SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 57: SPURS AT HAWKS, 11-2-2022, 6:30PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

Good basketball gods Lonnie looks a hot mess...

[G R E Y]

AGAIN. LATE Q SITUATION, WE OVER-COMMIT DOWN LOW THEY GET EASY PASS OUT FOR 3.

THEN LONNIE ANOTHER TO FOR THEIR 3.

6-0 RUN AND POP TIMEOUT.

FFS. GET THE JINX OUT. SORRY BUT HE HAS TO EARN HIS MINUTES AGAIN.

[G R E Y]

LONNIE ONE AND DONE 3 EARLY IN THE CLOCK MISS FFS.......

[G R E Y]

LAZY **** END OF Q PASS BY DJ FOR A TO AND DUNK FFS!!!

[imagump1313]

We did our best to give it all back but got lucky they are still missing shots...

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 103

HAWKS 87

Well we got caught a bit on poor passes for TOs, poor shot selection early in the clock one and done misses and got caught, we TOd it and got caught. WE MUST be careful to PROTECT THE BALL, to take SMART shots in the flow of our god to great shot creation not in the interest of someone trying to bring up their stats, we must rebound better, and absorb their runs.

I'm sorry I've tried to hold back, but Lonnie is absolutely a **** jinx right now and it seeps into others when he's on the court. He has to earn his minutes again.

Absorb their push, keep making ones of our own.

[G R E Y]

Yep they're trying to scramble chaotically for their way back.

Play SMART CLEAN and PUSH!

[G R E Y]

I get we want to get Zach more involved on O but his timing is clearly off still at the rim. Take what we are given, don't force it. Zach's timing will come along.

[G R E Y]

Sure. SURE. LET'S GIVE THEM EASY 3S LOOKS TO GET THEM 6 QUICK POINTS. FFS...

WE SIMPLY HAVE TO PLAY SMART FOR THE FINAL FIVE OF SO MINUTES.

RUN THE **** CLOCK. RUN OUR **** SETS. KEEP YOUR MENTALITY SHARP AND YOUR PLAYS TO FOLLOW.

[imagump1313]

There we go. Just keep making some shots and don't go full dummy mode and we got this one.

If the 3 new guys are used Lonnie is going to lose a lot of minutes so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

[G R E Y]

Yes. YES. YYYEEESSS!!!

That's the way to do it. More!

[G R E Y]

There we go. Just keep making some shots and don't go full dummy mode and we got this one.

If the 3 new guys are used Lonnie is going to lose a lot of minutes so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

The thing is, Lonnie is playing for his next contract right now.

He's been on the trade market rather openly and way before the trade deadline, and yet still no takers.

He looks really shaken about where he is right now what with Devin taking the starting position in only his second year, and Primo of all players cutting into his minutes.

He's been given every opportunity on both units, starters and bench, first guy off the bench, main scoring option off the bench - he's second on the team in usage! - and STILL he can't **** make an impact.

I do wonder now and again how much his childhood trauma lurks in the darkness. When he revealed the horrible news of it when he cut his hair, he was weirdly forgiving of the whole thing. What do I know... Maybe behind the scenes he raged out about it, but it seems like he's just at a smile and cope till you break level. He never mentioned therapy - again, none of our business, but he said the worst parts, so it would have been helpful for others to see what path there is to healing.

You hear enough of these types of stories and you see patterns of questions of self worth and subsequent self-fulfilling behaviour.

I fully admit I may be over probing. But there's really no explanation for how hard he hits his own lowering ceiling. He's either feeling pressure or he's given up or I don't know what. But he's never really been able to put it together consistently and I feel bad for him now.

[imagump1313]

There we go. Just keep making some shots and don't go full dummy mode and we got this one.

If the 3 new guys are used Lonnie is going to lose a lot of minutes so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

The thing is, Lonnie is playing for his next contract right now.

He's been on the trade market rather openly and way before the trade deadline, and yet still no takers.

He looks really shaken about where he is right now what with Devin taking the starting position in only his second year, and Primo of all players cutting into his minutes.

He's been given every opportunity on both units, starters and bench, first guy off the bench, main scoring option off the bench - he's second on the team in usage! - and STILL he can't **** make an impact.

I do wonder now and again how much his childhood trauma lurks in the darkness. When he revealed the horrible news of it when he cut his hair, he was weirdly forgiving of the whole thing. What do I know... Maybe behind the scenes he raged out about it, but it seems like he's just at a smile and cope till you break level. He never mentioned therapy - again, none of our business, but he said the worst parts, so it would have been helpful for others to see what path there is to healing.

