SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 23: SPURS VS. KNICKS, 7-12-2021, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

CHRIST LONNIE AND HIS VARIETY OF MISSES... USE. THE. GLASS.

[imagump1313]

I've seen at least 4 times Primo could have layups on the fastbreak if he would hustle down the floor instead of trot like a 12 year old in a rec league game. WTF? He just jogs to the corner behind the play and stands there. Instead of going up for rebounds he lets his teammates take them out of his hands then he follows them up the floor like a lost puppy.

I understand he's almost 19.
I understand we don't run any plays for him.
But WTF MAN. At least act like you belong here or go back to Austin and grow up. Jesus...

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 81

KNICKS 95

They've made 15-30 3s and it's only the 3RD Q. They're better contested now, but I hope we keep playing through it. Our middle two Qs are doing us in again, wherein we scored fewer points than in the 1ST Q and allowed two 30_ point Qs. Not a recipe for success.

We looked gassed from the tip, frankly, and we're picking our spots of pushing it. Even when we do, we make unforced errors to TO it.

I mean this respectfully, but I wonder if there's something neurological going on with Lonnie. I mean how does a guy shoot worse up close than from far away? How does he continue to NOT use fundamentals CONSISTENTLY? How does he keep missing with such a variety of ways in the key? How does he keep not getting the right angles with the ball off the glass in those times he does use it?

Tre is just aiming it somewhere around the rim as well.

Just not purposeful aim by some of our guys and it's the consistency of just... throwing it up there that is maddening. Lonnie to get back to piling on him and his 1-7, 1-5 from 3, often goes up with one hand and that's flaoters, drives and Js from distance. What the hell kind of technique is that? One handed pushing it in. You'd think he'd try something else when it's not working. Jekyll/Hyde inconsistency from him is the one consistent feature of his career.

Then again nobody is making much of anything so... yeah missed bunny after missed bunny... after missed open or contested shot...

[G R E Y]

Sure as I write we miss everything and then Derrick makes a tough 2 and 1.

And sure enough we trim the lead down to 10 and we TO it from an out of bounds play and then give up a hustle and O board for their 2 and foul...

Jekyll/Hyde

[G R E Y]

Well what do we think exchanging baskets down 10 will do?

[G R E Y]

PHEW!

Read on Twitter

It'll smart him for a few days but this is good news!

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 109

KNICKS 121

Well it looked muddy from the start, and the trends that started then continued throughout the game to our detriment: 3s and rebounds.

They started slow from 3 and it was still a tie game after the 1ST Q, largely because their rebounding was always better than ours. And then they were shooting 50% from 3 (15-30!) and then by the time they 'slowed down' making their last 3-8, the game was at hand.

Part of it was timing - whenever we cut their double digit lead, we couldn't push through because we TOd it be it forced or unforced, or we missed bunnies, or they scored a couple of 3s, be it in transition from our TOs (from which we gave up 14 points while getting only 4 points off of theirs) or from their O boards from second chance points.

This was the other huge back breaker tonight: 52-42 in rebounds, 17-12 on O. Post-game, Pop said we gave up 21 points in their 17 O boards. Oof.

I liked our shots and minutes distribution in yesterday's and tonight's game. Doug has been one of our steadiest players and each game he contributes with 3s and drives. He was dependable with 13 points on 5-11, 3-7 from 3, and 3 assists. It's curious and welcome that he's able to get both shots off versus a variety of opponents and defenses. His quick shot, quick off-ball movement, and quick drives for reliable off glass makes (he was clever in finishing with his off hand with the right angle off the glass low at the rim, or high arching loop shots off the glass over taller defenders - great touch on both).

Derrick showed what a bounce back game looks like, what being more dependable consists of - making the right plays for others when the shot isn't falling, contributing on both ends, trying other shots. After struggling last night, he led us in scoring with 26 on 9-18, 3-6 from 3, 5-5FTs. He also had 6 boards and 7 assists. Solid all around performance being willing to get physical on drives get into the key for what would surely be painful attempts.

Speaking of which, Randle flat out shoved a high arm to Derrick and Tre and Keldon got smacked in the face on a drive early in the second half. Not that the match was decided by these, and an opponent will do what they can get away with, especially since they were on a losing streak and wanted to set the tone. But you still expect (hope?) that a game will be called well. If refs do their job well they're not noticed and these stood out.

Anyway, speaking of consistent inconsistency, Lonnie - Jesus what a hot mess. He should watch film of Doug. Or DJ. Or Derrick. Or Keldon. Sorry, so likeable, but he's still last on the team at makes at the rim, still has a higher efficiency rate the farther he is from the basket, still makes fancy flair moves on the way to the basket (this just after keeping things simple and using the glass for makes), still makes unforced errors like stepping out of bounds or bad passes. Is it mental? Or some sort of physical malady where his muscle twitches and prevents him from a consistent movement? in 16 minutes he was 1-7, 1-5 from 3, 2 boards (1 on O) and 1 assists. So his 3 points were bettered by Drew's 2-4 for 4 points in 15 minutes (plus 7 boards, 3 on O, 1 steal, 1 block); bettered by Diop's 3-6, 0-1 from 3, 3-3FTs for 9 points (4 boards, 1 on O, and one each of a steal and assist); bettered by Tre's 1-2, 2-2FTs for 4 points (plus one board and one assist) in 12 minutes; bettered by Jock's 2-2, 1-1 from 3 for five points in TWO MINUTES. Actually, Jock looked terrific, and it wasn't just against their end of bench players. They had their main group in late in the game. I hope he gets more minutes and soon. He belongs here and you can tell he is just so ready and hungry to prove himself.

