4TH Q: SPURS 94
THUNDER 99
Lots of blame to go around. Our D was on the whole solid, and there's only so many drives you can make and get hit and not get called under the banner of 'letting them play physical' when the more physical team got to the FT line 17-20 to our 6-9!!!
They made 12 3s on 41(!) attempts but that's a low percentage. It just felt like they made so many because we made six all game. SIX. 1-for-everything in the second half.
I though our 14-point lead early was at least as much a function of their missing shots as of our moving the ball and getting better shot attempts.
The shots we kept missing closer to the rim were not fundamental off the glass attempts, and it put pressure on the shots we were making even less - 3s.
We had our own 14-point Q in the 3RD as they had in the 1ST and while they were allowed to be very physical on us inthat they were rewarded with foul calls, the same can't be said the other way. So it was one layer after another of issues that eroded our confidence: we didn't get the calls at the rim, we didn't get calls in the key, and we were taken out of our shots all over the place. If you're trying various ways to score but don't get foul calls it takes the wind out of your sails. The issue, too, is that we got outhustled on the D end and so that 14-point Q represents a complete capitulation of giving up a Q on both ends.
It wasn't all on the calls, though. That early lead didn't feel safe because we left a lot of points on the floor, especially at the rim with missed bunnies and floaters.
Derrick was an abysmal 0-10 (0-4 from 3). It feels like he's pushing to justify his contract and is in the midst of frozen-itis. He's shrunk as a reader of plays, as the assertive difference maker on O, is having a hard time with his dribble and picking it up too early, and is driving to the rim with physicality but lack of body control or balance he used to have and so his finishes around the basket are all over the place misses; DJ was 5-19 (0-4 from 3), Lonnie was 5-14 (3-10 from 3), and Devin was 3-12 (0-5 from 3). Doug was 2-5 from 3, 4-10 overall, and Drew was a terrific 7-8, but those are the guys opponents want scoring with those attempts. Keldon was the lone success scoring-wise on a terrific 9-16 with lots of bulldozing through the key and even then he got 4FT chances for the effort. Six Spurs were in double figures, but what stands out are the missed opportunities.
We put up 100 shots so the pace was good, but we were scared to miss throughout the second half, especially in that 3RD Q. But leading up to it, we had chances to get 30+ points in Qs and we didn't. We got another double digit lead and stopped playing the way that got us god points. We got into 3-for-3 exchanges, we kept taking outside shots early in the clock, we didn't use back door and weak side cuts enough, and we looked vulnerable after a confident early start. When they took 3s it was a feeling of momentum shifting; when we took shots it felt like inevitable misses. If that comes across a TV screen it must wreak of it in the locker room.
We showed desperation but not killer instinct, and though we won the final Q, we scored only 35 points in the entire second half. We got 60-44 points in the paint but it feels like from the eye test the second half was at least a tie in this category, if not a win for the opponent.
Add to that a 57-46 rebound advantage for them, including crucially 15-11 on O meant they had a lot of second chances that added to the momentum swing. I'm still upset at Jakob for being careless and being out forthis crucial stretch of games. We were largely outbodied and it felt like we wilted because we weren't getting calls.
And yet we STILL got the lead back in the 4TH Q only to allow open left corner 3s - where we kept getting burned earlier - and points inside and gave the game away with poor execution and lack of team play that accrued throughout the game and bit us in the end.
Pop was upset after this one and really it felt like we gave this one away:
Interesting that he didn't say in the 3RD Q but the 2ND where the momentum shift already happened. Feels like Pop is ready to take the kid gloves off, or at least push the team more to not get so complacent time and again when we get leads.
We can only control what we can, so the calls going whichever way is what it is. There's no other way to look at this other than a bad loss. The good things we did - Keldon passing more in the schemes and passing ahead in transition, us pushing the ball in a good pace, great rotations and deflections on D were overshadowed by self-deafeating play; the lack of hard closeouts at the arc eventually caught us, the poor shot selection caught us, and the lack of execution caught us.
Chip has to try hypnosis or something. The 3s are an issue. It's mostly confidence as I don't think anyone is hitting them at their averages.
We have to learn that leads don't mean letting up but doubling down on good habits. Hopefully this one stings enough that we get it through our heads and learn to not settle for outside shot exchanges, to keep moving the ball and off of it, and for the love of basketball to guard the arc with hustle.
How we respond to this one is important for us. Back to the drawing board of fundamental play.
EDIT to add:
