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Spurs take a 2-1 lead over the Blazers with a great road win, and we've got the grades!
De'Aaron Fox - 3.0
@mazerrackham - On the one hand, he continues to be a pretty steadying presence in the game and I feel like his control of the game does help the team as a whole, but he just hasn't been able to call his own number successfully enough in this series so far. His shot's not falling and he hasn't been able to successfully attack the good Blazer guard defenders.
@heyheymymy - Fox has pricetag premium that costs him some leniency. Needs to be much crisper all around but at least G3 his play provided value. Fox seems very dependent on Wemby's presence.
scott - This grade got a serious upgrade in the 4th quarter, but while he was struggling prior to that our team was playing a lot better with him on the court through the first 3 quarters. The best way for me to put it is that while he didn't have a great game, he had a very useful game. Everyone wants to shit on him when he doesn't score 30+, but he helped keep us in the game early when it could have slipped away and played the critical role of being the center of attention for Portland's defense. Hit some nail-in-the-coffin buckets in the last 5 minutes, which hopefully gets his confidence going for game 4. Multiple people called it out, but he needs to stop with the step back 3s and get more of those middies going.
Stephon Castle - 4.25
@LeBowen - I can't ever blame a 21 year old for trying too hard and making some wrong decisions, that's on the coaching staff to fix. Castle is just doing what he's told to do. A couple of terrible turnovers, as per usual, but very good other than that. He'll never back down and he's a winner.
mazerrackham - Really put the team on his back during the rough first half. I think his defense has been a bit less than my expectations for him, and his 4 turnovers almost bumped his grade down a notch, but realistically I can't expect much more from Castle than a game like this. I got the feeling that he wanted to win more than anybody else on the court.
scott - Honestly, I was not pleased with his performance through 3 quarters. He was scoring, but he was a ball stopper and was forcing our offense into a style of play that does not equal success, as evidence by his -20 through 3 quarters. When he entered the game in the 4th, he was looking for Dylan and I think that snapped him into a mindset that is more in-line with our style of play, and he had a big 4th himself.
Devin Vassell - 2.75
LeBowen - His growth as an all-round player has been great, played good defense and was huge on the boards, it's just that his shot wasn't falling. But he did hit the big corner 3 that broke the Blazers.
heyhey - Dev finds other ways to contribute when his shot is off. Really liked his hustle on the boards and defensive energy.
maz - I want to continue to credit Devin like Champ for staying engaged in the game, defending, rebounding, etc, but also like Fox he just has not been able to get his own offense going enough. I still like his shot selection, but he needs to make more of those usually automatic mid range shots to free up the rest of the team when things get tight.
Julian Champagnie - 3.0
LeBowen - Mitch needs to figure out how to get him more shots, he had just a couple of 3s that weren't forced. Solid on the boards.
heyhey - Champ doesn't pop in the box score but I like what he is doing out there. Big man rebounds, spacing, keeps defense honest and limits mistakes. Bet Champ goes off with a big shooting night in the playoffs eventually.
maz - Hasn't been very involved in the offense, but has stayed active in the game with defense and rebounding, so he continues to do his job.
Luke Kornet - 5.0
scott - Luke's been absolutely huge in this series and he did it again. Draining his first 3PA of this season was an extra cherry.
heyhey - Luke's scoring has been refreshing since it was not often a feature during regular season and in question. He upped his mins, upgraded to starter, did everything asked of him on a huge task. The Spurs have never lost a playoff game where Luke hits at least 1 triple.
LeBowen - Our best player up until Harper took over, huge game considering what he's up to, he did well to manage his energy considering he usually struggles when he plays more than 25 minutes.
Keldon Johsnon - 2.0
scott - An ugly offensive performance but he did bring energy, rebounding and defense and in an ugly game like this that can't be overlooked.
heyhey - The energy plays off the bench have dried up completely. Can't get his downhill bully drives to work, lost all his finesse touch around the basket, and the hype kickout triples seem a bit more elusive. Big lights syndrome?
maz - Not sure what's going on with Keldon. He's been one of the most consistent players on the team all year, but in this series he's been vanishing along with Barnes. I hope he shakes it off or else our bench is going to be a lot more problematic than I expected against other good playoff teams.
Dylan Harper - 5.0
LeBowen - After the last game I said I was concerned about his thumb since he didn't take a 3, him going 4-5 completely changed the game. Also amazing on the glass and that sequence where he cooked Jrue and then Scoot in consecutive possessions won us the game. I don't care how, he can't ever be reduced to playing less than 25 minutes again.
heyhey - Instant classic performance. That stretch arm dunk will be on flashback reels for generations. So proud of Dylan! Pushed through some early series mental barriers and dealing with the thumb injury too so it shows true mettle.
maz - Wow, game of the year for Dylan. I commented that Dylan has been too timid last few games and this game he finally remembered who he was. Every shot oozed confidence, every drive was with urgency, every defensive posession he stayed engaged and scrappy. Wonderful game at a perfect time for the Spurs that needed an injection to get over the pesky Blazers. Game ball goes to Dylan for sure.
