GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 12: SPURS AT KINGS, 12-11-2018, 9PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

This is the first of a three-game road trip against west teams this week. We are looking to solidify and build on a better individual and team effort as we bond away from the comforts of home.

WHERE: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA

WHEN: Monday, November 12, 2018, 9pm (CT)

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GO SPURS GO!!!

[G R E Y]

Extra incentive for Davis to have a great game:

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[G R E Y]

Good news! Some reinforcements are coming:

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[ducler]

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[imagump1313]

Another team that doesn't execute well but is soo much more athletic than we are that we have no chance unless they implode. This is a disturbing trend.

[G R E Y]

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[Donald Kaufman]

Another team that doesn't execute well but is soo much more athletic than we are that we have no chance unless they implode. This is a disturbing trend.

Yep. Our wins have generally been from behind and us just outsmarting them at the end.

And as I said when we acquired DeMar, this team has no alphas. No proven winners. That matters.

[G R E Y]

Yeah, this was a disappointing loss. Had we played our best, you tip your hat and move on to the next one. But while we have hustled much better the last couple of games, we've also made an uncharacteristically high number of unforced mistakes and defensive lapses that are costing us games.

They had 12 steals and gained 16 points on our 15 turnovers. Granted, we got more points (18) from their turnovers (13) in this game, but these were a lot of missed possessions nevertheless. They all count, but all the more so in a close game.

We need to clean up details of fundamentals like catching the ball with two hands or not moving before the ball arrives or not passing while in the air or making accurate bounce passes so they don't end up lost in feet or finishing with both hands assertively at the rim (missed bunnies are annoying).

I like that LMA pulled off the fig leaf about the team not succeeding on D because guys need time to learn the system and gel together. It is a legitimate reason, but it is also getting to be a rather comfortable one to hide shaky defensive effort. LMA said that guys simply have to be mentally ready to play better.

DeMar led us on O once again (23 on 8-17, 2 rebounds, and team-high 8 assists), and was determined in getting to the line (7-8FTs) which broke up our opponent's rhythm, but some of his lapses of defensive focus and intensity were emblematic of the team's. Early in the game, he got lost in no man's land in a space that guarded nobody when he should have been up on the shooter who made a wide open J. It was late, lackadaisical coverage that really could have benefited from a sense of urgency.

With about five and a half minutes left in the fourth, Derrick took a charge and we took advantage of the possession with a LMA turnaround J to tie it 90-90. At this point, they once again got a quick 2 (a troubling trend all night), then DeMar turned it over and they pushed for a quick 3; he missed a subsequent shot, and they once again followed with a 3. This was a game breaking eight-point sequence in the span of a minute. We closed out each of the first three quarters well. In the fourth, after their eight point surge, we did not score for three minutes. Huge momentum swing with our inconsistent D affecting and putting greater pressure on our O because there was now even less margin for error.

While we did generate some four and five-point swings in our favour, having these quick consecutive ones against at a key time in the fourth hurt us. All of their 3s in the fourth quarter were made by players who were hot from beyond the arc throughout the game so they should have been shadowed; we needed better recognition and coverage at this important stage. A lack of equal commitment to the D standard from everyone led to our opponents shooting 50% FG (many through very quick drives and shots before we could set up well enough on D) and 45.8% from 3 overall, numbers we couldn't match.

I get gump's point about us being less athletic and how this quality can cover mistakes, but we've always been less athletic, and we have shown we can make up for it with imposing our game. We dug ourselves into this outcome, however, so our game does have to be cleaner and more competitive. Donald also has a point about an alpha on the team, although our opponent has no one who has won either yet they were assertive. Pride in and commitment to defensive details and consistent effort are difference makers and can balance out deficiencies. It's a team game, but each guy has to decide to raise his level and not let his teammates down. Heart and relentlessness and leadership by example, even if by committee, go a long way.

We did do some things well. I liked that we were decisive in moving the ball to find the open man. It was back to the more egalitarian, movement-oriented style of play that makes us a team-wide scoring threat. We were also mindful of driving assertively, not that it resulted in drawing fouls; we had one FT in the first half, and that was for a three second D violation. We did look for and find good-to-great shots, though at times we over-passed a better shot for a kickout to a three when the higher percentage drive opportunity was there. But overall, there was a better flow to the O.

Rudy looked terrific in his return. He had good court awareness while glued to his man on D, used quick hands to deflect passes, and great timing to block a shot and grab nine rebounds (2 on O). He led the bench in scoring with 14 on 6-12 (2-5 from 3) on a variety of shots, including a four-point swing towards the end of the first quarter from D to O transition. He's an important, assertive spark on both ends for us. Davis also had a solid game, but it was unfortunately stunted by an early hit to the face that kept him out for a long stretch. In only eight minutes, he was the second highest bench scorer with 9 points on 3-4 from 3. It's a shame that on a night when he had a hot hand his effort was cut short. We needed it, too, because Patty and Beli had off O nights. Beli, whose defense was a step or two behind, is also in a cold shooting streak that we need him to snap out of. Our bench was outscored 45-32.

Good to see our starters developing chemistry. Stressing movement meant the ball didn't get stuck and this gave everyone scoring opportunities: Derrick with 11 (4-10, 1-3 from 3, 2-2FTs) 5 assists, and 1 steal; Bryn with 10 (4-11, 2-7 from 3) 4 assists, and 1 steal and is looking confident and smooth as SG; Dante with 9 (4-7, 1-1 from 3), 7 rebounds and a steal. LMA had more rebounds (18, 3 on O) than shots (12) which speaks to his great effort on one end not being rewarded on the other. We need to feed the man more passes. He scored 14 points on efficient 50%FG and 2-2FTs and was a strong inside presence with 3 blocks. We miss Pau's experience and vision. We are not employing the high-low pass with LMA nearly as often. Perhaps with Derrick and Rudy back we can generate some quick baskets this way.

We can't always make up weak D stretches on the O end, and even if we do, that's not the right mindset. Defensive standards should be there regardless, but committed effort on D does pressure opponents and makes it easier on our offense so we're not exchanging baskets for much of the game. We seem to be trading doing some things well at the expense of others from one game to the next. Hopefully minding the details on both ends mitigates errors and we get to a place of better balancing more facets of the game.

[G R E Y]

Post-game interviews.

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