SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 55: SPURS VS. ROCKETS, 4-2-2022, 7:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Yep totally scrambly messy game. At least we're getting some of these steals back and we're the ones getting the points off them now.

[G R E Y]

Derrick: stands there waiting for guys to move. Dude, YOU'RE the PG with the ball in your hands. YOU MOVE lmao

Derrick luckily gets a foul called after dribbling and tripping on the ball. Jesus.

[G R E Y]

Well Spurs twitter is having fun after this game:

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But first and foremost, congratulations and welcome back, Zach!

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[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 131

ROCKETS 106

Well we got the job done and considering the opponent, as gump said, we shouldn't be thumping our chests about it, but considering the opponent, it's also good that we didn't take it so lightly as to keep them in the game and make it hard on ourselves.

Starting with the bench, we were actually outscored 56-32 but their top two scorers were from the bench which you live with if it means we helped make their starters struggle.

And I start with the bench because it was Zach's first game in over 500 games. He admittedly struggled a bit in the first half and looked a bit rusty, he looked more settled in in the second half and finished with a bench hig 10 points on 4-7, 1-1 from 3, 1-2FTs, 7 boards (team high 4 on O), 3 assists, and 2 steals in only 13 minutes. He also had a bench high 7FGAs but a lot of these were from putbacks. I like his D awareness. He's always looking to where he is relative to the ball and man. Just good, responsible awareness and response whether it's to cover the passing lanes or protect the rim.

I knew Thad would most likely not play but was a bit surprised Drew didn't. He's got to be looking around the landscape of our bigs and considering his role. It's back to third big which is the right spot for him. To think that we made due with a Jakob/Drew tandem for a lot of the last however many months...

Primo gave us 8 points on 3-6, 1-2 from 3, 1-2FTs, 4 assists, 1 O board and no TOs in 21 minutes. It was a good bounce back game from the abysmal one he had which for such a young player is a good sign. Bad games will happen but you look for the response and improvements. And he looked better in shot/pass selection, moving off ball to get to open spaces, getting into pockets of space for O boards, and was solid defensively with his footwork angling defenders, upright stance and arms up with drivers.

Lonnie was out with knee soreness, but if he's going to give us like 11 or so points on 10 shots, he's now got not only Devin but Primo breathing down his neck here.

With the starters returning, Devin was back to his bench role and led it with 27 minutes but struggled badly on O again. He only had 4 points on only 1-4, 0-2 from 2, 2-2FTs, but it was one of those weird games in which he also led the team with +27. The 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 block contributed, but he did play well defensively in rotating, contesting, staying with drivers, etc. It's a bit frustrating that he can't find his range (sometimes a miss is just that, other times it's still learning the game, how much time he has on shots, recognizing he has the time and space to get his shot off without rushing it and shooting it too flat). Some of it is also the passes to him being out of the sweet spot so that's also on us to help him get a proper rhythm shot, none of these passes to shins that shooters fumble through.

Because it was a blowout Pop expanded the rotation to 10 players, 11 if you count Juancho's two minutes (only player who didn't score for us, poor guy, I hope we run a couple of plays for him now and again).

And yet Thad and Drew were still DNPs. I guess the idea is we know exactly what each provides and we wanted to give more minutes to new lineups that included Diop playing along side Zach. It's cool that we got to a position where we could see them together. I do wonder again about a Jakob-Zach starting front court or if not starting then having them play together at some point. Zach has played some PF so hopefully we get to see that pairing. For now, I like the various player combinations getting acclimated with one another.

Diop played 14 minutes and chipped in 4 points on 2-3. Nice touch at the rim. Used length well on D.

Tre had a better game as well netting 6 on 2-3, 1-2 from 3, 1-2FTs in 13 minutes. He added a rebound, 2 assists, and a steal. His man D was ever dogged, but what stood out what that on his drives he made a good adjustment of finishing with a high arc off the glass. Good timing and angle on it so that it was away from the swatting attempts of defenders.

We poured it on in the second half, outscoring them 74-52 after winning the 1ST Q but losing the 2ND.

We had better focus and purpose to ensure we overcame some lax play and careless TOs; we had 9 in the first half, and only 3 in the second. We put forth a concerted effort to getting to the FT line as well - 4-5FTs in the first half to 12-15 in the second half. Finally, in most games when the 3 is falling it makes the game easier - or covers mistakes - and we improved from a 3-11 for 3 in the first half to 10-17 in the second half. A terrific O output but frankly against a poor defensive team. We once again won the points in the paint by a wide margin of 68-48 on many layups and putbacks on secondary possessions.

