Our first of a final three-game road trip is a SEGABABA against a west opponent that is also a potential playoff match-up so it will test our best team play. Each team is on a second consecutive game and had to travel, but we're coming off a win so we have some momentum with the extra incentive of solidifying our seeding. Most importantly, we have to focus on our defensive activity and intensity and make sure it is a solid foundation from which all else flows. Being mindful that every play counts so that we execute well and make the most of each opportunity is also central to our purpose of playing the right way down the stretch.
WHERE: Pepsi Center, Denver, CO
WHEN: Wednesday, April 3, 2019, 8pm (CT)
GO SPURS GO!!!
GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
Moderator: G R E Y
GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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G R E Y
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GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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ducler
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Jstock12
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
Any word on Motiejunas' availability?
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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G R E Y
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
Jstock12 wrote:Any word on Motiejunas' availability?
So, soon? At least the whole visa issue has been resolved.
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
BULL **** CALL ON POP! That first tech came out of nowhere and just incited because it was so egregious.
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop
Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
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Re: GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 79: SPURS AT NUGGETS, 3-4-2019, 8PM (CT)
Well, tough one, and the reasons for it go beyond 'altitude' and 'scheduled loss' because it was the second of a back-to-back on the road versus the West team with the best home record.
First, and I can't stress this enough, that Pop got the first tech when some players taunt, yell at, tower over refs with impunity was ridiculous. It's one thing to set a standard and stick to it, another to not allow any give and take. It's a relationship on the court, and if LMA didn't get his landing space and no foul was called, and Pop asked about it - and it didn't seem like he was over the top in doing so - then a ref ought to give an account. Instead, the first itchy whistle tech only aggravated the situation, escalating tempers rather than working to find a better resolution. Of course no call will ever get reversed, but it did not look as if the refs wanted to give an explanation - neither about what was perceived as a missed call, nor about a quick first tech that lit a fuse.
I'm not blaming the loss on the refs, just expressing frustration at the disparity in tolerance and reciprocity from game to game.
Not sure if there’s something behind the scenes pressuring Pop that led to his losing his temper and getting ejected twice in three games, but local reporters said he was in fine spirits before the game. Of course his post-game interview was predictably chilly, but then he crashed Malone’s post-game with self-deprecating levity. As a fan it’s frustrating to see the highs and lows of our inconsistent play, but I have to remind myself that this is a rebuild year, half a new team, affected early with injuries that have had us navigating a lot of changes. And so even this late in the season, we’re once again trying to steady the ship and address certain tendencies of play slippage. Good habits keep needing to be reinforced. More on this later.
The stats for us tonight speak for themselves with poor shooting all around: 31-81FG for 38.3%, 5-27 from 3 for 18.5%, 18-25FT for 72%. Only fifteen assists (this has to be or close to a season low) to 11 turnovers is an indicator, too. We did well to show some life and activity in getting 11 O rebounds, 9 steals and 7 blocks, but allowed far too many open 3s and floaters in our key and they shot lights out.
They were good at closing us out and forcing us into secondary scoring options, sometimes late in the shot clock, but even when we did get good shots, we missed, often hitting the back of the rim.
Lonnie got more of a chance to play, and in 16 minutes rewarded us with some stellar sneak peaks into what we have to look forward to: crazy athleticism, quick decisive choices as to whether to pass, drive, or shoot and tied LMA for team-high 16 points on 6-11 (3-5 from 3, 1-2FT) and 2 rebounds. His drives are crafty, quick, slithery, and controlled. His Js and 3s are confident and balanced. He’s getting a good feel for what he can do out there and certainly looks like he belongs more from this game than any other.
Jakob stood out. His being so busy on the O boards was a positive as well. He controlled the ball well in getting it away from opponents and into our hands to get second chances.
I also liked the overall energy, effort, and ball and off-ball movement of the guys who got the blowout minutes in the fourth Q.
