GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 38: CELTICS @ SPURS, 31 Dec 2018, 6PM (CT)

[-Sammy-]

Kyrie Irving always seems to play well against us, and with him rounding into all-star form recently and us missing our primary defensive option to stop him, the good guys need solid committee defense in the backcourt, and we need to be prepared for Boston's stifling defense. A win tonight is a good confidence move in preparation for Kawhi's Thursday sort-of-homecoming.

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[G R E Y]

For our final game of 2018, we need to make sure we do not look ahead to the prospect of New Year's festivities and focus well on the task at hand. Playing our way consistently for the whole game and taking full advantage of collective strengths will hopefully result in our having something extra to celebrate.

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

WHEN: Monday, December 31, 2018, 6pm (CT)

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GO SPURS GO!!!

[imagump1313]

Celtics are thin up front without Baynes and should have trouble with Aldridge. Key will be us not letting anyone go crazy for Boston (Irving, Tatum)and the Celtics being able to contain Aldridge.
If Lamarcus gets 25+ I think we win. (barring anything crazy like DeRozan getting hurt or fouling out early or some injury to us)

[G R E Y]

^^Doubling the good vibes. We'll need all we have tonight:

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[imagump1313]

Not looking good early. Aldridge is literally the worst finisher around the rim for a big guy I've ever seen next to Pau.
We are playing decent defense though.

[G R E Y]

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EDIT to add:
https://www.nba.com/spurs/gallery/photos-spurs-vs-celtics

[G R E Y]

What a wonderful comeback! I’m so proud of our turnaround, not just tonight, but in all the ways we've improved to end 2018 and be able to use them as a springboard for 2019.

So many overall improvements, starting with our team cohesion. It used to be when Rudy was out and we had to shuffle the rotation, we were noticeably out of sync and tentative. It used to be when our shots were not falling, we would get into a hole and burn a lot of energy trying to chip away by shooting ourselves into games. It used to be that we would try to win games by outshooting opponents and allowing our O to affect our D.

With us having more time together, learning our system and building trust and responsibility, different line-ups now gel well together. Our second unit provides more of the push-the-pace, run-and-move style, but with Derrick settling into the starting line-up, the starters have also have been making more of our transition game. We’re internalizing that our foundation is defense, and using it to stifle opponents and push on O for increasingly better results.

We had a season low 17-point first Q, but stayed in the game because of our D. While we did keep pushing at our opponents rather than waiting to see what we had to react to as we did in games earlier in the season, we still did not move the ball as well or as purposefully as we have been to fully exploit our strengths. No one outside of Derrick was hitting shots efficiently in the first half, but we chipped away at a double digit lead to bring it to within 6 points at the half.

LMA once again shouldered the O, and after a slow start (0-7) he finished to lead us once again with 32 on 13-23 (6-7FTs). They had no one to stop him, and he was resolute inside and getting to his best spots (his shot chart shows makes left of the key or inside it which he either set up in or drove and muscled his way into) which gave him the rhythm to hit his outside shots. But his defensive presence has taken a noticeable step forward. We need him inside on D as much as we do on O. Two blocks, yes, but they do not paint the whole picture of how many shots he disrupts with his movement, positioning, and physicality. He also had 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal.

Davis (2-8, 1-4 from 3 with 2 O rebounds in the first half) led bench with 17 on 6-12 -- 5 of 8 from 3 along with 5 rebounds and 1 steal. Just clutch timely shooting from a guy who is also providing a solid energetic presence on D with quick feet and active hands, and doing a great job going after rebounds aggressively. Even though Rudy was out and Jakob wasn't spacing well in the starting unit (his rebounding presence is always welcome, though; he is so skilled at tapping the ball to keep the possession most of the time), subbing in Davis gave us that inside-out presence and he was lights out from the 3. Jakob's growth as back-up C has been obvious, but Davis has played more minutes per game in December than in November, and he has rewarded us with great shooting and solid D in increased regular minutes.

We hung with our opponents in the first half despite Jak, Pau, and Patty not scoring, but really imposed our game in the second. You could see Pop seething on the sidelines in the first half when we looked less interested running back on D after repeated missed shots. DeMar attributed the turnaround to the team getting cussed out by Pop at half time, and whatever combination of sailor words was used did the trick because he lit a fuse under our guys.

Our 46-point 3rd Q matched our entire first half output, and the best part was that it was our stingy energetic defense which spurred our efforts on the offensive end; it shows more confidence in our system and game plan, and in our ability to execute them. We used to be far less a driving team earlier in the season, but we have clearly made a concerted effort to find ways to get to the basket regardless of who is guarding the paint. LMA’s no longer unique in this respect. Rudy has looked to drive most consistently, and this has spread to just about every guard and forward now. We are exploiting mismatches and getting down the court faster. LMA has been terrific in running out to seal his opponents and our players have done a good job in recognizing this quickly and getting the ball to him in a timely manner.

