SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 48: SPURS AT LAKERS, 25-1-2023, 9:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Pop has Keldon, Malaki, Doug, JRich, Collins.

[G R E Y]

We are bleeding rebounds and TOs.

JRich pass in the air. IN THE AIR. A vet. WHY?!

[G R E Y]

COMPLETELY UNCONTESTED DOWN THE MIDDLE.

[G R E Y]

The ball even BOUNCED on a weak back pass to the arc and we still didn't track it to steal lololol

[imagump1313]

Pretty sad we cant score 111 points against that clown show of a basketball team.......

[G R E Y]

Keldon misses a dunk. That kind of night.

[G R E Y]

Did I miss something? Sochan is by far our best player tonight and I haven't seen him at all in the 4th...

*SIIIIIIIGH*

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[imagump1313]

Did I miss something? Sochan is by far our best player tonight and I haven't seen him at all in the 4th...

*SIIIIIIIGH*

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Doesn't look too serious....

Just keep him out until April

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 104 LAKERS 113

Strong start, even one approaching good two-way play – check. Maintaining decent level of play to stay ahead by half – check. Decent level of play sustained in the first 12 minutes of the second half – check. And then, a waning of play for a 10-point final Q deficit. There’s that Q again…

These are the broad strokes. The details show tendencies trending towards the unraveling in that final Q. A lead after three Qs has been rare but boded well when we’ve had it. We had 8TOs in the first half and six in the 3RD Q alone. We were called for 9 fouls in the first half and six in the 3RD Q alone. But after shooting 40.7%FG and 23.5% from 3 in the first half, we shot 48% and 28.5% from 3 in the 3RD; our O once again offset our D.

Momentum is fickle. There are some weird, seemingly can’t-help-ourselves habits that we just can’t shake and when they happen they’re harbingers of upcoming frayed play. Collins and untimely fouls is one such inclination. I don’t think he should have been called for a foul on that end of 3RD Q contest. Even the away broadcasters agreed. But not only was he called for a foul, it was a flagrant 1 shooting one. Was it absolutely necessary for Collins to be that close a ball heaver at the end of a Q? It’s not the contest. No easy shots, especially in end of Q situations, is a right detail to tend to. But it was careless, too. How Collins contests is important. He averages more fouls per game than anyone else on the team, and though the piss and vinegar nastiness is welcome, and though he only had two fouls in this game, that one was a crucial game changer.

In the 4TH Q, we had 9 points with under five minutes left, finished with a game low 22 on 22.2%FG (6-27 overall, one of which was an O board tip-in), 25% from 3 (2-8), and 8-8FTs on only three assists. One TO, four fouls, three blocks against, outrebounded by 10 overall and 1 on O (21-11, 5-4) and our D went the way of our O for a Q in which we both scored the fewest points and allowed the most.

JRich (1-3, on that tip in), Doug (2-4), and Keldon (3-10) were the only Spurs who scored in the 4TH Q. Oof. We went from hitting over 50% last game to scoring 104 points on 106 shots, taking 16 more FGAs than our opponent in the process. Oof.

We actually allowed only 10 points off of our TOs so we were +7 in the category, and won the points in the paint 58-48. But we made two fewer 3s and the FT disparity was particularly glaring and hurtful. We made an efficient 16-18 to their 23-30. They made more than we attempted. We made the most of our chances but we needed to create more of them as we had below our already 27th 21.5FTAs per game and we allowed well above our 8th ranking opponent 22.8FTAs.

In terms of shot selection, we put up too many 3s too early in the clock as if trying to counter runs and cut deficits all at once. Beyond the 3s, we had too many lone wolf attempts as the pressure mounted to cut a growing deficit. Of the 27 attempts in the 4TH, only two were non-paint mid-range (three if you count the one on the FT line) so there were a lot of paint and arc shots with little to show for it.

It’s understandable that we’d take quicker shots to give ourselves a chance to get back into the game. But ball and off ball movement was replaced with one and done shots, not enough movement, erratic finishes or contested attempts into too congested spaces with predictable results. We got blocked 9 times this game, an indication of lack of read and set up versus a player who is 5th in the league in blocks per game.

Tre has made terrific strides this season, more than doubling his FGAs, 3s attempts, FTAs. PPG (from 6 to 13.3), assists, and steals while increasing his rebounds from 1.8 to 2.8 in an increase in minutes played from 16.6 to 29.8 per game, all as a starter compared to mostly a bench role last season. Our back court has endured some unfortunate subtractions, though we still have JRich and two rookies in Malaki and most recently Blake. So Tre’s already big responsibilities grew bigger through circumstances that have to be faced head on. That said, I’m not sure it’s optimal for him to shoot 15FGAs or attempting five 3s in a game. Sure you shoot your shot, and he did, and he’s improved at crafty finishes at the rim when going against taller players. He’s excellent at the rim; his 0-3ft efficiency is 65.6%, though 3-10ft it dips to 37%, 10-16ft he shoots 39.5%, and 16ft to the arc it’s 47.6%, a shot that comprises only 3.7% of his 2s.

