GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 35: VS. BUCKS, 6 Jan 2020, 7:30PM (CT)

[-Sammy-]

.

[ducler]

Read on Twitter

[G R E Y]

Ah ****. Bryn better be on a short leash:

Read on Twitter

[imagump1313]

Hopefully I jinx myself by saying it but there is no way in holy hell we win tonight. We are too careless with the ball and cant score enough to keep up with this team.
Maybe if the Bucks are totally uninterested and we shoot the lights out from three we might keep it close.

[-Sammy-]

Hopefully I jinx myself by saying it but there is no way in holy hell we win tonight. We are too careless with the ball and cant score enough to keep up with this team.
Maybe if the Bucks are totally uninterested and we shoot the lights out from three we might keep it close.

Your ability as a jinx is surpassed only by your ability as a psychic.

Another no-handshake from Coach Bud; weird.

Who cares ,though? The good guys pulled out the upset! Go Spurs!

[imagump1313]

Hopefully I jinx myself by saying it but there is no way in holy hell we win tonight. We are too careless with the ball and cant score enough to keep up with this team.
Maybe if the Bucks are totally uninterested and we shoot the lights out from three we might keep it close.

Your ability as a jinx is surpassed only by your ability as a psychic.

Another no-handshake from Coach Bud; weird.

Who cares ,though? The good guys pulled out the upset! Go Spurs!

Yeah, Milwaukee didn't look too interested and we shot well lol.
Not sure why Bud is mad. He wouldn't be a coach in the league without Pop.

Can I continue the jinx?
Murray and Walker will NEVER be good!
We will NEVER trade DeRozan!

[G R E Y]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Phreak50]

I missed the whole no handshake thing. Is this twice now? Any story there?

And I joked a few games ago that Aldridge decided if Derozan can't space the floor for him, then he'll simply space the floor for Derozan and funnily enough that's exactly what was happening.

Some positive signs here and there but the best option for now and the future for this team is to find some value back for Derozan.

If that means we lose momentum and need to miss the playoffs, who cares.

I think one of Forbes or Mills needs to go too. I doubt we even flinch at offers for Patty but a contender would love to have him so who knows.

[G R E Y]

I think given we're playing so well together that the likelihood of making any moves is even less than whatever the small chances were to begin with. I think FO has a good lay of the land for now and future possibilities and great relationships with players that we won't be left empty.

Also, new rule: whoever makes the GT and we win has to continue with the next one. Sammy has a perfect record. Just sayin'

[G R E Y]

Well, this is what four quarters of effort gets us: the most lopsided win against the best team in the league.

I loved the mindset we had, the adjustments we made, and the effort we showed to push through.

We stayed more focused for longer stretches to get a lead and when they rallied several times to make it close, we made key defensive stops and hit clutch shot after clutch shot. Equally important, we did it throughout the game, keeping our poise against a equally tough on D and O.

Whereas we got lit up on drives and 3s last game, and fouled too much, the same gameplan on GA - no middle drives, no easy points inside, hard help D - but also prevent the Lopez bros from going off on us, and limit our fouls. The twins went from 24 to 10 points, GA was still a freak and still hit 50% of his shots, but he got to the FT line only 4 times, and we lived with his outside shooting (0-5 from 3). He garnered so much attention that we left a lot of 3s open from their other players, and though there's surely some luck in a make or miss game, we made our choice to live with focusing more on trying to contain their main guy.

Looking at the teams' respective shot charts, theirs looked sort of like a crossbow as they shot almost exclusively in the key and extending the rectangle out to the 3 line with the rest coming from the whole arc where nearly half of their shots came. Ours was a good balance of paint and non-paint 2s, and 3s throughout the arc from where we shot almost 40% of our FGs. You could accurately guess who hit which shot: elbow Js were likely DeMar's, though vintage Rudy is a good bet, and DJ is getting good at finding these pockets from screens now, too; paint and baseline were likely Bryn or Derrick floaters; the best were the shots just under the basket and around the arc, because of the variety of players who got their shots in both areas. All of our starters hit 3s (DJ led us this time with 3-4; Patty led the team with 6-10!), nine players hit at least one 3, and five hit at least two, with almost everyone on excellent efficiency (except for Bryn's 1-4, but let's not beat that drum). They shot 10 more 3s, but we made four more.

They made a concerted effort to double LMA after he torched them at least in the first half of last game, but LMA did really well to find open teammates, and this opened lanes and shots for us. He made 2-3 from 3 and was such a strong focal point that it benefited the rest of the team. Team-high 5-5FTs, 3 assists and a block on 5-10FGs made for a solid all around contribution.

(Incidentally, teams adjusting to Bryn and forcing him off the arc have contributed to his struggles as he isn't the guard who can dribble his way out of problems. Being more focused on is a challenge to his game as he is being pushed into either moving faster off-ball to get some open space, making decisions quicker, and at times he either makes those mid-air kickout passes or those one-handed sideways shoves and you never really know how they'll go, or picks up his dribble and trouble ensues. As Sean pointed out in the broadcast, we do have to do a better job of helping him by coming to the ball. Bryn's still pushing to find his shot. He has this extra little stutter hop when wide open - not sure it's helping his rhythm any. Hopefully he figures it out. Maybe not thinking about it may help. Just let it fly).

