GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 2: SPURS VS. WIZARDS, 26-10-2019, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

We're back at it tonight, this time versus a familiar friend. It will be strange seeing Davis in another uniform, but let's leave the congeniality for outside the confines of the court. There's lots of room for improvement, so let's defend home with better ball protection and dogged defense, and assert our offense from the get go.

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

WHEN: Saturday, October 26, 2019, 7:30pm (CT)

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GO SPURS GO!!!

[G R E Y]

In honour of Hispanic Heritage Night, the Spurs have some initiatives and gifts for fans attending the game:

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I didn't know about Loteria and its part in Hispanic culture, so I like being exposed to the latter and through this door.

Also, can't help but hope for some Fiesta jerseys. The Spurs have been teasing with Fiesta colours long enough. Fingers crossed!

[Slim Charlez]

Can't wait to see more of Murray. He's probably the reason we didn't lay an egg on opening night.

[Slim Charlez]

In honour of Hispanic Heritage Night, the Spurs have some initiatives and gifts for fans attending the game:

Read on Twitter

I didn't know about Loteria and its part in Hispanic culture, so I like being exposed to the latter and through this door.

Also, can't help but hope for some Fiesta jerseys. The Spurs have been teasing with Fiesta colours long enough. Fingers crossed!

Hopefully we get a fiesta colored alternate jersey or something. I'd be so much better than the ugly ass camouflaged one we currently have.

[G R E Y]

Spoiler:

In honour of Hispanic Heritage Night, the Spurs have some initiatives and gifts for fans attending the game:

Read on Twitter

I didn't know about Loteria and its part in Hispanic culture, so I like being exposed to the latter and through this door.

Also, can't help but hope for some Fiesta jerseys. The Spurs have been teasing with Fiesta colours long enough. Fingers crossed!

Hopefully we get a fiesta colored alternate jersey or something. I'd be so much better than the ugly ass camouflaged one we currently have.

The thing is, I get why Spurs have the camo - San Antonio is Military City. I'm all for nights honouring the military. Spurs don't need to lessen those to add Fiesta nights and an accompanying jersey. There's room for both. It's been long enough!

This one is apparently from NBA 2K20:



And either of these two would be great:

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They did release a non-jersey sporty clothing line with the Fiesta colours, so there's this dancing around and generating buzz for it:

SPURS RELEASE LA CULTURA APPAREL COLLECTION IN CELEBRATION OF HISPANIC HERITAGE NIGHT
Limited Edition Set Will First be Available In-Game on October 26

[Slim Charlez]

Spoiler:

In honour of Hispanic Heritage Night, the Spurs have some initiatives and gifts for fans attending the game:

Read on Twitter

I didn't know about Loteria and its part in Hispanic culture, so I like being exposed to the latter and through this door.

Also, can't help but hope for some Fiesta jerseys. The Spurs have been teasing with Fiesta colours long enough. Fingers crossed!

Hopefully we get a fiesta colored alternate jersey or something. I'd be so much better than the ugly ass camouflaged one we currently have.

The thing is, I get why Spurs have the camo - San Antonio is Military City. I'm all for nights honouring the military. Spurs don't need to lessen those to add Fiesta nights and an accompanying jersey. There's room for both. It's been long enough!

This one is apparently from NBA 2K20:



And either of these two would be great:

Read on Twitter

They did release a non-jersey sporty clothing line with the Fiesta colours, so there's this dancing around and generating buzz for it:

SPURS RELEASE LA CULTURA APPAREL COLLECTION IN CELEBRATION OF HISPANIC HERITAGE NIGHT
Limited Edition Set Will First be Available In-Game on October 26

Those jerseys are definitely quite a sight they need to come out with something like that for sure.

Yeah I don't have any problem with them honoring the military and I like the white camouflaged version a lot but just the placement of the logo and number in the front of the jersey reminds me of a practice jersey it's more the design then the actual use of camouflage for me.

[ducler]

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[G R E Y]

Really hoping Lonnie gets some minutes this game...

