It was as fine a beginning and solid middle as the ending was heart pounding. There’s no rest for the weary, and a bit less than we thought for the starters who had to come back in at the end to ensure we got the win.
With 5:45 left we had a 20 point lead. Seven missed shots, three fouls, and a couple of turnovers later, it was down to 111-100 at 1:10. That sequence towards the end in which they hit a 3, we turned it over and they pushed for a quick 3 then full court pressed our next inbound, stole it, and scored to bring it to within 3 points made me dizzy. I understand giving the young guys and those who don’t play a lot some minutes to run our sets, but having Patty and Bryn out there with Jakob (-19 in 7 minutes), Q (-20 in 9minutes), and Chimezie (-12 in 3 minutes) wasn’t enough apparently.
I like our rookies a lot, just think that because they get few minutes they tend to over do or get a bit of tunnel vision when they get on the court, which results in rushed missed shots, not seeing the pass ahead for the better play, making hard passes to guys who are covered, etc. In other words, rookie mistakes. You can see they’re flourishing in the G-League, but also that there’s a step or three between it and the big league. You can also see the huge benefits of developing in the G-League; Dejounte and Derrick are prime examples. So we put the young guys in for experience when we can. It just went downhill a lot faster than anyone anticipated. That Patty 3 and DeMar’s late FT’s were so clutch for us. Turns out we needed just about every basket we scored in the game. Phew!
Jakob playing less and Pau more is a bit strange and has me thinking it might be to showcase Pau for a possible trade. A local SA writer noted that other teams pretty much know what kind of a player Pau is, true, but after an injury and with his age, I think prospective buyers would want to see how he looks right now. I think once the trade deadline passes Jakob gets more playing time. In any case, Pau still has strengths that Jakob does not so they complement each other well: Pau is a great passer and has better J range even as far as the 3, can still keep the ball alive on rebounds, and knows the plays well, but he gets passed on D too easily with his body twisting to the defender making a move but his feet slower to follow, sags back too much in the key for too-open Js, and he tends to get stripped of the ball more than you’d like for a big with such a height advantage; Jakob was coming along nicely running his role in the sets but seems to have regressed a bit with fewer minutes. He is very good on rebounds and screens, makes decent passes and recognizes when to cut for open layups but when he’s not as involved in the game he makes careless mistakes such as errant passes to where he think a Spur should be even if he’s not or puts it up too softy for missed bunnies. I’d like to see him eventually get more shot opportunities, but understand we have some development and team priorities to juggle. It’s a balancing act with all the new / younger / vet guys. At least we can be thankful that there’s no friction over it and everyone’s a pro.
LMA with his 25 and 14 (6 O boards), 2 assists, 1 steal and Rudy’s efficient 17 plus 8 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal were great for us in this game once again, and we needed them to be because Derrick, DeMar, and Bryn had a tough time scoring despite good looks. Davis was uncharacteristically off, too, but I’m not worried about him. DeMar despite the rest is still missing easy shots he was once making and when it presents itself I’d like to see him be more aggressive driving to the hoop rather than settling for a J. Bryn I think is feeling the length of the season and the increased minutes as bit as he’s had some up and down shooting games of late. I do like that he looks for open lanes and still gets to the basket for really good finishes. He was 5-5 from FT, second only to DeMar’s 7-8 so he’s finding ways to contribute. Derrick had an off shooting night but once again played an important defensive role for us.
Thank goodness for Beli and Patty on the bench, and the solid consistent rotations the guys are used to. It helps balance out the starters minutes, and bench unit players know when they’ll be in, more or less how long, and what’s expected of them (which is why Jakob being relegated to third C is having some consequences, I think). Beli (bench high 17 on 7-10,3-6 from 3, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals) and Patty (12 on 5-9 and 2-3 from 3, including that clutch one late in the game, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) shot really well and provided really good energy and movement that made us a challenge to keep up with while we got open shots. Kudos to Pau for his 6 points on 3-6 to go with 4 rebounds (2 on O) and bench-high 4 assists in 15 minutes. He’s still yelling like he used to when he doesn’t get a call he feels he should, so some of his game is coming back faster jk.
On the defensive end I though we had better overall cohesion and energy, running out to force them off our arc or contesting shots closer than in the effort a couple of games ago. We also rotated much better and helped well, too. Just good recognition and response to their attempts to break down our D. He wasn’t credited with any steals, but DeMar had a couple of really good, engaged moments defensively that stood out when he paid attention to other Spurs guarding and timed his help D to force our strip of the ball and run the other way. Details like this, along with his getting to the line, rebounding, and passing are becoming more noticeable.
We won the battle of the boards 50-42, including 10-5 on O, and had a solid 29 assist to 11 turnover ratio (a cluster of them late in the game) on which we gave up 15 points and gained 11 on theirs. Some things to improve include 56-42 points in the paint against. Less so in this game, but sometimes we tend to give up basket in our key too easily because of confidence we can make it up on the other end, especially if our shot is falling. We can, but allowing floaters, Js and drives that are not contested aggressively enough gives opponents confidence and gets us into foul trouble when it’s us who have the ability and roster to get to the foul line. The 16-4 against in fast break points isn’t great but not unexpected. We are usually on the wrong end of this one as we’re much more of a half court team even though our second unit is more run oriented.
We can score in a variety of ways, but sometimes tend to settle for outside shots too much. One thing I really like about Derrick’s game is his feel for when we need a jolt with a crafty and aggressive drive. He is fearless in his drives and taking contact. It fuels us and lifts our energy. Other guys like Patty and Beli have contributed in this way as well. DeMar of course has been known to get to the FT line in a variety of ways and I hope he gets that part of his game going all the more now that we’re in the final third of the season and locking in.
Overall a better effort despite the run we gave up to a severely undermanned but determined and proud team that beat some god opponents lately. It’s not that we took them lightly because we started strong and brought up our lead with good play on both ends, but in trying to balance playing time for the young guys to get experience and winning important games, it’s important to strike the right balance, one that doesn’t induce breathing into a paper bag by fans towards the end of the game. A good start to February, a solid continuation of our streak, and an important foundation for our upcoming road trip.
Noteworthy achievementsLAMARCUS:
