We started out strong with decent defense, especially executing well on Greek Freak, and hitting our shots. But in a tale of two halves, it was hard to sustain the O efficiency which put more pressure to be mistake-free on D against a tough O opponent.
Our strategy to keep the Greek Freak to outside drives and have help D come in to prevent middle drives and dunks worked well enough to force him to take outside shots or make passes. On the other end, we moved the ball well, LMA was on fire from 3, and overall on torrid pace, hitting 4-6 overall, 4-5 from 3, 2-2FTs. He's been having these stretches of incredible shooting, especially from the arc, and it's really helped us create more space and good shots for others. He had help with Derrick going 2-3 (outside shots, including 1-2 from 3 - he's actually really good at those off-the-dribble shots, which is a nice skill to complement catch-and-shooters). These allowed DeMar to go to work inside, scoring 2-3 in the paint. But while we kept GA from going off, we allowed too many drives and they ended the 1st Q on a 8-0 run, evaporating our 10-point lead down to 31-29.
Trey and Lonnie, in his first start at 2, combined for 0-5, including 0-3, and from the bench Beli shot 1-4, and Bryn 0-1. Patty was 1-2 (hitting a 3), and 3-3FTs. So it was feast or famine, and the latter made the former all the harder to sustain. And although we were far better balanced in scoring in the 2nd Q with Rudy (3-3), DeMar (5-7) leading the charge with buckets by more Spurs to put up an even more impressive 35 points, this against a very stingy defense this season. We finished the half with 55.3%FG, 8-17 from 3, with only 4TOs. We had 8 fouls (6 in the second Q), and these, as well as their eight 3s, started to accumulate and hurt us, and resulted in 42 points against.
Although we were outscored in the second half, it was really the middle two Qs that hurt us the most wherein we gave up 74 points. We made 5-10 3s in the 1st Q, 2-5 3s in the 2nd, 0-4 in the 3rd, and 3-11 in the 4th. The shift coincided with LMA hitting 5-7 in the first half, 0-7 in the second; DeMar 7-10 in the first, then 1-4; Derrick 3-6 in the first, followed by 0-1 the rest of the way; Lonnie 2-5 in the first, 1-7 the rest of the way; Rudy 3-3, then 2-6, and on it went. The positive is that we scored 66 first half points versus a tough defense, and despite the second half efficiency drop, we still created good looks. But hitting only three 3s, getting blocked 10 times (none for us) as well as their fouls on their drives and a couple of 3s are things we need to work on improving.
We did do some things well in the second half. I loved that we kept competing and this was evident in FTs. We had only 6-7FTs in the first half, but finished the game with an impressive 31-34FTs. It helped to offset our opponent's 33 FT attempts. We also edged them 51-49 in rebounding, including 12-7 on O boards. Trey led us with 14 boards, 4 on O, both team highs. LMA had 12, 2 on O, and Rudy led the bench with 8. We also had a 7-4 steals advantage. Even though we only had 8 TOs, we actually gave up points on all of them for 16 of their points. Their huge bigs presence resulted in 40-26 points in the paint for them, and you could see the impact of DJ being out as we were also on the wrong end of 17-4 fast break points. Some things to clean up there in positioning inside, preventing passes to the key, and running back in transition.
I love Derrick, and he is the more experienced facilitator especially in a half court set compared to DJ, but he still needs to work on being consistently assertive. He contributes all across the board positively, and in ways that don't show up on the stat sheet, but he's been inefficient in the last few games, and at times wanes in terms of O production.
Jakob is a terrific defender, but it's match-ups like these that expose him a bit and show why he sometimes play only 13 minutes. On O when he gets the ball up top, other than dishing off, driving, or cutting and finishing from passes, there's not much else to scout for. He is not threat from outside, and so defenses collapse leaving a lot of space while he holds the ball waiting for guards to come to get it to create. So it stops the ball in one place and also puts more pressure on other Spurs as they are essentially 4 on 5 with Jakob as the pivot up top without being an O threat at all. And so we don't keep him in the game for longer periods and he isn't able to help us on the D end as much as can.
It would be good to at least see him make more high-low passes with LMA or Rudy, two good post creators, and extend his J so he can provide a little something outside the paint so it draws out his defenders and keeps them honest. In the paint, he is still super efficient, and I like that we've seen a more assertive dunking Jakob. So he's established himself defensively this season, a blocking machine and good hands inside, but he isn't using his touch as much as he could. He is playing a couple more minutes per game and has increased slightly his assist, rebound, and block numbers, but he's still at the same career PPG and his FT% is poor at 53.3%.
