GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 8: SPURS VS. THUNDER, 7-11-2019, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Some home cooking and rest should have us rejuvenated and ready for the upcoming three-game home stand. Looking for us to play with more cohesion, energy, and consistent effort on both ends to get back on the winning track tonight.

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

WHEN: Thursday, November 7, 2019, 7:30pm (CT)

Read on Twitter

GO SPURS GO!!!

[ducler]

Read on Twitter

[G R E Y]

Finally a drive by one of us. Too many kick outs and outside shots. Need to pressure them like this more and get to the FT line.

[imagump1313]

I am loving me some Trey Lyles.
All those people that said we would be worse without Bertans are just plain wrong. Lyles gives us way more than Bertans ever did on both ends. Hopefully his confidence keeps growing because he has a ceiling Davis just will never achieve.

Dont get me wrong, I loved Bertans but Lyles has much, much more upside.

[Baphomet]

It's really a spectacle when Aldridge plays like this, getting whatever he wants. We've done well to create some separation after a game of fine margins, up until the end of the third and start of the fourth. Let's bring the W home now.

[Baphomet]

My goodness LMA

[G R E Y]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[G R E Y]

Much better overall effort on both ends. I like that we started with spreading the shots around to multiple players and we just shot it without over-passing. Good looks all night long, and that's a tribute to our movement, passing, and of course white-hot shooting.

I think we could and should have driven at them more for more FT chances (only 10-11, so it was good we made the most of it). They were 18-24, and though I rarely comment on bad calls or blame games on them, I thought we had some soft ones called against us. Bryn got in to foul trouble early, and I can't say it wasn't all deserved. But we did make some physical plays down low more so in the second half and that combination of inside and outside shooting kept our opponents on their heels; it's harder to guard us when there's no weak shooting spot.

Like gump said, Trey is growing more likeable with each game. He started doing just what Pop wanted, being a solid rebounding presence, and once he got that down, he added cutting to the basket for dunks, then hitting some Js, and tonight two back-to-back 3s, and a lovely smooth fake-dribble-bounce pass to LMA under the basket for an easy 2. Add the O rebound putback, and it was a solid showing with a lot of plays that helped us win. I'm glad that the faith we've put into him are now paying dividends.

Beli. Jesus. There's just no excuse anymore. One made shot on bench-high 10 attempts. He has to earn his minutes back. In a post-game interview, Pop gave some insights into the play of several players, but when asked if it's a function of Beli just needing to keep shooting, he only said, "Right." The thing is, Beli is costing us points by not boxing out, by getting blown by on D, by forcing bad shots (like when he contested Dejounte for a D rebound, dribbled up the court and helped himself to a 3 with over 15 seconds left in the shot clock). It's just a disaster every time he's out there. The only redeeming thing he does right now is pass to others to shoot. The guy looks zoned out. He's playing like he wants to be traded, so we're showcasing him, and then he's all, "Nah." Clearly the consistent minutes haven't helped him figure it out. He needs to watch the game from the bench for a while, have some holy water sprinkled on him, something...

LMA continues to be incredible versus this opponent. Stat-stuffing night. So glad that he had a breakout game, and that we kept feeding him. His relationship with Dejounte is really reaping rewards. We found him early and often and he was nearly unstoppable. He made quick decision with the ball, and was in a good rhythm so that even when doubled, he wasn't as rushed in finding the open man. We need to hypnotize him into thinking every opponent is the Thunder.

Dejounte had a nice comeback game with a near triple double. I love his decision making and maturity in getting others involved, in his feel for what we need in the game at any given moment, in hitting a variety of shots (a nice high soft arc with friendly rim bounces). A high dribble and better handles can cut some turnovers, but compared to his game in the past, he's putting it together really well.

DeMar had a highly efficient night, and played in a rhythm that you could feel was just right for him. He found open pockets of space, and showed a good balance of shooting and facilitating. 16/6/9 and 1 steal is a fine complementary game to LMA and Dejounte.

We scored only 9 bench points in the first half with Trey, Rudy, DeMarre, and Jakob combining for 0 points. Oof. Better effort and energy in the second half. The bench finished with 27 led by Patty's 10. Rudy looks like he does not have the same bounce, but plays like he does. When he drives and takes long strides and takes off with one foot, he doesn't have the same lift. When he posts up and gets into a closer spot and jumps off two feet, he's deadly. His outside shot and getting to the FT line are still there, but he does need to adjust his take off to fit his hops. Derrick had a quietly solid game. I like his more assertive shot taking and how he distributes.

We got a season-high 32 assists to 13 turnovers on which we gave up only 6 points but earned 18 points on their 13 TOs. Our D to O transition was solid, and our balance of the downhill and half court was on point. Dejounte is wicked fast on those transitions. He flew by team mates ahead of him and sometimes has to make back passes on our fast breaks. We had 14 more shots as a result of our faster game. I like that Pop put Bryn in late in the game for a clutch 3 to make sure we stayed well ahead. Solid shooting from him tonight.

I thought we could have run back on defense better, and while we cut down on unnecessary passes, DeMar made several risky passes while in the air. We still made too many drive and kicks when we were within a couple of feet from the basket, so shot selection in those situations could improve. They had some easy dunks inside which is a pattern we need to curb with some faster recognition and rotation. Other rotations were actually decent, and we collapsed well on their drives by those not their hulking C. As for our own C, I hope we include Jakob more on the offense, maybe on some alley oop plays or cuts. He is so fundamentally solid on D for us and has more to his O game than we're making room to show.

There are always things to improve, but we did many things well tonight and rewarded ourselves with a solid overall game.

NOTEWORTHY STATS OF THE NIGHT:

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter