Game Grades: Spurs vs. Kings

April 18, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker (9) drives in against Sacramento Kings point guard Jimmer Fredette (7) during the first quarter at Power Balance Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

The Spurs are impressive (obviously). On the heels of two blowout victories over the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, you might expect a bit of let down. A natural trap game. But, instead, the Spurs poured in 127 points on the hopeless Kings, including 39 in the third quarter. Without Tim Duncan, the Spurs still managed to shoot 58.8 percent from the field.

James Anderson, SG 4:59 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 0 PTS | 0

Forced a couple of shots. Grade: C-

DeJuan Blair, C 22:53 MIN | 3-4 FG | 3-4 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 9 PTS | +11

Blair scored five of his 11 points in the first quarter because he was in the right place at the right time. Grade: B

Matt Bonner, PF 17:29 MIN | 1-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 1 AST | 2 PTS | +17

Bonner continues to be a plus/minus anomaly. Although he didn’t knock down a 3-point shot (he was 0-for-3), the Spurs still managed to outscore the Kings by 17 points in his 17:29 minutes of action. Floor spacing! (Maybe?). Grade: C

Boris Diaw, PF 24:03 MIN | 3-4 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 8 PTS | +3

I liked the move to start Diaw tonight. Diaw played well, knocking down both of his 3s, grabbing boards and, while he only recorded one assist, his playmaking was responsible for more points than the box score indicates. Grade: B+

Manu Ginobili, SG 16:45 MIN | 4-5 FG | 4-5 FT | 2 REB | 5 AST | 13 PTS | +11

As expected, Manu handled the ball extensively and continually found his teammates for high percentage shots. Grade: B+

Danny Green, G 20:22 MIN | 4-6 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 1 AST | 11 PTS | +13

Green continues to do the little things conducive to winning basketball games. Grade: B

Stephen Jackson, SG 30:14 MIN | 4-9 FG | 3-3 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 13 PTS | +11

Logged a lot of minutes, drained a couple of 3s and crashed to the line a couple times. Just a standard day at the office for Jackson. Grade: B

Kawhi Leonard, SF 27:29 MIN | 6-10 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 4 AST | 13 PTS | +20

OH MAMA! Kawhi is awesome. He showed his athleticism on an athletic reverse dunk, he rebounded well and he set up a couple of midrange jumpers with a simple shot fake that allowed him to get his shot off. He also dished out four assists, his second highest total of the season. Grade: B+

Patrick Mills, PG 13:36 MIN | 4-7 FG | 1-1 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 9 PTS | +3

Responsible for a couple of transition buckets and, had Jackson not interfered on the basket, would’ve hit double-digits with an impressive shooting percentage. Grade: B

Gary Neal, PG 15:19 MIN | 8-9 FG | 1-1 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 17 PTS | +14

Efficiency. Grade: A+

Tony Parker, PG 24:47 MIN | 4-11 FG | 7-9 FT | 5 REB | 8 AST | 15 PTS | +14

Another effortless performance from Parker. Didn’t shoot well from the field but his nine free throw attempts more than make up for that. Grade: B+

Tiago Splitter, C 22:04 MIN | 6-8 FG | 5-7 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 17 PTS | +8

It’s pretty amazing how easily Splitter uses screens to clear up space for an efficient shot at the rim. Grade: A

Conclusion. It may seem like I’ve been overly optimistic with my grades but this Spurs team has been incredible. They swept both of their back-to-back-to-back sets by an average of 17.3 points. When will the fun end? Hopefully not anytime soon.