GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 13: SPURS VS. TRAILBLAZERS, 16-11-2019, 7:30PM (CT)

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We are back home tonight on the second of a back-to-back so a quick turnaround to add to what we did well last game and learn from the rest. Protecting home court is an added source of motivation. It's really a mental aspect now to start strong, stay strong, and finish strong. Some more nasty grit and all out hustle for the whole game will serve us well.

WHEN: Saturday, November 16, 2019, 7:30pm (CT)

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

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GO SPURS GO!!!

[G R E Y]

With Dejounte resting as per medical team, we are recalling Keldon from Austin:

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I love this move! He's been balling, and his fearless drives and all out hustle is exactly what we need right now.

[ducler]

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[imagump1313]

With Dejounte resting as per medical team, we are recalling Keldon from Austin:

I love this move! He's been balling, and his fearless drives and all out hustle is exactly what we need right now.

I'll like it if he actually gets to play. Looking forward to seeing how ready he is. We are also desperate to have someone who doesn't look lost and actually plays like they give a damn.

Also, what is up with the schedule? Didn't we already play them at home this year like a couple weeks ago?

[G R E Y]

With Dejounte resting as per medical team, we are recalling Keldon from Austin:

I love this move! He's been balling, and his fearless drives and all out hustle is exactly what we need right now.

I'll like it if he actually gets to play. Looking forward to seeing how ready he is. We are also desperate to have someone who doesn't look lost and actually plays like they give a damn.

Also, what is up with the schedule? Didn't we already play them at home this year like a couple weeks ago?

I agree. I think we're closer to seeing other rotations based on the info below. Yeah, the schedule is bonkers this season.

Looks like Pop agrees with you, too. Interesting comments in the pre-game interview culminating with this:

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He also said:

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And if we do make a trade with Orlando, it doesn't look like it will be for Gordon. Wow, man, it's rare for Pop to call a player out like that:

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In the back of my mind I've been keeping an eye on LMA's level of engagement, and it's not there consistently as it has been in previous years. It comes in spurts, and he hasn't taken it upon himself to lead. He has almost no tandem plays with Trey, not as team mates, but as players on the court. It's like they're both out there and each has his job, but LMA has a two-man game with Dejounte, DeMar, Derrick, and with bigs Rudy and Jakob. It's just weird and sticks out that it's not there with Trey. It's also weird how he's the C but not scoring inside, not consistently running in transition for easy points, not getting O rebounds as much. Something is not quite there beyond missing shots like early last season. It's like he's holding back or something. And he seems like the type you have to approach a certain way so he doesn't get all passive aggressive. I hope I'm wrong. Would you be surprised if he were traded before DeMar? The latter has his limitations, but we can't question his engagement and efficiency this season.

Anyway, I hope we see more of Keldon and Lonnie and DeMarre. Fingers crossed.

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We're settling for outside shots to start the game. LMA the C has stepped into the paint but once I think. Meanwhile, they're getting several points inside. We have the bigs edge. LMA HAS to be more engaged.

[G R E Y]

Can't take the lack of energy and effort from starting unit - outside shot after outside shot when they're not falling well.

Bench comes in, drive and dish INSIDE, back door cuts for points.

Some of their 3s are contested, so you just tip your hat, but DD's close out was simply a hand up, for example, rather than running out and contesting with at least a jump or something.

We have to defend better, plain and simple. We showed last game we can do it, but it's a deer in headlights start from starters and now it's playing catch up to the fresher team.

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So far we have Derrick driving once or twice, and Jakob with some points inside, and now Rudy decides to put in the effort to drive and is fouled.

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**** FINALLY SOME GUYS WITH SOME PRIDE WHO WANT TO PLAY ON BOTH ENDS.

PATTY SHADOW DEFENSE AND DRIVES AND 3S - ACES.

JAKOB INSIDE - ACES.

LONNIE DEFENSE AND SPEED AND SHOTS - ACES.

RUDY DRIVING - ACES.

WHITE BACK IN DEFENSE AND DISHING - ACES.

WATCH STARTERS, JUST **** SIT AND WATCH.

[G R E Y]

Any starter not wiling to drive or contest shots, especially 3s, can sit. I'm fine with DeMarre in for DeMar, and Lonnie taking the rest of Beli's minutes this game.

Good on Bryn for driving at them.

To the extent that LMA drives and shows some hustle out there, he can play, otherwise, any sign of settling let the bench unit come in.

Bench got us back, they deserve the bulk of the credit.

We have to once again communicate on rotations to contest better, and drive at them to keep getting fouls. Also, let's make more of our 3s.

[G R E Y]

And with Pop getting tossed, I think Coach Becky will be making history as the first female head coach in the NBA.

EDIT to add:

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[G R E Y]

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[G R E Y]

Tough tough stretch these last five games. In three we had leads and gave them away, and at some point the consolation of coming back from behind will be as satisfying as the NBA 2-Minute review apologies we have and will get.

