This was a solid win for us against a West opponent.
We used wonderful off-ball movement that led to great passes and kept their heads swivelled, especially in the first half. We created good to great shots as a result, and got a variety of opportunities. At times when we got a big lead, like in the 3rd and up 64-48, we went away from what got us the lead on O by settling for some quick one and done shots.
But towards the end of the game, after our 21 point lead dwindled to 8 in their run, we stemmed it by digging deep and creating and making good shots like 3s by Dante and Beli, and getting to the FT line while running the clock a bit more to increase and maintain our lead.
Though some players like Rudy and Pau didn’t have it going, what’s great about our team this year is the variety of shots we can produce, and do it through a variety of players who step up when others struggle. We have a multi-pronged attack even as we are still learning the O system and how to play together within it. Rudy went 1-7 in the first Q alone, and finished 5-13 with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 19 minutes (he didn’t play after getting subbed out at around the 8 minute mark in the third). Pau played only 13 minutes, shooting 1-3 with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block. Some complaining from Pau to the refs about a missed call got a quick calling out from Pop. For the most part, we’re really good at not doing this, but a couple of guys have more of a tendency to engage in it in the midst of a play. Probably a combination of both kept his minutes low.
LMA our stalwart was a bull on both ends, playing equal minutes to AD (40), doing yeoman’s work on D to keep him out of rhythm, and contributing 22 points (11-21) as well as 12 rebounds team high 4O) and 6 assists. He kept bodying opponents to get into the key, running ahead to get great post position, and following guards to the basket for key O rebound putbacks at the end of the second and fourth quarters.
DeMar had a strong O showing, looking more comfortable with each game. Team-high 26 points (11-24, 0-3 from 3, 4-4FTs) through assertive drives and floaters that helped us by getting AD to foul him. plus 3 rebounds and 4 assists on one end and better D effort on the other stood out even more. On one memorable sequence DeMar had a wonderful closeout. He used great positioning by facing the opponent (not positioned shoulder to shoulder as in other games) by quick feet, a wide stance with hands up, contesting the shot enough to force a miss.
Bryn had an off shooting night (7 on 3-8, 1-1FT, 0-4 from 3), but did well to distribute and facilitate against a strong opposing PG. He was busy reading whether to go over or under screens, bodied well when defending, and also added 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 4 steals.
Dante stepped up on both ends as well, scoring a season-high 15 points on excellent 5-8 and 3-5 from 3 and 2-2FTs. He often contributes in ways that do not show up on the stat sheet, but they did in this game: 7 rebounds (3O), 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. He and LMA are our D anchors and have really settled us into improving on that end.
Patty and Marco also had excellent games to help offset Pau and Rudy. Patty had season highs in points (15 on 4-7, incredible 4-5 from 3, 3-5FTs), rebounds (8), and assists (team-high 7), plus a block – a very good, energetic contribution on both ends. He was for the most part aggressive on closeouts, and stepped in for good help D. Marco was flying around the court getting to open spots and thankfully he found his shot in this game to make them pay for not keeping up with him. He pitched in an important 14 points (6-10, 1-3 from 3, 1-2FTs) and 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. They helped our bench outscore theirs 33-13.
(This is a minor personal gripe, but we need to curb the missed bunnies. We used the glass and reverse layups to protect the ball really well, but Pau missed a couple of easy ones, and Jakob got blocked after running a play really well with Dante. Better to take it strong with both hands).
One the other end, we established our game early, and did a good job in keeping them from implementing theirs. They missed a lot of shots, but we pressured well so that they couldn’t give it to AD. Best way to stop him is to prevent him from getting the ball. By end of game, he shot 5-13. We kept them out of rhythm, and took advantage of their 16 TOs for 18 points. We got 29 assists to only 9 TOs and 8 steals. We currently lead league in fewest TOs.
They went on a strong run in the fourth mostly through transitions and their guards getting into our key for Js. We did well to keep our nerves, prevent their flow, and reassert our plays on O. I like that all our players post-game had a consistent message of not being content with themselves, of having a lot to learn and improve upon, starting with a defensive focus which fuels our O. We are progressing and staying vigilant about where we need to improve which is a nice balance as we grow together.
p.s. Nice to see Ettore back on the bench
Noteworthy AchievementsSpurs:
LaMarcus:
DeMar:
Marco: