Team. So in terms of reaching overall goals, I think we exceeded several while identifying team needs and deciding who we go forward with, at least at this point in our progression. Given our goals, it was a successful if at times trying season and we still get a lotto pick from it.
We had ELEVEN different players from last season; FOURTEEN different players from two seasons ago. The only constants from two seasons ago are DJ, Keldon, Jakob, and Lonnie, and we added to them Devin, Tre, and Keita last season who made it to the current roster.
Think about what a significant change that is. PATFO weren't kidding when they said they were in evaluation mode in terms of who to keep or not because of culture or game fit or to maximize in a trade. Yet there is continuity in culture. We handed over the leadership to DJ who we’ve brought along patiently and who has done a wonderful job in the role on and off the court; we turned the starting C role over to Jakob in the latter portion of last season and have since unlocked more of his game; Keldon emerged as a legitimate starter and surprise 3s marksman; Lonnie got more room post-Derrick trade for an important bench role.
And that's it for players experienced in the Spurs Way. The rest we were incorporating into bigger roles as the season progressed, surrounded by vet acquisitions to balance out the roster, all of whom helped us improve despite illnesses, trades, and new line-ups.
Betting pundits had us at 28.5 wins which we exceeded. Dejounte was sure to point it out, too. Pop was mocked for his assertion in a pre-season interview that he wasn't sure where the scoring was going to come from with four experienced scorers going elsewhere in UFA. Well this ended up being the highest scoring team Pop's ever coached in the NBA. Always a pleasure to wipe the smirks off.
We averaged 113.2PPG, good for 8th overall (better than last season's 111.1 which was 20th), and our pace was 100.0, good for 5th overall (better than last season's 98.9 which was 15th).
Some other improvements this season: we were 25th with 32 3s attempted per game (up from 30th the previous season with 28.4); 18th with 35.2% from 3 this season (up from 24th at 35% last season); 25th in FTAs with 20.4 per game and 25th with 75.4% in efficiency (a drop from 12th at 22FTAs per game and 10th in efficiency at 79.2%); 9th in total rebounds per game with 45.3, and 7th in O boards at 11 per game; 2nd in assists with 27.9; 5th in TO’s with 12.7 per game; tied for 11th with 7.6 steals per game; and 10th with 4.9 blocks per game.
Other standout stats:
Again – FIRST year of a rebuild with many changes and ongoing challenges and we still managed to put together better O and D than last season and reached the same play-in level.
"Together" was the mantra for scoring, defending, and weathering the ups and downs of the season, including a tough schedule and roster changes. While this was a strength we developed, it was also at times a shortcoming.
We started the season 4-13 and finished the first 20 games 7-13, so our first win streak came with winning our fifth game late in November. It’s no surprise that consistency was elusive earlier in the season in terms of finishing with fundamentals, staying with defensive assignments, learning to play with leads, and finishing close games. We improved in each while both losing and winning by big numbers along the way. Still, we were in most games this season. That few were outright blowouts is a testament to the players buying in even as they were learning how to properly execute.
DJ emerged as the galvanizing force around whom the team coalesced, and became our leading and often go-to scorer. But our top-for-Pop scoring was really a team effort. We grew to be a threat when everyone was contributing because it’s tougher for defenses to game plan for multiple threats. But when we struggled to score it was tough not having that go-to player, or other go-to player that we could rely on to tread water and keep us in more games. Defensively we have better personnel but without a proper big defensive PF there were times when we were either overpowered or got caught on some mismatches. We still helped one another better and were to a man more responsible but it does take time and experience to get to that dogged, cohesive level.
So despite our record, we still ended up with a net positive rating – just barely at 0.1, but on the right side nevertheless, with a slightly improved defensive rating of 112.3, good for 16th (we were 17th at 112.8 last season).
It’s interesting how Pop commented unprompted that this is a drama-free team (I think he compared it to last season specifically, and to some before that surely). He also said it’s a coachable team and it showed.