But when his shot is not falling (and it wasn’t: 3-15, 0-5 from 3) - he got blocked twice, once at the rim and once at the arc - there are situations in which we need to help him help the team by moving and allowing the extra pass. Teams want Tre to take the outside shots rather than finding our more efficient players or those who can make a bigger impact inside. He did lead us with 6 assists and 4 steals along with grabbing 3 boards (1 on O).

We were solid getting steals and deflections on their drive and dish attempts down low and finished with 20 points off their 19TOs, 11 of which were from our steals. Our defensive play inside broke down in the 4TH Q but we showed some better team effort in following the plays and getting to the ball with rotations and help D up to that point.

Speaking of inside, Jakob was only 0-1 at the half and 1-4 for the whole game. There are few centers who are bigger than Jakob and can body him. He takes an unheralded beating when he holds his own versus his counterparts, but at times he gets driven into by smaller players, and plays a bit soft like he avoids contact or getting injured. Not that he should risk injury, but he protects himself with some less than what looks like full contact. We need him healthy but we need his full two-way effort, too, and at times he plays smaller than his size, sort of more practical and chary. He did make 3-4FTs, and led us with 8 boards (3 on O), had 4 assists, and 1 steal. We need to get him more chances and he needs to be more assertive in setting up his position to be ready to receive passes and make quicker moves.

We lost Sochan to injury in the 3RD Q so we were without his two-way game to help stop the bleeding on either end. He was a terrific screener, mover, O initiator, and was better at turning steals into points. In three Qs he made 6-14, 1-4 from 3, 1-1FT along with 7 boards (3 on O), 3 assists, and a steal.

Keita filled in for an injured Romeo (who has been filling in for an injured Devin) and like he always does made a solid two-way contribution with 11 on 5-10, 1-2FTs, 7 boards (2 on O), 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He’s so versatile and willing to do his job regardless of what it is that it’s almost taken as a given that he does it but full credit to him for being ever ready.

Keldon led us with 25 on 9-20, 3-6 from 3, 4-4FTs with 5 boards (1 on O). Half of his FGAs were in the 4TH Q in which he was 2-8 and 1-2 from 3. On the one hand, he’s our top scoring option, on the other he tends to press so hard that, as I’ve mentioned in other game impressions, that he gets tunnel vision and takes shots at the expense of our team game and better shots for others aren’t looked for or created. His erratic finishes at the rim with inconsistent glass angles and use stood out as did his inconsistent effort and fundamentals on D. He was -3 after three Qs and finished with -10. Bigger usage and O role means we rely on him to not only score but also find open team mates when he attracts defenses. Not registering any assists, nor steals or blocks supported the eye test of other O and D contributions.

It’s unfair to judge him as a suboptimal #1 option when he is our #1 option by default. It’s not easy to get prime defensive attention and then use energy on the D end. And yes he’s maybe a third option on a contender. But we aren’t that right now and we need someone to both be and take the sharp end of the spear. What we do need is for Keldon and the rest of the team to stay on course with what gets us points – movement-based team play – rather than going away from it because we go away from instilling better habits.

Collins was a terrific O threat with quick confident moves in the post after sealing his defender time and again, and with good footwork got into the paint to the rim for good touch finishes. He led the bench with 16 on 6-10, 0-2 from 3, 4-4FTs, along with 7 boards (team high 5 on O), 2 assists, and 2 steals.

Doug (3-10, 1-4, 2-2FTs) and JRich (3-12, 1-6) struggled to score though they got good chances. Doug chipped in 1 board and 1 steal, whereas JRich tied Collins with bench high 7 boards (1 on O), led the bench with 3 assists, too. There have been games when we didn’t set them up with enough chances to score so at least we got the ball in the right hands.

Malaki showed well scoring 11 on 4-9, 1-4 from 3, 2-3FTs. He’s become far more comfortable in using screens, finding open spaces, but like with Keldon we need him to find team mates and contribute in other ways more as the season progresses.

Stanley seems to have come back down to earth with his O (0-2, 0-1 from 3), with 3 boards (1 on O), 2 assists, and bench high 3TOs and -12 in just 14 minutes. He’s set a high bar since we signed him so we have to remember that not every game will be spectacular.

Our bench was outscored 52-43, a rare occurrence given our second unit leads the league in PPG. But it was that kind of scoring night for us, especially in the 4TH Q.

As to D fundamentals – running back in transition is about effort and it’s something we must give more consistently. Our D fast break reads where both Spurs went to the ball handler and nobody picked up the open man in the lane – oof. Those were some basic communication breakdown situations that we need to do a better job of responding to. Combine these with missing cutters through our key and it made for a lot of film to go over.

Though we lost the rebound battle 56-48, we did an awesome job on O boards for 17-11 and some key tip ins and second chance points. We may not have made the most of many of our scoring chances, but we gave ourselves a lot of chances to score.

But when we couldn’t score, it was our D that needed to keep us in games and we’re still waiting for that end to pick up the slack. Some of it is habit of effort, which needs to be relentless regardless of circumstances. Our best players have to lead with D, that includes Keldon, and frankly that hasn’t been the case far too often. When things get hard or breakdown, sticking with the right way of playing all the more must be the mindset.

[G R E Y]

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

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[G R E Y]

POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

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