Grades - Spurs @ Hawks Mar. 25

[timvp]

Manu Ginobili C
Ginobili was obviously rusty in his return but it was great to see him out there again.

Tony Parker A+
Single-handedly willed the team to victory with his amazing play in the fourth quarter.

Matt Bonner B+
Very good defense and a few key offensive plays out of Bonner on the night.

Michael Finley B
Bounced back after a couple of poor outings to help the team to victory.

Roger Mason, Jr. B
Hot shooting the ball but his defense and ballhandling left a bit to be desired.

Drew Gooden B
Started at center and helped out offensively and his individual defense was promising.

Ime Udoka C+
Didn't produce well on either end but his energy and focus gave the team a lift.

Kurt Thomas B+
Once again did a nice job filling in the spots for Duncan while the foundation rested.

Fabricio Oberto C-
Oberto didn't do much of anything right against the Hawks.

Bruce Bowen D
Seemed to lack energy and wasn't executing in his stint during the first half of play.

Pop B
Rotations still obviously a work in progress but he at least cut down on the maniacal shuffling.

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Please submit your own grades for this game. I will post the cumulative SpursTalk.com grades in two hours from the time of this post.

(Grading now closed. Results below.)

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SpursTalk's Average Grades

Manu Ginobilihttp://spurstalk.com/up_arrow.gif C+

Tony Parker A+

Matt Bonner B+

Michael Finley B

Roger Mason, Jr.http://spurstalk.com/up_arrow.gif B+

Drew Gooden B

Ime Udoka C+

Kurt Thomas B+

Fabricio Obertohttp://spurstalk.com/up_arrow.gif C+

Bruce Bowenhttp://spurstalk.com/up_arrow.gif C

Pop B

[ezau]

Good to see Gooden get 24+ minutes in the game. With Ginobili healthy and Gooden getting his stride, the real Spurs team is just about ready to roll

[Admidave50]

Nice to see b2b good outings from TP. I was expecting a loss considering the b2b and that Duncan was resting.

Good to see Manu back on the lineup, hope he can help very soon.

[VI_Massive]

Too easy on Mason -- he definitely got benched for those turnovers. He hit some shots but that was all.

Manu should get an incomplete -- he's so rusty.

Love everything from TP -- I'd give him another plus if i could....but he's playing heavy minutes and those are demanding minutes too....

[Brazil]

I gave a C to Pop, I still don't understand the 39 min he gave to Bonner and Finley especially that was shooting poorly. A+ of course for TP this kind of game for the 2nd game of a BtB is clealy above expectations.

[Mavs<Spurs]

grades made sense to me.

Tony Parker was Mr. Clutch and Kori says that statistical Tony does pretty well in the clutch !

[usckk]

I didn't watch the game. I saw Hill had a DNP. Does this mean that Hill will probably not be in the playoff rotation? This would also explain why Mason is at backup PG now too.

[Mugen]

gotta agree with the Fin criticism on Pop. I understand udoka being in there to match up with JJ but why not mason in there for Fin? Mase was having a great shooting night. maybe cuz fin rebounds better and we were getting killed on the boards and mase had some defensive mistakes early on but still....

[VI_Massive]

gotta agree with the Fin criticism on Pop. I understand udoka being in there to match up with JJ but why not mason in there for Fin? Mase was having a great shooting night. maybe cuz fin rebounds better and we were getting killed on the boards and mase had some defensive mistakes early on but still....

Mason got punished for his turnovers. Finally.

[Mugen]

Mason got punished for his turnovers. Finally.

Pop should be punished for putting him in that position in the first place. Hes a shooter. thats what hes for. he shot well 2nite.

go back to hill for the backup pg please pop.

[VI_Massive]

Pop should be punished for putting him in that position in the first place. Hes a shooter. thats what hes for. he shot well 2nite.

go back to hill for the backup pg please pop.

Agreed. He was billed as a combo guard but its been obvious for a while that he can't run an offense, even for 10 minutes a night. I don't think benching him for turnovers will make him regain some sort of lost focus or something.

[Mal]

C for Pop for Mason on PG , grrrr.

A+++++++ for Parker
C for Manu, not ready to give his best

[GSH]

If Mason hadn't had that scoring burst, he would have been about a D.

Too hard on Ime and KT. The Hawks were playing physical, and eating our lunch. Those two guys played hard-nosed ball, and that made a huge difference in the outcome. As much as I love Bruce, he got victimized. Ime did a good job of not giving Johnson the shots he wanted. In addition to hitting jumpers and pulling down boards, KT had some very well-placed fouls. He made them shoot 2 from the line instead of getting dunks. Too much of the time our players bring that soft shit and give up the dunk and-1.

