GAME DAY, BALA! GAME 17: SPURS VS. WIZARDS, 24-1-2021, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Potential trap game alert! No excuses. We know what we need to do and how to do it. Just win the **** out of this game with D-out, transition bubble style play for the whole entire 48 minutes.

WHERE: AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX

WHEN: Sunday, January 24, 2021, 7pm (CT)

Earn The Stripes Mode: This energy from start to finish!







GO SPURS GO!!!

[ducler]

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[G R E Y]

Yes by all means let's keep starting with half court appeasement of LMA who is only a jump shooter and just WATCHES on D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We go down again.

Subs are in, we suddenly start defending better, crisp rotations and closeouts, we run in transition and we lead.

Like **** how much longer do we have to endure this bull ****?

[G R E Y]

They're a tired, undermanned team that takes 3s to conserve energy and is making them because we let them more often than not. They also get whatever they want on LMA inside OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

I'm just so bloody SICK of watching him go through the motions and us keep going to him.

We need to address this BEFORE the end of the season. Like soon.

[G R E Y]

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OK

Positive vibes.

Full team effort for the win!

Let's go, Spurs!!!

[Pipp33]

Quite simply, Patty Mills is massively underrated by most NBA fans.

[G R E Y]

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[Phreak50]

Didn't catch the game while at work but was watching the live box score. We seemed to be getting hammered on the boards until the end.

Glad to see some good contributions from our younger players and some play time at the end for others.

Imagine how fun we'd be to watch with any half decent player in return for Aldridge?

I think Grey would trade him for some fresh towels for the bench at this stage too

[imagump1313]

I did watch it unfortunately

Ugly game. We play any other team in the NBA right now beside Memphis we lose that game. Even with them being as shorthanded as they were, If Russell Westbrook played anything close at all like Russell Westbrook we lose.

Vassell got opportunities which was nice but any positives from that game are erased because of the state the Wizards are in at the moment.

At least they did win and its a learning experience for most guys but that "GREAT TEAM WIN" nonsense the team posts is just propaganda. It was a hard watch.

[Captain Ballmer]

Didn't catch the game while at work but was watching the live box score. We seemed to be getting hammered on the boards until the end.

Glad to see some good contributions from our younger players and some play time at the end for others.

Imagine how fun we'd be to watch with any half decent player in return for Aldridge?

I think Grey would trade him for some fresh towels for the bench at this stage too

LMA's cap hit is so huge that only a handful of contracts are available for any trade scenarios and I don't even think it is possible to get positive contract among them.(Possible ones Blake Griffn-Kevin Love-Westbrook etc.)

My only Logical win win scenario is Boston with their 27.5 m TPE if only they couldn't find any other player reasonable to help them and instead pick up LMA as last choice to get some veteran power for Playoffs. Spurs might get a future 2nd round pick and TPE.

[G R E Y]

Ok. A win’s a win and we once again played better as the game progressed, putting together some great passing and scoring to pull ahead for good.

The start, however, had the same pattern and it’s a concern. We were actually down 10 points in the 1ST Q to a team that hadn’t played in almost two weeks and is missing half its players. And the culprit is so clear and glaring that we resort to the half court sets to get LMA going and when he doesn’t - and once again he didn’t – we’re on our heels. We don’t use our transition game to start – a key strength that gets the rest of the team going – and we have to do this to involve LMA. That’s really it. But given that his main contribution is the outside J now at the expense of so much else, at what point do we count the cost of involving him early and often to the detriment of the dominant strengths of the rest of the team?

When we do happen to push the ball in transition, he disappears from the screen. Here’s an example:

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So the play starts with LMA swiping at the ball and we get the strip and the steal. Credit to him for the solid D. Then we run in transition. Four Spurs are all in as Lonnie lays the ball in nicely. LMA disappeared at the beginning of the play and didn’t reappear. Now say our opponent (this or a future one) has five players committed to running back on D. Suddenly we’re 4-on-5 in transition. And in situations where we miss the basket? We had Rudy there for a potential O board, but we usually have a G or F going up against opponent bigs when LMA is in. Jakob runs the floor well and battles for O boards. And there may be plays where LMA does actually run the floor. But 17 games in, for every one of those you find, I’ll find ten like the one above. We’re bottlenecking a dominant strength to include LMA on our O.

He’s adjusted well in that we don’t post him up nearly as often as we used to. We also used to have him start with taking a top of arc 3, but we now have him take mid range Js, and he has limited the number of 3s he takes. So basically less exertion all around, yet he still doesn’t run the floor. Taking him away from the basket, limiting his drives, and his not running in transition at all mean that he isn’t rebounding nearly as much, that on switches he doesn’t close out well at the arc, and that he isn’t contributing nearly as much as he used to other than mainly the midrange Js.