We did what we could with the personnel we had to start the season and later changes to it. You can’t address every team need in one off-season even as we’d been trying to fix some of them for a while. We tried to shore up the 4/5 and did better with the latter with Zach and Jock, freeing us up to include Drew in the Thad trade that garnered us a first round pick (20th).
But attempts at strengthening the 4 have eluded us: draftees Metu and Luka didn’t work out whether for talent or flat out lack of competitiveness (mystifying how Luka bamboozled us somehow despite us reportedly scouting him since he was 16 and his meeting with Pop and Timmy for dinner); Trey was lazy and soft; Carroll was a poor decision given the apparent dive his game took over a summer; Morris deceived us. Keldon was a revelation as both a starter and a 4 plug-in because of his strength and exuberance; it’s an option for occasional small ball.
So we signed Doug, a 6’7” 3 / 4, though he’s played mostly PF the last three years and with us became a full-time starter for the first time in his career. He brought a great attitude, a great fit character-wise, excellent movement, and some solid 3s shooting (he had second best 3s efficiency on the team). He wasn’t the best defender so when he struggled to score his overall impact dropped. As the season progressed and other players increased their 3s volume and efficiency, Doug’s impact lessened with what he was best at providing. In addition to Keldon splitting his time mostly at the 3 / 4, Keita was a backup 4 as well.
Team needs: Strength. Some we can get through guys following their off-season programs and maturing physically over time. So Devin, Primo, and Tre, for instance, fall into this category. Romeo is bigger and stronger than I anticipated as well. Some guys will be able to bulk up their frames, others like DJ and J Rich are leaner types who have that wiry strength. Keldon obviously has a lot of brawn to him and Lonnie has a strong physique as well.
We have a lot of guards in that 6’4” – 6’6” range so that position is strong.
But you can’t teach height and bigger skeletal frame, and this is something we need to shore up whether through FA, trades, or draft. One thing that stands out in the playoffs, and one thing that Pop pointed out after our play-in game, is physicality.
Part of strength is also mindset, a certain willing relentlessness to initiate, take, and absorb contact and play through it. This helps actual physical impact. Some guys play smaller or bigger than their stature. You can be a smaller relentless guy and that wears opponents down or you can be a bigger relentless guy and opponents feel it all the more.
It’s no secret we’re more of a finesse team, and while we are better with our Js and 3s, it looked at times as if we settled for outside shots because of an inability to penetrate or be more impactful inside. Part of that is getting defenses moving, and part is moving them with our drives. We got walled up enough that our needing more muscle and hustle stood out, not just in 4s and 5s but throughout the line-up. Keldon playing the 3 half the time helped, but he needs more help from others.
A certain type of nastiness will help, too. Some of it will come from experience and responding to the disappointment of how we played in the final game of the season. It’s a mentality that comes with maturity and knowing what to expect and how to prepare for it. We played to our pace, slashing, movement, and finesse strengths, and we need to add some size, and as Jock put it, piss and vinegar. We need to be harder to play against, mentally and physically.
Strength in knowing our system, guys knowing one another’s tendencies, knowing our plays, executing them rather than going rogue by giving into temptation of an open shot that breaks up what we’re running is an internal factor that will improve with added reps.
Proper PF. A modern two-way big who stretches the floor, provides spacing, has a presence down low, can help protect the rim, can get his own points with some handles and go-to moves. Basically, let’s go out and find a unicorn. No seriously, size, scoring, and rim protection are crucial for us to help get to another level.
Talent. I trust our development implicitly. I trust our culture and ability to bring out the strengths of our best players with an adjusted system. That said, there’s a reason why players we traded or let walk in RFA were starters for us but are bench players on their new teams. They’re valuable contributors, but other players are better as starters.
DJ is our best player. I’m fine with that for where we are. But if he’s the best player throughout his tenure with us, we aren’t getting too far. I love what he’s provided, and if he continues to grow his game, great. But he’s not at a level of best player on a contending team, unless he has a gear we’ve yet to see.
That Derrick, Kyle Anderson, Thad, and Bryn were all once starters and now have various bench roles elsewhere speaks to the level of talent upgrade we need to eventually get to. That Doug has always had a bench role and has started with us speaks to that as well, as much as it does our need at the position.