Pop? The Hawks are a bitch to beat at home. Pop managed to spread the minutes out over 10 players, and still get the W - on the second night of a B2B without Duncan. Exactly how much more could we expect?

[timvp]

Mason got punished for his turnovers. Finally.I think it was more his defense and the fact that he wasn't boxing anyone out. I haven't yet seen Pop bench Mason's shooting guard minutes for poor play at point guard.

[Whisky Dog]

So is Hill done from the rotation?

[VI_Massive]

I think it was more his defense and the fact that he wasn't boxing anyone out. I haven't yet seen Pop bench Mason's shooting guard minutes for poor play at point guard.

I think tonight's turnovers were especially egregious and came as the game was getting tight in the second half and that's when he got benched. It seemed to me that his defensive and box out lapses came earlier.

[timvp]

Manu Ginobilihttp://spurstalk.com/up_arrow.gif C+

Tony Parker A+

Matt Bonner B+

Michael Finley B

Roger Mason, Jr.http://spurstalk.com/up_arrow.gif B+

Drew Gooden B

Ime Udoka C+

Kurt Thomas B+

Fabricio Obertohttp://spurstalk.com/up_arrow.gif C+

Bruce Bowenhttp://spurstalk.com/up_arrow.gif C

Pop B

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Parker went 45-for-45 in getting an A+ :wow

[VI_Massive]

Mike Woodson gets a A+ for the Spurs for continuing to switch Horford onto Parker when the Spurs ran the side pick and roll....over and over and over. Pitiful.

[duncan228]

Parker went 45-for-45 in getting an A+ :wow

He deserved it. It was a great performance.

[duncan228]

Mike Woodson gets a A+ for the Spurs for continuing to switch Horford onto Parker when the Spurs ran the side pick and roll....over and over and over. Pitiful.

He had his hands full.


Hawks coach Mike Woodson said he tried different defensive schemes but none were effective.

“Parker was the difference tonight,” Woodson said. “We were a step behind him from the very beginning.”

[VI_Massive]

He had his hands full.

They kept running the same play over and over!

And Horford kept switching onto Parker!

TP is great but when you keep making the same mistake over and over again...it makes him look even better.

[completely deck]

Did Hill get the night off or are we starting to see Pop put him in the dog house for the off season?

[Manufan909]

Did Hill get the night off or are we starting to see Pop put him in the dog house for the off season?

I see no point in the first, and no reason for the 2nd. Probably the 2nd though.

[ILoveOranges]

Too easy on Mason -- he definitely got benched for those turnovers. He hit some shots but that was all.


I think the sentence "I cringe when I see Mason bringing the ball up court" has become a catch phrase by now. But, he has easy pickings for shots off screens. Oh, what to do.

[SpursDynasty]

Spurs just went out there and did what they were supposed to do.

[crc21209]

Awesome game tonight. The Spurs came out with the appropriate energy and will to win the game. TP especially. Bonus on the night was both the Hornets and Jazz losing! :tu

[timvp]

Did Hill get the night off or are we starting to see Pop put him in the dog house for the off season?

The Spurs will probably go with a five man rotation on the perimeter during the playoffs. TP, Manu, Mason and Finley are in. The final spot will likely be Bowen or Udoka. Hill is seventh right now and I doubt he's moving up unless there's an injury.

[raspsa]

So is Hill done from the rotation?
Hill may not get consistent minutes n the playoffs but he has demonstrated an ability to impact games defensively, particularly in the 4thQ. This is impressive performance for a rookie and is specially appreciated by a coach like Pop who puts a premium on defense. I expect Hill to play "mini Bruce" when the situation calls for it.

[Illusionarist]

These grades are awsome. Well done Timvp:)

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

My comments on this game, without having read the thread yet:

--> Parker is INCREDIBLE right now. He was the best PG in the NBA today... although 'best' is meaningless because each of TP, CP3 and DWill can take that mantle, depending on the day. But Parker - WOW - he is having his best season and only keeps getting better. What a man and what a balla.

--> Our second unit cannot hold a lead, and part of it is Mason as backup PG (very ugly to watch at times - please Pop, see the light and play Hill!), and part of it is Pop's continued rotation tinkering. Can someone please tell me why the Fab and Ime experiment continues? Fab tried hard but helped to give away the lead in the 3rd and Ime watched on as he was torched by Johnson in the fourth... where the hell was Bruce??? That's exactly his role, to be the cooler on guys like Joe - c'mon Pop, WTF? It's not like Ime made a difference on O, although he did go to the boards as usual, and so did Fin when it mattered in the 4th. I like the way that Parker-Mason-Fin-Bonner-Thomas-Gooden played together, and Manu was terribly rusty and trying to do too much, so please, let's can the Fab experiment, and use Ime as sparingly as possible.

