G A M E D A Y: Wizards (40-30) @ Spurs (41-30), 8:30PM Central

Post #1 » by **G R E Y** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 1:26 am

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
WHEN: Wednesday, March 21, 2018, 8:30pm Central

Our third four-game - and so far longest - winning streak of the season is on the line. More importantly, so is our playoff position. We need to play our hearts out against an opponent in a similarly precarious playoff situation. One win puts valuable separation between us and other West teams with the same record. Yesterday, we got some help from unlikely teams. Tonight we have to help ourselves. We need to play 48 minutes of intense focused D and precise execution on O.

I haven't seen any info about line-ups so I'm assuming it is the same 24th starting group of the season as in the previous four games, so Murray, Patty, Danny, Kyle, and LMA.

As for who is still not on the roster, "...and then there was one."

Bigger than basketball: It is Military Appreciation Night, so I hope we put on a great show. Always wonderful to give the service men and women the gratitude and thanks they deserve:

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GO SPURS GO!

Post #2 » by **-Sammy-** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 4:33 am

First, big ups to GREY for delivering an excellent pregame writeup and gameday thread in the clutch. My internet/computer access has been intermittent for the past several days, but as usual, the RealGM Spurs team delivers.

Second, a VERY nice win for the good guys, who are suddenly riding a five-game streak-- second-longest active W-streak in the league right now.

FUN FACT: with this win, the Spurs have secured a winning record for the season, extending our league record of consecutive winning seasons to 21. Utah previously held the record with 19 ('85-'04) and the Lakers are next with 16 straight ('76-'92), but ours is the only franchise with 20+.

imagump1313 · Post #3 » by **imagump1313** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 11:55 am

Good win! These are the type of games we have been winning for the last 21 years but weren't winning in the last month and a half so it was good to see.
I don't have much to add other than thanks for shooting the ball tonight Kyle!!

Post #4 » by **G R E Y** » Sun Mar 25, 2018 11:08 pm

Patty's defense has been noticeably better during this stretch: good positioning, fast feet, hands up, going over screens and staying with his man, forcing opponents to outside drives, just a higher level all around. It's an area of his game that gets maligned, so he deserves the recognition for good play, too.

We had some fast break opportunities and instead of driving for more open, higher percentage chances, we passed out for 3s that we missed. The 3 has it's place, but we must resist the lure of the trend to bomb away and keep it simple.

LMA was a beast for us, and at some point they tried fronting and doubling him, but he did a great job finding open teammates (and they did a good job being getting into optimal positions) for drives and 3s. It kept them from just collapsing on LMA and keep their D honest which allowed us to keep LMA as our O cog.

In the first half, we looked tentative. We picked up dribbles, looked for passes we expected to be there but weren't, and we weren't moving as well as we have been without the ball. In the second, we made a concerted effort to move the ball right to left either through baseline dribbles and kickouts or cross court passes which forced their D to move and opened the court up for better shot opportunities.

We had 16 turnovers, but six of the were in the fourth when the lesser used players got more extended minutes. It wasn't exactly poetry in motion, and LMA had to get back in to bring up our lead, and when he did, the greener Spurs stayed in, feet to the fire, to finish the game. Quality win. Our reward? Tougher opponents, but we face them with some great play solidified going forward. I love our team.

GO SPURS GO!