Spurs Game Grades....... Tim Duncan D+ Tim Duncan did some good things tonight. First of all, while 14 points doesn't look too impressive, it's an enormous improvement considering he scored 12 points in 85 minutes against the Lakers all of last season. Secondly, his post defense was really good. The main reason why Bynum and Pau Gasol shot so poorly was Duncan's interior D. However, both of those positives were more than negated by his flaws. Offensively, he held onto the ball way too much, killed the ball-movement, had iffy shot selection and wasn't nearly physical enough. But his most unforgivable negative was his defensive rebounding. Considering Duncan is rebounding better than ever on the defensive end, it's shocking how poor he was tonight. I know that Bynum is long and reasonably athletic but there's simply no way to excuse getting out-rebounded by 28 boards. That just can't happen. Manu Ginobili D+ Coming into this game, the one area where the Spurs had a significant advantage was their bench. Manu Ginobili is the head of that snake and San Antonio needed him to destroy L.A.'s reserves. Instead, the Lakers grew their lead when Ginobili entered the game. Offensively, while he made a few really good passes, the rest of his production was subpar. He had no explosion when going to the rim and didn't attack with any assertiveness. Ginobili also was responsible for more than half of the team's turnovers. Defensively, he had energy in spurts but was below average on the whole; Ginobili didn't offer much effective help in the post and his closeouts on shooters were slow. Tony Parker F- It was just a pathetic, pathetic effort by Tony Parker. He couldn't hit an outside jumper to save his life, which was especially damning because the Lakers were going under every screen. While I can accept Parker missing shots, I can't accept Parker wilting and playing a timid brand of basketball. He's a leader (if not the[/b] leader) on this team -- he has to play like it and show some heart. Curling up into a fetal position on offense and playing pitiful defense is not the answer. If the Spurs are going to do anything in the playoffs, they can't have Parker fail to compete like he did tonight … and like he did last year in the playoffs, for that matter. Danny Green A- Danny Green is one Spurs player who could leave the arena with his head held high. Early on, I thought his tenacity was the only thing that kept the Lakers from blowing the game wide open. He drove the ball to the basket, took open shots with confidence and even mixed in a few great passes. His help-defense was really good, especially when doubling on the post. Green cooled off a bit in the middle two quarters but then stepped up and was able to make things respectable in the fourth quarter. Overall, I was really impressed with what I saw out of him. When everyone around him was playing tentatively and seemed afraid to make the wrong move, Green was going all out in a desperate attempt to keep the Spurs afloat. I think this outing proves he deserves to keep his starting spot for the foreseeable future. Kawhi Leonard C First of all, Kawhi Leonard played five minutes in the fourth quarter so only about 13 of his minutes came in the guts of the game. During that time, Leonard really made little to no impact. Offensively, he oscillated between being too passive and too aggressive. (Leonard is now 0-for-5 on three-pointers in the month of April -- that's something to keep an eye on.) Defensively, he tried to help defend Bynum and Gasol but he didn't make much of a difference; Leonard needs to learn how to be more forceful when coming to double-team bigs. With the Lakers dominating the glass, it would have been nice if Leonard pulled down a few contested boards … but that didn't happen. After scoring in double-digits in 11 of 14 games, Leonard has scored less than eight points in six straight outings. It's safe to say he has hit some sort of rookie wall. Let's hope it's temporary. DeJuan Blair D- On paper, DeJuan Blair versus Bynum is a mismatch. In reality, it was a mismatch of epic proportions. Blair tried hard to defend Bynum on the block but it was futile. Rebounding-wise, Blair's shortcomings on the defensive glass were magnified. Blair didn't even register as a speed bump when Bynum wanted to grab an offensive board. On the other end, Blair had no hope when looking to score over the Lakers bigs. Honestly, while Blair was a massive negative, I don't know if he's even capable of fulfilling the role the coaching staff asked him to fulfill. I'm not sure what more could be expected when Blair is going against players who are faster, more athletic, more talented and a half-foot taller. Stephen Jackson B+ Outside of Green, I thought Stephen Jackson was the bright spot. He brought much needed physicality to the game. Jackson was strong when defending the post, came with purposeful double-teams and his individual D was solid. He also gave really good effort on the boards. Offensively, Jackson took smart shots, passed the ball well and kept running the plays even when everyone else was panicking. He probably could have attempted to pick up more of the slack but I was satisfied with the way he played. If more of his teammates played with his level of fight, things would have been much different. Patrick Mills D- With Gary Neal out with a stomach ailment, Patrick Mills was the backup point guard. Let's just say that the Spurs really missed Neal. In all facets of the game, Mills was extremely underwhelming. He didn't have his typical energy on defense. Instead of pestering the ball, he could only offer half-hearted hand-waving. Offensively, he took a few horrible shots and just didn't play smart. Assertive shooters work in the Spurs system … but Mills is taking it too far. Mixing in more passes and getting the Spurs into their sets with crisper action would have really helped. As ugly as Neal is to watch at times, he runs circles around Mills right now when it comes to being able to create plays for his teammates. That said, I suspect Mills was tired tonight. He just wasn't moving with his usual pizzazz. Matt Bonner D While Matt Bonner knocked down his three-pointers, that was the extent of his positive play. He was much too active with his dribble; I don't mind it every now and then but it can't be a staple of San Antonio's offense. Defensively, he was definitely part of the problem. He played some passable post defense but he was mostly just too small and too weak. The lowlight of his night was when he allowed Josh McRoberts to blow by him for a dunk. And do I even need to explain why Bonner needed to pull down more than one rebound in 20 minutes? Boris Diaw C If Boris Diaw is trying to earn a spot in the rotation, he's not doing a very good job. Offensively, his passing up of shots was annoying -- especially since the Lakers bigmen were sagging so much. Diaw's three assists came long after the game was already in the bag for the Lakers. Defensively, he didn't do anything special. His post defense was decent but not much of an improvement over anyone else. He double-teamed a lot but his timing was poor. Diaw wasn't bad but he also didn't give the coaching staff any reason to make room for him in the rotation. Tiago Splitter B- On offense, Tiago Splitter took advantage of the few touches he received. He could have been more demanding about getting the ball but most of the blame should be directed at his teammates. Splitter has been a huge part of the bench's success yet he was largely ignored tonight. That's something that needs to be addressed going forward. Defensively, I didn't like much of what Splitter did. He allowed Gasol and Bynum to get optimal position on him repeatedly. He also wasn't protecting the rim as much as usual. Splitter didn't box out well and he was definitely another weak link on the boards. Pop F I've been whining all season about Pop failing to build chemistry between Duncan and Splitter. Tonight we saw why I've been so adamant about the importance of that combination. When faced with a tall frontline, Duncan and Splitter should be an option. However, due to Pop's complete and utter mismanagement of his bigmen, he doesn't have the ability to trot out Duncan and Splitter with any sort of cohesiveness. It's a huge coaching mistake that may ultimately cost the Spurs their playoff lives. On top of that, I thought Pop should have given Leonard more time since he's the best perimeter rebounder on the team. He should have had a quicker hook with Blair and given more minutes to Jackson and Green. And while it was good to give Mills playing time so he could gain experience, I thought he should have pulled the plug and gone with Ginobili as the backup point guard.