DeMar did this throughout the game, and his synergy with LMA is growing. Though DeMar did not have an efficient O game, his early man-D on Tatum held him in check, and DD was terrific in facilitating for his teammates: 13 points on 6-18, but he added 7 rebounds, a team-high 10 assists, and 1 steal. He also was mindful about when to help on D and used good timing to strip ball handlers when he doubled or get into passing lanes for deflections and steals.

Bryn (15 on 6-14, 3-7 from 3, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal) kept plugging away, smartly using his shot as a decoy to drive in more physically with his increasingly reliable floaters and use his movement to get open for 3s. He’s been our most consistent surprise this season, embracing our system and instruction in how he can best excel in it. Bryn’s defense – hands up, wide balanced stance facing opponents, forcing drivers to the outside – is also improving.

The most noticeable improvement has come from Derrick who in the last handful of games has shown more of the full arsenal he uses to score (a more consistent 3, seeing defensive holes to exploit for drives, drives and kicks, and not picking up his dribble too soon as he did when he first started) and more importantly, he has become our best guard defender, applying full court pressure, disrupting drives with staunch man-D or great timing with that poke-from-behind move he’s getting better at (he’s not the only one, but he seems to use it more and get called for fouls less). He’s a good rebounder and a sneaky blocker for us as well. To fill in for the absence of other scorers and defenders, he poured in a career high 22 points on 8-9, 2-2 from 3, 4-5FTs, plus 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks; a very solid all around contribution. Even though LMA was the only Spur in double figures at the half (15), Derrick’s near perfect first half (9 on 3-3, 1-1 from 3, 2-3FTs, 1 rebound) was a good harbinger of what was to come. Sure enough, he was the fearless catalyst on both ends that sparked our tremendous third Q run, and we ended up with four starters and six Spurs overall in double figures.

His bench counterpart, Patty, pitched in 11 on 4-7, 3-6 from 3 in the second half after going 0-3 (all 3s) in the first. He’s our emotional glue and the spirit of the team, so his presence is always felt, but when he is also contributing with timely daggers it raises our collective vitality and binds us together all the more.

Beli scored in the first half by getting 5-5FTs and finished with 8 on 1-4 (a 3) plus 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal. Though he’s one of our sharp shooters, when he doesn’t have it going on O, he contributes with sneaky D (ball strips, steals, pokes from behind) and stellar movement that is hard to keep up with and draws fouls. He and Patty have a really nice synergy together and they find one another as if knowing where they’ll be just a moment before each makes a move to get there. It’s an aspect of the beautiful game that we’re developing team wide, but it’s also nice to have that familiarity to build from.

Our 4/5 rotation was of necessity by committee in this game, and though Jakob has made big strides establishing himself as the main back-up big, his role as starter is a work in progress as he still needs to better recognize when to pop out to give LMA room to work down low. But what’s great is that if he doesn’t happen to be in a good rhythm with LMA, we can bring Davis in and LMA switches to the 5. Jakob did have 6 rebounds and 5 assists which stands out as another facet of his expanding game. With Pau back, we’ll eventually find ways to blend him in more to the rotation and needs of a given game, though he played only 5 first half minutes and grabbed 5 rebounds (Dante played 3 minutes in the second half, and had 2 rebounds).

Having missed 21 of our first 27 shots, we were 33.3FG% and 30.8% in 3s in the first half, but then used our defensive intensity and transition game to drive at our opponent for a 24-4 start the third, fueling us to finish the game with 49.5FG% and 53.8% from 3 with a solid 88.9FT% (16-18 overall). It was an amazing turnaround whose trends show our improving strengths. We look to start strong and be assertive early, and though our shots were not falling, we did get to the FT line 10-12 in the first half, and we were generating good chances.

Our third Qs have been really impressive especially of late, and you can see the lessons of having taken early leads for granted; we come out strong in both halves, and this allows us to withstand runs (although their three 3s in a row late in the fourth were a defensive slip). We did well to stem their surge and responded with clutch 3s of our own. We held them to one 30-point Q, had a very good 29 assist to 11 TO ratio (TO’s cost us 12 points, and we earned 9 points off of their 12), with only 1 turnover in that third Q.

I love our resilience, how we’re growing together, and trusting our system and each other in it. It is a bridge between where we are and what’s to come as we internalize the right way of playing.

Noteworthy achievements

Spurs:

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DeMar:

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Derrick:
New career-high 22 points

[G R E Y]

POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

Pop:
https://www.nba.com/spurs/video/teams/spurs/2019/01/01/2397982/1546311596425-gregg-popovich-2397982

DeMar:
https://www.nba.com/spurs/video/teams/spurs/2019/01/01/2397991/1546311838207-demar-derozan-2397991

LaMarcus:

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POST-GAME QUOTES

Derrick:

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And an insightful article about Derrick and how his growth relates to his motto:

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