ROTATIONS IN THE 2019-2020 SEASON

[ThunderBolt]

Although this season has been disappointing by Spurs standards, Lonnie Walker would give me a lot of optimism as a Spurs fan.

[G R E Y]

Although this season has been disappointing by Spurs standards, Lonnie Walker would give me a lot of optimism as a Spurs fan.

Thanks! Yeah there's been some debate about his playing time - Twitter Spurs fans clutch their pearls every time Beli gets minutes - and while I agree that he needs consistent minutes which he is getting now, handing him the keys and unlimited minutes is a disservice despite the talent.

A lot of young guys talk about how the NBA first seems too fast for them and it takes a while for it to slow down. I think physically, Lonnie has no issues with the game, but mentally is where Pop is trying to show him what he needs to learn and how. Lonnie admitted as much in yesterday's post-game. He commented on his decision making, when to use his athleticism (doesn't have to go full speed all the time if it's not to the benefit of the play or team), when to slow it down, when and how to get others involved.

To that extent, I think CP3 is invaluable for Shai and his development, reading plays, what to do and when by himself or from getting others involved, finding those pockets of space within which to shoot or facilitate.

Lonnie only spent one year in college and now is in his first full year with the Spurs. There's a lot of coaching to take in, a lot to learn. How coachable he is and how he implements what he learns keeps him on the court. In the previous game, one bad contested shot early in the clock without passing or running anything followed by a dumb foul got him yanked for a talking to. In last night's game, he did very well to stay in front of drivers, ran the floor well, finished well, but also was more comfortable in the half court set and moved the ball.

Above all, not taking any plays off is central. He's a special talent, and I can't wait to see more of him with DJ and Derrick, but like the other two, he's learning his way to more minutes.

[G R E Y]

I got in late last night and managed to catch the last 2:40 or so of the 4th Q plus overtime(!) of the Austin Spurs game. Call me crazy, but we've already got a couple of guys who can step in and take the load off Bryn for a spell.

Down I think 6 or 7 points, Coach Blake put Jeff Ledbetter in, and ice cold from the bench he promptly hit a clutch 3, followed by a smart J on the right side for a quick five points that gave us a big spark and edge as we came back from a deficit to tie the game and seal it in OT. In the extra minutes he found Drew in the key for another key hook shot (Drew has these down).

Jeff has been with us a-while, knows our system, and is unconscious in the way we want and need Bryn to be. Same height, same position, same main weapon. It's just Jeff has been making his 3s at a 43.6% this season.

Another option is Quinn. A 6'4" PG with more college experience, strong build, looking like he is putting more facets of his game together. Good facilitator, takes hard drives, finishes well through contact, and has a very compact 3-shot, meaning he doesn't flail his limbs and his starting and landing spot are very close. Maybe it's a minor thing, but I think it's an attribute in terms of being able to hide the shot you want to take (no tell in the set up), and can get shots off against close closeouts.

So either sub Jeff in for Bryn, or put Quinn in as PG and slide Derrick to the 2-guard. I know the likelihood of these fanciful thoughts are as high as picking the right 6 numbers, but Bryn's numbers don't lie, and keeping him in there to keep struggling isn't working. Please for the love of good basketball let us limit his minutes when he's struggling and try something else. We do have other options, even on the big club.

[Ballings7]

Yeah I like Quinn's game, he can play and would help the team's depth. Another combo guard, but is different than the others, like the others are different from eachother.

Keldon Johnson is needed IMO, regardless... will bring more size, athleticism, and defense to the perimeter that is greatly lacking. Especially if Carroll isn't going to really do anything.

[imagump1313]

Weatherspoon is on a two-way contract right? Meaning we will see him a little with the big club?
I like his assertiveness but I would like to also see if he plays the same way against NBA talent.

I like Johnson also and look forward to seeing him more against NBA players, but I'm afraid we will never see much of him while DeRozan is around.

IMO its way too late for Ledbetter. I agree he can shoot the lights out but he can't defend anyone in the NBA. Thats probably the one thing Forbes has over him even though Forbes can't guard anyone either.

Grey is right though, we can probably at least get a little more efficient with some of the players we have if used properly.

[G R E Y]

If baffling poor execution especially late is a problem, let's put out this line-up:

Becky, Chip, Pop, Timmy, Darius Songalia, with Will and Brent subbing in.