[G R E Y]

I can understand Carroll not getting minutes so far this game as their PF is far more mobile (though DC's physicality I thought could have been useful against Morris who had most points for Knicks last game), but with Beli going 1-3 in 8 minutes and Derrick 0-1 in 6 minutes, Lonnie has to get a couple of minutes there. He just HAS to. Too tantalizing a talent not to.

[Baphomet]

I almost feel like DeRozan is lulling teams into a false sense of security by playing poorly for the first three quarters, then exploding to life in the 4th. But in all seriousness, he hit some huge shots tonight. Great effort from him down the stretch.

Tense, but we pulled it out. There were a few standout performers but it's still too fresh to give a proper evaluation. However, I was almost certain it was going to be an "et tu, Davis?" night and I was ready to curse Marcus Morris' name, but fortunately it wasn't to be.

I'm a little puzzled by some of Pop's rotations, but it feels churlish to get too caught up in that after a win.

[imagump1313]

I'm a little puzzled by some of Pop's rotations, but it feels churlish to get too caught up in that after a win.

I thought maybe I was the only one noticing this. The rotations seem to make zero sense to me.
Lyles was playing pretty well, then he disappeared.
Walker sits the entire game but then he is out there late in the fourth completely cold in crunch time for really no reason.

I have total faith in our staff but our rotations are very strange

[G R E Y]

I almost feel like DeRozan is lulling teams into a false sense of security by playing poorly for the first three quarters, then exploding to life in the 4th. But in all seriousness, he hit some huge shots tonight. Great effort from him down the stretch.

Tense, but we pulled it out. There were a few standout performers but it's still too fresh to give a proper evaluation. However, I was almost certain it was going to be an "et tu, Davis?" night and I was ready to curse Marcus Morris' name, but fortunately it wasn't to be.

I'm a little puzzled by some of Pop's rotations, but it feels churlish to get too caught up in that after a win.

We have tended to be generous hosts for previous players last season, so it was good to pull through and get the win tonight.

As for the rotations, I agree, though this may have something to do with it:

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If Patty is aware that he will eventually be playing fewer minutes, then hopefully Beli knows it, too. If he doesn't, he sure is making a case for it anyway. He has great off ball movement and can generate attention that frees up others, but really his main purpose is to hit timely shots, and if he's not, well, Lonnie time all the sooner.

We're still balancing out the roster and we looked far better tonight in terms of multiple threats. With DJ still on minutes restriction from doctors per Pop, we're introducing change incrementally. Beli's play like tonight may expedite that a bit, but I think we're on a plan to do so.

[G R E Y]

So for the final stats:

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[G R E Y]

Well, we pulled another one out, this as we're still scratching the surface of what we could be.

(So that's what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a Davis 3... oof)

I understand the frustration with the rotations, but with two new starters, and Dejounte on minutes restriction (for about 10 games, Pop said), the plan looks to be a gradual weaning off the Patty-Beli backcourt.

So we've got Patty Thrills and Dejounte Blurry, but I can't find anything to rhyme with Beli and "make your **** shots." Glad that Lonnie got a few minutes. He had as many points on his first shot, leveled with getting blown by on a Beal drive, but few didn't. Beli got some assists, but as a vet with poor D, he has to step up to his strengths.

Reggae Trey *nickname groan*. He has a play-within-himself rhythm, and for a guy who averaged 4 rebounds a game previously, his board work has been a nice surprise. On O, though, when he's not fed directly on a cut or is not close to the basket, his drives tonight just stopped at a certain point, like he ran into an invisible wall and fell. Ok, he was fouled, but he's not driving through contact; it's too tentative right now. He's thrilled about being mentored by Timmy, but that even keel demeanour does not mean not having an extra gear of intensity. Timmy was consistent, not passive. I'd like to see another level of competitiveness on O from him in time.