You hear enough of these types of stories and you see patterns of questions of self worth and subsequent self-fulfilling behaviour.

I fully admit I may be over probing. But there's really no explanation for how hard he hits his own lowering ceiling. He's either feeling pressure or he's given up or I don't know what. But he's never really been able to put it together consistently and I feel bad for him now.

I wouldn't give up on him just yet. We still have the rest of the year to figure things out. He's soo athletic, he can get his own shot whenever he wants. The problem is his shot blows and his decision making is like a teenaged girl in love. I'm still of the opinion no matter what happens that Klutch is going to try to get him to the Lakers next year anyway. We got 3 more months here to get him some confidence back and let it play out.

[JeffReal]

I was wondering how Dejounte would be without Derrick beside him, since they’ve played so much together, and Derrick has been “assistant point guard” so much. It looks like the answer is, just fine. Not a problem. DJ handled it like an all star.

It was an especially good win for a couple of reasons. The team needed to know they were okay without Derrick, and also, the new players coming in needed to see that - despite the Spurs’ record - they’re joining a team that has some genuine quality. It was good for morale all around. I’m as much in favor of a high draft pick as anybody, but morale is still important.

[G R E Y]

There we go. Just keep making some shots and don't go full dummy mode and we got this one.

If the 3 new guys are used Lonnie is going to lose a lot of minutes so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

The thing is, Lonnie is playing for his next contract right now.

He's been on the trade market rather openly and way before the trade deadline, and yet still no takers.

He looks really shaken about where he is right now what with Devin taking the starting position in only his second year, and Primo of all players cutting into his minutes.

He's been given every opportunity on both units, starters and bench, first guy off the bench, main scoring option off the bench - he's second on the team in usage! - and STILL he can't **** make an impact.

I do wonder now and again how much his childhood trauma lurks in the darkness. When he revealed the horrible news of it when he cut his hair, he was weirdly forgiving of the whole thing. What do I know... Maybe behind the scenes he raged out about it, but it seems like he's just at a smile and cope till you break level. He never mentioned therapy - again, none of our business, but he said the worst parts, so it would have been helpful for others to see what path there is to healing.

You hear enough of these types of stories and you see patterns of questions of self worth and subsequent self-fulfilling behaviour.

I fully admit I may be over probing. But there's really no explanation for how hard he hits his own lowering ceiling. He's either feeling pressure or he's given up or I don't know what. But he's never really been able to put it together consistently and I feel bad for him now.

I wouldn't give up on him just yet. We still have the rest of the year to figure things out. He's soo athletic, he can get his own shot whenever he wants. The problem is his shot blows and his decision making is like a teenaged girl in love. I'm still of the opinion no matter what happens that Klutch is going to try to get him to the Lakers next year anyway. We got 3 more months here to get him some confidence back and let it play out.

I'm honestly surprised at your faith still. Feels like we've switched bodies or something lol as I'm usually the one advocating for one more chance, and then one more.

At some point, a player is what he is in terms of his mental make-up (until whatever things that may be hampering him is dealt with). I do hope for his sake that Lonnie figures it out, but if we're being brutally honest, if he hasn't in the last three years, the final 26 games may not make that much of a difference. I think even if he does go on a hot streak, we know what we have with him over all. There's only so much to stretch this band so to speak. And if he proves me wrong, all the better.

He's been given every opportunity to put it together. He's still one of the four main bench players, but tonight, for instance, he got the fewest minutes of them. And he was still -13 in them. Oof. Primo got the bulk of them -- 28 minutes like the starters. Then again, in fairness, those who play better get more minutes so it's connected.

There's an interesting/disturping aspect to Klutch. They are great at taking care of more prominent athletes, but also have a bad record of negligence with those who aren't a priority, those on the lower rungs of the Klutch ladder. Where Lonnie figures on that is up in the air right now.

So you may be right about LAL, and he may go there at a discount given how he's playing. And if he's just a supportive role around their main guys and does well good for him, maybe he'll be more comfortable. But there's just something that keeps not getting put together, so hopefully wherever he ends up, he gets out of his own way and figures it out.

[imagump1313]

The thing is, Lonnie is playing for his next contract right now.

He's been on the trade market rather openly and way before the trade deadline, and yet still no takers.

He looks really shaken about where he is right now what with Devin taking the starting position in only his second year, and Primo of all players cutting into his minutes.

He's been given every opportunity on both units, starters and bench, first guy off the bench, main scoring option off the bench - he's second on the team in usage! - and STILL he can't **** make an impact.