I like Trey and his overall game - good rebounding, a 3 here, a drive there, and actually solid man and help D, but we do struggle when two of our five starters are consistently not scoring. Bryn's strugles have been getting the bulk of the attention because when he's not scoring, he gets isolated and exposed defensively a lot of the time. But in his last 10 games, Trey's connecting on only 26.9% on 3s, below his 33.8% season average, though in that span he is making his FT at a better 76.9%, above his season average of 68.2%, and is actually scoring almost 3 fewer points than his career average.
I did like Trey's recognition when I think DeMar picked up his dribble and was struggling to find someone to pass to. Trey came into the key from the weak side, hands at the ready to receive the pass, and finished with a J in the paint. So there are flashes, and he's better overall now than in the beginning of the season, so we're doing what we can at the position.
Of course, we recognized the need to shore up our 4 position this summer and did well in securing it before it fell apart and we actually lost an asset to boot. So we roll with who we do have, but Trey is not a starting 4, and I do wonder whether we still try to address it by the deadline. Right now there's an imbalance in the starting unit in scoring, and though one can argue there's only so much ball to go around, true, but the spot up shooters and drivers at the 2 and 4 have to then do their part.
At the 2, Lonnie earned his first start of his career. There's a
Jeff McDonald article talking about the contrast between the matter-of-fact way he found out about it and his elation inside at the news. Sure he struggled on O, and you could see him thinking his way through plays to make sure he got others involved. At times these were almost too unselfish, when at least twice he was sky high in the key well positioned for taking it to the basket, but chose to kick out instead. I'm not worried about his feel for making the right decisions. What's key is that his athleticism and broad offensive skill affected defenses, moving them out of position, creating space for himself or others. When he did drive he at times got blocked because they have rootless coordinated trees for bigs, but against other teams, he's all but unstoppable. I expect him to adjust and take high floaters in the key next time, much like DeMar did smartly in this game.
We don't know if Lonnie will continue to start - we can only hope, as it is an improvement on both ends - but Pop had high praise for Lonnie and the athleticism and overall game he provides. It's taken a while, but there's a consensus among teammates and Lonnie that he has had to hone some aspects of his game, and when he showed them, he earned trust and more playing time. I think it's intriguing to have DJ and Lonnie in the back court for their speed, defense, and versatility, and while Pop wouldn't confirm it, we can only hope that the high praise from him is a good sign.
Bryn is still finding his shot - some hit the front rim, some hit the back - and so scaling back to a more familiar role so he's not so overwhelmed and the spotlight off of his deficiencies decreases is a good step. He did shoot 2-3 from 3, so already better output. We have to try something else, and with Lonnie's talent, and now better D responsibility, it's a positive change.
It was good to see KJ and Mezie getting some minutes at the end of the game. KJ was his energetic self getting into the key relentlessly, and Mezie's confidence in his shot, understanding of the game, and body control are apparent. G-League works. That he has some experience with Lonnie and KJ helps. I do wonder whether Mezie can get more time with the Spurs for some 4 support. He is very athletic, good motor, has developed his footwork inside as well as his outside shot, and got to the FT line. Anyway, it was good to get some glimpses of the future.
Minor observation, but I didn't like how Pop and our coaching staff walked to half court to shake hands as coaches from both sides do only for Bud to be on his way to the locker room looking back and waving, the least decorum one might offer. Usually both sides either meet in the middle or both wave as they head for the locker rooms. It seemed a **** thing to do given their history. Hardly takes any effort to come and shake hands, right? Just rubbed me the wrong way.
Anyway, we have some work to do, namely sustaining our scoring efficiency to support and not overload our two main guys (though I love his willingness to take them and that he makes them, LMA should not be the guy making the most 3s given our roster), and we have to defend cleanly, feet moving, hands up, disciplined to not reach in. It's a matter of getting to the ball right when the pass comes so as to disrupt potential shots (especially at the arc), drives and passes, especially inside. We did a lot of things well in this game, and we have to make sure to acknowledge and be positive about them while we make strides to be more defensively sound and offensively efficient. Above all, our compete level and hunger was there, which was good to see. Let's carry that over. On to the next one.
