Post#20 » by G R E Y » Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:55 pm
What is it with us and tough games against this team? Every one is a grind regardless of old or new personnel. Energized with the latter, they took it to us for a thirteen-point lead in the first Q. Even with Rudy back (thank goodness, but it was another line-up change to adjust to) we looked out of sync, and though they had several new players, their effort and energy was sustaining them. We scored only 20 points, committed 4 turnovers, and gave up 33 points to a team that is last in PPG at 100.6. With little flow or ball movement to our O, we shot only 5-18 for 27.8%. Compounded with poor D (we allowed 13-20 for 65%), we looked unsure early on, like we were playing not to lose. It was not the start we wanted, but also not one we allowed to define the outcome.
The pattern of getting down early has cropped up now and again, and here we were chipping away at another double-digit lead. But we showed resilience and stuck with what was working and fixed what wasn’t. In the previous couple of games, we settled for outside shots early, but in this one we made sure to attack the basket for 8-10 from the FT line in the first Q. That, coupled with 2-4 from the 3, kept us in it. After exchanging baskets early in the second, we finally pushed the ball, hit consecutive 3s and cut the lead to 38-31, forcing their timeout. Our second Q scoring efficiency improved as did our defensive effort. Davis’s block of their 3 attempt (he’s got sneaky hops) followed by a 3 of our own was an important 6-point swing for a 47-46 lead. We came back in part from better arc closeouts and collapsing in the key to contest drives.
We led 57-51 with just over 2 minutes left at the half when a familiar culprit – poor end of Q execution and ball protection – reared its head. Despite their misses, we did not take advantage: Jakob missed a bunny, Patty was blocked at the top of the key, DeMar missed a floater and complained for a foul, and though we got an O rebound, Patty missed another bunny (looked rushed). We ended the half by missing our last 6 shots while they scored 7 points to end it for a 58-57 lead. Still, given our early lacklustre shooting and body language that showed our frustration, we had to be relieved at the effort to get to 19-44 for 44.2FG% and lower theirs to 23-41 for 57.5FG% - still too high, especially to a low scoring team (at least before the new personnel arrived), but both trending in favourable directions.
We only got to the FT line three times (3-3) in the second Q, but hit the 3 at an amazing 6-7. When we’re on, we’re blazing hot, but we also did not turn the ball over at all while getting 5 steals by the half. More often than not, we go as our two main players do, but a good indicator of our better balanced offensive distribution is that despite LMA scoring just 2-6 (1-2FTs) for 5 points, and DeMar’s laboured 2-10 (1-2FTs) for 5 points we got back in the game with better team play on both ends. The game was a mixed bag for DeMar who had only one turnover and a good steal for a physical layup plus 1 (finally got a call). I appreciate his increased attention and effort on D when he looked for timely chances to provide help D, double and recover, and intercept passes. He also looked for his shot and drove more, but he missed a lot and didn’t get the calls he sought and sometimes should have gotten. DeMar has looked a bit off physically. Just not enough lift in his legs resulting in less aggressive drives, and you could tell he is frustrated by not being able to do all he can. Despite that, we managed to catch them through excellent efficiency by Rudy (3-5, 1-1 from3, 4-4FTs), Davis (4-5, 3-3 from 3), Patty (4-8, 3-4 from 3, 2-2FTs), and Beli (3-4, 1-2 from 3). Bryn had a rough O half (1-4, 0-1 from 3, 3-3FTs) as did Jakob (0-2, 2 rebounds in only 6 minutes) and Dante (no points in 4 minutes), but we got enough of what we needed from our supporting core to swing the second Q 37-25 in our favour.
As the game progressed we started the third Q more locked in on both ends. DeMar switched well to contest and force a miss, and we pressured them into twice missing heaves at the end of the shot clock. We pushed the ball more assertively, too. Rudy drove and kicked out to Davis for a 3; LMA hustled down the court, got good positioning to seal his man for a quick basket which he followed with a shot contest. More deflections, rebounding, beating them down the court, and good ball movement grew our lead to 67-59.
But just as we came back from deficits, we gave up leads in a topsy-turvy tilt against a squad full of proud players looking to prove themselves after a recent trade. Games like this can be dangerous especially given our road woes and that they have been compounded with injury challenges. Patty was trying to keep us focused, at one point clapping his hands to get attention for reinforcements that came too late resulting in a 5 second inbound violation. Our opponent converted on our mistakes, misses, and their blocks, and a 10-0 run later had them right on our heels at 74-72. We got back to work at the FT line (10-12) and hitting 3s (5-5!) to only 1 turnover for another stellar 37-28 quarter and a semi-comfortable 94-86 lead, but of course it turned out we needed every single point.
Cue the fourth Q. They outhustled us to a 12-5 start and we panicked a bit. For the rest of the quarter I was alternating holding my breath and heaving heavily. Just about every shooting category for us dropped: 6-22FGs, 0-5 from 3, 2-4FTs resulted in our being on the wrong end of 21-14 in the final Q, but we got just enough to pull through. Crucial were our 4 O boards (to their 1) on which we converted twice (Jakob’s board that led to a J by DeMar and an LMA board that he put back on a tip in). Also, the two blocks – one by Rudy, the other by LMA - were key defensive stops that kept us afloat when our shots weren’t falling.
LMA once again put the team on his back when it mattered most (Jakob didn’t score, not great as it puts more pressure on LMA, but JP did grab 5 boards, 3 in the final Q; hopefully we’ll get a better, more consistent, balanced contribution from him as we progress). LMA’s 7 points in the final Q on 3-3FGs plus 1-2FTs put us ahead for the final time, and his defense kept us there. We were up 108-106 when on their final possession LMA aggressively closed out the arc which forced the shooter to drive instead. LMA then made sure they could not score when he fouled. A lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘what could have beens’ happened late in the game, like their unintended first FT miss followed by an unintended FT make that gave us the possession in the last second. Given our sketchy inbounding and turnovers in some recent games, Pop called a timeout to make sure we understood who had to go where and we properly executed the one final play we really needed to. Inbound the ball; hold the ball; game over.
We ran a tight mostly eight-man unit (Dante was the ninth; played 4 minutes). Rudy was stellar with a near triple double (15 points, team-high 12 rebounds, team-high 8 assists, including 2 pivotal ones to LMA late in the 4th Q) and a force on both ends. Patty, oft derived and seldom as appreciated as he deserves, was huge for us with a season-high 22 points, tying LMA for team-high in scoring. Patty also had a team-high six 3s (6-8) and a bench-high 3 assists. Beli pitched in 11 on 4-10 and though his 3s (1-5) were off, he kept finding ways to contribute (2-2FTs, 2 rebounds, 2 assists). Bryn needs to find his shot, but while he does, his full court press for much of the game pressured them into not setting up or running their plays so easily. It was another good step in asserting our game, and he got a team-high 3 steals for it. Davis looked comfortable in the starting line-up and had one of those streaky near perfect games: 17 on 5-7, 4-4 from 3, 3-3 FTs, with 3 rebounds and that key block of a 3.
The game was closer than we would have liked, but when it mattered most, we found a way and gutted it out. Despite our up and down shooting, we didn’t stop trying and got defensive stops; despite being outrebounded 48-43 overall, we had a 10-8 O board edge which was crucial late in the game; we gave up 15 points on our 8 turnovers while scoring 14 on their 13 TOs; we were outscored 44-30 points in the paint, but picked up a rare 28-16 fast break point advantage. I like to think the basketball gods rewarded us for switching from playing not to lose early to playing to win the rest of the game. We really needed this one, and found a way. A good momentum swing to set a positive tone going into the break and beyond.
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
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