Still, the opponent lacked defensive soundness but it was up to us to still rebound, make the good passes, and make the outside shots. We outrebounded them 44--35 and 11-9 on O boards as well. That's important for us because we've struggled versus athletic, bouncy bigs of opponents and were able to get position inside and use the glass well for putbacks. Zach led all players with the 4 O boards - huge for us and a positive harbinger. This plus his stretching the floor are crucial assets for us.

We had 15 steals on their 17 TOs so we were active in getting after the ball as well as converting them for a solid 30 points. We also had a 24-17 fast break points advantage, a good sign versus a team that likes to run.

Running back in transition D was an improvement in the second half for us and the cleaner, more alert defensive effort opened up our O. All the starters scored in double figures led by Keldon's 28 on 11-17, 3-6 from 3, 3-3FTs to go along with 7 boards (3 on O), 1 assist, and 2 steals.

Doug earned his McBucket$ blitzing them for 7-8, 5-6 from 3, doing his terrific off ball movement and taking advantage of opening the court with his 3s for solid drives, too. He and Keldon aren't the passing gurus on the team but they do move the ball along and move to spots they know team mates will get them the ball, so it's a good balance. I still would love to see a proper PF in the position as we're often outsized on D and poor Jakob does yeoman's work for both bigs positions, so hopefully that comes to fruition.

Jakob's return showed just how important he is for us, getting one of our two double doubles with 21 (9-15, 3-4FTs)/ 10 boards (2 on O), 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks. He's somehow still surprising opponents with his quickness to cover weak side space and drives for blocks and it's fun every time. All but one of his made shots were in the restricted area. Expected, but he did miss 3-4 in the paint, so that's a work in progress. Netting 75% of his FTs is a huge, welcome sign. He's so important to our system on both ends.

Our back court tandem was led by DJ's 19 on 9-16, 1-4 from 3, 7 boards (1 on O), and 11 assists. His game high 4 steals to no TOs was a solid bounce back in ball protection and on ball D. Derrick's Jekyll/Hyde routine on O has returned. He's being hidden by DJ's great play and Tre's contribution but we frankly need better than 12 on 3-9, 1-4 from 3. As almost always, he used his physicality to drive at the rim and was rewarded with 5-5FTs. He also grabbed 3 boards and made 7 assists, plus one block.

On the one hand, our starting back court combined for 18 of our 33 assists, and with Tre's and Primo's combined 6 assists, our back courts were responsible for 24 of our 33 assists. Terrific. Ball movement, good decisions, off ball movement, good finishes at the rim.

Then again, our starting back court combined 2-8 from 3 and our bench back court combined for 2-4. Nice to see Tre take and make them more, and Primo take and make them within the flow of the game rather than out of it at times. He does tend to have that youthful courage and take his 3s at unexpected times. He has that smooth step back 3 in his toolkit and he's one of the more talented off his dribble 3s shooters. But he balanced these shots better within the flow of our O. And though it's a smaller sample size in attempts, he's more efficient from the arc than DJ, Derrick, Lonnie, and Tre. If we could just get our back courts to be more of a 3s threat, it would force defenses to play us differently and open up driving lanes or more open shots for team mates.

Our 3s are still a work in progress though our efficiency in them is 14th in the league at 35.4% (big improvement from last season) and even our attempts are better than last season, up to 27th from last at 31.5 per game. It's not necessarily an indication of a good record of itself as the Suns are just ahead of us in attempts at 31.6, Philly just behind us, and the Bulls, last. Great teams are also near the top of the league in attempts, but while we're about making the most of the strengths of our players, and we are making a concerted effort to take more of them, it's our efficiency that has helped us most so far.

Speaking of attempts and efficiency, we're last in FTAs at 18.6 per game, and a woeful 28th at 73.8% at them. Bad combination. We exceeded both in this game, but still have a ways to go to get to the levels we're historically used to - near the top of the league. It's not just Jakob either. You take what a given game gives you, but I think it's also tied to our 3s. If we're better at them from our back court players, it opens up lanes for everyone, and chances at the charity stripe. It also has to do with physicality. We're not a team full of physical bulldogs or have bigs with a freakish bounce. Keldon can absorb and dish out contact, as can Derrick and Lonnie, and also Drew and Thad. Jakob is big and takes a lot of hits, but we're on the whole we're more finesse. Having players in position ie/ a true PF at the 4 should help.

We took care of business even as frankly the first half wasn't an indication of our initial willingness to take it seriously. Good to have reinforcements back, and new players with a broader skill set at our disposal for the final third of the year, and just in time before we embark on the annual Rodeo Road Trip. Good to have a game like this as we embark on it, knowing that we have to raise the floor and ceiling from here on out. We're in a good position with more options available to put together better two-way play going forward.

[imagump1313]

WHAT AN EFFORT! WHAT A GAME!!!!