SPURS GAME DAY! PRE-SEASON GAME 4: SPURS AT JAZZ, 11-10-2022, 8PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

3RD Q: SPURS 93 JAZZ 73

Another 30-point Q after a strong 7-0 start to set the tone for the Q. There's at times a waning of effort in 3RD Q's so it's good that we came out with purpose.

Primo looked more crisp and faster with decisions, even if he called his number a bit much, frankly. One and done or one pass and shot isn't really how we're designed to play. But he also wants to establish himself and this is the time to get his legs under him and try some things. Leads the bench in minutes, attempts, and points. No assists, though. He's a deft passer so hopefully that part of his game gets some attention, too.

We're now 8-22 from 3... both teams have made eight 3s so that's a wash. Rebounds are close but they're doubling us 14-7 on O baords.

15TOs already. Something to watch.

Good effort to keep up our lead with other guys coming in to continue it.

[G R E Y]

GREAT D by Hall, moving his feet contesting. This is where his size and effort stand out.

[G R E Y]

We have Mal, Romeo, Blake, Hall and Roby in now...

Looks like our regulars are done for the night.

[G R E Y]

Romeo steps up to take the charge. Well done.

[G R E Y]

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[G R E Y]

Hall again disrupted a pass and forced a TO.

[G R E Y]

6:40 left in the 4TH Q and we have 2 points. TWO.

13-2 run for them, and our 20-point lead down to 9.

[G R E Y]

BALROW 3!!! GET IT, DOM!!!

[G R E Y]

We're settling for outside shots.

We may not have enough time. Or our lead may not have been big enough... 6-point lead... eeesh!

[G R E Y]

Joe is playing himself off the team.

Mal with the cool 3.

[G R E Y]

Barlow good D board.

Romeo nice drive and left side finish off glass.

[G R E Y]

Mal at point is GOOD! Great bounce pass down low to a cutting Romeo for the basket +1FT.

[G R E Y]

Barlow ANOTHER stingy D board. Limiting second chance opportunities is a secondary bonus from the stat.

[G R E Y]

Wow Hardy doesn't bother to shake hands with Pop after the game. That's class for you...

[G R E Y]

4TH Q: SPURS 111 JAZZ 104

You can tell when some coaches don't really want to give so much credence to being from Pop's coaching tree, like they're saying all the right things but it's also that of course it's what they should say. Actions that back it up - like bothering to walk to half court to shake hands with Pop OR NOT - that speak volmues. Pop was standing there looking for whether or not he should approach. Nope. **** off, then. REALLY hate these things. It was Hardy's FIRST head coaching experience versus Pop. Whatever.

Ok. Mal is a decisive, compact, confident player. There's a poise beyond rookie years about him. Already plays at his own pace that he can't he shaken off of.

Half of Jeremy's attempts were from 3 where he was scoreless, but he made 3-4 of all other shots (mainly workmanlike pubacks with nice touch).

Blake didn't score, and only played 5 minutes. He got a bulk of minutes the previous games, so it's evening out.

The nice thing about big leads is that more guys get more minutes while the main guys get rest. Ideal.

Good minutes distribution - all starters played 21 or 22 minutes, seven bench players in double figure minutes, with Romeo leading the scoring with 11 on terrific 5-6, 0-1 from 3, 1-1FT.

Primo led the bench in minutes and attempts with some spotty play. Maybe needs to get his legs under him. He is coming from a leg injury so I'll cut him some slack. Better handles, better footwork, faster decisions, much better contact absorption on drives. Nice that he's going for it.

Hall stood out with his defense. He stopped several attempts with footwork, body angles, staying in front of his man.

Joe is playing his way off the team as I said; Alize Johnson is not a NBA-level player.

Barlow was terrific on the boards, disrupting shots when he wasn't grabbing the ball. Smart positioning, good timing. Timely 3 when our lead was down to low single digits.

Jakob 2-6FTs -- FFS, Poeltl! Jakob team-high 5 assists -- great job!

Devin led us in scoring and he looked like he could get just about anything he wanted on the court. Half court, transition, pull up 3s. He sort of reminds me of Middleton at times. And that would be awesome. Three level scorer and good defender.

Tre was terrific on O, led the team with +28, stuffing stats tonight with 4-5, no 3s attempted, 5-5FTs, along with 3 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He looks confident, knows what to do, where to get each guy the ball, patient, pushes and adjusts pace well, disrupts shots on D. Terrific all around game. Fighting for a position and letting the competition know it.

