SPURS GAME DAY! GAME 12: SPURS VS. GRIZZLIES, 9-11-2022, 7PM (CT)

[G R E Y]

WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

[G R E Y]

GREAT PLAY.

IT'S OK, DEVIN. GREAT SHOT. PUT IT IN THE MEMORY TOOLKIT, DO BETTER NEXT TIME.

[imagump1313]

Great work tonight! We did just enough to stay on track.

[G R E Y]

OT: SPURS 122 GRIZZLIES 124

BAH!

Well you can't really 'blame' the outcome on anything.

I loved our heart this game, and truly wanted this one for us. There is a balance between learning and losing and losing and the confidence waning.

A slow start did us in as we spent some time and energy catching up again; rebounding and second chance points also did us in as we bled away points there; and the poor FT shooting left points on the floor. But really looking at the fact that we only had 12 TOs, that we have SEVEN players in double figures (on 30 assists), that we nearly mathed them in fast break points and points in the paint and we did a great job fighting to stay in the game.

It was tough as well to start the OT down 7 and went on an amazing run in a short time.

Some bounces went our way like when JRich end of 3RD Q, and then just weird basketball winds pushed all our go-ahead end of regular time bounced out.

I LOVED how we fought in the second half in particular, but really how we ended the first half as well. Lots of guys were falling on the court for loose balls, our full court press was paying dividends, we pushed the ball well in transition.

I loved how Keldon fought his way through an inefficient night to find ways to contribute in driving, moving the ball, passing, rebounding, etc.

I loved the energy and two-way play that Bassey brought.

I loved Sochan being everywhere and finding the ball finding him.

If I had to pick some things to improve, well of course the 15-23FTs stands out poorly. Missed shots are what they are, and we've made our share of them. But making FTs is a skill, one we need to improve, even though we were +6 in this category.

Although we scored 32 in the 1ST Q, giving up 38 and being down 14 early is another pattern we need to improve. In games we've won, we got to good starts early, and that's not just scoring well, but being ready defensively and being locked in to take advantage of catching teams on their heels.

Instead we gave up way too many rebounds (15-6, including 7-3 on O boards) and open shots at the arc, which they made 5-8. We were just too tentative and polite and not as ready as we ought to be to start the game.

As far the final shot, Sean brought up a good point about spacing. Keldon should have left the left side and pull his defender with him to give Devin more room rather than being defended by two opponents. Details like this are what we are going to learn to do better with experience.

Pop ran a tight nine-man rotation with Dieng, Roby, Diop, and Hall not getting any minutes. It's things like this that point to me Pop wanted a win. All the starters played at least 30 minutes with Keldon (40) and Devin (39) leading the way. Post game Pop was, not quite giddy, but looked happy, if I can use the description. He was clapping our effort throughout the game and didn't seem too bothered by the game-winning misses or the result. Competitiveness leads the way, and in games where we don't compete he drops MF bombs haha and lets us know it. In games like this one where we showed so much heart and left it all on the court, he looked pleased overall with the effort even if the result was bitter.

You can tell we wanted this win, too. I don't recall such fallin gon the floor hustle from so many guys. It's a different element with the game in your hand on the line. Perhaps that pressure got to us with missing shots we usually make. And although we couldn't hit them, I like that each of Tre, Keldon, and Devin asserted themselves in shooting it. The more chances we get in close games, the more experienced we'll be in those moments to do it the way we intend.

Keldon led us with 6-10FTs; Jakob led us with 9 boards and 6 on O; he, Sochan, and Bassey led us with two steals each; Tre led us with a double double 11 points and 11 assists; Devin led us with 4-10 from 3; Sochan and Bassey led us with efficiency on 6-7 and 4-5, respectively.

Sochan, Tre, and Romeo stood out with their stingy defense, Sochan with switching onto anyone and taking the challenge on.

Bassey made an all around impact with 10 points, bench high 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block WOW; Romeo grabbed a bench high 2 O boards; JRich led the bench with 3-6 from 3. Doug had one of his valley games. It happens with vets. He had plenty of chances from 3, just couldn't make them (1-5 from 3) but he did use his off ball movement well for 4-9.

When we struggled to score one way, we switched it up and found others; when we got bulled on the boards, we got into spaces and fought harder; when we got hit with a 3, we hit one right back.

There is no quit to us and it's a quality we both need and need to reward ourselves for. We're so close, and we need to stay resilient and hungry to get over the hump.

[G R E Y]

HIGHLIGHTS

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POST-GAME INTERVIEWS

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Love it. That's the right attitude to have.

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[Phreak50]

If this team doesn't prove how valuable a great coach is, nothing will.

Most other coaches would be 0-12 rather than 5-7.