To put into a broader, sadder context, Lonnie's had one double digit scoring game in the last five, and the points total in those four still add up to fewer than the 21-point game he had where everything clicked. It's one thing to have on-off games, but he has one efficient game in far too many inefficient ones. He's averaging career lows in efficiency in overall FG at 37.6%, career low in efficiency from 3 at 28.9%, but second highest 2s efficiency of his career at 47.1%. He has improved on his rebounds for a career high 2.9 per game (on fewer minutes than last season), and a career high 2.7 assists per game (ditto). He's supposed to be out scoring spark from the bench but Devin in only his second year is outscoring Lonnie, is more efficient, and is the better defender. Not to beat a dead horse, but if ONLY Lonnie could like get his mental and physical aligned...

Anyway, back to the game, it's games like this (and the absence of Devin) that made Bryn get 20 minutes. He was brutal at times defensively (I mentioned that sideways running INTO the screener rather easily going over it for one of their 18 3s) but on O he served his purpose. He led the bench with 12 points on 4-9, 2-6 from 3, 2-2FTs, with 1 O board, 1 assist, and 1 steal.

Primo got a taste of what it's like to go up against pros night in, night out and he looked rather pedestrian tonight. He was scoreless in 15 minutes of play but only got 0-1FGAs. Good experience for him getting driven by experienced PGs and having to recover. Drew got all the minutes he and Thad split last game and there was some consternation on social media about Thad being iced out. But like I pointed out after last game, Drew's and Thad's roles and minutes have switched the last few games, and overall Thad has had to play a lot more, and after getting banged up and being ineffective the last couple of games, he got the game off. Perhaps we're protecting an asset we want to trade in about a week or so...

DJ struggled with shots he usually makes and scored 15 points on 6-15, 2-5 from 3, 1-1FT, grabbed 7 boards and dished 7 assists along with 1 steal. Joining our back court, Jakob was the third player with at least 30 minutes played but was only 5-11 - LOTS of missed bunnies, only 1-3 FTs, got a team-high 8 boards (4 on O), so he and Drew combined for 15 of our rebounds, whereas our back court combined for 13 of them. These four players combined for 28 of our 43 rebounds, though Keldon and Diop (5 each did a great job on the boards as well).

Good to se Diop back. his length was effective down low and he had a good touch at the rim, something rare for us tonight. He was second to Bryn bench scoring. Our highest scoring bench in the league was outscored once again, this time 43-37, in part because of Lonnie's ineffectiveness and in part because Devin was out. We'll need both to be on their best to get back to contributing well and helping the starters well.

We still got 30 assists - above our average when we are already second in the league, took 31 3s, making 12 - both above our average, made 15-20FTs - both above our average, and won the points in the paint battle 54-32. In other words, the stats in many ways went against the eye test, but we actually did a lot of good things in the game. But even though we kept competing and climbed back from deficits several times, we just didn't have the requisite juice to get us over the deficit hump. If we looked less crisp and sharp it's because we've seen how much better we've played by comparison, and yet we still fought hard through the fatigue and the hot shooting. We kept trying throughout the game, and given the SEGABABA after a travel, it was a good showing in that respect.

I do hope we get back to fundamentals of boxing out, of making the extra pass for more open shots, of using the glass whenever it's advantageous to do so, of dunking as a first option, and of making sure we protect the ball and move it. Some more rest - and recovery for Devin and Keldon - and I hope we're putting more of out best together to get us back on the winning track.

[Phreak50]

Lonnie is a worry.

He is just so inconsistent. I'm his biggest fan but he just can't seem to keep it together.

I still give all of our guards the benefit of the doubt because we seriously have the worst offensive front court in the league.

I'd love to see how they go with a decent PF or C threat.

[imagump1313]

Lonnie is a worry.

He is just so inconsistent. I'm his biggest fan but he just can't seem to keep it together.

I still give all of our guards the benefit of the doubt because we seriously have the worst offensive front court in the league.

I'd love to see how they go with a decent PF or C threat.

Walker will be a Laker next year because of Klutch. I wouldn't try to resign him anyway.

Lets face it, Murray is a 2, not a PG. He's a better scorer than anyone on this team currently and can't pass or make anyone else better so lets embrace it.

I don't like White as the PG because of his weak handles and Jones doesn't have the size to prosper in the NBA.

I was hoping we might be grooming Primo into some type of point/forward but watching him lately I don't know if I want to wait 4 years for him to grow some balls.

The NBA is more positionless than ever so next draft or FA period we need to find someone who can distribute first but also capable of scoring when needed regardless of size.