To get this out of the way, I'm not blaming the outcome(s) on reffing, but there were egregious calls against us both those that were and not were called. Consistency is what teams ask for, but blatant bad calls have been egregious and needs attention called to that in and of itself.

Pop getting his first ejection this season was brewing over the last couple of games. Part of it is the frustration of our play, part of it because of the terrible accumulation of calls and non-calls.

Pre-game, Pop said that we have to take ownership of our situation, and that he was looking for leadership from someone, anyone. Since LMA was the clear leader the last two seasons, that's a silent criticism, but a criticism nevertheless, pointing out without naming.

I've been harping on LMA and have had misgivings since the end of last season, but his preparation this summer and slim and trim shape was promising. Last season he started shooting poorly as well, but was consistently hustling on both ends. He has been picking his spots noticeably this season, and regardless of whatever his misgivings are, he has to pick it up. Settling for outside shot after outside shot, not driving, same set after same set. To his credit, in these past couple of games something clicked and he tried more for longer periods, but the start this game was back to settling so much that he and the starters got down 23 early in the game with outside shot misses, bad rotations, and our opponent once again got to many points in the paint.

Cue the bench and a fierce comeback, with solid defense, much better variety based on our shots because of off ball movement, moving their defenders, and driving relentlessly. A completely different energy and effort and completely different results. Pop getting ejected brought everyone together and we rallied to get a double digit lead.

Patty is the team spirit leader, but this season he has frankly been our most consistent player, providing energy and solid play on both ends of the court.

I've mentioned in the Rotations Thread that Trey and LMA are on the court together but they each do their respective jobs and we need bigs to be more in synergy. I thought Rudy with LMA in the starting line-up would help the starting unit play better together. I like that Jakob started instead of Trey in the second half, and it seemed to energize LMA and create a familiar synergy with the starting unit. He mentioned before the season began that he liked playing with Jakob and preferred the PF position, and frankly though he has been the starting C, he has been playing like a PF, so it's like we have two PFs out there in the starting unit.

When Rudy was inserted, we were completely rolling on both ends, everyone engaged, playing hard for and with one another. I know Pop said pre-game that making changes to the starting line-up is no panacea, but we are at the stage of looking at what worked today and needing to replicate it to keep that momentum going. If either Jakob or Rudy are inserted into the starting line-up, we have a clear synergy that locks in and we play better together.

It was good to see Lonnie get more meaningful minutes, though I do hope that fans now see that he is in fact a work in progress. He showed great defense and amazing athleticism. But it is also clear he is better off ball than running plays at this point. When Coach Timmy (still love saying that) put him in, the O was at times quite out of sync and we were not running our sets smoothly. It's not only all on Lonnie, but we were out of sync at times.

While the coaching trio also did not play Keldon or DeMarre, they did put Beli in but after two missed shots, Bryn replaced him. Hallelujah.

Some patterns we need to clean up and fast: slow starts where we don't impose our game and start outside in rather than driving at opponents. The bench was terrific after the starters sleep walked through the first Q, and later Bryn was terrific in driving as well. We need that from the get go. Our P&R coverage is poor, but again it clicks in when we play with urgency and our backs to the wall. Late in games, we've gone cold scoring, and tonight it happened again: we scored 6 points in the last five minutes. This is because we turned the ball over and settled for outside shots more than we should have. Whether this is from tight nerves or playing not to lose, we found that compounded by their driving at us, getting the O rebounds for multiple chances, and getting fouls. And our lead that we worked so hard for evaporated.

Derrick sometimes has trouble running point well under pressure, especially of the more physical variety. Sometimes it's the shots he takes or the passes, but late in games we haven't been crisp in our ball protection and execution.

DeMar and his closeout effort need work, as does the team as a whole, but hands up without even attempting to jump for the ball isn't stopping anything. He was getting ISO'd on D and he got torched again tonight. Either put DeMarre out there for defense, or help him with a double, or live with the results that include fouling compounded with frustration techs on calls and non-calls. He's right about the non-calls on his O in this game, but he simply has to keep his cool better. It's a bad habit and hurts the team. On the other end, the ball in his hands is a toss up, and we need consistent execution, so we'll need sets that don't require him to create on the fly as much. Multiple options run from Dejounte or Patty or Rudy creating late in games (our most efficient clutch shooter last season) is preferrable.

We showed more heart in longer periods and I loved the comeback, but our urgency cannot wane when we get a lead. Part of it is that we expend so much energy coming back that it is hard to sustain it and when it wanes we get vulnerable and make mistakes. This is a mental approach as much as physical, and I hope it finally gets internalized that we have to keep the lead by continuing to do what got us the lead: collapsing to contest, rebounding and hustle plays, good to great shots, all the little details that add up to a complete effort. Bryn was asked post-game about the officiating, and he gave the response I hope every Spur realizes the truth of: if we do what we're supposed to earlier and throughout the game, we don't leave the outcome to the whims of calls.

Being resolute to not leave anything to chance is where we have to start. We have to let the sting fuel us for better results, and let the good of our play carry over to help get them.