We do need those shots, it’s just that when they’re not falling it hurts us in many other areas because he does so much less of them than he used to. He was 1-6, 0-1 from 3, 1 rebound and -9 in 13 first half minutes. He did not close out well, he did not rebound well, he got driven on and backed up even to the point of being off the court under the basket watching as other Spurs hustled for the D board in front of him. He does set good screens and is actively cheering on the team from the bench, but these are really the baseline for any player.

In the second half, he looked far better on both ends: 6-7, 1-2 from 3, still only another rebound, and 2 blocks. He rotated better and contested far closer. So does it really take him a half to get going on D? Why does he suddenly play engaged? Does he just pick his spots throughout the game?

We’re in a bind with him. On the one hand we need to get him involved because he’s a rhythm player and needs the reps to get into a groove. On the other, he’s getting near or at the top of touches per game whether he’s hitting them or not. So when his shot is off and his D is poor, what do the young guys think when they’re held accountable for their poor D play and have to sit? And when LMA’s shot is falling, is it necessarily the shots we want?

The beginnings of the 1ST and 3RD Q’s were a study in contrasts that make the same point. In the 1ST Q, DJ facilitated the pick and pop with LMA among other shots for other team mates. It was a balanced attack in terms of shot distribution: the starters took between 5 and 8 eight shots; the bench, between 4 and 7.

In the beginning of the 3RD Q, it was the DeMar and LMA vintage drive and kick / pick and pop show.

Does his scoring in the second half justify the way we generate shots for him? He did make the extra pass to keep the ball moving and we got great ball movement that moved the defense and created more open shots as the game progressed. But in possessions when there is a two-man game and the end point is an LMA shot without anyone else touching the ball time and again, but everyone else has to contribute on D often making up for LMA’s lack of it, there’s an imbalance whether the shot goes in or not.

I think having to cater to LMA in this way – some can argue it’s getting and keeping him involved in an adjusted role – is a hindrance for the team, especially at the beginning of games. Nobody’s going to say it because he’s the oldest vet and because players sacrifice for the good of the team, but we have to gauge how much longer and to what extent we want to keep trying to go down this path. Is this the best we’ll get from LMA for the rest of the year? Is his contribution what we most need going forward if it is the best we can get from him? How far can we go if we need to play like this and for this to be the best we get from him? This is a clear disadvantage against many teams.

It’s not about not playing half court sets but about incorporating everything under the bubble style of play rather than curtailing it for one player who still takes up so much of our O effort. Why can’t we start with pushing the ball more and have LMA be the trailer to whom we kick out at times? Why can’t we start with someone else getting a drive or an open shot in transition? He can have his touches, but we’re prioritizing a slow start when we being by getting him going and then we complain about slow starts, both in terms of pace and falling behind.

We relied on DD a great deal in the last game and he was much more of a facilitator in this one. I was surprised that he had five fouls. My stream was inconsistent at times so I missed some, but what stood out was his screaming for calls and complaining about fouls early and often. Just one of those nights where his emotions were getting the better of him. I did like that he was looking to get others involved throughout the game, directing players where they ought to go and was patient for us to run our sets. He was also passing to others in end of Q situations. He took 7 shots making 3, but had 8 assists. It wasn’t the DD hero ball show and other benefited from it.

One beneficiary was Lonnie. And it was not only from direct passes, but from more opportunities with DD taking fewer shots. Lonnie was one of three starters who took 13 shots, already an improvement on previous games, making 6-13, 2-5 from 3, and finally getting to the FT line 2-2. He missed several bunnies at the rim again. It’s just so puzzling. He dazzles in his ability to get there and then it’s like someone turns off the lights and his angles are all off when he finishes. He can clearly get his shot off from anywhere, and he makes or misses them at the basket in inverse proportion to their difficulty. It’s a mental hurdle. You could tell the easy misses were frustrating him and it was good to see Pop encouraging him on the sidelines. And so he persisted in taking shots, in driving, in getting to open spaces to be ready to strike. It was wonderful to see a more assertive Lonnie again who was especially terrific in transition.

On D he was more active, too, leading the team with 3 steals. He does still get beaten on man D by first step drives though he stayed with the drivers better. In fairness, not many can stay in front of Beal’s first step. Still, he tends to reach through and swipe at the ball rather than take the extra step so that’s something he needs to be mindful of. Fighting over screens is also something he’ll have to improve. A couple of times he did the DeMar thing of just... stopping while his man took an extra dribble over the screen and Lonnie watched him take and make a shot. He has to keep moving on those and try and disrupt the shooter. He did keep his head on a swivel and use his athleticism to pounce on passing lanes. Here’s one example:

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When he’s at his best, he disrupts plays on D and destroys the rim on O. A better overall effort both from Lonnie and from the team in getting him involved.

