El Conclusión: Washington Wizards 101, San Antonio Spurs 93

Tim Duncan moved into 5th on the All-Time double-double list. But it happened in another loss in a close game, and Timmy really struggled offensively. He was one of the (somewhat) bright spots defensively, though, on a night the Spurs gave up more than 100 points for just the third time in nine games. That’s nothing spectacular, but it’s quite good without Kawhi Leonard on the perimeter.

Austin got the start, and the Spurs were -47.6 points per 100 possessions worse than the Wizards while he was on the floor — a team-worst. He took six shots in seven minutes, and made just six passes along the way. He made a few of those shots, so that’ll bump the grade.

It has not been a good season so far for Tiago, especially with the injury and all. He still seems to be adjusting, but I thought this was, low-key, one of his better games, particularly on the defensive end. For some reason, though, his free-throw shooting issues continue, just sticking with the theme of the team.

He’s not himself. It’s clear. I don’t know if he’s still dealing with that hamstring or what, but it’s a little disconcerting. He’s scored more than 14 points (his point total tonight) just once since Nov. 28, and he’s obviously missed a handful of games during that time. Here’s the thing though: He scored 21 points or more in four straight games at the end of November before going down with the hammy issue in early December. I don’t think he’s just lost it.

Danny’s been in a bit of a lull, or at least inconsistent, recently, even as the Spurs have generally been playing better. His 12 missed shots tied a season high, and his eight missed 3s (!!!) also tied a season high. Green is always a contributor defensively, as he is the team’s best perimeter defender at the moment. But man, they need him to go better than 2-of-10 from the arc.

Relatively speaking, Jeff has had a really solid stretch of basketball. Still, he’s a major liability defensively and really struggles against size. But he is what he is: a 4th or 5th big who, when he puts in 16 against the Pistons or nine against the Wizards, is doing a lot to help.

Just in general, he was OK on the defensive end. But nobody remembers that if this guy isn’t hitting shots.

Boris got really beat up on the defensive end by Washington bigs, including Kevin freaking Seraphin. He was better offensively in this one, but Diaw has had a frustrating year, and that obviously needs to change if the Spurs want to find their way back to last year’s level.

Patty seems to really be coming back into his own, both from an athletic standpoint and a technical/shooting standpoint. He was the only Spur with a positive net rating tonight, and his 3-point shooting — four 3s were a season high — helped build steam for San Antonio in the first half when they were struggling like hell to score. The team really missed this guy a lot, on both sides of the floor.

Not a good scoring night, but still basically the prototypical CoJo game — just solid all around. He’s really done well in those two-point-guard lineups Popovich has used so often since Patty’s return, and he’s shown he can work with any offensive grouping around him. He’s earning himself a new contract, though likely with another team.

The five assists in 23 minutes are good, but the 2-of-8 shooting is not. What’s worse? Manu had four of the team’s seven turnovers in this game, including all three of the Spurs’ giveaways in the fourth quarter. For all the good he does setting others up when he’s not scoring, those late-game turnover-bursts can kill you.

I think he’s done a good job mixing and matching with the lineups he has at his disposal right now. He’s balanced the point-guard rotations nicely, and he’s also kept minutes down across the board recently to help the team recover from that brutal December. I’ll tell you this much: He doesn’t appear to be as worried as a lot of fans do right now. There’s so much basketball to be played, and this team has played more basketball than anyone else over the last three years (along with Miami). Only two players logged more than 30 minutes tonight, so he’s clearly remaining patient.