SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 51: SPURS VS. BULLS, 28-1-2022, 7:30PM (CT)

[imagump1313]

McDermott LMAO

[G R E Y]

I'd really rather we just push downhill at them to the rim rather than leave these **** missed bunnies from floaters and touch Js.

That said, terrific O rebounding by Drew to keep the ball alive.

Still, we're getting too deliberate and tentative to not miss rather than go full out at them.

[G R E Y]

We're afraid to shoot...

[G R E Y]

YES MORE ASSERTIVE O BY US!!!

[G R E Y]

DJ **** OFF WITH YOUR FANCY BULL **** ONE HANDED PASSES TO NOWHERE FOR TO'S!!!

[G R E Y]

BAD BALL HOG DECISION BY DJ THERE AND IT COST US WITH A 3 THE OTHER WAY...

[G R E Y]

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE CLUTCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[imagump1313]

I'll keep saying it. Poeltl is a big key. If we can somehow get him engaged and involved every night like tonight, we could win a few games..

[G R E Y]

I'll keep saying it. Poeltl is a big key. If we can somehow get him engaged and involved every night like tonight, we could win a few games..

You could REALLY tell that he, and really everyone from Pop on down, wanted to win this game BADLY. It had a different kind of energy. Friendly, yes, welcome back DeMar, yes, but **** if you think you're going to **** on us in our house on Pop's birthday! And you could tell DeMar wanted it to LOL

Not this time!

GO SPURS GO!!!

[Mirotek]

Good game guys!

[G R E Y]

Good game guys!

Thanks, Mirotek, you too! This one meant a lot and we really needed it. Best of luck the rest of the way, except against us, of course!

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 131

BULLS 122

Thrilled! Quality team win and nice birthday present for Pop.

Well that was one of the most fun games of the season. I love when there's an extra element at stake in games and not only were there a couple but we rose to the occasion.

Stopping a high powered O team was always going to be a tall task as was outscoring it. Yet we managed to edge them with key defensive plays as well as realizing the best of our patterns to get it done.

Our 35 assists for seven players in double digit scoring, including all the starters. Winning the rebounding both overall 44-37 and on O boards 10-4 because of our bigs advantage (so that's what it feels like!) was one advantage we did well to make the most of. The good work we did inside helped us get the 58-54 points in the paint edge.

It was one of those games where our 3s were blessedly falling well and we frankly needed them to. Bettering them 37-30 in attempts was one improvement, and, crucially, making 16-8 of them was another hand we had to play well and did. It's at times feast or famine from the arc for us at times and thankfully we not only looked for our 3s shots actively but we made them at a balanced good to great rate: 7-20 in the first half; 9-16 in the second. And it was the four starters who can take 3s that did and in making 11 of them we were able to keep opening up the paint as well as ensuring that no single player could be covered to take this leverage away.

The 35-22 assists advantage highlighted each team's respective strengths, and the variety of scoring we generated showed that at our best we can hang with just about any team. Their strength was talented individual scoring and true to form two of their dominant scorers had over 20 FGAs, with the third with 14FGAs. The first two got to the FT line an awful lot, part of the drive-touch-foul parade that O players work to get and frankly get the benefit of the doubt in. They combined for 12-14FTs, with the rest of their team combining for the other 12FTAs.

It did help that we are familiar with DeMar's moves as Keldon did a fine job staying upright and physical on DeMar and in general we did a great job not biting on his fakes. We contested close and hit his arms on Js at times but we weren't reverent of his space and I liked how we tried to get into it more as the game progressed. He was 8-10 in the first half and 5-12 in the second.

Knowing that we had to stop specific players, even if it's hard enough as it is, and knowing their preferred style of scoring, helped us game plan not only how we were going to defend them as well as how we could best execute our own O.

To that end, we ran the P&R time and time and time again because if it works, keep going to it. And Jakob had another terrific game with 21 on 9-12, 3-5FTs (look who's improving at the FT line). He also grabbed a team high 11 boards and a game high 6 O boards, which bettered the opponent's 4 for their entire team. I love seeing a more assertive Jakob on O. Not only is he cutting well to get into open spaces in the key for pop-a-shots and drives, that he was so focused, energized, and engaged was an important boost for us. We're also utilizing the high low pass more as well as looking to get him the ball in the left post more. He's making a two or three dribble curl drive into the key for a hook J in the key, or an up and under lay in, and he's even showed a fake spin one way and turn the other now, too. Little additions to the O tool kit that we're seeing more of that are making a difference for us.