You know who doesn’t need any help getting involved? Keldon. I love him. I think I’ll say it in every post-game write up. He once again drove relentlessly, was terrific in protecting the ball on his drives, and finished with some creativity to prevent it from being swatted. He was a fierce rebounder as well, strong-arming his way to jump and wrest the ball from opponents for several possessions that we otherwise may have lost on our end. He also took and made a 3 to force defenses to stretch and respect his outside shot. He even took a couple of mid-range 11-footers making 1-2. But mostly he barrelled through everyone and that strength is also something that needs refining. Whereas Lonnie needs to be reminded to assert himself, Keldon needs to better recognize when not to. Early in the 3RD Q, he drove from the left side curling to the right side of the basket but it was against three defenders for a contested miss. Not ideal. He was subbed out for Devin shortly thereafter. At times he misses the pass out to open teammates on the wings and instead barrels through the key against defenders. These are part of his learning and growth. He was heaped with praise by the opponent’s commentators and for good reason. We never want him to not play with his energy, just channel it better, read the floor and recognize opportunities better whether it’s for him or for others. He was an efficient 5-9, 2-2FT’s for 13 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist. He’s already averaging 14/7/2.2 for the season and that’s all kinds of wonderful, especially given how hard he tries on D, too. But there’s always a next step, and for Keldon it’s consistency (when he’s cold he misses everything from everywhere) and court vision to involve teammates who are open.

Dejounte. He’s becoming a problem for opponents all over the floor and I love it. He got his second triple double of the season with 11-11-10. He was not efficient hitting just 5-13, and his 3 is a work in progress (1-3) but he led the team in rebounds (and not just the ones that fell to him but ones he had to go after against opponents) and assists and was a starter best +10. I love it best when he’s pushing the ball in transition, but his recognition of when to give the ball up is better, too. We’re utilizing the full court pass noticeably more this season. As soon as we grab a rebound there’s a quick look up the court to see whether one of our players has leaked out to get behind defenders. And DJ found Patty a couple of times in just such situations. Early effort, quick recognition, easy points. Love it!

He’s a lot more solid in passing in the half court set, too. He directs guys more to start the sets, directs LMA where he wants the screen, and is more decisive with his passes. He is also more comfortable in setting up his own shots within the half court and already has a wider variety of pet spots and shots to keep defenses guessing. You can’t get comfortable with him because he can drive, hit the mid-range and the 3 as well as whip a pass out with confidence to the opposite corner or the top of the arc. He only drove three times in this game (and missed all of them – he’s another feast or famine guy at the basket) but it’s most likely a function of his ankle still being a bit tender.

At times he gets beaten by opponent first steps but he does a really good job staying vertical with arms out to make it more challenging for the driver. At times I have a hard time understanding what’s a foul and what’s not when a driver barrels into a defender initiating contact by jumping into him. What’s a defender supposed to do? The point is that even though DJ sometimes gets called for these kinds of fouls, he is no longer just that purely instinctual defender jumping into passing lanes or poking balls out. He is doing a better job staying with the play from the start to finish leading the driver to our help D. So more rounded O and improving D. A lot of the young guys give insight to what fans don’t see, praising DJ for his leadership. You could see them feeding off of him on the court. It’s no wonder he is often referred to as the front end of our spear and how he goes the team does.

His bench counterpart, Patty, is about as a good a teammate and executor of his role as you’re going to find in the league. That the two of them work well together may seem counter-intuitive but Pop puts them out there together and the collective threats of transition, off ball movement, driving, passing, making 3s and all around clutch shots is hard to contain in the spurts we play them. I love that we are a team with a number of players who can step up and lead us in scoring, and it was Patty’s turn in this one. His hot hand led the team in attempts and points – 21 on 8-14, 4-8 from 3, 1-1FT’s, and he rounded it with 4 rebounds (1 on O), 3 assists, and a steal. With DJ there, he didn’t have to stretch his role and went back to providing the movement, energy, and shot making that have been so central to our success this season.

Rudy was also active in running the floor, following misses with putbacks, and being active on the D end with a steal and a block. He did well to make the extra pass, finding more open teammates around the acr or cross court. He was solid with 13 points on 5-9, 1-3 from 3 and 6 rebounds (1 on O). I liked his defensive activity, both man and help, his shot selection and his moving the ball. At times he can get tunnel vision, so credit to him for fitting into the bubble style of play that much better in this game.

