GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 46: SPURS AT BULLS, 27-1-2020, 7PM (CT)

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I don't know whether it's harder or easier to get back on the court, but that's what our Spurs have to do. The task at hand is with heavy heart but we must somehow find the resolve. For the love of whatever uplifts and gets us through.

WHERE: United Center, Chicago, IL

WHEN: Tuesday, January 27, 2020, 7pm (CT)

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The ball sticks too long with Rudy ISO ball.

DJ and Derrick are 0-3 combined, so they have to get going.

Bryn is 1-5, 0-4 from 3. Sit him and play Beli.

Lonnie has to finish with fundamentals at the rim.

Jakob is looking great, so too is Patty.

Rest of the guys have to pick it up.

Second chance points on their misses are hurting us - long shot, long rebound.

We also need to protect the ball better to limit turnovers, and help each other more with smarter play - guards come sharp to the ball, finish hard and strong and with fundamentals at the rim.

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Yeah, no. Somewhere between recurring nightmare and self-fulfilling prophecy, we keep getting leads and giving them up and getting the other team and it's crowd into it and losing games.

It's a function of consistency, fundamentals, and compete level.

As to consistency. Maybe some will point to DeMar's final FT miss, ok, but really, how of the team does he have to carry and for how long? He and Patty bore the weight of the scoring, and eventually it catches up to you, especially with vets and on a back-to-back: 36 on 11-21, 14-17FTs, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists, can't ask for more than that. He did his job. Patty was his bench scoring counterpart with 25 on 8-15, 6-12 from 3, 3-3FTs.

We had to change the starters because LMA was out, so Jakob played in his place. Ok look he got a double double with 16 points on 7-16 and 13 rebounds, including team-high 5 on O. Yes. Great. BUT for an C who played a couple years in college and now four in the pros, his fundamentals and lack of consistency in them is maddeningly lacking. He actually had more sound post moves in college. I'm upset with his play because of all the wasted possessions left on the floor.

So many times he had baby Js or hook shots or pop-a-shots in the key that he missed simply because he did not use the glass. He also shoots the ball like it's a burning coal, rushing to push it out of his palm rather than actually aiming it for a better chance to go in. Had he used the glass and missed I don't think I'd be as upset, because at least he would have been trying something different. But no. One rushed shot lacking glass fundamentals after another.

And then there are his FTs. He was actually targeted, embarrassingly, for the hack-a-Jak strategy and the good-bet gamble paid off since he shot not even his poor 50%, but a terrible 2-8. Complete liability there. How a professional basketball player with soft hands has such poor FT shooting his whole career including college is mystifying, but he's on his way to journeyman / special defensive unit only status if he doesn't improve. Great D, three blocks; a lot to improve on O, and it's not even asking something extraordinary like taking 3s, just using fundamentals and being half way decent at a basic pro skill like making FTs.

Trey was pretty good. I liked his assertiveness on O and effort on the boards. He does have to get better at FTs as well.

DJ has fallen off a cliff on O lately. When he tries to go with flair at the basket without fundamentals he fails. He's not now that guy you can count on to finish consistently at the rim because he does not consistently use fundamentals. Just smart, sounds decisions are at times lacking. That goes for passes, too, which sometimes are simple, and other times surprise even team mates.

White struggled on O too tonight but he made great D plays that merited keeping him in the game.

Bryn. Jesus. I'm this close to just outright begging for a trade. What's the point of his running out at 3 shooters with his hands down at his side? What's the point?! He did do better later running by with hands up, but every game there are possessions with his hands at his thighs, this for an already short player. On the other end, he was yet again a woeful 1-5, 0-4 from the 3. He held the ball a bit too long, and then just ended up passing when he couldn't find a lane or shot. I think we want to expand his game, and I appreciate the idea, but Bryn does best as a spot up in rhythm shooter off a pass. Is that handcuffing him or putting him in an optimal position to succeed using his skill set? He may feel he hasn't reached half of what he intends, but he's struggling this season in trying to improve. At what point do we optimize his strength while giving time to let others with a higher ceiling to do the same?

So even with all these issues, we still had three starters in double figures. Our starting back court was a combined 4 points, 2-9, 0-5 from 3 with a combined 5 rebounds, and 9 assists. Jesus! Unacceptable.