To gump's point, imagine if we get this engaged version of Jakob every game. But then again, we have Drew and Jock behind him, and my sense is that with Jakob doing so much work on both ends, he is ever aware of not getting into foul trouble - something he's improved on as well. What he said he takes pride in improving in as well is his passing and with his 4 assists - third best on the team behind our back court. Add a block and several other disrupted attempts at the rim and the breadth of his game was reflected in the game high +30.

Pop gave Jock and Thad the night off, which left the bulk of the back up work to Drew who in 16 minutes chipped in 2-3, 0-1 from 3 (brave soul - I'd love to be a fly on the wall during the film session about it lol), and 6 boards, and 4 on O! terrific - and 2 assists. Both our bigs were a clear advantage, and even though Drew was a team low -22 he got exposed defensively down low but gave us the rebounding support and rest for Jakob we needed.

That said, I can't wait for Zach to return and provide some much needed bigs help. Whether we start him alongside Jakob or have him as a 4/5 back up, we need his brand of tenacity and more complete game. Other than match up reasons, I don't really understand why we tend to alternate Drew and Jock rather than giving them both minutes. Is it for rest? Is it to showcase them? Anyway, we need to shore up the bigs position especially if we're not going to be using of having Thad much longer.

Pop ran a mostly nine-man rotation, with Drew and Primo getting the mid teen minutes. Interesting that Tre, who has struggled in the last couple of games, payed only three minutes and it was Primo who not only got good minutes but also played some in the 4TH Q in a pressure game. It's interesting how we test the next wave of players and new players with minutes here and there to see how they fare and how their development is progressing. It also puts some good pressure on players like Drew and Tre who have players in their positions to push for playing time.

Devin and Lonnie played 22 and 23 minutes respectively and while at times each fills for when the other doesn't play as well, Pop has been using them together at times now as well. Devin is usually the first player off the bench now, supplanting Lonnie in the role. Interesting. Lonnie, however, finished the game with the rest of the starting group for the last half of the 4TH Q instead of Doug. Interesting.

Doug did his damage in the first half where he scored all of his 11 points on 4-8, 3-6 from 3. He attempted only one shot, a missed 3 in the 4TH Q, and none in the 3RD Q, so with no FT attempts, he was hounded and neutralized on O but our best team-oriented game helped offset that. Anyway, Doug played half of each of the two second half Qs and with Lonnie being a physical presence on D and making his 3s (3-5), part of 4-7 overall for 11 points along with 1 board and 1 assist. Lonnie was using his athleticism to get through their defense and did a great job passing the ball, too. That pass back to a trailing Jakob for his dunk was good vision and selflessness in a crucial moment.

Devin's 3s are pretty even when he misses them because his form is so aesthetically pleasing, but he's so streaky from the arc. He needs to work on his consistency from there, making only 1-5 from 3. Some of them were rushed and a bit flat and tended to hit the front of the rim. Larry Bird used to say that the farther from the rim he was, the less he'd jump up in the shot. That's not to say you don't use your legs, but but Devin does have a two foot jump at the elbows to get height and rhythm in his high release shot. His 3s could use a little more leg power to get more generated from the base to release. But that we're putting him into positions of clutch shots like the corner 3s we keep passing to shows the push to growth we want in him, too. I do love that he's so reliable defensively, that he is finding more ways to score in creating space for Js, and that he's more assertive in looking for lanes to drive through as well. He chipped in 4 boards and 2 assists. I think he was tasked with defending LaVine a lot of the time and got a lesson in the physicality and speed he'll be facing. He'll need to get stronger, but his agility, wide stance to body post ups, and length are good tools to support his BBIQ. The rest will come with reps and experience.

They were part of a 34-24 bench advantage that helped us on both ends. That the bench scored 5 3s was crucial for us to ease pressure off the starters and put pressure on opponent defense to guard more players in earnest. Besides Jakob who often utilize at the top of the arc to bring him out of the key and his defender out as well to try and prevent P&R drives.

DJ was 5-11 at the half but Derrick started slow (0-2). However, both needed to be more of a distance threat as they combined 0-2 from 3 in the first 24 minutes. Cue the adjustment and they finished the game 4-9 from 3. We outscored them 68-54 in the second half, made sure we ran our best plays, and limited their O with zone defense.