Can’t say the same for the rest of the team, and I think it goes beyond the fatigue that comes with the road back-to-back in high altitude. A team takes on the personality of its best and/or strongest person, and that is Pop. We looked kind of lost, lacked energy, and played too loose without our central cog ensuring everything ran smoothly.
All due respect to Ettore and our assistants, we did not respond well, especially in the first half: we kept settling for outside shots and ISO’s; we took too much time dribbling without purpose, and waited too long to pass even when the potential receiver was ready and had his man sealed; we made high risk passes inside that were picked off, and errant kickouts without looking first; Ettore waited too long to call timeouts at times, and the out of timeout plays weren’t exactly the good to great variety (perhaps it’s a function of the choices the players made, but a 3 attempt, for instance, when we could not hit any and weren’t driving nearly enough couldn’t have been the best option). Whatever was said at the half worked in spots – better ball movement, more driving and scoring inside, but we reverted to some bad habits time and again. Even though we’ve overachieved by outside projections, and have overall trended in the right direction, this game was a microcosm of our tendencies throughout the season along the way.
This is why I really hope Pop returns to coach the Spurs for at least the next season – there’s a lot of unfinished teaching that we respond to far better with him at the helm. While we’ve learned a lot about each other’s tendencies of where guys like the ball and how others move without it, we are still a work in progress. There is also unfinished business in terms of bringing together Dejounte and Lonnie and whoever else we acquire to set the team going forward.
This one season has not been enough to instill our system as deeply as it ought to be set in. And so we tend to revert to patterns of poor fundamentals, effort, communication, and execution. The wavering of quality of play this season, our tendencies to play to opponents’ poor records, the resurgence of bad patterns (like weak end-of-quarter ball protection and the strange disparity between level of play at home and on the road), the lack of response and compete level when Pop isn’t around to manage the game and ensure that guys are doing the right things the right way each and every play indicate how much we need him. Fundamentals, details, and being absolutely resolute in commitment to defend are the marks of Pop’s fingerprints all over the Spurs system. We haven’t internalized it to the level necessary to hold each other accountable and raise our collective level of play. We’re the meal that’s missing some key ingredients and hasn’t fully cooked yet. We need more preparation and simmering so the system is better absorbed and executed. It takes time to learn and respond. For many reasons, this season has forced a very quick turnaround between the learning and the doing, and as we’ve made headway, we’ve seen that we fare far better with Pop teaching and leading the way.
For now, how we respond to this game, hopefully with some resilience and pride, is what’s next on the horizon.
Post-Game Interviews
Pop:
Post-Game Quotes
LaMarcus:
Rudy:
First, and I can't stress this enough, that Pop got the first tech when some players taunt, yell at, tower over refs with impunity was ridiculous. It's one thing to set a standard and stick to it, another to not allow any give and take. It's a relationship on the court, and if LMA didn't get his landing space and no foul was called, and Pop asked about it - and it didn't seem like he was over the top in doing so - then a ref ought to give an account. Instead, the first itchy whistle tech only aggravated the situation, escalating tempers rather than working to find a better resolution. Of course no call will ever get reversed, but it did not look as if the refs wanted to give an explanation - neither about what was perceived as a missed call, nor about a quick first tech that lit a fuse.
I'm not blaming the loss on the refs, just expressing frustration at the disparity in tolerance and reciprocity from game to game.
Not sure if there’s something behind the scenes pressuring Pop that led to his losing his temper and getting ejected twice in three games, but local reporters said he was in fine spirits before the game. Of course his post-game interview was predictably chilly, but then he crashed Malone’s post-game with self-deprecating levity. As a fan it’s frustrating to see the highs and lows of our inconsistent play, but I have to remind myself that this is a rebuild year, half a new team, affected early with injuries that have had us navigating a lot of changes. And so even this late in the season, we’re once again trying to steady the ship and address certain tendencies of play slippage. Good habits keep needing to be reinforced. More on this later.
