One of the most impressive wins of the season. Not just because of how convincing it was, but because of how we stepped up in a SEGABABA and without key rotation players.
You never know when lightning will strike. The familiarity of so many guys having played together in G-League coupled with Spurs and the Austin team running the same sets somehow lit a team-wide fire that, once struck, kept growing.
Rudy and our G-League program were on the whole wonderful.
Besides taking shots too early in the clock, Rudy fit wonderfully with all players he shared the court with. He's a dependable vet presence, and he can still take guys off the dribble or with his considerable tool kit: post ups and drives, fakes step ins and Js, fadeaways, and bombs from out side. Great rim protection, great footwork.
Drew has really grown. I don't think even Spurs brass saw this output from him when we signed him as an undrafted, raw, but energetic big. Another double double, another wonderful performance where he surprises opponents with his relentless drive and surprising skill. I love hearing the shock of opposing commentators every time he brings out the hook shot.
Loved the length and effort of the Drew-Dieng tandem. They combined for 23 rebounds, 5 on O. He was a solid defensive presence and his 2-3 were an added bonus. Not really sure what he did to get tossed out of the game. Probably kept yapping at the ref after he got the first tech which itself was weird because Kaminsky tossed the ball at him.
Our defense was so stingy and aggressive and disruptive. It goes to show how much one player who doesn't hold up his end consistently affects the rest of the team. With five guys committed to D, we were on a far better stronger level. Loved our rotations, communication, help D and blocks. There were fewer open shots in this game than in few others I can recall.
Luka just can't buy a shot, poor guy, but his defense was smart and he is capable of defending multiple positions as he showed tonight. I liked his ability to clear space for himself and his vision and accuracy of his passes. His cross court zip to Derrick for an open 3 showed both.
Devin gets into streaks of all misses or all makes, and after a some struggles and DNP games, he came through with a great rhythm, beautiful high release shot, and intelligent defense. Very efficient 6-9, and our best 3 shooter at 4-6. He made the most of his game on both ends tonight.
Lonnie is a difference maker but once he makes a couple of great plays it's like he gets high off them and then pushes too much and makes bad decisions with the ball. He's got lights out athleticism and at his best he can take almost any player on a drive, but his finishes are maddeningly inconsistent, and his choices with the ball - passes into congested areas, drives and passes into multiple defenders. Just consistency with the ball would be a huge improvement rather than the variances within games. Still, I love the energy he brings, and the impact is has when he makes great plays, whether for himself or others. One of the best things about him is that he's as amped up about making plays for his team mates and is as happy for them when they make shots as they are. It's infectious, and even with his unforced errors, his speed gives us another weapon for opponents to have to deal with. We're more dynamic with his contributions.
I thought when we got a big lead we settled for outside shots too early in the clock too much, perhaps a case of guys getting their reps or just wanting to put the final dagger in, but it allowed some runs for our opponent, especially towards the end of the 3RD Q.
DJ played within himself and had that nice balance of pushing yet playing within himself. He is so good at finding his spots, and had a good all around contribution without trying to do it all himself or step up to be the clear second guy.
Derrick is still struggling with his shot. Both his rhythm and release are off and he keeps missing from just about everywhere except the FT line. Still, he was terrific defensively, and he and DJ switching helped prevent drives and kept them on the perimeter fighting the shot clock. Great help D, great blocks from behind. I also like that he takes shots off the pass and his own dribble. He needs to keep being assertive. The accuracy will come.
Keldon was his mustang bruiser self, curl drives over screens and muscling through guys at the rim. He's bringing the mid range game out in addition to drives and occasional 3s. The more he can expand his game the better. Very efficient 7-11, 1-1 from 3, 2-3 from 3. The next step is broadening his game to include more passing and getting others more involved.
Pop ran a nine-man unit, everyone no more than 29 minutes. Tre was the tenth man with 11 minutes. He was a solid defender, read the passing lanes well, but needs to work on his shot selection. The underhanded opposite hand scoops that work in the G-League don't at this level. He needs to get the ball higher at the rim.
We finished the game with our G-League line up and it was basically development minutes. Q looked confident, nice floater, and Diop asserted himself well to score but couldn't connect.
As the game wore on, I thought we gave up too many second chance possessions on their multiple O boards and shots. The game was well in hand, but still, good habits. Speaking of which, Pop did not let up in letting the young guys know when their D effort was subpar. Good timeouts as well when our O got a bit stagnant. Put all together, we were a fine tuned engine revved up from start to finish. One of our best, most team-oriented (six in double figures), energetic game in a while, all the more impressive given it was without key players, the second of a back-to-back, after traveling. It was great to see the young guys step up and take on the bigger responsibilities to finally get a convincing win.