Ever since Rudy returned the last three games and gotten regular minutes, Beli has barely played. Rudy looks slow, and it's compounded with his looking for his shot by over dribbling and ISOing so long that we got poor quality looks late in the clock. He physically looks like he's regressed from a bounce back season last year.

With him back playing steady minutes, we once again did not reach our 30 attempts from 3 which has been successful for us. Beli, the guy who found his shot and was making clutch 3s for us in the 4th Q when we had a three-game winning streak, has watched for most of the last three-game losing streak. Like are we trying to lose?

Playing Bryn and Rudy consistent minutes to stink it up on D and have the rest of the players watch them miss on O is only acceptable if we're showcasing them for a trade. We've seen enough of what they bring more often than not that we can comfortably utilize other options we've used to good effect - Hobbit ball four-guard line-up with Jakob, LMA and Jakob with Trey as the alternate.

I liked that Metu got some minutes, and he showed some good knowledge of our sets, where to go and be. He rushed his shot at times, but he was good on help D for a block. He's bouncy but slightly framed, and got bodied up some inside.

Lonnie's up to double digits in minutes, but when he's out there with DeMar, he's limited by the touches he's going to get; 2-4 and 1-1FTs is fewer chances than he should be getting. I'd rather have him create than Bryn pass across the arc. Lonnie has better percentages in FG and 3s the last 10 games (42.9% and 45% to Bryn's 41.4% and 38%) and for the season (44.4% and 39.6% to Bryn's 40.4% and 36.9%). He's simply a far higher-ceiling prospect who is already responding to his defensive assignments well in terms of stance at the ball handler, switches, deflections, etc.

Regarding consistency and fundamentals on O, missing shots in general and because we continue to not use the glass are ongoing issues. Not moving because a couple of players held onto the ball while the clock ran down also arose. And we're still driving and kicking when we have open lanes for layups but choose the outside long J for misses. A 2 is a 2. It doesn't make sense to kick it out when the better percentage shot is right there.

Consistency and fundamentals on D concerns include 11 turnovers (7 in the first half) on which we gave up 16 points. We were careless with the ball for their 8 steals, compounded by our lack of hustling back when they were in transition. While we had 6 blocks, we also at times gave up drive after drive inside.

Rebounds. Time and again we gave them up in our end for multiple possessions and second-chance scoring. I'll keep saying it: long shot, long rebound. But in terms of hustle after them, we watch and wait till the ball drops to us, picking it up when it's around midsection rather than coming to the ball. In the meantime opponents continue to come from behind and snatch the ball. So we're not only not boxing out we're not coming to the ball as actively as we should.

As far as compete level, frankly, it's not helping us when players know that there are better, under-utilized options for certain guys who are struggling. Bryn had nothing going today, but still played eight more minutes than Lonnie who actually scored more points. Rudy was 2-5 for much of the game and held onto the ball too long in several possessions (though he did move it better after a timeout) while Beli watched from the bench. It's one thing if other guys who have been performing well are given an equitable chance and they don't perform well. The point is we're catering more to players with lower ceilings when others are outperforming them. And I think in terms of pounding the rock and getting a fair chance, there's something unspoken about that that players are responding to. I doubt it's a conscious thing, but it does create certain leaks in energy and rather than an all-in forward direction, we keep cycling through the same issues.

I know it's a very trying time right now, but these reoccurring issues predate it. DeMar, Patty and Jakob were our best competitors (and Derrick on D) tonight. Not enough guys also stepping up is at least a part of what's contributing to our giving up runs and going on scoring droughts. DeMar has to keep putting us on his back, and it's not fair to him and one or two guys to carry others who are not doing their jobs. It's like we're waiting for something and are holding our collective breath, and in that distraction we are not completely invested in fully competing in the games before us. Whether it's the trade deadline or waiting for guys who do better to get more time, we're in a holding pattern that's lacking confidence, physicality, and mental toughness to flat out not be out-competed.

Wherever the balance is between pounding the rock for progress rather than repeating cycles of poor play, we have tools at our disposal to improve. We know it's true because we just used them in a three-game winning streak. In this recent losing streak, our worst patterns cropped up again and have led to these results. If the point is improvement, then it has to start with honestly looking at who is performing best and utilizing them to give us the best chance to win.

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