All the attention LMA got and his being farther out meant that DeMar had more space and could go to work finding his spots (11-15), finding others (team-high 7 assists, all of them for 3s). He looks really like he's in a great inner rhythm, can see the plays he wants to make, taking what the D gave him (like adjusting his shot in the key to make high floaters), and being aggressive going to the rim - really good, balanced performance. He was also actually pretty solid on D. You could tell he was focused on moving his feet, staying in front of his man, and tied up GA once on a drive for jump ball.

DJ is really coming into his own in playing off and with our two main guys, showing a much better understanding of how to play with them, when to give the ball up and when to take it himself, and when he does, he's hitting his shots. It's good to see him embrace the mid-range game in addition to creative drives and 3s. Being able to score from just about anywhere makes him a bigger threat. His comfort level with the starting unit is a noticeable improvement from the beginning of the season. He's a stat stuffer with tying Trey for team-high 3 O boards, second on the team with 9 rebounds in total, a steal and 4 assists. Equally important, he has the guts to step up and make clutch shots. At times I think he gambles a bit too much with his reaches on D, though if a driver is full steam forward already, better the foul for a side inbound rather than letting him get the shot off.

Trey and Bryn combined for 4-17 - oof. Tough not getting enough O production consistently from them, though the rest of the team shot well enough to cover them. Trey did try and try again to score, but missed an impressive variety of shots (2-11). I think like Jakob has done, he could benefit from finishing harder at the rim, both from drives or putbacks, when possible. He has soft hands and a nice touch, but in instances when he uses them, in order to avoided dreaded missed bunnies, off glass fundamentals are all the more important. He did lead us in rebounding again with 12, and he provides a good interior presence on D so these do mitigate his O inefficiency, but that still has a ceiling. He has to make shots by finishing better.

Just as our three main starters stepped up, so too did our three main bench players. Derrick had a tighter, more efficient game, 3-6, 1-3 from 3, 4 rebounds, 1 block (only 1 assist). I liked his assertiveness in communicating on O, calling for screens, gesturing for guys to start moving so he could run the sets. He's a steady, smart presence in the back court, and a fine complement to DJ.

Vintage Rudy with smart vet play - hitting 3s, posting up on mismatches, driving and getting to the FT line, and rebounding rbough out his full arsenal. He was a terrific inside out counterpoint to FIBA Patty who was an incredible O force moving off-ball and dribbling off screens, hitting 6-10 from 3. He was heavy hearted but still left it all out on the court. I love his attitude and his game.

Lonnie showed flashes of his tantalizing game with a better showing, hitting a clutch end-of-clock 3, going sky high for 7 boards, making good passes (he didn't look like he was telegraphing them as much), and disrupting defenses with his drives. He's a force already in the way he takes opponents out of their defensive comfort zones with his unpredictable athletic plays and in how he energizes the crowd with them. I can't wait till he starts to get some seeing-eye flair to his passing game and beings to put it all together.

Nice to see Metu and his solid J. Good that he got a couple of minutes.

Though we were more disciplined in not fouling in this game, doing a good job staying on front of drivers and forcing some push off O fouls. Plays in which we had good positioning and effort to stick with frustrated drivers. I hope we improve still in getting to the player just as the ball does on opponent passes. Our strategy was more about trying to prevent a single lighting rod from striking, but it would be good to see more full on run outs and side contests on 3s. I think our bigs still leave too much space on Js around the paint, but it's a tricky balance between contesting and not allowing the drive when they're the biggest line of defense.

We also have to tend to end of Q to beginning of Q protection: the 1st ended with their 3, and the 2nd started with two 3s for them; our lead ballooned to 18 points in the 2nd, but they finished it on a 5-0 and began the 3rd on a 6-0 run. Those effort and focus plays when we have leads, and starting second halves stronger and cleaner with better ball protection are areas that we need to improve. And though we won the rebounding battle 54-38 (!), that one where they got two chances and hit a 3 from the third opportunity stands out because it was more about effort than anything else. We have curbed multiple possessions from opponent O rebounds, though, so credit also where it's due.

I liked our game management in terms of minutes distribution balance between the starters and bench, and in terms of good timeouts by Pop to address effort (running back on D), correct mistakes, and mitigate runs.

(Side note: I don't know what it is about early January but Pop has looked somewhat dour and sad in post-game interviews despite our playing well and winning these past couple of years. You never know what goes on behind the scenes. It's not always as overt as with Patty and the devastating fires destroying his country. Huge credit to him for bringing it on and off the court providing much needed attention and aid).

We did well to stay poised during their runs and to counter with our own, and though we hit some clutch late 3s (Rudy and Patty), had they missed you could gripe about more time needing to be shaved in the shot clock, as Sean pointed out. Still, you take what the defense gives you, and balance it out with the lesson of holding the ball a little longer next time. I did like our poise when they cut it down to six a couple of times and we got good stops, rebounds, and shots - it was our variety that was hard to contain (that high-low pass then out to an open shooter was a small, simple but effective wrinkle to the O) - to build it up again.

This was a big win built on solid overall effort in which we kept responding well to our own dull stretches with better movement, and their runs with D resilience. We'll need all that for the upcoming games. Good to know we've got it in us.

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter