game, but if there's one thing he needs to work on it's defensive placement. He got caught opening the lanes a few times by following his man outside, and therefore unable to provide help defense.
Grade: B+
Garrett Temple
10 of 13
Key Stats: Two points, one assist
Garrett filled in nicely for George Hill with some limited minutes. He contributed on both ends with a little of everything (one rebound, one steal, one assist). He was a little chaotic at times, but that will improve when he gets more minutes and settles into a rhythm.
Grade: B-
Rest Of The Bench
11 of 13
Gary Neal: The three-point shot wasn't there tonight (0-for-2), but he did contribute two points, and a steal in just seven minutes of action.
Alonzo Gee: Only four seconds (and I'm not exactly sure when that was).
Bobby Simmons: DNP
Grade: N/A
Overall Grade For The Bench
12 of 13
They've done better, but they still contributed to the game despite missing George Hill and Matt Bonner to injuries. One thing they did better than the starters was taking care of the ball (only three of the teams 23). They did get outscored 45-26 by the Suns bench, but then again they weren't needed as much compared to the previous games with the starters finally putting together a good outing (besides the turnovers). Hopefully Hill and Bonner will return soon!
Overall Grade: B+
Overal Team Grade
13 of 13
Once again the Spurs beat their conference rivals at their own game: outscore the opponent.
I'll never know how they won a game on the road despite giving up 23 points on 23 turnovers, but it was a hard-fought victory none the less. The Suns were able to rely too much on points off turnovers and second chance points to stay in the game, and that just can't happen anymore.
The Spurs also aren't used to being towards the bottom of the league in defensive categories (such as points allowed and defensive FG percentage), so that also needs to improve. Overall, it was an exciting game with a taste of revenge on a depleted but stubborn Suns team.
Grade: A-