I do wonder now and again how much his childhood trauma lurks in the darkness. When he revealed the horrible news of it when he cut his hair, he was weirdly forgiving of the whole thing. What do I know... Maybe behind the scenes he raged out about it, but it seems like he's just at a smile and cope till you break level. He never mentioned therapy - again, none of our business, but he said the worst parts, so it would have been helpful for others to see what path there is to healing.

You hear enough of these types of stories and you see patterns of questions of self worth and subsequent self-fulfilling behaviour.

I fully admit I may be over probing. But there's really no explanation for how hard he hits his own lowering ceiling. He's either feeling pressure or he's given up or I don't know what. But he's never really been able to put it together consistently and I feel bad for him now.

I wouldn't give up on him just yet. We still have the rest of the year to figure things out. He's soo athletic, he can get his own shot whenever he wants. The problem is his shot blows and his decision making is like a teenaged girl in love. I'm still of the opinion no matter what happens that Klutch is going to try to get him to the Lakers next year anyway. We got 3 more months here to get him some confidence back and let it play out.

I'm honestly surprised at your faith still. Feels like we've switched bodies or something lol as I'm usually the one advocating for one more chance, and then one more.

At some point, a player is what he is in terms of his mental make-up (until whatever things that may be hampering him is dealt with). I do hope for his sake that Lonnie figures it out, but if we're being brutally honest, if he hasn't in the last three years, the final 26 games may not make that much of a difference. I think even if he does go on a hot streak, we know what we have with him over all. There's only so much to stretch this band so to speak. And if he proves me wrong, all the better.

He's been given every opportunity to put it together. He's still one of the four main bench players, but tonight, for instance, he got the fewest minutes of them. And he was still -13 in them. Oof. Primo got the bulk of them -- 28 minutes like the starters. Then again, in fairness, those who play better get more minutes so it's connected.

There's an interesting/disturping aspect to Klutch. They are great at taking care of more prominent athletes, but also have a bad record of negligence with those who aren't a priority, those on the lower rungs of the Klutch ladder. Where Lonnie figures on that is up in the air right now.

So you may be right about LAL, and he may go there at a discount given how he's playing. And if he's just a supportive role around their main guys and does well good for him, maybe he'll be more comfortable. But there's just something that keeps not getting put together, so hopefully wherever he ends up, he gets out of his own way and figures it out.

Yeah, you never know with Pop and his weird rotations on back to back's either. Walker will probably play 30 minutes tomorrow and Primo will have a DNP. I don't have much faith Walker will turn it around and be a starter in this league, but you cant coach his athletic ability. That and the fact I still see this season as next years training camp, I will still have patience with him.

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 136

HAWKS 121

Well what a whirlwind. It's funny how providence plays a hand in ways you don't see until you're right at the door. This one was a transition to an era without Derrick, and though we felt we had to sell high with the youth behind him showing promise, it's still more banking on the projection of their higher ceilings.

Providence had a hand in Devin being slotted as the new starter in for Derrick, and in this being a game in his home town. But he's struggled shooting of late even as he's been given more minutes and shots. Would he step up or would the pressure get to him?

Well turns out it was a turning point game for Devin, who secured at least 50 tickets for family and friends, and put on a show for them. In his 20 point performance on solid 9-13, 2-2FTs, 5 boards (1 on O), 3 assists, 1 steal and a game high +40. He was energized but channeled it to show some crazy hops, some never before seen moves, some big time stepping up into the new space and new role. His confidence is growing and he showed a new level of play tonight. I expect some peaks and valleys in this new role, but like Keldon before him, Devin's play pushed him into the starting group, and made parting with Derrick possible and more palatable. It's still hard, but how we responded tonight shows a lot about our team.

We could have waned from the emotions of three good locker room guys in a very tight group, but we used the new spaces to rally around one another, and to channel the emotions and opportunities into good two-way play. It was a great feel-good win with our executing so well on D and blitzing them with our scoring.

It's so strange how we can be such a Jekyll/Hyde team with respect to efficiency, but we not only rolled on O, but also played solid D team wide for most of the game. We gave up 121 points, losing the final Q by one point on their final end of game 3, but it meant we lost the second half by a combined two points. We stayed with them in scoring after getting a big first half lead.

This is a high scoring team whose 112PPG ranks eighth in the league. They struggled from the arc in the first half in particular, but we also didn't give up as many open 3s chances. We switched, rotated, and closed out well, we stayed with drivers, we had arms out to a man, we fought hard over screens, and we communicated throughout. This helped us prevent primary shot options, force passes where they couldn't shoot, contest well, collapse in the paint for gang rebounding, get deflections and steals, etc. It was team-wide a concerted effort to hound the ball and while their open shots just weren't falling, the effect of being hounded relentlessly does alter shots.