DJ led us with 29/9/12 on 50% efficiency plus three steals but he also had a game high 5 TOs. Some were from his tendency for rote bounce passes to Jakob even when he's draped by two defenders and there's clearly no room. He has to read the play and adjust to make high passes to Jakob's hands like Derrick does. Also, DJ's one handed passes late in games really need to get shelved. Just. Don't. Do. It. Finally, he tends to over dribble into congested spaces and tries to go one on one with the rest of the team watching and when it's not our best option he has to release the go-to mode. Mind, he's our best passer in clutch and is often our go-to scorer, it's just a matter of recognition and trust when it's the better option.

Derrick's drives and stepping up to absorb physicality of opponent drives resulted in 4-4FTs, including two clutch points at the line late in the game. His 4 boards and 9 assists along with 14 points and second best on the team +19 was another two-way contribution. He has a knack for adjusting and stepping up to provide just what we need. I like that both DJ and Derrick had the poise to run the clock late in the game. Our tendency at times has been to take the quick shot if it was there, but we kept moving and pounced to score at just the right times. Securing rebounds so that they were forced to foul was important, too.

Exuberant Keldon Wilder Johnson was more like himself than in many other games. He took on the defensive challenge to guard DeMar and though he got lit up especially in the first half, he also adjusted to use his physicality more on both ends, as well as showing off his improved 3s. That he can score on drives - and he now finishes with his left hand at the rim, that he can pass the ball to keep it moving, and that he can catch and shoot from distance all show his expanding game. He grabbed 8 boards and had 2 assists, and took on the challenge of bodying up and scoring on DeMar. And he loved every second of besting his 'father', feeding off the energy of every point or stop. Another efficient 23 points on 50% efficiency from overall FGs and 3s, plus 3-3FTs is no longer a surprise from him. Look how far he's come from the bulldozer who was driving through defenders in the paint and had an inconsistent J or even less consistent 3. Then he developed both better footwork for Euro steps, spins, fakes, finishing touch with either hand, a floater on drives, and then his range. It's not just coming into the season with new moves. He makes adjustments and improvements through the season and just tries new moves or shows better awareness. Just a terrific talent and energy.

With Doug not scoring in the latter 24 minutes and being replaced for two halves, it's interesting that he's the option to sit even though he's a vet and our FA signing. We're giving more responsibilities to the young players as the season progresses. Again, I can't wait to see Zach as part of the group to give us not just small ball but a bigs presence when we need it.

We gave up a lot of points to a high scoring team. They're eleventh in scoring and guess what? After we poured in 131 we rank ninth! Of course giving up 122 now ranks us 20th on D, and using our bigs in this game and hopefully more so with Zach will limit opponent second chance points all the more. We tend to foul more in the key as opponents drive at us with Jakob often needing to cover two positions (again, Zach come back!) but we're also doing a better job job of both driving ourselves as well as making our FTs, connecting on 15-18. Of course we attempted fewer than they made (22-26) but it was offset by a lot of good things we did on O, including not only matching their pace but besting it. So while both teams made 52% of their FGs, we took eight more shots overall, including seven more 3s.

Our apparent weakness at the start of the season was embraced as an exciting unknown by Pop, something that he was also mocked for by those who apparently knew everything before we even played a game together. With four vets experienced in scoring and being relied upon as go-to guys for so long, we had a collection of talent, much of it still untapped. Well here we are fourth months later flipping an apparent weakness into a strength - variety of scoring options, each expanding his game with more opportunities to do so throughout the season.

We're actually developing and challenging our players to show what they're learning throughout the season even as we set in defensive foundations, even as we are still looking for proper balance 1 through 5, starters and backups. This game was emblematic of the best we can give in terms of variety of scoring, in terms of executing our game plan to take advantage of our strengths, and in terms of growth in late game poise and smart play on both ends.

Not that there isn't work to do with running back on D and switches for too open drives through our key, but the push we made in the second half to win three of four Qs and fight back after our lead was cut to 6 late in the game and put it away in a pressure situation was fun for gift W for Pop, fun for the friendly one upmanship on a former player, fun for the fans, and most importantly, fun for the juice the team got. It was a taste of what we can savour when we play tough and smart from start to finish, in end of Qs and end of games. It's now another reference point for us in rewards of right play and the development process. All that said, good consistency is what we're always after, so let's see how we respond from the high of this one, putting away and taking away what is necessary for upcoming games.