[G R E Y]

Right, so Bryn isn't a starting SG. Like Beli and DJ before him, Bryn needs to come off the bench to take the pressure off. Whether it's the starting role or it combined with impending FA, he's playing too tight and his main asset is MIA.

So who starts instead? Not sure Lonnie would fit well with DeMar and LMA as all three need the ball in their hands to be effective.

If it's Derrick, then that's a nice back court tandem especially defensively and Derrick brings more variety to his O than Bryn even if he doesn't shoot as many 3s. But the coaches have encouraged him (and DJ) to take more, so perhaps Derrick steps up. Besides, it's about how many you make as much as how many you take: 2-4 is better than 1-6 or 0-5. DJ and Derrick at least against the Suns has a much better chance of defending well.

But then that leaves the question of the PG / SG combo for the second unit. Patty and Lonnie? Again, at least versus the Suns, it's something we could explore.

The point is to mitigate as much as we can the downward spiral that Bryn's game is on. He needs to decompress to take the pressure off and just be out there for spot up shot minutes to get him going again.

As with Beli when he was previously really struggling in regular minutes, there's a certain energy drain when Bryn comes back in the game. I'm sure the team is supportive and wants him to do well, but we don't have the luxury to keep giving him these open looks for missed shots, and there's a weariness around having to do it. At some point, execution - doing his job - has to weigh in. Whatever the balance is between keeping him out there as a starter to maintain his confidence versus decreasing it in by keeping him out there seems to have shifted.

It's better for him and for the team that we give some other options available a try.

[G R E Y]

About our bigs.

I was looking at some Jakob college highlights recently and was surprised to see his posting skills. He routinely and deftly split two defenders with some solid moves inside in addition to the plays we see him making now. Sure the trend has gone away from the traditional big game - though LMA is a fine hybrid - and of course he's not going to get the touches he was in college. But when he has the ball it's like he has to get rid of it in 1.5 seconds or something. Sometimes a sneaky quick release is good because it catches a defense unawares, other times it's a rushed miss.

I like his off-ball movement, back door cuts, and finishes when they're strong / using fundamentals. I also lke his fake pass / shot and drive. It's a pity he doesn't utilize his post skills more, though. I don't know whether / to what extent it's a function of what we want of him or what he's willing to do, but we're not using his full skill set.

Apparently he was working on some O features this summer, and there's some video footage of him working on some quick spin post moves with Timmy in practice. Pop has several times in post-game interviews alluded to our guys getting him the ball more. So on the one hand there's more to his game we can incorporate, but good to know that he has more game to incorporate.

Rudy. He is playing slightly fewer minutes so fewer PPG is understandable, but he's noticeably less efficient: 2s - 53.7% to 51.6% this season; 3s - 40.2% to 32.8% (this on a slight increase in attempts); FG% from 50.4% to 44.5%; eFG% from 55.4% to 50.7%. It's $14M/yr for 10.4 / 5.7 / 1.7. I know he's a great locker room presence, and vets bring more than just what's on the stat sheet so these account for the contract as well. Nevertheless, we frankly need more from him in terms of on-court production.

We know Trey can sometimes be a good Swiss Army knife type who brings a little bit of everything, and I've been pleased with how he's expanded his game. His defense is better than I expected, too. It's just his inconsistency is somewhat maddening. It's one thing to not get as many shots in a game, another to go 5-6 in one and 1-6 in another. A stop-gap as starter.

In the pipeline we have improving but slightly framed pogo Mezie whose footwork and shot are far better, and currently injured Milutinov overseas, and it's still unclear whether we'll even have him come over (anyway, obviously not this season).

I did like when LMA and Jakob started together last season, but it's understandable why we for the most part have needed to split them given how addressing our bigs situation in the off-season went. I'd still like to see this tandem more for a bigger more defensive presence when we need it.

When Rudy was sick for three games we at times used the Hobbit line-up of essentially four guards with Jakob which was surprising and it actually worked in getting good movement and shots. Rudy's getting his rhythm back, but Beli has actually been serviceable in his role again in that time and he needs more than 3 minutes when we need clutch shot attempts - better percentages than Rudy and doesn't need as much time with the ball to get a shot.

Some small tweaks with the current group.

[G R E Y]

Bryn *clap* is *clap* not *clap* a *clap* starting *clap* SG *clap*

[G R E Y]

May the results of the last game solidify a change to the starting line-up.

It is time for the Dejoute-Derrick back court to start for the good defense, smart offense and positive spirit of the team.