What helped us get our shots going was a mindset of imposing our game which is a refreshing change. We moved well, got out to the passing and shooting lanes, made extra passes, and scored from outside which opened up lanes for drives. We usually have a hard time versus bigger, more athletic front courts, but we were able to mitigate it with Diop at the 4, with our pace, and with preventing a lot of passes inside through perimeter shadow D, and through closing up the key for those passes. We doubled quickly whenever they passed it inside, and although they still got some alley oop dunks, we deflected a fair few as well. We made them work harder for their usual set shots.

Keldon stood out with the arms out and staying closer to his man on D more than in previous games and his effort to run out to contest better was noticeable, too. He was cooking from just about everywhere on O, scoring 26 on 8-13, 6-8 from 3(!), 4-4FTs,5 boards (1 on O), and 5 assists. As much as that whole stat line stands out well, the latter impresses because he is not known as a facilitator. And with Derrick gone, we need other to step up and fill the void in this capacity. We doubled down on the team concept all the more and got 22 assists at the half and finished with 37! His running out in transition, cutting, getting to open spaces, making physical drives, and his effervescent reactions spread through the team.

DJ led us once again in points (32 on 11-18, 2-5 from 3, team high 8-9FTs), led us with 10 rebounds (1 on O), and game high 15 assists. Part of the concern without Derrick was who would make up the passing, playmaking, defense, and drives as he was second on the team with these. DJ's 15 assists were well above his average, but they weren't strained in that we were over reliant on his passing. Almost every Spur who was part of the main 9-man rotation registered at least two assists except for Doug who had one and Lonnie who had none (oof). DJ's assists aside, it was a balanced passing effort with the bench getting and the rest of the starters 12. That is a solid team-wide effort.

At times DJ resorted to those ugly habits you hate to still see even though we were up big when he did them because you just want them out of his game. The lazy weak one-handed passes that got picked off, or the passes into too congested a space in the key, or the get his own shot off too early in the clock with nobody else touching the ball for a miss. Grrr. A Pop timeout and glare reset his and our priorities. Habits are habits and if they come out in big leads they'll come out in close games, so in the context of always something to improve, hopefully DJ can be aware to eliminate these from his game. To his credit he's improved so much of his game it's hard to criticize him, but also because he's made such great strides, he can keep making more. He did work to make up for his blunders with getting after chances to steal and dunking as well as pushing it ahead and passing in D to O transition, so the make up plays were the apologies. There were few of them, and his four steals reinforced his defensive prowess. Another triple double, this one versus a formidable positional counterpart whom he bested on both ends.

Jakob was a whopping +39 which means that his 12 points on 4-7, 3-4FTs, 5 boards and a rare none on O) were on the foundation of his solid D and team play. He had 3 assists, 1 steal (this was when he scooped up their alley oop attempt pass in our key), and 3 blocks, with many more shot alterations for misses. We had a great game plan of prevent the point of attack to do what it wanted from the perimeter and provide timely help D in the key when they made passes to it and we did a great job pressuring them outside and in. Jakob was our anchor, but we did a good job helping him. That 3 he hit at the end of the half from a half court heave was a well deserved Hail Mary for the effort of not giving up on the final shot. Another good energy moment. More providence guiding our hand, meeting effort with accuracy.

Doug. Well defensively he tries at least - arms up, feet moving, staying with drivers, but he does get crossed up and beaten a fair bit. He is decent on post ups absorbing hits and standing his ground. But there's no hiding that he has to be efficiently scoring to offset that, even though it's partially because we have an undersized guy at PF, more of an SF at the 4. We're making it work because it's what we do, and his movement, 3s, and drives really help keep our motion going. He's frankly the best on the team at it and when he's on, he's an important part of how we like to run our sets. So his 13 points were on a trim 5-8, 3-5 from 3 to go along with his 3 boards, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

It was great that we got the experience of absorbing their runs that cut into our lead enough to get the crowd into it and be able to counter with our own runs and in doing so show some incisors. I liked our fight tonight. And with about four minutes left to play, DJ took an intentional foul to stop play and get subs in.

Because we're on the front end of a back to back, Pop was mindful of our minutes and only Keldon and DJ crossed the 30 minute threshold. Everyone else was in mid-to-late 20s or mid-teens in minutes.