As for the last play, Patty on Beal was a stealth smart move. It was crucial they did not put up a 3, or get an and-1. Patty hands up, feet moving, shadowed Beal long enough to force a drive and once Beal blew by him, we had Derrick and Dejounte collapsing in the paint, going vertical to contest the shot. Worst case scenario then was a tie, but Derrick got his hand on the ball. Beal driving into verticality was offense-generated contact, and that's game.

We started the game more outside-in, and created good chances, but the misses piled up and we then guided the shots in for a while. The second half was far more free flowing and attacking on multiple fronts - LMA two 3s in a row?? He had another low-key, high-impact game. DeMar was attacking more for some thunderous dunks - high percentage shot, that is. I think both are benefiting from and loving the extra help on defense and offense. LMA doesn't have to carry the team defensively as the final backstop as much because we've got guards who can take the load off, and DeMar doesn't have to ball handle and distribute as much which frees up his focus on scoring. He was assertive and in a far better rhythm, scoring in a variety of ways. He still got torched when giving up fighting through screens so that needs to be better, but he did well enough when contesting, and made up for it on the other end. Better not to trade those off, but credit where it's due nonetheless.

Defense was better - far fewer turnovers (and almost none of those mid-air errant passes), better rotations and close outs, deflecting passes, feet moving, and group rebounding effort, too. But when we got a ten-point lead, we got complacent and allowed them to get back in it. Growing pains. Not surprisingly, when Dejounte is subbed out, we tend to give up the leads. Yes, it does depend on who goes in for the back court. We have to be patient. I am confident Lonnie will get more minutes.

Carroll must be wondering about his, too. Last time I saw him play it was pre-season and he was too led-footed and over dribbled rather than passing out to guys already in the lanes. Still, seeing what our FA acquisition can do at some point will help solidify rotations. If only we knew all the plans going into every game, alas...

Nice to see Derrick's shot and O game return. He hit two clutch 3s, one on each corner, and then an elbow J and a layup, so really efficient, and with solid D, he quietly made key contributions. Consistency for him and Dejounte is a work in progress. What I do like is when one way isn't working, they find another. Dejoute missed all is outside shots, so he went to work driving to the rim. If you look at his shot chart and compare it to Bryn's who is lights out from distance and has a green light to take it, you'll see how they complement one another.

It looks as if we're adding some wrinkles to our O game. Not only are we getting more balanced scoring guards to bigs (with still balanced minutes, which is great), but our shot pace is noticeably higher. By half time we put up 63 to their 46 shots, and ended the game with a 108-95 advantage. I don't recall the number of times we had over 100 shots last season but they were not frequent, and even less so the season before. It can only help when more guys get more shots, and as they grow more comfortable with one another, this along with D to O transition points, our O will feature more opportunities, and still equitably distributed. Our 3s are not yet falling at a respectable rate (*cough* Davis *cough*) but our FT shooting returned. So even though we're working through efficiency, we are pushing through with some added elements to our O that works to the strengths of our personnel.

We have to do a better job staying in front of guys as help D comes. A lot of it also comes down to effort and communication. These will come in time. We gave up three 30+ point Qs, but had four of them ourselves. It was a gamble, but we found ways to get stops and make shots to win. It's nice to see a bit of the sum of our parts coming together.

NOTEWORTHY STAT OF THE NIGHT:

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[-Sammy-]

A fabulous writeup as always, GREY.

Gut-out wins are always good at the beginning of the season-- challenge and adversity builds camaraderie, so let's get those seeds sowing early.

I sure love what we're getting from Dejounte; I was way on the fringes of him being a first-time all-star this year, but he might be showing us something. Westbrook-Lite over here, with all the rebounds.

I still think Poetl should be starting with LMA at the 4, but I love the willingness from the latter to play a position he scoffed at playing five years ago.

Speaking of (sort of), the Blazers loom next, but all eyes are on Thursday's tilt against the Clippers and their serpentine point-forward, who, with eight dimes per in his first three games, did a pretty serviceable LeBron impression in the season's first week.

GO SPURS!