SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 47: SPURS AT BLAZERS, 23-1-2023, 9PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

"Blazers 117= the highest three quarters points total this season"...

And now they have 119 lol

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 101 BLAZERS 119

Well I lost track of what that run against was, last I heard was something like 15-2 and it was nowhere near done.

Anyway, another 45 points allowed on 3s (some you tip your hat to, others you have to close space better), not running back on D enough, and not making shots. Yet we still scored a respectable 27 points and broke the 100-point mark ourselves.

Just goes to show how small our margin for error is when we can't get stops. Got blitzed.

Get stops. One stop at a time. Stop the clock and get to the FT line.

[G R E Y]

Oh their commentators just said Blazers run was 22-8 in last five minutes. Wow. To be honest it felt like a bigger one.

[G R E Y]

I mean... that was a well contested 3...

[G R E Y]

And again. We contest but it's like we're not even there.

[G R E Y]

Jakob slam. He dunks it when he's pissed off.

[G R E Y]

Malaki's a bucket.

[imagump1313]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GG All!

[Phreak50]

We are dead last for opponents field goal percentage this season.

Absolutely embarrassing.

[imagump1313]

We are dead last for opponents field goal percentage this season.

Absolutely embarrassing.

Indeed! We are really going to have to work for this to stay in the top 4.

Edit:HOLY CRAP! Houston and Orlando won tonight. This was an overall great night.

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 127 BLAZERS 147

That one Q. The ongoing challenge. We won one Q by two points. We lost two Qs by two points each. But that 3RD Q where we got lit up for 45 points and lost it by 18 was the difference.

Once again, we scored well enough, but unless it’s sustained at pace that gives our poor D a bigger margin for error we put ourselves in a position of chasing leads. And all teams have to do is have that one big breakout Q while maintaining an equilibrium against us the rest of the way to stay ahead. So unless our D floor is raised, it puts too much pressure on the O. And when that dips to even respectable levels, it in turn puts to much pressure on the D. Sure enough when missing 3s snowballed into missing Js and drives, the legs to run back on D and communication as to who was to switch and rotate to whom declined; we were overwhelmed on both ends.

We poured in 74 points at the half which is incredible, but we allowed as many, which is another kind of incredible. We gave up Qs with at least 40 points in each half, each to start the game and the second half. So strong two-way starts are still a challenge, even if our O was clicking. That the O consistency is better is a positive; that we tend to play like we can overcome or compensate for poor D is a gamble we keep losing.

It’s one thing when the issue is learning proper defensive habits, and another when effort isn’t where it should be. We frankly got caught in transition D with passes half to full court to an opponent who beat us down the court too often. Attention and hustle.

We allowed 60.6% from the arc. We actually did a better job being there to contest even if in that dreaded 3RD Q we still had instances of five Spurs in the key, confusion as to who was to switch where, and nobody running out to contest. What stood out well was when we fought over screens the big in the paint stepped up to cover and contest 3s well. Good recognition of the switch and read to close the gap.

When a player makes contested 3s from 33 feet out you tip your hat. When we go over screens, arms at the sides and not touching the 3s shooter but still weirdly get called for a foul, it’s the right play even if the discretionary call doesn’t go our way. When we go under a screen on a 3s shooter, especially when a team is hot from the arc, well that decision is not sound. Perhaps we were prevented from going over, or we read it incorrectly expecting a drive. Either way, practice (ever elusive during the season) and a relentless fight to not get beaten by a screen has to set in. It’s a standard against perfection, but we’re still striving for a higher consistent floor, so there’s plenty of room for better.

We must be ever mindful of end of Q details as well; we gave up late 3s in two Qs. Details like making sure we cover the inbounder who got the ball back quickly for an open dunk is a good reminder of what to do better, too.

In a way, what’s encouraging is that the last two games required the best from top tier players to beat us, and stopping stars is tough for any team. Dame made 7-11 from 3 en route to 37 points. Without him, each team makes 13 3s.

Keldon stood out well with his defensive stance, arms out consistently, waving them around to prevent easy looks and passes. Not sure if he was directed to sag off his O man so much but it looked like he left too much space in which the opponent could operate, like find cutters and pass to them in the key. One step at a time.

On O Keldon led us once again with 20 on 8-15 (both team highs), 3-7 from 3 (also both team highs), 1-2FTs. He had a stronger, more well rounded contribution with 4 boards (1 on O), 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. The more games of fuller two-way play, the better. Add to that some beautiful new finishes at the rim and it’s the kind of all around effort we love to see.