--> Loved the early offense for Gooden, and he responded, but then we went away from him for the rest of the game. Sure, a lot of that was Tony's outburst, but I' like to have seen him in mid 3rd rather than that 3 foul stretch from Fab.

--> Joe Johnson is a poor man's Dwayne Wade-Brandon Roy hybrid, but a beast nonetheless. A mix of brute strength, agility and craftiness.

--> Flip Murray is a fantasy follower's nightmare.

--> Josh Smith is Rasheed Wallace Junior.

--> Mike Bibby couldn't defend your grandmother.

Great game of basketball, gutsy win Spurs, and you are a PANTHEON PG, Mr Parker.

:smokin ;)

[Agloco]

Pop F

Fixed.....

Playing Tony almost 40 minutes = FAIL

Is Pop trying to burn him out or what?

[Spurs Brazil]

Parker is fantastic

And it's unfair bench Hill and play Mason at PG

[completely deck]

Pop F

Fixed.....

Playing Tony almost 40 minutes = FAIL

Is Pop trying to burn him out or what?

I'd see your point if Tony wasn't producing. But come on, the guy was on fire last night.

[Agloco]

I'd see your point if Tony wasn't producing. But come on, the guy was on fire last night.

I meant that just from a minutes played point. Sure as hell Tony was the man last night, but he needs rest somewhere along the way. 40 minutes on the back end of a back to back is asking for burnout.

[lefty]

Tim Duncan A+


For traveling with the team despite his injury :tu

[timvp]

Pop F

Fixed.....

Playing Tony almost 40 minutes = FAIL

Is Pop trying to burn him out or what?Somebody has to play. Usually I'm first in line to complain about too much minutes but there was no other option on this night. Parker playing less than 40 minutes actually took a good amount of patience by Pop, considering that the Spurs outscored the Hawks 90-71 in the minutes Parker was on the court and were outscored 21-12 in more than a quarter he sat.

If the game plan was to not play Duncan, play Manu less than 15 minutes and limit Parker's minutes .... then Pop might as well not have played any of them because a win would have been impossible.

[crc21209]

Man I dunno about Hill not playing in the Playoffs, I think he would do well, especially on D and at backup PG because watchin Mason out there running point is like torture sometimes. So lets say if they do go with a 5-man wing rotation of TP, Manu, Fin, Mason, and Bowen. And a 4-man big man rotation of TD, Thomas, Bonner, and Gooden. That's a 9-man playoff rotation so far. Does anyone think Hill can at least get some spot minutes in the playoffs?

[Dex]

I don't think the Spurs win this game without Go0den. While his game wasn't spectacular, he shored up what otherwise would've been a huge hole in the paint with Tim out.

I really hope this guy can find some sort of comfort level in this rotation.

[spurschick]

Manu deserves extra credit for making Kiss Me Cam two nights in a row and performing admirably in both.

[Morg1411]

Bonner gets an A from me for drawing blood. He's obviously acquired some THUG mentality from Bowen. :ihit

[Manufan909]

Bonner gets an A from me for drawing blood. He's obviously acquired some THUG mentality from Bowen. :ihit

What'd he do? And I hope Pop goes back to Hill for the backup at least 6 of the games left, I really want a 6-man rotation for the wings. TP will average around 38, I don't see the point of not using Hill 10 minutes til he consistently chokes. Was he horrible leading the team before the Mason experiment, or what? I can't even remember.:bang

[BackHome]

Look we got a couple of games before the big games start and if we don't have a legit back up PG now we won't have one for the dance. We all know that Mason is not a PG and will get stripped or throw the ball to the wrong team mate.......But some of us still think that Hill is a PG....he is not and nor will he ever be.

I like Hill for his defense he is like a baby Bowen but he has no outside shot and can not finish at the rim. I don't think I have ever seen a game where Hill has hit a wide open shot and I know I have never seen him penetrate and then dish it off for an easy score. The offense dies when either he or Mason are running point.

Mason - Shooting Guard
Hill - Two guard

[Morg1411]

What'd he do? And I hope Pop goes back to Hill for the backup at least 6 of the games left, I really want a 6-man rotation for the wings. TP will average around 38, I don't see the point of not using Hill 10 minutes til he consistently chokes. Was he horrible leading the team before the Mason experiment, or what? I can't even remember.:bang

Bonner inadvertently elbowed Mike Bibby in the face while grabbing a defensive rebound. Bibby had to get four stitches. :ihit