Harrison Barnes - 1.5
scott - Just a complete non factor in his minutes.
maz - Carter continues to suck up Barnes' minutes for good reason. At this point my hope is that he can have a Steve Kerr moment in this playoffs, or else it's becoming more likely that he's not with the team again next year.
LeBowen - Snell statline, the old man looks like he's a few gears slower than everyone else, fortunately Mitch isn't overplaying him.
Carter Bryant - 4.5
LeBowen - Been a long time since I've seen someone change a game as much as he did while shooting just 1-5. Ridiculous defense and even rim protection, if the coaching staff can convince him to let those shots given to him fly and he starts making them, he's already starter material. Good on Mitch to play him more than Barnes and Keldon.
heyhey - Five stars. In the context of a rookie kid, in the playoffs, being played out of position with some Center Bryant mins? Being asked to bring the ball up in pressure time? That performace was so gutsy. Only criticism is seeing him hesitate on an open C&S 3. Let them fly if you're open, especially without Wemby active.
maz - I said last game I was uncertain about the no big lineups where Carter had to play big. This game, however, the Spurs really clicked with that lineup and a big part of it was CB. To be fair, he wasn't asked to defend bigger post players, but his help defense rim defense was on-point, and his on-ball defense of Deni was magnificent once he shook off the jitters of the second half. I'm glad he's build up some trust with his play, because he took a while to settle into this game, but he was one of the biggest impact players when the Spurs really started stifling the Blazers. Good stuff from the rooks today.
Mitch Johnson - 3.5
scott - Some early Mitch choices I did not agree with, but he deserves credit for sticking with the rookies and rolling with the Hydra lineup to close out the game. I think it was Manny who called it out - POR has no way to match up against the 3 guards on the court at once and when we went Hydra, all 3 guys were suddenly unlocked.
maz - I'm gonna give Mitch a conservative 3 since even though it worked this game the no big lineups still worry me. This team continues to look not 100% ready for playoff basketball against better teams, and that may not be 100% Mitch's fault, but he has to at least make it his problem to solve.
LeBowen - I don't think Harper going nuclear is some brilliant coaching, he did a few things well, but overall our offense looked really bad with no flow whatsoever, it's not like we were down because we couldn't make shots, but because most shots we took were low quality. It's a part of the Blazers gameplany, but we really need to generate more open looks for Champ/Devin/Barnes and he needs to figure out how to not have Fox drift in and out of games, being a non-factor for long stretches.
De'Aaron Fox - 3.0
@mazerrackham - On the one hand, he continues to be a pretty steadying presence in the game and I feel like his control of the game does help the team as a whole, but he just hasn't been able to call his own number successfully enough in this series so far. His shot's not falling and he hasn't been able to successfully attack the good Blazer guard defenders.
@heyheymymy - Fox has pricetag premium that costs him some leniency. Needs to be much crisper all around but at least G3 his play provided value. Fox seems very dependent on Wemby's presence.
scott - This grade got a serious upgrade in the 4th quarter, but while he was struggling prior to that our team was playing a lot better with him on the court through the first 3 quarters. The best way for me to put it is that while he didn't have a great game, he had a very useful game. Everyone wants to shit on him when he doesn't score 30+, but he helped keep us in the game early when it could have slipped away and played the critical role of being the center of attention for Portland's defense. Hit some nail-in-the-coffin buckets in the last 5 minutes, which hopefully gets his confidence going for game 4. Multiple people called it out, but he needs to stop with the step back 3s and get more of those middies going.
Stephon Castle - 4.25
@LeBowen - I can't ever blame a 21 year old for trying too hard and making some wrong decisions, that's on the coaching staff to fix. Castle is just doing what he's told to do. A couple of terrible turnovers, as per usual, but very good other than that. He'll never back down and he's a winner.
mazerrackham - Really put the team on his back during the rough first half. I think his defense has been a bit less than my expectations for him, and his 4 turnovers almost bumped his grade down a notch, but realistically I can't expect much more from Castle than a game like this. I got the feeling that he wanted to win more than anybody else on the court.
scott - Honestly, I was not pleased with his performance through 3 quarters. He was scoring, but he was a ball stopper and was forcing our offense into a style of play that does not equal success, as evidence by his -20 through 3 quarters. When he entered the game in the 4th, he was looking for Dylan and I think that snapped him into a mindset that is more in-line with our style of play, and he had a big 4th himself.
Devin Vassell - 2.75
LeBowen - His growth as an all-round player has been great, played good defense and was huge on the boards, it's just that his shot wasn't falling. But he did hit the big corner 3 that broke the Blazers.
heyhey - Dev finds other ways to contribute when his shot is off. Really liked his hustle on the boards and defensive energy.
maz - I want to continue to credit Devin like Champ for staying engaged in the game, defending, rebounding, etc, but also like Fox he just has not been able to get his own offense going enough. I still like his shot selection, but he needs to make more of those usually automatic mid range shots to free up the rest of the team when things get tight.