Jakob is back to living up to the Blockob name. He had another 2 in this game, both on running back and timing them just right. He was disruptive all over the floor. You appreciate how mobile he actually is when he subs in and suddenly everything flows better on D. He’s everywhere – grabbing rebounds, closing out at the arc, protecting the rim, cutting through the key for layins, running with drivers for putbacks, and in this game registered 2 steals and an assist to go along with his 6 rebounds (team-high 3 on O). He shot 2-4 in 21 minutes. He’s averaging 20 minutes per game this season, just over 2 minutes more than last season, however, he’s averaging only .4 more shots than last season at 4.4FGA’s per game (still lower than his career best 4.7 attempts in his second year). It would be great if all that defensive effort would be rewarded with around 6 or so attempts per game. We do look for him in drives and dishes under the basket and P&Rs. He also gets the blue collar points from cleaning up the glass. Every now and again, he shows a new flash of his O game – a Euro step here, a fake hand off and a spin and drive there, and in this game, he showed us this range:

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The flashes need some more reps so he can put more of them together more consistently.

Devin has fitted in seamlessly with the bench unit. He has been exceptional on D, and now his pretty shot is following suit. He’s starting to get the attention outside the team:

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That’s one example of many throughout the game where his help D, running back to disrupt shots, timely rebounding, quick passing up the court, and getting into open spaces were integral to our O flow, especially in the 3RD Q where he was 3-3 from 3 which was part of our 37-point eruption. He finished second to Patty on the bench with 11FGA’s, making 5, mostly from the arc (4-6). He also grabbed 4 boards, had 1 assist, 2 steals, and a block. He’s looking increasingly more comfortable within his 3 and D role, and his impact among rookies really stands out:

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There are some things he needs to work on like ball handling to get out of defensive pressure or beat his man off the dribble, picking up his dribble too early, and at times taking too long to decide what to do under pressure. Still, his ball protection is incredible. He may pick up the ball, but he doesn’t turn it over. He’ll need to get stronger and become more efficient, but he can clearly score from anywhere and is quick in transition. He’s a perfect fit for bubble style play.

When we picked up our team play in the second half we went on big runs and finally took control of the game. It frankly took far longer than it should have. We’ve taken a game or two like this for granted already and must take care of them whenever we get the chance. We had 9 assists for 48 first half points, but only a one-point lead. Many missed bunnies and threes were really the difference as they made 7-23 to our 3-10 (both of those numbers need to be higher). That we had 6 steals and only 2 turnovers showed signs of defensive improvement as the game progressed.

We poured in 73 second-half points on 18 assists. Our ball movement improved, we made full court passes, passes in transition in addition to the P&R and drive and kicks. I especially loved the cross court ones that led either to open shots or to the extra pass that did. We did well to spread the scoring as a result. We had seven players in double figures (none were in double figures at half). Our passes were crisp, but at times missed the sweet spot. It’s a small detail, but when the passes are too low or not quite on target it takes the shooter that extra split second to adjust rather than let it fly in rhythm and is the difference between a balanced open shot and a pressured, contested one.

We were somehow outrebounded 50-44, including a glaring 12-5 on O (and they only had a 4-3 O board edge after the first half). None were from our starting group. It wasn’t exactly warrior effort. Our opponents missed a whopping 28 3s so there were plenty of chances. Everybody has to be participating. We were below our ranks of 9th in rebounding overall at 46.1 and 19th in O boards at 9.7.

One area we are consistent in is protecting the ball and we were once again with only 8 TO’s while getting 17 points off of their 14TO’s. They got far too many points inside, outscoring us 36-32. Their vet and recently signed bigs were far too efficient. Our bigs (well the one, really) need to rotate better, not back up on drives as much and stand our ground.

We closed our lanes and defended the arc better in the second half, but still relied on too many of their open misses for comfort. They made 7-19 3s in the second half to our scorching 12-21. But we can’t always rely on 57% efficiency from the arc to save us. It’s great when we’re clicking like that, but it does cover some defensive lapses we need to address – communication, rotations, and hard closeouts at the arc. That we had a 20-3 fast break point advantage in addition to getting hot from the 3 says a lot about our core strengths.

It’s clear that while we need to be competent in half court sets, committing fully to bubble style play works best for us. What doesn’t is waiting to do it fully after we give up early leads and the subs come in to get us back in the game. ‘In the second half’ shouldn’t be a contrast to the first half but a continuation of its good play. We have had some games where we started strong and with great pace, pushing the ball and getting leads, but these have been far and few in between the slower starts. This is a clear area of improvement, and sixteen games in, the means is pretty obvious now, too. We have to embrace the change to the core of our style of play and fully take on that identity.

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

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