I’ve seen fans pining for Kyle as a player that got away but I think that his not starting for his team now (despite being lured away for a bigger role) shows his proper place on a talented team. His stats have largely remained steady throughout his career. Others have pined for Clarke who we could have drafted instead of Luka. That year’s draft didn’t pan out with our own picks (Luka and Weatherspoon) but they sure panned out with our acquired pick, Keldon. Thank God. Anyway, Clarke’s already 25 so of course it makes sense for him to be a more ready contributor. I’m ok with us not having either Kyle or Clarke (also a bench role) and finding other players for the role.
I think we did great in maximizing Derrick whose age, shaped out game, and contract were factors fit for a trade, and this is coming someone who liked him best. J Rich has been terrific for us with more steady 3s, not needing the ball in his hands, being fine with a bench role, and providing tenacious D. Not sure what happens with Romeo, but the first round pick and potential future pick swap while acquiring players on shorter contracts was a smart, if difficult, move.
Internal development of Devin who has two-way impact already will show how much more of his game, along with Primo’s and Keldon’s we can expect to get, but a higher ceiling on a rookie contract made the trade appealing.
Are LaVine and/or Ayton the best use of our max cap space? They’ll put butts in seats, and from ownership POV I see the lure. LaVine would raise our talent and give us another go-to scorer which is important, but his D is suspect, he’s coming off a knee injury, and plays a position where we have a lot of youth coming up whose games might be stifled. I think we are in a position to get to another level, but I’m not convinced LaVine is the way to do it all things considered.
It is concerning that Ayton previously got caught for doping and now in the PO’s disappeared at times. His coach allegedly said he quit on the team (a reported exchange of ‘Do you want to play?’ ‘No.’ Yikes!). If he can’t get along with Monty, how will he respond to a tougher Pop? But he’s only 23 and already averaging a double double so even if he’s a more traditional C in that he needs guards to involve him, he can hit the 3, defend, and protect the rim. His intensity when on is impressive; the lack of it in their final game was eyebrow raising. But you can’t fault players for feeling overwhelmed in such a circumstance, and you don’t want to judge all of who someone is based on one of their worst professional games. And as the #1 pick whose game has grown on both ends, it has to sting to not get an extension when he was eligible. It’s a cumulative impression that PATFO will need to get – that’s assuming we go after him.
Pop was clearly disappointed in how we played in the play-in, pointing out bluntly that we regressed and reverted to how we had played three months prior, with a lack of physicality and urgency and competitiveness. It felt like we expended so much energy getting to the play-in that there wasn’t enough left or we weren’t ready or experienced enough to rise to the occasion collectively. We saw a bit of that struggle as we got closer to breaking the wins record for Pop, and then we played loose and better after getting it. That it was in a come-from-behind clutch performance was all the more satisfying.
But about our group: DJ is a dog, Keldon is high-spirited, and we have a really nice team filled with guys who all get along. These are factors that make you want to be on the team and make you want to play for one another. And to a man, the next level is the playoffs. I like the lack of satisfaction and healthy disappointment as it shows a hunger for more. How can we help them get it?
How we balance internal growth with the external assets we have – players eligible for trades or extensions, picks, cap space – to complement the foundation we’ve laid is our next step.
Breaking the all-time regular season wins record for Pop? Check.
A season of development? Check.
Identifying which players we go forward with? Check, and in progress (who we re-sign now and for how much).
Identifying team needs? Check.
Growing cap space and stockpiling picks? Check.
My sense is that for the 50th anniversary season we make some noise to field a more competitive team, add to the foundation we’ve laid in terms of character fit, team needs, and style of play; not give up on development, rather enhance it and rev it up where possible. I’d love it if we added some nastiness and brought a tough FU energy to usher in the 50th season. Still developing, still progressing, but start at a higher level to give ourselves a better shot at the post-season and give fans an even more exciting team to support as we mark an important milestone.
He loves teaching, is rejuvenated by the young guys, and having a fresh start with a new youth movement has been described as like his Pomona days. Full circle moment. Glad we have who we do for it.