Julian Champagnie - 3.0
LeBowen - Mitch needs to figure out how to get him more shots, he had just a couple of 3s that weren't forced. Solid on the boards.
heyhey - Champ doesn't pop in the box score but I like what he is doing out there. Big man rebounds, spacing, keeps defense honest and limits mistakes. Bet Champ goes off with a big shooting night in the playoffs eventually.
maz - Hasn't been very involved in the offense, but has stayed active in the game with defense and rebounding, so he continues to do his job.
Luke Kornet - 5.0
scott - Luke's been absolutely huge in this series and he did it again. Draining his first 3PA of this season was an extra cherry.
heyhey - Luke's scoring has been refreshing since it was not often a feature during regular season and in question. He upped his mins, upgraded to starter, did everything asked of him on a huge task. The Spurs have never lost a playoff game where Luke hits at least 1 triple.
LeBowen - Our best player up until Harper took over, huge game considering what he's up to, he did well to manage his energy considering he usually struggles when he plays more than 25 minutes.
Keldon Johsnon - 2.0
scott - An ugly offensive performance but he did bring energy, rebounding and defense and in an ugly game like this that can't be overlooked.
heyhey - The energy plays off the bench have dried up completely. Can't get his downhill bully drives to work, lost all his finesse touch around the basket, and the hype kickout triples seem a bit more elusive. Big lights syndrome?
maz - Not sure what's going on with Keldon. He's been one of the most consistent players on the team all year, but in this series he's been vanishing along with Barnes. I hope he shakes it off or else our bench is going to be a lot more problematic than I expected against other good playoff teams.
Dylan Harper - 5.0
LeBowen - After the last game I said I was concerned about his thumb since he didn't take a 3, him going 4-5 completely changed the game. Also amazing on the glass and that sequence where he cooked Jrue and then Scoot in consecutive possessions won us the game. I don't care how, he can't ever be reduced to playing less than 25 minutes again.
heyhey - Instant classic performance. That stretch arm dunk will be on flashback reels for generations. So proud of Dylan! Pushed through some early series mental barriers and dealing with the thumb injury too so it shows true mettle.
maz - Wow, game of the year for Dylan. I commented that Dylan has been too timid last few games and this game he finally remembered who he was. Every shot oozed confidence, every drive was with urgency, every defensive posession he stayed engaged and scrappy. Wonderful game at a perfect time for the Spurs that needed an injection to get over the pesky Blazers. Game ball goes to Dylan for sure.
Harrison Barnes - 1.5
scott - Just a complete non factor in his minutes.
maz - Carter continues to suck up Barnes' minutes for good reason. At this point my hope is that he can have a Steve Kerr moment in this playoffs, or else it's becoming more likely that he's not with the team again next year.
LeBowen - Snell statline, the old man looks like he's a few gears slower than everyone else, fortunately Mitch isn't overplaying him.
Carter Bryant - 4.5
LeBowen - Been a long time since I've seen someone change a game as much as he did while shooting just 1-5. Ridiculous defense and even rim protection, if the coaching staff can convince him to let those shots given to him fly and he starts making them, he's already starter material. Good on Mitch to play him more than Barnes and Keldon.
heyhey - Five stars. In the context of a rookie kid, in the playoffs, being played out of position with some Center Bryant mins? Being asked to bring the ball up in pressure time? That performace was so gutsy. Only criticism is seeing him hesitate on an open C&S 3. Let them fly if you're open, especially without Wemby active.
maz - I said last game I was uncertain about the no big lineups where Carter had to play big. This game, however, the Spurs really clicked with that lineup and a big part of it was CB. To be fair, he wasn't asked to defend bigger post players, but his help defense rim defense was on-point, and his on-ball defense of Deni was magnificent once he shook off the jitters of the second half. I'm glad he's build up some trust with his play, because he took a while to settle into this game, but he was one of the biggest impact players when the Spurs really started stifling the Blazers. Good stuff from the rooks today.
Mitch Johnson - 3.5
scott - Some early Mitch choices I did not agree with, but he deserves credit for sticking with the rookies and rolling with the Hydra lineup to close out the game. I think it was Manny who called it out - POR has no way to match up against the 3 guards on the court at once and when we went Hydra, all 3 guys were suddenly unlocked.
maz - I'm gonna give Mitch a conservative 3 since even though it worked this game the no big lineups still worry me. This team continues to look not 100% ready for playoff basketball against better teams, and that may not be 100% Mitch's fault, but he has to at least make it his problem to solve.
LeBowen - I don't think Harper going nuclear is some brilliant coaching, he did a few things well, but overall our offense looked really bad with no flow whatsoever, it's not like we were down because we couldn't make shots, but because most shots we took were low quality. It's a part of the Blazers gameplany, but we really need to generate more open looks for Champ/Devin/Barnes and he needs to figure out how to not have Fox drift in and out of games, being a non-factor for long stretches.