He was part of eight Spurs in double figures, including all five starters. Sochan continues to make a bigger name for himself with another double figure scoring game netting 18 on 5-11, 2-2 from 3, and a team-leading 6-8FTs. He also grabbed 6 boards (tied for team high 4 on O), and tied for second best on the team with 4 assists, and 1 block. Here are his cumulative improvements and where he ranks among his rookie peers so far:

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It’s great that we have him bringing up the ball at times, though we do need to work on our spacing. What’s terrific is his addition of change of speed and direction to shift defenses and open spaces. He made some terrific passes, but once got a bit ahead of himself dribbling into the key and instead of passing sooner to team mates already out on the wings he shoved the ball to a surprised Jakob who was too close to him and bobbled it. This was not our only spacing issue as another time we had too many Spurs running out bunched up on the left side. That Keldon made something out of it saved the chance, but we need to be better aware of who goes where:

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Jakob, our two-way cog, was targeted early and often and so played only 16 minutes because of foul trouble. Still, he finished with 14 points on 6-8, 2-2FTs, team high 7 boards (4 on O), 2 assists, and 1 steal. It was a terrific, if curtailed effort. We have to help Jakob out not leaving him on a foul island and take some of the heat off him on D. Too often he’s tasked with covering multiple opponents from our earlier mistakes.

Our back court each contributed 12 points, Tre on 5-11, 0-2 from 3, 2-2FTs, along with 2 boards, team-high 7 assists to only 1TO, 2 steals, and 1 block, and Romeo on 5-6, 1-1 from 3, 1-1FT, 4 boards (1 on O), 2 assists. I love that both drive more and are more confident and adept at making shots at the rim, and love that they’re willing to take 3s as well (though we need each to improve their efficiency – Tre 28.5%, Romeo 28.3%). What I appreciate increasingly is the simple use of screens for mid range Js when they see the opportunity and create them. They both made all their elbow Js and adding this into the toolkit is something that forces defenses to respect and come up to defend which in turn opens up more space for our bigs or team mates out on the wings. But in and of itself, in an era of the darling 3s efficiency, the smart 2s get overlooked and I’m glad these are still being set up and taken.

They had tough defensive assignments and if there’s anyone who could stop Dame they would. But as with all individual great performers we face, more full court pressure, more doubling, and more shadow D to ensure the ball isn’t easily returned back into their hands all contribute to more pressure that has to be dealt with. Maybe you don’t stop top caliber players, but you can make it a lot more uncomfortable and difficult for them.

Our league leading points producing bench outscored their 51-47. We find edges where we can, and this along with getting to the FT line and being an efficient 20-26 there for +3 in makes and +4 in attempts were our main advantages.

Doug led our bench with 13 on 5-7, 3-3 from 3, 1 board, and 1 assist and fellow vet JRich contributed 11 on 3-7, 2-4 from 3, and 3-3FTs along with 3 boards (1 on O), and 2 assists. Collins played with some verve wanting to show well versus his original team and scored 11 on 4-8, 1-1 from 3, 2-2FTs as well as 3 boards, and 3 assists.

The second unit was led in assists by Stanley with 4, who also grabbed 3 boards (1 on O) and registered a block even though he missed his shots in 17 minutes. Malaki was the final player in double digit minutes (bench high 23) and he impressed the opponent commentators with how comfortable he looked setting up and making his shots; they said that he didn’t look like a rookie shooting them. He made 4-9, 1-4 from 3 for 9 points, had 1 steal, and tied for bench high with 4 assists. The latter stands out well because it’s an expansion of his game with vision that includes others. I love his quick outlet passes, and passes ahead on fast breaks – sound fundamentals already – and as his shot selection and execution have become more comfortable, his looking to get others involved is a pleasant next level step.

Whether it was because the game was largely decided early into the 4TH Q or having to balance the chances of a come back push against this being the first game in four nights, Pop played mostly a ten-man unit with only Keldon reaching 30 minutes played, five Spurs with minutes in the twenties, and four in the teens (Jakob, who averages 26.2MPG, by necessity due to foul trouble), and decided on single digit minutes for each of Dieng, Roby and Diop to give our guys as much of a rest cushion and playing time balance as we could.

We were 11-7 in steals against and 15-9 in TO’s against which cost us 24 points, a -9 in the category. When we did get steals we tended to give up the ball on the next play, a weird tendency of failing to make the most of the chances we just created and take advantage of 4 or 5-point swings. These add up over the course of a game. We also lost the points in the paint 62-54 which is unusual for us but again Jakob was taken out of our schemes for too much of the game.

This was the biggest points differential loss of the series versus this team even as we scored the most points so far against them. Really, putting up 127 on 52.2% (and only two fewer FGAs), 48.1% from 3, and 76.9%FT’s on more takes and makes should position us well for a competitive game and a potential win. But twenty 3s against, having our starting C targeted off the floor, and not being able to stop a professional scorer did us in. We contested better, rotated better, and yet the outcome was worse in terms of a competitive chance late in the game.

While we wait for defensive habits that come from film and experience to grow, we must be ever mindful of the effort habits on D that we can control in the meantime that add up throughout the game: running back on D, arms up in defensive stances, finding the man to box out, covering the inbounder after he puts the ball in play, paying attention to end of Q details, communicating all along the way. As much as O keeps us in games, we have to be vigilant about making the D effort shoulder more of its own, too.

[G R E Y]

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

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[G R E Y]

POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

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