Primo led the bench with 28 minutes and provided 13 points on 5-11, 3-7 from 3, 0-1FT, 2 boards (1 on O), 3 assists, and 1 block, this on a Young drive in which he recovered to get at from behind just in time to swat it at the back board. His one TO was a glaring one, bizarrely showing the ball y sticking it out into the defenders space who obliged him with a steal. Play and learn, rook! He's going to benefit from these minutes, play through and learn from mistakes, better balance passing and taking his shot, and pass more surely with fundamentals. He does have some watch this! flair to his game and you don't want to inhibit it so much as better channel it.

He made some good hustle plays to get after 50/50 balls, and made a deft pass to back door cutting DJ for a dunk after one of them, but at times still makes those one handed passes across the arc or getting caught at the baseline at times. Even as he's adjusting to the speed and skill of the next level, these minutes are valuable for his growth. He's not lacking for confidence and takes his shot mostly without hesitation, and has the steady demeanor to not be overwhelmed by the bigger growth step. So long as he's trying on D, and for the most part he's done a good job fighting over screens, arms up staying with perimeter players, wide stance when he got post up. We're just scratching the surface of his abilities. Look how far Keldon and Devin have come. Imagine Primo in year three and after hopefully a growth spurt. You never know about the latter, but glimpses of the former are tantalizing.

Zach looked awkward on his post up attempts and on his attempts to finish at the rim on O boards in particular. He looked more coordinated in these aspects in the previous couple of games, but it will take time to get his feet rhythm and movement into game shape. It affects his timing and angles on the rim. It sort of looks like there's two of him and the bottom half is doing one thing and top half another. Not quite coordinated and smooth yet, like he has to think through his moves and can't quite put it together yet, but again, for his third game and providing 17 minutes of rest for Jakob while chipping in 5 points on 2-6, 1-1 from 3, along with 4 boards and 2 assists.

Tre returned with extra bounce in his step and is looking more like his SL self with those crafty confident drives and adjustment of shots at the rim to get the ball over bigs' outstretched arms for right angles off the glass. He was hounding after the ball all game on D and initiated drives to the rim almost every chance he got. Five of his six FGAs were in the paint where he made 4-5, connecting on 4-6 overall, 1-1FTs for 9 points along with 2 boards, bench high 4 assists, and 1 steal. He looked every bit the pure PG with his patience, vision, and good balance of passing and scoring. He ran the P&R well, used his dribble well to get to open spaces, and looked far more confident doing it. More comfort in the freedom of more playing time? Perhaps, but we'll see when we get more players how that will all work itself out.

Lonnie. Well he looked lost. His face throughout had that what the hell is happening to my career look. 0-3, 0-1 from 3, 2-2FTs, 2 boards, and 2TOs. One shot in the 2ND Q; two shots in the 3RD. He was a -16 in only 13 minutes of play. He made one good play of getting to the FT line and followed it with a patented TO. He missed a bunny at the rim - another patented move. He didn't even get the final end of game minutes. Will he respond better to being made to earn his minutes again or will it be, like gump said, a case of fewer minutes one game, more the next on a back-to-back? If he doesn't, it's hard to know what will work to click with him but right now he's being leap frogged by two younger players, with more SGs coming soon.

The final lineup of Tre, Primo, Joe, Cacok, and Jock for the last four minutes gave up 9 points (including that final and of game 3) from our 24-point lead which means nothing to the outcome but it's interesting to keep track of in terms of how they play, whether they get stops (work in progress), play together to run our sets or go stats mode (more of the former), and show the coaching staff that they can be trusted with both and so with more minutes. They were also out there to provide well earned rest for the players they were subbing.

Questions remain about how the new players can be integrated and what they can provide. But we also answered some tonight after an emotional trade day that could have left us in a tailspin because we have such a tight bond in the locker room. But we came with a resolute purpose, determined to rally around one another all the more, and executed our game plan far better than we have previously, starting with asserting our O and imposing our D, limiting droughts, and counter punching well.

Of course shooting the 3 18-32 is incredible, but we drove a lot too, making 50-90 FGAs and 18-21FTs. We got outrebounded 49-41 and badly on O 17-5 but that's also a function of us making a lot of our shots so there weren't as many opportunities to rebound. We only had 5 TOs in the first half but 11 in the second on which we gave up 25 points to their 19 on their TOs so we need to clean up the ball protection and weak, low IQ passes. We lost the points in the paint 60-48 but given we were up against athletic bigs that often pose a challenge for us. We mitigated it with excellent 3s shooting as well as 23-10 in fast break points.

It felt like an important rallying together game and we responded well. This was a critical tell about the state of our locker room and its ability to take a big change and channel it constructively.

NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS

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