The stats for us tonight speak for themselves with poor shooting all around: 31-81FG for 38.3%, 5-27 from 3 for 18.5%, 18-25FT for 72%. Only fifteen assists (this has to be or close to a season low) to 11 turnovers is an indicator, too. We did well to show some life and activity in getting 11 O rebounds, 9 steals and 7 blocks, but allowed far too many open 3s and floaters in our key and they shot lights out.
They were good at closing us out and forcing us into secondary scoring options, sometimes late in the shot clock, but even when we did get good shots, we missed, often hitting the back of the rim.
Lonnie got more of a chance to play, and in 16 minutes rewarded us with some stellar sneak peaks into what we have to look forward to: crazy athleticism, quick decisive choices as to whether to pass, drive, or shoot and tied LMA for team-high 16 points on 6-11 (3-5 from 3, 1-2FT) and 2 rebounds. His drives are crafty, quick, slithery, and controlled. His Js and 3s are confident and balanced. He’s getting a good feel for what he can do out there and certainly looks like he belongs more from this game than any other.
Jakob stood out. His being so busy on the O boards was a positive as well. He controlled the ball well in getting it away from opponents and into our hands to get second chances.
I also liked the overall energy, effort, and ball and off-ball movement of the guys who got the blowout minutes in the fourth Q.
Can’t say the same for the rest of the team, and I think it goes beyond the fatigue that comes with the road back-to-back in high altitude. A team takes on the personality of its best and/or strongest person, and that is Pop. We looked kind of lost, lacked energy, and played too loose without our central cog ensuring everything ran smoothly.
All due respect to Ettore and our assistants, we did not respond well, especially in the first half: we kept settling for outside shots and ISO’s; we took too much time dribbling without purpose, and waited too long to pass even when the potential receiver was ready and had his man sealed; we made high risk passes inside that were picked off, and errant kickouts without looking first; Ettore waited too long to call timeouts at times, and the out of timeout plays weren’t exactly the good to great variety (perhaps it’s a function of the choices the players made, but a 3 attempt, for instance, when we could not hit any and weren’t driving nearly enough couldn’t have been the best option). Whatever was said at the half worked in spots – better ball movement, more driving and scoring inside, but we reverted to some bad habits time and again. Even though we’ve overachieved by outside projections, and have overall trended in the right direction, this game was a microcosm of our tendencies throughout the season along the way.
This is why I really hope Pop returns to coach the Spurs for at least the next season – there’s a lot of unfinished teaching that we respond to far better with him at the helm. While we’ve learned a lot about each other’s tendencies of where guys like the ball and how others move without it, we are still a work in progress. There is also unfinished business in terms of bringing together Dejounte and Lonnie and whoever else we acquire to set the team going forward.
This one season has not been enough to instill our system as deeply as it ought to be set in. And so we tend to revert to patterns of poor fundamentals, effort, communication, and execution. The wavering of quality of play this season, our tendencies to play to opponents’ poor records, the resurgence of bad patterns (like weak end-of-quarter ball protection and the strange disparity between level of play at home and on the road), the lack of response and compete level when Pop isn’t around to manage the game and ensure that guys are doing the right things the right way each and every play indicate how much we need him. Fundamentals, details, and being absolutely resolute in commitment to defend are the marks of Pop’s fingerprints all over the Spurs system. We haven’t internalized it to the level necessary to hold each other accountable and raise our collective level of play. We’re the meal that’s missing some key ingredients and hasn’t fully cooked yet. We need more preparation and simmering so the system is better absorbed and executed. It takes time to learn and respond. For many reasons, this season has forced a very quick turnaround between the learning and the doing, and as we’ve made headway, we’ve seen that we fare far better with Pop teaching and leading the way.
For now, how we respond to this game, hopefully with some resilience and pride, is what’s next on the horizon.
Post-Game Interviews
Pop:
Post-Game Quotes
LaMarcus:
Rudy:
The Spurs Way
Thinking of you, Pop