Our birthday boy Keldon scored 22 on scorching 9-13, 4-5 from 3, , 5 boards (1 on O), 2 assists, 1 steal. The 21lb weight loss definitely helps with his movement, and nowhere was that more apparent than on DEFENSE. Keldon's quick feet and tenacity led to taking a charge, disrupting defender drives and shot attempts. Really impressive.

Every starter except Devin registered an assist. With the ball being moved around more, more guys have more chances to score and that makes us legitimately have more diverse threats. The Keldon-Devin one-two socring punch with other guys stepping up around them, or they supporting another hot hand on a given night, is refreshing.

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Interesting. Nice balance of movement and defense and scoring. But the 4-5 not being a 3s floor spreading threat is once again an issue. On the one hand, we want to give Sochan growth minutes. On the other, is Roby or Barlow not an option to share the load? Barlow stands out every time he gets on the court. REALLY impressed with him. Don't mind developing him and Sochan together with Diop and Roby in suportive minutes.

Anyway, it's a nice dilemma to have - four good PFs, two with more experience, two more green, all with height, defensive smarts, ball handling, passing, some more 3s than others, all willing to take them.

Roby and Dieng didn't score but were contributing on boards and D; Diop only scored 4 points, but same as the other two. Doug was inefficient, but that's the beauty of our line-up - he's great as a flame thrower from the arc off the bench, but we're not overly reliant on him to do so, and we have a lot of versatility to score 1 through 5.

This is probably the most balanced team, even if least experienced, we've had in several years. When we click, it's already fun to watch.

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And now let's hear from the Birthday Boy!

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I love this so much!

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Also these:

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[Phreak50]

Sochan doesn't look like he has a role on this team.

We should have taken Duren.

Ugh.

[G R E Y]

Sochan doesn't look like he has a role on this team.

We should have taken Duren.

Ugh.

What? Four pre-season games in? Duren is a utility guy. Gets lots of rebounds. Great if that's what you need. Sochan has been defending his arse off. Distance shot is not there, true. We knew this would be raw and needing development. But he switches, rotates, gets rebounds, dribbles in transition, passes well in half court sets. Like all the little details are there already. Athletic, smart, impactful defensively. Guarded Zion well, so stronger than I thought.

And Barlow is a super great signing, too.

We finally have some size and defense at the 4 spot. All four proper PFs can take a 3, too, even if Sochan isn't making them well enough yet.

[imagump1313]

Sochan doesn't look like he has a role on this team.

We should have taken Duren.

Ugh.

What? Four pre-season games in? Duren is a utility guy. Gets lots of rebounds. Great if that's what you need. Sochan has been defending his arse off. Distance shot is not there, true. We knew this would be raw and needing development. But he switches, rotates, gets rebounds, dribbles in transition, passes well in half court sets. Like all the little details are there already. Athletic, smart, impactful defensively. Guarded Zion well, so stronger than I thought.

And Barlow is a super great signing, too.

We finally have some size and defense at the 4 spot. All four proper PFs can take a 3, too, even if Sochan isn't making them well enough yet.

Meh, I'm not going to care about roles or fit until next year.
Just learn the league and about being a pro.

Also, LOSE A BUNCH OF GAMES PLEASE!

[G R E Y]

Sochan doesn't look like he has a role on this team.

We should have taken Duren.

Ugh.

What? Four pre-season games in? Duren is a utility guy. Gets lots of rebounds. Great if that's what you need. Sochan has been defending his arse off. Distance shot is not there, true. We knew this would be raw and needing development. But he switches, rotates, gets rebounds, dribbles in transition, passes well in half court sets. Like all the little details are there already. Athletic, smart, impactful defensively. Guarded Zion well, so stronger than I thought.

And Barlow is a super great signing, too.

We finally have some size and defense at the 4 spot. All four proper PFs can take a 3, too, even if Sochan isn't making them well enough yet.

Meh, I'm not going to care about roles or fit until next year.
Just learn the league and about being a pro.

Also, LOSE A BUNCH OF GAMES PLEASE!

So long as we don't have the worst record - these teams almost never get the first pick - I'm ok with how deep our deep development project goes. And if that means we get more assets for current vets, so be it.

[imagump1313]

So long as we don't have the worst record - these teams almost never get the first pick - I'm ok with how deep our deep development project goes. And if that means we get more assets for current vets, so be it.

Just Pop being around almost guarantees we wont have the worst record.

Or does it?..............